#seeing some of the reactions since the announcement made me so angry and then i get an ask like this | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

ginnsbaker · 8 months ago

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fic: if i bleed (you'll be the last to know) (7/?)

Part summary: Six weeks later, Leigh decides to throw herself a birthday party.

Pairing: Leigh Shaw x Fem!Reader | Word count for this part: 6.600+ | Warnings : None | Author's Note: Just a reminder that this doesn't strictly follow canon events. Borrowed some elements from the actual birthday episode, but it's going to go very differently for us :) Enjoy!

Six weeks later

“Hey! Happy birthday, sweetheart!” Leigh’s mom calls out from the kitchen as Leigh hurries down the stairs. She runs straight into Amy’s arms, a ball of energy, drawing bewildered looks from her mom and sister. Ever since Matt died, they are used to Leigh either being too quiet or too snarky. Today, of all days, they were expecting her to be something else much worse. But it seems they're mistaken as Leigh turns to Jules, yanks her in close, and kisses her hair.

Jules and Amy share a look. To say this as an interesting development would be an understatement. It's her birthday—her first one without Matt, who had been at the heart of her celebrations for the last decade. They hope Leigh finds some happiness, truly, but these past several months have taught them to temper their expectations.

They keep their silent exchange to themselves, watching as Leigh picks up a croissant and takes a heart bite out of it, her face lit up with the widest smile. “Happy birthday,” Jules grins, pushing a small envelope towards Leigh. “Got something for you.”

“Thank you!” Leigh exclaims. She eagerly opens the envelope to find a bunch of homemade coupons, each promising some sort of favor from Jules, good for the next year. They range from “Will listen to your rants for 30 minutes, no interruptions” to “I will restart the book club you tried to get me and mom to do and actually read the books this time.”

Laughing, Leigh flips through them. “These are brilliant, Jules. Might have to use one today,” she says, already thinking about which one she'll cash in first. Then, she pulls Jules in a bear hug, as if it’s the most exquisite present she’s ever gotten in her lifetime.

“You okay?” Leigh asks when she notices Amy staring at her.

Jules gives their mom a warning look as Amy struggles to come up with a response. “Nothing, I just… I didn’t think you’d be doing quite so well today. That’s all.”

“I didn’t either but we all make choices and I’m choosing to have a great birthday. So, let’s do this thing!” Leigh says in a manner that Jules feels too over the top. Amy starts laying out the plans for the evening and Leigh has a blank look by the time she finishes running them through it.

“I think I want a party,” Leigh announces. It’s met with astonishment, as if it’s the last thing her family’s expecting to hear.

“You do?” Amy.

“A party?” Jules.

Leigh isn’t perturbed by their reactions. “I do. I want a party,” she confirms. She delights at the dumb look on their faces as she reiterates, “Tonight. I want a big party.”

“You’re not having a big party.”

Danny calls her up the minute he gets her Facebook invite. He's partly furious about receiving the invite through Facebook, given that they’re “kind of seeing each other”, and partly incredulous because he couldn’t believe she’s making plans on her birthday without considering the fact that they are “kind of seeing each other”.

Leigh, phone wedged between her shoulder and ear as she flips through a recipe book on her kitchen counter, rolls her eyes so hard she worries they might stick that way.

“Well, yes, Danny, that's exactly what I'm doing,” she fires back matter-of-factly.

Danny's frustration simmers on the other end of the line. He had already made plans, not bothering to consult Leigh because he assumed that their day would be spent together—privately, just the two of them.

“You didn’t think I’d have something planned?” he asks, more hurt than angry.

“Why would I think that?”

“Because we’re dating, Leigh,” he says, appalled that he needs to remind her. Leigh takes a second, biting her lip. Maybe it was a bit inconsiderate that she didn’t consider Danny when she impulsively decided she wanted a big celebration. But that flicker of guilt is short lived.

After all, she couldn’t remember the last time she’s actually excited for something, the last time she thought, I deserve to be happy.

“Yeah, well, I can still do what I want, Danny,” she retorts.

“Now you’re acting like a child,” he snaps.

Leigh feels a flash of anger, then something else—determination. “Maybe so. Come to the party or not, I don’t care. I'm going to have fun, Danny, with or without you.”

“Fine. Just don’t—”

Leigh doesn’t let him finish. With a press of a button, the call ends, his words cut off mid-sentence. Too often, she’s been criticized for not always following through with her declarations, but it's a different game when she's out to prove something.

Drew steps carefully around a minefield of clothes and makeup scattered on the floor to get to Leigh. She's curled up over her laptop, one leg propped on the chair, chin on her knee, in a posture that makes Drew wince. “For a fitness instructor, you're not exactly a poster child for back health,” he says, announcing himself to his best friend.

Leigh's head snaps up at Drew's voice, but instead of annoyance, a smirk quickly spreads across her face. “Good thing I'm not a fitness instructor anymore, then,” she says. Then she turns her attention back to her laptop as if he’s not there. Drew moves to sit on the edge of her bed, flops down on it like a ragdoll and stares at the cobwebs on the corners of the ceiling.

“I know what you’ve been doing, Leigh,” he says.

Leigh is unphased, keeps typing. Then, as if she’s just heard his remark, mutters a distracted, “What have I been doing?”

“Avoiding. You've been avoiding writing about anything that's even remotely related to love or grief,” Drew says.

This time, Leigh stops typing. She sighs, a long, drawn-out exhale that seems to carry the weight of the world. “I’m busy, Drew. This gig is eating up all my time.”

After leaving the Beautiful Beast, she took on a part-time job as a remote project manager. With Matt gone, she's left to deal with the debts they racked up together. She loved her studio job, really did, and wasn't fazed by the slim paycheck because it helped her mom out. Being surrounded by family has been a huge support (despite her occasional squabbles with Jules), but she knows she'll need to move out on her own again at some point. Ultimately, the pressing need for financial stability has pushed her to seek out better-paying opportunities.

Drew straightens up, leaning in with his elbows on his knees. “Bullshit.”

Leigh looks over her shoulder at him with mild irritation. “What do you want me to say, Drew?”

“You're meeting your weekly quota on other topics,” he points out. “Makes me wonder if bringing you back to the advice column was…premature.”

It sounds like a threat, but coming from him, she understands it as an early warning in case the senior editor begins to notice the issue. Leigh smiles thinly, her brow furrowed in confusion. “Why does it even matter which topics I choose to engage with? First off, I'm collaborating with other writers now; it's not entirely my show anymore. Secondly, I've been doing a good job—”

“A great job, actually.”

Leigh tilts her head, genuinely puzzled. “So, what's the problem?”

“They're expecting you to lead on those topics because you've lived through them. They're looking for more authenticity in the pieces,” Drew explains.

Leigh looks out the window, seemingly lost in thought, then shakes her head slightly. “What, you want me to write about how I started picking fights left and right after Matt died? Do you want me to detail my attempts at fixing his depression, as if it were as manageable as setting a broken bone?”

“You don’t have to delve into the most personal details.”

“It can’t be authentic if it’s not personal,” Leigh sneers.

“Just think about it, okay?” Drew presses, a little desperately.

Leigh chews on the inside of her cheek, mulling it over. There's a whole part of her story she hasn't even touched on with him—the string of one-night stands with Danny, the way she's snapped at anyone who dared to disagree with her in the past few weeks. She's been on edge, not really liking the person she's been, and the thought of putting that version of herself out there for everyone to see is nothing short of humiliating.

As a writer, she knows what to say, the same way a psychologist would know what to do even if they don’t need to have all sorts of human experience to help someone in every situation. But she also questions her right to preach behavior to others when she's far from having it all figured out herself. Regardless of her indecision, she knows Drew’s not going to drop it until she at least tells him she’ll consider.

“Fine,” she says, with a nod. “I'll sift through the inbox and tackle the ones I feel up to.”

“There you go, that's my girl,” Drew says, visibly relaxing. But then, a moment later, he feels a stab of guilt for showing up mostly because of work. It's been a while since they've hung out, their usual brunch dates falling through one after the other, and their daily chats have shriveled up to a few messages a week, with mostly just memes from Leigh that Drew hardly ever acknowledges. Eventually, Leigh just stopped sending them.

Drew fidgets, avoiding eye contact for a second before it dawns on him—he hasn't just been busy; he's been dodging Leigh on purpose ever since he popped the question to his partner. He was worried Leigh wouldn’t take the news well, considering the things she’s been going through. But if he’s being brutally honest with himself, a part of him just didn't want her grief to dampen his excitement. He was worried her sadness might dampen his spirits, and in a bid to preserve his own happiness, he’d left her out in the cold. He hadn't stopped to think that maybe he owed Leigh more than just her column.

“So, uh, how’s it going?” Drew asks cautiously.

“It’s going,” Leigh offers. Heartfelt talks aren't their thing, so Leigh decides to brush it off fast. “By the way, I'm throwing a birthday party for myself.” It comes out a bit more cheerfully than she feels.

“A party? That's great, Leigh!” Drew exclaims. “And hey, if you need help setting up or anything, just let me know.”

“Yeah,” she forces a smile, not as enthusiastic as she was about the idea at breakfast. “It's tonight, though. You're coming, right? And bring anyone fun you know.”

“Wow, OK,” Drew nods before his face morphs into a grin, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “So, is this where you're planning to hard launch your new relationship? At your party?”

Leigh’s eyes sharpen into slits. “You know about Danny?”

“Jules told me,” he says.

Rolling her eyes, Leigh retorts, “Let me guess, she told you so you'd join the haters club?”

“Nah,” Drew shrugs, his smile bright and sunny. “Danny's okay, I guess. If you're happy, I'm happy.”

She hasn’t been not happy lately. It’s not all sunshine and rainbows, but it sure beats being on her own. So maybe she is—or at least, on her way.

“Thanks, Drew,” she murmurs thoughtfully.

Drew makes himself comfy, chin in hand, looking like he's all set for one of their marathon catch-ups. "So, how did you and Danny even start? Tell me everything."

Leigh's trunk is a one-can band, banging and clanging with every turn. Her groceries create a beat, something to fill in the lack of sound in her car. It’s how she drives these days—in utter silence. Before, she wouldn't even think of heading out without the perfect playlist, which often took her an extra five to fifteen minutes after settling into the driver's seat. But these days, as soon as the key is in the ignition, she twists it and takes off, not even waiting for the car to warm up.

Organizing a party by herself (with Jules' indispensable assistance, of course) and extending invites to her entire Facebook friends list has turned into quite the ruse. She's seasoned enough to temper her expectations—knowing well that not everyone who RSVP'd “yes” will show, and that some who didn't bother to RSVP might just surprise her by showing up. So, she's stocked up on as much food as her sedan can hold.

While Leigh's mind wanders to what snacks to whip up and what sauces to pair them with, she accidentally ends up on a lane that forces a left turn instead of going straight. This little misstep means she's got to take the scenic route home, which, by pure coincidence, takes her right past your clinic's street.

Her heartbeat quickens, though it shouldn't. There's no reason for it. She hasn't seen you in a month, not since the night she made a bold declaration on her bedroom door.

Leigh never planned on actually liking you as a person. Initially, her motive was purely to get a closer look, to dissect what it was about you that caught Matt's eye, what you possessed that she lacked. However, the answer to that mystery didn't remain elusive for long after spending a little time with you. You had this kindness about you, soft and easy, something Leigh’s always found just out of her reach. She prides herself on being decent enough but next to you, she feels a bit more like sandpaper to your silk.

Matt was like that too—gentle, easygoing. Leigh is well aware of her own rough edges, her sharp corners that don't quite align with Matt's smoother ones—and, by extension, yours. You and Matt had more in common than just interests; you both saw and reacted to the world in similar ways. Finding out that you and Matt were alike in important ways, in ways she wasn't, is something she's still learning to cope with.

As she nears your clinic, her eyes instinctively search it out, a habit she can't seem to break.

This time, her timing is impeccable; just as she glides by, you step outside with a puppy in your arms, licking your face all over. You catch sight of her car from a distance, and you couldn’t stop the surprise that flashes across your face. As she drives past, you give her a little wave, puppy still in tow. Leigh cracks a small smile, then throws on her aviators, maybe trying to hide a bit more than her eyes. She sneaks one last look in the rearview, catching you watching her car disappear down the street before you head back into the clinic.

As soon as she gets home and is safely out of the car, she opens her messages.

The last text you sent her says, “I'm sorry. I hope we can still be friends,” sent three days after the encounter in her bedroom. She didn't respond to it, and you didn't push any further or impose yourself on her.

She wishes she had at least reacted with a heart or sent a smiley face to your message. Maybe then, inviting you to her party tonight wouldn’t feel so awkward. Nevertheless, she manages to type out a quick invite and extends to you the courtesy of bringing a plus one, someone you believe would be good company.

Your response arrives within five seconds of her hitting send.

“Thank you, I'll be sure to drop by :)” - Y/N

Satisfied, Leigh sets her phone aside. Now, she can focus on making those Deviled eggs.

The dress she's pulled from Jules's closet is a bold choice: deep black with a plunging neckline and a hem that flirts with daring. It's sexy, but not quite Leigh's usual style—and that's exactly why she loves it. It clings to her in all the right places, promising a confidence that Leigh isn't entirely sure she feels. Her hair, which is normally pulled back in a no-nonsense ponytail, hangs loose and wavy. She tops off her outfit with a slick of red lipstick and layers of dark eyeliner.

With about an hour to spare before her guests are due to arrive, Leigh decides it's the perfect time to follow through on a promise she made to Drew. She logs into the shared inbox of the advice column she co-manages with two other writers at Basically News. Leigh scrolls through the submissions, Drew’s words playing on repeat in her head. He had a point. Maybe people don't always need the right answers—answers she hardly uses herself. Perhaps what they really need is someone to affirm what they're already feeling, to say it's okay to follow their gut, to be themselves.

She reads an interesting entry from one EspressoEyes:

“Do you think it's too much for me to give a puppy to this woman I like? I'm not even sure she likes me back (or like me in general 😣), but it's her birthday, and I feel like a puppy could be exactly what she needs at this moment.”

Leigh reads the message, a smile tugging at her lips despite herself. Personally, she muses, she'd welcome a puppy from just about anyone. But that's just her, especially with the rollercoaster of a year she's had—she's at a point where the gesture, no matter who it comes from, would be a welcome slice of joy.

Thinking it over, she starts replying, “A puppy is a big gesture—it can be an overwhelming gift for some. It might even be seen as too forward, especially in certain relationships.Yet, a gift is a gift. Sometimes, you need to just go for it, without apologies. If her feelings don't align, she'll let you know. She has to, because giving a puppy is essentially a love declaration, in case you hadn't realized. And who knows? She might feel the same about you. Just make sure she's actually up for the responsibility of a pet. They're for life, not just for birthdays.”

She signs off with her pen name—Gigi Herrel—a clever anagram of her name as it would have been had she taken Matt's last name in marriage: Leigh Greer. Though it never quite felt like her own. She only used it when she came back to Basically News in obeisance to his passing. Drew has granted her the autonomy to publish her responses without his oversight (“Just make sure your grammar is perfect,” he said), so Leigh doesn’t think twice before publishing her response.

Leigh moves on to browse through other submissions, this time, on those related to marriage and loss—the very subjects she promised Drew she would tackle. She’s been in those shoes, still feels like she's wearing them. With a deep breath, she clicks on one and dives right into it. Her first attempt at a response feels inadequate, prompting her to hit delete and start anew. This process repeats itself, one draft after another, until she has five versions sitting in front of her, none of which feel right. With a huff, she deletes them all.

Just then the doorbell rings, pulling her out of her advice-column vortex. Leigh glances around, momentarily disoriented. It takes her a moment to recall that there's a party happening downstairs, and she's meant to be enjoying herself.

She’s halfway down the stairs when Jules's eyes land on her. Leigh freezes, as if she’s been caught red-handed. “I…couldn’t find the coupon for borrowing your clothes.”

Jules just smirks and arches an eyebrow, taking in Leigh in her dress. “Oh please, as if I ever keep track. Besides, that was just gathering dust after my ‘slutty Halloween phase’ as you so lovingly called it.”

“Cool! Perfect!” Leigh says, ignoring the backhanded comment. Her focus immediately turns to the front door as another guest arrives. “Hey, Dad!” she calls out.

Leigh’s dad walks in with his partner, and she greets them with a warmth that's been rare these days. He hands her a large, beautifully wrapped box. Leigh grasps the gift with both hands, shaking it gently, much like a child on Christmas morning. She’s thanking them when an old friend from high school she hasn’t seen in forever walks through the door, a bottle of wine in hand. Her mom swoops in like a hawk, reminding everyone it's a dry party in support of Jules's sobriety, and the wine is swiftly traded for a mocktail.

For the next hour, the house fills up. Leigh finds herself out back, tending to snacks, when a small line of people forms to chat with her. They each ask if she’s doing okay, their condolences tucked neatly between cheerful birthday wishes. Leigh’s smiling, but it's so fake even she is not buying it, mentally blacklisting half of these people for next time.

Just when the parade of condolence callers is beginning to fray her patience, one of her actual favorite humans finally shows up, saving her mood from souring completely. Drew looks striking in a simple black polo shirt, so much so that it reminds Leigh of the time Matt got all jealous over him, until Leigh let him in on the secret that he plays for the other team.

He passes her a little envelope, his birthday offering—a gift card. Leigh’s barely expressed her thanks over the simple present when he jumps right into feedback on her latest advice column.

“Read your puppy counsel on my way here. It felt a bit... casual, don’t you think?”

Leigh smirks up at him, arms crossed, the gift card crinkling between her forearms. “Just say it's terrible advice if that's what you mean.”

Drew purses his lips before relenting. “Fine. It was terrible advice.”

“Expect more of that if I tackle the stuff I’ve been avoiding. Still think it’s a good idea?” Leigh says, nodding like it’s exactly what she wants to hear. Drew lets out a sigh, swiftly steering the conversation away before their playful banter escalates into a disagreement. With Leigh, he knows all too well that the edge of an argument is always closer than it seems.

“Anyway, happy birthday, again,” he says, trying to lighten the mood again. “Ryan's tied up with work stuff, totally wiped, but he did wish you a happy birthday.”

Leigh’s face hardens slightly at the mention of Ryan. She’s been harboring this nagging thought that Ryan dislikes her, a suspicion fueled by a criticism she once shared with Drew in confidence, suspecting Drew might have passed it along. Drew, seeing her expression change, doesn’t rush to correct her assumption.

“He hates me,” Leigh concludes before Drew can even get a word out.

“He doesn’t—”

“What I don’t understand is why you couldn’t have kept it between us?” she demands, feeling betrayed.

“Because Ryan’s my person. I tell him everything. That’s how being in a marriage works,” he says, but the moment he sees Leigh's face fall, he wishes he could retract those words.

Leigh bristles, her voice rising, “I know how being married works!”

She's livid, because that should go without saying. How dare he imply that she no longer knows, now that she's only half of a whole—her best friend, of all people.

Drew exhales coolly, as if trying to douse the proverbial fire between them. “Why does it seem like we're always either fighting or about to fight?” he wonders aloud.

Leigh’s anger softens into something more reflective, and she sighs, the fight draining out of her. “I don’t mean to...” She trails off, searching for the right words. “It’s like I’m always ready for a battle. I don’t know why. It’s like I’m expecting it, waiting for it, at the end of every day.”

Drew lets the moment breathe, waiting for both of them to deflate completely before tacitly reaching out behind Leigh for a snack. “These are great, by the way,” he says between bites, acting like they hadn’t just been at each other's throats.

Leigh tries to match Drew’s candidness, but inside, she’s reeling. It bothers her, this pattern they’ve fallen into—her temper flaring up, followed by a quick brush-off, as if these outbursts are merely now a part of who she is. She hates that she’s become predictable in her volatility, that her explosions are met with a shrug and a wait-out-the-clock mentality from those around her. She’s tired of it, tired of being seen as a ticking time bomb, her anger and hurt dismissed as just Leigh being Leigh, waiting for the reset button to be hit so the countdown can start all over again.

But it's her birthday, and she's brought these people together on a Tuesday night for fun. She didn't gather everyone just to tell them, once and for all, that they need to stop acting as if her husband just died.

So, she goes with the flow, laughing when it's her cue, even though deep down, she feels more alone in the crowd than ever.

With the absence of alcohol, the party winds down by 11 PM. Guests begin trickling out as early as 10, and by the time Leigh is bidding farewell to the last attendee, she's already donned an apron, ready to take on the mountain of dishes left behind.

Which is to say, showing up right now pretty much means you've missed the whole party.

Pulling up in front of Leigh's house, the night already deep into its quiet hours, you’re running on the adrenaline of the day's emergencies. Two cases back-to-back at the clinic, one of them diving straight into surgery, left you no choice but to push everything else to the side. Suzie, who was meant to join you as your plus one, ends up stuck back at work, tending to a recovering St. Bernard, so it's just you and the sleeping puppy on your lap now. For her sacrifice, you promise to take her out to a nice lunch one of these days.

The puppy starts wagging its tail in its sleep, and you look down with a smile at the little dreamer. The decision to give Leigh the puppy wasn't made lightly. You've been turning the idea in your mind for a while now. Initially, you didn't even realize her birthday was coming up, and the invitation to her party caught you off guard, especially considering the somewhat unresolved way things were left between you two weeks ago. The timing of her birthday, your rocky history, it all made you second-guess whether a puppy was a good idea. In search of a voice outside your own head, you turned to a favorite advice column you often read in your spare time. To your surprise, your submission was picked up by one of the columnists, and the response you got wasn't just advice; it was the push you needed. You were lucky to be able to catch their answer, just before you got home to change for Leigh’s birthday party.

Trying to calm the butterflies in your stomach, you give yourself a quick once-over in the rearview mirror and apply a fresh swipe of nude-colored lipstick. With one last look, you carefully step out of the car, the sleeping puppy nestled securely in your arms. The moment you move, it stirs, burrowing deeper into your armpit, seeking refuge from the light of the street lamps.

Everything's too quiet as you walk up to Leigh's house. You anticipated some noise, music or chatter—anything to indicate the party was in full swing. But there are none. Could you have missed the party? Or worse, did Leigh get the date wrong on her invite? Hesitantly, you press the doorbell, instantly regretting it, thinking you might be waking up the whole house.

Just as you're about to bail, the door swings open and it's Jules.

“Y/N!” Jules nearly trips over herself getting to you, eyes wide when she spots the furball you’re holding.

“Hi Jules,” you mutter sheepishly.

“Is that a…” she squeaks out, already reaching for a cuddle before you've even nodded. Jules is all over the puppy, who seems just as happy to be the center of attention. After a while, she looks up, a bit more composed but still glowing.

“I didn’t know Leigh invited you. Too bad, you just missed the party. But you should definitely come in and say hi to Leigh,” she says. You want nothing more than to see Leigh again, even if only for a brief moment, just to accomplish what you came here for and perhaps wish her a happy birthday. But with the party over and you potentially being the only guest, it feels like walking into a situation you don’t think you’re prepared enough for.

Then, as the puppy licks Jules' face off, she pauses and looks at you funny. It clicks for her—no collar, no leash, just you and this puppy who appear no more than two months old.

“Oh my gosh, is this for Leigh?” Jules gasps.

You nod, feeling a lump form in your throat. “I-If she wants him.”

Jules looks at you, then at the puppy, her smile blinding. “Well, I want him. But if she doesn’t, I’ll be more than happy to be his mommy.”

You laugh at her enthusiasm. Still feeling skittish, you ask, “Do you think it’s an appropriate gift for Leigh?”

“You're a vet. It's kind of on-brand for you,” Jules quips.

You laugh again. “Really?” you ask, kind of hoping for a more solid reassurance.

Jules considers it for a second, before saying, “I can at least assure you it’s not unwanted.”

Good enough, you think. Jules hands you back the puppy and then says, “She’s in the kitchen. Look, she’s not exactly in a good mood, but I think you should go for it anyway.”

That’s two people egging you to go ahead with your surprise. It must be a sign from the universe. You make up your mind for the final time. “Thanks, Jules,” you say.

“Anytime.”

You tread lightly, making sure your footsteps don’t give you away as you approach the kitchen. Leigh is at the sink, doing the dishes, clad in a black dress that skims her thighs, her feet bare against the cool kitchen tiles. Her shoulders are slumped, her movements laconic, as if her body is there, but her mind is miles elsewhere. The expanse of skin revealed by her hair tied up in a high ponytail captivates you, holding you back from announcing your presence. You allow yourself a moment to take her in, thinking this might be the only chance you get to really look at her like this.

You’re about to say “Hi”, when Leigh whirls around, startling you both. Leigh, not expecting anyone to be there, loses her grip on the plate she's holding, and it smashes loudly against the floor.

“Jesus!” Leigh’s scream summons Jules and her mom into the kitchen. Meanwhile, you are trying to do damage control—holding the puppy with one hand and attempting to gather the ceramic shards with the other as Leigh continues to stare at you in shock.

Amy, wrapped in her robe, looks from the mess on the floor to you and then to Leigh. “What’s going on here?”

Jules is unfazed, simply watches the entire scene from a corner of the room, smirking.

Your cheeks flush with shame, and you find yourself grateful to be still seated on the floor, your back turned away from Leigh's family.

“I’m so—” you start, but Leigh cuts you off.

“Okay, everyone just...calm down," Leigh says. She kneels down beside you, her hands joining yours in cleaning up the broken pieces.

“I'm heading to bed,” Jules says and then winks at you. “Happy to see you, Y/N!”

Amy wraps her robe more snugly around herself, then with a small, puzzled shake of her head, says, “Well, good night everyone. And happy birthday again, sweetheart,” before she walks down the hall and out of sight. Leigh gets to her feet, a slight nod of appreciation directed your way as she holds open a trash bag for you to deposit the ceramic shards. That’s when the puppy finally catches her attention.

“And who's this little guy?” she asks, a smile starting to play at the corners of her mouth.

You clear your throat. “Uh, yeah. He’s yours if you want him. Don’t worry about refusing, there’s someone lined up to take him in case you’re not—”

But Leigh’s already gently taking the puppy from your arms, instantly cradling and bouncing him as though he’s a tiny human baby. It’s a sight both funny and utterly endearing, and you can’t help but let out a soft chuckle, feeling your heart grow a size or two.

“Who wouldn't want him? He's perfect,” Leigh says, her eyes not leaving him as he nestles comfortably in her arms. Hearing those words, you feel a wave of relief wash over you. She doesn't find it odd; she's already falling for him.

“Happy birthday,” you tell her, and when she looks at you, her smile is so bright it could light up the whole night. Right there is everything you hoped for. All you really wanted was to see her happy.

“Thank you so much,” she murmurs, clutching the puppy tighter to her chest. Then, cocking her head to the side, she inquires, “What's his name?”

The grin on your lips can’t be helped, and you’re hoping she wouldn’t see just how much she’s having an effect on you. “I haven’t named him yet. He was always meant to be yours, Leigh,” you say.

Her smile just gets bigger as she gazes down at the little furball in her arms, and you think this is exactly how things were supposed to go down. It’s one of those rare moments where reality lines up perfectly with expectation.

“I think I’ll call him Logan.”

You and Leigh retire to the living room after she kindly offers to make you decaf. As you settle onto opposite ends of the couch, tucking your feet under you, Logan instinctively takes shelter in Leigh's lap, as if he already knows he belongs there.

“So…Why Logan?” you ask, after making a mental note of how Leigh makes her coffee: one cream, two sugars.

“Well,” Leigh says, her fingers gently stroking Logan’s deep chocolate fur, “he just looks like a little wolverine, doesn’t he? With that color and those defiant little eyes.”

The dots connect in a funny, unexpected sort of way. Leigh and comic books don't seem like the most likely pair.

“Ah, like the X-Men character. I didn’t know you were a comic book fan,” you say.

She laughs, a sound that’s light and free of any shadows. “Oh, I wasn’t. Not really. It was all Matt. He had this massive collection, and he was pretty obsessed. I guess some of it rubbed off on me after all.” The mention of Matt doesn’t bring clouds into her eyes like you expected. She talks about him like she’s looking at something distant but dear.

“Thought you were bailing on me tonight,” Leigh , almost casual but there’s this undercurrent, like she’s really saying she’s glad you didn’t.

“I’m sorry. I got stuck at the clinic longer than expected.” Leaving her waiting, especially today, was never part of the plan. Your work as a vet often means unpredictable hours, but you hadn't expected it to stretch so far into the evening.

“It’s okay, you didn’t miss much.”

Her casual dismissal makes you wonder, but not wanting to pry too much, you shift slightly, asking, “So, how did it go? Did you enjoy yourself at least?”

Leigh simply smiles and shrugs, an action that speaks volumes without giving much away. “This,” she nods down at Logan, “getting him from you, feels more like my birthday than anything else today.”

The conversation that follows is easy, skipping over the day-to-day stuff—nothing deep, but you're both there—really there—and it's nice. It feels like a fresh start, and you're deeply thankful for the second chance she's offering you. You promise yourself you won't mess it up this time.

But just as you’re both delving into more personal topics, someone rings the doorbell. Logan perks up, his head tilted, ears alert. Leigh gives you a look, as if saying she's not expecting anyone else to show up this late at night. She puts the puppy down on the floor and when she opens the door, it’s Danny, looking sorry for himself. He’s holding a bouquet of roses in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. It seems as though he has the whole evening planned out in his head—apologize, crack open the wine, and maybe be invited to Leigh’s bedroom afterwards.

Danny’s eyes find you and his face falls a bit. He wasn’t expecting company, certainly not you. “Leigh, can we talk?” he asks, then looks pointedly at you. “Alone?”

Leigh looks torn for a moment, glancing your way as if she's not ready to let you out of her sight. She insists it'll just be a minute, but you can read the room. This is something they need to sort out without you playing third wheel.

“It’s all good, I'll head out,” you tell her though you're staring Danny down, making sure he knows it’s not because of him that you’re leaving. Leigh either misses the whole glare-off or decides to stay out of it. Logan tries to follow you as you make for the door. It’s hard leaving him behind, but you know he’ll be happy to have found his forever home. You kneel down, giving Logan a soft kiss on the head, promising him you’ll be back soon. And then you turn to Leigh, a question at the tip of your tongue but she already knows what you’re going to ask.

“You can see Logan anytime,” she says with a faint smile. “I might need your help with him sooner than you think.”

The moment you close the door behind you, Leigh's jaw sets in a firm line, bracing herself to confront Danny. Her main priority is to get Logan settled, so she decides that forgiving Danny might be the quickest way to send him on his way. But Danny’s focus now isn’t on apologies or making it up to her. He’s fixated on Logan, his brows knitting together in confusion and, curiously, a bit of annoyance.

“Who gave you that?” he asks Leigh as if he’s just referring to an inanimate object lying around the house. He sounds like he's almost accusing her of something, and Leigh's baffled.

“A friend gave him to me,” she says, nodding towards the door you've just walked out of. Danny's face twists up in an instant, like a storm cloud bursting. “A friend,” he repeats, and the way he says it, it’s clear he’s not just asking. He’s fuming with jealousy, and Leigh can’t wrap her head around why.

A gift is just a gift, right? Why would…

Oh.

Earlier, while she was reviewing submissions for the advice column, someone asked if giving a puppy as a birthday gift to someone they're interested in would be a good idea. She remembers how she happily encouraged them, telling them to go for it.

At this realization, Danny, the puppy, and everything else slide to the back burner. The only thing occupying her mind now is the deep, dark brown hue of your eyes, like rich espresso.

EspressoEyes. That's how the person behind the submission signed off. It's like a lightbulb moment, but softer—like waking up slow.

It's you.

Oh.

#unbetad #my writing #my fic #elizabeth olsen x reader #elizabeth olsen #leigh shaw x reader #leigh shaw x female reader #leigh shaw #sorry for your loss au #leigh shaw x you #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x you #sorry i had to tag wanda x reader for visibility

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aemondvelaryon · 1 year ago

Text

love grows (where the mustache goes) — jake seresin x reader

summary: as the squad is giving jake as much shit as possible for the new offensive hair growing on his lip, you are frozen like a deer caught in headlights.

pairing: jake seresin x fem!reader

warnings: explicit language, realization of feelings, alcohol consumption to combat dirty thoughts.

word count: 2.2k

a/n: based on this lovely gifset by unicornships

If you were being completely honest with yourself, you always kind of had a thing about Hangman.

Look, you didn't hate him, per se, but he definitely stirred some feelings in you that were less than normal. He made you feel totally feral, if you will, unrestrained and vicious. The sort of anger that made you want to scratch your skin off, vibrating and seething, screaming at the top of your lungs.

It took barely a look, less than a glance, not even a word before you were fuming just by being in his presence. He had some sort of grip on you.

So, you tended to stay as far away from him as possible. Leaving when he arrived, staying home when his attendance was announced, and sticking close to people that either didn't like him or didn't know him. It was easier that way.

Easier than thinking about why he really made you so angry.

But the worst part was, the cherry on top, was that he just loved being around you. Loved seeing how worked up he could get you, making you squirm under his gaze, and making you turn bright red from his flirting.

He had to know. There was no way he didn't. The squad must have told him how much you didn't want to be near him which is why he made it his mission always to find you in every room.

He had to know how much he rattled you.

On this particular night, he had yet to make an appearance. But wherever Rooster was Hangman usually followed, and the tall, mustached, Hawaiian-shirted pilot had already made his way over to the piano tonight and the rest of Dagger had slowly trickled in.

You didn't know why you came out tonight especially since their shore leave had just ended and all of the pilots had started making their way back to base and the surrounding area which always included the Hard Deck.

But it was the only fun place around and Penny was so nice to you and going out in a dress on a Friday night and nursing a drink for a couple of hours just to be seen and known instead of rotting in your little apartment after work was worth the possibility you might see him.

Your eyes lock on the little crowd surrounding Rooster, as charismatic as ever, singing another 80s hit. You smile despite yourself.

God, how you wished Bradshaw was the one that made your brain go fuzzy. He was sure of himself, not arrogant, teasing, not antagonistic, handsome, not drop-dead gorgeous.

Sometimes you looked at Hangman and wondered why God would make him so fucking hot and then let him open his mouth.

It honestly wasn't fair.

Eventually, you hear his voice, and your back goes ramrod straight, awareness prickling at the back of your neck, and your hands instantly sweaty.

"Bradshaw, you started without me? I'm heartbroken. After I went through all this trouble to do this just for you? Absolutely devasted."

You don't look. Because if you look it will just cement how much you want to look, and don't want to stop looking.

A choked laugh sputters, as if they're surprised and then Phoenix's voice pierces through the crowd. "You didn't. Please tell me that's not real."

"No way! Someone go pull on it! Probably glued on." Fanboy shouts and you hear the sound of someone falling out of their chair.

"You got to be kidding me. What the fuck is that! Did something die on your face?" Javy yells in disbelief and disgust.

You want to look so bad. Just their reactions almost make you turn. Did he get a bad haircut or something? You're just close enough that you can hear every word but not enough that anyone's noticed you.

"Pay up, now, I called it! I can't believe you guys doubted me. I said he would do something like this." Reuben sounds like he's smiling triumphantly.

Bob's voice is quietly astounded, "He looks like 70s Porn Star Ken."

You sit up even straighter. Oh god.

He grew a mustache.

Rooster finally acknowledges him. "Man, Hangman, I knew you were obsessed with me, but this is another level."

You can't ever look over there now. Just the visual has your skin feeling too tight.

"You like it? Took me a whole month to grow this bad boy just 'cause I wanted to see the looks on all your faces, but I gotta say, now that I'm here, totally worth it." He's grinning, he has to be, shit-eating and ear-to-ear, you can feel it, can practically see his smile in your head. You've stared at it long enough.

"That's great. When are you shaving it?" Natasha sounds disgusted and it almost makes you laugh if you weren't so fucking frozen like a deer in headlights.

"I can't believe none of you are appreciating the effort I went through to do this. Unbelievable."

"You look like someone from the cast of Boogie Nights."

"Well that's a great movie, so thank you." He sounds closer now and the hand around your glass threatens to break it. "Y'know if I can't get you guys to recognize my dedication, I know someone who will."

Oh god, oh no.

"Hangman, don't--" But before another voice can dissuade him, he's already sidling up to you at the bar. You feel the heat of him before you hear his voice.

"Hi, sweetheart, did you miss me? I know I missed you." You grab your drink and finish it off quickly, eyes not looking over at him.

"What do you want, Hangman?" You hope to come off as annoyed, not rattled to the fucking core.

"Well, I know you love Rooster so much so I thought I'd do something to make me look a little bit more like him. Maybe get you to not run out of the room every time you see me, yeah?"

Goddammit, he can't know that you do that. Unless he pays attention to you as much as you do him.

"I don't love Rooster, okay, I just don't like you." You grit your teeth and call the other bartender on duty for another drink.

"Will you at least look at it, before making your judgment, babe? You're hurting my feelings." The faux hurt in his voice almost makes you turn.

"Don't call me that."

"What should I call you then, huh?"

Your drink gets refilled and emptied just as quickly. "Woah, slow down there. Don't need you passing out on me." You have to get the hell out of here, quickly.

Your name, for starters, maybe. "Nothing. I don't even want you to talk to me."

You turn and make your way off the bar stool and it rushes over you all too fast. An empty stomach and tequila do not a wise girl make.

You nearly fall off the seat and onto your ass but a warm hand finds its way around your waist and catches you just as quick. "Easy there." You shiver and turn in his grasp trying to get away but it just makes you meet his eyes.

Shit, shit, shit.

"You good?"

No, you are very much not good. He looks--fuck.

You don't see Hangman out of uniform often. You weren't a pilot or even in the military. Just a casual acquaintance that sometimes had a few chats with his squadron. So, you'd seen him in what he usually hangs out in, his tan jumpsuit, his swimsuit, you've even seen him in his dress whites before. But this Hangman just got back and hasn't even been to the base yet so this is Jake Seresin, Texas born and bred, raised on a farm, rides horses in his spare time, mama sweeter than apple pie, probably owns a fucking cowboy hat.

So, of course, he's got a plaid shirt on. Over that is a bomber jacket, like one you've seen Mav sporting before, only it looks like something you'd wear to go ranching in the winter not fly a plane. He's got jeans on, they’re all beaten up and used, and a leather belt, and he looks like he stepped out of some country romance Hallmark movie.

The mustache is the icing on the cake.

It's not that you had a thing for mustaches. You didn't because you had no feelings for Rooster whatsoever, but you didn't think they were unattractive or creepy like most of the population seemed to.

Did you have a big crush on Tom Selleck in Magnum P.I. when you were younger? Yes. But who didn't? And liking Bella's dad in Twilight didn't make it a pattern, okay! Everyone liked him.

"Uh." You finally gracefully spit out.

He smiles teasingly. "Didn't hit your head, did you?" He knows you didn't. He's playing with you. Riling you up as he always does. Because it's funny to him. Not because he likes you--wants you.

You sober up slightly and push at him. "No, get off."

Jake--God, no, when did he become Jake in your head--just smiles more but it seems softer. "I knew you'd fallen for me, but I didn't think you'd also do it literally."

You turn even redder if possible. "Shut up."

Christ, how was it you had reverted to playground comebacks at just the sight of him? Were you really so weak?

"You didn't answer my question." Was he still talking? You felt fuzzy.

"I need another drink." You can still feel his hand on your waist because despite pushing him away he hadn't let you go.

"Did I finally break you?" He laughs and shit, he knows.

"Why are you still talking to me?" You finally snap at him and his face falls a little, just slightly, that if you didn't have every inch of his face memorized you wouldn't have noticed it at all.

"Because I care what you think." It's a confession. It has to be. You don't know what else it could be.

"Why?" You squint at him. Dumbfounded is the only word that comes to mind.

"Why? What--you don't, you seriously don't know?" He still holding onto you, and his hand flexes, fingers slightly digging into your hip and you feel yourself inch towards him, always stuck in his orbit, gravity pulling you closer.

"Don't know what?" You lick your lips in anticipation and he glances, once, up, twice, down, and then looks away and swallows.

"Why the hell do you think I talk to you all the time? Come find you in a room? Grew this fucking thing on my face?" He laughs, bewildered, and shakes his head.

"Why?" You ask again, if he doesn't say it, you won't. Too goddamn scared that you're making it all up, reading too much into it. "I thought you just liked to tease me. Get a rise out of me. I thought you were making fun of me."

"C'mon, you know me, I do the same shit I do to you that I do to Rooster. That's just what I do when I like someone."

You punch him in the arm.

"Ow! What the hell was that for!" He whines and grabs his arm, taken aback and pretending as if it actually hurt him.

"Why didn't you just tell me that, you ass!" You screech a little, desperately, feeling way too many emotions at once. He tends to do that to you.

He scoffs. "Have you met me? Do you really think I'm emotionally mature enough to do that?"

"That whole time you were just, what, flirting with me?" You question incredulously.

He laughs, a little bashfully. "I mean, come on, I thought it was obvious. I mean it was to everyone else."

You pale a little. "The others know?"

"Yeah, 'course they do. They're the ones that pointed it out in the first place. I didn't even realize I was doing it at first either." He scratches his neck, almost nervously.

"So why the mustache?"

"I don't know. I was just trying to get you to pay attention to me. Thought this might help." And god help you, Jake blushes, actually reddens a bit.

"How'd you know?"

"Hm, know what?" He smirks at you.

You cough. "You know, that I'd--that I'd like it."

Jake grins. "I didn't but you just told me you did."

You hit him again, a slap on the shoulder, almost playful, and you can't believe it, you're flirting with him, you're really this close to him, doing this. "Fuck off."

He smiles again but this one is different. His eyes are incredibly soft and he's looking at you and--did he always look at you like this? Were you really this blind?

"I need you to answer another question for me." His hand on your hips snakes around you and you stumble into him, putting your hands on his chest to brace yourself, and, Christ, he smells good. “Do you think I could take you out sometime?”

"Um." You're throat suddenly feels incredibly dry and you're heart feels like it about to beat right out of your chest. "I mean, if you want to."

"Yeah, baby. I want to."

#jake seresin x reader #hangman x reader #hangman fanfic #jake seresin fanfic #top gun fanfic #top gun maverick fanfic #my writing #idk what this is but i hope u enjoy it #just something a little sweet for the kids #love grows #1k

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dragonridernoobie · 4 months ago

Note

How would three characters in the bayvers transformers reaction when they awaken an very ancient pedecon!dragon!reader, from their sleep under some dirt somewhere Latin America and they awoken a very angry old lady

( it be funny if it's okay if you add in a human character seeing a dragon and turns out she is the earth biggest troll for all the dragon related shenanigans )

Hmmm... interestingI will try my best. I hope you like it. also, you didn't say who you wanted, so i picked the 3 transformers i had the biggest crushes on because i can. Also, with the humans, I'm gonna do Sam, since the ones from darknight I dident care for since I always hated them by how much they pissed me off.

Bayvers Transformers X predicon Reader

The decpticons were at it again. They wanted to get the key from underneth the Pyramids in Egypt. They were needed to open a portal that leads to cyberton. The autobots wanted to use it for good so they could come back home, but the decpticons wanted to use it to destroy the earth and rule over it.

Aurobots obviously wouldn't let that happened so they countered the decpticons when they landed in Egypt. Thought tooth and nail to keep the decpticons away while sam and a few military men run into the pyramids to find this key.

While they search the many catacombs, they find a staircase that leads down. So they took it. Further they went, the darker and quiet it got. Eventually they come across a huge room.

It seemed to he a whole knew cave system that led to the other pyramids, but it all led to the same room. Right in the middle was a giant metal ball type thing.

Right infrotn of it was the key. It was floating on top of a cybertronian structure. When Sam got close to it, he felt how the cybertronian structure was releasing an energy that dident hurt but it was a tad uncomfortable.

With quick motion, he was quick to grab it and held it. It shrunk down to his size, and he could now put it in his pants pocket if he needed to.

Suddenly, the ground shook, and the little structure made a noise before it went underground, and the ball behind the structure lights up with cybertronian writing lighting up all around it.

The giant ball splits open with a hiss, and both sides fall over. Making the ground shake, and the noise echoed through the room. There, infront of them was a dragon type of transformer.

(What you look like) (not my artwork)

Its eyes snap open, and it opens its wings and lets out a powerful roar. It gets on its 4 legs and looks at the humans in front of it.

Its eyes focused on Sam, who was the key and roars. It's head ducks down to bite, but the military men where quick to dodge while bring Sam with them.

They quickly ran for the exit while trying not to get aten. Right when they pass through the door, the draon cybertronian blows a powerful stream of blue fire, and it nearly misses the humans.

When they ran to the surface, the ground shook more and more. Roars are heard getting louder and closer. The dragon was breaking its way through the pyramids.

When they escaped the pyramids, they ran straight to the autobots and tried to tell them what was coming, but it was too late.

The pyramids explode with a fire breath coming out of it and 2 massive wings. There, in front of the autobots and the decpticons who stood frozen. Was a massive predicon.

It was as nearly as huge as the pyramids. It roars at the cybertronians and then looked at Sam. It roared once again and spread its wings. It took flight and went for same. Once close enough, it tried to grab sam, but optimus hits it, making it crash into the ground.

The predicon gets up and roars. Ready for a fight.

Optimus

He readies his sword and blaster and yells at the predicon it means no harm.

He announces he is a prime to the predicon to see if it understood what it means.

It seems it did since it looked surprised and stopped charging the fire breath it was ready to unleash.

It came closer to prime and sniffed.

Once realized he spoke the truth. It bowed its head in understanding and to show respect.

Optimus wouldn't lie if he said he was surpised.

He quickly took aim at the decpticons when they started to shoot again.

Though, he dident see the predicon quietly watching and ready to fight.

He only realized when it took off and rained fire ontop of the decpticons.

Destroying them like nothing.

It landed back on the ground near optimus and bowed.

It then transformed and spoke.

Optimus welcomed the predicon named (Y/N).

They now have a new member of the autobots.

Megatron

Megatron watches how the predicon comes out of the ground and attack the autobots.

It attacked the autobots and him.

When the autobots fled with the key and the decpticons fought back.

They where able to get the predicon down and attacked it.

When megatron arcane close to it, he decided to try his chance to talk to it.

He said his name and told them that they are not the enemy but the autobots where.

This seemed to catch the predicon attention and it squinted it's eyes. Telling it to continue.

Megatron explained that the autobots are the reason cybertron was destroyed, and the fact they are the heros.

It seems to work because the predicon transformed into its cybertronian form and asked megatron to continue.

Megatron did.

At the end, he got the predicon to join the decpticons.

They welcomed the predicon named (Y/N).

soon the decpticons had the upper hand.

Intel optimus proved that the decpticons lied to (Y/N)

Ya, (Y/N) spared no one.

Sam

Sam ran to the autobots while the pyramids got destoryed.

Before he could reach the autobots, he was grabbed by the predicon and taken up in the sky.

It threw him on a nearby tree landed on the ground.

It charged up its attack before Sam begged it to stop and that he is doing this for optimus prime.

This cought the predicons attention and stopped. Sam continued.

He explained the cybertronian war, how the decpticons are bed autobots good type stuff.

At the end, the predicon transformed to its cybertronian form and got Sam out of the tree.

The predicon named (Y/N) said sorry for what they did.

They where welcomed to the autobots.

Though, it dident stop from Sam having a heart attack every 5 seconds became of (Y/N) roaring behind him to scare the living shit out of him.

He also found out they love to hide things.

Time to mess with Ratchet.

>:)

#headcanon #transformers optimus #optimus bayverse #megatron bayverse #transformers bayverse #x reader #optimus x reader #megatron x reader

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dyns33 · 11 months ago

Text

The way to communicate

Being a while since I did a Din Djarin x female reader.

It was rare for Din Djarin to get angry.

It's hard to say if it was because of his creed or if it was in his temperament, but he did his best to always keep his cool.

Becoming the father of a little green gremlin who had a hobby of getting into mischief probably forced him to be even more patient than he was before finding the kid, or meeting Y/N.

Even when the little one put himself in danger, Din didn't scream. Maybe he knew it wouldn't have any effect on Grogu, but he gently picked him up, using an equally gentle voice to scold him.

“I already told you not to do that.” he often sighed, patting the child's head. "You know you risk choking if you swallow a whole frog. Especially since you've already had two meals, you're not hungry."

“Gah !”

"No."

Y/N watched the scene with sparkling eyes and trying to hide her smile, because a great Mandalorian warrior, no matter how patient, probably wouldn't like to be thought of as adorable. He was supposed to be scary and awesome.

When he was with Grogu, Din Djarin wasn't scary at all. He didn't scream when the little one drew on the walls, or hid in a corner, or played with the buttons. Never.

Of course, it wasn't the same with enemies or bounties. He didn't like killing, he would avoid it if possible, but he had no problem accomplishing his mission without the slightest remorse. It was the Way.

Honor, strength, and protection of his clan were his priorities. As he was patient, Din was discreet. A man of few words, preferring actions.

Because of this, Y/N wasn’t sure where she stood in relation to his family. After she helped him find a former Empire general, while risking her life to protect his son, they had stayed together.

At first, Din had considered himself indebted to her. Then, he offered her a job, seeing that she took good care of Grogu when he was absent and that she had some knowledge of mechanics, very useful when the ship had some problems.

But could she consider herself a member of the clan ? Y/N wasn’t sure.

It would have been easy to ask the Mandalorian directly. He would then have clearly answered whether he saw her as a member, or as just a flying partner who took care of his child.

Asking the question directly meant taking the risk of having to face reality and accept the possibility that she wasn't as important to Din as he and Grogu were to her.

She therefore preferred to say nothing and take advantage of the time offered to her with them, experiencing many adventures, as well as wonderful moments.

Until the announcement.

"There are no new contracts at the moment and Grogu needs some rest, so we'll head back home to Nevarro."

"Oh. Okay. I'll probably go to Coruscant then. You can contact me if necessary." Y/N said without looking at him, continuing to play with the kid.

"… I'll drop you off."

The silence in the ship grew colder than calm as they headed toward Coruscant.

Rather than wait to get there, Din decreed that it was necessary to make several stops to buy supplies, check that they had enough energy, that the engine had no problems, and lots of small details that wasted their time unnecessarily.

"We could do all of this on Coruscant. It's not that far."

“I don’t want to take a risk.”

"But we checked everything before the last mission and…"

“I said we were stopping for water !” the Mandalorian then repeated with a loud voice and violently placing his hands on the dashboard.

This made Y/N jump, but also Grogu, who stared at his father with wide eyes, full of surprise and fear. Visibly ashamed of his reaction, Din sighed before muttering that he needed to cool off, leaving them alone in the cockpit.

Things didn't get better when they arrived in Mos Eisley. Not really wanting to stay idle, Y/N took advantage of the little one's nap to go for a walk in the market, while Din chatted with Peli.

She didn't want to go to Coruscant at all and all these stops might have been a blessing, but like with a bandage, she knew it would be better to leave right away rather than torture herself like this.

It was normal that the clan wanted to go home to rest. It was normal that she wasn't invited since she wasn't part of the clan.

What was less normal was Din's behavior, who seemed to avoid her as much as possible and be tense whenever they were in the same room. He had no reason to be angry with her, who continued to work normally despite her sadness.

The situation was also complicated for Grogu, who felt that something was wrong between the two adults. The poor kid ate less, sticking to Y/N every chance he got. It was almost impossible to get him off.

So Y/N wanted to take advantage of this little moment alone to get out of the ship and clear her head.

She didn't expect to be caught by bounty hunters who had spotted the Mandalorian's arrival. Despite Moff Gideon's death, there were still some people who wanted Din Djarin's head.

Since he was training Grogu to be a fighter, Din had also shown her some techniques, so she could defend herself if needed. Although he always added that it wouldn't be necessary, since he would be there to protect her.

Fighting a nice Mandalorian who held back his punches was one thing. Trying to do the same thing with three guys who didn't care about hurting her was something else.

Fortunately for Y/N, when she had just taken a blow to the nose which had made her fall to the ground and the leader of the gang approached to pick her up, Din arrived at that moment, quickly shooting the brigands without missing a target.

He then ran to pick Y/N up and take her back to the ship to tend to her injuries. Wanting to help when he saw her bleeding, the kid used his powers before his father had time to grab the first aid kit.

The panic subsided, a long silence returned, only broken by the little noises of Grogu asking to be carried by Y/N. But when she moved to lean towards him, the Mandalorian spoke.

"What possessed you to leave alone ? Without a word, without saying where you were going ? You were lucky that I noticed your absence and went looking for you."

"I didn't think I needed permission. And I didn't ask to be attacked."

"That's not what I said. But you could have gotten kidnapped ! You could have died ! Why didn't you tell me you were leaving ?! I thought… I thought that you left us. That you had gone to find another means of transportation to Coruscant."

“Why would I do that, since you’re taking me there ?”

“Don’t pretend to be stupid !” Din then shouted, pointing at her, almost scaring her.

The gesture probably scared Grogu more than her, who knew he was going to do nothing but scream like an idiot, but something happened that they would have thought impossible.

With his powers, the child pushed his father against the wall of the ship, as far away from Y/N as possible, then he jumped on her knees, clinging to her while moaning in fear.

The two adults remained frozen. Even though she couldn't see his face, Y/N could guess Din's shocked and hurt look, who understood that his son had thought he was capable of hurting the one he seemed to consider his mother. He saw fear in Grogu's eyes.

"No, I… I shouldn't have shouted." he whispered as he sat on the ground, lowering his head in shame. "Sorry."

"It's okay. I know you weren't going to do anything."

“Obviously he doesn’t know.”

“He doesn’t like shouting.” Y/N said, stroking Grogu’s head to comfort him. "He doesn't like arguments. We should go to Coruscant quickly, it would be better for everyone."

“You really want to leave us so quickly ?”

Din's voice almost broke at the end of his sentence. Y/n stared at him, but he didn't raise his head to look back at her, thus not seeing that she didn't understand his question.

"… You're the one who wants me to leave. So you can return to your home to Nevarro."

"… I meant our home. Grogu, you and me. I thought… I thought you understood, Cyare, but you rejected the invitation. I thought I misunderstood and that you didn't want to to be part of our clan."

“You mean… I’m part of the clan ?”

"Of course." the Mandalorian whispered, finally looking at her. "Mesh'la, we have traveled together for so long. We fight together. We raise Grogu together. I know our customs are different, and we haven't taken our vows yet, but…"

"Our vows ?!"

"… Yes. I've been courting you for a while. You accepted the gifts. You train with me. You let me kiss you. I didn't think it wasn't clear. Forgive me, cyare, I shouldn't have had any illusions."

Words were less important than actions to the Mandalorians, even if they had certain songs and rites. Y/N totally didn't understand that receiving a weapon and touching the helmet with your forehead had special meanings, and Din hadn't told her that.

In his corner, Grogu had only understood that his parents loved each other, because that was obvious, and they just needed to be together to be happy. The rest didn't matter.

All it would have taken was for Din to take them back to Nevarro without opening his mouth, and Y/N would have been surprised but delighted to be welcomed into their little home. Instead, he had tried to communicate, and it had been a disaster.

Now the son was afraid, trembling against Y/N who was processing the fact that Din had been thinking about marrying her for some time, until he realized that he had done everything wrong.

He had yelled at his clan, even if it was because he was afraid of losing Y/N. He hadn't known how to protect them properly. He was covered with shame.

"I don't want to go to Coruscant."

Since he didn't move, too busy determining if he had poked his head by being thrown by the Force, Y/N slowly got up, keeping Grogu close to her, to join him on the ground.

"I was disappointed that you didn't ask me to come. It wasn't clear to me that I was part of the clan, but it was my dearest wish. To stay with you and the little one. If you still want of me…"

“Cyare !” Din sighed, taking her hand. “Nothing would make me happier.”

“Bah ga ba !”

Grogu stirred then, patting his father's hand insistently so that he let go of Y/N's, his large eyes piercing the Mandalorian's berskar.

"... I have already apologized."

“Pato !”

"… I'm sorry for scaring you, and for yelling at Y/N. I won't do it again. I will never hurt any of you. And I'll make sure there are no misunderstandings before drawing conclusions."

“Aaaaaaaah.” was Grogu's response, who smiled again, holding out his arms to be picked up by Din, who complied without hesitation.

This made his parents laugh. They hadn't laughed in a long time.

The ship's coordinates were changed to go directly to Nevarro. No need to make any more unnecessary detours, since all the stops they had made so far were useless. Din was only trying to buy time, not knowing how to get Y/N to stay.

“So, you talked about vows ?” she said shyly as they landed, the kid sleeping on top of her.

"Later, Mesh'la. My request wasn't very romantic."

“Mandalorians worry about romance ?”

"No. But I imagine it will please you."

Y/N could have said she didn’t need all this. Knowing that he saw her as a member of his clan, as the mother of his son, was enough. But she didn't want another misunderstanding that might hurt Din, and she would be happy to be his wife, so she just nodded.

There was no more arguing, no more shouting. Not even when Grogu swallowed the ring that Din had the Armorer make. He simply sat down in a corner, grunting while tapping his helmet, while the little one hiccupped, regretting having eaten the little shiny circle.

“We can get it back in a few days.”

"No."

“We’ll clean it up.”

"Cyare, there's no way I'm giving you a gift that was eaten by the kid and which passed… Hmm !"

Luckily, the ring was spat out, but it took a while for Din to agree to take it back, and then officially offer it to Y/N. He insisted on going to Mandalore to purify it in the waters, while announcing to his peers that he would soon have a riduur.

He didn't bring Y/N and Grogu with him on this trip. The little one was too tired, and someone had to watch over him.

“Karga could have kept him.” Y/N remarked when Din had returned.

"He would have ended up losing his mind after Grogu destroyed everything in his office. I don't think the kid would have liked to be left alone either. Besides…"

"What ?"

"You are beautiful, Mesh'la. Some Mandalorians might have wanted to take you. I would have had to fight and kill them to prove that you are mine. I preferred to avoid that."

It sounded ridiculous, but he said it very seriously, his tone quickly becoming dry and somber.

Din Djarin did not often get angry, except when it concerned the protection of his clan, when someone tried to hurt them or take them from him. He hid his anger and jealousy beneath his armor, but it was there, ready to come out against those who had the audacity to confront him.

But never against Y/N and Grogu. Only for them.

#the mandalorian #din djarin #din djarin x reader #din djarin imagine #din djarin fanfiction

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xetlynn · 7 months ago

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Twilight- Unknowing: Chapter Four, Beast of the Inbetween

(Alice x Reader x Jasper)

[three] [four] [five]

Bella and I walk out of the house with Jacob behind us, him staying behind my sister.

"Whoever it was, he left his stink behind. It'll be hard to miss when we cross it again. We'll handle it from here." Jake boldly states.

"We don't need you to handle anything. Or anyone." Edward tells him, the werewolf steps toward him, attempting to get a reaction. Something he doesn't receive. "I could care less what you need." Jacob says.

"Alright we're done here." My sister's boyfriend announces. "No, you're done here." Jacob threatens him, Bella steps between them as I watch, amused of course.

"Stop, I'm tired of this. From now on, I'm Switzerland, okay?" She exclaims but it does nothing, the two get closer to one another.

"Stop!" Again, nothing. So this time I boredly tear them away from each other. Both stumbling.

"Listen to the girl you're both obsessed with, would you?" I give them dirty looks, confused with how stupid they're acting. "Thanks." She mutters.

"Mhm." I hum. "I don't expect you guys to chuck a football around together. Fine, but we have a lot of problems and this one is a temporary solution. Are you willing to at least try?" She explains herself and how they need to knock it off. Both of them stay quiet but then Edward nods, Jacob follows suit right after.

"Alright, so you need to coordinate. You know schedules and stuff." She tries to start off theconversation but they stay quiet. Bella looks over to me, defeated.

"What would the pack prefer, tantrum throwing toddler? Days or nights?" I place my hands on my hips. "Nights." Is all he answers with.

"Will days work for your family, angsty teen?" I turn to the guys who's supposedly going to be my future brother in law. He nods.

"See? How hard was that?" Bella asks them. She weakly smiles at me as I laugh to myself.

After getting away from that hot mess I finally got some relaxing time with my lovers, Alice and Jasper.

At our normal spot where we could be alone together in the woods. Both of them sat in front of me, Alice playing the grass as Jasper fidgeted with my hand.

"How come you two never told me that before you were vampires I was in love with you. Like deeply in love with both of you?" I question suddenly, it definitely being out of nowhere.

Both of them stayed silent at first so I went to apologize but Jasper's voice cut me off. "You had to figure it out on your own. Since you never mentioned it we didn't know how much you knew. What we could say and not say." He explained.

"We're sorry." Alice sincerely says but I shake my head. "Don't apologize." I take a deep breath in. "I just, I would like to hear your point of views on what I was like to you back then. I guess." I giggle softly, the three of us all adjust how we were sitting to be more comfortable.

"Since your first life was with me, I'll go first." Jasper grins, I watch as his dimples form and I smile back.

"Our families were close, when we got a little older they introduced us. Eventually we fell in love. You already know that though." He winks at me, I feel my face warm up but I nod for him to continue.

"You were my person, that's for sure. It was like we were conjoined at one point. You were devoted to the ones you loved. You were kind, you loved helping people, it just made me fall for you even more." I felt him stiff before he said his next sentence. "Then when I signed up for the war everything changed. You were angry, upset with me for doing it. You wanted me to be safe and at home with you and-" He pauses momentarily.

"And the baby you held in your stomach. Even though you were mad at me you wrote to me every day, until it stopped. The last letter I had gotten was that the baby was lively. Kicking a storm in your stomach. I wasn't even told if you were alive or not before I had turned." He closes his eyes, my hand grips his.

"I didn't know I was pregnant." I mumble, it was mainly me thinking out loud. But after it left my mouth Jasper looked right at me.

"You didn't know?" He repeats my question. "No, but it's okay. I feel like I remember it but it's far back in my memories." I explained, shrugging my shoulders. Alice took his hand into hers.

"Continue." I nudged him.

"Well after I turned I found out through Max, the wolf that imprinted on you. He somehow found me. Telling me that even though he imprinted on you nothing happened. You had no interest in him as he would've done anything for you. He explained that you were with soldiers that came through the village. Helping them with something out in the desert field." He tells the story and it brings me back to when I was bit by James.

When my memories flooded back and I was searching for Jasper. I had thought he was with the soldiers. Then havoc struck and some thieves or something came about. I was shot and that's all I remember. I didn't remember having a baby in my stomach though. But thinking about it now. It's all I seem to see in my head.

"I was shot in that desert." I cut him off. Alice and Jasper glanced up at me.

"That's the first memory I ever had from my past life the first time." I tell them.

"When I found out I snuck out from where Maria had us staying, being a newborn vampire it was difficult but I did it. I found the man that killed you. You don't understand the torture I put him through." Jasper painfully admits, I furrow my brows. I can tell he doesn't want me to know though.

"Let's talk about something else." He says.

"Well, since we were speaking about babies a little bit. I uh, I remember giving birth to a boy. You were all there, we seemed close but I wasn't in love with either one of you." I tell them, thinking back to how I was married and telling Rosalie and Alice the news in a bathroom or something.

"That was rough to sit and watch." Jasper looks down. Alice closes her eyes, nodding in agreement.

"You were engaged before we met you. You told us that we seemed familiar. Carlisle wasn't exactly happy for us staying in your life like we did. Neither was Rosalie particularly happy about it but when you got introduced to them it was as if you knew them too." Alice explains. I remember going to the market with just Rosalie, a memory sparking in my mind. How excited she was for me when I told her I was pregnant.

I remember telling the family they were aunts and uncles. How I thought of them as best friends, even family after knowing them for two-three years. They attended my wedding. The memories were little flashes. Like I was thinking about my childhood.

"Wasn't hard to watch me be in love with someone else?" I ask them. Jasper does a short nod, his face grimacing.

"You have no idea." He chuckles. "But you were happy and that's all that mattered to us." He kisses my hand, keeping it in his hold.

"It was more difficult after you gave birth. You passed from childbirth. We wanted to change you right then and there but that was a selfish thought. Even though beforehand you had told the nurses about your past lives. Whispering how you needed to see us." Alice's voice was soft, I can tell it was hard for both of them to remember these things.

I remember the childbirth, only getting to hold my baby for five minutes before it all went downhill. My husband's horrified face. It's weird being technically 17 and being older in past lives. Living through adult things and going back down to a teen. Who is now forever a teen, even in past lives I never made it past 22 years old.

"Your son was a sweetheart. We stayed to help your husband until your baby was 4. He found another woman. She was good to both of them. We kept tabs on them, making sure no one hurt either one of them." Alice smiles at the memory. I felt myself grin as well, grateful to know that they lived a good life. Something I don't think I ever really had.

"I would love to share my life with you but there's things that I don't want to talk about." Alice begins to talk, my eyes shift over to her form. She's been in her head this whole time and I can tell. I give her a small smile when she makes eye contact with me.

"That's alright, we have infinity together for you to be ready to talk about it." I remind her, pulling her into a kiss. I feel her hand grip onto my bicep.

I smirk, opening my eyes to look down at the hand. We gently push away from each other.

"You've been very handsy lately." I announce out loud, Jasper laughs. "What? I feel like I'm always handsy." She disagrees with me, I look over to Jasper who puts his hands up in defense.

"You're not going to have my back, Jasper?" She exclaims in shock, her hand still dragging down my arm.

We just stare at her, watching her get all flustered until finally she sighs out. "Okay, fine. Ever since you became a hybrid, your muscles are distracting." She avoids eye contact with me now, I tilt my head, smirking at this new found information.

"Oh, you like these muscles?" I pull the short sleeves up over my shoulders and flex both my arms. Showing them off to my partners.

Kissing at my biceps. She shoves me backwards playfully. "You're annoying." She groans, hiding her face in her hands.

"Mmm, I don't think I am." I get closer to her, purposely flexing my arms as I do so. I gently take her face in my hands and forcefully kiss her once again.

"Hey, I feel a little left out." Jasper quietly speaks up after a few moments. We stop to look at him, then look at each other before pouncing on him.

It of course comes to an end when I have to join Bella to the Rez so the rest can have their night to hunt.

At the edge of the forest I look at my lovers, Alice has a hair strand out of place that I know later Jasper and I are going to hear about and how we should've told her. I smile to myself.

I join Bella, Jacob and Edward in their weird divorce parent looking handover of their lover girl. Who is also my sister and I have to be a part of this weird bullshit.

"Doesn't he own a shirt?" Edward questions aloud.

"I'm good here, you should go." Bella tells the vampire, he pulls her closer. "I'm not going to be long." He whispers to her. I roll my eyes, looking away from the sight. "Don't rush. You need to hunt." Bella tells him.

He then grabs her into a long, nasty sounding kiss. I know it's to purposely piss off the wolf across from us. I chuckle to myself. He pulls away.

"Maybe you rush a little bit." My sister teasingly tells him.

She takes my hand and walks us over to Jacob. I look back at Edward and give him a thumbs up while making a "I'm proud of you" face.

Jacob pulls Bella into a hug having her let go of my hand. "Hey, beautiful." Nice game, Jakey.

"Hi." Bella smiles.

Edward's car speeds down. "So, whaddaya wanna do today, Swans? Bike, hike, hang? Your call, but we're going to a party tonight." Jacob tells us, opening the door for us in his truck. Of course Bella gets in the middle.

"You sure this is okay? I really hate being a party crasher." Bella nervously looks around her as I am mentally freaking out. "Yeah dude, I definitely should not be here." I chime in.

"Technically, you're both council meeting crashers, see the council leaders, dad, quil's grandpa, sue clearwater. She took over for Harry when he died." Jacob informs us, completely ignoring what I said.

"Okay, we should not be here." Bella puts our steps to a halt. "You're okay. I thought, I mean they thought it would be good for you two to hear the histories." He points mainly to his dad who was already staring at us. "The histories? The tribe's histories? Aren't they secret?"

"We all got a role to play. And you're a part of this. [Name]'s a huge part of this. I mean, it's the first time Seth, Leah and Quil are hearing them, too. But you are the first outsider. Ever. [Name] is not much of an outsider." He glances at me and I press my lips together tightly.

"If I had have known that, I wouldn't believe you. And would've dressed better." Bella sighs, picking at her clothes.

"Jake." Seth, a boy I've sort of met before trots up to us like a little excited puppy. You can tell he idolizes Jacob.

"Hey, it's about time you got here. Paul's been hoovering the grub. But I saved you some burgers." Set tells him with a toothy grin.

"Good looking out, bro. Bella this is Seth Clearwater. Leah's brother. Newest member of the pack." Jacob introduces them.

"Newest, bestest, brightest." Seth gloats.

"And slowest." Jacob grabs the boy in a headlock, the two tumble to the sand. Seth laughs, I smile at the sight.

As kids when I came up here without Bella. He looked up to Jacob then too. Seth always wanted to play with us.

A whistler comes from the circle.

"Come on. Your dad's about to start." Seth says, slightly out of breath. "Alright." Jacob pats him. The boy looks at me with a certain expression. His eyes widen once he realizes who I am.

"[Name]." He mutters out and I give him a small nod.

"The Quileutes have been a small tribe from the beginning." Billy starts as we all sit around the fire.

"But we've always had magic in our blood." I look around at everyone's faces. Their attention wholly being on Billy.

Sam was an exception, his eyes laid on me. My upper lip twitched in realization. I shift in place, fixing my attention back to the commanding chief.

"We were great spirit warriors... shape shifters, that transform into the powerful wolf. This enabled us to scare off our enemies and protect our tribe." He explains.

"One day our warriors came across a creature.." His eyes then met mine and I wanted to shrink into a bug at that moment. "It looked like a man, but it was hard like stone and cold as ice." I shivered from the words, feeling the heat of the fire but thinking of my lover's cold feeling, especially from earlier.

I shook my head from the thoughts that erupted in my mind. "Our warrior's sharp teeth finally tore it apart but only fire would completely destroy it." I think back to when I was a wolf. The feeling of the sharp teeth in my mouth.

"They lived in fear, the Cold man was not alone. And they were right."

"She took her vengeance out on the village. Our elder chief. Taha Aki was the only spirit warrior left to save the tribe after his son was killed. But it wasn't only the beautiful thing that was angered. She had a beast with her. Once that was stuck in between worlds as both combined. She had been spying on the village pretending to be with the wolves. Turning into one the village believed they could trust her. She turned on them when the cold woman came to take her vengeance." Everyone's eyes glanced at me and I felt the heat of the fire engulf me.

"Taha Aki's wife could see that he would lose. "

"The third wife of Taha was no magical being, no special powers but one...Courage." Billy said in a powerful tone.

The third wife's sacrifice distracted the cold woman, and beast of the inbetween, long enough for Taha Aki to destroy them. She saved the tribe." I felt something on my neck, it was a quick sharp pain and then a hot burning sensation around my body.

I was shocked that they could easily kill the monster who I am now. I thought I was more invincible than I really am.

"Over time, our enemies have disappeared but one remains, the Cold Ones. The Beast of the Inbetween comes and goes. Sometimes an enemy. Other times...an ally." His eyes stare into me.

"Our magic awakens when they near. And we sense it now, we feel the threat in our blood. Something terrible is coming and we must all be ready. All of us."

Sorry for the late ass post. No excuses just had no energy to write lmao!!!

Masterlist

A&J M.L.

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If you don’t see yourself I might have missed you or I cannot tag you because it won’t let me. Lmk if you’ve already asked and was not tagged! I apologize if that happened!!!!

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thesweetnessofspring · 1 year ago

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Katniss Wants Kisses: Part Three

Katniss is fed up with getting no physical affection from Peeta during their training for the Quarter Quell, so she takes matters into her own hands. Read part one here. Read part two here. Or read the whole thing on ao3. Rated T.

The next day is Saturday, our rest day, and I don’t see Peeta. It’s not unusual, but he often stops in to make sure I’m eating all of my calories for the day. When I think of the massage and how he jumped up to leave, I burn with embarrassment, something I’d never felt at Peeta’s reaction to anything I’ve done before. And then I get angry, because I know he liked it, from the sounds he made and the fact that if he didn’t love me, he wouldn’t be trying to save me from the Quarter Quell.

Well, fine. If he’s going to act like I have the pox, then I can return his distance just as much as he can. More, even.

I start and run the four miles without him on Sunday, briefly passing him as I return to Victor’s Village. We ignore one another as we move through our exercises, with Peeta extra hard on Haymitch today until our mentor threatens, “Do you want to get killed before you’re in the arena?”

Then over lunch with the three of us all sullen, Peeta says, “We need to hurry up. Gale’s going to be here in ten minutes.”

“Gale?” I ask, raising my eyebrows.

“He’s showing us how to make snares and traps.”

Haymitch sighs. “Great. Just what we need. Another bossy teenager.”

I wolf down the rest of my food, chewing so hard my teeth hurt. Gale? Gale? Why would Peeta do this? My body flushes as the massage pops into my head again and I hate Peeta. I hate him for what a jackass he’s been since the Quarter Quell announcement. I hate him for ignoring me and I hate him for bringing Gale into this training that should just be me, him, and Haymitch. I could show them what we need to know just fine when it came to snares. Gale might be the better trapper, but I can hold my own.

When Gale comes over, he lays out his wire and rope on the kitchen table, Haymitch and Peeta on either side of him, taking in the instruction basics, while I slouch on the opposite end, glaring at both boys. I know everything Gale’s showing them anyway. At the end of the afternoon, with Haymitch and Peeta having a few of the basics under their belt, my mother comes in and asks who would be staying for dinner.

“This food is the one thing I don’t hate about this training,” Haymitch says. “Count me in.”

“I can stay as well,” Gale says, though he’s looking at me. “Thank you, ma’am.”

Gale had always refused anything we offered him, unless we’d gotten it from the woods. Things have gotten worse in District 12, but I know Haymitch is paying Hazelle well for keeping his house. I flex my jaw, not liking where this is going.

“I’m having dinner with my family tonight,” Peeta says. “But thank you for the offer, Mrs. Everdeen.”

It could have been happenstance, but the timing of everything feels too off. Peeta hadn’t mentioned Gale coming until today and now Peeta had to leave while Gale was staying? He hadn’t even talked to me about it.

“I’ll see you out,” I say, the first words I’ve spoken since Gale arrived.

Peeta’s gaze shifts uncomfortably from me to others in the room, as if hoping someone else would join us or stop me. But no one does and I walk with him to the front of the house.

“You should teach us wrestling,” I say. I’m not letting Peeta win this. As much as we were working together, we also had opposite goals to get the other one home. For some reason, this feels inextricably linked to making sure Peeta returns to Twelve at the end of the Quell.

“Okay,” he says. “I’ll call Madge and see if she can–”

“We don’t need Madge,” I say.

“You need a partner.”

“You’ll be my partner.”

Peeta throws me an incredulous look. “I’m so much bigger than you.”

“Like everyone else in the arena will be I’m sure. I need the practice.”

I can see the conflict Peeta is figuring out in his head as we stop by the front door with the stained glass panels. I am right that I’ll be one of the smallest competitors in the arena, and most of the Careers have kept up their own fitness by teaching at their academies. It’s my weakest area and I have to have a plan in case it comes to hand-to-hand combat. But it also means being close to me physically. We’d all heard the jokes about the wrestling team before, no matter how reclusive.

“We can start going over basics tomorrow,” he agrees in a rough voice.

And I’m so deliciously gleeful over this win, I throw my arms around him in a hug. He rocks back for a second and I cling to him tighter, my forehead pressing against his neck and closing my eyes so I can bring him all in. The width of him as my hands just barely overlap against his strong back, the way his Adam’s apple travels up and down my forehead as he swallows, the way he can be both firm and soft underneath me, the perfect balance. Peeta lets his arms come around me once and gives one gentle squeeze before his hands at my waist pull me away from him.

I’m not going to act desperate, so I step back and try to put on that cocky expression again, but there’s a slip of pain in Peeta’s face before he smoothes it over again, making me falter as well.

“See you tomorrow, Katniss,” he says. “Enjoy your dinner.”

#everlark #everlark fanfiction #everlark drabble #thg fanfiction #katniss wants kisses

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jamiesugah · 1 year ago

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ok ok ok i just rewatched episode 5 and i have some THOUGHTS about sand and ray

sand says something to ray about him having never noticed sand before the bathroom incident in episode 1, which makes me think that sand noticed ray MUCH earlier which may explain why he fell so hard so fast

i saw some meta about how ray was a little condescending during their day together because he was a rich kid playing poor, and i originally agreed but upon rewatch i don't really see it. he complains about the heat and having to ride a motorbike over a car (which i don't blame him for), but his only other real complaint is the first shirt he's given to try on at the thrift store, and it's that he doesn't think it suits him. i see ray as being out of his comfort zone but still willing to indulge sand, maybe because sand indulges him so much

sand looks so sad every time ray insists that they're just friends but this is a boundary that sand himself has established and enforced (even in this episode), and i think ray is very conscious of crossing that boundary after everything that happened with mew. so i think ray is expecting/waiting on sand to cross it first

"sand deserved to know that ray is in love with mew" ok but i don't think he is still in love with mew. we don't know what the timeline is on this show or how long it's been since episode 4. i think episode 4 made it pretty clear that ray was accepting that his relationship with mew had to change, and the focus on the "poor boy" shirt plus ending the ep with the hand thing in the record store seemed to indicate that ray is making an active choice to romantically pursue sand. plus have you seen ray with his friends (even mew) and compared it to what ray looks like with sand? dude is smitten

i think ray got angry at boston because boston doesn't know shit, and ray seems to be trying to get over mew, and instead it gets thrown back in his face AND in front of the guy he's trying to date

i also think that ray's extreme reaction to boston was because a) boston said that ray took mew's virginity which i don't think actually happened and b) boston announced that he had pictures of them, which is such a huge violation of trust and privacy. so boston is (likely) lying about what happened and admitting to having pics of them in a private moment. ray was angry but he didn't punch boston until after the pictures comment

i think that ray wanted sand to ask about it so that ray could explain, and also because it seems like no one ever chooses ray, and sand wanting an explanation would imply that he's interested. i think sand DIDN'T ask because he was afraid both of the answer and of letting ray talk him out of being upset, because it's pretty obvious he can't really say no to ray

#sandray #raysand #only friends #only friends the series #ofts

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smolwritingchick · 6 months ago

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Forced To Believe Chapter 61- Catching Up With Old Friends

Summary: Melanie visits TNA and live tweets for Raw. Melanie goes with CM Punk to a tattoo shop.

Words: 4,000+

Back in Philly, Melanie arrived back home, walking inside her parents' place.

"I'm home!" she shouted.

She immediately heard her Parson Russell Terrier happily barking and running towards her.

"Ellie! Hey girl. Did you miss me?" She happily petted her and gave her belly rubs.

She laughed as she began licking her. After playing with her dog, she placed her bags in her room and got settled in. A while later, she heard the doorbell ring and looked into the peephole as a smile crept on her face.

"Who is it~?" Melanie grinned.

"Bitch! Open the door! You know it's me, grapes!" Leah chuckled.

"What's the password?"

"Melanie is awesome."

She opened the door. "Good enough."

Once Leah saw her, she engulfed her in a big hug and spun her around after heading inside.

"I missed you!" Leah beamed and released her.

"I missed you, too! You've lifted a lot more weights. Jeesh."

They shared a laugh while Melanie shut the door.

"I saw what happened last night, oh my gosh you do not know how mad I am because of what Rosa and Evolution did."

"Haha. A lot of fans are angry."

"How's the neck?"

"Sore but it'll go away in a couple of days. I just got a call not too long ago that they've made changes to the storyline. They want me back sooner rather than later. And I'm like wow, all this last minute and sudden changes,"

"That's WWE for you. Last minute storyline changes. Your acting was wild. You had me crying when you were in that ambulance!"

"Glad I made it believable!"

"My parents should be coming home soon. They're out shopping. And...it's almost time for Raw, good,"

"You gotta tweet during the WWE shows?" Leah sat next to her on the couch after they grabbed some snacks.

"Yep. Knowing me always being on Twitter, they didn't even have to ask me."

Once the show was on, Leah shouted, "Are you serious!?" when it was announced that Dean Ambrose would be in a battle royal for his US title.

Melanie tweets 'Seriously? I wish I was there to support you but good luck baby! #BelieveInAmbrose'

As they watched Raw, Diego, and Jane finally returned with their shopping bags.

"Melanie!" Jane placed her bags down and rushed over to her.

"Hey, mom!" Melanie stood up to hug her tightly.

"I missed you, sweetie!" She began giving her several kisses all over her face.

"Mom!" she complained.

Leah giggled and greeted her and Diego before helping with the bags. Jane and Melanie followed them and she hugged her dad.

"Melanie, how's the neck?" he asked.

"Sore, but it'll heal in a couple of days."

After everyone got situated, they went to the living room to continue watching the preshow of Raw.

Dean stands in the middle of Roman and Seth.

"I didn't get into this business...because it was easy..." Dean said with seriousness. "And you don't hold on to the United States champion for a year because you can't handle pressure. And you see 20 to one odds. I just see a tough night at the office because when you represent The Shield, when you represent this. The new symbol of excellence, you hold yourself to a higher standard. I'm sure Triple H, Rosa, and The Authority think this is pretty funny."

"They look so serious. Their facial reactions are amazing." Jane said.

"I know right! How did you do it?" Leah wondered.

"Do what?" Melanie asked.

"Deal with them glaring at you when you were feuding with them?"

"I had to get used to it. Especially with Joe. I remember we had a segment when he was yelling and screaming at me. Those tears I shed were real, not fake. I was scared. But that was when I first started because it's been a long time since we all worked together and when his character got a little bit renewed, it took a few weeks to get used to. He's a big teddy bear though,"

"But I'm not complaining. Because I gotta get up in the morning no matter what happens and I gotta answer to me," Ambrose continued. "So what I'm gonna do...is throw punches until my arm falls off! Because I am the dirtiest, meanest, nastiest, most rotten son of a gun to walk on this planet and I'll tell you this, I wouldn't want to be any of those 19 other guys trying to steal from me and take what's mine."

"That's right," Seth said. "You got this...you got this, but I'm telling you guys, something still doesn't feel right about the situation. If anything happens out there and if this turns into anything more than it's supposed to be..."

"We got your back. Believe that. And believe in The Shield." Roman reassured.

------

"Welcome to Monday night Raw! We are kicking things off with a unique United States championship match." Cole said as The Shield walked through the crowd. "Dean Ambrose will defend his United States championship by the orders of The Authority in a 20 man over the top rope battle royal."

"Oh my gosh..." King said with worry.

Melanie tweets 'Which is a load of crap...'

"And perhaps this is punishment from last night," Cole went on.

"Speaking of last night, as you can see Morgan isn't here,"

"Yes and we have just gotten word that Morgan will be out of action for her neck injury. Rosa defeated Morgan with the help of Evolution after they ambushed The Shield backstage, last night."

"And after the match, they sickeningly assaulted her. It was hard to watch."

"On a positive note, she's tweeting live, right now! At least she'll be tweeting while watching Raw." JBL added.

Melanie tweets 'I have a bad feeling...'

During the match, Dean managed to survive throughout the match. It was the final five. Him, Jack, Ryback, Axel and Sheamus. Ryback and Axel began to take on Ambrose and gang up on him.

"I am just surprised at that man, the current champion, Dean Ambrose is still in this match!" Cole exclaimed.

Melanie tweets 'It's going to be okay. Nothing bad is going to happen. #NailBiting'

Ryback and Axel try to eliminate Dean but he hangs on and lands on the apron. He manages to eliminate Axel as the crowd cheers. Ryback gets tossed over the apron and starts punching Dean back and forth. Ryback runs towards him but Dean dropkicks him on the knees, making him fall off the apron.

Melanie tweets 'That's what I'm talking about, baby! Yes!'

"And we're down to three!" Cole said as Jack tried to pick up Dean.

Dean manages to get back down on his feet and pick up Jack to throw him out of the ring.

Melanie tweets 'Just one more! One more! You got this!'

The crowd goes wild until Rosa runs down the ramp.

"What the what is she doing here!?" Cole exclaimed.

She gets on the apron and starts yelling at Ambrose. The crowd starts to boo while Seth and Roman look alert at the situation.

"Aren't you missing a certain Outspoken Diva?" Rosa got under his skin and smirked.

Dean glares at her and his emotions start to get out of control.

"What are you going to do Dean? What? Are you mad that your precious Morgan had her career ended by the hands of me? Poor darling." she went on.

"Rosa and her mind games," JBL looked on as Seth and Roman started to argue with her.

Roman tries to grab her but Rosa evades his attempt and runs around the ring, making him and Seth chase her. Dean turns around to receive a Brogue Kick from Sheamus.

"Oh my gosh!" King exclaimed.

"Oh!" Jane and Leah shouted.

"This isn't good," Diego mumbled.

"Come on Dean!" Jane shouted at the TV, making Melanie chuckle.

Melanie tweets 'Son of a...'

"Sheamus just blindsided Ambrose!" Cole exclaimed.

"And all thanks to Rosa. That kick took his head off!" King shouted.

Sheamus picks Dean up and throws him out the ring.

"Ambrose eliminated! Sheamus is the new United States champion!" Cole shouted as Sheamus celebrated.

Roman and Seth stop chasing Rosa and look annoyed. She starts jogging up the ramp and grins in satisfaction.

"Damn it!" Leah pouted. "Really Rosa? Really!?"

"Hahaha!" Rosa laughed at The Shield.

Melanie tweets 'I wish I could wipe that smirk off her face...it's okay guys. Stay strong.'

Roman and Seth help Dean up while Sheamus gets out of the ring and celebrates with the title. The Shield get back in the ring. Dean slams his fist on the mat, looking upset.

"What are you supposed to do y'know? You were this close man; you were this close." Seth spoke up.

Triple H walks out, meeting up with Rosa on the stage. He pats her back and smirks at The Shield.

"Last night Evolution engaged in an unforgettable war. And at the end of it, you three were extremely lucky. But...one member wasn't. Looks like Morgan failed to adapt. And I can guarantee she's not going to be seen here any time soon." He said as The Shield shot him dirty looks.

Ambrose leans on the ropes and starts gritting his teeth.

"Ambrose is crazy." Diego chuckled.

"You just noticed that? I love him!" Jane grinned.

Melanie tweets 'Guess I'm a taboo subject here.'

"Now...since Ambrose just lost his US championship, it looks like your luck is changing. And considering the fact that at the end of the night tonight, the three of you are gonna be in six man competition... against the Wyatt Family." Triple H announced, earning loud cheers. "I'd be willing to say, your luck has run out."

"What a main event!" Cole said.

"Is there no end to the vindictiveness of Triple H?" King asked.

"I think it's good for business. What a great main event for Monday Night Raw!" JBL added.

-----------

The Shield and The Wyatt family get into it in a back and forth match. The match begins to pick up when Roman gets tagged in and takes the Wyatts down with superman punches, apron clotheslines and a top rope flying clothesline. He sets up for the superman punch until Erick goes after him.

All members of each team get in the ring and start to get into it while Dean and Seth hit Erick and Luke with a suicide dive out of the ring. Roman hits Bray with the superman punch and stalks him with his teammates. All of a sudden Evolution's theme comes on.

"Oh my God, here they come!" Cole shouted as Evolution and Rosa walked out.

Melanie tweets 'Frustrations...building...'

The Shield face off against Evolution as they walk down the ramp. Seth and Dean take out Evolution, Erick, and Luke with another suicide dive but then Bray blasts Reigns and quickly hits him with the Sister Abigail for his team's win.

Melanie tweets 'Should have known...'

Evolution starts attacking The Shield while Rosa watches. Batista throws Ambrose into the steel steps while Orton hits Rollins with a DDT off the top rope. Batista hits Ambrose with a spinebuster on top of the steel steps while Roman escapes Triple H's pedigree. Orton waits until Roman turns around to receive an RKO. Triple H gets angry and hits Roman with a pedigree.

"Triple H is livid," Cole said as Evolution stood tall.

Melanie tweets 'I just wish I could help...'

"Pick him up here! Come on!" Batista shouted as Orton and Triple H picked him up so they could hit him with the triple powerbomb.

Rosa gets on the top rope and strikes Roman with a diving clothesline while Evolution slams Roman down.

"Triple powerbomb with a clothesline. It took six men to leave the three members of The Shield laying tonight." Cole looked on as Rosa and Evolution put their fists out.

"No way!" Jane shouted. "They just did you see that?"

"Wow..." Leah shook her head.

"Haha! This is insane!" Melanie laughed.

Melanie tweets 'This bitch...really? First of all, you didn't do the move right.'

"Evolution is not through with The Shield," Cole said.

Melanie tweets 'Don't worry, you only just motivated my boys. They're going to kick your asses. #JustYouWatch'

-----

Since Melanie was going to be off the road for a while, she finally had the opportunity to visit Phil and April in Chicago. She has talked to Phil about getting a tattoo for the past year now and he finally talked her into coming to Chicago to get one. She was nervous but excited about the new ink.

Melanie tweets 'Okay...I think I'm ready. Ready to get that tattoo CMPunk #TattooBuddies'

Phil replies 'Sweet. I'll be waiting for you. Don't chicken out on me WWEMorgan101'

Melanie replies back 'CMPunk hardy har har. I won't. Promise! #TryingNewThings #Inked'

Her twitter was already getting blown up with the idea of her getting a tattoo and hanging out with CM Punk, the man who walked out on WWE. But she'd always remain friends with him. After meeting up with him, the two headed over to the shop and she checked out all the different designs.

"Nervous?" Phil asked with a smile.

"A little," she admitted.

"Come on, you said you wanted one and you wanted your best guy friend there."

"You're one of my best guy friends."

"What? I'm hurt. I thought I was number one." He playfully replied in a saddened voice.

"You'll live, man," She patted him on the back.

"So what are you getting and where?" He asked as they checked out all the different designs.

"Well..."

After a few hours of tattooing, her tattoos were finally done and she showed them off.

"Gosh, how do you do it, dude? How do you stand the pain?!" Melanie asked.

"It's not that bad."

"Easy for you to say. Anyway, here's the first one." She put her hair up and revealed her name in Chinese writing. The tattoo was small and ran down from her upper back to down on her spine to stop before the middle of her back.

"That's sick!" Phil nodded in approval. "And the other one?"

She let her hair down and showed him her right wrist. It had the name Mox and each letter was attached to each other, having an easily seen cursive font to it.

"You went for a wrist tat? I'm proud of you."

"I'm flattered."

"So, what's the story behind that?"

"Working with Jon as Jon Moxley was my favorite part of the indies. He's someone I'll cherish forever because if I didn't have that feud with him, I wouldn't have been my Morgan character. I'd probably be a girly character today in WWE, honestly. Plus, I wouldn't be wrestling guys and stuff if it wasn't for him."

"Nice. I wonder how Jane is going to react,"

"I think she'll be okay,"

"She's going to freak out."

"No, I really think she'll be okay."

---------

"Are you crazy!?" Jane shouted, making Leah wince and hold her ear. "You—you got a tattoo!?"

"Two, actually," Melanie revealed, making her exhale and sit on the couch.

"Come on sweetheart, she's not destroying her body. Like she said they have stories behind it." Diego said, trying to save her from the situation.

"I think they look awesome!" Leah grinned.

Jane exhaled. "All right. They do look really interesting."

"Does Jon or anyone know?" Leah wondered.

"Yep, they just didn't see it though," Melanie replied.

"Man, I want to see Colby's reaction. He's going to be elated when he sees that you two have almost similar matching tattoos."

"Can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out, that I actually went along with his idea. He thought I was going to chicken out on getting tattoos."

------

The next day, Jane, Leah, Diego, and Melanie head over to Jane's new bakery.

"I can't believe this is happening," Jane looked around in excitement.

She saw her bakery sign called 'Jane's' and saw some employees already in the shop to prepare the free samples.

Melanie tweets 'Wanna meet Jane and I? Come down to Philly for the grand opening of Jane's bakery! Check out the free samples!'

Seconds later WWE's Twitter retweets it and so does the roster until the fans start retweeting it, gaining more traction.

"Word travels fast, huh?" Diego chuckled. "The power of technology."

"Let's not wait any longer!" Jane rushed inside and looked around. "This is amazing!"

After Jane worked with the employees to get everything good and ready for the day, she shared some of the free samples with Melanie, Leah, and Diego as they raved over the deliciousness. The cookies they tried were soft and just the right amount of sugar.

When it was time for the grand opening there was a big crowd, making Jane's day even more better. The fans got photos of her and Melanie and asked Melanie about her neck. Melanie told them she was doing great and couldn't wait to get back in the ring.

-------

With permission from WWE, Melanie decided to visit her old TNA friends. After talking with Dixie and catching up with the guys, she walked inside the Knockout's locker room, she caught up with Madison Rayne, Velvet, Gail, and Angelina Love. It was great to see them still thriving in the company.

Later when it was time for the show and the little segment she had planned, Melanie sat by ringside.

Angel on my shoulder comes on as the Beautiful People walk out in black evening gowns. They were about to compete in an elimination evening gown match against Brittany and Madison Rayne.

"The following Knockout contest is an evening gown match. Introducing first, the Beautiful People!" Christy Hemme announced.

As soon as Angelina and Velvet walk to ringside, they spot Melanie.

"Oh my gosh!" Velvet grinned and rushed over to her with Angelina.

"Melanie! You're here!" Angelina beamed while Melanie stood up and hugged them with a big smile on her face.

"And look who we have at ringside! Melanie!" Taz announced.

"Melanie visiting TNA, I wonder what's going to happen when she sees Madison again." Mike Tenay wondered, recapping their past feud years ago.

"And their opponents, introducing first from Orlando, Florida, Brittany!" Christy announced as she strutted down the ring, tagging some hands.

'She's a Killa Queen'

"And her tag team partner, from Seattle, Washington, Madison Rayne!"

Madison grinned and twirled around before doing her princess wave.

"This is all Madison's fault. She could have been back with the beautiful people but she turned it down." Taz said as Madison stopped at the end of the ramp and turned her attention to Melanie.

"Uh oh." Mike looked on as she walked over to Melanie.

The Outspoken Diva slowly stood up, facing off against her as the crowd cheered in anticipation.

"I thought these two were done! They still have beef?"

"Don't worry, Melanie! We got her! We got her for ya!" Angelina reassured while Madison got in the ring.

Brittany was impressive, hitting Velvet with a moonsault. She is about to take Velvet's gown off but Madison hits her out of the ring as the ref orders her to get back on the apron. Melanie chuckles at the Beautiful People's dirty work while Angelina holds Brittany's foot so Velvet can eliminate her.

"Brittany has been eliminated," Christy announced.

"Madison is now out numbered," Mike looked on.

"Three on one. Who knows what Melanie is going to do? I can still feel the tension between those two." Taz stated.

Madison holds her own until she gets thrown into the ropes by Velvet. Angelina makes her fall flat on her face by pulling on her legs.

"That was nice, wasn't it?" Angelina grinned and high fived Melanie before getting back on the apron.

"Come on, queen." Velvet choked her on the middle ropes.

Madison fights back and spears Velvet before stripping Velvet.

"And now it's gonna be a one on one match." Mike looked on.

Angelina attacks Madison from behind and chokes her with Velvet's gown.

"How do you like that!?" Angelina shouted before releasing her. "I got her, I got her."

Madison starts fighting back and starts choking her with Velvet's gown before throwing her across the ring a couple of times. All of a sudden, Velvet walks down to the ring again with a towel, distracting her and the ref.

"What are you doing!?" Madison exclaimed before Velvet showed her body to the ref. "You're disgusting, Velvet! Really!? Really!? Really!?"

"Wow," Melanie mumbled while Angelina sprayed Madison with hairspray and stripped her to win the match.

"Your winners! The beautiful people!" Christy announced while Madison covered her eyes.

Velvet meets up with Angelina in the ring and celebrates with her. Melanie jumps off the barricade and walks up the steps.

"And now Melanie is going to celebrate with them," Taz said while Velvet and Angelina hugged her.

The three of them grab a mic while Madison continues to hold her eyes in the ring, still looking embarrassed. She recovers and goes to spear Angelina until Velvet beats her down and holds her down into a headlock.

"How dare you!? How dare you, disrespect us!? You were a nobody! A nobody! Before you were in the beautiful people!" Angelina screamed.

"Don't forget that!" Velvet screamed.

"The only reason we hired your ugly butt was to make us look better! But that's all gonna change. Right...now." Angelina grabbed a brown paper bag with her face on it and put it on Madison's head as the crowd booed.

"This is total humiliation," Mike murmured.

Melanie starts to look uncomfortable. This wasn't right at all.

Angelina and Velvet laugh and high five each other.

"Come on Melanie, hit her!" Velvet shouted.

As she continues to watch, she starts to look upset. In the ring she saw two different women. Madison Rayne and the Madison Rayne years ago. The difference? Madison suffered a lot because of the beautiful people and has been humiliated by them so many times. And maybe that was why she did what she did. She tried to be Melanie's friend but instead took her anger out on her.

Madison has changed a lot these past few years and she wasn't the same heartless, wicked woman anymore. She had a baby and changed her ways. Started to do what was right. And maybe Melanie should do the same.

"Is...is Melanie going to hit her?" Taz questioned.

Suddenly she walked up to Madison and took the paper bag off of her, ripping it into pieces as the crowd cheered.

"What are you doing?" Velvet exclaimed.

"The hell are you doing!?" Angelina shouted.

"Madison...you've made my life a living hell back when I was in TNA but I fought back against you. You've changed a lot over the years and you're trying to do what's right. Now Angelina, Velvet, are you seriously doing this childish crap again?" Melanie asked.

"Are you kidding me!?" Velvet shouted.

"First of all, you two aren't beautiful. You're ugly. Ugly personalities. I'm not a beautiful person and I never will be. I'm a Killa Queen just like Madison." she dropped the mic while Madison speared Velvet, making her roll out the ring.

"Look at this! They're working together?" Taz exclaimed as Angelina's jaw dropped.

Angelina walks over to see Velvet down and out at ringside. As soon as she turns around, she gets hit with a double clothesline by Madison and Melanie. The crowd begins to cheer when she helps Madison take off Angelina's gown and throw her out of the ring.

"Are you kidding me!?" Velvet screamed as she helped Angelina and tried to cover her up.

Melanie chuckled. "Sorry."

She shrugged while Madison's theme came back on. She turns around and grins at her before hugging her.

"Whoa, look at this! They did make up!" Taz looked on. "Two enemies helping each other out."

"Two former enemies." Mike corrected while Melanie raised Madison's hand.

"This isn't over!" Angelina shouted while Madison gave them the princess wave.

---------

Smackdown was underway with each member of The Shield in singles competition for the night. Unfortunately, Ambrose failed to recapture the US championship from Sheamus and was upset as he banged on the mat, mumbling, "Damn it!"

Then, Roman defeated Mark Henry after giving him a Samoan drop over the top rope, showing off his power, and then a spear. And finally, Rollins took on Batista but lost by count out after Batista evaded Seth's dive, hitting his head on the announce table.

Even though the match was over, Batista decided to throw Seth back in the ring and began beating him up.

"Batista just wants to punish Rollins now," Cole said after Batista hit him with a Batista bomb. "That was completely uncalled for and unnecessary."

Melanie tweets 'Ooh...I just wanna...I'm going to do something that's going to hurt Evolution and Rosa...mentally.'

Later that evening, Rosa was in action against Naomi, having a back and forth match.

"Rosa is really holding her own here tonight," JBL looked on, impressed, as Rosa threw Naomi into the steel post outside the ring.

"This is a scary change in Rosa's character. She's very vindictive." Cole added as Rosa threw Naomi back in the ring.

Rosa tries to take control but Naomi starts fighting back with the crowd behind her. She goes for the rearview but Rosa kicks her butt, making Naomi fall.

"And Rosa counters." Cole watched as she grabbed her for the Gory Bomb, making a sick impact on the mat.

"1!"

"2!"

"3!"

"And Rosa continues to dominate," Cole announced as she got her hand raised.

Naomi rolls out of the ring while Rosa grabs a mic. A 'Rosa Sucks' chant surrounds the arena, making her glare at the crowd.

Moments later, she laughed. "Oh Morgan, how does it feel to see your friends get beaten up by me? I am the best diva—"

'I've had enough I'm taking you down'

"What!?" Cole exclaimed.

"Morgan's back!" JBL shouted as Rosa's eyes widened and started to look nervous.

The crowd goes wild as they patiently wait for Morgan to come out but then her theme fades out.

"Wait a minute..." Cole said suspiciously.

Melanie tweets 'Corny bluff...Laugh while you can...'

Rosa starts laughing again, making the crowd even more angry with her.

"Haha, you fell for it! You all fell for it! I mean come on, did you really think Morgan is going to come back to the WWE? I ended her career. She's gone. She's done. Morgan doesn't have what it takes to be a top diva. I do. I'm even better than Paige! And I know you and her are buddies, but I'm going to show you that I can beat the Diva's champion. So believe that and believe in Rosa Mendes." She blew a kiss and exited the ring.

"Rosa is continuing her dominance. Will anyone stop her?" Cole wondered.

"I don't know but Paige better watch out. She may have a new challenger for her championship." JBL stated.

#the shield #the shield fanfiction #the shield 4th member #dean ambrose x oc

2 notes · View notes

hollyoongs · 3 months ago

Note

First time doing a Request I‘m kinda nervous but could (you don’t have to) write 8th member x Jungwon. Like the Reader was recently added to this Group and has to learn all the hard Dances and Jungwon is very strict/mean to the reader because they have a tight schedule and he really pushes the reader to it’s limits. He criticized reader a lot like talking bad about the vocals,stage present,visuals (face, figure), dancing skills etc ans the one day the reader breaks down in front of him while he was being harsh again and he‘s then like:“ Oh sorry let me make this up to you“ and since then the reader is Jungwon favorite

You are another me, I am another you (I-LAND - Into the I-LAND) Let’s just run for our lives

ᨓ 。idol!yang jungwon x idol!fem reader ꒰📲꒱﹕slight angst to fluff ﹕+2.0k contains: crying, mean jungwon at first, mean knetz comments (what's new), smau part, let me know if I missed one ┈─★

The sound of the studio door closing behind you felt heavier today. Your muscles were sore from all the extra practice, your mind was overwhelmed from memorizing every sharp move, and worst of all, Jungwon’s constant criticisms echoed in your head. Being the only female in ENHYPEN, you knew expectations would be high, but this? This was brutal.

Every mistake was met with a sharp comment, a sigh of frustration from the leader, and you found yourself questioning whether you were cut out for this. Jungwon wasn’t cruel, but he was relentless. His words stung, always pointed out how you weren’t fast enough, sharp enough, perfect enough.

“Again,” he said for what felt like the hundredth time, his voice clipped as he wiped the sweat from his forehead. The others stood nearby, equally tired, but their eyes shifted toward you as if waiting for you to crack. You could feel their silent support, but it wasn’t enough to drown out the pressure.

Seven months after ENHYPEN’s debut, the world of K-pop had been shaken by the news of your sudden addition to the group. Right before the highly anticipated release of their Japanese album, Hakanai, the company had announced the unexpected eighth member—you.

The reaction had been explosive. Some fans were outraged. Comments flooded social media, criticizing the decision to add a girl to a group that had already worked so hard to build their identity.

"She didn't train as long as the boys." "Why now?" "This is unfair to them."

You read every post, every angry tweet, feeling the weight of their disappointment. It made your shoulders slump under the burden of being an outsider.

But there were others—fans who were intrigued by the fresh dynamic you could bring.

"This is something new!" "Finally, a group that challenges the norms!" "I can’t wait to see what she adds to ENHYPEN!"

They cheered for you, hopeful that your presence would bring something extraordinary.

You haven't debuted yet, pictures of your past resurfacing and preople trying to find any evidence that you did something (which you didn't) and still, all their eyes were all on you. Every move you made, every mistake, was scrutinized not just by the fans, but by your members—especially Jungwon. The pressure to fit in with them, to match their energy, was like a constant weight pressing down on you, making it harder to breathe.

You couldn’t help but wonder if Jungwon resented you. He had been carrying the weight of being the leader since debut, and now, the company had thrown you into the mix right before the release of such an important album. His leadership was already under immense pressure, and your arrival had just added more to his plate.

“You’re falling behind again,” Jungwon's voice cut through your thoughts, stern and unforgiving. He stepped closer, his eyes scanning your form, taking in your trembling muscles and shaky stance. "If you can't keep up, how do you expect to perform when we debut in Japan?"

His words were like ice, freezing you in place. You wanted to explain, to tell him how hard you were trying, but your throat was tight with unshed frustration. The others were watching, and you hated that you were the center of this uncomfortable attention again.

You swallowed hard, wiping the sweat from your forehead, but kept going. Each move was drilled into you at this point, yet you still fumbled, the exhaustion taking over your body. You tried to push through, only for Jungwon to stop the music abruptly.

“I don’t get it,” he muttered, pacing in front of you, his arms crossed. “How are you still this off? It’s like you’re not even trying.”

Your heart sank. You were trying—more than you’d ever tried before. “I’m doing my best,” you mumbled, barely able to look him in the eye.

“Your best?” He scoffed, his words like a slap in the face. “This isn’t even close. You’re dragging us down. I thought your vocals would at least make up for the dancing, but even those need work. And your stage presence? Nonexistent. You can’t just look good. You need to act the part, too.”

It felt like a punch to the gut. He wasn’t just critiquing your dancing now—he was hitting everything. Your voice, your looks, your confidence. You felt your throat tighten, but no matter how hard you tried to hold it back, the frustration was boiling over. “I’m trying,” you repeated, your voice tight, but Jungwon didn’t seem to care.

“You say you’re trying, but I don’t see it. Do you even care about this?” He gestured wildly, as if you had already given up. “We’re on a tight schedule and you—”

“Stop,” you whispered, your voice cracking as you interrupted him.

He froze, turning toward you. “What did you say?”

“I said stop!” you shot back, louder this time, feeling the lump in your throat rising again. “I can’t—” You wiped your eyes hastily, trying to catch your breath. “I’m trying so hard, Jungwon. Every day. I know I’m not as good as the rest of you, but you don’t have to tear me apart like this. I can’t take it anymore.”

The silence that followed was suffocating. Jungwon stared at you, wide-eyed, as if he hadn’t expected you to push back. You could see the realization dawning on him, but it wasn’t enough to stop the flood of emotions surging within you. You couldn’t hold it back any longer.

“I know I’m not perfect, okay?” Your voice cracked, your hands trembling at your sides. “I know and you can bet your fucking life I know the hell you went through on I-LAND. But I’m trying. You think I don’t hear what people say? About how I don’t belong here? How I’m only here because I’m a girl and because I was added after the survival show?”

Your voice rose as you continued, your anger and hurt spilling over. “And you—you’re just confirming all of it! Every time you criticize me, every time you look at me like I’m not good enough, you’re proving them right. You’re supposed to be my leader, but instead, you make me feel like I don’t even deserve to be here!”

Jungwon opened his mouth as if to speak, but you weren’t finished.

“I know I have to work harder than the rest of you. I know I have to prove myself every single day, and believe me, I’m doing it. But you—” You pointed at him, your chest heaving with the weight of your emotions. “You’re supposed to be my teammate. And all you do is push me down further. Do you even care about how much pressure I’m under?”

He flinched at that, his expression faltering for the first time. “I didn’t realize—”

“No, you didn’t,” you shot back, wiping at your eyes again, trying to keep your voice steady. “You’ve been so busy expecting me to be perfect that you forgot I’m human too.”

Jungwon’s shoulders slumped, his arms dropping to his sides. “I thought I was pushing you to be better,” he said, his voice quieter now. “But I didn’t realize how much I was hurting you.”

You let out a bitter laugh, the anger still simmering. “Hurting me? Jungwon, you broke me. Every time I walk into this studio, I’m terrified I’ll disappoint you again. I’m scared of what you’ll say next. Do you know what that feels like?”

He looked down at the floor, guilt creeping into his features. “I didn’t… I didn’t know it was that bad,” he murmured. “I thought… I thought being hard on you would make you stronger. But I went too far. Way too far.”

"You think?" you said and you had enough, you went to your stuff, packing everything on your small bag and takign your bottle of water in the process.

"What are you doing?" Jungwon said seeing walking straight to the door, you didn't stopped your steps for a moment, still giving him your back.

"I love the members, but I swear that if my own fucking leader can't give me the strenght to keep going and not backlash that it's worst that all the knetz combined, I think it's better tot alk to the CEO about taking me off the team."

Jungwon's breath hitched at your words, his eyes widening in panic as he quickly crossed the room. He grabbed your wrist, halting you just as your hand reached for the door. "Wait!" His voice was urgent, almost desperate, but you didn’t turn around. "Please, just—just stop for a second."

You stayed still, the weight of the moment pressing down on both of you. His grip was gentle, but firm enough to prevent you from leaving. "Let me go, Jungwon," you said quietly, your voice barely above a whisper, but it carried all the exhaustion and hurt you’d been holding in.

"No. Please, don’t go. Don’t leave the group," he pleaded, stepping in front of you now, his eyes searching yours for any sign of forgiveness. "You’re right. I’ve been awful to you. I didn’t see it, but now I do. You have every right to hate me for how I’ve treated you."

The silence stretched between you as you stared at him, unsure whether you could believe his sudden change. His usual authoritative demeanor was gone, replaced with something raw and vulnerable.

"I know you’ve been working hard," he continued, his voice softer now. "And I see how much pressure you're under. I thought pushing you like this would help you rise to the occasion, but... I was wrong. I was being a terrible leader."

You didn’t respond, just watching him carefully, your emotions still too heavy to process his words fully.

"I don’t want you to leave. You belong here. I know I haven’t made you feel that way, but you do." Jungwon’s voice wavered as he spoke, his eyes never leaving yours. "I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry. I’ll make it up to you. Please just give me a chance."

"You're just saying this because you don't want me to tell the media about this." You let out a shaky breath, your frustration and anger still bubbling beneath the surface

"No! You're so wrong about it!" Something in his expression made you pause. It wasn’t just guilt—it was regret, genuine and painful. You could tell he meant it. But could you just forgive him that easily? "I swear to God that I don't know what the hell I was thinking, everybody got in my head because nobody believed in me that I can ahndle a girl in the group. They still even think that I can't lead the rest of the guys because I'm young and "stupid in so many ways". All of it pilled up."

You heard Jungwon’s voice crack, and for the first time, you saw the real weight of his responsibilities. His eyes were glistening with unshed tears, and you couldn’t help but be taken aback. You had always seen him as this strong, almost unyielding figure, but now, his vulnerability was laid bare.

“I didn’t think… I didn’t realize how hard it was for you too,” you admitted softly, your own anger and frustration melting away as you saw the sincerity in his eyes. “I thought you were just being mean because you wanted to push me. I didn’t know you were struggling with all of this.”

Jungwon took a deep breath, trying to steady his emotions. “I’ve been trying to prove everyone wrong,” he confessed, his voice trembling. “They doubted me from the beginning because of my age. They said I wasn’t capable of leading a group like ENHYPEN. And… I guess I took all that pressure and fear and channeled it into being hard on you. I thought if I could push you to be perfect, it would prove that I could handle this, that I could lead effectively.”

He rubbed at his eyes, as if trying to clear the tears before they fell. “But I was wrong. I forgot that it’s not just about pushing people to be their best. It’s about supporting them, too. I thought if I could be tough enough, I’d be a good leader. But instead, I just made things worse.”

You felt a pang of sympathy, realizing how young and inexperienced he was despite his leadership role. You had been focusing so much on how his criticism affected you that you hadn’t considered the immense pressure he was under. “Jungwon… you’re doing your best, too. And I’m sorry if I added to your stress., but what you did to me was hurtful”

Jungwon’s face softened, the tightness around his eyes easing as he listened to you. He took a step closer, his voice earnest and full of regret. “I know what I did was wrong. I shouldn’t have let my own fears and insecurities turn into harsh criticism. I see that now. And I’m really, truly sorry.”

You took a deep breath, the weight of the confrontation starting to lift, though the sting of his previous words still lingered. “I appreciate you saying that, Jungwon. It’s just hard to hear all that negativity when you’re already struggling so much. I want to do well, I really do. But I need support, not just criticism.”

He nodded, his gaze sincere. “I understand. And I want to be that support for you now. I don’t want to be the reason you feel like you don’t belong here. You’re part of this team, and you’re important. I was wrong to make you feel otherwise.”

The air between you felt a bit lighter, though there was still an underlying tension. Jungwon took a step back and rubbed his face, trying to regain his composure. “I know saying sorry doesn’t undo the damage. But I want to make it up to you. Maybe we can start fresh. Let me know what you need from me, and I’ll do my best to provide it.”

You looked at him, weighing his words. It was a lot to process, and while his apology felt genuine, it would take time to rebuild the trust that had been shaken. “Alright,” you said finally, your voice softer but still tinged with caution. “But it’s going to take more than just saying sorry. I need to see changes. I need to feel like you’re actually supporting me, not just pushing me to meet some impossible standard.”

“Of course,” Jungwon agreed immediately, his tone earnest. “I’ll do whatever it takes. I’ll start by being more constructive with my feedback. I want to help you improve, not just criticize you. And if you ever feel like I’m slipping back into old habits, please let me know. I want to be better—for you and for the team.”

You nodded, feeling a small sense of relief. “Thank you, Jungwon. I appreciate that.”

He gave you a small, encouraging smile. “Let’s take this one step at a time. We’ll get through this together, okay?”

“Okay,” you agreed, a faint smile forming on your lips. It wasn’t a complete resolution, but it was a start. And for now, that was enough.

Jungwon let out a deep breath and took a step back, giving you some space. “How about we start with something easier today? Maybe we can work on something you’re more comfortable with first. I want to help build your confidence again.”

You nodded, grateful for the chance to ease back into practice. “Sounds good. Let’s do that.”

Since that november of 2020 until 2024, things changed between you two. True to his word, Jungwon was patient, taking time to guide you through the toughest routines, explaining the nuances of the choreography in ways that made sense. And when your vocals wavered, he didn’t tear you down but offered encouragement, helping you find your confidence again.

The other members noticed the shift too—Jungwon had become protective of you, always watching out for you during practice, checking in with you more often. There was a bond forming between you two, one built on understanding and trust.

As the days turned into weeks, the dynamics in the practice studio began to shift. Jungwon’s newfound approach to leadership was evident. His once harsh criticisms had turned into constructive feedback, and the atmosphere in the studio had lightened considerably.

During one of your practice sessions, Jungwon approached you with a more relaxed demeanor. “Hey, I was thinking,” he started, his tone casual but genuine. “How about we work on that dance you were struggling with earlier? I remember you said it was one of your favorites.”

You looked up from where you were stretching, surprised by the change in his approach. “Really? You want to help me with that one?”

“Yeah,” he said, nodding. “I know you’ve been working hard on it, and I thought it might help to go over it together. Maybe there’s something specific you’re having trouble with, and we can figure it out.”

You smiled, feeling a sense of relief and gratitude. “That would be great. Thanks, Jungwon.”

As you worked through the dance, Jungwon’s guidance was patient and encouraging. He provided tips and corrections, but always with a supportive tone. When you finally nailed a particularly challenging move, he clapped enthusiastically. “That’s it! Great job. You’ve really improved.”

The change in his demeanor was noticeable to everyone in the group. The members began to comment on how much better the atmosphere was during practice. Sunghoon even joked, “Looks like you’ve become Jungwon’s favorite. I’ve never seen him this invested in anyone before.”

Jungwon laughed, rolling his eyes. “Oh, come on. It’s not favoritism. It’s just that she’s been working really hard and deserves the support.”

One evening after practice, the members were hanging out in the common area of the dorm. You were sitting with Jungwon, discussing a new dance routine, when Sunoo walked over with a playful grin. “So, what’s the secret? You’ve been extra nice to our new member. Is there something we should know?”

Jungwon’s face flushed slightly. “It’s nothing like that. I just realized how important it is to support each other. It’s not about being the best or pushing people to their limits. It’s about helping each other grow.”

The members nodded in agreement, their faces reflecting understanding and approval. “Well, we’re glad to see you’re finally taking that approach,” Sunoo said. “It’s made a huge difference.”

You felt a warm glow of appreciation from the members. The tension that had once hung over you like a cloud was now replaced with a sense of camaraderie and support.

In the weeks that followed, you and Jungwon developed a strong friendship. He continued to be a supportive leader, and your bond grew stronger. You shared laughs, inside jokes, and moments of genuine connection. The members noticed the change and couldn’t deny that your improved relationship with Jungwon had brought a positive shift to the group dynamics.

You became close friends who understood each other’s struggles and triumphs. His initial harshness was now a distant memory, replaced by a supportive and encouraging presence that helped you flourish both as an artist and as an individual.

In interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, the chemistry between you and Jungwon was evident. The way he looked at you, cheered you on, and even went out of his way to ensure you were comfortable and confident spoke volumes. The once-critical leader had become one of your biggest supporters, and the bond between you was a testament to the power of understanding, growth, and mutual respect.

And as for Jungwon, he learned that leadership wasn’t just about pushing others to excel—it was about guiding them with empathy and support. The journey had its challenges, but it ultimately forged a strong friendship and a deeper connection within ENHYPEN, making the team not just a group of talented individuals but a true family.

EXTRA!

ENGENE! has uploaded a video: "jungwon's favorite (+ members teasing about it) a wholesome compilation"

HEESEUNG! replying to your en-drama rain scene

I was behind the scene when she recorded that Wow, she's not the little girl we knew But our Jungwon wa so happy His favorite indeed

JAY! speaking about his en-log

ENGENE! Today's vlog features Jungwon and Y/N We will buy last school supllies for them Our leader so caring

NI-KI!

OP: Ni-Ki!, how does it feels to be the most beloved youngest in Enhypen? Ni-Ki: I don't know, ask Y/N

[SUNGHOON'S LIVE]

Sunghoon was sprawled out on his bed, lazily scrolling through the endless stream of comments as his live reached the twenty-minute mark. The glow from his phone screen cast soft shadows on his face, his smile easy and relaxed. This had become routine for him—answering questions, laughing at inside jokes, and throwing out casual responses to the flood of hearts and emojis that filled the chat.

Everything was smooth, just another night hanging out with his fans, until one particular comment caught his eye.

"In two days, it’s Y/N’s birthday," it read, almost buried under waves of excitement from his followers.

He smirked, leaning in closer, his voice dropping just a bit. "Yeah... it is," he said, his tone teasing but affectionate, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "Actually, Jungwon's planning a surprise party right after the live stream—"

He paused, eyes darting back to the flood of comments. His smirk faltered. Wait. His mind spun as he watched the chat explode into shock and confusion. Oh no.

"Wait—what did I just...?" He stared wide-eyed at his phone, realization hitting like a freight train.

And just like that, the door to his room swung open with a bang. There you were, breathless, your face with a face mask one without hidding your happy face. “Sunghoon! What did you just say?!"

He froze, cheeks flushing crimson as the full weight of his mistake settled in. He had ruined the surprise.

[SUNOO'S IS LIVE]

Sunoo sat cross-legged in his room, the soft golden glow of fairy lights behind him adding to the cozy aesthetic of his live. His signature bright smile lit up the screen as he skimmed through the comments, casually chatting with fans. It was a typical Sunoo moment—full of laughter, a little teasing, and that effortless charm.

He paused, squinting slightly at a comment that caught his attention. His expression softened, a fond smile creeping onto his lips.

“‘Who's the best at taking care of everyone?’” Sunoo read aloud, repeating the question from the chat. His head tilted, as if he was thinking, but really, he already knew the answer. "Oh, that’s easy."

He glanced up at the screen, eyes twinkling. “It’s Jungwon, no question. He’s always making sure we’re okay, but mostly—” Sunoo stopped and grinned wider, that teasing glint appearing in his eyes. “Mostly Y/N. It’s kind of cute how much he fusses over them.”

The chat exploded with excitement, heart emojis and playful reactions flooding in.

“I mean, you guys don’t even know,” Sunoo continued, a little laugh slipping out. “He’s always asking if Y/N’s eaten, making sure they have a jacket when it’s cold, even if he doesn’t have one for himself.” His voice softened, genuine warmth lacing his words. “He just really cares, you know?”

Sunoo’s smile turned into a full-on smirk as he leaned in closer to the screen, whispering like it was a secret between him and his viewers. “Honestly, sometimes I think he forgets about the rest of us when Y/N’s around. It’s adorable, though, you should see it.”

The chat filled with comments about Jungwon and Y/N, and Sunoo laughed, clapping his hands together. “But really, we’re all super lucky to have him. Y/N especially.”

[ENHYPEN'S SEND-OFF]

The energy outside the concert venue was electric, buzzing with post-show adrenaline as fans lined up for their brief but cherished moments with Enhypen during the send-off. Jake was at the front of the line, his eyes warm and his smile easy as he signed photocards, making small talk with each fan who came up.

As the next fan approached, clutching a photocard, Jake’s eyes crinkled in a smile. “Hey! Did you enjoy the show?” he asked, his voice still slightly hoarse from the performance but full of energy.

The fan nodded quickly, eyes wide with excitement, and then in a rush, asked, “Can we do a fast Q&A while you sign?”

Jake chuckled, leaning in closer to make sure he could hear. “Alright, rapid-fire. Let’s go!”

“Favorite song to perform live?”

Jake didn’t hesitate. “'Criminal Love,' for sure. The energy’s insane every time.”

The fan grinned, throwing out the next question. “Who’s the funniest member?”

“Sunghoon,” Jake replied instantly, laughing at the thought. “His jokes are underrated.”

The fan’s excitement grew, and the next question came even faster. “Who takes the longest to get ready?”

Jake pretended to think hard. “Hmm, probably Sunoo. He likes everything to be perfect.”

They both laughed, and as Jake finished signing the photocard, the fan asked the final question: “Last one! Who would sacrifice their life for another member?”

Jake froze for just a second, the question taking him off guard, but his smile returned quickly. His gaze softened as he thought about it, then he gave a small, knowing smirk. “Jungwon,” he said, his tone more serious but full of pride. “He’d sacrifice himself for all of us… especially for Y/N.”

The fan blinked, processing his words, and Jake’s smirk turned into a soft laugh, his eyes glinting mischievously. “Yeah,” he added, handing back the signed photocard. “Jungwon’s that kind of leader.”

The fan’s eyes widened, and as they stepped away, the buzz from Jake’s answer lingered in the air, fueling the excitement of the send-off as the line moved forward.

[ENHYPEN'S FANSIGN]

Jungwon’s smile remained warm and genuine as he greeted each fan. When the next fan stepped up, holding out their album for him to sign, they hesitated for just a moment before speaking.

“Jungwon, can I ask you something?” they asked, their voice a mix of nerves and excitement.

Jungwon looked up from signing, his expression soft and encouraging. “Of course! What’s up?”

The fan bit their lip, clearly a little shy, but finally asked, “Is it true that Y/N is your favorite? I mean... people always say you take care of her more than the others.”

Jungwon paused for a moment, his smile deepening into something more thoughtful. He glanced down at the album, chuckling softly. “Yeah, I hear that a lot,” he admitted, his voice light but sincere.

He looked up, meeting the fan’s eyes, and the warmth in his gaze was undeniable. “But honestly? Y/N is like the younger sister I never had,” he said softly, his tone full of affection. “I mean, I care about all the members, but with Y/N... I just feel this responsibility, you know?”

The fan nodded, hanging on his every word as Jungwon continued. “She’s always working so hard, but sometimes I feel like she doesn’t take care of herself as much as she should. So, I just—" He paused, his smile turning a bit sheepish. "I try to look out for her in ways that maybe she doesn’t even realize.”

The fan’s eyes softened, touched by his words, and Jungwon’s expression brightened a little more as he added, “It’s not about favoritism. It’s more like... wanting to make sure she’s okay, like any big brother would. I’d do the same for anyone I cared about, but with her, it’s different. She’s family, I hope ENGENE is not jelaous about her.”

He handed back the signed album, a warm smile still on his face. “I guess I’m just protective, but in the best way. I’m really lucky to have her around.”

The fan smiled back, touched by the sincerity in his voice. As they stepped away, they couldn’t help but feel the pure, wholesome bond that Jungwon shared with you—a kind of sibling-like love that went beyond just friendship.

↷ 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚢'𝚜 note: I've been waiting for a person to actually do an female 8th memeber request because I've wanted to try it for so long, ty anon and hope this is what you wanted <3 🦋

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sa7abnews · 3 months ago

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Clinton Alumni Fume at ‘Double Standard’ of Trump Treatment After Hack

New Post has been published on https://sa7ab.info/2024/08/16/clinton-alumni-fume-at-double-standard-of-trump-treatment-after-hack/

Clinton Alumni Fume at ‘Double Standard’ of Trump Treatment After Hack

This article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox.

On Oct. 7, 2016, the Hillary Clinton campaign’s headquarters should have been a sea of smiles. Saturday Night Live even imagined the aides in Brooklyn popping champagne in a skit many in the campaign watched while sipping stale coffee at their desks the following night. The Access Hollywood tape had just been released. Donald Trump’s campaign was in freefall and two top intelligence officials said for the first time Russia was meddling. But the leaks just wouldn’t stop. Starting that day, a dribble of new stolen emails from top Clinton adviser John Podesta sputtered out almost every day until Election Day. The endless revelations made it seem like the campaign couldn’t stay ahead of a fast-moving flow of events beyond its control, likely playing a role in Donald Trump’s surprise victory.

Fast forward eight years and now it’s the campaign of Clinton’s Republican rival—the one who openly encouraged Russia to plunder Democrats’ emails—that is facing similar successful incursions on its servers. This time, according to Trump, it is Iranian players who snuck inside some email accounts and secreted away intel including a 271-page research document about perceived—yet public—vulnerabilities of his running mate, Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance. (The FBI is also tracking attempts to invade President Joe Biden’s campaign that Vice President Kamala Harris has since taken over.)

So far, none of the stolen materials have been published. In fact, some news organizations had been sitting on the goods for weeks before Trump and his team announced on Saturday that it had been hacked and blamed Iran, who also is said to have been plotting an assassination attempt against the former President.

“Any media or news outlet reprinting documents or internal communications are doing the bidding of America’s enemies and doing exactly what they want,” said Steven Cheung, the campaign’s communications director.

It’s no surprise that this week has brought about a fair share of PTSD for anyone who worked through the 2016 hack of Clinton’s emails. Eight years ago, every morsel of that data dump was treated as worthy of picking clean through. This time, though, it seems like there is restraint among newsroom leaders and in voters’ appetite to look at dirty laundry.

While Clinton alumni are publicly condemning the theft, they also still blame journalists, in varying measures, for their candidate’s loss eight years ago. As one aide put it, there was never this level of cautiousness on any story when Clinton was the victim of illegal hacks, let alone one with potentially salacious details.

“This double standard is unconscionable,” one veteran of Clinton’s unsuccessful campaign told me. Added another Clinton veteran who spent 2016 screaming into the void about the unfairness of reading the private messages of Clinton and her inner-circle without permission: “Let’s see if we’ve learned any lessons.”

And yet, there is some level of sympathy for Trump’s predicament from senior Democrats. As one Democrat who was not on Clinton’s payroll but worked with allied outside groups told me: “You all allowed Moscow to become your assignment editors” eight years ago, he said. “Now, it’s over-correction.” Added another with still-fresh frustration: the Clinton campaign “never got the benefit of the doubt.” (Disclosure: I wrote plenty about the emails.)

Still, the collective private reaction among Democrats is a blend of angry and appalled, and not without some degrees of grounding.

The anger is partly at the idea that any campaign would be careless enough in their security to allow this to happen again. There’s also annoyance among Democrats who find themselves forced into an empathetic position toward an adversary who once famously said, “Russia, if you’re listening, I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.”

On a technical level, appalled is also the right lens. Clinton’s email drama came from a hack, but it’s not entirely clear where the Trump ones originated. There is now reporting to suggest there may have been other factors in play for documents that made their way to Politico on July 22 and to The Washington Post on Aug. 8. The Times has not said when it received its files, which reports suggest was identical to what the other two newsrooms received.

So far, there are some major differences between the Russian and Iranian intrusions of importance. For one, Russia in 2016 released their pilfered correspondence publicly, first on a website called DCLeaks, and later through WikiLeaks, making it trickier for the mainstream media to ignore what was revealed in them. At least so far, it seems like Iran is sending specific documents to reporters directly and not just putting everything out for all to see.

The DNC breach was made public in June and July of 2016, and roiled the Democratic Party for months. Thousands of leaked DNC emails came out just before the Democratic National Convention, prompting DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and a raft of her team to resign at a moment the party should have been rallying. “We couldn’t be sure, but we feared that more trouble was coming,” Hillary Clinton wrote in her post-campaign confessional. Boy, was she right, as the hackers perfectly timed the release of the Podesta emails to help distract from Trump’s worst scandal yet.

The 2016 leaks were not just a PR nightmare for the Clinton campaign. It also was a huge headache to deal with, sucking up manpower and other resources that had been set aside for rolling out the new running mate, Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, and harnessing the enthusiasm after a convention meant for unity and not users’ error with emails. Instead of promoting their candidate heading into a pivotal summer, they were playing clean-up for the DNC and then for their own leaders as leaves turned for autumn.

At the time, Mike Sager was one of the progressive movement’s favorite trouble-shooters and remembers watching as the Democratic Party’s top ranks were pulled into I.T. crises that could have been headed off months earlier. Sager, who later spent six years heading up the tech side of EMILY’s List, a well-connected part of the Democrats’ orbit, still works as a cybersecurity consultant and says no campaign should be treating the integrity of their digital information as an afterthought.

“There are some really basic steps that anyone can take that likely would have prevented this attack from succeeding,” says Sager, who calls “enabling two-factor authentication with a hardware security key” the most important defense. “Keeping a bad actor from getting in the door is easier and more effective than trying to clean up once they’ve trashed the house,” he says.

Along with their frustration with the press, Clinton allies can’t help but point out how Trump in 2016 was incredibly open about his desire for Russia to dig into Clinton’s emails as Secretary of State. Democrats, meanwhile, have been unified and publicly consistent in their opposition to foreign meddling in an election, regardless of beneficiary. Even Robby Mook, Clinton’s campaign manager who later started an anti-hacking nonprofit, has offered to help clean-up Trump’s dodgy IT security in the name of fair elections.

This time around, the potentially damning information—much of it seemingly based on previously available reporting—seems to have hit like a dull thud. As an intellectual matter, it’s precisely what Democrats had hoped would be their fate in 2016. The fact that Trump once again seems to be catching a break—at least thus far—leaves many in Clinton’s orbit frustrated and, not unfairly, a bit stung.

Make sense of what matters in Washington. Sign up for the D.C. Brief newsletter.

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percontaion-points · 9 months ago

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Clawless chapters 27 & 28

Today's review might be difficult for some; reader discretion is advised

Click to see the rest of the snark & image descriptions

Click here for the rest of the series!

Chapter 27

I hadn’t been able to escape my late-night conversation with Reed, and it had dragged me back to that day in the closet with Potter. He might say he saw me now, and knew I was more than just my pack status, but that memory was too raw to just forgive and forget. They’d thought it was fine to force me onto my knees for some random guy, just because I was worthless in their eyes.

I get that it’s difficult to look past that.

Yet at the same time, she’s willing to look past all of Jasper’s belittling, treating her like shit, throwing her under the bus when he thought that she’d taken wolf fire, and him putting a magical slave collar on her.

I’m simply calling out how fucking shitty she’s being in refusing to forgive Reed for participating in her attempted sexual assault WHICH HE APOLOGISED FOR, yet instantly forgiving Jasper for every single thing because…??? He’s the endgame relationship????

“We’re very focused on keeping you safe, Ms. Marrow. The breach at your accommodation was unacceptable, but it was a good wake-up call. A reminder we have to be vigilant at all times.”

Literally the first time in 4 chapters that Vail is being painted as an actual victim in what Trey did.

A hollow promise, but I clung to it, and fell into that pine-scented darkness.

Chapter 27 summary: Vail wakes up early, thinking about her attempted sexual assault because she and Reed had been talking about it the night before.

As she’s sneaking from his room in her pjs, she runs into the new principal who insists he wants to talk with her. Although I was initially happy that he was finally treating Vail like the actual victim in all of this, this quickly morphed into outright horror.

In his office was a woman in a labcoat. Vail is instantly taken back to the literal torture she underwent at the lab, and starts to have an immense PTSD episode. Eventually, the two guards who’d tackled her the night before and ripped the baby from her arms, force her down onto the ground again now. The entire thing is insanely rape-y, and it made me so angry. The fact that they’re doing this simply to inject the tracker into her neck doesn’t help, since they’re doing this against her will… Which anybody could argue is rape-like in its essence. The doctor also slips an unknown pill into Vail’s mouth and forces her to take it.

However, it’s only after this is over that the doctor announces that Vail’s having a bad reaction. Which… wow. You saw a literal child start crying at the sight of you, had two grown men forcefully hold her down on the ground, and injected her with a tracking device AGAINST HER WILL. Of course she’s having a fucking bad reaction.

Carter carries her to Reed then, who is literally the only person who seems to give a shit about Vail’s actual emotions.

Chapter 28

“You handed her over to Barakat? That’s what you call taking care of your own?” Wentworth’s face contorted at both the force of my power, and the waves of fury rippling off me.

“It was arranged with her father. He wanted her safely off campus and Trey Barakat was more than motivated to help out.”

Right. And then not even a week later, Trey sold Vail out to those unknown alpha thugs. I think his motivation is more about power than because he actually wants Vail.

She’d been trying to research everything she could about voids; information I could have given her without wading through the whole book.

Yet you never once actually bothered to share anything with her. ANYTHING.

“She rescued Rowan, mom. She went out into the night and brought him home safe.”

Her eyes snapped with blue fire. “He was only in danger because of her.”

It was probably true. Barakat’s obsession was with Vail, and my brother had been a means to an end. But she’d still gone out after him, not knowing if she was walking into a trap. Or that’s what I wanted to believe, anyway.

I really wish Vail had marched the other twin back to the Den room and gone back to bed. Seriously. They’re treating her like she murdered the baby or something, when the only thing she did was to go out of her way to rescue him.

Please remember that this is the thanks she gets for having been a good samaritan.

“You claim her without Marrow’s blessing – which he’s never going to give - and it’s an act of war.”

Chapter 28 summary: Jasper, meanwhile, spent the rest of his night searching for any signs of Trey. He felt frustrated that Trey seemed to have, and I quote, “flown away”. He goes to where he’s stashed Wentworth, who insists that Trey isn’t a wolf. Jasper thinks the man means a “rogue, dud, or void”, but Wentworth seems to think that there’s another option: a shifter who isn’t a wolf. Jasper threatens Wentworth because the man had turned Vail over to Trey at the end of the first book. But Wentworth isn’t afraid of him, since according to Wentworth, the clans in Europe are way worse.

Jasper then goes to talk to his mum, who is with her twin boys, but also a bunch of personal guards. She said that she called up Grandpa Marrow, and is basically yeeting Vail back to her supposed bio-family. Again, the book wastes no time in reminding us how little every single person thinks about Vail and her valiant rescue effort. Despite the fact that Vail is also a victim in all of this. Jasper seethes with anger, and now views his own mother on his personal shitlist: she’s standing in the way of him being able to be with Vail.

He then learns what happened to Vail like 5 minutes ago. He suddenly realises one of his guards is covered with “the scent of Vail’s vomit and fear”. His anger is upped to a million, and he goes storming off. The guard runs after him, and asks why it would be such a bad thing to let Reed ride off into the sunset with Vail. However, his reasons have nothing to do with Jasper’s feelings, and everything to do with politics. The only thing that you need to know is that Grandpa Marrow would view Jasper claiming Vail as an act of war.

#clawless #hunter moon academy #bookblr #readers of tumblr #book review #omegaverse #supernatural romance

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sillyfudgemonkeys · 1 year ago

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Question, why're you so hateful towards any and all things that has happened with persona games post p5?

What is the problem with p3reload? I literally cannot find any problems well apart from the well worn down complaints of the lack of femc and answer.

If this is about the Ken post, I think it's fair I'm a bit miffed that (SEA) Atlus posted that. TT0TT Otherwise, I'm going to be assuming this is just a reaction of seeing my other posts. XD

Now....hateful? P5.....most likely, I mean I went from loving it to....well... I felt betrayed (I've gone into my issues with P5 time and time again on this blog tbh TT0TT If you want more specifics I'll can go into it again but not atm for this post to save time ;w;). All in all P5 broke my sanity, I used to be very excited for it, but it turned sour when I actually saw how.....much it sucked.

P3 is salt. I'm pissy. I'm just angry at the choices made. It's something I love that's just.....it just has so many issues tied to it now (I do like some stuff, I do like the new singers voice BUT I hope they allow us to play OG tracks, but that goes for any remaster/remake). This broke me into going villain era ("you aren't making those posts anymore silly" I know I have other stuff outside the internet sadly ;w; orz if I wasn't wiped every day I would be showing my distain on every Atlus post but alas I can't I must pick and choose my battles and if it means bitching on here I'll at least take that orz)

Tbf to P5, I love Kamo's arc. I'll always stand by that. After that it gets complicated.

Spinoffs in general I really just don't like the......non direction the P5 spinoffs have had compared to P4. Arena/Q1/Ultimax were like a mini narrative. P4D was a send off. P5's are....aimless. But that's not hateful, that's just frustration with the direction. (I'm thinking it's cause the team got restructured so.....random events go I guess it's whatever). Like as burned out of P4 as people were for the P4 spinoffs (a bit unfair since 3/4ths were also P3 spinoffs TT0TT), they had some great writing highlights in the franchise and were released in a very natural way. (and the hype of announcing 3 games alongside P5's teaser? Oh god that was fun!)

P3/5D I'm.....very upset with how Atlus handled it. It's price gouging (wanting $60 for each game SEPARATELY), lacking content compared to the previous game P4D (less story and less songs, again P3/5D are counted as two separate games), and horrible timing. The latter is that....P3 didn't have a modern console for people to play on. Atlus screwed P3D over. They should've used this opportunity to funnel the new P5 fanbase into the older games, but instead of focusing on porting P3/P4 over ASAP within that year (which would come to hurt the next game), they pushed for P3/5D instead and didn't give it a fighting chance. Now P5D is screwed in a way that....P5D didn't have the best song selection, like P3/4 could pull from MULTIPLE games and animes, P5 only had P5 and an anime airing. P5D should've happened later, maybe as a send off like with P4. TT0TT (I think timing for P3/5D right now would've been great, considering it feels like we're ending the P5 era and P3R is coming out. I'm hoping they port P3/5D or give us a sequel/remake now would be the BEST time).

PQ2 I'm upset because the lore and how things work are fundamentally fucked over (only a minority may care or notice but it's there TT0TT), like it literally was "P5 broke me 2, electric boogaloo". And I hate how P5 focus it is....esp when I don't think they do much with the story that's meaningful. Love it has FeMC in it (one of the best highlights), love that Yosuke/Teddie are finally written closer to their original game counter parts (outside P4D). Sad that it feels like they game constantly licks P5's boot for some reason (it feels very one sided compared to the equal praise P3/4 did in it's era). I don't mind Hikari but I'm kinda......eh on the PQ2 story as a whole. Was excited to see Climax Theater again only for it to be....eh. The worlds felt eh compared to PQ1. It just felt like an all around downgrade in story compared to PQ1 (it def has better characterization, tho I want to attribute some of PQ1's flanderization to the translators, also to PQ1's benefit.....flanderizing was to help give all the cast members screen time, which PQ2 doesn't do well). I hate that FeMC and P3MC barely interact even tho that was a big freaking advertising point. TT0TT The cast is too bloated, I like to say PQ2 would be better without P5 (it would), but really we need to cut a team. If they wanna keep the FeMC/P3MC plot line then we gotta cut either P4 or P5 (if we gotta change some story/setting I'm fine with that too). Hell, I'm fine with a PQ2 game with just P4/5 and no P3. But the game is just too bloated atm. TT0TT Also Atlus screwed this one too, 1) by not having P3/4 ports available yet, but also 2) putting it on a dead console. orz they really had no fighting chances.

P5R it's.....unnecessary tbh. I like the 3rd semester, but Sumi/Maruki would've been better suited for a spinoff game. One were we could just focus on them and not have to slog through a game that barely anything changed. Also really? 3 years? And we need an updated release? AND IT'S NOT DLC??? Fuck, at least FES The Answer you had an option to get the updated version or buy the Answer itself at a lower price (basically the PS2 ver of DLC). And at least the portable ports of P1-4 were on a different console. P5R is doing this ON THE SAME DAMN CONSOLE. It's BS. Feels like a cash grab like P3/5D were. (I probs prefer vanilla more than Royal tbh, even tho I love Sumi and like Maruki).

P5S......I just....thought it was bad. Felt hollow, like not enough social stuff and too much focused only on gameplay (aka not enough balance, if you ignore the gameplay you're left with.....not a lot). There's issues with characterizations at time (not that P5 was consistent to begin with but still). Like P5 I'm fine with the premise of the story, I hate the execution. While playing I was like "Wow this game doesn't understand P5....I feel sorry for P5!" I was appalled at how they handled some of the villains. Gameplay is fine, just wish there was more to do outside the gameplay. Annoying P5R couldn't be more involved in this (timing is just all over the place with these games wtf atlus??? TT0TT), it lacking P5R isn't a break it for me I just find it to be VERY odd. Esp since they released it after P5R???? At organize it like you did with Arena and P4G, it'd be less strange. TT0TT

P5 anime fucked up Kamo's dungeon didn't want to touch it after that. I don't think I'm in the minority of people not liking the anime.

P5 manga, need to catch back up but I didn't mind the first two dungeons. Liked the new additions. I'm probs in the minority.

P5MM manga: it's ok. Love the artist. Story started off strong but ended up kinda meh at the end.

P5 Daybreakers OVA: I like it a lot. Wish we had more like it.

P5T: Nothing against it atm actually. TT0TT I'm liking the pink villain so far (so far she's being handled better than Alice! YAY!). I really like the new spinoff only chars of this game so far (I'm neutral/positive leaning on the other's but I don't LOVE them). Atlus' statements on the timeline of this game is confusing, and if it IS non-canon to the main timeline I find it very shitty of them to only say that AFTER people have bought the game. ;w; Other than that...uhhh DLC is my only other issue (which I haven't brought up a lot, barring P5S, and on the lower end of PQ1/2, DLC has been ASS with the P5 era games. Like P4D DLC was ass too ;w; And Arena/Ult/Q1 weren't great either, so it didn't start with P5, but it got worse with P5). It's not the WORST DLC practice they've done, but it's still not great. DX

P5X: Nothing to say here, we vibbing. Like what I see so far. Sad it's a gatcha but que sera sera I guess. Probs my fav overall P5 spinoff so far.

P3P/P4G ports: Eh audio this, AI background that. I'm just happy these mfers are finally ported. TT0TT Now do it again with P1/2!

Ultimax Port: Just happy it's ported tbh. Shame they couldn't add a new route (since this game's writing needed a bit more ironing out).

Now P3R.........I think people being upset about the lack of FeMC/Answer is completely valid and talked about for a good reason. Hear me out! A big reason me and a lot of other people have been clamoring for a P3 remake is because we wanted to FINALLY have a complete version of P3. Both Journeys and AT LEAST one Answer (two would be great, but the bar is in the GROUND right now, we're asking for the BARE MIN TT0TT). Then P3R is released and............nope we get another non complete version of P3. It's not just FeMC/Answer fans who are upset. It's the fact we can't have it all in one STILL. And it's not just "one complete game" It's about "One complete story" we lack being able to experience the full story of P3. ;w; *spoilers for key elements of the Answer below* (I just want all three journeys to be treated with respect, but Atlus cutting the FeMC and Aigis journeys....it just puts a bad taste in my mouth and causes issues in the fandom).

(hell the manga, movies, and stage plays NEVER made an Answer adaptation, and the manga/movies never pulled a P4tGA for FeMC either! If they were upset with how they first made The Answer they could always rewrite it at this point and keep the key elements which spoiler: Wild Card Aigis, Metis appears, Erebus fight, Liz leaves, and everyone grieving and then finding out the reason behind the Seal. Like I'm pissy as a FeMC fan first and foremost, but I'm very upset as a Metis fan about the lack of Metising I get to see TT0TT)

I also don't like the look, I hate the lighting and the new art style (I got into Persona cause of Soejima's art style tbh, so I'm vibbing more with ReFan and P5X) and (esp) models (I could overlook the art style if I didn't hate how the models look so much). They look plastic, the heads are overly round and it throws me off (like how Anne's head portrait go more circle in P5R compared to P5 vanilla/P5S), and their....facial features....it's probs cause I'm used to Soejima....but something abt them feels off like they're smooshed. I dunno. The environments outside Tartarus looks like shit with the shitty lighting. "Oh it's just the lighting" well it keeps taking me out of it along with everyone's plastic looking helmet hair.

I'm not the biggest fan of some of the UI. (did I ever finish that post? I don't think I did sigh I gotta dig it up if I didn't TT0TT).

I'm sad about certain gameplay changes (lack of tired system esp, but lack of splitting up and such as well). It was a big identity to P3 that I loved and it being gone now is.....sad ;w;

I'm happy about other gameplay changes (and aspects I've had on my wishlist have come true, such as expanding on P3MC's friendships w/male chars in these new eps or even expanding on Strega). But what I'm happy with so far is mostly the social gameplay additions/changes, not so much some of the combat/exploration changes.

I don't really care about the voice changes for the english version. I know other people are but I'm eh. I'm sad we're missing Yumi and have a new singer. I like the new singer, tho I'm eh on some of the covers (as long as we get the OG tracks to swap to I'm gucci, but I'm good regardless). Only issue with the new singer is they......hired ANOTHER new person??? I feel a bit bad for Mayumi (FeMC singer) and Shuhei (PTS, anime sequel to P3, and P3P op singer) who were already tied to P3 and were passed up on....ngl I would've loved more Shuhei. TT0TT Really drive the male vs female. Just....why did they pass up on them? Esp Shuhei? TT0TT

But I'd be able to overlook all these little things I hate about it......if they would JUST GIVE ME A COMPLETE VERSION OF P3. If they just gave me FeMC and Metis, I'd accept all the other stuff.

That being said, again I don't want to be gouged by DLC a fucking again. Which I fear is what WILL happen to FeMC/Answer...... but gd I'll choose the devil I like more and I'll take. I'll hate it but I'll freaking take it. But considering Atlus LOVES showing off day one DLC, and not a peep of FeMC/Answer anywhere....I'm feeling like we aren't going to get that even. orz.

And I know there's a tired counter "But that's extra work!" well consider this:

There's already a complete script (story wise, and planning wise)! P3R is working off an existing script, sure they've added stuff and tweaked other stuff, but it's not like they had to start from scratch. Same goes with FeMC/Answer, they have a baseline. They have assets they can work off of. (translators and new Eng VAs besides that)

Atlus already copied and pasted A LOT of the male events into the FeMC. Like the main story is nearly identical (maybe 20% has differences?) 14/22 SLs share the same people, with only 1 really being completely rewritten and the rest being nearly exactly the same outside a handful of dialogue. Music wise there's only 6 song differences and 1 additional new song. (tldr; they could totes be lazy and just copy and paste with slight differences I'll take it, small changes can still go a long way and it's something rather than nothing).

(related to point 2 but looping Answer in now) The dungeon and story beats are the same between male/female. So gameplay structure is the same. Answer's dungeon and areas is basically a copy and past assets (with some recolor) as well.

Atlus is a big boy studio, they aren't in financial straits like in the P4 era, they have big daddy Sega to help them. They can handle it. And it's been in development for a while, I'd rather they delay it and give me an actual full version like people voted for. (And yes, the votes included P3/FES/P when asked, not just P3 vanilla or male).

#silly asks #silly answers #persona salt

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biteofcherry · 1 year ago

Text

Ruby Garden

warnings: just mentions of some kinky filthy stuff; tipsy subs and shenanigans

"Excuse me, what?!" You stuttered, a sip of your cocktail almost spilling out of your mouth.

No one seemed sympathetic as you were given a red sash; only knowing looks were directed your way as you attempted to play offended.

You kinda were? Well, not really, since it was only a silly game for drunken submissives on a pre-bridal party for Darling.

Still, you were the first and only one to get all votes in a category. So far the votes tended to be somewhat split.

For example, in a Cutes Her Way Out Of Punishment Too Often category it was a split between Birdie and Fawn, both deemed too skilled in playing the sweet, doe eyed role that often resulted in a lighter punishment (or none at all).

Darling won the blue sash for Most Manhandled, beating Pumpkin by two votes. All because Master Steve really tended to carry and toss her around a lot.

But you were the first to win unanimously - well, if not counting your own vote.

In a fucking Filthiest Couple category.

"Are you fucking serious?" You glared at the rest of them. "How did that even happen?"

"There was no hesitation," came the giggles.

"Yeah, it was an easy choice," added another one.

The girls looked pretty pleased with themselves and your outrage seemed to amuse them further.

"That makes no sense," you announced, barely refraining from crossing your arms over your chest (after putting on the damn red sash with the naughty category written across it).

When Ari picks you up later, he would see it. And probably ask questions. Ugh!

"I mean, come on! You-" your finger pointed at Pumpkin- "are dealing with a sadist, who boasted he comes the hardest when you sob. And used that inflatable plug on you. How is that not the filthiest?"

"Or you-" next accusation landed on sweet Fawn, whose eyes widened. "Savagely taken in the middle of the fucking courtyard garden by two Doms."

"Don't get me started on the time Nick made you scream out loud everything he was doing to you. In detail." You glared at Bonbon.

The whole club had a free live podcast of what was put where and how it felt and how well it stretched her.

"Yes, we all do the kinky stuff," Birdie stirred her cocktail with a straw, smiling at you mischievously. "But what Ari does to you? That's pure filth."

"I guess it's not as much about you or the BDSM, as it is about him." Darling added with a decisive nod.

"Right?" Bonbon nodded along and readjusted in her seat, before looking back at you. "Didn't you pin after him for the very reason of him being, erm, more intense than any other Dom you scened with?"

"Intense doesn't equal filthy," you grumbled.

There was no real fight in you, there was nothing to be angry with. But somehow, at the moment, it felt as if you won the most embarrassing category.

You weren't ashamed of your kinks, you definitely weren't ashamed of Ari, but to be named the filthiest suddenly brought back the shy girl you used to be as you entered adulthood.

"Oh please," Pumpkin snorted, rolling her eyes.

"Didn't he test every single fucking toy sample the club got from a new brand?" She arched a brow, looking at you knowingly. "Turning you into a mess on public display and asking other Masters to take a close look and judge if the toys were working right."

Ari never let anyone touch you then, but he allowed them close visual inspection, as well made sure to comment out loud on every detail of your reaction.

Made promises about purchasing a few toys for his private collection to ruin you with them outside of the club.

"And didn't he-" Bonbon cocked her head to the side, her smirk almost as evil as her Master's - "make you hold his cum in your mouth and not swallow. Until it started dribbling out of the corner of your mouth?"

Ari mocked you for making a mess, then spanked you for spilling.

"What about that time he made you ride his thigh in the backyard of his family's house? Then ordered you to lick your cum from his pants before you returned inside for dinner?"

"Let's not forget the punishment you got for the tangerines." Added Birdie.

Ari tied you up with rope, your breasts spilling between lines and knots. He put a clamp on your clit with a small orange bead. With body paint he created pictures of tangerines around your nipples.

Then wrote "Free tangerines to pick" on your belly, with arrows pointing to your breasts and down to your mound.

He sat on a barstool beside you as anyone who passed and wished (and all of them did) tugged on your nipples, or flicked the clamp on your clit.

It went on and on. Ari nursed a drink, talked with some other Masters, all the while you were getting more weak in the knees. Need was spiraling up fast, dewing in sweat on your skin. Your slick soaked the rope between your thighs and dripped down.

Yeah, okay, maybe the girls were onto something with that filth...

"Shut up!" You hid your face in your hands and your friends giggled.

Something @tumblin-theworldaway said under one of my posts regarding Ruby Garden made me wonder

#I know the filthy category is still debatable because we each see something different as filth #but it was purely for fun and shenanigans 😆#in the end is it the couple that is filthy or is it Ari who's filthy? 😏#ari levinson x reader #ruby garden #ruby garden series #heart of ruby #ari levinson x you

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robynlilyblack · 2 years ago

Text

The Holiday

Part 3

Fred Weasley x fem! potter! reader

Summary: Y/n and Fred wake up after their kiss to find Harry and Y/n’s uncles have arrived

Warnings: swearing, mentions of eating, sex and food, heated makeout session, kissing, friends to lovers, James being the best dad, fluff fluff fluff

A/n: 5k words, there will be a part 4 since I fancy alot of James and reader bonding in the next one as well as Fred and the reader sneaking about x

Navigation | Fred Weasley Masterlist | Part 2

Fred slowly drifted from his dream, in the state of knowing he’s waking up yet he can still interact within his unconscious world. He drifted that little bit quicker as he felt you wriggling around, feeling your arms hugging him as your nose pushed into his chest.

His eyes flutter open, taking time to look around the room and let his eyes adjust, it was definitely morning, but by the blue hues it was only first light, his suspicions confirmed by the clock reading, 04:25. His head turns to you then, you were smiling in your sleep, fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt softly, your leg lazily draped over his own

He trailed the backs of his fingers over your cheek, smiling to himself as he recalls last night. If he was being honest he never thought there would be a day he could kiss you, let alone it be nothing like he imagined and yet that was the best part. He’d always imagined some huge confession followed an angry rain kiss, or perhaps a drunken kiss, maybe even some mistletoe. But the one you shared was so much better, it was sweeter than any other kiss he had shared with someone and he really could say with confidence it was the best first kiss he could have asked for

Fred shamelessly watched you sleep, soaking up every little hum, movement and slight facial expression. He pulled you into him, nuzzling his nose into your hair, smelling the same thing which freaked him out at first when he was 17, as well as the thing he always smelt when he walked by the love potion section of the shop.

“You trying to eat me?” you mumble into his chest and he can feel the smile on your face

He kisses your hair before pulling back to look at you “Maybe” he smirks

Your eyes flick up to him, seeing the mischief in his eyes “Oh no you don’t” you duck out of his arms and try to climb under the covers and out via the bottom of the bed but he’s too quick, hand wrapping around your ankle

“Freddie” you squeal

Fred just laughs at your reaction, slithering under the covers himself whilst holding you down and placing open mouth kisses your clothed and unclothed skin as if he’s taking bites

“No” you ‘try’ to escape his grasp, fits of giggles escaping you as his lips latch to your exposed shoulder and up your neck from where your shirt has slid down

“No escaping now” he taunts, half laying on top of you with a wicked grin on his face

You fake a gasp “Don’t eat me” you play cower “I’ll do anything” you announce dramatically

He runs his nose over your cheek to your ear “Anything eh?” he whispers, chuckling at your little hiccup

Fred pulls away from your face, the light peeking through the gap in your small cover cocoon, illumining yours and his faces

“Am I dreaming?” he wonders out loud, his touch softens as he runs his hand up and down your waist, thumb brushing up and over your stomach on occasion in a sweet rhythm

You shake your head “If you are I’m one incredibly realistic fantasy…although maybe I should be concerned over your cannibalistic nature” you reply with a giggle, eyes tracing over his features

He was flushed, gorgeous rosiness to his cheeks and wearing a smile that made you melt further into the mattress. His hair was messy yet he still looked so handsome, your eyes flicked down to his shirt, the material ridden up during your little squabble. You bite your lip at his stomach, faint trace of his upper abs in his relaxed state with the little pudge of fat of his stomach, and the small trail of hair leading downwards from his bellybutton

Fred more than noticed your stares as his laughs dissipated and let himself admired you as well. Your hair was loosely splayed beneath your head, face fresh from the abrupt wake, laugh lines still faintly visible even when your giggles have stopped. Fred then looked down, your shorts and shirt ridden up, leaving your midriff and upper thighs exposed to him.

It was funny, you’d both see the other in swimsuits, lesser clothes than you had on now yet everything felt so different, new. Perhaps because you were allowed to look now, the guilt of looking at your best friend and the fear of not being loved back now long gone

“You are beautiful” he says as your eyes meet “So beautiful” he gives you a warm smile

“Well I am a figment of your imagination course you’d make me pretty” you grin up at him, your hand moving to cup over his pressed into the mattress besides you

He chuckles “This can’t be dream then” he says leaning closer, causing your breath to hitch as his chest gently brushes yours

“Why not?”

“Because you were always prettier in person” he nudges his nose with yours “And you look prettier than I’ve ever seen you right now”

“Flirt” you whisper, cheeks becoming sore from how much your smiling

“Only for you little bird” his lips brush against yours, so close you can feel the vibrations of his voice

His lips capture yours softly, breaking away with each long and slow kiss as you and he close the gap between your bodies. Your hands moving under his arms, running over his back before you grip around his shoulders, pulling him down into you as your legs tangle. Fred hand trails up and down your sides, eventually moving there way all the way up to your cheek but by then you’ve broken the kiss giggling

“Love I can’t kiss you if you laugh” he chuckles pulling away from your lips “Stop”

“I’m sorry” you continue giggling, giving him a quick peck

“Then what?” he asks, maybe his hair looks funny?

“You cupped my boob…sorry” you break out in little laughs but try to supress them

Fred cheeks heat, he hoped you hadn’t noticed the small grope “I’m so sorry” he says genuinely, although your giggles gave him some solace he was still nervous he made you uncomfortable

Your giggles stop as you see his look of unease “Aww Freddie” you cup his cheeks “I’m not upset it was just funny for a second…I liked it Freddie really I did” you assure him

“Sure?” he asks, voice cuter with the squishing of his cheeks

You nod firmly with a cheeky grin, taking his hand and placing on your chest

“You’re trying so hard not to squeeze it aren’t you?”

He bites back his grin “You’re a cruel birdy” he shakes his head

“My sincerest apologies pretty autumn tree” you shine up at him and his heart flutters at the description “How can I make it up to you?” you say, tugging your bottom lip between your teeth, staring up at him with doe like eyes

Fred ponders for a moment, but you know him and he knows you do. He had something in mind the moment he woke up and never tried to go back to sleep, as well as the moment you placed his hand over your chest

“Two squeezes on both of them and you need to watch the sunrise with me” he bargains

You make it look like you were thinking it over “One small massage on both and the sunrise” you bargain back

Fred felt hot, merlin was his dreams coming true this morning

“Over or under” he plays along with the negotiation, voice deeper in order to make you crack

You do, shying away a little “One boob under or two over plus the sunrise” you say quietly, confidence slipping away

“The sunrise on its own is just fine” he says finally, loving your little pout “What’s wrong little birdy?”

“And you called me cruel” you sulk playfully before him

He chuckles, glancing down at his hand, sliding it down to your side but not without flicking his thumb over one particular area, eliciting a small erratic breath from you

“Cruel tree”

“Pretty birdy”

He kisses you then, pulling away too quickly for your liking so you chase his lips, and with that he falls deeper, granting you one last kiss before he lifts the covers and pulls you upwards. Wordlessly, he grabs a one of the blankets, tucking it under his arm and holds out the other for you to take. You grin as you wrap both of your arms around his, letting him lead you to the window seat

“Wait” you stop him, letting go of his arm and shuffling back towards the bed

Fred watches as you bend down to gather the bigger cover. He chuckles as you cutely pool the quilt into your arms, the material half engulfing you as you shuffle back to the window, insisting you don’t need help as you fold it and make a soft little bed for you both. He grins more as you walk back to get some pillows as well, placing them at the top before turning to him with a proud look

“You like it?”

He drops the blanket over the makeshift bed, his reply in the way he cups your face and kisses you firmly, licking his lips as he pulls back

“Almost as much as I like you” he says, kissing your nose, loving the little scrunch it makes

He pulls up the blinds properly, letting the sparks of first light illuminate the room fully just before it darkens again, the sun readying herself to rise. Fred opens the window, pushing it outwards to let the fresh morning air in, the slight breeze just what you needed as you could tell it was going to be another hot day

You climb up first, letting your legs hang out of the window sighing as you take in the view. The tall trees not so tall from the top floor, mountains beautifully looming in the distance, fields shining with morning dew. Your eyes drift down to the town nearby, the tippy tops of the houses and the wisps of smoke from their chimneys poking out from the surrounding woodland, causing you to smile as you remember the hunt you and Fred went on

The blanket under Fred’s arm was draped carefully around your shoulders, drawing your attention back to the boy as he takes his place next to you. You watch as he fixes his side of the blanket, a smile on his face, leg gently pressed against your own, the whole thing so natural, so domestic

Nothing had changed between you yet at the same time everything had, and you couldn’t be happier as you turned to watch the sun rise between the gap in the mountains

Fred turned to you, hand finding your thigh and wrapping its way around it. His heart still in a minor disbelief this was all really happening, even more at how smoothly you both were transitioning from friends to lovers. He’s done this before with you, hand on your thigh, watching some beautiful sight, up at a ridiculous time, but his heart felt whole, like you were the missing piece and all it took was a kiss that had a long time coming

“It’s starting” you say, smiling as you see the pinks, oranges and even one streak of green lighting up the sky, growing brighter by the second “Pretty” you whisper

“Gorgeous” Fred says, looking directly at you

You turn your head, cheeks rising as you giggle “Eyes on the sky flirty boy” you gently take your finger and turn his head to face the sunrise

“Better get used to it” his arm leaves your thigh and slithers around your waist, pulling you into him “Flirty boy isn’t leaving anytime soon…Godric knows I’ll still be one when we’re old and grey…wait do gingers even get grey?” he ponders

“Guess I’ll be there to tell you if they do, that is if you don’t go bald” you tease, heart fluttering at the idea of growing old with him

Fred’s heart does something similar “If you had seen my grandfather you wouldn’t be telling me that…besides both my uncles have fabulous hair” he smirks, chuckling as you softly grip his chin and turn his head to face the sky once again

“I’ll give you that, you were named after two rather dashing men” you lean your head into him, hand moving to take his own

“Can I assume you fancy me based on how you know in the future I’ll still be this attractive?” he winders out loud, smiling away as the colours grow brighter, the clouds above you both looking like candyfloss

“No that’s just a bonus” you squeeze his hand “I fancied you long before you got…'hot'” you make little bunny ears with your hands before returning them to their original positions

He doesn’t laugh at that just smiles down at you “When did you start fancying me?”

“Happened gradually, but probably started the moment I saw you. I knew for sure at the yule ball I was doomed when we danced though” you confess, finally looking at him

His heart aches for the lost time, pulling you that little bit closer as he kisses your temple before looking out over the spectacular view

“I wanted to ask you” he smiles at he can feel your eyes widening without needing to look, because if he did he was going to kiss you till theirs no tomorrow “The age gap was a little more of a problem back then ya see…but when you went with George, Mione went with Victor and countless others who had a bigger one than us I felt so stupid”

“Me and Georgie only went together because you and Lee had dates. We figured we’d be sad fucks together” you giggle, funny how you can laugh about this stuff now

He nudges his nose into your hair line “Least we got our dance” he cups your cheek

“We did” you nod

“You looked perfect that night” his thumb flicks over your cheek “You always do though”

“Speak for yourself big guy” you mumble, head tilting as you lean into his touch

He grins, pecking your nose “Should have kissed you” his fingers trail down over your cheek and to your lips

“Why didn’t you?” you say, lips tickling his fingers

“Scared which was weird for me” he chuckles “Not to mention your dad, godfathers and brother were nearby to kick my arse…and it wouldn’t be very nice to my date” he adds and you smile

“Always the gentleman” you let out a little laugh, smiling brightly at him “Maybe another ball will happen and we can make it up to each other?”

“It better” he says and you both giggle “But until then I’ll settle for this”

And with that his lips meet yours softly, savouring the moment

“Freddie?” you whisper when you break away, lips still brushing

“One second my love” he kisses you again, and around four more times for good measure “Merlin I love kissing you”

You give him a bashful look “Freddie” you voice breathless

“I love when you call me that too” he wiggles his eyebrows to which you pout so cutely “Sorry birdy” he kisses your forehead “What is it?”

“Two things” he nods “One, you know you got me right? You don’t have to make me combust with flirting”

“I know pretty” you make a little whining noise at that “I’m never going to stop, you have no idea how much I’ve been holding back all these years”

“You’re impossible” you giggle “Good thing I love impossible”

Fred’s heart soars at that “Impossible needs an accomplice” he smirks “I’m lucky enough to have two”

You nuzzle into the side of his chest “We’re both lucky” you kiss through the material

“What was the…” he starts as he gently pulls your head back, getting lost in the way the low sun is hitting your face “What was the second thing” he finally gets out, a dusting of pink on his cheeks

“Oh” you bite your lip “Do we tell people or keep this to ourselves?”

His eyebrows knit “I forgot everyone else existed” he thinks for a moment “Maybe we say nothing for a little bit, enjoy the bliss for a bit before everyone, but especially our mothers, start planning the wedding”

“That’s a good point…our wedding will be ten times better than Bills though” you add

Fred grins “Oh yeah” the blanket falls off your shoulders as his arm moves up around your shoulders “Our wedding will be the best hands down little birdy”

You bite your lip smiling as you turn back to the sunrise “Are you tired?” you ask after a few seconds of suppressing your yawn

His shoulders relax “Yes” he falls into you a little “Wanna sleep here?” he asks

“You think I made this bed for nothing?”

“Morning” Sirius sings as he enters the house, letting out a laugh as he is met with James, Lily, Molly and Arthur sitting quietly around the dining table while the teens and young adults are sprawled out over the couches fast asleep “Did I miss the party already?”

James chuckles “Nah, we’ll get them some coffee andthey'll be good as new”

“Hello!” Remus smiles as he carries in his and his husbands’ cases in, looking fresh “How is everyone…” his words slow down into a chuckle as he sees the scene “Where’s pup?”

The four adults look over the couches, noticing you and Fred are missing, Molly and Lily share a subtle yet excited look

“I’ll go check on them, they got covered in mud last night and they probably stole the beds while everyone else was busy” James says with a smile standing up “You alright?” he checks looking towards Remus

“Grand...really” he assures him, a thankful look for asking on both his and Sirius’ face

James nods moving up the stairs, distantly hearing Lily telling Sirius he would not wake them up with water balloons and chuckling to himself when Molly actually agrees with his friend

“Merlin there are a lot of stairs” he puffs getting to the attic

He slowly opens the door to find both of the beds empty. Standing for a minute he looks a little baffled, scratching his neck before thinking maybe you took one of the beds downstairs. He was about to leave when he heard a small snore, pushing the door fully open he sees you and Fred cuddling on the window seat, a small blanket that had long fallen down draped over your tangled legs, your cheek squished up against his chest

James laughed quietly. Images of himself and Lily doing the same thing flashing through his mind, his heart warming that you did the same thing. He remembered when you found the photo, you were only 6, no real idea about love but you had your heart set on two things. Falling for your best friend like your uncle moony and pads, and when you found them you would make a bed by the window and watch the sunrise, sunset or just the stars, anything really

James did snap a photo, but he didn’t put it in the album with the others, no he was going to keep this one for yours and Fred's wedding, because let’s face it, everyone always knew you both were endgame

“You look after her for me” he whispers to Fred like his sleepy state will still hear his sweet seniment followed by his minor threat “Or the marauders will never stop hunting you” he smirks, lifting the blanket and covering you and Fred up again

He kisses your forehead before heading out, taking one last look before closing the door and heading back down the stairs

“They okay?” Lily asks as his foot hits the bottom step

He nods “Yeah just like I said they stole the beds now Thing 2 and Jess are down here” he gestures to the ginger and still rainbow haired girl

“They’re all in the same room?” Sirius asks “Thanks Molly you’re a gem” he thanks the women as she pours him some coffee

James nods “The twins…ginger twins” he clarifies, it was easy to forget you and Harry were twins sometimes “Jess and my little fawn are sharing the attic” he returns to his seat, kissing Lily’s cheek on the way down

“No funny business I hope”

Remus lets out a laugh at his husband statement “Siri love half of that room are happily in relationships, besides y/n is…” he's cut off

“Yes but Fred, the mini version of me, is single and not ready to mingle with our Goddaughter. She’s the closest thing to a real child we’ll ever get” he huffs before catching James and Lily’s amused faces “What? Harrys a mama and moony boy and y/n’s a daddies and uncle pads kinda gal” he smirks “Like you didn’t want to kill Fred in his final year when we found them all cosy on the couches together”

“Cosy?” Molly raises an eyebrow

Remus hums “Sort of, they fell asleep on the common room couches a couple times while staying up and planning pranks. Completely innocent…” Sirius scoffs “…it was, don’t mind him”

“I always assumed they were together” Arthur shrugs, he did the same with Ginny and Harry, ever since she saw them interacting he just assumed they’d get together…he’d pride himself in his matchmaking skills if he thought that wouldn’t upset his wife

Lily lets out a giggle while James keeps an impartial expression due to his new-found knowledge. It was true once upon a time he would have killed Fred for the position he just found the two of you in but over the years he got a first-hand view of yours and his relationship. Maybe even more so than either of you. Perhaps that’s why at first, he was apprehensive, he saw the way you looked at Fred, same quiet fire as Remus had when he looked at Sirius, and much like your uncles, you may have fallen first but Fred fell harder

“No way are they together” Sirius maintains shaking his head "Or will ever be because I'll kick his arse"

Remus catches James’ eye while Molly and Lily seem to be locked in a hushed discussion, a discussion the wolf could hear easily but choose to ignore

‘He’s just in denial’ he mouths with a smile

‘Deja vu’ James mouths back with a smirk before sipping his tea

You couldn’t wipe the smile off your face if you tried, skipping down the stairs as you headed to get food. Fred would have joined you but after some feverish kisses he needed a minute or ten to calm down. Reaching the bottom steps, you see George, Jess, Hermione, Ron, Ginny and your brother all lazily eating their breakfast with Molly, Arthur and your mum

“Hello pup”

You jump out of your skin as someone taps your sides from behind but relax instantly when you realise who it was “Uncle Pads!” you half jump into a hug, smiling brightly as you wrapped your arms around him

“Missed you too” he kisses your hair, pulling back to take a strand “This is cool, you and Jess are twining better than you and Harry”

“Well I always was the prettier twin” you grin earning a ‘hey’ from Harry followed by a teasingly casual ‘she’s right though’ from Ginny

Sirius chuckles at that, Harry may have looked like James, inherited some traits like an eye for getting into trouble, but you were all him, same humour everything. You also gained some things from himself and Remus, and as much as he was apprehensive the latters taste in partner

“That you are pup” he gives you one last hug before letting go

“Finally, stop hogging her” Remus’ voice comes from your side

You don’t run up to him instead look at him warily “Can I?” you hold out your arms, knowing he might still be sore from the moon

He gives you a warm smile “Course you can” he welcomes your embrace

The moon wasn’t a bad one, not when he had the potion and Sirius there to help. Although as he hugged you he felt like something was different, he just couldn’t place it. Your scent was off but he chalked it up to it being a holiday…oh or perhaps it was a certain redhead clinging to you

“Morning!” Fred greets everyone cheerily, while you hide your smile within your uncle’s chest

As he reaches the bottom he spots your uncles, a small tinge of red spreading up his neck as Sirius gives him a smile but there was a look behind it, while Remus just raised an eyebrow before smiling

“When did you arrive?” he wonders, voice cool, casual but Remus could hear his heart thumping and he smiled to himself as he heard it slow back down, relaxing as he met your eyes before quickly picking up again at the sound of his husband

“This mornin” he says, taking a seat beside Harry

“Sleep well?” George asks, taking a bite of his breakfast, smirking at his twin

Fred sends his brother a glare as he moves to sit with him while you and Remus take your seats on the opposite side

“Yeah really well” it wasn’t a lie, you bet his arse he had a great sleep after kissing the girl he loved more than any other

“What about you pup?” Remus asks whilst you serve yourself some breakfast

Your face felt a little warm but you kept your cool a lot better than Fred “Yeah, much better without Georgie’s snoring” you joke

“Cheeky” George eyes you

“His snoring is better than him constantly falling out of the bed” Jess chips in “Almost five times that first night alone”

“So that’s what that was” Ron turns to Hermione “You told me I was imagining it”

Hermione giggles at him “I didn’t say you imagined it I just said it was probably a door not a niffler trying to steal your stuff is all”

You whole table lets out chuckles at that “Frank had a niffler didn’t he?” Lily says after a few moments, looking towards James who smiles nervously “Oh what?” she giggles knowing that face

Your eyes go to your uncles, Sirius was holding laughter whilst Remus looked amused but a little pissed off “Yeah James why don’t you tell the class” Remus states

“Funny story” he starts and you place your hand over your lips to hold in the giggles, not noticing the red head across from you admiring how adorable it is “I was headed back from…Lily’s dorm…” he says earning ‘ooo’s’ and a low ‘awooo whooo’ from Sirius “When I spotted this cool looking rock on the floor so naturally I pick it up” he states to which Fred, George, Ron, Arthur and Harry all nod as if to say ‘naturally’ along with him while everyone else can already tell where this is going “I then proceeded to head into our dorms shower and placed the rock on the sink until I was finished but the moment it hit the ceramic it started to…crack open” he cringes

Lily gasps “Wait that’s why we could all hear yells?” she asks before giggles escape her lips along with everyone else

“The niffler did get into Peters bed and he fell out of it but really they were mostly my Moonys” Sirius adds smiling at his husband

Remus takes a deep breath “It was 6 in the morning on a Saturday and James flunking magical creatures smashed our mirror by throwing your hair cream at the poor little thing” everyone was in fits of laughter now, including Remus as he finishes

“I forgot about that...hey you never replaced it either! You owe me” Sirius points at James

“Sirius you don’t even use that brand of hair cream anymore” he tries to defend but Sirius holds his ground staring intensely until James gives up “Fine. Fine” he holds up his hands in defeat

“And I want it today”

“Today?!” James barks a laugh

“Yes, because I forgot to pack mine” Sirius maintains while Remus makes a couple of confused sounds

“Siri...I packed it in the small case?” he says almost like a question

“You did darling but I forgot the whole thing”

Remus looks like he’s going to argue before shrugging and excepting the behaviour he honestly isn’t surprised at anymore and instead turns to your father “James you mind grabbing two toothbrushes and some paste too”

“Yeah sure anyone else have things they’d like me to buy for them today?” he poses before quickly backtracking “Actually no, don’t answer that one I’ll go bankrupt”

There’s a small bit of laughter before you speak up “I could use some new shoes actually, I sort of ruined my last ones in the mud last night” you confes

"Thats why we said no shoes sis" Harry chuckles shaking his head along with the others while Fred just wears a funny smile

You stick your tounge out at Harry who does the same back befire you turn back to your dad "Can I dad? There's this pair with little birds on them I've wanted for a while" you say with a innocent smile but your father, mother and Harry all get the reference

“Course little fawn, you can come with me” he smiles before seeing his friends smirks to which he shrug with a laugh “What? She doesn’t count she’s always been too cute to say no too”

Guess we have that in common, Fred thinks as he catches your eye, although he does remember neither of you wearing shoes outside last night

‘you weren’t wearing shoes’ he mouths when everyone else is in conversation

You just smile with a small nod ‘I didn’t want him to go alone’ you whisper back even if it was only a half truth

Fred smiles at that, returning to his breakfast while you look up the table towards your dad, both of your eyes shining with the same thing

Mischief

Thanks for reading ♡

#fred weasley and reader #fred weasley and y/n #fred weasley and you #fred weasley x reader #fred and reader #fred weasley x you #fred weasley #fred weasley x y/n #fred x reader

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primofate · 3 years ago

Text

Genshin x fem!reader [Volleyball Team AU - Inspired by Haikyuu!] He introduces S/O to the team

Before you read this, might be a good idea to read the introduction first. To give you the whole low-down of the team and their dynamicsssss.

Other works in the Volleyball Team AU Series: Click Here

Scenario: You and him have been dating for a while now. Why does the team not know and what’s their reaction in finding out/when he introduces you?

Warnings: AU if that’s not your thing then don’t read, not proofread...as usual.

#1 Zhongli (Captain/Wing Spiker/Ace)

You’ve been dating for nearly 5 months at this point. Beforehand the two of you were close friends. So the team kind of already knew you guys were close, but you’d never met the team properly.

It’s not that he was HIDING your relationship, its that he didn’t want to pressure you into meeting his team. They could really be an overwhelming bunch of high schoolers sometimes.

As it happens he walks to the gym hand in hand with you one day, his other hand on his duffel sports bag, thinking that he’d be the earliest one there as always.

But when he slides the gym doors open his WHOLE TEAM greets him “CAPTAIN!” and then there’s an awkward silence that descends as they all catch him with his hand intertwined with yours.

KAEYA AND TARTAGLIA LOSES IT. “C-Captain, you had a girlfriend and didn’t tell us?!” “You finally made a move on her?!” “S’about time!”

Needless to say they both get knocked on the head by Zhongli’s fist.

Zhongli sighs and turns to you apologetically but you say that you don’t mind meeting them. He perks up and claps his hands to ask his team to line up.

They do so diligently. Kaeya, Tartaglia and Thoma are giddy while looking at you. Xiao and Kazuha have their mouth slightly agape as if you’re some kind of rare species. Diluc and Albedo stare you down.

You introduce yourself as Zhongli’s gilrfriend and as you do so Tartaglia’s eyes dart towards Zhongli who has a slightly shy expression on his face.

“Oh, oh question time!” Thoma raises his hand “Does the captain secretly eat sweets behind our back?” You haven’t even answered when Kaeya asks “Does the captain ever glare at you (he mimics Zhongli’s face) and say 10 Push ups NOW!” Surprisingly Diluc raises his hand too “...Is the captain strict with you too?”

Zhongli gets irked the more questions are asked and he finally steps in with an ominous presence. “10 laps around the gym...NOW!”

He apologizes to you again but you reassure him it’s totally fine and they all seem like such fun.

#2 Diluc (Vice Captain/Wing Spiker/Defense Specialist)

The vice captain is a very secretive guy.

Not even his brother knew.

It’s not that he was ashamed of you, he just liked his privacy and you already knew that.

But there was this one time where he forgot his textbooks under his desk and you had to go and give it to him while he was at practice.

Shyly looking into the door the first one that spots you is Albedo.

“...Do you need something?” you tense up at Albedo’s question and shakily hand him the textbooks.

“U-Uhm... D-Diluc’s...”

Albedo tilts his head and turns to shout at the team. “Someone’s looking for the vice captain,”

Everyone stops what they’re doing and snaps there head towards you.

Diluc jogs over, sweat still fresh on his forehead. Without thinking he takes the books from you, small smile on his face and thanks you.

The rest of his team freezes up all thinking: “Hold on, is he...SMILING?”

You’re oblivious to them staring and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before leaving. When Diluc turns back his team is glaring daggers at him, he stares back at them. Doesn’t say anything, and continues practice.

No one is brave enough to ask him about it.

Tartaglia whispers to Kaeya “You didn’t know about it either huh?”

#3 Kaeya (Middle Blocker)

This MF would talk about you whenever he had the chance.

Y/N this, Y/N that, Y/N is so cute.

Frankly the team is kinda tired of it.

But when you finally visit one of their practices the team levels their gaze at you and think “Oh shit, he wasn’t lying, she is actually cute,”

Sees his teammates expression and brags even more. “I know what y’all are thinking. You’re thinking, OH! She’s actually really cute! Hm?”

Slings an arm around you shamelessly with a grin. “Back off boys, I’ll block all your attempts,”

Diluc is the one that walks up to you and you blink at him. Kaeya blinks at him, confused as well.

Diluc suddenly bows, “I feel sorry for you but please take care of him,”

The rest of the team either bursts out laughing or snickers behind their hand.

Their vice captain is low key savage

#4 Albedo (Setter)

The team finds out about you cause when they finish practice they find you waiting outside the gym.

Kazuha asks politely while the others look on “Are you lost?”

You straighten up and stutter a little, “Ah, uh, no, I’m...” You’re at a loss for words.

Then Albedo suddenly appears from the gym doors and sees you. “Ah, were you waiting long? Sorry,”

Thoma tilts his head in question. “Albedo...Your sister?”

Albedo at this point was standing next to you already. “...No, my girlfriend,” like it was the most normal thing in the world.

Everyone is stunned into statues.

“H-How did you get one before me?” Tartaglia looks as if his soul had been sucked out of his body.

“Next time you can just come inside and wait inside the gym, it’s dark out here,” their responsible captain suggests and you’re amazed at his kindness and bow at him with a thank you.

Albedo doesn’t see what’s the big deal and just grabs your hand and starts walking away.

#5 Tartaglia (Middle Blocker/Wing Spiker)

The team already knew since the first date. It’s because he.would.not.shut.up.about.it

That particular day at practice his spikes were a tad bit stronger than usual.

“Oi... you’re getting too excited...” Xiao mumbles at him. Tartaglia just grins and scratches the back of his head. “Aaaahhhh... I can’t help it, I’m so nervous for my date with Y/N!”

A few more dates later he starts showing off his phone wallpaper to the others. It’s a picture of you and him.

Kaeya tries to piss him off by saying, “Huh, we’ve never actually seen her in person. Maybe it’s photoshopped,” The others snicker.

Is so pissed, asks you to come immediately.

You thought it was an emergency so you come into the gym with a worried look on your face only to be hugged tight into his chest. “See? See? She’s totally real and totally cute!”

Albedo crosses his arms and blinks, then looks at Kaeya “...You totally baited him, he’s such a simpleton.”

Kaeya responds with a smirk “Right?”

#6 Kazuha (Decoy/Middle Blocker/Wing Spiker)

The most formal out of all of them and even tells them seriously that he had an announcement to make.

Next day he comes into practice with you in tow.

Properly introduces you as his girlfriend.

Everyone is wide-eyed at how official it feels. Then you suddenly take out a big container of fruits and tell everyone it’s for them (The captain doesn’t allow sweets, he thinks it’ll fatten them up or some crap.)

EVERYONE IS BLESSED BY YOUR PRESENCE and Kazuha is just enjoying you getting along with them.

Kaeya and Tartaglia try to whisper and bribe you into making cookies for them.

Albedo and Xiao stares at Kazuha thinking ‘If someone like you can get a girlfriend, we can get one too, right?’

You offer to come back next time with more fruits and some secret cookies.

#7 Xiao (Libero)

Tried to keep it a secret because he knows his team will make a fuss about it.

The team finds out when his phone suddenly starts ringing in the middle of practice and he asks for a timeout to pick it up.

“Mm... Yeah... I’ll pick you up when I finish,” Everyone starts nudging each other when they hear him talk to you in an unusually calm and soft tone. So different from when he plays volleyball and gets angry at them.

By this point everyone tries to keep quiet and enlarge their ears to eavesdrop.

“Idiot... I won’t be late. I promised to take you out didn’t I?”

Hearing their tsundere libero say something so sweet makes everyone combust.

When he turns back everyone is staring at him with smirks on their faces. “Hey, why not just ask her to come here?” Kaeya sneakily suggests.

Xiao blushes “A-As if I’d let her near you bumbling fools!”

He was worried it would scare you away, actually.

#8 Tohma (Pinch Server/Middle Blocker)

Literally no one is surprised he has a girlfriend.

It would be MORE of a surprise if he DIDN’T have one.

But they find out cause he left his phone out on the bench one day and there’d been a text message while Xiao was conveniently sitting on the bench.

“...Tohma, someone me--” Xiao looks at the screen where the message ‘I love you!’ is clearly written.

Xiao is so curious but is not gunna admit it so he nudges Kaeya or Tartaglia who might be sitting next to him and secretly motions over to the phone.

They read it and ask in a real loud voice “Oi Tohma! Who’s Y/N? They said I love you!”

Tohma laughs nervously and since it’s already out he might as well introduce you.

“This is my princess,” he says when you enter the gym to walk home with him that afternoon. You bow and introduce yourself and everyone looks at you thinking... “Ah, they look like the perfect domestic couple,”

Low-key everyone is jealous of how you dote on him.

Hello Hello! Technically this could be counted as fluff, but I understand that not everyone is fond of AUs, so, if you don’t mind being tagged to something like this, please fill in the survey again (I’ve added AU as an option, just click that one if you’ve signed up for the others before!)

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Masterlist

https://primofate.tumblr.com/post/653296890583154688/masterlist-for-mobile-version-main-links

#genshin au #zhongli x reader #diluc x reader #kaeya x reader #albedo x reader #tartaglia x reader #kazuha x reader #xiao x reader #tohma x reader #childe x reader #genshin haikyuu crossover #genshin volleyball team #genshin volleyball au #genshin fluff #primofate #genshin headcanons

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