#she has fun bothering him. he continues to pretend it DOES bother him because if he lets on she will stop

[skecherss]

and baby, Bruce is getting sunburned

[iamnotoriginalphil]

Shadows and Light (Agatha Harkness x f!Reader)

Synopsis: Agatha shouldn't want you. But she does. She wants you so much. If only she'd let herself have you.

Words: 5.2k

Warnings: Alcohol, self loathing, mentions of blood, angst, one bed trope, fuck you everyone lives

She couldn’t believed she’d allowed this to happen. It was inconceivable, even more so because she hadn’t noticed it happening. It had crept up on her.

You, with your wide eyes and easy smile, hair that shone, laughter that was like a bell ringing, you were everything she was not. Soft and sweet and nice. Kind. It would be disgusting if you hadn’t managed to charm her the way you charmed the rest of them.

Sitting back in her chair, nursing a glass of wine, she watched as you spun in the firelight. Dancing around the bonfire, bare feet kicking up leaves, you were a picture to watch. You were signing along, your voice clear and bright, melding with the other voices of the coven. You grasped both of Billy’s hands in yours, spinning with him in the flickering light.

The way he laughed was full of delight. You were grinning, tugging him closer as you sang, as free as she’d ever seen you. The weight had lifted and you were easier. Your head tipped back as you drank in the moonlight up above and she had to do her best not to reach out and sink her teeth into the long column of your neck. Your skirt twirled around your calves, flashes of skin in the firelight making her fingers clench.

You fell away from Billy, arms raising as you spun, such a pretty picture in the moonlight. Lilia’s arm curled around your waist, snatching you up in the dance and you went willingly. You were always so easy, so happy to give in to the whims of others, to fulfill their desires.

She wondered what would happen is she whispered her desires into your ear.

She could just imagine the look of disgust that would pass over your delicate features. The way you’d flinch back and begin to avoid her. The whispers she’d overhear about how there was something wrong with her. The confirmation she was everything anyone had ever called her.

She lent back, draining the last of her wine as she watched you, spinning and laughing and so free. So comfortable in your own body. So sure of yourself. Your head turned and even in the shadows, you found her. You smiled, so big and bright and beautiful and her heart squeezed in her chest like you’d reached through her ribcage and grasped it in your bare hand.

It was fucking pathetic.

“If you stare any harder you might set her on fire.”

She didn’t bother turning to look as Rio settled into the chair positioned beside hers. You’d been sitting in it earlier, rambling on about your plan for the garden you’d be planting this week. The cadence of your voice had been soothing after the day she’d had. There was something about it that always helped ground her back into the present, rather than plans spiralling out of control.

“I can understand your fascination,” Rio continued, “it’s not often we meet a witch so saccharine. And it’s genuine. When was the last time you met someone with no facade?”

“Everyone has facades,” she replied, automatic, uncaring if it was true or not.

��Not her.”

Rio tipped her beer towards you, drawing Agatha’s gaze back to you. Your hand was on Jen’s, twirling her, your arm curling around her waist as you did a clumsy waltz around the fire, out of time with the music and uncaring.

“If we teamed up I’m sure we could ruin her,” Rio said, voice a purr, “tear her apart, find out what makes her tick, make it so no one can put Humpty together again.”

“Stop it,” she said, not caring if her harsh voice gave away more than she usually would. There was no point pretending around Rio.

“We’d have so much fun playing with her,” she said, putting thoughts in Agatha’s mind of what she could do with you.

“Don’t,” she said, firmer, refusing to let her continue.

“Well, sweetheart, if you want to play with her, you might want to get a wriggle on or someone else will get there first.”

Rio dragged her gaze over to you significantly. Her head snapped up. Your fingers had wound with Jen’s, no longer dancing but swaying as you whispered together. Your face was so open and you were dazzling. It was incomprehensible that anyone could survive under that gaze without falling for you.

No wonder she’d had no chance.

The sharp jab of jealousy was familiar, tart and metallic in her mouth. She wanted to stop watching, didn’t want to see you fall under someone else’s spell, but feeling the inevitability of it. There was no possibility you were going to find joy in the darkness she knew she was made up of. But she couldn’t look away. She could never look away from you.

She sat with her churning gut, stewing in it. Normally, if this was someone else, she’d do something to lash out, to bring attention to back to herself, to remind everyone of her existence. Under your sunshine, she found herself shrinking back. It was infuriating and left her feeling as if she was on the back foot, unbalanced and unsure of herself. It was a new, if familiar, feeling and she hated it.

You fell into the grass beside Alice, head coming to rest on her shoulder. She passed you the bottle of beer she’d been drinking from, letting you sate your thirst. With your free hand you were pointing up at the stars, pointing something out in the night sky to her.

When Rio dropped down beside you, her jaw clenched.

She watched, a line drawn taut, as Rio’s fingers gently wound themselves through the ends of your hair. Your head rolled towards her, your smile stretching just a bit. With sure fingers, you gently tugged on the pocket of her jacket. Angling your body, you shifted to lean against Alice as your feet rested against Rio’s thigh.

Agatha felt like she was burning.

Lilia dropped down in your huddle and you automatically reached out, hand twining with hers. She watched the soft sigh that parted your lips, the way you relaxed, your eyes fluttering shut. She ached to be in the pile with you, to feel your muscles soften along the lines of her body, your weight sinking into her. She wanted to drag you away, to keep you all to herself, but even in the haze of her own anger she knew you wouldn’t appreciate it. That you liked being one part of a bigger whole. That you thrived with a coven. That you needed something she hadn’t let herself want for a very long time.

She squeezed her eyes closed, tipping her head upwards, taking a long slow breath in.

She didn’t open them again someone dropped into the seat beside her. Squinting them open, she’d expected Rio back. Instead, your soft smile greeted her, knees pulled up, chin resting on them as you tilted towards her.

“Tonight’s been good,” you sweet voice said, “have you enjoyed yourself, Aggie?”

“Aggie?” She raised an eyebrow.

“Do you not like it?” Your eyes widened and she saw the worry swimming in them, “sorry, I don’t have to-“

“It’s fine,” she interrupted, waving her hand. On your lips, the nickname was spun sugar, her heart beating double time.

“Have you though?” you asked, “enjoyed yourself?”

You reached out, your finger gently curling around a strand of her hair. Your lips parted and you looked at her from under lowered lashes, such hope in your face.

“You sure know how to throw a party,” she said, the way you were looking at her making up for the churning in her stomach.

The pleased tilt to your chin and the brightening of your eyes had her feeling like a live wire. You lent closer, the arm of the chair digging into your body as if you wanted to be close the distance between the two of you. She wondered if the arms weren’t present if you’d climb into her lap. She liked the thought of it.

“Are you going to stay tonight? Only it’s late and if you don’t want to drive you can. Lilia and Jen have already said they will and Billy…” You glanced back towards your house, “he passed out on the couch about an hour ago. I texted Eddie to let him know.”

“Not Rio or Alice?” she asked, the corner of her lips pulling up.

“Alice drove Shannon home and Rio did that thing where she just kind of disappears. If you don’t want to stay that’s okay but there’s space for you,” you said, fingers weaving together like you were anxious, like her answer mattered to you.

She reached out, placing her hand over yours, stopping you from twisting them to the point of breaking.

“I’ll stay,” she said.

You lit up like a goddess damned Christmas tree. Her heart stuttered, stumbling over itself and she cursed the day she’d met you. This was getting ridiculous. She wasn’t some mooney eyed teenager with a crush. She was Agatha Harkness; Witch Killer. You were nothing. No one.

It was amazing how she’d grown so used to lying to herself.

“Okay, but I only have one guest room. So we’re all going to have to share with someone. Do you have a preference?” you asked, rushing over the words.

She definitely had a preference.

“Will any of you be comfortable enough to be so vulnerable around me?” she asked.

“If you kill me in my sleep I’ll haunt you,” you said, “and I can be very annoying. You’ll never get a moment of peace again.”

She would happily spend eternity haunted by you. She had to get a grip. This was just unseemly.

“Then I suppose you know my preference,” she said.

She watched you stand up, bare toes digging into the grass. You held a hand out to her. She stared blankly.

“You take it,” you said, sounding amused.

She took it.

Bare skin brushing together, sending electricity running over her body from her palm. Staring for a moment, she couldn’t quite comprehend the way it looked, your fingers and hers knotted together. You tugged her out of her seat, breaking the moment of confusion from her brain. She was ready for you to pull away, but all you did was lead her back towards the house, hands swinging through the air. Why did it feel like the world had shrunk to that tiny point of contact?

“Are you guys good to share?” you asked as you entered the kitchen.

“We have to share a bed?” Jen asked.

You let go of Agatha’s hand and she had to bite back the disappointment. Your own arm slid around Jen’s waist, leaning into her as you blinked up at her. Lilia was staring at her, an assessing look on her face. Agatha looked back, not sure what she was seeing.

“There’s only two bed so unless you want to sleep on the floor, it’s you and Lilia, and me and Agatha,” you said.

“Good luck with that,” Jen said.

“You know, one day, and I’m not saying it’ll be today, but one day you’re going to have to admit you actually like her,” you said, “we’re a coven, a sisterhood. We belong together and to one another. Even Agatha.”

You looked over to her and she felt frozen in place. She wasn’t used to people talking about her that way. Like she was one of the team.

“Yes, well, if the feeling portion of the night is done, I wouldn’t mind retiring for the night,” she said, placing her empty wine glass down on the counter, trying to move past the rough squeezing in her chest.

“Course,” you said, “c’mon.”

You practically skipped out of the room. Billy was on the couch in your living room, his soft snores surprisingly endearing. Someone had laid a blanket over him. She could guess who. She hated that it made her feel something squishy in her chest.

“Locked the door,” Lilia said, pausing on the stairs.

“Yeah, it’s locked,” you said over your shoulder to her, “don’t worry.”

Lilia shook her head, seemingly coming back to the moment.

At the top of the stairs, you pointed to the door of the guest bedroom and the bathroom. And then the door to your bedroom was closing and she was locked in with you. You didn’t even stop to consider her, moving around the room like nothing was out of the ordinary.

“I’m gonna go brush my teeth,” you said, “I have stuff if you don’t want to sleep in your clothes.”

She took the offered clothes, your hand brushing over hers. The door to the ensuite closed and she let out a long breath. She forced herself to get a grip over herself. Dragging the clothes over her body, she looked at herself in the mirror. It would do for sleep, but she hardly wanted anyone seeing her like this. They were soft and your perfume clung to the material and it was like being wrapped in your arms. No one should be able to see the expression on her face.

“Don’t worry, you look great. Just like always.”

She startled, not having heard you exit the bathroom. In your tank top and shorts, she was having difficulty looking at you straight on. If she did, she knew it would only end in trouble. Self control wasn’t one of her strong suits. Especially around you.

“If you’re not comfortable in them, I guess I can find something else for you to wear, but I’m not sure I really have anything that’s more to your taste,” you said, your worry palpable.

“It’s fine,” she said.

“Okay.”

You paused in front of her, fingers brushing over the back of her hands, featherlight and so soft. Her shoulders relaxed and she looked down at you properly. You were so small, so delicate, a harsh wind would snap you in half. In her hands, you’d have no chance.

Pushing up onto your toes, your fingers brushed over her throat and she had to physically stop herself from shivering. You dropped back down, smiling up at her like she’d made all your dreams come true.

“Left or right side?” you asked.

In the dark, it was so much worse. You seemed to have no issue curling up beside her. Your hand had reached blindly through the dark, fingers tangling with hers, a soft sigh on your lips when you found her. Your face was turned towards her, eyes closed, eyelashes resting on your cheeks. She found herself staring, not able to stop herself, tracing your features with her eyes, yearning to reach out and touch.

She couldn’t trust herself around you.

Muscles clenched, she tried to stay vigilant through the night, refusing to let herself relax. The moment she did, she was certain she would do something to you, something beyond her control, something to ruin you. Only, after some time, once she was certain you were asleep, you rolled over, face pressing into her shoulder, curling into her body. It was what she’d been hoping for, and yet it set off all kinds of fight or flight responses in her body.

She turned her head away from you, closing her eyes, doing her best not to feel the warmth of you against her, the ghost of your breath on her skin, your hand in hers. You pressed closer, seeking out her warmth. It all ached so much.

She tore her hand from yours, rolling over, refusing to give in. She knew she couldn’t listen to that voice inside of her, the one telling her to take what she wanted. Every time she did, someone got hurt and she wasn’t going to let it hurt you.

Your arm curled around her waist, bringing your body closer, aligning yourself with her. She froze. Mumbling something, your lips brushed the skin of her neck, tightening your arm around her. You threw your leg over her, keeping her in your embrace, refusing to let her go even as she tried to wriggle away.

“Sleep, Aggie,” you mumbled, “it’s bedtime.”

She stilled again. You let out a contented hum, burying your face against her. You softened again, muscles relaxing. She squeezed her eyes shut, winding her fingers through yours, holding them to her stomach. Maybe letting herself have this for one night wouldn’t be so bad. She could stop again in the morning and everything would be okay.

One night. She’d give herself one night. And then she’d let you go.

Cracking her eyes open in the morning light, she groaned. She buried her face in the soft hair in front of her, breathing in the floral perfume that she knew clung to your skin. You pushed back against her, melting into the mattress. Her fingers brushed over the soft skin of your stomach. The little noise you made was addictive enough that she did it again.

“Aggie,” you sighed, soft and sweet and delicious.

First thing in the morning, your voice was deeper, lower, a little raspy. She wanted to luxuriate in it, make you speak soliloquies just to hear it. Her arms tightened around you, practically crushing you to her.

“Agatha,” you murmured, almost a moan. She liked that.

If her fingers slipped down, found the heat between your legs, she would be able to hear you moan properly. If she tasted you, she could get you to moan so loudly it would be burned into her brain. If she fucked you deeply into the mattress she could make it so you never stopped moaning.

She couldn’t do any of that.

Dragging her arms from around you, she ignored the chill that went through her. She’d had her one night. She’d slept deeply and well, and now it was time to return to real life.

She lay back, considering getting up, slipping out of the bed and getting dressed and finding coffee. Your ceiling stared back at her, mocking her as she lay in indecision in your bed. The covers tugged and she was reminded of how close you still were, curled up in sleep, soft and vulnerable. Perfect for digging her nails in and shaping you how she wanted.

Only she wanted you exactly how you were. She wanted you soft and gentle and vulnerable. She wanted you with your open heart and wide eyes and trusting nature. She wanted every smile, every flutter of eyelashes, every giggle. She was greedy and she knew she hungered for something she would never have, a hunger she wasn’t sure she could ever satiate. She was every dark thought and every monster, and she would corrupt you, ruin you, rot you from the inside out.

And yet she wanted with such wild abandon she couldn’t stop.

She pushed up, sitting, ready to swing her legs out of the bed and retreat before she did something she regretted. Rio was right. All she brought was destruction and she couldn’t destroy you. It would destroy her.

Warm fingers curled around her wrist and she froze. You were blinking up at her, wide eyes still soft with sleep but the corners of your lips were pulled down. She was already ruining you.

“Where are you going?” you asked.

Your other hand rubbed at your eyes, wiping the sleep from them. Her heart gave an extra hard beat, almost slamming in her chest.

“Were you going to slip out without saying goodbye?” you asked when she didn’t answer, sounding lost and hurt and she hated herself in that moment more than she ever had before.

You were still lying back, hair spread over the pillow, looking perfect for her to ruin. Her lips could paint such pretty pictures on your skin. She could make those wide eyes glaze over as you moaned her name. You would be hers if she let herself have you.

“You were.” You pouted, “you were going to leave without saying goodbye.”

You sat up and she had to drag her gaze away from the way the neckline of your tank top dipped, showing swathes of skin she wanted to bury herself in. Turning her head away, she tried not to show the way she felt heat creeping up her cheeks.

Because she was looking away, she had no chance to avoid it when you swung one leg over her and deposited yourself in her lap.

“That’s not very nice, Aggie. I bet you weren’t even going to leave a note,” you said.

Your hands were on her shoulders, winding into her hair, tugging her closer and all she could think of was how nice the weight of you in her lap felt. Her fingers clenched in the sheets, keeping from touching you. She was worried if she started then she’d never stop.

You weren’t making this easy on her.

You were still liquid warmth from sleep, pressing closer, those wide eyes eating her alive. You were still pouting and you were so close and all she wanted to do was close the distance and claim you. To let your warmth consume her until she was on fire.

“That’s so mean,” you said, fingertips dragging over her cheekbones, brushing the pulse in her neck, pushing just under the neckline of the shirt she’d borrowed.

“I am mean,” she said, forcing the words past her lips.

“No you’re not.” You shook your head, hair flying around your face, “you pretend to be but you’re not really.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, not able to meet your eye.

Your fingers gripped her hair, right at the roots, fists clenching until it pulled. She looked up into your face, finding something fierce there. It looked wrong on your face and yet so very right.

“I do. I do know. You pretend you’re this big scary monster who snatches children in the night but you’re not. You’re busy protecting a gooey centre that could break so easily.” Your fingers tightened in her hair. She hissed from the pain, “you care, Agatha Harkness. You care so much sometimes I think it scares you.”

“I don’t-“

You cut her off before she could say more than that.

“I see you, Aggie. Every part of you. And you’re wonderful.”

Your lips pressed to hers, rough and insistent, not the gentle brush she’d always imagined. You pressed closer, knees digging into her as they held her in place, fingers in her hair tugging and pulling. She was a live wire, caught under you, a hurricane going through her because of you. You pressed closer, nipping at her lip.

When she kissed you back, you sighed, melting against her. How could she not kiss you back, when you made such a pleased noise in the back of your throat as she did? You were a force of nature and she was merely a speck, destined to bow to you in all your might. Her hands grasped your hips, keeping you there with her, feeling how warm your skin was through the thin cotton of your shorts.

She fell back, dragging you with her, your lips finding their home on her skin. Wet, open mouthed kisses down the column of her neck turned her head fuzzy. She could drown in you, in the tsunami of her feelings for you, in the downpour of desperation she felt. Your tongue tasted her skin and you moaned, almost too quiet to be heard, muffled in her skin.

Her fingers pushed up past your shirt, seeking out the warm skin. There was much of it, swathes of it, all of it unexplored by her touch. An explorer with the sweetest of expeditions before her. You pressed closer, shivering, nose skimming along her jaw.

“Aggie,” you whispered, practically a whimper, pressing down on her.

Her hands kept creeping higher, before she dragged her nails down again. Your teeth nipped at her skin and the surprised laugh that came from her jolted her out of the moment.

“Stop,” she said, ripping her hands from your body, “I can’t.”

“Can’t? Or won’t?”

You sat up and a frustrated look passed over your face. She stayed reclined on the pillows, every inch of her warring with her self control. Your hair was mussed, lips kiss stung, eyes bright. All she wanted was to ravage you, to paint her name behind your ribs and burn herself into your skin. You were a step away from being indecent.

“I see the way you look at me. I know how you feel about it me. It throbs through you,” you said, fingertips on her jaw, on her cheeks over her nose, “it’s a living heartbeat, your want for me.”

“Stop.”

Her fingers curled around your wrists, so delicate her hands became handcuffs easily. She dragged your hands from her, looking up, her chest caving in. You lent down, eyes seeking her out, refusing to let her wriggle out of this moment with her.

“I want you so much it’s like I’m being eaten alive,” you whispered, your hair brushing her skin, your eyes imploring, your lips sweets as they spilled saccharine secrets.

“I can’t,” she said again.

“Why not?” you asked and tears gathered in your eyes like jewels.

“I destroy everything I touch,” she said, her thumb brushing away a glittering tear before it could fall. Another fell in its place.

“No, Aggie,” you moaned, “you don’t destroy. You make. You made us. We were just a group of people and you made us into a coven.”

“I don’t know what it means to have a coven,” she said, looking away.

“You do.” Your forehead pressed against hers, eyes squeezed closed, breath hitching, “you yearn for one so fiercely it burns.”

“Stop doing that,” she said.

The hands still curled around your wrists shoved you away. You fell back, a mess of hair and tears and bare skin and she’d never wanted to tear you apart but you had cracked open her chest and all she could think about was getting her claws deep into your flesh until she was part of you. She refused to see she already was.

“Stop reading me,” she snapped.

“You shout.” You sniffled, “you’re so loud around me I can’t help it.”

She turned away, passing her hand over her face, surprised when it came away wet. She didn’t stop you as you curled your arms around her waist, face buried between her shoulder blades.

“Please, Aggie. Don’t deny yourself this. I’m yours, willingly and completely. You could never destroy me. You’d never let yourself,” you said, muffled in her shirt. She could feel your lips move with every word.

“You don’t know what I’ve done,” she said.

“I don’t need to. I only need to know what you will do. And I trust you,” you whispered.

She turned, dislodging you. Your fingers twisted in your lap and she wanted to rip them from your body and she wanted to suck on them and she wanted to feel them run all over her body. You blinked and your lips parted and you were the picture of innocence. How could she mar you? How could she let herself ruin your perfection?

“You shouldn’t,” she said.

“You won’t break me by holding on too tight. I want you to hold on tight. Even if it hurts. Especially if it hurts. You don’t understand what it’s like. How I crave you,” you said, “sometimes I think I can only breathe when you’re around. That I’m holding my breath until I see you again.”

“You can’t mean that,” she said, her heart eviscerated at your words.

“I do.” Your hands clutched hers, “I do.”

You were looking at her, such wide eyes, swimming with emotion and she remembered the way you kissed her. Not soft and gentle and safe, but like you would die if you stopped. The desperation was all yours. You held on and refused to let go. Your teeth sunk in. You fought dirty for what you wanted.

“Please, Aggie,” you whispered, fingertips on her cheek again, catching her tears, gaze slipped down to her lips, “let me have you.”

Who needed self control?

She launched herself at you, sending you sprawling over the mattress. The kiss was bruising, demanding, taking ruthlessly. She was thrown on her back, you climbing on top again, fingernails dragging over her skin. Your knees dug in, poking into her soft vulnerable places. You didn’t give her time to breathe, suffocating her with your kisses. But what a delicious way to go.

“Oi.”

A fist slammed into the bedroom door. You startled, sitting up, looking beautifully mussed. She dragged her nails up your thighs and she felt you quiver.

“Are you still alive in there?” Jen called through the door.

“Yeah,” you called, breathless and squirming above her.

“Good.”

The door was pushed open, two nosey witched peering in. Your fingers wrapped themselves in Agatha’s hair, mouth falling open before it snapped shut.

“We, uh…” You turned your eyes down to her. She ran her fingers over the skin of your thigh. Your eyelashes fluttered.

“Oh god,” Jen said.

“You should have-“ Lilia said before cutting off without finishing the sentence.

“Locked the door,” you murmured, eyes squeezing shut.

Your teeth sunk into your lower lip. She yearned to do that herself, to feel the thin skin split, your blood coating her tongue. But then your shoulders were shaking and she realised you were trying not to laugh. You tipped, falling off her, burying your face in the pillow to stifle it as best you could. She glowed, the sound of your giggles pure sunshine running through her veins. She reached a hand out, stroking over your hair.

“No wonder you wanted to share beds,” Jen said, “you were having fun while I spent the night being kicked by Lilia.”

“Next time I’ll take Lilia and you can have Agatha,” you said, emerging, bright and joyful, the tears gone. No, now you were practically shining.

“I’m good,” she replied.

You climbed out of the bed and Agatha had to clench her fingers to keep from reaching out and pulling you back into her embrace. You extended a hand to her, lacing your fingers with her and pulling her with more strength than she’d thought you had.

“Breakfast,” you said, “I’m gonna cook you guys so many pancakes.”

Passing Lilia, Agatha in tow, you brushed your fingers over the back of her hand. You tapped Jen on the nose as you passed and you beamed. Agatha found her own lips curling up in a smile, heart thudding in her chest, the monster in her chest purring.

“My coven,” you said, voice pure happiness, “how I love you.”

Maybe the truth was there were no shadows without light. And maybe you were fierce enough to keep her from destroying you. Maybe you, with your wide eyes and easy smile and soft touches, would destroy her. And maybe she was okay with that.

[calaisreno]

Couple

865 words / Prompt: Imperfect

“We’re not—” John begins, but realises the futility of saying it again. 

“You’re a lucky man.” Hopkins winks at him. “I’d make a play for him myself, but he’s obviously taken.”

He watches her walk away while he stands at the bar, waiting for another pint. She’s just the kind of woman he once would have hit on. A fun flirtation. 

Now he doesn’t have the energy. And he’s wondering when that happened.

Sherlock is watching him. 

He should be used to it by now. People always assume they’re a couple, and really, he doesn’t mind so much. He’s stopped saying he’s not gay because it’s misleading, and he would rather be honest. But it’s nobody’s fucking business who he is.

Sherlock must know. God, they’ve known each other for years, lived together for months now, since he and Rosie moved back. They’re practically co-parenting, and often exchange the same weary look that only the parents of a toddler can wear. 

But Sherlock looks sad, he thinks. If John is honest with himself, he’s a bit worried that Sherlock is tired of the John-and-Rosie show, the trail of destruction Rosie leaves everywhere she toddles. The cases always used to bring them together, and now, even if they have a babysitter, John’s often too exhausted to go out with him. 

Even this, a night out with the Yarders, Rosie at home with Mrs Hudson, is less fun than John had hoped. Sherlock doesn’t care for pub nights, but he tags along because John presses him to be more social. 

He moves towards Sherlock, who’s sitting on the periphery of the noisy group. People don’t socialise with him much. Even the women who look at him with appreciation give up after a brief exchange. Sherlock can manage social occasions when necessary, but he’s clearly wishing he were somewhere else.

He slides into the seat opposite. “I’m glad you came.” 

“Why?” Sherlock gives him a sharp look. “So I could watch Lestrade’s team get pissed?”

“No, I’m glad because… I like being with you.”

Sherlock’s eyebrows rise. He gives an amused huff. “You live with me.”

“Yeah, I do. But at home there’s always some mess to clean up or Rosie to deal with. I’m sorry, I know this isn’t your favourite thing.”

“I don’t mind.” His mouth curves into a smile. “I like being with you, too.” 

John nods, takes a swallow of beer. “Stella was just making the usual assumption. We look like a couple. And I was wondering, are we?”

“Are we a couple?” Sherlock’s face does something complicated: surprise, discomfort, and then careful indifference. “People are idiots.”

“I don’t care about people. I care about you. Does it bother you?”

“Why would it bother me?”

“Because you don’t… I know you care about me and Rosie, but you don’t do…” The word is on the tip of John’s tongue, but he’s looking into Sherlock’s eyes, feeling completely obvious.

“Romance,” Sherlock says. “It’s a medieval construct, John, an idealisation of a reality that is often messy and contentious. People fall in love and marry; they run headlong into disappointment and divorce. I abhor the idea that we must put on blinders and pretend everything is perfect. It’s not, and never has been.”

John feels his heart sink a bit. “Yeah, you’re right.” He touches the side of his pint glass, watches the condensation run down. 

He’s thinking about his own failed marriage. He’d loved the idea of Mary, an escape from the past, the possibility of a future with a person who loved him. He’d built an idealised life in his head, and it hadn’t taken long for him to realise how mistaken he’d been. The night Mary died, he’d planned to talk with her, tell her what he’d realised about himself. He didn’t know where that would take them, but it had to be said. He’d only delayed because of Sherlock’s text.

“Love,” Sherlock continues, “has nothing to do with romance. It’s not perfect. It’s a decision, one we keep making because it’s important.”

Their eyes meet. John is looking up into Sherlock’s face, remembering when he said, we might all just be human. “Important. To you?”

“Yes.”

The group is suddenly louder, laughing and jeering at some remark. No one is looking at him and Sherlock. 

Those grey eyes are still gazing at him.

“Love is important, John. I know I don’t often express sentiment, but I do feel it. I do love you.”

At the look on John’s face, Sherlock’s smile turns to something sadder. 

“I adore you and Rosie, and I love the messiness of living with you. I don’t want a perfect life. I want you. I want us.”

“So, you’re saying… you want us... to be a couple?”

“We already are, John. What that means is up to us. Do you want more than what we have?”

“God, yes.” The words are out of his mouth before he thinks them. “I do. Want you. If you…?”

“Yes.” Sherlock is smiling now, a full, bright smile that practically lights up the room. 

John leans closer. “I love you too, Sherlock.” 

The kiss is messy and imperfect. And glorious. Nobody’s watching.

[smallestapplin]

aaaaaa i just saw that you take stardew reqs!! i've been following for a bit but i NEVER get your posts on my dash i stg,,,

may i request some cuddles and reassurances for shane? i can't fix him but i want to just hold him and pretend I can,, can be platonic or romantic, up to you!

I love Shane, cause I'm depressed and self destructive too mf now get over here so I can hug you-

Romance is hinted and it's mutual but neither have confessed.

TW : just Shane having some self deprecating thoughts but nothing serious.

-

-

-

Shane has been doing much better in the months following when you found him drunk by the cliff side, you two have grown closer allowing you to watch how therapy continues to improve him.

Some days are better than others, but you're so proud of the improvements he's been making. But even then he still has some bad days, and those are the days he doesn't want you to see.

He feels so tired, so worthless, so useless, all he can do is lay in bed and rot.

He's watched his clock tick from 8am to 12pm to 5pm and so on, he just doesn't have the energy to get up, the fight he had been carrying just feels like a burden now.

He had been doing so good to, he's sure you'd be disappointed in him for slipping into a depressive state like this. Shane is so lost in his head he doesn't hear his bedroom door open or close, but he dos feel his bed side dip at the newly added weight.

But he doesn't bother looking up, afraid he may start crying, which is all the more likely when you so tenderly brush his hair from his face.

"Rough day today?" You ask, though you know the answer.

You smile at him, even as he finally looks at you with tear filled green eyes. Even now, you still look at him with such care and warmth, what did he ever do to deserve you?

You kick your boots off and lay down behind him, curling up against him with your face buried into the back of his neck and your arms around his waist. You know he will tell you when he is ready, but for right now you just want to distract him from his pain.

"You know my chickens missed you today, Jopeep was not happy when I was the one trying to give her pets, made this clucking sound that i swear sounded like she was sassing me."

You chuckle, your smile growing when Shane gives a small snort.

"And then Eggatha, bless her, hopped on my shoulder like she usually does, but kept looking around like a bird on a mission."

He can almost imagine your day with your flock, your chickens have always had such personalities it was a delight.

"I misssed you too, I was worried when you didn't stop by or answered my text, I figured you were sleeping. But I did bring over some stuffed peppers for you."

You sound so happy, like you don't mind being here with him while he's like this.

"You don't have to do all this." His voice is rough and gravely from not being used all day today, but it sounds so weak.

"I know, you make it sound like I do all this out of some obligation. You do know I do all this because I want to, right? You deserve some peace and joy, you've been through enough."

You're doing all this because you want to.

You help him practice the coping skills and thought processes his therapist has given him, because you want to.

You cook his favorite dishes because you want to.

There is no needing to.

There is no feeling pity and doing these things.

You want to.

"I like having you around, it's fun having you over at the farm and I get to see how many starws of hay I can put in your hood before you notice, I like our inside jokes, I like our time together, I like you and your company, even if you can't see it, it's there."

His body trembles, leaving him shaking like a leaf as he tries to hold back the tears that are already falling down his cheeks.

"But why, I'm not..." he trails off, letting out a choked sob, but that doesn't stop you.

"Healing takes time, it's a slow process and there will be days or times you slip back, to take a few steps back, but you're still working on it, you are still trying to change for the better. And i don't know if you have noticed, but even in two months of therpay you have changed, you seem happier, you seem livelier. You will always have rough days or even rough weeks, but that doesn't mean you're a failure."

Shane can't stop the sobs that leave him, he finds himself flipping around to hug you, buring his face into your shoulder to let it all out. You hold him tightly, gently shushing him and reminding him to breathe.

"I will be here no matter what."

You know your love won't fix his pain, but you know your support can help him feel more confident about going about it.

You want to tell him you love him, that you adore him and his dry sense of humor, that his gentleness with the chickens and Jas make your heart swell.

But maybe you will wait a few more months and see how he is feeling.

You know he means the world to you, even as he cries himself to sleep in your arms after muttering 'thank you's over and over again.

He deserves a safe place to feel happy.

And you want to be that for him.

[yuri-is-online]

Hi, there, again! 🌼

If it's not too much trouble, make a second and last request, I can request:

There is a really lovely moon outside tonight that you find yourself admiring, but if you would just turn around you would find someone admiring you.

With Silver, Jack and Sebek

Take your time and at your pace, bye 🌠🌌✍️💐

11. There is a really lovely moon outside tonight that you find yourself admiring, but if you would just turn around you would find someone admiring you.

Hello again yourself! Sorry this took forever! I hope you like this I was considering not putting that prompt on the list but I did anyway because I really like the moon. She does so much for romance, we should thank her.

notes: they/them used for Yuu. I should write more Silver the glomas made me think about him more, Jack gets made fun of, and Sebek is Sebek. The other event requests can be found on my masterlist here.

Silver

It is rude to stare, but Silver gave up willing himself not to blink a long time ago. He is afraid that he will put himself right to sleep and be forced to content himself with a hazy memory of your beauty. Not that he is opposed to dreaming of you, he is sure he does already anyway, he just... can't remember it.

"Silver?" He has been caught, you are blocking his vision, but he is only looking at you anyway so he finds himself smiling. "Are you ok?" You reach to check his forehead and he sighs happily into your touch.

"I'm glad you came to see if I was alright, but I promise I'm ok." You let him take your hand in his and guide you to sit next to him, he finds his smile widening but he can't see how you react. "I wonder if humans are warmer in your world."

"Oh um," he falls onto your shoulder, eyes closed but not asleep and reveling in the completely unfamiliar feeling "I don't think we are. Were? W-why would you think something like that?"

"Because I'm always really warm whenever I'm with you." He takes your hand into his lap and places his other over it, breathing deeply and slowly. "Oh and you are getting even warmer now! That's amazing. Unless it's not nice and you are uncomfortable?"

"No I'm fine." Your whisper tickles his ear even if it's not quite next to it. That's another thing he finds amazing about you, your voice has a really powerful effect on people when you lower it. That's the only way he can think to explain his increased heart rate. But then...

"Are you sure?" He opens his eyes to look up at you, your eyes aren't on him anymore, but they aren't on anyone else. You seem to be very determined to continue admiring the moon, even when he has placed himself in your grasp. There is a strange sort of ache in his chest at the thought of your voice being used on anyone else. "I would hate to be keeping you from anyone else..." You turn, more slowly than he would like but probably completely normally, to look at him and steal him back away to daydreams with your smile.

"Don't worry Silver," you squeeze the hands that hold you and rest your head on his "I'm right where I want to be. Promise." And so does he.

Jack

"Tale as old as tiiime~" Ruggie croons somewhere off to the side and Jack takes a deep breath and tries to remind himself that this is his valued senior. "True as it can be~" Someone he deeply admires, who he wants to think highly of him. "Barely even friends~"

"Zip it." Jack growls as soon as you turn towards the noise, not wanting his reverie to be interrupted just yet only to find Leona standing next to Ruggie with just as smug of a look on his face.

"Then somebody bends, unexpectedly~" He has a surprisingly nice voice. Jack really wishes the first time he heard his dorm leader sing was not at his expense. "Aww look Ruggie he's blushing. Didn't know he could do that."

"Shishishishi. And now that you've pointed it out his ears are drooping, poor baby is embarrassed."

"Of course I'm embarrassed," he growls more than grumbles, but Ruggie doesn't even bother pretending to be afraid, to say nothing of how unfazed Leona is "you don't gotta go airing my business for everyone."

"So there is somethin' there." Leona laughs and Jack makes the mistake of looking back towards you.

You have gone back to leaning on the balcony, the moonlight glitters off silk of your costume or maybe it's just his heartsickness messing with his head. Jack rather likes the moon himself, the tales of werewolves his parents would tell had always excited more than frightened him. There was something that just felt right about letting the moonlight embrace him, like he was meant to exist under it. The way moonlight looks on you makes him think the same thing; that maybe he is allowed to want to keep you here forever basking in its glow. He moves, he tells himself it's because Leona and Ruggie have started humming that dumb song again, but the pull of the moon drowns out every word as he stumbles inelegantly to your side.

"I was wondering when you were finally going to come out here." You are enviably relaxed, moving to make room for him on the balcony he takes all of, not wanting there to any ambiguity in why he is standing with you.

"Sorry you were waiting so long." His tail briefly touches your leg before he reels it back to its proper place as he tries to keep his eyes firmly placed on the moon.  He hears you take a deep, deep breath of air and turns to see the puff of steam that you exhale.  “Are you cold?”  He worriedly asks, mind already racing for a solution that doesn’t involve too much actual helping on his part.  But despite that desire he finds himself pulling you into his side before you can say anything.

"Well not anymore." Your voice is muffled by his embarrassment more than his weight. "Stay with me? The moon is too pretty to go back inside just yet." His worry is not enough to deny you.

Sebek

His place is by Lord Malleus's side. His hard won, honored place, the only thing he is allowed to desire is his praise. Sebek is aware more than anyone how merciful his lord is, he has so far to go to be worthy of anything other than the role he has been given, even as he screams for more at every given opportunity.

That is why all he is willing to allow himself to do is look. Look, long, and admire. Sebek can stare a hole deep enough to bury himself at your side as he silently praises the moonlight that shrouds his people for how well it suits your form. He knows his words are inelegant, that his prose is crude, that his knowledge of human courtship is-

"Go on." Master Lilia has descended from the ceiling causing someone (not him certainly) to startle. "You want to, don't you? It's a ball, you're a knight. Go on, talk to them."

His feet move before his mind does, bringing him into full view of the moon as he imagines you catching your breath as you turn to see him.

"Sebek! Have you come to look at the sky too?" You speak so freely, foolishly unconcerned with decorum and yet admirably free in yourself. "It's beautiful tonight."

"Why are you mumbling?" He grumbles himself, trying to focus on the soothing, cool light as you shrink into yourself. "I can barely hear you human, usually you have no trouble speaking to me." It's annoying really, considering how loud you can be to insult him by speaking so slowly now.

"The moon." You choke and refuse to elaborate. He fumbles around in his waist coat for a handkerchief and fussily hands it over.

"Humans are so weak." Don't get sick oh please don't get sick. "You should have accounted for this when picking your costume." If anything happens to you I'll get sick myself from worry. "You should be grateful Master Lilia noticed you were alone and sent me over to check on you."

"Thank you Sebek." You manage a normal tone before he makes it clear he intends to wipe your nose himself. He almost wishes you would speak and save him from the tenderness of the moment. But you don't you just let him do as he pleases and allow him to pretend to return to admiring the moon.

And miss the way you continue to admire him.

[hypervoxel]

Jumble of headcanons in no particular order about Vark because I need to write them down somewhere to pretend to be organized

He started off sooo cute and tiny, like the size of a guinea pig. And he made laser noises like a baby Cuban crocodile.

He was so so tiny. He did not stay tiny.

Sharks sense electricity! He's naturally drawn to Vox when Vox is taking in or letting off too much power. He naturally interrupts Vox's overstimulation and warns about seizures, so Vox trained him some actual medical alert tasks.

Service shark Vark 🐕‍🦺

On the topic of electricity, I also headcanon him as having some aspects of an electric eel as well. A fantasy eel. He can take in some of Vox's excess energy, and isn't bothered by the sparks Vox throws off.

I'm chewing on the idea that Val bought Vark for Vox as an apology gift.

Now I'm just quoting myself directly from discord: I keep thinking of how I can include this (Vark being a gift from Val) in my one fanfic where it obviously does not fit bc Val hates Vark in it. Maybe he's jealous that Vox cares way more about Vark himself than the fact that Val gave him a gift. So unappreciative, didn't even have make-up sex over it bc Vox was too busy practically having a breakdown over how adorable Vark is. Val realizes that this was a mistake and he should have picked a very different gift instead

Vark is such a well behaved good boy when he's working, as a service shark. When Vox is in distress, Vark is so focused on trying to help with all the power of his tiny shark brain <3 Outside of that tho? He's a terror. He's so excitable. He canonically (in the old Voxtagram art) jumps on and knocks people over. This ties into him previously being a tiny adorable little thing. It was sooo cute when he jumped on your leg, back when he was the size of a large potato. It stayed cute up until they realized he was going to be so much bigger than they ever expected.

(It's like a bottle raised bull. The cute things they did when they were a little baby calf are no longer cute now that they're so large they are going to hurt you on accident just trying to be friendly and playful. RIP.)

Other service dog tasks for Vark: deep pressure therapy (of course. Interrupting behaviors such as when Vox is getting overwhelmed. Blocking to stop other people from getting too close to/touching Vox when he would shock them. I am forgetting so many things and will continue writing this list later

Vox doesn't do public access with Vark. This ties into my headcanons for Vox that he is deeply ashamed of himself and he cannot let anyone know he has problems ever.

Unfortunately, I am evil. So I also like the idea of Vark as an owner-trained service animal who is hmm not the perfect candidate for the job. In the same way shepherds aren't recommended for anxiety work, he can feed too much off of Vox's own emotions and has issues with guarding aggression that at times cause him to become reactive. (*points at my fanfic where he bites Val*)

I love bad representation.

Alsooo I don't like hammerhead sharks or animals that are too cartoon-y for me to understand as a real creature, so I'm making up a new design for Vark

Based on a Bonnethead Shark! Fun fact about Bonnethead Sharks: they are omnivorous! They eat seagrass :)

So Vark is omnivorous but unfortunately he's also like a tiger shark in that he'll eat anything even if it's not food. Tiger sharks have been found with license plates, tires, and other trash in their stomachs (sad)

Don't ask Vox how many times Vark has needed emergency exploratory surgery after eating something he shouldn't have. He doesn't want to talk about it.

Vark chews on wires like real sharks biting at undersea fiber optic cables. Chomp chomp

When Vark was a tiny baby, Velvette dressed him up in silly little outfits to post online. She doesn't do that anymore because he has mostly outgrown his cuteness stage for her: she only thought he was cute when he was little.

[scary-lasagna]

Hello!:D i was wondering if you could do Jeff and Ben with a child reader?:0 platonic obvi!^^ but there really mean and stuff but its bc of trauma?:D if not ignore this<3

oh dear, i'm sorry I didn't catch the mean part! I'll be writing a second one with your spare ask don't worry!! :]

Platonic!Jeff & Ben

Ben is like stupidly amazing with kids.

Sally loves him, she thinks he's the coolest in the manor and lets her say bad words sometimes, and even has a tea party once in a while.

Jeff isn't the greatest, and usually has a knack for making small children cry.

So when an orphaned child wanders up to the manor, and they're scheduled to babysit until Slender gets home, they agree to watch you until sunset.

Jeff has absolutely no clue what to do with you, and doesn't even think to offer you a snack or something to drink.

Ben is already returning from the kitchen with little packets of crackers and one of Sally's juice boxes.

Jeff will pick you up and plop you down at the table, sitting next to you and try to make an attempt at conversation.

But again, he's terrible with children, and tries asking you if you've seen the new GTA 6 trailer.

You look at him weird before continue munching on your crackers. You even go as far as scooting away from him a little bit.

Jeff is embarrassed by a 5 year old, but pretends he's not bothered by it. Ben sees right through his facade, and snickers to himself behind a well placed cough..

Ben knows how make you feel more comfortable, asking questions about you, because what else would a 5 year old have to talk about?

Their whole world consists of things that they do, not whatever sport was on TV last night or a new game that's being released, you were too young for that talk. The most interesting person they know is themself.

But no matter how many questions Ben tries to ask, you don't give them a glimpse of information about how you got here.

"So, where were you before you found us?"

"Literally, I don't even know, stop asking me. But today I found a frog and I put him in my pocket, and then I started to play the drums and Roblox at the same time but the frog didn't like it and-"

They agree to take you to the game room so you can mess around with whatever you can get your grubby hands on, whether it be the foosball table, the N64 scattered on the ground, the 30,000 dollar pool table-

THE THIEIRTY THOUSNAND DOALRA-

Jeff is faster than Ben, and swoops you up with a 'nOOoonononono', and you think it's the funniest thing that he's holding you upside down, because you laugh so hard you run out of breath.

And while Ben re-organizes the pool balls back into their neat little triangle, Jeff has fun just swinging you about, finding it amusing how easy children are entertained.

One way up, one way back down, swing you around in a circle like a football, dangle you by an ankle and toss you up to catch you. Like a little rhythm game.

He remembers back to his own childhood, the moments where his parents actually liked being parents, and his father tossing hm repeatedly on the couch, which of course is passed down to you.

"Again!"

"AGAAINN??? UGGHH!"

And you think it's hilarious how he's so annoyed, yet does it anyway. And secretly, he loves it.

And Ben loves watching him love it, like he gets to see a glimpse into Jeff's past that he never wants to talk about.

But eventually, as all children do, you grow tired, and instead of running back toward Jeff, you stay on the couch and curl up to watch whatever is flickering on the TV.

Ben will return with popcorn, and Jeff is sitting on the ground in front of you, showing you how to play this old vintage game called "The Mario Bros." that's only 8 pixels deep in graphics quality.

Ben holds a somewhat bittersweet smile, as he walks over and delivers the popcorn. After some thought he joins in as Player 2, and let's you get the sleep you so much needed.

[qrttt-takk]

Webecca/Rebesker HC's p2

🏷️: SFW, Age Gap, AU where Umbrella doesn't exist, Continuation of S.T.A.R.S

-Rebecca's first day in S.T.A.R.S was in the middle of August. Wesker had heard that Bravo team was receiving a new rookie but could have honestly cared less, he had only made an appearance because he was one of the two captains, it was one of his many responsibilities. A simple introduction and back to dealing with his own team, Alpha and Bravo only collaborated as a whole when there was a "big deal" type of mission and of course those were as rare as blue moons..

It was really nerve-wracking for Rebecca though, fresh out of the academy and she's already hired at the RPD with a whole team, it was a bit disappointing when there were no other girls but she sucked it up and happily made friends with her new co-workers, they made her little puzzles and games so they could all get to know her better

In the middle of her welcome party she was introduced to Wesker, he had come into the office looking already done with it, not one for small talk or unnecessary pleasantries he carried on with the hope to quickly be over and finished

He was utterly intimidating to say the least, her heart was practically beating raw out of her chest as she nervously introduced herself to Alpha team's captain, his handshake was calculated and confident. Compared to Enrico she would have never guessed that they were both on the same level of authority, the contrast between them was drastic, jarring almost..

Enrico of course had noticed her nervousness and quickly joked to ease her, telling her that he isn't as scary as he wants to be. Albert on the other hand pretended but in a way felt terribly weak, the sight of Rebecca, the sound of her meek introduction and her coquettish demeanor made his stomach twist and knot....he felt that it was almost illegal, no, inhuman to even be as cute as she was

She was everything. Soft, clever, ambitious, and humble. Rebecca was a bit naive but she wasn't dumb, she wanted to prove she belonged and work hard to keep her position. The moment Captain Wesker left, Rebecca couldn't help but to ask everyone more about him, he didn't smile once but she didn't mind-- there would be plenty of opportunities for them to talk again

-Courting went just as well as Albert expected, he could only do so much before playing the waiting game. He would request for Ms.Chambers' presence in the RPD lab room and ask for her honest opinions and thoughts regarding new developments in the field medicine the medical team would use...Rebecca felt important and special under his attention and after a while she grew out of her initial shyness, falling into a comfortable rhythm with him where she could talk about almost anything. Either complaining about the lines at Starbucks or having heated debates, if Rebecca had any free time to spare, she would always be happily chatting away with Wesker

-Rebecca was the one to start the relationship, she watched an embarrassing amount of motivational YouTube videos the night prior and asked the big question during lunch break in his office, Albert damn near had a stroke that day (he honestly didn't expect his awkward off and on flirting to actually take effect on her whatsoever) but they officially started dating in early winter ❄️☃️

-Rebecca likes annoying Wesker just because she has the privilege, she's aware there's a good handful of people in the RPD who would want to antagonize the captain without retaliation nor consequences, so it makes it even more fun. Either in his office or out in public, she will bring his hand to her mouth only to nip at his fingers or just headbutt his chest or arms when she's feeling silly

Of course, it does bother Wesker to an extent but he lets it slide since it's admittedly very adorable

Sometimes if she feels really bold, she'll purposefully approach him when he's talking to another co-worker and casually take the sunglasses off his face, she thinks it's really funny when he doesn't seem phased, not sparing her a glance and continuing conversation. Rebecca has done it so often it's become an inside joke within both teams

-She likes indulging his photography hobby and posing as a model, at first she was super camera shy but eventually got eased into it. Rebecca is stunningly photogenic, she's not beautiful like a model but rather like a modern goddess. He has 3 cameras filled with nothing but her, Albert is always buying her lots of cute clothes and costumes despite her protests (⁠*⁠´⁠ω⁠｀⁠*⁠)

-Wesker likes to teach Rebecca how to shoot various firearms and often spends hours with her in the shooting range. She's the only other person who he lets handle and shoot his own custom Samurai Edge (which she thought was super cool)

Of course, it's a heavy gun and the recoil is pretty strong for her so it gives him the chance to get behind and guide her correctly. Sometimes his touch lingers for too long or he presses himself too close to her but Rebecca pretends to not notice, she basks in his careful attention and honeyed praise

However, good things come with a price, the price being the eventual headaches she gets from the gunpowder smell..

-He is so utterly possessive it isn't funny. The only place Rebecca can really be alone at is work and even then he's always showing up to visit or asking for her at least 2 times a day. In public he gets antsy if she leaves his sight...Wesker isn't a big fan of PDA but when he wants he's subtle about it, having his hand on Rebecca's waist or pulling her close to himself, it never fails to make her feel even more precious ꒰⁠⑅⁠ᵕ⁠༚⁠ᵕ⁠꒱⁠˖⁠♡

-On the rare occasions Wesker does get jealous, it's when the other rookies are clearly trying to make moves on her....over time he has learned to relax though, he trusts Rebecca and does kinda abuse his position of power sending those poor souls heaps of tedious paperwork

However Rebecca definitely gets 10x more jealous, if she hears or sees others flirting with Wesker she gets upset and ignores him entirely or tells him off with the excuse of how "busy" she is at the moment..

it makes him utterly depressed and he does try his best to make it up to her (个⁠_⁠个⁠)

-Rebecca naturally smells really sweet, whenever she's alone in the vicinity Wesker likes to wrap his arms around her and smell her for a moment, just quietly leaning into her small frame. Her scent strangely soothes him, especially after a long day-- he's considered trying to find a scientific way to bottle it up...

-She is NOT a still sleeper by any means, always tossing and turning at night and hogging all the blankets, Albert doesn't really mind because he sleeps as still as a corpse. Ever since they started dating he has bought a whole bunch of pillows and blankets just for her

-Rebecca loves planning cute little dates for them... theme parks, museum tours, indoor movie nights, Ect. Her love language is definitely quality time whereas Wesker's is both acts of service and gift giving

-She's one of the few people that make him laugh, either by her actions or a joke he can't help dropping the serious attitude and genuinely smiling/laughing at her nonsense, it makes Rebecca strangely proud

-Wesker drives an expensive black SUV with all the windows definitely too tinted for it to be legal, Rebecca drives a small and simple car like a Honda or Nissan. They park next to eachother just because she thinks it's cute

-Her hair is super soft and fluffy meanwhile his is hard and definitely has damage. Whenever they're bathing together she likes washing it, feeling the gel turn into mush and slowly deteriorate. She uses a sweet smelling honey-vanilla shampoo and he uses like head and shoulders or something weird smelling like that

-With Rebecca, Albert has started to indulge in things he normally would judge others for indulging in, like fast food and awful movies/TV shows. They're both on season 6 of The Kardashian's and admittedly he looks forward watching it with her every time she comes over, her reactions and expressions to the dramatic show are even more better to observe

-On the field, Wesker almost always pushes Rebecca to her limits, he's confident in her abilities and wishes to see her believe more in herself. He may come across as stern or harsh but that's how he shows he truly does care and worry about her

-Wesker secretly likes sweets, Rebecca eventually finds out when she catches him in the break room nibbling on a chocolate donut from the box Barry brought for everyone, she giggled like it was the funniest thing on earth. He was a bit embarrassed but she reassured him when she brought homemade brownies the next week

-Compared to him, Rebecca has a significantly bigger social circle so sometimes she gets busy hanging out with friends or simply going out. She doesn't do it often but when she does Albert is always missing her dearly, he tries distracting himself with something productive but his thoughts always wander back to his darling and her wellbeing, he's briefly considered putting a tracker on her phone...

When she eventually does return, he becomes shamelessly clingy, beckoning her to the couch or bed to cuddle until the next day, a request in which Rebecca happily agrees upon 🌅

Hope the 5 fans of this ship enjoyed, I want to incorporate more dark themes in the next part, these sillies are the best (⁠๑⁠˙⁠❥⁠˙⁠๑⁠)

[exo-raskreia]

ToShiro jealous of Karin headcanons?

Oh, wow! 😮 Let's see...

This all takes place in my HK spin-off sequel ideas when they're in the teen stage...

I can imagine him being the type to brood over it, like if he witnesses Karin getting hit on, but it's not necessarily his business to butt in, then he'd just pretend not to care. He'd busy himself with something while his internal feelings of jealousy simmer underneath the surface. Anyone who comes across him will notice something seems off, but don't know why & would rather not bother him. Maybe there's an aura about him 🤭. He doesn't realize why he starts to feel this way initially, though.

Let's say he's pretending to be a student again in high school (like in the OG Bleach), & he starts to notice the attention Karin gets from other boys. The stares, the praises for her athleticism & high academic scores, whispers about them wanting to shoot their shot with her, etc. Some might even see her as a challenge & want to be the ones to win her over. Hitsu would start to feel a bit bothered by all this the more he gets to know her, but thinks, 'Hmph, as if she'd give a second thought to those bozos.'

His opinion of her is rather high, so he trusts her better judgment. Though, that still doesn't stop him from feeling a little worried every time he overhears a boy planning to ask her out at the back of the school. It isn't until she meets him at the front gates so he can walk her home, when she says she had to politely reject yet another guy, that he feels an internal relief. He doesn't really know why but it feels like another silent victory of sorts.

He may or may not notice how other boys look at him whenever he's with Karin. Maybe at times, he feels a little smug, especially when her attention is solely on him, & other boys glare at him resentfully.

This can also apply to the scenario in which she's a Soul Reaper in his division. She's fairly new, but obviously she's leagues above most others. Hitsu admires her tenacity & the way she radiates whenever she's focused. He's not the only one who's noticed this; he's caught his men once or twice looking her way interestedly. It didn't bother him necessarily, only made his eyes roll. But one day, when the recruits are training at the dojo, Hitsu comes by to check on them & once again witnesses Karin excel. She really does stand out among the rest. And it was here that it finally hit him just how much attention Karin gets from his men. Glances, praises, & asking for tips.

He knows she's popular in his division (as well as the others, if he's being honest) but it isn't only because she's continuing the legacy of the Kurosaki-Shibas. There's more to Karin & he isn't the only one who's noticed. She's friendly & willing to help. Intelligent, brave, & fun to be around. She... was not unpleasant to look at; he's not blind, for God's sake.

And yet, the sudden bout of knowledge that he's not alone in his thoughts irritates him for some reason & decides to step in. He offers to help those recruits instead, deciding he will not go easy on them. It isn't often that he leads a training session, since as the captain, he has more important duties. But he decides that he doesn't have much work due until tomorrow & gives the dojo instructor the rest of the day off. During training, he's a little stricter than usual with the men in particular & Karin can't help being secretly mesmerized by his teaching mode. She is oblivious to his internal conflicts & to her own feelings for that matter.

All in all, I think Hitsugaya may be the type to be oblivious about his feelings at first, & won't realize why he feels irritation by other men approaching Karin with intentions beyond friendship & camaraderie. When he does realize it, he'll try to be in denial, but his discomfort may still be obvious to some even if they can't pinpoint why.

I hadn't thought much about this before but this is what I was able to come up with for now. Hope it somewhat answers your question, anon! 😄

[player1064]

kate for someone reason thinking jamie is homophobic not sure why or how but she does (sara has me obsessed with the idea that they can’t stand each other now lol) and then him introducing her to gary and she’s like 🤯 ft. micah in the corner like you didn’t know he never shuts up about him???

god Kate and Jamie literally CANNOT STAND EACH OTHER!!! I'm OBSESSED with that dynamic tbh!!!!!!! As always. this one is much longer than intended...

Also, don't need to have read it but this is technically intended to tie in to my fic Happy wife, happy life (but tldr Jamie regularly calls Gary his wife partly to keep their relationship under wraps but mostly bc. he finds it funny to call Gary his wife.)

---

“Obviously we’re done for the season right before pride month kicks off,” one of the CBS producers is saying, eyes darting over something on an iPad. “And since you four have been pretty popular we were thinking of including you in some of those ad campaigns, so if I could just get some dates off of all of you –”

“No,” Jamie says immediately.

All three of his colleagues snap their heads up to him, but only Kate looks at him coolly and says “no?”

Micah, because he’s Micah, chuckles and slaps Jamie in the shoulder, trying to diffuse some of the new tension in the air. “Not like you to turn down extra cash, Carra.”

Jamie rolls his eyes, pretends not to notice the way Kate’s eyes are burning into him. “Check my contract. Wish I could, honest,” he says to the producer, feeling very very glad that he had a clause added to his contract specifically so that he doesn’t have to take part in things like this, “But it just wouldn’t be do-able. You lot ‘ave fun, though, with yer rainbows and yer glitter.”

Kate just looks at him incredulously. “This is one thing you decide to take a stand on, mister ‘I don’t care about politics’?”

Rainbows just don’t really suit Jamie, is the thing. Nor does the extra scrutiny that comes from wearing rainbows.

Doesn’t really matter to him what Kate thinks of him, though, so he just shrugs and continues packing up his stuff for the day.

*

“Jamie – Jamie, I finally got onto Raya, can you have a look at my profile?”

Jamie looks up at Micah with a frown. “What the fuck is a Raya?”

“It’s a dating app,” Kate says from her end of the desk, in that unimpressed tone of hers that makes Jamie wonder why she’s bothering to insert herself into the conversation at all.

“An exclusive dating app,” Micah corrects, wiggling his phone in front of Jamie.

“Weren’t you already seeing someone?” asks Jamie, but he accepts the phone with a sigh and puts his glasses on. “I don’t – I’ve never used one of these things, what am I meant to be lookin’ at?”

Micah shrugs. “Didn’t work out,” he says breezily. “How have you never used a dating app, you’ve not been married that long. And look at yourself, you can’t tell me you weren’t a player before Mrs Carra came along.”

Jamie had got around a bit, in his playing days. Not much, mind, because he’d had to be careful, but he’d done alright. Unfortunately – and this is not something he’ll ever admit to anyone, even under duress – any thoughts of that had gone out the window the moment he’d walked onto the Sky campus after retiring.

“You’re right,” he says with a wink, “look at me. As if I’d need an app to find myself a bird. Why’d you want me to look at this, I’m not exactly your target audience. ‘less there’s somethin’ you’re not tellin’ us,” he adds, elbowing Micah and waggling his eyebrows.

Kate looks on unimpressed as the two of them double over in laughter. “Not that any of us would have a problem if you were, right Jamie?” she says haughtily.

Jamie catches Micah’s eye and has to fight back another bout of laughter. “Dunno,” he says, “I can think of one or two problems I’d ‘ave if Big Meeks here suddenly tried hittin’ on me.”

Micah bursts out laughing again, his hand clapping to Jamie’s forearm, and Jamie can’t help but join in – it’s infectious, okay?

“God,” Micah says, wiping a tear from his eye, “can you imagine how your missus would react. I’d never be able to work in television again.”

“Nah, she’d prob’ly send you a fruit basket, thank you for taking me off ‘er hands.”

Kate clears her throat and the two of them sober immediately at the sight of her raised eyebrow. “Maybe cool it with the outdated banter,” she says, “or do I need to remind you boys that you’re not in a dressing room anymore?”

She storms off, he heels click-clicking away as Jamie and Micah look at each other and try (and fail) not to start laughing again.  

*

“You didn’t want to bring your wife to the end of season party, then?” Kate asks politely, looking slowly around the room.

“Huh?” Jamie says eloquently, because he’s had a couple of glasses of prosecco and he’s not thinking as quickly as he usually might. “Oh, the missus. Yeah, she’s here but  – I dunno, she’s a bit shy, like. You didn’t invite Malik?”

Kate rolls her eyes, the way she always does when Jamie mentions her boyfriend. “Well, he lives in America. So.”

“Carra,” an annoying voice calls from just behind him, “Carra, come over ‘n meet Schmeichel? I’ve not seen ‘im in years, d’you know, I think I’d forgot how tall he was.”

Jamie puts a hand on the small of Gary’s back to keep him from bouncing around too much (the man is such a lightweight, it’s embarrassing), and says “I’ve already met Peter, you dolt. I work with ‘im, remember?”

Gary squints at him for a second. “You drag me all the way down to London, and then y’can’t even be bothered to –” he finally seems to realise that Jamie had been talking to someone, because he quickly shakes his head around a bit and holds a hand out to Kate with a smile. “You’re Kate, right? I love what you do on the show, honest, I’m always sayin’ people need to be meaner to James here.”

Jamie thinks he sees Kate blush a bit, like she hadn’t realised anyone else had noticed her dislike of Jamie, but she takes Gary’s offered hand anyway. “And of course you’re the famous Gary Neville, I’ve heard a lot about you,” she greets. “But aren't you still with Sky? What brings you to our little operation here?”

“Scopin’ out the competition,” he says with a wink, then turns back to Jamie. “Carra – Peter?”

“I said no! I’ll talk to him later, stop badgerin’ me.”

“Did you two travel down from Manchester together?” asks Kate, “You know, Jamie seems so invested in my relationship but none of us have ever met his wife, do you know where she’s got to?”

“Ah, his fuckin’ wife,” Gary mutters, smirking up at Jamie. Jamie winks in reply and slips his hand down a bit to pinch him on the arse.

Micah comes over, his tuxedo strained against his biceps, and he pulls Gary away from Jamie to throw an arm around his shoulder in a half-hug.

(Gary squirms a bit at the unexpected contact, but he still gives Micah a friendly pat on the chest.)

“Big Nev! It’s been ages, man – Jamie told us you were coming, but he’s promised that before and not delivered.”

“Been pretty busy, up in Manchester,” Gary says with a shrug, carefully extracting himself from under Micah’s arm and returning to Jamie’s side. “But I’m obliged to do the plus one thing at least two –” (“Three,” Jamie corrects,) “—fine, three times a year, and I figure there’re worse places to be.”

“Aw, you love it really,” Micah says. “I’ve always kind of wondered what it’s like to be a WAG.”

Gary rolls his eyes. “It’s a thankless job, to be fair.” He pokes Jamie in the bicep and adds “I’m going back to talk t' Peter, you miserable old twat. Honest, I’m always talkin' to Scousers fer you.”

“I already know –” Jamie starts to protest, but Gary’s already wandered off. “Ugh. Sorry about ‘im. You can’t take Mancs anywhere, can ya?”

The two Mancs he’s talking to look at him, unimpressed.

“He seemed nice,” Kate says carefully.

“He’s not,” Jamie replies.

*

“Good summer?” Micah asks, their first show back after the break.

“Brilliant,” Jamie replies with a grin. “It were my turn to choose the destination, so –”

“Ibiza?”

He nods. “Ibiza. The house was done just in time, too.”

“You know, I can’t really imagine Gary in Ibiza.”

“Oh, he hates it. Complained the whole time, but he does that wherever we go.”

He becomes aware that Kate is watching them from across the desk, not trying to hide that she’s listening to their conversation with curiosity. Jamie nods to her, all polite like. “Hows about you, Kate, good summer?”

“It was fine, I –” she shakes her head. “Sorry, you’re saying you go on holiday with Gary Neville?”

Micah scoffs. “Who else would he go with?” he asks, and Jamie points to him in agreement.

“I dunno, his wife?”

Jamie blinks.

He thought he’d got all this out the way, dragging Gary along to the party a couple of months ago. Apparently not.

“Gary is my wife,” he says, then suddenly feels very stupid saying that to someone who’s not already in on the joke, so he corrects to “my husband, I mean. Obviously he’s not – he’s a man. Obviously.”

Kate’s eyes are wide, unblinking. She looks between Jamie and Micah, lips pressed together while her brain seems to be buffering.

“You’re married to a man?” she says eventually. “But you’re not gay, I mean – you’re –”

Jamie, who last time he checked definitely was gay, raises an eyebrow, amused. “I’m what?”

“You’re a footballer,” she attempts, and oh, this is far too easy.

“Bit ‘omophobic, that, sayin’ footballers can’t be gay,” he replies, holding back a smirk.

“Oh shut up, you know what I – you’re a lad! You’re always with the banter, and the…”

Thierry wanders over, freshly brewed cup of tea in hand. “What have you two done this time?” he asks, looking pointedly at Jamie and Micah.

Jamie raises his hands to protest his innocence.

“Thierry,” Kate asks, reaching a hand out towards him, “did you know Jamie’s married to a man?”

Thierry rolls his eyes. “Ugh, fucking Neville,” he replies, and goes to sit down.

[kimbappykidding]

Oher Parts: Part One, Part Two and Part Four.

One night in bed Sehun had a revelation for you. "You know some of the guys are kinda jealous" Sehun said and you looked at him "of us, why?". "They said I'm getting the best outfits". You smiled "have they ever just considered you look good in everything?" trailing a hand down his abs. Sehun smiled and held your hand against him "I've tried telling them that but they won't listen, maybe they'll have to hear it from you?". You smiled as he leaned in "I'll get right on that...after I'm done with this" and kissed him. Sehun pulled you onto him and you made a happy content noise. Sehun chuckled "you make all sorts of cute noises around me but my favourite is the way you say my name". You blushed but smiled at him "this again?". "Yes this again! As if you're not sexy enough your voice is so hot" Sehun said and he looked at you expectantly. You knew exactly what he was expecting and tilted your head looking down at him. "Sehun?" you asked faking innocent but put your best sigh to it. Sehun visibly squirmed and yanked you back towards him. You laughed at the effect it had on him until you saw the look in his eye. "Laugh all you want but I'm going to have you chanting it just give me five minutes". In response you grabbed your phone from the bedside table and set a timer "go on then". Sehun won the bet. So you continued hooking up with Sehun and the visits he paid to your studio continued as well. Sure you'd always enjoyed your job but there was something so exciting about fooling around with Sehun. Every fitting was charged with sexual tension and you loved the secretive looks Sehun gave you. The looks that told you exactly what Sehun was thinking and what you'd be up to later. Relatedly the makeout sessions at work were great too. You never went too far at work and were really careful but the looks Sehun would send you were enough to weaken you and the texts he sent you were more than enough to push you over the edge. It was a whirlwind of fun and even though you had no official guess at what this was you knew things weren't as casual when you started getting jealous and possessive over him.

Sehun's presence at work was being felt but not only by you. Sehun was friendly and chatted with all the girls while he was in your department. He had to otherwise everyone would guess what was going on in minutes but you didn't like how far one girl was taking it. Nalah was the newest member of your department and her proudest achievement was she was the youngest one and she mentioned it every day. It was like she thought you all went home and cried because she was still a teenager. She hadn't realised yet that there was nothing wrong with ageing and grown men paying attention to a 19-year-old isn't a good thing. So she had an inflated ego and reckoned she had a shot with lots of idols even though she'd barely even spoken to them. However, one idol she had spoken to was Sehun and she began to get ideas. "Has anyone noticed how Sehun's hanging around here a lot lately?" Nalah asked one day. You froze at the question and then tried to pretend like you hadn't even heard her. "Yes so?" one of your co-workers called Choonhee asked "he's not doing any harm". "I know I never said he was I just wondered why he's here so much". Everyone else shrugged not too bothered and you began to calm down again...but when Nalah didn't get the response she wanted she answered for you all. "I think he has a thing for me!" she said and you couldn't help your eyes widening a little which she noticed. "What does that look mean?" she asked and you smiled "nothing just...why? Has he asked you out or flirted with you?". "He hasn't asked me out but flirts all the time!" she cried and you nodded "right..." not believing her. "Plus he checks out my ass like 5 times a day and my boobs...it must be so nice not getting bothered by that kind of attention" she said shooting you a *sympathetic look* which was really a sneer. Before you could reply your manager spoke up "you better hope that's not true Nalah because we have a strict no fraternising with idols rule here. Even if he does like you, you can't date him or anything else unless you want to lose your job?". Nalah's expression changed and she shook her head "no" and got back on with her work. Choonhee shot you a smirk and you returned it but your manager's words brought home what would happen if this got out. Maybe you should end this before anything bad happened? Then you saw Nalah perk up the second Sehun appeared and those thoughts left your head. If hooking up with Sehun wasn't good enough, knowing Nalah thought he was here for her when he was here for you made it even sweeter. Nalah's behaviour however began to really grate on you and you couldn't stop noticing it! Anytime the manager wasn't around Nalah would flirt none stop with Sehun and it was infuriating. She was so obvious and it wasn't even natural or subtle. You were all for girls being dominant and forward but she had zero reciprocation from Sehun but still wouldn't stop. Sehun quickly worked out something was odd and asked what was going on one week later. "She thinks you're into her" you said and Sehun laughed "isn't she like 12?". You smiled "no she's 19 but acts like a 12-year-old". "Even 19 is way too young for me. Why would I go near a 19-year-old?" Sehun asked and you smiled and kissed him. When you pulled back Sehun blinked his eyes opened and looked at you "what was that for?". "Because you're a good guy but there are a lot of bad guys who see nothing wrong with dating a girl way younger than them". Sehun shook his head "I have no idea why, if you were 10 years younger than me you wouldn't get all my references or find me funny" Sehun said and you paused shooting him a look. "Hey!" he said and you laughed "I'm kidding of course" hugging him and Sehun nodded "good" resting his head on yours "do you think Nalah will go away or should I say something?". You paused unsure what to say. You wanted to tell him to march in there tomorrow and shut her down but also didn't want to come across too possessive. You still weren't anything official and thought it wasn't your right. "You've gone quiet" Sehun said pulling away "what's up?". He looked at you "what are you thinking?". You sighed "that I'd really love you to shut her up". Sehun smiled "then that's what I'll do" and he kissed you "you only have to ask. I'm very good at taking directions". You smiled "so I've noticed" and with a grin Sehun came closer "but there are some things I know you like without having to be told" and he climbed on top of you and started to demonstrate. Sehun told you he'd tell her on Monday and so when he came into the studio you gave him some privacy and returned 10 minutes later to find Sehun gone.  Nalah was quietly working and you watched her trying to look for any sign she was upset. She was quiet which was odd in itself and you felt bad for her. Being that young and having a guy that looks like Sehun show you attention would've been a lot for any girl. You couldn't blame her and hoped she wasn't taking it too hard. "Do you need any help with that?" you asked trying to be nice. Nalah turned around and looked you up and down before nodding. You took some of the fabric and set it up on another sewing machine. She was off all day and left without saying goodbye to anyone. "What's with her?" Choonhee asked and you shrugged. Feeling bad but glad this was all over... You were too naive. Tuesdays were your favourite days because you started a few hours later due to scheduling demand but this one, in particular, should be fun because you had a fitting appointment with Sehun. Ever since you'd started seeing one another these appointments were very funny. It was just you and Sehun pretending you didn't know one another and trying not to check each other out the whole hour. Plus you still hadn't found a bad look on Sehun and loved dressing him up in different things and styling him how you liked. So you were in a good mood when you headed into work...until you saw Sehun already having his fitting with Nalah. Sehun looked at you the second you entered and looked confused. You took in the room and frowned "what is going on?". "Nalah said you wouldn't be in today" Choonhee said. You frowned "and where did you get that from Nalah?". "I thought you said you had a doctor's appointment?". "Yeah after work and I'm here...so want to tell me why you're working with my client?". She rolled her eyes "don't be so dramatic I'm helping you out". You nodded "well I'm here now so I can take over". "No I've started his fitting now so I'll finish it" she said turning back to Sehun, a smile on her face. "No you won't" you said and her smile fell. She turned around with a sigh "You're being childish. I'm already doing it so go and do something else". "No he's my client and I want to make sure it's done right so step away from him and put down the measuring tape". "Are you gonna make me?" she asked and you paused in shock. You could and wanted to attack her but that'd get you fired. You could go get your manager but that could get her fired and you didn't want to do that no matter your feeling for her. Nalah knew you'd never do anything too extreme and smiled turning back to Sehun. You thought that was it, you'd lost but you forgot you had someone in your corner. "Sorry about that interruption, now where were we?" Nalah said turning back Sehun. She went to touch his sleeve but he stepped back "I'd prefer if Y/n did it actually". You all froze and Nalah blinked "I...why? I'm just as good as her if not better!". "She's my stylist and I trust and prefer her" Sehun said and he moved away from her and came to stand with you. "You said she wasn't in but she is so I want her" Sehun said. You wanted to kiss him right then and there but couldn't of course. Seeing Nalah's angry face was almost as good though. She looked so angry you expected to see smoke coming from her head. "Fine!" she yelled throwing the measuring tape down "that's what I get for being a good person!" and stormed from the room. Choonhee laughed and nodded to Sehun "well done". Sehun wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not so you jumped in "she means that. Thank you from all of us for standing up to her". When Sehun realised it was a compliment he blushed and smiled at you "no problem...I never would've let her start if I knew you were here". "It's okay" you smiled at him "now should I start your fitting?". "Yes please" Sehun replied and you smiled getting the measuring tape. You completed Sehun's fitting with a lot of smiles and jokes. After he left Choonhee turned to you "Y/n I think Nalah might've been right about Sehun having a crush". You gaped and she shook her head "no not about it being her. Just about him having a crush...I think it's on you". You paused and blushed without even meaning to. You had no idea what to say so just acted as if you were blushing because of what Choonhee had said. "What makes you say that?". "The way he stood up to Nalah! He was very clear he wanted you, idols don't tend to get attached to their stylists but Sehun clearly likes you and I think he's been hanging out here because of you". You looked down "I...I don't think so". "Oh come on the way he was looking at you was so obvious! He likes you and you clearly like him too with how much you're blushing". You shook your head "I'm blushing because of what you're insinuating. He's a gorgeous idol". "And you're a beautiful woman he chose to be with" Choonhee smiled "no reason to be bashful Y/n". "I...have to finish this outfit" you said acting like you were too flustered but really you just wanted Choonhee to stop talking so she didn't pry too deeply. You didn't see Nalah for the rest of the day and figured she'd gone home *ill*. Which was just fine by you, you and Choonhee worked in peaceful harmony until she clocked out then it was just you. You were tinkering away at a jacket you were embellishing when the door opened. You figured it was Choonhee who always seemed to forget something so didn't turn around. Then you felt two arms around your waist and lips on your neck. You jumped but quickly realised who it was. "Sehun what are you doing here?" you laughed. "Are you kidding? I've been resisting the urge to come down here and kiss you ever since this morning" he replied. You might've been doing something similar and smiled "mhmmm and why is that?" you teased. "Because you were so hot and fiery this morning" Sehun replied. You smiled "well I could say the same thing for you fighting for me like that...it was really sexy". Sehun smiled turning you around so he could kiss you properly. You happily moved and stood up so you could reach him better. "You know what was also sexy?" Sehun asked "seeing you so possessive". You paused as Sehun said that because that was exactly what you'd been trying to avoid but he seemed to like it. "Possessive?" you asked and Sehun nodded "you were jealous weren't you. That's why you didn't like Nalah flirting with me". Sehun had a huge smile on his face and there wasn't any point denying it. "Well of course I wouldn't like that" you replied and Sehun's smile turned into a smirk "why?". "Because you're mine" you replied "not hers" and pushed Sehun down into the chair. He grinned and pulled you by your waist towards him "that's what I wanted to hear". You shook your head and sat on his lap "then all you had to do was ask" and kissed him. Typically at work, you were both more logical than emotional and would pull back before it got too far but today you didn't care. Sehun had done all that this morning for you and found your reaction hot. He wanted you to want him and that was so sexy. So you didn't care you were at work. Nobody else was here but you and this insanely hot idol who was yours, so you nodded to Sehun when he looked at you to check if he could go further and adored the smile that followed. However, not 5 minutes later the door opened and Choonhee screamed at the sight that greeted her. You quickly leapt off Sehun and both gasped. "Shit!" you said and Sehun tossed you your clothes "go after her!". You nodded and got back dressed before running out of the room...only to find Choonhee leaning against the wall right outside your studio. She looked at you when you came out "so I was right about Sehun's crush then huh?". You nodded "yeah kinda...". "Kinda?" she asked and you nodded "okay you were, we're seeing each other now can we go back inside and talk about this?". She nodded and you led her back into the room where Sehun was waiting very awkwardly. "So you're seeing each other?" she asked when neither of you went to talk. You nodded and Choonhee paused "since when?". "For 3 months now?" Sehun asked and you nodded "yeah soon after I got transferred to Sehun". "And what are you? Are you dating?". That made you both pause before shaking your head "erm no this is just casual" you said finally managing to meet Choonhee's eye. "Oh" she said "then Y/n in the nicest way...why are you doing this? You heard what our manager said to Nalah literally the other day". You nodded "I know..." when Sehun frowned "wait what did she say". You turned to him "that we would be fired for getting involved with an idol". "What!" Sehun asked "is that even legal? I knew it was frowned upon but I checked my contract and there's nothing in there that says I can't". You nodded "yeah but you're the talent, they can't exactly fire you". "But that's insane!" Sehun said "how is it any of their business". Choonhee shrugged "well imagine you cheat on Y/n or something and she has to see you every week and style you, it might affect her professionalism and she might start dressing you in bad outfits". "But we're not going to get like that I'd never...even if anything did happen we'd stay civil, right?" he asked you. You paused before nodding "I think we would but they don't know what which is why they have the rule". Sehun frowned "but Y/n why would you risk that? You love this job?". You shrugged "I guess I just like you". Sehun's face softened when he heard that but then he frowned again. "

Do you two...do this often at work?" Choonhee asked "because anyone could've caught you!". "No we don't usually get as far as today" you admitted and Choonhee sighed "good because if you're going to continue this and not get fired you can't let this happen. You're the one co-worker I like here Y/n and you're good. I don't want to come in one morning and find you've vanished". "I won't" you assured her and Sehun nodded "I won't let that happen to her". Choonhee looked from you to Sehun before nodding "okay then" and she grabbed the file she'd forgotten and walked out the door. Leaving you and Sehun alone and the silence was deafening.

[fieldofdaisiies]

gwyn x balthazar | 2,9k words | warnings: none | masterlist

"They weren't too happy, but they also did not seem too appalled." Balthazar leans his head against the stone fence encircling the roof top training pitch. 

"Which is good," Gwyn answers, her hand in his. 

Gods, has she anticipated this moment for so long. The High Lord and Cassian wouldn't shut up and kept Balthazar downstairs for what felt like ages. But finally their meeting had come to an end, and he walked up to the rooftop to meet her. They chose to meet here because leaving the House of Wind is still difficult for Gwyn. Going up to the rooftop and sitting in the warm sunlight seemed like a great idea. And it truly is. Everything feels perfect in this moment. 

"I only hope they'll follow my orders and do as told, and not act up the first day they have to do chores." He turns his head, looking at Gwyn who has her face turned skywards, her eyes closed. The sun's strays fall upon her face, making her skin glow. 

"I'll come and punch them all if they cause you trouble." Her lips form a delicate grin and for a second her mouth is everything Balthazar can think about. He chuckles lowly, but his attention is elsewhere, not on what Gwyn said. 

Gods, what would he give to kiss her right then and there. But they do this at her pace, and her pace only. And sitting here, holding hands with her is also close to absolute perfection. 

The young Illyrian keeps his eyes on her, watching her, how the sun makes her skin sparkle. How adorable and delicate the dusting of freckles all over her face looks.

His eyes brush her lips again, and nervousness bubbles up inside of him. He has never kissed a female — what if he will do anything wrong? He technically does not know how kissing works.

What does he have to do? What will his hands do? What will his lips do? When will he breathe? What if he makes a fool out of himself?

"How…how was your evening with your friends?" Balthazar asks, his voice a little shaky. He remembers that before he left on Sunday, they had arranged this sleepover, so why not ask about it, right?

"It was lovely!" Gwyn lowers her head and turns to look at Balthazar who is already looking at her. "We had so much fun and talked about anything and everything." Including you, Gwyn thinks but leaves out that detail. "Do you also have sleepovers with your friends?"

Balthazar chuckles a little, then laughs louder, and shakes his head. "I technically only have one friend, but we've never done a sleepover. Maybe I should suggest it to him."

"You should!" Gwyn grins, her eyes sparkling like the sea when the sun's strays touch it. For a second, Balthazar forgets how to breathe, every rational thought leaving his brain, his mind going blank. He swallows thickly, and brings the hand that is not holding Gwyn's up so he can brush his hair back. 

Gwyn's eyes follow the movement. 

Then he looses a long breath. "You have been so honest with me the other day, I also want to tell you more about myself."

Balthazar looks at Gwyn, relishing in seeing her so at ease, so comfortable, so happy and excited for what he has to say. Her hair is down, her teal eyes aglow – she is stunning and Balthazar has to swallow around the lump in his throat before he can continue.

“Anything special you want to know?” Balthazar asks, smiling cheekily.

“Well, what is your greatest secret, Lord Balthazar.” A teasing glint appears in the priestess’ teal eyes when she poses her question.

“My greatest secret, Lady Gwyneth?”

Rosy splotches appear on her cheeks and she gives her head a tiny nod. Balthazar pretends to ponder, but he actually knows what his greatest secret is. Something that suddenly seems so embarrassing, yet has not bothered him that much in the past years. Now it does, because what will this secret make him look like? 

Will she believe him to be a loser? A late bloomer? 

No, Gwyn is different, she would not judge him.

His eyes downcast and fiddling with his fingernails, colour blooms high on Balthazar’s cheeks. 

"I have not,” —momentarily Balthazar’s eyes move to Gwyn before he looks past her— "yet been intimate with a female. Nor even kissed anyone yet.”

Gwyn’s eyes widen at his statement, more about his honesty. But then also in utter surprise. This is male, this glorious, charming, stunning and polite male has not been kissed yet?

Gwyn is more than flabbergasted, lips parting a little.

“You are allowed to laugh, Gwyneth,” Balthazar says, smiling and staring at the priestess’ speechless expression.

“Who would not want to kiss you?!” The words leave her mouth before she can comprehend what she has just said. Her already big eyes going even wider, Gwyn shakes her head, and blushes bright red from her cleavage up to the top of her head.

“I did not mean it like that. I meant who would want to kiss you? Right?” And then…Gwyn’s mouth has once again been faster than her brain. 

Balthazar roars a laugh, throwing his head back. “Thank you, Gwyneth.” “That was not what I meant,” Gwyn stutters, a grimace grazing her beautiful face. She furrows her brows when a kernel of shame blooms in her chest. “I meant…I don’t understand how you haven’t been kissed yet. You are so kind. And charming, and sweet. And good-looking.” "Gwyn…" Balthazar says, but she stops him.

"Is there a reason for it?" Gwyn's brows furrow. 

Balthazar wants to shake his head but stops himself. "I don't know." His is calm after that and Gwyn's knows there is more to it than he shares. 

"You don't have to tell me." He knows this. And smiles at her, nothing but understanding and sympathy in her eyes. 

"I guess," he starts and swallows. "I guess, I was always afraid I will become like my father, and I never wanted any female to endure this. I've never had real crushes, maybe I found someone attractive, but…" He draws in a deep breath.  

"I always kept the thought about how my father was in the foreground of my mind. I've never allowed myself to imagine myself in a relationship, because whenever I did, I only saw my father and how he treated my mother. There has never been a female I felt it was worthy for to face those fears." He wipes his hand over his nose. "But, then you stepped foot into my life, and suddenly I saw a future where I would not become like my father, suddenly I felt hope for myself somehow. Suddenly, there was someone for whom I would face those fears. And…I don't know how to say it."

"You don't have to say more." Gwyn changes her position, now kneeling next to him, both hands holding his. "But I do. I did not know your father, but I know what you told me about him and I know that you are nothing like him. And you will never be like him."

"Gwyn—" "No!" she loudly argues. "You will not be like him. Someone with such a kind and big heart will not become cruel and bad. You won't be like him."

"And you know this?" Balthazar raises his brow. 

"I know this." Determination is etched upon her features, and so is affection. "And I also know that this is right."

He gets no chance to ask about what is right. Gwyn leans in, and before he knows what is about to happen her lips brush his. It is just a small peck, short and barely there, but it leaves him speechless. 

When Gwyn leans back, lips tingling, her heart racing but he does nothing. He only stares at her. And that for a long moment. It almost looks like every flicker of life has whooshed out of his body, leaving him fully breath- and speechless. 

But then his hands capture her face, and he brings her in for another kiss. His palms are slightly clammy, his stomach a ball of nervous flutters. His touch is gentle, reverent, as his thumb strokes over her cheek. 

The world around them seems to hold its breath, time slowing, as everything fades into insignificance. Their eyes close as their lips touch, uncertain at first. Curiosity guides them, their lips meeting a little clumsily at first, noses pressing against the other's cheek, but soon they fall into a steady rhythm.

Gwyn's hands slide up Balthazar's chest, resting on his hard pecs. He lets his own hand slide into her hair, threading his fingers into her silken strands. A low groan sounds from a deep part of Balthazar's throat when Gwyn softly bites down on his lower lip. The noise makes something low part in her abdomen come alive. So overwhelmed by all the emotions and the sudden bliss, a giggle bubbles from Gwyn. They break apart, foreheads still touching.

"This was—" "Absolutely fucking perfect." A fully delighted and contented smile graces Balthazar's lips, pupils dilated as his eyes track Gwyn's face. She grins at him, heart fluttering, her hands still on his pectorals. She feels his heart beating vividly, his skin radiating warmth. His solid muscles ripple beneath her palms when he straightens up. 

"More?" she beams. 

"More," he breathlessly whispers, leaning in already. "But only if that's what you want."

Gwyn nods, capturing his lips without a moment of hesitation. The pull towards him, how he tastes and feels, is just too good to stay away from him for much longer. 

Balthazar brushes a strand of hair behind her ear, fingers lingering on the side of her head for a moment when their lips start moving in sync. Gwyn delicately traces her tongue over his lower lip, asking him for allowance to sweep her tongue into his mouth. He opens for her, letting her tongue slide in, brushing against his gums and then meeting his with each stroke. 

The kiss deepens, a new found hunger suddenly erupting inside both of them. 

Gwyn's gasp is drowned out by Balthazar's groan, his chest rumbling, his wings flexing behind his back. It is almost like they want to spread, and he needs to keep them tucked in — not wanting to look like a youngling, with wiggle wings behind his back that he can't control.  

Balthazar's hand slides to her neck, bringing her closer. Their kiss deepens. One of Gwyn's hand lowers, now braced on his thigh. Every touch sends electricity through them, setting their glowing souls ablaze. The bond comes more and more alive between them, the golden ribbon stretching out, trying to find its counterpart. Breathlessly, they part, faces mere inches from each other. Balthazar sweeps his thumb over her lower lip and then he lets his hand fall. 

"Gwyneth," Balthazar rasps. He closes his eyes, grins and then brings his hand up to brush back his hair. "What was that?"

"A kiss?" she chuckles, taking his hand into hers so she can lift it up to her mouth and kiss his knuckles. "Your first kiss."

"This was close to divinity." When he opens his eyes, he looks at her with nothing but admiration and affection. "Your kisses…I don't know."

"Speechless?" Gwyn grins mischievously, her heart beating so fast at his obvious astonishment. She has never seen him like this, but Cauldron it's adorable!

He can't answer. Balthazar is truly speechless. So his arms fly out, embracing Gwyn, fast, and he brings her to his chest, cuddling her tightly. Gwyn, half-sitting on one of his strong thighs, allows herself to relax against him, finding solace in the hard press of his broad chest. Cauldron, this male, and his body.

Balthazar kisses the top of her head and hums. His arms stay wrapped around Gwyn, even though the bright sun is shining down on them, hot and strong. But he couldn't care less in this moment. If they get to feel a little hot and toasty and start sweating…he doesn't care. Right now, there is only one thing on his mind. Right in this moment, with Gwyn in his arms, there is no doubt that she is the female who he wants to spend his whole life with. 

Gwyn turns in his hold, so she can glimpse up at him. And when he looks at her, gazes into her teal eyes, he sees his future. He sees the female he will love until the end of his immortal life.

"You are so beautiful," Gwyn whispers, and wiggles one arm free so she can trace her index finger over his jaw. She shifts again, so she can sit down better on his thigh. Balthazar loosens his hold a little, his hand now resting on the small of her back, his other hand clasping hers, the one that is not brushing his face. There are rose splotches on her in freckles-covered face, which makes her look so very adorable. 

"What?" he whispers, his brows tipping up the slightest bit.

Gwyn tilts her head to the side, eyes meeting his. "You are so beautiful," she says again, this time with a little more determination in her voice. "Your eyes, your smile, your wings…everything. You."

No one has ever called him beautiful, and he finds it a little hard to accept. But he leans into her touch, revelling in the feel of her fingers on his face, her soft touch and the way she looks at him.

"Gwyn," he says, but the priestess shakes her head.

"Juts let me compliment you," she hums. "And accept the compliment." Her grin is radiant, her eyes aglow. Balthazar once again finds himself captured by her.

"Then you have to accept that you are the most beautiful female I have ever seen."

He shifts on his thigh. Gwyn tilts her head to the side, and watches him through narrowed eyes. 

"I mean it. I have never seen beauty like yours before."

Her blush intensifies even more with the way he looks at her. Balthazar leans in a little, his lips brushing hers, but he does not kiss her. "It's 34 freckles. I knew it!"

Gwyn bursts into laughter, her head tipping back. Another reminder of her sheer beauty. 

The young Illyrian joins in to her laughter, his heart full of love. "When will we—" "I made something—"

Their gazes meet, lock, and soft giggles leave them.

"You first," Gwyn says.

But Balthazar shakes his head. "No, you first. Always you first."

Her cheeks once again turn a little more rosy — somehow he always causes this reaction in her. 

"I made something for you. You gifted me the fish, I also wanted to gift you something." Gwyn lowers her gaze a little, with a sheepish smile on her lips. She looks at her robes where she pulls out…something. 

Balthazar shakes his head. "You didn't have to make me anything. The fish was a thank you for saving my life and—Is this a bracelet?"

"Is it silly? I doubt you will even wear a bracelet. I mean you are a camp lord, a strong and powerful Illyrian, and—" "Put it on. I want to wear it!" Balthazar grins from on ear to the other and lifts his arm. 

Gwyn flashes him a look asking if he is really sure, and he nods. He uses his second hand to roll back the sleeves of his white linen shirt, and Gwyn can practically feel how her mouth dries out.

The muscles in his forearm are well-defined, with prominent veins coursing beneath the surface, and it is the first time that Gwyn really registers that his tattoos also adorn his lower arms. Maybe in the past she had been too occupied with staring at his chest…

"On here," Balthazar hums and wiggles his hand. 

He is oblivious to her staring, only focused on the fact that she is gifting him a bracelet. It is a small testament that the two of them belong together and he will wear this bracelet with nothing but pride. 

Gwyn's fingers tremble a little when she fastens the bracelet around his wrist — it sits perfectly, and perfectly fits with his half-gloves and then siphons on the back of his hands. She made the bracelet in the same colour, green but with a touch of turquoise and white.

"It is for luck and protection up in Windhaven…and basically everywhere."

"I love it. Thank you for making this for me." The young Illyrian kisses her cheek. She is so happy that he likes it. Gwyn grins, then leans in for a short kiss. Then the kiss turns into a not so short kiss. But soon their foreheads rest against each other, their eyes closed, breaths mingling in front of their faces. 

"What did you want to say," Gwyn asks after a moment of silence. 

Balthazar has to think, not remembering immediately. He inhales a deep breath. 

"I was…I think I was going to ask when I will see you again. L—Cassian earlier mentioned he will come up to Windhaven again. I was wondering if you are joining then as well." "Next week, yes!" Gwyn smiles. "Yes, we are joining him then."

He kisses her again. 

~~~~~~~

tag list: @a-frog-with-a-laptop @brekkershadowsinger @moonlightazriel @callmeblaire @headcanonheadcase @waternymphia @autumndreaming7 @devilsfoodcake22 @readercacau @sv0430 @bubybubsters @cyntia-ktn

[whenthechickencry]

Umineko EP4. Replay Part 1

Certainly not her genes, Kryie, also Rudolf sees through Kyrie in that even when she's talking friendly about Asumu she's burning with jealousy. Certainly was never a healthy dynamic in any case.

The talk of miracles here is so interesting and I will probably talk about it in more detail later. Rika's belief in a miracle is what allowed her to break through her dead-end fate. Ange's belief in a miracle is what is slowly destroying her life. I don't think either framing is entirely right or wrong, and unlike others, I don't see Umineko as a sort of response/rebuttal to Higurashi as much as something that expands on its themes, but still... it's really interesting to think about.

You can tell that R07 has been in kind of damage control mode for Beatrice since the end of ep3 lol. He really needs to hammer it isn't as black and white as you might think and she isn't just an evil monster who tricked Battler for fun.

This is a really funny scene too, by the way.

Battler's is, as Beato says, in a lot better state than last time shit like this happened. I think he got the general gist that Beato wasn't acting 100% and that there is more to what is going on than meets the eye.

Ange's right. Battler is starting to try and seriously understand Beatrice's heart but that's opposed to Ange's purposes, which are for him to completely trample on her heart as soon as possible so she can get Battler back.

You can tell Ane's view of others is really warped by now, it's basically a less over-the-top version of Erika. Sure if you never trust anyone you will never get tricked but you will never build genuine relations either...

This is in complete opposition to how Satoko entered the school in GouSotsu, so I guess the schools work differently across... universes or whatever it is you would call this.

Well... considering the events of this chapter where she continuously gets attempted to get murdered by her family I can't really blame her for strongarming Ange's family....

The game is pretty clear the abuse didn't take long to start.... it's easy to take a more sympathetic reading of Eva later but it is clear she bears responsibility for attempting to take care of a child she was in no way emotionally capable of doing at the time.

Ha.... the way Maria got mocked at her school but she didn't get it and saw it as genuine praise really makes me think she has autism... I remember at school laughing along at jokes I didn't get until I finally got that the joke was disparaging me. The game doesn't show this as an entirely negative thing, though... after all she is able to create 1s from 0s. Also, I am not disparaging Ange in any way but it shows the level of her isolation that the closest image to best friend she can conjure in her head is the girl she hung out with once a year on a family conference.

I have never heard of enchilada cheesecakes before and now I want to try them out.

....uh huh Rosa....

It's no surprise Ange latched on to the diary.... she does the same magic Maria does towards Rosa to Rudolf. "He sometimes came home at my birthday so he loved me a lot" aka he couldn't be bothered to even be at my birthday usually.

Haha.... this scene is so sad to read.... Rosa is constantly embarrassed of Maria even in his idealized version of the scene.

Huh... I wonder if this kind of bullying is common for autistic children? This is exactly word for word what was done to me in school.

This is also a common thing for abused people to think, I used to think I had to stay in abusive relationships because if I didn't someone else would get abused. I am sometimes kind of in awe about how R07 can accurately represent many kinds of situations.

It's not really sustainable in the long term for Maria, though. She can pretend she isn't sad and that she's fine all she wants but in the end, she chose the Golden Land over living. You can't exactly blame Maria for her thinking like this, though, she's just a 9-year-old making the best of an awful situation.

In other words, "I am glad I can neglect my daughter now that she has a stuffed toy I bought at a supermarket to keep her company instead of me"

Rosa, you set way too many fucking rules for someone that can't even be bothered to get home.

Maria knows perfectly that her mom considers her an embarrassment, huh.....

Man, Ange is so fucking depressed.... almost every line she says has a hint of extreme sadness behind it....

He uh.... didn't ask that Maria.... you can really tell she's extremely lonely.

Okonogi shows up and immediately wants Ange to do something that would kill her, lmfao.

Okonogi hits the mark right on the head but mixes up "Yasu" and "Eva" which is pretty interesting!

Of course, the one who actually had that ring was Yasu and not Kinzo at the time, so Okonogi's theory came from false assumptions.

I had.... completely forgotten that Okonogi of all people was the one to introduce the concept that without love, it can't be seen... haha I was very shocked here. Okonogi is also pretty much 100% right here, esp wrt Ange being unequipped to find the truth as she is.

An impressive resume would be a shame if you would get beaten and tortured by a nine-year-old girl.

Ange's already making hints about the fact it's really a suicide plan more than anything, Beatrice and Ange parallels are bigger later on but the fact they both had elaborate suicide plans with Rokkenjima is interesting to me...

[thatseverythingilove]

ROTTMNT Donatello x My OC - Chapter 3 : The game night

Summary : Tocq needs Donatello's invention to help her uncle. Now she has to gain the turtles' trust.

Yeah, I know I said there was a chapter 4. My mistake. There will have a chapter 4 later, promise :-)

Warning : None, except grammatical errors, sorry ! Cuteness, fluff and sneaky attack !

It was fun to write it ! Hope you like it !

Tocq went back to the lair few days later. Michelangelo was so happy, he immediately hugs her when she enters in the lair.

Then Tocq saw an other girl with red glasses and curly brown hair.

April saw an other girl with long red hair and big green eyes.

Who is this girl ?

“Hi, I'm April.” She says with a nice tone while they shake hands.

“Nice to meet you. I'm Tocq. Are you a friend of theirs ?”

“Our best friend !” Answers Raphael while he rubs April's head “We know each others since childhood.”

“Guys didn't tell me they make a new friend.” Says April.

“We met recently.” Says Tocq, a little embarrassed when she remembers the circumstances, before her eyes lights up “Sheldon !”

“So happy to see you again !” The little robot comes to her arms for a hug.

Tocq was satisfed so far, the group seems to tolerate her presence.

Except Donatello. He didn't even leave the couch, nor look at in her direction.

Whatever, Tocq is only interested by the inventions, not the inventor.

By chance Sheldon invites her to visit the lab. Donatello reacts right away :

“Sheldon, may I recall you this lab is mine ?”

“Don't worry, Donnie ! We'll just take a look, promise !” Says the little robot before leaving with Tocq, laughing like two kids as Donatello scrapes his teeth, thinking his precious inventions in Tocq's filthy hands.

“Relax, Donnie.” Says Michelangelo.

“Relax ?! How can you be so calm with this… stranger in our home ?!”

“We will get to know each other with time.”

“You should go and watch them if it bothers you so much.” Smiles April.

“You know what ? That's exactly what I'm going to do !” Donatello goes in the lab.

Sheldon was showing some machines and explaining their use to Tocq who listening carefully.

The purple turtle sits near his computers and pretends to work. His eyes can't keep in his screens for twenty seconds, his attention follows Tocq's movements.

She's praising Sheldon nonstop, applauses him when he does some aerobic tricks or gives smart comment on something.

She's just an mealy-mouthed, thought Donatello with an annoyed sigh.

Sheldon heard it. He thought Donatello was upset because he doesn't take any praises for his work.

“Hey, Tocq ? Did I tell you that Donatello started this when he was eight ? He found it in a garbage dump and tinkered it until satisfaction ! There's more of this, do you want to see ?”

Donatello raises an eyebrow, is Sheldon trying to flatter him ?

Sheldon keeps showing his master's inventions and telling nice backstories about them and Donatello's incredible skills. The turtle likes compliments, but this was a little too much !

“Is it true, Donatello ?!” Asks Tocq with stars in her eyes “You really create all of it ? You're truly a genius !”

Donatello freezes.

It was words, just words, but he feels his heart jump when he sees how much Tocq looks up to him right now. He would never have imagined she could look at him with this kind of expression.

He's so troubled and couldn't do anything but going back to his computer and his calculations.

Tocq and Sheldon continue their exploration.

Someone standing near the entrance didn't miss a thing : Michelangelo.

Tocq was very satisfied of herself : she locates some nice inventions to steal when everybody will look away.

She went back to the living room with Sheldon and heard April :

“Guys, how about a game night ? It's been so long since the last one !”

“Oh yeah !”

“Nice !”

“Let me get the snacks !”

Tocq watches them running around in all directions to prepare the living room. She feels it like the right time to sneak in the lab :

“Hem… Well then, since you guys seem busy, I will just go and let you-…” Her shoulder is suddenly trapped.

“Where do you think you going, new girl ?” Smiles April “Trying to get out and let me face the boys alone ?”

“I'm sure you will manage very well…”

“Oh, look at this little kitty.” Leo winks at Tocq with a smirk “Afraid of losing ?”

“Come on, Tocq ! It will be fun !” Smiles Michelangelo.

How to say no to this angel face ?

A lot, lot of games were played that night : cards, videogames, arcade games, skateboard, bowling, darts, karaoke, trampoline, monopoly, roles play, ping-pong, some crazy challenges...

...with pizza breaks of course !

Tocq slowly let herself go with the good atmosphere and finally forget her plans and laughed with her heart.

Then comes the terrible twister.

Raphael was too big to play – and was afraid to accidentely crush the girls – so he's the referee. Plus, all of them are cheaters !

The game starts smoothly, limbs are everywhere and positions really unconfortable ! Michelangelo, April, Donatello, Leonardo and Tocq are all still on the list.

Raphael spins the arrow :

“Right hand on yellow, Don.”

Tocq, with her body forming a bridge, stomach up, is just next to the easiest spot. Donatello grumbles and passes over Tocq to put his hand on the yellow circle. He's nearly laying on her, his face close to hers.

“Hey, no flirting, you two !”

“Ha-ha, very mature, Nardo.” Donatello feels a weight on him “Leo, stop that ! You're cheating !”

“Me, a cheater ? Very offended, dear brother ! I just feel a little weak. Don't mind me~…”

“Raph !”

“Sorry, Donnie.” Smiles the red one “No rule about that.”'

Donatello knows he wouldn't keep this dead weight very long.

He couldn't believe it will be the end for him in a few seconds ; What a lame way to lose !

Suddenly, like a unexpected miracle, Leonardo loses his balance and fell with April ! Donatello doesn't understand what just happened.

“You can thank Tocq.” Explains Michelangelo “She gives a fair lesson to Leo. Well, I don't think it aimed April too !”

“You will pay for this !” Yells the discalified ones.

Donatello is surprised. Under him, Tocq doesn't feel her arms anymore but gives him a knowing smile.

He smiles in response.

They have softened Michelangelo who realized too late that his feet moved by itself on another color. Disposed !

Donatello and Tocq were the last ones. No alliance anymore !

They fight ferociously, without pity, struggle with the colors, embrace the most fantastic positions, defy the most ridiculous ones.

For them, it was a life and death issue.

For the others, it was a loooong comedy.

“Hey buddies, don't you want to finish already ?” Sighs Raphael who would like to play too “It's been twenty minutes now.”

“Tell that to her ! I'm not giving up now !”

“Same for me !”

But Tocq can't deny she's exhausted. Maybe Donatello feels the same ?

She sees sweat in his neck, his arms trembling.

Tocq grins and suddenly falls down on Donatello ! Off guards, the turtle doesn't touch the ground nor let go his colors.

“Do you think you can beat me like this ? Scoff ! I said I will not give up !”

“Really ? Don't you feel my weight on your tired body ? Don't you feel your arms slowly become jelly ?”

“My jet-pack is heavier than you !”

He will let go soon, Tocq could feel it. She slides near his head.

“Hey Donnie, I just remember I didn't thank you properly for my prothetic.”

She places a peck on his check, surprising him enough to make him fall. Tocq won !

She sits, wrecked, her limbs shaking and her breath loud, but so delighted !

“Cheater. So unfair.” Donatello is still on the floor, pouting his angry thought while his little orange brother try to comfort him.

“Next time, brother.”

“Don't pout, Donnie !” Smiles Leonardo “I would gladly trade a victory for a kiss !”

“I will think about it next time I challenge you.” Hisses Donatello.

“Ugh, no thank you.”

Tocq extended a hand to the purple turtle with a soft smile.

“Nice fight. I thought you would never give up !”

Donatellu usually doesn't like when someone feel sorry for him. But that wasn't the case with Tocq, she looked at him like a true opponent.

He accepts her hand and she helps him to get up.

Obviously Leonardo wouldn't want to finish this night with a defeat, so the game night goes on.

The next morning, Donatello is walking trought the living room, dreaming for a coffee.

On his way, he's passing next to a huge mount of pillows. It moved when Donatello puts himself between it and the sun.

He's removing some pillows and Tocq appears, wrapped in a big blanket. Michelangelo's signature.

After all these games last night, Tocq was completely exhausted and fell asleep on the couch. Michelangelo worked hard to protect her from falling. Maybe a little too hard.

Her long red hair cover her face like a light curtain.

With extreme precaution, Donatello places them behind her ear.

His touch wakes Tocq up, she yawns, still tired, and smiles :

“Heya, Donnie.”

Her tired but sweet voice said his name in a way that makes his heart bounce a little. He can admit it, she's kind of cute right now.

“Good morning, Tocq.”

She hides her smiling face in a pillow, ready to fall asleep again. Donatello lets her alone. He nearly forget his coffee.

Michelangelo was already in the kitchen.

“Good morning, Donald ! Sleep well ?”

“Mmmh…” Donatello notices the smirk on his brother's face “Would you mind explain what make you so happy in this early hour ?”

“Oh, no biggy. I'm just happy to see that you made up with Tocq.”

Donatello mumbles.

“I mean, you don't lovingly caress someone everyday.”

The purple turtle spits out his coffee :

“What ?! When did I… ?! Why do you… ?!”

“Didn't know you were so bold in the morning.” Teases Michelangelo, raising his missing eyebrows.

“I'm not… !” He stops when he notices how calm is Michelangelo, and tries to keep his unemotional tone “I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Sure~... Oh, hi Tocq ! Did you sleep well ?”

Donatello suddenly tenses up as he hears Tocq behind him :

“Yes, very well. Crazy night, you guys know how having fun ! I have to go home before my uncle worry about me.”

Michelangelo kindly offers her breakfeast.

Donatello looks at her stretching and thinks about their meeting few minutes ago.

Her cute face.

He didn't percieve how much she was cute before. She looks like a stray cat.

He drinks a drip of coffee when he notices Michelangelo's eyes on him. And his despicable and mocking smile.

End of the chapter

Chapter 1 : The meeting

Chapter 2 : Out of her cage

[percontaion-points]

Delicious Monsters chapters 7 & 8

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 7

Jayden and I were in our first year and hadn’t made any sort of media connections that could tell us we were being offered scraps. Both of us were just happy to be able to pay our tuition for the semester. Everything felt so shiny. Torte made it clear that this was also an investment in our future at the company. More money to come. 

This is exactly why there was such a brain-drain at Buzzfeed. After people got their start there, they left to do it on their own… Without being beholden to a company that was pocketing probably like 70% of the money made from somebody else’s hard work. 

“My connection to Daisy was… complicated.” 

“How so?” I interject. 

Noah rolls the words around in his mouth. “We met through a program at my alma mater. It paired up university upperclassmen and high school kids so you could help coach them. I signed up for people who didn’t know what they wanted to major in because, honestly, you get more interesting mentees that way.” 

More interesting mentees. I bet you also get a lot of young girls who don’t know what they want to do with their lives. Lost girls.

Brittany’s POV is interesting because it’s not holding any punches in explaining that Noah is a fucking paedophile piece of shit. 

I echo back his words with less enthusiasm, “Time for Timmins.”

Chapter 7 summary: Brittany and Jayden go over to Noah’s house to interview him for their show. Brittany starts getting bad vibes from the guy at his home, since he’s the guy who tries so hard to pretend like he’s poor when his couch costs more than what Brittany and Jayden make in a year. Part of their show involves the people talking about the people in past-tense, no matter if that person is still alive or not. 

Noah tells them about how he was at university, and signed up to mentor high school students. He says that he wanted to help those who didn’t know what they wanted to do in college, because that was “more fun”. Brittany mentally calls him a creep for intentionally putting himself close to vulnerable teenage girls. 

But Noah continues on and insists that he and Daisy weren’t in a romantic relationship. That Daisy became obsessed with him, and went so far as to stalk his actual girlfriend on social media. Again, Brittany doesn’t like that much. 

Brittany and Jayden wrap up the interview and leave. As they’re going, they do “on the spot thoughts”, which they’ll edit into a coherent storyline for the show later. Brittany calls Noah out on his shit, and insists that everybody else in Daisy’s life insists that Daisy was in a romantic relationship with Noah. Jayden only sees what Noah said as further proof that Daisy was mentally unhinged to start with, and being in the house gave her a psychotic break. 

They briefly talk about trying to find somebody who knew Peter when he was still alive. But the entire situation with him is beyond weird. Nobody liked him. His ex-wife’s family has disappeared into a void. There is exactly one person who they think could be good, but the entire situation is odd. 

Again, Brittany can’t help but hold onto the idea that Daisy was a victim in all of this. Not the obsessed stalker that Noah painted her as. 

Chapter 8

He had texted me several times during the drive. Asking why I hadn’t listened to him. Pleading for us to not move. But, of course, when I’d asked him why, he’d had nothing to say.

If you can’t be bothered to explain yourself, then it’s clearly not important. 

That was the difference between Mom and Dad. One of them pretended to know me, to care about me, and one of them actually did.

Chapter 8 summary: Daisy does a lot of thinking on her way home. When she gets in, she tells her mom that they should go to the house. 

So they make plans and then go. The closest city is Timmins (BTW, this is all taking place in Canada, so this isn’t that odd.) The worst thing about learning about all of this is finding out that Daisy’s mom spent six summers up there, and never once told Daisy any of this. 

As they drive, Daisy keeps getting texts from her dad begging her to please stop this, but refusing to explain why he’s so dead-set against them moving. When mom stops the car, she begs Daisy to call her father while she goes into some random house to talk to somebody. 

On the phone, dad tells Daisy that if she changes her mind or needs out, he’ll send her money so that she can go… Live with grandma. Not even him. Grandma. Daisy gets pissed off about the entire thing, and quizzes him about her personal likes. He has no answers for any of them. When mom comes back, Daisy asks her the same questions, to which she responds with the actual answers. Daisy thinks that simply knowing what her favourite colour is makes a huge difference between “caring” and “acting like you give a shit”. 

[daysofourlivesrecaps]

Monday, 31 July 2023

Hey, guess what.

No, don’t bother guessing. I’ll just tell you. I was entirely right about “Leo interrupting Gwen and Dimitri’s wedding during the ‘if anyone has any objections…’ part” going absolutely nowhere.

(“Matty” is Leo, whose real name is Matt “Matty” Cooper, but only Gwen calls him this.)

I know I’ve been bitching a lot lately about feeling jerked around. And it must seem weird, given how much of this show I’ve already watched. Surely I’m used to the way soaps drag things out by now. But that’s just it — there have been occasional storylines that overstay their welcome but largely I have not felt hugely overwhelmed by that in the past year. Certainly not to the extent I have been lately. 

Anyway, the only good thing to come out of this interruption is EJ and Kristen (continuing to be friends! Yay!) quietly Waldorf-and-Statlering the whole affair.

It’s not fun, but Nicole is missing it… because she’s at the hospital, picking up the results of that DNA test that Sloan already picked up when she pretended to be her. Upon realizing that her confidential file was given to someone claiming to be her, Nicole goes FULL MEGAKAREN on the poor nurse (who wasn’t even the same nurse who gave Sloan the file!)

I was never the biggest fan of Nicole in the first place (largely because she just exists to pine for Eric no matter who she’s with — unless she’s with Eric, then she pines for literally anyone else), but you really learn a lot about a person when you see how they treat someone in a service profession. And she screams at this nurse for like, three segments, never once considering that this could have been a simple clerical error. Or that a grown-ass woman who should fucking know better is actually responsible for this.

Then said grown-ass woman shows up and hands the envelope over (having first removed the damning part that says the baby is Eric’s).

Not only does this needlessly prolong this insufferable plot (MAXIMUM DRAMA ≠ a holding pattern of the same lies for months on end), but NOBODY APOLOGIZES TO THE NURSE.

Speaking of Eric, he has a chat with Roman (his dad) and Kate (most everyone’s mom) about the fact that Sloan is pregnant.

Roman is extremely unhappy about this. 

And I’ve mentioned before that Roman barely has anything to do, pretty much ever, but it is well-established that he’s been extremely close with Abe for decades. (There are even occasional 80s flashbacks to back this up!) And now, having just returned from the hospital where Abe didn’t recognize him or his own immediate family, he’s pretty upset to hear that his kid is having a baby with the sister of the guy who did this to Abe. Which… is some good drama! Maybe not MAXIMUM levels, but definitely better than Roman usually gets.

He does come around pretty quickly (largely thanks to Kate, whose regular advice of “you should probably have a baby about it” was at least partially responsible for this happening in the first place).

And back at the DiMera mansion, the two couples finish tying the knot without further incident.

Dimitri and Leo have a cute moment out in the Whisper Your Secrets Foyer..

…where they are soon joined by Gwen, who wants to know what the big surprise was that they said they were planning that time it looked like they were making out.

And what they end up pulling out of their asses (STEADY, NOW) is… a honeymoon in Iceland?

Fine. It’s all going to happen off-camera anyway, so it really doesn’t matter where they say they’re going. The important thing is, nothing has changed except that now Gwen and Dimitri have been married and now Leo isn’t just a Judas but also a coward.

At least Stefan and Gabi are cute and happy.

And they always will be forever! I’m certain of it!