#sorry but what the fuck kind of joke just showed on my dash

[orchidshow]

credit | @ianrkives ty for making such a cute divider!! pls go show some support

A/N | this is my first fic please be kind also sorry if its not that good lol :) i might make more if this doesn't go bad!

wordcount | 1.6k

Two Peas in a Pod | Hasanabi x Reader

Her finger clicked the mouse relentlessly as she played the clip for the tenth time that evening.

“I mean - its content. It's not necessarily bad, if you get what I mean, but it's kind of junk food content, I think most of our streams can get like that.” Hasan explains to Will as he puts the cutout of your face on the F-tier of his stream. She sees the room go silent at his statement, the sharp intake of breath from Will and an uncomfortable giggle from Austin prompting him to speak again.

“What, you act like you want me to lie or something,” Hasan jokes. She sits in silence as the clip replays and the words are mumbled in the background. The frequent ringing of her phone wasn't helping at that moment. No matter where she clicked, it was just another video talking about the clip, or a friend messaging her to see if she had seen it. It's not like she didn't care about her content. The words hurt - the hours she'd spent preparing new streams and nurturing her community had been reduced to "junk food content".

“He's a total asshole who cares what he thinks,” one of her friends complained over the phone. Each of her complaints about him tripped over another. She could see the support, but felt distanced, as if all they could hear was the repeated line about junk.

The conversation remains silent while they wait for her to speak. “Do you think what I'm doing is bad -be honest, I'm not going to cry or anything,” she murmured, pressing her knees against her arms

“No way - just because you're not sitting in a chair for nine hours a day, your content is suddenly inferior - fuck that.” Says her friend. She feels something strange - an inclination to defend him, a part of her - a tiny part that believes he didn’t mean it - urging her to say no. She wasn't naïve, she and Hasan weren't close by any means, sure, they'd worked together before and it went well, but it was just that, a collaboration. Apart from streaming, she had never texted Hasan or called him.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she said, “I’ll just let it go - I mean, I’m going to Turkey with Will next week and that's the last thing I need right now.” Her phone rang incessantly; fan accounts came to her rescue, berating Hasan in the worst possible way. Other creators had sent her messages asking her to come on stream and explain her side. She knew they were trying to get somewhere, pushing her, goading her to make a statement about something she didn't want to talk about. She ended the call before turning her phone off completely.

The next week dragged on. The next day she had come up with a bullshit excuse about having food poisoning. In reality, she didn't feel like streaming. She didn't want to read the walls of her chat asking for a reply, it was humiliating, she thought.

When the next Monday had come, she found herself in the airport, eyes searching for Will. The place was full of atmosphere as she clutched her boarding pass tighter. As her eyes fell on Will walking towards her, she noticed a towering figure looming behind him.

Hasan is here.

His hair peeked through his cap, unruly strands creeping underneath. His eyes fixed on hers, and she noticed something in them - regret? Guilt? It was too early to worry about that. When Will meets her, she looks at him in frustration as her gaze flickers back and forth between Hasan and Will.

“ I’m just as surprised about this as you are, okay?” Will declares anxiously. She sighs in exasperation as she grabs her bags and makes her way to the plane.

The journey has been nothing less than painful.

She puts on her headphones and selects the loudest setting to hopefully distract herself from the situation. Her hopes are dashed when she feels a tap against her shoulder. Hoping it was a curious toddler or a perverted old man, she turns around and sees Hasan.

“Listen - about the ranking thing, I just wanted to say-” Hasan stammers, before putting her headphones back on. The silence between the two of them continued throughout the flight. She could feel his eyes boring into her whenever she rose from her seat. ‘I am here with Will, I am not going to entertain him," she repeats to herself like a hopeful mantra.

When the flight landed, Turkey was simply beautiful. Will and her (and Hasan) immersed themselves in the popular tourist spots and markets. On the stream, everything looked perfect, they could joke with each other and it looked like they were all getting on well. But as soon as they left the stream, things took a turn for the worse.

Every time Hasan tried to start a conversation with her, she reacted quickly and indifferently. Several times he found himself leaning over her and trying to talk to her, but she only responded by running away. The fans had got wind of it. Videos kept popping up on the internet showing her and Hasan off camera, walking away in the turkey. People suspected that the argument had got worse and wondered when she would speak to him.

On the fifth day she was exhausted. The hours of trying to keep up appearances and pretend she didn't want to rip his head off were beginning to wear on her. When the stream was over, she walked away from the group, texted Will so he wouldn't worry, and went to a dimly lit bar on a side street.

She was tired of feeling feelings and pretending she didn't feel them. As the minutes turned into hours, she got drunker and drunker.

As she left the bar, her legs walked unsteadily and cautiously while her head spun incessantly. She found herself on the steps of a cobbled street, felt all her emotions welling up inside her and began to sob. She lost track of time as her head rested in her hands and the tears fell uncontrollably.

“Where the hell have you been?” Hasan asked in a voice that resonated with anger and relief. She takes her head out of his hands and waves him away.

“Listen - you don't have to play nice with me, I can take care of myself,” she slurs, staring at the ground next to Hasan's feet.

“...And you handle yourself by crying in public in front of a sleazy bar?” he asks sarcastically.

“...fuck you,” she replies drunkenly.

He mumbles something before shaking off his jacket and putting it over her shoulders. “Let's go back to the hotel,” he urges her as he grabs her by the arm and tries to get her to stand up.

“Dude - you do not have to pretend to care, it's fine,” she spits out gruffly, shaking his grip. Hasan’s chest tightens, guilt flooding his body as he struggles for words.

“I am sorry, if I could, I'd take back what I said,” he says, his voice barely higher than a whisper.

 “It's a bit late for that - you said it and everyone saw it,” she scoffs, pushing herself off the cobbles and making her way back to the hotel. Strong arms wrap around her legs as Hasan lifts her up and throws her over his shoulders.

“If we walk, it’ll take you all night,” he says as his grip tightens around her waist. It was eerily quiet on the way back to the hotel. Neither of them knew where they stood. They knew boundaries had been crossed and feelings had been hurt, but they did not know what to do next. As the lights from the hotel sign illuminated their bodies, Hasan's sniffling became more apparent to her. He was crying.

 “I am really sorry, I was not thinking - I can not imagine how much shit I put you through,” he chokes out as he sets her down on the lobby floor. Her eyes stay in contact, her gaze feels lighter, almost as if she trusts him. Hasan leads her to her room, lets her in and sits on the edge of the bed.

“Don’ go...” she slurs, wrapping her arms tightly around his body.

“I won't,” he replies gently; he feels her body snuggle against him, her eyes grow heavy and begin to close. He pulls her closer to him and lets her rest against his body. As the night wore on, they both fell asleep. Hasan had cuddled her to his chest in the morning and breathed in the soft scent of her perfume.

When she woke up, the sunlight was streaming through the curtains, bathing his face in a soft light. She felt lighter, as if the energy had completely shifted. The realisation that she was so close to him made her stagger backwards and fall off the bed in a tangle of blankets. A heavy moan from her woke Hasan and made him look over the side of the bed.

“Did we…?” she asked, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.

 “No, no, we just fell asleep,” he reassures her, his morning voice echoing through the room. She pushes herself off the floor, claws her way back onto the bed and sits down awkwardly.

“So… Junk food content, huh?” she explains with a grin. Hasan nudges her cheekily and enjoys her giggles. The heaviness between them had disappeared. For the first time, it felt intimate between them, bigger than a collaboration or a friendship.

[whataperfectwasteoftime]

The Rift - Chapter Three

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x Marcus Acacius x Marcus Pike x f!Reader

Rating: Chapter is T, overall fic is E (18+ only, explicit smut)

Word Count: 2.3k

Warnings: Bad Latin, language barriers, lots of yearning, Marcus Acacius is Very Hot and no one knows what to do about it

Summary: Marcus Pike shows up at your door in the middle of the night with a very broad man in Roman armor in tow. Armed with only your Classical studies education and a Latin-English dictionary, you do your best to help.

A/N: Okay, we've got three of the four members of this grammatically insane polycule in the same space! Only one more to go! I wonder how a certain Leader of the Heroics is doing.... Just a reminder, to keep everyone sane, the POV character is called out by name at the beginning of each POV switch.

Masterlist | Chapter Two | Next chapter>>

(You)

At around the same time that the leader of the Heroics was impatiently waiting for his coffee maker to finish brewing, you’re startled awake by loud, forceful knocking on your door. 

Going from ‘asleep’ to ‘instant dread’ in the span of two seconds makes your body feel like it’s short-circuiting. You tumble out of bed, grabbing the nearest object to potentially use as a weapon. You examine your choice–Stephen King’s The Stand, and shrug internally. I mean, if any book could be a blunt weapon… 

With your fingers white-knuckled around the thick spine, you peer carefully through the peephole to find–

“Marcus!?”

You yank open the door to find the Special Agent of your dreams standing on your welcome mat. “What the hell? Do you have any idea what time–”

“It was an emergency,” the Agent says quickly, holding up his hands in supplication. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know who else to call.” The dread returns to the pit of your chest. “Marcus, oh God, are you okay? What happened? What’s wrong?”

“It’s not me, it’s um. Well, let me show you.” He grimaces, then pushes someone else out from behind the corner and into view. 

It’s a man–a very large man. A large, broad man wearing a dress. No, wait. That’s not a dress, that's…

“Marcus,” you say carefully. “Why is there a man dressed in Roman armor on my doorstep.

“Marcus,” the man repeats, and slaps his chest. 

“Yes, that’s right,” the Agent says tiredly, as though he’s gone through this several times in the past hour. “This is Marcus. He’s from the Rift. I... kind of almost hit him with my car.”

“Car,” the Roman says, nodding seriously. He looks you up and down in a way that makes heat creep to your cheeks, and says something in a language that you don’t understand, but seems oddly familiar.

“Oh my God,” you murmur to yourself. “He speaks Latin.”

“I’m kind of at a loss,” Marcus, your Marcus says with a tired sigh. “I don’t know whether to call someone at Heroics, HQ, or… I dunno. I mean, who the fuck do you call when you have… a Roman?”

“Hang on.” You hold up a finger and dash over to your office, which is really just a tiny room off of the living room filled to the brim with shelves and shelves of books, with a tiny desk squeezed in between.

“You should get rid of your old college textbooks,” you say to yourself in a mocking tone. “How many times are you going to move house, and you still have all these books taking up space? Well, the joke’s on you, Linda, because I’ve got a Roman Centurion in my kitchen and the man of my dreams showed up at my door at three in the morning because he needs my help and this is my moment, dammit.” Your finger finally lands on the text you were looking for–a dog-eared copy of Oxford’s Latin-English Dictionary with a broken spine and part of the front matter missing. On a whim, you grab the first book next to it, Ovid’s Metamorphoses in the original Latin, and race back to Marcus and… other Marcus. 

“Salve,” you begin, and the Roman’s eyes snap to yours. 

Marcus Pike grins as though you’ve hung the stars.

Flipping through the pages frantically, you manage to string together your first sentence.

“You… are… safe… with… us.”

You hope you conjugated the verb correctly. 

The Roman murmurs something back, speaking slowly and deliberately, understanding that this is very much not your native tongue. He repeats it twice, until your face dawns with understanding. 

“Where am I?”

“Jesus, can we start with an easier one?” you chuckle to yourself. After some quick thinking, you manage to explain to Roman Marcus that he is in a different country, very far away from the world he knows.

The man shakes his head. “Quam?” he murmurs to no one in particular. 

That’s a tough one, too. You have no idea how to explain black holes and time rifts in Latin. 

You make a face, putting your hands up and shrugging your shoulders in an exaggerated pantomime of, “I don’t know.”

The man nods slowly. You feel awful for him, really. Stranger in a strange land. He must be terrified.

“Famelicus,” he says. 

You don’t know that one. You flip through the pages to find the F’s. 

“Famelicus,” he repeats, pointing to his stomach. “Panis?”

“Oh shit, yeah,” you whisper. “Of course you’re hungry.” You turn to the cupboard that serves as your pantry and search for something he’d recognize. You pull out half of a baguette and hold it up hesitantly. The man rips it from your grasp almost comically and begins to tear pieces off of it with his teeth, devouring the bread with gusto. 

“This is surreal,” Pike murmurs under his breath. 

When the Roman finishes eating, he seems almost as interested in the clear plastic wrapping than in the bread itself. He stares at it, brow furrowed with a deep frown of concentration as he crinkles the plastic over and over again in his fist. 

“I hate to ask, but can we… can we crash here until morning when I can think straight and figure out what the hell to do with this guy?” Marcus asks, looking pained. 

“Yeah, ‘course,” you reassure him. “I’ll help you. We’ll get him back to where he needs to go, or... find the person who can. In the morning.”

“In the morning,” Marcus nods, smiling gratefully. 

Turning to the Roman again, you say haltingly, “Somnus. Nox. Somnus?” Sleep. Night. 

The Roman also looks relieved at the prospect of sleep. 

“Uh, cubile,” you say, gesturing at the couch and indicating he can use it as a bed. You’re about to go rummage in your linen closet for a spare blanket and maybe a pillow, but Marcus the Roman strides confidently over to the couch, lies down, and is snoring within seconds. 

“Woah,” you remark, laughing to yourself. “Shit, Marcus, I only have the one couch…”

“I’ll take the recliner,” he says quickly, pointing to the battered, second-hand Lazy Boy in the corner of your living room. “Listen,” he swallows thickly, looking up at you with those deep brown eyes that make you melt in any situation, much less in the middle of the night in your dark living room. “Thank you. I didn’t know where else to go, and you–Well, if anyone can speak a dead language conversationally, it would be you.” His voice is soft and earnest, and you want to tell him anything at all, Marcus, anything for you but you force yourself to bite your tongue.

“It’s no problem,” you assure him. “Honestly. I mean, talk about a Classicists dream, right? When do you ever get to use the stuff you learned in graduate school in the real world?”

Marcus chuckles softly. “Go get some sleep. We’ll tackle Mount Olympus in the morning, yeah?”

“That’s Greek, not Roman,” you snort.

He winks at you, and you will your knees not to buckle. “Whatever,” he teases playfully. 

“‘Night,” you say, hoping you don’t sound too breathless. Without waiting for a reply, you retreat to your bedroom before you can make a fool of yourself even further.

“‘Night,” Marcus returns softly, and when you turn to close the door, he’s still looking at you. 

(Pike)

Marcus awakens to the comforting sound of someone puttering quietly around the kitchen. He opens his eyes to see you–what a beautiful sight–reaching up on your tiptoes to take three mugs from the cupboard. The other Marcus is awake too, sitting at the kitchen table and watching your task with curiosity.

When he stirs from the recliner, you smile in greeting. “I made coffee,” you offer brightly. 

“Sainted being,” Marcus groans tiredly as he gets up from the chair, his joints creaking and protesting as he stands. 

“Cah-fee,” the Roman repeats as you pour the steaming liquid into three cups. 

“I don’t think you’re gonna like it,” you say with a chuckle as he reaches for one of the mugs. “It’s hot. Calidus. Be careful.”

“Care-fool,” the man nods seriously, and Marcus can’t help but smile at the bizarre domesticity of the scene. 

He sips cautiously, makes a face, and lets out a string of Latin that Marcus takes to understand that he didn’t like the coffee.

You snort. “I told you. How about, ah, milk?” You flip through your dictionary. “Lac? Lacte?” You take the quart out of your fridge and hold it up.

“Lac. Mil-k?” 

“Yes!” you squeal excitedly, spinning around to grab another cup. Before you can turn around, however, the Roman has managed to open the carton of milk himself and begins chugging from it. 

At your shocked expression when you turn back around, Marcus can’t help but let out a loud laugh. The other man stares at him questioningly, and he gestures to the cup. “The cup.”

“Cup,” the man repeats, and laughs too. 

“I’m gonna make some eggs,” you announce. “He should like that, you think?”

Marcus shrugs. “I don’t see why not.”

You hold up an egg for the man’s inspection. “Uh, ovum?” you ask.

His face brightens. “Sic, ovum,” he agrees. He stands and inspects the carton thoughtfully. “Quid est?” 

“Ovum,” you answer again, not understanding the question. 

“No.” The Roman picks one up carefully and points to himself. “Ovum,” he says patiently, then points to you.

Oh. Marcus grins. “I think he wants to know the word in English.”

“Egg,” you tell him. 

“Egg,” he repeats. The word seems to strike him as funny, because he repeats it several times, chuckling as he does. 

Now that understanding has been made, ‘Quid est?’ seems to be the man’s new favorite question. He repeats it over and over as you make breakfast, getting in your way in the process and generally causing chaos throughout the small apartment. Marcus tries his best to run interference, answering all of his questions to the best of his ability. Thankfully, he seems to stick to objects that are familiar to him–a pillow, chair, fork–rather than ask Marcus about the microwave, or, god forbid, his cell phone. He repeats every English word thoughtfully, in a thick accent and rumbling voice that he can’t help but find attractive. 

“Hey, you don’t think anyone else saw our friend here last night and said anything?” you say suddenly while the three of you sit around your kitchen table eating the eggs. 

Somehow, the thought hadn’t even crossed Marcus’s mind. “Shit, I dunno,” he admits.

“I’m gonna check the news.” you grab the remote off of the coffee table and switch on the TV. 

The noise and pictures emanating from the screen immediately cause Marcus to spit curses in Latin. He tries to rise from his chair in alarm, but you place your hand on his forearm and repeat several words in Latin softly and reassuringly, and the man calms. 

The local news is, as it has been since its arrival, fixated on the Rift. Everything seems as expected–normal seems to be the wrong word–until Marcus realizes what the anchor is saying. 

“ –was successfully closed around six am this morning. Joining us now is Marcus Moreno, leader of the Heroics, to give us an update on the situation.”

“What do they mean, ‘Closed?’” you ask with a frown. 

“Shh,” Marcus says. 

“Mr. Moreno, representatives from your team are saying that the portal is now closed, is this correct?” the anchor asks. 

“That’s right. The um… the security risk was too great, and we don’t really know what that kind of rip in the fabric of uh, you know, space and time, is capable of. Our team of physicists have been working on a solution day and night and I’m happy to announce that the Rift has disappeared completely and Pennsylvania Avenue should be reopening in the next few days as cleanup begins.”

“Is there any chance of it opening again?” the anchor asks. 

Marcus Moreno looks uncomfortable. “Listen, the… the math around this isn’t my strong suit, but my understanding is that these kinds of things–rifts in space and time–can only happen when an exponential amount of energy is released, so barring another supervillain somewhere out there with the same Black Hole bomb, there shouldn’t be any more Rifts opening in the nation’s capital anytime soon. Uh, thanks.”

“He’s always so stiff in interviews,” you comment. “You think he’s uncomfortable with the limelight, or what?”

“Are you being serious right now?” Marcus shakes his head in disbelief. “The portal is closed. The Rift is gone. And our friend here is trapped on the wrong side.”

“Oh, shit,” you breathe. “Oh, fuck. Marcus… what do we do?”

“I’m gonna go to Heroics HQ,” Marcus announces. “To talk to Moreno one-on-one and try to keep this situation quiet. He’s a good guy, he’ll use discretion.” “You know Marcus Moreno?”

“How is that your takeaw–nevermind. I mean, I don’t know him, but I’ve definitely come across him in professional settings in the past. Why?”

“He’s–” you laugh nervously. “It’s silly. I always kind of had a crush on him. Childhood celebrity crush, you know how it is.”

“Oh. Right.” Is it hot in here? Did someone raise the temperature in this room? Marcus can’t explain why the prospect of you finding the leader of the Heroics attractive eats at him so much, but the next thing that you say nearly makes him swallow his tongue.

“Actually, you resemble him a lot,” you comment nonchalantly. “You’ve got the same pretty brown eyes.”

The other Marcus chooses this moment to hold up his empty plate and ask, earnestly, “Egg?”

[angeliqueiguess]

“Focus!” (j.jh)

015. contract? warnings: swearing, kind of short (srry in advance, studying gives me writers block)

Friday was dragging on, and for Y/n, every second felt like torture. She walked through the hallways of the building with Ten, venting her frustrations. ''Seriously, I run into him everywhere'' said Y/n, tossing him a knowing look.

''You’ve gotta stop giving it so much importance. How many times have I told you that? You still haven’t learned, have you?''

''Yeah, yeah, I know...'' Y/n groaned. ''But every time he walks past me, he huffs like I'm bothering him just by existing. And, I swear, it makes me wanna spin his head like in The Exorcist.'' She said it so deadpan that Ten burst out laughing.

''Sorry! It’s just... you said it with such a straight face, I couldn’t help it.''

''Alright, enough'' she muttered, rolling her eyes ''I just don’t get why he’s wandering around the building all the time. The only thing he needs to do is show up for the photos and leave. That’s literally it.''

They kept walking until they reached their office. Y/n stopped and turned to Ten. ''Oh, and remember, Ash is coming in...'' she checked her watch. ''In about two hours. We need everything set up by then so we can go over the plan, mkay?''

''Yes, ma’am.'' Ten straightened up with an exaggerated salute, making her snicker. She reached for the doorknob, but the door wouldn’t budge.

''Ugh, this fucking lock! I swear it’s out to get me'' she grumbled, twisting and pulling the handle to no avail ''No... not again.''

After a bit of struggling, the door finally clicked open.

''Okay, seriously, I need to get this shit fixed...'' she muttered with a half-smile. But before she could say anything else, a familiar voice cut through the moment.

''Yeah, you should fix it. Don’t you think?'' Y/n froze on the spot. Standing right in front of her was Jaehyun, calm as ever. He looked at her briefly, then added, almost casually: ''And, by the way... in case you didn’t know, Im kinda sealing a deal with your brother, that's why im roaming aroung as you say.''

Without waiting for a response, Jaehyun turned and walked off, leaving Y/n and Ten standing there, too stunned to speak. After a beat, Ten turned to her ''Girl... we’re so fucked.''

Ten opened the door and found Y/n looking at him with eager anticipation. She hurried inside.

''Come on, spill the tea!'' Y/n said, grabbing Ten by the shoulders and lowering her voice since there were staff members wandering around.

''I overheard Ash and Jaehyun talking'' he paused, and Y/n raised an eyebrow ''Ash was laughing about something Jaehyun said, and it was loud enough that I thought everyone in the building would hear'' Ten continued, waving to a passing staff member.

''And then what?'' Y/n asked, clearly interested.

''Then Jaehyun hugged her, like, by the shoulders and whispered something in her ear, but I couldn’t catch it'' Ten said, mimicking the scene, which made Y/n frown. ''And that was it.''

''Seriously, Ten, if you were sent to rob a house, you’d probably knock on the door first'' Y/n joked, smacking her forehead in mock frustration.

''What do you want me to do? I can’t just creep around and spy on them!'' Ten protested, but before Y/n could respond, someone called out.

''Hey! Y/n, how have you been? Long time, no see!'' It was Ash, who rushed over and pulled Y/n into a tight hug. Y/n felt a bit awkward at Ash's enthusiastic greeting because she was really calm and collected, y/n hugged her back, stealing a glance at Ten, who looked just as baffled. Ash pulled away and grabbed Y/n’s hands. ''I’m so excited to work with you again!'' she exclaimed, and without waiting for a reply, turned and dashed off, leaving Y/n with a mix of confusion and amusement.

''What the fuck'' mouthed Y/n looking at Ten who had the same confused expression.

---

prev//next masterlist.

Angie's note: sorry in advance for this shitty chapter (my brain is fried from studying) hope you liked it and dw, i'll update again in a few hours <3 love u! don't forget to take care of yourselves and drink tons of water <3<3

Taglist: @apolloxxivmin @milanco @sibwol @neocupidd @minkyuncutie @miniature-tragedy @tenjyucat @aerivrs @chan-yeoldelling @cryingforjae @kukkurookkoo @kodasity @injunnie-lemon @thegracerammy @livingdoll-hara

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Safest with You (Ch. 8 - The Cab)

5K / Modern AU Retired Mob Enforcer!Din Djarin x fem!Reader

Summary: Unable to be apart from you, Din decides to be more honest.

Warnings: Angst and pining again, but the return of fluff at the end, some insecure!Din, pet names as usual (pretty bird, baby, sweetheart, etc.)

A/N: Just so you don’t think my imagination is that cheesy, the waiter with the folded napkin actually happened to me (The Woman was Too Stunned to Speak)😂 Thank you for your patience as I posted some other pieces before this one and as always for reading! Hope everyone is having a good 2024 so far!

Series Masterlist

Your friends are more than a little surprised to see you show up teary eyed at brunch the next day; like you, they had expected your third date with Din would end with earth shattering orgasms, not a heart shattering goodbye.

You cry while you tell them about the date and how it ended.  They’re as confused as you have been about what happened; you mumble, “He just said it wasn’t a good fit,” hanging your head.

Rory, predictably, goes straight to revenge, “Do we hate him?  Should we key his car?”

Lifting your head because you know she’s only 37% kidding, you say softly, “No. He was kind about it.  And he’s allowed, you know? He’s allowed to call it quits after three dates.  We really only knew each other for two weeks.”

You cross your arms on the table and lay your head down. You're a jumble of raw emotions right now: confusion over the sudden change in Din's feelings, distress over having possibly done something to precipitate that change, but mainly sadness over the loss of what could have been. You realize now that you had harboured high hopes for what a potential future with Din might be like, and those hopes had been the source of some most welcomed feelings of excitement and optimism over the past few weeks - to have them dashed, so unexpectedly too, has left you crushed and at a bit of a loss. Had you done something wrong? You think you must have, and that thought has you biting back tears of disappointment in yourself.

Lala strokes your hair as you sniffle quietly, “…I didn’t even get to fuck him.” You bury your face in your arms with a whine.  It feels a little better to make jokes.

“Aw babe, I’m so sorry.  We all know how much you wanted to fuck him.  We wanted you to fuck him too,” Bea sympathetically rubs your back.

“You know… it’s probably good you didn’t sleep with him, babe.  Like, it would have been really shitty for him to sleep with you and then break up with you after,” Katie muses out loud.

Propping yourself up on your chin, you lament, “He wouldn’t have done that.  He’s too sweet.”

“Is now a good time to mention that Mark is still single?”

“JEN!!!!”, the other girls yell.  But you laugh, a small laugh but it’s genuine.

“What?! I asked if it was a good time? Sheesh!! Plus it made her laugh, okay?”

You lay your head back down on your arms, and listen to your friends chatter.  They know you well enough to know that you don’t want to keep talking about it, and that you’ll feel the most comfort from just being in their supportive presence.

Lala and Bea make sure to periodically let you know they’re there with a gentle rub of your back or arm until the food arrives, and when you dig into your eggs you feel slightly better.

Just over a month passes before you see Din again.

During that same time, Din sees you twice: once intentionally and a second by accident.

The first time is the day after your last date.  He goes to the restaurant where he knows you and your friends have your standing brunch date, hoping you would seek the comfort of your friends after an upsetting night.  He doesn’t go in, but does peer in through the window to look for you; even though your back is to him, he can tell it’s you and moreover, he can tell you’re crying.  Din feels as if his heart has been ripped out of his chest, remembering your hurt and confused face from the night before.  As he watches you lay your head on the table and your friend stroke your hair lovingly, he fights the urge to burst into the restaurant and beg you to take him back.  He’s desperate to tell you it was all a mistake and that he can’t bear to be apart from you, but the voice in his head that wouldn’t quiet yesterday night is still there, telling him you’re better off without him and far away from what his world entails.  When he sees your food arrive, and that you’re in better enough spirits to eat, he leaves feeling assured that your friends will take good care of you, and, although it depresses him to think this, certain that soon he will be but a distant memory for you.

The second time Din sees you is three weeks later when he’s out for a run and he passes a park that seems to be hosting a big dog meet up.  Din quickly realizes that all the dogs are the same breed as Al and he stops to scan the crowd looking for you, but Al spot him first.  Tail wagging, Al separates from the group and jogs over to the edge of the park where Din is standing – excited and full of energy; Din leans over the fence and pets the exuberant pup, “Hey buddy!  Miss you so much.  You being a good boy?”  He scratches Al all over his head and neck, making sure to give him a few extra ear rubs that Din knows he likes. Din’s missed Al and is pleasantly surprised to see him, but his heart leaps at the realization that you must be nearby.  He spots you finally, talking with some dog people, and when he sees your lips say, Where’s Al? he gives a final pat to the dog, knowing that it won’t be long before you’re coming over.  Although Din tells Al to go back to you, the normally obedient dog is not budging, he stays with his tail wagging and now barking at Din excitedly.  Out of options, Din moves behind a nearby tree so not to be spotted when you inevitably notice where all the racket is coming from.  As he predicted, you come over to fetch Al, “What are you doing over here by yourself, silly boy?  Were there some squirrels?  Are you yelling at the squirrels?” you coo at the dog, who’s bouncing up and down, still barking.  You give Al a bunch of kisses, then lean over and whisper in his ear; happily, Al waits to trot by your side back to the group of other dogs while you give the area a quick look to see if you can ascertain what drew your dog over here in the first place.  And that’s when Din finally looks upon your face.  The picture of you and Al from the farmer’s market on his phone that Din’s been starting at over the past few weeks is nothing compared to the real thing.  Your smile is as warm and inviting as ever, and your eyes bright and full of glee; he knew he wasn’t over you, but he didn’t realize his heart could further break until the thought strikes him that you would never again look at him with an expression like that.  He waits until you’ve rejoined the group in the park before reluctantly resuming his jog and leaving you and Al behind once again.

“I’m stuffed,” you moan, holding your stomach.  Your friends are all doing some variation of the same gesture and nod in agreement having just finished a delicious birthday dinner for Katie at her favourite Italian restaurant.  Great food, even better drinks, and loving company – it was the perfect birthday celebration.  It’s a shame you’re all too full for cake or dessert.

“Can we postpone birthday dessert to brunch?” groans Katie.

That sounds like a fantastic idea, you can’t eat any more tonight, “You’re the birthday girl!  We can do anything you want," you grin.

“Maybe what she wants for her birthday is for you to go back in and get that waiter’s number? Didn’t you think the waiter was cute?” Jen says, purposefully avoiding Katie’s look of incredulousness.

He had been cute.  And he had folded a napkin into a rose and placed it next to your plate when he served you.  Then when you had joked that you weren’t the birthday girl, he had come back and with folded roses for all the girls.  Yes, it was super cheesy, but sweet.  And maybe, just maybe, you might have been tempted to give him a chance if it wasn’t for a certain curly haired, brown eyed boxer that you knew could be a hundred times sweeter, who you knew you would be comparing him to in every other way as well.  Even now, more than a month after you last saw Din, you didn’t think there was any actual competition.  You must have a far away look in your eyes, because Bea wraps her arms around you and looks at Jen, “What about Mark?  What would Mark say if he knew you were cheating on him with some waiter?” This snaps you back to the present with a giggle.  The girls all laugh and you give each other prolonged goodbye hugs and cheek kisses, before you leave them to catch a cab in the opposite direction.  Shouting love yous and promises to each message when you get home safe, you turn and head down the street and around the corner.

The neighbourhood you’re in is lively at this time of night, lined with busy restaurants and cafes that are finishing up last service, and a few clubs that are just getting their night started.  With all the activity and bright lights, you don’t have any qualms about be out by yourself, but you are finding yourself a bit cold so you hope to catch a cab sooner rather than later.  The dress you wore for dinner has long sleeves but is backless, which had been sufficiently warm earlier in the evening, but now that there’s a bite to the air, you’re starting to shiver a little.  You decide to wait on the curb right outside a club that seems fairly busy already, reasoning it’s probably a high traffic area or at least it will be easy to grab a taxi after it drops off clubgoers. 

You miscalculated.  Not a lot of cabs are going down this street tonight for some reason, and the two that you do spot with their lights on either don’t see you or are claimed by other people first.  You’re starting to get cold for real, hugging yourself and rubbing your arm with the hand that isn’t raised in the air.

“Allow me,” says a deep voice from behind you.  You turn to find Din standing close, with his arm already out to hail the next free cab that comes down the street.

“Thank you,” you say quietly.  You’re not sure where he came from, and are very surprised he’s there at all.  It’s been weeks since you’ve seen him, but here he is handsome as ever.  He’s dressed in a sharp dark suit, his matching dress shirt neatly buttoned, but no tie – he looks so good.  His broad shoulders are stretching his suit jacket in all the right places, and the suit sleeves hug his muscular arms perfectly snug. This time when you shiver, you know it’s more than the crisp night air that’s giving you the chills.  Din looks down at you over the rim of his black framed glasses with a soft expression, and without a word, takes off his jacket and drapes it over your shoulders; his free hand then slips under the front of the jacket and around your waist, settling on your lower back where your backless dress allows him to touch your cool, bare skin.  He murmurs, “It’s cold out,” before gently pulling you in towards him.  You’re close enough to smell him now – the scent of his cologne alone makes you press your thighs together a little; you place you hands gently on his hard chest before lightly trailing your fingers down and wrapping your arms around him. Feeling the hand on your back press you closer, you rest your cheek against his chest and close your eyes.  The two of you stand like this, comfortably holding each other in silence for a few minutes before a taxi pulls up.

Din reluctantly pulls away from you to open the back door of the cab; after helping you in, he opens the front passenger door to speak to the driver directly. He gives the driver your address, and then to your shock, pulls out his wallet and you see him take out several hundred-dollar bills and hand them to the driver, “Sir, it’s very important to me that this lady gets home safe, and I know I can count on you.  For your help, please keep anything over the meter as a tip, a thank you from me.”

The driver is similarly surprised, but takes in Din’s imposing figure and gives him a confident nod, “No problem, sir.  Consider it done.”

Din makes a point to look at the driver certificate, “Thank you, Carl,” patting the driver on the shoulder before closing the door.  He comes around the still open back seat door and crouches so you’re making eye contact with him from your seat.  “Thank you, Din.  You didn’t need to do that,” you say softly, but with a look of gratitude so he know you’re truly touched.  Din reaches in the cab to tuck a loose piece of hair behind your ear, “Need to know you’re safe,” he says tenderly, letting his hand cradle your cheek.

He pauses for a moment, almost unsure, then asks, “Were you out here on a date?”

You don't know if there is any other intended meaning behind the question, but you give a little chuckle, “No, I was out for Katie’s birthday dinner; we went to Luigi’s.  Everyone else shared a cab over the bridge and I walked over here to catch a cab uptown.”  You’re not sure, but you think you see a flicker of relief flash across Din’s face.  “What about you?  You here to do some clubbing? This music seems really your style,” you tease.

Din laughs when at that exact moment, the door of the club opens and the loud cacophony of electronic beats spills out into the street.  You smile wide at Din and he’s elated; his hand still on your face, he softly strokes your cheek with his thumb as you smile at one another.  He’s about to answer with a quip of his own, when a loud voice from near the club doors calls his name, “Din!! Are you coming in or what?”

Din stills his hand and turns his head to give the person a nod. You move your head and peer around Din to see who he’s speaking to; you catch a brief glimpse of Vanessa, dressed up to the nines for the club, spinning around on her 4-inch heels and stomping back into the club.

Oh. You fold your hands in your lap and look down, fiddling with your fingers.  You’re starting to feel a bit stupid for imagining that there might still be a spark between you and Din.  It seems that you might not be out on a date, but of course he could be.

Din knows exactly what you’re thinking and is quick to correct you, “We’re not here together - I’m doing a security escort tonight.  Just making sure my old boss’ niece and her friends get in to the club safely; Vanessa's just part of the group.”

“You don’t owe me any explanations,” you shrug, defeated.

Din tips your face up gently, and says sadly, “What if I want to owe you an explanation?”

You bring both of your hands to his face and search his eyes, afraid you might be misunderstanding his words. “Din,” you whisper.  And then his lips meet yours. It’s as if he never stopped kissing you – his kiss is so warm and familiar, you hadn’t fully realized until this moment the extent of how much you missed it.  And him.

You’re both slow to break apart, looking deeply into the other’s eyes with longing.  Din speaks first, “Pretty bird, I’ve missed you so much.  I never should have walked away; I’ve thought of you every day since.”

You look at him softly, “I’ve missed you too.”

“I’m so sorry for leaving.  I can’t tell you how much I’ve regretted hurting you. I’m so sorry, baby,” Din pleads with something close to desperation in his eyes.

You pull him in by his collar and kiss him again, this time more intensely than before, your desire and neediness bubbling to the surface. As you thread your fingers through Din’s curls, he leans further into the cab, bracing one hand on the car seat and the other grabbing your upper thigh where the hem of your dress ends.  Where his hand touches your bare skin, you feel a warmth radiate and you gasp softly into Din’s mouth.  He takes this as permission to deepen your kisses, opening his mouth, his tongue begging to be let in.  Allowing him access, you moan softly a he licks into you.  Fuck. You had forgotten what a good kisser he was.  You pull away gently, still not sure what any of this means, and open your eyes to see Din looking at you like he used to, with adoration and hunger.  You have a million questions, and out of habit, you look over to the driver to ask if he minds giving you some more time before starting the fare. Unsurprisingly, Carl seems totally unbothered and committed to not paying attention to what’s happening in the backseat; the generous tip from Din having secured his patience and discretion.  Din is reading your thoughts: you deserve answers and all the time needed for those answers; he cups your face with his hands to redirect your attention back to him, “I should get back to work now, pretty bird.  But we’ll talk, okay?”  He hopes you can read the assurance he’s trying to convey with his eyes.  Nodding, you start to take off his jacket, but Din stops you, pulling it back over your shoulders, “Keep it, sweetheart.  It’s cold.”

“I’ll get it back to you,” you promise. Soon, I hope, your eyes plead.

Din understands the unspoken request, “I know you will.” He presses his lips to yours softly one last time as a promise of his own, “Let me know when you make it home safe, baby.”

Gently closing your door, Din knocks twice on the roof of the car to indicate to the driver that it’s time to depart.  You look out the window, and softly hold Din’s gaze as the cab drives away.

---

After you get home, you walk Al, check in with the group chat to make sure everyone made it home, then change out of your dinner clothes.  Washing off your make up, you send Din a quick text: 5 stars cab ride.  Thank you for making sure I get home safe.  You never deleted Din’s contact or the text conversation, and now as you scroll up through your old messages, you’re reminded of how easy and flirty your banter used to be.  You still don’t know what happened the night of Jimmy’s fight to change how Din felt about you and until you find out, despite tonight’s kisses and confessions, you can’t be sure that he feels the way you do, and this thought has your heart sinking a little.

After distractedly finishing a few odd tasks around the apartment and unsuccessfully picking up your book a few times, you decide to go to bed when your phone dings.

Pretty bird, are you still up? Has Al gone for his walk yet?

Al’s gone out already!

Do you think…he wants to go out again?

Your phone rings before you can respond; it’s Din, and you can’t help but smile when you answer, “Hello?  Din?”

“Hey pretty bird, do you think Al might be up for a second walk tonight?”

You look at your dog peacefully snoozing next to you on the couch, unawares, “Probably!  Are you off work soon?”

“I’m downstairs right now, if that’s okay.”

You feel your heartbeat quicken.  You ask for 5 minutes and use it to pull on some sweats and swap out your underwear for a sexy black lace set, the same set you had worn for Din the last time you had seen him.  Picking this particular set wasn’t intentional, but putting lingerie on to match your mood is; you don’t know what you’re expecting, but your desire for this man didn’t diminish during your time apart and you can’t help the warmth of want that’s been building in you since you saw him a few hours ago.

As you and Al walk through the front doors, your first thought is of how familiar and comfortable this feels; a late night dog walk together that you’ve looked forward to many times.  Your second thought is of just how goddamn hot Din is. His hair, longer than you remembered, had been slicked back a little for work, but now it’s a mussed up and looks soft and touchable again. You favourite pair of his glasses are comfortably perched on his distinct nose, one of your favourite features of his handsome profile.  His facial hair is a little scragglier than a month ago, but you like it – it makes his greys more distinct, the sight of which is making you a little weak in the knees.  You internally scold yourself to get it together so you don’t throw yourself at him when you get close enough.  Din’s smile for you is wide and genuine but with a hint of shyness.  However, for Al, Din’s squatting down, arms out wide, welcoming Al’s slobbery kisses and excited pawing. 

“Ok, Al, calm down,” you tell the dog, even though you yourself feel anything but calm.  You hand Din his jacket, which you brought down with you, “Guess you really wanted your jacket back, eh?”

Din takes it from you and puts it on in a smooth motion, “Thank you.  I do really want this jacket back.  I really missed this jacket. It’s the best and most perfect jacket. I’m lost without this jacket.”

You chuckle and pull him in by the lapels of said jacket for a kiss.  Slow and sweet, you press your lips to Din’s and breath in his scent as his arm wraps around your waist and pulls you in gently.  The two of you stay like this, reveling in each other’s touch for a few minutes before moving apart, as if you both know things can’t progress further until you address what’s unsaid between you.  You walk hand in hand for about half a block in silence before you’re the one brave enough to broach the topic.

“Din,” you look at him with unsure eyes, “what happened? I thought everything was going so well.  Did something happen the night of Jimmy’s fight?  Did I do something wrong?  Did… your friends not like me?”

“Oh, pretty bird, god no,” Din stops walking, so he can face you.  He’s devastated that you might have thought this whole time that you were somehow at fault for his mistakes, although he should have known that your instinct would be to try and take accountability for when things went wrong.  He looks at your anxious face and hope he is showing the proper amount of sincerity with his expression and voice, “You didn’t do anything wrong, baby.  You could never.  You were sweet, and perfect, and funny, and smart, and everyone loved you.  I promise.  I… it was…you were so lovely – you are so lovely… and all I could see.. I- shit…”

You lead Din by the hand to a sidewalk bench so he can collect his thoughts.  When you’re both seated, Din sighs and takes a deep breath before he starts again, “I need to tell you something about me, pretty bird.” He’s nervous, his deepest insecurity about his relationship with you about to be spoken out loud, “I’m… not a good guy.” He shakes his head a little when he sees you’re about to protest, and presses on, “You know how I worked in personal security?  It wasn’t just body guarding work or escorting people’s nieces to clubs… I… hurt people.  And sometimes when I do that work again, I have to hurt people still.”

Your face is neutral as you take in Din’s words, but you don’t recoil from him or look like you want to run away, so he continues.

“The people that I worked for, that Paz and the rest of the guys… the Mandos, still work for… it’s really one person.  A family really.  The Fett family… I don’t know if you’ve ever heard anything… or read about them in the paper? Well…”

You shake your head a little; you haven’t but you think you know what Din is alluding to, and you’re getting a more complete picture of what Din meant when he said he came from a different “world”.  You can tell he has so much more to say, to explain, so you stay silent.

“…I’ve known them all my life.  All the Mandos have.  Boba, he’s the head of the family, he was like a second dad to me growing up, and one of my dad’s best friends.  I’ve known him and the family a long time… they’re not bad people, I swear, pretty bird.  But… they’re involved in some not so savoury businesses… the type of business that make protection and security… essential.  Which is where the Mandos come in… and where I came in.  Some of the people involved in these kinds of businesses… unsavoury is probably too kind of a word to describe them.  And those were the kind of people that were there at the fight that night.  They were all around and… baby, you were so lovely and perfect, and you had no idea the type of filth you were surrounded by.  I thought, how could I pull you down to that level?  Get you dirty like that?  Like, literally, you got bloodied.”  Din hangs his head.

“I felt so guilty dragging you into that world… so, I let you go.  You’re too good and sweet to be around people like that.  People like… me.”  Din can’t even look at you as he finishes.

To say you’re surprised by this confession is an understatement.  Never in a million years would you have guessed that Din walking away had been for your (perceived) benefit; you’re also not sure how to go about correcting him of some of the falsities that he’s convinced himself of, namely that you’re somehow too good to be in his world, but you think you have to address the most egregious one first.  Bringing the hand that Din isn’t cradling in his up to his face, you gently stroke his jaw with your thumb so he will meet your eye; you want, no need, him to hear you,

“How can you say you’re not a good guy, Din?  You’re the kindest guy, the most considerate guy.  The things you’ve done?  First, I want you to know, anything you tell me about that type of work or your family.  I will never tell anyone, okay?  Please know you can trust me.  Second, I don’t need to know any details and I am positive that anything you’ve done, you did out of necessity and never out of cruelty.  Do you know how I know that without knowing any of the particulars?  Because you are a good man.  You can harness so much strength and power, and yet, you choose to be so, so gentle; you approach everyone and everything with care – it’s evident in the way you treat me, Al, your friends and the way you speak of your dad, the community, the guys at the gym, even the Fett family.  You take care of people.  That’s who you are.”  You ask again, “How can you say you’re not a good guy?”  Tilting your head at Din, you search his eyes, willing him to understand how you feel, “I don’t know what you thought I would think of you, but nothing will change my mind – you’re selfless, loyal… a protector.”

Din looks into your eyes and finds the sincerity and kindness that he’s been missing from his life for the past month; how could you be so loving and kind to him after he had hurt you, made you cry?  The way you looked that night crying, was not one he would easily forget.  He vows to never make you cry like that again if he can help it; every other concern he had about bringing his world into your life has evaporated in this moment with your tender words.  He should have known you would be pragmatic, thoughtful and open-minded.  He should have trusted you to have been able to handle the truth; he feels like he owes you another apology.  Instead, he simply whispers thank you, before descending on you and kissing you fervently, urged by the want and urgency that has accumulated from having been away from you for so long.

This feels so right.  It feels perfect to have Din’s hands on you again.  To have his mouth on yours, his tongue trailing over your tongue, his teeth lightly nipping your bottom lip.  But you can’t assume he’s thinking or hoping for the same thing you are, not after last time.  You pull away gently, and look at Din with an expression he can’t quite read, something between pleading and uncertainty, “Din… is this for tonight only? It’s okay if it is, I just don’t want to assume I know what you want.”

Din tips your face to his so that there can be no possibility for misunderstanding, “Oh, pretty bird.  It can be, if that’s what you want.  But if you’ll give me a second chance, I’m yours.  I’m yours even if you don’t, if I’m being honest.”

That’s all you need to hear, and you launch yourself at Din, slamming into his body, practically laying across his lap as you attach your lips to his.  Kissing him over and over, unable to keep from smiling, you moan slightly when Din’s hands wander down to your backside, giving both cheeks a hard squeeze and not letting go, using his grip to pull you up into him.  He’s grinning now too, deepening his kisses, unable to keep his happiness from spilling over into your mouth. 

Climbing off of him, and slightly breathless as you stand, you reach your hand out to Din, “Do you want to come up?” Din places his hand in yours and gets up; towering over you, he looks down at your beaming face and can’t help but smile back, “I really, really do, pretty bird.”

[skztea]

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ prompt 15 | SKZ members reaction when you prank them — accidentally purposely texting him “he’s gone…you can come over now 😍💦”

✦ bang chan ੈ✩‧₊˚

He will literally give that “did i hear it wrongly” face. Taking some time to set his mind right, he relooked at the message again. “It wasn’t deleted though,” he muttered to himself while pressing the telephone on the top right corner - “baby, what is going on?” leaving the waiting room, his brows furrowed when he heard silence from you. His heart has never palpitated this hard before, not even when he performed infront of tons of people. “…It’s a prank! Baby don’t get alarmed, i was just trying to do a tiktok challenge!” You laughed at him while hearing him letting out a deep sigh, proceeding to lecture you softly and telling you to not do this to him again. (He can’t take it if you actually dump him though)🥲🥲

✦ minho ੈ✩‧₊˚

“Why is he not replying?” Tapping on the table impatiently, your mind started to go wild as you glanced at your phone. Your boyfriend has seen your message but have yet to reply, after 2 hours. You were so ready to dash out of the lecture room but if not for your almost failing attendence, you had to glue your butt to the chair until the lecture ends. The moment the clock strikes 2.30pm, you swept all your items into your tote bag and planned to rush to the other faculty. “Oh my-“ a strong hand wrapped around your waist and pulled you into a corner down the corridor. “Say it again,” the extremely familiar voice rings, with his breath fanning against the tip of your ears. “Say, say what?” “The message,” his voice lowered an octave, gripping you tighter. “Oh…It was just a tiktok challenge Min… i just wanted to see your reaction,” you finally met his icy cold gaze, slowly melting down as he dip his face into the crook of your neck. “Hajima…”

✦ changbin ੈ✩‧₊˚

“Are you fucking around with me right now?” You avoided his burning gaze that was on you for the past 5 minutes. You prayed that the ground will swallow you up as the other students walking by the alley were judging you and your mad boyfriend, pining you against the wall. “No-no…” your cheeks started to heat up and tears touring around the brim of your eyes, you regretted throwing the stupid tiktok challenge at him in the morning. “It was just a prank…please dont be angry anymore,” you lightly tugged the end of his leather jacket, where his free palm gently pulled your head to lean against his toned shoulders. He lightly carassed the back of your head, cooing you as if he wasn’t angry moments before.

✦ hyunjin ੈ✩‧₊˚

“Why are you sulking hyunjin?” Chan walked over to the strangely silent member who has been quietly scribbling in one corner while the rest were chit chatting. He raised his head to look at Chan, pouting as he showed him the text message you have sent 1 hour ago. “Oh…i don’t think y/n is that kind of person though, she’s probably just joking with you, why don’t you give a call?” He patted his shoulders, while Hyunjin contemplated to click on that telephone icon. As he was about to press on it, you called him. “Hey baby?” “Yea…?” He placed his pencil down, ready to welcome any bad news from you, if you were to declare them. “Baby, it was just a tiktok challenge, i was just pranking you, are you okay? Im sorry if i hurted you, i guessed you must be emo, hence i called you,” your comforting tone has broken his defence, while he wiped his tears off and adjust his voice to sound normal. “Baby, thanks for calling me, my heart was about to shatter when you sent that, i thought i lost you…”

✦ jisung ੈ✩‧₊˚

Jisung felt like a thunder just striked infront of his eyes. He dramatically looked up and down between the screen and the wall infront of him, confused by what you meant. “Im going over, i want to see who is that fucking guy,” he frantically punched in the phrase, slipped on his slippers and ran to your house. Before you could even react, you heard the doorbell rang. “Who?! who the fuck is that guy?! Where is he? GET THE FUCK OUTTT” He dashed into your house as if he was there to murder someone while you giggled behind his back. “YAH! NEO MICHEOSEO? It’s just a fucking joke you silly!” You gently whacked his back as he is still prying the different rooms and toilet of your house, finally sitting down on your couch when he finished his investigation. “Are you serious? You are really kidding me right?” Crossing his arms and pouting like Pocoyo, you ruffled his blonde hair and assured him.

✦ felix ੈ✩‧₊˚

Felix will scoff super loudly as he leaned back against the chair. He believed that none other than him, there is no other man that will enter your eyes and he is confident that it was a joke. On top of that, he has seen the Tiktok challenge before, hence he was unwavered by it. “Tiktok challenge?” He replied back to you. Busted. “Yah! Do you have to expose me right away?” You replied back with a sad face emoji beside, earning a deep laughter from him as the other boys looked at him. “What’s up lix?” Seungmin asked. “Naur, just my girlfriend being cute again.” The boys sighed and ignored the smirking friend who was awaiting for your reply to his tease.

✦ seungmin ੈ✩‧₊˚

“Is your brother coming over? Help me say hi to him,” his face was as cool as a cucumber. Knowing that you tried to prank him again, he also wanted to return you a favour. After seeing you seen his message and not replying, he knew that you were struggling on the other end to crack a reply. “Remember to buy his favourite cashew, he can use my PS5,” he continued to add on to his message, knowing that you are scratching your scalp now when your plan fell through. “What if he is someone else you don’t know?” You were too daring. “Then i must make friends with him so that he knows who is your boyfriend. Bring him over now.” After exerting dominance, he took over the ownership of the conversation. “Checkmate,” he thought as he imagined your little cute and annoyed face.

✦ jeongin ੈ✩‧₊˚

He will try to act normal after seeing the message and assume as a mistake that u havent sent to the wrong recipient. Still performing his daily tasks, he still can’t seem to get rid of the message you have sent. He thought that you will at least say a “sorry! It was a typo,” he wouldn’t got smashed by the basketball earlier. “Jeong! Are you okay?” Minho came over to ask about his swollen cheeks as he held onto his phone with the message displayed on screen, still not getting over it. “Urgh, im fine,” he dumped the towel one side as he decided to call u. “Hello?” “…babe! Please tell me that message was an error… please…” He immediately softened his tone while whining, earning giggled from you. “Jeongin-ah, i thought you always scroll Tiktok? It was a challenge! Paboyah!” You half jokingly scolded him while his lips started curving up again, skipping back to the bench and shared with you about how he got smashed by the ball.

-> It has been a reallly long time since i made a comeback haha, this prompt has been in my draft for over a year (whoever that requested this and i can’t find your request anymore) im so sorry TT a late compensation here, hope you are able to see it 🥲

@timenote-library

m.list.I | a.bout

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[scooter-ing]

another silly rant.. . but this time its NOT about wenclair??

jesus, i just rewatched little witch academia after YEARS, and the pure sapphic energy radiating from that show is craaaazy yo. (heed my spoiler warning for lwa)

yeah so.. diakko. kay. now that that's out of the way

i actually loved akko's character as a whole, as ambitious and stupid as she is, i can totally see some of myself in her. i never saw her as a selfish person, i feel like she always considered and appreciated those around her. every time she cried and demeaned herself (especially in the second half of the show) i was like "poor baby" bc she really didn't deserve it. sure, was she a tad bit impulsive? yeah. but her character is meant to be easily swayed and convinced. like how croix convinced her to go to the wagandea tree, and literally gaslighted her into thinking she shouldn't trust chariot (ursula). as a character though, she really, truly, just tries to help people and i think you rarely see characters that are as pure as that, you know? her dream is to make people happy, not some bullshit like being the strongest witch, or obtaining some kind of object. she just aspires to fill people's hearts with joy, and her intentions are set with that only. and she tries, and tries, and tries, despite people's discouragement. so every time she cried, i cried with her. sigh.

moving on to ursula, otherwise known as chariot. i loved her older sister-mentor role. akko definitely needed someone that would keep her in line, but also encourage her in her endeavors and keep her safe. my girl was ALWAYS there to save the day (and by gOD she was so fucking hot whenever she was fighting croix). ughhh i literally groaned out loud every time she got interrupted when she was trying to tell akko about her identity. idk, i kind of have mixed feelings about the dream fuel spirit shebang. cause, chariot had NO idea it was stopping people from being able to use magic, so it wasn't really her fault. croix manipulated her. and once she found out about that, she stopped using it. im glad croix had somewhat of a redemption, but jesus she was such an asshole when she revealed that ursula was chariot. like, a royal asshole. bc that was not her secret to reveal, you know? and she left some very important pointers on the table. though, i felt terrible for akko.

mmmm. diaaaaaaaaana. diana cavendish. i had a massive lesbian crush on her for the whole fucking series. oh my god. especially in the two-part episodes where it's set in the cavendish estate? so, so, chivalrous, and dashing, and royal... and skdjhfskjlhf (totally referencing that one scene where diana defends akko infront of aunt daryl and offers her arm for akko to hold). poor akko, oblivious to like... all of the massive lesbian signals wafting from diana. she literally had big neon signs that said "akko you fucking idiot im gay for you."

all jokes (and thirsting) aside, diana and akko's growth as a pair is really touching to me. diana was never outright rude to her bc of her inability to properly use magic, i saw that she was more judgmental of her character as a person instead. (e.g the samhain festival episode in which she calls akko pathetic for "leaving" lotte and sucy before her performance). and i can totally see that it was reasonable. later in the episode, after akko finds the second Word or whatever, she goes on to think, "what is this emotion i'm feeling?" as much as i would want it to, i wouldn't say she was in love at that time, considering her harsh judgment earlier in the episode, but akko continues to grow on her from then on. i haven't mentioned this yet, but the episode (sorry that i keep saying "that episode" the site that i watched it on didn't have episode names) in which the faeries ordered a strike against the witches, was actually less goofy and funny than it was made to be. akko really took time to understand where the workers were coming from, and being their representative was really thoughtful? when diana came to tell her off, she deadass started making fun of her bc shes an aristocrat. and telling her she doesn't understand the woes of the working class bc of her wealth. which is just... so... real? and diana gets all flustered, which leads me into the topic of:

Diana Literally Only Blushed Because of Akko. she just gets all flustered when akko calls her out on her shit, like she's not afraid of her. everyone else is. even the godforsaken teachers are. she only ever truly worried whenever akko was hurt, or in some form of danger. she completely remains indifferent to everything, even when things happen to hannah or barbara she really doesn't give a shit. (at least not in the way she does with akko, she's probably loyal to her friends and shows it in her own way). which segues me into the episode "yesterday," in which akko goes "missing" and jesus christ diana's dialogue with chariot is really touching. from "akko needs you more than anything right now!" to "what could possibly be more important that akko right now!?" and "i'm more disappointed in you than i am of your past." she's just so well spoken in the most disastrous and telling moments, and it really shows how strong of a character she is. she remains level headed when lotte and sucy consult her about akko, and kindly offers them tea, along with reassurances. despite her generally not hanging out with akko's crowd of people, she's still kind and considerate when people need her. her words to chariot/ursula are so powerful because she's depicted as so stoic and indifferent but completely tells her off when she knows what ursula is doing is wrong. i hope that makes sense? from an apathetic elitist to a passionate worrywart - all over akko. and once she finds her, she basically acts as her caretaker, in that moment. and i'd be lying if i said i didn't cry, because god. diana knew exactly how to make her feel better, and man is that not an indicator to how perfect akko and diana are for each other. her confessing that she felt envious of akko's determination and closeness to chariot, and confessed to wanting to get away from akko bc of it, but ended up just getting closer to her.

in the last episode, in which they stop the missile, i was just so happy to see where their growth led them. them holding each other while doing the shiny arc thingamajig? awesome. akko catching diana when she falls? diana screaming for akko when akko falls? which inevitably leads to her falling because she's crazy for akko? really hit me in the feels. undeniably happy. joy. the parallels between chariox and diakko are like, super obvious. except for the fact that diakko was the better example, in which they worked together instead of one envying the other for their power. like how diana initially said she envied akko for having the shiny rod, and croix getting jealous of chariot bc of it too - except diana learned to accept it and support akko and work with her. bc red and blue gays. ygm.

i'll talk about andrew and the rest of 'em later bc im fairly tired but. im sorry for the excessive tangent. i likely left out a lot of what i wanted to say bc big gay brainrot, and i'll spew that out sometime later.

thank u for listening to my ted talk stay gay!!

[vergess]

sorry if this is an odd ask to send out of nowhere but i thought your mlp post was really interesting! could you go further into detail about what you think the show does wrong in later seasons? you don't have to, i'm just curious since i really like the show and it's been one of my hyperfixations for a very long time & you have really interesting takes/meta on things in general

thank you for your time!! :3

It very much gets "less about girls" as it progresses. People's background friends/family are suddenly almost always male, for example, with Fluttershy getting a brother, Rainbow Dash's other school friends being male, her dad being more prominently played than her mom, things like that.

This isn't even a bad thing!

While I would argue, and have before, that a show almost exclusively about women is an important thing for the media landscape compared to the glut of All About Men shows?

The reality is that any artistic lens that focuses exclusively on a single gender is going to be worse for it, if for no reason other than where are the trans people.

A truly "gender neutral gaze" would be the ideal, but to be honest I don't even know what that might look like. I can at least conceptualize the female gaze out from existing, limited examples of female led production for a female audience.

But in terms of, IDK, a trans-led production for a genderqueer/neutral audience, I don't even know it that kind of thing exists. It must, because well, trans people are everywhere in the indie arts, but I have never seen it.

Certainly I've never seen it around a kid's show. And one of the things that makes kid media so easy to analyze is, the "allowed" topics are fairly limited. When sex is off the table, you can devote that time to deepening friendships. When men are off the table, you can spend that time deepening female characterization. etc etc.

So anyway, while I would say a female gaze is preferable to a male one in this male dominated society, both have their deep shortcomings. The way MLP handled male characters in S1 by either not having them, or having them be kind of the butt of the joke (Spike) isn't actually a good thing, just a very different one than is common. And there are plenty of ways that the show mistreated Spike particularly for Being A Boy that would make me hesitate to suggest season 1 to, say, trans masc viewers.

But then there are some ways that I can safely say later seasons are just worse.

The fat jokes, for example, were Not A Thing in S1 and as a fat viewer that was a huge relief at first, which became a sharp slap in the face as characters began making fun of heavy eating or using obese background ponies as gross out gags, etc.

On the other hand, the racism very much was present from the beginning, as evidenced by Over A Barrel's portrayal of native americans as literally another species. And that's before we get into the sheer racism of pony colonialism in the first place. Also Zecora the Zebra's... situation. Which was okay as a one off bit in S1, trying if not succeeding at the message of "different=/=bad."

But, like many of these early flaws, the later seasons magnify the problem, especially when the show tries to approach real world issues. Just off the top:

Zecora becomes the magical negro whose mystic knowledge transcends that of the pony gods.

Gryphons become antisemitic stereotypes, obsessed with cash hoarding and isolationism.

Yaks live in technologically inferior wastelands of Yakyakistan, where they are loud, rowdy, and even dangerous.

Dragons are... just... really fucking bad, like by nature, with rare "good ones" going to live among ponies to become civilized.

The fucking saddle arabians apparently just Not Having Perfomance Art and needing to be taught by Trixie.

The kirin being very literally silent to show how zen they are, needing Westerners to give them back their voices.

The sheer audacity to bring Little Strongheart back in the fucking finale and "assign" her as Applejack's token buffalo friend (not even RD???) after AJ and her family nearly wiped the buffalo out and fully never fucking apologized

There's definitely more. Basically every single non-pony species shown to be sapient ends up some kind of a racist mess. At least cows are just like... white people from wisconsin so there's less racism inherent to their depiction but even then...

There are also ways in which the attempts to cater to a male audience weaken the show's overall presentation. Ponies with adult men's human meme images as cutie marks started popping up, for example, which is again not a bad thing, but weakens the overall fantastical world building.

Likewise, the attempts to modernize the setting are... um. Let's go with uneven.

In S1 technology is firmly pre-industrial Euro-Fantasy. I'd put it around 1770-1800 in the human western world.

By S2 there is an electrical grid even in "small" towns like ponyville, something which in the human world didn't take place until about150 years later, with another 50 years to roll out things like video games, which also start appearing.

But only for ponies.

Never for the other species.

I get why they did that. It's a "have your cake and eat it too" scenario where they can keep the pre-industrial fantasy tech level sometimes, but use a modern tech level at other times. It opens up more storytelling options. And it's not like the magical horse universe needs to obey our physics and timelines.

But then why only ponies.

All that does is deepen the racial division between ponies and other species. Which the later seasons LOVe to do. Deepen racial divieds.

After all, in S1 most other species (cows, gryphons, etc) were shown to live in equestria too. But in later seasons, are revealed to live in cloistered ethnostates nominally self ruling but in practical terms subservient to the equestrian state if they want basic rights like the fucking sun.

Which acts to retcon Spike's hatching and adoption from something very heartwarming into something very horrific.

Honestly, the "male gaze" is not the issue I have with late seasons of MLPFIM. It very much comes down to "this show got SO fucking racist SO fucking fast what the FUCK."

And that probably would have happened with all female writers and directors, too, if they were mostly white.

This all makes me sound like I hate MLP, but I promise you, all of this criticism comes from a place of utmost love. This show is really, REALLY good. It is charming, beautifully animated, excellently directed, with passion poured into every aspect of the visuals, the audio, the stories, the characters...

That's what makes these constant missteps so painful to encounter.

Because the highs are so high!

I mean, the movie easily constitutes the best 2D animation out of the western world in DECADES and every track on the album is a banger, and that's just the movie. Cartoon movies aren't exactly noted for their stunning quality, but MLPFIM sure as fuck stuns.

And when the highs are that high, oh man, the lows look lower by comparison.

[angel-gone-dark]

He’s Got His Mother’s Hips - 2 [Cigarette Daydreams]

CWs: smoking, swearing, shamelessly inserting me and my fav mutual, lesbians. also kenny accidentally steals a lighter but that’s ok.

Leigh gnawed at his lower lip, tapping his pencil on the paper as he glanced at the clock. The morning had gone on awkward and choppy, an introduction in almost every class. He was just glad his mother had put his preferred name in the system. The bell rang and he shoved his shit in his bag, dashing off through the cafeteria and the back doors to be alone outside.

Except he wasn’t. He looked up at the blonde, who nodded at him politely. A cigarette hung from his lips, and he scratched at the scruff of his chin.

“Thought you didn’t smoke.”

“I don’t. Needed to get out of that stuffy ass school. I hate these people.” Kenny nodded at that.

“I get it. Can I bum your lighter again?” He felt a bit bad asking, but Leigh was happy to oblige, and tossed it to him.

“...What kind of cigs?” He wasn’t the best at small talk.

“Marlboro. Reds.” Kenny showed him the package. “Why?”

“Those smell the best. My dad used to smoke them all the time.”

“What happened? He quit?” Kenny lit his cigarette.

“...No, he died.” Kenny sputtered, almost dropping the lighter and choking on the smoke.

“Dude, bombshell.” He patted his chest with his fist.

“I know, sorry. I just haven’t had anyone to talk to about it.” Kenny ruffled the new guy’s hair. 

“‘S okay.” He cleared his throat and took a big drag off his cigarette. “I… that’s gotta be hard. I’m sorry.”

“It is, yeah. Not to mention my mother uprooted my life and dragged me here.”

“Maybe you need a cig.” He joked. Leigh smiled up at him.

They stayed like that until the scruffy guy finished. They walked right into the lunchroom together. 

“McCormick, what the hell have you done to him?” April glared, obviously joking. 

“Nothing!” He put his hands up in mock defense. 

“Good.” She slung her arm around Leigh, walking him over to the lunch line. “Boy, you smell like cigarettes. You smoke?”

“Nah, Kenny smoked next to me. I like the smell, though…” He nodded. “I’m sorry about it…”

“Nah, I’m used to it. Kenny smells like that all the time.”

“You two hang out a lot?” April shook her head. 

“Not much anymore, since I’ve been going out with Wendy.” Leigh looked shocked, and she laughed. “What? I know I don’t look queer but come on, that girl is everything.”

They got their lunch, thanking the cafeteria staff and sitting at a table. The temporary peace the two found was interrupted by the same five boys from the bus that morning. Leigh fell silent, his gaze trained on where he prodded at his food.

“Aw don’t act scared of me now.” Kenny teased, stealing a fry from Stan’s tray (to the latter’s dismay).

“Dude, he’s scared of all of us. At once.” Kyle snipped, shoving glasses up his nose. Leigh noted they were… a lot nicer than his own. 

“Buddy!” Butters chirped, plopping right across from Leigh. He would have sat next to him, but Kenny had stolen that spot first. 

“Oh great, now we’re sitting with the faggot and bimbo? Wonderful. My day can’t get any better.” Cartman sat down, too. 

“You don’t have to sit with us, fatass!” Kyle said through grit teeth. 

“Yeah, well, everybody else fucking sucks ass. You guys just suck the least right now.” He spoke no further, digging into his plate. 

“So Leigh,” Kyle started. “Where are you from?”

“N-New Hampshire.” He didn’t look up. 

“Oh, nice. What’s it like there?”

“Like Colorado but… more hills, I guess?”

“You don’t talk much, do you?” Stan raised a brow at him.

“No, not really.” He finally took a bite of his food. 

“Do you hate us?” Butters pouted a little. Leigh nearly choked on his salad. 

“No? Why on earth would I? Should I?” He gave April a concerned glance. She shrugged back at him. 

“No, no,” Kyle said, reading a textbook as he ate. “Except Cartman. You can hate him.”

Cartman exclaimed in protest, but the rest of the table filled with giggles. The conversation began to flow, and the new kid found himself listening and laughing along- especially to wacky stories from the boys’ childhood. He found April was the real star at the table, witty and funny. She also went to bat with Cartman just like Kyle did.

As everyone split for class, Leigh found a huge grin overtaking his face. He figured he could get used to it here. 

word count: 755

[theultimatemercenary69]

Sonic and Infinite are so fucking GRAUGHHHHHHHH I want. To study them in a lab. I don’t know how to convey the emotions I feel for this dog and hedgehog so please bare with me

Before I start my bs I just wanted to say this post actually goes out to @neurotypical-sonic and uh @beloved-user (and maybe a few other people but those were the only 2 that I saw had said anything at the time of writing this) because they wanted to see this content in the world so shoutout to them for giving me the courage to post about these cringe fail mobians (I am the sonic and infinite psychoanalysis anon btw)

there’s so much under the cut please be careful also please be nice it’s 2 am and I’m very emotionally fragile

The fact that sonic and infinite are 2 sides of the same coin yet also thematic foils to each other is just sending me over the deep end I can’t take it ARGHHHHHHH (I am willingly taking it)

You’re probably asking “what the actual fuck are you going on about dude” and to this I raise you all of this entire post (you’re gonna regret asking)

A few things before I start, this is obviously gonna be Forces bullshit because I Bear The Curse™️also I’m only gonna be talking about the English version of the game because sadly I have not been able to play or see the japanese dub yet, I’ll do that later though 

Also if there’s photos with shit quality, sorry, that’s on me

Ok autism activated let’s go

Let’s start with our obvious main man Sonic, the blue blur. I’m gonna start with something that irked a lot of people, and that is the fact that Sonic seemingly came out fine after being tortured for 6 months.

The thing is, he was absolutely not fine, at all, it was just so subtle that it was genuinely hard to tell, but once you notice, you continue to notice. The first thing you can see is that he is acting a lot more brutal I guess I could say??? 

I mean, look at the end of the Zavok fight, he beats the ever loving shit out of Zavok with his hands, not a few homing attack or spin dashes, his fucking hands, I don’t know how often that happens outside of games where the actual gimmick is hand to hand combat, but it seems pretty weird to me how he just keeps hitting Zavok and he just stares at him as he falls, panting and out of breath from how relentlessly he was attacking him

Second, he’s constantly talking about how he wants and will get revenge for what happened, he doesn’t let up that he’s going to get revenge, and I was actually kind of shocked when he started saying that I was kinda like “woah calm down buddy” (note, one of these screenshots is from the wiki because I couldn’t get the image from the game, also, these 2 are just from the cutscenes I could find, there’s so much more, this hog can hold so much malice and rage)

Third? Now this one is my favorite to talk about, because it really shows just how drastic Sonic and Infinite really are, the scene it occurs in is during the infinite fight with sonic and the avatar character, during the first stage where it’s just sonic

You may say “ok what’s special about the reskinned metal sonic fight?” sarcastically but this is a very important fact to me, and the fact is that Sonic just straight up implies to Infinite’s face that he’s gonna murder him!

 The line he says is played off as a kinda joke, but the way Sonic says it is so genuine that it’s a little bit disturbing, it’s a fridge horror kind of moment where you look at the line, maybe giggle, but after a quick google you realize just how fucked the line is because of the inclusion of one word, one single word.

The word being “Epitaph.” An Epitaph being the phrase or words written on someone’s tombstone in memory of them.

Now, you may know what line I’m referring to if you’re like me and reply that fight alot, but if you don’t know the line that’s fine, I’m gonna explain it either way because it’s very important to me!

So the fight starts and the first lines said are these;

Infinite: What would you like your epitaph to read? How about “Here lies the blue buffoon”?

Sonic: Why not “Here dozes the masked clown”? Might as well make it for the person who needs one, right?

I think you can see where I’m going with this point, let’s move on now to the other point I wanted to make, which is also kind of a major tone shift from the point above

This point ties in with the “2 sides of the same coin” bit, but the point I want to make is that Sonic needed companionship to win. (Take a drink of water every time I write the word “companionship” or anything similar starting now, see how hydrated you get)

He needed the avatar character to support him throughout that fight, he needed the avatar & classic to help him defeat the eggman and ruby as well, he needed companionship. 

This theme of him needing support and a companion is echoed through the very song that is the theme of forces, I am, of course, referring to Fistbump

AGGHHHH I LOVE FISTBUMP SO MUCH IT’S SO GOOD THEMATICALLY AND IT’S ALSO JUST A GOOD SONGi want you to know I’m snarling and biting and growling like a rabid animal but in a good way I’m sorry I just needed to say that real quick back to the point I was trying to make

Now, the first indication that Sonic needs companionship is that Fistbump is literally him “speaking” to the avatar character, the lyrics portray this perfectly, but I am going to stop myself before I go on a tangent about this song for too long, so next um dot point

The second indication he needs companionship using Fistbump is that it plays whenever he double boosts with the Avatar and during the level Null Space, the double boost is self explanatory, it’s them working together, they’re being friendly friends!

What people may not completely get is me bringing up Null Space, because, once again, there’s seemingly nothing special but there is. There is to me. In my heart. I love Null Space as well as the other stuff mentioned here because it ties into this insane bs I’m concocting for my viewing pleasure that just so happens to get to be on tumblr too!!

Null Space is a level where Infinite sends Sonic and, accidentally, the Avatar character to the level’s namesake, Null Space. Null Space is devoid of substance or life, it is the loneliest place you could ever be, but here Sonic and the Avatar are, the complete antithesis of such a concept, they are together, they are safe with each other, they are going to get out of there together.

And so they escape, and what is playing in the background as they do so? A version of Fistbump dedicated specifically to that level.

Before I can make the rest of my points, we have to talk about the elephant, er… jackal, in the room; Infinite.

Let’s start with a general thingy like we did with sonic, now, I’m not gonna go over his actions in game, they speak for themselves, I will, however, be talking about the implications of his actions; his morals, his values, all of that

First off let’s collectively discuss and by discuss I mean go ‘what the actual fuck is wrong with this dude’

It’s very clear that he’s just not a “good” person, he does morally frowned upon things like being a mercenary, of course, that’s one of the big ones, but the one that really fucks with me and makes me really wanna pick his brain is that despite Shadow being the one who hurt him, he immediately clicks to Sonic and the best way I can describe it is him going “i NEED to beat the ever loving shit out of that kid right now.”

Like, even during Episode Shadow, he still mentions Sonic with this personal malice that you don’t expect, stating that Sonic won’t be able to stop him, and it’s honestly just kind of weird tbh??? 

So he hates Sonic from the start, he gangs up on him, beats him to the point of unconsciousness, kidnaps him, is indirectly (at least) the cause of 6 months of torture, beats him again, tells him he’s not even worth killing, tries to kill him and the entire resistance by throwing the sun at them and then tries to kill him personally before Sonic can finally get the revenge he wanted.

So I’m sensing a lot of initially one-sided hostility between him and Sonic.

Another point is that his theme seems to be directed towards Sonic, it is mocking him, trying to tear down everything he establishes in Fistbump, stating that friendship will get you nowhere when you rely on it too much, asking who is going to save Sonic from Infinite when he is alone?

This is once again shown with how he interacts with Sonic, using Silver and Infinite’s little tussle as a comparison, yeah, Infinite throws an insult, but it’s as a collective, he says he’s happy to crush a hero to keep the “rabble” (the resistance) in line, but when Sonic appears it becomes very personal

He’s immediately on him, stating that Sonic is “back from the dead”, calling him the “little blue savior” and insisting he can smell Sonic’s fear, glad he’s left an impression, noting that Sonic is “still thrashing around”, in his own words.

He speaks to Sonic so personally, hell, he waits for Sonic to quit talking before tossing Sonic to another part of the jungle to fight him alone. He very well could have gotten rid of Silver and then dealt with Sonic, but he instead decides dealing with Sonic immediately is more important than Silver is. He even says that he will meet Sonic again after that fight.

he also threatens to smash Sonic into blue jelly. I just wanted to mention that because it’s funny that he specifically said he would smash him into BLUE JELLY

So it makes me wonder, what is this dude's issue??? Why is he so obsessed with Sonic? And then it kind of hit me. Sonic is the antithesis of everything he values and believes in, of course he’d be intrigued.

Or, alternatively, he’s intrigued because Sonic is just like him.

Yep, It’s the moment we’ve (me) all been waiting for! We’re finally discussing the “two sides of the same coin” point!

Sonic and Infinite are exact opposites but they are also the exact same! They both so desperately need support and companionship (I’ve covered Sonic’s need, but we can see how Infinite needs support and companionship with how he handles the loss of his squad), they both have the same kind of goal (change the world to be a place they would want to live in, good or bad), they’re both associated with the same people (Shadow and Robotnik)!

They are the exact same but they are exact opposites! They are each other’s foils but they complement each other so well, they are two sides of the same tarnished, damaged coin!

I LOVE SONIC FORCES SO MUCH WHY AM I LIKE THIS

Sonic and Infinite are what they could have been based on how they responded to their own struggles. Infinite could have very well been just like Sonic, dedicated to helping people because of what happened at Mystic Jungle, and Sonic could have very well been just like Infinite, lashing out and hurting everyone in his way because of any of the copious losses he’s been forced to deal with.

But they don’t, they become the person they are because of how they respond to their own struggles, trauma, losses and wins. And that’s the beauty of their characters. 

Sonic and Infinite are foils to each other, it’s a point you can’t argue, but the reason they are foils to each other is because they are the same in some weird, messed up way.

But I wanted to add one more thing before I finish this off.

Infinite very well left an Impression on Sonic. Like it or not, somehow, someway, Infinite’s concepts and ideals imprinted on Sonic and it made him and his own problems worse. So much worse.

I won’t go into too much about that because that links to other things outside of solely Forces, so yeah, tangent done. Thank you for listening

[youlikefanficdontyousquidward]

heyyy love. your writings always make me smile when I see them on my dash! so i have an idea for a little something… we all know quaritch hates the na’vi people so much. he probably feels some degree of discomfort and distaste of his body now that he looks like one of them. so a human reader who he befriended is out with him on a mission in the forest, and he makes a self degrading joke about an aspect of his new body while they are out there together. reader scolds quaritch for being negative, and miles tells her to stop bitching at him, so she shuts up and ‘shows’ him how perfect she thinks he is 😏

Eeeee! Yes! While i've been writing for lots of recoms atm I will always fall over myself to write Miles (´▽`ʃ♡ƪ)

Recom!Quaritch x Human!Reader

The face in the mirror disgusted him. A nauseating mix of a face he'd been proud of and the most hated enemy. For every familiar corner there was an equally alien curve. There was just so little of him clinging to these bones.

His ears now tall and ever twitching, despite their clipping. His teeth sharp, making every charming smile a threat. He even had a fucking tail.

There was one shining light in his life. Someone that made it worth rising each morning, that he could think of in the dark of night to stave off the nightmares. Y/n. His human, his anchor. Not that he told them that, no he wouldn't talk about his silly little problems to anyone. He was a man after all and hadn't his old man beat that lesson into him.

Y/n was easy to love. Beyond being a face of humanity that still looked to him with respect and kindness. Y/n was fun, they were smart and they didn't take his shit. No despite his towering physique you'd jut your chin out, giving him the same back or worse.

"Keep up, we ain't out for a leisurely stroll darlin" He called over a shoulder. He smiled softly to himself, watching them struggle over a fallen branch.

"Some of our legs aren't two meters long!" you hollered back from atop the log. You beamed, hands on hips in triumph before slipping on the mossy bark. Your whoop was caught short, Miles' strong arms catching you before you fell. He smirked at your pouting face, gently placing you on the forest trail. Only his thrashing tail giving away the panic he'd felt.

"Sorry I ain't perfect sweet-cheeks, some of us are monsters." He jested, a dry chuckle passing his lips. Miles didn't know why he'd let that slip. He turned before he could catch your reaction, storming ahead. It was so hard to keep a wall around you. Inviting eyes always teasing out sides he didn't know he still had.

"Hey what big ears I have!" He started, an almost hysterical laugh following.

"What a horrid nose. What sharp teeth. All the better to scare you off." He babbled, god why couldn't he shut up. He bit his tongue, the slight taste of copper compelling his lips to cease their flapping. It was just a joke, you'd know that. You heard him laugh he wasn't being serious, Miles kept telling himself.

"Miles?" He heard you call behind him, trying to catch up. He kept moving. No, he was fine. He didn't need anyone, he was being stupid, he wasn't so superficial as to be bothered by his appearance. Hell he'd kept those scars all those years! But this was different wasn't it. He wasn't even human anymore. He was no better than those creatures he fought.

Miles grit his teeth, scrunched his brow to a frown. Anger, he could do anger. Get mad at the foul planet that stole his life, reduced him to this.

"Miles." Your voice was softer now, even through ragged breathes. Light grip on his tail, tugging him to stop, to face you. He stopped but he wouldn't turn. He couldn't. Not now when his eyes stung.

"Miles please." Your hands still held him. His anchor, holding him in place. Dragging him down into the depths of his pain, pulling him through the inky black to the heart of it. Then your touch was gone, spiraling through the currents alone. Pulled and pushed by the tidal whims, lost in the depths alone.

"Miles look at my. I swear I'll climb up there if I have to." His sun spoke, even in the depths the light cut through, brilliant beams illuminating the dark. He crouched to meet your gaze, to bring his face to yours.

In the shadows of his mind he imagined you recoiling. Retreating from his form, his own repulsion mirrored on your face. His eyes met yours, the glassy reflection of his tight features reflecting back. He was tensing his jaw, holding his eyes taught against the tears. Your own flowed freely, lip quivering.

He couldn't take it. The shapes so viscerally wrong, no your face should never pull like this. His fingers buzzed with the need to reach out, to clear away the tears or mold your features into that smile. The one that numbed everything he felt, that washed over him like a balm, soothing every pain.

It was your hands that moved, your fingers that reached his face. You held his cheeks between them, pressing them together. Your brow furrowed, mouth bobbling open and closed before you took a deep breath.

Your eyes met his and he froze. Struck, he'd become stone under Medusa's curse. Your fingers danced across the marble skin, following stripe or glittering freckle.

"No." you reprimanded. "No I won't have you talk like that" your voice wavered. Expression still stern, features pulled, shoulders squared. Authoritative. Miles couldn't help but laugh a little.

"No, I'm serious. Your not to talk about yourself like that. Not even think it." you ordered. Miles let the laugh turn sharp, who were you to stop him. You had no power over this, his pain wouldn't be ordered away by a tiny scientist. Not even if it was you.

"Oh yeah what you gonna do about it." He sneered. He rolled his eyes, looking to the ground. Miles didn't want to do this, he didn't want a cruel word to touch you. Especially not one from his mouth.

"Guess I'll have to show you then." You breathed out. Miles felt his heart stutter, the hot breath closer than before. "Show you how beautiful your are." you finished, lips brushing against his own.

His eyes snapped back, you were so close. Gentle hands followed the peaks and valleys of his face, gentle caressing like he was made of fine china. His ears fluttered and you smiled. Miles felt himself melting into your touch, his eyes drifting shut. Fingers brushed against the sensitive shell of his ears. Your thumb brushing up the length before following back across his cheek bones. The line drawn tenderly under his eyes, cascading down the sides of his nose.

His senses were so heightened, the touch of your hand electric and at once pacifying. He felt a soft velvet against the tip of his nose, the gentlest kiss. Miles half opened his eyes, looking through his lashes at your face. You didn't meet his gaze, still lovingly looking upon a face you adored. He felt his heart sore, lost somewhere in the stars only connected by the thread binding it to you.

The gentle pilgrimage resolved at the corner of his mouth. The final stop on your holy journey. Fingers tracing the outline of his lips, your own parting slightly. Then your eyelids came to rest and you met him.

Kiss like silk moving against him. Miles fired to life at the touch, the spell broken he moved. Hands tangling into your hair, to your cheeks, on their own journey across the curves of your body. His lips parting to let you search more, welcoming you to explore fangs, tongue, whatever you wished.

He drew humanity from you, though your skin, your lips, your soul. In this kiss he was at once recom and Quaritch. The man he was in this body being worshiped, at once a whole made from the two parts. Body and spirit burning with need, drawing out moans he couldn't claim as his or yours.

He followed your lips when you pulled back. Then dragged his forehead across you cheek to its resting place on your shoulder. The moment passed, his mind still reeling from the whiplash. His worst pain to his greatest bliss.

"Maybe I need to insult myself more often." He joked against your throat. You thrust back, face appalled.

"You will not!" You demanded, face scrunching again. He laughed softer, leaning an elbow on his knee, face held up by his hand.

"Promise I won't, if you'll do that again." He drawled, eyeing your lip tugged between your teeth. The hot blush still painting your cheeks.

"Fine it's a deal. Just next time we do it back at base." You affirmed, nodding your head before walking off. Miles rose following after you, wicked smirk pulling his lips over fangs.

"We're gonna do it huh?" He joked, laughing again as you squeaked and hurried ahead.

[edsbacktattoo]

ok i was kind of purposefully avoiding the details of the gravy basket theory because it's sounded so dumb but holy shit i really didn't know the extent of it. sorry in advance to be rambling in your inbox.

i thought if i wanted to talk about it i should read the post in full but honestly that was a struggle on its own. it just completely misunderstands the way the show uses ed experiencing purgatory as metaphor. like, the innkeeper does not show us this sort of wish fulfilling dream state at all, and ed externalizing his self hatred into the figment of hornigold is a simple, concise idea that the show specifically goes out of its way to make clear. episode 8 just doesn't have this. like, you'd have to make the argument that literally EVERY CHARACTER PRESENT IN THE EPISODE is somehow representative of an aspect of stede's psyche. it's not just a matter of him projecting his desires into a falsely constructed space, it's a matter of internal issues manifesting from the subconscious, which is what the show has established. it's particularly bizarre to me that they don't make any effort to argue what izzy is meant to represent in this theory, or what him dying could mean symbolically (which is. y'know. the point of the gravy basket as it's been explored). also there's just a complete disregard for ed's arc in the finale which is. eugh. come on.

and this is all still being generous in taking the idea of the "gravy basket" at face value. like, it feels a little ridiculous to even entertain the idea enough to try to argue it. i'm just so baffled.

(it did make me think about psychonauts to the point of wanting to replay it, so. i guess there's that.)

PRECISELY!!!!!!!!! don’t apologise for rambling in my inbox when you’re so correct my dear friend <3

i can’t believe that this theory has such a vice grip on some people. when it first appeared on my dash (and it did, not because a mutual reblogged it, but bc i follow the ofmd tag, and tumblr is evil and gave me the post bc it thought it was being helpful) i thought it was. a joke. i thought the op was having a laugh. but the more i read the more i started to worry. it takes a very distinct lack of media comprehension to come up with something like this.

now, i want to make it clear that i do feel for the people who enjoy izzy normally. like the folks who just like him because he’s interesting and fucked up and strange. the people that don’t woobify him, ya know? those guys are all right.

but the kind of devotion that leads to behaviour like this? threatening and belittling the writers of the show? calling ed violent and thinking he’s going to be an abuser to stede, the man he’s in love with? if you genuinely believe that then there is something seriously wrong with you, and i think you ought to look introspectively <3

also, as a side note, a large criticism i’ve seen for season 2 is poor writing (which is just not at all correct) but to make up for said “poor writing” the theories that people are whipping up are genuinely like. worse? imagine if they did the gravy basket thing again. gravy basket 2: electric boogaloo. that would be bad writing. that would be lazy!!

no, what they did instead was deliberate and careful and beautiful and hopeful. open ended and bittersweet. and yet. AND YET!!!! you get folks trying to cope so bad it makes them look stupid.

and this is all that i will say on the matter. tho, ive never played psychonauts and this might be the thing that makes me dive into that :)

[antimony-medusa]

As a tubbling, sorry for the extra neg thrown towards your streamer’s cubito. In case you weren’t aware, long story short, while the permadeath was out of nowhere for the streamers and their viewers, it’s been a long time coming for the tubblings and egg admins. Like we couldn’t make it angstier even if we tried kkkkkkkkk. And when we saw our cubito’s issues be overlooked and joked about again (obvious to tubbo viewers but not to anyone else because god forbid qtubbo communicates), even after his own death, we got so frustrated and lashed out at whoever was loudest and it happened to be phil. Which one makes sense for him to do since they’re literally close irl friends and two is also unfair to him because when he did realize the seriousness of it, he immediately went to help. So yeah honestly sorry again for that, hope what I said sorta makes sense and while it’s more likely to happen to qphil, it can and will happen to every character, tubbo included lmao. Can’t speak for everyone but I’ll try to chill out a bit 🤏 Who knew that the rarest thing on the qsmp would be emotional intelligence wow im so shocked 😮 (<-has watched phil and tubbo for years i am not shocked) KKKKKKK have a good day lol :D

Thank you for the message! :D

And yeah, I follow enough tubblings either here or on Ao3 that I was aware of what the tubbling perspective is in terms of Tubbo's issues being overlooked, once I thought about it. And like, that's part of the tragedy of tubbo isn't it, that he's has been setting up this angst where other streamers don't see it, but even when he does it where they CAN see it, they take it as bits, because that's how they view Tubbo and because at a certain point of sarcasm, saying "i'm having a terrible day and I kind of want to die" still gets read as a joke because you said it yesterday as a joke. (Ran into that issue in my real life, actually.) He's having a painful time, but everybody goes "oh tubbo" about it.

Thank you for the understanding of my perspective too, cause I was sitting through that stream like "oh man, Phil keeps bringing up to the eggs that it's gonna be okay, we're gonna get him back, hehe the create wrench I wonder if Tubbo will let that bring him back to life, oh that's quite sweet, he does care about Tubbo so much" and then I stepped onto the dash and saw the reaction and went OH NO THE OTHER PERSPECTIVE I FORGOT THAT NOT EVERYBODY PROCESSES EVERYTHING THROUGH JOKES and scrolled in dismay. It's obvious to me that cc!Phil cares a lot about Tubbo and I think q!phil cares a lot too, he just— thought it was a joke at first. Distracted by having many eggs around (you know that man is at max paranoia and minimum emotional processing with three+ eggs in his care).

The good news is we got FASCINATING Creation lore out of it, (picture me showing up in multiple liveblogging channels like "who's this herobrine motherfucker and no he can't have the eggs what the fuck"). Here's to more fascinating lore and qTubbo coming back to life (PLEASE man I don't want this to be your exit from the server, I like qTubbo), and all of us appreciating other perspectives. Emotional intelligence truly rarer than cucurucho cookies in my OWN life, I know, it's so hard. 😭😭

[watsittoyah]

Steven Grant x OC Fem Black reader (Marc later on)

Anchor…

Ch 1-To Being Weirdos

Word Count: 7.6k

Chapter intel- Some slow burn, some flirting, SMUT! MINOR’S DNI! Blood and gore description(later on in chapters). Nyctophobia (an extreme fear of the dark) build up for chapter two

And you think I’m crazy…well that’s not fair…

Ivy’s POV

I wake up already, forgetting whatever dreams that seeped through my unconscious thoughts while I was in slumber and give an obvious yawn.

“Alright Ivy, today’s the day. You got your big girl job, and you are going to have a good day.”  I glanced at my flickering nightlight at the foot of the bed, trying to push back the negative thoughts about myself.

You’re 32 years old, why are you still sleeping with a nightlight?

Why are you so afraid of the dark? Grow up.

Fucking loser.

I shut my eyes and try to dash the bad thoughts away.

“Stop, stop, stop!” I then hear the upstairs neighbor walking around and talking on his phone. “Morning, Mum…” I lay there for a while with my eyes closed. Wondering what it would be like, to be normal like him upstairs. “Good morning Gus my little one finned wonder...” His voice seems nice, much better than the voices in my own head.

“Ivy! Time to get up, love.“ My great aunt Milly calls out down the hall. I sigh and cuddle my knees just for a few more minutes before getting up to shower.

                                •••

I might have been a bit too overzealous on showing up to work. I practically dragged my poor Great Aunt out of the house to bring me here an hour early. Then again, I wanted to check the museum out.

A small statue happens to catch my attention, and I find myself staring into its eyes. They were a dark purple, which reminded me of someone. “Hmm.”

“Will you look at that? Looks like someone mistook the statue of Keket for a rubbish dump.” I snap out of my trance as I hear a familiar voice beside me. That’s when I noticed a wad of gum on the nameplate of the statue.

“Gum shouldn’t be allowed in beautiful places.” I reach into my purse and pull out a disposable napkin and take the minty sticky substance off of the statue.

“Do I detect an American accent? You must be Ivy Hemlock word gets around the museum fast.” The man says that he extends his hand towards me. I give his hand a once over, but I dare not to shake it. “And you are?“ I ask narrowing  my eyes at him. “Oh, where are my manners, my name is Steven Grant. I believe you are shadowing me today.“

“Oh! I’m so sorry, my great Aunt Milly tells me to steer clear of men in other countries because you never know if they’re going to kidnap you and then harvest your organs so they could be put on the black market.” He gives me a concerned look and I just realized the words I just spoke out loud.

“Did I mention that my great aunt is senile?” I try to joke. Thankfully he takes the joke and gives a laughs. “Right, aren’t all of our aunts a bit senile?” He gives me a kind smile and I relax my shoulders.

I like his voice, why do I like his voice?

“Stevie, you better not be scaring the new girl. She just got here and I don’t want her picking up your bad habits.” Donna warns as she stops by holding a large amount of boxes.

“Sorry, Donna. I was just introducing myself.” Steven clumsily takes the boxes from Donna and I go to help but she stops me. “Stevie’s got it.”

“Steven, actually. I am…Steven.” He corrects as he places the boxes down in the back room. I look at Steven and he makes me feel like I’m watching a child get verbally abused by a bully.

I cut my eyes at Donna and I want to shove her in a closet and lock her in it.

Like Melissa did to you?

I swallow that bad thought away and continue to listen to the conversation. “No you’re bloody useless. You don’t get paid to chit chat to the new people. You’re here to show her around and then get to work.”

Who shit in her weetabix?

“Got it.” Steven says defeated. Donna leaves us and I chime in. “Is she always like that?

“Like what?”

“A cunt.” Steven gives a chortle which makes me happy.

Why am I happy that he’s happy?

“Don’t let her hear you say that. But yeah, she is a big one if I don’t say so myself. Anyways let’s get you all set up, yeah?” I nod and he shows me around.

The way he speaks about the Egyptian artifacts and gods makes me think he’s been there before. “You really know your stuff huh?” I ask as I glance at a painting that says it was painted to depict what the underworld would look like.

“I love stuff like this. But how about you? Do you like Egyptian gods and whatnot?” I give a nod. “I do, my father was the inspiration for it. I remember he told me he was going to explore the pyramids. It was around the time I was….” The sentence dies in my throat and I quickly change the subject.

“Uh, loois? I mean loo? Bathroom? I’m sorry I need to learn more of the lingo while I’m staying here. I’m sorry.” Steven gives a chuckle.

“Its okay, it’s on the second floor, take a left. And be careful the door likes to stick from time to time.” I give a slight nod and head in the direction he tells me.

As I enter I see a few school girls in the bathroom checking their faces and taking selfies. I don’t think I remember if I was vain like that when I was their age. Then again mirrors always made me jumpy.

I go to the farthest stall and check it over. Once the coast is clear I close the stall door behind me. I then hear the girls all leave, so I do my business. Once I’m done I flush and check my watch.

Just in time for lunch.

I leave the stall and notice that the room is silent, not even the outside noise could be heard. I feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand up as I turn on the water to wash my hands.

Get a hold of yourself Ivy. If you do anything out of the ordinary then your coworkers will say you’re crazy just like the last few jobs.

And you’d hate to break your great aunts heart after she had pulled some strings to get you into the place.

One of the stall doors slowly opens and I see a hand slink into the stall. “I think my hands are washed enough, I can air dry them.” I say as I wipe my hands on my slacks. I turn to the exit and feel cold breathe against my neck.

Ivy…

I shut my eyes and clench my fists together.

Ivy…

“Leave me alone.” I whisper as I feel frozen in fear.

Ivy…

I feel my nails breaking the skin of my palms and I try to walk forward.

But the voice then slowly turns into a demonic low growl.

Ivy…

Ivy…

IVY!

I wait for the calm to take place, but it never comes. I slowly open my eyes and the bathroom lights began to dim. Which caused a panic in my chest.

I turn and there in the corner of my eye, the stall door opens, and like a horror movie I tall black figure slink out. It’s joints moving in the opposite direction. It makes direct eye contact with me and if I hadn’t already used the bathroom I would have definitely pissed and shit myself.

It suddenly reaches for me and I fall back hitting the doorknob at my back. I then let out the loudest blood curdling scream I could muster. The mirrors all seem to bow inward making the creatures reflection look like a strange funhouse attraction.

“Someone open the door! Please! Let me out of here!” I yank and tug at the door but it’s not budging. I can feel the entity reach out to me and I scream louder praying to whatever God to answer me.

Just then the door flies open and before I could thank my savior I push past them and fall flat on my ass. When I look back I see Steven and I see the entity staring sadly at me by his shoulder. I scream and my fist shoots out. My knuckle hit his cheek.

I ignore the pain to my knuckles and I bring my knees to my chest. Everyone was staring as I started crying. “It’s in the bathroom! Its after me! Its after me!” I sob out as I rock back and forth.

“Ivy? Ivy? Look at me.” I look past his shoulder and the entity was gone.

Great everyone at work knows I’m crazy…

•••

Donna had let me take my break early. And I was sitting crossed legged on a bench with my sad excuse of a sandwich and my hand wrapped. Looking down and having flashes of what I saw an hour ago made me lose my appetite. God I just want to crawl into my bed with all the lights on and never leave.

“That’s looks good. What kind of sandwich is that?” I hear Steven’s voice but I don’t look up. “You don’t have to talk to me. I know everyone thinks I’m crazy.” I feel him sit next to me which makes me scoot away from him.

“I don’t think that.” I look up at him through angry tears. “Don’t fucking lie to me, Steven.” I say with as much venom in my tone. He puts his hands up to let me know he comes in peace. “I’m not lying. I don’t think you’re mad. You seemed like you saw something in there. What was it?” He gives a quizzical look and as I open my mouth to tell him what I saw, I stop.

He’s going to laugh at you like the others.

Insane Ivy strikes again.

I close my mouth and shake my head. “Ivy, I don’t know what you think about me, but I do want to be friends. I don’t have many of them, and many people here see me as a weirdo. So how about we be weirdo’s together?”

Okay he is terrible at cheering people up. Which is why I can’t understand why am I laughing?

“You know you suck at this.” I say through a few tearful laughs. He smiles at me and I look at my chewed cuticles. “You’ll probably think I’m dumb but I saw something in the bathroom. It was like this talk gangly thing…” I glance over at him and he seemed to actually be listening to me.

“…the way it moved, it reminded me of a zombie or something. It just…scared me.” I say in a soft voice. “I believe you.” My head snaps up at him so fast I almost give myself whiplash. “You do? Why?” He shrugs. “I don’t have a reason not to believe you. And besides you give a mean left hook so why would I argue with you?” He says as I glance at his swollen cheek.

“I’m so sorry about that. I didn’t mean to hit you.” I reach into my bag and pull out a cooling pack. “Maybe this will help?”

I snap it and it instantly gets cold. He accepts my offering and places it in his cheek. He winced in pain and I feel guilty. “We can be weirdos together.” I mutter after a few moments of silence.

“Really?” He asks almost in shock that I would accept his friendship. “I don’t have any friends. And besides my dad and Aunt Milly, you’re the only other person who believes me. So thank you for that.” I take a bite of my now soggy sandwich and swallow down the dry roast beef my great aunt had attempted to make.

Next time I’ll cook. This tastes like cardboard.

“Well if you ever want to hang out, you can give me a buzz.” He reaches into his pocket and takes out a phone. I realize what he’s doing and my lips form a large O. Last time I got a number from someone who wanted to be my friend, they told me to delete them after I made a scene at their party.

I punch in my number and save it under Ivy in his phone. I call myself and I see his number pop up on my screen. “To being weirdos.” He says with a winced smile.

Did I mention how much I like his voice?

                              •••

“Hi dad.” I place a fresh bouquet of flowers on his grave and sit down. “Last night Great Aunt Milly made roast beef, I had to suffer in silence and choke it down. But you already know she’s a terrible cook.” I laugh at the memories of how my dad would get food poisoning whenever we came to London for the holidays and spend them with with Great Aunt Milly. She’s the reason I question grilled cheese.

“Oh! And I got a new night light. That’s isn’t new uh, I got a job. I’m actually surprised I still have it. Because…” I look at his headstone.

Henry Hemlock. A husband, father, explorer. Gone too soon. 1958-2019

“It reached to me, dad. This thing was something from my nightmares and it scared the hell out of me…Because you’re not here…Dad I miss you. You…you were the only one who could keep the things that went bump in the night away. I miss your vo-please! Please if this is one of your jokes, it was funny for the past few years but I need you. Daddy I need you. I need my anchor back.” The tears fall from my eyes and down the back of my throat.

I try to keep the ugly tears back but I fail miserably. I curl up next to his headstone and just cry hard. “I miss you…”

     •••

I get the dirt off of my jeans as I slowly walk up the the apartment steps. I hear steps coming down and I look up and see-

“Steven?” He had his phone to his ear and his brows were pinched together. “Ivy? What are you doing here?”

I quickly explain myself before my only friend thinks I’m stalking him.

“My Great Aunt Milly, she lives here and I’m staying with her.” His face softens then. “I’m sorry Mum, one moment please. Well then hello neighbor.”

“Hello, sorry if I’m bothering you.” He shakes his head. “No, no. Never a bother. But what floor are you on?”

“Uh the third floor, you?”

“The fourth floor. Sorry if I’m a bit loud up there.” That’s when it hits me. “Wait! That was you? You’re the neighbor I hear every morning talking to his mother-”

“Ivy? Can you come taste this-oh hello there.” Great Aunt Milly says at the top of the steps. “Hello, Miss Hemlock.” Steven greets. “Please dear, call me Milly. Ivy he’s quite handsome isn’t he?”

“Okay, Steven I’ll see you later, Aunt Milly please let’s get inside before you set-oh god! What are you burning?” I run past Steven and past Aunt Milly to find she was making some terrifying concoction. “AUNT MILLY! WHAT IS THIS!?”

      •••

It’s been a month and I think Aunt Milly is trying to set me up with Steven. However I keep reminding her that he’s just a really good friend.

“He seems so nice and sweet. Maybe we should invite the lad over.” I was fixing my braids into a high bun in the mirror and I roll my eyes at her suggestion. “Aunt Milly we want Steven to live to see the next day.”

“Then get take away.” I suck my teeth and I turn jumping as I see the old lady standing there. Strangely Aunt Milly looked…older. Her wrinkles seem to kiss her dark skin. Which made it look like a trusty black leather couch that’s been around for over 100 years.

I cock my head to the side because honestly I have no clue how old Aunt Milly was, she’s just always looked old.

“I won’t be around forever, Ivy-“

Here we go again, Aunt Milly telling me about how she isn’t going to live long. But this woman is going to outlive God himself.

I place my hands on her shoulders. “Aunt Milly, you don’t need to worry about me. I’m going to live with you forever. But I get it you want me to be happy. How about I go on a date? You know Tom? He asked me out, I was going to say no but now I’ll go. For you okay?” She smiles at me and cups my face in her hands.

“Ivy, I just want you to be happy. You haven’t been the same since the incident. And I miss that smile.” I fake one and she swats me on the ass. “Don’t be cheeky, little minx. Now go get ready for work. You’ll miss the bus. And don’t forget you have a session with Dr. Pence.” I kiss her cheek and hug her.

She smells like dad, cinnamon and sage. “Okay, I’m going. I’m going. Love you Milly.” I call over my shoulder as I grab my purse and lunch bag.

I stand at the bus stop and peek down the road to see if Steven was coming. I heard him this morning on the phone with his mother.

“Must be nice.” I mumble as the double decker wheels around the corner. Once it stops I take a step and glance to see Steven running for the bus. I stand there as the driver gives me an annoyed look but I don’t care.

Friends don’t leave friends behind.

He catches up moments later, winded and gives me a smile. “Good morning neighbor.” I say with a cheerful smile. “Good morning neighbor.” He says back. I had managed to get us a seat in the corner and he let me have the window seat.

He gives a yawn and shakes his head. “Sorry, just a bit tired.” I can see he has dark circles and bags under his eyes. Almost like he hadn’t slept in days. Come to think about it I haven’t heard him on the phone with his mother or foot steps above me for the past few days.

“It’s okay, I’m just happy to hold the bus for you. I have some good news. Remember Tom?”

“Tom…Tom from security?”

“Yeah, he asked me out. I think I’m gonna say yes.” This makes Steven give me an odd look. “Be careful with that one, he has a reputation with the ladies.” My ears perk up. “Like what?” I ask as I lean in. He does the same, which gives a whiff of his aftershave.

He smells like winter pine. And has his lashes alway been this long?

Ivy focus!

“A few of the ladies at the front desk have said he can get too touchy if you know what I mean.”

“I can handle him, Steven. I had hit you and you turned out fine. Wait no that is a terrible joke. You shouldn’t hit people.”

We both laugh and he taps his knee. “Well I got a date Friday night. With Dylan, we’re going to a steak house.” It was my turn to give him a look. “Aren’t you vegan? What are you going to a steak house for?”

“I don’t know, Ivy. Bread, salad. All I know is that she thinks I’m cute and I’m happy.”

“Well of course you’re cute. You’d be stupid to think you’re not.” I feel Steven looking at me from the corner of my eyes but I turn my head to look out the window.

Nope, we’re gonna ignore what I said…     

•••

It’s finally Sunday and I was dressed up for the big date. I wonder how Steven’s date had went.

Why are you worried about his date, Ivy? Worry about yours.

“Aunt Milly can you help me zip this dress please?” I ask her as I try to find my other earring. I had on a jade green dress that made my dark tan skin look like royalty. My jewelry was gold which made me look flawless.

She helps me zip up the dress and I feel something cold slide on my finger. I look down and see Aunt Milly placed an odd ring on my finger.

“What’s this?” I ask turning to her. “Just an old family heirloom. It belonged to your mother.” I look down at the ring and admire it.

“My mother?” One thing about my father, he avoided talking about my mother at all costs. Whenever I asked about her he would just change the subject or tell me that he would tell me all about her when I got older.

“What was she like? What did she look like? Do you have any photos of her?” I bombard her with questions and she gives a whimsical laugh. “Dear, I will tell you all about her when you get back from your date, now don’t stay out too long. Stay safe and please put on a jacket.” I lean down and she kisses my head and I sigh. “Guess you’re coming with me mom.” I whispers to the ring as I head out the door.

Three hours later…

Maybe he’s just running late. Maybe he got caught up in traffic and…

“Miss, the kitchen will be closing soon.” The waiter says to me. I had crumbled a napkin in my lap and I look at my phone. Tom hadn’t answered my calls or my text messages.

“Right, can I have your biggest container of ice cream to go please? And a slice of-make it two slices of chocolate cake.”

I manage to ask without crying. My tears stain my dress and I hope that maybe as the waiter gets my order that Tom will somehow appear and apologize a million times about being so late.

I take an Uber back home and put on the biggest fake smile I can gather. “Thank you for tonight Tom.” I yell as I unlock the door. I kick off my heels and lock the door behind me. “Aunt Milly?” I call out to her. But I get no response. I do hear her tv on low. When I walk into the living room she was laying there with her eyes closed.

I walk over to her and pull the quilt over her little body. “How was the date?” I jump hearing her ask as her eyes were still closed. “Jesus, Mary and Joseph. You scared me! The date was great, we had drinks, and steak-“

“Don’t lie to me, I always know when you’re lying, Ivy Dorthy Hemlock.” I hate when she uses my full name, makes me feel like I’m four years old and I’m in big trouble. “What’s wrong?” All she did was ask that two word question and I broke down dropping my leftovers.

“He..he stood me up.” She gets up and pulls me onto her lap. “Oh love, it’s alright. These things happen. Why I remember when my date first stood me up. It was back in…well way back when.”

“What did you do about it?”

“I walked up to his brand new Chevy and I smashed all the windows out with a brick.” I snort on my tears and we both end up laughing.

Aunt Milly and I sat down watching Jeopardy while she parted and greased my scalp. “What is 101 Dalmatians?” I guess. And I was correct. “You need to go on this show, Ivy. You’d win it all I know it.” I shrug hand her some more grease for my scalp.

“Aunt Milly can you tell me about my mother now?” In the way she moved her hands I can tell she’s hesitating.” I look up at her and she gives a big sigh. “That serious?” I ask.

“Your mother…was like no other woman. Powerful force when she entered the room, and that room was filled with her enemies. Tsk, before I tell you more will you bring these to that lovely boy, he’s in apartment 444.” I frown because I know she’s stalling.

“Who’s in that apartment?” She gets up and walks to the kitchen to bring back a plate covered in saran wrap. “That lovely lad, Steven. I’ve been feeding his goldfish when he leaves on some days.”

How close are Aunt Milly and Steven?

She hands me the plate before I can protest and and starts pushing me out the door. “What is it?” I ask trying to peek. “Cookies, I baked them my self.” I stop in my tracks. “I’m not giving him this. You’re going to commit a murder with these disks of death.”

“You little she devil.” She pinched the fat on my arm and did a twist causing me to yelp. “Ouch! Old lady that hurt!”

“Go bring him the cookies or I’ll force them down your little throat.”

“Yes ma’am.” I know better than to eat her food, I don’t wanna die. Sorry Steven, better you than me. I slide on my sneakers and make my way up to his apartment.

“Old lady got a mean ass grip. I should throw these at her head.” I mumble in a huff as I move my hair out of my face. When I get to Steven’s door, I knock and wait a moment.

“I probably saved your life if you don’t answer.” Which I was hoping he wouldn’t so I can grill Aunt Milly about my mother.

I tuck the death disks under my arm, ready to retreat down the steps but I hear the door open. Right there stood a sad sap, who happened to be Steven.

“You got some smuck on the corner of your face.” I point out. “Sorry, it’s chocolate. Uh come in, come in.” He ushers me in as he wipes his face clean. I look around his place and it looked so cluttered. Then again I’ve seen worse. “Sorry for the mess, I’ve been meaning to tidy up a bit.” I shake my head.

“No it’s fine I was just dropping by. Aunt Milly wanted you to have this, but toss it. Trust me, you don’t want to eat that…wait, what’s wrong?” He looked like he was on the verge of tears. “I don’t know really. Remember the date I was supposed to have?”

“The date you had Friday?” He gives me a gutted look as if I just told him his dog died. “Bullocks, she’s never going to talk to me. What day is it?”

“Sunday…” He then sit down on a stool with his face in his hands, and I kneel in front of him as I hear him about to cry.

“Hey, whatever happened it’s going to be OK. How about we get fat off of some ice cream. We can talk about how crappy our dates are if that’ll make you feel better.”

Steven looks up at me wiping his tears. “What happened? Did he? Did he try anyth-“ I stop him right there because I can see him getting angry. Which was weird to see.

“No nothing happened. In fact Tom never showed up. But hey maybe it wasn’t meant to be. So what do you say wanna humor this freak and eat some junk?”

Steven gives a smile which honestly makes me want to call him beautiful.

“Yeah, us weirdos got to stick together, you know. I got some ice cream in the fridge. I hope you like chocolate.”

“Love it, let me help you. Oh do you have sprinkles? The rainbow kind? Those are my favorite topping for ice cream.”

“Mine too, they’re in the top cupboard on the left.” He tells me. We scoop ice cream into some bowls and start talking about different subjects.

Like how Steven wanted to bring his mom down during his vacation. He told me he wanted me to meet her. I told him that when I get enough money I would go through my fathers bucket list and do everything he wanted to do. He gave me a smile and I swoon.

Were his eyes always this brown?

We were on his couch just talking and I hardly notice how close our knees are touching. Or how his hand keeps bumping against my wrist when he tells me an excited story.

I grow quiet as I let him talk and my thoughts get a bit, not so innocent.

I watch his tongue and as he licks his lips. I wonder what other things he’d like to lick. Maybe my neck…

Or my bottom lip…

I can picture his tongue dipping into my belly button just to tease me…

And finally I can picture his tongue flicking across my cl-

“Ivy? Hello earth to Ivy.” I snap out of my fantasies and clear my throat. “Sorry, for spacing out. That was rude.”

“It’s fine, sometimes I space out. Then again I black out sometimes and that’s not really fun.”

“Steven.” I place my half eaten bowl of ice cream down on his table and turn to him. “Can I ask you something?”

“Sure anything, Ivy. Ask away.” I take a calm breathe, because this can go two ways, he could reject me and I have to go into witness protection for the rest of my life, or we both can get lucky.

“Can you close your eyes for me?” I ask. He then puts his empty bowl down on the table. “Uh, sure.  Not sure why you’d want me to do that but fine. Fine, I’ll do it.” He closes his eyes and I let out a breathe I didn’t know I was holding.  

Here goes nothing.  

I lean in and kiss him, which causes him to move back and I stop. But we were both wide eyed with barely an inch between us.

I was the first one to stand up. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave.” As I walk I feel a gentle tug on my shirt. “Don…don’t go. You just surprised me, is all. I just can’t believe someone as beautiful as you would want to kiss me.” I give him a puzzled frown.

“Steven, I meant what I said the other day on the bus. You’d be stupid if you didn’t think you were cute. Then again you’re more than cute, when you smile you face…light up like the moon. Your voice it-no. Nope, I’m not going there. Just please know I’ll understand if you don’t want to be friends anymore.”

“Why in the bloody hell would I want to stop being your friend? I like you.” My heart skips hearing him confess that to me. I look down and see he’s still holding onto my shirt.

“Maybe I’m a bit heart broken over the date or maybe it’s a sugar high from all the ice cream I’ve had tonight but, do you want to kiss me? If not reject me so I can move on.” I force out a laugh but he wasn’t laughing.

Instead he tugs me forward and I follow. He looks up at me and those brown eyes seem to hide something dark in them.

“I would like to kiss you, very much.” My body leans in and I feel my legs doing their own thing. I straddle his legs and I reach up cupping his face.

His gorgeous face, how does this man not find himself attractive?

I rub my thumbs across his stubbled face and he closes his eyes. If I had a camera right now I would snap a picture of this man.

I pause for a moment and just study his face. His lashes seem to kiss his cheeks, the wrinkles on his face, looks like road maps that I want to explore. His fussy raven curly hair, falls on his face and I lean down, kissing where the curls fall.

I hear a soft groan escape his lips and his hands travel from my shirt to the curve on my hips. I kiss down his beautiful face and with each kiss he lets out a groan.

When my lips finally meet his, I feel one of his hands travel up my spine and rest on the nape of my neck. “Is this okay?” He asks just a few centimeters from my lips. “It’s perfect.” I lean down and our lips meet. It’s no surprise he tastes like chocolate ice cream.

But what does surprises me is how erotic the noises he’s making. I want to explore his body and make him whimper for me, maybe even beg.

God Ivy don’t be such a sadist.

I test the waters and slide my tongue in, he invites me in and I feel him suck. Which causes a moan leaving my lips as well. I feel a bulge bump between my legs and I adjust myself so I can feel it.

I slowly press and move against Steven and we both let out a moan when I hit the right spot. With one swift motion he lifts me up and pins my back down on the couch. His lips leave mine and I feel a bit dizzy from the lack of air.

“You’re stunning, Ivy. Absolutely stunning.” He whispers as he moves a strand of my hair out of my eyes. He then leans back down, kissing and sucking my bottom lip.

I want him to make more noises for me so I take my hand and find my way to his belt. The jingle of his belt was faint but the sound of the zipper could have awakened the dead.

I feel him stiffen on top of me but I take that chance and slide my hand into his pants. It’s warm and his skin feels hot. I find the head of his cock and it was sticky.

“Bloody fucking hell.” Steven hisses as I see his eyes roll back. I run my thumb over the head and he moans. He felt thick, at least in my hand he did.

I slowly stroke him and I watch his body obey my movements. His hips move a bit and I grip him slightly. A whine passes his lips as his hips start moving faster. I feel more of his sticky precum against the palm of my hand and I lick my lips. “Steven.” I whisper his name and he opens his eyes looking down at me.

I move my hand from his pants and I lick his precum off of my palm. He bites his bottom lip and I pull him down so he can taste himself on my tongue.

His knees somehow pins my legs apart and I’m trying to not squirm under him, but I need friction. “Can I taste you? Please can I taste you? I just know you taste like sweets.” He begs as he rubs his knee between my thighs.

I nod quickly and he fumbles trying to get into my pants. He then slides his two thick fingers into my panties. I grab his hand and guide him to slide them inside of me. “Oh my god.” He could fuck me with his fingers and I would be satiated. But I know I’ll want more once his digits are no longer touching my g-spot.

He curls his fingers in a come here motion and my body jerks abruptly. How does he know how to do that?

Steven isn’t some goofball…

He is but right now, he’s a man who can fulfill my greatest desires.

He takes his thumb and it rolls over my clit causing my walls to tighten around him. “Please.” I moan out to him. A dark shadow seems to pass over his eyes, but he blinks and it’s just Steven in a lust drunk state.

“Help me with these.” He says as he tugs at the waist band of my sweatpants. He removes his hand then and he sucks his middle and index finger.  His eyes flutter close as he greedily suck his fingers clean. He sits up and I lift my ass so that I can rip off my sweats. He helps me and when he gets a hold of them they go flying across the room.

We both look when they land and I let out a giggle. He looks back at me chuckling but that stops when he sees I’m soaked between my legs. I watch him get on his knees and he then licks his lips. Steven looks up at me through his lashes as if to ask me permission. I slowly open my legs wider for him and I suck on my bottom lip as I spread the lips as well.

He looks like he’s in pain, almost as if he doesn’t get to taste me he’ll die. I feel his elbows dip down near my thighs and I feel his fingers curl inside of me once more. He leans down and he flattens his tongue against my cunt.

With his tongue he massages my lips and clit all at once which makes my toes curl and my fingers entwine in his messy hair. His stubble tickles my lower lips and I lean my head back feeling in bliss while he eats me out.

If this was his first time, he’s doing one hell of a great job. I look back down at him and he’s looking up at me. I let go of his hair and touch his face. “Steven, did I e…ever tell you, you have such pretty eyes. Oh yes. You have such pretty eyes, please don’t stop looking at me with those pretty ey-" He doesn’t break eye contact but he does twirl his tongue hum at the same time.

I spread my legs wider which makes him grip my right thigh for dear life. His grip is a bit painful but his mouth makes me ignore it. He pulls me closer to him as if I’m his final meal of the night and he wants to make sure he licks the plate clean.

I stutter out gibberish and rock my hips in motion to his rhythm. His fingers does quicker come here motions and I feel the sensation that I’ve been craving.

My breathing becomes quicker, as I watch his now free hand move in his pants. My eyes are hungry to continue to watch but my orgasm hits me hard as I stutter out that I’m going to cum.

He encourages me to do so but doesn’t slow down or get faster. His fingers spread my inner lips apart and as soon as his tongue slides inside of me my legs tense up and I pull his head deeper. He moans and slurps as I come on his tongue.

His glorious tongue.

I shake out one more orgasm and my swollen clit was extremely sensitive. But that doesn’t stop Steven. He gives it a few lazy licks and I try to close my legs. “S..ste…Steven. St..s..stop!” He moves away from me licking his lips and I see his chin was wet from my juices.

“Knew you tasted good.” He whispers as he looks back between my legs. I stop him before I’m at the mercy of his mouth again and ask.

“Do…do you have any condoms?” Steven looks past his shoulder and then back at me. “No, sorry I’m afraid I don’t have any.” I groan but sit up, moving my jelly like legs. I almost stumble but Steven nabs me before I could fall. When I look in his eyes I see panic.

“Where are you going? Was I that bad?” I then realized my mistake and mentally kick myself.

Don’t just leave you idiot, he might think he didn’t please you enough (which how could he not know how good of a job he did?) and it makes you look like you’re just using him.

I touch his cheek and the panic subsides. “I’m just running downstairs really quicks, I have condoms in my drawer. And you did an amazing…amazing job.” I say as I look at his still wet chin. I lean over and give him another kiss to reassure him. When I move back he looked happier than a fish in a new fishbowl.

“Right condoms. I should start carry those if we’re gonna do stuff like this again. If you want to do this again. I would like to do this aga-”

“I would like to do this again, and many more times. Now you have to let me go.” Only then he notices that he’s holding me tight. He loosens his grip and I take a step back from him.

I start looking for my sweatpants he had flung by his bed and see they were peeking out from the foot of it. When I go to grab them I notice a black rope. When I pick it up I see a restraint attached to it.

“That-” I hold a hand up cutting him off. “We’ll talk about this when I get back.” I shake my legs through the tangled fabric of my sweatpants and once they’re finally on I look back at him as I head to his door. “I’ll be back quickly. Okay.” I reassure him again. He nods and I hurry down the steps.

Hell I’m taking three at a time. I go to open the door but notice that I didn’t leave Aunt Milly’s door ajar.

“Aunt Milly?” I call out to her and I expect her to be laying on the couch. “Aunt Milly?” I call out once more. The room was silent except for a dripping noise. I follow it but get this chill on the back of my neck.

I don’t like this.

I think to myself as my foot steps begin to slow down.

“Aunt…” I don’t know why I didn’t notice, why I didn’t smell it. But I look down and see my once grey sneakers where now turning maroon.

Blood.

My heart began to slam against my chest as all my senses scream at me.

I should run, I should get the hell out of here and get help.

But my feet wouldn’t listen. I know the dripping is from her. My sweet Aunt Milly.

I hear something move behind me and the lights start to flicker which makes me flinch. I don’t want to turn around because-

I hear shallow breathing and my head turns to the dark corner of the apartment. Right there I see a creature that looked like an oversized dog.

Before I could scream it l lunged at me. Thankfully I was quick and I ducked down causing it to crash into the wall above me. I go to run but my right foot slips from under me.

I scramble as the creature snaps its killer jaws just inches from my leg. I take off and slam the door behind me.

I couldn’t push a scream out of my lungs, my body was in flight mode and I ran, hearing the door explode behind me. It was gaining on me as I ran my hardest up the stairs to Steven’s apartment.

I slam my body into his door and thankfully he didn’t lock it. I get inside and slam it locking the door quickly. Steven ran over to me but stops when he sees I’m covered in blood.

My voice finally emerges but it all sounds like another language. “Ivy, Ivy slow down. I can barely understand you. What happened?”

“She’s d..dead. It got her! I..it…ahhh! Ahhhh! Ahhhh!”

It all happened in a blur. The police questioning me, over and over again. Steven telling them that I’m a mess and can’t answer.

“Sir I understand that she’s in shock, but we need to know what happened. That apartment is a crime scene and her alibi is the only thing keeping her from being the suspect….”

I watch the body bag that held my aunt and my breathe leaves my body. “She’s gone.” I whisper causing Steven to steer me away from the EMT’s.

As he rubs the small of my back I look up at him and the shock suddenly hits me causing my legs to give out from under me.

He catches me before I could fall,  I stare at the ceiling for a moment and when I blink I see a beautiful woman with starry night skin. She smiled at me which caused her dark purple eyes to smile as well.

She leans in close to my face and I feel my eyes roll back until all I can see is darkness. But this darkness I didn’t fear, it was comforting to me.

Ivy…

Come find me.

The woman’s voice rings in my ears.

And before I knew it, I had passed out in Steven’s arms…

TO BE CONTINUED…

A/N

Before I continue this story was not only inspired by the amazing show moon knight but inspired by a fear I had as a child. Sometimes I find myself not too fond of the dark, and yet I embrace it from to time. Also this story will include some names of Egyptian gods and goddesses, they are in my interpretation. So I want to apologize in advance. If you wish to not read this story I understand.

If this do continue to read this story please don’t forget to like and share this with your friends. I’ll update again in two week. Or when my lazy ass doesn’t procrastinate. Laters Gators 🐊

[loiswasadevil]

Everyone who bitches about your “backstory” in your askbox is undeniably jealous of your stress free lifestyle. Why do they care how you get your money or where your parents are?? If you aren’t worried about it, why should they be? People have an agenda against Family Guy thinking it’s an “edgy” show when they’ve never actually watched the show seeing what it’s really about: the hardships and bonding of a middle class American family. Some jokes are about race or religion but they’re not done out of hate. If you were a South Park kin, you’d be uplifted and thrown to the forefront of the community in celebration. It’s so hypocritical. Nobody has a problem with South Park fans drawing cp but simply a Lois Griffin kin living a relaxing life after trauma is too much for them to handle.

I hope the hate doesn’t deter you from sharing your life and experiences on here. I genuinely enjoy seeing you pop up on your dash. You come across sincere and kind. You always have support from me <3

I know right? They're just mad that I never even thought about getting a job, Sorry that you're miserable working every day I just watch Shows like Family Guy, American Dad, The Simpsons, And Futurama, And I reality Shift and I've been fine with that life ever since I left off grid. My needs are met and they are projecting their feelings into me because their needs are not met. And they just hate Family Guy kin and Want to take advantage of my Devils Heart to be my catalyst; It's really fucked. If i was a South Park Kin i wouldn't get any hate at all. People need to understand kin isn't a choice. Family Guy is a really endearing show and I just get hate and shit on for it When all i'm trying to do is explain her Devils Heart. The Only reason I talk about Off grid is to bring light to Lois Griffin's parallel Abuse and the parallel Hatred Hatred Of her Family That culminated her Devil's Heart. I am not forming a Story for you to gawk at, People try to find inconsistencies and claim that I "messed up" When they don't fucking understand that I've had TWO PETERS TAKEN FROM ME IN THIS LIFETIME.

[scumbagjaeger]

Rating: 18+! mdni

Me waking up at 5am with the most depraved thoughts about Jean, Connie and Sasha in a college AU that I will be turning into a full fic, here’s the rundown

Starts with Jean/Sasha with a dash of Jean/Connie/Sasha, and then ends with just Connie/Sasha, they’re endgame sorry not sorry (I love Springles) (it’s just because my friends tell me I’m just like Sasha and I am a fiend for Constance Springer)

First of all, you already know that they were all friends in high school, none of that awkward first meeting in History 101 thing

They can’t even remember how they met but Connie and Jean were those middle school bros with the snapbacks and jailbroken phones

Jean was asked to show Sasha around when she moved from the countryside in their freshman year of high school

Okay so now in college basically they all have the plan to just get laid as much as possible

Jk but they just want to party and be part of the crazy college scheme that they used to spend HOURS talking about in high school

“Guys… would you ever smoke weed?” —Jean at one point

Sorry this is still background but like I always imagine them growing up Midwest? I wanna say Chicago but deep down I’m thinking they grew up in like St Paul and they were all fairly sheltered oop

They go to college in Chicago for the big city life and they all apply together and they cry when they all get accepted

So yeah they’re trying to be adults now they rule!!!1!!! It’s so cheesy but they are 18 and suddenly they are like wow this adult thing is pretty nice 😎

Connie is kind of the rizzler?? No shock there but he is actually bringing so many women back to his and Jean’s dorm

The forms I had in college would be two bedrooms (with two beds each) and then a shared bathroom/fridge space?? So Connie and Jean are roommates and Marco is their suite mate in the other bedroom

Jean ends up having to stay with their suite-mate Marco because Marco’s roommate ended up dropping out after a day

Connie inadvertently cock blocks his friends but other while they’d pull as well??

Sorry Jean plays the sweet-romance game because he thinks he’s going to fall in love at a college party the first week 💀 and Connie swoops in making these ladies die laughing

He’s also just super affectionate with Sasha too like she’ll be rizzing up some guy and he’ll swing an arm around her waist “Sash we gotta host parties when we get our house together!!!”

He just means next year, the three of them plan on getting a townhouse together, but it’s enough to scare away the guy Sasha was talking to :(

At one point they have a mini intervention where they’re like “bro how do you do it????” And Connie’s like “what can I say, a rizzler’s gotta rizz 😎🥵”

I don’t think there would be much sexual interest or jealousy between any of them because they’re besties

Maybe in high school they had that drama about liking each other but they’re 18 now?? High school was so last year they are ADULTS remember

But idk maybe Sasha makes a comment about Connie cockblocking her, just an innocent joke, and he lowkey gets offended? “Damn my bad, I’ll let you cook next time ig”

So at the next party, Sasha meets Niccolo and of course they hit it off and Connie’s like okay why is this bothering me who gives a fuck, he ends up bringing a girl back to his dorm anyway so who cares LOL not that guy

Oh I forgot to say this but when Jean brings someone home Connie goes to Sasha’s and they literally share her tiny ass twin bed, usually drunk and watching some movie on her laptop, Ymir is normally in Historia’s room anyway so it works (but Ymir and Connie are homies too so she dgaf)

Anyway after her and Niccolo hook up, Sasha is super bummed?? The three of them are hanging out on campus and she’s like “yeah idk I thought we had something but our conversations just kind of fizzled out :(“

And Connie laughs? He’s like “lmao wait you talk to these people after you hook up with them??”

He explains that the whole point is that you go into it not expecting to ever see them again, that’s how he can be so bold with his flirting/jokes. It’s a HOOK UP not a MARRIAGE

And Jean kind of defends Sasha because he is also a big romantic and is constantly getting his hopes up? Poor guy

So one thing leads to another and (completely sober) Jean and Sasha decide they’re going to hook up???

It’s so awkward when they talk about it lol. Sasha’s like “man wtf how does Connie just not develop feeling for the girls he’s sleeping with” and Jean’s like “right that’s insane we should like, hook up and see” (totally joking) and Sasha’s like “omg yeah good one”

For half of their conversation, Jean can’t tell if she’s just going along with the joke

But it does make sense to them?? Like they will go to the party with Connie who will inevitably bring someone back to their dorm, and Jean and Sasha can pretend like they’ve just met and that they’re hooking up, then in the morning they go back to being friends

Unrelated but they’ve all definitely talked about their kinks before and Sasha hits Jean with the “S-step bro” and he whimpers

Also unrelated but Connie thought that the “Step bro, I’m stuck” things were the funniest shit in the world but that’s when they discovered Jean is bisexual, Jean included lol

Anyway the sex is good?? They are already so comfortable with each other, Jean makes sure Sasha is comfortable and that things feel good, she lowkey helps him with how to eat a girl out properly lol

Also Sasha has insane bedroom eyes and she doesn’t even know it? Her sex faces are unreal. Jean’s fucking her missionary style and he’s like “—this good?” And she lets out a breathy “Yeah, fuck, like that—” and he is like “bro don’t look at me like that or I’ll cum”

Afterwards Jean asks if they can cuddle and she’s like “wtf no? We’re supposed to not make thing a thing, we’re just friends again” and Jean is like “but we’d cuddle when we’re friends. We literally cuddled last week” and she’s like “damn you’re right okay c’mere”

The next morning Sasha’s like “omg! We did that! And I don’t want to do it again” and Jean’s like “wait WHAT” like he’s worried she had a bad experience and she’s like “No no no like I WOULD do it again but I don’t want to like date you!!” And he’s like “oh, good!!! Me too!!” And they high five

Jean goes to his dorm and Connie’s not there but Marco is and he’s like “Marco, I slept with Sasha and we don’t want to do it again 😎” and he’s like “what the fuck?”

Jean and Marco are also on the extremely slowburn train to romance-ville but until then they’re just homies, each other’s confidants

Marco tells Jean “I don’t know how you could hook up with anyone at all? Don’t you want the intimacy and love that comes with being with one person?” Because Marco doesn’t join in on their schemes, he also came from a sheltered childhood but he’s just so honest and sweet and we love our sweet boy

Of course Jean wants that too! He’s just a dumb idiot who thinks with his dick too much(‘: but someday he will learn and Marco will be there for him

Anyway idk about anyone else’s college experience but we had like four different card game variants of like “drink if you have the most unopened emails” or “drink if you are the last person to put your finger on your nose”

So of course they play that one time in Sasha’s room with their friends

“Drink if you’ve slept with someone else in this room” and everyone’s laughing, of course Eren and Mikasa drink, and Ymir and Historia drink, but then Jean takes a sip and it’s like SILENT

And Connie’s like “HEADASS get outta here, your fantasies don’t count” and Jean is looking at Sasha like bro help me

So then she takes a drink

And everyone is like hooting and hollering, but now Connie is silent

Jean’s laughing and telling them “yeah it was just a one time thing lol we’re just friends”

He’s lowkey hurt that they didn’t tell him?? He thinks it happened in like high school or something

They notice he’s upset and they end up confronting him after he avoids them bc we know Connie can’t deal with his emotions xoxo

“I just can’t believe you guys had sex without me??” He means without TELLING me but he’s upset yk. And Sasha’s like “well fine do you want to have sex with us?”

And it’s silent for like four minutes. Also they’re eating lunch in like Burger King so Jean’s mouth is full of a whopper burger as Sasha says this and he just freezes, and then slowly continues to eat

I feel like Connie is straight/has a strong preference towards women, but the idea of fucking a woman with another guy he’s totally down for yk, he’s definitely comfortable with himself and open to experimenting but something about Jean fucking THEIR friend Sasha fires him up??

He’s still the most experienced out of the three of them, never in a threesome but has watched enough of them lol, he even did extra research to prepare omg

He strokes himself off underneath Sasha, who’s being fucked by Jean

And Connie’s an ass? Talking to them like a little shit. “So this is how you did it without me last time, huh? I missed out on all this fun?”

I’ll save the big details for the fic so you have to read it sorry xoxo, but let’s say Jean ends up fucking Sasha’s mouth while Connie switches and begins fucking her? Like your classic Eiffel Tower shit

They definitely high five while fucking Sasha lol but she’s also loving it we know she’s a freak

I bet Connie would feel this weird possession about fucking Sasha? Like he sees how wet she got from cumming with Jean’s cock inside her and he’s like well we gotta out do this, I gotta show her how good I’m gonna make her feel

No warning just immediately rams himself into her, her gasp barely audible around Jean’s cock

And this is when he starts to like “hm I could get used to this”, just an idle thought he brushes off as he slaps her ass, grabbing the fat of it afterwards to thrust deeper into her

I bet they talked about it before, but Connie definitely is all “You gonna let me cum inside you, huh, Sash? Gonna be a good girl and let me fill you up?”

Jean’s already came in her mouth and he’s holding her, petting her hair and playing with her tits as she cries out, nodding and turning back to look at him

I bet Sasha’s fucked out expression is what sends him over the edge

They end up all passed out next to each other with Sasha in the middle, they’re too sweaty and gross to be comfortable but they promise to help wash the sheets and clean up/get breakfast in the morning

But somehow Connie and Sasha both wake up in the middle of the night (she elbows him accidentally), and before they go back to sleep he’s just kind of like, wait wait

And he slips a hand in her underwear just to feel the mess of his cum leaking into her underwear

Omg he’d slip a finger inside her, trying to push it into her again (fuck I love Connie too much someone needs to put me in horny jail)

She’d just kind of whine quietly, half asleep but wrapping her arm around him and shuffling closer, carefully spreading her legs further

He’d finger her for a little bit but her whines and noises start to get too loud, they’re too lazy to move to the bathroom or something so they put a pin in it

Connie does tilt Sasha’s jaw towards him and kisses her though? It’s like the first time he’s ever kissed a girl after sex so it’s kind of startling to him, it just seems too romantic and he can’t possibly feeling this towards his best pal Sasha??

But Sasha’s kissed guys after sex so she’s like whatever lol gnight dude

Things are fine between the three of them because Connie just compartmentalizes his emotions and Jean and Sasha have already fucked

But now when they talk about going to parties, Connie doesn’t really want to hook up with random girls anymore? And he gets pissy when Sasha mentions bringing a guy back to her place

But also Sasha picks up on that and she doesn’t even seem to care about the guys she’s hooking up with?? Jean can see it SO CLEARLY she’s using these other guys to distract herself from Connie

One day Jean shows up at Sasha’s door and is like “so when did you start liking Connie?”

Ends with Sasha crying to Jean about how she doesn’t know? He had a thing for her in their sophomore year of high school? They were each others first kisses? She even had a thing for him once in their senior year, but this is DIFFERENT she knows it’s going to ruin their friendship

Literally Ymir and Historia are there because they were just giving her shit for this too but now they’re comforting her

Jean just had the EXACT SAME conversation with Connie, even with the same tears, and Eren and Mikasa there to comfort him LMAO

But Jean doesn’t say anything about that, he just says she should talk to him about it (just like he told Connie to do) and she’s like lol NO

A couple days later though Connie says the most OUTTA pocket thing?? Something about a girlfriend??

In my mind it’s always Mina just because but idk we’ll see

Connie in an attempt to evade the confrontation of talking to Sasha about his feelings has decided that burying them deep inside himself is the way to go

And Sasha literally texts Jean and is like SEE?!???? He doesn’t like me it’s fine this is fine 🥲

And Jean is like THESE TWO DUMBASSES WILL BE THE DEATH OF ME

Cue him and Marco having to play matchmaker, maybe even fall in love themselves while they’re at it 😗

Idk how it’s gonna end ngl but if you stuck around this long you should tell me your thoughts via reply or ask

[invisibleraven]

13 looking over the other's shoulder, peterpatterlina

Julie faked a laugh as the man next to her made some off colour joke or another. Sipping her champagne, she longed for this evening to be over, but she knew this was essential to her mission.

At least the food was good.

Speaking of food, she caught the glance of familiar hazel eyes perusing the crab puffs and excused herself, walking over and pretending to be debating between the different scallops.

"How ya holding up?" Luke asked, voice low.

"Ugh, I swear if I had any sedatives I wouldn't need them these guys are so boring. But they might save me from suffering."

"You guys better snag me some snacks," came the voice in Julie's earpiece. Reggie was held up in the security office, trying to hack the system so they could slip into the safe. Get what they needed, and go.

Julie gave a much more genuine giggle at that. "Sure, I'll just slip some of these into my purse and have Flynn bitching me out for a millennia."

"Aww come on Jules, I'm starving here and it's not like the staff is gonna bring me a tray without raising the alarm."

"From what I've heard about how thus guy treats his staff they might wheel you half the kitchen," Luke murmured, eyes surveying the room. "How much longer?"

"Five minutes. Got take our girl for a spin, since I'm not there," Reggie replied.

"C'mon man," Luke whined. "You know I have two left feet."

"And I don't think Flynn made these heels steel toed," Julie added.

"It's a good way to keep an eye on the room. I'm sure our host has a silent alarm-see if he gets spooked when I get through. Follow him if he tries to make tracks," Reggie says.

"Fine," Luke grumbles and Julie pinches him subtly, since he's acting like dancing with her is some hardship. "Ow! Sorry boss. You know I love you, but I hate dancing."

"So just hold me and sway," Julie says, resting her chin on his shoulder, keeping her eyes on the room. The stuffy gentlemen and cold women in pricey gowns, all of them the height of society and the criminal elite. She's sure Luke sees it too, though she can also feel his nose nuzzling her neck.

"Okay, this isn't so bad," he hums. "Missing Reggie though."

"I'm there in spirit babe," Reggie says through the coms. "And after we nail this guy, I'll take you both out dancing. Maybe after I get a slice."

"Always thinking with your stomach," Julie titters. Then she freezes when she sees someone she wasn't expecting. "Fuck, Carrie is here. We gotta get out before we get made."

"What's she doing here?" Luke hisses, eyes scanning looking for an escape route.

"Hopefully to arrest someone that is not us," Reggie says. "I'm through, by the way. Try to get to the safe and we can sneak out the window. Our host wise yet?"

Julie looked at the old man who owned the house, but if his phone was dinging with an alarm, he didn't show it, too busy talking to some wealthy lady with more diamonds than sense. Julie kind of wanted to snatch them, but unfortunately that wasn't the purpose of their mission.

There was always another time.

She and Luke slip out, dashing towards the safe. Luke pulls the stuff to crack it while Julie pulls her gun from her thigh holster, keeping watch. "Hurry," she hisses to Luke. "Reggie, get the fuck out of that office and meet us here."

"Already on my way darlin'," he drawls and she can almost picture his crooked grin.

"And no stopping in the kitchens on the way!"

"You are so gonna owe me a pizza after this then. With pineapple and no complaints," Reggie says.

Julie scrunches her nose in disgust but agrees, urging him to hurry. Luke lets out a little whoop of happiness as the safe opens. Julie looks inside and snags the flash drive they need, plus any files.

Oh, and the diamond necklace... just because.

They hear a whistle from outside, and Reggie is below the window, zipline already set, so they make quick work of getting out, and slip through the hole in the security gate before the alarms even sound.

Later, after their debrief, and Reggie's pizza, Julie can finally kick off her hellish heels, and sighs. Only Reggie is there with his hand extended. "You promised me a dance."

"That I did," she says, letting herself be hauled up. They twirl around their living room, Julie able to see Luke watch them from the kitchen where he's making tea and cookies from over Reggie's shoulder. "Come on Luke, come dance with us!"

The man grins and plasters himself to her back, the three of them swaying in place to the music only they can hear.

"Job well done," Reggie murmurs as they break apart. "Even if I'm bummed I missed the spread."

Julie holds up a finger and goes to her purse, pulling out her new necklace-which she knows she has to pawn, but she's going to enjoy it until then-and a small bundle of snacks wrapped in a fancy linen for Reggie.

And sure, maybe there's a small stain in the purse lining, but Flynn's wrath is worth the smile on Reggie's face as he devours the food.

Plus he shares the desserts with them, and if that isn't love, Julie doesn't know what is.