#sorry i want to see a fic that treats a gag (the getting lost thing) with compassion or atleast aknowledgment that isnt anger sometimes 😔

[1pcii]

exactly!!! people dont understand that emotional intelligence is just as valid/important as book or number, strategic, culinary, technological or any other type of inteligence!

people definatly emphasis the whole brawn/muscle of the group thing with him. as if thats all he does and he isnt literally first mate and taking care of the strawhats dosnt/wouldnt fall to him (as you said) if luffy falters.

and even if someone isnt the brightest smarts wise, making fun of that just feels... ehh kinda fucked? messed up even? like alot of these traits (directional dyslexia, aversion to reading for any of the multitude of reasons out there, one track mindedness, etcetc) are common nd traits, and even in nt individuals should be treated with compassion? (im probably looking too much into it here but whatever, complaint for complianing sake or w/e). i know its a joke i knowww. but also the blorboism. its fatal.

also yess

taking this panel with me to the grave idc idc

one piece modern au mentions zoro is bad at math or actually genuinly stupid/unintelligent 143 dead 657 injured

[simplee-dreaming]

The Great Escape

A/N: So this was requested by an anon and I had so much fun writing it, I think it's the longest fic I've ever written so I hope you enjoy! (Also, reading back over this, I realised I've mentioned Vision and Jarvis in the same story which I know isn't possible but I cba to change it because I love them both...even though they're technically the same...)

Word count: 2458

Summary: The reader tries to sneak out to a party, but Tony, Steve and Bucky are onto her.

-----------------------------------

“Are you coming tonight or what?” Your friend asked at the other end of the phone.

“Yes, yes I am. I’m just thinking of ways to escape without being caught.” You replied.

“You’re not in a prison, just walk out of the front door,” they said.

“I wish it were that easy. Tony’s already said no to me going so he’s gonna be on high alert. Don’t worry, I’ll find a way,” You said.

“Okay, meet me outside the party at 9, no later. Good luck, agent Y/L/N” your friend teased.

“Shut up, I’ll see you later.” You hung up the phone. It was half 5 in the evening and it took about 45 minutes to get to the party by walking. You decided you were gonna attempt to leave at quarter to 8, so you would have time to escape without being seen and enjoy a gentle stroll to the party.

“Everyone normally eats dinner about 6, then they tend to go off and do their own thing. This should be a doddle, right?” You thought to yourself.

At 6, everyone sat round the table together to eat.

“So, what’s everyone doing after this?” You asked, trying to work out everyone’s movements.

“I’ll be working on my latest model,” said Tony, shovelling a load of pasta into his mouth.

“I’ll be in the gym, pumping iron,” said Bucky.

“Vis and I have got a date night booked,” said Wanda. Sam made gagging noises next to them.

“Are you gymming too, Steve?” asked Bucky before spilling pasta sauce on his leg.

“Nah I did my workout earlier. I may chill with a film. Fancy joining me, Y/N?” He asked.

Shit. That backfired.

“Oh, uh, thanks but I can’t. I said I’ll phone some friends tonight.” You said, thinking quickly.

“Surely that won’t take long though, would it?”

You paused. Tony looked at you suspiciously.

“You know Y/N, she won’t shut up once she gets talking to her friends.” Peter piped up. You relaxed.

“Yeah, exactly. I’ll be up there for hours.” You said.

“Aren’t they all going to this party you talked about?” Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Uh, no, not this lot. This is the nerd group I’m part of, they don’t party.” You said quickly. Tony grunted but said nothing more.

Once everyone finished eating, you raced back upstairs to find an outfit. Once you had gotten changed and done your hair and makeup, it was quarter past 7. Half an hour before you were due to leave. You were sat on your bed, scrolling through TikTok until half past 7.

“Sod this,” you thought. Waiting around for any longer would heighten your anxiety so you decided to put your plan into action now.

You left your room and decided to scan all exits of the building to see which one was the best option to use.

“Sir, I don’t mean to alarm you but Y/N seems to be acting pretty suspiciously,” Jarvis informed Tony. Tony was in his lab working on his latest project.

“What do you mean suspicious?” Tony asked.

“She’s wandering back and forth around the compound.” Jarvis replied.

“Maybe she’s just taking a walk.” Tony said.

“Sir, she’s wearing make-up.” Jarvis informed him. Tony stopped what he was doing.

“Makeup? She never wears makeup unless…” Tony stopped in his tracks.

“Jarvis, does Y/N appear to be scanning all the exits?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And does she look dressed up?”

“Yes, sir.”

“That little minx.” Tony said. “Jarvis, get Steve and Bucky up here please.”

“Of course, sir.”

A few minutes later, Bucky and Steve appeared in Tony’s lab.

“What’s up?” asked Steve.

“I’ve got a mission for you both. Y/N is trying to sneak out of the compound to get to this party of hers tonight. I’ve got eyes on her through Jarvis but I need your help to stop her leaving.”

“Tony, she’s just going to a party. What’s the big deal?” Bucky asked.

“The big deal is that she’s 16 and she’s going to a big party where there will be loads of people and most likely alcohol...or worse. Plus she’s already asked me if she can go and I’ve already said no so now she’s disobeying me.” Tony said.

“Oh. Right.” Bucky replied.

“Here are some ear pieces, I’ll stay here and tell you where she is and you go and stop her from leaving,”

“Roger that,” Steve said. “Mission: Trap Y/N is go.” He saluted Tony and left the room with Bucky. Tony sighed.

“Alright Tony, where she at?” Bucky asked quietly.

“Jarvis, I need eyes on Y/N.” Tony said.

“Sir, she is currently heading to the north exit.”

“North exit guys,” Tony spoke into their ear pieces.

“I’m closer, I got this.” Steve said. He quietly ran to the north corridor and saw you walking to the exit.

“Hey you, finished your phone call already?” He asked. You jumped and turned.

“Oh, uh, yeah, um, I was just going for a walk.” You said.

“Oh sweet, I’ll join you.” Steve said.

“Oh, um, well I just wanted some alone time,” you said, hinting at him.

“I’ll be quiet, I can do with some fresh air too.”

“Actually, on second thoughts, I really need to pee so um...yeah…” you said, jogging past him and back upstairs.

Shit. Back to square one.

You gave it a minute then decided to head to the east exit.

“Guys, she’s going east.” Tony informed the boys.

“On it,” Bucky responded.

He was closer to the door than you were so he decided to open it and lean against the threshold, as if he was just admiring the garden. You turned the corner to see him stood with his back to you. You froze in your tracks.

“Dammit,” you thought to yourself. You tiptoed backwards and headed for the south exit instead.

“Nice work guys, she’s going south now.” Said Tony.

“My turn,” said Steve. He, once again, appeared the same time you did.

“Oh did you pee? Fancy going for a walk now?” He said behind you. You rolled your eyes and turned around.

“Hey, um, yeah I did, but um I’ve changed my mind I don’t actually wanna walk anywhere now.”

“But you’re heading for the exit?”

“Uh, yeah, um...I...I got lost.” You said, shrugging.

“Lost? You’ve been here for 16 years…”

“Yeah, um, bit forgetful it seems,” you laughed nervously, “alright well back I go.”

You walked past him. Once you knew you were out of sight, you headed for the final exit to the west of the building.

“Alright guys…” Tony began.

“Going west, got it,” Bucky finished. He headed in your direction and deliberately walked straight into you.

“Whoa, watch where you’re going.” He teased.

“Sorry Buck,” you responded.

“Where exactly are you going?”

“Just going to get a drink then back to my room,” you lied.

“....dressed up like that?” He asked. You blushed.

“Um, yeah, we decided to dress nicely for our call earlier. Bit of a treat, you know?” You said.

“So...what are you doing at the exit if you’re getting a drink?”

“Thought I’d go around the outside to get some fresh air before entering the kitchen.” You lied, again.

“Without me?!” Steve said. You jumped.

“Oh uh, hey, um, yeah I changed my mind again.”

“Well can I at least join you this time?”

“Oh, uh..”

“What do you mean this time?” Bucky asked.

“Well I found her at both the north and south exits and she couldn’t decide whether she wanted to go for a walk or not. I offered my company and she said no.” He said.

“Maybe that’s why she said no.” Bucky teased. You giggled a little.

“So how come Steve caught you at the north and south exits and I caught you at this one and the east exit?” Bucky asked.

“Oh, I...um...I...wait, how did you know I was at the east exit?” You asked.

“Because we have eyes everywhere, Y/N.” Tony said, appearing behind Steve. He held up his tablet that contained Jarvis’ map. “I told them to follow you.”

“What? Why?” You asked.

“Because, you’re sneaking out to that party. Don’t think you can outsmart Jarvis now, Y/N.”

“Damn you, Jarvis.” you mumbled under your breath.

“I have been programmed to protect everyone in this compound, especially children.” Jarvis said over the speakers. Bucky, Steve and Tony all laughed.

“Oh very funny. I’m not a child.” You said, sarcastically.

“No you’re not, but you’re also not 18 yet which means you’re still legally under our care. And when I say you can’t go to a party, it means you cannot go to a party.” Tony said, taking a step towards you.

“But Tony, if I miss out I won’t be one of the cool kids.” You said.

“You live with all the cool kids here.” said Bucky, you rolled your eyes at him.

“I can’t believe you disobeyed me and tried to sneak past even Jarvis.” Tony said.

“I’m sorry for disobeying you, I really am. I just...I need to go to this. People are waiting for me.” You pleaded.

“No. Maybe I would have considered it if you didn’t break my trust. But now I want an apology.”

“I just said sorry.”

“No no, I want a proper apology.”

“What do you mean by a proper apology?” You asked.

Tony took a step towards you and you subconsciously backed away.

“Come here.” He said, sternly. You looked to Steve and Bucky for help but they just kept a poker face. You stepped closer to Tony.

“Now, I need to make sure you mean your apology and that you’re not going to break my trust again. Any ideas on how I’ll do that?” Tony asked.

“By putting a Jarvis tracker on me….oh wait,” you said, sarcastically. Bucky chuckled. Tony cleared his throat.

“Keep talking like that and this will be much worse for you.” Tony said.

“What will?” You asked.

“This.” Tony said. In one swift motion he had swooped you up and pinned you to the ground, careful not to hurt you in the process.

“What the hell?!” You complained, now trapped under Tony.

“I’m not going to stop until I know you’ve learned your lesson.” He informed.

“Stop what??” You asked. He pulled your arms up and pinned them above your head. He then took a single finger and wiggled it into your armpit. You instantly started giggling.

“Nononono wahait shit plehease,” you giggled.

“Not until I know your apology is sincere.” He said, wiggling another finger into your armpit.

“Please please please I am sohohorry,”

“No you’re not, not yet.” He said. With that, he let go of your arms and stuck both hands into your armpits. You pulled your arms straight down, trapping his hands in the process.

“WAIT NO PLEASE!” You screamed as he tickled deep into your armpits. Bucky and Steve both awed at your giggling mess.

"Come join, agents. You deserve some down time too.” Tony said to Steve and Bucky. They exchanged a look and smiled before walking over to you.

“NO NO NO NOT YOU!” You screamed, watching them approach. Tony was still tickling your armpits so Steve sat to the side and started kneading your hips. Bucky grabbed your legs and went for the back of your knees. You yelped and screamed and arched your body violently.

“AHAHAHAHA NOHOHO STOHOHOP!” You cried.

“Not until you’ve learned your lesson.” Tony repeated.

“I HAHAHAHAVE!” You cried.

“What do you think guys? Has she?” Tony asked the others. They both said “no” in unison. “Right then,” Tony continued.

He removed his hands from your armpits and started tickling your neck. You hunched up your shoulders and squealed. Steve noticed you were trying to pull Tony’s hands away so he shuffled up next to your head, grabbed your arms, pinned them above your head again and sat on them.

“WHAT THE HEHEHELL?!” You screamed, now unable to protect yourself from Tony. Steve gave an evil laugh then proceeded to drill his fingers into your armpits. You screamed louder than ever and frantically tried to twist away.

“NAHAHAHAHAHA PLEHEHEHEASE!” Tears started forming in your eyes as the boys tortured you. Bucky adjusted himself so he was now sat on your legs. Having just taken your shoes off, he was now tickling the soles of your feet.

“PLEHEHEHEHEASE I’M SO SOHOHOHORRY!” You yelled through the laughter. Tony felt your legs trying to move and looked over his shoulder to find Bucky holding your toes and scratching at your soles. You screamed loudly again and fell into silent laughter, your face going bright red.

Tony looked at Steve and they both stopped instantly, but you were still screaming. They looked over and realised Bucky was still going, tickling both of your feet simultaneously.

“Buck, ease up now, don’t kill her.” Steve said.

“Oops,” said Bucky, climbing off your legs. Steve got off of your arms but Tony was still sat on your waist.

“I….I...I really am sorry, Tony.” You breathed out.

“I believe you,” he said. “Will you do it again?”

“Absolutely not,” You giggled softly.

“Good.” He climbed off of you and helped you up.

“What time does this party start?” He asked. You looked at your watch, it was now half 8 .

“In half an hour,” you said.

“Go and fix your hair and makeup. I’ll drive you there.” He said.

“Really?” You asked.

“Yes, really. I was too hard on you earlier. But you’re still only 16 so I’ll be collecting you at midnight, okay?”

You stood up and smiled at the three of them. Then you thought for a moment.

“No.” You said.

“Excuse me?” Tony responded.

“I’m not gonna go. I want to spend the night with my family.” You said. Bucky clutched his heart and let out a long “awww”, which made you giggle.

“Movie and snacks?” Tony asked.

“Movie and snacks.” You agreed.

You all walked back down the corridor together.

“So, does this mean you’re definitely not going for a walk?” Steve teased. You laughed and elbowed him in the ribs. He put his arm around you.

“Wait, let me get changed into something more comfy,” you said, running up the stairs. When you came back down, you got your phone out and messaged your friend.

“Sorry, can’t make it, got caught. See you another time.”

You then placed your phone on the side and sat down between Tony and Steve.

One by one, the other avengers slowly joined your little film group. It really was the perfect family night.

[im-in-love-with-pizza-bites]

First Period

Holland family X Sister!Reader

Summary: After a bad day at school your brothers treat you to candy and movies.

Warnings: mentions blood, first period, periods in general, embarrassing moment at school, fluff. I edited it half asleep so if there are any mistakes go ahead and let me!

Reader's age: 14

A/n: this is a request! I lost the ask sorry 😬but it was something like: "can you write a Holland!Sister fic that's just comfort and fluff." So here it is! I hope the person who requested this sees it. It was from an anon so I can't tag them or I would. So if you're the person who sent that in thank you! I don't write for tom or his family much, but I hope you like it!

Today sucked for you, it all started at school. You were waiting in line for lunch, and a girl who was in year 12 tapped on your shoulder.

"Hey."

"Yeah?" You asked.

"Wrap this around your waist and go to the nurse." The girl said taking her jumper that came with the school uniform off her shoulders and holding it out to you.

"Why?" You asked her confused. She leaned in closer before whispering:

"You started your period they'll have an extra change of pants and pads." The girl said giving you a gentle smile. Your face turned bright red as you took the jumper and did as you were told. "It's okay it's normal." She assured you. "I'll hold your place in line."

"Thank you." You said before hurrying off to the nurse's office.

It was so embarrassing, now your walking home with Paddy. You are the youngest Holland sibling along with the only sister. You're two years younger than Paddy, eight years younger than the twins, and ten years younger than Tom.

"What's wrong? You've been quiet this whole time." Paddy questioned. You were the closest with Paddy cause of the lack of a large age gap.

"Nothing." You grumbled as the two of you made it home. Once inside you darted upstairs to your room ignoring your other brothers as you did so. Tom and Harry were back in town for a couple of months in between shooting.

"Paddy, what's wrong with her?" Tom asked as his youngest brother walked into the house.

"She didn't tell me," Paddy said shrugging setting his bag down.

After a few minutes, you emerged from the upstairs scowling.

"Wheres mum?" You asked.

"Work. What's wrong darling?" Tom asked you.

"Nothing mate I'm going back to my room." You grumbled before once again retreating to your room.

"We have to cheer her up." Tom declared to the other three Hollands who were also in the kitchen.

"How she won't even tell us what's wrong." Sam said.

"I don't know." Tom admitted.

While they were discussing how to cheer you up, you were upstairs looking for where your mom kept the pads. Having no luck though. After about 10 minutes of looking, you finally took a deep breath and marched your way down the stairs to where they were still talking.

"I need one of you to give me a ride to the shop." You declared.

"Why?" Harry asked.

"I just need one." You said crossing your arms scowling.

"Just tell us why and we'll give you a ride." Tom said.

"It's girls' stuff." You muttered.

"Speak up mate." Sam said smirking at you.

"Just take me to the shop!" You exclaimed angrily. Taken back from your outburst Tom nodded standing up.

"Okay calm down we were only joking around." Tom said putting his hands up in defense. "I'll take you."

"Thank you!" You said smiling.

"Let me grab my keys." Tom told you. You nodded taking a seat next to Paddy.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Yeah why?"

"That's a bloody lie mate you just yelled at me, you never yell at any of us!" Sam said.

"Okay let's go now," Tom said walking in with his keys. "You mates wanna come with us?" The three boys looked at each other before smirking and nodding. They were determined to find out why their baby sister was acting the way she's acting.

"Sure!" You groaned but stood up and followed your brothers to the car.

"So y/n what do you need from the shop anyway?" Paddy asked.

"Things. It doesn't matter." You muttered staring out the window as Tom drove.

"Tell us! Come on why don't you trust us?" Tom asked giving you puppy dog eyes through the rearview mirror.

"I need pads." You mumbled, almost instantly did two of your four brother's faces turn bright red. The two sitting next to you in the backseat, Sam and Paddy.

"What did you say?" Tom asked. Harry looked back toward his siblings, you were staring out the window doing your best to ignore your brothers, paddy and Harry had similar flustered looks on their faces.

"I need pads thats all! Can you bloody stop nagging me about this! I just want to get them then go home and be alone!" You exclaimed angrily. That shut your brothers up for the rest of the car ride. None of them knew a lot about periods, but Tom knew it meant you were growing and he didn't like seeing his baby sister grown up. He still remembers the day he found out he was having another sibling, and how he was hoping for a baby sister. He was so happy meeting you, the photo of him holding you as a baby was hung up in his room.

"Okay... You get what you need and meet us here." Tom said awkwardly. You nodded and walked off.

"How do we help her?" Paddy asked Tom.

"I don't know!"

"Candy obviously... Chocolate too." Harry spoke up.

"How do you know that?"

"I overheard mum talking to her." He shrugged.

"Okay we'll get her her favorite snacks!" Sam agreed.

———

You stood with just the pads as you waited for your brothers where you agreed to meet up. You saw them come over they each had a bag but you couldn't tell what was in them.

"Can we just go now?" You asked.

"Yep! Let's go Darling." Tom said.

"What did you guys get?" You asked as the five of you loaded the trunk with the 5 bags.

"Just some snacks." Tom said.

"Okay..." You said climbing into the car.

"So... Uh." Your brothers awkwardly tried to start a conversation.

"What?"

"Who's jumper is tied around your waist?" Sam finally asked, from his seat in the front.

"Oh, some year 12 girl gave it to me..." You mumbled not wanting to talk about it.

"Why?" Paddy asked.

"Mate you're not going to like the answer." You declared.

"Why not?" Tom asked.

"It's bloody gross."

"Oh." Tom said in realization.

"Really why?" Harry asked.

"To hide a bloodstain you happy now?"

"Eww!" Paddy gagged.

"I bloody told you that it was gross. Ugh." You groaned leaning your head on Harry's shoulder.

"I didn't think you literally meant bloody." Paddy defended.

"Let's just put this conversation on a hold please." Harry said.

"We're home." Tom declared finally.

"Finally." You said happily waiting until he parked before you jumped out of the car. Once the trunk was opened you grabbed your bag and ran into the house, unlocking the door before darting to the downstairs bathroom. Finally changing into a clean pad, once you left the bathroom you saw your brothers sitting on the couch with an abundance of snacks.

"Mate get over here we got you snacks." Sam said patting the spot on the couch next to him and Tom. You smiled hurrying over grabbing your favorite kind of candy that was sat on the coffee table before you sat down.

"What movie are we going to watch?" You asked.

———

By the time your parents got home, you and your brothers were asleep with your favorite movie playing in the background. They couldn't help but smile at the sight of their five kids. You were leaning against Tom with your head on his shoulder, his head was on your head, sam was leaning against you his head on your shoulder, Paddy was asleep on the other end of the couch with his legs wrapped over Sam's lap, and harry was against the arm of the couch, Tessa was even cuddled up with you five as well laying with her hand on Harry's lap.

A/n: I don't write for Tom much because I'm not good at writing British dialogue but I think I did good! Also, I kept reading bloody in a British accent 🤣

[whereistheonepiece]

i'm both extremely late and extreeeemely new to this discussion, but here i am, regardless.

[ this is in relation to a post you made last june about zoro's feelings being disregarded in a lot of zs content / zoro being more of a glorified prop. ]

i completely agree, though i don't know if things have gotten any better or any worse i am /very/ new to one piece. but from what i've seen, a lot of the jokes surrounding zoro or using zoro as the butt of the joke have a tendency to fall flat with me.

this is because he's such a stoic character, but i get uncomfy when he's made the butt of the joke - either literally, he's the chosen target of a prank or well-meaning jibe, or even just with his running gag of getting lost, or the idea that zoro is stupid or dumb. i get iffy when he's not laughing along, mostly, since the trend of it across a lot of zosan content / fics / discussions nudges it into something more akin to bullying for me.

i'm not sure if this is what you were getting at, please forgive me if i've gone off the rails, but it does bug me quite a bit.

pretty much since i joined this specific ship's fandom, i've been collecting zs content where zoro gets cared for, like a dragon with a hoard. it's such a shame that it's not more common / it's so hard to come by and you usually have to actively dig for it, if you don't just happen to run across it, but there's so much mileage to be found there, i think.

zoro is a wonderful character with his own depth and feelings, and as much as i adore sanji, i think we would only benefit from zoro getting some of the spotlight too :)

( sorry for the long ask, i have several feelings about this )

Okay! Sorry it took me so long to respond to this!

So I wasn't even thinking about the "Haha Zoro dumb!" jokes when I made that post, but they do annoy me. A lot. And I'll admit that there's probably a bit of projection going on there because I don't think Zoro is dumb just because he thinks differently than people and has different priorities. And I'm probably projecting because I tend to get treated as stupid because my brain works differently from other people's. ADHD mind and all that. So I tend not to talk about my disdain for the jokes and the general fandom attitude towards Zoro's intelligence, but I don't add to it.

Idk if I can say if it's gotten better, at least in fic. I haven't read Zosan fic in a while since I find that a lot of the popular stuff does what I mentioned, ie, making Zoro a prop and not considering his own feelings and needs. I'm curious about the fics where Zoro gets taken care of, though. I've had to write my own fics where Zoro gets cared for since it feels so rare.

Anyway, the short version of how I still feel is I think the fandom should portray Zoro with more care and keep in mind that, like you said, Zoro is his own character with his own feelings. So I'm just gonna have to be the change I want to see and make my own food.

[redwinterroses]

I’m doing my very best not to format this as a literary analysis paper but that’s basically what this is so forgive me if I slip back into those old habits at all. And I'm going to tag @betweenlands and @fluffy-papaya in this because guys look what your fic made me brainrot. XD

(This is a long one, y'all. We're talking 2k words. Sorry.)

That said:

Hey, let’s talk about the bead curtain in Dog at the Door.

That dang bead curtain, and why I’m currently fixating on it, and how I think it has symbolism that may or may not be intentional.

(At this point, I’m assuming it’s intentional. Everything about this fic is intentional. Including the pain. Heh. “The only difference between a running gag and a recurring theme is how seriously you take it,” says Solar. Cool. I’m taking it seriously.)

The curtain first shows up in chapter one. It’s one of the first things we see in the van, and the first thing we know about it is that Doc finds it obnoxious. Ugly. Revolting. Renbob loves it, obviously, but Renbob has odd tastes. Doc, on the other hand, literally uses his hatred of the curtain to motivate him to get out of bed in the morning.

The Red King, when he shows up, also has similar dislike of the thing, but his reaction is a little more measured, a little less extreme. More distaste, less disgust. He finds it “distasteful” and compares it to wearing a labcoat without a shirt (lol). But he doesn’t loath it like Doc does, and when Doc suggests (in chapter 13) that they take it down and use it for friendship bracelets, he’s as displeased with that idea as Renbob is. He has an ambivalent opinion, overall.

And then Ren. Ren actually reacts the least to the curtain—but ends up with the most dramatic interaction with it, which we’ll come back to in a second. He simply says (chapter 24) that normally he’d find the beads hideous, but that the light of Doc’s eye reflecting off it into the shadows makes it oddly peaceful.

There’s exactly one other use of the word “curtain” in this fic, and it’s this line right here:

“I haven’t done anything but possess him and lead his soul back to the controls.” RK throws his hands up in the air. “He’s put himself behind the curtain because he thinks I’m out to get him. My only crime is the original contract I made with him, doctor.”

In this instance, RK is talking about their “imperfect metaphor” of Ren being behind the curtain that separates the “driver’s seat” from the rest of the van that is Ren’s mind/soul. He’s saying that Ren has deliberately put himself in a position of defeat and surrender because he (Ren) doesn’t think there are any other options.

M’kay. Right about now, any sane person is going, “Red. Why are you so fixated on this bead curtain. It’s a running joke at best.”

And... I mean, sure. Kinda. But also definitely not.

This is the part where I really step out on a potentially-shaky limb with all the confidence in the world, because here’s what I'm seeing: the dividing line between life and death is often portrayed in literature as a curtain.

(And it’s interesting to note that the curtain is a barrier, a separation, but it’s only a curtain, and this one is made of beads at that. It’s a flimsy and fluid barrier, easy to pass through. Back and forth. Surrender and control, life and death.)

In fact, even in this fic it’s used that way: RK may be referring to the metaphorical bead curtain in their van of an explanation for how his and Ren’s relationship works, but in the story at that point Ren is convinced that he’s dead. Or is supposed to be dead. And by putting himself “behind the curtain,” he’s surrendering to that. Almost insisting on it, because that’s the truth of how he sees the world right then and he can’t process any other possibilities. He’s basically saying “I’m supposed to be dead, and this side of the curtain is death, so that’s where I’ll stay.”

So if the curtain in the metaphor represents the two sides of that, it’s really interesting to look at the various characters’ reactions to the literal bead curtain and see how it reflects their attitudes toward death—and specifically Ren’s death.

Renbob is... chill. He has an entirely comfortable relationship with the bead curtain, with life and death, with his own emotions—even with dealing with the emotions of the others he’s chauffeuring across the universe. While he isn’t immune to the grief of losing (or thinking he’s lost) Ren, he deals with it in a relatively healthy way—at least as much as we see. I think there was a possibly-canon ask at some point that said he was journaling and meditating so... yeah. Renbob’s got this. And 50 other bead curtains in storage. He’s the only character in the fic who passes in and out of the curtain regularly and without it being a big deal.

To put it simply: Renbob is on good terms with whatever happens in life, up to and including the end of it. (Renbob is arguably the equal and opposite of Grimdog. Two sides of the same coin in more ways than one.)

Contrast that now with Doc. Doc is... not a fan of the bead curtain. It represents a loss of control to him, (“freakin’ hippies”) and a separation from what he loves. In the past, he and Ren were on opposite sides of that conflict, and the beads still somewhat represent that tension (though in a mostly nostalgic, and not actively-antagonistic way.) But the language Doc’s narration uses to describe the beads is strong. “Obnoxious.” “Accursed.” “Horrendously evil.”

Nearly as scary as his best friend trying to kill him.

It’s played for laughs, obviously, and it is funny. But if we project the symbolism of “the curtain represents death” onto Doc’s reactions, it gets a bit less amusing. And it really fits with Doc’s attitude toward Ren’s death in the whole fic. It’s the worst thing he’s ever faced—to the extent that until RK’s seemingly-permanent presence forces him to, Doc doesn’t even try to process it. He goes right to work on the prosthetics, growls at anyone who tries to make him do anything he doesn't want to do, accepts RK as “New Ren,” and pretends that he’s going on with life.

He refuses to look at how weird the whole situation is, because if he does that he has to deal with Ren being gone forever. He ignores the thing that’s right under his nose and pretends it’s not there until a moment of quiet or actually having to interact with it brings it back to his attention, and then his reaction is vitriolic.

Doc hates that curtain, and he hates the concept of death, the concept of losing control. Even in his nightmares, he holds tight to what little control he can take, even if it’s just taking the initiative to sit in the snow and let it kill him faster. Hold onto that thought, because I’ve got more to it, but we have to talk about RK and Ren first.

RK holds both distaste and acceptance of the curtain. He doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t want it destroyed either. The distaste, notably, is when he’s with Doc, and the acceptance comes from being around Renbob. The Red King, as a blood god, is not exactly unfamiliar with death. It’s literally in his job description, but that doesn’t mean he has to like it. A necessary evil, if you will.

It doesn’t hurt either that, at least up until Ren, RK has always been the one on the other side of the curtain, completely in control of the situation. He goes back and forth on his attitudes, but in the past he has been the one in control and the bringer of death. His reaction is negative, but not emphatic—the way someone who has plenty of indoor plans might react to a rainstorm.

Ren... now, Ren. Ren has, like I said, the least recorded reaction to the actual, physical bead curtain. But. But. While he normally would call it hideous, “there’s something oddly peaceful about watching light fractals spin off the walls, cutting off into the shadows.” The shadows, it’s worth noticing, are specifically implied to be RK/hiding RK in this moment. Doc’s light and RK’s shadows interacting with the curtain bring peace to Ren. He passes through it easily to find Renbob.

Ren has already accepted his death—he accepted it long before the fic even started—to an extent that he’s actively insisting on it for a large portion of the story. It’s only when he realizes that Doc is in potential danger that he starts fighting RK for control of the situation again. (“Stay away from Doc, you bastard. He wasn’t part of our bargain. Leave him alone.”)

He dislikes the bead curtain, but he doesn’t hate it, and when seen in the (literal) light of Doc’s protective, watching eye—even if he is asleep at the moment, bless—even the shadows of RK’s presence are suddenly beautiful and peaceful to him in a way that, without the “reflecting fractals” of the beads, wouldn’t be possible. Again: this is the chapter where Renbob’s influence is felt, and his peace with life and death directly affects Ren and his reactions. (“It’ll all sort itself out, eventually, and I’ll be here for you while it does.”)

And then...

And then Ren rips down the curtain altogether.

The separation is gone. For better or for worse, that divide between control and surrender, between RK and Ren, between life and death... it’s gone. It’s scattered across the floor of the van, glittering in Ren’s hair, and in the carpet. Ren has broken through that barrier, and now we just have to wait to see what the consequences of that are for him.

But... we can already see at least one consequence for Doc. Because now there is no more illusion of control and surrender for him to maintain. That division is no longer there, and we see Doc’s first real surrender in the whole story. Even in his nightmares, he was still in control: he knew it was a nightmare, and he fought against it until he “gave up”—in a way that still put him in control. He chooses to sit in the snow so it’ll kill dream-him faster.

He acts like he doesn’t care, but it’s still not that: he takes control in the only way he knows, aware that everything is only a dream and no matter what how it treats him, he’ll still wake up in the end. He looks at the nightmare and says basically “Do your worst, I dare you, but you won’t get what you want from me.”

But now—now he surrenders to Ren. He gives up. His core truth (“I’ll do anything to protect those I love,” which I talked about in this post) looks like it’s not going to be enough to save them. He can’t save Ren—from RK or from Ren himself—and that means he’s lost in the worst way possible. In this moment, it looks like Ren doesn’t even trust that Doc’s core truth—that he will do anything to save his friends—is true.

This is Doc’s lowest point: that Ren seems to think Doc’s loyalty and love have failed. And to Doc... that’s a fate worse than death.

So he gives up. He tells Ren to kill him, and he fully expects him to do so. Doc doesn’t want to die, but at this point he has completely let go of any control of his own fate. Even when facing down Ren with the Skizz blade, he held tightly to his control of the situation. He literally takes the sword in his own hand and removes it as a threat. But now—now the curtain is gone. The illusion of control is gone.

Ren is the one in control of the situation—for possibly the first time in the fic—and he chooses to remember that Doc is his friend, that he’s missed him. But Doc leaves it all to him. Even when Ren backs off, Doc stays in that surrendered state (“I can’t do anything right, unlike [Martyn.]”). He realizes that he's been in the passenger seat the whole time, and he’s now where Ren was before: no longer even trying to take back the driver’s seat.

The curtain is gone. Now we just have to wait and see who ends up on which side of it at the end.

[mystic-sky]

Hello! Gojo Saturo’s birthday is in a few days and may I request a fan fic where the reader surprise him with a cake in sexy bunny outfit in mesh stockings? (I’m currently watching the anime Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai) and the idea came up when I saw the outfit hehe love you!

Hi!! I love that anime! Sorry for the late post love, but it’s still an hour before his birthday ends where I live 💕✨ I didn’t know if you wanted food play with the cake??? It mostly focuses around the outfit. Enjoy.

Warnings: Just Birthday NSFW

Word Count: 2.0K

Sometimes when you start dating someone, you find yourself doing things you never figured you’d be into. Your boyfriend was a man of many kinks, slowly introducing you to things and helping you flesh out your own sexual desires. Not only did you try new things for him because you loved him, but you trusted him so much each time afterwards because it was all so enjoyable.

Months before his birthday, he sparked an idea. You were in the kitchen, fixing dinner for the both of you.

“A bunny girl outfit?” You question, shifting your stance a bit. In the few years you had been dating, Satoru had never touched on role play or dress up before.

“Yes~” He sung. “Like that one anime, do you know it?”

You nodded, feeling a bit tense. Could you pull something like that off?

You set your cooking ladle down. “When my birthday comes I’m gonna make you do something even crazier.”

The look on Satoru’s face was one of intrigue, but there was a splash of fear in the corners of his pupils. You had always managed to be exceptionally good at pleasing him. He hoped what you had in mind wouldn’t be too crazy, although he was down for anything.

He spent the rest of that evening leaning on the kitchen counter and trying to get you to confess if you had been agreeing to wear the bunny outfit and what were you bargaining for. 

When his birthday came months later, you took your chances at the costume store. You knew he’d forgotten all about the idea since you never gave him a forward answer. You took advantage of this, and waited until the day of to go shopping. You bought multiple sizes to be sure you got the best fitting one, since you were rushing to make it home before Satoru. You stood in your apartment hallway, swaying in the mirror. 

The things I do for him, you think.

Looking at yourself from head to toe, you were almost upset that the smug bastard knew you’d look good in a bunny outifit. You looked over your shoulder at your backside.

“This things lifts your butt so well.” You felt so sexy, more confidence than you had imagined passed over your body.

You make haste towards the living room, eagerly placing the candles on top of the cake you had bought earlier on the coffee table. You could hear him turning the keys in the door behind you. He was greeted by your fluffy, white bunny tail and big juicy bottom.

“Woah, you actually did it.” You jumped a bit as he swung the door open. “I have to admit, seeing you on your knees as soon as I get home is always a treat.”

You bring yourself to your feet, lighter in hands. You flash him a warm smile.

“Welcome back,” you say. 

“Oh I feel welcomed,” he begins, walking towards you to take you in with his eyes. He sets his sunglasses on the side table beside the couch. 

“Ah-ah-ah-” you begin. “Go wash your hands!” 

He holds his hands up in defense. “Will do m’lady.” 

You turn backwards, opening the packaging on the new lighter you bought. You bent over, continuing to intently space out the candles for him. You quickly clicked towards the kitchen to grab the wine and some glasses. You set them both down beside the cake as you struggled to open the bottle. 

You felt his presence behind you as you swung yourself around.

“I figured we could have a bit of fun before dinner.” You say, pressing the wine bottle to your breasts. You patted the one-person sofa beside you. You watched him pull his lip between his teeth as he giddily sat down, spreading his legs. You poured him a glass, watching him sip as he eyeballed you.

“I feel like I’ve got my own little personal play boy bunny.”

“Just for tonight,” you said, placing the bottle on the table.

“Does that mean I can have anything I want?” 

“Don’t I spoil you enough?” You raise a brow, adjusting the cuffs around your wrists.

“I’m sort of a bottomless pit. I’m always up for more.” He says slyly, pulling you between his legs.

“Turn around for me,” he says, fingers just barely holding the tips of your own. You smile, spinning your body so he could see your butt. 

“Baby... I know it was sort of my idea, but just how am I going to fuck you in this thing. It’s so fucking tight.” 

You felt him playing and flicking the tail of your costume whilst his other hand cupped your ass cheek above the mesh stockings. 

“I’ve got buttons...” you say shyly, bending over for him to see the thick clothed part of your core.

“Ohh~ how convenient.” He sung, sliding and pressing a finger against your hot clothed sex. You shuddered a bit, before standing up straight and turning around. 

“This is truly a treat, sweetheart.” He brought his large hands up to caress the back of your thighs. “It’s taking a lot for me to not pounce on you right now.” 

You could tell he was enjoying the sight of you.

“Don’t fret, I’ll wear it a little while longer.” You assure him, falling to your knees. You loosely bring your fingers up to his white dress shirt, loosening his tie and a few buttons as well. 

“I hope you weren’t planning on wearing this to dinner.” You say, dragging your fingers down the exposed part of his chest.

“Just how messy are we about to get, honey?” He smirked.

You only stare at him, feeling his chest up some more. He smiles back before taking up the glass beside him on the end table, taking a sip while he sits back and looks at you. He watches you feel against the bulge in his suit pants. He takes a brief look at his watch before looking back at you.

“Dinner’s at 8.” 

He watched you unbuckle his pants and pull his length out in front of you. You brought the tip to your mouth before speaking.

“I’ve got time.” You swallow him whole, feeling him shift in the chair. He’s holding back a groan, having not expected you to take him in so deeply right off the bat.

“You just threw your gag reflex out the window, huh?” He managed to say. 

You released your mouth, bunny ears flopping back while you bobbed your head on the tip alone. You swirled your tongue around him, shutting him up immediately.

He set the glass down, and rested his fingers in your hair. 

“What a sweet girl, spoiling Daddy like this on his birthday.”

You take hold of his base, stroking in tune with your sucking while he shifted beneath you. You could feel yourself getting wet as his moans filled the space in the living room. You hummed against his length, tongue sending vibrations through his shaft and his body. You released him from your mouth, jerking him whilst you attached your lips to his balls. You sucked softly, swirling your hot tongue over the soft skin. 

He lost it from this unfortunately, shooting loads out onto your hand without warning. You quickly took the tip of his length back into your mouth, sucking the remnants of his orgasm from the source. 

“Fuck~” He shuddered. So much semen filled your mouth and you swallowed what you could as the rest of it slipped down your chin and onto your breasts.

You let go of his length with a popping noise. 

“How long were you holding that in?” You asked him, licking your fingers. He loved watching you do that.

“Long enough,” he said, cocking his head back. “Now come sit on it for me.”

Your body was ready. You could feel your nipples getting irritatingly hard as they pressed against the firm fabric of the suit. You unbuttoned the bottom piece of it as you climbed on top of him.

“And now...“ He gripped your ass cheeks. “...to unwrap you.”

You felt him claw your mesh stockings with both hands, ripping them so wide and way beyond wearing them ever again.

“Satoru!” You whined. You owned plenty of black stockings, but that didn’t mean he could just rip them as he pleased.

“Ah-ah-ah, it’s my birthday, remember?” He mimicked. You held your tongue.

“How could I forget...” you mutter, positioning yourself above his length. He squeezed your exposed cheeks so hard you probably bruised.

“You’re so cute when you talk under your breath like that.” He teased.

“Shut up,” you say, holding his length as you slide onto it. He bites back a moan as you coat his dick with so much slick his pants started getting stained. “And keep your hands to yourself.”

“Mhnnngh...” He bit his lip. “Fuck- sweetheart I can’t make any promises.” 

You only smile at him, fighting back your own moans as you rock against him. He releases his grip on you like you asked, placing his hands on both arm rests and watching you start to bounce on his length. You rest your arms on his shoulders, throwing your head back, bunny ears flopping erratically. He watched your breasts shake about, suit almost exposing your nipples to the air.

Watching you ride him like that made it hard for him to keep his hands to himself. He would often have to force himself into being sub when you got on top like that. He claimed it was part of making you feel like you were truly dominating him every once in a while. You were just the cutest, and you were wearing this costume just for him. He wanted you to have your moment. 

“Just like that baby,” he hummed. He felt your hand clutch his jaw, pressing a hot kiss to his wine stained lips. He moaned against you, finally wrapping his arms around you. 

“You know I can’t help myself, and it’s my birthday~” He says against your lips. 

You rolled your eyes, kissing him deeper. He hummed against you, sliding his body down in his seat.

“You know, speaking of my birthday, you haven’t said it since this morning.” He said smugly, pushing your body upwards. He starts thrusting into you from underneath, earning broken and sloppy moans from you.

“Won’t you tell me again, pretty please?”

He was mocking you. He knew you weren’t capable of saying it- at least not coherently and definitely not when he was pumping you so quickly and so deeply like that. You were nearing an orgasm, and your heels were slipping off your feet while he was at work against you. 

“Honey, I’m waiting. Say it.” He hummed. Somehow he said it so seriously you didn’t want to test him further.

“H-Hap...Hap-py B-Birthday.” You moaned brokenly as he pounded into you. 

“Such a sweet girl. That wasn’t hard at all, was it? Now let it all out.”

His thick length throbbed against your walls. While you climaxed around him, both your heels hit the carpet with a thud as you cried out his name.

The best but worst part about sex with Satoru is that you’d never get used to how he’d overstimulate you every time you came. Sure you always get to ride your orgasm out, but you’d be quivering, and barely put together the whole time until he came. Just like now, you had melted into him, gripping and wrinkling the collars of his dress shirt, voice cracking against his ears as he came inside you. He had filled you up, overflowing his semen and spilling onto his pants. He shuddered, chest rising and falling against your breasts.

You both stayed there like that for a bit, gathering yourselves. 

“I’ve got more for you after we get home from dinner.” He said as you sat up above him.

“You’ll be pushing your third orgasm. You sure you got juice left?” You say smugly.

“Oh, always.” He grinned.

And so much for the cake. 

[junova]

↬ 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐥𝐮𝐞 | 𝐫. 𝐝𝐫𝐲𝐬𝐝𝐚𝐥𝐞

abstract — the one where ransom gets a taste of his own medicine, but you happen to be so much sweeter than he’s ever been. 

pairing — ooc!ransom drysdale x fem!reader 

wc — 4.1k+  im so sorry lmao 

warnings — cheating (if u squint its very vague), angst, fluff, slight self deprecation, ransom is kinda nice idk, i want a soft!ransom drysdale now pls, this is also very messy so read at ur own risk!

[m blabs] — howdy howdy! first time ransom fic. woot woot! still kinda finding my voice w writing so i hope you like it! <333 

His mouth set in a hard line as you continued to curl into his chest, the span of your confidence seemed to be wiped away with a nightmare from the past. Part of him was upset you hadn’t told him anything, the blind leading the blind, as you stepped foot into his family event. Seeing the last person you’d ever thought would be there. 

Surely by now, he thought you would trust him but it was more than evident you still didn’t. You persisted on hiding everything from him, anything you were sure might tick him off. 

Well, Ransom wasn’t necessarily known for biting his tongue.  Although, in your presence, he was learning what to say and where to say it. 

It really surprised him. Not one woman had been able to tame him, not since he’d be fucking everyone in sight. His desire was endless and not one single individual would be enough for his fill. 

Then, he found you drunk and sobbing on the concrete, right outside of the bar he was exiting. To this day, he still couldn’t tell you why he stopped for you. He never really paid attention to anyone if it wasn’t to his own benefit. Ultimately, meeting you was, even if he wouldn’t realize it then. 

You flinched from his touch when he patted your shoulder, gently asking if you were alright. If anyone asked him, Ransom would surely deny he felt you pull at the strings of his heart in an instant. 

He just knew. 

Maybe it’s why it took him so long to accept it, to believe in what he felt for you. Definitely not because you did nothing but be the most wonderful human he’d ever met. More had to do with him. 

Ransom dropped you off the first night you met in your small apartment downtown, definitely on the rougher side where he thought his Rolex sporting his wrist may get stolen. 

A cute little thing like you living in a neighborhood like this — didn’t make much sense to him. Then again, it certainly checked out with his privilege why he didn’t. 

Truly, Ransom didn’t realize how fortunate he truly was. Of course being a trust fund brat gave him the ignorance to live in an unmatched state of bliss. 

He still remembers the moment. 

Watching as you fumbled with your keys, finding it more than difficult to open your front door. It was cute, with your tongue poking out between your lips in concentration. Now, he wondered how he’d forgotten why he’d gone to get hammered at the bar in the first place. 

“Here, let me help.” New to Ransom, he offered a giving hand. Grabbing the key from your jittering fingertips before unlocking your door. He tried to hand you back your keys, but you pulled him so close, your chest touching his own. Dragging two rapid hearts through your apartment. 

“You smell like him.” A dopey smile on your face lighting every dark sight of Ransom, not that you’d know it did. “I smell like who?” 

“My ex-boyfriend.” Your hands cupping his cheek, but you were too drunk to realize how Ransom flinched from your touch. 

He didn’t push you away either. 

“But he definitely didn’t look this good.” Defying all laws of his own nature, Ransom let you stay in close proximity to him as you felt him up. Your hand resting on his chest, traveling lower stopping at his stomach. “Definitely didn’t feel this good.” 

He watched as you sighed, your puffy eyes were only slightly swollen and the mascara was still staining your skin with the rest of the makeup you wore. If anyone had asked him, you’d looked like a wreck but he still found you alluring. 

Ransom always liked his women looking more than fucked out, usually from gagging around his cock. Not crying over a broken heart. Nope. He definitely did not like dealing with a woman's sorrow. 

“He never let me touch him though. Guess that should have tipped me off.” You let your hands travel back up, wounding themselves around his neck before they applied more pressure — pulling him into you. 

Ransom found you pretty confident for not even knowing anything more than his first name and the car he drove you in. You were definitely craving attention and maybe he’d be more than happy to oblige but the little voice in his head Dr. Shoal told him to listen to was being a pestering, little bitch. 

What did Ransom want? 

Right now he wanted to drown himself in some sweet ass pussy. He knew you would give yourself easily to him, especially in your drunken state. Clinging onto him like he was a vine. 

The smaller part of him, the better part, knew you were drunk out of your mind. Absolutely plastered, but you had to stand there looking like a goddess. 

He didn’t really know why he was letting you touch him, maybe in hopes the deeper, darker side of him would win like it always did. Ransom knew better, even if he tried to hide it from everyone including himself. 

He liked you. From the very first moment, he knew he’d have to get you. Whether it cost your own sanity or his, Ransom didn’t care. 

It’s why he left you drunk and alone, safely tucked into the comfort of your sheets with his number left in your phone. Even taking the liberty of texting himself from it. 

He could never be too careful. Letting you slip through his fingers was simply not an option. 

Thanks to him, you didn’t forget about him. 

The next morning your memory only held vague images of a handsome stranger helping you home, thankfully he seemed to be nothing more than a doting gentlemen. The first for you to ever come across. 

Until later in the afternoon the following day, Ransom introduced himself and checked up on you, worming his presence into your life. 

Then he kept talking to you everyday, surprising even himself in the matter. Truly, he couldn’t help it. Part of him loved how gently you spoke to him on the phone. No one ever talked to him with such a level of care. 

He always warranted yelling, usually he was the one who stirred the pot. He enjoyed it, and thrived in a chaotic environment. It’s what he grew up in. Ransom was more than comfortable with his own family yelling and cursing him out until the sun came up. He did just the same. 

So, whenever you sweetly asked him how he was, it threw him off guard. 

Not a single soul even cared or bothered to ask him anything. Truth be told, Ransom was a sack of shit treating everyone like they were the gum beneath his shoe. It didn’t matter who talked to him — Ransom was simply more superior in every conceivable way. 

He would succumb to not a single soul. Paving his own way through life, with only the money from his trust fund of course. 

Then the two of you fell into each other and he could pinpoint the exact moment he did. 

The weeks and months blended together. He couldn’t really tell you why he was still lingering around, while he got nothing in return. You did get him off once or twice, but he wasn’t fucking you like he really wanted to. 

Maybe it was the innocence in your eyes pulling his soul into the very little good he still had left within him. Or maybe it was the way your thumb dragged over his cheek when you thought he was in slumber, blissfully unaware of your touch. 

More importantly his favorite thing, the way you let him hold you when the two of you cuddled. Your arms wrapped tightly around his waist, bouncy cheeks pressed into whatever knit sweater he decided to wear that day. 

It was all the little things, unknowingly making him fall in deep like he never had before. 

Unwelcoming to him, his mother came barreling in one Sunday afternoon, while you slept in his arms. Even as Linda screamed his name, you never jolted, out like a log. Safe in the peace he kept you in. 

Linda looked annoyed, irritated he even had company in the first place but not surprised. What truly shocked her was they both had clothes on.  Not truly believing Ransom was capable of such a sinless interaction. 

He knew what she wanted; he didn’t even have to move from his position to continue a private conversation. Not that it would get him off the couch, and out of your embrace in the first place. 

“I said no. Don’t know why you bothered coming here.” Linda angrily sighed. “You should at least show up.” 

Ransom didn’t notice, but subconsciously continued to run his fingertips up and down your spine. Linda did. She noticed that he didn’t even care she was judging him, but let you remain unbothered sleeping in her son’s embrace. 

“It’s for Walt. You need to be there.” She stepped closer, hoping the increase in her volume would wake you. “I expect you to grace us with your wonderful presence as does the rest of the family.” 

The sarcasm dripped, attempting to coax him out of the four walls he never seemed to leave. Not recently, anyhow. 

“I already told you, I can’t.” Now Ransom was irritated and he really wished she would calm the fuck down. It was one day, one event. There would always be another, that much wasn’t lost on him. “I have plans. Send him my best.” 

Assuming it was the rumbling of his chest when he spoke, you moved jolting yourself in his arms, before remaining still again. His heartbeat continues to soothe you. 

“You have plans? What else could be more important than your family?” The louder Linda’s voice grew the more you stirred, pissing him off. 

He really needed to change his locks. 

Even if he had no intention of going, he needed his mother to leave. Really for your own sake — trying to save you from Linda giving you a cold shoulder followed with a third degree burn. 

“Fine. I’ll go. Can you just leave?” She accepted Ransom’s submission, before looking at your figure. Sound asleep and clinging to her one and only, sinking your claws into him. 

She really didn’t like the way Ransom was looking at you. Linda was positive he would never be able to care about someone other than himself, but here he was, holding you close to his chest. 

Almost like his life depended on it. 

“Who is she to you?” With a raised eyebrow, eyes narrowing to you before meeting back with Ransom’s cerulean blues. 

“I don’t know yet.” Ransom paused looking down at you, so beautiful. Holding a light so pure, so radiant; he hoped no matter how cruel he could be, he’d never act like that towards you. “Maybe someone I don’t deserve, but want to be better for.” 

His rough, calloused fingers drawing mindless patterns on the exposed skin of your waist. He didn’t know what Linda said next or when she left. 

Time seemed to stand still, his confession hitting his chest fiercely. He let himself sit with it for a moment, before you woke up. Enjoying a moment where he didn’t have to deal with anything, he didn’t have to say a word. 

He could just enjoy the moment without eyes judging him or you questioning why his eyes seemed to shine just a bit brighter whenever you were around. 

It was the first of many. Moments where he felt small pieces of himself chipped away into your care. Planes of existences within him no one had ever scratched the surface of. 

Much like right now as you cried into his chest, begging for mercy. 

Because you were afraid. Terrified you had made the worst mistake, an unforgivable one. You lied about your past and to Ransom it felt like more than a betrayal. More accurately he felt a dagger in his heart placed strategically with your murderous hands. 

He’d never felt such empathy and pain at once. Maybe he’d never been empathetic a day in his life at all. 

Until now. 

To make matters worse, he knew his entire family was watching the whole scene from the window. It wasn’t from worry or concern for either one of you. Mainly all of them enjoying pain being inflicted on Ransom. 

Linda of course wallowing in her ego, he could practically see her bask in her own pride. Another thing she’d been right about checked off the list. 

The rest of the family watched the two of you fight with shiteating grins permanently stamped on their face. They’d never seen Ransom care about anyone but you. To watch the relationship he held so close to his heart blow up so publicly, only fueled the fire to Ransom’s rage. 

Except Harlan. 

Even through his hot, beating anger Ransom was trying his best to comfort you. To calm you down even if you had been the one to be caught red handed. Harlan couldn’t believe it, someone Ransom seemed to care about more than himself. 

More than any of his family. Not that Harlan was offended. Well, maybe a little, but more so he was thrilled his grandson finally found someone he had to grow up for. Someone he had to earn, not buy. 

No bribes. No schemes. No games. 

Just you. 

“Hugh, please talk to me.” How could he? It’s not like he had much to say. Maybe he did, he just wasn’t sure how to get the words out without hurting you or himself. 

“I know I lied and I fucked up, but please — we need to talk about it.” Soft hands reaching for his own, but he brushed them off, his hands snaked higher on your waist. “We should have talked about this the moment you met me.” 

Dead silence is all you were met with as he walked the fine line of pushing you away, leaving you behind and pulling you closer than he ever had. 

“You’re right. I should have told you the truth but can you blame me?” He met you with solemn eyes and his own heart beating rapidly. “Yes I can.” Ransom was trying to act cold and distant but the two windows to his soul told a different story. 

“That’s fair.” Even as he was holding you, Ransom still felt like he was a galaxy away. He was withholding himself from you like a turtle retracting into their own protection. A year ago, before he met you, he knew he would have never even recognized it. 

Now, you made it possible for him to be aware of just how much he had changed. He broke old habits of his own just to please you so when you disappointed him, this unreachable high standard he held you to, it shattered his sense of self. 

“Did you still love him?” Ransom questioned you. “I did. At the time, he’s all I ever really knew. I thought that’s what love felt like. The only image of love I had was the one he gave me. So, I ran with him and it crushed me.” 

Ransom had to pretend the words you were speaking didn’t split him into you two. The image of you falling in love with someone else was enough to make him wanna strangle your ex. 

His friend. 

“Then we just got into one really big blow out. Right in the bar in front of all of his friends I had met for the first time that night.” You reached for a chunk of his sweater, clenching the material in your hand, like you were trying to convince yourself to let the words fall from your mouth. 

“He told me how much I’d been irritating him and I couldn’t help but notice every girl he flirted with and touched right in front of me.” You tested the waters, placing both of your hands over his chest, the beat of his heart calming you down. 

“Then I just cracked. It was only one of the many fights we’d been having over the course of the past few months. Everyone single argument pushed me closer to the edge, until the last one actually did.” You sighed, watching as he frowned. 

“I ended things that night, before getting thoroughly plastered and soon enough crying on the cement. Wasted and lonely out of my mind, until I met you.” You moved your hand from his heart, cupping his clean shaven face. 

“You made me realize I never knew what love really meant or felt like.” This piqued Ransom’s interest. 

You said love. 

Could a tragedy bring out the words Ransom craved to hear more than anything in the world? 

Maybe you cared about him, more than anyone ever showed him. But loved him? How could someone be as hateful as him be worthy of someone like you? 

Even if you had broken his heart, he’d done far worse to more people than he could count. He wasn’t really in a place to judge but it didn’t change the fact it still hurt. A lot. 

“Hugh.” You heard him gulp rather loudly. “Yes?” His tone came out as more of a question than a response. 

The silence he gifted you was unsettling at the very least. “You've barely said a word.” He was surprised he didn’t scurry off in his beamer the second he saw the guilt reach your eyes. 

He was surprised he hadn’t let his anger take over and let the rage he felt inside body take it all out on you. 

He was surprised he somehow couldn’t inflict a single hateful word towards you, even as you sat with his heart in your hands. 

In pure bliss of just how much you owned him. 

“I hate it. This fucking corner you’ve back me into. Not to mention for the prying eyes of my entire family to watch the show.” The sharp tone he uses sensoring you. “You used me just to get back at him.” 

“Like I was some pawn in your game and I really even shouldn’t be mad.” He paused, trying to choose his words as carefully as he can. “I’ve done the same thing to so many different women. Used them and threw them out at my earliest inconvenience.” To your surprise, even Ransom’s, a single tear left his eye showing you how much you really meant to him. 

You hated yourself for letting it get to this point. 

“But you? I could never even think about hurting you. I could never live with myself if I treated you like everyone else because you’re so much more than that to me.” The tears continued to roll. The dame Ransom kept shut his entire life, opened because of you and he just wanted to make it stop. 

He would give anything — even you. 

He just wanted to not feel like a piece of shit for once in his life. For a moment, he thought he might have a chance to be something more than the picture he portrayed in everyone’s mind. You showed him maybe it was more complex than it seemed. 

“I just assumed I was that for you.” You sighed in frustration, softly wiping his tears away. “You are, though. You are more than that.” 

“Then how could you be so okay with lying to me?” The crease between his eyebrows only created more of an indention as he felt the anger trying to escape out of him. 

You let the tension get to you first. 

“Because I-I was scared if I told you the truth, you’d never tell me.” You puzzled him once again. You softly reach up between his furrowed eyebrows, the pad of your thumb smoothing it out. 

“Tell you what?” His mind was clouded with the possibilities of what he could have missed. 

“I can’t spell this one out for you.” You were tired of being the one to do everything first. Even if your intentions weren’t free from fault once you realized who he was, your feelings for him were anything but. 

“I don’t know what you want from me. You only let me fall for you because you knew how much it would hurt him.” He bit back, growing impatient and tired. “Any other time, I would have cared. Probably would have been more than happy to assist. But you made me-” 

Then Ransom cut himself off, jumping out of the swing and away from you. 

“I’m sorry. I can’t do this. I thought I could.” He literally sprinted to his beamer, but you chased him. 

You were hell bent and just as crazy as he was. Maybe it’s why it worked for as long as it did. 

“Hugh! Get back here.” You were running, thankful you’d gone for a more casual outfit today, the sneakers supporting your feet far better than the heels you’d usually wear. 

Maybe if it was someone with a normal childhood upbringing you would have just cut your losses but this was someone who chose to be called Ransom. 

This was someone who chose to run away from love and care because the only affectionate way he knew how to treat someone was to throw money at them. 

This was someone who had the communication of a ten year old because that’s when his own mother didn’t bother to mess with him anymore before sending him off to boarding school. 

This was someone who didn’t know how to love — and to be loved. 

By the time you caught up to him his was digging for his keys, but he couldn’t fucking find them. 

“Hugh Ransom Drysdale.” Your tone was sharp and he knew you meant business. “For once in your life, stop running away.” 

“Why not? What good has it ever done for me to stay?” His back was facing you, his broad shoulders stilled with the rest of his body. Almost like he was ashamed of what he was hiding. 

“I can’t speak for everyone else. I can’t speak for your mother or for Richard. For Harlan or for anyone else you thought might abandon you and really did.” You inched you way closer until you knew he felt how close you were to him.

“I can only speak for me.” Giving yourself, the final piece of you to a man who might run away from it. 

You were so close he felt your breath on his back, and it made him tremble. He was shaking, terrified of it all. You didn’t let him be for long. 

Intertwining your fingers with his, as he kept them at his sides, rubbing your thumb along the palm of his hand. 

“I’m sorry for the way I hurt you. Lied to you. You never deserved it. Never.” You thought it would be easier if he didn’t have to look at you while pouring your heart out to him. A theory proved to be right as he gave your hand a squeeze. 

“You’ve done nothing but treat me like a princess. You’ve done right by me, more than anyone else I’ve ever met in my life. It made me feel inadequate. My dark secret, always looming over us like a dark cloud of my own personal doing.” 

“I’m sorry I haven’t done the proper thing by us and made you feel like I used you. You had every right to feel it because I did.” You took a deep breath, mustering up the courage to face whatever the future held for the two of you. 

“I never expected to fall in love with a trust fund, playboy brat.” You felt him take a deep breath, like a breath he’d be holding all his life could finally be set free. 

“I love you, Hugh.” The next thing you knew he had you pushed up against the car, lips hungrily attacking your own. 

All forgiven because you love him. You actually were in love with him. 

He couldn’t fathom it really because you’d been the first. To accept him just as he was. The first to refuse to call him Ransom because you like the way Hugh rolled off your tongue better. 

You liked how he felt on your tongue, too. 

The first to tell him Fran and Marta should call him Hugh because you wanted to be the only one who got to. The first woman to cook for him, willingly and not attached to the Thrombey payroll. 

The first woman he had ever fallen in love with. 

The first one he’d stick around and not run away for. 

So, he kissed you. Hard. Softly whispering how much he loved you into the kiss, because maybe he wasn’t ready to say it outright. Loud and proud. 

Yet, he felt it with every bone of his body — no longer lost in the blues.

taglist: @tonystankschild @parkastoria @tinylumpiaa @brattycherubwrites

[ultraintrovertedgryffindor]

Second Chances - Mark (Midsommar)

Warning: Major spoilers for the movie, drug use, this fic is dogshite, toxic relationships, and just overall fucked up situations

~~~~~~~~~~

(my gif actually)

“Dani, do you really think it’s a good idea to go?”

Dani sighed heavily when you asked that exact question for the fourth time while she was marking her calendar for when their flight to Sweden would take place. “Yes, Y/N. I’ll be fine. I’m fine.”

You knew she wasn’t fine.

“I just, I do think getting out of this tiny little apartment would be good for you...but does it have to be on the other side of the world?”

Dani scoffed. “It’s not on the other side of the world, babe, it’s just across the Atlantic.”

“It’s far enough.” You pouted. “Plus, going with that guy isn’t a good idea either.”

“You’ve known Christian as long as you’ve known me, Y/N. You should know his name by now.”

“I do know his name, I just don’t like saying it.”

Dani frowned. “He’s my boyfriend, you’ve gotta learn to accept him at some point.”

You shook your head. “He doesn’t give you what you need, Dani. He’s terrible at supporting you all the time. He’s an asshole.”

“It’s my relationship. Not yours.” Dani snapped, quickly sighing in frustration and sitting next to you. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have snapped.”

“No, I’m sorry. I...just want what’s best for you, that’s all.”

Dani smiled weakly, placing an arm around your shoulders and pulling you in for a side hug. “I know, babe, I know. I gotta believe this trip to Sweden is exactly what we need.”

“I really hope so, for your sake.”

Dani subtly wiped away a shed tear off her face, faking a wide smile. “So, did you decide if you wanted to go to the party tonight?”

“Depends, is Mark gonna be there?”

“You know he is.”

“Then no.”

“Come on, Mark’s a good guy.” She’s stifled a chuckle.

“Girl, you can’t even keep a straight face.” You laughed.

“You used to be date him and actually enjoyed spending time with him, ya know.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me.”

“Please, it’ll be fun! Pelle and Josh will be there too, it won’t just be Mark.”

“Josh is a smart ass who gets on my nerves. I mean, who the hell studies anthropology?”

“Hey!”

“Oh hush, you’re studying psychology.”

Dani rolled her eyes. “Okay, Ms. Environmental Scientist.” She said, making you chuckle. “So, are you coming to that party with me or what?”

You didn’t really enjoy going to parties...like, at all. Even if Dani invited you to one, you always made some sort of excuse to get you out of going. But ever since the incident with her family, you felt you needed to spend every waking moment with her, mostly out of fear that you’d lose her forever. You probably spent more time with Dani than her so called boyfriend. 

You felt selfish for feeling pained that Christian was the first one she called when she got the news. You knew her family, actually made an effort to get to know them unlike Christian, and always saw her parents as your own and her sister was always kind to you. You felt like you lost a lot too, but you didn’t allow yourself to feel that way for long, not when they weren’t actually your family. If you were being honest, you haven’t allowed yourself to grieve at all. You spend most of your time taking care of Dani, never having the time to do anything for yourself.

The company Dani kept also was one of the reasons you never wanted to go to one of those parties. Pelle was nice, you could actually see him as a friend. Josh was a know-it-all. To be fair, you were a know-it-all too, but at least you didn’t brag about it every chance you got.

You couldn’t stand Christian. You always saw how awful Christian treated Dani, and how she just took it. One day, you actually almost got into a psychical fight with him for how he gaslighted her. Dani didn’t talk to you for a week after that, and after that, you tried not to let your anger out because you didn’t want to lose your best friend.

Mark...god, Mark could be so annoying. You used to be a couple, it’s true. But after seeing him not do anything about his “best friend” mentally abusing his girlfriend, you couldn’t just stay with him anymore, it just didn’t feel right. Plus, him being way too overprotective was not something that you liked in a person. It was heartbreaking since you actually liked him a lot, you could’ve truthfully say you loved the guy.

You didn’t dislike Mark as much as Christian, but he constantly got on your nerves after your break up. But Dani always reminded you how insecure he must’ve been after the fact. Doesn’t excuse his behavior, of course, but it did help keep your anger in check whenever he tried to push your buttons. If he wasn’t such a dick, you probably would’ve seen an actual future with him, that could’ve been happy.

Yeah...you really didn’t want to go to this party. But seeing Dani’s almost pleading face, you couldn’t argue with her.

So, you were dragged to the last party you would attend before Dani and her friends were shipped off to Sweden, until she got back.

You could see the obviously look of annoyance from Christian when you and Dani entered the apartment. He took Dani to the one of the corner’s of the room and you could faintly hear their conversation, “Why’d you have to bring her, Dani? She almost punched me in the nose last time...”

Your fists clenched instinctively, making your nails dig into the soft flesh. It hurt, but at least it kept you from socking the dude in the face like you’ve always had the urge to do. A dull glared expression settled on your face.

“Aw, is someone happy to see me?”

You immediately rolled your eyes when you heard Mark’s voice, him walking up to you with a shit eating grin plastered on his pale freckled face. “No, I think she’s probably thinking up ways to kill you, friend.” Pelle joked, making you smile a little.

“Honestly, he’s not that far off.” You shrugged, half joking.

Mark scoffed, rolling his eyes, brushing off your hurtful comment with a bitter smile. “Why are you even here? We didn’t invite you.”

“I’m here for Dani.”

“Well, we didn’t explicitly invite her either.” Pelle smacked the boy behind his head so you didn’t have to. “Dude, ow! Hey, it’s not my fault Dani’s a buzzkill.”

Almost as if you could only see red, you were about to punch the ever loving fuck out of his handsome stupid gorgeous face when Christian came up and pulled you out of the room.

“What the fuck do you want?” You hissed, forcibly pushing him away from you.

“Hey, hey, hey, I’m not looking for a fight. Okay? I have to ask you something.” He sighed.

“Spit it out then.”

“Do you want to come to Sweden with us?” He asked monotone, not hiding the glare directed to you.

“Wow, you must really want me to go.”

“It was Pelle’s idea. He thinks it would be good for Dani.”

“Since when do you care what’s good for Dani? Oh, wait, you don’t. It seems Pelle cares more for her than you do.”

“I care about Dani, okay? I care. That’s the only reason I was convinced to ask you. Please, just...she needs you. She’s your best friend, you don’t want to let her down, do you?”

Gaslighting. You knew that Christian wouldn’t be able to convince you without his number one douchebag power to make your heart bleed more than it already does. He didn’t even have to ask a second time.

And next thing you knew, you were on a plane headed to Sweden. Of course, they had to torture you with booking you a seat next to Mark. But you could handle it for Dani.

“God, I can’t wait to see all those Swedish ladies.” Mark mused, a slight smirk on his face, knowing that comment would upset you.

If those Swedish ladies had any sense, they’d stay away from the giant man completely, is what you wanted to say. But deciding to keep your comments to yourself, you just tried not to gag, rolling your eyes and keeping your eyes trained out the window, seeing the ground getting farther and farther away until your flying above the clouds.

“Silent treatment, huh? I always took you for a social butterfly.” He teased.

You took a deep breath, turning to look at him with a sickeningly sweet smile. “You do know there’s a mosquito flying around your head, right?”

The smirk on Mark’s face quickly went away, turning into a panicked expression. “Where? Where?” He almost shouted, flailing his arms around his head to swat away the imaginary insect. His panic made you laugh. You felt evil, but you convinced yourself he deserved it. When he heard you laugh, he quickly realized you lied. “Not fucking funny.” He pouted, running his hands through his hair, still paranoid.

You sighed when he kept a frown on his face, still looking around for that fake fly. “I swear, there’s no fly. This is the cleanest plane I’ve ever seen in my life, okay? There wouldn’t be any bugs in here.” You never could stay mean for long, even if it was Mark. The small grateful smile Mark gave you made it worth it, and suddenly felt your heart yearn for him against your will.

Many hours later and you finally arrived in Stockholm, only to be told you guys had to travel four more hours to get to Hälsingland. “Oh my god!” Mark whined, like a little bitch you might add.

Thankfully, you always came prepared, sticking some ear buds in and blasting music at full volume to avoid possible small talk and annoying remarks from the two frat bros. You really loved your preparedness after taking your ear buds out for one second only to hear Mark talking about seeing some video about a woman with three clits, what a moron, a cute moron...

You looked at the time, it was nearing 6 pm, but the sky was still blue as ever. It was a bit unnerving, but you tried to ignore the sense of dread you felt when you guys finally arrived to one of your destinations.

You tried not to laugh as Mark pulled his socks over his jeans and walking in a panic to try to avoid potential insect threats in the grass. “Dude, just fucking walk!” Josh fussed.

“Don’t you see all the bugs?!”

“I’m sure all those bugs are much more terrified of you than you are of them.” You voiced.

“Yeah, well, what if they’re so scared that they gang up to attack me in retaliation, huh?”

You rolled your eyes, speeding up your pace to catch up with Dani. Pelle introduced his friend, Ingemar, and his friends, Simon and Connie. They seemed like good people, until they pulled out the shrooms.

It’s not like you hated drugs, you smoked pot pretty much every other day before bed, but shrooms looked hardcore compared to grass. You did not want to partake. But Dani surprised you when she accepted the offer of the tea. “Do you think that’s a good idea, Dani?” You asked concerned.

“She can think for herself.” Christian voiced with a happy and calm tone, but you didn’t mistake the threatening undertone in his voice.

“Hey, it’s okay. Promise.” Dani reassured. You just didn’t want her to have a bad trip or anything, it’s not what she needed, as if you actually knew what she needed. You didn’t even know what you needed half the time. “Are you going to?” She asked, her hand holding onto the bag of shrooms outstretched to you.

“Oh, no. I’m good.” You backed away slightly.

“Are you sure, Y/N?” Mark asked mockingly. “You gonna be a pussy?”

Your eyes narrowed in annoyance. If only looks could kill...You grabbed the bag, popping a couple mushrooms in your mouth, immediately cringing in disgust at the taste. You chewed quickly and swallowed, almost regretting the action as soon as you did so. Since when was Mark of all people able to successfully peer pressure you into doing something you didn’t want to do? The fuck?

“There’s a nice place to sit over here, guys!” Pelle voiced, motioning the group over to a tree in the middle of the field.

It didn’t take that long for the drugs to kick in. You’d never taken shrooms before, but you definitely noticed when you came up due to how the world around you was starting to look warped, almost like nature was breathing. You felt more appreciative of nature in that moment, and with Pelle talking all philosophical like, it wasn’t hard to relax into the sweet embrace of the drug.

You looked over to Dani, she was the most calm you’ve ever seen her, but you weren’t sure if that was a good thing. You snapped out of the thought, not wanting to hyper focus on a drug. “Oh fuck, a new person.” Christian groaned.

“What? I don’t want new people right now!” Mark whined.

“Now who’s being a pussy.” You mumbled, loud enough for him to hear it.

“I’m going lay down. Everyone else lay down too.” Mark settled on the ground, still breathing heavily. “Guys, do it, it feels so nice. Josh, Y/N, can you lay down please?”

“Fuck off.” You spat while Josh did as he was asked.

“Y/N, please, lay down.” You furrowed your brows when you heard the desperation in his voice, almost like he was going to cry.

“Jesus, fine.” You huffed, laying down on the soft grass.

The sun shining through the leaves of the trees was enough to put you back into a relaxed state, almost giggling at the warped rays of light. “This is nice...” You whispered to yourself.

You jolted when Dani stood up all of a sudden. “I need to go for a walk.” Dani voiced, the waver in her voice clear as day to you.

“Dani, are you okay?” You stood up, wobbling slightly, Dani’s figure waving as she walked away.

“Fine, I’m fine.”

You wanted to follow her, but were you capable enough to give her support if you were high as a kite? It didn’t matter at the point. You probably stood there trying to decide for about five minutes before you actually starting walking in the same direction Dani went, but then it was too late. You didn’t see her anywhere.

Walking into the woods, you immediately got lost in nature, enjoying the colors that seemed to be amplified from the drug. You smiled to yourself, not even the arms wrapping around your shoulders could force your mouth to pull downwards. “Hi.” Mark whispered, giggling as he tightened his embrace.

“What?”

“What?”

You turned yourself around in his arms. “Why’d you follow me?”

“I’m not allowed to see what my friend is doing out in the woods?”

“I’m looking for Dani, and we’re not friends.”

Mark pouted. “We used to be more than friends. Why’d we ever break up?”

You frowned. “Cause you excused Christian’s behavior towards Dani. Plus, you were always a dick.”

“Rude. And to be fair, I’ve been trying to convince Christian to break up with her. They should’ve called it quits awhile ago.”

“The first thing you’ve said in your entire life that’s actually correct. How’re you an undergrad again?” 

If you were sober, you would have never let Mark lean in and kiss you. At least, that’s what you hoped you would’ve done. But his lips were so soft and he was so gentle, you almost wished you were sober to experience the kiss better. It almost felt nostalgic in a way, even though it hadn’t been that long since you two broke up. You had to stop yourself from leaning back in for more when he pulled away.

“You reciprocated.” Mark smiled softly, caressing your face gently.

“Did I? I didn’t mean to, sorry.”

“I miss you, Y/N, a lot. I know you miss me too.” He whispered.

You shook your head and quickly walked away, not feeling like talking about...well, your feelings. Sobering up quickly after that, you kicked yourself for allowing that to happen, even if you happened to enjoy it very much.

You pretty much avoided Mark after the encounter in the woods, you were too awkward to confront your problems with other people, in that regard anyway. But thankfully, six hours after finding Dani peacefully sleeping off the drugs, it was time to hike through even more woods to get to Pelle’s village. 

“So, we’re stopping in Waco before we go to Pelle’s village?” Mark joked.

Yeah, the all white clothing everyone wore did put you off just a bit, almost giving you Jonestown vibes. But they were so nice, taking your bags and giving you strawberries. They seemed like okay people.

You looked over to Mark, rolling your eyes as you saw him exhale smoke from his vape pen. Even in the presence of strangers, he still had no respect apparently. Josh even had to stop him from eating prematurely during one the first meals of the day. The ritualistic part confused you, but you just wrote it off as culture shock.

Sitting in between Dani and Pelle, you almost hit yourself for not remembering a very important fact. “Happy birthday, Dani!” You grinned. “I can’t believe I forgot, I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, it’s okay.” Dani rubbed your shoulder. “Pelle actually gave me a drawing, which was incredibly sweet.” She said, causing him to have a slight blush on his face.

“I actually did get you something, but it’s in my luggage. Make sure to remind me tonight. But what about Christian?” Dani frowned. “He forgot...of course he did.”

“It’s not his fault. I forgot to remind him, that’s all.”

“Dani, you shouldn’t have to remind him.” You scoffed. “Let’s just hope he remembers soon, else I’ll have to castrate him.”

“Anyway, what’s up with you and Mark? You’ve been avoiding him ever since we hiked here.” She whispered.

You internally groaned. “I always avoid Mark.” Dani just gave you an unimpressed look. “Can you like, stop being a mind reader for once in your life?” You whined.

“What happened?”

You sighed, leaning in to whisper in her ear. “We kissed...” You quickly put your hand over her mouth to stop her from squealing like a school girl. “Shh. It was when we were both high. Didn’t mean anything, at all.”

“You’re a terrible liar, you know that right?”

The conversation didn’t sway your decision to not stop avoiding Mark, you were going to avoid him for as long as possible and not even Dani could convince you to do otherwise. But you kept thinking about that kiss, and you suddenly found yourself wondering if there was any shock therapy places in Sweden.

Walking around the village a bit more by yourself to try and get some more bearings, Pelle joined you with his usual calming smile. “How are you liking it here so far?”

“It’s pretty interesting, I’d say. Living in New York never really gave me opportunities to be in nature, so this is great. I probably never wouldn’t come if it weren’t for you, Pelle.”

Pelle nodded. “I felt it was best for Dani, considering. She needs someone she can count on.”

“Yeah. It’s great that you’re looking out for her, it’s like you should be with her instead of Christian.” You cringed. “Oh god, sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. Damn it.”

Pelle chuckled nervously. “It’s okay. Speaking of couples, are you and Mark-”

“Nope.” You quickly interrupted. “Not a chance.”

He hummed in thought. “I don’t mean to pry. It’s just, he told me about what happened...”

You groaned. “That little shit.”

"You know, I think you should give him a second chance."

You laughed. "That came out of nowhere."

"No. It didn't. Mark has always had a thing for you. And I probably shouldn’t tell you this but, he always talks about how he regrets how things went between you two. He still cares about you.”

You frowned, the feeling of missing the bastard starting to bubble up in your heart. “We weren’t good for each other. He needs to grow up.”

“Yes, I do agree he’s...a bit immature.” 

“An understatement, Pelle.” You snorted.

“Personally, I am a big believer of second chances. I just think what if I die tomorrow, would I be happy with my choices in life? You never know when that time will come.”

“Jesus, since when have you been so dark?”

“I’m serious, Y/N. You don’t know when you’re gonna die, so I’d try to live life without regrets.” He smiled calmly.

You kept thinking about what Pelle said well into the night. You had trouble getting over the creepiness of his statements at first, but you knew he meant well. You did miss Mark, more often than you’d admit. You hated that you kind of agreed with Pelle about the whole regret thing.

The next morning, you woke up with a terrible headache. Thinking way too hard for hours on end wasn’t good for your brain. But, it did give you some perspective on how you’d go about interacting with Mark. You admitted to yourself that you did want to be with him, but you also didn’t want to rush into giving him another chance, knowing that just a smidge of eagerness would give the man an overinflated ego.

“What was the name of that activity you said last night, Pelle?” Dani asked.

“Ättestupa.” He answered.

“Sounds fun.” You said, half joking. “Wish we knew what was going to happened, but you seem to love surprises.” You directed to Pelle, a cheeky smile on your face.

From afar, Mark couldn’t help but glare at Pelle. To anyone one else, you were just being friendly, and if Mark had any sense at all, it would’ve just been a friendly smile to him too. He couldn’t help but feel jealous, but even he knew he had no right to be jealous since you two weren’t together. Maybe that was his problem, he thought, being too overprotective when you were in a relationship with him. God, he knew being an immature bastard would bite him in the ass one day. He just didn’t realize someone important to him would be scared away in the process.

The brief eye contact the two of you made threw you for a loop, that sense of longing for one another.

“Can you two stop eye fucking each other, please?” Josh voiced rudely. Strangely, it didn’t phase the two of you. Josh only rolled his eyes. “Fine. Miss breakfast then.”

You eventually forced yourself to look away from Mark, the both of you following the rest of group outside for the meal. Of course, the only seat left was next to Mark. How convenient...

Mark was silent as you stood next to him, taking short glances at you and the ground nervously. “Somebody should tell those girls they’re walking stupid.” He joked, trying to lift some of the tension. It didn’t work. 

A boy rung a bell, an old man and woman walked two their assigned seats, and everyone only sat down until they did. Another rack of culture shock moved through you were the couple started chanting in what you assumed was Swedish, but it was honestly hard to tell.

After that, you just ate your food in silence. You were annoyed that you were too awkward to even look in Mark’s direction. But eventually, he cleared his throat to speak. “Did you sleep well?”

It was odd, hearing him sound so timid and quiet. “Uh, I guess so. I don’t really remember falling asleep.” You chucked nervously.

“So...yesterday-”

“Please, don’t.” You interrupted with a huff.

“I think we should talk about it at least.”

You bit your lip in thought, silently agreeing with him. “Not right now. Maybe after, whatever Ättestupa is. Okay?”

He sighed, nodding his head. “Fine. Fine.”

Mark stayed behind as you, your friends, and the rest of the Hårga journeyed to wherever this activity was taking place. You all were standing at the bottom of a cliff, waiting. “What’s this activity supposed to be?” You asked, but no one gave you an answer.

You sighed, crossing your arms around yourself. Whatever was supposed to happen was taking a long time, you almost felt bored. But soon you really wished you’d stayed behind with Mark back at the village.

Everyone watched as the old woman stood at the edge of the cliff, holding her arms outstretched to the sky. You could sense Dani hyperventilating, and you also felt a feeling of dread. You had no idea what was happening, and it scared you.

You let out a loud gasp as the woman fell from the cliff, her body falling onto a stone platform below, her face hitting it hard enough to completely mutilate any recollection that this woman was a human being once. Her face was caved in, it almost didn’t feel real.

You were in silent shock, not comprehending anything else around you, even with how loud Simon and Connie were freaking out.

All you could do was watch as the old man did the same, walking off the cliff and hitting the platform leg first.

“Oh my god, he’s still alive...”

All of the Hårga cried out when they saw the poor man was still alive, sharing his pain that he must’ve been feeling. A few members of the village ended his suffering, taking a large mallet and caving in his face like his partner in the senicide.

One of the elders, Siv, said that taking their own lives was a great joy and that this ritual had been done for many years. You couldn’t believe how barbaric these people were when they were so nice at first. Why were all these people so unfazed by seeing their own people die violently in front of them?

All you could do was follow everyone to the village in silence. You did the same as Dani. You needed to be by yourself right now. You sped walked to the woods surrounding the village, leaning against a tree in exhaustion. Did that really happen, you asked yourself. 

You slid down to the ground as you let the tears start flowing. You didn’t want to be in this place anymore, how could you? You thought back to what Pelle said. He knew that the ritual was happening and he didn’t warn you guys at all. Why would he do that?

“Y/N?” You heard a voice call out. You didn’t answer, you didn’t trust your voice not to come out distorted from your sobbing. Finally making his way through the clearing, Mark saw you hugging yourself on the ground in tears. “Are you okay? I...heard about what happened.”

“No. No, I am not okay. I just saw two people jump to their fucking deaths!” You tried not to cry.

Mark was never good an emotional support, so he simply walked over and sat next to you as you cried. You didn’t know how he managed to pull you onto his lap without you noticing, but you didn’t find it in yourself to care, so you just held onto him like your life depended on it. You didn’t want him to let you go.

“I wanna leave this place...” You mumbled.

“I think that’s understandable.”

“How’s Dani? Did you see her at all?”

He shook his head. “No.”

“I don’t want to leave without her. I gotta find her.” You wiped the leftover tears from your cheeks, standing up with along with Mark. “Will you come with us?”

Mark didn't expect you to ask that. “You want me to go with you?”

“I have a bad feeling about this place. I don’t want any one of us to stay here, but I want you and Dani to come with me at least. I...I still care about you too.” Mark blushed as soon as you said that, making you chuckle lightly. “Seeing those poor people die...I don’t want to live with regrets, I already have enough of those. I don’t want to give up on us without trying to make things work. I admit, I gave up on you too easily. I don’t want to do that again. Okay?”

Mark couldn’t help himself, he soon planted a passionate kiss on your lips. You smiled into the kiss, you weren’t afraid of opening yourself up to him anymore. You wanted him, you’ve always wanted him. It just took a rough wake up call to remind you of that.

You wrapped your arms around his broad shoulders, standing on your tip toes to meet his lips easier. You felt safe in his arms, him holding you so close that the world and the messed up situation you both were in seemed to fade away. But you knew you were limited on time. You both pulled away breathlessly, wearing smiles on your faces.

“I love you.” Mark said, shocking you. “What? Live life without regrets, right?”

You laughed softly. “Yeah, you’re right. I love you.”

“Now, let’s get outta here.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Yes, I left it open ended on purpose. I’d like to think that they escaped the Hårga. But if they didn’t, at least they’re together lmao. 

Whenever I feel bad that Mark died in the movie, I just think to how he must’ve put up a fight since that cunt who led him away had a busted lip. Did he deserve it? Yes, probably. But...but...he was a cutie pie🥺

Also, I’m trying to write a fic with Kenny from We’re The Millers, but IT’S SO HARD. Kenny, in general, is hard to write since he’s so...well...himself. Another thing is that the plot is all over the place and my mind keeps bouncing between a bunch of ideas so, it’s literally starting to look like gibberish. But i’m trying

[intomymindspace]

Video Games ✰ Tendou Satori

Video Games covered by The Young Professionals

tendou satori x gn reader

Through the Summer and the Fall // Haikyuu!! Songfic Series

a/n: hi everyone, I'm sorry for a posting a week late! I’ve been really unmotivated as of late for personal stuff but also because I'm lowkey still a little bummed that my Bokuto fic (definitely totally am not plugging it rn - totally do not click the link, ahaha 🥺) didn’t do as well as I hoped it would. But no matter! Here is the Tendou insert, as promised! It’s not the best, and I definitely have a bit of writers block and am behind schedule. I wish I could write his character and for him better considering how much I love him. Next will up be flattykawa 😌 and I will be posting it hopefully soon to help make up for last week’s missed post. I've also changed up this blog and have given it hopefully a better look - there is a new theme on desktop!

Warnings: part 3 spoilers for jojo’s bizarre adventure that include character death, my bb tori being insecure about him and his body but I love him and his flat a$$ so much, and as always, we clown on flattykawa in this household but all in good favor

It was a rainy day, and Tendou was quiet and content as he sat on your bed, reading the new Weekly Shonen Jump magazine that he had just been mailed. He had let Ushijima read it earlier - but as always, he only read the advertisements. You sat beside him on the floor, his long legs dangled off the edge of your bed, his foot brushing your arm every now and then. You were playing the new otome game you had bought a week ago on your console. On days like this, the two of you often fell into comfortable silences when hanging out with each other - and today was no different. There was nothing to do other than school work and go to practice - but even then, it wasn’t necessary for the third years to attend anymore. Not since they lost in the finals against Karasuno. 

He was pulled away from the panel he was reading when he heard you gasp - his crimson eyes flitting to your monitor to see what had happened.

“What happened?” You turned around to look up at him, an excited look on your face.

“Murasame Jinnosuke confessed his love for me! I didn’t expect it to happen so fast into the game.” He looked back at the screen to see a handsome samurai on your screen. Snickering, Tendou ruffled your hair.

“Good job, now just see if you can get a real guy to confess his undying love for you.” Squinting at him, you slapped his leg playfully.

“You’re supposed to be nice to me, Tori-kun.”

“When am I not?”

Ever since you had taken the place of Shiratorizawa’s volleyball club manager two years ago as a first year, you quickly bonded with the strange amalgamation of players. It had been a running gag between the third year players to find out what type of guys you liked. You could always be found on your phone during breaks playing otome games - and that was the beginning of the years of playful torment from your fellow classmates.

It wasn’t that you weren’t attractive or that you didn’t gain attention - every Valentines Day you always received several confessions and chocolates, but you always rejected them as kindly as possible. For someone who played as many otome games as you did, they were surprised to say the least when you had always declined the advances of many classmates, saying that they just weren’t your type with a kind smile on your face.

It was Tendou’s turn to squint as he turned his attention back to your screen as you continued to play through the game. He scoffed at some of the things the fictional samurai said to you - what was so special about him anyways?

This is my idea of fun

Playing video games

Tendou shut his manga volume, and he noticed your curious eyes looking at the cover. Smirking playfully at you, he poked your forehead.

“Suddenly interested in pirates?” You sat back, rolling your eyes.

“Maybe. Who’s the character on the front?” He stared down at the covered, humming.

“Shanks. Say, I never thought you were one to go for a tough-looking guy.” He held a mischievous grin on his lips.

“Ha! Sure. Keep thinking that, Tendou.” He feigned a gasp.

“You used my last name too? With no honorific? No nickname? The rudeness! I’m so hurt!” You couldn’t help but egg your friend along.

“Hmm, maybe I should start watching One Piece if he’s in it…” But before Tendou could clap back, Yamagata slid into the seat next to you, a teasing smile on his lips.

“Ah, so that’s your type, huh? Tough-looking guys with scars?” You rolled your eyes at the libero. “I’m pretty tough too, aren’t I?”

“As if.” But it didn’t stop them from the teasing.

So what if you maybe did prefer more muscular guys? Tendou didn’t understand why the thought hurt his feelings so much. He may not have the bulging muscles, but he was just as strong. He sighed to himself, watching you from across the table as you shoved Yamagata playfully. Why would you want to like someone like himself anyways?

It's you, it's you, it's all for you

Everything I do

Tendou entered your dorm room unannounced as he always did - but this time he was surprised to see you in tears as you huddled in your blanket, staring at the tv. The first thing you usually did was banter with him about his bad habit of not knocking, but all he could do is stand shocked in your doorway.

Instantly, his gleeful eyes turned blood red. Shutting your door behind him, he quickly made his way over to you, his eyebrows furrowed, a scowl on his lips.

“Who do I have to beat up?” A million thoughts were running through his head - were you made fun of? Did someone reject you? Did you receive a bad score on an exam? He wrapped his arms around you the second your tear-filled eyes looked up at him.

“Who did it? Who hurt your feelings?” His genuine care and questions only made you cry harder into his chest.

“Dio.” You said, but it was too muffled for him to hear. Pulling back, he gave you a quizzical look. You pointed at the scene that was unfolding on your tv.

“Dio killed Kakyoin.” Tendou immediately smacked a hand to his face. His eyes flickered to the screen to see a tall, muscular character slumped against a water tower, a hole in his torso with text on the screen saying “Kakyoin Noriaki has died.” He couldn't help but laugh.

“You want me to beat up the mighty and powerful vampire lord and stand user, Dio Brando? For killing the guy who licks cherries weird?”

Slapping his arm, you pouted at him through your ugly tears. “Don’t make fun of me! I really liked him.” Tendou kept on snickering as he rubbed your back.

“I know, I’m sorry. But it’s just too funny to just not tease you.”

As ridiculous as it sounded, Tendou wondered if you would ever cry for him the way you cried for Kakyoin. He smiled to himself as he stared down at your face that was still buried in his chest - he hoped you wouldn’t notice how fast his heart was beating at the notion of you coming to him for comfort.

Maybe your type was animated men.

I tell you all the time

Heaven is a place on earth with you

Tendou put his jump comic down and just watched your gameplay - he was too distracted by his thoughts of you to focus on the new chapter of My Hero Academia.

He couldn’t help but pine over you. You had been so open and kind to him from the first time you met him - he remembered that day with ease. You had looked so confident walking into the volleyball gym, introducing yourself to the players as their new manager.

He was genuinely surprised that you weren’t turned away by his quirks - and he was thankful that above all, you treated him just like you treated everyone else.

It seemed so easy for you to become friends with the other first years at the time. You found commonalities with each of them, and you even managed to break Ushijima out of his shell by the time you all first went to nationals. Tendou remembered the hours upon hours that the two of you spent together - whether it was hanging out in the dorm watching animes, giving him tips and encouragement on the court during timeouts, or quality conversations on long bus rides to and from games. If you had never joined as manager, Tendou would’ve never guessed that the two of you would become as close friends as you were now. And he had always been a good guesser.

As he stared at you, controller in your hand, he remembered why he realized he liked you so much - it wasn’t because you shared a strong love for manga and anime. Okay, well, maybe it was, but it wasn’t the commonality. It was because you understood and even empathized with escaping through these fictional stories.

He knew what it was like to want to escape - to want to find paradise away from everyday life. On the court, Tendou could sneak into the small slice of heaven that he visited when he played volleyball. Off the court, he wanted nothing more than to have you safe in his arms as the two of you escaped into the world of whatever show you had chosen to binge that day.

To him, you were just as heavenly as the defeated looks on his opponents’ faces that he craved to see - maybe even more.

Tell me all the things you want to do

I heard that you like the bad girls, honey, is that true?

You squealed excitedly as you waved the game in front of Semi’s face after practice had ended.

“Semi-semi! Look what just came in the mail!” He pushed your hand out of his face, scoffing.

“I can’t see it if you’re rubbing in my face like that, idiot.” The setter had a smile on his face nonetheless, making you laugh as he took a look at the game. His eyes widened.

“No way, Castlevania Judgement?!?!” You nodded proudly, smiling at Tendou and Ushijima as they walked over to see what the commotion was about. The middle blocker gawked at the game you held in your hands - the third years had been talking about the release of it for at least a few months now.

“You jealous? If you want, we can play after dinner.” Semi quickly nodded, and you looked at Tendou and Ushijima for their answers.

“What, when have I ever said no to wanting to play video games with you?” To his reply, the captain simply nodded.

“Thank you for your invite. I am happy to attend as well.”

Tendou and Ushijima sat on the edge of your bed as you and Semi sat in front of your tv, switching the controller after every chapter of the game. Ushijima had no interest in actually playing the game - and Tendou knew he would get a chance to play with you later. Semi was more excited for the game than he was anyways.

You couldn’t contain your excitement as you gushed over one of the main characters, Simon Belmont. From the looks of it, he was a powerful fighter - and Tendou sighed once again - he was super muscular and tough-looking too. You were too invested in the gameplay with Semi, that you weren’t paying attention to the conversation Tendou sparked with Ushijima.

“I don’t get what’s so special about him anyways.” The redhead had a pout on his face, his arms crossed. Ushijima was very aware of the middle blocker’s crush on you - his friend often coming to the captain for his advice. While Ushijima had almost no experience and knowledge at all in terms of dating, he was always observant of the people around him, and was very blunt.

“Tendou-kun, if you like them so much, it would just be better to ask. It is pointless to be jealous over every fictional character they like.” He couldn’t help but gawk at the monotonous tone and the serious look on his captain’s face.

“I’ll raise you a better one. It’s pointless to ask because their standards seem to be so high anyways.” Ushijima couldn’t help but stare at his friend.

“And why should that stop you? They’re not real.” Tendou sighed, exacerbated.

“I get it, I get it! I know they’re not just going to pop out from the screen or anything.”

“But?”

“But that doesn’t mean those aren’t their same standards to people they prefer in real life,” Tendou admitted, and Ushijima knew he hit the reason why. Tendou may be tall, but he was lean and lanky. The muscle he had was nowhere near that of any of the fictional guys you crushed on. What could you possibly want from someone way weaker - someone like him?

“They are not the type of person to go completely for the way someone’s body appears. If that were the case, they should’ve confessed their attraction to either myself or Yamagata by now, based on your logic. Besides, they told me they liked you.” Tendou couldn't help but roll his eyes, placing a hand over his heart.

“Wakatoshi-kun, you wound me. Of course they like me - they wouldn’t be my friend if they didn’t. Couldn't you at least sugar coat your advice sometimes?”

It's better than I ever even knew

They say that the world was built for two

Before the prefectural qualifiers in the fall, Shiratorizawa managed to snag a practice match with none other than Aoba Johsai. While there was clear tension throughout the entire time, the teams kept interactions outside the court lines as light-hearted as possible. Seijoh managed to snag victory during the first match, but Shiratorizawa hit back just as hard, winning the second match.

The boys were currently loading their bags into the bus as you supervised them, reminding them to triple check that they had everything. You were almost caught by surprise when a volleyball rolled towards you, hitting the back of your foot gently.

“Sumimasen.” You heard from several meters behind you, making you turn around. It was the Great King himself, Oikawa Tooru, that was slowly jogging towards you - it almost seemed like he was doing it in slow motion. Your fellow teammates heard the setter, their eyes sneakily following him as he got closer to you. They couldn't help but snicker at their so-called sworn enemy - it was obvious by the way that his aura sparkled around him and the smoulder on his face that he had rolled the ball your way to get your attention.

“I’m so sorry, could you get that for me?” You nodded, a polite smile on your face. The great Oikawa was definitely handsome, to say the least - and Tendou couldn't help the childish frown that filled his features. As you picked up the ball and handed it back to the setter, he flashed you a heart-stopping, pearly white smile.

“Thank you,” he said, taking the ball from you, brushing your fingers in the process. “You are the manager for Shiratorizawa, right? I didn’t catch your name earlier.” Oikawa ran a hand through his silky hair as you gave him your name.

“Wow,” he flashed you another smile, “such a beautiful name for someone just as gorgeous.” Semi couldn’t help but let a snort out at Oikawa’s compliment.

“Thank you.” You took the complement in stride, deciding it would be nice to say something back. “You played great today, Oikawa-san.” He laughed jovially.

“Thank you, you’re very kind. And cute. Would you be interested in catching boba with me sometime? I know a cute place that has good milk tea and milk bread.” Tendou rolled his eyes at Oikawa’s words. It probably was his plan all along - to try to bewitch the manager of Shiratorizawa. When Tendou saw a smile grow on your face, he couldn’t help but feel defeated. Were you actually going to say yes to him?

“I’m very flattered Oikawa-san. But I’m sorry, I must decline your offer.” Oikawa’s eyes widened in surprise. The Great King? Being rejected? “You’re not really my type.” You turned around, making your way onto the bus, leaving Oikawa with his jaw on the ground, the ace on Seijoh’s team as well as your teammates laughing their asses off at the scene that had just unfolded in front of their very eyes.

“That’s what you get, Crappykawa! You should’ve gone to Shiratorizawa!”

“Iwa-chan, that's not funny! I feel like my heart has been broken into thousands of pieces!”

“Well, if they’re gonna hit it, they better hit it til it breaks!”

“Pfft, I’m actually not surprised they didn’t say yes to him.” Semi commented, placing his duffle bag into the storage compartment. Tendou’s head quirked at the statement.

“Why’s that?” Reon asked, storing his things as well, making Semi and Yamagata snicker.

“Did you see how flat his ass was? I’m 100% sure their type is thicker guys. Like their ace, or something.” The three of them burst into laughter, Tendou only slightly laughing along as well. Ushijima only grunted in disagreement as he shut the compartment’s door.

“I believe their type is actually redheads.” All of the third years looked at their captain with wide eyes and dead silence - before laughing even harder. Semi slapped Ushijima’s bicep lightly, bending over. Tendou’s eyes widened - Ushijima was not the type to joke around, right?

“I didn’t think you actually knew how to crack jokes, Ushijima-kun!” The olive-haired man only looked down at his fellow third years in confusion.

“I am not joking. I simply just decided to ask them earlier, and I am only relaying the answer they gave me.” They couldn’t help but bend over, Yamagata even wiping tears from all the laughing.

“Stop! Your bluntness is only making it worse!” By the way the rest of his teammates reacted, Tendou believed Ushijima really must have been joking - in his own way. He had just picked a hair color different from Oikawa’s, right?

“Good one, Wakatoshi-kun.” Tendou let out a chuckle, giving his friend a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Only worth living if somebody is loving you

And baby, now you do

Tendou’s eyes widened as he relieved all the memories. Was Ushijima actually serious? He had never asked his friend about it - but perhaps it was because he was too scared to actually know the truth. Quickly, Tendou pulled out his phone and googled each of the characters - Shanks, Kakyoin, and Simon. The samurai was still on your screen, and he flipped through the tabs on his internet browser, trying to find the similarities.

Obviously, they were all built rather strong - but Tendou couldn’t get what Ushijima said out of his head. They were all redheads, after all. Why hadn’t he noticed this before? He looked back at you, your attention still on the otome game. Should he ask you? Would it be weird? Tendou thought about texting Ushijima, but he quickly decided not to. He already knew what his friend would say. Right after he called your name gently, you set down the controller and turned to look up at him.

“What’s up, Tori-kun?” He had never felt this nervous before - it wasn’t even like he was going to confess to you or anything either.

“Uh - what’s your type? Like, in guys? I promise I won’t tease you this time, I just want to know.” Surprisingly, you smirked at him. What were you thinking?

“You gonna brag to Eita and Yato that you finally found out after all these years?” The apparent blush on Tendou’s cheeks only spread further.

“What? No, I wouldn’t do that… Unless I had to,” he said, trying his best to come off as his usual teasing self. This only made you snicker at him.

“I’m surprised you guys haven’t beat it out of Toshi-kun yet. I already told him a few months ago.” Tendou’s eyes widened at what you said.

“Huh?” You rolled your eyes at him.

“Yeah.” He couldn’t believe how casual you were about it. You were always so hellbent on keeping it from them - but perhaps it was because they made such a big deal out of it in the first place. Tendou didn’t exactly know how to respond to you - he was still trying to process the realization. So he had guessed wrong this whole time?

After sitting in silence for a couple of seconds, you gave him a playful smile. “Redheads,” you said, turning around and picking up your controller. Ushijima’s words echoed with yours in his brain.

Besides, they told me they liked you. Tendou let out a choked noise.

“I’ve made a mistake!”

You burst out laughing at Tendou’s exclamation. Setting your controller down once more, you stood up and turned, leaning your elbows against your bed. “You guys really are that oblivious, huh? Even Toshi-kun saw that I liked you. He went so far as to ask me about it too.” You propped up your head with your hand, staring at him. Getting past his initial shock, Tendou settled back down.

“How shallow of you,” he teased, leaning his head closer to yours. “I can’t believe the only reason why you like me is because my hair is red, yanno?” In return, you inched your face up closer to his as if you were challenging him.

“I know,” you said smugly, your eyes flickering down to his lips, “I’m such an awful friend. I’ll only break your heart once I replace you with another redhead.” He smirked as he noticed where your eyes had glanced. Tendou may have been oblivious, but he wasn’t called the Guess Monster for nothing.

“I’m guessing that you want to kiss me right now, hmm?” He asked quietly, dangerously moving closer to you - your faces now only mere inches apart. A blush crept onto both of your cheeks. You answered back, your voice nearly a whisper.

“Why don’t you find out for yourself, Guess Monster?”

Immediately, Tendou closed the distance between the two of you. Your lips were warm and soft, making him wish he had at least put on chapstick earlier. His heart was beating so hard inside of his chest that he was afraid you’d hear it, but you said nothing as the two of you pulled away. Saying nothing, he only smiled as he traced his fingers up your neck, cupping your jaw. Pulling you into a deeper kiss, he sighed contentedly as he felt your hands trail up his torso.

Kissing you felt like paradise.

As always, thank you so much for reading!! please like, reblog, and follow 🥺

~ Crystal

through the summer and the fall masterlist

blog masterlist

buy me a ko-fi! (but only if you want to and can)

BONUS

The following day, Tendou met you at your door to walk with you to lunch. With your hand in his, the two of you took your sweet time making your way to the cafeteria to meet up with the other third years. Today, Coach Washijo had asked for them to play a practice match against the Miyagi first years he was holding a training camp for. You decided to tag along since you had nothing planned to do for the weekend.

As you talked about a weird dream you had, Tendou couldn’t help but gaze adoringly at you - he couldn’t believe that you liked him, or that you were actually dating him now even if it had only been about twelve hours. The two of you waited in the lunch line, his chin resting on top of your head as he held both of your hands from behind you - it felt so natural to touch you. He could tell that people were staring - but none of it mattered when all he needed was the sound of your excited voice and the blatant look of love in your eyes.

Stepping away from your back slightly, he moved forward to gently place a kiss on your cheek - and that's when he heard the yells. The both of you turned to find your fellow third and second years staring at the two of you with wide eyes and mouths catching flies. Goshiki accompanied the team as well, his face beat red. Ushijima was behind the flustered first year, a rare half-smile on his face.

“Afternoon guys!” You had said it so casually as you leaned back into Tendou’s arms, allowing him to place a cheeky kiss on your temple - making Semi gag and Yamagata nearly tear up.

“I did tell you all that they preferred redheads.”

[stydiaeverafter]

Will you be my Valentine?

Summary: Everyone knows that Evan Buckley is not a fan of Valentine's Day, but with the help of his buddy Christopher, Buck has a change of heart.

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day to all the Buddie fans out there! This fluffy fic is for all of you. ♥

Read on ao3

***

It had been an ordinary day; nothing special, nothing unique as the team sat upstairs watching TV on a day that might've been a holiday. The one that Hallmark makes bank from. Yeah, Valentine's Day. Again, nothing special. And no, Buck wasn't bitter about it.

He had recently tried to get back in the field, the dating field, and it had been explosive...not in a good way. The kind where someone screamed, "Bomb!" and you went running in the other direction.

Not good.

Buck had recollected for days why on earth it had been such a disaster. The date itself hadn't gone poorly, but he realized he hadn't been ready. Dealing with himself and family drama was one thing, but his heart had felt icy.

However, as he saw Eddie walk into the room, he knew that wasn't exactly true, especially when Buck felt like he was melting.

See, this man had become the axis to every point on Buck’s scattered map of a life.

Buck wanted to ignore the feelings knowing damn well his best friend would never see him in that light, but the emotions were something he could never entirely ignore. The truth of the matter was this: Buck had had these feelings for Eddie Diaz for as long as he could remember, and it took almost dying in the building, talking to his therapist, a comment by firefighter TK, and going on a date for them to surface to realization.

What was a single, not so straight, firefighter to do in this situation?

Instead of figuring out that million-dollar question, he shot a shit-eating grin towards the guy, unable to control it even if he had wanted to, "Hey there, Eddie, you sure look chipper today."

"Well, of course," Eddie replied as he fixed his suspenders, not that Buck was looking, "it's Valentine's Day!"

Buck's eyes narrowed, "Since when did you become such a fan of this gruesome holiday?"

Hen glared at Buck and then smiled at Eddie, "Ooo! Are things going that well with Ana?"

Great. The question Buck really didn't want to have asked by the guy. Could they just not go there? Because honestly, that was another reason Buck had decided to go on a damn date in the first place.

After he had found out Eddie had felt a spark or whatever Chimney had told him after their encounter with Christopher's former teacher, Eddie had asked her out. Not that Buck had been jealous or anything, but he had decided maybe he too should get out and see what fishies were still swimming in the waters, even during a pandemic.

It had nothing to do with jealousy. Not in the slightest.

Buck realized while being lost in his thoughts that he hadn't heard Eddie's reply. Buck looked up at that ruggedly handsome man and waited for the response that would probably slice him into tiny pieces.

Eddie cleared his throat, "Um no. That didn't work out." When Hen and Chimney started to say, "aww..." Eddie shook his head, "No, no, it's fine. Truly. Miss Flores is a wonderful woman, just not the one for me." Buck's heart started fluttering in his chest, and was he mistaken in noticing that Eddie looked right towards him when he had said, not the one for me?

Was this Buck's hopeful heart playing games with him? Cue the Backstreet Boys: Quit Playing Games with my Heart.

"So then enlighten us, firefighter Diaz, why so cheerful on this day?" Chimney asked. "I mean, I have a wonderful love of my life and a baby on the way, but you don't see me jumping for joy because it's Valentine's Day."

"Which is a surprise," Hen replied, raising an eyebrow. "What's wrong with you, Chim?"

"Nothing! I just think this holiday is a corporate holiday that makes singles feel bad about themselves. Then the chocolate and card company make a fortune," Chimney responded, rubbing his head, "I believe love, true love, should be shown for 365 days."

Hen patted his back, "You're a good one, my friend. I'll give you that. Maddie is lucky to have you."

"Karen, too," Chimney said with a smile, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Okay, as much as I love what's happening with this bromance here, can we get back to the matter at hands, aka Eddie, and why he's so cheerful on this most hollow of days?" Buck exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

"Yes, yes," Chimney acknowledged, "do carry on, Edmundo."

"Right," Eddie smirked, "Well, Christopher wanted it to be a surprise, but he made each of you a special Valentine last night. He got so creative. Our house looked like what I can only imagine the inside of Hallmark cards to look." He shook his head, smiling again, "Chris has been working hard on handwriting, building that strength in his hand and all. So he's bringing them by soon."

Buck's heart filled with so much joy he stood up quickly, "Seriously? Why didn't you say so sooner? Oh, my little buddy! That's too sweet."

"Yeah, so he should be around soon," Eddie looked around and frowned. "However, it's not decorated around here. Usually, Cap' goes all out."

Hen just shrugged sheepishly, "He and Athena took a few days off to be all lovey-dovey with each other."

"Okay, okay," Buck said, pretending to gag, "that's like my father you're talking about—let's not get into the details about their love life."

"I'm just saying that Cap' is usually the one who organizes the decorations," Hen replied, waving her hands. "You've seen how he goes all out for other holidays."

"Well, all I know is that Chris will be mildly disappointed when he sees it," Eddie sighed. "I'm going to run out and get some balloons and maybe some desserts real quick."

"I'll go with you," Buck instantly said. When all eyes went on him, he just smiled, "What, I can adapt to the holiday, okay?" They all knew he hated Valentine's Day, so Buck just laughed. "Well, if it's for my favorite little buddy, I can adapt. How about that?"

Everyone joined in, and Eddie nodded, giving Buck one of those rare smiles of his, "C'mon then, Buck. Let's try our best, but probably sad attempt, to make it lovey-dovey in here."

With Eddie smiling at him that way, that wouldn't be too hard to manage.

***

After two bags of decorations, treats, and an armful of heart balloons, Buck and Eddie made their way back to the station. They were laughing about this-and-that, as they always did, but Buck could feel the air around them changing. But perhaps Buck was the one who had changed, not them.  

As Eddie drove, Buck couldn't help but look at his best friend's beautiful features; it took his breath away, not for the first time, nor would it be the last.

"So, I'm sorry it didn't work out with the teacher," Buck said, unable to stop the words from coming out of his mouth.

"What do you have to be sorry about?"

"Isn't that what people say when something goes wrong?" Buck shrugged, feeling slightly stupid.

"Nah, man, it's cool. Nothing went wrong," Eddie looked over at Buck. "But like I said back at the 118, she wasn't the one."

Buck took a deep breath, "I just know you felt a spark for her and all..." Why was he pushing this further? Did he want to stab his own heart?

"Yeah, I think I was mistaken about who I was feeling that spark for..."

Eddie was smiling at him and then looked back at the road.

Okay, was this all in Buck's mind, or was Eddie talking about him?

"Besides, I heard your date didn't go too well," Eddie smirked as he gripped the wheel. "So should I be saying sorry?"

"You could say that, but nah, I'm not sorry about it," Buck replied, rolling his eyes. "Guess I'm not ready to get back out there. Not in the way I used to be." Because now all he wanted was his best friend—he was ready for that, Buck knew it. Eddie was different. He wasn't like anyone else. In some ways, in most, Eddie was Buck's other half. And as cheesy as it sounded, he completed Buck.

"Oh." The way Eddie had said the word turned Buck's head in his direction. Eddie looked slightly disappointed. "Well," Eddie added, clearing his throat, "you need to do what's best for you."

You're what's best for me, Buck thought, wanting to scream from the rooftops. After all, Buck had promised his therapist he wouldn't hide his feelings away, and the last thing he wanted to do was hide from Eddie. Still, fear of ruining their relationship held him back.

The outcome was like a box of chocolates, and to quote Forrest Gump, "You never know what you're gonna get."

***

After some decorating by the 118, Carla and Christopher finally made their way to the station.

Buck, luckily being in the Diaz family bubble, was able to give Chris a big hug. "Hey, buddy!"

"Happy Valentine's Day, Buck!" Chris said with a wide grin full of braces. Buck still couldn't believe how big the kid had gotten; he wanted to slow time down. "It looks perfect in here!"

"Very beautiful and festive," Carla said, blowing a kiss towards Buck and the others. "You all did well!"

Eddie smiled at Buck and nodded in appreciation.

"Looks a bit like a Pepto Bismo explosion," Chimney muttered, which brought laughter all around.

"You know you love it," Buck said as he put an arm around Chimney.

Chimney grinned, "You're right. I do. Just don't tell Maddie."

"The secret is safe with me." Chimney's eyes widened at the word secret, "Relax, Chim. No more secrets for you to keep." His friend blew out the breath he had been holding.

"Anyway," Eddie said, with a shake of his head, "Chris, why don't you show them why you came down here."

"Okay, dad," Christopher said, reaching into a large decorated Valentine's bag. "I brought you each a special Valentine." As everyone said a collective, "Awee," in response, Christopher looked pleased, which was all they wanted in the first place.

Christopher made his way to each person. Buck was last. Everyone was now talking and eating treats, so Buck took Christopher over to where it was a bit quieter.

"You're last because you're my favorite," Chris said, warming Buck's heart up, not for the first time.

"You're my favorite, too, buddy. Thank you!"

"Here's your Valentine," the little boy said, handing Buck a big pink, purple, and blue, wobbly-shaped heart. It was perfect.

Buck kneeled and opened it up and read, "To my Buck. I love you so much. You're my best friend in the whole wide world. Happy Valentine's Day! Love, Christopher."

This message meant the world to Buck, more than the kid would ever understand. Blinking away tears, Buck smiled, "Thank you, Christopher. I love it, and you." He looked down at the picture. "Tell me who's in the drawing here."

"Oh, that's you, me, and daddy, of course." He looked up and grinned at Buck, "My family."

In the drawing, they were all holding hands with a giant colorful heart above them. This drawing touched Buck in another way. They were his family, too—the one he had created. After all the crap with Buck's own family recently, this was the family that mattered. They were more real to him than his biological family would ever be.

There was also the fact he was in love with his best friend, but he would save those thoughts for himself. But his heart would always remain theirs and theirs alone, just like the picture captured.

"This means so much to me, Chris. Thank you."

"One more for you," the little boy added, reaching into his bag.

"Oh? From who?"

"From dad, even though it's a secret."

Buck's eyes widened as Christopher handed him another Valentine.

"Dad was showing me how to cut out the hearts, and then I told him he should make one," Christopher said. "He had already given me my Valentine, so I told him to make it for someone else that he loves, someone who's very special to him. So he made it for you."

Buck swallowed, and his hands began trembling as he held it. "Does he know you're giving it to me?"

Christopher shook his head, "Nope! But Valentine's is a time to spread love, so that's what I'm doing." He looked over at the celebration, "Why you look at it, I'm going to join the party, okay?"

"Ah, yeah," Buck said, lost in thought. "Go for it, kid! I can see a cupcake that's calling your name!"  

As Christopher hurried over to the sweets, Buck sat there by himself, looking at the heart in his hand. Finally, he opened the Valentine, and with a deep breath, Buck read:

Dear Buck,

Happy Valentine's Day! I know you don't care for this holiday any more than I do, but I'm sitting here with Chris while he makes his Valentine's and he told me to write it to someone special in my life. Well, you're someone special, you always have been. I wanted to say thank you for all that you do for us. You're not just my best friend; you're so much more. You are our family. We love you. Also, thank you for being an anchor in my life and never, ever giving up. I admire you more than you'll ever know.

With love always,

Eddie

Buck didn't realize he was crying until he saw a droplet fall onto the Valentine. In one hand, he had Christopher's card, and in the other, Eddie's. Both their hearts in his two hands.

Quickly wiping his eyes, Buck stood up and looked over at his best friend and the focal point of his life.  

Eddie was holding Christopher, and his son was smashing a cupcake into his face. Everyone was laughing and clapping, clearly enjoying the moment. Buck couldn't help but smile, too.

And right when Buck felt that immense love for the guy, Eddie glanced over at him and beamed. It was the smile that took your breath away.

Eddie took his breath away, always, and Buck wouldn't have it any other way.

***

Buck didn't know what he was doing, but hours upon hours staring at Eddie's Valentine brought him to the Diaz doorstep.

Before his nerves took him running in the other direction, Buck knocked lightly on the door.

Eddie opened the door wearing a green hoodie and black workout pants, his hair wet and tousled. He looked so beautiful that Buck's brain went on overload, short-circuiting out completely.

"Hey Buck, I wasn't expecting you tonight," Eddie said in surprise but still looking happy.

"Yeah, sorry, it's kinda late. I just wanted to say thank you for the Valentine."

Eddie frowned slightly, "What Valentine?" Buck held up the paper heart that Christopher had given him, and Eddie's eyes widened, "Oh, that one. Chris gave it to you?"

"He sure did," Buck said, and trying to lighten the mood, "I'm guessing you were waiting for that perfect opportunity to give it to me?"

Eddie smiled softly, "Well, yeah..."

"Who knew you felt this way for me?" Buck smirked, but he felt his heartbeat quicken in his chest when Eddie didn't add anything further. He swallowed before asking, aka jumping off the ledge, "Do you feel this way for me?"

Biting his lip, Eddie said, "Remember how I said I felt a spark, but it wasn't for Ana?"

Yes, Buck remembered; he couldn't get the thought off his mind. "Yes."

"Well, I realized the spark I felt was for someone else," Eddie breathed out in a whisper. He then looked up to meet Buck's gaze, "You."  

"You feel it with me?"

Eddie nodded, "Yeah, Buck, I do, every day." He ran a hand through his hair nervously, "I've known it for a while, I just didn't realize I was ready to move forward. However, a talk with Bobby helped me a lot. But then I also didn't think you were ready to date, let alone with a guy...me, so I tried with someone else, and it went exactly as I thought it would, nowhere."

Buck took a step closer on the porch towards Eddie, "Well, I'm not ready to date just anybody. But you're not anybody, Eddie."

"So...you feel the same?"

Nodding with a smile, Buck said, "Yes, I do." Then he admitted the truth, "I got jealous when you went on a date with Miss Flores, and I didn't understand why. It pushed me to try and date some random, but the whole time I wanted to be with you."

"I wish you would've told me that—I would have never agreed on a date with her."

Buck trembled, "I'm working on not hiding my feelings, but this is huge. I mean, how do you tell your best friend you're in love with him?" The declaration had come before even Buck had realized.

"You're in love with me?"

"I am, yes."

"Am I the first guy you've..."

"Felt this towards?" Buck asked. Eddie nodded. "Yes, that would be a yes. I didn't even realize...."

"That's okay, Buck, it's more than okay," Eddie smiled reassuringly, taking Buck's hands into his own, supporting him. "I realized it too, with you. You helped me through an awakening of my own, and I don't want to look back."

Buck felt as if he were floating, "Really?"

"Yes, Evan. I'm in love with you, too."

"So, where do we go from here?" Buck asked, holding on tightly to Eddie's hands, never wanting to let go.

"How about we start with the obvious," Eddie responded, gazing into Buck's eyes. "Evan Buckley, will you be my Valentine?"

Buck laughed, but his heart felt warm and light, "Yes, Eddie Diaz, I'll be your Valentine."

And as they sealed the first moments of their future together with a kiss, Buck realized Valentine's Day wasn't so bad after all.

[feckin-zicons]

that's why i hate larries, i hate them with all my heart. besides being boring they are hypocrites 🙄

Hey nonnie, sorry its taken me so long to reply but if you’re following me you know I’ve been travelling lately and have been more scatterbrained than usual. Not that I’m ever not scatterbrained, but its been just a little crazier than usual!

Now I wouldn’t go as far to say I hate Larries. After all their delusions can be pretty funny sometimes!

Joking aside, I don’t hate Larries, I love Larries, I’m a Larry, so I really hesitate to tarry the whole group with the same brush. However I do strongly agree with you that there are those who are complete hypocrites. Nothing annoys more more than when Larries ™ treat the other boys, other celebrities, their friends and even family as one more side character to the Larry Show.

In particular when Larries ™ flood comment sections asking or in some cases, ordering people to confirm rumors/the couple being together. The absolute fucking disrespect. Not just because they’re flooding comment sections in videos streams, tweets, what have you, that sometimes have nothing to do with the couple in question, but because its presumptuous and rude as fuck to think they’re owed a coming out- just because they’re fans of the boys.

Stop it. Thats fucking ugly as hell.

While I have no doubt all the boys will one day be out (as referenced by their continued efforts in fighting the closet. I don’t get the sense the boys will just stop at being freed from their contractual obligations). It should and will be on their own terms. Provided they’re not forcibly outed some other way.

Coming out is a deeply personal experience and no one, no one ever, has the right to out someone else. I’ll never not be absolutely furious at the Larries ™ who posted about having ‘receipts’ that would out the boys. Which… tbh weren’t receipts at all but thats a whole other story. I’m also still angry at the reactions after Liams Attitude spread that wouldn’t have been as bad if not for the entitled fandom that peddled ridiculous claims beforehand about Liam confirming Larry to be real.

I mean… What the actual fuck. Setting aside the fandom experience of the time, and boy was it an experience. What right would Liam have confirming Louis and Harry’s relationship? I mean, get some perspective? It doesn’t help that a lot of fandom adults were the ones coming up with, and reblogging those theories and the younger fans ate it up. It would have made more sense for Louis and Harry to do it but idk maybe I’m still out of touch for thinking so. I mean, it felt like every other week someone was talking about Larry coming out. It was such a shit storm oh my god.

Biggest issue I still have with them is that the entitled behaviour hasn’t stopped. For some it seems like, Larry coming out is it for them. Like pack it up, goodbye, shows over, Louis and Harry are gay and in a relationship and everything is rainbows, we get to see cute pictures of them and everyone lives happily ever after.

Yeah, no. Coming out, for anyone, is just the beginning, can’t even begin to imagine what its like for them. They’re still going to need everyones support, and it irritates me that for some fans it seems so fucking conditional.

Time and time again, I’ve seen tweets, and posts, and videos, whatever, going on about Larry coming out and it reads like a fucking wattpad story. Not just that but its always on the assumption by the poster, on the off chance they consider the other 3/5ths of the band and Ziam being a possibility, that Larry will come out first?

What?

I’m sorry but, what?

Everything I’ve seen from the boys tells me they’re all in this together, they support each other and are working through the bullshit as a team. We have all seen the No Judgement music video yes? The merch, posts, double speak etc referencing each other, yes?

I mean, I suppose if you only look at Louis and Harry, like so many do, sure. Only Larry matters, everyone else is a side character in their life.

(Lemme just, scream for a second).

However, that kind of thinking leads them to the wrong conclusions. Like… assuming the SBB/RBB countdown was attributed to nothing, when it counted down to Liam finally being free of Sophia. In the years since, I’ve seen Larries ™ backtrack on claiming the bears had anything to do with the boys, that they weren’t behind it at all, or that they were just trolling the fandom.

You know, despite all the proof otherwise, and some really, really good posts breaking down clues about what the boys were trying to tell us. The moment something might not actually be about Louis and Harry its like all their thinking shuts off. Its frustrating. Really fucking frustrating.

Seriously, fans of the other boys as individulas, not just Ziams, have been talking about the stunts too and how they fit together. Its why we tend to be right, because we’re considering the entire group. They’re still a group. They’re not free until all of them are free.

Just for that Nialls coming out first. Lmao. I’ll call it now. Lets go Niall, whens the baby coming. We all wanna know. Its been years.

Imagine, imagine! Acting like coming out is some race to be won. The fucking audacity.

Go outside and touch fucking grass you absoulte ninny.

I get it, you want to be vindicated, you want to be rewarded for putting your faith in two celebrities being together.

Newsflash you dandelionfluff, its not a race, Louis and Harry coming out isn’t a fucking prize. Thats not what supporting a relationship looks like.

Its worse when someone admits they don’t know much about Ziam or the possibility of Niall being LGBT+, and claim they’re open to it, but then immediately tweet or reblog or sub tweet or tag comment a post or answer an ask from another Larry ™ talking about how Larries ™ are the most marginalized and persecuted group.

???

In what fucking world?

IN WHAT FUCKING WORLD?

If we wanna play that game, boohoo, the media claims Louis and Harry aren’t friends anymore because of crazy shippers. Meanwhile Zayn publicly isn’t friend with anyone and “left” the band… despite the Ziam fandom calling the stunt about either Louis or Zayn “leaving” and getting it down to the exact week (the second article coming out a week before about the Ziam kiss pretty much cemented it for Zayn leaving. Which did a lot to fan the flames of the already rabid fanbase when Ziam got two articles confirming a Ziam kiss over the years and Larry got nada. Like that actually means anything).

Not to mention Larries ™ using the hetties and management tactics against the other parts of the fandom to silence them.

Who cares what the media says anyway!  TPTB, 1DHQ, The Sun, The Mirror, Simon and his minions and their unpaid interns have used the media to split the fandom apart and it worked.

Who the fuck cares if the media calls the 1D stans delusional, you know the truth! The truth it out there and you’ve seen it! The truth is coming! Who gives a damn about what some two bit “journo” who failed out of their creative writing course writes? They get worse by the year. If it wasn’t so pathetic and hilarious I might actually feel embarrassed for them. They can’t even come up with new stories and have just taken to copying old articles, but you’re upset with them??? Give it a rest. Honestly.

The sense of disconnect, entitlement and victimhood of some Larries ™ is absolutely ridiculous.

Oh my god they’re Karens. I’m not trying to be insulting, but thats exactly who they remind me of.

I’m not going to say its a surprise to me that so many in the Ziam fandom are POC, LGBT+, and Neurodivergent and any combination of those, but I am going to say I’ve read a lot of Larry fics that just have Het sex made gay. Those in the Ziam fandom just tend to look at facts in a different way than Larries do due to their life experiences. A interfaith, interracial, relationship where one or both partners fall under the Bi umbrella (not saying Louis or Harry can’t be or aren’t Bi+ but rumors, and the way the fandom markets them, puts them firmly in the gay category) looks very, very different than gay or straight relationship. Both looking from outside and being in one. There’s just different dynamics at play that aren’t often realized or understood by the gays and hets.

Its not a bad thing. All relationships are different. The issue is that theres a lot of biphobia/racism/religious prejudice etc that arises from people being unwilling to understand the inherent differences.

Taking myself for example, I’m bi, like, bi as hell, and I don’t understand how gays and hets only like one gender. I just don’t. Can’t wrap my head around it. If someone asks me to choose one gender over the others to prefer I can’t. Its so stressful. My brain goes into panic mode and it feels like I’m being torn apart. My sense of identity is shaken- its a shit feeling. I just can’t lie to myself like that. If other people feel the same well, its no wonder bi+ have such high rates of depression and suicide. Its not about choosing who to like, there is no choice, I just feel attraction to everyone. Aces, I get. Its similar to being the opposite of what I feel, or not feeling an attraction to someone I’m not interested in. Easy. Gays and hets? I’m completely lost on.

Completely, and I know I’m not the only one who feels that way. But that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to try and understand where they’re coming from. Its alien to me, personally, but I’m not going to shut down the fact, that theres a fuck ton of people who only like one gender or try and make up reasons as to why they’re actually bi+

I digress, none of the boys fall neatly into the gay stereotypes, its just that parts of the Larry fandom have boxed Louis and Harry into certain roles to fit preconceived notions (likely do to them initially fitting in better with the white, sassy, somewhat effeminate twink thats been plastered all over Hollywood as their “LGBT+ representation” for years. Gag), they can understand better, and only look for proof to back up their theories but don’t look at things objectively.

They really need to get out more and make some LGBT+ friends that aren’t on the internet and talk to some gay elders. They need educating that’s not the often sanitized and insulting Hollywood version, that’s all I’m saying.

They made Louis and Harry more palatable for themselves and its… really gross.

I don’t know, I don’t get it.

Some Larries ™ turned the boys into their fandom and fanfiction stereotypes when they’re so much more than that. The Sony leaks should have been enough to dissuade the fandom, and prove that the brand sold to the broader audience is just that- a brand, and yet… Niall only talks about food and golf and Ireland and is only allowed to be straight or ace. If he exists at all its just to be Capt Niall. Liams slow and dumb and depending on the day he’s either Capt Liam or a horrific abusive homophobe. Zayns just The Worst, a unstable drug addict, and the boys hate each other, and they should have kicked him out of the band sooner because he never wanted to be part of them anyway, etc.

It drives me absolutely around the bend some days. They’re real people who don’t owe anyone anything, especially not coming out.

Yes, I think they will. But they’re not obligated to. They can change their minds, I’ll support them regardless of an “official” coming out or not.

Look, a part of me gets it. They wanna be right, they wanna prove the haters wrong, they want to be able to say I called it all along! The vindication will be sweet.

But like, it takes a quick look at someone other than Louis and Harry to realize theres something hinky going on with Liam, Zayn and Niall. Please listen to their fans who have spent just as much time as you have looking into Louis and Harry compiling together evidence.

It might take a weekend to watch the ILYSM and pterodactyl bros videos and a few more hours looking into some Niall blogs, which isn’t much compared to the hours I know they’ve spent looking into Larry. At least then they’ll have enough information to form an opinion on things.

I wonder, for some, what would happen if Larry didn’t come out, or didn’t come out first, or one of the other boys was outed against their will. Because… I don’t know. It seems like some would rather just be proven right at this point.

I get it. We’re tired. Its been eleven long years. But this isn’t a television show were everything can come to a head with a s3 or s4 cliff hanger and fixed in the series finale. Its real life, and they started off as boys trusting industry veterans who never had their best interests at heart.

Iduno. I just want some Larries ™ to take a step out of the echo chamber, realize life isn’t The Larry Show & co. And especially. ESPECIALLY, that every instance were someone, friends, family, co-works, industry peeps etc support the boys they are SUPPORTING THE BOYS, NOT THE FANDOM. They are not “confirming Larry for the fans” they’re doing it to support the couple, not to cater to the fandom. Please stop confusing the two. There’s a huge fucking difference. Learn it.

[soniaxdixon]

The New World; Series, Pt 4.

okay this one is definitely longer than the others but I just kept writing. Things get a little more heated in this chapter ngl. I rushed through the first part a bit, I’m kinda assuming we’ve all seen season one so everyone gets the gist of this part.

TW, Shane is a dick in this and starts to get a little too close

Warnings: Swearing, Angst but it gets real fluffy. 

Word Count; 3175 - sorry in advance, I skimmed through reading it so if there are any grammatical errors, my bad.

Okay so this is my first time writing a fic and obviously will be my first series but I’ve just rewatched TWD for like the 17th time and my obsession with Daryl has reached new levels. I hope that it isn’t too shit and that you guys actually read/like it. Thank you in advance for baring with my average writing but I mean, how else will I learn? Anyway, enjoy!

Sonia x

pt 4 of ?? 

The events of the day that followed your night encounter with Daryl went by quickly. Between watching Andrea mourn the death of her sister while the rest of you grieved for the people you lost, you felt the day slipping away fast. Finding out about Jim being bitten broke your heart and before you knew it, you were packing your life away yet again and preparing to head to the CDC.

You crammed your camping gear in the back of Shane’s car along with your bags, walking over to your group when you heard Morales say that he and his family were not going to the CDC with you, he had to do what was best for his family and you understood that. You all said your good byes as you headed towards your cars.

“Y/N, you can ride with me if ya want.” You heard Shane say and you nodded. Your stuff was already in his car, you may as well.

“Thanks, Shane.”

Daryl shot you a look that you couldn’t quite comprehend as you jumped in the passenger side of Shane’s car. He scoffed and rolled his eyes, stepping into his pick up truck and slamming the door shut as you all began driving away, towards what you hoped was safety.

The RV came to a halt in front of the convoy, smoke and steam spilling out of the front. Jacqui interrupted everyone with news about Jim’s state. Shane said he was going to head up to what he thought looked like a gas station while rick stepped inside the RV to see Jim. He came out soon after breaking the news to you all that Jim wanted to be left here to die.

“He said he wanted to be with his family.”

Tears formed in your eyes as you thought about leaving the man who had become a dear friend.

The group decided to do what Jim had asked. Shane and Rick helped place him gently under a tree as you all stood around him and shared one final moment. You walked up to Jim and kissed him carefully on the forehead, caressing his hair one final time, forcing yourself to look into his eyes as you said good bye.

You watched as Daryl simply nodded to the man and you all made your way back to your cars, ready to continue the journey you had started.

After a while, the CDC finally came into view, you all slowly got out of your vehicles, hands on weapons as you hastily made your way to the entrance. Walkers were strewed across the ground, the smell of decaying bodies filling the air making you gag repeatedly. Shane and Rick began bashing on the front of the CDC roller door as walkers started approaching.

You began pacing, looking for ways to get in to the building when you looked up at the camera as it moved.

“The camera, it moved.” You heard Rick say

Dale was quick to respond “You imagined it.”

You backed Rick up “No, I saw it move too. It moved.”

Walkers started approaching quickly, threatening the groups safety. While Shane attempted to convince Rick to leave the CDC you started bashing on the door, yelling at the camera.

“I know you’re in there, let us in!”

Rick joined in, bashing on the roller, “I know you can hear me, please, we’re desperate.”

More walkers began pacing towards you while there was still no answer.

Shane started dragging Rick away while he was yelling.

“You’re killing us, you’re killing us!”

And then the light shone upon you. The doors opened emitting the brightest light you have ever seen. You all froze.

You followed Rick’s lead and stepped in cautiously, guns raised. A man rounded the corner, gun aimed at you all.

“Anybody infected?”

“One of our group was, he didn’t make it.”

“Why are you here, what do you want?”

“A chance.”

The only thing the man asked of you was to submit to a blood test which made you feel sick. Walkers, they were scary but you could handle them. Needles, now that’s where you drew the line. Rick looked at you when he remembered your fear. You locked eyes with him and then you looked around, it was the first time that you had walls surrounding you in a long time and if a needle was what would allow you to have that safety again, you would do it. You looked back at Rick and nodded.

“We can do that.”

“You got stuff to bring in you do it now, once that door closes it stays closed.”

You grabbed your bags from the cars and ran back inside, allowing yourself to finally take a breath. You heard the man say his name was Dr Jenner as you followed him into the main room. Rick asked the question that you were all thinking. Where were the other doctors? Jenner replied saying that he was the only one left.

Your leg started bouncing up and down while you sat and waited for your turn to have your blood test. You felt a wave of nausea over come you, your head became heavier and you felt like you were about to pass out. Jenner called you up and your knees became weak, you braced for your fall but Shane caught you.

“Woah there, don’t go fallin’ for me.”

You chuckled, “Ain’t gonna be that easy, thanks for catching me.”

“Ya still scared of needles?” He asked while linking his arm around your back and leading you towards Jenner.

“Never got over the fear, still scares the shit out of me.”

He gently placed you on the chair and asked Jenner if he had a smaller needle or something to help you calm down. You looked up at him in surprise at how kind he was being right now.

Jenner reached for the butterfly needles and proceeded to set it up, as he grabbed your arm, you subconsciously reached for Shane’s hand and squeezed it slightly, looking into his eyes as Jenner pushed the needle into your arm.

“Thanks, Shane.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Daryl was forced to sit there and watch the entire interaction between you and Shane, seething at every word that came out of Shane’s mouth. His heart tightening when you were returning the affection towards him and when you grabbed Shane’s hand his heart broke. That should have been him comforting you but no one knew about the night the two of you had, no one knew about the feelings you shared and now he wasn’t sure if you were even telling the truth.

Jenner led you all to the dining area, food graced the table and Jenner even brought out a few bottles of wine and other alcohols. You all laughed like never before. Telling each other stories, relaxing more and more as the alcohol set in. You were on your third glass of wine, glancing occasionally at Daryl who was drinking straight from the bottle. You wondered why he hadn’t spoken to you since last night and why he looked so angry every time your eyes crossed paths.

Shane brought everyones mood down instantly when he began questioning the doctor about where all the other staff had gone. You just sat and listened while Jenner explained everything, including the way that some of the doctors ‘opted out.’

Jenner began taking you through the halls as he explained that most of the rooms had couches but there were some beds available, all though some people may have to share rooms. There was also a rec room down the hall filled with books which made you extremely happy.

“If you shower, go easy on the hot water.”

Those words were like music to your ears, shower, hot water. Things you always took for granted in the previous world.

You walked past a few of the rooms that were already taken, Glenn and T-dogg sharing one, Lori, Carl and Rick in another when suddenly Shane stopped you.

“You can share a room with me if you’d like.” You looked up as Daryl walked past and saw the sudden look of hurt flash across his eyes.

“That’s okay Shane, thanks for the offer.”

You chased quickly after Daryl after he had turned into a room that had a double bed, he threw his bag on top and then threw himself next to it. You knocked on the door quietly and he shot up.

“The hell do ya want?”

The sudden burst of anger had your chest aching.

“Excuse me?”

“Ya heard me, what the hell are ya doin’ in here?”

“I was coming to ask if you wanted to share a room, you know, after last night and all.”

He scoffed at you “Last night was a mistake.”

And there it was, you felt yourself grow angry at his words but you knew this was what he did, he pushed people away to make himself feel less attached.

“What did you just say?”

He stood up from the bed now, stomping over to you, his face inches away from yours. “I said, last night was a fuckin’ mistake.”

“Thats bullshit Daryl Dixon and you know it.”

“I meant what I said.”

“Fuck you.” It came out as barely a whisper but it was enough for him to hear it, tears started uncontrollably streaming down your face as you wiped them away quickly but they fell too fast for your sleeves to stop them.

Daryl looked at you crying and felt his heart break even more. To think that he was the reason for your crying broke him. “M’ sorry.”

“No, fuck you, you don’t get to apologise just like that. You don’t get to say that last night was a mistake when you know it wasn’t. You told me how you felt, you expect me to think that just went away over night.”

He went to reach for your arm but you smacked his hand away. “Are you kidding me, don’t try and touch me, don’t try and comfort me, just tell me why you’re fucking acting like this.”

“Ya should be with Shane, not me.” He couldn’t stop himself from blurting it out.

“What?”

“Ya deserve someone better, like Shane. He’d treat ya better than I ever could.”

“What in the world makes you think that?”

“I saw the way he was helpin’ ya before, I didn’t even know ya were scared of needles.”

“Daryl, I don’t like Shane, I like you.”

“Naw, ya just sayin’ that, just like ya said all that shit last night, ya didn’t mean it.” You could see the pain in his eyes when he forced himself to speak his worries.

“I meant every word and I’ll say it again. I like you Daryl, I’ve liked you since the day I met you. Seeing you walk into our camp with your brother, I knew you would be a pain in my ass and I was right but God, I wouldn’t change that for the world. I know you like me too, I know you’re scared to admit how much you like me, but I know you do.”

He just stared at you, his eyes flicking between your eyes and your lips until slowly he reached up and pushed a strand of your hair behind your ear. “Ya know I’m not good with words but can I, uh…”

“Yes.”

With your permission he leant down and kissed your lips, so gently that you could hardly feel him, your hands reached behind his head, entangling in his hair and pulling him in closer, deepening the kiss.

After a short while of staying in that moment you pulled away from him to look in his eyes, your hands staying in his hair.

“Do you believe me now?”

He just nodded and leaned his forehead against yours.

“Will ya stay with me tonight? I’ll take the couch. Ya can have the bed.”

You chuckled slightly pressing another gentle kiss to his lips before completely stepping back. He watched in confusion as you walked away into the hall, leaving him standing there alone, only to return with your bag in your hand, putting it down on the couch. His eyes grew brighter when he understood that you were staying.

“We can both stay in the bed but God I need a shower…And so do you.”

“Nah, ya heard what Jenner said, there ain’t much hot water, ya go and have a shower, I’ll wait here.”

“Daryl Dixon, I am not sleeping in a bed with you if you’re dirty, you’re just gonna have to shower with me.”

His heart raced at your words, his cheeks flushing red and then he remembered his scars and you saw the panic set into his face.

“You can face me the whole time, I promise I won’t make you do anything you’re not comfortable with.” You walked closer to him, grabbing his hands and slowly pulling him towards the bathroom. He allowed you to lead him.

You turned the water on and let out a small squeal of joy when you felt the hot water hit your hand, this earned a small smile from Daryl. You slowly removed your shirt, then your pants as you watched Daryl struggle to figure out where he should be looking. You laughed softly at the awkwardness of this man which drew his eyes back to you, the tips of his ears turning red. He began chewing his thumb as you pulled off the rest of your clothes and stepped into the shower, relishing in the hot water, something you didn’t realise you had been craving for so long.

“Whenever you’re ready, only if you’re comfortable.”

You heard him undo his belt and a minute later he was stepping into the shower with you. You pulled him carefully under the water and watched as the dirt began to discolour the floor beneath you. You placed your hands gently on the sides of his face, pulling him into a slow kiss, breaking away moments later. You reached for the shampoo behind you and put some in your hands as you reached up to his dirty hair and began to wash the dirt away, watching as Daryl’s face softened and his eyes closed at the feeling.

“Hold your head up while I rinse, I don’t want to get it in your eyes.”

He tilted his head up and let the water wash the soap out of his hair, you couldn’t help but smile at how relaxed he was in this moment, because of you. No one had ever cared for him this much.

He slowly put his head back down, looking at you before he placed his hands on your waist and pulled you into him, burying his head in the crook of your neck, letting the water wash over the both of you. Your hands found his hair as you played with his wet locks until you were both ready to get out.

You got out first so you could pass him a towel to cover his back. He took it from you nodding as you dried yourself off and began to dress in some clean pyjamas. He pulled on some loose pants and one of his tanks before making his way into the room that you were both sharing. He laid down on one side of the bed, covering his eyes with his arm.

“I’m gonna go and check out the book collection, I’ll be back.”

“M’kay.”

You felt like you were on cloud nine as you made your way just down the hall into the rec room, Carl and Lori had just walked out as you walked in, you ruffled Carl’s head on his way out and he gave you a cheeky look.

As you shuffled through the books you heard a door shut and you jumped slightly at the sound. “Jesus Christ Shane, you scared the shit out of me.”

“Ya with the redneck now? That how it is?”

Your eyes snapped to him quickly as you heard his words, you could hear they were slurring slightly from the amount of drinks he’d had.

“He has a name, ya dick.”

Shane began pacing towards you, forcing you to put your hands against him when he slammed his body against yours, pushing you both into a wall.

“Ya know he ain’t gonna treat you right, girl. Ya know I can.”

“Shane, get off me, now.”

“Ya know I’ll protect ya better than he ever can.”

“Shane I’m warning you, get off of me.”

“What are you gonna do girl.” He dropped the bottle that was in his hands to pin your arms above your head, holding you in place against the wall as his lips found your neck.

“Shane please, stop, please.”

“Beg for me, I like it when ya beg.”

You twisted beneath him trying to get out of his grip but it was no use, he had you pinned and you couldn’t move.

“DARYL!” You yelled as loud as you could.

“Shut up, god damn it.” Shane slammed you into the wall again, winding you. You couldn’t find your voice to yell again so you prayed that Daryl had heard you.

Within moments, Daryl came barreling into the room ripping Shane off you and throwing him to the floor.

“Ah shit” was all you head Shane muster before he copped punch after punch, Daryl’s weight completely holding him down. You reached for Daryl’s hand as he was about to swing yet again.

“Daryl stop, please.”

He looked at you, you had never seen him this angry but when his eyes found yours, the anger melted away.

He stood up, climbing off of Shane, looking down at him again.

“Ya ever touch her again, I’ll fucking kill you.”

Daryl grabbed your hand and quickly led you back to the room where he checked you over for any injuries, lightly tracing his fingers over your neck sending shivers down your spine. You wrapped your arms around his middle and he felt your tears start to soak his shirt. He caressed your hair as you stood there for a good five minutes until you finally let go of him and looked up.

“I didn’t think you heard when I yelled. I thought he was gonna…”

“Stop. I’ll always protect ya, ya hear me. Always.”

You felt the effects of the long day start to take a toll on you as you led Daryl towards the bed, pulling the covers back you climbed in on one side and Daryl climbed in on the other. Something about being with him made you feel calm, made you feel like everything was going to be okay. You turned over on your side, your back facing Daryl as you felt his arm snake around your waist, pulling you into him. You fell asleep within minutes of being in his arms. It was the best sleep you both had in a long time.

[youngbloodlisk]

I Love You // Lee Hyunjae

request: "May I request for a fluffy scenario fic where you're dating hyunjae and his ex gf came back to look for him and you lost confident?"

- fluff

- almost angst bc of the nature of the scenario but i tried to keep it to a minimum

- screw off ex gf!!

- i'm not very proud of this, i'm sorry anon, i promise i tried my very best for you :(

- but thank you for being my first ever request, you made my week

- you take care too!!

- i hope this is good enough for you, lovely <33

- look at the beautiful angel in this photo

Hyunjae interrupts the movie dialogue with his own question.

"What do you think of the movie so far?"

"It's... okay... what do you think?"

"I hate it." Hyunjae is a lot more blunt about his opinion.

"Me too. It's awful." I pull myself up off of my boyfriend's chest so he can grab the remote from the table and bring the piece of terrible cinematography to an end.

"Well..." He twirls the small remote in his hand and purses his lips. "What now? We didn't have a Plan B. Although, that would have been a good idea."

"It's pretty late, it might be smarter for you to just go home instead of starting something new. Don't you have schedules tomorrow?"

"Yeah, a couple." Hyunjae pouts and lays his head on my lap. "But I don't wanna leave you yet..."

I play with his hair and we sit in peaceful, content silence for a few minutes. It's only interrupted by the ding of Hyunjae's text tone.

He pulls his phone out of his pocket and my eyes catch the name above the message.

"I thought your ex wasn't gonna text you anymore."

"She's a trainee, she needs to ask questions sometimes." Hyunjae begins to type a response to her question, which is probably extremely obvious. They always are.

"Can't she send her flirting to someone else's boyfriend?"

"She doesn't flirt." Hyunjae notices my hands leave his hair and he sits up, closing his phone and looking at me with concern. "If it makes you uncomfortable, I'll ask her to direct her questions to someone else. Would that be better?" He takes my hand.

"Hyunjae, I don't wanna try to tell you who you can and can't talk to, I just-"

"It's okay, baby. If it bothers you that much, I'll tell her to stop. Okay?"

I crack a small smile and Hyunjae pulls me into a hug. The embrace of his warm arms makes me forget all about her, even just for a moment.

-----------

I crack the door open and peek inside the practice room.

The boys are panting and gulping down water, having just finished another run through.

Haknyeon is the first to notice me, waving for me to come in.

"Hey guys, I brought celebratory lunch! Congratulations on your comeback soon, it's gonna be stellar." I set down the bag full of eleven plastic food boxes, each one slightly different in taste and each labeled with a specific member's name.

They let out some cheers and thank you's as they each go to find their own box.

Juyeon fakes a gag when he notices the heart written next to Hyunjae's name on his box, causing me to look around for my boyfriend.

One by one, I identify each of the members of The Boyz.

Juyeon is right next to me.

Sangyeon and Chanhee are playing cards while they eat.

Sunwoo, Kevin, and Changmin are goofing off together.

Eric and Jacob are both looking at their phones while listening to Younghoon talk to them.

Haknyeon is devouring his food like it's his last meal.

Hyunjae is... nowhere to be found.

"Hey, Juyeon?" I grab his attention before he walks away from the table. "Where's Hyunjae?"

"He left about an hour before you got here. A staff member came and said someone was here to meet him. We assumed it was you, so I have no idea where he went. Sorry."

"That's alright, thanks. I'm gonna go see if I can find him before his food gets too cold." Juyeon gives me a nod and a thumbs up before heading off to join Sang and Nyu's game of cards.

I search every corner of the building that I know exists and have access to, with no sign of my boyfriend. I even ask a few staff members I bump into, but they can only tell me what Juyeon said or less.

Finally, I find Hyunjae's manager and ask him if he knows where Hyunjae ran off to.

"Hyunjae? A trainee came to treat him to lunch as a thank you. They're at the restaurant across the street. That's all he told me before he left."

I thank him kindly and my heart sinks as I realize who's on a date with my boyfriend.

I soon find myself standing outside the company, looking through the glass window walls at Hyunjae and his ex-girlfriend dining on tteokbokki and laughing at something that probably isn't even funny in the first place.

You know what else isn't funny?

Her hand laying on his hand on the table.

You know one more thing that isn't funny?

Her leg rubbing against his leg.

My mind fills with thoughts of insecurity, doubt, question, and my confidence drops by the minute.

I go back inside and head up to the practice room. I can't stand to watch her blatantly flirt with my boyfriend like this.

I enter the practice room to see the guys cleaning their boxes with disinfectant wipes once they're finished eating and putting them back in my bag for me. So thoughtful. I wonder which one of them had that idea...

Avoiding extra embarrassment sounds like a good plan, so I grab Hyunjae's lonely box of fried chicken and vegetables and put it in the bag with the clean boxes before saying my goodbyes and good luck with the rest of the practice.

Halfway down the hall, Hyunjae turns the corner. His face lights up with his beautiful smile upon seeing me.

"Hey! What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I... I brought lunch." He looks down at the bag and sees his box through the opening. Complete with the red heart drawn by his name, surrounded by empty boxes from the other guys.

"Oh, I'm sorry, baby. I just ate." His voice and face shows his apology is genuine, but I don't fully register it.

"Don't worry, you can tell me all about your date and flirting later-"

"It wasn't a date! There was no flirting-"

"Hyunjae, I'm not upset. I'm just kind of annoyed. I'm also not an idiot. I know what flirting looks like. I know what trying to get your ex-boyfriend back looks like. You dropping our plans and conversations to heed to her beck and call definitely doesn't-... doesn't... help that..." I stare at the floor as I realize I said much more than I meant to, and it doesn't take Hyunjae long to understand what the real problem is.

"Hey, look at me." I lift my head just enough to meet his eyes and he takes my free hand in his. "I broke up with her for a reason. I don't love her, and I don't plan to go back to her. Ever. I don't think anyone in the world could ever treat me as well as you do, be as beautiful as you, be as funny as you, be as perfect as you in any way." My eyes drift away from his, and he holds my chin up to face him. "I'm all yours. I..." He hesitated before his last statement. "I love you."

My eyes widen and my lips part in a small gasp.

"You just said... We've never said..."

"I know." He nods rapidly and panic begins to set into his eyes. "I know that was really sudden and you absolutely don't have to say it if you don't want to, I just-"

"I love you too, Hyunjae." My smile grows involuntarily, and his smile reappears at the sight of mine.

Hyunjae pulls me closer and places a soft, sweet kiss on my lips.

We're both absolutely giddy, like two kindergarteners who just got "married" on the playground during recess.

His hand rests on my neck and his thumb slowly rubs my skin. It's a small but beautiful touch.

Our kiss is only interrupted by someone clearing their throat behind me.

We pull apart to see Eric standing there with one of the plastic food boxes.

"Kevin forgot to put his box in the bag. Sorry..." My cheeks resemble tomatoes and I recognize that his apologetic statement is for both Kevin forgetting his box and for interrupting the moment.

"Thanks, Eric." I take the box from him, and with a small nod, Eric hurries back to the practice room.

I turn to my boyfriend, shoving the box into the bag with all its friends.

Hyunjae's face is also beet red, and his smile has turned shy.

"I'll see you at your place tonight?" He simply asks.

"Yeah. I'll put your food in the fridge for you."

His eyes are full of something I've never seen before. Something beautiful. Something that looks like pure bliss.

"Thank you, baby."

We part and go our separate ways after one last peck of a kiss. The moment I round that same corner Hyunjae had turned just a few moments ago, I hear jumping and excited whispers which sound a bit like...

"Yes! Yes! Yes! She said it back!"

My heart fills with love and joy.

Of course I said it back.

I love him.

[theriverpersonshadow]

Lamia Drama Part 8

WELL THAT GOT LONGER THAN I INTENDED. But I guess that’s what happens when you have a majority of the people in one place XD

I hope this chapter went well... It felt kinda rambly, but it was fun seeing people play off each other. It was hard to get the same level of depth with characters as previous chapters with so many, but hey, interactions are fun too! Hope you guys enjoy.

As always, the species of lamia in this fic belong to @vex-bittys

< PREV | BEGINNING | NEXT >

           Keith and the rest found Alex pretty easily. And a few other lamia that were either allowed free roam or had just slipped out. She didn’t seem to notice the onlookers, more caught up in petting Oozy… who wasn’t technically in his hammock. Maybe it’s best he didn’t make that bet with Hux earlier. Sure, Oozy’s close to the hammock, but Hux would absolutely rules lawyer him and demand snacks because he’s not in the hammock. Hux was a rule stickler… when and only when it helped him in some way. Eh, Keith could roll with it though (even if his dice sometimes couldn’t, but that’s what a DM screen is for).

           Keith was hesitant to break up the cute moment between the two – Oozy was apparently having the time of his life, and Alex seemed pretty wrapped up in it herself, humming some tune or another while stroking him. Keith listened, trying to place it, but…

           She was repeating it, huh? Was that the only part of the song she knew? Then again, it seemed like the good part, whatever it was. Easy enough to pick up too. Keith started humming along.

Hux rolled his eyes, mumbling something that sounded suspiciously like “great, two of them” and slithered over, “Yo. Girl person. Ya coming or what?”

Alex looked up, “I mean, yeah, I think? Coming where?”

“nooooooooo…” Oozy said, taking her hand and putting it back on his head. “Sorry guys. I’m stealing her. She’s my personal petter now. That’s the rules.”

“Since when?!” Hux said.

Oozy looked a moment, then licked her hand. “I licked her, she’s mine.”

Keith stared at him in shock, not sure whether to laugh or slap him. “Dude.”

Nikolai gave a heavy sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose, “Don’t lick party members. Or people in general.”

           “How does that work anyways? You’re a skeleton,” Alex said.

           “Maaaagic,” Keith said, wiggling his fingers in emphasis. “In other words, uh… Monster biology is weird. Or half monster biology. Whatever the fuck we are.”

           Nikolai nodded, “More or less, yes. I can explain it in more detail later, if you’d prefer.” He started coming forward and Alex inched away. Keith hissed before he could catch himself, but Nikolai didn’t seem offended. Instead, he lowered himself in a bow, “And I’d like to apologize for how I acted earlier… I’ll admit I, erm… Overreacted. But we’ve had issues in the past of people coming in to steal babies or eggs, one of the fools tried to snag a mamba egg and got himself killed. I just get a bit jumpy about strangers around them.”

           Alex nodded, relaxing a little, but still staring off at a clock instead of Nikolai. Her hand continued to run across Oozy as she said, “I get it. They’re just little dudes, too freaking small. And some are venomous. Not like you knew me.”

           “Still, I should’ve given you more of a chance or at least asked you politely to leave before turning to threat displays,” Nikolai said.

           “Eh… It was my fault,” Keith said. “I should’ve warned ya I was bringing someone in. Anyways, let’s try this again. Alex, this is Nikolai. He could probably fuck you up, but he’s everyone’s mom.”

           Nikolai made no move to deny it.

           “Hux here is the grumpy snake. He’ll warm up to ya.”

           “No I won’t.”

           Keith rolled his eyes, “He’s just a grump.”

           Hux mumbled to himself.

           “I think you’ve met Oozy pretty well by now.”

           “Sup,” Oozy said, making absolutely zero movement.

           “And, erm… Nikolai, you’ve got Trousle, right.”

           “Hello human! I’m Trousle! Please let me say hi.” Said Trousle’s little speaker. He was poking out from Nikolai’s sleeve, apparently wrapped around his arm.

           “He’s mute, but he’s pretty fast at typing. Got his own phone and everything,” Keith said, watching this girl intently. Apparent soulmate or not, if she was dick about Trousle, she was out of here. She might’ve earned Oozy’s enthusiastic (well… enthusiastic by his standards, dude looked like a kid in a candy store, but the world’s laziest kid) approval, but he wasn’t going to let an asshole mess with the little dude. Hux would warm up, that was more him being a bit of an ass than her, but he’d get over it… probably.

           “Oh that’s cool! Do you have a phone number? Honestly I think my fingers work better than my mouth sometimes, but I guess talking out loud doesn’t really have a backspace key? But yeah! C’mere… Wait, I can hold him, right? Snakes are just, like, noodle puppies.” She paused, looking at everyone in the room. “I’d offer to hold you guys, but I am literally the second smallest person in here. I mean, guess we can try, but I don’t think it’ll go well?”

           Keith snorted. Gosh, she was something, huh? A little awkward, but who wouldn’t be super awkward in this situation?

           Nikolai brought Trousle over and she draped him around her neck. He nuzzled her cheek, giving her little scratches behind the ear.

           … should someone tell him that she’s not a dog?

           …

           Naaaaaaaaaah. She didn’t seem to mind anyways,

           Hux made a fake-gagging gesture at the two and Keith rolled his eyes, whispering at them, “Oh let’em have this. It’s cute.”

           “I’m getting diabetes. Like, right now. They’re just beaming diabetes across the room.”

           “Be nice,” Nikolai said, “It’s not going to kill you to have to actually smile at a human once in a while.”

           “Yes it will. It’s, like, a terminal thing. If I smile at a human, I will instantly turn to dust.”

           No such condition had ever existed and likely never would.

           Keith’s first instinct was to back up Nikolai, but it was almost an in-joke that he’d at least try to defend Hux no matter how clearly in the wrong the guy was. Admittedly, it was as often as not either due to boredom or just feeling bad for the guy…

           It’s not like Hux didn’t have a point – a point that he had iterated in frustrated, sometimes tear-filled tirades at least a few dozen times. He didn’t want to be treated like a pet, he’s allowed to not want to be a pet. Sure, not every adopter is like that. Some might’ve been looking for pets, yeah, but just as many want a kid or a friend, especially with full sized lamia. It could be more or less just like adopting any other monster, save for needing a good deal more raw meat. But Hux didn’t see it that way… Not that Keith ever blamed him. There wasn’t a huge market for full-sized Corals, their reputation as being stubborn, a bit lazy, and tsundere as hell was cute in something you could pick up and snuggle as it chirped indignantly and secretly enjoyed it – like an extra intelligent, reptilian cat – but less so when it was just as big as you and probably stronger. Everyone wanted a housecat, no one wanted a mountain lion. Or those that did need something to growl and hiss would probably pick Kings or Mambas.

           Nikolai gave a long-suffering sigh, “You will not turn to dust if you’re forced to be nice every now and then.”

           “Yeah I will. It’ll, like, strangle my soul or some shit. Keith, back me up here. Tell ‘im.”

           Nikolai had the distinct impression of a haggard mom trying to reason with an unruly kid. He just looked so done. Dude could handle customers, angry mamba moms, being a jungle gym for babies, and training employees who may or may not have believed he knew he what he was doing, but Hux was his breaking point.

           Keith stifled a chuckle, stuffing his hands in his pockets as his mind worked over what to do… He didn’t want to just abandon Hux – Nikolai would know it was just him being a loyal bro – but Alex wouldn’t. She might not’ve been looking at them, but he caught the way she kept glancing over…

           “Welp, ya heard him. He’s sick. I prescribe ten CC’s of coffee with extra sugar and bribery with shiny objects.”

           Hux’s head popped up, body at attention. “I’m listening… How many shiny objects are we talking.”

           “… we’re not bribing him.”

           “I’ve got extra dice?” Alex said hesitantly. Trousle was looking at her in concern, patting her face. She said, “I mean, I kinda like having all my dice, but I guess I don’t need seven sets… I’m keeping the black ones though, they’re good for fight scenes. And the orange ones, they were my first set ever and are not for sale. Also, the green and purple ones are just a fae vibe, I’m keeping them. They’re just average, but I like them.” Pause. “And the lesbian dice are mine. They won’t like you anyways, you’re a boy.”

           All of them nodded understandingly. You could only play DnD so long and not get irrationally attached to the colorful little click clack rocks of fate.

           “That counts as one shiny object,” Hux said.

           “There are seven in each set!” Pause. “Well, more or less. I’ve lost some over the years.”

           “You’ve got a point… More dice for the dice dragon! Mwahahahah!” Hux said, hamming it up.

           Keith’s mouth twitched into a grin as he shook his head at the goof. How was he this cute? Just… goober. His friend is a total goof sometimes.

           “Can I try the lesbian dice?” Trousle asked, holding himself at an awkward position to type.

           “I… I guess? Just give them back after…” Alex said. She ran a finger across Trousle’s head, smiling as he let out little breathy attempts to “Nyeh.”

           “Why are they lesbians anyways? Do they only work for girls?” Nikolai said.

           “Here, lemme show you.” She unzipped one of the pouches on her bag and brought out a baggy full of dice that were lesbian flag colored. “My friend got them for me for Christmas.”

           “That’s amazing. I want twelve,” Keith said.

           “You’re not a lesbian… or a girl! I think… I mean, if there’s something you want to tell us, that’s fine, but I was under the impression you weren’t even interested in relationships,” Nikolai said.

           “Maybe I could get, like… Dice that are for people who are just no.”

           “Ace and aro. Probably,” Alex said.

           “Oh cool. Words for it. Nice!”

           “Give me words for friends with everyone! I want a flag too!”

           “I… I don’t know if there’s a flag for that? Maybe we could put a dog on a flag? It’d be hard to make dice with dogs on them though,” Alex said.

           “Ya could put a little dog face on every side and interpret the roll based on how much they’re a Good Boy,” Keith said.

           “That would only roll Nat 20’s,” Alex said, deadpan.

           “… good point. It could be the luckiest dice,” Keith said, grinning.

           “I AM THE GOODEST BOY. Give me dog dice.” Trousle said, tucking the phone away to throw his little fists in the air, a gleam in his eye as he sat on Alex’s head.

           Keith laughed. “Oh my gosh. I mean, that sounds adorable, but, uh… I think that miiiiight be a little too game breaking, even for me.”

           “Give me dog dice.” He slithered back down to around Alex’s neck, holding himself out towards Keith the best he could and giving some mix between a glare and a pout.

           “Trousle no.”

           “Trousle YES,” Alex said.

           Troulse nodded enthusiastically, bouncing in place so hard that he fell off and Alex yelped as she caught him.

“Are you alright?!”

           Trousle gave a thumbs up, coiling around her arm.

           Oozy had apparently fallen asleep on the floor, so Hux poked him with a stick, making Oozy whine. “Soooooo… Are we gonna get Glitterass, or are we just shadow banning him from this? I mean, I wouldn’t say no if we are…”

           “We should probably go get him, yeah,” Keith said. “Ya ready Alex? Liam’s a mamba, and one of his eyes don’t work. Try to stay on his good side, literally. Metaphorically too if you want, but he doesn’t like having people where he can’t see or hear them well.” Not that anyone would like that, just courtesy really, but maybe not something you’d think of immediately.

           Alex nodded, “Alright, let’s go!”

[youidiotprince]

ALT ER LOVE SERVER GIFT EXCHANGE: FIC SET

happy holidays @soluxogobsc! I’m so sorry for posting this at the last possible second, but I hope you enjoy these fragments of fic for your favorite evak pairings (evak, elu, and davenzi) during the holiday season, each echoing the one before, their love rippling across the parallel universes. you can read them all under the cut.

EVAK

Somehow, without Isak or Even even noticing, the holiday season had crept up on them and nearly passed them by. As soon as they started their winter holidays from their Universities, time lost all meaning to them, and suddenly it was the day before Christmas Eve and they hadn’t purchased a single gift or set out a single decoration. That evening, a bit in a panic, they divided to conquer; Isak hunched over the coffee table to wrap the gifts they’d bought for their friends and family earlier that day, and Even moved between the tree and the open storage boxes of decorations, trying to bring some spirit into their apartment.

Dispersed amongst the boxes were precious tokens of their five Christmases together, the odd bits and trinkets they’d accumulated over time, their shared life together viewed through this one time of year that meant so much to them. Even pulled ornaments for the tree from the boxes. Some were sentimental, like the strip of film Isak had gotten framed as a gift for their second Christmas together, stills from one of the many videos Even had taken of them over the course of their relationship; some were comical, gag gifts given to them by their friends; and some were just traditional, like the angel they would put atop the tree later. When Even found an ornament that Jonas had gifted to them the year before that he had forgotten about, a reindeer lifting its leg to pee like a dog, he turned to Isak, amused, ready to remind him.

“Isak, what is that monstrosity in your hands right now?” Even assumed it was the candle they’d gotten for his mom, since the package seemed vaguely cylindrical in shape, but it was buried in what seemed to be three layers of wrapping paper, all haphazardly crumpled around the object within, a few pieces of tape stuck on to try to pull it all together. Even’s eyes shifted to the three other presents Isak had wrapped in the last hour, each one worse than the last. “What have you done?”

Isak rolled his eyes good-naturedly, but Even cut off his reply. “How did I not know how bad you were at this?”

“I’m not that bad,” Isak tried to defend, but then he looked back to the gifts, the mess before him, and he saw it anew, as if for the first time. “Okay, maybe I’m that bad.”

“You’re absolutely hopeless.” Even’s lips were parted in disbelief, but they quirked up at the corners with amusement.

“Hey,” Isak warned, pretending to be offended. “I usually get help with my gifts for you, and you wrap ours for us. So, it’s honestly kind of your fault for trusting me.”

“Oh, it’s my fault? Really?” Even asked, voice teasing as he stalked towards him. Isak only nodded, a mischievous smile tugging at his lips that he fought to suppress. When Even reached Isak, he crouched in front of where he sat on the couch, their lips only a breath apart. “Are you sure it’s not just a little bit your fault for not disclosing your lack of gift wrapping ability?”

Isak shook his head slowly, brushing his nose against Even’s, raising his chin just a bit to look down at him.

“My bad, then. How can I make up for my grave mistake?”

Isak leaned into Even, closing the bit of space between their lips as the tension between them reached its peak. It was a short kiss, to both of their dismay, a quick treat before they got back to more pressing matters.

When Isak pulled away, he answered Even’s previous question by motioning to the supplies around him. “You can start by taking care of all of this.”

“We’re going to be up all night.” Even’s eyes drifted to the pile of unwrapped gifts next to Isak that he’d yet to even touch. Isak’s did the same. The clock was ticking, but when he looked back at Isak, whose eyes crinkled in the corners with his lingering smile, he couldn’t bring himself to dive back into it yet. The presents and decorations would be there in the morning. “Do you want hot chocolate? Let’s take a hot chocolate break.”

ELU

The first thing Eliott did when he woke up on Christmas morning was make hot chocolate, one for him and one for Lucas. He stirred the warm liquid with a candy cane and topped them both off with a big dollop of whipped cream. Mugs in hand, he bounded back into his bedroom, where Lucas still lay, duvet pulled up to his chin as his shoulders rose and fell in that slow, steady rhythm of sleep he knew so well.

“Lucas, wake up, it’s Christmas.” He set the mugs on the bedside table so he could shake Lucas awake.

“What?” The sound was thick with sleep and confusion, more groan than word.

“It’s Christmas! I’m bringing you hot chocolate in bed, and it’s Christmas!” Eliott sat on the edge of Lucas’s side of the bed, turning to coax him out of his sleep. He tangled his fingers in Lucas’s mess of hair and ruffled it. “Wake up.”

“Eliott, it’s too early,” Lucas grumbled, fighting to pull the duvet up even higher.

“It’s not even that early.”

“It is,” Lucas said grumpily, covering his face with his hands since the duvet wouldn’t budge from under Eliott. “Why don’t you come back to bed?”

“No, I left you a present under our little tree. Don’t you want to open your present?” Lucas had also left him a present under the tree, and maybe, just a little part of Eliott was so antsy for Lucas to wake up so that he could open his gift from Lucas. The anticipation had been killing him ever since Lucas kicked him out of the bedroom the night before so he could wrap it. Eliott liked surprises, both giving them and receiving them, but that didn’t mean he had the patience for them.

“The only present I want right now is more sleep.”

Eliott didn’t have to see Lucas’s face to know the exact pout he was sporting at that moment; it was one he knew well, the one Lucas used every time he didn’t actually mean it.

“You leave me no choice, Lucas,” Eliott said, sounding as if he really did regret what he would have to do. Because Lucas’s hands were still hiding his face and shielding his eyes, it was all too easy for Eliott to jump up from the bed and take the warm, cozy duvet with him. Lucas’s hands flew from his face to follow the blanket, trying desperately to grab onto it before it was out of reach, but the lingering sleep made his limbs too slow.

“Eliott,” Lucas whined, but he was finally wide awake and he was laughing despite himself. “Okay, but at least let me drink my hot chocolate in the comfort of my bed.”

Eliott gave in and dropped the blanket back over Lucas’s legs as Lucas reached for the decadent mug and cradled it to his chest. Eliott sat back down where he had been before and watched Lucas raise the drink to his lips, holding his gaze over the top of the mug. When he pulled it away from his mouth, there was a white line of whipped cream above his lip. It was too adorable and endearing for Eliott to resist, so he leaned over Lucas and pressed his lips to his, enjoying the sticky sweetness of this kiss. Lucas put the mug back on the table before sliding back down into the bed so he was lying flat, pulling Eliott with him. There was a fleeting moment in which Lucas thought he had won, that Eliott would come back to bed after all, but before he could properly process that thought in his love drunk haze, Eliott was pulling away, was standing up, was grabbing Lucas’s hands and dragging him along with him.

“Not yet,” was all Eliott said before he walked out to the living room of their apartment, Lucas begrudgingly following after one last exasperated sigh.

DAVENZI

“David, no,” Matteo grumbled with an exaggerated sigh as he tried to resist David tugging him to his feet to follow him to the kitchen. David’s sister had spent the entire afternoon baking cookies, and she wanted the boys to help her decorate them. David couldn’t say no to her, but grumpy Matteo, who had only gotten more and more comfortable around David’s sister, didn’t seem to have the same problem. So far, asking nicely and using sheer force had not been working, so David made one last attempt to motivate him.

“Why don’t you want to? Are you scared your cookies won’t compare to mine?” David taunted, hoping to strike Matteo’s playful competitive nerve.

“Please,” Matteo huffed, feigning indifference, but David noticed the way he sat up a bit more, like maybe he was giving in.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed that I’m better than you.” David leaned closer to Matteo, raising his eyebrows in a challenge.

Matteo squinted one eye at him before leaning forward too, meeting him in the middle. “How are we doing this then?”

“We’ll each decorate a batch, and then my sister can be the judge?” David offered, pulling away to consider.

“Won’t she be a bit biased? Is that really fair?”

“If anything, she’ll be biased towards you.”

“Oh, good, sounds fair then,” Matteo said, smug. “Let’s go.”

“There you guys are,” Laura said, turning at the sound of their continued teasing. As always, she was listening to music as she cooked, singing along to some traditional Christmas songs this time. “I was starting to get worried.”

Matteo sat on the kitchen stool and rested his head on David’s shoulder as David filled Laura in on their little competition and her role as the judge. She adored the idea, mostly relieved that she wouldn’t have to do the decorating alone after all. She had already mixed a few colors of frosting and put them into frosting piping bags, and she’d also laid out a few different kinds of sprinkles. David and Matteo each set a tray of cooled cookies in front of them, but didn’t start decorating right away.

“Should we start?” David asked. Matteo shrugged as Laura said they should, and so they did.

There was only one piping bag for each color of frosting, and somehow one of them always needed the color the other was currently using, which led to bickering and attempts to steal the bag from the other’s hands, followed by fits of laughter as the commotion would cause the other to mess up, squeeze too much out at once or miss the cookie entirely. The efforts to sabotage only increased as they finished more and more cookies, “accidental” shoves or elbows to the ribs turning to blatant attempts to throw the other person off when they were working on more intricate details.

Once, without thinking, Matteo smashed his hand onto one of David’s already decorated cookies, which successfully rendered the cookie useless in the competition, but it covered his palm in red and green icing, which David thought was the funniest thing until Matteo smeared said palm across David’s cheek, leaving bold streaks of color there. When David made a move to grab one of Matteo’s cookies, no doubt to smush it on his face in return, Laura saw the impending food fight and intervened.

“Okay, okay!” she called, reaching in between them. “Time!”

“What do you mean? This wasn’t timed,” Matteo said, but Laura just shrugged.

“I’m the judge. Time’s up.”

Matteo and David surveyed the damage, and they hardly had one decent cookie between the two of them. There was no way Laura could pick an honest winner.

Still, after a few seconds of examining the trays, Laura decided, “Matteo is the winner.”

“But he cheated,” David countered, motioning to his cheek.

Laura laughed and corrected, “You both cheated. You just got the worse end of the consequences.”

“I knew I would win,” Matteo said, beaming.

David pretended to pout, refusing to look at Matteo as he crossed his arms over his chest stubbornly.

“Hey, you have a little something right… there,” Matteo teased, licking his finger and swiping at the frosting on David cheek.

David tried to shrug him off with a yelp before he leveled him with a glare that lacked any real intensity. “You’re not funny.”

“And you’re not so better than me after all.”

“I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.” And of course he didn’t. This was precisely what he loved about him.

[jubilantwriter]

Heart Shaped like Sea Glass

(First Part) (Previous Part) (Next)

Part 4 - Distinctions Made to be Forgotten

Summary:  Daniel has to remind himself constantly where he stands in this strange relationship he’s found himself in, less he forgets who they truly are and questions the choices he’s made.

im just.  really living for this au.  wowzers.  this is probably the most prolific i’ve been for a story.  anyway i hope you enjoyed that goofy fic last time because that’s gonna be the only nice, fun treat y’all be getting for a while

// // // // //

Humans are strange creatures.  They experience loss, succumb to their desires, and die in various ways that may or may not feed him.  They have a strange relationship with the ocean, some hating it, some loving it.  Daniel isn't very envious of them - they live such short lives, after all, and they make for filling meals that can last him for days.

So of course he doesn't know much about them.  After all, they're all food to him.  But this human, the one he feeds every day now, is stranger than most he encounters.

The man doesn't protest much when Daniel barges into his home (to which the human tells him is called a "shack"), and he shares his meals with Daniel without a word (after Daniel takes the time to catch him the fish of the day, of course).  He has never met a human more willing and more aware of the fact that he is, in fact, Daniel's next meal.  

The more he provides for the human’s meals, the more he finds himself… feeling this strange tightness in his chest.  It's not that it's off-putting, he thinks.  No no, it must be that... it's too easy.  Yes, that must be it.

It's too easy, sharing meals with this human, sharing conversation, and having the human accept his presence as though Daniel were nothing more than a-

Hm.  Well, there's no fun in a meal that is too easy to hunt.

(He tells himself this over and over.  It is the only reason, correct?  Why he feels this unease, this unnerving feeling when the human's eyes still continue to look dull, like the broken shards he sometimes finds washed up in the sand, before the ocean carries away the debris from shipwrecks past and present.)

That's why he should be ecstatic when the human refuses to eat one day.  He should be ecstatic, the human is being more impossible than usual, and that should make things exciting, right?

...Right?

"Human."  He shakes the human's shoulder again, trying to rouse him out of his fake sleep.  "Get up."  

The human makes no sound, instead pulling the thin, worn cloth over his body some more and refusing to show his face.  Daniel growls, frustrated because- well, it's because his prey is trying to starve himself!  And starved prey never tastes good.  Prey flavored with a proper diet taste the best, and they taste even better when they feel that rush of happiness, of pleasure, of joy, and all those positive emotions that make them taste so much like a sublime fillet of the most richest tasting salmon, or of that meaty, hearty taste of tuna.  And all his efforts will be for naught if this human refuses to eat.

"You need to eat."  Half a day has passed, and the human still refuses to answer Daniel.  He curses himself, shaking the human more roughly as he remembers noticing the distant look in the human's eyes, how he gave Daniel more and more of his cooked fishes, how he grew more quiet, talked less, responded less, looked at Daniel less-

He doesn't know humans.  He can't read the signs.  But he chest squeezes and his face heats up as he realizes belatedly that he should have noticed.  That probably wasn't normal human behavior, right?  Oh but he doesn't know, he doesn't know!  And now this human won't get up and eat, won't acknowledge him, won't speak to him-

The stench of rot almost makes him gag as he stumbles back from the human.  

He's getting worse.

And Daniel doesn't know what to do.

He runs his talons through his hair, pacing around the human's abode as he thinks, and thinks, and thinks-

His song.

If.  If he can't get the human to eat normally then-

Well.  This is how he was always meant to hunt, right?  He's a predator.  Predators hunt.  They kill.  They lure and trap and chase after their prey and refuse to let up.  Predators don't care for their prey as though they're little chicks in need of hand-holding, nor do predators feel... emotions when they see their prey struggling.

(Predators don't pace and fret and worry over their prey.  Predators don't try to make them feel better.  Predators find the weakest one, the sickest one, the most injured, the weakest, the youngest- and they strike without remorse.  Because food.  Is food.

Food.  Is.  Food.)

Daniel clears his throat.  It's been a while since he's sung.  He inhales deeply of the human's scent, ignores the rotting, and focuses on that deep-seated desire of his.

It smells like the ache of sprouts stuck under the shade of trees, unable to grow to their fullest potential.  It smells a bit like bittersweet citrus, of fruits that bite at the tongue despite how desired they are.  It smells like the trees on the mountains he's flown over every winter, the scent strong and overpowering and inescapable if he chooses to fly lower to the treeline.

They weave together into a song as his feathers fluff up, and an ancient power quietly fills his chest up as easily as a single breath of air.  

"Cherished beloved, come lay in my arms.  I swear to you, there'll be no charms.  No more visions of death and harm.  Come to me, and together we'll rest.  From here on out, I promise the best."

The human jolts in his bed before sitting upright quickly.  He turns to look at Daniel with eyes clouded over, (eyes wide and hurt and broken and pained and the stench strengthens and makes him gag) and he utters a soft, "Davey?"

The name of his lost love.  He has no idea how he looks to the human, but he can see the tears pooling in the corner of his eyes as his breathing staggers and he stumbles out of his nest.  Daniel opens his arms in a welcoming manner as he backs out of the shack.  A broken sob escapes the human as he struggles to his feet.

"No- don't, don't go!  It's dangerous, please, come back, I-"

Dangerous?  Daniel quickly stops his train of thought as he continues to sing.  "Follow me, my sweetest heart, and together at last, we'll make a new start."  

"Davey!"  The human lurches forward and tries to grab Daniel, but he quickly leaps back and puts more distance between them.  The sand sifts between his toes as the wind begins to pick up.  Idly, he realizes that a storm is on its way.  The human flinches as a gust of wind hits him, and he stares wild-eyed and desperate as he reaches for Daniel.  "Davey, Davey, come back please, I'll protect you- please, come back here,  I don't need anything else, I don't want anything else, so please, please-!"

Daniel keeps stepping back, and the waves crash against the back of his legs as the human freezes in place.

(He's used to the ocean's angry whispers by now.  That's what he tells himself, as the waves threaten to pull back further and further until they crash over him like a tidal wave.  Except- except, there's something else in the whispers now too.  A bitterness that he doesn't expect.  A bitterness that borders on... dismay?)

"...Don't."  The whispered word leaves the human like a strangled gasp.  He reaches for Daniel again as his eyes widen in a vision that Daniel can't see.  "Don't go in."

In?  Daniel looks behind him.  The ocean is agitated, true, but it won't be for a few more minutes before the waves grow tall enough to sweep and pull him away from the beach.  A wave crashes over his feet, pulling the sand out from under him as he adjusts his position to stay upright.  But the movement is enough to elicit a scream from the human, and before he knows it, hands are grabbing his arm and he's being yanked forward and into something warm.

When did the human-!

They both stumble as the human falls backwards onto his ass, Daniel's face pressed flush against his chest as he braces himself with his hands on the wet sand.  Daniel barely has a moment to lift his face away from the human when the brunette’s hands bury themselves in Daniel's hair and clothes.  He's pressed tight and flush against the human as warm tears splash against his shoulder.  

This... feels familiar.

"Don't go in," the human whimpers out, "the forest is dangerous."

Forest?

The human keeps Daniel in his protective grip, nearly folding the siren into his arms as he curls over the blonde.  "Please, I can't lose you again...!"

Rain begins to pour heavily from the heavens.  Daniel looks down to where his talons can easily dig into the human's back.  How he can sink his fangs into the human's neck and rip out a chunk of flesh that would leave the human's voice garbled and choking.

Daniel is a predator.

He is a predator.

And predators hunt the weakest of the group.

His mouth draws closer to the human's neck as the rain makes their bodies slick with moisture.  The human clings to him tighter, exposing the junction between neck and shoulder to Daniel at a laughably tempting angle.

All he has to do is bite down.

That's all it takes to end his prey's life.

(...That's all it takes to end it all.)

"I love you," the human breathes against his shoulder, "I'm sorry.  I won't let it happen again."  The human's arm slides up the space between Daniel's wings and presses Daniel's head closer to his shoulder.  "I swear it.  I'll protect you this time."

Rain continues to pour around them.  It soaks them to their core, the water sliding off his wings as they continue to sit on the rain soaked beach.  Neither of them move as Daniel slowly brings his hands up to the human's shoulders.  He doesn't push away, nor does he pull closer.  Instead, his voice keeps up the illusion, despite the loss of that melodic beat he's been clinging to for his songs.

"...Let's get inside."

"...Okay."

Slowly, they untangle, but the human keeps a firm grip on Daniel's wrist as he leads them back into the shack.  Once inside, the human leads him towards the fireplace and sits him down in front of it.  A fire is started as the human wanders off, only to return with a single, thick fabric.  Quietly, he uses it to dry Daniel's hair before draping it over his shoulders.

The brunette doesn't get one for himself.

Neither of them speak for a moment as the human sits down next to him.  

Neither of them move as the fire continues to fill the silence between with crackles and pops.

And neither of them acknowledge the lack of haze in the human's eyes.

Instead, they drown in the silence of their voices, the thought of food forgotten.

(The stench of rot fills the air, and he ignores the clenching in his chest as the human hunches forward.  He looks up towards the roof of the shack.  Rain drips through a sizable crack.  

A leak.  

He focuses on the plip of the rain dripping through the crack.

And ignores the plip of the salty tears dripping loudly onto the floor.

It's the least he can do after what he's managed to do.

...It's the least he can do after what he's failed to do.)