#surprisingly there isn't a ton of angst

[bearw-me]

Post-extermination!Lute x fem reader? Where lute is trying to show that she's still good/strong enough for reader and she can still be independent. Along with reader comforting Lute about how she's still perfect for her. (Details and examples below bc i enjoy rambling sorry)

I imagine that after loosing her arm lute would be very showy about overcompensating for it. And that if reader even tried to treat her bit differently, like being more SLIGHTLY gentle/careful with her, lute would get offended tell her to knock it off.

Lute's a strong woman, pre-extermination her carried reader alllll the time. Post-extermination Lute would most certainly still try too (and surprisingly succeeds somehow) despite the reader's worries of being dropped or being too heavy for 1 arm.

This ranges from trying to hold all the groceries alone to trying to prove she's still good in the bedroom by not allowing the reader to help (like she'd literally tell reader to let her do it alone)

I hope you have a wonderful day!!!

dont apologize for requesting! i adore long requests! they have all the little details for the prompt included that make the story just- *chefs kiss*

𝐈 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐃𝐨 𝐈𝐭 — 𝐋𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐇𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬

𐐒 includes : post-extermination!lute x fem!reader 𐐒 cw : fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, mention of blood/stitches/wounds 𐐒 summary : lute's adjusting to life after extermination day, and as her girlfriend, you hope to make it easier on her 𐐒 note : i don't even know what to call my rambling anymore lol, love it

like we all saw at the end of the season, lute is full or rage- and a little hurt

the loss of her arm, initially, didn't hurt as much as losing her best friend

it takes longer for her to heal and accept the sudden turn of events

she doesn't want it to stop her or hold her back, especially from her relationship with you (especially with the loss of adam) she'd want to hold on tight to you

(like in the ask) Lute isn't one to just be beaten down by this, its a challenge she's going to fking overcome-by herself

likes to do things for YOU instead of the other way around, like if you want a snack or something she won't even let you stand up (let alone THINK) about grabbing it yourself

definitely wouldn't tell you about how she feels unless its too much, but you can see it in her; the way she's sluggish or looking down more often.

(although im not sure atm) I assume Lute is right-handed; without the left, things can get a bit trivial at times

like when you watch her try to balance her long spear with one arm, the weight of the steel trembling between her fingers. the muscles in her arms not used to carrying the entire weight by itself

Lute carrying you with one arm: she tries like how she used to, by putting an arm under your arms to support your back-but stops when she realizes she cant pick you up bridal style

I think she could manage holding you that way, around your back if you also hold onto her by wrapping your arms around her shoulders

(on this note) you being so close to her face is the perfect opportunity for her to kiss you

Hugging her from the back is not happening- her wings and all. . .

If you tried to help her take care of her arm too; bandaging it or cleaning it; she'd refuse all help and lock herself in the bathroom until she's handled it herself

(you can hear a ton of mumbled swearing and things knocking around)

its not a you thing, its a her thing; she needs to prove to herself that she can do it

Lute would hate all the flowers the other exterminators would get her; to the point she wouldn't even acknowledge the roses you placed on her nightstand

she's too stubborn to ever say it, but she's thankful you're still with her: Lute giving you soft kisses when she thinks your asleep, whispering all the 'thank you's' she doesn't think she could ever say to you awake

The loss of her arm pushes her to work harder, especially on the arm she still has in order to compensate for what happened

Technically, the hell-spawn didn't take her arm, but they still took a lot from her- she doesn't want that to mean they could take you from her too

You bet your ass the day will come where she picks up that spear again, better than fucking ever

[oneshlut]

Hey, I just found your blog through a Varian headcanon and I’m in love! Could I humbly request a platonic Jax x reader where it’s the readers “birthday” (they day they came to the digital circus) and reader gets a bit down? I hope your day/evening/night is well, and remember to brush your teeth!

A/N: daaawww, hurt/comfort, my favorite (besides angst of course).. thanksies for the reminder--and for requesting, yesyes! hope you like what i did with this as much as you liked the var hcs :D (also super refreshing to see more platonic requests,)

OMG SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG LMAO

Turning.. Something (Jax & Reader) [Headcanons]

Rules For Requesting

Characters I Will Write For

Masterlist

Summary: It's your anniversary of arriving at the circus, your "birthday"! Unfortunately, birthdays at the circus serve only colorful cake and existential dread. Jax becomes worried for the first time in his life. (hurt/comfort)

Ah, holiday blues. Commonly associated with Christmas, of course, but also birthdays occasionally. Whether it be the fear of growing older, spending your birthday alone, or even being stuck in a digital reality where you can't remember your birthday so instead you have a one year anniversary as a stand in for a birthday. Whatever the existential crisis may be, they sure do suck! At least you can relate to Pomni now.

Birthdays in the digital world work a little bit differently than in the "real" world. Caine tries to track the time, but inevitably fails. Instead of celebrating your arrival once a year, you celebrate it when Caine feels it's been long enough. So your birthday is about once in a blue moon. However, when that blue moon hits, all the existential dread you left about 4 months ago all comes back to you. And suddenly the friends you've made.. didn't really matter. Not in the grand scheme of things. And, not to you.

That's where the isolating came in.

For the next few days after your "birthday", you didn't come out of your room for even a second. Surprisingly, your room was probably less colorful than the rest of the circus. Still colorful enough to give you a headache, though. You didn't have the motivation to leave either, it would all be the same anyway. You weren't close to abstraction, but you were definitely going to get there if you kept things up.

This thought worried Jax. And Jax never gets worried. At first, he brushed the situation off with comedy. Like he always does. With everything. But then as he's walking around the circus, he notices even less of you.

Jax isn't a bold person, but he definitely could be. This was one of those scenarios, one where he would take things into his own hands. Knocking on your door, he stayed patient for you to answer. Normally, he'd just yell for you to open the door when he wanted to hang out, but this was.. a different occasion.

Okay. Everything's fine. It's just been 22 knocks and they still haven't answered the door. He's sure they're alright. Not.

Eventually, his thoughts that wracked his head overcame him. With droopy ears and a heavy heart, he took out the key to your room, opening it with a slightly obnoxious creak.

If even possible, the sight of you curled up in a ball in the corner of your room had caused his ears to fall even farther from where they were before. Immediately dropping his persona, he fell to the floor on his knees to comfort you. Being probably the most serious he's ever been, he set a hand on your shoulder with caution.

You, on the other hand, felt horrible. First the horrid "birthday" you just had, and now you were just burdening someone else dealing with the same existential crap with your own problems. If only Jax wasn't so damn caring, then.. then. ..Hm.

Seriously? Jax? Caring about you? That sure wasn't on your birthday bingo card. If anything, you would've expected him to just pull a ton of pranks on you and make you feel even worse. Instead he was comforting you. Making you feel better.

Almost immediately, tears started flowing. Jax was saddened by the sight at first, but gave a bittersweet grin when you had launched into his arms for more comfort. Giving you silent sushes, he laid careful strokes on your back, making sure not to do anything more to upset you.

Somehow, you felt that your next birthday might be a bit better with Jax around.

[nekrosdolly]

washing machine heart (18+)

toss your dirty shoes in my washing machine heart, baby bang it up inside.

cw; implied cheating, workplace romance, reader is the bad guy here, hurt/no comfort, eventual sex, p in v, afab reader, vulnerable wesker

pet names; dear (reader receives)

a/n; i love mitski and angst

albert isn't a stalker. not normally. he's observant, for good reason- he has to be. if he wasn't alert at all times, his life would be on the line.

that's the justification he gives himself for watching you so casually flirt with chris, and chris flirting right back. it makes his heart tick in just the worst way imaginable. his stomach tenses, a searing wave of heat washing over his back. he hates this.

you're unaware of the watchful eyes on you. how albert wesker feels about you is none of your concern, mainly because you don't work for him. and maybe it's because of that fact that you enjoy flirting with his crew so shamelessly. touching chris's arm, watching his cheeks pinken so slightly from it. chris's hand finds your waist and just as you're leaning closer, the bell signaling the end of the workday rings.

you smile seductively at Chris. "well… i've gotta go, but i'll swing by sometime, okay? pinky promise." you give the bigger man's bicep a light squeeze and then make your exit.

it hurts. albert wesker is actually hurt.

he goes home late that night after finishing some much needed paperwork, his thoughts only on you as he drives. you, again, as he gets out of his car and locks it. you, accompanying him inside while holding his arm.

and you, in his bathroom as he showers. it's not always sexual, he's a more emotionally complex man than he'd like to admit. when he imagines you with him, you're always clinging to him somehow.

sometimes, you're holding his hand as he walks through the r.p.d, other times you're kissing him with all you've got and he can't say no. if only that was real. at 38, he's accepted his life of solitude. he can't exactly have a partner with what's to go down soon anyway. it's best if he abstained.

and he does, for the most part. he goes to work, watches you flirt with chris, or barry, or jill, or even rebecca- whoever you feel like- and then goes home. rinse and repeat for weeks.

that is, until your flirtatious gaze falls on him for once. your touches on his shoulder don't go unnoticed. of course, you get little physical reaction out of him. nothing but a measly blush as he brushes your hand away.

then, you stick around until all the other s.t.a.r.s officers are gone, and it's just you and him at the end of the day.

"hey, al?" you give him a small smile, almost shy. a blush tints your cheeks, your eyes more innocent now.

"yes?" he looks up from his paperwork, still sat at his desk. pen in hand, a metric ton of papers sat on either side of his desk.

"well… i was wondering," you start, approaching his desk nervously. he stops his paperwork completely. his heart is pounding in his ears, "if you'd like to go out with me sometime."

this must be a joke.

"dear," he adjusts his glasses, "you're joking." he states plainly.

"no, i'm not. i mean it." you step closer, so you're directly in front of his desk. he leans back in his chair and sets his pen aside, his gaze fixed on you from behind his shades.

"when?"

"tonight."

"where?"

"the bar."

"what time?"

"when are you off?"

"seven."

"eight, then."

"fine. don't be late. goodbye."

successful, you walk out of his office feeling light on your feet.

the date goes well. you two drink and he's surprisingly charming under the layers of stoicism and otherworldly nerdiness. he wonders if he's dreaming the entire time. he's wanted this for so long, and now that it's happening, he feels… anxious. like he's waiting for the shoe to drop. you're stunning. too good for him, for who he really is, not the facade he's putting on now.

-

the other shoe drops in a way he wasn't expecting.

you're almost a year into your relationship. he's working all the time. it's hard for you, even harder on him to be away from you. his days off are few and far between, which he cherishes every chance he gets. while he's not the utmost affectionate person in the world, he tries. and he tries so hard for you.

"oh my god," you whine quietly as he takes you from behind, your back arched with your faced pressed into the mattress. this was meant to be quick- you have errands to run and a job to go to, all within the span of two hours. he's thrusting into you like it's the last thing he'll ever do, soft groans and breathy moans leaving him, too.

you're stupidly close, especially with how he's rubbing your clit. your cunt flutters before clamping down on his dick, a loud moan leaving you.

"fuck, chris, oh my god!" you whimper as you finish.

albert has never been an angry man.

"what?" he's pulling out and tucking himself away. it settles in just exactly what you've said. just how much you've revealed within a matter of mere seconds. you turn over and sit up against the headboard.

"why did you- what is going on? tell me. tell me right now." he sits down on the bed, his hands clasped in front of him on his lap.

"nothing is going on." you're a bad liar. you always have been.

"then what was that? why?" he's nauseated. upset. betrayed. he loved you, let you in when he swore he wouldn't, kissed your scars and told you that you're the only thing he lives for.

"i-i don't- you- it's not what you think, honestly." it's too late. he's getting off the bed, running his hand through his hair as he paces. this is his karma for living. you. agonized, he leans against the doorframe to the ensuite bathroom and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"you're sleeping with him, then. that's it. that's all it is, right? just sex, not- not love, is that right?" he can't bring himself to look at you.

"he- chris keeps me company, al. you're always so busy, and it's not my fault-"

"not your fault? what, so it's my fault?"

"i didn't say that,"

"you didn't have to. i knew something was going on from the start- you always liked him more than me, so why am i even here?" he might cry.

you're grimacing.

"can't i love you at the same time i love him?"

"no! why can't you love me!? did you ever love me? was i even on your radar?" he throws his glasses on the bed and covers his eyes, trying to will away the tears.

you approach him and he stumbles back against the bathroom door.

"don't do this to us." he whispers, taking his hand away. his gaze lingers on the floor.

"it's too late."

[danieyells]

I'm the anon who asked for the Taiga lines, thank you so much for sharing!

I did not have much thoughts on Taiga before, other than him being surprisingly chill despite being a lil freaky but omg seeing his max affinity line along with his line on the ditched future.... the angst is unmatched.

You're stuck with him till death do us part? Whether you like it or not? Especially in a time loop situation, imagine that either of them have a high likelihood of dying within the year. One or both of them have tried to fix it, to no avail. Maybe they were a thing in one of the loops but only Taiga (vaguely) remembers it and that would make the max affinity line extra bittersweet because he's only succeeded at freaking out MC in the current timeline lol.

Maybe Taiga was invested in saving (everyone? himself? mc?) before but no matter what he does nothing changes? iirc he was an exemplary student going on a ton of missions to find anomalies, maybe he thought one of the random anomalies out there had something to do with their situation? But at some point between then and now he stopped giving a shit.

Also I find it interesting how the ghouls are constantly destroying anomalies instead of capturing them. It could be that they just don't give 2 fucks but also can't help but wonder if maybe the older ghouls have some kinda truce like don't bring back any anomalies if you can help it, nothing good can happen by giving the academy/institute more info on these things (bc at the very least Leo in the prologue implies the people up top are responsible for whatever messed up situation they were in, and he's the most likely person to uncover a conspiracy with his skillset + Jin and Tohma want to dethrone his dad as director or whatever his position was, possibly also found out smth behind the scenes)

It's all just speculation but god they are so good a pulling me around by the nose with this mystery when I had 0 expectations of this game (I mean, it still kinda sucks gameplay-wise but the story is so good)

Can't wait for new chapter soon, tho rn I am in gacha hell with wuwa, 18trip and gakuenmas.......

Thank you for being patient about them! I love Taiga so much hahaha

Yeah, the potential is there for this to be something big and for Taiga to be heavily involved in it, or at least the person who's most aware of it so far(Jin's "i know this won't last forever" line also kind of carries the implication that he knows but that has many other explanations.) It would probably be more angst-heavy if his memory weren't garbage lmaooooo THEN AGAIN maybe he'll remember you forever now that he loves you as much as he does haha. He definitely didn't remember you before this, or he didn't show any sign of remembering, so if he knew you in another timeline or you were together in another timeline i suspect he forgot, just like with everything.

As for dying, the PC is going to die within the next year if their curse isn't lifted and the prologue shows that someone else dies in the destruction of the school with the pc still alive(so either before the year is up or after the curse is lifted). So they both definitely have the potential to die in that period of time, if nothing is done to change the future. . ."if death do us part" is something Taiga very well might know will happen eventually. In fact, if his stigma actually does allow him to see the future like I'm beginning to suspect, he might know that that's what going to happen. I mean everybody dies eventually but I mean outside of a natural death.

From what Hyde says(I checked both Japanese and English) Taiga used to play more of an active part in the past, so yeah it seems like he's lost some of his enthusiasm. . .although it's very likely he's referring to that Sinostra's on probation and he can't go on missions at all right now, considering just a few months prior he was on a mission and seemed plenty enthusiastic. But as far as operating as captain goes(he's only been captain for around 6 months as of the start of the Sinostra chapter) it seems like he doesn't put any effort in. . .according to Romeo he only cares about anomalies and gambling, but if that were true he wouldn't care to tell you about the spy because he wouldn't even know. (Romeo also says he doesn't go after humans anymore which is. . .not true, so Romeo may just be blissfully unaware since their relationship is so bad these days.)

It'd make sense if this lack of enthusiasm arose from seeing an unfavorable future and thinking it isn't worth it to try at this point. He does say he's been telling someone(likely Romeo) that things will fall apart if they keep going the way they have been but since that person's been uncooperative with making changes he doesn't see a way things will change. . . .so why should he put in work? I assume he can see the future, not travel through it--hence 'ditch this future' he's simply refusing to play any part in impacting it. Even when he jumps from the ledge in the prologue if you choose to save him, he asks what he could have done to change things. I wonder how long he's been trying.

he doesn't even talk the same was he normally does, so you know it's kinda serious. He would love to know how to prevent this.

As for ghouls destroying anomalies, I think it's a matter of safety in the situation as well as a general lack of powers that can actually capture the anomalies. Most of them have weapons with destructive powers and stigmas that are destructive. But in almost every case capture wasn't much of an option due to safety concerns.

Frostheim had human children present. Jin's stigma only seems to work for a few minutes at best even with the PC buffing him. They didn't have a means to keep the anomaly contained and keep the children safe, not to mention the last living one was about to kill the PC and one of the kids. Like Kaito said, in a situation dealing with monsters it's hard to think to incapacitate and capture them, especially when someone else's life is at stake. To ensure their survival and minimize damage to civilians, the anomalies needed to be killed.

Vagastrom's anomaly was a tulpa and couldn't be captured in the first place. If people kept believing in it it would just reappear elsewhere. People no longer believing in it took it out of existence. No room at all for containment.

Jabberwock. . .well, they know Towa's unstable. Princess Oto severely injured Haru, and Towa wasn't going to let it get away with that. The Kraken and Calamari were allowed to escape because capturing them would do more harm to the ecosystem than good.

Sinostra had to destroy it theirs to prevent the destruction of the casino and prevent harm coming to the general students, Romeo, and the PC. Also Taiga's just a killing machine so--

Hotarubi. . .I kind of think I know what happens with them thanks to spoilers and one of Subaru's voicelines, but I won't spoil it.

If Obscuary doesn't accidentally kill their anomaly because it touches Rui I will be disappointed /joke

I feel like Mortkranken are going to successfully capture their anomaly simply because Yuri wants to run experiments on it. but it does depend on what their Stigmas are. We know that Jiro's chainsaw doesn't actually cut very well(Yuri told him to get them a Christmas tree and he said that his weapon doesn't cut stuff very well) and we also know that Jiro does all of the fighting in Mortkranken, whereas Yuri is ineffective in combat. They have the highest chance of capturing anomalies I think.

so like. I think that ultimately in those situations it was kind of the safest option for everyone present, killing the anomalies. Cornelius acts like 'just capture the anomalies it's easy!' but these are life or death situations. There were so many in Frostheim's case that they had to collapse a building to reduce the risk of them getting back out to the public. On the other hand, Jin probably could have teleported at least one of them back to Darkwick before they collapsed the building or instead of them killing one, but in the heat of the moment that probably doesn't occur to him as an option--also he probably wanted to make sure the pc was okay since he'd never be able to use his stigma again if she died, so going back in there to pull one of them out wasn't going to happen. Also he may or may not be rebelling against his dad, president of the Japanese branch of the Institution.

So I doubt it's something like an agreement between the third-years. I feel like it's just coincidence.

As for what Leo says in the pre-prologue, by then he would definitely be in on the situation simply because he's paying more attention than others and Alan is about as subtle as a firework no matter how hard Tohma tries to keep things secret. But maybe he gets roped in instead, since his power would be beneficial--they just have to make sure they can trust him first. . . . He does say that someone is responsible, but I think he means that regarding that life sucks, not the catastrophe occurring? Although that very well might be referring to the people at the top of the Institute too. . .on the other hand I would assume it's referring to whoever the spy is working with, and the Institute themselves aren't bad people(although Jin's dad sounds kinda like a piece of shit.) That or the Institute is the problem, or the prophecy somehow. . .if I could see the Japanese text I could see if there's a difference lol. . . .

Jin is going to inherit the position of president I'm pretty sure. I don't think that's a matter of usurping or anything like that where "Jin becomes the new president" is like, they take down Jin's father first. Like I'm pretty sure this is a familial inheritance thing--I feel like it's a "you're the eldest son so you're expected to take on the position of running the company" deal. You see it all the time in manga with office/business settings. Even Haku is supposed to take over the shrine his family owns. I don't think Jin and Tohma are dethroning Jin's father, it's just a matter of 'we need to prepare you to be in power here, you need to learn to be responsible and better than your father so you can do better than he does.'

BUT. YEAH. A LOT OF THEORIZING AND STUFF but I'm definitely surprised by how into it I ended up getting haha. My hyperfocus said "yeah I fuck with this" and now I'm stuck here. I don't really remember the abandoned concept they originally had(afair I was more unique than the current one, which is trying to stay in line with what's popular with the industry right now) but I really still would've loved to see it. . .but I'm still enjoying the current result and looking forward to the new chapters. (One week away for Hotarubi!!! Home stretch, just gotta survive one more week of work!) I feel like it's much less of a mystery as more. . .slowly growing suspense haha like it feels like a mystery because of the investigation we do as fandom, but the story itself is gonna reveal everything eventually. . .probably. So it's just anticipation on our parts hahaha. (And yeah the gameplay elements are uh nonexistent haha. Pretty sure the only reason I'm able to keep up with the chapters is because I spent money. 🙃)

Good luck with your other gacha games tho!! Fortunately the only other gachas I play I've got pretty good units for so I'm not so worried about what pulls I do or don't get. . . . I hope all of your future pulls are what you need them to be!!!

[isame-allen]

Ok I'm back with more angst stuff but this one has fluff

This one is about finch, so we know He is a trans man who comes from a universe based on the early 1900s so things were pretty horrible and he kind of lived in the middle of a war and his family isn't happy about him being trans

So when JR came in to help, dream was in a situation where he could have been extremely hurt but was saved by finch, eventual when the war ended dream wanted to stopped by finch's house wanting to thank him and offer him to work for him only for him to hear finch's family screaming at finch, dream comes inside and sees finch hurt and bruised and so dream wanting to keep things civilized offers to take finch and the family misinterpreted this as dream wanting to marry finch(in the past young girls we're married off to adults older than them), dream was about to deny it but decided to roll with it, dream offers if they give him finch he will give them money they agree and finch leaves with dream, when they got into omegatale and the jr building dream explains that he doesn't want to marry him he just wanted to help him and offers him to work for him, gender reassignment surgery, and a new eye to which finch accepts.

Finch rises through the ranks surprisingly fast and gets paid with tons of money he sends some money to his family, eventually they found out the truth but can't do anything since Finch is a captain at JR and is friends with dream meaning he has more power than them, idk if finch would either cut contact with them but still send them money or cut contact with them and stop sending them money

(I feel like Finch was scared of dream finding out he was trans due to all the discrimination and harassment he suffered and back when he still thought that dream was an actually angel and dream would send him to hell)

Finch better than me

I’d cut off all contacts with my hometown au

[aza-trash-can]

A Personal Relationship for the wip game

YAYAYAYAYA

Context: I think about a week ago (? time isn't real anyways), maybe a bit longer, wriolette (wriothesley/neuvillette) shippers got more content from leaks on twitter, and everyone started going insane, myself included. New confession fics started popping up, and even my aroace ass, not a single clue or understanding of romance or relationships in my body, said "I need to write a confession/getting together fic for them"

And the thing with wriolette is that Neuvillette makes a point of not having a 'personal relationship' with anyone, but states twice within the main story of the game itself that he has a personal relationship with Wriothesley. So, this fic is the development/evolution of that personal relationship (I think of it more as they still refer to what they have as a personal relationship, it just shifts from being two people dancing around their mutual pining to each other to, y'know, getting together. So the fic focuses on that shift, the personal relationship is already well established)

Surprisingly, also multichapter, one from Neuvillette's pov and the other from Wriothesley's (I'm both so nervous and so excited to get proper practice writing Wriothesley/writing his pov). Oh, and of course, me being me, there is some delicious angst here. While I don't have a ton written for it yet, I'll find a snippet to share here (hence the warning for angst, it's all I can find. I also removed [more here]s and edited around those for reading convenience. Dialogue starts with Neuv [I'm allergic to dialogue tags])

“I want you to be happy. No, more than that, I want only the best for you. I would not be so selfish as to push my own desires onto you if that would only hurt you. My own emotions are insignificant in the face of that.” “Then why confess?” “Ah… I suppose that was a moment of selfishness, no? My apologies. I, mm. I had hoped that, perhaps, I had been reading things correctly between us, and that you would feel the same, but your hesitance wasn’t that of shyness, but of fear. Of course, I could very well be reading everything incorrectly, but if I am right about your hesitance, then I want you to understand that I would not be hurt if you do not feel the same or wish for what I wish for. Not deeply so, at least. Not in a way I couldn’t live with."

[daemonlogical]

I like this take, because

1. I hate people who love dictating what to do how to do it

2. It brings Sam's flaws in the forefront as someone naive in the human cost of heroism, the fact she isn't as obsessed with heroism as she thinks she is since she acts like an anonymous tipper (and that her threat assessment is colorfully biased), and she's becoming the person she hates (hello tiger mom Sam!)

(I'm gonna put the rest on read more since it's less on Sam and more on obsessions as a concept)

3. Obsessions as a concept is surprisingly shallow if it's tied to survival. Why not make it something like a compulsion? If the accepted fanon/canon is that ghosts are their emotions, it would make a ton more sense to link it to their power level or just general energy level. Make them seemingly permanent in making changing aspects of your compulsion (and consequently personality) a slow, time-intensive process.

It would a lot more angst inducing to need to change, find out you can, but not fast enough for it to be relevant to your situation. Or if preventing a ghost from their obsession would cause misery, and that misery can be extremely life threatening for beings held together by emotions and force of will.

A while ago, I posed the question ‘Where do fans stand on Danny having an obsession?’  With different answers all around. 

Some said they don’t like the idea that Danny has an obsession because it takes away his agency and makes his choices less meaningful if he’s forced to do what he does.

Some said they loved Danny with an obsession because that can lead to angst potential.

Others said it depended on the story.

What about all of the above?

Danny seems to be slacking off in ghost hunting lately, at first it was just, “I haven’t gotten a full night’s sleep in a while, let me take a break.” But that was quite a few days ago and his sleep schedule has gotten back on track so there’s no excuse for him to be cutting patrolling short tonight, or for him to ignore what could possibly be a villainous plot going on in town, Sam insists!

Tucker points out that said villainous plot is just a new hot dog shop opening up in town which she waves off.  She insists Danny could be doing more.

Danny replies that if his ghost sense goes off, he’ll do his job, but it’s nice to take a few days off.

Sam leaves Danny and Tucker to play games while she hops on her scooter to patrol the city by herself. As she zooms through the streets she mutters “I wish the one with actual superpowers on this team was more obsessed with with doing this job than me.”

When the friends meet up the next day, Danny is much more vigilant.  Sam’s pleased although Tucker is bummed that Danny doesn’t want to see a new movie after school in favor of patrolling the city. 

For a little while, everything is good.  Danny is taking his job as a hero seriously, ghosts are getting beaten and taken back to the ghost zone, crime is noticeably going down in Amity.

Tucker points out to his friend that he might want to do something about those bruises on his face and Danny waves him off.  Hazards of the job. Sometimes the ghosts get a few good shots in.  He’ll just say it was Dash, if anyone asks.

By next week, Danny was noticeably skipping more classes than usual.  His excuse being ‘ghost fighting’ and Sam warns that he should be more careful.  Even his clueless parents are going to notice.

Later that night, Sam’s house gets a call from Jazz.  She thinks she knows what the conversation is going to be about and prepares some excuses on Danny’s behalf, but is thrown off when she confronts her about not seeing Danny since Yesterday.”

“He staggered home at 2:00 AM last night, looking like he got run over by a truck! me, mom and dad tried to talk to him but he looked so exhausted, the only thing we could think to do was send him to bed, thinking we would talk again in the morning but he was gone when we woke up.  We haven’t seen him since then! Sam, what is going on?!” Jazz cries.

At that moment Danny flies in through her window, ectoplasm seeping through an an enormous gash on his abdomen. 

“Can I get a patchwork?”, he mutters, groggily. Sam hangs up the phone in shock.

She goes to work, stitching up his wounds.  Danny murmurs some explanation of why it’s not that bad and how he’ll just need a minute before he’s ready to keep going, as his eyes droop and head nods in his exhaustion.  She tells him that he can just take a nap here until he’s well enough to go home but he disappears the instant she’s finished.

[guqin-and-flute]

please tell me everything about yanxiyao. i am invested. nay, i am obsessed. an ot3 made up entirely of people who Deserved Better and they are GETTING IT. i don’t care if it’s deep, agonizing 3AM thoughts that make me question how i think about life and love and the mortifying ordeal of being known or if it’s pointless fluffbits scrounged up from your daydreams. GIVE THEM TO ME

AHA, this delighted me, I’m so glad!! [rubs hands] Okay, you have unlocked the avalanche, stream of consciousness, here we go. Boy howdy this got long, so full rambling under the cut. 

So I’ve already outlined how it starts with JGY, but you’ve probably seen that and I’m probably going to actually write a getting together fic at some point if the scenes start falling out of the sky into my head, so I’ll skip past that for the time being and start with the beginning of the triad. It begins in a most definite V with JGY as the hinge--Xichen and Yanli are very careful and considerate about each other’s time with him and try very hard not to overlap. Most things are separate--sex times, dates, meals (unless it’s everyone [siblings, et. al] eating together), sleepovers. 

However, something happens. Perhaps JGY starts asking to spend a day with both of them, perhaps the greeting conversations when Xichen visits grow longer and warmer and bleed into sitting together over tea, laughing, and forgetting the days plans. Perhaps the way Xichen delights in holding their daughter and playing so very patiently with her begins to completely charm Yanli.

Perhaps it’s when Yanli and JGY leave the toddler with Wen Qing and Jiang Cheng to go for a nice leisurely trip together to Gusu but the weather turns and they have to stay in an inn in the middle of nowhere overnight and Yanli’s health takes a sharp dive all of a sudden and JGY sends a Jin butterfly to tell Xichen the situation and that they’re going to be late. And it’s only after he’s sent it that it comes to his attention that this rinky-dink village’s doctor actually lives in the next city over and is out of town for his daughter’s wedding or something idiotic and won’t be back for days--he has learned this after a slog through the rain to said doctor’s empty house in said next-city-over and then returned to demand of the innkeeper what exactly he’s playing at, sending him out like that when he knew the doctor wasn’t there. And he’s in the process of not strangling the innkeeper when the door bursts open and it’s Xichen, completely waterlogged and anxious and JGY is appalled that he’s just flown through a thunderstorm but secretly very, very relieved he is here. 

And so they go upstairs and Yanli is incredibly happy to see both of them, especially since her fever has gotten worse and she is freezing. She wants snuggles and JGY reasons that they should both get in on it, because more body heat, y’know (he’s only trying to help, there are limited options, here) but he and Xichen both are completely soaked from traveling in the rain and they hesitate. Yanli is very much, ‘Oh noooo, the 2 hot men who need to snuggle me are covered in wet cloooothes?? Whatever shall we doooo?’ And the both of them are very seriously trying to tell her that Xichen will need to take off his robes if they’re going to be in bed together and is she okay with that and she’s like, ‘WhaAaaAaat? 😲 Holy cow, I guess I’ll suffer through :3c’ And they laugh and snuggle and sleep and the next few days is them taking care of her while she apologizes for getting sick and ruining the trip while they maintain that this is very nice, actually, minus her feeling terrible. They don’t actually visit Gusu and just end up spending time together in the inn while she recovers.

So, after that, Yanli and Xichen’s relationship becomes a lot more physically affectionate--they hug when they see each other, they kiss each other on the cheek, Yanli and JGY both snuggle up to his sides when they sit alone on the pavilion with the curtains drawn. The both of them have talked separately with JGY about whether this is okay, whether they’re overstepping any boundaries, and his response was basically an incredulous, ‘Are you joking? This is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’ And so the 3 of them spend more and more time together, and maybe there’s a night where they’re all in Xichen’s guest room at Lotus Pier, maybe having a few drinks, and they get onto the subject of how good of a kisser their A-Yao is and he protests saying that they’re biased because they haven’t kissed anyone else, so how could they know. And Xichen flushes and grins, “Aren’t you sly?” and JGY blinks innocently and says, “I don’t know what on earth you could mean 😇!” and Yanli is biting back a laugh and also a little pink but tilts her chin up invitingly and they do kiss and it’s lovely and JGY realizes exactly how much he enjoys that. And from then on, the Xichen’s guest room is more of a formality/decoy than anything else and their suite just so happens to get updated with a bigger bed because, y’know, reasons.

✨Vibes✨:

-WangXian matchmaking happens in earnest when YanXiYao first start their arrangement because now JGY has a concrete reason to find more excuses for more frequent visits from the Twin Jades

-Something about the 2 of them together makes it so that JGY can break down more easily--when it’s just Yanli, he still feels very protective and it’s hard to show his anger. When it’s just Xichen, he doesn’t want to cause him pain, and it’s hard to show when he’s hurting and despairing. When the three are together he is able to let them hold him more easily instead of withdrawing and isolating himself, and it frustrates him, but is also very good for him. 

-Xichen and Yanli have a very intense and deep affection for each other that rides the fuzzy line of romantic and alterous; they enjoy cuddling, kissing, they definitely aren’t averse to having sex with each other but it usually happens when JGY is involved in some way, whether everyone participates or it’s a voyeuristic situation in whatever capacity (though this may be impacted by the fact that he doesn’t live with them and most days, Yanli is pleasantly lukewarm about sexual activity in general, so who’s to say it wouldn’t happen naturally, in time?) 

-Xichen and Yanli have a relationship that has grown beyond just what they have with JGY and have a wonderful time talking together, giving each other gifts, and exchanging letters. There is a shared exasperation for JGY’s treatment of his health and often look to each other as back up (JGY is annoyed. They simply smile.) They don’t feel the need to really categorize their relationship besides the fact that they love each other, consider the other their best friend, are deeply fond of one another, and plan to all stay as they are for the rest of their lives. (Maybe, eventually, this will lead to a secret marriage ceremony, just for the 3 of them).

-It was after the inn/fever incident that she insisted Xichen call her A-Li

-All 3 have a devious streak and it makes for some very sweet 2 ganging up on 1 and showering them with kisses and affection.

-JGY and Yanli write him joint letters as well as individual ones of their own 

-JGY and Yanli view Xichen as an equal status, commuter sort of parent and ask for his opinions and advice on parenting things. Xichen loves the kids like his own and gets to essentially have a kid without the complicated feelings of them being his heir and going through the Lan’s strict practices and corporal punishment. He takes them at Cloud Recesses for a few weeks every year.

-Each of the men have their own guilt attacks, now and again, Xichen about his involvement being selfish (Heirs! Propriety! His uncle!) and JGY over wanting too much (Infidelity! Reputation! A-Li!), and Yanli--who has done enough soul searching and has very comfortably decided that, no, she is quite fine being happy--calmly sits them down, gives them tea, kisses their foreheads, and makes them hold hands with her as they watch their kids play. 

[penrose-quinn]

Does everyone still remember how I initially wanted to write a Shoko fic?

I'll probably come back to this once I finish GL and start writing for Musubi again. I'm predictable tho lol. It's about grief again and this is set in their high school years to adulthood. But I just want a wlw fic with Shoko and some female-male platonic friendship 😔 Except maybe the side fling that happened with MC and Gojo but it was just a weird hetero phase between them.

[crispy-chan]

-- tag game ✨

recommend 5 or more of your own works that you would rec to someone asking what they should read first & explain a little bit about the work. these can be the most popular, the ones you think are underrated, or your own favorites! then tag five other writers!

tagged by @decembermoonskz and @yyxgin (i think 😭) tysm <3

awaken {jisung x gn!reader; ghost!au, fluff, angst | 14.5k} my most popular (and probably favorite) work! idk i just tend to write in present tense and gn with jisung and ig it does something lol. very melancholic, lots of imagery and worplays and builds up nicely imo. definitely one of my favorites!

a song of ice and fire {prince!minho x princess!readr; royal!au, ice and fire bending, arranged marriage, e2l, fluff, angst | 35k} my longest one-shot. imho the writing isn't terrible (it grew on me) and i got very poetic with this one. slow burn af but like the nice and spicy kind hehe. i really came to love the relationship that blossomed between mc and minho and i think it is a nice mixture of everything - e2l phase, romance *wink wonk*, broken hearts and suspense. if you have the time, please do check it out!

in another lifetime {changbin x fem!reader; college au, reincarnation au(?) towards the end, coffee shop au, bad boy au, hurt/comfort, fluff, angst | 21.7k} very self-indulgent. changbin is the mfkn bad boy of my dreams who rides a motorcycle but comforts mc when she needs it. just in love with his character, ngl. brought me lots of comfort to write!

maze of memories (series) {bang chan x fem!reader (ft. felix); hunger games au, angst, fluff, action | 76.9k} career chan. that's it lol. but jk lots of plot twists, hurt and comfort and the good shit. from what i've been told it's rather good (?) and it's pretty engaging lol. my most interacted with work + basically my first work (carriwitchet doesn't count!!). tons of time went into this series too! it's basically my "write it you can't find it" piece, cause i decided to write it once i couldn't find skz hunger games aus lol.

neverending story {hyunjin x fem!reader; high school au, memory erasure, kinda dystopia, fluff, angst | 23k} every year, all your memories are erased so love feels pointless, doesn't it? well not if hyunjin has anything to say about it... my first proper one shot and surprisingly, i'd say it still holds up pretty much okay. i've been wanting to expand on this universe for as long as i can remember...

-

pheew, this was actually really rewarding to list out! reminded me that i should be proud of what i've written, even if it's not perfect <3

tagging: @cosmic-railwayxo @hyunnows @seung-scrittore @minilinooo @chaninfused

[littleoddwriter]

Murdoch x male reader angst headcanons?

Murdoc x Male!Reader | Headcanons

Hi there! Thanks for the request, I hope you like these. (This is more of a short fic in the disguise of headcanons.) <3

notes; Male!Reader; Angst; Angst with a Happy Ending; Abduction; Threats; Injuries; Shot Wound; Hospitals.

Taglist: @gnrlkenob @fr0gi-b0y @super-who-dat

Reblogs would be appreciated, thank you!

In Murdoc's line of work, he's made a ton of enemies for himself, which usually doesn't bother him. He is better than them after all. And he never has to worry too much about Cassian, with nobody knowing he exists and having him live far away from Murdoc.

But now that he's with you, it's different, because you're in his life, and it's hard for others not to know that; especially other assassins. And that's what is dangerous.

He knows that it was bound to happen at some point, but he still can't comprehend how his heart sinks at the realisation that you've been taken, and that he has to save you before you're being killed.

Murdoc knows that the ransom is just for show, that they want him to show up so they could kill him along with you. He knows that, but they underestimate him. He's skilled and calculated and he finds a way inside without being detected.

Nonetheless, he doesn't expect you to get hurt when he saves you. He thought it'd be a quick and easy thing to get you out of there and kill each and every single one of these people that have dared to lay a hand on you.

But as he was busy with one guard, who tried to fend Murdoc off, another one takes his chance and puts a bullet through your chest, close to your shoulder, but even closer to your heart and lungs.

Everything stays still for Murdoc, then. He kills them all in a haze, before he kneels beside you on the floor where you're lying in pain.

He stops the bleeding to the best of his abilities and carries you outside to his car, which he quickly drives to the nearest hospital to get you treated.

You're lucky and a fighter, and you survive to his relief. The doctors had already prepared him for the worst, which he hated more than he would ever admit. The thought of losing you hurt him almost as much as if it was Cassian in your place. And that really means something.

Murdoc becomes a total mother-hen when he's finally allowed into your room, and especially when you're back at home a couple of days later. He's rarely been this worried in his entire life.

Surprisingly, one of the things that worry him most about the situation, now that you're alive and safe, is that you could potentially leave him to save yourself. The possibility of that scares him deeply.

He voices those concerns to you, albeit very reluctantly, and you assure him that you're not leaving, and that this whole thing only cemented your love for him, if anything.

After all, his behaviour tells you just how much you mean to him; even though he often tries to act like it's nothing, like he isn't capable of love, when he so clearly is.

[flying-elliska]

I binge watched Our Flag Means Death yesterday and holy shit !!!!!! I'm in love !!!!! Everyone should watch this, I want at least 10 more seasons (or you know, however many it takes to get to a good conclusion)

- It is very much "Black Sails but a rom com" which already makes it a win in my book, with themes about stories and perception, piracy as this sort of very queer anti-imperialist space of freedom that also often really sucks. And it's hilarious but also there is a lot of depth and angst in there under the surface

- It's also What We Do In The Shadows with pirates instead of vampires in that there is a cast of mostly pathetic lunatics bumbling around and committing atrocities while also being surprisingly lovable, compelling and written with a lot of empathy. Also there is a slow burn romance btw a pathetic but caring little man who seems way out of his depth but has hidden reserves of badassery, and a scary badass with a dark past having a midlife crisis. But it feels less like an outright farce than WWDITS.

- Like i didn't expect it to be so actually romantic ? But there's a slow burn btw the two main (male) characters where they've both gotten dissatisfied with their lives and the roles they've had in life and so they really want what the other has to bring to their life and they're uniquely placed to understand each other and it's really sweet? And the show makes fun of both of them but not for having feelings (but definitely for being emotionally constipated lol). Now in most shows this would be haha broManCe "isn't it too funny that these guys are acting kinda gay hahaha because gay ppl are funny get it" material but in this one you have an actually confirmation that one of these dudes has been with a man before and when this guy shows up the other MC starts acting super jealous and they fight and the others actually call it a break up, also the crew textually says "you like each other" in a way that just doesn't work for friendship (the reviewers still calling it that are honestly delusional). There's tons of scenes that are straight of a fanfic - clothes swapping, practice sword fighting in the moonlight, sexy stabbing, loaded compliments, revealing secrets nobody else knows, longing looks, etc. It's great.

- Also it's just super queer in general, there are two crewmembers who have an open relationship and we see them kiss on screen, and then there's Jim, a really cool nonbinary character hellbent on revenge raised to be a killing machine by a scary nun (amazing) who gets addressed by they/them pronouns and also has an angsty thing with another crew member.

- Also it has lots of characters of color in rich, complex roles and some very blatant send up of racist cliches you can usually find in pirate stories (like the "savage island cannibals" thing). All the English present in the stories are buffoons (and the French are even worse it's very funny). There is a scene where two Black crewmates set some slaves free by basically inventing the Nigerian prince pyramid scheme scam. It's great.

- Taika Waititi delivers some amazing acting and he's also super hot walking around in slinky leather, which I think is totally on purpose as he's got guys swooning for him left and right, he's the hot girl of the show (also he's got 'cat energy' according to the creators) and that is just an incredible take on Blackbeard, scariest pirate of all time. Also he's created this bigger than life image of the terrifying pirate around him because he thinks he was doomed to be a monster but now he's tired of it and it's all very Captain Flint of him. Love it.

- Also saw someone call it "Ted Lasso with pirates" and that tracks, for the whole "lovable doofus who's way out of his depth tries to coach a team of losers and wins them over with his heart of gold even though it takes a while and he has no clue of what he's doing" (is Blackbeard Trent Crimm, with the long grey hair ? Lmao)

- The first two eps are a little slow, I would say it really gets its wings after Blackbeard shows up so it's worth sticking with even if the first two don't entirely convince you.

Watch it ! It's ridiculous and fun and sweet and probably everything you didn't know you needed👌👌👌

[enha-woodzies]

➸ CHAPTER 5 | " ILLICIT AFFAIRS "

starring: enhypen ft. i-land daniel

pairing: jungwon x fem!reader x sunghoon

genres: royal au, romance, angst, slowburn, 18th century setting

word count: 1.8k

taglist: @serendipitysung @angeljungwon @en-sun @affectionaterainoflove @renkiv @softforjungwoo @jislix @fluffi @gyeraniee @stxrryemxlys

[ PREV. CHAPTER ] | [ M. LIST ] | [ NEXT CHAPTER ]

“The morning sun has come, and the evening moon is gone. Dearlings, I am elated to apprise you of the events at the debutantes’ ball that occurred as of late, and must I warn you, they're not for the feeble spirits!

The ton is abuzz with the most beefy tale as Northumberland’s jewel among the lovely rocks, Miss Y//n Park, has earned herself a ticket to glory! She danced with the most favored noblemen in the ton and surely, she went home with a hearty grace as she'll most likely expect an abundant roster of suitors in the following days.

Not only was she offered a dance by our dear second-born, Lord Yang, but she also had the privilege and pleasure to be twirled around the court by the most charming, Lord Lee, and the ever coveted nobleman among the ton, Lord Park, the next-in-line Duke of Northumberland!

Where's the beef you might ask? Well, it seems to me that these men are blindfoldedly playing fire with each other.

Not only does Lord Lee has women wrapped easily around his fingers, he has men too! With a sly steal of Miss Y/n’s hand from Lord Yang last night, he certainly left the chap earnestly plotting for a segue of intrusion- and Lord Yang intriguingly delivered!

With the timing in its most opportune, Lord Yang managed to finally dance with the young miss, in private! Ooh! This is new! My senses told me they spent their waltz in the Queen’s library, alone! How in the world did they let this happen to the ton’s jewel unchaperoned? That is something the Daily Tattle is unfortunately unable to unearth, but the mystery will continue to haunt us for long. Do take note: the more you hide in careful secret, the more people will know and hear about it.

What happened next will have you either boggled, or enchanted! The young lord abruptly rushed out the room before the music even ended! Should that be counted as a waltz at all? Before you ask about the enchanting part, Miss Y/n was seen dashing out the room moments later in tears and evident heartache. What do you think happened in the mere minutes of alone time in that large 4-cornered room?

But come now, enchanting stories aren't as they are without a knight in shining armor. In fact, in our young miss’ case, her knight wasn't clad in shining, silver sheath, but in magnificent and elegant, vintage red tailcoat draped over a loose white jabot shirt that’s cleanly tucked into the black, satin knee breeches, finished off with a pair of shiny Hessian boots. With skin as white almost akin to snow, it complemented perfectly with his ravishing fit. The beautiful marquess certainly dressed himself valiantly for the seasonal occasion. With that stunning presence, anyone would surely presume he went to the ball looking like a duke in careful search of a duchess.

Lord Park and Miss Y/n surprisingly became one of the ball’s highlights as they graced the Royal Court with the most heart-stopping, corset-itching, tantalizing waltz. All the while their faces are almost an inch apart from each other, a brooding identity was found hiding in the crowded corner of the hall! Under the bright gleam of the grand chandeliers, our dearest second-born, Lord Yang, was seen eyeing the two with such stare that even the buffy slice of vanilla cake on Lord Sunoo’s plate could almost melt in a blink of an eye!

Among the splendid tales told by yours truly, which tea do you think tastes like sweet ecstasy of oddity and fervor? It is the ton's tradition to portend the lady’s endgame by the person whom she had her last waltz with. From one man to another, should these prophecies dictate Miss Y/n Park’s fate?

Well, don't turn your heads away now! The story's just begun.”

The mid-morning sunrays peek through the large leaves and busty trunks of the hibernating redwood trees lining in disarray. Y/n is just about to plummet into her habitual readings in the Kielder forest and the autumnal breeze is keeping up with her bubbly morning approach, fortunately.

The sounds of the birds chirping and the dead leaves crunching under her shoes creep up through her puff sleeves making her tingle in giddiness and enthusiasm. She deeply inhales the aromatic forest and lets out a giggle in the process. With jumpy leaps and crispy leaves echoing in her every move, the young lady surely knows where she's going in this partly mysterious forest that is most often open only to men and men alone.

Somewhere deep in the evergreen woods, Y/n has built a fortress of her own for whenever she needs to run away from the seldom, mundane life in the manor. At the heart of Northumberland's famous Kielder Forest, lies a small, whimsical looking fort made up of translucent voile casually hanging on a tree branch. One of her lady maids helped her out with the fabric one time and it still stood prettily among the chaotic scenes that go around in the forest today.

She enters her slightly sheer fort and sits down on a pillow that she stole away from the comforts of her bedroom. Flipping the olden pages of the aged Jane Austen book she borrowed from a boy several years back, she heaves a sigh at the sight of a dead Catalpa flower resting on a particular page accompanied by a little, worn out parchment dating back to when she was a tiny ten-year-old lassie. She reads,

Her eyes drifted over the page to where the note and the old flower were situated. The pads of her fingers graze over the certain phrases that were underlined by the book's owner that says, “I cannot make speeches. If l loved you less, I might be able to talk about it more. But you know what I am.一 You hear nothing but truth from me.一”

She suddenly feels a gush of nostalgia and loneliness upon muttering the words she had ultimately carved in her tongue way back; reciting each word with fervor while she bask herself under the brightly-lit moonlight in their garden. How can children of ten gobble up such emotions at once? So much for a pair of hopeless romantic hearts from the distant years of ten, screaming disagreements and would later huddle on a sprawled out table cloth on the flowery fields, exchanging sentimental poesies and stolen stares.

She relives the brief moments they both shared last night in the Queen’s library, and ponders on how one could be so adjacent to the changing of tides in the sea; promptly, and mostly without warning.

“Well, well, well. If it isn't the feelings I've been trying to avoid.” She whispers to the autumn air. Unfortunately, her pondering truncates as snaps of twigs and crisps off dried leaves echoes in her corner. She hastily crawls out her hand-made canopy and brushes away any pieces of tiny crumpled leaves off her dress.

“What are you doi-”

“Who are you?” She cuts off the startled chap cladded in ragged clothing, apparently embodying that of a mainland farm boy.

“Greetings, your ladyship. I come in peace and I am just here to fetch the chopped woods I’ve laboured a day prior for the farm.” The chap with a very odd accent replies with both hands hanging mid-air. “You are fully aware that you shouldn't be in this place, especially unchaperoned, right?” He continues.

“I am fully aware. But such matters shouldn't concern you.”

“Indeed, my apologies. Furthermore, I will respect your unspoken wishes if it is truly your desire to keep your whereabouts hidden from your townspeople. My lady.”

Y/n relaxes from her bold stance as she found a hint of kindness from the odd stranger. Surprisingly, she extends her hand out to the stranger for a greeting.

“Please. Call me Y/n instead.” The boy looks at her open palm for half a minute before shaking it, looking as equally surprised as the young miss with the sudden gesture.

“You live pretty far from the town, huh?”

“I do. Life's utterly chaotic over on your end?”

“Oh, you don't have the slightest idea.” They both share laughters and inside jokes of their own livelihood that made the young miss settle her shoulders down comfortably.

“I'm Jake Sim. Just Jake Sim. Apparently, my name was originally Jaeyun, but the farm folks got used with Jake and so did I. They said it sounds more Australian.”

“Why would they associate your name with something Australian?” Y/n grew more curious as it was, after all, the first time she's ever been with a person that's not of Northumberland's proper.

“I grew up in Australia.”

“That's curious. How did an Australian boy land among the ragged farms of Europe?”

“It's complicated. The story involves a lot of conspiracies so it's definitely not for your ears. Some other time, maybe?” Y/n smirks at the sudden brazenness from her newly found acquaintance.

“Is this an Australian thing where we shift from acquaintanceship to something more?” She teases.

“Certainly, if you're down to it on your next Kielder visit?”

“For sure. But as for now, I must take my leave. My presence is very much needed for the promenade scheduled for me today.” Y/n half-covers her mouth as if reaching out for a whisper, hissing the last sentence.

“Ah! Rich people things that I could never.” The chap could only roll his eyes at the fancy thought.

“See you soon, Just Jake Sim!”

“Where have you been, princess?” The young miss scoffs at the marquess upon arriving at the town’s park, with a hand immediately sliding through Lord Park’s arm.

“Down with the flirtatious remarks now, aren't we? I went to promenade with myself, Your ever handsome Grace.” Sunghoon smirks at her tiny, playful whispers against his shoulders. They go around and about, traipsing along the cemented pavements as they give away acknowledging nods and polite smiles to whomever wants their brief attention.

The ton is still in amazed shock at the possibility of these two ending up with a ring on a finger. Everyone was subtly betting for Jungwon but as a result of his loss, a much better gent carried his girl off the floor. Something he let himself do, out of cowardice perhaps, or out of pride.

“Remind me the point of all this?” Y/n carefully whispers to Sunghoon.

“To make your man jealous and spit out his genuine sentiments in the process, as well as an advantage for me as we get to keep the marriage-minded mothers of the ton at bay. Now, all we have to do is smile, nod, and appear madly in love with each other if this is to work. Is it clear enough for you?” He jerks a brow at her paired with the most charming smirk he could ever expose.

“Crystal.”

*send me an ask or a message if you wish to be added on this series' taglist!

ㅡ © ENHA-WOODZIES, 2021

[cats-inthe-cradle]

OC ask game: ALL OF THEM. WHOEVER YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT. I MUST KNOW EVERYTHING

(Preferably Soot and Cricket lol)

For this post

EEeee okay I'll start with Cricket since there isn't a ton I know about him that I haven't already talked about-I will link you back to that tho. Here and here are things I've written that he shows up in (more so in the latter). And here is where I talked about him and his squad from kamino (plus Eta squad)

Like I've said before he's one of those ocs that was created because I just needed a random character to fill a spot in a scene, and then he refused to leave 😂. He can be a bit distant and seem detached (he doesn't do emotions very well) but he cares in his own way and you can see just how much he loves his brothers if you know where to look. He's someone who shows his love more through actions than anything else.

Him and Kix are buddies (although from an outside perspective it doesn't always look that way). Kix keeps him updated on how the rest of Sierra squad or doing when Cricket doesn't have the chance to check in on them himself. He's very proud of his brothers' accomplishments and he also tends to worry about them when they're out in the field.

Uhm, I'm not sure what else to say 😅

Okay so Soot!!! I love Soot.

He was one of the first ocs I created for the immortal-fives au and I love him dearly. He's a shiny when he joins Eta squad not long after the Citadel mission. His first mission/battle actually takes place a couple weeks prior to Echo's rescue from the techno union. (In this au Echo gets rescued sooner. About however long it takes for ARCs to complete their training is how long it takes after the citadel for him to get rescued)

(Warning for angst and injury and a bad experience with bacta n' stuff below, sorry)

Anyways, so Soot's first Battle ends up being a somewhat traumatic one for him. A detonator/grenade ends up getting past their perimeter and Soot kicks in in an attempt to put distance between it and the rest of the squad, because there's not really time to do anything else. He ends up taking the brunt of the explosion, and even loses his right leg. That's actually when he got his name: I'm imagining one of the others mentioning him being covered in soot when they get to him. Kinda in a joking manner sorta to help keep him (and everyone else quite frankly) from panicking. There's not a medic immediately on hand, (it's a rough battle on all fronts, so they're being spread thin) and they end up having to wait a bit before he can get the help he needs. By the time a medic does arrive and they get him out of there, Soot's pretty disoriented from blood loss and pain and a probable concussion.

Later when he wakes up in bacta, he ends up panicking because he doesn't know where he is and is still fairly disoriented. He accidentally dislodges the breathing tube thing and starts choking on the bacta, so they have to pull him out. At that point he's still injured, but stable, and there are others who now need the bacta more, so they don't put him back in immediately. Later after things have calmed down Soot refuses to go back in the bacta tank and Kix reluctantly relents and let's him finish healing naturally (although still with the help of bacta patches 'n stuff).

So Soot is still in the medbay when they rescue Echo and the two of them get to recover together. Soot helps Echo come to terms with being an Amputee (something Soot surprisingly wasn't really bothered by after learning he could get a prosthetic and having a chance to look at some cool examples). They get to figure out their new prosthetics together and are overall just there for eachother and Echo is delighted to find out that Soot's a part of his old squad.

Also Soot becomes Captain the Tooka's 2nd favorite person (the 1st being Echo). So Soot continues on with Eta squad and survives to the end of the war and gets to be happy with his brothers 😊

[sucker-for-yanderes]

How They Would Stalk You (Headcanons)

MHA Boys Version

SLIGHT ANGST IN SOME

Warnings: stalking, implied threats and violence, dark thoughts, possessiveness, obsessiveness, unhealthy romance, wholesome moments, breaking and entering.

Viewer discretion is advised.

Izuku: VERY strategic. He knows you. Even if you don't know him, he knows you. Down to every nook and cranny. There are no secrets. He knows your schedule, he knows what shampoos you like the best, and he's even seen you naked.

Bakugo: Surprisingly pretty good at it. He is smart, after all. Not just some dumb hot headed freak, but a smart one.

Todoroki: He's always been so observant. Watching your every move. God, it was so easy for him to read you. And it wasn't a bad thing, the more he could read you, the more interesting he found you. And he knew he wanted you in his life. And you weren't going to leave. Ever. So, he put his plan in motion and began to watch over you even more...

Kirishima: Stalks like it's an extension of his body. It comes as easy as simply walking to him. Being strategic, secretive, and stealthy with it. He's a hero in the streets, and a smooth criminal when no one's watching, especially when you aren't.

Denki: Is pretty nervous, but stalks you like it's no one's business. He almost gets caught by you or others a few times, but always manages to cover it up no matter what awkward excuse he can scramble in his mind last second. I feel like he also will definitely steal some of your underwear.

Sero: Is so fucking nervous at first. He's scared of getting caught and getting his life ruined. But that means so much. He's willing to sacrifice all of that just to have you or at least get to see you every day whether you know it or not. He gets the hang of it eventually though.

Shinso: Cool, calm, collected. Has never stalked before but is a pro. He'll even plant tracking devices on you every so often just so he can follow you around or track you to see where you are. He just finds it comforting to know.

Juzo: He's always been told he looks like a freak because of his different appearance, so he would always avoid you in person, but stalk you whenever coincidences would allow it. That's right, coincidences. Because there's no way he just happens to show up at your favorite store at the same time that you're there, or when he's standing near you on the train to make sure no one gropes you, or when he's always a corner away watching over you at night to make sure no one hurts you. It's all just a coincidence. :)

Shihai: He blends in with the night except for his hair, so he usually wears a dark hoodie or cap and goes to stalk you during the night time since he's too obvious in broad daylight.

Monoma: I can't really see him stalking so it's hard to tell, but maybe he'll watch over you. Maybe place some cameras in your house like some pervert. He'll go and drink some hot coffee he just made and sit down in front of his computer screens, watching the one screen where it would show you doing whatever you were doing and he would hum in satisfaction.

Mirio: Surprisingly good. He would be a really good, trusted friend of yours. In fact, you two would be super close and inseparable. And even when separated, you guys aren't actually separated! Isn't that great? You two can be forever together!

Tamaki: He's way too shy to even talk to you so he resorts to stalking as it is the only way he can become close to his darling. He has a designated favorite spot he sits at which is just a building away from yours and he has the perfect view of you in your room.

Inasa: Terrible stalker. This man just adds too much commentary and is so loud, terrible at holding things in and keeping to himself. He'll just go ahead and convince you to be his woman on the spot, like the bold man he is and we love it hehe.

Natsuo: Has tons of galleries full of pictures with you. And they're organized. He has backups of every single one. He has categorized files and even a small shrine dedicated to you. It's decorated with small things he's collected from you as well as things you like such as your favorite flower, a ribbon of your favorite color(s), and the candles are your favorite scent too. He sleeps with his favorite photo of you and kisses your paper lips every night before he falls asleep.

Aizawa: Stares at you through your window only. Will leave flowers at your doorstep every day.

All Might: He's a sweetheart stalker. He'll make sure everything in your house is tidy and seems to always know when you're in danger. He's always watching you.

Endeavor: I can see him as a good stalker, from afar. But I think you would be able to catch him eventually. I don't think he would be good at covering up his steps and then boom, you're in his confinement and never leaving, Yayyy.

Hawks: Flies from building to building, watching over you... Making sure no one hurts you. After all, the only thing you really have to fear... is him. He also just adores seeing what you do in your daily life. He finds it reassuring. Peaceful. It brings him a sense of satisfaction that's very different from the satisfaction he gets from other things.

Ken (Rocklock): He feels so ashamed for doing it and tries to justify it, telling himself it's just to protect you from criminals when it's really him you should be looking out for.

Shigaraki: A master. Truly in his element. Not only does he look like a freak, but he totally is one. He's extremely scary too when he's walking like five steps behind you when you're walking home alone at night when it's pitch black out.

Dabi: He can be stealthy when he wants, but he thinks it's cute to creep you out a little sometimes. Give you a good scare. Of course, he won't let you see his face. Not yet, anyway. He likes a good game of cat and mouse...

Atsuhiro (Compress): He finds your favorite coffee shop or restaurant and becomes a regular there just so the two of you can have a chance to be around each other and maybe talk as well. He always makes sure you end up home safe and well, too. He's a classy man, so he'll leave flowers on your kitchen table or on the night stand near your bed with a scented, heartfelt letter he wrote himself.

Twice: I wouldn't even call it stalking in his case... He'll stalk you and fail. And it's always because he sucks at being stealthy because he'll accidentally strike up a conversation with you.

Overhaul: He has his men do it for him since he's so busy all the time. After all, he's working on ensuring a successful future for you and your future kids together. When he has time to go see you though, he most certainly will do it. Even when you're sleeping.

Muscle Man: He hates the process of stalking. Why would he follow you around when he can just go and take you by force, if necessary?

[hoopdiddies]

I'm Not Over You // Ben Hardy x Reader (Part 7)

A/N: This is probably the longest I've written in this series. Again guys, thank you for the support, your comments and likes mean so much! My tag list is always open so feel free to ask. And on a slightly heavy note: the next chapter could be really angsty. Just a heads up right there uwu

Summary: You had always loved Ben ever since you two met in university and became the best of friends. That feeling went out like a candle flame when the two of you parted ways until he re-entered your life...but this time with someone who has already occupied his heart.

Warnings: Angst, slight drinking, slight swearing, (yeah the fluff is still present)

W/C: 5k-ish

Tags: @haendel-me-with-care

@mrsdoradominguez-barnes

@mickmoon

@lakef

@mrsmazzello

@valeriecarolinaw

@queen-turtle-boiii

Edited// I forgot to link the previous parts

Parts: 6 5 4 3 2 1

(Got the pic from Pinterest hhh-)

Storing the luggage bag you've purchased for a fair price in the spare room, you come across a small box of sundries tucked in one corner with cobwebs clinging to the sides. Your eyes light up with curiosity spiking within you, you pick it up and dust the webs off, blowing the particles away from the top. You squat on the floor and open the flaps, discovering small yet familiar items that had been lost in time– one of them being a sepia-toned polaroid of you and Ben posing dramatically with hilarious doodles drawn on your faces. You forgot about this, feeling a little guilty that you had hidden it away in a drafty box without remembering doing anything of the sort. You flip the picture over and spot a date and an unfinished sentence written in faded ink on the bottom left part. This was taken on Homecoming night.

'I'm not going-' it says, clearly discontinued next to the date. Silly to think that the picture somehow represents a puzzle piece torn away from its board.

You were bound to graduate the week after and barely a day after, not see each other for several years due to your career paths and post-college choices.

You pull on the hem of your shirt, clearing the picture of dust and any more impurities, finally fitting it into your back pocket to finally treasure it the way it was always meant to be treasured.

The door clicks as you bring it close, your eyes gluing themselves at the hardwood floor seconds to having self-pity billow over you at how quickly your tears surface in the corner of your eyes from the memory of Ben spinning Rosy around - the exact way he did with you -and kissing her like she's a pouch full of life.

You clamp down on your bottom lip, trying your hardest not to stain your cheeks with your pooling tears. "Jeez, you just-" you pace back and forth in frustration, balling your fists as you gesticulate lazily, "you just don't get it, Y/N! Ugh, you're so- fuck, just get over it..." Knowing your harsh soliloquy would be getting you nowhere, you snarl strongly at yourself and roughly wipe your tears away with the back of your hand.

"He loves Rosy. F-freaking deal with it!" The reminder takes a hiss from your quivering lips for it to sink in; you have your own place in his life– a place behind the line you'd drawn in the years prior. The friend zone couldn't be any more hollow and cold than it already is.

And a polaroid pic is the only remnant left of how inseparable you and Ben were in the early days.

At the same time you're feeling your heart tear itself apart, Ben pulls out a picture - similar to what you've found - from the inner pocket of his old varsity jacket in the middle of rummaging through his wardrobe. He leaves his room in his pajamas and tosses himself on the couch next to a sleeping Frankie, softly apologizing to the little beagle for disturbing her cat-like nap. As he cuddles Frankie close, he scrutinizes the picture and it's also from Homecoming, but in it both of you are beaming widely with your arms slung around one another– the doodles ever-so-present on your faces. Behind it, the date and the continuation of the trailed-off sentence written at the back of your share of the memory.

'-anywhere at all.'- it ends in Ben's part of the duality. He grins fondly at the long lost picture, feeling twice as guilty for not keeping it safe and...close to his heart, just as he had promised you that night.

- - - - - - - -

In the convenience of Lucy needing some company to shop with for awards season just as she had returned from her get-away with Rami, she drags you along happily, having to pass through you insisting that you stay at home and study but purposefully ending up under her mercy anyway. You couldn't say no to her, she's basically your sparkly, glam counterpart and you're in need of her life-altering sparkles as of now. Especially since you're going to be tagging along with them, mainly as Joe's date cause you know, you're his 'girlfriend' and all.

You're at the mall, in a stylish boutique full of lines of voguish clothing and shoes that could span miles if not compressed together. For once in the hours you've spent scampering around the mall with Lucy to hoard dresses, skin products and make up, you admit that this is the most aesthetically pleasing space in the entire building.

You traipse along a section with black dresses fashioned into different forms, silently praying that what you have with you will amount to at least one of the varying prices.

Lucy's on the opposite side, ogling at the most colorful section in the boutique for a piece to wear. She peers over at you to make sure you've chosen your 'fighter'. A few swishes of the dresses lined up and you do, holding it up high to evaluate the appropriateness.

It's a sleeveless, halter neck satin that's just a few inches above the knee. Utterly backless but it ends right up the small of your back. The fabric is stretchy enough to move around and breathe in as it simultaneously hugs your shape. You love it but gulp as you prepare yourself for the price. Flipping the tag over, you suddenly wish you could let out the biggest, girlish squeal the human race has ever heard with how surprisingly affordable it is.

"Finally picked out yours?" Lucy pokes her head up playfully and you nod, quite speechless but giddy. She makes a grabby hand at your dress to examine it for herself.

Well she's the fashion guru so why not? You hand her the dress and as she trails her eyes from top to bottom, her mouth falls at the simple yet elegant details. "This is perfect! I highly doubt that it's not going to catch every exposed eye present at the event."

Your flush profusely at her comment. "Thanks but I'll be bringing a coat with me."

That triggered her, but of course you're only teasing. "You better effing not." She warns you and you chuckle, taking the dress from her and evenly brushing the skirt.

"I won't, you can sleep soundly tonight."

You assure her of the possibility. As you exit the boutique with a few bags you're not used to holding, Lucy takes out her phone and gasps, her face contorting with a little disbelief. "Uh oh, this might ruin your mood." She hands you the phone and you gape at her confusingly before taking a quick look.

Ben's posted some updates on his wedding preparations, shockingly tagging you, Joe, Gwil and Lucy in one photo. He's pretty busy alright; unable to text or call you for days but miraculously tagging you out of nowhere.

You come to disregard it until you notice one minute but important detail hidden in plain sight in all of his posts– there isn't a single one with him and Rosy together alone. None of such as well on his new ones.

The only post he's had with a close girl is the one with you, which is at the very bottom of his Instagram feed. You won't admit it but it warms your heart a little. Actually, a whole lot despite wondering why there's none of him and his fiancee. You hand Lucy her phone back and tilt your head to one side, suddenly finding the eagerness to go on shopping. "Let's go."

The following week comes as a radial blur contrasted to the slightly moderate one you just woke up from; your manager phoning you up to take the earliest shift you've had in years at the expense of your allotted time to rest, the heavy workload and rush hours in the upcoming hours followed by the slowest progress of filing your travel documents and visa needed for your departure on the 26th. You've got tons of missed calls from your parents and Joe, who's requested for you to pack up early since you'll be leaving for LA with Lucy on the day of the awards but earlier.

Also noting that you still need to double check the costs for flying to LA and back, ruling out the one exclusive for your flight on the 26th.

For mere days you feel as if you could lose your sanity as your life spirals into madness with everything you're required to do– whether or not you're obliged to do it.

But they are effective distractions for that problem you are still very much preoccupied with. That's a matter noteworthy of later discussion. Amidst all the chaos happening, part of you wishes for Ben to reply to your messages or even talk to you in the slightest. You never bothered to call this week since he's tied up but the least he could do is let you know how he's doing, if he's thinking of you once in a thousand passing seconds.

You give up for a day waiting on him and drown yourself in work.

- - - - - - -

Securing your phone between your tilted head and your shoulder as you indulge in your talk with Joe through the line, you crouch and zip your luggage bag close. Your eyes fixating themselves on two, separate luggage bags for two, separate travels.

"Was that all of it?" Joe's disembodied voice asks. You spring up and take your phone between your fingers. "Pretty much. I better have a kick out of something by the time we touchdown tomorrow– it's my first visit to the US." You inform him, leaping into your bed and landing comfortably.

He chortles softly and ensures you. "I know and you can be sure to expect a good par- ow! Bad kitty!" His smooth transition to a yelp amuses you for split second.

"Are you alright? "

"No. I'm finally feline food to my kid." He refers to his pet cat that has taken a small nibble on his finger, in which Joe returns with a light ruffle to its fur. You can't help but giggle heartily at him.

"Anyway, I'm picking you and Lucy up from LAX tomorrow." He gives you that heads up and you bring your hand up to your forehead. "Where will we be staying?"

"I've booked a hotel earlier so you've got nothing to worry about the moment you land." A faint crunch can be heard from your end and you mind to ask Joe about it. "Are you- are you eating?"

To answer your question, he bites down on his food sloppily and guarantees you of what you heard. You smack your lips together as your eyes narrow in bewilderment.

"Does that answer your question?"

"Sometimes you make it easier for me to hit you with a pillow."

"Is that how you treat your boyfriend?" He taunts at you and cackles, his distorted voice bouncing off of the walls of your room. You sigh, defeated by the fact that this charade is still going on. It's silly and immature yet you and Joe somehow managed to stick to the act.

"Speaking of boyfriend though– would he be furious if I told him that I couldn't be there on his wedding day?" Since you're rested and got nothing else to distract you, you pop the question to Joe.

"Ben?"

You hum softly.

"There are two scenarios that we need to consider," on his end, Joe taps his finger on his lips as he thinks of said scenarios, "Best case scenario- he would get discouraged and slightly unmotivated, and obviously sad, but he'd still support you cause that's your dream."

You sit up and twirl the ends of your hair around your finger, swallowing. "And worst case scenario?"

Joe falls silent before exhaling harshly. "You'd crush his soul, heart, everything ranging from physical to spiritual and it would take a toll– and I mean a substantial toll on your friendship."

"Joe, don't make it sound like a prospect! "

"That is, " he adds strongly, "if he finds out that you had meant for him to be oblivious to it." And he's right. But you had a reason. You still do. Even if you do end up telling him and he supports you, you need a great deal of space to move on.

As long as he's committed to Rosy and you're in the sidelines still in love with him, it's just something toxic. You couldn't love anybody they way you do Ben and you feel like you'll never love someone like him ever again. Albeit how clueless he is sometimes and clumsy, you both had survived every storm and wave. So sticking around to witness him give his hand and heart to someone else is torture for you.

"I'm gonna be direct and say-" just as you begin talking, your phone shrills to another caller, cutting you off from Joe.

One look at the screen and your heart begins racing. Speak of the devil. You reserve an explanation for cutting off and answer Ben, clearing your throat. "You're late."

Ben's gruff chuckle welcomes you back. "I know, I'm so sorry. Busiest week I've had and the lady at Starbucks signed my cup like a snail."

"What are you doing tonight that requires coffee?"

"Call me dramatic- or do so, given that I'm an actor- but I just want to stargaze right now." You hear a light rustle coming from his end, like he's seated out on his lawn.

Silently giving him the 'oh really' look, you spread one side of the curtain to let some moon light in. "Ben, you're leaving early tomorrow."

He hums, seemingly enjoying himself. "But that's not an excuse to not enjoy the night." This boy can not get any cornier. You cast your gaze upon the moon, sighing profoundly. "How did the wedding planning go? Good?"

"Hm, yeah. Church wedding, big reception. Whole lot of booze binging planned out. And a killer bachelor party the day after the awards. " He jokes through the line and you tell him off in a playful chide. "Benjamin Jones, you better-"

"I won't. I won't." You sense his gentle smile from your end, checking the time and reluctantly coming to the decision to hit the hay since you'll be leaving early as well. As much as you want to recreate those late night conversations you once had with him, you can't.

"Hey?" You coo somehow.

"Yeah?"

"I gotta sleep. I have to meet Lucy at the airport at 5."

He gives out a throaty grunt as if he's pulling himself up. "Tragic. I'll see you in LA then, love."

Your lips curl up into the gentlest smile with the moonlight blessing it from the window. "You too. Tell yourself and the rest- especially Brian and Roger- that I'm gonna be rooting for you guys to get up on that stage."

"I will. Thanks for the motivation, Y/N. All the words coming from you just mean so much to me. To all of us." And in his voice, you can hear his utmost sincerity and fondness just highlighting his tone.

"Anytime. Now let me sleep, you bloke. "

"Haha, alright. Love you tons, love."

Shifting your eyes to the sky once more, you reply, allowing the words you're about to say to mean more.

"I love you too, Ben. Good night."

- - - - - - -

24th

You had promised Lucy you'd arrive 10 minutes earlier than her and you really didn't hold on to that promise. As soon as you arrive at the airport nearly bathing in sweat and deaf from the multiple rings Lucy has given you, you both take off to the waiting area with your heavy luggage where you spend an hour and a half waiting for your flight to board. Joe has sent two texts telling you that he's still in the middle of having coffee and it's a questionable action since he's 8 hours behind you and is expected to be asleep by now.

You reply with a simple, "See you there" before heeding to the call of your flight number from the speakers.

All the rushing and you haven't had a bite of breakfast yet. An eleven hour flight doesn't sound so bad, as long as you make sure you don't reel everytime you get up to use the bathroom and acquire jet lag the moment you land from a direct flight without any pit stops. The flight is long as you are awake but by the time you fall asleep in between hours, it shortens the duration. The pilot announcing your arrival wakes you and Lucy from the latest nap you've had on the plane. After gathering your luggage and answering a couple of phone calls on you way down the plane, the arrival area is where you spy Joe behind the red tapes, a scarf around his neck and an eager look plastered on his pale skin, just waiting for you and Lucy to step in. His eyes crinkle as he sees you both treading towards him with a handful of luggage. He greets you both with a tight hug and ushers you to his car, assisting with the transport of your things.

He's booked you in the hotel he's staying in to, of course, avoid some minor inconveniences especially since the awards start at 7 pm and you drastically need Lucy to help you prepare. Upon reaching the hotel, he leads the both of you up the second floor and into the hall for your rooms.

Apparently you and Lucy will be sharing which is the great and Joe will be staying in the room right across yours.

After giving yourselves a brief tour of the room, you settle in and unpack your essentials.

"Y/N, bring out your fighter!" Lucy declares with a giggle, pulling the dress she's chosen from her suitcase. It's a purple, off-the-shoulder, crepe satin and black velvet gown that cascades gracefully against the stable air.

Your eyes widen in awe at how it looks against the light. "No need for a match, Luce. You win," you raise your hands up in surrender, "that's- that's catching more eyes. From Rami of course."

"Oh shut it. You'll look smooth in black." She clicks her tongue and smoothens it at the edge of the bed. You whip out yours and hold it up high, wavering a little at how you'll look like in it tonight. How fortunate you were to find 3-inch, black pumps closeted when you were 'panic packing' the night before. You take it out from your suitcase and set it aside before striding towards the blinds, pulling it up and beholding the breathtaking view of Hollywood before you.

Your first visit to the US and you're already headed to the Oscars. This isn't the real life. This is just fantasy.

- - - - - - - -

"We're having a dinner party afterwards, I don't see any reason for two sandwiches before the ceremony." Staring blankly at how Joe's handling waiting for you and Lucy to emerge from your room, Rami purses his lips quizzically– he's come by to pick up his girl as well. The two men look dashingly handsome in their black tuxes and slick hairstyles– their individual charm strong as they highly anticipate for your appearances.

Joe swallows the chunk in his mouth before speaking. "I'm stressed."

"About what?"

He bites down on his last sandwich, dusting his hands off crumbs as he reasons out. "It's the Oscars. Biggest ceremony of the year."

With a shake of his head, Rami opens his mouth to protest but pauses as the creak of the door behind them butts in their conversation. Lucy - exquisite in her cascading satin gown and look dotted in light to moderate make up - emerges with her purse in hand and eyes heady on Rami.

Joe wishes he could loosen some hinges in Rami's jaw since the latter has got his mouth agape at her girlfriend's evening look. To him, she is his ultimate award and he wouldn't have it in any other way.

"Hey, babe." Lucy smiles delicately and kisses Rami's cheek, to which he responds with a breathless, "Luce, you look..." His starstruck silence finishing his compliment for her. Joe hums, agreeing with crossed arms. "I wish I was as pretty as you, Boynton."

"You boys look handsome, too." Lucy giggles softly and Joe begins to wonder. "Where's Y/N?"

"She'll be out in three...two..." As Lucy deliberately pauses her countdown, you come out of the room, head down as you feel a bit hesitant to continue but you regain your confidence and look up timidly– your appearance putting Joe in the same position Rami was just in with Lucy. The dress really agrees to your form, contouring every curve of your body in a semi-sensual way, guaranteeing that you'll be snagging some looks tonight. Your (H/C) hair frames your face intricately with your light make-up emphasizing the color of your eyes and lips. The light brush of air against the skin of your exposed back makes you clutch your purse tighter, deeming it uncomfortable.

Lucy smiles proudly at her work and that is you. "Well, how does she look Joe?"

Joe lets out a hitched exhale, hazel eyes wide as a sinkhole and a slacked jaw struggling to budge. "Like my girlfriend."

"You wish." You can't help but retort playfully and he brings his finger up to his lips, hushing you. Rami compliments you as well and you thank him as the four of you make your way to the elevator– your arm on Joe's and Lucy's on Rami's.

You've taken a limo for the sake of convenience, since Joe and Rami wanted to propose a pre-toast - with the champagne present in the vehicle - to their successes and hard work in the past year. You have faith they'd bring home an Oscar; considering how spectacular their work was portraying the members of Queen. You're also thrilled that you're about to meet Brian and Roger.

The limo parks just across Dolby Theatre and the four of you climb out, making your way arms-in-arms into the place crowded with paparazzi and attendees. You see yourself as a small fish swimming in a sea full of majestic dolphins. This is the big leagues right here and you're not even one bit of a celebrity– at least you feel like you aren't one. After a couple of shoulder brushes with either familiar and unfamiliar faces and escaping the blinding flashes of the cameras, the four of you reunite with Gwilym who has Roger and Brian present by his side. You are introduced to the two Queen members by Joe and you couldn't be any more happier to meet them in person. A couple of moments of interacting with the rest of the crew and cast, Ben joins the 'party' looking sharp and admittedly drop-dead gorgeous in his white tuxedo blazer and slicked back hair with Rosy by his side.

Before he could even reply to the greetings of his friends, he lays his eyes on you and for a while– his pupils dilate and his expression flits faster than he can command it to. He can't believe what or who he is seeing before him amidst all the glam. Letting go of Rosy's hand for a minute, he steps close to you, indescribably captivated. "Y/N...h-hey."

You keep your composure, musing back. "Hey. You look left out, outfit-wise, and a like a million bucks."

It takes him nearly five seconds to reply with the way hes has his eyes transfixed on you. It's like he's seeing you for the first time. Your evening look setting him back to Homecoming night and something inside him just tweaks. You avoid his mindless gaze and break the silence, trying your hardest not to flush. "Ben, please talk. It's just really-"

"You look...beautiful." He breathes out like he had just gotten up from under water.