#tada! it has been done!

[077891st]

upside down🌀 downside up

[nanenna]

Let's Wrap this Up, Folks

Sleepy King Masterpost

No editing, we die like Vlad (slowly, painfully, and unmourned). I'm so happy to say this is done!

---

Danny held Cujo close as he scritched him behind the ears, nothing like stinky puppy kisses to help him feel better. And right now he felt pretty awful! Dark Dan had been Ghost King too, it’s just that no one ever told him so he didn’t know. Well, judging from how Johnny and Kitty reacted no one else knew either, and he guesses that was a good thing. Except now everyone does know, between Johnny and Kitty, and the whole of the Far Frozen he’s pretty sure gossip is already getting around.

“Alright, everyone ready to sit down and explain some shit?” Stinky trenchcoat man said. Danny had been introduced, he just didn’t care to remember Blondie’s name.

“Language!” Mom scolded.

“Yeah, yeah.” Stinky plopped himself onto one of the chairs. Wonder Woman sat elegantly in another while Batman loomed over her chair’s back. The not-a-ghost guy, Deadman, was hovering near Stinky.

Danny decided the safest thing to do was to squeeze himself between Mom and Jazz on the couch. Cujo laid himself out across their laps on his back, begging for belly rubs. Vlad seemed to take the Batman approach, standing off to the side and looking rather annoyed.

Stinky pointed at Danny, “Let’s start with the obvious, you somehow, and I’ve yet to figure it out but I will, are Phantom.”

Danny looked over at his parents. Mom smiled brightly as she patted his arm, “Why don’t you show them what you can do?”

“Yeah, Danno! Show them the Fenton gumption!”

Danny sighed as he transferred Cujo over to Jazz’s lap. Thankfully so long as he was getting attention he’d probably be okay. He stood up and moved into the middle of the room. “It’s kinda bright,” he warned before letting his transformation wash over him. “Tada,” he said lamely, arms held out as he stood in the middle of the room.

“Christ on a cracker!” Stinky yelled as he flopped back dramatically.

“You should see what Vlad looks like,” Danny said wryly.

“Daniel!” Vlad yelled angrily.

“Constantine already told us you two are the same form of being,” Batman said gravely.

“I would also point out that young Danny here has already accused you of some very suspicious activities,” Wonder Woman added.

“Vladdie was going through some things!” Jack stood and shook a fist at the Justice League.

“He’s working on reforming,” Maddie added with a smile.

“The biggest thing he was holding over my head was my secret identity,” Danny gestured as he spoke, then stopped and stared down at his hand. “Am I wearing armor? What? Where did…?” He looked down. He was covered in black armor with a white like loincloth, or whatever those are called, and some kind of white fur cape at his shoulders. He found the cape behind him and held it up: yup. White fluffy fur, kinda reminded him of the yeties. “Wait, I don’t have horns, do I?” He felt over his head, thankfully just finding his regular hair.

“No, Danny, you don’t have horns,” Jazz said with a giggle.

“Well excuse me, Pariah has horns! And so does Frostbite, this cape reminds me of him.” He patted himself, getting a feel for his new armor, it felt weird. “Where did this even come from?”

“Congrats, it comes with the title,” Stinky said with a hand wave.

“I don’t get it, the other ghosts said it wasn’t like a magical title or something, that Pariah just declared himself king and did everything himself. Why am I getting the magical girl outfit upgrade?”

“Pariah stole the crown, much like your weird uncle here tried to do.”

Danny snorted at Constantine calling Vlad his weird uncle.

“But the crown is much older than Pariah Dark, it decides who it belongs to.”

Well that was just great, he’s pretty sure Clockwork had something to do with this. “Ugh, this sucks! How do I get rid of it?” Danny asked.

“You don’t.”

Everyone just stared at Constantine.

“What?”

“Congrats, you’re the new Ghost King. Comes with a castle, an army of thralls, and a pretty significant power boost. Probably doubled since apparently you’re the king twice over.”

“No, I have school on Monday! I can’t go to school looking like this!” Danny waved at himself.

“Danny,” Jazz said while trying to hide a grin, “the armor wasn’t on your human form.”

“Oh… right.” Danny de-transformed and looked down at his hands, the rings were still there. “Um!”

“Sorry, kid, no such thing as a part time king, the crowns and rings are permanent now.”

“Noooooooo!” Danny wailed! His normal life! That he was finally getting back since his parents put better protections on the portal after finally telling them the truth! “I just wanted to graduate high school, was that too much to ask?”

Batman grunted, apparently in agreement.

Danny pointed at Stinky, “This is all your fault! If it weren’t for that spell you hit me with they wouldn’t be stuck.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.”

“Danny! Here you guys are!” Ellie came flying into the room, her backpack dragging on the ground. She stopped when she spotted the Justice League members all staring at her. “Uh….”

Cujo barked and scrambled out of Jazz’s lap, leaping for Ellie.

“Cujo! Who’s a good boy?!” The two began happily and loudly rolling around on the ground.

Sam and Tucker followed shortly after, both pausing in the doorway. “Uh… Danny?” Tucker asked slowly, “Why are Batman and Wonder Woman in Vlad’s living room?”

“More importantly,” Sam cut in, “why do you have the Crown of Fire over your head? Twice?”

“Turns out I’m the Ghost King, and so was you-know-who.”

“Which you-know-who?” Tucker asked.

“Nasty Burger explosion.”

Tucker still looked a little confused.

“Since Constantine said the second crown was from an alternate timeline, I’m guessing it belonged to an alternate version of yourself, one you also had to beat in combat.”

Danny sighed and deflated, “You really are the world’s greatest detective.”

Batman’s only response was a twitch of his lips. Danny never wanted to play poker with him.

“Danny, why haven’t you told us about this?” Mom asked in that very special tone of voice that meant she was Not Mad Just Disappointed.

“Well… he was evil,” Danny blurted out as his shoulders hiked up to his ears. “I don’t wanna be evil.”

Jazz came over and pulled him into a hug, “And we’re taking steps to make sure that doesn’t happen, part of that is getting you a proper support network. And look! Now we can ask the Justice League for help.”

“If you don’t mind, why hasn’t anyone called us before now?” Wonder Woman asked.

“What? So an overshadowed Superman can run amok and then there’s a photo of me punching Superman in the face on the front of the newspaper? No thanks.” That was the last thing Danny needed.

“What do you think the magic user branch of the Justice League is bloody for?” Stinky asked loudly.

“I didn’t know there was a magic user branch!” Danny defended.

“None of us did,” Tucker added. He moved to go sit on the floor and lean against the couch, Sam joined him.

“In all fairness, we do not advertise Justice League Dark,” Wonder Woman said with a gentle smile. “But now that we know our assistance is needed we are happy to help.”

“I’m not sure what you can do at this point, we’ve locked down the main way ghosts have been getting into Amity. Mostly it’s the natural portals now, and there’s not much anyone can do about those.”

“Can you get the GIW to back off?” Sam asked.

“Oh! I hadn’t thought about that,” Danny said eagerly.

Batman frowned, “What’s the GIW?”

“Hey!” Ellie came up to the side of Wonder Woman’s chair, “Can you teach me how to sword fight? That sounds so cool!”

“Why ask her?” Danny wandered over, leaving his friends to explain the Gits in White to Batman. “You can just ask Pandora.”

“I don’t have four arms like Pandora,” Ellie whined.

“So just duplicate, it’s easy!” Danny stuck his tongue out and furrowed his brow in concentration, sweat beading on his forehead before his arms split into a second pair. Then, just like Frostbite taught him, he made four ice swords, one in each hand. “See?”

Ellie rolled her eyes, “Oh, it’s so easy! Says the guy who can’t even make one whole duplicate.”

“It’s hard!” Danny defended. “And I can, I could do it with the exo-skeleton, just… not since.” He’d been trying, but duplication was hard, he didn’t seem to have quite enough power. “Wait a minute, I have a power boost with the crowns.” Danny took a step to the left, Danny also took a step to the right. Now there were two Dannies with a perfectly normal number of arms, each holding an ice sword. Each also had a pair of crowns over their head. “Huh, so that’s what it looks like,” both Dannies said in unison.

“Ew, stop it, that’s so weird,” Ellie said in disgust.

“Hey guys! Look what I can do!” Dannies both said with a grin as he popped out several more duplicates. This was going to be fun!

---

Omake:

Danny trudged into school on Monday, chatting with Sam and Tucker, still wearing the crowns and rings along with his normal clothes. He went straight to his locker, getting ready for the day. On time for once!

“Hey Fenturd!” Dash jeered from down the hall, “Why’d you miss school on… uh… what’s that?”

Danny closed his locker and looked up at Dash, “What’s what?”

“What do you mean what’s what? What’s that above your head?”

Danny looked up, then back at Dash, “What’re you talking about?”

“Don’t play coy, there’s a crown above your head! It’s on fire?????”

“Dash, I think I would notice a floating, flaming crown above my head.”

Dash looked completely confused, he looked over at Kwan, who was also frowning. “Kwan!”

“I can see it too, it’s there.”

“Right! Hear that, Fentina?”

Danny just looked at Dash like he’d lost his mind, “This is a really weird prank.”

“I’ll prove it!” Dash whipped out his phone and took a picture, then held the screen out. “There, see?”

Danny looked at the phone, “I just see me and Sam and Tucker.” His friends also leaned in and looked at the screen.

Dash pulled his phone back and looked at it, sure enough the crown wasn’t in the photo. But it was also still floating above Danny’s head, and Kwan had also seen it. What was going on?

“Anyway, I’m gonna go turn in my homework, I don’t want to get stuck in summer school.” Danny turned and wandered off to first period, his friends in tow.

Dash was… very confused. He knows what he saw, he knows the other students saw it too!

“Isn’t that the crown the Ghost King had?” Paulina asked as Danny left.

“I… think so?” Dash said uncertainly.

“I think there were two of them,” Kwan added.

They all followed Danny to first period, they had it together after all. They arrived just after Danny, just in time to hear Mr. Lancer shout, “Sword in the Stone! Mr. Fenton, what is that over your head?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Danny answered calmly while Sam and Tucker, standing just a step behind him, were wildly shaking their heads and making various “Do not” gestures.

“I… You… that is…” Mr. Lancer glanced back and forth, clearly conflicted.

“I managed to finish that essay,” Danny said cheerfully handing it over. “Sorry about Friday, but it should be excused.”

“Yes, I was told about that… something about the Justice League?” Mr. Lancer stared at the crown.

“Yeah, I got to meet them! It was wild.” Danny smiled charmingly.

“Alright, yes, well… please take your seats, class will be starting soon.” Mr. Lancer looked at the crown one last time, then seemed to decide it wasn’t his business and to carry on like usual.

“Oh my god,” Danny whispered to Tucker and Sam as they went to their seats, “I can’t believe that worked!”

“Just your usual day in Amity Park,” Tucker said with a snicker.

Val came walking over once they were seated. She stared at the crowns over Danny’s head, then down to the rings on his fingers no one had noticed yet. Her eyes turned to narrow slits. Danny put a finger to his lips and winked.

[greenplumbboblover]

[Download] Lyralei's Pose Addon (Early Release)

It's finally here! 🎉 An successor to Virtual Artisan’s incredible Pose Addon!

VA’s Pose Addon has always been an essential part of my game, but it’s no secret that it had a few quirks and issues. While fixing those, I couldn’t resist adding some exciting new features to take it to the next level!

DOWNLOAD:

Simblr.CC

Requirements:

Cmomoney's Pose Box

Why Not Use Virtual Artisan's Pose Box with this mod?

This mod is an update to their original mod! Since it’s no longer available on their website, I decided to fully integrate it into this mod.

What does that mean?

This mod includes VA’s Pose Addon, so you don’t need to download it separately. Just make sure to delete the old version to avoid any glitches or conflicts! 😊

⭐ New Features:

Most things that are mine can be found under "Photo Shooting" > "Lyralei's Pose Addon".

👀Better Look at

Ever posed a sim to look at something next to them, but they do this weird "eye roll-y" and "nudging slightly to the left" type of look at?

Or maybe you simply wanted to make the eyes look somewhere and not the head?

Let's check it out:

Here we have Morgana, looking normally...

Left = Va's Pose addon - Right = Lyralei's Pose Addon.

To get started, first pose your Sim as usual! Once they’re in position, simply click "Look At..." to make it work.

Massive thanks to @thesweetsimmer111 for helping me on this!

Look at with just the eyes:

As mentioned, you can also just move certain parts of the body! In this case, the eyes!

(Left: No Look At, Middle = Looking left, Right = Looking up)

This is done with something called a "Track Mask". When selected, the only parts of the sim will move that fit the chosen trackmask.

For example: Track Mask "EyesOnly" will ONLY animate the eyes!

Blending Poses

Can't find a pose online that fits your needs, but you do have 2 poses that would totally fix that?

Not a problem anymore! With "Pose Blending" you can use a pose "base" and then overlay another pose to create your own dynamic poses!

Here are some examples!

On both cases, we have the "base" pose on the left. Then I have chosen to blend it with the pose in the middle, to get this as an end result! :)

How to:

First, pose your sim as you normally would

Go to "Photo shooting..." > "Lyralei's Pose Addon..." > "Utils..." > "Blend" > Choose whichever option you'd like to use! :)

Pick the Track Mask you'd like to apply. If you only want the upperbody to be affected, click that option.

Click/type in the pose you want to blend it with....

And tada!

Sitting/Laying poses:

Even that's possible! :) Keep in mind, though: The base pose HAS to sit/lay/etc. Otherwise, your sim will elevate!

Categorised Pose List

Frustrated because every time you want to grab a pose from your list, it takes 3455325352 years for the list to load? Well, wait no more!

Completely customizable through XML, you can now sort poses in their own respective categories!

Need a sitting pose? no problem! Just go to Lyralei's Pose Addon > Take pose From... > Common List > Sitting, and there you have all your sitting poses! :)

Can I customise this list myself?

Of course! I wrote a How-To here: Click me!

🕰️ Show History

The Add-on remembers your pose history!

Whether you’re a dedicated “Pose by Name” user or prefer the simplicity of “Show by List”, both options now display your pose history for quick reference.

Note: Each Sim has their own individual history list. This means you’ll only see the pose history for Sim X when clicking on them, and not for Sim Y.

What did I fix for Virtual Artisan's Pose Addon?

I've made sure to keep everything as it used to (and if I made a replacement for it, it's now labeled with "[LEGACY]" at the beginning of the interaction).

But, of course there were some bugs that came with it.

Changelist:

There is now an interaction that uses both look at & reaction simultaneously. (In case you don't want to use my look at interaction).

Fixed an issue where reactions would sometimes or never show on the sim.

Fixed an issue where sims didn't always want to look at the item.

Fixed an issue where certain poses get called twice, making it harder to keep reactions or even look at history data.

Optimised the code here and there.

Most interactions will now continue on posing your sim if you exited out of the interaction, rather than resetting it. (this counts for "Change Expression" and "Look At").

DOWNLOAD:

Simblr.CC

[spidermans-l-o-v-e-r]

Sink or Swim

Pairing: Eddie Diaz x Reader

Word count: …whoops

Notes: Guys I’m posting this while at the salon, my hair is processing it’s gonna be b l u e

Day 1: Public Sex

“I’m telling you man-” Buck puts his arms up on the edge of the pool and Eddie rolls his eyes “You just gotta get laid”

Eddie had been on edge lately, everyone had noticed it, after his latest fling had fizzled out he’d been hitting the gym more, hitting the bar more. Hell, he’d even started going to the library again.

He was this close to taking up bungee jumping.

“I don’t need-“

“Don’t even start” Buck puts his hands up “Literally do not. I swear to god you’re gonna burst at any second if you don’t just get some”

Eddie sighs “You know, sex doesn’t actually solve everything?”

“Oh, but it sure as fuck would this time” He winks and Eddie rolls his eyes again, crossing his arms over his chest as he puts his back against the wall.

“You know that’s not me dude… I’m not- I’m not a one-night stand kind of-“

“We’re here!!”

Both boys look up to see Tommy walking in through the house, Buck immediately gets up and swims over to the stairs.

“Hey gorgeous,” Buck says as he gets out, coming over to Tommy. Tommy takes his chin in his fingers, pulling him forward and giving him a little peck on the lips with a wink.

“Oh fucking gag”

A voice comes from behind him and Buck pulls away, giddy as ever

“Hi Y/N”

“Hi Ev- Buck” She corrects herself as she steps out of Tommy’s ginormous shadow.

Eddie comes out of the pool now, the water cascading down his body, he shakes out his hair and smoothes it back.

Buck looks at Tommy. Tommy looks at Buck.

“Hey Eddie, c’mere I want you to meet someone”

He steps aside and holds his arms out, presenting you to Eddie, he gives Tommy a nod, who rolls his eyes and does the same thing.

“Tada,” He says sarcastically and Eddie shakes his head, chuckling as he walks over.

“Eddie Diaz” He holds his hand out and you smile, shaking it

“Y/N Kinard. I’m-“

“Tommy’s little sister!!!” Buck squeals and puts his arm around Eddie.

“Jesus Christ” Tommy mutters under his breath as he grabs Buck by the arm and pulls him off of Eddie.

“She’s staying with me, I thought it’d be nice if she came to hang out with us!”

“If you don’t mind” You pipe up and Tommy has to fight to keep Buck from going feral

“Oh no! Of course, I don’t come on I’ll show you where to put your stuff” Eddie reaches for your pool bag and you hand it to him, your cheeks flushing a little as he leads you over to the pool chairs.

“Evan- Evan you have to-“ Tommy puts his hands on Buck's shoulders as he’s nearly bouncing out of his shorts.

“Evan let it happen, it’s gotta be organic okay? We’ve done our part”

“So I shouldn’t- I shouldn’t play my baby-making playlist?” He shakes his head and Tommy shakes his head with him

“No babe, no you shouldn’t”

Eddie sets your bag down on the pool chair and you smile up at him, he knows what the guys are doing god does he know.

But fuck if you’re not the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen in his life. He’s surprised you’re even related to Tommy you’re so… petite. You’ve gotta be a good foot shorter than he is and god the way your curves fill out that swimsuit.

“I’m sorry, by the way,” You rub the back of your neck awkwardly “I know you probably like wanted a boys thing and-“

“Oh no! No, I’m glad you decided to come!” He puts his hands on your arms and you blush, he pulls his hands back quickly and copies your stance, rubbing the back of his neck

“I’m uh- I'm glad you’re here…Do you- do you have sunscreen? Gotta… make sure you’re all… sun protected”

You snicker a little and turn away from him to go through your bag and he nearly pulls his hair out as he digs the heels of his palms into his eyes, groaning to himself. He’s never this fucking awkward around women.

“You think Tommy would let me go anywhere without it?” You joke as you stand back up “Did you need some?”

“Uh no- no I’m covered but um- I can-‘I can get your back for you if you’d like” He offers as he puts his hand out and you shrug, pouring some into it.

“Thanks”

“Mhm!!” His voice is high-pitched as you turn around and lie down on the beach chair. He gets on his knees, rubbing his hands together before rubbing your back, you reach back and pull the string of your stop, letting it fall off and adjust yourself a little

“That should make things easier,” You say as you pull your hair to the side and Eddie has to work very hard to ignore the perfect view he has of your side boob.

“Ha yeah. So- so much easier yeah” He rubs your shoulders first, working the lotion down your sides and across your golden skin. He likes the way it shimmers as it dries into your skin, how soft your skin is, how pretty it is. He’s so busy giving you a massage, rubbing the lotion in he doesn’t even realize the little noises you’re making at first until you moan his name. His hands freeze in place and he finally snaps out of it.

“You’re pretty good with your hands,” You say softly, propping yourself up on your elbows.

“I work with them,” He says dumbly and you giggle while he internally terminates his life contract.

“Yeah, I know, with Buck, right? You’re a firefighter too?”

“Yeah actually, it feels like my calling sometimes you know? Helping people just feels right. Plus you know I get to ride in a fire truck and who doesn’t want to freaking do that”

“Yeah he’s like super sexy, he saves people!! He’s a hero!!!” Buck pops up behind Eddie who nearly swings on him and you scream

“I’m sorry I’m so-“ Tommy lifts Buck by the waist, throwing him over his shoulder.

“Eddie can do this too!! I’ve seen him do it!!” Buck yells before Tommy dumps him into the pool and jumps in with him to try and drown him

You laugh as you get up, facing away from Eddie, you look at him from over your shoulder and Eddie practically melts, his heart pounding in his chest.

“Mind retying this for me?” You ask and he nods absentmindedly, his hands fumbling a little as he grabs the strings and ties them back for you

“This good?” He rests his hands on your shoulders and you look up at him

“Uh huh…” You both stare at each other for a second and he smirks, blushing

“Cool. You ready to get in? Or?” His hands travel down your sides and he grips your hips

“Yeah I guess I’m-“

Before you can even finish your sentence Eddie grabs you by your hips, running over to the pool.

“Wait, wait no wait!!!” You scream as he launches you both into the water. You come back to the surface and jump on him, trying to shove him back under

“You asshat!!”

He’s laughing as he grabs you again and dunks you back under, his body staying pressed to yours as you make him bring you back up.

“Hey, that’s not fair!!” You kick and splash and he turns you in his arms so you’re facing him

“Awwwww is the Princess pouting?” He smirks and your jaw drops

“Princess??” You scoff “I’m not a Princess.”

“I don’t know that” Eddie shrugs “Maybe if I got to know you better…”

“Is he asking you on a date” Buck comes up out of the water and Eddie shoves him right back down.

“Because Tommy and I are going out for lunch after this!! I was just gonna make Eddie take you home but this works too”

Now it’s your turn to shove him back down

“How bout it? Just a little getting to know you”

“I’m just saying it could be a double date”

You sigh, leaning your head on Eddie’s shoulder, and smile, shaking your head.

“Yeah Buck we can go on a double date”

“Why do you indulge him” Eddie groans as he goes running through the water, splashing wildly to tell Tommy.

“Because he won’t stop popping up if we don’t”

Buck actually stops bothering you two after that, not that it’s really much to bother you about now that you’ve agreed to a date. You spend the next couple of hours just messing around with them, playing stupid pool games and even mermaids with Buck. He keeps making you do hair flips like Ariel and Tommy puts a stop to that the second you nearly smack your head into the wall after how dizzy it’s made you.

Buck eventually finds a way to convince Tommy to play chicken and he promises he’ll take it easy on you as he helps you onto Eddie’s shoulders and pats your butt.

Eddie though nearly has a heart attack as you settle on his shoulders, your thighs are so perfect and soft and warm, his head rests against your breasts and he tries to be normal about it he does but they’re just so perfect.

He’s never been more glad he’s in a pool because you can’t see the way his cock is rock hard as you squeal and laugh while fighting Buck and trying to shove him over. Eventually, you fall over onto Buck and you both go laughing and splashing into the water and Eddie feels the tiniest hint of jealousy at the way you cling to Buck as he stands you both up.

He quickly passes you back to Eddie though who is more than happy to be holding you again.

“Hey, Ed why don’t you uh- go inside, maybe help Y/N get ready to go?”

“Did you just call me Ed-“

“Yeah yeah go go” He shoves you and Eddie out of the pool and the two of you gather your stuff up and leave just as Tommy pulls Buck over to him, cupping his face and pressing their lips together.

You and Eddie make gagging noises and Buck flips you off

“I literally hate having siblings,” You say as you both walk into the house, Eddie holds the door for you and you sneak under his arm

“Buck is the closest thing I have to a brother here. I can painfully agree with you”

“At least you don’t live with him” you laugh, as you start to dry off more. You rub your arms, trying to generate some heat and Eddie reaches for you

“For warmth” He shrugs like it doesn’t really mean much, trying to pretend like he’s not internally freaking out as you pull your arms to your chest and snuggle into his, he wraps his arms around you and rests his chin on your head

“Better?” He asks, feeling you squirm a little and you shrug, clearing your throat

“Uh huh, a lot better”

His body is so warm and so… hard. His abs feel nice under your fingertips and you try not to get caught as you totally feel him up and he tries not to get caught feeling you up. His hands rub your arms slowly, his fingertips sliding up your back and massaging you gently again.

“We should probably see what’s keeping them” You pull away after a little bit, biting your lip.

“Yeah… probably” he makes you pull away from him, he doesn’t want to do it himself. You take his hand and pull him back over to the door with you and open it.

“Guys? Can we go please soon?? I’m star-“

Buck is bent over the side of the pool, his head hanging low as he moans, Tommy is over him, kissing his neck and buried deeply inside him.

“MY EYESSSS” Eddie screams as he slams the door shut

Buck has been crazy about double dates, really he just wanted you and Eddie to hang out more and he also wanted to hang out with Eddie and since he wanted to be with Eddie and Tommy it just made sense to bring you too because you’re Tommy’s little sister and he wanted to hang out with you too.

Or at least that’s how he explains it as Eddie blinks at him over his morning coffee.

It wasn’t like it bothered him you tagged along, things were starting to heat up between the two of you. You’d been calling and texting all day since you’d met and he was really starting to feel something for you.

What that was?… he wasn’t really ready to put it into words.

Too bad Buck was.

He’d sent the “What are we?” Text from Eddie’s phone one night when he slept over, and though it got him beat the fuck down Eddie had woken up to an endearing, awkwardly-worded text saying that you “maybe kinda sorta” didn’t mind being his girlfriend.

That’s when the pictures started.

And if getting with you meant you’d be sending him that? Well fuck he would have manned up so much sooner. The first pic arrives when they’re on their way back to the firehouse, he can see the text-

“Is this cute enough for our date?”

And he opens it like a complete dumbass. Because there you are, standing in front of your mirror wearing a sheer corset and a pair of blue jean shorts that leave absolutely nothing to the imagination. His jaw drops as he stares at you, and his eyes travel up your body… right to the dripping popsicle you’re eating.

“Holy shit” He lets out a quiet breath as he stares at you. Buck looks over at him and makes little grabby hands.

“Hey is that Y/N? Lemme see!!!”

Eddie hugs his phone to his chest like the gentleman he is, protecting your virtue.

“Uhhh it’s just a picture of her rabbit!! It’s- it’s just you know- a really, like super furry rabbit that’s all it’s nothing! It’s nothing it’s fine”

You guys ended up staying in that night.

A couple days later Buck invited you and Eddie for brunch, he said all cool couples go to brunch (really he just wanted the blueberry pancakes they had at this place and you both agreed to go.

“Hello beautiful” He smiles, pecking your lips as he pulls back your chair

“Hi, Eddie” You blush, kissing him back. He sits next to you puts his arm on the back of your chair and pulls you closer to him

“Can you guys stop being so gross” Buck sips his mimosa and Eddie rolls his eyes

“Dude how many times have I caught you and Tommy fu-“

“Not in front of the kids!!!” Buck nearly spits his drink out as he covers Eddie’s mouth with his hands

Buck and Eddie go back and forth like children before Tommy grabs Buck by the chin and turns him toward him, planting a sweet kiss on his lips

“Focus on the pancakes babe”

Buck pulls away, her cheeks pink, his eyes a little dazed

“Yeah… okay..”

The rest of the time is fun, the boys are really into whatever stupid story they’re remembering and trying to tell you but they keep laughing and talking over each other.

You’re nodding along absentmindedly when Eddie feels your hand. He thinks it’s just a fluke, an accident. But… no? It’s creeping higher up his thigh, stroking his muscles softly.

He can feel his cock hardening in his pants, and he tries to maintain his composure, keeping the conversation going with Buck and Tommy.

He thinks? Are they talking about like bees now? Or maybe horses? He has no fucking clue, not with your fingers doing a little walk up his thigh.

He leans back in his chair, allowing your hand to inch closer, and when you finally touch his growing bulge, he lets out a soft breath, his eyes drifting shut for a moment.

You giggle at something Tommy said, rolling your eyes at the stupid dad joke before glancing at Eddie, your nose crinkles, your eyes sparkling with mischief as you start to stroke him slowly.

Eddie's breath hitches at your touch, his body tensing slightly. He forces himself to relax as best he can, keeping his composure as he listens to the conversation. Your giggle sends shivers down his spine, his heart racing. He’s not sure how much longer he can keep this up before he just shoves you down on the table and fucks you right in front of Buck’s salad.

“Eddie?” You look up at him innocently, acting like the sweetest little angel “Can you show me where the bathroom is?”

His eyes light up as he looks over at you, eager to please. His voice is huskier than normal and Buck definitely picks up on that.

“Yeah of course” He gets up from the table, clearing his throat “Excuse us” he takes your hand and pulls you behind him, leading you toward the back of the restaurant. You can feel the excitement and anticipation building up in your chest, and you can see from the grin on his face he’s feeling exactly the same way you are

He pulls you into the family bathroom and pushes you against the door the second it closes, kissing you passionately as he locks it. Your hands come up to cup his cheeks, your tongues battling for dominance. His fist hits the door beside you and you gasp into his mouth, he grins, his tongue winning easily now.

“Oh… oh you like it rough don’t you?”

He chuckles darkly as he attacks your neck, biting and kissing. You pull at his belt and whine.

“We don’t have much time, it has to be quick!” Your breath is ragged as he scoops you up and carries you over to the counter

“You think you’re wet enough for me?”

He shoves your skirt up around your waist and pulls your panties to the side, his eyes widening at the sticky tendrils of your wetness plastered against them.

“Holy….”

“I think I’m wet enough” you whisper seductively, reaching for his belt and taking it off.

He pulls his thick cock from his pants, stroking it slowly and tapping your clit with it, your body shudders as he rubs it through your folds, gathering your wetness all over the tip. Your head falls back as he thrusts into you in one quick motion, the wind is knocked out of you as you slap your hand over your mouth, trying to muffle your moan.

He gives you a few moments to adjust to his size before he sets a brutal pace, he has to, not that you’re complaining in the least. You wrap your legs around his waist, pushing him in deeper each time. His grip on your thighs tightens as your nails scrape over his skin.

“You feel so fucking good” he groans, his body burning with need. Your breathy moans and whimpers spur him on. His hand comes up to brace himself against the mirror as he loses himself in your body, the sounds of the way he’s fucking you echoing in the small bathroom. He can feel your tightness, how wet you are for him, the way you clench around him with each thrust like he belongs inside you, like you own him.

“Y-you have to p-pull out” you pant harshly, your head falling back so you can see yourself in the mirror.

“Oh baby girl, if you think for one second I’m not making you sit at that table with my cum dripping between your legs?”

His thrusts become sharper and you cry out

“I’m not fucking you dumb enough”

He covers your mouth as he thrusts into you harder, keeping all those high-pitched whines and noises quiet. He wishes he didn’t have to keep you so quiet, but he doesn’t care all that much when you take his hand and push it up further covering your nose too.

“Oh, Y/N” He moans, holding his hand down harder so you can barely breathe, it sends his head spinning, his hips stuttering and jerking messily as he pounds into you so desperately.

His lips spill praises for you, “Good girl” “so fucking tight” he can feel you clenching around him more and more as your back arches and your body shudders, your orgasm rippling through you and that’s all it takes for him to cum with you, pumping his seed into you.

He pulls his hand away and you gasp in air as he collapses against you. You hug him to your chest as he nuzzles his face into you.

“Fucking hell” he moans into your neck and you trail your fingers through his hair in response, tugging lightly so he’ll look up at you. You press your lips to his, giggling quietly and he grins, kissing you back.

“You think they know?” You blush while he sets you back down, helping you rearrange your clothes, your legs are still wobbling and it just makes him want to do it all over again

“I mean, probably” he chuckles, and you groan, letting your head fall against his chest.

“That’s…. Something”

“Hey you’re the one who started this, you really didn’t think it through huh?” He taps your forehead and you huff at him while he gets himself put back together. You make him bend down to fix his hair and he smirks, staring into your eyes while you do it.

“Quit it!!” You frown a little and that just makes him smile more

“You’re really pretty”

You look at him, your fingers tangled in his hair and he leans in, giving you a soft kiss, still staring into your eyes.

“You’re really intimidating” you admit shyly and he gives you a funny look

“Honey we just fucked in a public bathroom and now you want to get all shy on me? Now you want to tell me how intimidating I am?”

“Oh shut up!!” You whack his chest and shove him away and he laughs, pulling you back into him and kissing your neck

“Awww don’t pout baby girl, you’ll turn me on again”

“Eddie Diaz!” You squeak and before he can embarrass you anymore there’s a knock at the door

“Occupied!” Eddie calls out as he pushes you against the wall now, you whimper and lift your leg around his waist and he picks you back up

“Yeah I know, Tommy and I are hungry. Are you guys done yet?? Because she’s gonna be too exhausted to eat”

Your mouth drops open and Eddie lets his head fall onto your shoulder. He chuckles and shakes his head before setting you back down carefully

“Yeah... Buck. We’re done.”

Two weeks later Eddie comes into work, a little pep in his step. He jogs up the stairs and stops at the top, his team standing there. Bobby has a cake in his hands as the other three cheer and a little burst of confetti is thrown on him.

“Whaaat’s this all about?” He laughs, shaking the confetti from his hair

“Congratulations on getting laid!!” Chimney cheers

“Continuously!” Hen adds and Bobby shows him the cake that says “Congrats! You got laid!” With a cute little bed in the middle of it

“We’re gonna be brothers!!” Buck squeals as he jumps on him

[sinfulpanda16]

Someone Better?

Hitoshi Shinsou x fem reader

"There's someone else I like."

Those words kept playing back in his head over and over again. Kirishima had asked you out earlier, you didn't tell him, but he found through Kaminari. Why the hell did you reject him? Kirishima? That man has everything the looks, the strength, the personality, you two would look so good and perfect together it pissed Shinsou off.

He was walking you home like usual but he couldn't stop thinking about what Kaminari had told him. He was looking down at the ground when he spoke up "Hey, so I found out that Kirishima asked you out." he says and then turned to look at you.

You're taken aback a bit by him, how did he know? Kaminari was there when Kiri shot his shot so he probably told Shinsou you figured. You relaxed a bit and giggled. "Oh yeah he did" you replied a bit shy after remembering that moment.

He fucking caught that. The little blush growing on your face, probably at the thought of Kirishima. Oh no. Did that mean...no. He mustered up the courage and asked "So, how'd it go? Did you say yes?"

You laughed softly. "Oh no. I rejected him."

"No? Wait why?" he asked. He was relieved of course but at the same time a bit shocked. A lot of people would love to be with someone like Kirishima.

You turned away and looked at the ground "There's someone else I like." you smile softly and continue "Someone I really like and I want to be with him."

Its quiet for a bit, you turned to look back at him. Shinsou was already looking into your eyes. He gave you a small smile, you returned his smile and he tells you "I'm happy for you Y/N".

Shinsou grunts as he finishes his last set on the bench press. With one last grunt he pushes the barbell up and he's done. He sits up all sweaty and panting. Damn his workout was so good, letting out his jealousy. He smiles to himself "Fuck Y/N. You know how to get me fired up."

He gets up and heads for a shower. He let's the water run in his hair.

"I'm happy for you Y/N."

He runs his finger through his damp hair. No the hell he's not. The thought of you being with someone else makes his chest ache. He wants you to be happy yes but...not with someone else. He wishes you could be happy with him.

That night he layed in bed looking up at the ceiling.

"There's someone else I like. Someone I really like and I want to be with him."

Him. If not Kirishima who? Who the he'll could that guy be? Is he better than Kirishima? He grabs grips of his hair in frustration. There's someone better. Shinsou has always been insecure about his looks, he knows he's not a lady's man, his quirk, with everyone having told him its makes for a good villain not a hero, his strength, he wasn't automatically placed in Class 1-A or 1-B and everything in general. You mean to say that's there's someone who can top all that better than Kirishima? Needless to say, Shinsou fell asleep after a few tears of jealousy and insecurity.

The next day after-school you and him were at the nature park. School has been a bit heavy on yall so you decided some time outside would be relaxing. Shinsou was following behind you, smiling like an idiot watching your cute self lead him to a 'pretty place'. You turn around "You like cute things right, Shinsou?" you ask him.

Yeah. You, Shinsou said in his mind. "Well, I don't mind them." He said chuckling at your question.

A bit more walking later and you both arrived at a flower field. "Tada! Here we are!" you announced excitedly. It was beautiful, the endless sea of flowers. Shinsou stared out into it "Wow. This is pretty Y/N." he said and turned to you smiling. You returned his smile and for a moment it was just you and him, in front of the giant flower field. His purple eyes looking back at your (e/c) eyes, they're so pretty. Everything about you is beautiful, your eyes, your smile, your aura, even your interests were beautiful. Like the flower field you brought him to.

Shinsou blushes and turns away abruptly his eyes landing on a tree. Shinsou smiles, "Hey let's climb that tree. We'd get a better view of the flowers from up there." he says hoping you'd want to.

You bright up "Yes lets! But make sure to catch me in case I fall." you order playfully.

Shinsou chuckles "I'll be right your side don't worry." he reassures you. Smiling softly as you head towards the tree.

You go to climb the tree being careful to not slip. Shinsou was below also making sure you were careful. When you were seated on a branch he starts climbing the tree and sits right next you. The both of you smile looking out into the landscape. "This is nice. Right Shinsou?" you say not looking away from the sunset setting behind the flowers.

Shinsou responds softly "Yeah. I could do this with you over and over again." You blush at his words, you could do this over and over with him too. He was looking at you and he saw you blushing. He did that?

Shinsou takes a deep breath making you turn to him. "Y/N" he says firmly and goes to hold both your hands. You're shocked by his actions but don't pull away. He begins to speak again "You're the only person that has made me feel things no one else has ever made me feel. You make me feel like I'm this strong, well-respected and remarkable man...but... you also make me feel like I'm this weak, undeserving, invalid man. You drive me nuts." What is he saying? You make him feel sad? "This must be what falling in love feels like. Because regardless of the insecurities you bring me back to, I still want to be with you, and I want to only be with you. I want to go far and beyond to work on myself so I can be the best man for you. Y/N..." he brings your right hand closer to his face and places your knuckles on his lips "I love you." he says gently and leaves his lips on your knuckles closing his eyes.

You're shocked "Shinsou." you say softly. He opens his eyes looking right at your beautiful ones. He pulls your hand away "I know there's someone else. Someone else better than me for you, and I have no right to get in between you two but...If you give a chance, I promise to go to the depths of the earth for you. I promise you won't regret it." he says emotionally.

You hold his cheek smiling softly at him and go in for a kiss. Shinsou is taken aback but doesn't pull away. He kisses you back your lips taste so sweet and unconsciously he wraps his arms around your waist.

After a moment you pull away and smile at him. "Shinsou, you're the one I want to be with. I love you too." you say making him forget the insecurities he had earlier, making the happiest man on earth.

"Thank you, Y/N" he replies going in for another to which you happily return.

[pikahlua]

MHA Chapter 427 spoilers translations

This week’s initial tentative super rough/literal translations under the cut.

tagline 1 No.427　死柄木弔とはなんだったのか　堀越耕平 ナンバー427　しがらきとむらとはなんだったのか　ほりこしこうへい NANBAA 427 Shigaraki Tomura to wa nan datta no ka  Horikoshi Kouhei No. 427 What was Tomura Shigaraki? Kouhei Horikoshi

1 会社員（35） かいしゃいん（35） kaishain (35) Office worker (age 35)

2 恐ろしかったです おそろしかったです osoroshikatta desu "He was scary."

3 退治されてホントよかったです！ たいじされてホントよかったです！ taiji sarete HONTO yokatta desu! "I'm so glad he was exterminated!"

tagline 2 TV特番は語る‼︎ テレビとくばんはかたる‼︎ TEREBI tokuban wa kataru!! A television special narrates!!

4 学生（21） がくせい（21） gakusei (21) Student (age 21)

5 友だちが亡くなりました ともだちがなくなりました tomodachi ga nakunarimashita "My friend passed away."

6 最悪！殺人鬼！ さいあく！さつじんき！ saiaku! satsujinki! "He's the worst! A damn murderer!"

7 あり��ないマジ人生めちゃくちゃなんですけど ありえないマジじんせいめちゃくちゃなんですけど arienai MAJI jinsei mechakucha nandesu kedo "Life has become an impossible mess."

8 家壊されてるし いえこわされてるし ie kowasareteru shi "My house is destroyed."

9 主婦（70） しゅふ（70） shufu (70) Housewife (age 70)

10 止められなかったのかなって…ねえ…… とめられなかったのかなって…ねえ…… tomerarenakatta no ka natte...nee...... "I guess he couldn't stop...you know......"

11 思いますねえ おもいますねえ omoimasu nee "That's what I think."

12 飲食店経営 いんしょくていけいえい（30） inshokutei keiei (30) Restaurant manager (age 30)

13 始めはただのチンピラだと誰もが思っていました はじめはただのチンピラだとだれもがおもっていました hajime wa tada no CHINPIRA da to daremo ga omotte imashita "At first everyone thought he was just a hooligan."

14 誰もここまでの脅威とは思ってなかった だれもここまでのきょういとはおもってなかった daremo koko made no kyoui to wa omottenakatta "No one thought he could be this much of a threat."

1 国際支援とボランティアにより急速に進んでいる復旧作業ーーー こくさいしえんとボランティアによりきゅうそくにすすんでいるふっきゅうさぎょうーーー kokusai shien to BORANTIA ni yori kyuusoku ni susunde iru fukkyuu sagyou--- "Restoration work is progressing rapidly with international support and volunteers---"

2 X(た)しかその一方でX(た)だ復旧の手がX(間)に合っていないXXもーー X(た)しかそのいっぽうでX(た)だふっきゅうのてがX(ま)にあっていないXXもーー X(ta)shika sono ippou de X(ta)da fukkyuu no te ga X(ma) ni atte inai XX mo-- "On the other hand, it is true that some restoration work is not done in time XX--" (Note: A lot of this line is cut off from view, so I made some guesses on the words, but I still can't see the whole thing.)

3 堆く積まれた瓦礫は被害が如何に広範囲に渡ったかを物語っている うずたかくつまれたがれきはひがいがいかにこうはんいにわたったかをものがたっている uzutakaku tsumareta gareki wa higai ga ika ni kouhan'i ni watatta ka wo monogatette iru "The rubble piled high tells the story of how widespread the damage was."

4 多くの人間を巻き込み未曾有のテロを引き起こした敵連合 おおくのにんげんをまきこみみぞうのテロをひきおこしたヴィランれんごう ooku no ningen wo makikomi mizou no TERO wo hikiokoshita VIRAN rengou "The League of Villains, which caused an unprecedented terrorist attack in which many people were caught up--"

5 そのリーダー死柄木弔とは何だったのか特集第二弾をお送りします そのリーダーしがらきとむらとはなんだったのかとくしゅうだいにだんをおおくりします sono RIIDAA Shigaraki Tomura to wa nan datta no ka tokushuu dainidan wo ookuri shimasu "we will send you part 2 of the special freature on their leader: What was Tomura Shigaraki?"

1 巨躯や鱗の複数"個性"に耐え切れず「脳無」化しかけていましたがーーー きょくやうろこのふくすう"こせい"にたえきれず「のうむ」かしかけていましたがーーー kyoku ya uroko no fukusuu "kosei" ni taekirezu 「noumu」 kashi kakete imashita ga--- "Unable to withstand the multiple quirks of a giant body and scales, he was on the verge of becoming a noumu, but---"

2 我々がかねてより脳無の研究を進めていた事と われわれがかねてよりのうむのけんきゅうをすすめていたことと wareware ga kanete yori noumu no kenkyuu wo susumete ita koto to "we have been conducting research on the noumu for some time, and"

3 脳無化の進行がまだ浅かった事で辛うじて抑えられました のうむかのしんこうがまだあさかったことでかろうじておさえられました noumu-ka no shinkou ga mada asakatta koto de karoujite osaeraremashita "because the progress of his transformation into a noumu was still in its early stages, we barely suppressed it."

4 何しにノコノコ来やがった人殺し なにしにノコノコきやがったひとごろし nani shi ni NOKONOKO kiyagatta hitogoroshi "What did you come here to do all nonchalantly, murderer?"

5 否定はしない ひていはしない hitei wa shinai "I won't deny that."

6 死柄木の最期を伝えに来た しがらきのさいごをつたえにきた Shigaraki no saigo wo tsutae ni kita "I came to tell you about Shigaraki's final moments."

7 …死体撃ちにでも来たのか？てめェ悪趣味だな …したいうちにでもきたのか？てめェあくしゅみだな ...shitai uchi ni demo kita no ka? temeE akushumi da na "...You came here to shoot a corpse*? You have some bad taste, bastard." (*Note: This is a concept of unsportsmanlike conduct in a first-person shooter video game.)

8 スピナーが生きてたら伝えてくれよ スピナーがいきてたらつたえてくれよ SUPINAA ga ikitetara tsutaete kure yo if Spinner is alive, please tell him [this].

9 生きてるから…伝える いきてるから…つたえる ikiteru kara...tsutaeru "Because you're alive...I'll tell you [this]."

1-2 死柄木弔は最期まで壊す為に戦った しがらきとむらはさいごまでこわすためにたたかった Shigaraki Tomura wa saigo made kowasu tame ni tatakatta “Tomura Shigaraki fought to destroy until the very end.”

3 ……は？ ......ha? "......Huh?"

4-5 ……死柄木にそう言えって言われたのか？ ……しがらきにそういえっていわれたのか？ ......Shigaraki ni sou iette iwareta no ka? "......Shigaraki told you to say that?"

6 スピナーにって SUPINAA ni tte "To Spinner, he said."

7 …俺？ …おれ？ ...ore? "...Me?"

8 トガや荼毘にも？ トガやだびにも？ TOGA ya Dabi ni mo? "And also to Toga and Dabi?"

9 コンプレスには？ KONPURESU ni wa? "What about to Compress?"

1 君だけだった きみだけだった kimi dake datta "It was only [for] you."

2 ……死柄木は………… ……しがらきは………… ......Shigaraki wa............ "......Shigaraki............"

3 希望だったんだ… きぼうだったんだ… kibou dattanda... "was [my] hope..."

4 笑って「全部壊そう」と言った！ わらって「ぜんぶこわそう」といった！ waratte 「zenbu kowasou」 to itta! "He smiled and said 'Let's destroy everything!'"

5 泥花で歪な地平を見せてくれた でいかでいびつなちへいをみせてくれた deika de ibitsu na chihei wo misete kureta "In Deika, he showed me a distorted horizon."

6 あいつは俺の代弁者だったんだ あいつはおれのだいべんしゃだったんだ aitsu wa ore no daibensha dattanda "He was my spokesperson."

7 虐げられても俺自身が しいたげられてもおれじしんが shiitageraretemo ore jishin ga "Even though I was being oppressed, I myself"

8 「異形だしな」って諦めてた… 「いぎょうだしな」ってあきらめてた… 「igyou da shi na」 tte akirameteta... "said 'I'm just a heteromorph' and gave up..."

1 いや…考えるのをやめてたんだ いや…かんがえるのをやめてたんだ iya...kangaeru no wo yametetanda No...I stopped thinking.

2 考えてXくなる kangaete Xku naru (Note: An important symbol in this line is cut off, but this thought a continuation of his refleciton on how we stopped thinking.)

3 そんな俺に夢を見せてくれた そんなおれにゆめをみせてくれた sonna ore ni yume wo misete kureta "He showed a dream to me when I was like that."

4 Xかでかい事が起きるかもって Xかでかいことがおきるかもって X ga dekai koto ga okiru kamo tte "I thought maybe it would awaken something big." (Note: This line is cut off again, so I've made a guess at the gist of the meaning.)

5 何者かになれるかもって…‼︎ なにものかになれるかもって…‼︎ nanimono ka ni nareru kamo tte...!! "I thought maybe I could become someone...!!"

6 無理しなさんなすぐ抑え…！ むりしなさんなすぐおさえ…！ muri shinasanna sugu osae...! "Don't overdo it, restrain him right away...!"

7 死柄木弔は俺のヒーローだった！ しがらきとむらはおれのヒーローだった！ Shigaraki Tomura wa ore no HIIROO datta! "Tomura Shigaraki was my hero!"

1 破壊が目的の破壊行為なんてのはですね はかいがもくてきのはかいこういなんてのはですね hakai ga mokuteki no hakai koui nante no wa desu ne "The purpose of destruction is vandalism, isn't it?"

2 なんの大義もない考えもないかんしゃくでしかない！ なんのたいぎもないかんがえもないかんしゃくでしかない！ nan no taigi mo nai kangae mo nai kanshaku de shika nai! "He had no great cause, no ideas--it was nothing but a tantrum!"

3-4 ゲームが……好きだったんだよ… ゲームが……すきだったんだよ… GEEMU ga......suki dattanda yo... "He liked......games..."

5 警察の調査が進み悲惨な過去も明るみになってきたわけですが けいさつのちょうさがすすみひさんなかこもあかるみになってきたわけですが keisatsu no chousa ga susumi hisan na kako mo akarumi ni natte kita wake desu ga "As the police investigation progresses, his tragic past is coming to light."

6 原因追明は重要ですがセンチメンタルに取り沙汰せば げんいんついめいはじゅうようですがセンチメンタルにとりざたせば gen'in tsuimei wa juuyou desu ga SENCHIMENTARU ni torizataseba "It's important to identify the cause, but if we get carried away sentimentally,"

7 感化された人間がまた現れる繰り返しますよ かんかされたにんげんがまたあらわれるくりかえしますよ kanka sareta ningen ga mata arawareru kurikaeshimasu yo "people inspired [by him] will apear again and [things will] repeat."

8 引きこもってる間ずっと俺ゲームばっかやってて ひきこもってるあいだずっとおれゲームばっかやってて hikikomotteru aida zutto ore GEEMU bakka yattete "The whole time I was shut in*, I was just playing games" (*Note: By "shut in," Spinner is referring to his time as a hikikomori.)

9 そしたらあいつも soshitara aitsu mo "and he also"

10 やってるゲームけっこうおんなじでさあ！ yatteru GEEMU kekkou onnaji de saa! "was also playing pretty much the same games!"

11 我々はきぜんとした態度で言わなきゃいかんですよ！ われわれはきぜんとしたたいどでいわなきゃいかんですよ！ wareware wa kizen to shita taido de iwanakya ikan desu yo! "We have to say it in a firm manner!"

12 畜生であると！ ちくしょうであると！ chikushou de aru to! "That [in his next life] he'll be a lowly beast*!" (*Note: This term comes from the Buddhist ocncept of a reincarnation into an animal by a person with bad karma in a previous life.)

1 初めてできた はじめてできた hajimete dekita "I was able to do it for the first time."

2 XXだちXXたんだよ…‼︎ XXdachi XXtanda yo...!! "I made friends...!!" (Note: While most of this line is missing, I have provided what I think is the most likely gist of it.)

3 あいつらのヒーローにならなきゃって言ってた あいつらのヒーローにならなきゃっていってた aitsura no HIIROO ni naranakya tte itteta "He was saying he had to become a hero to those guys."

4 死柄木の心の真ん中には敵連合がいたよ しがらきのこころのまんなかにはヴィランれんごうがいたよ Shigaraki no kokoro no mannaka ni wa VIRAN rengou ga ita yo "The League of Villains was at the center of Shigaraki's heart."

5 きっと死柄木も同じ事を思ってたから きっとしがらきもおなじことをおもってたから kitto Shigaraki mo onaji koto wo omotteta kara "I'm sure Shigaraki was thinking the same thing, so"

6 君には伝えたかったんだと思う きみにはつたえたかったんだとおもう kimi ni wa tsutaetakattanda to omou "I think that's why he wanted [me] to tell you."

7 熱に当てられたまま ねつにあてられたまま netsu ni aterareta mama While I was exposed to that heat,

8-9 "流れは止められない"と考える事をやめてきた "ながれはとめられない"とかんがえることをやめてきた "nagare wa tomerarenai" to kangaeru koto wo yamete kita I came to stop thinking, "The flow cannot be stopped."

10 俺という者はつくづく気付くのが遅すぎた おれというものはつくづくきづくのがおそすぎた ore to iu mono wa tsukudzuku kidzuku no ga oso sugita As the person I am, I came to realize it too late.

1-2 もう一歩進んでいれば もういっぽすすんでいれば mou ipposusunde ireba If I had taken one more step,

3 俺は おれは ore wa could I

4-5 俺のヒーローを救えたのだろうか ともだちをすくえたのだろうか tomodachi (kanji: ore no HIIROO) wo sukueta no darou ka have saved my friend (read as: my hero)?

6 今もまた第二・第三の死柄木弔やAFOが息を殺しているかもしれません いまもまただいに・だいさんのしがらきとむらやオール・フォー・ワンがいきをころしているかもしれません ima mo mata daini ・ daisan no Shigaraki Tomura ya OORU FOO WAN ga iki wo koroshite iru kamo shiremasen "Even now, a second or third Tomura Shigaraki and All For One may be holding their breaths*." (*Note: This is an idiom in Japanese that means someone is holding their breath either to not make a sound or to focus hard on something. The implication here is that someone inspired by Tomura Shigaraki or All For One could be out there waiting to see how society reacts to all this.)

7 次の脅威に目を向けなければ つぎのきょういにめをむけなければ tsugi no kyoui ni me wo mukenakereba "If we don't focus on the next threat..."

8 おまえたちは omae-tachi wa "You all"

9 これからも戦い続けるんだろう？ これからもたたかいつづけるんだろう？ kore kara mo tatakai tsudzukerundarou? "will continue to fight from here on, right?"

1-2 そしていずれ死柄木弔も敵連合も忘れて笑うんだろう そしていずれしがらきとむらもヴィランれんごうもわすれてわらうんだろう soshite izure Shigaraki Tomura mo VIRAN rengou mo wasurete waraundarou "And eventually you'll forget about Tomura Shigaraki and the League of Villains and laugh."

3 本を書く ほんをかく hon wo kaku "I'll write a book."

4 死柄木弔という恐怖の象徴をーーーー… しがらきとむらというきょうふのしょう��ょうをーーーー… Shigaraki Tomura to iu kyoufu no shouchou wo----... "About the symbol of fear called Tomura Shigaraki----..."

5 敵連合は壊す為に生きたと永劫ヒーローに突きつけてやる ヴィランれんごうはこわすためにいきたとえいごうおまえたちにつきつけてやる VIRAN rengou wa kowasu tame ni ikita to eigou omae-tachi (kanji: HIIROO) ni tsukitsukete yaru "[about how] the League of Villains lived to destroy, and how they contronted all of you (read as: eternal heroes)."

6 過去は消えない俺が死柄木弔を紡ぐ かこはきえないおれがしがらきとむらをつむぐ kako wa kienai ore ga Shigaraki Tomura wo tsumugu "The past doesn't disappear. I will spin [the tale] of Tomura Shigaraki." (Note: Get it? Because he's Spinner? Eh? Eh?)

7 …コミックだといいな ...KOMIKKU da to ii na "...It'd be good as a comic."

8 あァ⁉︎ aA!? "Huh!?"

9 心配しなくていいよ しんぱいしなくていいよ shinpai shinakute ii yo "You don't have to worry."

1 一生忘れない いっしょうわすれない isshou wasurenai "For my whole life, I won't forget."

2 フン… FUN... "Hmm..."

3 俺からも伝言だ おれからもでんごんだ ore kara mo dengon da "Here's a message from me, too."

4 タコに TAKO ni "To the octopus,"

5 頑張れよって がんばれよって ganbare yo tte "do your best."

1 待合 まちあい machiai Waiting room

2 おかえり少年 おかえりしょうねん okaeri shounen "Welcome back, young man."

3 伝言は伝えられたかい？ でんごんはつたえられたかい？ dengon wa tsutaerareta kai? "Were you able to convey the message?"

4 はい hai "Yes."

5 頼まれていた…治崎の件だが たのまれていた…ちさきのけんだが tanomarete ita...Chisaki no ken da ga "You asked me about...the matter of Chisaki, but"

6 みっともねえ姿だなあ みっともねえすがただなあ mittomonee sugata da naa "What an unsightly appearance,"

7 治崎 ちさき Chisaki "Chisaki."

1 組長… オヤジ… OYAJI (kanji: kumichou)... "Pops* (read as: boss)..." (*Note: I'm just going with the dub's translation of the "old man" monniker Chisaki uses for his adoptive father.)

2 寝たきりだった筈じゃ… ねたきりだったはずじゃ… netakiri datta hazu ja... "You should be bedridden..."

3 てめェの"個性"でな てめェの"こせい"でな temeE no "kosei" de na "By your quirk, right?"

4 だがサポートアイテムってのぁ加速度的に進んでるそうだ だがサポートアイテムってのぁかそくどてきにすすんでるそうだ daga SAPOOTO AITEMU tte noa kasoku doteki ni susunderu sou da "However, it seems support items are progressing at an accellerating pace."

5 それと組長じゃねえもう組はねえ それとくみちょうじゃねえもうくみはねえ sore to kumichou ja nee mou kumi wa nee "Also, I'm not the boss, we have no organization anymore."

6 組長 オヤジ OYAJI (kanji: kumichou) "Pops (read as: boss)."

7 人の道外れちゃあいけねえ ひとのみちはずれちゃあいけねえ hito no michi hazurechaa ikenee "Don't stay from the path of humanity."

8 そうなるからだよ sou naru kara da yo "Because that's what you become."

9 俺ぁずっとてめェに手を差し伸べてたんだよそっちに行くなってな おれぁずっとてめェにてをさしのべてたんだよそっちにいくなってな orea zutto temeE ni te wo sashinobetanda yo socchi ni iku natte na "I've been holding out my hand to you for a long time, telling you not to go that way."

10 玄野は叱ってくれなかっただろ くろのはしかってくれなかっただろ Kurono wa shikatte kurenakatta daro "Kurono didn't scold you, did he."

11 ごめん… gomen... "I'm sorry..."

12 オヤジ…ごめん OYAJI...gomen "Pops...I'm sorry."

13 遅ェよその台詞は生涯壊理へ向けろ おせェよそのせりふはじょうがいエリへむけろ oseE yo sono serifu wa jougai ERI e mukero "It's too late. Direct that line to Eri for the rest of your life."

14 壊理はおまえを忘れるがおまえは壊理にした事を忘れるな エリはおまえをわすれるがおまえはエリにしたことをわすれるな ERI wa omae wo wasreru ga omae wa ERI ni shita koto wo wasureruna "Eri will forget you, but never forget what you did to Eri."

15 安心しろ あんしんしろ anshin shiro "Don't worry."

16 てめェがくたばるまX(で)俺がずっと叱ってやるよ てめェがくたばるまX(で)おれがずっとしかってやるよ temeE ga kutabaru maX(de) ore ga zutto shikatte yaru yo "Until I kick the bucket, I'll keep scolding you."

1 塚内さんありがとうございます つかうちさんありがとうございます Tsukauchi-san arigatou gozaimasu "Thank you, Mr. Tsukauchi."

2 いいよエリちゃんに思い出させるよりよっぽどいい いいよエリちゃんにおもいださせるよりよっぽどいい ii yo ERI-chan ni omoidasaseru yori yoppodo ii "It's fine, it's far better than making Eri-chan remember."

3 ………どうすれば .........dou sureba ".........What should I do"

4 こん���事なくなるんでしょう こんなことなくなるんでしょう konna koto nakunarundeshou "to stop this from being lost?"

5 なくならんよ nakunaran yo "It won't be lost."

6 ホークスにヒーローどちゃくそ増やしてもらうか ホークスにヒーローどちゃくそふやしてもらうか HOOKUSU ni HIIRO dochakuso fuyashite morau ka "Should we have Hawks increase the number of heroes?"

7 え⁉︎ e!? "Eh!?"

8 ホークスそんな強権あるんですか ホークスそんなきょうけんあるんですか HOOKUSU sonna kyouken arundesu ka "Does Hawks have that much governmental power?"

9 冗談だよ じょうだんだよ joudan da yo "It's a joke."

10 さ！切り換えていこう さ！きりかえていこう sa! kirikaete ikou "Well! Let's change it up."

11 今日からは新入生も授業に参加する　暗い顔みせたらいかんよ きょうからはしんにゅうせいもじゅぎょうにさんかする　くらいかおみせたらいかんよ kyou kara wa shinnyuusei mo jugyou ni sanka suru kurai kao misetara ikan yo "Starting today, new students will also participate in classes. I don't want you to show them a gloomy face!"

12 でもヒーロー科は縦のつながりあんまり無いから顔合わせる事も… でもヒーローかはたてのつながりあんまりないからかおあわせることも… demo HIIROO-ka wa tate no tsunagari anmari nai kara kao awaseru koto mo... "But there aren't that many vertical connections* in the hero course, and that includes meeting face-to-face..." (*Note: "Vertical connections" refers to a type of relationship between people of different rankings of some sort. In this case, second-year students are in a senior ("senpai") social rank to first-years ("kohai").)

1 轟先輩ィイ とどろきせんぱいィイ Todoroki-senpaiII "Todoroki-senpaiii!" (Note: "Senpai" is an honorific for a person senior in rank to oneself, such as an upperclassman or a more senior employee working at the same company.)

2 ダイナマイト先輩ィイイ ダイナマイトせんぱいィイイ DAINAMAITO-senpaiIII "Dynamight-senpaiiii!"

3 連絡先いいですかあ れんらくさきいいですかあ renraku saki ii desu kaa "Can I get your contact info?"

4 大ファンなんですぅ だいファンなんですぅ dai-FAN nandesuu "[I'm a] huge fan!"

5 写真とってくださあい しゃしんとってくださあい shashin totte kudasaai "Please take a photo [with me]!"

6 かっこいいいィイYEE かっこいいいィイイェエ kakko iiiIIIEE "You're so cooooool EEE!"

7 なんだってんだ？ nanda ttenda? "What are they saying?"

8 除籍だろこいつら全員‼︎ じょせきだろこいつらぜんいん‼︎ joseki daro koitsura zen'in!! "Expel them, every last one of these guys!!"

9 一年生すげえ いちねんせいすげえ ichinensei sugee "The first years are amazing."

tagline 来る新一年逃げろ二年A組‼︎完結まであと３話 きたるしんいちねんにげろにねんエーぐみ‼︎かんけつまであと３わ kitaru shin-ichinen nigero ninen EE-gumi!! kanketsu made ato 3wa Run away from the coming new first-years, Class 2-A!! 3 chapters left until completion.

[luci4theminorannoyance]

papa me want more framed traitor turned social anxiety recluse y/n 🙁 slash joke but also where's that part two at🗣️🗣️ but also no pressure love you drink water

a/n: I’m sorry I was busy watching a toddler cousin and getting Covid from said toddler :(, anyhow! Tada, part two!

(Part one: here)

ghost:

-he starts to see himself in you, and he doesn’t want that. He doesn’t want you to turn out like him, he doesn’t want you to become ruined and put together again like he has been. He had felt it deep down that you weren’t the one who sold out the team, he just had pushed it down and now look where it has gotten him

-he makes some jokes to you, but would rather simply lament about his decisions. He gets soap and gaz to socialize with you more… but you’re not the same. He feels like he’s broken someone so close to him. His friend.. his poor friend. He had ruined everything- well, as far as he was concerned he had been the one to ruin everything

-he had made peace with quite a bit of his life.. but now? At the moment as he feels the blood drip from his wounds down the cold metal chair he’s been tied to, sitting back to back with soap. He can’t seem to make peace with what he had done to you

-he was so glad you had shown up to save them once he heard the rattle of the lock and the slight sound of your boots. He needed forgiveness, and he can’t get people to truly forgive if he’s dead. He hugs you silently as soon as you practically drag him and soap back to a safe spot to check for more damage and such, not wanting to let you go again.

soap:

-he thought you’d bounce back, he was so sure of it. He thought he’d give you a bit of space and he’d be back to comfy hugs and teasing jokes over comms or chatting away while he lamented about his newest crush or family drama

-he was so sure… but that didn’t happen, he simply saw you getting farther and farther away until he felt like he didn’t even know who you had been or who you are now

-it was messing him up. Every shot he made felt off, every plan he set with price felt like fail, every joke he made sounded silent.. he wasn’t used to his. He didn’t know how to deal with this. He was a man of plan and action, of fast thinking… not.. not trying to fix something he was apart of breaking.

-he started to build up your friendship again, little pats on the shoulder or soft jokes. Not the big hugs he practically threw himself into, not the teasing jokes that would turn into arguments with laughter in every dumb insult

-he was half out of it when he woke up in the disgustingly cold metal room, feeling the chains wrapped around him and ghost, coiled like a snake. He listened as ghost ranted about his feelings of how… guilty they felt, soap tried to be optimistic, cheering ghost up with dumb jokes he’s said 100 times or some funny tease about how much blood was drilling on the floor. But he was panicking. What if you hated him? What if he died here and died knowing you and him weren’t back to perfect terms?

-latched onto you like a leech as soon as you flung the door open, hugging you even tighter the ghost would, feeling that big old spark light up in his chest, the feeling of his friendship being started again, even if just a step in a long long way to where you two were before

[rubysunnday]

make a deal with the saints

summary: the water was pulling her down into its depths, into the darkness of death, and nothing Y/N did would let her rise to the surface. Nikolai, however, isn't ready to let her go yet.

a/n: this has been sat in the drafts for months, waiting for me to write it and tada

It was one of the worst storms Nikolai had been caught in. They usually managed to direct a storm around them with their Squallers and Tidemakers, but this time things had turned so fast there was nothing they could do.

If they’d had an army of Squallers and Tidemakers then maybe it would be possible. But they didn’t. The sailors were trying their best to keep the sails up and to tie ropes down. The Squaller’s were trying their best to keep the ship going but it was a losing battle.

Nikolai was gripping the wheel tightly, fighting against it as it tried to turn and spin out of control. His clothes were soaked through – he’d abandoned his coat down below, knowing the weight would only hold him back. Adrenaline was thrumming through his body.

He looked around the ship, eyes searching for a familiar sight. Nikolai felt panic claw at his throat for a moment. Then, he saw her. She was helping Tamar tie ropes down to the deck, ducking when yet another wave crashed over the side of the ship, drenching them all once again.

Y/N Orlova had joined his crew in Os Kervo, wanting to escape from the claustrophobic world of the Little Palace and learn more about her Squaller abilities. She’d been stuck driving the skiffs for months and yearned to see more of the world and to use her powers outside of the Fold.

She’d been with them for six months, now. Nikolai often wondered what he’d done before she’d arrived. She kept him grounded and calm even when things went out of control. He needed her more than he wanted to admit.

“The storm is moving on!” One of the Squallers yelled.

Which meant they’d soon be out the other side of it. Hopefully none the worse for wear.

Someone tapped his shoulder and he let them take over the wheel. He headed down to the main deck, struggling to maintain his balance as the ship tilted to the side.

Y/N seemed to sense his approach. She turned around, hair plastered to her head and smiled at him.

“How can you be smiling in this?” Nikolai yelled, almost falling forward to her.

Y/N shrugged. “I would rather this than the Fold!”

Nikolai couldn’t help but laugh. Despite the rain stinging his skin and the lighting forking above, he felt a spark of joy through him.

It was a spark that only Y/N could bring out. Her mere presence made life better for Nikolai. He laughed more when she was around, and he found himself gravitating towards her presence when they spent evenings below deck playing cards.

Whatever had been growing inside him over the last few months had begun to sprout. His heart was growing bigger and it hurt to know that, one day, it would inevitably have to end.

Y/N placed a hand over his and squeezed. “Are you okay?”

Nikolai blinked. He looked at her, slowly realising that she’d spoken. “Yeah, yeah,” he said quickly. “Just thinking.”

“Watch out!”

A rope had come loose from its cleat. Both Y/N and Nikolai ran forward, stopping the snaking rope before it tangled around someone’s ankle and dragged them into the water. Nikolai dragged it back up to the cleat and wrapped it around in a figure of eight until he was certain it wasn’t going to come lose again.

Nikolai stood and let out a breathy laugh as he glanced over at Y/N. She was panting, bent over with her hands on her knees. She straightened and smoothed her hair back again.

He met her gaze and smiled. It slowly fell as Y/N stared back at him, her eyes widening. Nikolai looked behind him and felt his heart stutter.

The wooden beam that was a part of one of the masts was swinging around toward them. Nikolai was shoved to the ground and, as he landed, he saw the mast hit Y/N and push her over the side of the boat and into the water.

Hitting the water felt like thousands of needles pricking her skin at once. Y/N couldn’t see anything. She didn’t know what was up or what was down. The force of the mast hitting her stomach had winded her. She was already struggling to breathe yet, now, in the depths of the ocean, the air wouldn’t come at all.

Her lungs were burning, her eyes were burning.

Y/N felt the waves toss her about, throwing her side to side, up and down. She felt her lungs tighten; her mind was screaming at her to breathe. There was nothing left. It was as if she was being crushed. The urge to exhale and inhale was overwhelming. Her chest was tight, demanding air be let in.

She obeyed.

The air gushed out, bubbles rising all around her. As soon as it gushed out, the water gushed in. It burnt her throat, her lungs. She was choking on the endless water pouring into her.

Until she wasn’t.

Calm swept over her. Even in the storm waters. Y/N looked up and, through the haze of the water and the blackness creeping in, she felt calm. Even as her body sunk lower, nothing could reach her but the calm.

Her eyes drifted closed, and bubbles escaped her lips and then… nothing.

His feet slipped on the deck as he scrambled to the side of the boat, leaning over, and staring into the water. His heart was pounding. His hands were shaking.

“Nikolai!” Tolya yelled, yanking him back from the side of the boat. He put a hand on the back of his neck and forced him to look at him. “You can’t go in there, not like this.”

Nikolai shoved him. “She’s drowning –“

“And so will you!” Tolya yelled, pushing him back.

Tamar appeared next to them, holding a coil of rope. “Here, tie this around your waist. We’ll haul you back in.”

Nikolai’s hands shook as he tried to tie the knot. Tolya silently took the rope from him and finished the knot, pulling it tight around his waist. Nikolai climbed up the side of the boat until he was standing on the very edge. He didn’t even hesitate before he jumped in.

He surfaced a wave instantly crashed over his head. For a moment, he struggled to fight against the water. Then, it calmed. Nikolai glanced up and saw one of his Tidemaker’s fighting with the waves, trying to calm it enough for him.

Nikolai took a deep breath in and dived below the water, eyes wide open, searching for Y/N. It probably would’ve made more sense to send Tamar or Tolya down – but his heart had taken over and he hadn’t thought.

The water calmed for a moment and in that precious moment, he saw her. Her body drifted in the water, completely at the mercy of the current. Nikolai grabbed her arm and pulled her body towards him. Once she was close enough, he wrapped his arm around her waist, holding on to her as tight as he dared.

Nikolai gasped as he surfaced, water dripping into his eyes. He didn’t remember how they got Y/N back onto the boat. One moment he was clutching on to her in the water and the next he was handing her body over to Tolya and falling over the side of the boat into a wet, heaving puddle.

Their healer, Iva, was instantly at Y/N’s side. A healer was invaluable to a certain extent. If their patient stopped breathing, or their heart stopped, their powers became useless. They could men bones and healing wounds – but getting a heart to start again? That was a Heartrender’s job.

“Tamar,” Iva called, searching the crowd for the woman.

Tamar appeared and rushed over, falling to her knees beside Y/N. “What do you need me to do?”

Iva glanced up at Nikolai for a moment. They looked back down at Y/N. “Get her heart going,” they replied.

Tamar put the first two fingers of her right hand over her left and held them above Y/N’s chest, concentration clear on her face. She pushed down, pressing against Y/N’s chest.

Nikolai hadn’t even realised Tolya was trying to calm his heart down until he put a hand on his chest. He looked up at Tolya, the tears running down his face mixing with the saltwater dripping from his hair.

Tolya grasped the back of his neck and lowered his forehead to Nikolai’s. No words needed to be spoken – they both knew what the other was feeling. Nikolai wasn’t even bothering to hide his emotions for Y/N.

Nikolai turned his head toward her. She was still lying on the deck. Her chest was still unmoving.

Deep down, a seed of doubt had begun to bloom. Doubt about whether she’d come back and, if she did, if there’d be irreparable damage. He was trying not to let the seed grow and burst into his heart but as he stared at her body – skin lacking colour, eyes closed, chest still – it was beginning to invade.

Then, Nikolai heard a groan. He turned his head sharply, relief setting in as Y/N coughed, water spilling over her lips. Tamar rolled her onto her side and rubbed her back gently. She glanced up at Nikolai and Tolya, a relieved smile on her face.

Nikolai slumped into Tolya, relief overwhelming him. Through the exhaustion seeping into his bones, Nikolai looked down at Y/N and caught her gaze. They looked at one another, silent. Y/N blinked slowly, and it was all Nikolai needed to know she was okay.

The sleeping quarters below deck were quiet. Most people were asleep whilst some remained awake, taking shifts to watch the ocean and horizon, keeping them on the right path.

Nikolai walked down the steps from the upper deck to down below and poked his head in the doorway, letting his eyes adjust to the candlelit darkness. He walked forward, his footsteps as quiet as he could make them against the floor.

Tamar looked up from her book as he approached. She gave him a tired smile, marking her place before closing the book.

“How are you?” Nikolai asked softly.

Tamar nodded. “Tired,” she admitted. Carefully, she reached out and threaded her fingers through Nikolai’s. She squeezed. “How are you?”

At the question, Nikolai allowed himself to look over to the bunk where Y/N lay asleep. She was buried under blankets but there was colour on her face again. Even under the mounds of wool and cotton, he could see her chest moving.

“Fine now,” Nikolai whispered, his voice breaking slightly. Tamar ran her thumb along the back of his hand. His breath shuddered as he inhaled. “I thought I’d lost her.”

With one tug, Tamar pulled him down onto the crate next to her. She put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him as close as she could.

“But you didn’t,” she said firmly. “She is still here. She is still alive. As are you, Nik.” Tamar pressed a kiss to his temple. “You need to tell her the truth about your emotions. Now you know, now you have felt the fear – don’t wait.” She smiled at him. “Don’t hide from your feelings, Nikolai. They are what set you apart from anyone else I know.”

Tamar stood up, squeezing his hand once more before letting go. She walked out the room, pulling the door closed behind her.

Nikolai took her seat, moving as close to the bunk as he could. Y/N’s hand was just poking out from under the blankets. Nikolai reached forward and took it in his, holding it as if it were the most precious gem he’d ever seen.

Y/N shifted on the bunk, rolling further over onto her side. Slowly, her eyes opened, and she squinted slightly at the light as she looked up at Nikolai.

“Hi,” she whispered, her voice hoarse and quiet.

“Hey.” Nikolai leant forward. He brushed her hair back from her forehead, tucking it behind her ear. There was an unusual gentleness to his actions – they’d been this affectionate before but… this time it was different.

“Are you okay?”

Nikolai blinked. He laughed softly. “You drowned and almost died, yet you’re asking me how I am?” He sighed, letting his thumb brush across her cheekbone. “I’m fine, darling. How are you?”

“I’m cold still,” Y/N replied. She snuggled further down into the blankets. “My throat hurts as does my chest but… I’m alive.” She fell quiet for a moment, gazing up at Nikolai. “You look like shit, Lanstov.”

Nikolai burst out laughing. He shook his head as the laughter faded, the smile remaining. “You scared me, Y/N. Truly scared me. I’m so used to having you around that suddenly imagining life without you…” His smile faded slightly.

“I am a good friend,” Y/N said, nodding, her tone semi-sarcastic. “You’ve trained me well. I can imagine how difficult it would be to train a new friend again.” Y/N frowned at the silence that followed. Nikolai lowered his gaze. “Nik?”

“It wasn’t just that,” Nikolai replied. He closed his eyes for a moment. “Since we met, I’ve felt this… pull to you.”

“Nik, you’re sounding like Tolya.”

Nikolai snorted. “Yeah, I’m not great at this.” He sighed, dragging a hand through his hair. “I don’t know how to say this.”

“Okay,” Y/N curled closer to him, “just… splurge. Doesn’t matter if it doesn’t make sense.”

And that was it. Nikolai knew, then, that it was her calmness, her ability to see through the haze of his mind and just know what he wanted to say or do. He could be spiralling out of control and Y/N would be the one thing keeping him on the ground.

That was why he loved her.

“I can’t live my life without you,” Nikolai said abruptly. “You ground me in ways no one else can. The entire world could be spiralling out of control, but you’ll be the calm in the storm.” He chuckled. “I remember when I had a bad night a few months ago. I’d tossed and turned and then given up, going up on to deck to watch the stars. Everything was haunting me – the crown, my people, my family. You found me on deck and just talked at me for an hour, distracting me from my thoughts until I’d calmed down.

“When I pulled you from the water, I was terrified that… that I’d pulled your body out but not your soul. That it was still in the water, sinking further and further down. The world stopped as I watched Tamar and Iva work. I think Tolya was worried I’d collapse on him. But the moment you opened your eyes and looked at me, my world started moving again. And I realised that… I love you in so many ways, I can’t put them all into words.”

If Y/N was taken aback by the abrupt revelation, she didn’t show it. Her face was calm, betraying nothing.

Nikolai laughed softly, shaking his head. “I know I am a prince, Y/N. I know there are rules and laws. I know that one day I will be king. Loving me isn’t easy, I know. Being with me isn’t easy. But… I just…”

Nikolai trailed off, words failing him.

Y/N propped herself up onto her elbow, dislodging the blankets around her. She took both of Nikolai’s hands with hers, running her thumbs along the back of them. Nikolai looked at her. Her gaze was intense. It was warm. It was understanding.

“I knew who I was becoming friends with, Nik,” Y/N said gently. “Prince Nikolai Lanstov – heir to the Ravkan throne. I knew what it would come with and how hard it will be. And I know loving you will be even harder.” Nikolai couldn’t breathe. Y/N squeezed his hands. “Yet I will gladly fight the battles if it means I get to wake up next to you in the morning. I will stand behind you if it means I can hold your hand in the shadows. I will be your consort if it means I can love you for however long we live for.”

Nikolai stared at her. Everything he’d wanted to say, she’d said perfectly. Everything he’d thought, he’d felt – she’d spoken it aloud.

“I know who I fell in love with, Nikolai,” Y/N said, watching him intently. She smiled, placing a hand on the side of his face. “I wanted to say something but… I thought it best if I waited for you. In case it wasn’t reciprocated. In case it wasn’t what you wanted.”

It was hard to confess your love. It was even harder when it was a prince. Nikolai knew this. He knew that whoever he fell in love with, would have to sacrifice everything to be with him. Yet here was Y/N, opening her heart whilst fully understanding the consequences.

“Are you going to kiss me now, princeling?”

Nikolai laughed and leant forward, capturing her lips with his. She kissed him back, pressing into him, her hand wrapping around the back of his neck and holding him. They broke apart, resting their foreheads together, breathing heavily.

“Queen Y/N and King Nikolai does have a ring to it,” Y/N whispered into his ear.

Nikolai pulled back, his brow furrowing even as he smiled. “Why are you first? Surely it should be King Nikolai and Queen Y/N.”

“Because.” She pressed her lips to his again, smiling. “I want it that way.”

[icarusredwings]

Does anyone else think about how chill Lucy Saxon is? They were together for about a year before the Doctor showed up.

Imagine you move in with your boyfriend and he does some kinda weird stuff like watches kids cartoons, eats you out of house and home, probably doesn't sleep much, is obsessed with hurting people and some dude named the Doctor and when you ask "Oh in what?"

"Hes not even a real doctor!!"

"...then why dont you call him something else?"

"You wouldn't get it." And he just starts pouting?

Or one of his favorite things to do is sit in a big fancy desk in a full suit and watch shows for 2 year olds with you on his lap but Oh it makes him so happy, and everone has their quirks right? So he cant be THAT bad?

But then you come home the next day and hes trashed the apartment and is rocking in the corner about the voices in his head?? Most people would leave there. But not my girl Lucy, she fr said "Sickness and in health. And you sir. Are very sick. But thats okay. Lets go get snacks and you can yell at the maid to clean it up"

"Yay! And were gonna get ice cream."

"Ooh ice cream :)"

Maybe this is a hot take, but I can see him just grabbing her and kissing her like all the time. Whether someone is around or not, just because he can. Obviously as a power move but eh. Poor thing was always so confused and SUNK into his affection like MAN if you don't start treating your wife right marthas sister is going to STEAL her from you. You big meanie.

I think about how loyal she is to him despite being told about him and shes like "Bitch do i look stupid? I've watched him eat his chicken nuggets with spicy peach jam and have a billion melt downs because he hears stuff other people cant."

I really like the scene where theyre watching that one woman get killed by the toclafane. The one where they keep opening the door and even the master is like "oof that's messy" then hugs her? I dont know. Him genuinely being like 😬 was kinda funny.

I have a headcanon that at some point Lucy admits she's infertile and can't have kids, and being the way he is, the Master is like, "Okay! We'll adopt!" And then the man brings home some murder cyber spheres like "Tada!! Kids!" She just sits and blinks like "What the actual?"

"I got us 6 billion kids!"

"...when I said 6.. I meant the age.. not the number.."

"Oh. Well too late now. Kids go say hi to mommy!"

She just swallows and gets tense like "Oh... hello.."

Not at all saying he didn't mistreat/abuse her (and literally everyone else) a shit ton, and he deserved getting shot so don't think im trying to do that but thinking about how WEIRD this dude must be and she really stuck it out seeing how looney he must have been.

Lucy " Till death do us part mother fucker" Saxon.

We support loyalty in this house. Lucy Darling you did nothing wrong *gentle head kiss* 😌

Master go sit in the fucking corner and think about what you've done. *agressive head kiss* Go on! Get! You very bad boy ☝️🤨

[sturniolo04]

Hair Surprise M.S.

Bf!Matt x Gf!Fem!Reader

Summary: in which you forget you dyed your hair and your boyfriend is shocked

A/N: If you don't like the preadded name in my stories, you can either add your own name or not read it; it's up to you :)

you and matt had been dating at least a year and a half and within that year and a half, you and him have shared so many moments, memories, and changes with each other. The changes you and matt had has was not major just aside from having two completely different lifestyle and schedules which often didn't allow you and matt to spend time together as often.

Ultimately you guys were able to find loop holes in the schedules you had to be able to hang out on certain days. Today being one of those day, matt was finally coming over to your apartment to spend the night since it was the weekend and to say you were excited to see him was an understatement. Once you got a text from him saying he was at your door you sprinted down the stairs to open it and greet him

"eekkk hii"

you exclaim giggling jumping up in his arms as he catches you, his hands landing on your ass.

"oh my goodness hiii"

he chuckles out leaning down slightly still holding you close to him.

"I missed you"

you squeal out as he places you back on your feet finally being able to look at you.

"i missed yo-"

he cuts himself off admiring you hair catching you off guard.

"what"

you question giggling. See matt is normally use to seeing you with light blonde hair it being your natural hair color but for the sake of the fall season being here you decided to go dark to a black brown. You completely forgetting that you have done so earlier this week and didn't tell matt because you both have been so busy with work and filming.

"baby your hair"

he states reaching out to touch the ends of your hair between his fingers

"oh shit yeah i forgot i dyed it um tada"

you giggle out running a hand through your hair to fluff it out more, as matt comes up to you lunging you over his broad shoulder.

"MATT"

you exclaim out through giggles as place one of your hands on the back of his head and the other on the middle of his back bracing yourself as he makes his way upstairs to your room.

"this will only take a few mintues"

he smirks out pushing your door open with his foot as he carefully sets you down on the bed. You continuing to giggle as he pulls his shirt over his head crawling on top of you with his sliver chain dangling in between your bodies.

Your chest rises and falls as you feel his breath fan over your face as he leans in to allow your guys lips to touch but god forbid he connects them. You lean up in attempt to close the gap between you two as matt shifts backward not giving you the satisfaction just yet, causing you to groan and whine out at the subtle denial. what a tease

oh my god mattt"

you softly gasp out giggling dragging out the 't' in his name tipping your head back to dig into your pillows on your bed seeing he has continued his actions for a couple more minutes longer. He smirks knowing he is riling you up already and he hasn't done anything yet. Growing frustrated, you grab matt's face pushes his lips to yours created a deep, sensual make out. Matt lays a free hand on your waist underneath him and one right next to your head on your pillow to keep him stable.

Matt slowly trails your guys make out into soft kisses that dance down your collarbone as he laces his fingers underneath the hem of your t shirt you were wearing pulling it over your head and body proceeding to continue trailing his kisses down your body to your black underwear that hugged your hips perfectly.

"can i take these off princess"

att questions you after he leaves a couple kisses on the waist band of your underwear. You simply nod your head, lifting you hips to allow matt to slip them down and off your body and legs.

"fuck"

matt breathes out as he strips himself of his sweatpants and his boxer being removed, shortly after.

" you ready princess"

matt asks you once again leaving a sweet kiss on your nose as he crawls back in between you thighs.

"yeah"

you breath out as matt runs his tip along your folds, using your wetness as a lubricant. Matt then shortly after begins to push himself into you as you reach your hands up digging you fingertips into the tops of your boyfriends shoulder, feeling the rush of immense pleasure as he bottoms out.

"holy shit"

you gasp out tipping your head backward as matt process to rock his hips to meet your while placing kisses on you neck and then proceeding to nuzzle his face in your neck.

"fuck youre so tight"

he groans out continue his slow pace as he lifts his head bring your head to lean forward into his bare chest resting his on top of your freshly dyed hair, threading his fingers through it.

"fuckkk matt"

you groan out dragging out the 'k' completely lost in the pleasure and pressure throughout your whole entire body that your boyfriend is giving to you.

"im g'nna cum fuck"

you exclaim out to him digging your fingernails into the back of matt's biceps.

"cum f'me princess make a mess on me"

he moans out as his thrusts started to get sloppy. You both were a moaning mess chasing your orgasms. Matt stills his hips letting out a groan as your orgasm crashed into his as he painted your walls white.

"holy shit"

matt gasps out collasping next to you on your bed.

"maybe i should dye my hair more often if it leads to us fucking"

you giggle out turning your head to meet you boyfriends gaze.

"oh you definitely should"

matt chuckles out.

Taglist

@mintsturniolo @adirtylittleheart @wh0resstuff @spicymuffins03 @aaliyahsturn

[helluvahotelfan]

Hello! The name is Jenn, and I am the newest employee of VoxTek! I've been in Hell for about a month now and I can't believe how much has happened.

Upon arrival, and after a pleasant conversation, Mr. Vox was kind enough to offer me a job at VoxTek in exchange for my soul (small price to pay if you ask me, although others I've spoken to are trying to tell me I've done a bad thing). Also, I recently acquired wolf features...? I don't really know what to think about that.

Anyway, if you have ideas that would help us with products here at VoxTek, send them my way and I will run them by my superiors. Who knows? Your suggestions could be the next big thing!

(soul no longer owned by @askoverlordvox)

A bit about me, the mod/person behind Jenn!

34 female. She/her. Working mom and wife. I'm a bit new to the whole Helluva/Hazbin fandom, and I would like to think I'm a casual fan (but I did make an OC, so call it how you see it I guess). IRL name is Jenn, I figured it was a common enough name to use for my sinner name *shrugs*.

Originally, this had intended to be a blog for just keeping HH/HB content in one spot, but then I started roleplaying with other blogs and, well, tada?

[cokoweee]

Tada part two.

There was NO way she was going to use one of her own brushes on his hair. She has washed it herself a while ago, but it honestly looked like it has been washed a grand total a twice since she last had. Disgusting. She rummaged through a duffle bag for a bit before finding an old brush. It really wasn’t hers, she had always used it on her brother when he was little enough to put up with her using him as her own personal doll, but she figured he wouldn’t miss it.

There was music playing when she entered the bathroom. He was sitting in the same spot she had left him, staring blankly at the wall. She only saw bathroom tile, but if he was seeing hallucinations it really wouldn’t surprise her at this point. His music choice was top tier though, so he had that going for him.

“ m’ back” she hummed

He lifted his head in small acknowledgment before turning back to wall and staying freakishly still. It felt wrong to say anything to him when he so obviously wanted to escape the confined space, but she figured she could probably make him take a shower when she was done which was a win for her. Distantly she wondered if he was claustrophobic. That was probably the reason why he was so uncomfortable.

She carefully grabbed her old brush, wary of the chipping purple color, and got to work on the mess in front of her. Undoing the clips she brushed out the knots. She really tired to be gentle, but some of the knots were more like matts. She eyed the scissors on the edge of the counter a few times before shaking her head and slapping conditioner into his hair. His eyes slipped closed at one point which helped Kendra fall into a simple rhythm.

“ Do you even own a brush?” She complained after spending a solid ten minutes on a single knot, trying not rip half his hair out, “ It’s like it hasn’t been touched since I last washed it for you”

He said nothing. Which was rude, so she flicked him on the head.

“ Stop that Leo.” He snapped waving his hand at her general direction. A beat of silence before he managed to curl himself into half his size.

“Who-“

“ Sorry, sorry I- you’re not- it’s not. Sorry sorry. ” he stumbled over his words as he gestured with his hands trying to explain.

“ Ok whatever. I’m almost done anyway. Just gotta put the actual mask in. Hold still a bit longer.”

He goes still once more, curling his legs toward his chest and pressing his chin into his knees, careful to avoid smudging his face mask. It looks rather painful, but Kendra can’t really complain because the less he moves, the sooner she’s done. The only real indication he gives that he’s still alive is the anxious twitch of his tail as it flicks on the floor.

~

A satin wrap is nestled around his head and a gentle tap on his shoulder lets him know he can get up. He kind of doesn’t want to, he’d rather stay here curled up in shame. So he doesn’t, and he wouldn’t but a small foot kicks him in the back and it hurts more than he would care to admit.

“ Let’s go.” She draws out the last word dramatically, “ I’m gonna get started on dinner. Which you will not be missing because I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen you eat.”

“ Obviously I eat.” He rolls his eyes.

It was no where near enough food to properly sustain him, but sometimes moving was chore and the thought of food was too much. He has become quite fond of a little juice Drax created with a lovely blend of all the nutrients he needed, for days like those. Which granted was almost every day, but it mixed well with cheap beer, so ya know. He follows her into the kitchen, dragging his feet and hanging his head.

He sits on a stool and flattens himself against the counter top. Maybe he can make himself invisible and she won’t make him do anything else today.

You’re already a burden. She’s practically doing all the heavy lifting around here. All you do is a whole lot of nothing.

A sigh escapes his lips and he pushes himself off the counter.

“ What do you need me to do?” He asks, twisting his fingers awkwardly.

She says nothing as her brows furrow in confusion.

“I don’t really know. I usually do it myself. Don’t like people crowding my cooking space ya know?” She says slowly, turning her attention to the pile of vegetables she had just pulled from the fridge.

He does know. Mikey was the same way. The scene feels painfully familiar and he swallows the lump in his throat before walking over to her side and grabbing some vegetables.

“ Do these need to be diced?”

It would help lower the prep time of the meal if he diced while she did what ever she needed to do. Mike was always happy to have someone help with the grunt work as long as they stayed away, so he figured the same rules applied here.

Her face was still twisted in confusion as she nodded, albeit a bit dazed.

Dice them the way I taught you! Make a good impression on her. Heaven knows you need it.

He moves to the other side of the counter and chops. Over and over and over. It’s grounding and gives him time to think. He really wishes it didn’t. His mind wanders to his brothers as he chops. The kitchen starts to smell familiar, a blend of spices tickling his nose as he looks up at Kendra. She’s stirring something in a sauce pan before looking over her shoulder.

“ You done with those?”

A nod before he picks the cutting board up and brings it to her side.

“ You know how to sauté I hope?”

Another nod.

“ Good. I’ll be back in a sec. Im gonna go wash this out of my hair before it gets stuck to my head” She says walking away.

A flash of panic grips him as he grabs at his own hair.

“ What about mine?!”

“ I put mine in before I had to spend an hour detangling your hair.” She says rolling her eyes.

“ Ah.”

She pulls off her bonnet, running her fingers through her hair and walking down the hallway before shouting,

“ Oh yeah! I just sent the recipe to your phone.”

“ Please don’t burn anything!” She adds as an after thought.

At that he smirks. As if Mikey would ever allow him to be so incompetent in the kitchen that he would burn something as simple as this.

~

The kitchen smells even better than she left it. He’s flitting around the room grabbing all sorts of ingredients. He stirs with a ruthless intent, tossing potatoes and carrots into a pan. It’s oddly funny to watch him work so hard on such a simple dish when all he really needed to do was let it sit.

“ I didn’t know you could cook.” She muses crossing the kitchen to the stove.

A small shrug before he turns his gaze to the floor.

“ Learned from the best.” He says, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“ Leo?” She ventures carefully.

“No.” His response is whispered, almost reverent as he turns his eyes toward her,

“ My baby brother. His name was Mikey.”

She doesn’t press any further, choosing instead to grab some flour to roll out the bread dough she had made a few hours earlier. She wants to know, but there isn’t an easy way to approach the topic. Possibilities fill her mind as she works to shape the dough into a loaf. Her thoughts are quelled when he speaks again softly.

~

“ He died saving my twin.” A hand goes to stir the soup, avoiding her gaze. “ He opened a portal to save him from the prison dimension. But it uh- took more than he could handle. By the time I realized what was happening it was too late to help him. He literally crumbled in my grip.”

He didn’t know why he was telling her. He’s never told anyone this before. He might have told Draxum at some point in a drunken stupor, or maybe in those weeks after the invasion when he has clung to the poor goat like a baby. But he’s never actually told anyone what happened.

Words rush out of his mouth before he can stop himself.

“ I wish I could have told him not to. His sacrifice was pointless. When we pulled my twin through the portal it was already too late. He was concussed and didn’t even know we had gotten him home.” He took in big lungful’s of air as he recounted the memory. “ He died in my arms, crying for home. I don’t think he even knew it was me holding him because he kept trying to escape my arms.”

His fingers wander to face as he feels a tear escape his eye. He turns himself away from her and stirs the soup a little faster. This is disgusting honestly.

Why would you tell her that? She doesn’t need to know! Now she’s going to know all the ways you failed! She’s going to hate you even more.

He shook his head as if it could clear the voices and continued.

“ A week after the invasion my older brother died due to my negligence. I hadn’t noticed the lingering effects of the infection until it was too late. I thought I could fix it myself, but days passed and nothing was helping him. When I showed up on Draxum’s doorstep begging him to help, there was nothing that could be done. He died because I was stupid enough to think that I could fix what was wrong.”

Draxum has assured him that even if he has gotten help for Raph immediately there was nothing that could have been done. The Krang was something Draxum had never seen before, there was no way for him to cure the infection, only a way to ease the pain. But Donnie knew he was only saying that to make him better.

He had failed his family that day. He failed a lot that day. He could have realized what Mikey was doing sooner and helped him. His hand is a constant reminder of that short coming. He could have stabilized Leo instead of just staring at his broken body. He could have made sure his father and sister were in a safe location instead of just assuming that they were fine. But no. Donatello just sat and watched his younger brother turn to dust. He watched his twin die in his arms. He sat and let his older brother whither away into nothing. He didn’t try to help his father or sister and their own and it cost them their lives. What’s worse, he never even learned his lesson.

He’s creating new failures with Kendra now. He watched her leave each night on those stupid dates. And he didn’t say a thing. He didn’t even try to help when she came back one night injured. He just sat in his room, watching it happen and doing nothing.

He’s so wrapped up in his misery that he doesn’t hear her walk to his side. She grabs the spoon from his hand, replacing it with a bottle of water and stirs the soup.

“ Go sit down,” she says pointedly, her hand on her hip. “ This will be done soon.”

He is more than happy to comply and slinks to the couch. He grabs a purple fuzzy blanket from the basket Kendra must have added to the room and wraps himself up like a child. It’s soft and feels just like the one he and Leo used to share when they had movie nights. The memory causes him to drift slightly out of focus with reality. He knows he shouldn’t dissociate, but falling into a void seems better than dealing with the mess he just created, so he lets himself fall.

Yup. That’s part two.

THIS IS BETTER YHAN ANYTHING I COULD EVER WRITE DRAW CREATE COME UP WITH IMAGINE FUCKI FUCUCIDUCUSIXUQYSIWBFHSHCID

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Part 1–Part 3

[ficmashup]

Out for Drinks

A/N: Hi again, a single person asked me to continue this and I'm an absolute sucker for anyone asking me for anything, so tada. ;) Still have no clue what I'm doing, but it's fun so who cares. I think I'll continue this a little further until the story has closure, even if it's open-ended, so yeah. Thanks to people interacting. Glad you like it. :)

Warnings: Once again, very vague SA or trauma references, some harsh language, nightmares, f!reader, I mean it's almost an OC, she just doesn't have a name really, idk what I'm doing :/ First person again.

Word Count: 3.7k

Feral Masterlist

I have mixed feelings returning to base. On one hand, it’s nice to not be looking around every corner for someone looking to shoot me. Not freezing my ass off is also refreshing. On the other hand, it means being around all the other soldiers and I realize that I’d relaxed a bit around the team. Enough that I feel my defenses going back up as I walk through base, alert and aware of all eyes that trail me. We’ve just gotten back and the others have dispersed. Hopefully to shower, like I plan to. Then I feel the weight of people’s gazes leave me right before a little shiver slides down my back. I turn around to find Price behind me, a little frown on his face as he looks around. But his expression smooths as he looks at me.

“Glad to know it wasn’t a mistake taking you on. Well done.” He reaches out and squeezes my shoulder, sending a shock of pride and pleasure through me.

I straighten up and nod. “It’s a pleasure to be with a team that lets me do my job, sir. Thank you.” There’s a small part of me that also wants to thank him for keeping me from freezing with his body heat, but I’m pretty sure I can’t mention that without blushing.

“Keep doing your job like that and you’ll leave us wondering what we ever did without you.” His hand lingers on my shoulder before dropping, his fingers skimming my arm. We begin walking towards the barracks, our pace leisurely as our boots squelch in the mud. He clears his throat slightly and my eyes snap up to his face in an instant. “Have fun with the boys tonight. If you decide to go.” He says, the corner of his mouth twitching. My brows furrow slightly. Right after we got to base, the others informed me of a post-mission ritual of going out for a drink. I hadn’t decided whether I’d go or not, despite desperately wanting to dissolve in a sweet drink.

“Will you go?” I ask as I tug my bag up my shoulder a bit.

Price nods. “I go for a drink or two. And to keep them out of trouble. Mostly.” His eyes sparkle a bit as he considers me and I get the impression he goes to watch the shit they get themselves into rather than prevent it. “Not sure whether you’d be more or less trouble.”

My lips part in surprise as I blink up at him, then I can’t help but give him a half-smile. “I do have self-control, Captain. I simply also have a low tolerance for idiocy and sometimes the only way to get people to see sense is to knock it into them. Literally.”

He chuckles and the warm sound hits me like a shot of whiskey, warming my stomach and getting me to relax just a touch more. “Well, you won’t hear me agree.” We stop in front of the barracks and it’s a pleasure to see the smile on his face, the ease in his posture. It’s been a while since I’ve just talked with somebody normally like this. Since I’ve let myself. “But you won’t hear me disagree either.” He finishes and my smile widens just a touch.

“I look forward to seeing you try to wrangle cats tonight then, sir.” I give him an easy salute before walking to my room, but my little smile lasts the whole way there.

*     *     *

The place they take me is an absolute shithole.

The floor is sticky as syrup, the bar chipped and scratched, and nearly every booth or barstool has stuffing coming out of the worn red leather cushions. But there’s top shelf whiskey behind the bar and that’s what they order as we file into the dump. It’s clearly a soldier’s bar and it’s busy tonight. My spine straightens as I see the amount of people shoved into the place and I make sure to pick a spot on the edge of our little group where I can see everything clearly. My gaze doesn’t leave the bartender’s hands as she pours our drinks and I don’t let the boys touch mine as I take it, my hand perched over the rim as I pull it close to me. They don’t comment, but I feel Ghost’s eyes on my hand as I cover my drink and his grip tightens on his own.

“To our Surgeon! Pray to God she doesn’t have to cut one of us open one of these days.” Soap holds up his glass and the others follow suit while I tilt mine towards them with a smile tugging on my lips.

“Don’t get shot, stabbed, or otherwise be idiots, and the likelihood of that goes down.” I remind them, feeling warm as they chuckle and I throw back my drink. My nose wrinkles at the bitter flavor as I slide the glass back to the bartender. “Mojito and a glass of water. Thanks.” She nods, giving an appreciative look to the men beside me while I shake my head slightly. When I look back to them, they’re looking at me judgement on their faces.

“A mojito, G?” Gaz starts, disappointment filling his eyes.

I lean forward in my seat, leveling them with a look. “All of you can choke on your bitter whiskey and beer, I want sugar.” Price reacts first, a barely noticeable smirk on his face as he makes a little noise that’s almost a laugh, then takes a little sip of his drink without saying a word. There’s amusement in his eyes, though.

Soap scoots towards me on his stool, clearly distraught. “It’s not just that. You disrespected a good whiskey throwing it back like that. You’ve got to savor it.”

My eyes roll. “I’m not savoring that piss-flavored swill, thanks. I appreciate the tradition and participated, but that’s all I can give you.” I respond with humor in my voice even as I watch the bartender prepare my mojito and hand me a bottled water. When she gives me my drink, I pointedly drag my lips over the sugar covered rim of my glass before taking a sip while daring the men to say something. The drink is delicious and I take a deep breath of the sweet smell edged with mint.

“Lucky you’re a good shot, G, or we’d have you thrown out on principle.” Gaz teases and I raise a brow at him as if daring him to try.

“Let G have her sweet tooth. We don’t need anyone else wearing down the stock of good whiskey in this place anyway.” Ghost, surprisingly, lets me get away with my preference before taking a sip of his drink. Soap and Gaz grumble a bit and I’m sure I’ll hear more shit about this later, but they let it go for now.

Soap rests his elbow on the bar and faces me, Gaz peeking around him. “Go on, then, lass. Tell us about yourself. Have anyone waiting for you back home?” The question is kind and genuine. Not leading.

I return the position and turn my body towards him, although my eyes are surveying the bar more often than not. “This your plan all along? Give me drinks and interrogate me?” It’s a light tease and Soap grins immediately.

“We want to get to know you.” Gaz offers and the other’s have eyes on me as well. “Despite your bad taste in drinks.” He adds in a quieter tone and I smirk. It’s only fair, I suppose. We’re a team, we’re trusting each other with everything, I can put up with some questions.

“No, nobody’s waiting for me at home. My parents died before I enlisted and I’ve been moving around ever since, so never got attached to anyone else. No partner to speak of. I get restless easily. That’s why I’m good at my job—I like the focus and having a goal to go after.” Soap blinks a little at me being so forthcoming with information, but Ghost nods. Seems he understands a little of what I’m saying. My eyes flick to Price at the other end of the bar, still nursing his drink, and his gaze is light as it rests on me. He’s listening just as much as the others. “What about you lot?” I return the question and happily sip on my drink while they tell me about themselves.

Soap and Gaz are, unsurprisingly, the most forthcoming. Gaz is more than pleased to lament his lack of partner, but proud to say that he leaves a string of broken hearts wherever he goes. It’s not too surprising. The man oozes warmth and dedication. Soap’s Scottish accent seems to get a touch deeper as he talks about his home and how he blames himself for the last loss of his favorite football team because he was on mission and couldn’t go to the game. Ghost says little about his home life. Just that he lives in London right now and there’s a little café nearby that serves a good cup of tea.

“Fuckin’ Brits.” Soap quips instantly and gets cuffed on the ear for his trouble. They descend into an argument full of sharp words and teases about who is more unbearable, Scots or Brits, and I’m so entertained that I nearly don’t register the man coming up behind me. I catch him in the reflection of the bottles behind the bar and turn around too late to send him a death glare telling him what a bad idea this is. His hand wraps around my bicep and my body is immediately stiff and my hands are clenched into fists. He’s not in uniform and he doesn’t strike me as military. Probably just some jack off that wandered in here and decided to go for one of the few women in this place. I’m in civilian clothes, jeans and a black long-sleeved shirt tucked in. Maybe not obviously military to someone who doesn’t think there are women in the military anyway. Idiot.

“What’s a pretty—"

“You have two seconds to get your hand off me before I kick you in the balls so hard that you deepthroat your own cock.” My words are sharp and there’s not an ounce of hesitation or doubt in my voice. His eyes widen and he blinks as if the words have to fight through the wall of ignorance in his head before he can understand them. Yet they must not get all the way through because he doesn’t let go and instead leans closer with a grin blooming on his face. His mouth opens and I’m already pulling my leg back for the kick when I see movement out of the corner of my eye and Price is suddenly there, putting a hand on the man’s shoulder.

“Step back.” The words are a command and the anger swirling in my gut calms a touch at the smooth authority in his tone. Of course, when a man says it, the other guy pulls his hand off me but doesn’t move away just yet.

“She yours?” He asks, looking Price over while rage boils my blood at being referenced as an object to be owned.

Price keeps close without touching me, his other arm stretched out behind me while his hand perches on the bar. “Mine to protect. Step back, son, before I let her keep her promise.” He releases the man’s shoulder with a light push to get him moving, then slides into his place and sits on the stool next to me with his back turned towards the man, effectively shutting him out. He seems flabbergasted, but eventually turns and dubiously returns to whatever corner he crawled out from.

“Sorry that I couldn’t let you take care of that yourself, G.” Price apologizes and his calm, smooth voice does wonders to soothe the anger still roiling in my chest. “It’s one thing to let you get into fights with soldiers that deserve it and should be able to handle themselves, but it’s another to let you decimate the civilian population.” His gaze holds mine, a twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

I take a deep breath to try and calm down. “Understood, Captain.”

“Just Price when we’re out like this.” He corrects and I hesitate a moment before nodding.

“Understood, Price. I wouldn’t want to get everyone kicked out, anyway.” I glance at the others who have busied themselves watching a football game on the tv, trusting their Captain to handle whatever the problem was. But I’m not foolish enough to think that they weren’t aware of every move that was just made and every word that was said. I finish my drink and set it aside in favor of my water. There’s a little satisfaction in hearing the soft click as the seal breaks and I take a small sip. “You didn’t chime in earlier when I asked about everyone’s homelife.” I offer, letting the question that isn’t a question linger so he can decide whether to answer or not.

He heaves a breath and shrugs a shoulder, accepting his glass as the bartender passes by. “Not much to say. I’ve got a flat in London and I’ll meet Ghost for tea every now and then when I’m desperate enough for company.” There’s a snort down the table from the man and Price smirks at the sound. “The job makes it hard to set down real roots, so I’ve no one waiting for me back home other than old friends that’ve survived this shitshow and are waiting for me to join them or kick the bucket.” He chuckles before taking a sip of his drink.

I consider him a moment, humming. “I hope both are far off.” It’s as close as I can get right now to admitting that I respect him. That I want him to stay on and to keep working with him. More than that, I actually like him. The others are growing on me, but there’s something a little easier with Price.

He returns my gaze and it feels nice to see his eyes soften a touch. “I can guarantee one is and with you behind the scope and holding the needle, I’m confident the other is as well.” I nod, accepting the compliment and responsibility that comes with it. We talk a little more as the night goes on and it’s clear that he’s usually the designated driver on nights like this. I offer to take over for him since I don’t want any more to drink, but he refuses, telling me he’d rather keep talking than drink more and look like an idiot like the others. He says it affectionately though, clearly not minding being the responsible one as long as he’s looking after the team.

Overall, it’s not a bad evening. The bad part comes later in the form of nightmares and sweat and waking up not remembering where I am for a moment. My hand clutches tight to my shirt over my heart, feeling it thunder in my chest as my mind comes back to me and I try to calm down. “Fucking hell.” I murmur, shaking my head and sliding out of bed. I change out of my sweaty clothes into shorts and a sports bra before wandering out into the hall.

I head to the training room and lose myself in the monotony of going at a punching bag. I passed my psych eval, I’m fit for work, but sometimes things creep up on me. It’s the nature of the things we do. Though these nightmares have nothing to do with missions I’ve been on. The dull sound of my fists hitting the punching bag echoes in the room and I eventually calm down enough to stop. I slowly unwrap my knuckles as I walk back towards my room, letting them flutter into one of the trashcans scattered around base. My steps slow as my mind whirls, then I change my course.

The mess hall won’t be open yet since dawn is still about an hour away, but Price has a coffee pot in his office. He’s offered to let the team use it as long as we only touch the pot and mugs alongside it. Time to see if that offer was genuine.

It feels a bit like an intrusion as I walk into his office without him there, but Price isn’t the kind of man to say something he doesn’t mean. I make an entire pot of coffee, knowing that he’ll be up at the crack of dawn and knowing the pot will keep it warm until then. The little sounds of the machine running and dripping dark ambrosia into the glass pot are soothing with their normalcy, especially as the nutty scent fills the room. It mixes well with the leftover smell from his signature cigars and while I don’t sit down once I have my cup, I do stay as I drink my coffee, breathing in the comforting scents.

I don’t realize how long I’ve been here until I hear boots coming down the hall. My hand freezes halfway to my mouth with my second cup of coffee. The gait is familiar and I have a brief moment of panic at feeling like I’m about to be caught doing something I shouldn’t. Instead, I take a breath and turn around to pour another cup of coffee before waiting by the door and offering it to Price as he steps in. Surprise flits through his eyes, not at finding someone here since he could probably smell the coffee from down the hall, but at finding me here.

“Thought you might’ve been Ghost. He’s the only one usually up at this time, but not usually after a night out.” He greets me and a little tingle slides down my spine at his gruff voice still rough from sleep. He takes the cup with a grateful nod while walking around his desk.

I linger by the door, still clinging to my coffee. “Woke up early today. Thanks for letting me use your coffee pot. I’ll be out in just a minute.” I tell him as he takes a sip of the coffee, shaking his head.

“You’re fine. Take your time.” He says the words easily, genuinely, and my shoulders lax before I realize how stiffly I’d been holding myself. His eyes remain on me and both of us remain standing. I’m not sure if he’s unconsciously copying me or if he’s retaining some idea of a gentleman not sitting before a woman. “How long have you been up?”

I shrug a shoulder, shifting my weight slowly from foot to foot to get rid of a bit of anxious energy. “An hour and a half? Maybe two? Needed to work out a little energy.” He hums, nodding and letting his eyes drop to his desk for a few moments. I hesitate as I think through what I’m about to say and I know he’s waiting, letting me decide without pressure. “The nightmares take me by surprise sometimes. Helps to do something physical until the memories fade.” It’s an olive branch, the words are the most vulnerable I’ve been since arrival. Nightmares aren’t abnormal around here and since Price is the only one who has read my file, I know he’ll understand what I mean.

His eyes raise to mine again and they’re gentle and nonjudgmental. “If you want to talk about it, you have my ear. If you want to sit and stay, my door is open. Sometimes the boys do the same.” It seems like such an easy offer for him to make. My fingers shift as I hold my coffee and I take a few steps closer to him, leaning my hip against one of the two chairs in front of his desk.

“And you, Captain?” I prod just a little, curious as to what he does when he has struggles.

He gives me a crooked grin. “I have good soldiers that come in and sit quietly in my office from time to time. They’re pretty good listeners.” I return his smile. It’s a trade then. Nightmare for nightmare. It’s a refreshing mindset and one that I haven’t often run into. More proof that Price is a good leader—a good man.

“Pretty fair price for a good cup of coffee.” I surprise myself by teasing and I’m rewarded by his smile widening as he takes a sip from his own cup.

“Mm. You’re welcome anytime. You make a better cup than the lot of them, anyway.” My lips press together to hide my smile at the compliment as I finish my coffee and set it aside.

“I’ll keep that in mind, sir.” I begin to drift towards the door, halting when he calls out for me.

“G.” I turn back to find him reaching into his desk and shuffling around a bit, then he walks over to me with a little box in his hands. “Sometimes it helps to remind yourself that you’re not there anymore. Find something to ground yourself afterward. Like this.” He taps the top of the box as I take it and my brows furrow at the sight of one of his cigar boxes. I open it to find it empty, but I understand what he means as the distinct scent drifts up to me. I can’t help thinking of how well I slept wrapped up in his arms, breathing in the scent of his cigars and him. My fingers quickly shut the box to keep more of the smell inside as I look up at Price with a hint of a blush in my cheeks.

“Thank you.” It’s for more than just this. It’s a thank you for being gentle with me, for being thoughtful, for doing more than a usual Captain would. His entire body seems to soften and he reaches up, lightly squeezing my shoulder with a heavy hand.

“Anytime.” He responds and it takes me a minute to pull away, his hand sliding off me as I go.

That night, I sleep holding the cigar box and breathing in the smell that’s just so…Price. I don’t have a single nightmare.

Taglist (because you expressed interest! If you don't want to be tagged, let me know! And if anyone else wants to be tagged, tell me and I'll add you):

@under-the-dirt

[myhimbomingi]

Dreamland

pairing: mingi x gender neutral reader! genre: established relationship and fluff ~ wc: 1k summary: you have had a long day at work and just can't wait to see your boyfriend. little did you know, he was going to surprise you instead of doing your typical routine together.

a/n: this is my very first fic!! i hope you all enjoy my insane love for mingi hehe! i am looking forward to write more in the future :) please share any feedback you may have! much appreciated!

You tiredly look at the time on your computer, hoping the work day is finally over.

It’s only 3 pm!? 

You think to yourself, releasing a deep sigh. You take out your phone to text your boyfriend to get into a better headspace, hoping his sweet words will give you the energy to keep going instead of quitting on the spot.

“Mangiiiiiiiiii~”

“Babeeeeeeee!~”

“I’m not sure if I can make it. It’s only 3 o’clock. I’m tired, stressed, and just miss you ;-;”

“You can’t give up y/n!! I will not allow it! >:( I did make it home early so if you get through the day I will give you all the love in the world!”

You giggle at his text. You knew whatever he was gonna say was going to make you smile. You have a feeling he will have some dinner ready for you with your favorite cozy pajamas out for you to change into immediately. You grow a big smile on your face just thinking about it.

“Okay! I will work hard until the very end! Love you bunches! <3”

“That’s what I like to hear~ love you bunches too!”

You heart his message and put your phone away. You straighten your posture and get right to work with this new fire under you that Mingi has given you.

*****

As you are walking up to your apartment door, you could smell delicious food floating in the air. You can’t really make out what it is, but you know it’s going to be good. 

You excitedly unlock your door and walk in, quickly closing the door behind you and taking off your shoes.

“Mingi, I’m back!” You exclaim, as you put your shoes in their place.

“Babe!”

Mingi scurries over to you, wrapping his strong arms around you in a tight bear hug.

You wrap your arms back around him, squishing your face deeper into his chest, feeling his warmth that you have missed all day while being in an office ice box. You take a deep breath, breathing in his scent. You really are back home.

Mingi kisses the top of your head. You can feel his smile through the kiss, making you giggle.

“I’m so happy you’re home. I have a fun surprise for you!”

“Really?” You look up at him with a confused look. You thought you already predicted what the night will be but didn’t expect your boyfriend to do something more than the usual.

Mingi releases you, looking at you with the most precious smile. He moves out the way of your vision into the apartment, leaving his one arm wrapped around your waist.

“Tada!!” He opens his other arm out presenting what he has done.

You scan the room in amazement. 

The living room has been transformed with blankets and pillows on the floor while the couch is now a pillow fort with fairy lights all around it. The coffee table has a lit candle, smelling like eucalyptus, along with two plates of the dinner you two are about to eat together. 

You scan over to the kitchen to the left of you, seeing two mugs, packets of hot chocolate, and a big bag of mini marshmallows - all set and ready for your sweet treat after your dinner. 

“You have been working so hard lately,” Mingi says, breaking the silence. “I really wanted to do something extra special for you this time around. I remember you mentioning how you used to do this as a kid and I thought it would be fun to have you experience that again”

You are speechless and before you realize it, a few tears fall down your face.

Mingi hears you sniffling and looks down at you “Y/n! Why are you crying??” 

He cups his large but soft hands around your face, wiping the tears gently with his thumbs. 

“Did I upset you with this? I am so sorry..” 

Mingi looks at you so worried, like a puppy who thinks they did something wrong.

You look up at him, cupping his face as well, bringing his face closer to yours to give him a soft but meaningful kiss. 

“No, Mingi. I love this so much. I am just feeling so overjoyed right now” 

You give him a soft smile and kiss him one more time.

Mingi releases his hands from your face and places them on your hips, bringing your body closer to his. He leans more into your kiss with much more passion.

You both release and you give him the biggest smile with sparkly eyes from your tears. 

“Now I would love to try this dinner you made and snuggle up to you in our pillow fort!”

Mingi gave you the biggest smile, kissed your forehead, and took your hand to lead you to your pillowfort dreamland. 

At this moment, you couldn’t believe you are being shown so much love from Mingi. You never had luck with relationships in the past but here you are now with someone who thinks about you and will do anything to make your days much happier. 

You smile with this thought as you take a bite of your food.

“What are you smiling about?” Mingi asks with his own smile on his face.

You shrug as you put your fork down “Nothing really. Just feeling very lucky having you as mine” 

You blush in embarrassment from even saying something like this out loud.

“Seems like more than nothing to me!” Mingi chuckles then gives you a kiss on your temple. “I also feel very lucky”

You lean into him as his arm wraps around you. You both continue to eat together snuggled up, laughing and enjoying each other's company. 

I wonder what other surprises he will come up with next.

[mask-maker-907]

Soo... I had an Idea. I'd been watching a few too many bookbinding videos on Youtube and figured that it can't be that hard to rebind a manga, right? Yes it's not made of the archival quality, acid free paper like 90% of the bookbinders I watch use, however, I don't really care if it lasts for years, so if the pages yellow then it's fine.

However, the second part of the Idea was to use a manga series, specifically Dragon Ball, and to give it nice covers. Mostly the Idea was that I can use the stars on the Dragon Balls to number the books and the last one will have all seven balls with all their stars.

It adds up to 28 stars so 28 books.

Fans of the series will know that there's 42 volumes.

Fans of math will know that 28 doesn't go evenly into 42.

Thankfully I didn't have to worry about splitting a volume into thirds or figuring out what .3333 of a book will look like. Because 42 divided by 28 is nicely 1.5, so every three volumes will make 2 books.

Now, if you hadn't figured it out yet, I've never done book binding before. And I was planing on embroidering the cover to make my Idea a reality. Which I've also never done before.

But if you know how Ideas are, they grab you and don't let you go until you start working on them so...

Tada! It's a book!

It's not the prettyist but it's noticeably a book! It even works as a book!

The spine is a little crunchy because all I had was printer paper and file folders and I used file folders for the first one and printer paper for the second.

Book two turned out much better. Still not the best, but I like it more than book one. Not sure if I will continue and do all 28 books but I'm happy I did these two and the Idea has calmed down now.

[koshkamartell]

No One But Me

previous chapter

masterlist

chapter warnings: reader has a panic attack, death of a side character, manipulative!Joel, mention of pregnancy

When Joel had returned to Jackson and trudged through the door of his house for the first time in weeks, he immediately smelt the sticky sweet scent of honey in the air. Ellie had made him shut his eyes as she tugged him through to the kitchen by the cuff of his sleeve, demanding he not peek or else he would ruin the surprise. And although Joel grumbled about hating surprises and just wanting a hot shower and some rest, he was holding back a smile. He had missed Ellie so much that he would do just about anything if she asked him to.

Then Ellie instructed him to open his eyes, trilling a theatrical "Tada!" She lifted the tea towel that lay on the kitchen counter to unveil the cake she had made with you. "Welcome home!"

Straight away Joel knew that you were involved in the creation of this surprise. Ellie could not have done this alone and you were the only person Ellie would have felt comfortable enough to ask for help with learning to bake something. He also recognised that it looked exactly like one of your honey cakes - his absolute favourite.

Joel felt a twinge inside his chest cavaity upon seeing the pretty cake perched on top of his kitchen counter. It was an overwhelming mix of emotion that he couldn't quite identify; something akin to gratitude and love and pride. All because his adopted daughter cared enough to make him a damn cake to welcome him home. Because it was you who helped teach her.

Joel swallowed the lump in his throat and gave a short laugh of astonishment before gathering Ellie into an embrace.

"Thanks, kid," he whispered into the crown of her head. "Looks good. And ya didn't burn the kitchen down."

"Yeah, ha ha, so funny," Ellie rolled her eyes. "Your lady friend supervised me so I didn't forget to turn off the oven or some bullshit. Which, by the way, happened to Mrs. Myer last year and almost torched her whole house."

Joel and Ellie cut two slices of cake and ate them standing in the kitchen, Ellie rambling about the random mundane happenings that had occurred in Joel's absence. He looked at Ellie as he slowly chewed bites of the delicious spongey cake, only half listening to her. Although Ellie could be exasperating at times, Joel enjoyed seeing her like this - garbling about Maria's houserules around a mouth full of sticky cake, animated facial expressions embellishing her story.

When they finished eating, Joel went upstairs to shower before going to sleep. He stood infront of the mirror to undress, his limbs feeling progressively more leaden with each passing minute. Despite his body aching with fatigue, his mind was overrun with ceaseless ruminating.

With sadness in his heart, Joel thought about how quickly Ellie was growing up, how time was slipping through his fingers and stealing away more moments of their life lived together. Ellie was still the same sarcastic, witty girl she had always been, but living in a safe and equitable community had given her the opportunity to grow and thrive in ways that would have never been possible in the QZ. She had blossomed into an optimistic and confident young woman with goals and aspirations, a daughter Joel was incredibly proud of.

But with Ellie's advancement in age and maturity came fear and dread that seeped into the marrow of his bones.

The fear of his own ageing, of his own inevitable demise slowly approaching. Joel was acutely aware of his age and the increasing limitations that it came with. His joints and muscles ached from a lot less physical strain these days. He was self conscious of the hearing loss in his right ear and worried that it would worsen. Joel dreaded becoming an old man without family surrounding him, with nothing to live for. He dreaded the possibility of experiencing the devastating agony of loss again.

Sarah. Tess.

He couldn't handle losing Ellie, too.

She was already exercising her independence and slowly detaching from the exclusive life they led together - and it fucking hurt him so bad. She was even spending more and more time out with her friends and at sleepovers, leavong Joel alone at home most of the time.

But Joel still felt guilty for lying to Ellie about what happened at the hospital with the Fireflies; so there was no way he could deny her the right to the pursuit of happiness in Jackson however she saw fit, including distancing herself from him. However, the gradual distancing still felt heartbreaking.

The notion of Ellie not being in his life made Joel's brain buzz with panic. A tightness seized his chest suddenly and seemed to squeeze the air from his lungs. He had to grip the edge of the bathroom sink with both hands in order to steady himself.

Fuck, no, not again.

Joel bowed his head and screwed his eyes shut in an effort to concentrate on keeping his knees from buckling underneath him. He gulped in breaths of air and expelled them in shuddering puffs while swirls of dread surged through his mind and body.

It's okay everything is alright Ellie is still here safe just keep breathing---

The internal monologue blurred into one continuous train of thought and quickly became a comforting sort of mantra to Joel. He remained still with his large hands wrapped around the porcelain of the sink while the dialogue rushed through his brain. He stayed like that for several minutes, until the tense coil inside his body slowly lessened and the panic eventually drained from his mind.

When Joel opened his eyes and his vision settled into focus he was confronted with the haggered image of his reflection in the bathroom mirror. The bags under his eyes were more prominent than usual and his lips were chapped from the cold wind. His crown of curls were tousled and smudges of dirt marked the tan skin of his face. He looked wrecked. Like an old man.

It was at times like this that Joel wished he could swallow a cocktail of pills and chase them down with whatever liquor he could get his hands on. Anything to knock him out for a few hours, just like he did at the QZ. Joel hadn't experienced a panic attack for quite some time - infact the previous one, precipitated by you trying to leave, had been the first one in more than a year. 

Joel would never admit it, but he had spent a great deal of time thinking about you while he was away from Jackson. It was always in the quiet hours of the night, after the patrolmen had settled somewhere to sleep until daybreak. He struggled to fall asleep in the open wilderness, both his body and mind too wired with adrenaline to ease into a state of slumber, and so he spent alot of time reflecting.

Joel dreamed of your pretty face, the sensual curves of your body, the sound of your breathy voice saying his name when he fucked you. Fuck, he couldn't wait to get back to you and kiss you all over and fuck you again. He imagined slamming into you over and over until you screamed and begged him to stop.

Joel recalled how needy and anxious you had been the night he left, how perfect you looked crying when you heard he had to go. He knew you loved him still, even after hurting you with the belt, sweet little thing you were. Yes, you had tried to leave. But you were his and you belonged with him. He had managed to make you stay and you still loved him. And he loved you, truly, in the deep rooted core of his splintered heart. Even if he thought he could never confess it to you in this lifetime.

The elation you felt when Joel returned to Jackson was short lived. It was eclipsed by the passing of Maude, the librarian and your friend, just four days after the team had concluded their mission. She was found laying in her bed by her housemate, having died peacefully in her sleep at the age of 73. Her death was unexpected but not altogether surprising, given her age and the ailments she dealt with each passing year.

Maria had knocked on your door that morning to deliver the sad news. She sat with you on your sofa as you cried, encircling you in her arms as the waves of anguish hit you. You had known Maude since you had first arrived in Jackson as a young teenager and her enduring presence in the periphery of your life gave you a sort of comfort that you never consciously acknowledged. She had come to symbolise consistency and normalcy just by being visible in everyday life; like the baker who you saw display buns and loaves of bread each morning, or the man who sat outside the barbershop and whittled wood each day.

To you, Maude's death signified more than just the loss of her as an individual. It was also a harsh reminder that the shadowy hand of death could come to claim anyone you cared about at any time. Just like it had stolen your parents away from you, leaving you orphaned and all alone in the cataclysmic nightmare of the apocalypse, so distressed that you wonder how you hadn't died of a broken heart.

You never allowed yourself to ruminate too much on this truth, though. The pain was far too complex for you to willingly analyse. Instead, you simply cried for Maude and the fact that you'd miss her.

Maria held you silently, patient and gentle, until your cries eventually died down to shuddering sniffles. She asked if you would prefer to stay home from library duty for the day, in order to give yourself space to grieve. You shook your head stubbornly.

"I'll be okay," you assured Maria as you wiped your nose with a tissue. "I need to keep busy and the library will help."

So will seeing Oscar, your mind randomly chimed. You hadn't seen him for the last few days and you missed him. The soft cadance when he spoke, the crinkles around his eyes when he laughed, his stories and jokes. You needed Oscar right now, positive that he could lighten the weight on your heart with nothing but his mischievous grin.

When you pushed through the library door later that morning, Oscar was standing infront of the counter with his arms crossed, his mouth downturned with melancholy. He was already looking at you when you finished kicking off your boots and you glanced up at him. The sorrow reflected in his brown orbs was so raw that you couldn't suppress the sob clawing up your throat, or the impulse to rush over to him.

Oscar spoke your name softly and opened his arms open to catch you. You crashed into his chest and wrapped your arms around his waist. Oscar enveloped you against his body and squeezed your frame. You wept into his shirt while he cradled the back of your head tenderly.

"I know," Oscar whispered into your ear as you cried. "I know."

You stayed like that for what seemed like forever, basking in the warmth of his embrace as your tears poured relentlessly from the cracks of your heart. Oscar held you tightly, seeming to absorb every single drop of sorrow you expelled without complaint. It felt comfortable, so natural.

But Oscar knew your cries weren't just for Maude. Without you admitting so, he knew that there was a torrent of emotion inside you that had been desperate to break free for so long. He could identify it in the way you hesitated before revealing something about yourself, regardless of how trivial it was. He saw how quiet you became after the mention of certain subjects, eyes glazing over as you fell into contemplative silence, the gears in your brain working tirelessly. Grief plagued your soul, just like it did with all survivors, just as it did with himself. Oscar wished he could express that he understood, that he wanted you to share your secrets and fears with him and he would keep them safe, tucked securely inside his own wounded heart, just to give you some kind of solace.

Oscar knew but he did not speak, not except for the occasional whisper of comfort, hoping to God you couldn't hear the pounding of his heart in your ear. Your tears eventually subsided and you composed yourself enough to detach from his body, wiping your nose with the back of your hand. When his eyes met your beautiful watery orbs, he was sure he felt a zap of electricity between you. But then you went rigid and your eyes widened, almost like you were panicked. Oscar wondered if you were embarrassed, either by your display of emotion or the realisation of your physical proximity, or perhaps both.

"I better get to work," you quickly mumbled, averting your gaze.

Oscar smoothed his warm hands over your shoulders, willing you to look at him. He said your name and when his voice escaped his lips it sounded like a plea. But you pulled away from him wordlessly and disappeared into the solitary space of the storeroom to resume the job you had been working on lately. Oscar sighed and scratched the side of his cheek, his fingernails rasping over his beard.

He didn't want to pressure you or push you in any way, but he wanted you to share your feelings with him. He wanted to hear about your worries and fears and sadness. But maybe it was time for him to share himself with you as well.

Oscar kept his distance from you for the next few hours, letting you have some space to relax until you felt ready to talk. At around 12.30pm Oscar went to the mess hall for and returned with a small sack filled with sandwiches and fruit. He gave a small knock against the doorframe of the store room as not to startle you. You were knelt on the floor with some books and cleaning rags scattered around you.

"Got us some lunch," Oscar said tentatively, leaning his head against the doorframe. "Ready to come eat?"

"Thanks," you said without looking up. "But I'm not really hungry."

You hadn't said that for months, not since that first time working together when you insisted you weren't hungry but he served you food anyway - food that you ended up devouring with gusto. Lunch time then became something you both looked forward to on your subsequent shifts, a designated time when you could take it easy for a while and enjoy the companionship you built. While your resfual to eat concerned Oscar, he did not want to overstep any boundaries.

"Would you like to be left alone today?" He asked gently. "I have some odd jobs to do, so if you wanna have some peace and quiet I can work in the corner of the library."

You sighed and shook your head slowly before looking up at him. "Oh Oscar, you're so lovely. I'm sorry, I'm just...really sad."

"I understand, you don't need apologise." Oscar offered you a little smile.

"But I'd like you to stay close by, if that is okay?"

Oscar tried not to show just how relieved he felt to hear your request. Ofcourse he could stay close to you. He would happily remain by your side for as long as you wanted. But he just nodded and pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. "Of course."

"Thank you," you whispered, looking down at your hands in your lap. "I haven't....lost someone, for so long. It brings up a lot of memories."

Oscar slipped into the storeroom and lowered himself to the ground to sit a few feet away from you, directly opposite the spot where you were kneeling. He hummed to convey that he was listening, to encourage you to keep speaking. You had never spoken about these things to anyone before - death, mortality, your parents, your own grief - but now it seemed like the words and emotions wanted to tumble from your mouth on their own accord.

"Maude...." you began, voice wavering, your gaze focused on your fidgeting fingers. "I knew her since I came to Jackson...everything always seemed so safe here. I guess I just never really...thought about someone dying inside the gates."

Oscar watched you silently with his chin resting in the palm of one hand. He waited for you to continue.

"And it makes me think of my life. Like what if I end up alone? What if I die without starting my own family?" Rivulets of tears were beginning to stream down your face and you speak so softly that Oscar has to lean forward and strain his hearing.

"J-just like my m-mother and father, how they didn't escape...but I did," you wept, gently shaking your head. "I survived but I didn't want to without them. I survived but I'm so scared."

Oscar's soulful brown eyes watched you intently as the raw emotion poured from you. He longed to cradle you in his arms but he knew you needed this, this cathartic like confession without any disruption.

"I shouldn't have." You croaked, covering your eyes with your hands like you were hiding from the truth of your own words.

"Shouldn't have, what?" Oscar reached over and gently touched your forearm.

"I-I shouldn't have lived," your throat was thick with your tears. "I don't deserve to. I should've d-d-died."

Oscar whispered your name and fell forward on his knees to crawl close to you. "Hey, listen to me. Don't ever say that, okay?"

He enveloped you into his arms gingerly and cradled the back of your head with his palm. "You do deserve to live. You deserve to live here, safe and happy. You were meant to survive. And your parents would be so happy that you made it here. They would be so happy and proud of the woman you are today."

You continued to sob and sniffle miserably but you allowed Oscar to hold you. The vague scent of cinnamon filled your nose when he pressed you closer to him. You both stayed like that for a long time, until your cries died down and became tiny sniffs and sighs. Oscar remained still as he embraced you. It was only when he was sure that you were somewhat tranquil that Oscar chose to speak.

"I survived, too," Oscar whispered. "And I spent so many years hating myself for it."

You pulled away from his arms just enough to peer at his face. His mouth was down turned in that pensive frown from earlier and his eyes, usually so warm and twinkling, were now downcast and full of woe.

"She...my wife..." Oscar's voice choked. "She was bitten before I could stop it, before I could protect her. I should've been right by her side but I wasn't." He swallowed thickly.

Without thinking you instinctively raised your hand up to Oscar's face and gently cupped his cheek. His eyes fluttered shut at the contact and a single tear slipped out from under his thick eyelashes.

"Oh, Oscar..." You whispered, staring at him closely.

He shook his head ever so gently and sniffed, then brought his own hand up to enclose over yours. He opened his eyes and met your gaze.

"But I came to learn that hating yourself for surviving isn't the right way to live." Oscar stated solemnly. "There's no point in living if it is in misery. It kills your heart and your peace, slowly."

Oscar slowly removes your hand from his scruffy cheek and lowers it to his chest, where he cradles it reverently with his own, still looking directly at you.

"We owe it them to continue living. To live as best as we can, to allow ourselves happiness and love - because that is what they would want, and because it honours their memory. And those feelings we have...that hate for ourselves...that guilt...it does nothing to help us. It may never really go away, but holding onto it so tightly...it makes life impossible to live."

You nod ever so slightly, totally enrapt in the truth of Oscar's words and the conviction in his tone. You've never heard someone speak in such a way that penetrates your heart like this, never identified with someone else's insight so deeply before.

"If we let the hate and hurt eat us alive, then we won't ever be able to remember the good memories. I will never forget my wife, I promised myself a long time ago that I would keep her memories close to my heart. Her smile...her laugh..."

Another tear rolled down Oscar's cheek but he did nothing to wipe it away. Your eyes were still locked on each others.

"And they remind me that life can be worth living, that she would want me to keep going. I bet your parents would, too. And so would Maude."

You can't stifle the sob that escapes your lips and you find yourself lunging into Oscar's body to hug him once again. He hugs you back, sure that you can both hear each other's heartbeats.

That night you sat crossed legged on Joel's bed cocooned in his blanket. Just as he had requested (or rather, ordered) the previous night, Joel wanted you waiting at his house for when he finished his patrol shift. As he sat on the edge of the bed to remove his boots, you told him the news about Maude's death.

"She lived til an old age," he said brusquely, letting his boots drop to the floor with a clunk. "Longer than alotta people. Ain't not use mournin' someone whose time is up."

You knew he was right; Maude had lived a long life by apocalypse standards, and many of them had been spent within the comfortable confines of Jackson,

but the coldness in his words still stung. Joel's pragmatic nature was clearly vastly different from your more emotional disposition, but he also had more life experience than you, you reminded yourself. Maybe it was better to be a bit more like Joel for the sake of self preservation.

You sighed and hummed a halfhearted agreement.

The mattress creaked as Joel stood to undress. You pulled the blanket tighter around your shoulders and watched Joel wordlessly as he removed his jacket and flannel shirt. Your eyes wandered over the expanse of his thick shoulders and broad back - you could see the light scratches on his flank from where you'd dug your fingernails into last night when he'd pounded into you. You smiled softly to yourself.

You loved to watch him in various stages of undress; whether it was after a long day at work or right before he fucked you, the display of his bare body evoked a hunger inside your lower belly that made you ache for his cock. Even with the litany of scars covering his skin, nothing could detract from how sexy he was.

Joel pulled off his t shirt and tossed it and the flannel onto the floor by his dresser. He glanced at you and caught you shamelessly gawking at his half naked body. He smirked ever so slightly.

"What're you starin' at, little girl?" Joel teased.

You blushed and hid your shy smile behind the tips of your fingers. "Just you, how sexy you are.

Joel chuckled under his breath padded over to the closet to hang up his jacket. When he returned from the closet and slowly paced toward the bed, your heart skipped a beat to see that he's cradling the Polaroid camera in his hands. It's the same one from the shoe box that was hidden in his closet. The one you snooped in.

Shit, you hope he hasn't found out that you went looking through his stuff. You were sure you had returned it to the correct spot, had it angled in the same position you'd found it in on the shelf.

You swallow thickly and watch Joel's face cautiously. He is quiet and concentrated as he rubs the pads of his thumbs over the plastic black exterior of the camera, examining it as if he has never used it before, as if he's not entirely sure if it even works. It is worn but in good condition; a relic from the past, now a rare tool that was used to capture and eternalise scenes and faces before the end of the world. You briefly wonder who it belonged to once upon a time.

You chew your bottom lip as you watch him come to stand a few feet away from the bed. He looks up at you and holds the Polaroid up in his hand.

"Know what this is?" Joel asks.

You nod, and even though you do know what it is, you still sound slightly dubious when you respond."It's a camera, right?"

"'Thats right." He nods and turns it around to study the front of the lens. "Found it a while ago on a mission. Was gonna give it to Ellie but seems she's...more interested in her comics, or somethin'."

His voice trails off into a mutter at the end. He almost sounds sad, or disappointed. You feel bad for him, knowing he would be struggling to accept Ellie wanting to move out of home.

"It's a very thoughtful gift to give someone." You smile at Joel, trying to appear upbeat. "I think it is really cool. Have you taken any pictures with it?"

Joel shakes his head. "Nah, ain't tried it out yet." His eyes flicker up to you and he tilts his head, regarding you with a kind of curious contemplation. You raise an eyebrow at back at him.

"What?"

Joel's lips quirk into a sly little smile. "Wanna give it a go, see it in action?"

You can't hide your intrigue as you sit up straighter. The blanket slips off your shoulders. "What do you mean? Do I wanna take a picture?"

"I mean, how 'bout I take your picture?" Joel explains. The tone of his suggestion sounds more decisive and less of a request. He sees the uncertainty on your face and quickly clarifies his words. "A picture of you for me to remember you by. For when I'm at work, or you ain't here."

The sentiment behind his idea makes your cheeks warm. The idea is sweet, romantic. Perhaps Joel is more sentimental than he appears, you think. Your eyes light up and you smile eagerly.

"Okay!" You giggle. "Lemme stand up and get dressed."

"Nah," Joel shakes his head. "Just stay like that. Don't need to wear anythin'."

Your brow creases with confusion and you gesture to your body, still clad only in your bra and panties. "But Joel, I'm almost naked."

Joel sighs - a small sound that borders on mild exasperation. He looks at you with an expression of reproach that makes you feel small and a bit foolish, like you can't quite comprehend something and it frustrates him. You expect him to reprimand you or revert to being curt, like how he spoke about Maude just a few minutes earlier. However, when goes to speak next his voice comes out gentle.

"'S just me, darlin'," Joel assures you smoothly. "Ain't no one gonna see these pictures except me. And I think you look perfect just as you are right now."

Your lips curl into a tiny smile at his praise but you cannot disguise the indecision in your eyes. It isn't that you're ashamed of your body - it is the idea of being half naked and captured, eternalised in a physical medium like a photograph, that makes you slightly uneasy. It almost seems obsence and lewd, as if you're giving a sacred piece of yourself away permanently.

Joel can see your hesitation as clear as day. He narrows his eyes at you and speaks in that rich Texan drawl that sounds so sweetly coaxing, firm yet loving. "Babydoll, you got no reason to be shy. I just wanna have a picture of my pretty girl to look at whenever I want, that's all."

He smirks and gives you a cocky wink. It sends a hot rush of desire to your pussy and you giggle shyly. That's all it takes to win you over.

"Okay, okay, hold on." You clear your throat and wiggle a little to get comfortably posed, back straight and shoulders relaxed, fingers toying nervously with the blanket that covers your legs. Joel watches you, still smirking.

"Good girl. Now show me that sweet smile."

You look directly at Joel and manage a coy smile. He holds the camera up to his eye level and presses the little button to take the picture.  The camera flashes for a second and makes a short whirring sound. You're momentarily stunned but laugh. A square strip of white film slides out of the camera and Joel pulls it out.

"That's it? It's all done?"

"Takes a minute to show up," he explains. He sets it on the window sill to develop. You grin and lean back on your palms.

"I hope I look okay."

Joel turns back to you and there is now a hungry, dark look in his eyes. One of his hands still hold the camera while his other hand hangs by his side, flexing slowly. He stares at you silently for a few beats and his jaw ticks.

"How about we try somethin' a little different," Joel murmurs. You recognise that sultry lilt in his voice, the silky drawl that you know means he is thinking of something dirty. "Somethin' a bit more...private, just for me."

You chew your bottom lip, not really sure where his train of thought is leading to. Joel swaggers the few paces over to the bed. You watch the softness of his tummy as he moves, the growing bulge at the crotch of his jeans. You can feel yourself starting to get wet.

Joel stands before you and tilts his head down at you. His hand reaches down and he drags his thumb over your shoulder in soft circles, his eyes roving from your face down to yours breasts, then back up again.

"Uhm, what do you mean?" You ask hesitantly. You're not quite sure what he's alluding to.

Joel smirks. "Well, when I don't got you around, I get a little lonely. I start missin' what we do together...start missin' more than just that pretty face."

You tilt your head to the side so your hair hangs over your shoulder and you grin playfully at him. "Ooooh," you giggle, "what else do you miss?"

"Well, I miss those perfect tits." Joel purrs, his fingers toying with the strap of your bra. "I think about how they feel in my hands, how gorgeous they look bouncin' around when I'm fuckin' you."

His hand shifts down and cups your breast in his palm, his thumb brushing over your nipple underneath the material of your bra. A shiver skates over your body and you moan softly.

"Let me see 'em, baby," Joel commands, slightly breathless. "Take it off and show me."

Joel seems to possess you in these moments, robbing you of rationality and lucidity, consuming and devouring your body until all that is left is a soulless vessel completely fucked out and used. You reach your hands behind your back and unclip your bra. You slide it off your shoulders and discard it on the side of the mattress. Joel inhales audibly and groans lowly at the sight of your bare breasts.

"So gorgeous, sugar." He ghosts the pad of his calloused thumb over one of your nipples, making it pebble. "And all for me, ain't that right?"

"Mm-hm," you nod. Joel gives your nipple a light pinch and you moan again. Your cunt throbs with rapidly growing desire.

Joel takes a step back and nods to the camera. "Gonna take a picture of these pretty titties, baby girl. Play with 'em, want you to feel good while I'm doin' it."

You obey and bring your fingers to tease your nipples, staring up at Joel with your eyes glazed with lust. Joel's own pupils are blown wide as he watches you intently. He grips the hard outline of his cock straining in his jeans.

"Fuck yeah, thats it."

Your heart swells to witness Joel in this moment. It is because of you, because of your body and actions, that Joel looks how he does right now. Hungry, feral, undeniably aroused. The knowledge of this makes you feel powerful and sexy and wanted. It also deepens your own desire for him.

"Take the picture," you purr seductively to Joel.

A growl rumbles in his throat and he holds the camera up once again and directs it at you, then clicks the button. It flashes again and deposits another white square of film out for Joel to accept. This time he holds the picture and watches as the image slowly develops on the page. A wicked grin eventually spreads over his face and he licks his bottom lip.

"Hot little slut for me," Joel rasps. His eyes lift from the photograph back to you. "You like makin' me happy, don't you, babydoll?"

You nod eagerly and squeeze your tits in the palms of your hands. "Yes, daddy, I do."

"Look how pretty you are." Joel holds the picture out towards you and you sit up on your knees to reach over and accept it from him.

You gasp when you see it. You are instantly shocked. But God, you're also so turned on. The photograph shows you sat on the bed but only from the waist up, omiting the blanket covering your lower half so it appears you're completely naked. Your eyes twinkle and your mouth is parted slightly, somehow exuding wanton sensuality and natural sweetness all at once. Your breasts look round and soft while your fingers play with your nipples. It's fucking hot.

"I look good," you whisper incredulously.

"Told ya, baby." Joel chuckles. "Don't stop now. Gonna prove how fuckin' sexy you are, how crazy you make me."

You would have never dreamed of doing such a thing before. It is debauched and so exciting, like a dirty secret, and you feel emboldened by the boost of dopamine. You toss the picture on the bed and flip your hair over your shoulder.

"Show me, daddy. What do you want me to do now?"

Joel does not reply. Instead, he strides to the bed and swiftly grabs a hold of the back of your head to pull you into a passionate kiss. It takes you by surprise but when he pushes his tongue into your mouth with desperation, you moan with pleasure and wrap your arms tightly around his neck. Joel's tongue laps at yours in thick strokes, moaning low and growly as he savours your taste. You crumble against him, surrending once more to his will.

He is more than happy to show you, to prove to you how much he desires you. How you will always belong to only him.

In the couple of days following his return, Joel noticed subtle differences about you that had developed during his time away. He noted the tint of colour on the apples of your cheeks. He could feel the slightest bit of extra softness to your flesh, as if you'd been eating a little more lately. You were smiling more often, too.

If Joel didn't know you, he would've guessed you had been fucked really good and had some kind of post orgasm euphoria. But he did know you, and he knew that wasn't a possiblity. You were his good girl.

You couldn't be pregnant, either. Joel loosely tracked your cycles along with you so he knew when you were ovulating and when he would have to settle for a blowjob instead of risking impregnating you. He knew the changes in you weren't due to any kind of pregnancy glow.

So just why you were more spirited than you had ever been before, he wasn't sure. Maybe it was because that stupid wedding you were so excited about was happening soon. Or maybe it was because Christmas was approaching. Joel remembered how much you liked baking during the festive season, how much you relished gifting your friends homemade treats like gingerbread men. Whatever the reason, it didn't really matter. Pretty soon, Joel was going to make sure you wouldn't be preoccupied with anything else except pleasing him.

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