#that’s all I’ll say; I would have answered if they were the former as I’d want to reassure people I don’t ship it or have any ‘secret’ alts

[waywardstation]

hopefully not violating terms but id like to ask going forward that you not censor words with special characters like you did, since it can make peoples blocked words/tags lists not catch it and thats less than ideal^tm

assuming you came from a place of good intentions but would like this kept in mind if an option

Hey! I’ll answer this one because it’s not actually about the topic.

I always used special characters when using that word as I don’t even want these blog posts to show up as a result when people are searching up the word on tumblr, or even have any of my blog posts linked to the topic. But I can now see why that would be an issue when people just don’t want to see anything about it at all and have the word blocked; apologies for that!

Regardless, I hope that is the last time I ever need to mention that topic on this blog so hopefully it’s the last time I ever mention it at all. So it should not happen again!

[piftamere]

satoru ending (wc : 1.6k ; cw : hospital room, brief description of the crash, mentions of death)

in your hospital bed, you feel small, you look small too. you're paler than usual, dark circles surround your tired eyes. you broke your left arm and now a cast envelops it.

“never scare me like that again” and a couple “i love you”s can be read on the white bandages, written by yuuji and kugisaki. flowers, ballons and a teddy bear decorate your room.

the doctor came by earlier, you're going to be okay. you should be out of the hospital in a few days. the police came too but megumi told them to come back tomorrow. you’re thankful he did.

megumi, yuuji and kugi look exhausted but they're smiling, you don’t have the heart to ask them to leave so you can rest. their presence is comforting, you’ll sleep later.

your ribs hurt when you breathe and even worse when you laugh, but you still reward yuuji’s poor attempts at lightening the mood with a chuckle. you can tell he needs it, you all need it.

when you recognized the driver as satoru’s former assistant, your heart missed a beat. you asked her to stop the car, but she started ranting to you, accusing you of ruining her life, of using people then discarding them.

you were so scared, you really thought you were going to die in that car. she kept speeding while not focusing on the road. going on and on about how you were a terrible person. and when she swerved off the road to avoid another car, you saw your life flash before your eyes. you saw the faces of everyone you would never get to see again. satoru’s face.

you’ll never forget the fear you felt when the car flipped over.

your thoughts are interrupted by frantic knocks on the bedroom door, megumi invites them in.

satoru walks in, he looks like a shell of himself, his hair is messy, his eyes are red.

“we’ll leave you two alone.” megumi says to you, his hand on your shoulder, before gesturing for everyone else to leave the room.

he sits down in the chair next to your bed, panic still evident in his eyes. “how are you feeling?”

“better now that you’re here.” you give him a soft smile, taking his hand in yours. you see him visibly relax.

“are you in pain?”

“a little, but i’m okay don’t worry.”

“i’ll always worry about you.”

“i know.” you say with a small smile.

“i was so scared.” the words hang in the air, raw and vulnerable. he’s staring down at your joined hands. “it’s my fault it happened. i never thought she’d take it this far, i’m so sorry.”

even if it hurts to speak, you need to say this. for him.

“how could you have guessed that your ex-assistant was insane to the point of stalking me for months and pretend to be my uber to confront me, or kill me i don’t really know what was her plan… that she would lose control of the car and that we’d have an accident. even a psychic couldn’t predict that satoru.”

hearing it out loud, it sounds ridiculous. satoru chuckles halfheartedly, wiping off a stray tear, but he stays silent.

“do you know why i was in that car?” you say barely above a whisper, squeezing his fingers to get his attention. he turns his head to look at you, you can clearly see the tears in his eyes now. he shakes his head.

“because you had an interview?”

“it’s funny because i was doing the interview, answering the same old questions and i started talking about my love for music, how it’s my passion and the only thing i want to do in life, how i feel like it’s what i was born to do you know?” he nods along, “but while i was rambling on and on, something felt wrong, it was different from all the other times i’d given that same speech. because all i could think about was you. that’s how i feel about you too. i love you, and i’m tired of pretending i don’t.”

his eyes widen, bottom lip quivering as he starts full on crying, tears streaming down his face and you panic, trying to wipe them away.

“i didn’t want to make you cry! i’m sorry satoru! i take it ba-” before you can finish your sentence, he places his hand on your mouth.

“don’t even think about taking it back.” he sniffles, melting into your touch, your hand still on his cheek. “i’m just a little emotional today, i’m fine. i love you too, more than you can even imagine.” he takes his hand off your mouth.

you exhale deeply, relieved to see he stopped crying. “okay, good…”

he takes both of your hands in his, looking into your eyes as he speaks. “i know it’s probably not what you want, given how much you love what you do and how hard you worked for all of this, but i need to say it. if this was the one thing that makes you want to quit, i get it. because a part of me wants to convince you to quit too. i don’t think i could stand losing you, these past few hours have felt like a living hell, and i would give up on everything if it meant keeping you safe, next to me. so just say the word, now or in 5 months, and i’ll leave it all behind, for you. If you’ll let me, of couse.” he looks down where your hands are joined, his voice trembling slightly. “but if you choose to keep going, i swear to protect you, i won’t let anything like this happen ever again.”

you take a deep breath, feeling the weight of his words and the sincerity in his eyes. “i’ll think about it,” you say softly. “i’m probably going to take a break but i don’t want to quit. i’m not saying i’ll never change my mind, but i love what i do too much.” you give him a reassuring smile. “and how likely is it that i’d get stalked twice, right?” you chuckle, attempting to lighten the mood.

he shakes his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips but worry still clear on his face.

“i’ve never seen you so serious ‘toru. come on, smile.” you say with a pout, poking his cheek where his dimple usually is. his smile grows a bit but it doesn’t quite reach his eyes. still, it’s good enough for now. your voice hoarse, you say warmly, “oh there it is.”

you scoot over to the side of the bed, tapping on the covers to invite him to join you.

“come. you can’t say no, i almost died today.”

“i wouldn't dream of saying no.”

he climbs on, careful not to touch your cast, he wraps his arms around you, gently, like he’s afraid of breaking you.

in his embrace, the tension that has been gripping your body since the accident begins to ease. the steady rhythm of his heartbeat calms you down. you finally feel safe, for the first time since the crash. the hospital room and the pain fade away, and all that remains is the warmth of his body against yours.

you close yours eyes, his fingers trace soothing patterns on your arm.

“can i tell you a story?” his voice is soft, gentle.

you nod, “sure.”

“do you remember when we met?”

“yeah,” you say, a chuckle escaping despite the pain. “i thought you were an asshole.”

he coughs, clearing his throat awkwardly. “well, i was… but…”

“but?” you ask, curiosity piqued.

“but,” he continues, “the moment I saw you, I knew you were going to be someone important to me. you had this fire in your eyes, this determination. even though you were giving me the cold shoulder, i couldn’t help but be drawn to you.”

you tilt your head, gazing up at him. “really? i always thought you just enjoyed getting under my skin.”

he laughs warmly, the sound a comforting wave against your back. “maybe a little. but that was just my way of trying to get close to you. i remember watching you from across the room that first night, thinking, ‘i have to get to know her.’ there was something about you, something that called me.”

the memory of that night comes back to you. “you were so cocky, acting like you owned the place.”

he chuckles a bit sheepishly, a whine escaping his lips, “i’m sorryyyy, i was trying to impress you and it backfired. i really didn’t want to make a fool of myself…”

“and yet you did.” you tease lightly.

“and look where that got me.” he grins, tightening his hold on you.

there’s a moment of silence before he speaks up again, “so… am i your boyfriend now?”

you hum, “hm if you’d do me the honor yes.”

“and you’re my girlfriend?” he whispers into your neck, you can feel him smile against your skin.

“that’s usually how it works yes.” you mumble as you drift off to sleep in his arms.

fun facts :

satoru's the one who changed his contact name to "my pest"

they moved in together a few months after the accident

satoru's already thinking about proposing after one year together and yn has to keep reminding him that they don't have to rush it

megumi and yn still see each other often despite not living together anymore, and they keep working together too

author's note

ignore if some things dont make sense :3

satoru got his happy ending, megumi and maki are next dw !! 😗😗

⋆⭒˚｡⋆ tugging on heartstrings ⋆⭒˚｡⋆

as an aspiring solo artist, you dream of making it big in the music industry. With your talent and unwavering determination, you find yourself entangled in a web of romantic pursuits amidst rumors and betrayal. Will you emerge unscathed and manage to navigate your love life in the chaos of fame?

Part thirty-eight - the end

rbs and interactions are highly appreciated <3

taglist : closed :) to be added leave a comment on the masterlist of the smau

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if you're name is crossed out i couldn't tag you, if it's not fixed in a week i'll remove you sorry :(

[holylulusworld]

Two bikes (2)

Summary: You’re back in your hometown and meet two men from your past.

Pairing: former Jax Teller x fem!Reader (pre-story), Biker!Bucky Barnes x fem!reader

Warnings: smitten Bucky, fluff, light/implied smut scene

A/N: I wanted Jax and Biker!Bucky in one fic. So suffer with me…

Two bikes (1)

Two bikes masterlist

He moves slowly but with enough strength to punch the air out of your lungs. You gasp with every powerful thrust, torn between lust and regret.

How could you end up in his arms? How could you let him fool you again?

“I knew you’d feel this good, baby,” he groans in your neck. His body presses yours into the mattress and you are glad that he can’t see your face.

You’re close to tears because of your bad decision of getting close to the man breaking your heart more than once.

If only he chanted your name when you were not tangled in each other. If only he meant the words he whispers in your ear while taking you apart.

You know better, and still, you fell for him again.

“Look at you, all fucked out,” he groans with the last thrust. He is still on top of you, his face buried in your neck long after he came inside of you. You feel his chest pressed against your back, so close that it feels like you are one person. “Shit, you gave me another one.”

He finally slips out of you, huffing as you do not move. “That was amazing,” he says while already looking for his pants. “Uh-maybe you should head home. It’s getting late and I’d hate for you to walk in the dark.”

“I-“ your voice fails. How can he be a passionate and sweet lover one moment, and the next he turns into the selfish asshole you know so well. “You’re right.”

You slip out of bed to grab your clothes and throw them on. He watches you hastily dress with amusement. “You can go slow. Give me a little show.”

“Fuck you,” you snap at him. You walk out of the room, your jacket, bag, and one shoe tugged under your arm to get away from the next mistake you made. “How could I have been so stupid?”

You walk away, ignoring passersby watching you walk along the sidewalk with only one shoe on. Your apartment isn’t far away from his place, and you are too out of it to put your second shoe on.

You’re more running than walking when you see your building. With your last strength, you spring toward the building and unlock the door with shaking fingers.

You stare at the word count before rereading the words. “That’s awful. A bad sex scene and the angst doesn’t hit right.” You rub your tired eyes. “Three hours and I only got three hundred and eighty lousy words. You’ve got to be kidding me, Y/N.”

Slamming the laptop shut you sigh deeply. Of course, your personal experience is always a good inspiration, but not this time. You want to start this book with a perfect opening, so the reader doesn’t want to put the book away until they read every single sentence.

“What do we do?” you hide your face in your hands and sigh again. Since the day you met Jax again, your mood turned sour.

You believed coming back to your hometown would spark your inspiration. Instead, you got your heart broken by the very same man causing you to leave town years ago.

“Fuck, I need to come up with something better than this shit.”

You’re about to give up when your phone starts ringing. Reluctantly you leave your unfinished first chapter to answer the call. “Hello, this is…”

You don’t get to tell your name before Bucky calls you doll. “Hey, doll,” he chuckles when you squeak a hello. “I wanted to tell you that I fixed your car. You can get it this afternoon if you want to.”

“That would be great, James,” you smile to yourself. Hearing Bucky’s voice saved you from despairing over your first chapter. “I can be there at five, is that okay?”

“No, no doll,” he stops you before you can say more. “I’ll pick you up, doll. I can’t let you walk or take the bus. And please, stop calling me James. My father called me that when I did something stupid. I hate it.”

“Did he call you James often?” you tease. “I bet he did because you did something stupid all the time. Like smoking or driving too fast.”

“Ma’am, I’m a responsible driver, and I do not smoke,” he replies, but you hear the joke in his words. “Maybe I like a good drink, but that’s all. Oh, and don’t worry. I don’t drink and drive.”

“I can call a taxi, Bucky. You don’t have to pick me up,” you try not to owe Bucky another favor. He refused to take money from you for repairing your car. That’s more than enough.

“Doll, if we want to stay friends,” he tries to sound serious, but chuckles, “you’ll accept a ride on my bike, miss. I’ll pick you up at five pm sharp. Please wear something…nice.” He laughs when you mutter into the phone. “Nah, just kidding. Come as you are, Y/N. That’ll be enough.”

“Fine, but I’ll pay you back somehow.” He makes an odd noise but plays it cool. “Oh! I know. I’ll devote the first chapter of my new book to you, Mr. Barnes.”

“A new book!” He gasps. “Will it be about the same woman? Another part of your series? Please say yes.”

You’re surprised Bucky knows your books. “Yes, and no. I try to…I don’t know.” You huff. “I want her to have a fresh start, just like me. Old habits die hard, but it’s time. If you know what I mean.”

“I know damn well what you mean, doll. I’ll pick you up at five and we can talk about that fresh start some more…”

“Here,” Bucky holds a leather jacket in his hands. It’s too small to be his, and you frown. “I got you a jacket, so you won’t freeze.” He grins when you glance at the jacket.

“Bucky, I’m not your old lady,” you point out, knowing about the traditions of bikers.

“Not yet,” he retorts. Bucky helps you into the jacket, and a big smile on his face when he zips it up. “Looks good on you, Y/N.”

You roll your eyes. He’s very charming, but you know the flirty banter will turn into something more if you don’t stop him. But…do you want to stop him?

“I got you a helmet too,” he grabs the helmet and helps you to put it on. He taps it twice and grins. “Perfect. Now we can go for a ride…”

Bucky gets on his bike, planting his feet on the ground to steady it. He holds out his hand to help you get on the back of his bike.

“Hang on, baby. I don’t want you to fall off my bike.” He smirks when you laugh. “You can hold tight onto me, Y/N. I won’t mind.”

You hesitate for a second. This situation is a little too familiar for your liking. You look at his back, reading the wrong club’s name on it. “Howling Commando,” you whisper.

“Is everything alright,” Bucky asks. “We can wait if you’re scared of driving in the back.”

“No,” you shake the memories of the past off and wrap your arms tightly around Bucky. “All good, Bucky. We can go.”

He starts the engine, ignoring he can feel you pressed against him. If he gets too distracted by your closeness, he’ll crash his bike with you in the back. And that’s the last thing he wants to do…

Tags in reblog.

[callsign-muffin]

Heal Together: Chapter 4

(Bradley 'Rooster' Bradshaw fic)

This chapter came together super fast, I'm a little shocked! Next on my to do list is to make a masterlist, so that all parts are easily accessible. If time permits, I really want to make a playlist. I just love making playlists!

Masterlist

Word Count: 2.3k+

Rooster finished his song behind the piano, surrounded by his friends who were all singing along. The whole bar burst into applause and cheers.

You clapped slowly, still staring in disbelief. He looked so great, so healthy, so… handsome.

Carly nudged you, snapping you out of your haze, “If you two don’t stop staring at each other and say ‘hello’, I’ll drag his ass over here!”

You shook your head, “I have a rule about seeing patients in the wild, I don’t acknowledge them unless they acknowledge me first.”

“But this former patient is sooooo hot!” Madi swooned.

Sam scanned the people surrounding Rooster at the piano, “And so are his friends…”

You and Bradley locked eyes again.

Hi. He mouthed to you.

Hey. You mouthed back.

A smile spread across his face and he slowly stood up from the piano bench, breezing past his friends, and swaggered towards you and the girls.

“Oh my god, he’s coming!�� Sam squealed under her breath.

Carly shushed her, “Shut up and be cool!”

“What is my favorite nurse doing at my favorite bar?” Bradley posted up in front of you and winked.

You shifted your weight, trying to calm the butterflies in your stomach, “The youngins on the unit bullied me into coming out.”

He looked over at them, “Oh hey, night nurse.”

Carly laughed, “Oh hey, night patient. Staying out of trouble?”

He shrugged, “I mean, I’d fuck around and get hospitalized if my favorite nurse was there to take care of me.”

“Please don’t do that, Bradshaw.” You rolled your eyes.

“I promise I’ll be good if you let me buy you a drink.” He smirked, glancing towards the bar.

Before you could argue, Carly answered for you, “She would love that! Thank you, Lt. Bradshaw.”

You turned and glared at her.

“Wanna lead the way?” Bradley suggested.

You pursed your lips, he was so cute! “Well alright!”

As you and Bradley walked away from the girls, you could feel them silently celebrating behind you.

“So are you chaperoning a field trip?” Bradley chuckled as the two of you stood outside on the deck that faced the beach. The only thing illuminating the dark sky was the moon and its reflection on the water.

You snorted, “Is it that obvious I’m the old lady?”

“Oh no, it’s obvious that those girls look like they just graduated high school.” He explained and looked over at you, “you look like a grown ass woman.”

“Nice save.” You softly punched his arm playfully, an electrical current ignited all throughout your body as soon as you touched him. Woah.

You wondered if Bradley could tell the feelings that just came over you, he was beaming at you. “It’s clear that they love and respect the shit outta you. Especially Carly, the child.”

You sputtered, “Oh my god, I forgot you called her that!”

He chuckled, “I still can’t believe she’s old enough to a be a nurse.”

“I can tell you this now since you’re no longer under her care,” you prefaced, “But she’s like brand new. She’s only been a nurse for like 3 months, she’s fresh off of her orientation. All those girls are.”

”And you’ve adopted them all?” He asked.

You shrugged, “They adopted me, more so. There’s a big culture of ‘nurses eat their young’. Basically meaning that like older nurses are really shitty to new nurses as a way of breaking them in and toughening them up.”

Bradley nodded, “Sounds familiar.”

“I, however, don’t agree with that.” You explained, “I think it instills insecurity with their skills and clinical judgment. It also makes them less likely to ask for help when they’re in over their heads. So I go out of my way to be a resource for these new nurses. And I’ve grown very fond of them in the process.”

He smiled, “Maybe if I had someone like you in the Navy, I’d be a colonel by now.”

“Maybe you could be that for someone else.” You suggested.

“ROOOOOOOOOSTERRRRRR!” Two tall, buff, tipsy men stood at the window calling for their friend.

He looked at them, then looked at you, “I think those idiots are beyond help.”

█ ✪ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ✪ █

Rooster and Y/N re-entered the bar to join his friends around the pool table.

“Hey guys, this is Y/N.” Bradley introduced her, “She was my nurse in the ICU.”

Phoenix's eyes widened, “Oh! The hot one?”

Y/N choked on your drink then looked up at Bradley, who was red as a lobster.

“Yes, Phoenix…” he sighed, “The best nurse I’ve ever seen do the damn job.”

Hangman sauntered up and held out his hand, “Name’s Hangman. How about you come take care of me, Honey?”

She couldn’t help but audibly gag, “That is the worst pick up line to ever use on a nurse, dude. Instant ick.”

Rooster smirked. She was smart, pretty, and completely saw through Hangman’s bullshit. What a woman.

“Hey, I’m Bob.” Bob greeted her, “Thanks so much for taking care of Rooster.”

“Of course, he was a wonderful patient.” She then looked up at Bradley again, “Why do they call you Rooster?”

“Cuz he’s got a big—“ Payback started to say but Bradley reached over and covered his mouth to shut him up.

“It’s my callsign, what I go by in the air as a pilot.” He explained, “We all have one. They’re given to us during training, usually it starts out as someone clowning you and it just sticks.”

She nodded, “Interesting… you’re more of a Bradley to me though.”

Eventually Carly, Sam, and Madi made their way over to the group of aviators as well. Hangman looked a little too excited to see three hot young things. He was starting to get real close and touchy with Madi.

“How old is she?” Rooster asked Carly.

“Twenty two.” Carly chirped.

He took his head and walked over to the flirty pair mumbling to himself, “Absolutely the fuck not.”

Y/N kind of loved that he was protective over the girls. “Glad he got in the middle of them before I had to.”

“It’s giving Mom and Dad.” Sam giggled.

She rolled your eyes, “It’s giving… you’re reading way too far into this.”

“Y/N, come get your patient!” Madi pouted walking back to the group with Rooster, “He’s a cock block.”

“They don’t call him Rooster for nothing.” Carly held up her drink, pretending to cheers.

“Ooooh, good one.” Phoenix prompted a high-five and Carly gladly accepted.

Y/N scooted in closer to Bradley when he stood beside her. He so desperately wanted to drape his arm around her shoulder, to make her feel as safe as she made him feel in the hospital. But he was… nervous. He didn’t want to scare away the angelic figure that he had been daydreaming about for the past two weeks. 

Somehow, Bradley ended the night with three drunk 22 year olds in the back of his vintage Bronco and Y/N in the front seat. 

“If one of them throws up in your car, I’ll pay for it to be cleaned.” She whispered to him.

He scoffed, “No, need to worry about it. It wouldn’t be the first time these seats have been christened with vomit.”

She looked back at the girls, still with a concerned look on her face as they giggled and slurred.

He placed his hand over hers and a surge of electricity shot through his entire body.

Y/N then looked over at him and gave him a soft smile, “Thank you for staying sober enough to drive.”

Bradley winked, “I was planning on it, wouldn’t have driven myself to the bar if I was planning on having more than a beer or two.”

“I guess DUIs are probably frowned upon in the Navy.” 

He chuckled, “I mean yes, but many seamen straight outta boot camp still get them… it’s a lot of fucking paperwork.”

“Y/N… he said semen!” Sam leaned forward in her seat and giggled, making all three young girls burst into hysterical laughter.

Y/N couldn’t help but giggle too, though she tried to hide it. 

Rooster couldn’t help but smile to himself as he turned into the parking lot of the apartment complex that your phone was navigating him to. 

“This is you girls.” Rooster looked back at the silly trio, “You all roommates?”

Carly shook her head, “Noooo, we’re having a sleepover!”

“Ooh, very nice.” He nodded, trying not to laugh at the girls too much as they stumbled out of the truck.

Sam straightened herself up at waved to Bradley from the curb, “Thanks Dad!”

“Thanks Dad!” The other two echoed, making Bradley laugh. 

Y/N shooed them away, “Go to bed! Maybe give each other IVs in the morning if you feel bad.”

The girls stumbled into the building, “Okay Mom!”

She watched them and made sure they were safely inside before turning back to Bradley, “Sorry about them.”

He waved it off, “They’re a trip, I’m happy to be able to help you get them home safely.”

“May I?” She reached for the AUX cord that was hooked up to the updated radio system. It juxtaposed the vintage feel of the rest of the Bronco, but it was a necessity for Bradley to easily jam out.

“Be my guest.” 

“What do you like to listen to?”

He looked over at her and smirked, “is it too ironic for me to say Dad Rock?”

She burst into laughter. Oh god, how Bradley’s heart soared when he heard that beautiful sound. Once she caught her breath, Y/N plugged in her phone. “Have I got the playlist for you!”

The intro to Up Around the Bend by Creedence Clearwater Revival started to play through his speakers.

“Oh hell yeah!” He bobbed his head to the beat and turned up the volume, “I love CCR!”

█ ✪ █▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓█ ✪ █

Bradley drummed his palms against the steering wheel to the beat of And She Was by Talking Heads as he pulled up in front of your apartment. He idled there for a moment before shifting into park.

You sighed… This is so inappropriate. But you desperately wanted to shoot your shot…

He looked over at her, “I just… I can’t believe I saw you again… It doesn’t feel real.”

“Do you wanna come inside?” You blurted out, possibly a little too loud.

He perked up, completely surprised. “Uh yeah. Yeah! I would love to!” He shifted his car into drive and found a guest parking space for the Bronco.

You started to reach for your door handle but Bradley stopped you, “Don’t you dare touch that door.”

You blushed, remembering how he scolded you earlier in the parking lot of the Hard Deck for the same thing.

He got out of the car, walked around to your door, and opened it for you.

“An officer and a gentleman.” You winked at him as you climbed out.

He offered you a hand for assistance, “Now you’re gettin’ it.”

You accepted, placing your hand in his— again that feeling of electricity jolted through you.

He gestured for you to walk ahead of him, “Lead the way.”

You began to ramble as the two of you walked to your building, “So I’m not much of a beer drinker but I do have seltzers, wine, liquor, and all kinds of mixers. Don’t feel like you have to take anything if you don’t want it though. I can also put a pizza in the oven—“

You were interrupted by a large hand on your shoulder, again with the electric feeling. 

“That all sounds wonderful.” Bradley said sweetly, “Please don’t make a fuss over me.”

You sighed, “Sorry, can’t help it. I get nervous.”

“You don’t need to be nervous with me.” 

“So was I correct in hearing that you told the girls to do IVs on each other in the morning?” Bradley questioned polishing off the last sip of his glass of wine.

You promptly refilled his glass and your own, finishing the bottle you opened together. “You are correct.”

“What the fuck?” He was absolutely tipsy now.

“Obviously we don’t do it often,” you explained, “But after a night out, you feel crappy and dehydrated… give yourself a bag of IV fluid and you’re golden for the day. Nurses have actually made businesses out of going to people’s houses and giving them.”

Rooster was so shook by the information he was receiving, “Where do you get the stuff?!”

“I’ve collected some from hospitals over my time working there. As I said, I don’t do it often but… it’s nice to have on hand.” You shrugged.

He smirked, “What are the odds I can get you to give me an IV sometime?”

You laughed, “Bradshaw, I gave you tons of IV fluids two weeks ago!”

“That’s different, I was a patient!” He sipped his wine, “That’s not as fun as getting drunk and having one the next morning.”

You scanned his arms, “I mean… ya do have some great veins.”

He looked down at his arms, “I have never had anyone tell me that before, especially not so sensually.”

You burst out laughing, “Sorry! Good veins are like Nurse Porn. We love them.”

Bradley shook his head, “The more I learn about this profession, the weirder it gets. First you’re telling me about older nurses eating their young; now you’re telling me you all are into vein porn!”

Your laughing continued until your stomach started to hurt. It has been a really long time since you laughed this hard. You looked over and caught him smiling at you, “What?”

“You have a great laugh,” he explained, “I remember the first time I heard it. You were talking to me while I was intubated and drugged up.”

“You remember that?” You asked in disbelief.

He nodded, “How could I forget the first time I felt human in that place?”

You placed your hand over his, this time instead of electricity, there was a wave of calm with your touch. 

He turned his hand so that his palm was up and holding yours, “You made me feel like I could actually get better.”

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[kurishiri]

epilogue . . . “ the medical record of the love between the hunter and me ”

— this translation may not be 100% accurate or may contain creative liberties for characterization or narrative flow purposes. if you enjoy, please consider reblogging, but don’t repost or claim these as your own!

— this is the epilogue story for roger’s past records, which is available after sending hearts 700 times. this is told in kate’s point of view, and takes place after they become a couple, so i would personally recommend reading this after you've read at least one branch of his route. (but it's not necessarily required!)

— cw: roger without glasses 🤭, nsfw (fade to black), a bit unedited.

It was the early afternoon, the weather clear, a little after Roger and I had become lovers.

“Your medical records could use some polishing, lil lady.”

That was what Roger said as he called me to the laboratory.

Roger: I asked Victor for your diagnostic tests, right? As for your weight——

Kate: Don’t read it out loud!

Roger: Humans are about the only living beings that care about every little thing about their weight.

Kate: Well, I can’t argue with that, but still...

Roger: It’s all well and good you grew up big.

Even after becoming lovers, it seemed Roger’s tendency to lack delicacy sometimes was going strong.

(Well, that said... I also love that about him too.)

Kate: Wait, I’m pretty sure filling in my medical record won’t make much difference... there’s not much point...

Roger: ‘There’s not much point,’ you say?

Kate: I mean, what you want is data on the Cursed ones, right?

K: As much as I’d love to be of help to you, I’m not Cursed myself...

Roger: Hey now, don’t go saying sad stuff like that.

R: Kate, as my special fairytale keeper, you’ll need to continue to accompany me on missions from here on out.

R: And that’s already asking for more danger than a normal person. That’s all to say,

R: if I get to know you on an even deeper level, I can save you more.

With a broad grin, Roger’s canine tooth peeked out.

That smile alone was enough to make me happy...

(To think Roger’s thought this much about me!)

The happiness at having become his lover spread through my entire body, and I gave him a broad nod in turn.

Kate: If that’s the case, I’ll answer anything!

Roger: .........Anything, huh.

In my enthusiasm in answering, I missed Roger’s words, which came in a whisper.

Roger: Then, let’s start the examination.

Kate: Alright, I’ll be in your care!

Roger: What’s your type, lil lady?

(.........Huh?)

Kate: Is... is that needed for the medical record?

Roger: Very much actually. I’m a former doctor, so you think I’d go around asking pointless questions?

Kate: W-well, besides, we are dating already, so do I really need to say my type out loud...

Roger: Your type could be different, even if we are dating. So I have to ask, just in case.

(Is... that true?)

There was no hesitation in Roger’s tone, so it would be strange not to be able to answer.

My type, huh——Roger’s figure popped into my mind then.

Kate: Uhm, I like to watch someone eat a lot, I think.

Roger: Eat a lot, you say? Ahh, so you mean me?

Kate: T-that’s not necessarily the case!

Roger paid no mind to how flustered I was from him hitting the bull’s eye, instead asking the next question.

Roger: Okay, next. What’s something you’ve found fun recently?

He asked the question so quickly to me, I felt I had to answer quickly.

Kate: Something fun is... ah...

K: Yesterday, I had some very hot food, and it was so spicy I ended up laughing.

Roger: You’re talking about the one we were eating together, right? I remember that too.

Kate: ...Eh, ah...

Roger: Okay, next. Who in Crown do you find the most charming?

Kate: That...

I didn’t even have to mull over it; that was just how charming Roger was.

(...Oh no.)

——This is definitely not for filling in the medical records.

But by the time I realized, it was already too late.

Roger: What, keeping quiet? Then, let me ask a final question, for a bad patient.

Roger’s fingertips poked over where my heart was.

Roger: You’ve been teased so relentlessly, and yet your heart’s beating so fast... why is that?

Roger has the ability to hear sounds up to 100 yards away.

So it came as no surprise that he was aware how fast my heart was beating.

Kate: Please don’t listen in...

Roger: No can do, your heart’s the one that’s too noisy.

R: See, it’s going thump thump so fast, it’s pretty cute.

Kate: Uu...

Roger: Oh? You’re going to cry? In that case, by all means, feel free to. I’ll be happy about that.

(T-this man, I swear——!)

I threw him the sharpest glare I could muster at a grinning Roger.

Kate: I thought this before we got together, too, but why do you always have to do things like this!?

K: You say you don’t like doing anything unnecessary, but then you go and do exactly that!

Roger: That’s because I want to take care of you.

R: Because your crying face is cute.

R: Because I want to talk more with you.

R: And because, if it’s with you, I don’t find any of it unnecessary.

R: I’ve got loads of reasons up my sleeve. You wanna hear more?

He hit me with one sweet reason after another as if being shot by a gun, rendering me unable to respond.

No matter how frustrated I got at his teasing, I ended up on the palm of his hand,

and I end up wagging my tail in happiness, like a dog.

I really do like Roger.

(God... I really want to wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him right now.)

But, if I wag my tail so easily for him, I wouldn’t be any different than Ale.

(I’m the woman who’s been trained by Roger, so I need to have some kind of comeback.)

(After all, I’m not someone who just falls on the palm of others!)

Regaining my composure, I tried to act out a confident, capable woman.

Kate: Haven’t we talked enough about me? Now you answer my questions.

K: It’s not fair if I’m the only one doing the answering.

Roger: Hmm? Okay then, ask away.

Kate: “What’s your type,” Roger?

I returned the question that had left me flustered before back at Roger, and I inwardly chuckled to myself.

(Hehe, it would be nice if I could make Roger feel the same way I did, even just a little.)

——But, my intentions were seen through all too soon, to my disappointment.

Roger: “My type” is someone who’s much like a dog, and someone who can think for themself.

R: And if you have the spirit to try and get back at me for what I did to you, all the better.

R: Ahh, come to think of it, someone like the one right before my eyes is really my type.

Kate: Wh...

Roger: “What’s something you’ve found fun recently?”

R: Right now, this moment.

Kate: Ah...

Roger: “Who in Crown do you find the most charming?”

R: If you count as a member of Crown——then it can only be you, Kate.

I could only blink in response as Roger’s strong arms wrapped around me.

My ears were pressed against his warm chest...

Roger: Here, listen to my heart.

Being hit with those sweet words on top of that, I felt myself going dizzy.

Kate: I think my heart’s being too noisy... so, I can’t tell.

Roger: Pfft, hahahaha!

R: Guess that makes it my win.

Seeing him laugh so happily while patting my head, that sort of innocence was rare coming from him, and I couldn’t help but laugh.

(...Jeez... I really am no match for him.)

Kate: Hehe, I don’t recall this ever having been a match, but I surrender.

I was always on the palm of his head, and that was so frustrating it was unbearable.

But, I’m not someone who will fall into anyone’s palm.

(Roger, you are the most special to me, and I wouldn’t replace you for the world.)

(That’s why, I will happily fall into the palm of your hand.)

Roger: What’re you talking about, isn’t it too early to surrender?

The hand that had been on my head slipped before grabbing and lifting my chin.

Roger: We’ve only just become lovers. So we have to get to know each other more.

The eyes before me pierced me with a heat that resembled a hunter aiming for his prey.

He didn’t even try to conceal that heat, and it brought out my desire as well.

Kate: ...What do we need to do, in order to get to know each other deeper?

Roger: Let’s see now, first of all...

Kate: Mn, nn...

While kissing me, Roger lifted me before pinning me down on the lab table.

Roger: Do I need to spell out the rest... lil lady?

Just thinking about what he was going to do made the bottom of my stomach throb.

As if seeing through my desire, Roger’s fingers traced my thighs before they made their way in my underwear.

Roger: ...Hm?

(Ahh, jeez...)

I removed Roger’s glasses, and in an attempt to divert him from my embarrassment, I turned my face away.

Kate: ...I know, but still... tell me.

Roger: .........Alright, I’ll tell you everything.

—— Time skip ——

As the night deepened, Victor and Roger’s shadows were present in the lounge.

Victor: Oh, right, Roger. About Kate’s medical records...

Roger: Ahh, that. I have it here.

Victor: Thank you, that was quick as always. Oh? This date...

V: To think you’ve taken such detailed records on her since the day she started as a fairytale keeper...

Roger: Well, yeah.

Victor: I’m sure if Kate knew, she would be delighted.

Roger: No, best to keep that a secret.

R: Since the day I met her, the thing I liked the most was giving her a bit of trouble.

Fin.

← main story 👑 ecb story 🪞🍻

full masterlist 🍻

END NOTES: i believe this basically concludes my translation of roger’s past records! and a big big thank you to everyone who read to the end! i had fun translating this story, since in addition to roger, we can see a variety of other characters being featured — and they even feature a chapter where crown is just being the dysfunctional found family they are 🤭

i hope this story can serve as a good starting for roger’s route (and perhaps future routes too, though in the end we still don’t know too much about victor, haha). i’d love to hear your thoughts 🥹🙏

[outsideratheart]

45 either Alexia or Alessia

45 //defending them, even when they’re not there to witness it//

It was a tense camp to say the least. When you met Alessia in the reception in SGP she all but threw herself into your arms.

“Hey, hey” you stroked her hair and held her tightly “what’s wrong?”

“I told them”

She didn’t need to specify. There is only what thing this could be and when you saw the looks her soon to be former team mates gave you it confirmed it.

“Here” you give her your room key “go to my room. I have a meeting to Sarina but I’ll come up as soon as I’m done”

And what you said had been the truth. You did have a meeting with Sarina but as you left you heard Ella and Mary talking badly about your girlfriend. You decided there and then that you had one more thing to do before joining Alessia in your room.

“If that’s what you have to say I suggest you keep Alessia’s name out of your mouth”

The table fell silent upon hearing your voice. You tended to have this affect but more so when you have the calm emotionless tone that means anything but that.

“Are you asking as our captain?” Mary knew she was pushing it but she was hurting. What she she wasn’t aware of is how much she was hurting Alessia.

“No. This has nothing to do with football” you kept your love life and your career separate, church and state or at least you tried.

“It has nothing to do with you Y/N” Ella chimed in.

“Like hell it has nothing to do with me. Alessia means everything to me. I will protect her from anything and anyone. I just didn’t think that it would you two that I’d have a problem with. You are suppose to be her friends, you Ella are her best friend or so I thought”

“I am her best friend”

“Clearly you’re not. Best friends don’t do this. Until this is sorted I want nothing to do with the pair of you, do you understand?”

Again, silence fills the room so much so that you could hear a pin drop.

You took the looks of guilt and regret as an answer and left the team to continue doing whatever it was they were doing. There was someone your would much rather spend your free time with.

Upon entering your room you find it empty but a second later Alessia reveals herself in nothing but a towel, freshly showered.

“You showered without me?” You pull her close and clasp your hands on the small of her back.

“How was it?”

“Fine”

“You said something to them didn’t you?” Alessia knew you and she knew how fiercely protective you were of the people you love.

“Shall we watch a movie?” You avoid the question.

“Y/N”

“What about Luca? You love that film”

“Y/N answer my question”

“I simply proved that nobody upsets my girl and gets away with it”

[nightghoul381]

Robin Doesn't Know the Evil Hiding in the Shadows ~ Ellis Twilight ~ Chapter 2

This a fan translation so it is definitely not 100% accurate. I do not own anything related to Ikemen Villains. Support Cybird by buying their amazing stories!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Bitter End | Premium End | Epilogue

Jude said he was going to meet the victim’s classmate and I got into the carriage with Roger.

Roger: “We’re visiting a former medical school teacher. He was apparently the mentor of the murdered doctors.”

Roger: “Maybe he’ll know something they have in common that we haven’t found yet.”

We arrived by carriage in a quiet residential area.

And when I saw someone emerge from the house where the former teacher lived… I was a little surprised.

Ellis: “You…”

Haggard man: “Oh… You’re the man from this morning!”

Roger: “What, do you know each other?”

Ellis: “Just a bit, we met at the cake shop today.”

Feeling a strange connection, we told the man about the details of the incident.

Haggard man: “I see… I had no idea such an incident had occurred.”

Haggard man: “By the way, you don’t seem like police, but are you trying to catch the culprit?”

Ellis: “Yeah… I also wanted to talk to the culprit if possible.”

Haggard man: “Talk?”

Ellis: “Someone important to me mentioned it.”

Ellis: “If there wasn’t deep anger, no one would do something like this… that’s why I wanted to understand the mind of the perpetrator.”

Ellis: “There must be a reason behind this heinous act.”

Haggard man: “…I see.”

Haggard man: “Pardon me for asking… What would you do if the dignity of someone you care about was violated?”

I was surprised by the sudden question, but the man’s eyes were extremely serious and menacing…

There was an indescribable force that made me feel like I had to answer the question.

(If Kate’s dignity was violated…)

It’s a word that carries with it all kinds of possibilities, including physical and mental harm.

I don’t want to think about it, but as long as I’m in Crown, it’s a constant worry.

Ellis: “If something like that were to happen… first of all, I’d stay with Kate.”

Ellis: “I’d stay by her side until her wounds heal. And then—”

Ellis: “I don’t think I could forgive the people who hurt her.”

The man’s expression softened at my response.

Haggard man: “Ah… that’s correct. Me neither.”

Roger: “…I guess from the question you just asked,”

Roger: “You think the victim incurred some kind of grudge …and was murdered in revenge?”

Haggard man: “If the body was disfigured more than necessary, I think it’s definitely a case of resentment.”

Haggard man: “However, I wouldn’t go so far as to say that it was revenge for an injury to one’s dignity, as I had asked.”

Ellis: “So, do you know anything about what the victims have in common…Any problems they had?”

Haggard man: “No…I can’t think of anything in particular. I think they were all diligent and excellent students.”

Ellis: “Yeah…”

Roger: “…”

I asked him a few more questions after that, but I couldn’t get any useful clues from him.

Roger: “Thank you for today. We’ll be heading back now, Ellis.”

Ellis: “Okay… Oh, one last thing.”

Haggard man: “…?”

Ellis: “I would never forgive anyone who hurts her. But—”

Ellis: “…I’ll protect her before she gets hurt.”

As soon as I said that, the man’s expression, which had been mostly calm up until then, became distorted for the first time.

Haggard man: “Protect…? No matter what, someone can’t always be protected. Not by anyone.”

The man’s words carried weight, as if he had actually experienced the dignity of someone he cared about be violated.

Afterwards, we tried to interview the victim’s family and friends, but our efforts were futile.

When Roger and I returned to Crown Castle, we were informed of a new victim--.

Jude: “Those classmates of the victim that I was plannin’ to interview were all murdered.”

Jude: “…Also, last site I went to I found this note.”

“My revenge is over. Tonight, many will die from the poison I brought.”

“If you can stop it, try to stop it.”

Ellis: “Is this… a confession letter?”

Jude: “He ain’t left anythin’ behind ‘til now, so I wonder what changed his mind this time.”

Roger: “…All the crime scenes so far have been in the same vicinity.”

Roger: “It says ‘if it can be stopped’ so the next one will probably happen somewhere near there.”

Ellis: “A lot of people are gathering around there tonight…”

Ellis: “…The venue for the event Kate is participating in is in danger…!”

I ran off to get to Kate right away,

Jude tried to kick me away--but I dodged it with a sidestep.

Ellis: “…What do you want, Jude?”

Jude: “That’s what I was tryin’ to tell ya, idiot.”

Jude: “Let’s put off rushin’ to the princess’s side. There’s still time ‘til the predicted night.”

Ellis: “But…”

Jude: “Yer goin’ even though ya ain’t found any information ‘bout the culprit? That mean yer only gonna save yer beloved princess?”

Ellis: “…, …”

(If she’s the only one who survives, Kate will surely be hurt.)

Roger: “Plus, Ellis. She was looking forward to today’s event, wasn’t she?”

Roger: “Well, then, let’s make sure she can enjoy it to the end… and take care of it before she even realizes it.”

Ellis: “…I understand. I’ll hold off on rushing to Kate’s side until the very last moment.”

Ellis: “But, where should we start to find the culprit…”

Roger: “Why don’t you go to medical school the victims are from?”

Jude: “What, somethin’ botherin’ ya?”

Roger: “Yeah. You heard it too, Ellis, about the former teacher.”

Roger: “The victims were ‘excellent students’ and ‘killed out of resentment’… don’t you think that’s strange?”

Ellis: “Indeed, if we suspect that the murder was motivated by resentment, we can’t say that there is nothing wrong with the students.”

Roger: “…Yeah. There’s something fishy going on.”

Roger: “Let’s look into whether there was any trouble around the victims.”

We then visited the medical school in London that the victims attended.

Medical school teacher: “Was there anything unusual happening around the victims?”

Ellis: “Yeah. Even something trivial is fine. Can you think of anything?”

Medical school teacher: “Now that I think about it… there was a tragic incident last year. I can’t speak about it too loud, though.”

Medical school teacher: “That day, the corpse brought in for the anatomy class turned out to be the teacher’s wife.”

Ellis: “…The teacher used his own wife in class?”

Medical school teacher: “No. On that day, a student had hired a company to prepare the body, but the it turned out to be a dishonest company…”

Medical school teacher: “They were grave robbers and dug up other people’s graves without permission and sold the bodies.”

Roger: “…London has a good number of medical students, but not many corpses to use in anatomy classes.”

Roger: “The imbalance between supply and demand has been a problem for a long time, and I’ve heard of people robbing graves from time to time…”

Roger: “And then they end up taking the teacher’s wife… what a tragic twist of fate.”

Medical school teacher: “Yes. I don’t think the teacher ever expected his wife to be brought in…”

Medical school teacher: “It came as such a shock to him… and he retired last year.”

The name of the teacher he spoke of was the same as the man Roger and I had gone to talk with.

(Is that what prompted the murders?)

(Then the culprit is--)

--Flashback—

Haggard man: “Thank you. Today is the anniversary of my late wife’s death...”

Haggard man: “She was sick and before she died, she wasn’t able to eat her favorite foods, so I really wanted to buy them for her.”

Haggard man: “Thank you so much.”

--2nd Flashback—

Haggard man: “Protect…? No matter what, someone can’t always be protected. Not by anyone.”

--End Flashback—

(…it was that man.)

Jude: “…Oy, ya listenin’?”

Jude: “—Ellis!”

Jude’s sharp voice brought me back to my senses.

Ellis: “Sorry…What?”

Jude: “What’s goin’ on? Didja remember that ya were in charge of the criminal search area?”

Ellis: “Here and… here, right?”

I pointed to the floorplan of the venue that Jude had spread out.

Jude: “What’re the precautions?”

Ellis: “There were traces of poison being processed in the perpetrator’s room. There’s a high possibility that he has it in his possession, so be careful.”

It seemed like I was right, because Jude didn’t say anything more and just clicked his tongue.

Roger: “Thoughts before the mission?”

Ellis: “Yeah… I just imagined it and it made me a bit anxious.”

Ellis: “What would I do… if Kate and I’s eternity was destroyed like that?”

I thought that the moment we took our last breath, time would stop for us and we would be happy forever.

But…

(What if Kate’s body is harmed in an unwanted way?)

(It feels like a shadow has fallen on… the happiness we were meant to have.)

With that in mind, it’s easy to understand why the perpetrator committed this heinous act,

Jude: “Yer free to sympathize with the perpetrator ‘n feel sentimental, but don’t go crazy.”

Ellis: “…It’s okay.”

Ellis: “I feel sorry for the perpetrator, but if he’s allowed to go unchecked, he’ll bring harm to Kate.”

Ellis: “I will not forgive anyone who gets in the way of our eternity.”

Part 1 | Part 2 | Bitter End | Premium End | Epilogue

[whumpbump]

Inspired by @promptsforthestrugglingauthor

Prompt #2624

“You’re a failure.”

“Yeah. But I’m ok with that.”

Whumpee woke up for the first time without screaming in days. The sun filtered through onto Whumpee’s blanket and danced as the wind tickled the curtains. ‘Today will be a good day.’

Caretaker helped Whumpee get washed and dressed. They sat together in a calm silence as music played quietly in the background.

A knock shattered the peacefulness. “W-were you expecting someone?” Whumpee hated how their voice cracked in fear.

Caretaker, before answering the door, mentally prepared themself for whoever could be there while peering through the peephole. It was Whumpee’s Team Leader. Looking back at Whumpee in confusion, they opened the door so they could all see each other.

Team Leader shifted uncomfortably in their spot. “Uh. Hi. Caretaker. Whumpee. It’s been awhile. I would understand if you didn’t want to see me but there are some things I’d like to speak about today if possible.”

Whumpee nodded and waved Team Leader in.

“I’ll make tea.” Caretaker shuffled off to the kitchen quickly, clattering around as they grabbed mugs and the kettle.

“Whumpee, I know I haven’t seen you since your last mission, I’ve been kept so busy with retraining the team and paperwork that I just couldn’t make it to the hospital.”

“Um, I was in the hospital and then rehab for a total of 8 weeks.”

“Yyyeeeaaahhh,” Team Leader dragged out their answer, “I really wasn’t able to have any extra time and your screw up lost the Team any off-base privileges for a month.”

“Sorry - my screw up?”

Realizing what had just come out of their mouth, Team Leader shut their eyes and mentally cursed themself for letting it slip.

Sighing, they doubled down. “Yeah. Your screw up. If you didn’t get cold feet when I told you to run, you wouldn’t have been caught, you wouldn’t have been beaten in interrogation, we wouldn’t have had to waste time and resources on trying to find yo-“

“I escaped on my own. You wasted your time and resources for nothing.” Whumpee interrupted, losing patience with this impromptu meeting.

“Which we didn’t know. You failed to notify the Team or even the Organization that you’d escaped and didn’t need further assistance.”

Fuming, Whumpee spit through clenched teeth, “I needed help. I asked for extra training. Do you remember what you told me? Actually, let me remind you because I’ll never forget it. You said ‘If you need extra training, then you shouldn’t be on this team’ -“

“I was giving you tough love. You could’ve succeeded, y’know. If you would’ve just listened to me, you were on the track to promotion for First Officer.”

“Well that doesn’t matter anymore does it? I can only assume you came to take back my badge and key swipe, yes?”

“Yes.”

Whumpee groaned while standing, and crutched their way to the bedroom. Returning with the items needed, they dropped them on the table within reach of Team Leader.

Not ready to let go of antagonizing their former teammate, Team Leader pressed on. “So are you enjoying your cushy new lifestyle?”

“Yeah, actually, it’s much better than the one I had before.” Whumpee stared at Team Leader with a neutral expression, tired of the conversation and Team Leader’s lack of niceties, if lack meant never having any at all.

Flustered by Whumpee’s calm demeanor to what should have crushed them, Team Leader reached into their memories back to a counseling session in which Whumpee had divulged their biggest fear.

“You’re a failure.”

“Yeah. But I’m ok with that.”

Team Leader’s mouth opened and closed. That was Whumpee’s biggest hurdle. Their greatest motivator. Team Leader knew they could hold it over their head and get the results they wanted. This is not how their exit interview was supposed to turn out. They would not be made a fool by their subordinate.

Opening their mouth to speak, they were cut off by Whumpee.

“I know you thought I would be hurt by you saying that. I did too, but I’m not hurt. I’m relieved. I’m relieved that I don’t have to worry anymore about whether I’ll live or die at any given moment, that you have no power over me anymore, that Caretaker has my back. Like, actually has my back.”

“Well congratulations. I’ll be going.”

Team Leader picked up the badge and key swipe and shut the door behind them.

Entering the room, Caretaker brought basket of tea bags. “I have LOTS of flavors to choose from, wh-hey where’s Team Leader?”

“They couldn’t stay. They just came by to collect my badge and stuff.”

“Oh. Oh Whumpee, I’m so sorry. I know being on that Team meant a lot to you.”

“It was nothing but status and danger. I’m much happier here with you. And I’ll have Darjeeling, thanks.”

[hyperfixationsporfavor]

Buried Alive (Gojo x Geto)

Author's note: Hey lovely readers. This fic is based off of the basement au created by @sadbenedict

Please go checked out their amazing work.

Synopsis: Gojo spares Geto from death, opting for something more infinite.

Warnings: Thoughts of self harm, self harm, unhealthy relationships

“Suguru?” Satoru softly asked.

His ex kept his back turned, staring blankly at the old tv Satoru had found tucked away in storage. The only thing it could play was vhs tapes, mostly old sitcoms. So the silence was occasionally broken by a laugh track. 

“Suguru?” he asked again.

The laugh track played again, no response.

Satoru sighed in defeat. “I’ll be back soon, okay?”

He left without saying another word. 

~

Satoru’s life was a little fucked up at the moment. 

And if he stopped to think about it for more than a few seconds he’d probably go insane. 

For starters, Suguru Geto, his ex, had managed to take out an entire village and put a target on his back by the age of seventeen. Then, he disappeared off the face of the planet, only to reemerge with a new purpose, new loved ones. 

It destroyed Satoru. His first heartbreak. 

He had replayed the events over and over again in his head throughout the years. How could he do this? 

Leave him and the people who had loved him the most. Replacing them all. Replacing him. But Satoru could never replace him, and that adoration would destroy them both. 

~

“How old are you?” 

Satoru looked up at the old man behind the counter. He had been coming to the same secondhand store for the last two weeks to get tapes for Suguru, and had managed to catch the shipowner's curiosity. 

“I’m 27,” he answered.

The shop owner furrowed his brow. “Aren’t you a little young to still be buying tapes? Even the old timers don’t bother with this stuff anymore.”

Satoru chuckled and pulled out his wallet. “I guess I just have a hard time letting go.”

~

“Your arm looks good, Geto,” Shoko murmured as she inspected her handiwork.

After the failed christmas eve attack, Satoru had brought him to her office, desperate to heal his broken body. With the aid of reverse cursed technique and the abilities she’d honed in medical school, he was physically perfected. Mentally, that was another story. 

Her former friend looked withered, weighed down under the massive chains Satoru used to hold him down. He was thin from not eating, dark circles under his eyes from not sleeping. 

“Not bad for someone who cheated her way through med school,” he jested. 

“Better than running a ponzi scheme,” she retorted.

“Which I could get back to doing if you broke these chains and let me go,” Suguru suggested.

“Nice try asshole.”

“It was worth a shot.”

Shoko packed up her medical bag, snapping it shut with more gusto than necessary. 

“How long are you going to ice him out?” she asked.

“For however long I’m stuck in this shit hole,” he mumbled.

She sighed, pulling her cigarettes out of her lab coat pocket. 

“I’d offer you a lighter but I’m a little indisposed at the moment.”

Shoko ignored the quip, fishing a cigarette out of the carton and placing it between her lips, then retrieving her own lighter she always carried on her. 

“That’s alright,” she muttered, her pursed lips balancing the cigarette. “I stopped depending on you a long time ago.”

She left him to ponder that sentiment, it hurt more than he would have liked to admit. 

~

2007

It was scorching outside.

So to alleviate the discomfort from the heat Suguru closed the windows and put his fan on the highest level it could go. 

Satoru later joined him. 

The two of them laid on the floor and stared up at the ceiling while a Weezer cd played. Satoru had ‘borrowed’ it from Ichiji.

“I’ll put it back in his room later,” Satoru lazily assured him.

On an island in the sun

We'll be playing and having fun

And it makes me feel so fine

I can't control my brain

Suguru turned his head to face Satoru, he looked so peaceful at that moment.

It made Suguru feel assured, his feet were firmly on the ground, right here, in this moment, the world was still. 

Satoru smiled. “I know.”

So Suguru closed his eyes, being lulled to sleep from a mixture of heat and music.

But it didn’t matter. 

He was safe here. 

We'll run away together

We'll spend some time forever

We'll never feel bad anymore

“Suguru?”

~

“Suguru?”

Suguru slowly opened his eyes. 

He must have dozed off after Shoko left. 

He couldn’t remember the last time he had a dream that wasn’t a nightmare. But why have one when he was living in some twisted reality that was more eerie than anything his mind could conjure. 

Satoru set some bags down on the ground and approached him.

“I got some more tapes, books, cassettes, and a few things for dinner.”

Suguru just blankly stared at him, although he found the dream he had just had softened his heart a touch with nostalgia, much to his dismay. Still, he wouldn’t give his captor the satisfaction of being vulnerable with him. 

~

Satoru had bought an assortment of convenience store food, takeout, and a box of Kikufuku from that bakery he was always raging about whenever he went to Sendai on business. Suguru should have been grateful but the glutinous setup made him nauseous. It felt orchestrated to create a well balanced facade. Something that Satoru was determined to perform. 

While he set everything up he told him about what was going on in the world beyond his cell. 

“Yuta’s away with Miguel for the time being. And Megumi seems to be doing well so far.”

He pressed a Kikufuku against Suguru’s mouth, but he kept his jaw wired shut, refusing the gift.

So Satoru set it back down on the plate with the other food that remained untouched. 

“Shoko told me you were in excellent health but you’re still underweight.”

The white haired sorcerer took the box and popped a sweet into his mouth, then another.

“I checked up on the twins while I was out,” he said in between chews. 

Suguru’s throat tightened up, but he remained silent. 

Satoru pulled another sweet out of the box, examining it in the dim light of the cell. 

“These are so good. Are you sure you don’t want one?”

Suguru just glared at him.

Satoru sighed and dropped the uneaten sweet back into the box. 

“I should get going. Megumi’s home alone and-”

“You are unbelievable,” Suguru muttered. 

Satoru tilted his head. “What?”

Suguru scoffed. “You brought up Mimiko and Nanako on purpose. So if you're going to deliver some half baked threat at least have the decency to say it to my face. 

Satoru smiled, a fake one that made him look manic. “Don’t worry. If I wanted those things gone I would have taken care of them a long time ago.”

Suguru clenched his jaw. “If you hurt them-”

“You’ll what?” Satoru simply asked. “What will you do?”

Suguru felt his heart drop. All of a sudden things had become alarmingly more clear. Satoru was gone. And in his place was a monster.

He was the strongest. And everyone else was destined to follow him.

Satoru picked up the uneaten kikufuku and held it towards Suguru.

“Now, are you hungry?”

~

The kikufuku had left a bitter taste in Suguru’s mouth, worse than any curse he had been forced to swallow. 

After Satoru had left he found the taste growing stronger and stronger. 

He wanted to shove his fingers down his throat and throw it all up but he couldn’t with these damn chains around his hands, his feet, his neck. So he grew agitated, agitation morphed into anger, until it reached blinding rage. 

The television played some mind numbing sitcom behind him. About some fake perfect family living their fake perfect life. Someone said an unfunny joke and the laugh track dutifully followed. 

It set him off, so he lunged himself towards the television and slammed his fist through the screen. 

Finally, the laughter stopped, but only momentarily, as it started bubbling out of his lips. 

Suguru pulled his fist out of the broken screen and examined his bloodied hand. And he laughed harder. 

He laughed until he cried. 

Then screamed. 

Then cried again, sinking to the ground. 

No one could hear him in the windowless room below ground. He was buried alive, and no matter how loud he screamed, or cried, or laughed, no one heard. No one except the strongest, Satoru Gojo, his first love, who had kept him here in purgatory. 

He was nowhere. 

And here he would stay. 

~

The End. 

[maybeitsalivescribbles]

Sicktember 23, 07 - “You’re a Jerk When You’re Sick” (TTD)

“I’m fine,” whined Hero with an exasperated sigh.

No less fed up, Former Villain crossed their arms.

“You are not fine. Your health is compromised.”

“Oh, don’t be so dramatic. It’s just a cold.”

“If you keep overdoing it and keep working all day, it won’t become just a cold. Human bodies are not made like that. Whether you like or not, you are human.”

Hero rolled their eyes and stood up:

“ I find this condescending and uninformative. Don’t you know that if I wish hard enough I’m going to be fi-oouch.”

They fell gracelessly in the bed when Former Villain pushed them away with their hand.

“Hey ! You can’t attack me anymore, you’re reformed !”

“Reformed, not tamed. You will submit and lay down while I take control of your lair.”

Hero looked unimpressed. Even with a hoarse voice, they could still out-retort their former enemy with no problem.

“It’s not because I sneeze a little that I can’t kick your ass anymore, you know.”

“Then I’d stop cooking and doing the dishes.”

“You wouldn’t, you traitor !”

“My heart is black as coal and I know no pity. Try me.”

“But I have to work !”

“I’ve called three other Heroes so they can take your place today. Besides, the greatest, most amazing and alluring threat is on your side now, so it should be fine.”

Hero raised an eyebrow:

“ It’s all relative, you know. It’s not as if you actually killed someone – I’d say you were more of an absolute nuisance, a pain in my -”

“A monster of the highest order, a monument of refinement and class who would not lower themself to steal the life away from simple peons – I know, I know.”

Hero rubbed their face against their pillow to muffle a groan of frustration.

“ When I’ve accepted to let you be my roommate”, they said in a very tired voice, “I did not expect it to be that way.”

“In that you were greatly mistaken.”

The Villain had a low laugh and raised their arms for emphasis, their gigantic shadow mimicking their moves on the wall behind:

“Now that you’re weakened, you’re at my mercy! I shall dispose of all your earthly possessions and rearrange them in order ! I shall question you until you’ll be forced to reveal what your favorite meal is and I will not hesitate to serve it to you ! I’ll let you consume in anticipation while I’ll call a doctor !”

“Don’t you dare ! I don’t need one, I don’t want to bother them when other people really need them.”

“It’s been three weeks.”

“And I’m still alive.”

Villain’s arms fell flat on their sides. They let themself fall on a chair, rubbed their face with their hands and did not move. After a while, Hero, intrigued by their silence, awkwardly raised a little.

“...Villain ?”

There was no answer. That was weird. Normally, their bickering lasted longer.

“ You’re okay ?”

Villain raised their head, gave them a death stare, then sneezed.

Oh. Oh, right. A cold was viral and they now had a roommate. They...they hadn’t thought of that. They were not used to have anyone around. Scratch that, they were not used to have anyone caring around.

“You’re a jerk when you’re sick, you know,” said the villain in a very tired voice.

“Fine,” Hero finally conceded. “I’ll call the damn doctor.”

*

(You can find these two dorks again here and here)

Back to These Two Dorks masterlist. Or the Villain X Hero Masterlist.

[marie-swriting]

Confession Of Love | Real And True -Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw [2/2]

Top Gun Maverick Masterlist

Part one

Part one - two (French version)

Summary : After your relationship with Jake, you think you've finally found someone who can treat you right.

Warnings : Jake is still an asshole, mention of past relationships that suck, a bit of angst, happy ending, fear of being cheated on, maybe some grammatical mistakes as English is not my first language, tell me if you see some or if I missed any warnings.

Word count : 4k

Song inspiration : Daylight by Taylor Swift

The sun is slowly going down in the sky whilst your laugh and Bradley’s fill the cold air as you walk to your front door. Once you’re in front of it, you stay face to face, trying to calm down. A smile on his face, Bradley tenderly looks at you catching your breath.

Bradley and you have been friends since you first met two years ago. He helped you get over your break up with Jake and he was there when you got into new relationships, no matter if they were long or not. Quickly, he became your best friend, your confidant. Your feelings for him started to shift along the way, that’s why you asked him out on a date once you felt ready to take the plunge. For a second, you were scared your moment together would be awkward but it happened naturally. However, knowing your luck with love, you dread the other side of the coin. Howbeit if Bradley seems like a nice guy, you’re scared it’ll end up in the tears. No matter how much you mentally prepare yourself for the worst, you know you’d suffer if you were to lose him.

Once you finally stopped laughing, you set your eyes on Bradley and you do your best to hide your growing anxiety. Everything will be decided during the goodbyes and you hope you haven’t been reading between the lines too much.

“I had a great time with you.” Bradley affirms, taking your left hand.

“Me too. I think I can even say,” you start, avoiding his gaze, “and it’s gonna sound cheesy, but it was the best date I ever had.”

“I agree.”

“Above all, I’m glad you weren’t annoyed by me only talking about books.” you joke, trying to not show how awkward you’re feeling.

“You could never annoy me. I love when you’re talking about your passion. Besides, it’s thanks to you I’m back on my reading game. It’d be ungrateful of me to not listen to you.”

“When I’ll finish reading this,” you say, showing the book he gifted you, “maybe we could talk about it around a cup of coffee?”

“I’d love to.”

Thinking your date is now over, you give Bradley one last smile then take your keys to open your door. Before you can unlock your door, Bradley catches your attention, nervousness visible on his face.

“Y/N, would you… would you mind if I kiss you? I know it’s our first date, but I’m dying to do it.” he stutters and you nod.

“I’m dying to do it, too.”

Bradley’s right hand finds its way to your cheek while his other hand is on your waist, slowly bringing you closer to him. You close your eyes before Bradley’s lips are pressed against yours.

You were expecting a kiss full of passion, almost in a rush, yet it’s slow and full of tenderness, which is better. Bradley takes his time, delicately moving his lips while you respond. The kiss doesn’t last long but you need a few seconds to get a grip on yourself.

When you open your eyes, Bradley’s loving gaze is on you, his right hand stroking your cheek while a silly smile takes its place on your face. He bids you goodbye before pecking your lips. Still surprised by your first kiss, you can only stammer an answer before he leaves you on your doorstep. Once you see him in his car while the night is setting in the sky, you can finally snap out of your trance and get home.

Your silly smile gets bigger as you think back of your afternoon with Bradley. Everything was perfect. He was a real gentleman with you - you didn’t doubt it for a second. You weren’t lying when you said it was the best date you had. Never a former partner treated you this way. Being friends with Bradley for two years might be the reason why. Whether it’s the reason or not, you’re happy you jumped with both feet with Bradley. Nevertheless, you can’t help but wonder if your relationship with Bradley is meant to last.

You’ve officially been in a relationship with Bradley for four months and everything is perfect. Well, almost. 

Your past love stories keep haunting what you have with Bradley. You know he really is someone good though there is always this small voice in the back of your mind telling you to be careful, that you’ve never been the exception before so it could be no different this time.

Bradley, knowing you like the back of his hand and having seen you in your last relationships, knows you tend to anticipate the worst. As soon as he notices the signs, he shows you you can trust him, that he’s different from your exes. He always manages to calm down your fears for a moment. It’s a daily combat and he makes sure to win every battle. Unfortunately, it only takes one thing, no matter how small, to make you overanalyze what you have with Bradley.

That night, at the Hard Deck with Bradley’s colleague, the trigger is Jake’s presence.

Since your break up, you’ve been avoiding him the best you can. Regrettably, like tonight, you have to be confronted by his presence. Technically, Jake wasn’t supposed to be there. When Bradley saw him coming, he instantly turned to you, wanting to know if you wanted to leave. You kissed him and told him it was okay. After all, you don’t have to talk to Jake.

For now, you’ve managed to not share a word with your ex, staying with Bradley, Phoenix and Bob. You’re playing pool and like every time, Bradley helps you. You’ve improved since the beginning of your friendship however sometimes, you still need your boyfriend’s advice - he also likes to be close to you when he shows you how to play. Overall, you’re having a good time until you use the restroom. Without any surprise, the girls bathroom is occupied so you have to wait fifteen minutes before going in. Once you’re out, you go wash your hands. While you’re rinsing them, the door opens on Jake. You glance at him before ignoring him.

“So you and Bradley. Is it new?” he asks whilst you’re wiping your hands.

“What makes you think you’re entitled to know this?”

“Put the claws away,” Jake says sarcastically, “I’m just curious. Was there something before or is it really new?”

At his question, you can’t help but have your eyes wide open, taken aback by his words.

“Are you really insinuating I might have cheated on you? Contrary to you, I know how to be faithful and luckily, I’ve finally found a guy who does as well.”

“Yeah, because he’s different from me and your other exes, right?” he retorts, looking you straight in the eyes.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m just saying every time you think you’ve found a dude different from the others, he ends up being like the others. I’m not saying this to be mean. I’m just stating a fact.” Jake says, trying to find a way to hurt you. “Has he ever said he loves you?”

You stay silent for a second, realising Jake might not be entirely wrong. Maybe Bradley does share more similarities with Jake than you’d like. After all, Bradley and Jake get along pretty well and he’s never told you he loves you. You want Bradley to tell you these three words just like you’ve been dreaming of telling them to him for a few weeks now though you want him to do it first.

“I don’t even know why I keep listening to you.” you reply, not wanting to give him the satisfaction.

“Y/N.” he tries to hold you back.

“No! I already told you to not talk to me. I meant it two years ago and I still mean it. Leave me alone, Seresin.”

You leave the bathroom before Jake can add something. Once the door is closed behind you, you take a deep breath then go back to your friends. Upon seeing you, Bradley kisses your cheek and hands you a pool cue. You shake your head, informing him you don’t want to play. Bradley’s brows furrowed, noticing a small difference in your voice. You reassure him by telling him you’re just a bit tired but he can still play. Bradley accepts your explanation though, he doesn’t buy it.

Jake’s words keep echoing in your mind. You don’t like how much power he still has over you yet he said the right thing to get into your head.

The rest of the evening, you watch Bradley and Jake interacting before comparing them. You find yourself pathetic by doing so but you can’t help it. They might be different in several aspects, your brain can find connections.

At the moment your worries finally leave your mind, a woman approaches Bradley while he’s ordering a drink at the bar. You watch the scene unfold, having a horrible sensation of déjà-vu, whilst Bradley gets his drink and answers her without paying much more attention to her. Contrary to two years ago, you stay silent. You don’t ask a question, apprehensive about a potential lie. Your brain adds this moment to the reasons why Bradley might not be so different. You sigh before shifting position on the stool. Seeing you moving uncomfortably, Bradley takes this as a sign you're really tired and your mutism is only reinforcing this idea. He informs your friends you're going home before you both get into Bradley's Bronco.

On the way home, you don’t say anything. Bradley was waiting for you to say something or at least turn the music on - he knows you hate a silent trip. Your head is resting on the car window while you’re watching the landscape. You can’t see a lot of things in the dark night though you’re too lost in your thoughts for it to bother you. At that instant, Bradley knows something is up and he’ll have to make you talk. You still struggle when it comes to communication so, even if he hates it, Bradley forces you to talk to him when something is wrong. He just wants to make sure you don’t get too lost in your fears to the point of distancing yourself, like you used to do in the past.

As soon as you’re at Bradley’s, you take your shoes off and you’re about to go to his room when he holds you back. You turn around and look at him, frowning.

“What’s on your mind?” Bradley questions.

“What do you mean?”

“Something’s wrong. You’ve been silent.”

“I’m just tired.” you lie, you’re about to walk away again when he stops you.

“Y/N, I know you.”

“Can we do this tomorrow? I’d like to go to sleep.”

“No.” he says, firmly, “Something is bothering you and we can’t avoid this conversation. Did I do or say something ? Did something happen at the bar ?” Bradley asks but you stay silent. “Don’t shut me out. We have to talk.”

“Because communication is key, right?” you retort.

“Yes, it is.”

“Then why don’t you go talk to the other woman?” you bite back while he looks at you, confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“The woman who came to talk to you at the Hard Deck.”

Bradley has to think hard before understanding who you’re referring to.

“I don’t see what she has to do with this. She just asked me where the bathroom was. Nothing more. I don’t know her.”

‘I don’t know her’. The same explanation Jake gave you about the woman he was seeing behind your back. At that moment, you get defensive, wanting to protect your heart from a potential pain, knowing what’s going to happen next all too well.

“That’s what they all say.”

“Is this about Jake?” Bradley asks, starting to understand the situation.

“I don’t know, you tell me. He’s your friend. You know, before tonight, I hadn’t realised how much you two had in common.” you remark, petty.

“I am not like him and you know it.”

“He’s your friend so there must be things you agree on.”

“Not in the way he treated you. He acted like an asshole to you and you can ask Phoenix, she’ll tell you I gave him a hard time when I learned what he’d done to you. Y/N, I have no intention of hurting you.” he promises, taking a step forward and you take a step back.

“How can I be sure I can trust you? You’re too good to be true, there must be a catch.”

“Not necessarily. Look, I know you’ve been hurt in the past and I get why you have doubts but I am not like Jake or any of your exes.” Bradley states with a soft but firm voice.

“Maybe, but you might get tired of me, like the others.”

“It will never happen. No matter how hard you try to push me away because you’re afraid to get your heart broken, I’ll keep proving to you you can trust me, that everything will be okay. You’re worth it. I love you and I’ll be ready to do anything for you.” he confesses, getting closer and this time you don’t move, taken aback by his words. “So you can keep blaming me, but I will stay here to prove to you what we have is real and true.”

“You love me?”

“Since the day I met.”

At his sentence, you’re filled with mixed emotion. You’re happy to know he shares your feelings and you’re also guilty to realise how much you’ve been blaming him. Bradley is sincere with what he said, you can feel it. The first time you finally find something good, you treat him as if he is going to stab you in the back at any moment.

“I’m sorry, Bradley. I shouldn’t have said all of this. I don’t know why I can’t tell the difference between the good people and the bad ones. You’re a good man, I shouldn’t treat you like you’re an asshole. I’m always ruining everything.” you mutter, tearing up.

“You’re not ruining anything.”

“I am.” you retort, “It was cruel from me to compare you to Jake when you do everything for me. It’s just that Jake got in my head and I let my fears talk. I should have trusted you more. I have to trust you more.”

“Hey, it’s okay.” Bradley assures you, stroking your cheek. “At least, we’ve talked about it and everything is settled.”

“Because you forced me to and it shouldn’t have been the case. I’m sorry for this too. I swear I’m trying to make an effort, even if it doesn’t look like it. It’s just complicated.” you confess, a tear rolling down your cheek and Bradley wipes it, a compassionate smile on his face.

“I know and I’m not expecting it to become easy overnight. Besides, you’ve improved. Before, I needed two days to know what was going on in your head. Now, it’s only a few hours.”

“Having a good boyfriend helps to open up. Thanks for being so patient with me.” you say, hugging him. “I love you, too, Brad’.”

“You don’t have to say it back just because I said it first.”

“I want to say it. I’ve wanted to tell you for weeks but… I was afraid to jinx it by saying it first. I love you so much, Bradley.” you repeat, looking at him in his eyes.

“I love you too, Y/N.”

At his sentence, a big smile takes place on your lips then you press them against Bradley’s. Your kiss is full of passion and love. Your hands get lost in Bradley’s hair whilst his right hand is on your neck and his other hand on your hips. You kiss until you’re out of air. Once you break the kiss, you put your head on Bradley’s torso while he’s holding you closer to him. You listen to his heartbeat, a peaceful expression on your face. Your fears have only left your mind temporarily however it’s the least of your worries. You found someone who will fight for you to keep you close to him, the one who will say the right words to reassure you or just to confess his feelings. You can finally see the light. This relationship could be the one.

Message from Bradley, 10:40 A.M.:

Hey, I’m sorry, I’m not gonna make it for lunch. I have my break later. I’ll make it up to you, I promise. I love you ❤️

Upon reading Bradley’s text, you sigh. You quickly reply it’s okay and you love him before putting your phone back in your pocket. Feeling the tears, you focus back on the books you have to take off the shelves. You’re not going to cry just because he cancelled a date! It doesn’t mean he doesn’t love you. He is not Jake. Bradley didn’t cancel so he could break your heart.

You keep working while a part of your brain is imagining every worst case scenario when your colleague, Cora, calls you. She has to repeat your name four times for you to turn your head towards her.

“Everything okay?” she asks, worried.

“Yeah.”

“Trouble in paradise?”

“Not really.” you answer before sighing, “I was supposed to meet up with Bradley for lunch at a diner mid-way between the bookshop and TopGun but he cancelled last minute ‘cause of work. It’s nothing.”

“He’s not Jake.” Cora affirms, guessing your anxiety.

“I know.”

“You don’t seem convinced. Y/N, Bradley really is different and he loves you. He's a good guy. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here defending him.”

“I know.”

“Is it the first time he cancels?”

“Yes, it is.”

“Well, in almost six months of relationship, it seems like a pretty good statistic.” she remarks with a positive tone. “You don’t have to worry. Bradley is completely smitten by you. Don’t forget all the times he came here to order a book and came back the next day or the day after to see if it’d arrived.” Cora reminds you, making you laugh. “Did he even read all these books?”

“If he's a real reader, probably not.”

“True. The fact is he did everything to see you whilst respecting your boundaries.” she resumes with a serious face. “He’d do everything for you. You found someone great. You can trust him.”

“I trust him. Sometimes, I just imagine the worst but I trust him.”

“Good. But if I were to be wrong, which I won’t, I was with you from 11 P.M. ‘til 1 A.M.”

“Okay.” you laugh before taking her in your arms to thank her.

Once Cora is sure you’re okay, she lets you get to your work while she goes to help a client. You keep emptying the shelves, making several round trips between the shelves, the computer and the boxes next to it until your lunch break.

As soon as you get back to work, you put the boxes full of books in the backshop one by one, ruining your back in the process. You’re about to take the third box when you hear the bookshop door opening. You turn around to greet the client only to discover Bradley with a smile on his face and his right hand behind his back.

“What are you doing here? I thought we weren’t seeing each other today.” you question, confused. 

“My lunch break might only be now but it doesn’t mean we can’t see each other.” Bradley explains, pecking your lips.

“But you only have one hour, you shouldn’t have come all the way here.”

“I wanted to see you, even if it’s just for five minutes and I also wanted to offer you this as an apology. I thought it’d change from the books.” he smiles, handing you the bunch of pink tulips he was holding behind his back.

“They’re my favourites! How did you know?”

“You told me.”

“No, I didn’t.” you contradict, frowning.

“Yes, you did. It was when we met for the third book on your recommendation list, it was a Stephen King, if I’m not wrong.” Bradley informs, surprising you.

“But it was a long time ago! And I don’t even recall talking about my favourite flowers.”

“I don’t remember what we were talking about, though you quickly mentioned tulips, especially the pink ones, were your favourites.”

“And you remembered?” you ask, shocked and touched at the same time.

“Of course. I remember every detail about you.”

Overwhelmed with the love Bradley gives you, you don’t know how to answer so you throw yourself at him to kiss him. Once you break the kiss, you look at Bradley, eyes full of love, admiring his face lightened up by the daylight.

For Bradley, tulips are only a detail about you but for you, it’s more than that. Never one of your exes paid that much attention to you. Bradley knows you better than everyone else and he’s honest with you. He even took time off his break to see you. Before, you were always the one making up time to see your exes, not anymore. No matter if it’s ten minutes or one hour, Bradley makes sure to always make up time for you.

This moment shows to you that Bradley is perfect for you. He might reassure you when you talk about your worries, however it’s innocent moments like this one that proves you you can trust him, that he means it when he says he’ll always be there for you and he loves you. With Bradley, you’re more than the exception, he makes you feel unique and in his eyes, you are. He only sees you and you only see him. Your fears can officially leave your mind, your romance is meant to last. Bradley is the one. And for the first time in your life, you can’t wait to see how your relationship is going to evolve.

You turn in Bradley’s bed and with your hand, you search for your boyfriend’s body. Feeling an empty space, you open your eyes and discover he’s not beside you anymore. You stretch and rub your eyes before leaving the warmth of the sheets.

As soon as you leave the bedroom, you hear noise coming from the kitchen. You go to the room while slowly waking yourself up. Once you’re in the kitchen, you find Bradley shirtless, his back to you, making pancakes. The morning light makes him even more beautiful, illuminating every inch of his tanned skin. It’s a sight you could admire your whole life. You walk closer to Bradley and hug him from behind, pressing your head against his back whilst your hands touch his torso. Bradley jumps at your touch then he greets you while turning off the stove.

“Sorry, did I make too much noise?” he asks, putting pancakes on two plates.

“No. You weren’t in bed anymore, I was looking for you.”

“I wanted to make you breakfast in bed.” Bradley explains, turning around to you, pecking your lips. “What do you say about it?”

“What do I say?” you repeat, smiling. “Rooster, take me to bed or lose me forever.”

“Show me the way home, honey.”

Without saying another word, you move backwards, pulling Bradley towards you. Impatient, he puts his hands on your hips and raises you from the ground. You let go of a small scream before wrapping your legs around his waist. Pancakes abandoned, Bradley brings you back to the bed while you’re kissing and laughing.

You’re serene in his arms. For once, it doesn’t end up in tears but in laughs and love in its purest form. You’ve managed to find the love you were only reading about. You’ve finally found the man you deserve. Being in love with Bradley is easy and peaceful. Bradley brings you way more than confessions of love you dreamed of hearing.

Top Gun Maverick Masterlist

Part one

Tag list : @nadinesabre - @rosiahills22 - @mel119g - @thesecretgirluniverse-blog

[holylulusworld]

Designed by pain (14)

Summary: Broken hearts are hard to put back together. 8 years ago, Dean lost something he didn’t even know he had in the first place. Will he get a second chance?

Pairing: former AU!Dean Winchester x fem!Reader

Warnings: angst, language, post break-up, daddy Dean

A/N: This was an alternative idea for the first chapter of my Bucky story: Monster-in-law masterlist. I decided to use it for a story with Dean.

Designed by pain masterlist

Designed by pain (13)

“Fuck, get off,” you curse under your breath. Hours after you leave Mary’s house you try to get the engagement ring off your finger. It doesn’t move. Almost as if the golden band wants to mock you or force you to keep it on. “Get off!!”

“Y/N, is everything alright?” Dean calls from outside the bathroom at his place. He offered you his guestroom for the night. You were too tired and emotionally drained to find a hotel room. “Do you need anything? I can go and buy whatever you forgot.”

“It won’t get off!” You huff and slam your hands onto the sink. “It’s stuck. I can’t get it off.” Choking out a sob you stare at your reflection in the mirror. So many years of independence and peace down the drain because the cocky asshole outside the bathroom couldn’t stay away from you.

“What? Wait! I’m coming!” Dean exclaims before opening the door. He covers his eyes and stumbles inside the room. “What did you say? Do you need help? Is your toe stuck in the faucet?”

You half laugh, half snort. “What? Why do you think my toe got stuck in the faucet? I didn’t take a bath, and would never stick my toe inside the faucet.”

Dean nervously chuckles. He rubs the back of his neck as he finally looks at you. “Well, accidents happen, sweetheart. A faucet can be damn dangerous.”

You snicker. “Your toe got stuck in the faucet, right? How did you do it, Dean?” He pouts and crosses his arms over his chest.

“I’m not telling you.”

“Well, at least your dick didn’t get stuck inside the faucet.” You grin from ear to ear. Teasing Dean is fun.

“Y/N!” He gapes at you. “I’m not some pervert putting his dick into the faucet!” Dean narrows his eyes to give you the stinky eye. “You know that my dick would never fit into a faucet.”

“You only didn’t put it inside because it would not fit,” you accuse, earning a huff. “I wasn’t talking about my toe, Dean.” You finally lift your hand to show him the ring. “It won’t get off.”

Dean hums. He steps closer to grab your hand to look at the ring. “Then, don’t take it off. It’s right where it belongs.”

You breathe his name and shake your head. “You know I can’t keep it. The ring never belonged to me, Dean. Whatever we had back then is long gone. We can’t just go back in time and make things right. I raised our son on my own and started a new life without you.”

Dean drops his gaze. He nods because there is no denying that he fucked things up. Even though Mary played a huge part in your breakup, it was his fault that he didn’t stay with you that day. Dean knows there is nothing he can do to make things up to you.

“Stay—” He murmurs, eyes searching yours. “Back then, I was a fool. I was selfish and scared of commitment. But I know now how it feels to live without you, and I’d rather have you and Michael in my life.” Dean raises his hand to stop you from replying. “Don’t answer right now. I know I have no right to beg you to stay, but I do.”

“Dean, I—” Your voice cracks. Right now, you’re not able to respond or even think straight. The past came crashing back into your life, and you cannot handle anything but focus on getting that damn ring off your finger.

He turns to leave the room but glances over his shoulder. “I’ll get some olive oil,” Dean says and points at your hand. “For the ring.”

You watch him leave, feeling bad for him. Dean broke your heart, but you know now, that it wasn’t all his fault. Maybe you should’ve stayed that night. If you hadn’t run away like an angry child, you could’ve talked things out and ruined Mary’s plans.

Dean darts his tongue out, focused on rubbing more olive oil into your skin. He gently massages your finger and tries to move the ring. “Almost there, sweetheart.”

You nod and watch him slowly slide the ring off your finger. It feels good that it’s gone, but at the same time, you feel a sadness you haven’t experienced in years. “Thank you.”

“I’ll put it away,” he says, sounding as sad as you feel. “In case you ever want it back.” Dean gives you a sad smile before walking out of the room. You sigh and grab one of the paper towels to clean your hand.

“Do you want to order takeout?” Dean calls from outside the room. “Michael is still at Sammy’s place, but we could eat together.”

“Sounds good,” you answer. “You can choose. You need to eat something after you refused to eat more of my mince pie.”

“That was not nice of you, Y/N. You know about my weakness for pie and ordered this monstrosity,” Dean huffs as he enters the living room. “A low blow.”

“It was payback for all the times I had to eat fatty burgers or pizza,” you shoot back. “You never invited me to a nice restaurant, Winchester.”

“Sweetheart, that’s a lie! What about the little Italian restaurant,” he bites back. “You almost inhaled their food.”

You purse your lips. Dean is not wrong. Their food was delicious. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Dean.”

He smirks. “How about I order takeout from them, and you can tell me again that I never invited you for dinner to a nice restaurant.”

“Your house is not a restaurant, Winchester,” you argue. “Do not cheat! Ordering takeout is not taking me out on a date.”

“Okay. Let’s go on a date right now,” he hastily says, smirking as you look at him with wide eyes.

“What? That’s not what I meant…I mean…” Stammering you look at Dean, unable to come up with an excuse. You said what you said and now it’s too late.

Part 15

Tags in reblog.

[altraviolet]

Hi!! I know it’s been so long since TEG’s conclusion, but after re-reading it, I’ve come to find myself having a few lingering questions:

1) If you were to reference both Mirage and Skywarp’s characterizations, in ‘The Echo Garden’, from any of their canon/corporate material fiction alternates—what would be the most comfortable for them to be associated towards?

Also, out of curiosity, have these two ever fantasized about becoming mentors / parents / caretakers? It’s not that important to me really, but I’d appreciate your opinion on the matter for future reference.

2) Hypothetically, when Soundwave does get inevitably beat up enough to the point of having it be a main priority to obtain supples from his home dimension, would he want to “fix” his elbows and knees and his whole… ace-fae ituation-say?

Like, I’ve been daydreaming a bunch about a specific outcome where he goes to his home dimension and ends up getting the glow up of his dreams—aka something a bit like his old gladiator get up. But at the same time not changing too much because of how contempt he already is with his form, and how he mostly just took a chance while getting repaired to ask for a few changes to his frame to make it more battle-ready instead of sneaky and shadowy. Man keeps taking hits from left to right and I’m horrified at the notion of his flat arms snapping and his stiff joints slowing him down.

3) Has there ever been anyone on the ‘Lost Light’ that actually enjoys being on the chore one cycle? I’m very aware from Soundwave’s POV that it’s like staring into the gates of barnacled-hell, but I’m sure there’s maybe one freak out there that takes pride in the somewhat cleansing ritualistic aspect of the crustacean colonists, the wet garbage, and Toaster’s debilitating demands when it comes to his standards.

4) Would the ‘Lost Light’ crew ever react negatively towards any newcomers who happen to be physically “amalgamated” with organic material ever since the… are-stay ive-dray incident? Even if it is proven to be harmless, would it still be plausible for them to have any extra security measures taken that might be harmful to said bi-organic-metal subjects?

5) Has Rodimus ever thought about how a Conjux bond would work between him and Soundwave?

Not even just like a super romantic way—well maybe at first—but like physically. I feel like a former Matrix holder and a God-killer living on a trans-dimensional spacecraft already makes a ludicrously dope power couple, so I feel like the universe could literally bend to their will at this point without much effort. But still, marriage yeah, but spark-bonding? They’d both probably cause a supernova at the alter if they’re not too careful.

6) DO THEY GO BACK FOR THUNDERCRACKER (and Starscream??? Wait is he also Skywarp’s brother, I actually don’t remember if he was even mentioned—). Well, would they ever go back for Thundercracker and or Starscream?

I seriously think in hat universe Starscream would be very dead but I’m not sure at all. Please correct me if necessary.

———

SORRY FOR THE RANTS!! I needed to get a few of these questions out of my system, and I’ll probably try to look up some more information from any previous posts I might’ve missed. To this day I’m still so enthralled with the world building in your AU it’s inspired me so much and I didn’t even realize it. If any of this seems too confusing I’m so so so sorry, I’m still nervous at the thought of asking these kinds of questions even if there are already answers.

NONETHELESS—have a great rest of your day!! :3

p.s. would it be possible for me to make an au from teg that takes place wayyyy into the future? like with a “conjuxed” maybe not “conjuxed” rodimus and soundwave. i dunno, the only reason for them to be conjuxed in this hypothetical au was to show the passage of time, or something. maybe skywarp’s brother(s?) would be on the ‘lost light’ too? would that work?

AH IT’S TOO MUCH!! AGAIN I’M SORRY!! I KNOW IT’S A LOT!! AGAIN, HAVE A SUPERCALIFRAGILISTICEXPIALIDOCIOUS DAY OR NIGHT, WHICHEVER AAAUGH (>[]<)

Hi spinspin! Thanks for the long message. I'm glad you continue to enjoy the fic :)

1) If you were to reference both Mirage and Skywarp’s characterizations, in ‘The Echo Garden’, from any of their canon/corporate material fiction alternates—what would be the most comfortable for them to be associated towards?

Hmm. Mirage is closest to his G1 incarnation: a wealthy mech who didn't want to join the war. Skywarp is... not like any canon Skywarp I know of. I suppose his trickery is kinda in IDW2, but that's not what inspired that aspect of him. Both of them are a lot closer to their Face The Past characterizations than any canon, tbh.

Also, out of curiosity, have these two ever fantasized about becoming mentors / parents / caretakers?

Ah ok so... I'm absolutely NOPE on parent/caretaker stuff, so anything I wrote would never contain that (unless it was from canon and I was using that canon). I'm talking, push away with a ten foot stick aversion levels, lol.

Now a mentor... ehhhhhhhh... I think they're amenable to teach SW about crystals in TEG because it's part of, well, their reality, and they'd rather keep an eye on SW and teach him themselves than have him flounder around and accidentally ascend to a higher level of existence and destroy everything. It was a somewhat small detail, but Mirage did make their teaching him part of a deal: it wasn't done 100% out of the goodness of anyone's spark.

They wouldn't fantasize about mentoring, but they'd do it if they had to.

2) Hypothetically, when Soundwave does get inevitably beat up enough to the point of having it be a main priority to obtain supples from his home dimension, would he want to “fix” his elbows and knees and his whole… ace-fae ituation-say?

If SW was damaged enough to need to return to his dimension for metal and supplies, he wouldn't otherwise change his frame. There's nothing wrong with it in his mind. He went through the whole war with it. He's never complained about it or felt any kind of (for lack of a better word) dysphoria or regret for losing his gladiatorial frame.

Re: the damaged eye: I think he would aim to get that fixed, if they could find an optic lying around. Recall that in TFP you can't just slap inanimate parts into mechs. It's a big thing that you can't build organs in that part of the franchise (Arcee and Jack have a discussion where she says something like "Can you build me a small intestine, Jack?" lol).

3) Has there ever been anyone on the ‘Lost Light’ that actually enjoys being on the chore one cycle?

*writes a whole paragraph answering the question "Do mechs like their regular chores?"*

*rereads question*

oh LOL oh shit, you asked about the chore CYCLE. lol. sorry. I just got home from work. Uhhh no. Definitely no xD no one likes being on the chore cycle. It sucks purposefully, lol.

So like if Inferno got put on the chore cycle, he'd still have to do his job, but he'd be stuck with Toaster 95% of the time and they'd both hate that soooooo muuuuuch, and that's part of the point. It will discourage Inferno from being a bad boy xD If UM found out someone LIKED a certain aspect of the chore cycle, he'd remove that aspect from their rotation, lol.

[if you're curious what I wrote initially, here it is: In reality, most of the mechs treat their usual chores like a job. Some will like their jobs, some might not like them as much, but when Rodimus and Megatron and UM (and maybe Drift too) assigned the jobs, they took into account what mechs were built for and what they like to do. So, Inferno isn't weirdly into scraping out the plumbing, but he can do it, he knows he can do it better than anyone else (except maybe Hot Spot), and he's proud of his work. I'd say that all the mechs are pretty satisfied with their work, and they are proud of it.]

4) Would the ‘Lost Light’ crew ever react negatively towards any newcomers who happen to be physically “amalgamated” with organic material ever since the… are-stay ive-dray incident? Even if it is proven to be harmless, would it still be plausible for them to have any extra security measures taken that might be harmful to said bi-organic-metal subjects?

They do have a strict rule about bringing 100% organic beings aboard the LL. That's a no-go.

If they encountered a Cybertronian that was partially organic, like the Beast Wars continuity, or what Blackarachnia seems to be in TFA, they'd probably assess the situation on a by-person basis.

They're generally very careful and reticent about bringing people aboard (despite what we see Rodimus doing, lol). In over 3000 dimensions, they've only 'kept' 4 mechs, and they've invited only 2 aboard, as mentioned by name in the fic. Stardrive and... I think Rook? Another character got a quick shout out at one point. Obv TEG doesn't detail all 3000+ dimensions' worth of adventures. I think they'd let a few more mechs temporarily aboard. But overall, they're very careful about things.

5) Has Rodimus ever thought about how a Conjux bond would work between him and Soundwave? Not even just like a super romantic way—well maybe at first—but like physically... spark-bonding?

Mmmmmmmmm... hmm. Conjunx ritus, as we see in the comics, is a cultural thing. They're not literally bonded by the spark together. So you're asking about 2 things here, just to clarify.

re: conjunx ritus: hmmmmmmmmmmm idk, I don't see Rodimus doing that. 🤔 it's a cute idea for fic, of course. but staying true to Rodimus as a character? I don't see it. I could see something that was a mix of ceremonies between his and SW's dimensions. or maybe something that felt more casual.

re: spark-bonding: I think they wouldn't want to try this. SW's spark chamber is damaged and when he infiltrated Rodimus, Rodimus's body didn't react well. HMMMMMMM yeah I dunno. We did have the scene where Rodimus exposed his spark for SW, and SW enjoyed absorbing Rodimus's Rodimusness, and Rodimus felt pleasure from that. But that's quite different from them exposing open sparks to each other.

I think if they did do that, they'd be very careful about it.

Honestly, as the author, I'd have it hurt them >D idk, that just feels right, with all their dimensional differences. they need to find other ways to enjoy each other, lol. a lot of TEG's sexy stuff dashes expectations in the trolliest way possible on purpose, heheheheh

6) DO THEY GO BACK FOR THUNDERCRACKER (and Starscream??? Wait is he also Skywarp’s brother, I actually don’t remember if he was even mentioned—). Well, would they ever go back for Thundercracker and or Starscream?

Starscream is definitely extremely dead.

The last Skywarp knew about TC, he was in that building where Skywarp was found. The readers saw that building fill with molten energon. Sooooooooo...

I've said in several places that I've left seeds in TEG for a sequel, and we'll just say, that ever so slightly ambiguous mention of TC was a such a seed ;D

But, no, Mirage and Skywarp would not go back to their dimension for TC. They think he's dead and the price Soundwave pays for every dimensional portal is too high. They'd have no reason to go back, unless like... one of them was horribly injured.

p.s. would it be possible for me to make an au from teg that takes place wayyyy into the future?

ah, the sticky wicket. you have just as much right to make a TEG AU as I did making TEG from MTMTE in the first place. but, since you asked, I'm going to be honest. I prefer people not write their own TEG-based fics, AU or sequels or whatever. I feel like I worked really hard for this sandbox, and it's mine and I wanna play in it by myself, and it would be better if you made your own sandbox to play in, because you should practice building your own worlds and plotlines.

so like... I'm not going to get any AU you write taken down, or anything like that. but I won't read it and I wouldn't want to discuss it with you. I mean that in the very nicest way possible 🙏 I think creativity and expression are important, and it would be mean to squash yours. but also... those are my truthful answers. thank you for asking first. most authors don't mind other people using their AUs but I'm not one of them.

Thank you for the well wishes. Hope you have a good day, too :)

[howdy-cowpoke]

TIMING: Current LOCATION: Prickly Pear Acres PARTIES: Monty (@howdy-cowpoke) & Lil (@the-lil-exorcist) SUMMARY: Lil meets a ghost on Monty's farm and helps them pass to the other side! Also, they kinda find treasure! CONTENT WARNINGS: none!

—

Lil had gotten used to bringing Luna out to the fields and letting her run around. She seemed to appreciate it - stopping the little bursts of fires that apparently were pretty common with her species- so she didn’t mind the time spent out in the fields. Sitting at the fence though she caught a shimmer that caught her eye. Following it she realized there was a ghost on the premises, and figured that she should let the owner know she knocked carefully on the door. 

“Oh - uh Hey Monty. Remember when I told you I’d tell you if you have a ghost -well you got at least one.” She said not realizing the ghost had followed the medium curiously standing right behind her trying to speak and ask questions on why Lil could see him. Why wasn't she responding? 

— 

Ghosts were something Monty still had a hard time wrapping his head around, which was probably stupid considering he'd died and come back to life. It begged the question: what were they? Soul? Life essence? And how had Monty held on to his own after being dead for long enough to be put in the back of a wagon and carted a good distance away from the last camp? Had he? Or was he really just a husk, acting on muscle memory of who he'd once been? 

He didn't like thinking about it too hard. 

It was even stranger that he'd never seen one, considering that he himself was dead and by all rights, should have been able to. Perhaps it was this inability to believe that such a thing could exist, this avoidance of those implications that kept the specters hidden from him. And it didn't seem that meeting someone like Lil had done anything to course correct this flaw (blessing?), because as he regarded the young woman on his porch telling him there was a ghost about, he failed to see it standing right behind her. 

“Oh? What… what should we do? Can we help it—them?” It was probably rude to call a dead person ‘it’. Actually, it was definitely rude, Monty wouldn't have liked it being used on him.

—

Lil looked at the spirit and went, “He good?” Seeing the spirit nod she said, “Yeah I think the ghost is a he.”

At the question she wasn’t super sure what the ghost wanted. He had wanted Lil to come to the house and so she was there, and while he certainly looked desperate he didn’t seem like he was going to become a poltergeist. At least not yet.  “I think he used to live here?” she glanced at the ghost that gave her a hand motion that said ‘kinda.’ “Well, he says kinda but, he’s been here before and there’s something around the house that they wanted uncovered. If you want to help him, we could try to find it?” The other option was to exorcize the ghost, and while it was always on the table Lil would rather not if possible. 

“Mind letting us in? I’ll be quick about it Monty. No ghost shenanigans or I’ll put a stop to him,” Lil said fairly seeing the ghost look up to the attic. 

—

It was a relief at least to hear that the ghost was something of a former tenant here, rather than someone that was attached to any of the farm hands, Monty included. He carried enough of his past with him without a physical (or spiritual) reminder. 

“Of course, please,” he answered as he stepped aside and pulled the door open farther to let Lil and her passenger inside. He watched the empty space behind her for a moment, waiting for anything to change, but nothing did. Hoping he wasn’t shutting the door through the ghost, Monty closed it again and followed Lil’s gaze toward the ceiling. “Ah—upstairs? This way.” He led her toward the back of the house where the staircase was, then up to the second floor. “I do not know what would be around here that would be his, or of some significance to him… this place was empty when I bought it.” His attention rose to the pullout ladder in the hallway ceiling, and he clicked his tongue. “Well, except for the attic. That was not empty, and I did not bother cleaning everything out of it. Is this… the place?” He looked to Lil, then again to the empty space behind her. Nothing. 

—

Lil nodded letting the ghost move in front of her as he went through the house looking around. Partially he looked like he was reminiscing about it. The house must have been something important to him even if he hadn’t lived there. 

“Yeah I think he’s looking for something in the attic,” Lil said softly as she followed Monty the ghost continuing to look up to the attic. Nodding she looked at the ghost that seemed to be waiting for her to get onto the ladder and she sighed. “Yeah I think there’s something up there he wants discovered.” He was mumbling something, but Lil couldn’t make out what his lips were saying enough to actually know what he was saying. 

Jonas was much better at lip reading then she was, but sometimes she could figure it out. “Yeah- you don’t mind if I go up? You can come with,” Lil said looking at Monty. While the ghost was already going up to the attic she wanted the other’s permission. After all, it was his house now, not the ghosts. 

—

Monty shook his head, reaching for the cord to pull the door open that hid the ladder and unfold it. The rectangular opening into the attic yawned pitch black above them, and the zombie hesitated. “Ahh… sure! After you—oh! Let me get us some flashlights, hold on.” Trotting down the hall, he disappeared into one of the spare rooms and banged around for a few seconds before returning with two flashlights in hand, passing one to Lil. Truth told, he hadn’t cleaned out the attic because going up there always gave him the creeps. Maybe this had something to do with it? 

Following Lil up the ladder, Monty hauled himself up into the small space, thankful for the moment that he wasn’t approaching six feet tall like his boyfriend, or he’d have to duck to avoid slamming his head into the support beams that crisscrossed overhead. It was warm up here, and smelled dusty. Not bad, just… like it hadn’t been opened in quite a long time. 

His light scanned over the objects in the room, finding it to be quite stereotypical—furniture draped in canvas, a wardrobe, a trunk, some paintings leaned up against the wall, and even an old, non-functioning grandfather clock. 

—

Lil waited for the flashlight thinking that the other was much smarter than her on that front. A lot of times she ended up doing ghost things in the dark and while it no longer bothered her - she was still human and it was still going to be annoying. Taking the flashlight with a nod she carefully climbed up the ladder careful that her heelies didn’t get stuck. 

The crampedness wasn’t anything particularly new for Lil, and the chills and creepiness fell to the wayside a lot of the time. Her dad had made sure of that in training - making sure that none of his children hesitated to go into cramped places. Even the warmth was a little reprieve for her - Lil got cold easily from being around ghosts.

Looking around for a moment she tried to see what it might be. Ghosts always had odd things that they wanted to cling to. In some ways she understood it - even now she remembered how Regan was able to figure out her mom’s death by a stuffed animal she had given Lil and Jonas - a tangible thing that kept a connection. Still, she wasn’t sure, although now that she said it the ring on her necklace and the locket itself felt heavy on her neck. 

Was she really any different than a ghost? Wasn’t Lil haunting places that were once alive? 

She didn’t particularly want to have that thought looking at the ghost who floated over to a trunk trying to point it out to Lil. His eyes looked - hopeful like he was excited it was still there. For a moment she was hopeful too as she carefully pointed the flashlight over and went to the trunk. 

“Ever open this one Monty? Looks like there’s a combination lock on it so I wouldn’t blame you if you hadn’t,” Lil said to him looking behind her a little. “Still I think it’s in here if it’s okay for me to try and open it.” 

As much as she wanted the ghost to go to rest, Lil always gave choices to the people on this plane of existence. 

—

“Ah, please. Do what you must,” Monty answered with a nod. “Alan and I did not open this one after I purchased the plot, no. I tried, but did not have the proper tools. He offered to go back to his home and get some, but I figured it did not matter. We were not planning on utilizing this attic anyway, so… everything is still as we found it, for the most part.” 

The zombie glanced around the room, his gaze lingering in the space around the trunk. If the ghost was pointing it out, then he must be over there, right? Monty squinted his eyes. Nothing. Ghosts are real. This nice girl is not loco. 

“Lil… can I ask what our friend… looks like?” Monty asked carefully, hoping that it wasn’t offensive. He thought maybe if he could picture the phantom in his mind, it would reveal itself to him. It didn’t make sense that some of his farm hands could see them and he could not. And he was paranoid enough to not like the idea of someone being around him, watching him, when he did not know it. So he wanted to make it work. 

—

“Won’t need any tools, I think he remembers the combination.” Lil said simply looking at the ghost who nodded, raising his fingers up. 5-3-4+4 so 8. Nodding she moved to the chest to put in the numbers after flashing them back to the ghost who looked relieved. 

At the question Lil paused looking at the ghost. “He’s tall. Maybe like 5’11? Looks like he worked on a farm he’s in overalls at least. Kinda turn of the century. Cropped hair. He’s not much older than me.” 

Despite not hearing ghosts, Lil was rather good at seeing them when they weren’t trying to hide. Still, she left out the fact that the man’s arm was mangled. She didn’t particularly want to speculate on why, but it was clear it had been from some sort of accident and probably was what had killed them. 

Ghosts were hardly around for good reasons after all. Pulling on the lock it opened with a creak as she went to tip the lid back the ghost going forward to look over her shoulder placing his good arm on it - well at least attempting too. 

It always amused Lil how ghosts thought they could touch people, but she just shivered slightly. Whistling, she looked at Monty. “You’re gonna want to see this. There’s a reason all of this was heavy, You got jewelry up here.”  

—

Even hearing the description of the ghost, nothing new happened. Well, it’d been worth a shot, anyway. Maybe it was for the best… even if Monty was a little paranoid about there being ghosts around that he couldn’t see, he’d forget about it eventually, right? Unseen, unheard… unremembered? He hoped so. 

Stepping closer when Lil beckoned him, his eyes widened at the sight. “... jewelry?” There was a lot of it. He had no idea if any of it was valuable or not, though admittedly that wasn’t his first thought—his first thought was… “Does he… does the ghost want all of this? How… uh… how does this work?” Even if it was only one specific piece, what would a ghost do with it? Could it hold it? Would a necklace suddenly start floating in the air? Did they need to bury it or something? His questions were endless, but he decided he’d just keep those to himself and let Lil answer what she could.

—

“Probably not. He probably wants to see something and couldn’t get this open. Lets see what exactly he wanted, shall we,” Lil said, stepping back for a moment to let the ghost look. It probably wasn’t necessary, but it seemed kinder that way.  

Lil looked at the ghost who was pointing to a locket and plucking it up he gestured for her to open it. It was a picture of what looked like the man and what seemed to have been his wife. His ghost hand moved towards it and for a moment Lil felt a glow - something that happened occasionally when she did participate in helping ghost going peacefully into the great unknown. It was warm, and unlike at the end of an exorcism when she wasn’t actively helping them it didn’t tire Lil out. 

The man whispered something, she could tell by looking at him though, she wasn’t meant to hear it. Instead it seemed to be the woman in the locket. “I’ll bury this for him back where I found him. I don’t know if that’s where his body is but - you know.” 

Lil turned to Monty giving the ghost a moment - probably his last moment on this plane as he started to fade slowly away. It always felt - awkward as an exorcist to take place in something so peaceful so she tended to sit it out. 

—

It was strange, only seeing this from one side, watching Lil hold a locket and just… silently watch something happening that he couldn’t. Monty kept quiet, waiting until she turned to him and spoke before he let himself even move, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. “Okay, that sounds good.” He guessed, he didn’t know shit about any of this, but if Lil thought it was a good idea then he was more than happy to follow her lead. “Thank you for your help!”

He glanced again to the trunk, rubbing a hand across his forehead as his flashlight swung over all the jewelry that still sat inside it. “Well… I suppose a trip to the pawn shop is in order,” he laughed. “Come on, let’s go see how your girl is doing in the fields.”

[desswright29]

This is a draft of what would’ve been a Shuriri story.

Riri walked home from a late shift at her job. Her body was tired, drained, and weathered. Life was never supposed to be like this. This demanding and taxing. All of that work and nothing to show for it. Here she was a prodigy working for pennies at a fucking gas station in bumble fuck Kansas. She’d bumped shoulders with the likes of the Princess of Wakanda. Studied at M.I.T and created one of the worlds most significant inventions. The invention that ruined everyone’s life. 

“Williams!”

Riri dropped her head. Trying to ignore the call, but footsteps approached fast, and as she tried to grab the door to the apartment building she was denied entry as a body slid infront of the door. 

“Mr. Pearson. I know-“

“ No. I know you and your mom better have my rent by the end of the week or your stuff is gonna be on the curb! I don’t want a conversation. I want my money. The two of you have run out of favors with me. Do you understand?”

Riri’s face bawled up angrily as she answered the old man. “Yea. Got it.” She pushed past him, sliding through the door and jogging up the stairs to apartment 3B; where she and her mother had resided for the past 3 years. 

Her mother sat on the couch and it appeared as though today their spirits were aligned. The air was thick with what felt like defeat.

“I don’t know what we’re gonna do, Ri.”  Riri’s mom, Ronnie, overwhelmed with the weight of this realization burst into tears. Riri stood helpless. She had nothing to give. No money. No comforting words. Nothing. She’d seen it all. All of the late nights with her mom falling asleep at the table. The silent weeping while she prayed over the bills. The times where even on her off days, that stubborn and inconsiderate boss of hers STILL managed to make her come in and work overtime with a pay rate that doesn’t even make ends meet in the slightest. 

Riri’s side hustle was  paying most of the bills, tutoring little rich kids in high end neighborhoods and fixing classics for their parents to leave in a garage untouched for another decade. She watched her mom dwindle into a former shell of herself, all because she was burned out. “Mama, this is bullshit!  It’s not fair we livin’ like this! You and pops always told me I’d be great! Do great things! Look where it got us! Look where we at ma!” 

“Baby this isn’t on you. You can’t bare this burden alone. We’re in this together. I’m getting ready to head out to work. I’ll talk to my boss and see if I can get an increase in pay.”

Riri rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up in exasperation. “Good fucking luck with that. We know how that shit is gonna play out.”

She couldn’t take it anymore, your mothers boss acted as if they had no employees other than her mom! Ronnie was over worked and grossly underpaid. It was ridiculous!  “Rianna… now you’re grown, but you’re not that grown! Watch your mouth! This job is what puts food on the ta-“Ronnie was startled by Riri clearing the room and her fist banging against the coffee table in frustration as she stood as tall as she could. “DOES IT?! MAMA DOES IT REALLY?! THIS STUPID ASS BOSS OF YOURS  OFFERED YOU A RAISE AND IT HASNT SEEN THE LIGHT OF DAY IN THREE YEARS!” Riri was right, and Ronnie knew it. 

She had to work somewhere though. She couldn’t just let the apartment go! She saw the moments that her boss took her for granted as opportunities to prove that she was more than capable of those raises that never came. Riri sighs, running her hand over her neatly braided hair. She silently evaluated her tone before speaking again. “They don’t care about you, mom! When dad died, they sent a fruit basket, with the schedule for the next week attached to it! You’re seriously gonna allow this?” It struck a nerve in Ronnie for Riri to spit that truth in her ego’s face like that. If she admitted that what she was saying was right, then that would mean admitting that she’s allowed herself to be in this stressful cycle for far too long. Could she handle telling herself that truth? “I’m going to work…” she said, pushing past Riri and slamming the door on the way out. Riri rolled her eyes, and flopped down on the couch in defeat. 

She drug herself to the bathroom. Preparing to take a shower before she slept preparing for her next shift.

[faelune-home]

FFXIVWrite 2024 #10: Stable

(A/n: Another entry into the role quest rewrite series, this time beginning the melee quest with Estinien. At first I just defaulted to Estinien cos he is the token melee in the Scions in EndW, but once I sat down to write, I realised Limsa had a bit more in common with Ishgard than I remembered.

While it's more small scale compared to Ishgard's two thousnad year long war, the idea of breaking agreements and continuing old wars and blaming the other side for what one group started is still very applicable. In the end, the melee role quest is still more focused on the Sahagin than the Kobolds, but its a way to establish a beginning with Estinien and set his relationship with the Admiral/Limsa from the start.

Used the prompt to talk reference Limsa's stability as a nation, even if it's more specific to the city/more of a facade when they're still rebuilding relations with the other factions. It also feels ironic that the pirate nation is more put together out of everyone.

Word count: 955)

“You’re not much familiar with Limsa Lominsa are you?” Fhara asked, glancing up at Estinien as he cast his eyes over the crowded aetheryte plaza. Merchants moving to and fro, clusters of locals standing around chatting and enjoying the sunshine, and even a small lalafellin band was playing for a crowd.

“Not particularly,” he finally answered, “I’ve passed through to utilise their port, but as for the city of the rest of the island, I haven’t seen much.”

“Well, we’re here on official business, but I hope it’ll give you the chance to see a little more then,” she said with a smile, then gestured for him to follow. It would have to be the long walk to Maelstrom command if he wasn’t attuned to the aethernet in the city. A small blessing that Limsa always being so busy meant they both crept under the radar, and were uninterrupted on their way.

The Admiral was waiting for them with one of her officers, the latter of which offered a sharp salute upon their arrival.

“My delegate informed you were bringing assistance,” Merlwyb hummed, looking Estinien over.

“Estinien Varlineau, former Azure Dragoon, if it would give you any reassurance to my capabilities,” he introduced, offering a polite nod. The reactions were stark, the officer gaping in shock to be in the presence of an esteemed warrior, while Merlwyb barked out a loud laugh.

“The Azure Dragoon? I’d fear for your reputation then if you don’t manage to kill this beast in one hit,” she grinned.

“They’re surprisingly resilient. But should I have it in my sights, I’ll try and land a definitive blow.”

“I have no doubt. But let us discuss the matter at hand.”

“From what we’ve learned so far, people will turn into blasphemies when they’re overcome by despair and apathy. Have you seen any signs of that here?” Fhara asked, well aware that the city itself seemed full of cheer, without any sign of dissonance.

“Nay, our problems haven’t laid within the city. But instead with our neighbours, the Sahagin,” Merlwyb said, with the officer beside her taking over to add, “It all started with reports from men patrolling the borderline at Skull Valley, and then when we reached out to the factions there for more information, the Sahagin confirmed their numbers were mainly affected.”

“I suppose that makes sense, if you don’t mind me saying Admiral. Limsa’s long had issues communicating with both its neighbours on this island, and while discussions have helped with the Kobolds to smooth over past disagreements, I can see some of the Sahagin still being wary of any peace talks,” Fhara nodded, thinking over what she knew of Limsa’s conflicts.

“Aye, we’ve had a steady peace building between us and the kobolds, and even with the Sahagin. But as you say, some factions aren’t quite ready to trust us, even as we’ve assisted in curing their tempered,” Merlwyb said with a frown. She spied the curious look in Estinien’s eye.

“For you ser, since I know you may not be aware of our history - before now, Limsa Lominsa has long been at odds with both Sahagin and Kobold on Vylbrand. The Sahagin were only recently involved in our conflicts, pushed to our shores as they were for breeding grounds, but our longest conflict was with the Kobolds. Tis only with the aid of the Scions that we have finally reached an accord with them.”

“What manner of conflict was this?” He asked.

“Land, of course, same story as any other. When our pirates first reached these shores to call them home, they didn’t care a whit that the Kobolds already had it. Fighting ensued as it does. At one point an agreement was reached for peace…but pirates do as pirates do, and they take what they please. We broke the agreement and restarted the conflict, all of our own folly.”

Estinien was silent, taking in her tale with a quiet contemplation. When he finally responded, it was with a heavy tone, like that of a world weariness that had seen it all before.

“You say it is as pirates do, but I would argue that pirate or no, man is ever the culprit in their own folly. Man will always take as they please, whether it be land, or power. They may blame it on a desire to feed their people or a sense of fear of the other side, but it wouldn’t change that their actions cause harm to all, and they wouldn’t give a damn who suffers.”

A single blink was the only hint that Merlwyb was thrown by how easily Estinien had responded, her face otherwise a picture of professionalism.

“You speak from experience.”

“In a way. Your tale isn’t too dissimilar from Ishgard’s own. Far be it for me to overstep when I’m not here as a delegate on behalf of Ishgard, but I would advise you and yours mind those ties with the Kobolds from here on, lest you make the same mistakes again,” he said.

“Duly noted.” The two continued to regard each other carefully, leaving the other two present to share an awkward look before Fhara finally coughed to break the tension.

“I know this means we’d be well to check in with the Kobolds factions in case they’re affected, but right now you said the Sahagin were the main concern?”

“Aye, that they are. Though I hope the history lesson allows Ser Estinien to understand where we stand now on this island with all factions,” Merlwyb said, finally breaking into a polite smile.

“That it does. While the Sahagin are our primary focus, I’ll be sure to keep the Kobolds in mind, should we fear their turning as well.”