#there's always so much tension between these 2 guys & i always have to diffuse them like i... literally am exhausted by them

[to-star-lake]

in the early days when you joined bonten as their new advisor, you spent a lot of time with koko; drawing up business plans, managing the books, overseeing construction on new clubs and buildings.

koko had the nicest office of all of the bonten leaders. it was on the top floor of a highrise in the middle of the shibuya business district. complete with high-end leather and mahogany furniture, and a gorgeous city view.

you'd spent time with each of the bonten executives when you joined and koko was probably your favorite to work with. you found takeomi too serious, kakucho boorish, mochi too macho, the haitani's were exhausting, and sanzu..well..

koko was like you; blunt and efficient with work, a little impatient, maybe a little condescending. you enjoyed your daily work with him in his office. it was always quiet, productive, and his assistants always served the best sencha.

except today.

today when you walked in through the mahogany double doors that led to his office, you were almost decked in the face by a toy rubber basketball.

"he shoots! he scores? no! he misses!" you heard a voice yell, followed by a maniacal cackling.

what...the hell is this? the floor of koko's office, which was normally clean, surgically clean, was littered with teddy bears, squeak toys, board games with their pieces strewn about haphazardly, a jump rope, a putting green, and a trash bin overflowing with crumpled candy wrappers.

the rubber basketball that almost hit your head rolled towards the floor-to-ceiling bookshelves on one end of the room and you saw a kiddie basketball hoop attached to one of the shelves. and below that, sanzu, flopped on his stomach on the floor, a different flavored ring pop on each of his fingers.

"koko..i'm really bad at basketball," he grumbled, picking himself up and walked over to koko's desk, slamming his hands down on the surface, the sudden gust of wind almost blowing the stack of papers in front of koko away.

"oh no, well, why don't you go try the putt putt?" koko sighed, not even looking up from his work, waving his hand in the air like he was shooing away a fly. "ah, y/n! finally, someone sane. please, get over here, i need you to look at something," koko waved you over when he noticed you standing in the doorway.

you made your way across the minefield of toys on the floor and greeted sanzu as he walked past you. "good morning," you smiled cordially.

he sauntered past you, looking down at you through bloodshot, half-shut eyes, his usual sinister smile plastered wide across his face. he'd opened his mouth to say, "good morning, little prin-" but then stepped on a pile of toy soldiers and tripped, tumbling to the floor, his long limbs getting all tangled up in themselves.

"uh... hey, koko?" you took a seat in the armchair beside the desk, setting your laptop down on the tabletop. "what's going on here? where's mikey?"

koko let out an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes. "sometimes mikey goes off on his own, and when he does, the rest of us have to take turns...babysitting," he nodded at the gangly man with bubblegum colored hair with a plastic toy putter in his hands. "i pulled the short straw today," he sighed, pushing the large binder of documents he was looking at over to you.

"koko!!"

"jesus, what now?" koko looked up, so annoyed you could almost see the steam coming out his ears.

"there's no balls," sanzu pointed at the putting green on the floor.

"well, who decided to ambush people by pelting them with the balls outside the bathroom last time?"

sanzu stared back at koko blankly.

"ugh, nevermind. could you play with something else? y/n and i have work to do." koko scooted his seat closer to you, and began circling a few line items on the page in front of you. "got this today from the guys over at the club in akasaka. these totals look off to you?"

you glanced over the document, and flipped back a few pages and reviewed the itemized lists also included in the binder. "damn," you said, looking up at koko. "these assholes are skimming."

koko opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a sudden loud popping noise. both of you turned to see sanzu on the floor, pulling the heads off of a pile of barbie and ken dolls.

koko raised his hands to his temples, the frown lines between his eyebrows deepening by the second. "jesus christ, this psychotic clown, if he wasn't the number 2 I swear to god-” he muttered under his breath.

"hey, sanzu?" you called out and sanzu's head jerked up to look at you, his eyes suddenly bright and attentive, like a child amongst the sea of toys on the floor.

"yes, princess?" he called back.

"could you go on a coffee run for us?"

sanzu tilted his head a little, confused. "a coffee...run?"

"yeah...you know, to buy coffee?"

he blinked, still confused.

"to buy...starbucks?"

"ah! you want me to buy you starbucks," he suddenly shot up.

"yes! yes, please, for me and koko, that would be great," you smiled, thinking you were finally getting somewhere with him.

he walked over to the desk. "anything for you, princess. and you can call me haru," he hummed, taking a bright pink ring pop off his finger and sliding it onto your ring finger, and a blue one onto koko's ring finger. "be back in a flash."

he turned to walk out of the office, whistling and not bothering to avoid the toys scattered on the floor, simply stepping on them as he went.

the doors closed behind him and you turned to koko, "now we can get some work done."

"let's hope he takes his time," koko rolled his eyes, sliding the ring pop off his finger, holding onto only the plastic part as gingerly as possible, a disgusted look on his face because he could tell sanzu had definitely licked the candy already.

"is it always like this when mikey's away?"

"sanzu? yeah, pretty much. but mikey tolerates him cus he's been with him longer than any of us, he's his loyal mad dog," koko sighed. "but that bastard's insane. apparently back in the day he got moved back and forth between all of mikey's captains cus nobody could handle him."

"wow. yeah, i guess i can see that," you glanced over at all the toys scattered on the floor. "seems pretty tough for you too."

"oh, i've actually done the best with him," koko scoffed. "last time, he was the haitani brothers' responsibility, they decided to take him to a hostess club. thought it'd be a good distraction for him. crazy maniac decided to pay for all the women there."

"all of them? that's..that's a lot-"

"no, that's not the crazy part. he paid for all the women, and then made them line up against the wall with liquor bottles on top of their heads and he used them for target practice." koko ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "anyway, who knows when he's gonna be back so we should try to get as much done as possible while he's away."

you nodded. the two of you worked dilligently, reviewing the rest of the books collected from bonten's other clubs and businesses in town, making one stack for ones that pass, and one that required additional scrutiny.

after a while, you stretched your arms up over your head, noticing the sun hung high in the sky and glanced at the clock on the wall. it read 12:15.

"i wonder where he is," you said, realizing it'd been almost two and a half hours since he left.

"who knows what that lunatic gets up to," koko sighed, turning the page of the binder he was leafing through.

"i actually could've used some coffee though," you yawned.

"i can have my girls make some sencha-"

just then the doors to his office burst open, and sanzu staggered in, eyes blood red, a blue gift bag in one hand, the other dragging a giant 10-foot teddy bear behind him.

"and suddenly my headache's back," koko muttered and sanzu approached the two of you at the desk.

sanzu dragged the huge teddy bear over and plopped it beside you. "i got this for you, princess."

"hah..um...where'd you get this..giant thing?" you didn't even know where to begin.

"there's a carnival downtown. i got it playing a shooting game," he grinned from ear to ear. koko groaned, knowing sanzu, by 'shooting game' he probably meant he threatened to shoot the person manning the booth if he didn't give him the bear.

"hah..i see, thank you. but why is it missing its eyes?" you asked, looking at the bear's face and noticing the eyeballs had been ripped out, only some tattered threads remained in the sockets.

"they were ugly," sanzu shrugged. "koko, i got you something too," he dropped the gift bag down in front of koko.

"thanks.." koko reached into the bag and pulled out a tiny cross-stitched sweater which could've only been made for an infant. "uh...dude, what is this?"

"it's a sweater for your chihuahua," sanzu explained, yawning and plopping down onto a chair by the desk.

"i don't have a chihuahua?"

"i could've sworn you did," sanzu tilted his head, as though in deep thought. "oh, i guess it's just you that's always yapping. it's amazing y/n puts up with this every day," he laughed, but his tone was filled with hostility.

you saw koko's body tense in your periphery and you quickly spoke up to diffuse the sudden tension. "haru, did you get coffee?"

"coffee? oh! the starbucks. yes, i did."

you stared back at him. "that's great, uh...so where is it?"

"on the corner of harajuku square, by yoyogi station," he smiled.

"what?"

"oh my god," koko groaned, raising his palms to his eyes and rubbing them in circles.

you looked back and forth between koko and sanzu.

koko took a deep breath and leaned back in his chair, turning to look at you. "he bought the starbucks."

[gubes-sweaters]

Unexpected Turns Chapter 1

Author’s Note: Make sure to read the prologue before this so you know the background of the story. The prologue leads right into this chapter. As always the gif isn't mine it’s from google. My previous blog name is pie-curious btw I recently changed it. *edit on 2/1/2022 i’ve added banners to all old chapters that didn’t have them before*

Content Warnings: toxic relationship, cheating (not from reader), yelling, swearing

Word Count: 2.5k

Chapter 1: Pot Calling the Kettle Black

-flashback-

“You're never home anymore!” he shouted from across the kitchen. He was clearly waiting for you to come home from work. You weren't even out with the team, it was just a late night.

“It could be worse. I don't even travel on cases much, it's only when it’s pertinent for me to be there. I've only been on a handful of cases before, so our situation could be a lot more worse. How do you think Will and Henry feel? JJ is gone more than I am, I still come home almost every night” you spat back.

“Were you out with him again?”

“Who?”

“Spencer,” he said with disgust. It's obvious why because Spencer was the type of kid to be picked on in school and Joey was the type of kid to pick on kids like Spencer. So you can imagine the jealousy he felt over Spencer taking up his girlfriend’s time even though it was completely unwarranted.

“No, hun they're all away on a case in Connecticut. It was just me and Garcia, but I can't go home until they're all ready to leave the precinct just in case they need me.” You explain calmly. Despite you trying to diffuse the situation he still stomped out of the house making sure to slam the door behind him. Not returning until the sun was up.

-end of flashback-

Since that night you either went to JJ, Garcia, or Spencer when you would need advice. You normally never told Spencer the details because you didn't want him to feel guilty for Jo's jealousy. Spencer has always been overly supportive and super understanding though. You figure there has to be some reason that he’s only jealous of Spencer. He’s never said anything about you carpooling with Morgan sometimes and his nickname for you. It’s not like you’ve ever given him a reason to believe you're unfaithful. Some days you think about what it would be like to be with Spencer and how life would be convenient and how you would be so content but, that doesn’t mean you’re cheating because you’ve never expressed those feelings. 

These days Joey is distant, rude, and always out of the house. You’re not complaining though because it's nice to come home to no bickering. It’s just odd how much he’s been gone recently and it just inconveniences you because you work all day long and come home to a trashed apartment that you have to clean. He’s not doing any chores, and he comes home at three in the morning with little to no explanation. You both are in some sort of odd limbo because you’ve been together for so long that you don’t want to leave, but you guys both seemingly hate each other. Arguing either turns into him leaving and you're going over to either JJ or Garcia’s place, or it ends in you having sex and there’s absolutely no in between. 

Today was just another normal morning. You got up early and went for a jog, and Joey was up by the time you got back. When you walked through the door he looked at you and gave you a light peck on the cheek. He then asked you to grab his badge out of the car. That's another reason you think Joey dislikes Spencer because he fell into the dumb jock trope in school. He is used to getting his way, and he has always been given everything except being able to move up at all in the precinct he's in and Spencer is six years younger than him, but he's working at the FBI. Oh, and God help you all if the BAU ever has to work a case there. Especially since Spencer doesn't pick up on tension, and he isn't one for arguing. It takes a lot to make Spencer truly angry and more often than not he doesn’t even raise his voice. 

You walked out into the chilly September air with your fuzzy cardigan tightly wrapped around your body. You managed to shuffle out to Joey’s car before opening the door to the back seat where he said his badge was and you spotted an open condom wrapper on the floorboard of the car. You spent a couple of minutes trying to cool down and rationalize this but, after looking around for his badge once more you also found a broken acrylic nail underneath the seat and that’s when you had more than just a nagging feeling he was cheating. You decide to take a deep breath before you walk back inside to ask him about it. Suddenly the air didn't feel cold anymore because your body is on fire with rage. You attempt to remain calm while walking back up the driveway. It didn't last long because when you walk to your house and see his smug face that's when anger takes over you and you demand an answer from him. He tries to play it off by providing a shitty explanation.

“How stupid do you think I am?” you ask while you set the broken piece of an acrylic nail and the foil wrapper on the countertop right in front of him. 

“I seriously have no clue where those came from. Sometimes I give people a ride back if we take them in for questioning, but not in my squad car,” he says very defensively as he turned away to finish getting ready for work. 

“Again do you think I'm dumb? Like seriously why would you take anyone anywhere in your car and not the squad car while you’re at work.” You follow him into the bathroom and that’s when he had the audacity to make eye contact with you in the mirror and say.

“I think you're just being a jealous bitch. Hypothetically if I did cheat on you it's probably for a reason.”

“Are you fucking kidding me talk about the pot calling the kettle black? You get mad when I have to stay late for work or if I spend time with my friends but you think you could justify sleeping with someone else.” He turned to you with a shit-eating grin and backed you up until you hit the wall behind you.

“You really think you’re in a position to make demands here.” He grabbed your jaw with light pressure as he leaned in. “You’re lucky I’m here with you and I’ve stayed around this long. So if I did cheat on you it’s for a multitude of reasons. Maybe because of the little extra weight you’ve gained or maybe it’s the fact that you hang out with those prestigious assholes at the BAU more than you spend time with me.” He said in a very unsettling manner while he spoke through his barred teeth before you swatted his hand away.

“Are you kidding me! You are upset with me because you’re just insecure. That’s all it is at the end of the day because you fucking peaked in high school now you need to sleep with a shit ton of girls so you can feel like that again. You can’t move up in the precinct so you take it out on my friends. You choose to stay with me because you're a loser and you’re alone at the end of the day. I stayed with you because I don’t know, maybe I felt bad, and maybe I didn’t want to be alone either.” You huffed giving up on this altogether. At this point, any effort you put into this relationship just crashes and burns. 

“You know what, I'm not even going to fight it when I come back from work, I'm taking all my stuff and I’ll go…somewhere. Literally anywhere is better than here. I once really did love you but I’m done for now and for good. We’ve spent too long going back and forth like this.” You said to your now ex-boyfriend who was staring at you like he’s seen a ghost. He can’t even rebuttal because by the time you're finished talking your alarm on your phone went off letting you know you need to leave for work soon. 

You turned and walked out of the apartment not before you grabbed your bag and heels. You’re not surprised he doesn’t follow you or even try to stop you. You feel like for the past three years you’ve been nothing other than a trophy, so he can show he doesn’t ever go home alone. That all changes tonight. You go start up your car and now instead of turning on the radio to try and get some peace in the morning, you’re too busy thinking about what happens next. 

 You figure you have JJ, Spencer, and Penelope to fall back on until you find your own place. Then if that doesn’t work out for one reason or another you're sure that Morgan or Emily wouldn’t mind having you over. Hell at this point even Hotch wouldn’t mind. He’s seen you come into work one too many times just looking exhausted with life in general, and he knows that look a little too well. The difference is the first three tend to be lovers over fighters. You don’t think that Hotch, Morgan, or Prentiss would keep their hands to themselves if they found out what happened too soon. You just make it to work unscathed because you might’ve been a little too distracted thinking about your game plan that you neglected a couple of stop signs and red lights. 

 You finally get up to the BAU and your head feels clear. Despite the constant phones ringing or people walking every which way it still feels like home. More than the house you’ve been living in the past two years. You make it past the threshold of the spotless glass doors as you pass Morgan. 

 “Hey angel,” he said while giving you a bright smile. You decided to just mutter a small “hi” back. 

“Uh uh, you bring your butt back here and tell me what’s going on.” He had a joking tone in his voice like always, but at the same time, you can hear actual concern laced in there. You turned around and tried to be as brief as possible to avoid any more spilled tears.

 “I’m just exhausted in every way possible and Joey and I just broke up. Trust me after everything that happened this morning it’s a relief but it still hurts.” You say while shifting your weight from one hip to another.

 “I’m sorry come here” he opens his arms and gives you a huge comforting bear hug. “If you need anything I’m here.” He said all while he still held you and rocked slightly back and forth.

 “Thanks, Morgan, I appreciate it. I’m just trying to get through this day. I can’t believe I’m saying this but I would rather be distracted by crime scene photos than continuing to talk about my morning anymore.” He understood you don’t want him to push the subject, so he let you go with another smile and nod.

 You usually try to be at work early. It was always more of an excuse to get out of the house than about actually being punctual. Spencer, Hotch, and Rossi are seemingly always there; any more JJ, Garcia, Morgan, and Emily all arrive after you. JJ normally arrives last but still on time because she tries to soak up as much time with Henry and Will as she can. Garcia, Morgan, and Emily mostly just attempt to put off any early morning paperwork hoping you guys get called in for a case first. So when you went into your shared office with Garcia you’re once again all alone. You sat in the chair and everything just hit you at once.

 Did he actually cheat on you or was he just working at your nerves? Did you jump the gun and was your relationship salvageable? No. No, what happened this morning wasn’t acceptable and you’re not going to stand for his shit anymore. All while you had this internal battle tears just started falling onto your cheeks. You didn't even know that someone was standing in the doorway trying to figure out the best way to go about this. 

 “Are you okay? Well, obviously you’re not okay. I just mean what’s wrong.” You look up to see Spencer trying to calculate the best way to approach you. You can see the concern on his face because there’s nothing more special in this world to Spencer than his mother and his work family. As his “work wife” you were constantly there for each other. For some reason, you and Spencer were “work husband and work wife” and so were Emily and Hotch at least according to Morgan and Garcia. It was a running joke that JJ and Rossi were the only ones who didn't need one because JJ had Will and Rossi had too many ex-wives.

 Hearing Spencer’s kind tone felt like heaven. He’s always so soft-spoken with big puppy dog eyes. He walks over to you and kneels near you. Spencer isn’t always one to initiate physical contact but when his friends are hurting he can make an exception. He gently holds your hands while stroking the back of your hands with his thumbs. Meanwhile, you continue sobbing with your head down not wanting to make eye contact with him. 

 “Sometimes life just really sucks, you know,” you said while chuckling because you couldn't find the right words. “Joey and I finally had the final straw that broke the camel's back. We broke up and I can’t go back there.” What you don’t see is Spencer’s big puppy dog eyes welling up because he’s so concerned for you. He’s not exactly sure what the right thing is to say at the moment. So he just decides to stroke his thumbs over the back of your hand. 

“You’re more than welcome to stay with me while you get your footing and I know I’m not the most intimidating person so if you want we can go with Morgan to pick up your things.” You chuckled slightly before you looked at him.

“Thank you for being you and thank you for being here with me.”

“You’re welcome, there's no place I’d rather be. On that note, Hotch needs us at the round table, that's why I came to get you.”

“Okay let’s get this show on the road then,” You say before standing up and letting go of Spencer’s hands. You guys walk out of your office together and make your way to the round table.

:

:

:

:

Taglist: @rexorangecouny​ @haylaansmi​

[mxvladdy]

Sleep HCs

It’s a sleepy day for me and by doggo so here are some sleep head cannons of the brothers bc why not.

Lucifer 

Is a stomach or side sleeper. Not because he likes it but out of necessity. His back still irritates him, so when he actually schedules some shut eye he preps meticulously. 

He bathes before hand, usually soaking in a mix of muscle relaxers to help release some of the tension from the work day and to help with his nerve damage. His favorite scents are lavender and a blend of spearmint. They make him a little drowsy and soften his perpetual headache. 

His bed is very nest-like. Pillows and blankets meticulously placed to help him stay in one place while he rests. Too much tossing and turning irritates him. He likes feeling cocooned and tight. It is a self soothing mechanism he developed over his first few years in the devildom. 

But this is all when he actually has time to sleep for more than a few hours. 

Most of his sleeping is little naps thrown in over the work week. On average he gets about 14-18 hours a week. It’s enough (so he says but he is a cantankerous bastard regardless so it’s hard to tell for sure) 

He sleeps like the dead, hands down corpse like. But don’t let that fool you, he doesn’t sleep like the dead. He is up and moving the moment he hears something that sounds like trouble. 

Runs cold. Has fancy silk pajama sets. A gift from Diavolo. 

His mattress is extra firm.

Mammon 

Back and side sleeper. He has a bed- but he uses it mostly as an extension to his wardrobe. Let's be real. He’s a messy guy. He normally crashes on his couch after a wild weekend bender.

He moves a lot in his sleep, kicking, tossing and turning. An absolute tangle of limbs and clothes. Like Lucifer he has a few scars and old injuries that twinge and hurt when he lays on them. Not that it stops him. 

He sleeps like the dead, tossing and turning and all. Short of someone dragging him off his couch or touching goldie he doesn’t wake up. 

Snores and drools-will not admit it but when he stumbles out of his room looking like a hot mess, crusty eyes and bedraggled hair you know he had a great sleep. 

He doesn’t have a set sleeping schedule. He goes until he crashes- like the energizer bunny. 

Sleeps with one body pillow. Likes the feel of having something draping or touching him in his sleep. Reminds him of when he would fall asleep with his brothers after a long day of training and studying in the celestial realm. 

Runs hot so he likes to sleep in his boxers and a tank top.

His mattress is medium firm

Leviathan 

Does he sleep? The world may never know. 

Between the energy drinks he practically IV drips into his veins and he determination to power though another level he doesn’t remember when he sleeps.

He just blacks out. A blink turns into a twelve hour coma. 

His tub is comfy as hell and everybody knows it. It cradles him when he sleeps, blankets and pillows are now molded to his shape. 

He washes his tub lining often. He really likes the smell of citrus and musk. Whenever the smell begins to dissipate he’ll toss it all in the wash. Minus his novelty pillows. Those get dry cleaned or spot cleaned. 

He’s a side sleeper. Once he’s settled he ain’t moving. 

Though since he doesn’t plan to sleep 80% of the time he passes out at his desk. But can you blame him? I bet he has a super cozy gaming chair and pillow.

Runs cold. Cocoons himself in mounds of blankets. Snake burrito. 

He doesn’t have a mattress but the mound of pillows and blankets is the equivalent of a medium soft mattress 

Satan

Probably has the most normal sleep schedule. He has a set wind down time and lights out time too.

Does he keep to it? I mean- it’s the thought that counts. If he is wrapped up in a good book or research time just gets the better of him. 

He has his bed nestled up against the one window of his room that isn’t covered in books or shelves 

Uses the eternal moonlight to read. Drifts off most evenings with a book slipping down his chest.

Sleeps propped up on a poof or reading pillow. Doesn’t like things covering him. He runs hot so his pajamas are enough for him. 

Needs the least amount of sleep out of all the brothers. He loves that. Means he can read and do more without it hampering his mood.

Very light sleeper any shift he does in his sleep wakes him up. But he normally falls right back to sleep. 

His mattress is firm 

Asmodeus

Scheduled down to the minute. If he doesn’t get his nine hours of sleep be prepared for a scene. 

Starts getting ready for bed about two hours before he actually falls asleep. Hot bath, oils, new face mask to try, the works. School can be stressful you know? And six brothers? It’s a miracle he doesn’t have wrinkles yet.   

He keeps his bedroom tidy and always smelling good. Needless clutter messes with him and makes it hard for him to fall asleep. 

Has a noise machine and an oil diffuser on when he sleeps. Even if he's in bed he knows his brothers aren't so it helps mute them so he can sleep.

Sleeps in the nude. He doesn't run hot or cold but he likes to sleep in a cooler room. Helps shrink the pores or something like that. 

His bed is large but sparse. He really only needs his silk sheets and a thin cover. He has a few bolster pillows and poofs on the bed but really he doesn't sleep with pillows. 

Is a back sleeper and- no one will tell him this on fear of death but he is an ugly sleeper. 

Mouth open, limbs akimbo, soft little snores and snorts. It’s cute, whether or not he thinks so. 

His mattress is soft

Beelzebub

Tries to have a good sleep schedule. It’s imperative to keeping up a healthy body after all.

But he gets so hungry. He gorges himself when he starts to feel tired in hopes that he can sleep a few hours before getting up for a midnight (or anytime snack) 

He drinks a lot of tea actually right before bed. It makes him sleepy and fills up his stomach. 

He sleeps on his stomach with his arms wrapped around his pillow. Another one that sleeps in the buff too. He is a night sweater too. 

He only started covering himself for bed when you started living with them. It’s only polite. 

Gets about 2 to 3 hours at a time with a snack break in between. 

He doesn’t have a lot of pillows mostly because he has eaten them while dreaming. Constantly buying new pillows adds up ya know?

He doesn’t toss and turn but he does roll over once or twice in the night.

Dead silent when he sleeps. He just emits a deep rumble when he snoozes. From his chest or his stomach. It’s a 50/50 split. 

His mattress is medium firm 

Belphegor 

Ha.

The king of sleep. The lord of stealth sleeping. It’s become a sport to him now. How many sleeping nooks can he find around R.A.D so Lucifer’s blood pressure spikes looking for him. His highest score is 37. 

If he could sleep with his eyes open he would. But he can’t and he hates it.

He likes to sleep during the school day. It’s a mix of protesting this dumb idea and so that he can stay up at night when everything is nice and quiet. 

It doesn’t  matter to him where or how he sleeps. As long as he can curl up around something soft he is happy. 

Likes it dark and very snug when he’s sleeping. A very still sleeper. Once he’s comfy he locks in place. 

Murmurs in his sleep. Little disjointed things. You can have a full fledged conversation with him. He’ll give you little grunts and sighs in response. 

If he does get to his room before falling asleep he buries himself in blankets to the point where you can't figure out if he is in there or not. (Kinda like those lizards that bury themselves in sand, same motion and everything.) 

Again doesn’t care where he sleeps but his mattress is soft. 

[jobean12-blog]

Finders Keepers

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Word Count: 1,344

Summary: Oreos, Bucky’s Henley and scary movies...

Author’s Note: This is for the continuation of the HBC’s @the-ss-horniest-book-club drunk drabbles and the super fun prompt sent in below. It’s very hard for me to pass up red Henley beefy bucky prompts of any kind. Thank you for this one! I hope you like it! Thank you all for reading! Much love always ❤❤❤

Warnings: Fluff, scary movie with CLOWNS!, flirting, teasing, sassy and sexy Bucky :)

You love being a part of the Avengers team. It had only been a short time since you joined but they accepted you like family. That’s how you found yourself currently sandwiched between the arm rest of the couch and Bucky during movie night. It was Steve’s brilliant idea to watch the remake of ‘It’ and although you told them a million times you were terrified of clowns, they insisted, team bonding and all that.

So now you’re curled into a ball with your head hidden under a pillow and Bucky’s warm body next to yours. A sudden streak of light invades your safe space as Bucky lifts the pillow and peeks his head under. “You ok in here, doll?” You crack open your eyes and focus on his bright blue ones. “Um. Yea. I think. Is the clown gone yet?”

Bucky looks out over the pillow, quickly sneaking back under. “No. He’s not.” You close your eyes again and just nod, hoping he drops the pillow soon. Instead you feel his strong arms wrap around you, turning your body into his and pulling you to his chest. Without looking up you snuggle against his soft tee shirt and take a deep breath, your fingers instinctively gripping the material.

His metal hand combs through your hair, gently twirling the strands around his fingers and you start to relax. At one point he taps your shoulder and you look at him. He smiles, motioning toward the TV and the scrolling end credits. You sit up with a bolt. “It’s over!?” you shout in glee. Bucky throws his head back in laughter and curls his finger under your chin, “yep, the clown is gone doll.”

His gaze drops to your lips before he clears his throat. “Want something to drink?” Not trusting yourself to speak you simply nod a yes, watching as he walks to the kitchen. He reaches the counter and grabs two glasses from the cabinet, filling them with cold water.

You find it hard to tear your eyes away from his body, the tight tee shirt doing nothing to hide his broad chest and bulging biceps. When he sits his shirt rides up and your eyes widen as you catch a glimpse of the soft patch of hair just above the waistband of his pants.

Grabbing the glass of water, you chug half of it hoping to cool yourself off. “Thirsty?” he asks with a chuckle. You almost choke on your drink, realizing that he probably knows you’ve been enjoying the view. “Yea, I didn’t drink anything the whole movie. Too scared to come out of hiding,” you say, hoping to diffuse some of the tension. “I really hate clowns.”

His metal arm rests on the back of the couch and his fingers brush yours as he asks, “any particular reason or just the obvious?” You try to focus on talking but your body is making it difficult, practically humming under his touch. “No childhood trauma or anything like that, just the fact that they are obviously terrifying!”

“I get it. If I had to pick, I’d rather fight an army of aliens!” You laugh, loving how his eyes crinkle around the corners at the sound. “A big, strong guy like you. I think you could take on some clowns.” You say the words while your eyes roam across his wide shoulders, smiling again once your gaze meets his. “So, you think I’m…”

“Hey Bucky. Have you seen my Oreos? I know you’re always stealing and eatin’ ‘em!” You look over Bucky’s shoulder to find a very pissed off Sam standing at the island in the kitchen. Bucky’s jaw clenches as he turns to look at Sam. “This time it wasn’t me. Check Parker’s room, last time I stole them he was eyein’ them too!” Sam stalks off in a huff, mumbling under his breath and Bucky laughs turning back to you.

He opens his mouth to speak only to be cut off again, this time by Peter’s screech as he flies into the common room, Oreos in hand. “HELP!” he shouts, sandwiching himself between you and Bucky. “What the hell Parker! What has your underoos twisted?” Not a second later, Sam walks in the room in a flurry of flying hands and curses. “If you don’t give me back my cookies…” he threatens Peter.

You discreetly reach out, snatching the Oreos from Peter’s hands and running for your life. You manage to make it to your door, opening and closing it so quickly you make wind. With a click you lock it, leaning against the wood. A loud knock vibrates through your head. “Y/n, if you don’t open this door and gimme back my cookies.”

With a snicker you press your face to the wood. “Nope. I’m gonna pour some milk right now and enjoy a few. You’ll get back what’s left later. You all need to learn to share!” You walk away from Sam’s loud knocks and shouts, putting on your music and getting the milk. After enjoying a few cookies, you turn down the music and listen at the door, hearing no sign of any of the boys.

Smiling to yourself you change into your pjs of a tank top and shorts and quietly open the door. Cookies in hand you creep down the hallway toward the kitchen. No one is around and you set the cookies back in Sam’s usual hiding spot, laughing to yourself at the fact none of them realize you knew where it was. You make some tea and go to sit on the couch.

Plopping your butt down you feel something balled up beneath it and quickly stand, picking up what looks to be a shirt. You unravel the material and smooth your hands over the soft red fabric. It’s huge so you’re guessing it must belong to one of the guys. Bringing it up to your nose you inhale, a familiar smell washing over you. You’re still not positive who it belongs to though, so you fold it nicely and set it down on the table.

Settling on the couch you drink your tea while watching some cooking shows, enjoying the quiet. Placing your empty teacup down you shiver, the hot liquid no longer warming your body. Your eyes land on the red Henley on the table and you shrug. Taking the shirt, you unfold it and slowly place it over your head. The soft material feels amazing against your bare arms. It nearly falls to your knees and you giggle, wrapping it closer to your body.

“I see you like to take things that don’t belong to you.” Your body stills at the sound of Bucky’s deep voice, his hot breath next to your ear. You snap your head around and come face to face with him, his lips curled up into a smirk. “I didn’t take it. I’m just…borrowing it.” He slowly walks around the couch, his eyes never leaving yours. “Oh yea. Usually you ask people before you borrow their stuff.”

Crossing your arms over your chest you huff, “well! I don’t know who it belongs to. I was cold. So.” Bucky inches closer, his tall frame towering over you. When his body brushes against yours you’re enveloped by the same smell from before. The same smell that’s on the shirt you’re wearing right now.

“This is your red Henley isn’t it.” It’s more of a statement than a question and when you look up at his face you know you’re in trouble. The best kind. “Mmmm hmmm.” His hand reaches up to tuck a strand of hair behind your ear before trailing down your cheek. “You can keep it though.” Your face lights up but not before he continues with, “on one condition. Tell me how you figured out where Sam hides his cookies and let me take you out on a date. Whaddya say?” Standing up on your tippy toes you place a soft kiss to his cheek, whispering, “that’s two things. And the answer is yes to both.”

@aesthetical-bucky @auro-ora @addikted-2-dopamine @azurika-writes @book-dragon-13 @bugsbucky @bucky-on-my-mind @buckys-broody-muffin @devynsdiary @emilylyoness @eurynome827 @hiddles-rose @hailmary-yramliah @hawksmagnolia @ikaris-whore @itsunclebucky @imgaril-lindru @jhangelface0523 @jewels2876 @breezy1415 @kaosera @yansi1923 @loricameback @littledarlinhavefaithinme @littleredstarfish @mushyjellybeans @marvelgirl7 @marvelandotherfandomimagines @nano--raptor @randomfandompenguin @sallycanwait68 @scarletsoldierrr @softpeachbarnes​ @the-wayward-robot​ @when-the-hell-is-bucky​ 

[fiddlepickdouglas]

Viva Las Vegas, Pt. 3 - Bodega

Summary: Sunset Curve Alive AU, Willex, is it a date?, 2.7k

WARNINGS: cancer mention, lines in Spanish will have translations in the tags

@trevor-wilson-covington is the bestie who makes me these lovely edits, we stan supportive friends

Part 1, Part 2

Alex followed the gentle clack-clack-clack of the wheels eagerly, watching as Willie glided this way and that through the street. He shoved down the thought that his walk was only going to be a short one. After a few blocks, Willie slowed to a stop outside a bodega and waited for Alex to catch up before going inside.

“Hola, ese!” The guy behind the counter called as they entered.

Willie nodded and raised his eyebrows at him in greeting, lifting off his helmet and leaning his board against the wall of the counter. Immediately, an orange striped cat hopped up onto the surface with an excited little ‘prrrrp?’ and approached so Willie could pet him.

“Hey, Sheldon,” he said, massaging behind the cat’s ears as it rubbed its head aggressively against his shirt. Then, Sheldon sniffed Alex’s sleeve in curiosity as he stood timidly amid the unfamiliar.

“He’s friendly,” Willie assured. “Unless you’re allergic,” he added cautiously.

Alex smiled as he took the cat’s face in his hands, rubbing the sweet spots on his neck.

“No, good thing I’m not.” Sheldon was already purring, the sound soothing Alex’s slight shakiness. Willie smoothed the fur along his back.

“Have you been good today?” he asked in a baby voice.”You been treating Escobar right?” The cat meowed and rubbed against Willie’s chest.

“He caught two mice this morning,” The man, whom Alex assumed was Escobar, said. He was trying to wipe what looked like grease on his hands. “He’s happy because I gave him sardines.”

“Thanks, man,” Willie told him. “By the way, this is Alex.”

“Nice to meet you,” Alex said, realizing his hands had been gripping his fanny pack anxiously and loosening them.

“Good to meet you, Alex,” Escobar offered his wrist to shake, his hand being dirty. Alex shook it awkwardly and then Sheldon pushed his way in between and rubbed his head against his hand. Willie laughed.

“He seems to really like you,” he said.

“All I did was pet him,” Alex replied.

“Well, if Willie likes someone, the cat usually does, too,” Escobar informed him.

Alex smiled, unsure what to say to that.

“Que pasó con tu mano?” Escobar directed to Willie in concern, looking pointedly at his hand.

Willie only laughed and lifted the hand in question.

“Scrapes everyday,” was all he had to say.

The man only shook his head as he moved to put away the rag he’d been wiping his hands on.

“Te tienes que cuidarte mejor,” he said as he came back to the counter. “So what are we eating today?”

“We’ll see,” Willie said. He turned to Alex. “Do you want anything?”

He blinked, flustered.

“Are you - are you sure?” The words it’s not a date, it’s not a date, began repeating in his head incessantly. Right? A guy can buy another guy he just met food...after inviting him to follow him...on his way to get food….

“Yeah, I’ve got you covered,” Willie told him, moving over to a part of the counter where a sandwich menu was posted on top of it. Alex felt a bass drum going in his chest and tapped his toe to mimic it, hoping he could play it off as just taking time to decide.

“Take your time, amigos, I gotta wash my hands real quick,” Escobar said before disappearing.

“I don’t understand most of what he says,” Willie murmured so only Alex could hear. “But I get the general idea.”

He could only smirk in response. Perusing the menu, Alex quickly made a selection, still hesitant about accepting Willie’s offer. He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked around the bodega. He’d been to a few around L.A. but they all had their differences. This one was rather spacious, with some tables set up outside, and of course the sandwiches were an uncommon feature.

“So,” Willie started, grabbing his attention. “Do you often follow strangers through the city?”

Alex exhaled nervously, only then realizing what he’d just done.

“No,” he shook his head. Willie leaned on the counter, smirking. “No, this is kind of a first. Why, do you get followed a lot?”

Willie only bit his lip and shook his head. They chuckled together for a moment.

“I just come here every day during my lunch break,” Willie explained. “To check on Sheldon. Figured if you were game, you’d come.”

Alex looked at him in confusion.

“You explained none of that back there; you just nodded.”

“And yet….” Willie said, gesturing toward him. The unspoken truth hovered between them so potently Alex expected to receive a static shock.

“So...is Sheldon your cat?” he asked to diffuse the tension. Sheldon perked up at the sound of his name and pattered over to them.

“Yeah,” Willie responded as if he’d been distracted by his thoughts for a second. “I found him a few months ago and he was just really sick and weak and I couldn’t leave him like that, so Escobar was nice to let me keep him here since I can’t have him with me.”

“Why can’t you - ” Alex began before Escobar came back through, rubbing his newly cleaned hands.

“Okay, primos, we ready?” he asked.

“Yep!” Willie said, flashing a look to Alex that he’d answer him later. “Just the usual for me. You know what you want, Alex?”

“The, uh, chicken panini,” he said quickly. He glanced over at Willie again and got a tiny nod that yes, he was fine to get a sandwich. As Escobar got to work making them, they went over to the tables outside and sat down.

“I figured I could thank you a little bit, considering the generous tip I got this morning,” Willie said.

Alex swallowed, remembering how hard he had to convince the boys to leave a good deal of money so Willie could get into the show in the evening. It wasn’t until Bobby had made up something about getting more fans that got Luke and Reggie to agree. In retrospect, the count of bold decisions he was making that day was record-breaking.

“I wouldn’t have asked you to return a favor,” he said. “But I do appreciate the sandwich.” He felt Sheldon rub against his leg.and smiled as he looked down. “You weren’t kidding when you said he was friendly. This is the happiest cat I’ve ever met.”

Willie nodded. “He’s changed so much since we found him.”

He paused and just looked at Alex for a moment. 

“You don’t relax much, huh?” he wondered aloud in a soft manner.

Alex looked down at his hands once again keeping a death grip on the strap of his fanny pack, released them, and put them down in his lap.

“No better time to start than now, right?” he said, taking in a couple deep breaths. He couldn’t help it. One look at Willie made him feel like time fell from orbit - whatever that meant. His hands still needed something to do though, so he pulled out his drumsticks again and lightly tapped on the edge of the table. Willie bobbed his head to the rhythm, scrunching his nose.

After a few minutes, they heard Escobar call out and they went to collect their sandwiches. Willie glanced at the clock above them and grabbed his board.

“I don’t know how, but it’s already almost time to head back,” he said.

Alex hadn’t figured him to care about punctuality, but took his sandwich from Escobar, ready to follow Willie back toward the hotel. There was no chance he would find his way back alone. Escobar wagged a finger for him to come closer. Nervously, Alex leaned toward the counter.

“Tú tienes cara de fresa,” he said, to which Alex only blinked cluelessly. “Pero me caes bien.” The man simply nodded, smiling slightly. Alex looked between him and Willie, neither of them offering a translation.

“Th...thanks,” he stuttered. He leaned down and scratched Sheldon’s head to bid adieu.

“I’ll be back later for Sheldon,” Willie told Escobar as they exited.

Before Willie mounted his board, he got a few good bites into his sandwich. They had gotten about half a block away before Alex dared to ask.

“Do you have any clue what he said to me?”

“I think it was a compliment,” Willie said, mouth slightly full of food.

They continued back toward the hotel, eating their sandwiches as Alex simply ruminated over everything that had just transpired. Willie glanced over occasionally, always with a smile, and clearly travelling slower than he had before so he didn’t leave Alex too far behind. As they finally approached their destination, Willie dismounted his board for a moment.

“Hey,” he said, the soft tone Alex had heard earlier coming back. “Thanks for going with me. It was nice.”

Alex smiled, momentarily losing his entire working vocabulary to giddiness.

“No problem,” he said finally. “See you around?”

Willie nodded.

“See you around.”

Back at the Pearl, the band was set up for their sound check. Luke was an uncontained mass of energy at this point - kissing his rabbit’s foot countless times, swinging his arm tie around to see how far a distance he could hit people from, and his hands rarely leaving his guitar. Alex had a feeling it was only going to get worse the second he saw Julie. They all assembled on the stage and took up their instruments, waiting for the sound tech to instruct them.

“Okay, Reggie, give us a line,” was heard from the booth. Reggie improvised a bass lick on the spot for about thirty seconds, which was far more than the sound guys needed. It was a wicked line, though, and Alex couldn’t blame him for riding it out. He could see Luke and Bobby raising their eyebrows, hoping they could play with it later.

The techs guided them through the instruments one by one, then microphones, and then prepared for them to play together. This was the first time they were all playing with earpieces to hear everything properly and it was certainly an exciting change. Alex could hear them almost as if he were listening to their own demo and he couldn’t describe the feeling.

On cue, Luke played the opening riff to Now or Never and the energy immediately flowed as they all joined him.

“Take off, last stop, count down till we blast open the top…”

Nothing like getting to play to take the edge off of everything. He’d started the day early and thought there would be nothing more nerve-wracking than getting on this stage. Sure, he knew he could do it, but the pressure to somehow gain the support of hundreds more people in one go had been mounting on him the last few days. Fans who came to him after shows and told him that he made a difference to them? That he was something more than just an awkward teen who was bullied for being gay and having nut allergies? It was surreal. Alex wanted to keep reality close most of the time. Making music was the exception where he was happy to escape.

They finished the song, and as Alex swept his hair out of his eyes he saw a figure stand up from sitting in the middle of the empty venue, clapping their hands.

“You guys, that was phenomenal!” Julie Molina was saying, making her way onto the stage.

“Julie!” all of the guys cried out, nearly in unison. Luke was already bounding over as she made her way up to the stage. Reggie and Bobby lifted the straps off their guitars and followed suit as Alex casually brought up the rear.

“Hey guys,” Julie said, returning all of their high-fives and fist bumps. “I’m so excited for tonight, we’re going to have a good show.”

“I’m ready for us to blow everybody away,” Luke said enthusiastically. Alex, Reggie and Bobby exchanged knowing looks but refrained from commenting. Julie probably thought he was talking about the band. Luke probably thought the same, funnily enough.

“I have my own sound check to do, but it’ll be good to hang with you guys until the show opens,” she told them.

“Can we stick around and watch?” Luke asked.

Julie shrugged nonchalantly. “Yeah, go ahead!”

“Sweet!” Reggie said, already taking a seat. Bobby settled down next to him while Alex took the seat behind them.

He remembered when they met her it was at some battle of the bands out in Bakersfield. She’d been part of the duo Double Trouble, and her friend Flynn had gotten sick shortly before they were supposed to go on. She took the stage anyway and had the audience at her feet, and Alex had never seen Luke so entranced. At the end, they invited her to jam until they were forced to shut down at about one in the morning. Everything that had transpired in those few hours was unforgettable, and the guys agreed they would all gladly do it again.

That was a year ago. Now, with her first album out, the guys had all been stoked to get the call to open for her. Alex was pretty sure Luke had been keeping tabs on her the whole time, and he likely didn’t realize how obvious it was. There was something about the way he got very defensive when the guys occasionally suggested going back to the songs they’d gotten started with her, and how he refused to do it without her.

The four of them sat mesmerized as Julie’s fingers elicited the most heartfelt and energizing melodies from the piano. A soft, swelling joy came over Alex, and he wanted to give Julie the strongest hug when she finished. Her music was touching and he couldn’t help but need to express that to her. Peeking at the two below him, he saw Reggie clearly shedding some tears and Bobby clenching his fist because it wasn’t the right moment to wipe them away.

Suddenly one of the crew members walked onto the stage, making Julie stop playing. He muttered something to her that the boys couldn't hear. She sat straight with fear in her eyes and hurried backstage without a word. Luke turned around to look at the rest of his band and they all mirrored his concern. Slowly, they rose and headed toward the green room where they found Julie on the phone.

“Dad, what happened?” she was saying, audibly shaking.

Alex held out a hand and they all stopped in their tracks. He looked at Luke and shook his head. Whatever they were hearing, he figured she didn’t want them listening in on. Luke knit his eyebrows, and Alex could see the internal fight going on in his mind as he considered staying to comfort her or giving her space. After a moment he nodded to Alex and they pulled back into one of the dressing rooms.

None of them said a word as they waited. Alex pulled out his drumsticks and tapped them on his knees to fight off the rising anxiety in his chest. Nobody bothered looking at the clock and nobody made eye contact. Those three words they’d heard repeated on a loop in Alex’s brain, and he was sure they were in the minds of the others. That hug he had thought about giving felt both highly necessary and very inadequate, and he didn’t even know what the phone call was about.

After some time, Julie appeared in the doorway. She looked around at all of them and breathed deeply.

“My mom is in the hospital right now,” she said soberly. “She’s been in cancer treatment for a few months now and it was in remission, but it’s coming back."

Her eyes remained cast toward the floor, and each of the guys hesitated to move.

"I can't cancel tonight, but…" she began saying. Luke raised a hand to cover his face, clearly afraid of the rest of that sentence.

"I'm sorry guys, but I need some time to myself." She left, but Alex saw her face twist with pain before she was completely out of sight and he thought he felt his heart snap in two. Everyone looked at Luke as he sat at a loss for words.

Finally, Luke straightened up and a calm fierceness took over his countenance.

"We gotta make tonight the best, you guys, you hear me?"

Each of them nodded solemnly.

"Alright. We aren't legends for ourselves, tonight. We're legends for Julie."

[tooobsessedwithfandoms]

Heartbroken Chapter Three (Spencer Reid/Emily Prentiss x Reader)

Summary: Spencer is in love with you but he’s too late.

A/N: Hey guys this is part 3! I said I would explore Emily and Y/Ns relationship more so that's what this is about. I would really appreciate it if you guys gave me feedback because it helps me improve! This is also a lot longer than the others, and if anyone wants to be added to my tag list please let me know! This is also very loosely edited.

Words: 1.5k

Chapter 1 / Chapter 2

Master List

Warnings: Swearing, smut implied to have happened, CM stuff involving children, foster system and angst. If I have forgotten any please let me know!

Y/N couldn’t believe it, how did she not know? Once Penelope had finally caved in and told Y/N why Spencer had been avoiding her, it all made sense. She recalled back to the times she would be alone with the boy wonder, whether that be in the BAU or when they would frequently get coffee with each other and he would graze his large hands against her own. Or when he would gaze at her a little too long when they were on the jet after a hard case, Y/N thought nothing of it. He was her best friend, and despite him being a germaphobe, physical contact was common between the two. There was trust, and going past Spencer's physical bubble happened all the time. Not to mention that Y/N was a naturally physical person, she had even hugged Hotch on one too many occasions and like all the other profilers at the BAU, he would accept them with open arms. If anyone had a problem or simply just needed comfort, Y/N was the person to go to. So when Spencer would want to cuddle on the couch when on the jet, or anywhere else for that matter, Y/N would gladly accept and push away any ulterior motives to the back of her head. But now it all made sense. Did Spencer actually care about being her friend? Yes, yes of course he did. He just accidentally fell in love with Y/N along the way.

“Princess, you okay?” Emily’s groggy (yet somehow attractive) voice bringing Y/N back from her thoughts. Her hand combing through Y/Ns hair as they were both entangled within one another, just having made love to each other for the first time in a while. The last case had been long, and had taken a toll on them both. It had involved children, which were always the worst cases to cover. But now 8 children had to go into the system or go live with other members of their family due to the unsub taking their parents' lives. Y/N had forgotten all about the situation with Spencer until the case was over, prioritising her job and saving lives over anything else. But now as she was back in her small apartment, in her loving girlfriends arms, it all came flooding back to her. 

She looked up at the beautiful face above her, eyes full of love and lust locking like it was the first time they met. They were both very much in love with one another, and both fell just as fast and hard as the other half. Something about knowing that the other was constantly in danger had created an aura of protection around the couple, the threat had been a great catalyst in the progression of the relationship. They were both aware that one or the other could be hurt at any time during any of the cases and that made both girls love and respect for each other increase at a rapid rate. And so when they were together in that peaceful bliss of being alone, they fell even harder. 

But Y/N had to bring it up.

“Spencer-”

“What about him?” Emily's voice demanded, her demeanour switched completely. She kneeled up on the bed, sporting only the bare minimum due to the activity the two had just partaken in. Her eyes had flicked from love to anger and...was that jealousy? Her hair stuck up even more due to the rate at which she had changed position, she had gone from relaxed to defensive within a second and that had frightened Y/N. So much so she cowered away, her back pushed upon the head board even further. A pissed off Emily Prentiss was not to be messed with, and anyone who encountered her in such a way had learned not to annoy her off ever again. Y/N had seen her angry before, but Emily wasn’t angry. No, she was seething. How had muttering the name of someone the team knew and loved (including Emily) now caused such a reaction? 

“N-nothing Em, its nothing” Y/N reassured, both knew it was a blatant lie but Y/N just wanted to diffuse the tension and if dropping the subject of the one thing she needed to speak to her girlfriend about would do so, then she would. Y/N didn’t care about herself and her problems at the moment. However, she did care about the angelic yet intimidating form in front of her and why speaking such a name, a name of a close friend and work colleague at that, would make her love react in such a way. “Are” Y/N cleared her throat “Are you okay?”

“It seems like we both ask that question a lot…” Emily sighed, she was fed up and tired. Tired of thinking that her girlfriend would run away into the sunset with Spencer. She knew it wasn’t Y/Ns fault, and it wasn’t fair for her to take it out on Y/N either. But she couldn’t help it. Just knowing that there was a chance Y/N would decide Spencer was a much better fit for her and thus leaving Emily all alone made her heartbreak. She would totally understand if Y/N decided to leave her and she respected that. She would leave her alone, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't hurt. Because it would. “Look, I understand if you want to leave me” Emily quietly stated, it hurt her to say such a thing but she respected Y/Ns choices. 

“Wait, Em what are you tal-” 

Emily made a noise, Y/N assumed it was to ‘shh’ her but it sounded more like a cry or wail. It didn’t take a genius to know that Emily's heart was cracking in two. “You wanna break up with me right? And I get it! I really do, because Spencers in love with you and we all know that and Penelope blabbed and told us all that you now know too, and i tried to take your mind off it with that mind blowing se-”

“Emily please!”

“No, please. Please just listen to me Y/N. Be-” A tear ran down her face “Because i really...really love you okay? Like, so much.” She stood up “and I want you to be happy!” She put on her clothes, all while Y/N sat on the messy bed in tears. She wanted to tell Emily that she wasn’t going to leave her and that she reciprocated the overwhelming love Emily felt for her but she knew that if she interrupted her broken girlfriend now, Emily would just leave. And that was the last thing she wanted right now “So, if you want to leave me for Reid, then okay. That's okay, just please do it now before I fall even harder.” She picked up her go-bag and walked towards the door. “I will come tomorrow for the rest of my stuff okay?” 

The smile that she gave Y/N was full of sadness and regret. Did she regret their relationship? This made Y/N finally take action and stand up from the sheets that she was settled in previously and run towards the woman she was about to lose. 

“Em, don’t go!” Y/N choked through a sob. Her shaking hands grabbing Emily’s own hand that wasn't grasping onto the bag she was about to leave with. 

Emily shook her head, her hair slightly falling back down from its mane like state into its usual place. “No, it's fine Y/N. I’m going home.”

Y/N let go of Emily's hand and reached up to grasp Emily’s face instead, having to slightly lean on her toes to reach eye level. “No! Let me speak please!” Y/N said  through a sigh of frustration. “I don’t like Spencer Em...Why would I? Don’t get me wrong he's smart and an amazing person. Not to mention a brilliant friend-”

“Sounds like you stated your reasons right there” Emily whispered in embarrassment, eyes trying to find interest in the floor. 

“Hey, look at me please. He’s not you  Em, he's not you and he will never be you. If one day he changes his name to ‘Emily Prentiss’, starts wearing heels and a black wig-” Emily let out a slight laugh through the tears. “Then maybe...maybe i would consider him as an option.” Y/N let out a big grin causing Emily to do the same. “But in all seriousness Em, I love you and only you. Nothing will ever change that okay?” 

Emily just stared. Why was she so stupid? She just nearly broke up with her girlfriend because of a false instinct. But she was also grateful, because it told her that no matter what, no matter the obstacle or barrier that gets in the way of their relationship. They would always come out on top. This reassured her that the love she gave was being given back and it made her actually appreciate this little argument. But even though they had sorted this out between themselves thus making their relationship even stronger. They still had to speak to someone, they knew Y/N didn’t like Spencer. But Spencer didn’t.

And they had to sort that out.

[andyquynhnickyjoebookernile]

Joe & Nicky (Part 2)

[Part 1]

Another thing the TOG fandom has picked up on is that while Joe might be the more romantic one, Nicky isn’t exactly subtle about his feelings for Joe. Like, in a single conversation, he calls Joe his destiny and the love of his life. Then his expressions throughout that whole “Nothing that lives lives forever” conversation is very telling.

Apparently, some people were wondering if they would follow through on the whole sleeping cuddled together thing but as far as I was concerned the follow through was never in doubt, the only thing that was a surprise was in regards to what shape it would take.

I still can’t imagine that the very next conversation we have featuring these two has Nicky taking a bull-dozer to everyone’s doubts. This conversation is literally too much, because it goes on to establish Joe and Nicky as an inter-racial, inter-faith couple who literally were on opposing armies in the CRUSADES, like I can’t even begin to fathom just how much these two much love each other to overcome such seemingly insurmountable odds.

But, more than anything what got to me was that Nicky is blatantly flirting with Joe when he replies to Joe’s “We killed each other” with “Many times” like this guy has zero chill when it comes to loving Joe, Zero.

And the worst part is that, these aren’t even the most romantic moments between them, like the worst is yet to come.

The Van Scene – God, how do I even begin to tackle that scene.

First of all, hands down it is the most romantic scene I have ever witnessed on screen and that is saying something because there are whole movies devoted to romance which don’t even come close to the level of emotion these two display in this scene. Like, how do you even come to terms with what this scene is.

From the very first “Nicolo” and that shoulder graze to that kiss, every beat in this scene keeps compounding the effect till your heart bursts with the sheer emotion coming across the screen.

Marwan Kenzari deserves a fricking Oscar for that performance because he fully committed to the scene. For anyone who couldn’t comprehend what their relationship must be like, he gives you the most effective crash course possible. Like, this is who they are, this is how much they love each other, this is how much it hurts to imagine life without the other even though you have been together for centuries, you still want more centuries together. This love which is as deep as an ocean and maybe even deeper because you can never find the end of it. It conveys all that and more.

I have seen that scene so many times but it manages to get me every time because it is just so sincere, that it’s heartbreaking and I feel like crying typing this because it is an overload of emotion that is just staggering in its depth.

I feel like I have almost memorized all the lines to the scene because it hits so hard, like it just goes all out and decimates everything in its path with just how powerful it is.

And it’s the little things that make the scene, the way Joe is speaking Italian when he is trying to get Nicky to wake up and then when he’s trying to get himself oriented. Like, the whole “Destati – Sono qui” thing is romantic as is but this train has no breaks and it keeps going.

In the middle of all this and amidst hostility from the guards, Joe decides to appeal to the guard’s humanity and tells him “I need to know if he’s okay”. Considering what follows we often overlook how powerful this statement is, I need to know if he’s okay because that’s the only way I’ll be okay. Like how will I figure out when I should release this breath I’m holding if I can’t ascertain that he’s okay. Like, that statement is in itself loaded with implications.

Then the dreaded question followed by Nicky’s not this again face, like the last thing you want to know when you have barely managed to orient yourself to your surroundings is the fact that you are surrounded by people who are biased against who you are from the get go.

The thing with that particular question “What is he, your boyfriend?” is that it is something you are supposed to vehemently deny. The question frames itself in such a way that it lends itself to denial irrespective of what the truth might be. It also plays into that whole if you show emotion you are somehow a lesser man thing, it’s also a rhetorical question, no one asking that question in that tone actually wants an answer to it, it’s a question that’s supposed to make you cower and afraid but well that question had clearly never met Joe.

He systematically takes the question apart and renders it powerless and he does it by showing them a glimpse of the love that lives under his skin, the love that is a living, breathing thing, a force unto itself, something so powerful it can’t be denied and he nails it.

Even though on the surface it’s about answering a question, we can all agree that the answer is meant for Nicky and Nicky alone. It’s Joe’s attempt to remind Nicky that no matter the situation they find themselves in, Joe loves him and no matter how dire things become as long as they are together they can get through it all. It is love wrapped in reassurance wrapped in comfort.

But, the sheer honesty and sincerity of it is staggering and makes the moment so poignant.

“I love this man beyond measure and reason. He’s not my boyfriend.”

This is where he turns to Nicky.

“He’s all and he’s more.”

It’s painful to experience so much emotion and the only one who could have taken this confession of love and known how to respond perfectly was the person this devotion was directed towards.

“You’re an incurable romantic.”

God, and that kiss. It is the biggest affirmation of their love and the fact that even when things seem dire they will always have this. Always.

The thing that really surprised me later is that Joe and Nicky haven’t had a single moment alone since the start of the film till they are strapped down together in a lab. Also, this is the first time when they are talking to each other, unobserved by others and the scene is so good.

I like how Nicky’s mind works. I mean the scene starts with Nicky dismissing his worries with the line “as much as I like to watch you sleep, I’m glad you’re awake” and Joe immediately turns it around to make Nicky laugh.

Joe like really gets Nicky, two times so far he has managed to diffuse the tension with his words and he makes Nicky just brighten up. Someone already pointed out that this is the first time Nicky laughs so openly, like these two instinctively get each other.

Well, then comes the Malta conversation and like I can’t get over the amount of innuendo they were able to compress into five words.

“Oh, that time in Malta.”

Like, it makes me laugh, it’s such a gooey scene.

These were the things that stood out during my first viewing. Tumblr has been amazing in educating me about “Nicky’s death scene” like that has been dissected and studied every which way. But, it is worth mentioning that the moment Nicky wakes up he touches Joe, first and foremost reassuring him and then immediately gets up to go help Andy.

These two are so incredible. I feel like there are lots of reasons for that. But, I think I want to do a quick recap of everything I missed the first time that made the sense the second time.

So, first off, this movie presents Joe and Nicky as a unit since the very first time Andy mentions them. Her question is just that – Joe and Nicky? The next significant moment is at the kill floor, the first thing Joe does on waking up is look towards Nicky only to find Nicky looking back, unfortunately they don’t cut back to Joe which would have made this even more apparent but they do share a look.

The next thing I can’t believe I completely missed on my first viewing is the way they fight. Truthfully, do all action movies, do this, like Nicky and Joe fight like they are telling a story. They are literally fighting half a fight that only makes sense when you put them together and they do it so effortlessly, that it feels so natural that you can’t even tell the amount of years spent fighting together that must have gone in to make this work so flawlessly.

Since the very first fight where they are completing each other’s moves and especially in the case of Nicky, keeping track of Joe’s weapons because Joe seems to discard his weapons before Nicky manages to get his hands on another one, like they are that in sync that they know how to complete each other’s moves instinctively.

Hands down, this was one hell of a phenomenal decision to have their very fighting style say something about their relationship and has this even been done before, like it’s one hell of a statement but like with everything it just builds up their story and their relationship even more.

Again, these two are incredible. Like, god I love them so much and this is just what we get in the movie like this is literally the tip of the iceberg they have a millennia worth of story beneath this and it shows.

These two are so incredibly in love but at every turn their love makes them stronger.

The movie sets these two up so well like even imagining these two together in a potential sequel has me breaking out in squeals, like literally if they make out, if they so much as touch one another, in fact forget about touching if they so much as look towards one another, it will be the best thing to happen ever. Because now we know just how deep this particular well of love runs which also, makes separating them a very interesting scenario but I would literally give anything for them to get some alone time in the next one, because I will probably die from the feels but it will have been worth it.

[tangledlove27]

Old Friends and New Beginnings

Part 3 to the Chosen Curves series

Part 1 Part 2

Summary: Things are changing for the better.  

Pairing: Din x Female reader

Warnings: small injury, mild violence, and plenty of fluff with a little dirty talk

A/n: Thank @keeper0fthestars and @absurdthirst for your help with this fic

You stood at the bottom of the ladder blankly staring at the cockpit. The kid was down for a nap after the excitement at the bazaar earlier.  It truly was not your fault the man had mistaken your kindness for something else, you had simply been trying to help another child find their family.  After mispronounced words the man had pulled his blaster and fired.  The shot had thankfully missed the baby entirely and grazed you, it was however enough to get your riduur’s attention. Din was by your side in a heartbeat calming everyone involved, he translated what your intentions had been and tensions quickly diffused. The mandalorian quickly pushed you back home when he had seen the blaster shot on your shoulder.

So here you stood longing for your husband, Din treated your burn and left without another word.  Slowly you climbed up to him praying to the maker he was not still mad at you.  He was your riduur through thick and thin and nothing could change that right?  Making your way in, you stand with your back against the wall.  “Din?” you try making your voice as tiny as possible hoping it's enough to keep him from yelling.

It never came, Din sat silently gathering his strength.  “Please Din, I’m so sorry.  Maker just don’t leave…”  You never got to finish.  The mandalorian was up and in front of you before you could mumble another word.  He hesitated for a moment before grabbing the back of your neck and molding you to his chest. Armour long been removed he was soft and inviting.  You clung to your best friend as if your life depended on his warmth.  Tears flowed easy in these few moments, when an apology made its way to the tip of your tongue.

“Ner kar’ta I’m not mad at you, Maker I’m not mad at all.  I was scared to death I had lost you and the kid today.  And I do not know how I would have ever lived without you.”  The child fast asleep below the two of you held fast to one another eventually moving to sit in the chair.  Your riduur eased his hands over your back and buried his face in your neck.  Both of you stayed like that till your sobs had slowed to mere hiccups.

“Din,” you sniffled, gathering your thoughts together for what you needed to say.

“Yes mesh’la?”

“I think I’m ready to have a baby with you.”  Din’s head shot up from where he was pressing kisses to your favorite spot.  His eyes became as big as the galaxy itself.

“Really cyare?” There was no hiding the surprised joy in his voice no matter how he tried.

“Really,” you swallow to try and wet your throat.  “But we can barely take care of the green terror,  I have no idea how we could for another.”  Fresh tears are threatening to fall at the spiraling thoughts in your head.

“I think I have an idea, if you’re willing to listen.”  Din began rubbing your back once again to keep your tears at bay.

“I’m all ears Din.”

“Well, come on mesh’la let’s go lay in our bunk and we can talk about this.”  He says as he pats your behind to get you out of his lap.  Ushering you into the bunk, Din takes his place and pulls you close to his chest.  “This is something Paz Vizsla and I discussed the last time we were in the covert and I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell you about it.”

Worry evident on your face as you sat straight up in bed sending him a pleading look.  “Din, what’s wrong? Please my love, you’re scaring me.”

The mandalorian quickly touched your cheek reassuring you nothing was wrong. “Oh no ner cyare. So sorry sweet one, wrong choice of words.  No Paz’s son has come of age and much to his father’s dismay has wanted to follow in my path.  Which means I could pull back as the tribe only beroya.” Once again you shot straight up but this look was far from the tears of the last one.

“Wait, why would you be scared to tell me something like that.”

“Riduur,” he chuckled at the glare from you.  “Cort Vizsla only turned of age a couple months ago.  And I wasn’t sure if you were ready to settle down in the covert just yet?”

“Are you kidding me,” you interrupted his never ending thoughts.  “Of course I’m ready to stop this bullshit.  Let someone else deal with this for a while.”  The full body laugh that came from the body beneath you had you glaring once again.

“I love you cyar’ika.” He kissed your forehead then pulled the rest of you against his body.  “We can talk more in the morning about all this, but tonight I need to feel you against me. I want to take care of you after what happened today.”

“Din,” you moaned at his words, hearing the promise underneath.

“Yes mesh’la?”  His lust filled eyes met yours and both of you gasped when Din’s hand found your breast.

“Make love to me.”  He held your breast for a moment longer before pushing back down on the bunk.  Slowly he erased every memory of earlier events with each touch of your body.  Lips fused together in passion and hands explored every inch of flesh they could reach.  Din reached your stomach and stopped, taking his time relearning every single curve.

“Want me to make love to you cyare?  Hmm?”  His hands lingered on your midsection as he imagined what you would hopefully look like in the coming months

“Yes, yes Din please.”  The lustful need in your voice went straight to his cock.  

“Want me to take you apart like I did the first time ner kar’ta?  Want me to put a baby in you mesh’la?”  You frantically nod wanting to feel Din’s deep inside.  He pushed himself up, removing his shirt and starting on his pants when he felt your hand graze his side.  His hands stilling as he looked to the stars and moaned. “Riduur, please don’t stop.”

“Din…” Your answering moan was cut short by a panicked noise at the door.  Din reached for the button on the panel and the sight before you broke your heart.  “Oh sweetheart, did something scare you?”  The child started running for you on the bunk when Din plucked him off the ground to your waiting arms, burying his face in your shoulder.  “I take that as a yes?”

“Well it looks like someone is sleeping in here with us tonight.” Your riduur checked the floor for his missing shirt before you tossed it off your foot at him. 

“There is no way I could put him back in his pram, something has completely spooked him.  Just for tonight Din I promise.”  You cuddled the baby as close to you as possible bringing him back from his nightmare.

“Alright cyar’ika, just for tonight.”  The child nestled himself in between the pair of you and Din pulled you both close to him.  He failed to protect you earlier in the day but he was going to make sure your dreams were a safe place right now. 

“Love you Din.”

“Love you too Mesh’la.”

Next day…

After another long day you finally get the child off to bed and find yourself in the same spot as last night.  This time however, you needed something entirely different. 

Din had explained to you this morning about what was going to happen in the next couple months.  Paz and Shial Vizsla had invited you to stay with them while Cort was working with Din.  You were excited to learn more about their culture and where you would fit into the covert.  Questions took over your thoughts as you climbed the ladder to find your riduur. Still lost in your mind when Din turns to look at you, he pulls you gently to his lap and wraps you in his arms.

“Cyare?  Where’s that pretty head of yours at?”  Din gently rubs your arms pulling you back to reality.

“Right here my love.”  Kissing his cheek you give him that half smile that tells him you're worried about something.

“You’re going to do just fine at the covert mesh’la.” Din was always good at calming your nerves and you could never understand how he did it.  

“How long will you be gone?”

“A few months mesh’la. I want to make sure Cort understands how this job works.”

You sat up a little straighter when you heard him say that.  “Din, I understand that completely.  I just wanted to know how long to distract myself for.”  

“Paz and Shial will keep you plenty busy along with their other 4 kids running all over the place.”  Panic sets in very quickly when you hear how many children the Vizslas have.  “Cyare we do not have to have that many children.”  He brought your head back down to his shoulder and resumed rubbing “Mhi ba’juri verde means we will raise warriors, whether it’s one or many I will be a very happy man.”

“Oh Din, I love you.”  A single tear fell from your watery eyes but Din was quick to react as well.

“Ni kar’tayl gar darasuum, cyare.”  Soon you both fell into a peaceful rest in the pilot's chair. You understood the next few months were gonna be rough, testing every limit you have. But in the end would be so worth it to have him by your side raising warriors.

Also tagging @stubbychaos @seawhisperer

Hope you guys enjoy

[eldritch-elrics]

i rewatched the entire ice age series and i have opinions

after rewatching some of the madagascar movies, me and @calocybe​ decided to embark on a quest to watch more animated series from our childhood. an obvious choice was ice age! so, i present to you: finn’s comprehensive ice age opinions masterpost.

read on for an in-depth review of each movie, my opinions on what the series does well (good animation, really fun chase scenes) and what it does not so well (manny is an awful protagonist), and some other things too (like my analysis of queerness in ice age)

first of all, a ranking of the five movies from best to worst:

ice age

dawn of the dinosaurs

collision course

the meltdown

continental drift

first movie

definitely the best

accidental baby acquisition…

it’s just a really good premise. three bros with completely different personalities are forced to work together towards a common goal that doesn’t even benefit any of them personally!

it’s silly and charming and well-written

diego’s arc is especially well-done and it’s easy to follow the way his personality and opinions change

my theory is that they made this movie because they wanted to show off how good they were at animating ice. most of the models and stuff are not very realistically rendered but the ice is honestly pretty impressive

honestly hilarious, has really good visual gags

one of my favorite parts is where they go into the ice cave and find like the ufo and stuff

also the baby does the vulcan hand sign at the ufo which was so subtle and REALLY funny

the ice slide scene. incredible

and then it transitions to the cave painting part with a fantastic depiction of manny’s backstory in a way that’s honestly heart-wrenching??

i wonder if the death of his own family is the cause of his annoying clinginess in later movies, especially with regards to peaches. unfortunately this never comes up again

there are some genuinely emotionally affecting moments in this movie, especially with the humans (when the human woman gives away her baby, when they return the baby to the group) - plus, kudos for conveying all that emotion with no dialogue

this is the only movie where manny’s emotional stuntedness is actually somewhat endearing rather than aggravating

this is also the movie with the most interesting villains - they feel like an especially relevant threat to the protags, and putting diego in with manny and sid creates both good tension and good humor

i wonder why the humans never came back. i think subsequent movies could have benefited from their presence, though i have no idea in what ways. not sure how they would’ve pulled it off but having the baby they rescued in the first movie appear as an adult in a later movie is a plot point that i think would have had the potential to be really powerful

second movie (the meltdown)

pretty underwhelming after the first movie

plot feels disjointed and the climax is weak

i feel like they were trying to go for this sort of found family vs nuclear family / reproductive futurism bent but didn’t entirely succeed and instead made the themes feel muddled. especially after the first movie which was all about rejecting heteronormative standards of family, having manny suddenly go “oop i’m the last mammoth better Reproduce” was a bit jarring

even if he isn’t actually the last mammoth, it feels like the wrong way to start a romance

in general the romance between ellie and manny isn’t very well-done in my opinion.

manny should’ve apologized for getting so offended when ellie freaked out about the pressure to save their species, but instead ellie apologized for “overreacting” for some reason???

number of biblical parallels: a surprising amount??

you’ve got. sid as a jesus figure to the sloth tribe, the ark saving them from the flood, scrat as moses??

the villains in this one were super boring they were just like… evil fish…

ok i’ve said too many mean things about this movie. to atone let me present this opinion: the scene where the vultures sing a parody of “food, glorious food” from oliver completely unprompted is one of the best moments in the series

also the possum brothers are wonderful

third movie (dawn of the dinosaurs)

this was my favorite as a kid!!

it’s still really good

it doesn’t take itself seriously and that’s wonderful. like… dinosaurs? in the ice age? objectively stupid plot. who cares

buck is the best character ever he’s so much fun

buck’s entire thing is also being a VERY cliche kooky adventurer but the way that they play with it and are self-aware about it makes it good

also i legitimately get chills at the scene where he explains his tragic backstory with rudy

god the romance with the female scrat is SO stupid but at least they’re clearly making fun of romantic tropes here

good team-building shenanigans, like the laughing gas sequence

there’s probably something to be said about the ways that family is portrayed in this movie but sorry i’m too busy looking at the scene where they get swallowed by a giant plant and buck has to like cut its veins like he’s diffusing a bomb

also i do need to mention that the scene where they find the carnage of sid’s attempt at feeding vegetables to the dino babies and buck goes off on his whole silly detective-shtick about what must’ve happened (“leaving broccoli… a vegetable!!!”) was my favorite scene in the series as a kid. it’s so wonderfully absurd!

there are a surprising amount of dick jokes in this movie? and by that i mean like 2 but. it’s really funny rewatching this and going “holy shit”

there’s also a joke about a butterfly dude that i’m pretty sure is a trans joke (“i knew that guy as a caterpillar! yknow, before he came out”) so that was also pretty funny

this movie parallels the first 2 by 1. having sid take care of kids and 2. having a group of creatures who copy all of sid’s wacky movements. i don’t have anything more to say i just think that’s funny

buck and rudy are kismeses send tweet

fourth movie (continental drift)

yeah okay this one’s the worst

it takes itself too seriously and that is its downfall

feels tonally off from the other ones

i saw this movie during the height of my hyperfixation on plate tectonics and i remember being very offended at the fact that they made such a mockery of the way it actually worked… :pensive:

(granted, poorly-done science is a cornerstone of ice age, so i can’t really say shit)

anyway this one really felt like a jumble of cliches. the enemies-to-lovers thing with diego! peaches’ teenager problems! manny’s troubles of raising a teenager! all the mean girls! evil pirates! sirens! woooo!

it just didn’t feel all that original and it didn’t play with the tropes like 3 did

what is it in this series with guys not apologizing for their sexism and then getting the girl anyway

also wow. damsels in distress much

sheera’s design is also such a generic “female animal” look

the ape dude was a boring villain and too much of the movie focused on the pirates

okay BUT the sea shanty scene slapped. had some good rhythm and clever lyrics

lewis was good and i’m glad he stayed friends with peaches

the water was well-animated! maybe they made this movie so they could show off how good they were at rendering water

the chipmunk creatures on the island are like knockoff minions/ewoks

in general this movie felt way less funny than the others. less punchy dialogue

fifth movie (collision course)

solidly in the middle of my movie ranking. not as good as 1 or 3, better than 2 and 4

this was my first time seeing this movie! which means that my view of it isn’t colored by nostalgia, and also that i have a lot more to say about it i guess

first of all it’s wild to see how much the animation has progressed… this one was so well-rendered wow

i liked this one a lot more than i expected to! it was a good time, and, like 3, didn’t take itself seriously, which is always great

the whole thing is built off a lot of bullshit science which offends my inner scifi nerd BUT i think they pulled it off quite well

the fact that they got neil degrasse tyson to do voiceovers is just so funny

they’ve firmly established by now that the ice age universe can fully ignore the laws of science when it wants to, especially with regards to scrat and his butterfly-effect influence on the world

okay buckle up because i have a lot to say about scrat actually.

scrat’s ability to influence the universe has been steadily increasing as the series goes on, so it made sense that he would be the catalyst for the apocalypse in this one

and also the catalyst for the creation of the solar system i guess?? which was very stupid. i say that in an endearing way. that beginning scene was super fun & wacky

absolutely brilliant way to bring the ufo from movie 1 back btw

ok so the prophecy tablet thing that buck brings back? he finds it by pressing a button with the outline of an acorn on it and that’s very interesting to me

at that point in the movie i was really invested because i thought that scrat and the protagonists were finally going to be forced to confront each other on the same level. the idea that ice age might finally break its unwritten rule of “the protags can never know scrat as the force of global change that he really is” was legitimately exciting to me, and it seemed appropriate for the last movie in the franchise

unfortunately this did not happen. scrat just keeps doing his silly scrat shenanigans

um anyway let’s talk about some of the other characters!

manny continues to suck. more on this in the “low points as a franchise” section

peaches was actually really good in this one! she’s grown out of her “teenage stereotype” phase and into a character with a believable narrative about growing up and moving out.

her boyfriend is adorable and i was surprised to discover i actually liked their relationship!

sid did not need to be paired off though. neither did diego. what is up with kids’ movies and their shallow heterosexual romances

buck is back and he is fruitier than ever

man i really like buck. he’s so silly and irreverent and flamboyant and it’s like kind of embarrassing to watch sometimes but it’s ok he’s just doing his own thing

the villains were pretty good in this one. i liked how the female dino didn’t have a stereotypically feminine design

on an entirely different topic: let’s talk about the aesthetic direction!

the scifi thing was super fun. like, absolutely wild for a series about the ice age, but whatever. i like scifi

like the whole superpower magnetism shit, especially the scene in the forest? great! especially reminiscent of the climax of the guardians of ga’hoole movie

however the whole dive into the crystal cave environment was a lil tonally dissonant and i think it should have been cut (introduced an entire new world/characters way too late in the plot and didn’t have time to develop them enough, went too far down the rabbit hole of magic healing crystals jokes and all that stuff which didn’t seem to relate to the rest of the story at all, introduced a fun but unnecessary girlfriend for sid, the time could have been better spent making fun of more scifi tropes and developing the villains)

brooke the sloth girl is just miranda from the tempest change my mind also that climax is on a similar level of stupid as that one episode from hoshi no kaabii where they deflect an an entire asteroid using uhhhh cannons i think

but it’s like. whatever. they’ve fucked around with science enough that they deserve this

also i just realized there were no chase scenes in this movie which is so sad??

so there are my thoughts on the individual movies. let’s talk about it as a whole!

high points as a franchise

this series consistently has VERY good chase scenes

just top-tier chase scenes with excellent comedic timing and general pacing

3 is so good because it has a chase as the climax, and that’s what ice age is good at

4 is bad because it doesn’t have a proper chase anywhere!

the animation is really good. by that i mean less like the models are realistic and more that they’re great at conveying emotion and body language through animation

like this is especially true in 1 if you look at the difference between the sort of smooth, not very realistic animation of the humans vs… scrat

like they’ve got the way scrat moves down so well it’s delightful

the movies are, generally, funny

there are good messages about found family, especially in the first couple

low points as a franchise

alright i had a bunch of these written out as universal truths about the series and then 5 actually improved on many of them! so here are some criticisms that apply to the first four movies only:

just… every single female character? they deserve better

too many damsels in distress

all the fat jokes about manny are so unnecessary

the romances are really boring and not very well-written or believable

okay with those out of the way here’s the real biggest issue with the series: manny is an awful protagonist

heterosexual “no fun allowed” man

they keep him sucky so he can have a fresh new character flaw to be worked on in the next movie but that seems like a bad formula for character development, especially how many of his character flaws seem to be related to mistreating the women in his life

the man’s got a major possessiveness issue

he is just the archetypical slightly shitty husband/dad who forgets the anniversary and doesn’t let his daughter see boys and calls women hysterical and yes he does get better at each of the individual problems and he does love his family but that development feels so shallow!

manny is absolutely making AITA posts and getting labeled the asshole

it also feels like he never truly learns from his mistakes. he needs to be learning to apologize properly and most importantly to communicate properly! there’s so little emotional reality to his development and the script always seems to give him the benefit of the doubt when he doesn’t deserve it.

plus, this series is meant for kids and i just don’t think manny is an appropriate or relatable protagonist for that audience?

on a mostly unrelated note, yes i do like the found family themes but when it starts pairing up every single character and implying that all of them are gonna be monogamous het couples and have kids and conform to the nuclear family model. that’s pretty sad

some more random thoughts

my dad once said that ice age fails as a franchise because the premise of the first movie was not strong enough to support sequels. i think i kind of agree - you can see in 2 they’re trying to worldbuild off what little they established in the first movie, and also set up a bigger cast of characters, while still keeping up the “man vs nature” theme that’s such a cornerstone of the series.

i’m not sure they completely succeed. the worldbuilding of ice age isn’t necessarily weak but i do think they could have done more to round out the world and make it feel less like just a prehistoric clone of ours

there’s something about the first movie that makes it feel like a moment suspended in time. we don’t learn very much about the pasts of the characters and they get enough development in one movie that we (or at least i) don’t feel any desperate need to know their futures. it feels complete!

so in all the other movies are working with a set of characters who have ostensibly completed their development. so in each new movie, they need to give the characters more problems. usually this comes from external factors, like new characters. a couple times they do a pretty good job introducing new internal problems for the characters - diego’s quest to get over his fear of water was a pretty good one i thought.

but after a while the main trio just stagnates. diego, once the most compelling character, becomes pretty boring. he doesn’t have anything to do anymore. i’ve already talked about manny - each movie he reverts back into an asshole and it gets old so fast. sid’s a little better; he’s got issues with his family and a desire for a family of his own and all that, but more often than not the conclusions to his arcs are unsatisfying

sid plays the role of the character who’s doomed to never get exactly what he wants, except, like, in a way that’s supposed to be funny. we pity him!

i think he has some archetype parallels with escargon from hoshi no kaabii (why do i keep mentioning hoshi no kaabii) but i am not going into that here oh boy

i feel like i’m juggling a lot in my head right now, but sid’s position as the comedic scapegoat is interesting. i’m sure there’s more to unpack here but i’ve already gone way too deep into this series

there’s also more to unpack when you consider his queercoding hmm

anyway, on that note…

additional thesis: sid the sloth is queer-coded

complicated relationship with family (they hate him and think he’s useless)

lispy voice

cares about “fem” things like children. takes care of kids in both movies 1 and 3. calls himself “mama”

gets pushed into the role of caring for the kid in 1

makes vaguely gay comments at his male friends, like “you have beautiful eyes” to manny

there are literally so many jokes in the first movie like. diego’s “you guys are an odd couple” to manny and sid

that whole part in 4 where he’s trying to kiss the sirens and kisses diego instead and is like “wow romantic”

not interested in the idea of a nuclear/traditional family. see his shenanigans with the dino babies

he is interested in women throughout the series though (bi rights)

5 especially tunes down the queercoding and tunes up the “awkward guy who can’t get girls” angle

so. ice age. is it fun? yes! i definitely enjoyed rewatching the series with my friend. and kids will probably get a kick out of the slapstick and silly dialogue. but if you’re not a kid and looking to (re)watch any of them, i’d probably just stick to the first one.

[willowswiththorns]

(Desert Nightmare) x reader

( it’s not really an x reader per say, it’s just having you guys get into the plot of the game. That being said, some shit is about to go down. Also okay so I’ve noticed no fanfics or artwork for this man, like at all. It’s honestly kinda disappointing but eh. This takes place from beginning to end of the game, so I warn you SPOILERS AHEAD. Also, I haven’t written anything in about 2 years. So please , bear with me. That’s it.)

Though the sun blared onto the tinted window, it still left an aching warmth onto your lap as the car drifted down the empty highway. It was such a boring sight when looking out the window, the view only being filled with sand for what looked like miles with no end. The only thing keeping you some sort of comfort was the music blaring into your ears during the long ride.

“ y/n “ a muffled voice could be heard, barely recognizable of your own name. You turn tiredly, a bit annoyed you were thrown into this situation as you made eye contact with Sandra. She’s smile awkwardly, trying to hide her annoyance at you putting your ear buds in rather than complaining with her about missing the biggest party of the summer. You’d raise an eyebrow, seemingly missing a conversation between her and her parents, mostly coming to this observation due to the fact that all three people seemed to be awaiting your response. This wasn’t the first time you’d be a deal breaker in an argument between Sandra and her parents, though that didn’t mean you liked being involved in their family drama at all.

“ uh- I’m sorry, I had my ear buds in. What’s happening?” You’d look at the front of the car as you’d mutter that out the most polite way possible. Audible sighs could be heard from the front, one beside you as Sandra now showed how annoyed she was in the situation. Seeing how you showed that you were now present in this small argument, there wasn’t really any chance of listening to music and zoning out again.

“ I was trying to tell them that I have to stop somewhere to use the bathroom! I’ve been holding it in for hours” the teen whined, letting a small pout show at the parents looked aggravated towards their upset child. You’d smile a bit, not out of humor of the situation, but more out of nervousness, especially when a gas station was seen in the distance past the heatwave.

Instead of having the argument start up again, you’d lean in a bit ,” I sorta have to go too, I’m sorry.” You’d lie, knowing that since you were their child’s friend and not their own, they wouldn’t be inclined to be mad or yell at you. You also didn’t go earlier to be fair as well. You could see the station pull up closer , seeing the father grow tired of his daughter’s complaining the entire ride finally show on his expression. As the car stopped, it didn’t take a second for Sandra to unbuckle and bolt out the car to stretch. You’d sigh, doing the same at a less eager pace. The sun seemed to shine much stronger on your back than it did on your lap in car, most likely due to the tint on the backseat windows. It wasn’t until you finished stretching did you hear the conversation ahead of you.

“ Do you have to stop at every other gas station?” A gruff voice asked, quickly identifying it as Sandra’s father. Though his face wasn’t seen, you could tell he was utterly exhausted from the ride and the treatment his daughter gave him. He’d continue “ I want to reach the next city before it’s dark.” You’d stand awkwardly next to Sandra, who’d seem to take his comment rather negatively.

“ Uncle Rupert will survive if we’re one day late!” You wince a bit at Sandra’s tone, knowing how this conversation would soon go south. “ I don’t know why I came at all! I’m missing the best part of the summer!” She continued.You’d smile awkwardly , trying to diffuse the situation at hand “ Sandra-“ only to be cut off.

“ Life isn’t all about parties, it’s time for you to realize that!” Her mother argued , her tone cutting at the tension more. The only thing to do in the situation was not to be involved, who would be dumb enough to jump into your friend’s family feuds. Slowly gripping your bag, you decide to walk to the gas station, noticing the bathroom wasn’t connected to the station rather it was beside it. With a quick pull, the arguing voices were cut off with the door echoing shut.

You’d sigh, the heat was uncomfortable, especially during the summer. Walking to the sink, you turned the faucet in hopes cold water would steam out. much to your luck, hot water burned at your fingertips when trying to test the water temperature,” shit-“ you’d hiss. The sound of the door opening and slamming quickly caught your attention as an annoyed Sandra came walking in ,” they threatened me- they said I can walk there!-“ you’d tense for a minute.

“ they wouldn’t… you know-“ you’d gulp at the idea of walking miles in the burning heat,” make us walk to the next city right? “ Sandra would scoff at the idea, going to the stall as she’d complain. “ As if, they wouldn’t actually leave us in the middle of no where over a disagreement. That would be messed up! Plus they’d be the ones explaining to your parents about it if you did have to walk with me.” She’d try to joke, trying to uplift your worry as she finished her business.

The must of the bathroom was unbearable as you did your best to wash your hands throughly. It wasn’t long as the bathroom stall creaked open to see Sandra walk out, her expression still a bit upset as she now too went to wash her hands ,” you know, it means a lot you came with me. No one else wanted to miss the biggest party of the summer” she’d joke.

A small smile would twitch up on your face ,” of course, you’re my friend you know? A party is nice but I’d rather be here with you than drinking with some idiots who won’t remember basic human boundaries or morals.” She’d smile a bit, seemingly soothed by your words. It wasn’t long before she was ready to head out.

“ ready?” She’d ask, grabbing her bag as she’d tuck her black hair back behind her ear. Sandra was always the type to be too stubborn to work with others or admit when she’s wrong, but was overall always there for the people she trusted at the end of the day. It was definitely something to grow accustomed to, but you had years of friendship with her to be use to it by now. She was more of an annoying little sister at times, family none the less.

“ yeah, just try to be a bit more bearable to your folks though okay? I know they’re exhausted from all that driving, especially in the heat.” You’d warn, opening the door and looking back at Sandra to try and keep your attention towards her. Though your thoughts shifted at the change of expression on her face. Your back was still faced to where the car would be, ‘did they turn off the car?’ You’d think, not needing to look to notice the lack of motor from the overheating car. Sandra seemed shocked and disgusted as she’d move past you, now you could turn and confirm you and Sandra’s fears.

They were gone.

Oh

No…

As the adrenaline rush kicked in for you, it doubled in Sandra as she’d freak out at the sight of the rustic green van missing. “ what the fuck-“ Sandra was quick to say, going to grab her phone to call her mom only to freak out more. Out of curiosity, you looked at your phone as well. Oh? You were not having any reception on your phone either. A small tremble would form as you’d get a bit antsy, looking down the dusty road to see that no one was there, no car, nothing. So it definitely wasn’t a trick. As you’d slowly make a step towards the road to check your surroundings, Sandra was quick to check the gas station.

The sun blared into your shoulder as you tried to shield your eyes with your hand, trying to look out at your surrounding without getting primarily blinded by the blistering sun. A hand grabbed your shoulder, making you jump a bit as you turned to see a distraught Sandra. “ What’s wrong?” You’d ask calmly, “ Sandra?”

Sandra seemed a bit worried as she’d quickly make her way down the road ,” we have to go to the next city!- they’re probably waiting there for us to prove some dumb lesson!” You’d raise an eyebrow, speed walking to meet up with her. Her pace seemed forced a bit faster than usually, her face written with nervousness.

“ what’s wrong? Why can’t we wait at the gas station for your parents- Sandra come on!” You’d be cut off by Sandra giving you a small glare, obviously frustrated. “ Y/n, I went in there, the station-“ she’d huff before continuing “ it was empty, it looked like it wasn’t occupied in years. Waiting there just screams danger, especially when you don’t know who will stop there!-“

“ okay okay- “ you’d reason, just trying to keep to Sandra’s pace as she’d try to make it to the next city before the sun set. The walk was overall silent, the sound of sneakers hitting the concrete pavement as your eyes quickly focused on a road sign. ‘Dusty Creek - 1 mile ’ “ that town, Dusty Creek? It’ll be less than a mile at this rate” you’d reason. The walk grew more into a race on getting to that Dusty Creek before sun set.

As if it were luck, you both made it to the big wooden sign with the letters ‘ Dusty Creek’ on it. The course of running a mile left you both breathless, though Sandra’s breath seemed to be taken more at the sight of her blue book bag leaning against a wall. She’d be quick to grab it while you’d look around. “ my back pack- y/n how did it get here?!” She’d ask, shocked.

You’d smile , shrugging as you’d grip your own bag ,” I don’t know San, but I’ll go check in this Inn to see if your parents checked in okay? You go look around for their car!-“ She’d go through the bag and nod, not seeming to mind that arrangement. With a swift step, you’d walk into the inn. The room instantly hit a strong smell of pine as you’d step in. Your eyes would meet with papers littered all over a desk behind the counter, the counter itself being neat with a big book open for signing in. Your gaze would then meet towards a girl a bit older than yourself, her eyes cold as she’d let her messy brown hair out of her face so you could get the full glare.

“ um. Hi-“ you’d begin, not use to this kind of hostility,” I’m looking for my friend’s parents, did a married couple with the last name Richmont check in at all? “ you continued, trying to be polite even though the glare of this girl was biting away at you “ nope. “ she’d say bluntly.

Huh?

You’d feel your lip twitch slightly into a small smile, confused now. If Sandra’s parents weren’t actually here , then why was Sandra’s bag against the wall of the inn earlier? “ have you at least seen a green car to drive by here recently?” You’d try to reason before she hit you with a “ no I haven’t.” It was obvious she wasn’t in the mood to talk.

As the tension grew, Sandra came in with a tired expression, quickly catching up as you were given a chance to collect your thoughts. This town was strange for sure, the people didn’t help Change that observation either. It wasn’t until you saw Sandra take out her wallet and pay the chick before getting your attention. You’d be quick to follow her up the stairs, each step creaking softly as you’d whisper to her ,” okay so, any ideas of where your parents could be?” Sandra would look over her shoulder to you before walking to the hotel room ,” they said my parents could be in a pension at the end of the city, knowing them they’re probably going to spend the night. So, I decided to room here for tonight. We’ll share a bed okay? It was cheaper.”

A small sigh would leave your lips, realizing that spacing out earlier caused you to not gather this information first hand. Your attention was cut short as she’d open the door, a small creak cutting the silent air before you both walked in. Putting your bag down, you stretched ,” we can look around a bit to help ease your anxiety “ you’d offer, noticing how tense Sandra was. She’d smile at the offer ,” I do want to check this place out. It’s kind of scary though.”

A small chuckle left your lips gently as you headed to the door ,” oh? You chicken?” You’d tease, knowing how stubborn she can be ,” oh hush! Fine one walk around won’t hurt!” She’d huff, not bother fighting back at all.

With a step, you grabbed her hand and headed out the door.

With that, the journey began…

[whimperwoods]

Arms of the Enemy (D&D whump)

This is part 6.

Here are part 1, part 2 , part 3, part 4, and part 5.

Castor is a warlock, in service to the Great Old One and the Dark  Emperor, in that order. Ed is a fighter, a knight and battle master in  the service of the True King of Lumenea. They have always been enemies.  In the space between the Old One and the Emperor, they might be able to become something else.

(Also, the emperor’s guards can’t see through Ancient Nameless Magic and Ed and Castor have some conversations while they’re supposed to be sleeping and regaining their spell slots [magical energy], Castor.)

tw: self-loathing, tw: strangulation (ish), tw: same eldritch brain takeover nonsense as before

taglist: @redwingedwhump, @fanastywhump, @insanitywishes @bluebadgerwhump, @burtlederp​

***************

It took a moment for Ed to realize that the noise that had woken him up was coming from his own throat, little whimpers he couldn’t make sense of other than that he hurt. He thought he might have been dreaming, but even in the moment before he worked out that the whimpers were his, he didn’t know what he might have been dreaming of.

His fingers were twined into something soft, a warm solid surface beneath the cloth and his knuckles that he realized, as he came more to himself, was Castor the Black’s chest. He blushed, letting go.

He was warm. He didn’t remember the last time he’d been warm.

Objectively, he knew the nest of horse trappings that surrounded him and the mage were hardly first-class accommodations but - gods, for the first time in a long time, he was warm, both his own body heat and the mage’s contained by the rough fabric and surrounding him so that even the patches of bare skin between his bandages weren’t cold.

He cradled his hand against his own chest instead, scooting backward and edging away from Castor the Black. It hurt even moving so little, and he grunted against the pain before remembering they were hidden and freezing up, holding still.

There seemed to be nothing stirring but the horses, and he calmed down again, regretting the movement anyway. Even that small distance away put his back against colder fabric, extra cold where his skin peeked out between his bandages. After a moment, he shimmied back, blushing at the shame of needing the other’s body heat so badly.

Even so, the folds of cloth beneath him were softer than the ground, and he was warm - he was warm -

He could still feel the heat of the mage’s body under his knuckles if he thought about it, and after a moment, he reached out again, gripping the front of the other man’s sweater like he had before. Castor didn’t move. Ed breathed, relieved. He wriggled closer. Warmer.

His face was burning, but there was no one to see. If he were alone, he might have cried for the shame of it, but then, if he were alone, all he’d have to cry about was his bigger shame, and that was - that didn’t bear thinking about.

It felt good to be warm. Even the small patches of the mage’s sweater that he clutched at were soft in places and crusted stiffly over with blood in others, blood he knew had to be his own, and the rest of the world felt just the same. Ed tried to keep his mind only on being warm and touching something soft, but everything else hovered at the edge of his mind, dangerous and frightening.

He leaned his forehead into the mage’s chest, letting the warmth of Castor’s body sooth the heavy, bruise-like ache behind his brow.

He was weak. Small. Pathetic.

Ashamed.

He clung to the front of Castor’s sweater and did not cry.

The mage breathed slowly and evenly, his chest moving against Ed’s grip, and the steadiness of it was soothing and Ed hated it. Hated it. Didn’t have the energy to hate it. Breathed in with the mage. Breathed in. Warm. Out. Warm.

Ed fell back asleep and did not notice the wispy tendrils of darkness that wormed their way out of Castor’s chest and wrapped around his hands, binding them into their grip in the front of the mage’s sweater and then slithering up his arms.

*****

Castor woke to a gentle prodding in his head. It was still dark, but some time must have passed because Sir Edmond, against all odds, was now snuggled up against his front, tucked close and making little soft whimpering sounds.

Both of them were surrounded in an extra layer of inky blackness that shifted and rippled across their skin, beneath the blankets. His master. Protecting them as promised. He didn’t know if the Great Being was actually there, or if it was just an image in his mind so that he would Understand, but he’d been a servant to the Old One too long to bother asking.

Instead, he reacted on instinct, pulling Sir Edmond in closer, bundling him up against his chest so he’d be certain they were both fully covered by the layer of protection around them.

There were sounds in the stables. Sounds that weren’t horses.

Another kind of blackness, diffuse and cloud-like, billowed up around them as Castor pressed Sir Edmond’s face against his chest to muffle the man’s soft whines. The second skin was protective. The cloud was protective. They were protected. He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn’t have the words to ask for his master’s protection to continue, for it to be enough. Instead, he pressed his desperation out as a request, a lament, a leap of faith, and held still.

Almost imperceptibly, the space inside the swirling cloud grew warmer, heated by something beyond just their own bodies, and Castor breathed more easily, nodding slightly as he stayed curled up around the knight.

“I can’t believe that idiot just left the prisoner unattended until the guards could come back,” a voice complained, “’Herald of the Night’ my ass. These Battle Mages always think just ‘cause they can shoot fire out of their hands they know everything.”

Another voice answered with a snort. “Save it for the next time one of the adventuring teams goes out. We’ve gotta focus up. The Emperor may not be able to execute Conrad and Mateo for letting the mage bamboozle ‘em if he never finds out about it, but he damn well can come for the rest of us if he finds out we delayed ringing the alarm over it.”

“Gods, they’re gonna owe us for life. Two lives, if we’re the ones who actually find the guy. Whoever ripped the chain out of the wall like that has gotta be made of muscles. Did you see how the stone around it was cracked?”

Castor held onto Sir Edmond and kept his eyes closed, waiting.

The guards’ feet came closer, their quiet complaints getting clearer and clearer as they approached.

He’d noticed the faint squeak in the stall door when he opened it before, and now the familiar sound sent a spike of fear through him. He was out of magic. He knew he was out of magic. He hadn’t slept long enough to get it back. He squeezed Sir Edmond in more tightly and flinched when the man grunted in pain.

But then - “Nah, this one’s empty, too. You think Rawls keeps any booze hidden in here? Or is he just down at the tavern as much as he seems to be?”

The other guard laughed, but the door was squeaking shut again, and Castor was so thoroughly tuned into the sound that it almost seemed louder than the laughter.

*****

Ed woke to the sound of voices and found himself clasped tightly against Castor’s chest, some mysterious force wrapped tightly around his neck so that he couldn’t make a sound.

He could breathe, but part of him felt like he couldn’t, like the force around his throat couldn’t possibly have allowed for breath even as he knew himself to be breathing.

When it became too much, he tugged at Castor’s sweater, desperate, and felt the man’s mind open up to him.

“Help me! I can’t breathe! Let go!”

Castor tugged him closer still, sending pain through his body where the mage’s arms pressed against his injuries, but the force on his throat didn’t change either way, and Ed realized after a moment that he could feel both of Castor’s hands against his torso and neither was around his neck.

He breathed, but it didn’t make sense to breathe, didn’t make sense that he could with the weight clamping his vocal cords down into stillness. He tugged at the sweater again.

“Still! We have to be still! My master didn’t tell me what our protection was.”

Castor’s voice in his mind was both an answer and not an answer, and Ed didn’t know what to do with it.

“I can’t breathe.”

“You can. You are. Look, I can feel your chest expanding.”

“Something’s wrong. Something’s wrong with my throat.”

“It’ll pass. It has to pass. Because I don’t know what it is and the guards don’t have magic. We just have to wait for them to be gone. Hold on.”

Ed’s fingers tightened in the front of Castor’s sweater even though that wasn’t what he’d meant and Ed knew it.

“Hold on,” the mage repeated, still gripping Ed tightly

The voices were getting farther away. Farther away. Quieter.

He couldn’t breathe. He couldn’t breathe. He focused on his chest, tried not to think about his throat, and noticed another breath as it came, another expansion and contraction of his lungs. But no - that wasn’t - he couldn’t -

Ed shook, quivering in Castor’s arms and fighting his own mind to keep it on the fact that his chest was moving and not on anything else.

The front door of the stable closed, and a moment later the pressure around his throat vanished, and along with it a layer of silence he hadn’t noticed.

He hadn’t realized he couldn’t hear either of them breathing until his own desperate gasps were sounding in his ears. He was shaking so hard it rustled the rough cloth below them, and Castor rearranged his grip, turning it into something more - comforting?

Ed’s gasping breaths threatened to turn into sobs, but he kept ahold of himself, narrowly, and once his throat had begun to feel truly normal again, his breathing steadied.

He pressed tentatively against the mage’s chest and Castor’s grip loosened, the hold he kept on Ed slackening into something almost casual.

Ed breathed deeply, more of the tension leaving his body, and stayed put.

******

Castor was only half aware of Sir Edmond’s movements, most of his attention focused on the presence of his master in his head again, checking in directly for the second time in one night, something that hadn’t happened in a long, long time.

“Ahhhh, yes,” the voice hissed warmly, “You beginnn to unnnderstand. My gifffft.”

There it was again. ‘Gift.’ It still meant either Sir Edmond or more time or more help or all of the above. He still didn’t know which. Even so-

“Yes, Sir.”

His master chuckled. “You arrrrre safe now. Unnnnntil tomorrow. You willlll not nnneed me again.”

“Oh. Alright. Good. Thank you, Sir.”

Several thoughts at once pressed against his mind, questions about what his master had already done, what he himself ought to do, what came next, but in the muddle he couldn’t figure out which was more important.

His master chuckled fondly again. “I willlllll invite hhhim in, I think. Bessst to talkkk to you both. Sincccce you havvvve softened him up.”

Castor didn’t know what that meant, but he felt the telepathic connection he’d shared with Sir Edmond opening up again, without him thinking to do it.

“Ssssssssir Edmond,” his master said, and the knight’s form twitched in surprise in Castor’s arms. “I ammm this one’ssss master. You are ssssafe now - ifff he cannn keep you safe. Mmmmy funny one. But he cannn do manyyy things. It isss why I chose him.”

Sir Edmond cried out in discomfort in reply, but Castor suspected the knight didn’t even realize he’d done it mentally, just into Castor’s head and, he supposed, his master’s.

His master’s amusement nearly crackled through Castor’s mind. “His ssstrength is different thannnn yours, mmmy child. He isss less suited to sharing hisss mind.”

“It is getting a little crowded,” Castor quipped without thinking. Another crackle of amusement, this time with a pulse of fondness behind it, like thunder after lightning.

“What’s going on?” Sir Edmond asked.

“Eddddmond,” his master hummed. Then the voice paused. “Nnnno. Jussssst ‘Ed.’ You willll see a lot offff each other befffore you are finished.”

“Finished with what?” Ed asked, just as another joke, unbidden, sprung into the conversation.

“I’ve already seen a lot of him, technically speaking.” Castor was blushing before the joke was halfway out, but he tried not to think too hard about the embarrassment lest that, too, become audible to the sudden crowd he seemed to be hosting in his mind.

“I thought you were trying not to look!” Sir Edmond’s embarrassment was almost tangible in Castor’s mind, crackling under the words with a painless but audible sizzle.

“I was!” Castor protested, “It was just a joke!”

Another pulse of fondness came from his master, and this time Ed answered with a soft, physical grunt instead of crying out, which Castor supposed was at least progress.

*****

Ed was barely used to talking to Castor with his mind, and now he was nearly overwhelmed, the connection between them suddenly much more complicated and solid, even setting aside the new and foreign voice from nowhere.

He wanted to ask Castor whether he always had an extra person in his head, not that it would much matter either way given Ed’s own inability to look after himself, just now.

The voice spoke again. “I ammmm here because you arrrre both awake. I willll be gggone in a moment.”

Castor’s answering voice was softer, more subservient than Ed would have expected. “Yes, Sir.”

“You arrrre safe now. Unnntil the light. Do nnnnot waste it.”

“No, Sir.”

“I sssspeak to both of yyyou because you willll need each other. Now that mmmy silly one hassss claimed you for himmself. I growww weary. You willl need to get by withhhhout me. I do nottt wish to stretchhh. Do yyyou understannnd?”

Ed didn’t. He stayed silent.

“We do,” Castor answered, still respectful “We’ll be careful.”

The thing’s laughter made Ed feel strange, nauseous in the pit of his stomach. “You willll have time to underssstand later, Eddd.”

Having his name spoken by the strange voice sent an electric crackle through Ed’s spine, but he nodded wordlessly and felt a pulse of something in response, an emotion not Castor’s or his own, but at least not a threatening one.

When the presence left, Ed felt like he was falling backward, only to land back in his own mind again. Tension he hadn’t realized he was holding in his back and shoulders relaxed and he slumped against Castor’s chest, his head sagging down until his forehead rested against Castor’s sternum. He was suddenly exhausted again, too spent to care, and tired of being tired. He was sick of his own weakness, but here it was again, pulsing through him with his heart like it was a living thing.

*****

Castor’s master slid out of his head through his ear and vanished into the night, quicker than usual, perhaps for Ed’s benefit, and then the two of them were alone.

Ed collapsed forward into his chest and Castor let himself sag into the contact, tucking his head down over the knight’s.

For a moment, they huddled together, Castor mostly just feeling relieved.

He was half surprised to feel a tentative knock at his mind.

He reopened the mental connection between them that his master had allowed to close when it departed, but didn’t push the knight for an answer.

Ed’s voice was distant, clearly situated at Ed’s end of their telepathic link, as if he were afraid to push forward as aggressively as he had before.

“What was that? Who was that?”

Castor almost laughed, but the feeling behind it was about a quarter bitter and he held it back. “Ok,” he answered instead, “You know how I keep giving you answers I know aren’t the ones you want? I don’t actually know. I mean, I kind of know. It’s my Master. Spoke to me when I found a weird deep crack in an old cave, promised me untold power if I helped it in its goals, I was slightly shipwrecked at the time and didn’t have much of anything else to do about the shipwreck, contracts, magic, so on, so forth. I’m sure you’ve heard the story before, or one like it, anyway. All of a sudden I was flying over the open sea even though I was definitely not strong enough with magic to do that and then by the time it asked anything else of me I had a mile-long list of questions for it that it mostly didn’t or couldn’t answer. But -”

He paused, not quite sure how to go on.

“Look, there’s a lot I can’t tell you, but I don’t think it’s bad. Just... curious. It’s -  old. Ages-of-the-world-ago old. But it just wants to know what the world is like now. It says the world’s been remade. It wants to understand. It’s not - I swear it’s not trying to take over the world or anything. Probably. And it’s not - I mean, it told me to come work for the Emperor so I’d have access to this part of the world, but that part was never supposed to be forever, so don’t worry about that, either.”

“And you’re still working for it?” The knight’s voice was serious but calm, an unexpected openness behind it.

“Yeah. I am. Because it’s - I really don’t think it’s a danger to - whatever. It just wants to know.”

The answering hum, a thoughtful little noise, came to his mind and not his ears.

“And what did it mean when it said -” Ed’s voice wavered at the other end of their link. “It said you had claimed me for yourself?”

The body in his arms shuddered, and Castor let go, realizing abruptly that they were still nestled together like they were hiding under the shared second skin of his master’s presence.

*****

Ed felt suddenly cold as Castor shuffled abruptly backward, away from him, pulling the parts of his sweater Ed had been clinging to out of his grip.

“Oh! Shit!” the mage said, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean - I was trying to keep you quiet.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I know. I’m sorry about that, too. I don’t know what it meant when it said that. Maybe it just - doesn’t understand? I told it I acted on impulse. And I thought it knew that. I mean - it does know that, but maybe - look, when I signed its contract, I didn’t know what I was doing, but I’ve always wondered if it thought I did. It - it gets in my head, but it’s not - it isn’t one of us. I don’t - I don’t always know. I maybe don’t ever know.”

Ed wanted to criticize him, to talk back, to say something, but a memory came back unbidden and he kept silent instead. ‘Squeeze my hand if it’s ok to move you,’ Castor had said. And he’d done it. He’d known it meant something, or felt it did, in any case, and he’d squeezed the mage’s hand and now the mage’s strange master was dragging him into Castor’s brain and there was a heaviness to his tongue, in his mouth, even though the words he couldn’t say were as much telepathic as they were real.

“I won’t -” Castor continued, “I mean, I have no plans to make you mine, whatever that means. I’m about to have a new mission, and I think I might need your help, or - or my Master might expect you to help, or maybe both, but - that part’s new. The original plan was just to get you to safety and as far as I’m concerned as soon as I have whatever it is I’m supposed to be getting, we can go right back to that plan and you can do - whatever it is you thought you’d do if you got free.”

A mission. A plan. Castor said those words like they meant something, but as far as Ed could tell the mage wouldn’t actually know either of those things if they bit him in the ass, and he hated that it was almost - endearing. Probably the lingering effect of close contact with the man’s strange master.

Ed squeezed his eyes shut. “Ok,” he answered.

Castor sounded surprised, “‘Ok’ like you’ll do it?”

“’Ok’ like I know what it is to owe a debt.”

“Oh - you don’t-”

Ed interrupted, “We both know I do.”

Ed felt little half-fluffers of pressure against the edge of his mind, like Castor was about to say something, but instead of words, he just felt the flutters, like Castor was taking a breath to speak and cutting himself off instead.

Finally, Ed’s mind settled, in spite of the difficulty of - everything. “If your usual plans are as good as this one you’re definitely going to need my help,” he said, not sure if it was a joke or an insult even as he said it.

A few hours ago, he might have been insulted by the little huff of laughter he got in response. Now - now he was beginning to understand.

“Yeah, alright, you’ve got me there,” Castor answered.

After a moment of silence, the mage added, “While we’re awake, is there anything else you need? Bearing in mind that I almost certainly don’t have it and can’t get it now that we know the guards are out looking.”

Ed knew the answer. The answer was no. The answer was that he owed too much already. The answer was that he didn’t want to be bound to the man beside him, even as they already seemed to be bound together by whatever that voice really was. The answer was -

“I’m cold,” he said, under no impression that it was only a private thought. Not with Castor and himself both still separate, sticking to their own ends of the link between their minds where overhearing by accident wasn’t so easy.

Castor sounded awkward, perhaps embarrassed, which was alright, because Ed mostly was, too. “Oh. Do you want - uh - I mean I can get closer. If you need me to.”

He could not say yes. He could not. It was a step too far, even after the steps he’d already taken, even with the steps he expected to take in the future. He tucked his head down, wriggling just slightly toward Castor without looking up at him.

The mage responded immediately, rearranging himself carefully around Ed’s injuries until they were snuggled up again, close, warm, and awkward without the excuses of unconsciousness or danger.

Castor cleared his throat and they both froze, remembering the guards, but if the sound was audible outside their little makeshift nest, it didn’t bring anyone running.

“I should sleep,” the mage said, his mind not sounding any closer even though they were pressed together now, “I need my magic back to get us back to my room tomorrow. I don’t know what my Master did to make them think - whatever it is they think about me, but regardless, it’ll be easiest to hide you there. And you need to heal.”

In the dark, Ed nodded silently into Castor’s chest, agreeing. It was a relief not to have to say any more. It was a relief not to have to think anymore.

If he hadn’t been so carefully not thinking about it, he might have been surprised how quickly he fell back asleep, all things considered.

Castor wasn’t far behind.

[deliasbabe]

Dancing Through Our House With The Ghost Of You- Part 2

Billie deals with her own ghosts. Part 3 Coming Soon!

Read Part 1 here.

Words: 3,792

Warnings: Strong Language, Angst, Drunkenness.

“Billie?”

Billie glanced up, preparing for another image of you that would only disappear, but once she locked eyes with you she knew it wasn’t a figment of her imagination. You were dressed in an oversized hoodie Billie had never seen you in before, presumably covering your shorts beneath it. Your hair was shorter and a little lighter, falling in loose waves around your chin. Between Billie’s wine drunk haze and the streetlights glowing behind you, you looked ethereal in every way, her own personal guardian angel.

“What are you doing here?” Billie whispered, confused by your abrupt arrival.

You furrowed your brow, before taking in your ex lover’s obviously inebriated state, “You called me.”

She searched her swirling memory for a moment, trying to recall when exactly she would have called, coming up empty. It must have happened if you were here, standing right in front of her. She didn’t respond, didn’t know what she could possibly say, but you knew that. Instead, you kneeled down in front of her so you were at eye level, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear gently. You always knew exactly what she needed. 

“You’re here.” Billie whispered, almost like she didn’t believe it, like any second you would vanish into thin air and she would be alone once again.

You gave a soft nod, “I am. Now let’s get you moved to the couch, hm?” You had dealt with Billie’s breakdowns before, when her job got too heavy and real for her to handle. You knew her like the back of your hand, but you had never seen her quite like this. You grabbed her hand and tugged her up, depositing her on the couch before heading to the kitchen for some wine. You knew for certain she had already had far too much for a casual evening, but even the simple action of holding the full glass in her hand seemed to calm her, or at least, it used to.

You saw the smoke before you had even entered the kitchen, quickly walking over to the stove and turning it off before depositing the charred remains of the forgotten stir fry in the garbage. Billie was never one for eating more than one proper meal in a day, and you usually had to force her to even eat one, so the chances that she hadn’t eaten were pretty high, and you quickly dialed the pizza place around the corner that you always ordered from. It wasn’t the most nutritious meal, but it was something to help avoid the hangover.

When you returned to the living room with two full wine glasses in hand, Billie had managed to get herself curled up under a blanket, and you were thankful you didn’t see the same emptiness in her eyes that had greeted you upon your arrival. You held out one of the glasses, which she took with shakey hands and a small thank you, before you took up residence on the opposite side of the couch, tucking your knees under you in the way you always did, like this place was still your home and nothing had changed.

Billie glanced at you for a moment, “Since when do you drink red?”

You gave a gentle laugh, “It was all you had. Did you just get back?”

Billie nodded slightly, “You look good.”

“Thank you.” You said politely, knowing Billie was always the charmer. But to you, it didn’t feel like a compliment, it felt like a distraction.

“What have you been up to?” Billie asked, making polite chit chat like you didn’t just see her at her worst. It was the only thing she could think of to do. She didn’t know what exactly she had said to you, but it had to have been pretty bad for you to show up after what she did.

You knew it was just her trying to skirt around the pressing issue, likely due to embarrassment. Still, you feared that emptiness returning once again, so you indulged her, “I went home for the summer, spent time with my parents. I just… I needed to get out of LA. It was good for me.”

Billie nodded, she knew you always hated the city, that it made you feel like you were drowning. You two had talked about moving away together, but with her job, she was always tied to LA, or at least California. She still was having trouble saying anything, because there was so much she wanted to say, but the words were tied down, lodged in the pit of her stomach and sinking. 

“Did you find any particularly scary ghosts while abroad?” You ask, your tone slightly teasing, which only made the woman smile.

“No,” She said with a laugh, “I couldn’t understand half of them.”

You snickered, “Kind of fucked up that even ghosts have a language barrier.”

 And oh, Billie was swooning at your candor. It was one of her favorite things about you, how you always seemed to know just how to break the tension, how to draw her out of even her darkest moments and make her see the light. But nothing about this was light, not with the guilt pressing on her shoulders with every kind word you spoke. You should have been angry, furious with her. Every word should have been biting, calloused, cold, but then again, it was you. She focused on her wine, swirling it for a moment, if only to give her a second to think. You noticed, you always noticed. “You don’t want it?” You asked, cocking your head to the side.

“No, I do.” Billie said, shaking her head, “I just haven’t eaten. My dinner is still on the stove.”

“Your dinner is in the garbage.” You joked, “You may have let it cook for just a tad too long.” You watched the medium bite her lip as a blush creeped up her cheeks, an unusual sight, “I ordered pizza. It should be here soon.” Billie met your gaze, but only briefly before she looked away and nodded, finally taking a sip of the wine. “So what happened, Bill?” You asked softly, pushing just enough.

“I didn’t tell you?” Billie asked quietly, shifting her gaze to stare at her lap.

“You said you were seeing ghosts.” You responded.

Billie pursed her lips, “I was.”

“You don’t have any ghosts.” You stated.

Billie gave a soft sigh, “I do now.”

You chuckled softly, “Did someone die while I was away?”

“I saw you.” Billie said bluntly, tired of whatever dance she was forcing you to partake in. Billie always liked games, but she couldn’t bear to do it with you, not anymore.

Billie glanced up as your face fell solemn, and she hated herself for forcing you to take on more of her pain. This was her fault, all of it. She shouldn’t have called you. You were quiet for a moment, nodding slightly, “You haven’t been back since it happened, have you?” Billie shook her head, embarrassed. “Yea, that’ll do it. It happened to me too, when I went back to my apartment.” You said, trying to let her know she wasn’t alone, “That’s why I left for a while, to give me time to… deal with it, I guess.”

“Have you?” Billie asked, secretly terrified of the answer, of being alone in this torture.

You chuckled lightly, “Well I’m here, so I’ll let you be the judge.”

The answer was very you, but it was also very telling. You always dropped everything to be there for her, regardless of what she had done, and although Billie was thankful for it, it also made her heart ache. She hurt you, and you were still here, still picking up her broken pieces when she was too proud to pick up yours. You were ten times the person she would ever be, and you deserved better than her, but all she could think about was how you were inches away from her, how she could lean over and kiss you and everything would be ok again.But before she could make her move, the doorbell rang, and with it the urge was taken out like the tide. 

Billie took a moment to compose herself as you grabbed the food, wiping at her smudged makeup and smoothing down her hair, smiling when you returned with on very large pizza box in hand. It seemed utterly absurd to order that much food for just two people, but you always had been the planner, and you knew the medium well enough to assume it would be days before she made it to the grocery store. At least this way she had some leftovers to carry her through. 

“Let’s get some food in you.” You teased, handing the woman a greasy slice. She nibbled on it for a moment, not really sure she actually even wanted to eat, as you looked around. “Where is your assistant?” You asked.

“Hm?” Billie responded.

“Your assistant?” You asked casually, “I’m sure you got a new one. You used to have me here from the moment you woke up until you went to bed, even when we weren’t together.”

“That’s because I liked you.” Billie said, trying to hide behind a teasing tone. You weren’t wrong, she did have you there constantly, but that was because she had feelings for you. She made it seem like it had always been that way, but the truth of it was it was just you, her previous assistants she hardly ever called on, she just preferred to handle things herself.

“And you don’t like her?” You teased back, watching your ex avert her gaze and shrug, which told you everything you needed to know. “Ah, got it.” You said with a laugh, trying to diffuse the tension.

“It was a long trip.” Billie said defensively. It was a half assed attempt and she knew it, but god forbid she say she actually missed you.

You held your hands up in mock surrender, “Hey, I don’t really have room to judge anymore. Not hard to fall in love with the boss.”

“You can’t tell me you haven’t been with anyone else. It’s been almost a year.” Billie said, knowing she was only trying to crush her own heart, beat it into submission with the idea that you really had moved on, that she wasn’t as important as she thought she was.

You gave a half-hearted shrug, not wanting to make the woman feel any worse, but Billie knew what it meant, because it was you. You weren’t the type to fall into bed with just anyone. Sure, you weren’t a virgin when you met, but your body count was confined to one hand, two fingers. Billie, and that guy from college that you swore you were going to marry, until you realized he was a dick and you deserved better. You always were her better half, the only one that seemed to quell her endless impulses. She was better because of you, and then she had to blow it all to shit.

“Why didn’t you stop me?” Billie asked as your eyebrows furrowed, “That night, when I made you leave. Why didn’t you stop me?” The question seemed out of the blue, but really it was something she had been agonizing over for months. It wasn’t the first time Billie had acted out and tried to break things off, but it was the first time you didn’t fight back, didn’t force her to sit down and prevent the forest fire erupting inside of her. For as rash as she was, you were the voice of reason, or you had been until that night. That night you just let it burn, let her tear down the house you built brick by brick and swim in the ashes, alone.

“Because I knew I couldn’t.” You said after a moment, taking a note from Billie’s book and staring at your glass of wine as you swirled it around the rim, “You had to figure it out on your own.”

Billie set her jaw, hating that you always seemed to be 10 steps ahead of her, “Figure what out?”

“Why did you call me over here, Billie?” You fired back as you snapped your gaze up, almost like a challenge. You had tried to pull the answer out gently, a subtle game of tug of war, but she was locked up tight, and you were tired of being gentle. Being gentle is what got you into this mess in the first place. 

But Billie was her own special kind of stubborn, and your aggression just made her dig her heels in, “I don’t even remember calling you.”

Still, you weren’t going to give up just yet, “But you did.”

Billie straightened her shoulders and picked up her wine, “But I did.”

You let out a barely audible grunt, standing from the couch and collecting the still full pizza box and your wine, heading to the kitchen. You didn’t know why you answered her call, but you did, and now you were here, playing some fucked up game of poker. You both knew why she called, but she wouldn’t say it, and you were about five seconds from exploding. 

“What are you doing?” Billie asked in a sarcastic tone, trying to suppress the overwhelming fear that was carving its way into her bones. She hated this, hated knowing you had the upper hand, that you could say and do whatever you wanted and she would buckle instantly. She hated that her heart raced every time you left the room, that she felt every single millimeter of distance between you, hated that the only thing she wanted was to close that gap and be in your arms. It was easy to say she hated you. Hate was easier to deal with, hate lived inside your soul and no one else’s. Hate didn’t need constant validation or reassurances. Hate was solitary, stable, it didn’t fade with time, not like love did.

“Cleaning up. I’m going to get you into bed and then I’m going to go.” You said flatly, forcing yourself to strip every ounce of emotion from your tone. You couldn’t force her to talk to you, but you could make the decision to leave before she kicked you out again.

“Go?” Billie asked, cursing herself for the tears she felt welling up and the rise in her pitch.

“Yea, back to…” You trailed off before shaking your head, “I have to go.”

Billie cleared her throat, trying to keep herself in check, “You could just stay here.” She glanced back at you and you shook your head, and Billie hated how her chest got tight at the very idea of you being gone, of her being alone in this house once again, “You’ve been drinking.”

“I didn’t drive.” You said, crossing your arms and fixating on a scuff on the floor.

“Y/n. Stay, please…” Billie said weakly, blinking rapidly as if that would make the impending waterworks come to a halt.

“That isn’t a good idea….” You said, pausing for a moment and shaking your head before heading back into the kitchen to finish up. If you stayed, it would only prolong whatever this was. You hated hurting her, but you also hated how she made you feel. She made you feel crazy, and there was nothing you hated more than that.

Billie knew she was royally fucking this up, as she always did. It shouldn’t have been hard, just three words, I love you, and everything would be fixed. What was she so afraid of? That she would lose you? She already lost you, and she would again if she didn’t just say the damn words.

Sucking in a deep breath, she untangled herself from the blankets and slowly walked towards the kitchen, trying to mentally prepare herself. “You know… when I was in Europe, there was this one ghost I met.” She said, waiting for you to show some kind of response before she continued. It took a moment, but you finished washing the pan you were working on and laid your palms flat on the edge of the sink, turning your head towards her, “He had been in the war, shipped out the day he turned eighteen. He didn’t want to go, but he didn’t have a choice. He had a girlfriend, wanted to marry her, but he never told her he loved her. He regretted it, obviously, but he didn’t think he was going to come back, didn’t want her to have to deal with that kind of loss. He didn’t come back, he died in the trenches, but he wished he would have told her, even once. I did some research, found her. She was 85, got married and had six kids, a bus load of grandchildren. I explained everything to her, told her who I was. You know what she said to me when I told her?”

“What?” You asked with a gravelly voice, and Billie waited a moment until you looked up at her, “What, Bill?”

“She said she already knew. She always knew, even though he could never say it. He was the love of her life, of course she knew. He had spent years, trapped by this guilt, and she knew the entire time.” Billie said softly, shaking her head, “All those years… wasted, wandering around, all for nothing.”

“That’s not why he was trapped.” You blurted, clenching your jaw as you wiped your hands on the kitchen towel, “He wasn’t trapped because he thought she didn’t know, he was trapped because she knew and he still didn’t have the guts to say it, because then it was real. Not saying it… it doesn’t make it easier, it just makes you a coward, lets you hide in plain sight. She knew, but there was always an uncertainty about it.” You felt the tears beginning to pile up behind your eyelids, tried to swallow down the thickness in your voice before you cleared your throat, “That’s why he was trapped. That’s what kept him here.”

Billie dropped her head, giving a solemn nod. You were right, you always were right. She was a coward, terrified to give up even an ounce of control. She always was so detached, aloof, at least before you. Now, things were different, and she was struggling to catch up.

When you were the one to break the silence, Billie was surprised, shooting her head up. “I’m glad you were able to help her, though. Make it concrete or whatever. Even if it did take 60 years, it’s better than nothing.” You said, walking towards the center of the room and shuffling your feet, like you were only seconds from gathering your things and walking out the door. 

Your mask was quickly slipping, and now Billie knew for certain that you were still in pain, not that she couldn’t assume it already. You were always just so damn good about hiding your feelings, about putting everyone else above yourself, like you didn’t matter. She could see your hurt plain as day now, and she wanted nothing more than to kiss it away. She could feel the words bubbling up in her stomach, but they would lodge in her throat, making it hard to even breathe. She had to kiss you, had to do it right then and there, because it was the only way she knew how to convey every single thing she was feeling for you. She told you she loved you with every kiss, every touch. It was easy to love you that way, but the words were harder, more complicated and weighted.

She moved towards you without even thinking, and you stepped back, playing that game over and over until you were pressed up against the counter with nowhere to run. “Billie…” You whispered, pressing your hands on her shoulders to keep her just out of range.

“Just let me show you.” Billie pleaded, your faces only inches apart. If you would just release your grip, even just a hair, she would be able to do it.

“We can’t.” You stated, holding firm.

“Why not?” Billie practically whined.

“Because I won’t wait 60 years.” You shot back.

“Do you still love me?” Billie asked.

“You know I do.” You said with a sigh, relieved when Billie finally stopped pushing against you, but she still was close, too close. Close enough that you were teetering on the edge of losing all willpower and burrowing into her arms.

“Y/n, I was scared out of my mind. The accident….” Billie fumbled, trying to put a million complicated feelings into one simple sentence.

You nodded slightly, “I know.”

“I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you. I can’t lose you.” Billie said firmly.

“I told you I loved you and you kicked me out.” You stated, the bitterness creeping its way into your tone.

Billie softened, “I know, and I’m sorry, I am. Sweetheart, you know I care about you.”

You swallowed thickly, “And I care about you, you know I do.”

“Then stay.” Billie said, drawing out every letter.

You shook your head, “It’s not that simple.”

Billie was emphatic now, practically wailing, “It is, I love you and you love me.” She didn’t even realize she was saying it, the words slipping out so effortlessly the second she wasn’t thinking about it. But something changed in the expression on your face, and she had to ask, “What?”

“Say it again.” You insisted.

“What? That I love you and you love me?” Billie asked, the words taking a moment to register, a brief moment of panic rushing through her irises. Her shoulders relaxed, like a weight had been lifted, and she looked back at you. “I love you.” She said, like she was realizing it for the first time, like she hadn’t spent months staring at the wall and thinking it over and over again.

You let out an amused, breathy laugh, “Wasn’t so scary, was it?”

“Terrifying, actually.” Billie said, eyes wide like she was still considering taking it back.

“Only when you thought about it.” You teased, a genuine smile finally gracing your lips.

The medium started fidgeting, like a kid anxiously awaiting a treat, “Can I kiss you now?” She needed reassurance, needed something familiar to remind herself she wasn’t alone in this, that the words didn’t just simply vanish into thin air, that all her anxiety and suffering wasn’t for nothing. Your grin grew wider, and she instinctually stepped forward, leaning into you, but at the last moment you stepped back.

“No, but you can take me upstairs.” 

[dakotacrisis]

Transferred (6)

Awkwardness, advice, and even more awkwardness. (The word awkward now doesn’t even sound real. You’re welcome for this awkward description.)

---

“Quinn, do you know when that essay for history is due?” Marinette walked into class with Nanette and Quinn.

“Um,” They checked their arms, “Thursday?”

“You need to get a planner or something.” Marinette sighed.

“I’ve been barking up that tree for three years.” Nanette rolled her eyes.

“I have a system.” Quinn scoffed.

“Writing everything on your arms is not a productive system.” Marinette argued.

“Says you!”

“Quinn, darling, as someone who meticulously keeps an organized and color coded planner/calendar in my room this ‘system’ of yours gives me anxiety. For all that is sweet and holy, buy an actual planner. Download an app on your phone. Something!” Marinette begged.

Marinette really liked Quinn, they were smart and fun and had an encyclopedic knowledge on everything having to do with conspiracy theories and cryptids. Marinette hadn’t even heard of the giant snail like creature, Lou Carcolh, until they mentioned it once while hanging out at Marinette’s house. Like them as much as she did, their organization was zero. She’s seen their locker, their bookbag, she could only imagine the neat-freak meltdown she’d experience if she ever set foot in Quinn’s room.

“Nah, this is easier.” Quinn shrugged as they took their seat.

“Quinn...no…”

“Good morning,” Kagami approached their table. Ever since Marinette had talked to her that first day the two were getting along better. Kagami was even starting to branch out more to her classmates. “Did you all have a nice weekend?”

“Morning, Kagami,” Nanette smiled back at her, “I had a great weekend. I even got to meet Marinette’s boyfriend, Adrien.”

Kagami’s pleasant expression faltered and the temperature in the room dropped ten degrees.

“Nani,” Marinette pinched Nanette’s arm forcefully, “I told you he’s not my boyfriend.”

“The way he was looking at you though and how much you talk about him--”

“Shh!” Marinette clamped a hand over her mouth, “We are just friends. He doesn’t see me that way at all.”

Kagami muttered something under her breath that Marinette didn’t catch. Probably cursing the fact that Marinette liked Adrien too. Every time Adrien got brought up, in even the tiniest of moments, things between Kagami and Marinette soured. An unspoken rivalry for the blonde’s affections tensing the air without saying a word.

Class started and Marinette went back to her seat. She risked a glance at Kagami and sighed. She really was a nice girl when you get past her hard outer shell. They even seemed to have quite a lot in common when they got right down to it. A little too much in one case. And that is what drove them apart every time.

Adrien.

A crush on a boy isn’t what should split what would otherwise be a pair of close friends, should it?

“Alright students,” Mr. Babineaux started handing out papers, “To finish out our study of Utopia, we are going to be doing a pairs project. You and your partner will create your own utopian island. You have complete creative control but there are a few points that everyone must hit. 1: Draw a map of your utopia. 2: List the laws and regulations of your utopia. Lastly, write a small essay on the values the indigenious people of your island hold and why, minimum two pages. If you want to add other things like culture, holidays, or what have you then that is more than welcome. You have the rest of class to find your partner and start your project. This will be due next Wednesday where you will present your utopia to the class. Have at it.”

Immediately everyone started pairing off. Marinette stretched her head to look at Nanette and Quinn but they were already huddled together making rough sketches of their island. Looking around the only available person seemed to be Kagami.

“So…” Marinette smiled at her, hoping to diffuse some of the tension, “Want to be partners?”

“That sounds nice.” Kagami stated matter of factly.

Oh boy.

They started by outlining the core laws their island would function under and then moved onto what the punishment for breaking the laws may entail. Kagami seemed to have a much harsher form of punishment then Marinette had in mind. Marinette was able to talk her down out of anything lethal. Although she may have let slide the liars have their tongues cut out rule for reasons…

The bell rang and everyone started packing up for their next class.

“I was thinking, I don’t know what your schedule is like but maybe we can figure out a day to get together and keep working on the project. I’m not too worried about the map but I think we would need more time than class allows to hash out the culture and values of our island.” Marinette explained as she and Kagami packed their things.

“I’ll let you know when I’m free. With tournament season coming up my mother has arranged for me to spend more time practicing my fencing.” Kagami said, “I’ll probably barely see anyone outside of Mr. D’Argencourt, mother, and Adrien.”

And there was the tension again.

“Right, you have my number so you just let me know. We’ll figure something out.” Marinette smiled through the awkwardness.

After school let out Marinette opened her phone and pulled up her contacts. She wanted to talk to someone about this whole Kagami and Adrien situation. Nanette and Quinn are great but they don’t have the whole story and Marinette was not in the mood to explain everything. She sure as heck couldn’t talk to Adrien about it. Aurore didn’t really know Kagami. Wayhem can’t keep a secret to save his life. Chloe was a hard no for many reasons and not just because she went AWOL.

She stared for a long minute at Alya’s name. She would understand what Marinette was going through. At the very least she’d be able to give her some advice.

Marinette put her phone away with a sigh. “Why such a long face?” Tikki whispered, popping her little head out of Marinette’s purse.

“I want to be friends with Kagami cause she’s really nice and we can get along but every time Adrien gets mentioned things go south. We don’t say anything but I can feel it. It’s like there is a string between Kagami and I that frays a little more when Adrien is mentioned. I want to say something but I feel like doing so would just make things worse. What if I say something wrong and we end up arguing? I don’t want to fight what could be a good friend over a love triangle.”

“I feel like not saying anything could do more harm then ignoring it altogether.”

“I know but what if--”

A loud crash from down the road halted Marinette’s reply. A dozen or so people were running away as more crashes crept closer to where she was. An akuma no doubt.

Marinette ducked into an alleyway. This Kagami situation would have to wait. “Tikki, transform me!”

Marinette lunged onto the roof of the nearest building and searched for the source of the destruction.

“BAH!” A giant baby waddled around the corner, “BAH!”

“Seriously? Hawkmoth akumatized August again?” She sighed. At least she knew how to deal with this akuma already. Not as easy as taking down Mr. Pigeon but at least she didn’t have to worry about Chat’s allergies.

“I’m guessing someone’s pretty cranky about being woken up from their nap.”

Speak of the devil.

“Hey Chat Noir,” Marinette greeted her partner, “It’s been a while.”

“Too long, my lady,” he grinned back at her, “While I did enjoy the break from akumas I did miss our moments together.”

“Which ones? Where I throw you at akumas or when you leap into the line of fire yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s just get junior here pacified before dinner. I think giant babies would take a lot more than a bottle to keep them happy.”

“True.”

Marinette scanned over the akuma. What was his problem today? He wasn’t chewing on anything so it wasn’t teething. He was rubbing his eyes a lot. Maybe he really was grumpy from waking up or just too tired to realize that sleeping would rid him of his grumpy mood.

“We need to get him to fall asleep.” She told Chat Noir, “Help me lure him somewhere with room enough to lay down. I have an idea.”

“On it.” Chat Noir jumped closer, “Hey! Over here! Wanna play with a kitty? Gotta catch me first!”

The pair went running as a sleepy August waddled after them.

Marinette knew that she should focus on the akuma but her thoughts about Kagami wouldn’t leave her be. “Chat, can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” he shrugged as they ran, “Finally gonna ask me on a date?”

“Not so lucky, minou,” she rolled her eyes, “You see, there’s this person I’ve started making friends with but she likes the same guy as me. I still want to be friends with her but the topic always brings up a cloud of awkwardness because of this boy. Any advice?”

“I have two options.”

“What’s the first one?”

“Talk to her. If the both of you want to be friends but this subject of a shared crush makes things uncomfortable then you need to address it. You don’t have to bow out of your crush so the other isn’t awkward but keep pursuing this mystery boy without letting it harm your friendship. If you truly are on good terms then a little rivalry is fine as long as you don’t delve into underhanded tactics like sabotage.”

“And what was option two?”

“Ditch mystery boy and go out to the movies with me?” he asked with a hopeful but joking smile.

“I think I’ll stick with option one. Thanks though.”

They got to the football field arena and circled around August. He wouldn’t cause anymore damage here.

“What’s the plan?” Chat Noir asked.

“We got him here, now we need to get him to sleep. Let me see what I got,” She thrust her yo-yo into the sky, “Lucky Charm!”

A CD dropped into her hands.

“A track of lullabies? Helpful.” Chat Noir shrugged.

“But not enough. No. We need back up.” Marinette sighed. “Someone who can cast a calming illusion.”

“Rena Rouge?”

“Yup,” Marinette grasped her yo-yo tighter, “I’ll be right back. You keep August entertained.”

She sped as fast as she could to Master Fu’s. He was unperturbed by her sudden appearance as was the case nowadays. “Marinette, in need of an ally today?”

“Yes, I need the Fox Miraculous.” She took the necklace out of the box.

“Is something the matter, Marinette?” Fu asked.

“Sorta, I know who I should give it to but I don’t want to. But I also could use someone who already know what to do.” she contemplated briefly giving the necklace to Chloe but with her under the radar dealings of late she wasn’t sure where to even find her. That really only left one option.

“Grudges are only a form of self-punishment. Remember that, Marinette.” Fu told her, “Do not let your emotions stand in the way of the common good.”

“You’re right.” She looked to Tikki to make sure she was recharged, “Let’s get going. I don’t know how much longer Chat can keep a giant toddler in one place.”

After transforming back into Ladybug, Marinette sped as fast as she could to Alya’s house. She hesitated at the window before shaking the contempt from her mind. Ladybug isn’t mad at Rena Rouge.

She knocked on the window startling Alya off her bed. Quickly she ran to the door and thrust it open. “Ladybug? What’s up?”

Marinette held out the box with necklace. “I need Rena Rouge for a quick mission.”

“Oh, right,” Alya took the box but didn’t open it.

“Problem?”

“No, I just…” She looked back at her bed where her laptop sat with what looked like fifteen or more tabs opened, “I was doing some research. But duty calls!”

She transformed into Rena and the pair went vaulting back across the rooftops to the arena. Chat unfortunately had been caught by August and was turning a sickly green shade from being waved around in the toddler’s hand.

“Cast an illusion of a giant mobile to help him fall asleep. I have some tunes to put on.” Marinette ran towards the commentator box and popped the CD into the arena stereo system. A minute later a giant mobile appeared over the field spinning plush ladybugs, black cats, foxes and turtles on strings.

August stopped playing with Chat Noir and focused on the mobile. Combined with the soothing music he was yawning and soon curled up on the grass for a nap. Chat wiggled his arm free and cataclysmed the bracelet where the akuma was. After that Marinette went out to catch it and thrust the CD into the sky to right all the damage August had caused this time.

The sleeping toddler was taken back to his mother by Chat while Marinette collected the necklace from Alya. “Thanks for letting me help out today.” she said.

“We needed you.”

“I’m sure you could have figured something out without me. Truth be told, I haven’t felt very heroic lately.” Alya twiddled her thumbs. The beeping of Marinette’s earrings told her she needed to get out of there fast.

“Wait!” Alya stopped her, “Can I ask you something?”

“I’m kinda in a hurry--”

“Are you friends with a girl named Lila Rossi?”

The question took her aback. “No. Outside of when she was akumatized and a less than flattering confrontation when she tried to use me as a pick-up line I have never interacted with her. Why?”

“Nothing...research...it’s not important. See you later, Ladybug.” Alya ran from the arena to return home.

Marinette’s transformation wore off and Tikki landed on her shoulder. “Are you okay? Seeing Alya again must have been strange.”

“Yeah, kinda,” Marinette reached into her bag and pulled out another cookie for her kwami. “Let’s head home after we return the Miraculous. I’m too emotionally worn out to contemplate further human interaction.”

The walk home Marinette checked her messages. She had a text from Kagami telling her what times she could work on their project. They set a meeting time for Friday after school to work. With Chat’s advice still ringing in her ears Marinette made a mental note to talk to Kagami so they could get on the same page about their feelings regarding Adrien. Not today though. The rest of today was going to be fruit tarts and video game therapy.

---

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (7)

[gimmeyoon]

Iron World: 2

✰ pairing: Yoongi x Reader

✰ au: Cyberpunk 

✰ word count: 6.4k

✰ warnings: explicit language, major angst, mentions of death and violence

✰ songs: Game Time by 3LAU and Ninja and Attack on Bangtan by BTS

✰ summary: ❝Welcome to Iron World, the latest virtual reality online game. Choose your class, join a guild, and explore the depths of this planet. As one of the first 20,000 people to explore this brave frontier, how you enjoy this immersive experience is up to you. There is so much to do and see, you’ll never want to leave.❞

Prev | Next

    When the creator revealed that they were trapped inside the game, Jungkook had a panic attack. It was in that moment that he knew all of this was real. That this was reality now. Normally, games were the only place he didn't worry about his anxiety. In fact, it was the idea of being a fearless superhero, a brave fighter, or a powerful warrior that first drew him to video games. Whenever he was feeling powerless, he would turn to games to cope.

    He had felt absolutely powerless those first few days after it became clear there was no way to log out of the game. He was trapped and he was certainly going to die.

    But then he had met V and V was the kind of guy that didn't let you think like that. Anytime Jungkook even had the audacity to sigh, V was right there to tell him that everything was going to be okay. And then one day V told him about the Phoenix.

    That all seemed so far away now, but at the time the Phoenix had given Jungkook hope. He was going to get them out of this game. Jungkook knew he would need help, so he trained harder, worked smarter, and got his skill level up.

     Now Bangtan was the lead group and according to Jimin, the Phoenix, who apparently is not a he but a she, was also on this level.

     It felt a bit poetic to Jungkook, that the player that gave him hope was going to be clearing this level with them. He was glad he had trained so hard.

     Sometimes Chimmy asked Jungkook if he was okay to keep fighting as hard as he did. He knew that he took a lot of damage, it was his job as a warrior, and when he looked around at his friends, friends that felt like brothers, he knew that he would keep fighting this hard until they made it out.

     So, he didn't feel nervous anymore. He felt driven. He felt like he had a purpose. He only felt nervous when his brothers fell into danger, then he worried that he hadn't done his job right. That he was letting them down.

    He was intent on not doing that today. Today, as they walked towards the castle, ready to take down the boss on this level, Jungkook knew that they would win.

    Jungkook couldn't pinpoint the exact moment when he started to get an adrenaline rush from the game. The first few times he fought, he felt scared. He knew that one wrong move could mean his death.

    But at some point, he started to get excited. He wanted to find the monsters and he wanted to test his limits doing so. He didn't think very much about death anymore. When he was fighting, he felt invincible.

    "I really hope we get to see the Phoenix in action today," Chimmy said, bringing Jungkook's attention back to the group.

    "You already saw her in action when you decided it was worth risking your life for yesterday," Agust D countered.

    "I'm just saying, it would be nice to sit back and let her do the work."

    V chuckled before wrapping an arm around Chimmy's shoulders. "Don't you do that anyways, Cleric?"

    "Down, V," Mono said. "Everyone's job is important and crucial to the team."

    Chimmy shrugged V's arm off of his shoulders, a frown on his face. "I hope you get a minor injury so that I can refuse to heal it and watch you be mildly inconvenienced."

    "I love you too, Chim."

    Chimmy rolled his eyes as he lightly punched V in the shoulder, before turning back to the group. "My point still stands. I hope the Phoenix helps us today."

    "It's not like we need it," said Agust D, a slight bite to his voice. "We're the lead group, we don't need her."

    "Despite my earlier transgression, I'm with Chimmy," V responded. "She's the best player in the game, and I'm sure Jugeum and I wouldn't mind a little help."

    "Agust D's right," Mono said. "She might be the best single player, but part of the game is teaming up and joining guilds. She seems to be the worst at that."

    "Our fearless leader has spoken," Worldwide spoke up. He always made a point to try and diffuse a situation if he sensed there was tension, and Jungkook always appreciated that about him. Neither of them liked conflict very much.

    "I'm serious," Mono continued. "There's strength in unity. We've got each other's backs; who has hers?"

    Jungkook heard the faintest of footsteps behind them, and he turned around instantly. It all happened so quickly. He pulled Jonglyo from the place between his shoulder blades as quickly as he could manage, the screams of past monsters, just faintly ringing from her blade.

    He moved as quickly as he could, but it wasn't quick enough.

    Inches away from Worldwide was an elf. He must have been tracking them and used magic to quiet his footsteps. Inches away from his brother was an elf, and the elf had a sword of fire through its abdomen.

    The elf was gone as quickly as Jungkook had registered it, a pile of ash left in its place. He and the rest of Bangtan stood silent facing the player dressed in black from head to toe. Jungkook didn't need to pull up his player specs, he knew it was the Phoenix.

    It was silent for too long. Jungkook knew he should speak up, thank the Phoenix for saving him and his guild, but he also felt like he had just had his ass handed to him and he wasn't sure how one was supposed to respond to that.

    She was the one who broke the silence. "So much for having each other's backs."

    "I-" Mono started.

    "I'm going to stop you right there," she held up her hand and moved to walk around the group.

    Jungkook had half the mind to ask how much her mask cost her, when V pushed him aside to get closer to the Phoenix.

    "Please party up with us," he started. "It would be an honor to fight with you."

     She looked him over for a moment, almost as if she was considering it, but then she turned on her heel so that she was facing the castle in the distance.

    "Down, beast lord. I work alone."

    Jungkook and the rest of the guild just watched as she walked ahead of them, leaving them behind. He wasn't sure what he expected to happen, but he hadn't imagined her turning them down so abruptly.

    "Well," Chimmy spoke up. "I guess I was right about seeing her in action."

    If you weren't so intent on getting out of this hell, you would have given up on fighting the boss today. You would let that guild go in and try their best and if they were successful, great. You would move on to the next level and go for that boss. But after watching that Elf stalk them for almost a mile, you realized you couldn't leave your escape in their hands. So instead of turning around and hoping for the best, you hoped that you would make it there quickly enough that they were too far behind to join you on the mission. If you could get the fight over fast enough you would be able to avoid them.

    You didn't need any more invites from them, and you certainly didn't need them to know anything else about you.

    It took a while to make it to the castle, the creator had situated it in a mountain which would normally be fine, but for some reason the castle was a no-teleport zone. You couldn't just use the game to show up there, you had to walk.

    You tried your hardest to ignore the little voice in your head that wondered why it was a no-teleport zone. You had been playing long enough to know that there were three possibilities.

    Firstly, at some point you were probably going to want to teleport out of the area, meaning that this boss was difficult. Or secondly, the place was booby-trapped, and you were going to trigger something that was going to make you want to teleport out of there. Or maybe it was the third option, and you were going to be trapped inside of a room with no way of escape, until the boss was beaten and in which case teleporting wouldn't be allowed. Or it was the worst option, it was a combination of these things.

    So, you tried to focus on other things.

    Once there, however, you had to consider what the creator had planned. He was a crazy son of a bitch, no doubt, but he was also purposeful. He never did anything just for the sake of it. No, he was watching the game play out, and he wanted to enjoy it. So that meant there had to be a reason for the no teleportation, and it was your job to figure out what it was so you could survive.

     None of the doors to the castle were open, which meant booby-traps were less likely. If he wanted to trick the players into setting something off, he would have left the doors open so people would run in without thinking. Of course, there was always the possibility that opening the door was the trap, but despite his insanity, the creator usually didn’t go for cheap shots like that.

    Closed doors did seem to point towards the other two options. Whatever was waiting for you on the other side of the door was going to be tough and there was a chance you were going to be locked in with it.

    As far as you could tell there was no way for you to test your theory. You would need another person to enter the room to determine if this was a cage situation, and this was impossible for two reasons. Not only did you not have anyone else with you, but to send someone in to certain death only to save your own skin, was immoral.

    So, you were going to have to take your chances. You paused a moment longer to consider the different entrance options. The front entrance seemed like the obvious choice, but maybe the creator anticipated that everyone would think this and head for one of the side doors, and so he changed the game to fit this decision-making process. Or maybe you were trying too hard to understand the mind of a crazy person, and the front entrance really was the wrong choice.

     "J-Hope, wait!"

     You could only sigh in response as you realized that by being careful, you had also lost the lead you had on the guild. Now you were going to have to fight with them. You just hoped they were as good as they said.

    "Your speed and endurance skills must be unbelievable," a bard you could only assume was J-Hope said to you.

    "She clearly doesn't want to talk to us," a necromancer added, before you could respond to the bard.

    The guild looked just like any of the other players in the game. The bard held a recorder in his right hand and the hilt of his sword could be seen just over his back, indicating which weapon he was more likely to rely on.

    The necromancer had black runes on his face, identifying his class. You had similar markings on your arms as a shadow knight, though your magic was weaker than his. His grey hair hung just above his eyes, which you just knew was to give him that brooding look he absolutely must have practiced in the mirror every morning. Next to him stood a living-dead tiger, half of its skin rotted away to reveal the skeleton underneath.

    "We don't have to talk," you started, "but it looks like we do have to work together now. I guess you got your wish, beast lord," you said, turning to look at the player that had approached you earlier.

    "It's V," he responded, and you raised your hand to stop him.

    "I really don't care."

    "He's just being nice; you don't have to be a bitch about it."

    Your attention quickly turned back to the necromancer. "Oh, very original, calling the girl gamer a bitch."

    "Oh, it's not because you’re a girl gamer," the necromancer responded. "It's because you’re being a bitch."

    You scoffed in response. "If a guy acted like this, you guys would be drooling over how cool he is. You'd think, wow he's so stoic and aloof, I should be more like him. You wouldn't call him a bitch.

    "You're right," the necromancer said. "I'd call him an asshole."

    You rolled your eyes before pulling up he necromancer's player specs. Agust D.

    "He didn't mean to call you a bitch," a warlock said as he approached you.

    "I did-"

    "We're all just a little on edge because of the boss."

    You turned to the warlock to view his player specs. Mono: Leader.

    "No problem, Mono," you nodded your head. "We don't have to be friends; we just need to clear the level. I look forward to never seeing you again after this."

    "The feeling is mutual," Agust D said with a smile.

    "Great, then who wants to place bets on which entrance is the safest?"

    "I think it's going to be a dragon," Mono started. "Worldwide and I were talking on the way up," he said, pointing to an enchanter standing at the edge of the group. "and the creator really lives for the classics. He's not going to pass up the chance to put a dragon in a castle."

    "And if you're right, all the entrances suck," you said.

    Worldwide stepped forward, pointing to the side entrances, "The doors on the side of the castle are elevated, so the spell casters should post up there. Hopefully, the dragon is on the bottom floor, and the brawn can attack him there."

    "And if he's elevated?"

    "We're all fucked then," V responded.

    You chuckled. "I don't love those odds." You turned back to Mono. "I'm pretty sure we're going to be locked in there."

    "I considered that."

    The cleric from the day before stepped forward. "So, I need to go in with you guys."

    "May god have mercy on your soul," you responded as you pulled up his specs. Chimmy.

    He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Yeah, you kind of caught me at a bad time."

    "Since we're going in blind, I think we just have to pick a plan and hope it works," Mono said, motioning for the group to close in around him. "Agust D and J-Hope will take the top right entrance. Worldwide and I will take the top left." He waited for his guild members to nod their heads before continuing. "Phoenix, V, and Cooky will go in the front entrance with Agma and Jugeum, and we'll hope the dragon is there."

    "And if it's not?" J-Hope spoke up.

    "We hope that we're not caged and can immediately exit, or we scramble. Everything will be fine, just think smart and quick."

    "And me?" Chimmy asked.

    "I want you to be near the fight, since they will be taking the damage, but I also realize I can't guarantee you a place to hide. You're welcome to come up with us, but then I worry there's no way down to the first floor and we're leaving them to fend for themselves."

    "So, you're leaving it up to me?"

    Mono nodded solemnly. The gravity of the decision clear.

    Despite this Chimmy smiled and clasped his hand on V's back. "Guess I'll just have to commit to saving your ass."

    V laughed in response pulling Chimmy into a hug.

    "No time like the present," Mono said, motioning for everyone to take their position.

    You watched as the boys went before you to their places, and you hoped for their sake that this was the right plan. You liked to think that it was just as hard for the game to get rid of them as it was for you. And as you joined Cooky, V, and the beasts at the front entrance you hoped none of them learned today what it was like to lose someone in this game. To watch them disintegrate before your own eyes.

    As he and J-Hope stood outside of the castle, the runes on Yoongi's face began to buzz with energy. The first time it had ever happened before a fight, Yoongi had been caught off guard. He had panicked and he had called out for someone to help him.

    It was embarrassing and Yoongi really tried to forget it ever happened.

    Now the buzz was exciting. It was the jolt he needed to keep him aware right before a fight. It was the proof that he was powerful and capable of whatever was on the other side of the door.

    Yoongi and J-Hope quickly gave each other a nod of assurance before opening the door to the castle on Mono's signal.

     It was quiet on the inside. Worldwide was right, Yoongi and J-Hope found themselves on an elevated platform on the right side of the castle. Covering each other's backs, J-Hope and Yoongi cleared the platform before looking to see how the other teams were doing. Mono and Worldwide had found themselves in a similar situation, and the latter gave Yoongi a thumbs up to confirm this. Looking down to the floor, Yoongi took note of the dragon that lay sleeping in the middle of the large room. The Phoenix's arms glowed; the shadow knight's magic allowing herself, V, and Cooky to move silently around the dragon. Yoongi quickly looked for Chimmy, hoping that the cleric had found a place to hide, and he almost panicked when he didn't see him, but then Mono made a motion like he could see him hiding. Yoongi figured it was probably good that he couldn't see him. Maybe that meant the dragon couldn't either.

    It was all working out perfectly, and Yoongi had to admit that was a relief. He had been pretty panicked when he had seen that the doors were closed. Remembering this, Yoongi moved back to see if he could open the door to escape. He reached back towards the golden handle, when his runes started to buzz more intensely. He tried to ignore it but the closer he got to the handle, the more they seemed to scream at him. Yoongi turned back towards J-Hope to try and explain to him what was happening when a siren sounded. Yoongi watched as J-Hope scrambled to pick up the recorder he had dropped, muttering the word sleep repeatedly as he did so.

    Yoongi quickly moved back to his position, unsure exactly what was happening but knowing without looking that it had awoken the dragon. He was pretty sure he hadn’t caused the alarm, he hadn’t touched the handle, but if it wasn’t him he wasn’t sure who it could be. He hoped it wasn’t him. He couldn’t see any of his friends get hurt because of him.

     He began to chant under his breath, calling on the power of the dead to help his friends defeat the beast in front of them. His eyes flicked quickly to the scene below him, a sharp intake of air following as he watched his friends and the Phoenix try and plan their next move while the Dragon flailed about. They evaded each of its strikes, but it was clear the sudden alarm had thrown them off of their game.

    As Yoongi’s enchantment set in, a small army of skeletons surrounded the dragon as well. Though not particularly great fighters, they served their purpose well in helping his friends.

    Agma and Jugeum also helped to surround the dragon, the tiger’s eyes meeting Yoongi’s every time it needed a new command. After ten levels, he found it natural to think of Agma’s next move while still muttering spells under his breath. Every time a skeleton fell, Yoongi conjured another.

    Next to him, J-Hope played his recorder, the particular song foreign to Yoongi, but no doubt doing the trick as the Dragon’s head kept twitching as if it was trying to block the notes from entering its subconscious.

    Runes lit up the room as they appeared above the dragon, Mono and Worldwide working hard to bring the dragon down before it could do any harm. Yoongi paid no mind to what they were using, instead focusing on his own spells and the work he needed to do. Everyone had a job, and no one needed him to tell them how to do there’s.

    Yoongi was perhaps the only spell-caster that had to pay attention to what his friends were doing. He had realized this a few bosses ago, when J-Hope was surprised by how low Jungkook’s HP was. It was then that the Bard admitted his focused on himself and the boss, and no else. Mono and Worldwide had agreed; watching the knight was too distracting. They needed to be detached.

    But Yoongi couldn’t do that. He had to watch Cooky so he could figure out where to place a skeleton. He had to watch V, so he knew what to tell Agma to do. Now he had to watch the Phoenix as well. The whole thing was enough to make his heart beat erratically in his chest. He was both removed from the action and immediately in it.

    He watched as the Phoenix made the first move, her sword piercing the dragon’s wing, but having little effect on the creature’s HP. It was going to be a long fight. The team continued to attack the dragon, their blades having a disappointing effect on the boss. The spells helped to weaken the beast, but still it seemed to refuse to die.

    That wasn’t an option. Yoongi sent in more skeletons, hoping to divert the attention from his friends as the continued to fight.

    Jugeum took a hit from the boss, V shouting a curse as he commanded the hell hound to stand back up and keep going. Chimmy appeared at this, throwing the dog a bone to help restore its HP.

    The fight didn’t seem hopeless, but it did seem perpetual. The Phoenix, however, was resilient. She continued to attack the beast with her flaming blade, each attack as visceral as the last. Each strike seemed to say, ‘I will not die today,’ and Yoongi had to admit that he was impressed. She deserved the praise she received.

   Cooky followed swiftly behind the Phoenix, and while she made it away from the dragon before it could attack, the knight wasn’t as lucky. Cooky yelled as the dragon’s talon sliced his chest, before falling to his knees. The Phoenix was on him in an instance, pulling him away from the beast and towards Chimmy.

    Yoongi quickly conjured skeletons to block the way between Cooky and Phoenix, hoping that she could get him to Chimmy before he took anymore damage. Yoongi resisted the urge to check Cooky’s character specs, not needing the anxiety of knowing just how low his HP was after that.

    The Phoenix had barely gotten Cooky to Chimmy before she was back on the dragon. She let out a yell with each thrust of her blade, her attacks somehow angrier than before. For a moment, J-Hope’s song seemed to distract the dragon, the beast sitting still as Phoenix assaulted it with blows.

    But then Yoongi saw it. The rune on Yoongi’s right cheek appeared in the Dragon’s eye, and he was moving before he could think otherwise. With a shake of its head, the dragon burst out of the trap set by J-Hope’s song, and his eyes locked on the Phoenix. The jump from the platform to the bottom floor was no more than five feet, the sting in Yoongi’s calves the worst of it. He vaguely registered that mono was yelling at him, but he had to help them. He couldn’t ignore what he had seen, and there was no way they would hear him.

    He watched as V and the Phoenix continued to fight the dragon, clearly unaware of what was about to happen. Only he had seen the rune and known what it meant.

    The Phoenix shouted something at Yoongi as he went to push her back from the dragon, but he ignored it, continuing to push her towards were Chimmy was hiding. She needed to get to cover, the dragon wanted her.

    “You’re not safe,” Yoongi shouted at her, pleading for her to move, but she continued to fight against him.

    “We’re getting out of here,” she yelled back, as she tried to evade Yoongi by running around him, but he wouldn’t give up.

    Yoongi continued to push her, turning back every once in a while, to make sure he still had time. She cursed as she fell to the ground, and Yoongi shouted for Chimmy to pull her behind the wall he and Cooky were behind.

    He heard it first. The intake of air by the dragon. His first thought was that he was right and his second was that he was in the worst possible place in this moment. Quickly he tried to think of an enchantment to protect him, but he didn’t know of any off the top of his head.

    So, he did the only thing he could think of, and began to chant his fire-starting curse. The Phoenix was fighting Jimin at this point, trying to get him off of her, and she was just about to stand up, when Yoongi saw her eyes widen.

    It was then that he knew he was probably going to die.

    But he continued to chant his fire-starting spell.

    He wasn’t sure exactly when the flames hit his back, the fire not burning but instead feeling like a pressure. Like something was pushing him. He only realized that the dragon was breathing fire at him when the flame began to wrap around his body. He knew that the Phoenix was screaming because her mouth was wide open and her eyes looked terrified, but he couldn’t hear her. He focused on the words of the enchantment and hoped that the was doing the right thing.

    The flames had wrapped completely around him in the moments that he stood there, and as the dragon stopped, the pressure at his back lifted, and with it the world around him began to grow very dark.

    The last thing Yoongi saw as he fell to the ground was the Phoenix running towards the dragon, and he hoped that she was smarter now. That she would see the fire before it happened this time.

    He hoped she would get his friends out of the game as the world went black.

    He had saved you. When he had jumped down from his position, you had called him a prick in your head. You thought he was another asshole that hated being away from the action. And then he had pushed you away from the dragon and you thought maybe he wanted you all to die in here.

    And then he was engulfed by flames. Flames meant for you.

    With each blow you delivered with your sword, Light Bringer, you wished that he would be okay. You refused to turn around and see if his body had turned to pixels and ascended out of the game. It was like Schrodinger’s Cat as you fought the dragon: until you turned back around the necromancer was both dead and alive.

    You placed all of your anger and your anxiety into your sword and you felt yourself grow stronger as the Dragon grew weaker and weaker. If you couldn’t save him like Chimmy, you would avenge him.

    You were sweaty and hyperventilating when the dragon finally turned to pixels. You kneeled by the place where it had been slain, still too afraid to turn around. The prize appeared above your head, but you didn’t care about it anymore. Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth someone’s life.

    The spell-casters ran past you as they got down from the positions to run towards their friends. You knew they were shouting, speaking to each other, but the ringing in your ears was the only thing you registered. 

    And then someone spoke.

    “Congratulations Bangtan and Phoenix,” he said.

    The hairs on your arms raised as you looked up towards the ceiling. The man’s voice was both everywhere and nowhere, and you knew that could only mean one thing. The creator was speaking to you. The man that had trapped you inside of this game had the audacity to congratulate you.

    “You have successfully completed the first ten levels of this game in 201 days, and I am very impressed.”

    “Who are you?” Mono voiced from behind you, and you wondered if he truly didn’t know or if he was looking for confirmation.

    “I am the creator, Mono. It is very nice to meet all of you. I have been watching for so long.”

    “The feeling is not mutual,” Worldwide spat back, and you grinned at his words.

    “I must say, that hurts my feelings slightly.”

    “Oh, I’m sorry,” Worldwide continued. “I wasn’t aware feelings was something you were capable of.”

    “Sick fuck,” you muttered in agreement.

    “Yet here I am, upset,” The creator paused. “201 days is much quicker than I had first imagined and some of you are far more capable than I had ever dreamed. Phoenix?” The creator paused, as if he was waiting for you to respond. You refused to do so, not wanting to give him any satisfaction.

    “I’m sorry,” Worldwide started. “The Phoenix isn’t available right now. Please leave your name and number, and she’ll be sure to get back to you, once she beats this game and gets us all out of here.”

    Worldwide’s remark was met with silence and for a moment you wondered if the creator had given up on whatever it was he was trying to accomplish.

   “Yes, that is a fear that I have. See, Phoenix, I like you. You are a very good player. A bit too good. I think you could get out of here in the next few years if you really set your mind to it, and it appears you have,” he paused, and you swore you could almost hear him smile. “So, I’ve made some changes.”

    The words were out of you before you could even process what you were saying, “Fuck you, you sick fucking fuck!”

    “She speaks,” he cheered. “I am honored you have graced me with your impressive vocabulary.”

    “What did you change?” Mono asked calmly.

    “You have all proven to be successful in a game based on the past, so it made me wonder,” he paused. “How do you feel about the future, Mono?”

    Mono didn’t get a chance to respond, as V cut him off. “The floor! Look at the floor!”

    You had noticed it too, the floor where the dragon had once been, now seemed to sink as a hole formed in the middle of the room. As it grew larger, you realized you needed to turn back around, even if that meant confronting that Agust D was in fact dead. As you quickly moved towards the guild, you had to force away the sob that threatened to come out of you as you saw Agust D still lying on the floor, his head in Chimmy’s lap. He wasn’t awake but he was alive.

    “Players?” the creator laughed. “Are you ready to begin?”

    And then the floor was gone. It took a few seconds before you registered that you were falling, all of Bangtan and yourself plummeting towards nothing. And then there was binary code surrounding each of you, and the black nothing from before, began to feel familiar. The creator was rewriting the code, and you were just a pawn in this re-creation. You had always been a pawn in this game, and he was making it unwinnable. If he could change the very code around you what was the point. You would never win; he would always make it so you would lose.

   He had basically said so himself.

   You don’t know for how long you were surrounded by code, but at some point, the new world formed around you, and you landed harshly against a concrete sidewalk. Chimmy yelped beside you, causing you to look up at him. Your eyes widened as you took in his new appearance. Gone were the linen clothes of the cleric, and instead he was clothed in black and leather. The three dots underneath each of his eyes that symbolized his class and had once been paint now were metallic piercings or implants. It was hard to tell from this distance, and maybe that was why you found yourself reaching up to touch them.

    That was when you saw your arms. Gone were the runes that symbolized your class, and in their place, you found two robotic arms. Lines of metal went up your forearms and only two runes remained one on each of your wrists. One for fire and one for speed.

    You hated how vain it sounded, but you would have killed for a mirror to see what else the creator had changed about you in the rewrite.

    You were looking at the runes when you remembered Yoongi and you quickly pushed yourself to your feet. You ignored the neon city-scape around you as you searched the ground for the necromancer. As you scanned the small area around you, you resisted the urge to see how he had changed the other boys.

    When your eyes met Yoongi’s you were surprised to see him sitting upright. He had seemed dead in the castle, and while he looked disoriented, he was very much alive.

    “Agust D,” you breathed as you moved to crouch down beside him. You heard his guild members shuffle behind you, clearly alerted by your saying his name.

    The necromancer’s runes were changed too, his face had similar metal lines to yours, with small runes at the corners of his eyes like tattoos, one for fire like you and one that you didn’t recognize. Piercings now adorned his bottom lip and eyebrows.

    “You’re alive,” you stated after he didn’t respond to you.

    “Perhaps unfortunately,” he frowned. “This is not the game I signed up for.”

    “He dropped us in a safe zone,” Mono spoke up, drawing your attention back to the group.

    The wizard and leader looked relatively the same, his clothes similar to Jimin’s but his face free of the markings you had found on the necromancer and cleric. His hair was the most changed, the top of his hair pulled back into a small bun, the sides shorter and shaved. The creator believed that man buns were the future it seemed. You almost chuckled at the thought.

    The safe zone seemed to be a small city. Neon signs buzzed around you and advertisements flickered across screens. As you looked around, you realized for the first time that game-generated characters bustled around you, worked at shops, and filled the space. They avoided the alley you and the guild were currently in, perhaps a small curtesy from the creator as you adjusted.

   Though curtesy was not something you would think him capable of.

    “Am I the only one who thinks he just told us the game is unwinnable,” Cooky finally spoke up after a few moments of silence. “I mean he literally changed the game because we were beating it too quickly. Why wouldn’t he change it so that we never win?”

    “I agree,” you said. “Everything is bullshit, nothing means anything. That’s what I got from what he said.”

    “No, we can’t think like that.” J-Hope said as he stood up. “We are going to beat the game. We are going to go home. We just have to adjust and relearn how to play.”

    “J-Hope’s right,” Mono said, clapping the bard on the back. “We didn’t make it this far to give up. We’re going to make it out of here, because there are no other options.”

    You wanted to believe them. You wanted to think that you had already gotten so good at the original game and that you could adjust and adapt to the changes. But as you looked up at the levels and levels of building that surrounded you, you felt so small and yet claustrophobic.

    You had almost gotten Agust D killed and now you had been dropped unceremoniously into the future, and the world scared you. You must have looked as terrified as you felt, as Chimmy reached out to grab your hand. You didn’t look over at him, but you held his hand back and you hoped for his sake that you were wrong. You hoped for all of their sake that you were wrong and that you would beat the game. You felt it only moments later, Chimmy’s magic coursing through you and calming your nerves. You didn’t like guilds much, but you were glad to be with a healer in this moment. You could almost see the appeal.

    Your eye twitched as digital screen appeared before you. You looked around to see if everyone else saw it, but by the look on Chimmy’s face when your eyes met, you were certain they didn’t. The creator must have placed the player menu into a small screen on the player’s eye. That sounded like the kind of bullshit the future was likely to have.

   You looked back at the screen and managed to figure out how to get the notification to open after a few failed attempts. The prize from beating the dragon had been placed in your inventory. At almost the cost of a player’s life, you had won a journal. It felt like a sick joke. You called the journal from your storage and frowned as it appeared in your hands. You were about to throw it on the ground, ready to stomp on it in anger, when writing on the cover caught your attention.

   In the box that said ‘owner’ a message had been written to you. For Y/N: the only girl who has ever tried to get inside my mind.

© gimmeyoon — all rights reserved. reposting, modifying, or translation onto other sites even with proper credit given is not permitted.

[newhopegeorgie]

called it I b.r

(numero dos is about everyones fav lol. this went in a completely different direction than i thought it would but i think its.. fun haha. hope you all enjoy it, leave any feedback or requests if you’d like! xx)

For as long as you could remember you and Blake had not gotten along. You never really knew why, or what exactly caused the rift between you two. It was like oil and water, you just didn’t mix. And while avoiding each other seemed the only viable solution, it was quite difficult considering the circumstances.

You were George’s cousin, and since both of you were only children, you grew up being as close as siblings. The two of you were inseparable. George was your best friend and you were his. So when George formed the band with Reece and Blake, finally getting to chase his dreams, you were ecstatic for him. When you met the boys you were sure you’d click with both of them no problem, and with Reece you were right. The two of you were close as could be. But for some reason, you and Blake could not seem to get along no matter how hard you tried.

George and Reece always tried to diffuse the tension between you, try to help you get along with each other but it never worked out. It was frustrating to say the least. And what irked you the most is that you truly wanted to get along with Blake. You were tired of constantly bickering with him and god knows so were George and Reece. But whenever the two of you interacted there was always something that set one of you off, leading you yet another argument.

By this point, everyone had essentially given up on trying to get the two of you to like one another. For the most part, you just avoided him the best you could, and he did the same to you. Easy enough, right?

One day you were at George’s house, hanging out together. Considering you lived just down the road you were hardly ever not here. It was a Friday and Reece and Blake were meant to come over to stay at George’s house for the weekend. You were actually really excited. Excited to see Reece at least, as it’d been a while since you’d spent time with him. They were supposed to arrive in the next few minutes so you and George passed the time by showing each other funny posts on Instagram. Soon enough you heard a knock on the door and you jumped up from your seat.

“I’ll get it!” you told George. You raced to the door and pulled it open to be met with Reece, Blake standing behind him. “Reece!” you exclaimed. “I haven’t seen you in ages,” he wrapped his arms around you, pulling you into a tight hug and telling you how he’d missed you. Suddenly you heard someone clear their throat rather obnoxiously and you broke away from Reece to see an annoyed Blake.

“Hi there, I’d actually like to get inside if you don’t mind,” he told you. He shot you a sarcastic smile and you rolled your eyes in return, moving aside so he could get by you. Not before he nudged your shoulder on his way inside. You scoffed, ready to tell him off before Reece stopped you.

“Already arguing I see. We’ve been here for a whole 2 minutes Y/N” he sighed.

“I know, I’m sorry. He was being rude though!” you said defensively.

“I know I saw. But can we please just have one nice weekend together.” Reece shot you his best puppy dog eyes, pleading with you. You sighed exasperatedly at him, telling him you’d try your best. He smiled appreciatively at you, finally making his way into the house with you trailing behind.

When you walked into the front room you heard Blake grumbling, probably complaining about you to George. G gave you a pointed look, telling you to just let it go and not start an argument. You put your hands up in defense and kept your mouth shut, going to sit down on the couch with George. The two other boys also made themselves comfortable in the room and dove straight into a long conversation. Mostly just a bit of catching up, talking about music, future tours, etc. You stayed mostly quiet throughout the whole thing, not wanting to interrupt them.

The boys had ended up talking for quite a bit of time. You occasionally chimed in but for the most part, just listened or went on your phone when you lost interest. The sun was starting to go down and you were getting really hungry. The boys’ had gone quiet for a bit so you decided to speak up.

“Well I am absolutely starving,” you said out of the blue. Reece and George chuckled a bit at you while Blake just rolled his eyes slightly. He grumbled under his breath but you couldn’t make out what exactly he said, deciding to not dwell on it you let it go. Reece and George did the same, not acknowledging his remark.

“We can go grab some food and bring it back here?” George suggested and you quickly agreed.

“Sounds good! I’ll go grab my shoes.” Before you could go George stopped you.

“No, you stay here. Reece and I’ll go, we’ll be back soon.” George very quickly pulled on his shoes, ushering Reece to the door before you and Blake could protest too much. You followed him to the door, thinking he was crazy for leaving you two alone together. “Y/N it’ll be fine. Who knows maybe you guys will work things out.” You looked at him incredulously and he spoke again, “Just don’t kill each other, yeah?” Without another word he shut the door behind him, leaving you alone and with Blake. You walked back into the front room, finding Blake already there. You silently took a seat as talking to him would probably just spark a fight.

“Could you be quieter please?” Blake asked after about a minute. You looked up at him utterly confused considering you hadn’t said a word.

“I literally haven’t said anything to you,” you pointed out to him.

“I know, you’re breathing really loud,” he stated. You scoffed loudly at him, taken aback by how rude he was being.

“Are you kidding me?”

“No, actually I’m not.” The two of you bickered back and forth. You knew this was gonna blow up into a bigger fight but you didn’t really care at that point.

“Blake, why do you hate me? Seriously, what did I do to you?” You said, raising your voice at him.

“Because you hate me!” he said back, his voice getting louder as well. “You pick fights with me over everything!” You stood from your seat, only getting angrier.

“I’m not the one who picks fights! You get annoyed over every little thing and a person can only take so much!”

“Maybe I wouldn’t get annoyed if you weren’t annoying all the time!” Suddenly Blake was also standing. He towered over you and you tried to hide the fact that you were a bit intimidated by his stature.

“Oh so it’s my fault that you can’t control your anger?” you asked him.

“Yes it's your fault, you’re absolutely infuriating.” His hands ran through his hair quickly as it started to fall in his face.

You suddenly became hyper-aware of his movements. His hands were thrown around as he spoke. His face was flushed red in frustration and you noticed him angrily chewing on his bottom lip. You couldn’t help but find it kind of hot. Admittedly you always thought Blake was attractive, you’d be lying if you said you didn’t. And angry Blake was almost hotter. Of course, you and Blake argued constantly but you’d never had a full-fledged fight like you were currently. Blake noticed your brief moment of silence and raised his eyebrows at you expectantly.

“What? Have you run out of things to bitch about?”

“My god, can you just shut up? Why do you have to be so hot when you’re angry” you muttered the last part under your breath, turning around and huffing in exasperation.

“What was that?” he asked. You could still hear a tinge of annoyance in his tone, but most of his anger had been replaced by what sounded like shock. When you didn’t answer him he spoke again. “Did you just say I’m hot when I’m angry?” Your eyes widened as that was definitely not for him to hear.

“What? No, of course not,” you scoffed, trying to play it cool, turning back to face him. His arms were crossed over his chest, a smug look on his face which irritated you even more.

“You definitely just said I’m hot when I’m angry,” he spoke, a smirk on his face. Your face flushed red, this time in embarrassment rather than anger. His demeanor was unnervingly calm as he shrugged slowly at you. “That's alright, I was thinking the same thing about you.” He stepped closer to you and you furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.

“No,” you said suddenly.

“No?” Now Blake was the one who was confused.

“No. You can’t just flirt with me and expect me to forget about you being a dick 2 seconds ago!” Your anger flooded your brain again.

“Hey, you were the one who said I was hot first,” Blake spoke defensively.

“And I stand by that, what's your point?” You now stepped closer to him, the distance between you quickly disappearing. Your earlier shyness had faded and you stared at him, a challenging look on your features. Blake seemed taken aback by your actions.

“My point is that you said it, yet you’re not going to do anything about it.” You both egged each other on. You knew something was bound to happen, it was just a matter of who initiated it.

“And who said I wasn’t?”

“Well if you were planning on it, be my guest.” He said to you. His arms stretched out, giving you permission to make your move. His cockiness bothered you, you almost didn’t want to ‘make a move’ just out of spite. But then you looked him over. His hair was messy from running his fingers through it. His cheeks, while slowly fading, were still flushed. His lips were puffy from having been biting them so much, making them even more enticing than usual.

“You’re such a dick,” you said finally. Your hands grabbed the collar of his sweater, pulling him down to catch his lips in a searing kiss. He hummed against your mouth, catching up with your quick actions. He slipped his hands under the back of your shirt, his fingers splayed across your bare back to pull you closer to him. You moved your hands from his collar to his hair, effectively messing it up even more than it already was.

Blake moved backward towards the couch, your lips separating for him to sit down, pulling you on top of him. It didn’t take long to for you to reconnect, not wanting the kiss to end just yet. After what felt like mere seconds (it was definitely longer than that) Blake pulled away from you. He leaned his forehead against yours as you both caught your breath, neither of you saying anything.

“When I said that maybe this would help you two work out your differences, this is not what I meant.” George’s voice broke the silence in the room. You quickly climbed off of Blake, moving to the other side of the couch.

“Sorry mate…” Blake apologized, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly. George shrugged, not seeming upset which perplexed both you and Blake. He set the food on the table, reaching into his pocket, he pulled a few pounds from his wallet and handed them to a smug Reece. Your eyes widened at him as you realized what was going on.

“I called it,” Reece said, shrugging.

[tomhiddlesun]

Porch Light Pt. 2

Part one

Jim Hopper x reader

Warnings: mention of grief/loss, 18+ smut (though it’s pretty mild. Forgive me, it’s my first fanfic)

Part 2.

Hopper snapped out of his day dream and nodded “mama always told me never to turn down a free drink... explains a lot actually”

You chuckle as you hand him his bottle before slipping your way to the couch. Hopper hesitated in the kitchen until you beckoned him with a pat on the cushion next you.

The walk to the couch felt like a million miles as Jim tried to keep his beer from slipping through his sweaty fingers. While you got up to turn the TV on, he tried to conceal a deep, shaky breath before dropping himself onto the loveseat. It had been years since a woman had taken his breath away like that, without even trying. It scared him, but, in all honest it was the first time in years that he’d felt this good. He didn’t know if it would go any further than friends and didn’t care. He just felt lucky sitting next to you. And as if on cue, a warm feeling spread through his chest as you tucked next to him and settled in.

“There isn’t much on and I should be sleeping, but I don’t mind the company if you don’t” you’d said “I’m always a little amped after a night of sleep-streaking”

Hopper grinned “I don’t mind at all. It’s a great start to a long weekend. Plus now I’ve got a great story to tell the boys at the bar”

“You better keep your mouth shut Chief, or else!” Slapping him playfully on the chest before dragging your hand away a fraction slower than necessary.

“Or else what?” Jim purred, leaning slightly into you before letting out a roar of a laugh. “Don’t worry Y/N, your secret is safe. With me at least. The kid has probably ratted on you to half the boys in the town by now.”

You groaned and fell deeper into the couch “well there goes the neighborhood.”

After settling in, the pair of you launched into a talk that quickly developed from work small talk to a passionate debate between Twizzlers v. Red vines until you settled onto family, friends and exes.

You don’t know how it had gotten there and normally you’d be shitting bricks over possibly having to bring Husband up. It was a mood killer and it usually sent you into a downward spiral. But you couldn’t just gloss over it either. Regardless, It always left you dizzy with dry mouth.

As Hopper wrapped up a story about a crazy ex who used to steal his dirty underwear, he asked about your most recent ex.

“Uh. Last person I was with up until a year or so ago- after 7 years together” you said lightly, trying to gloss over as much as possible without encouraging more questions. You knew it was stupid. You knew you could just change the subject, but, at the same time you couldn’t help but trust Hopper. Something inside you reached out and wanted to touch him- physically and emotionally. You hadn’t been open and vulnerable with someone in over a year and those walls you’d built were crumbling before this man. It left you confused, anxious, guilty and ... relieved. As if you had been baking in the hot sun and a wayward wave had finally washed over you. And if you were open to it, you could dive right back into that deep blue ocean.

Speaking of which, Hopper leaned back, gazing at you intently. He could sense the bullshit, like fear on a rabbit. But he didn’t pounce for fear of spooking you.

“Hmmm that sounds tough” he mused, leaning in slightly.

You could feel the warmth of his body grow closer as blush spread across your cheeks and chest.

“Umm. Ya.” You rubbed the back of your neck unsure how to proceed when he gently placed a hand on your forearm.

“Hey you don’t have to talk if you don’t want to, but I’m here if you do.”

Staring into his warm eyes, the tension released, like a rubber-band snapping.

“It’s been tough.” You sighed. You could feel the floodgates opening. “We we’re married and he died. I watched it all. It hasn’t been easy. Obviously I don’t tend to bring it up to handsome men sitting on my couch” you chuckled, trying to diffuse the weight of grief with a cheap laugh.

But all Jim did was carefully caress your arm as you finally laid out your personal burden. The careful touch pulled another sigh of relief from you “I was a mess. Still am. That’s why I’m here. Trying to .. make sense of it all. Try to find a new normal. He was my best friend- we found each other when we needed each other most. It truly felt like fate.. like a cheesy romcom. It hasn’t been easy coming back from that.” You took a deep breath, suppressing the tears threatening to well onto your cheeks. “That’s all I can share tonight, Jim. But know, it feels like a weight has been lifted... I really appreciate you listening to me babble.”

He shook your arm with a soft chuckle, “it was my pleasure. I’m always happy to listen. I get what it’s like to be a little lost.”

With this you slowly tucked closer to him, closing the gap between you. The heat in Jim’s stomach spread down his thighs as you shifted close enough for him to smell the sweet vanilla shampoo you loved. He tried to inhale your scent as deeply as he could without you becoming suspicious. He felt like a teenager all over again, all thumbs and braces. He wanted to enjoy the moment with you, whatever the context, but you were very distracting. He took a deep sigh, willing the hormones away and putting his arm around you. ‘This is ok. This is safe- just a super chill platonic arm around a friend. Play it cool’ Hopper negotiated with himself. But then, you laid your head on his shoulder and all his resolve was lost and he used his arm to snuggle you a litter closer.

After half an hour of reruns he could feel you start to doze off. You tried to hide it, acting like you were just “resting your eyes” every time you nodded off, but the Chief caught on quick.

“Maybe it’s time to send you to bed Ms. L/N” he hummed, already moving to stand up from the couch.

You mumbled in dissent into his shirt before rolling your head to look him in the eye “I’m awake! See, wide awake!” You tried to stretch your eyes open as far as they could, but Hopper didn’t fall for your ruse.

“Now, none of that young lady, time for bed” and with that he hoisted you swiftly to your feet and began guiding you to your bedroom. He kept his hand on the small of your back as your bed beckoned you to it. You couldn’t wait for it’s sweet embrace but one thing made you hesitate right at the edge. You knew it was a long shot, but you asked anyways:

“So I know you’re a busy guy and prolly have lots to do but I was wondering if you would have breakfast with me in the morning.”

You felt Hopper shake with laughter behind you before rumbling “of course I’ll have breakfast with you Y/N. You silly woman.”

“Oh that’s perfect! Since that’s the case it would honestly make the most sense if, you know, stayed here for the night?” You didn’t dare turn around and see his face as your offer sat heavy in the air. Panicking slightly you blurt “well, I mean, you don’t have to. Like you could stay on the couch if you’re too tired to drive or in bed with me or something or nothing at - “

“Oh slow down there kiddo” he laughed “give me a chance to answer.” He turned you around, his fingertips still gently resting on your hip. “If you’d like some company tonight, I’m happy to stay.”

You stared up at him, a stupid grin spreading across your face before you jumped to attention. “Perfect! Now, just got to find something for you to sleep in. Are you a fan sleeper? Need background music? I’m very excited.” Finding a second wind you bounced around the bedroom looking for blankets and over sized shorts.

Hopper shook his head with a smile and reached out to stop you “No need, I can sleep in my boxers and undershirt if you’re good with that. If so, it time you tucked yourself in.” He gently prodded you toward the bed, before turning down the covers and laying down himself.

After a brief moment of staring down the first delicious man in your bed in what felt like a century, you huffed “well that’s my side of the bed but I guess I’ll make do” before winking playfully at him and crawling into the warmth of the sheets.

Hopper lay on his back with the arm nearest you raised up, leaving room for you to tuck into him if you so wish. And you did. Before you lost your nerve you laid your head slowly onto his chest and let his arm wrap around you. You felt his heart drum in your ear as your hand found it’s way up to the exposed chest hair peeking above his loose collar.

“I hop this is ok, just laying here together” you ponder, offering him an out if he needed it.

“There’s no place I’d rather be kid.” He hummed, sending tingles through your jaw and down your body, straight to your inner thighs.

You murmured back to him, settling deeper into his arm nook, “happy to hear that Chief.” However, despite the sweet sincerity of the moment, you had to squeeze your thighs together to quiet the growing fire between them. You didn’t want to make this about sex, but your body was a traitorous bastard who saw what she liked and its name was Chief Jim Fucking Hopper. Emphasis on the fucking. You took a deep breath, trying to bury the urges far into your diaphragm- Tucked away for later, after the Chief has vacated your bed. But all your shifting and stirring caught his attention.

“You ok over there?” His voice thick and low with on-coming slumber.

And that was it. Your will power failed.

“I don’t think I can sleep like this” You grumbled, sitting up. “I’m just not used to sleeping in pajamas like this.” And with that you pulled yourself out of bed and into the bathroom.

Jim proped himself onto his elbow, a concerned look creeping onto his face “You ok, you need me to go?”

“Absolutely not” you called, stepping out of the bathroom completely nude. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I sleep naked.” You nonchalantly glided back into the bed, pressing yourself back against the Chief’s side. You purred contently “oh... oh this is much better. Wouldn’t you agree?” as you teased your fingers across his broad chest.

‘Two can play at that game’ Jim thought with a dark chuckle. “I’m glad you finally said something, I have the same problem” and before you knew it you were straddled against a naked Jim Hopper, your only regret that he’d moved too fast and the room was too dark for you to catch a glimpse of The Goods.

The warmth between your thighs spread through your body, but you were at a stand still. It almost felt ridiculous NOT to be banging each other’s brains out right now. But the dark bits of your heart gnawed at this brief chance of happiness, casting doubt across everything.

But those fears seemed to scurry away as Hopper ran his warm calloused hands tenderly down your arm before wandering to your back. He slowly caressed his way up to the back of your neck, pulling a small languished moan from your parted lips, into the air. He stilled for a moment before resuming his work up and down your back.

His touch felt like a cool breeze washing over you at the end of a heat wave. You pushed your back against his hand, eager for more. After so much pain and anguish- all that time in your personal desert - his touch refreshed your skin and your soul. Your skin prickled, trying to drink in every movement as you mirrored his pattern onto his chest. You could feel Hoppers legs flex against your own as you eventually trickled your finger tips down his torso and under the edge of the blanket. You ran them down to his hip, eliciting your own breathy gasp from the Chief. You gave him a second to catch his breath before dancing your fingers up and down his thick upper thigh. You ignored his squirming as you hummed quietly into his chest. You knew it was working as his grip against your back grew more desperate- grasping tighter with every inch you moved inward on his thigh.

Finally, you decided he had enough and grazed across his semi-hard member, as a way of asking permission to continue. Once Hopper grunted in agreement you lightly palmed the top of his growing bulge before grasping the tip. You stroked him a few times, running your fist over his leaking tip, before bringing your hand up to rest on Hoppers scruffy cheek.

Pulling yourself up with one arm, you turned Hopper’s face towards yours with the other. And with one final final breath, you dove right in. His mouth was greedy for yours- as if he had been just as desperate for relief as you. He rolled towards you, grabbing the nape of your neck to deepen the kiss, his hips pressed against yours. You could feel his heat twitch as it softly grazed between your thighs.

You kissed harder, pulling him on top of you, making room for him between your legs. He groaned into your mouth and his rock hard dick pressed against your wet slit, teasing you both. A glutton for punishment, you rocked your hips against his, bringing just enough friction to make him moan against you.

“I don’t think I can take much more teasing darling” he growled into your neck.

“Well then what are you waiting for Chief” you challenged, pulling him into a passionate kiss, along with another thrust of your hips for good measure.

Without a word Hopper reluctantly pulled away to grab his cock and guide it towards your entrance. You watched as he braced himself above you, slowly pushing into you with a muted moan.

You, on the other hand, weren’t so quiet, gasping at the forgotten sensation of being filled. Red lines raked their way down Jim’s back as you reacquainted yourself with the feeling. Thankfully he was kind enough to give you a moment, but it wasn’t long before he began long strokes in and out of you. He relaxed on top of you, caressing your breasts and hips and thighs, thirsty for every inch of you he could find. You relished as the fullness grew deeper and stronger as he picked up the pace. His hips crashed against yours as his movements became more frequent. You rocked in momentum with him, tightening the coil at the pit of your pelvis with each stroke. Your moans grew louder as he pressed into you, pulling you into a impassioned embrace. He whispered into your ear “I’m so lucky I picked you up tonight”

“You’re not the only one” you gasped in agreement pulling him into a kiss. As his tongue slipped out of your mouth and down your neck, you nearly screamed with ecstasy as you teetered on the edge of release. Hopper laughed briefly against ur neck before biting down. At first his mouth was gentle against the sensitive spot where your shoulder met your neck. But as his hips pounded faster, his nibbles became stronger and more animalistic. The pressure point sent signals down to your dripping cunt, driving you mad. Until finally, your body snapped, legs locked leaving you to scream into Hoppers shoulder while you blacked out briefly from the pleasure.

“Jesus fuck Hopper” you managed to gasp as your body twitched against his. And he wasn’t far behind- one more kiss behind his ear and he unraveled on top of you, cumming into your still pulsing pussy. As his hips slowed, he fell down on top you, struggling for air as he came back to the surface.

“Jesus fuck is right” he mumbled, rolling off of you, pausing to kiss you softly along the way. You both sighed with contentment letting the coolness of the room wash over your sweaty forms.

After several moments to enjoy the fading orgasms you both cleaned up and resumed cuddling, with you happily laying against Hoppers chest and him rubbing your back.

As you both drifted off to sleep you murmured “aren’t you glad you fixed the porch light errand boy?”

“Any fucking time hot staff. I’ll remodel your kitchen if that means I get to hang around you”

“I love the sound of that Chief” you smiled into his chest. And you did. Despite all the uncertainties. All the pain and grief. You had been searching for pieces of a New Normal and it seemed as if one had found its way right into your bed.