#this took too long but the end product was pretty cool!

[misiahasahardname]

the tdd cast have many reasons as to why they signed up to total drama!

[portgasdwrld]

📂Op men + them being needy

Featuring: monster trio

Warning: Suggestive, NSFW, fem!reader, established relationship, english isn’t my first language

Important: Pls read my navigation before sending/commenting asks. I would love to do them, but some of y’all don’t spend two seconds trynna make sure ur ask is fine with me first 🫶🏻

Note: Y’all voted for that one and ngl i wanted to write this one, so we all share the same slutty mind. Also thank you for 100 followers 🫶🏻lm super glad that y’all are enjoying my writing💕 This took sm more time than I thought it would. Ima make a separate one for Ace whenever I have time 😭

Luffy

Luffy was laying down on his bed as you were not too far from him trying out some make up in the mirror facing his bed. He had insisted to nap with you next to him, so he had his long arm stretched around your waist lazily as you were dolling yourself up.

You hear him stir awake from his sleep as he groans and yawns loudly.

-What time is it?

He drags in a sleepy tone as he rolls to the side still covered by the sheets.

-Mmm, you only slept for an hour. You can go back to sleep baby.

You answer him as you take a quick look at your watch. You knew how he loves to sleep after he ate and especially if there isn’t much to do.

-It’s hard when you aren’t laying down next to me, I like to hug you close to mee.

He whines a little. You see him rub his eyes and softly sit between his messy sheets through the reflection of your mirror.

-I’m sorry baby, I will come later when I’m done, okay ?

You say softly as you apply a new colour of your eyeshadow palette on your eyelid. He gets closer to you, now sitting not too far behind you. His pretty dark eyes shift between your products and your face.

- What’s this, it shines~

He asks curious while pointing at your highlighter. You chuckle and open it to swipe some on the tip of your finger. You thought it would be a fun time to mess a little with him, so you swap some on top of your boob to show him. You smirk and point at your breast, showing him that it make your skin shine, when applied.

-it’s to make your skin shine, you simplify it to him.

His eyes looks down and stare at your chest. His arms unwrap from your body and with his finger he touches your skin to see if it stains his finger too and it does a little.

-Waaaw, amazing! That’s so cool

You nod with a smile and a comfortable silence falls between you two. He watches you apply your eyeshadow using multiple techniques. He let his chin rest on your shoulder and his expression gets a bit serious. He stares at you through the mirror.

-Y/n ?

-Mmm?

-I’m hard, let’s fuck.

You choke a little at his sudden straightforwardness. You take few seconds to take in what he just said, before throwing a look behind your shoulder to stare at your suddenly needy boyfriend.

-Luffy… just how ?

You ask defeated. He has the habit to get hard so randomly, not that you complained because sex with him was always more than satisfying. Though, It was just somewhat inconvenient when you were already doing something.

-I can just jerk off while you finish off, he propose seeing your unsure expression. The way he said that was so laid back that it made you giggle a little. Doesn’t he know the effect he has on you??You smile fondly at him, but letting him do that would be more torture than anything else.

-Or you can cockwarm me while you finish off like we did last time.

The “last time” he was referring to, ended by you two fucking with your undone hair. You shake your head, you couldn’t say no to him. It was always tempting to have him inside of you.

He kisses the crook of your neck, dragging your name in a groan taunting you to give him an answer.

-I like the last idea more, you finally reply with a shy smile. You gaze at him through the mirror and you see him grin.

-Alright !

You stand up to throw away your panty on his bed as he stroke his dick few times before you sat on it. You both left a moan as the contact was made. You were never used at the deepness he could reach. Your legs weakly fixed your position on his laps.

-Is it okay ?

He asks making sure you were comfortable. You nod as you gaze back at him. He pecks your cheek, his brown hair slightly tickling you, before leaning his body back, now supported by his arms. The view you have is just so delicious, you are about to give up any plans your had on finishing your make up.

-Luffy, you are making this so hard for me I swear.

You let out shakily under your breath, because he clearly couldn’t stay completely still.

He laughs as he approaches his body to yours, his warm breath brushing on your neck, his eyes looks at you with excitement.

-Can I play with your boobs ?

-Luffy…

You whine almost pleading him to be kind to you and let you do your make up without so much distraction. No way you are going to hold back with him touching you like that.

-Pleaseee

-Ugh… fuck it.

I need to write a whole mirror fucking fic with him now🧎🏻‍♀️

Zoro

Zoro is going out of his mind. His usual cool and collected image is crumbling every time he breaths. His eye stare at your figure with a burning gaze. He wants you so badly right now, but it was lowkey hurting his ego to tell you directly how he felt (he’s in fact too shy, but he would never admit that to himself.)

You definitely noticed his behaviour during the day, when he let his hand rest a little too long on your ass when you hugged him or when he kept taking glances at your boobs peeking from the low cut of your shirt.

You didn’t want to give it to him so easily without him openly saying that he wanted you. It was no fun otherwise. So you teased him all day, acting all clueless to his advances. It was until he snapped and pulled you into his room late in the afternoon.

-You have been so fucking annoying all day. You really enjoy acting all dumb when you want to.

-I dont know what you are talking about?

You reply with an innocent stare as you unconsciously bite your lips quickly and look up to him. He groans as he climbs on top of you on the bed, his large and strong body towering you was already enough to make your head dizzy. He leans his face few inches in front of yours. Your nose filled up with the scent of his cologne.

-You want to keep playing this ?

- Admit it.

-Admit what ?

He gulps with furrowed eyebrows. You smirk and wrap your arms around his neck. You pull the green haired man closer teasing the proximity of your lips to his.

-Admit that you want me.

You whisper with the same smile glued to your lips. Zoro eye slightly widen but he presses his lips on yours without adding another word, but you are fast to push him away by pressing upward your hands on his chest.

-Come on, baby~ You can’t even admit something so little ?

You pout as you knew his competitive ass wouldn’t take it and he would eventually get frustrated, and maybe give up.

-I will treat you so well if you do, I just need to hear it~

You continue hoping it would cheer your shy boyfriend to speak the words. You know he’s not the best with expressing his emotions, but god it felt good to see him all tensed because he wanted to fuck you so badly. You travel your fingers up his neck, brushing fading hickeys you left on him few days ago.

You see him sigh as he straightens his upper body. You give him a confused look for a moment, but it disappears when his lips curve into his familiar smirk.

He let his body fall next to you and you feel his strong arm slide under your waist. He pulls you against him and with his other arms, he props your body on top of his. You sit not too far from his hips area. He places his hands on each side of your hips and he gives a light spank on your ass earning a small surprised moan from you.

-What are you doing? I thought I was clear babe.

You say while crossing your arms under your chest. He chuckles and push your hips on top of his bulge. You could feel he was starting to get hard.

-I want you, so be good now and ride me.

You smile happy to hear it finally from him, but he still found a way to make it an order, so it earned a small giggle from you.

-What’s funny?

-Nothing. I said I will treat you right, so let me take care of you.

You said while going down on him. You pulled down his pants to reveal his half hard dick. You took it in your hand and with your thumb you spread the precum all over his tip while giving it few strokes with your other hand. You give few licks to tease him a little, but you shortly after wrap your plump lips around his cock. He hiss as his fingers brush away the hair in front of your eyes that was blocking his view.

-Fuck, just like that

He groans as he places his hand on top of your head trying to make you take more of his length. You let him do as he wishes, as you wanted tonight to be focused on him. He pushes his cock until it was deep enough into your throat that it was painfully hitting the back of it. Tears were starting to form into your eyes as you look up at him. He leaves a low moan and let his head fall behind as he give a lazy thrust into your mouth. He let go of your head not trying to hurt you and you take that chance to remove it from your mouth and breath.

-Shit, you’re so big

You pant with a heavy breath as you stroke his dick up and down using your spit. He smirk at your compliment and you don’t let him reply as you dive his cock into your mouth once again, sucking harshly getting a loud groan out of his mouth.

You torture his dick like this for few minutes as you take him deeply into your throat and suck harshly on his dick by also teasing his slit with your tongue. He was a moaning mess and honestly it’s been a while since you saw him so vocal about the pleasure he was feeling, that it was soaking your panties.

You stroke him with both of your hands as your mouth was sucking his tip and with the help of few thrust, he came into your mouth. You swallowed everything with a funny face and flashed your tongue at him so he could see. You then removed your shorts and panties along with your top, leaving you naked on top of him.

-I should let you suck me off like this more often.

-Yeah, well if I didn’t have to beg all the time to have your cock, I would suck you even upside down.

You retort as you position yourself on top of his dick, ready to slide him in you. Zoro roll his eye at your comment, but he grabs your thighs tightly, anticipating the feeling of your pussy around his cock.

You chuckle seeing him waiting for you to put it inside of you, in silence. You lean and give him a peck on his forehead with a soft smile. Your boyfriends cheeks blushed as he gives you a bit of a “wtf” stare.

-So eager, are we baby?

Sanji

Sanji was smoking outside as his body was leaning against the railing of the ship. His fluffy blond hair brushed by the cold breeze of the early night. His gaze seems lost in a trail of thoughts that only him will know about. You smile to yourself when you finally find your boyfriend.

« It’s a cold night, but lucky me I have someone to cuddle to keep me warm » you say, startling him a little.

He smiles as he recognizes your voice immediately. Sanji doesn’t hide the way his eyes enjoy savouring the view of your body in this little black silk dress. It was his favourite. The dress is so short that he could just bend you over the rail and he would not only have a great view of your pussy, but he could also easily take you there.

Why was it so easy for you to drive him crazy ? Just you being such an effortlessly beautiful women was enough to make his thoughts foggy. It wasn’t too fair for his heart and his dick.

-You are going to catch a cold, my love. Come here.

He finally replies while opening his arms. You rush a little into his embrace, loving the way his body’s warmth and the mix of his cologne and the cigarette’s smog fill your nose and senses. He presses his body against yours and you let the back of your head rest on his chest. He wraps his arms around your shoulders after throwing his cigarette in the ocean.

-How did you find tonight’s dinner, chérie?

-It was delicious as always darling.

You whisper enjoying the tranquility on the boat for once. Sanji hums in response as he let his hairy chin slightly tickle your neck. His lips brush your ear as his warm breath tickles your neck.

-You know you make me a mad man when you wear this.

-Do I?

You answer with a chuckle honestly forgetting how your boyfriend had a particular liking in this night dress. He loves everything you wear anyways so for you it didn’t change much, but as he presses his dick on your lower back, you kinda get what he’s leading to.

You feel his lips move to your neck where he presses them, where he sucks and bites your skin, leaving proof of his love on it.

-I wouldn’t mind dessert at this hour

He mumbles as his arms find a rest now on your breast. He presses his hips closer to your body and you do him the grace of slightly grinding your ass against his bulge.

-What do you mean?

You ask him playing dumb. It was so fun to tease Sanji. He was always so enthusiastic whenever something concerned you.

-I want to fuck you, darling

He continues as his unwrap your body from his arms. His fingers slide down your waist to tease the hem of your short dress. He let them wonder beneath it, feeling the softness of your ass. A gasp left your mouth when his cold fingers press against your clothed core.

-I could just bend you over this rail and fuck you so good, hmm?

He pushes his digits under your panty and let his fingers get coated of your juices before letting them slide upward where he pinches your clit. A moan leaves your throat loudly and you quickly bite your lips to stop any more sounds to come out.

You two could honestly get caught at any moment that someone decides to exit their room, but the thought itself made you even more wet.

-S-sanji, we could get caught..

-I know, but I can’t help myself when you look this good. I want you so badly that I don’t care about the rest.

He retorts with a heavy sigh as he continues to play with clit. He then opt to dive one of his long fingers inside of you, catching you off guard. You try your best to keep any sounds in, but he was making it so hard for you when he was moving so fast.

-Fuck, Sanji. Please fuck me.

You whine as your body naturally leans on the rail. Sanji other hand pushes your lower back to create a curve that earn a groan from his mouth.

Your boyfriend closes the distance pushing now a second finger deeper inside of you. His pace is fast and precise, trying his best to listen to the way your body react to the spot he touches inside of you. Sanji does still keep an eye out in case someone catches you two though..

Hitting all the right spots and playing with your clits with his other hand, you feel your climax approaching. With a last thrust of his finger and some dirty word whispered, you cum all over his fingers, staining his black pants a little.

-You’re insane..

You let out as you try to catch your breath. He smirks and give you a back hug, leaving plenty of kisses on your necks and collarbone.

-let’s go back to our room, so you take care of me~

[clarionglass]

here we go :) part one of three, updates to be released weekly!

---

sam says 4 (game master cinematic universe, part 3)

Ruby was at her mum's for a family dinner she couldn't miss on pain of death, apparently, and the Doctor was many things, but a family dinner kind of guy wasn't one of them—particularly when Carla had already slapped him once in the short time he'd known her. He thought he'd broken his streak of bad luck with mums, but… well, seemingly not. So he was companionless for a few hours, and while he could wait for her to get back, maybe catch up on his reading—what was the point of waiting when you had a time machine? 

He ran his hands over the TARDIS console, marvelling at her clean lines and metallic flourishes, the way that even now she felt brand new but familiar, and paused. He’d just pop off for a quick adventure, nothing too dangerous, but—where to go?

He could scan for a distress call nearby, and pitch in to help. He could drop in on Donna and Shaun and Rose, beautiful Rose, and see how they were all doing. Or he could just hit the randomiser button, and jump in feet first wherever he ended up.

He remembered a conversation from a long time ago, when he wore a different face, and his gorgeous TARDIS wore a face too, for the first and only time.

“You didn't always take me where I wanted to go.”

“No, but I always took you where you needed to go.”

He grinned. Who could resist an offer like that? He pressed the button and whooped as the time rotor spun into action, ready to see where the universe would take him.

---

Apparently, he was needed pretty close to where he already was. Earth, 2024. Huh. Same planet, same time—within a few months of where he’d left Ruby, even. The main thing that had changed was the location: he was now in the good old US of A. California, to be more specific, and Los Angeles to be more specific still. And to really narrow it down, the Doctor discovered as he poked his head out of the TARDIS doors, he was in… a broom closet. Not bad, as a parking spot—a bit squeezy, but out of the way. And as he poked his head out of that door, he could finally see he was in the backstage corridors of a studio of some kind. Film or TV, if he was to hazard a guess, it was a different vibe from Abbey Road.

With a shrug, he decided to go exploring.

It couldn’t have been more than a minute before a young woman wearing the full-black outfit, headset, and permanently stressed expression of a production assistant came running up to him.

“Are you the fill-in Sam organised?” she asked breathlessly, and honestly, seeing the look on her face, the Doctor didn’t have the heart(s) to tell her no. And really, what was the Doctor, if not a professional fill-in? This, this was why he had a randomiser button on the control panel, because whatever he was about to get himself into was going to be fun.

“Sure!”

“Oh, thank god,” sighed the production assistant, relief dawning across her face. “When Ally tested positive this morning, I thought we were sunk for the record, because we called around and we couldn’t get a hold of anyone. But then Sam said he could get someone in, and, you know, here you are, and just in time, so—ah, yeah, if you could follow me this way?”

Smiling all the way, the Doctor followed his guide through to hair and makeup, looking around as they went. The studio seemed to belong to a company called Dropout, according to the branding scattered around, and things seemed, at least on the surface, to be… well. Fine. He couldn't tell why he'd been brought here yet, which meant that when he found the reason, it was going to be particularly tangled. He couldn't wait! 

And then he looked back at his guide, still engulfed in a miasma of anxiety, and realised he'd been too busy looking for clues to notice the person right in front of him. 

“Hey, it's cool, you've found me,” he started with a gentle smile. “You can relax. Hi, I'm the Doctor. What's your name?”

“Oh!” she said, startled. “The Doctor, yeah, of course. Um, hi, I'm Kaylin. Look, sorry, it's just that I've been so busy this morning, I'm so distracted… Shit, and I would've completely forgotten to get your details too. There's paperwork to fill in, but you can do that later. Um, just for now, though, can I get your pronouns?”

The Doctor thought for a moment. “He/him, for now.”

Kaylin nodded, making a note on her phone. “Okay, cool! And do you have any socials?”

“Not me, babes,” he replied. “I'm hardly sitting down long enough to be able to update, you know?”

“On a day like this, I know exactly what you mean,” she said. “That's okay, Lou didn't have socials either for the longest time. Right, so if you go through there, the team will get you sorted, and once you're done, someone will take you up to the greenroom. All good?”

“All great,” the Doctor replied. Kaylin flashed him a quick, relieved smile, then hurried off.

Hair and makeup was a fairly quick process, the sound mixer fitted him with a microphone, and before too long, Kaylin was back to take him upstairs. 

“This is the greenroom,” she said, pushing the door open. “The rest of the cast for the episode are already here—they’re great guys, and they’ve both been on the show a lot, so they’ll be able to help if you’ve got questions. And if you need anything else, just come find me or any of the other PAs, okay?”

The Doctor nodded, beamed at Kaylin, and walked in.

---

The greenroom was small but comfortable, and its occupants, two men around the same age as the Doctor appeared, looked up as he entered.

“Oh, you’re new,” the taller of the pair said, clearly giving him the once-over.

The other sighed with a mixture of fondness and exasperation, just as clearly used to his friend’s antics.

“Hey, I’m Brennan,” he said, levering himself up to standing from his perch on a chair arm, and holding out a hand. “That’s Grant.”

The Doctor took it warmly. “The Doctor. Just passing through, and happy to help.”

Grant’s eyebrows quirked. “Doctor… something?” he prompted.

“Or is it just ‘the Doctor’?” Brennan asked.

“Just ‘the Doctor’,” the Time Lord confirmed cheerfully. “You’ll get used to it, everyone does.”

Grant didn’t look convinced, but—

“Copy that,” Brennan shrugged, and settled back on the arm of the chair, returning his gaze to the door.

Grant, in turn, looked at the Doctor and rolled his eyes in a clear expression of ‘no, I don’t know why he’s like this, either’.

“Okay,” the Doctor said after a moment of watching the watching. “I wasn’t going to ask, but now I think I have to. What’s up with the door?”

Brennan huffed a laugh. “Well, the last time there was one of those up—” he pointed to the Out of Order sign stuck to the bathroom door, “—we got locked in here for the game.”

“He’s paranoid,” Grant interjected.

“Well, yeah, maybe,” Brennan retorted. “Or just cautious. Because Sam’s been acting weird lately, and we’re coming up to the last few records of the season, so he’s probably planning something way out of the box for the finale. And the original cast was you, me and Beardsley, so…”

He shrugged one shoulder meaningfully, and Grant nodded, conceding both the point and the potential for chaos.

“So if Sam comes in to give us the briefing, rather than waiting til we’re on set,” Brennan continued, “or there’s anything else weird going on, I’m gonna know about it right from the beginning.”

He turned to the Doctor. “The only reason I'm not quizzing you is because I know for a fact Beardsley was genuinely scheduled for this, so you can't be a plant by the production team. No offence.”

“None taken,” the Doctor smiled. “That sort of thing happen often, does it?”

Grant and Brennan exchanged a look. 

“More than you'd think,” Grant answered with a grimace. 

“Alright,” the Doctor said slowly, then brightened. “So what is it we're actually doing?”

Grant gave him a disbelieving glance. “You don't know—?”

“Very last minute fill-in,” the Doctor said breezily. “But don't worry, I'm a quick study.”

“Well, you're not that much worse off than the rest of us,” Brennan said encouragingly. “You know about Game Changer, obviously, if you know Sam, and we only find out the rules of the game once we get on set. Hopefully,” he added, with a dark look back at the Out of Order sign. 

The Doctor nodded. No, he didn't know Sam, and he didn't know Game Changer, but he could work out the situation from context clues. This was a game show. And with the Toymaker banished, and Satellite Five not coming into existence for another 198000 years, give or take, he found himself smiling. Maybe third time would be the charm. 

“Mmm, hopefully they aren't going to throw you in the deep end,” Grant said. “Because Brennan might seem lovely now, but as soon as we get out there, he's a whore for points. He'll stab you in the back and won't even blink.”

Brennan barked with laughter. “Yeah, and you wouldn't?”

“Excuse you, I'm always a goddamn delight,” Grant replied, the very picture of injured dignity. 

“Oh, absolutely!” agreed a new voice. The Doctor turned to the now-open door to see a bearded man in a pinstriped suit smiling broadly. “That's why we keep inviting you back!”

Grant bowed sarcastically. “Why, thank you, Sam. Good to know I'm appreciated by someone here.”

“Always,” Sam replied, gently but firmly ending that particular path of the conversation. He scanned the room, and his eyes lit up when they landed on the Doctor. 

“Ah, you must be the Doctor!” he said with obvious delight, walking over with his hand outstretched. “I'm Sam—thanks for filling in for us, you've made sure we're going to have a good show. Seriously, it's a pleasure to have you here.”

“Aw, cheers!” the Doctor smiled, shaking the offered hand. “Glad I could help out, I'm really looking forward to this!”

“Well, great!” Sam exclaimed, then took a step back, regarding all three players in turn. “Now, folks, I'm just letting you know that we're just about ready to start the record, so if you can start heading down, that'd be great.”

Grant and Brennan nodded—Brennan, the Doctor noticed, with relief. 

“See you down there,” Sam said, smiling. “Have a great show, and—”

His eyes caught on the Doctor's for a second, twinkling. 

“Good luck.”

---

Backstage, the Doctor, Brennan and Grant were marshalled into podium order and given a final briefing from the crew. And then, with a thumbs-up from Kaylin, that was it.

Showtime.

“Get ready for a Game Changer!” came Sam's voice from onstage. “Tonight’s guests: he can shoot off a monologue with laser accuracy; it’s Brennan Lee Mulligan!”

Brennan, his back to the camera as the curtains opened, spun on his heel and, with a stone-cold expression, pointed finger guns straight down the barrel, before letting the facade crack open. “Hi!” he exclaimed, and walked over to the leftmost podium.

“It’s his first appearance, but he’s already on fire; it’s the Doctor!”

The Doctor leant against the archway to the stage and flashed a broad smile towards the camera, then in a few skipping steps, had bounded over to the next free podium. What the hell, why not make an entrance?

“And even in the toughest of mazes, you’ll always be able to find him; it’s Grant O’Brien!”

Grant dipped his lanky frame into an approximation of a curtsey, spreading his arms wide, then sauntered over to the closest podium with a grin.

“And your host, me!” Sam announced, a ring of manic white showing around his irises as he beamed down the barrel of the camera. “I’ve been here the whole time!”

“This,” he continued, pushing his microphone shut and stowing it in his jacket pocket, “is Game Changer, the only game show where the game changes every show. I am your host, Sam Reich!” 

As he said his name, he looked at his hands, front and back, as if he was pleasantly surprised to be himself, then gestured towards the three podiums.

“I am joined today by these three lovely contestants! Now, you understand how the game works.”

“Of course not,” Grant started. “You know we don't.”

“We can't, Sam, that's the whole point of the theatre you've set up here,” Brennan said over him. 

“Not yet,” was all the Doctor said, anticipation starting to drum a tattoo of excitement against the inside of his ribcage. 

“That’s right!” Sam said brightly, shooting finger guns at the camera. “Our players have no idea what game it is they’re about to play. The only way to learn is by playing. The only way to win is by learning, and the only way to begin is by beginning! So without further ado, let’s begin by giving each of our players fifty points.”

The Doctor, biding his time, watched the reactions of his fellow contestants. Grant looked at the front of his podium, checking the point total, and nodding approvingly when he saw that yes, it was sitting at a round fifty. Brennan, on the other hand, was starting to frown.

“Players, Sam says: touch your nose,” Sam began, and Brennan sighed the sigh of someone who wasn’t happy to be proved right.

“Oh, no,” he groaned. “Oh, you son of a bitch. Wasn’t one this season enough?”

He touched his nose anyway, as did the others, and Sam smiled encouragingly. “Sam says: touch your ear.”

When they all did, Sam nodded. “Touch your other ear.”

Everybody held still, fingers on the ears they had originally touched.

Sam beamed. “Easy, players, right?”

“You say that now,” Brennan said darkly. “Which makes it worse, because all you're doing is setting us up for failure.”

Sam gasped, pretending offence. “Would I do that?”

“Yes,” Brennan and Grant replied in unison, which drew a grin from the Doctor and set Sam off chuckling.

“And I'm not having it,” Brennan continued, leaning his elbows against his podium and pointing at Sam with the hand not touching his ear. “You better watch yourself, because I know how this game works, and you're not going to get one over on me.”

“Strong words, Brennan!” Sam said, clearly delighted by this response. “Okay, then, let's start making things a bit more interesting!”

The game continued as per Sam Says usual, some rounds done as a group and some individual. Points were won, sure, but lost slightly more frequently, and even the Doctor found he was having to concentrate to avoid getting caught in the host's traps. 

It was fun. Genuinely, it was like playing a game with friends, and the Doctor felt himself leaning into it. There wasn't any sign of danger—maybe there wasn't a mystery to solve at all, and the TARDIS just decided he needed a total break. 

Well, probably not. But the way things were going, he was able to let himself hope. 

“Alright, players,” Sam said a good few rounds in, just as pleasantly as he would start any other question, and the screen behind him dinged as a new prompt popped up. “Survive the death beam.”

For a second, everything was frozen perfectly still. 

And then came the crash, the explosive noise of heavy machinery moving relentlessly through a drywall set.

The Doctor was already moving. “Everyone down!”

“Duck!” Brennan yelled at the same time.

The two of them hit the ground within milliseconds of each other, but Grant was still paralysed in the face of the giant, science-fiction type laser cannon that had just ploughed through the wall. 

It whined ominously, screaming its way to fever pitch. And then a sharp pain in Grant’s ankle made him stagger, pitching forwards onto the carpet behind the podiums as the Doctor rolled away to avoid getting pinned.

“Sorry, babes,” the Doctor whispered. “But it was either kick you to get you down, or—”

A hideous metallic screech ripped through the air, and all three of them could feel the crackle of ozone as a beam of energy swept across what had, moments ago, been neck height.

“…Or that,” the Doctor finished with a grimace.

“Jesus fucking Christ,” Grant breathed, suddenly very conscious of every inch of his 6’9 frame. “Thanks.”

“Well done, players!” Sam exclaimed delightedly from above them. “But… sorry, I didn’t say ‘Sam says’, so that’s a point off for everyone.”

“What the fuck!” Brennan snapped.

“Are you actually insane?” Grant demanded at the same time, his voice overlapping with Brennan’s.

In response, Sam just wheezed with laughter. “You can come back to your podiums,” he said, cheerfully ignoring them.

Nobody moved.

“Very good!” he acknowledged, and even without seeing his face, the grin was obvious in his voice. “Okay, Sam says: come back to your podiums.”

Although the words were innocuous, and his tone was just as light and breezy as usual, there was nevertheless an edge hiding just underneath the surface. And while the death beam loomed large in the minds of all three players, it was impossible to consider disobedience as an option.

Slowly, they stood, returning to their places. Now they had the time to look at it properly, the death beam was even more sinister, and Brennan and Grant both kept flicking nervous glances its way, ready to move if it looked like it was charging up again.

The Doctor, however, was focused purely on the man standing in front of them. Unbothered, Sam met his gaze like a challenge, a mischievous smile playing about his lips.

“Oh, you’ll love this one,” he said, and the screen changed. “Sam says, starting with Grant: say my name.”

Grant frowned in confusion, but answered quickly nonetheless. “Sam Reich?”

The man himself shrugged tolerantly, moving on. “Brennan?”

Brennan just stared at him coolly. “Do you take me for a fool?”

“Well caught, Brennan!” Sam said happily. “Sam says: say my name.”

“Sam,” Brennan replied, suspicion clear in his voice. “Samuel Dalton Reich.”

He nodded, still with a hint of indifference. “And lastly, Doctor.” His smile broadened. “Sam says: say my name.”

It was easy. Too easy. And as the Doctor looked into the eyes of the man calling himself Sam Reich, he felt his hearts stutter in recognition, because something had changed. He wasn’t hiding himself anymore, and while the face was different yet again, the Doctor would know the shape of that soul anywhere. It was impossible. It was inevitable.

“You can’t be,” he breathed. 

Sam smirked, leaning in across his podium. “Oh, but Doctor… I’ve been here the whole time,” he stage-whispered with a wink.

“He said you lost,” the Doctor said, shaking his head, looking wrong-footed for the first time that Brennan and Grant could recall. “You lost, and he trapped you.”

The other two watched, uncomprehending, but Sam just smiled, drumming his fingers against the podium with an audible beat, fast but distinct. Four taps, four taps, four taps. “I’m waiting.”

The Doctor took a slow, deep breath. Set his jaw. 

“Master.”

---

missed an installment of the game master cinematic universe?

original idea by @ace-whovian-neuroscientist: x

art by @northernfireart concept: x scissor sisters sketch: x sam and his doppelganger: x

writing by me (!) part one (escape the greenroom): x part two (deja vu): x part three (sam says 4): you are here!

[we-out-here-simping]

You, Me, Lonely.

(s.h. x reader)

from the river to the sea (educate yourself and help however you can)

Summary: you love Steve, Steve loves you. But maybe you both want different things from life.

Warnings/tags: reader menstruates (reader has uterus), abandonment issues, the ‘six nuggets’ talk, suggestive

Word count: 3.4k

masterlist

a/n: huge huge huge thanks to @procrastinationprincesses for helping me out with this fic and giving it an ending (ur amazing sanjana <3)

writing and posting something because i might have to go MIA for a lil bit (miss me while I'm gone will ya?)

fic is inspired by ‘You, Me, Lonely’ by FIZZ i absolutely love this song like its so close to my heart ughh what can i say I'm a little bitter about the six nuggets scene 

also if you couldn't tell already I have major abandonment issues and an anxious avoidant attachment style. It will reflect in what i write soz :(

In the quiet of the night, you wish for this to last forever. That you'll have him forever.

When you came out of the shower you found him asleep on his side of the bed. His side– the one closer to the door. ‘so I can protect you from anyone who'll try to steal you from me’, he had justified it when you asked him why he was adamant on that side.

you had turned off the bedside lamp ten minutes ago, slipped under the duvet, as quietly as possible so as to not wake him up. on your side of his bed. your bed.

He always sleeps on his stomach, one hand under his pillow and the other extended a little towards yours. His body moves with steady and slow breaths, back rising and falling under the covers, head peeking out from under the rumpled up duvet. his cheeks are squished against the pillow cover. His hair is a mess from the lack of hair product, and still damp from the shower he took before you. There's a few strands of his brown hair sprawled across his forehead too. With your softest touch you brush them away from his eyes.

You wonder what he was dreaming. you hope it was something nice. He looks calm, at peace, and very, very pretty.

You look at him and you know you love him. You want to love him forever.

Love had never seemed like the type of thing you’ll get– like it wasn't meant for you. But then you met him. This boy. This boy who you never thought to be your type. You never thought you even had a type. But his boyish charm and stupid grin won you over.

Your heart doesn't skip beats around him anymore, and you’d think that that means he doesn’t have that same effect on you anymore but that would be wrong. You don’t think you’ve ever loved anyone as much as you do to him. You don’t look at him and get butterflies in your stomach, you look at him and… you’re sure. your heart is quiet and sure. You don't think you’ve ever been sure before.

You want to be sure forever.

He feels like the comfortable still of rain after a scorching hot summer, like the calm and cold breeze that cools you down. Like standing at the top of the mountain, looking at the clouds and valleys below, he feels like the crisp air that fills your lungs. Like the comfort meal your mom makes– the one you can never really recreate, the one that tastes the best when it comes from her. 

You love him and you know. You know. You know he likes you, loves you even. 

Steve Harrington loves you like a dream, and you're worried that one day he’ll wake up, look at you and realise that he deserves so much better. He’ll wake up and he’ll leave for work and he’ll bump into a pretty angel of a girl with a disposition as bright as his. And he’ll never return. people fall out of love. People fall out of love all the time.

You wish for him to love you forever.

How long is a forever anyway?

You wonder what it'll be like. When you're older, with wrinkles, white hair and weaker limbs. 

It's like you see it.

You and him in a bed– just like now but older, wiser, more tired. His back turned to you. There'd be distance between you two, you’d want to move closer and hold him– but you wouldn't. You’d just stare at the back of his head, counting all the grey hairs you’d memorised like all the moles and wrinkles on his skin.

You’d notice his breathing, the rise and fall of his chest and you would have known him so long and so well that you'd just know that he wasn't actually asleep. you'd know why he wasn't asleep.

there'd be a pain in your chest. You would know what it is, why its there. You would gulp and try not to think about it.

“Do you always stare at me in my sleep?” his groggy voice pulls you out of your own head.

You blink, multiple times. Forever, right.

He softly smiles up at you. You blink away before moving to lay on your back, the sheets rustling with your movement. “sorry I woke you up”, you mumble an apology, staring at the ceiling, you fail to hide the shake in your voice.

“Y’kay?” 

“Yeah.” the sheets beside you ruffle but you keep your eyes trained on the ceiling. it seems inevitable. You know, one day it'll happen and despite having expected it, it’ll be the greatest heartbreak of them all. 

“Thinking ‘bout somethin’?” he sounds a bit more awake.

“When am I not?” you shake your head and laugh hoping he doesn't notice that it isn't real, thankful that the curtains didn't let in any moonlight and that you had turned off the lights.

“What is it?” but this is Steve, he doesn’t need to see you to know how you’re feeling.

“Nothing.”

“Were you lying about liking the pasta I made?”

“No, Steve it was good”, a real laugh slips out of you, and you finally look at him. He’s leaning on his elbow, the messy head of hair in his hand, looking down at you. You suddenly wish it wasn’t so dark so you could see the colour of his eyes, the moles and freckles on his skin.

“Then what?”

“Nothing.” your gaze moves back to the ceiling.

“Must be something if it's keeping you up”, you feel him shift closer to you. He smells of fresh shower, mint, shaving cream and washed laundry. 

“No, I'm just….  not sleepy.”

“Yeah?”, he raises his eyebrows with a sly smirk, “Well, I know a way to make you sleepy”, he leans down– both arms caging you in, landing a kiss on your neck before trailing further up to your lips. and its lovely, so god damn lovely, you don't want it to stop but this hurts.

“Ste– mmph– Steve stop”, you turn your face away, because if he keeps going, you think you'll cry, palm pushing flat against his bare chest, “I’m– I'm not in the mood.”

“Okay, I'm sorry”, he moves back onto his one elbow. The silence gestates for a while, you can feel his eyes on you. The ticking of the clock is the only thing heard through the room before he softly says, “Hey, please tell me what's happening?”

“Nothing”, you shook your head, “I’m just tired.”

“You just said you're not sleepy.”

“J– just go back to sleep okay? sorry for waking you up”, you turn onto your side, face away from him. 

He sidles up behind you after a second or two, warm breath across the back of your neck, you squeeze your eyes shut. “yeah, like that's gonna put me to sleep", he mutters behind you.

His arms snake around your waist, pulling you in closer, “C'mon, you know I wont be able to sleep after fighting”, burying his nose in your hair– he sighed.

“Did you just sniff my hair?”

“Yeah, I do all the time. smells s’good."

"You pervert", you both laugh lightly at that, your hand going for his around your waist, before your smiles fall and silence takes over once again. 

You lick your drying lips, you forgot to put on lip balm again, “We’re not fighting, Steve.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

You take in a deep breath in, fingers drawing patterns on the back of his hand, you breath out, “m’sorry.”

His arms squeeze tighter around you, he lets out a quick sigh before placing a kiss on your shoulder, “I’ll forgive you if you tell me what’s going on with you.”

“Steve…”, your voice trails off, you're not even sure what you were going to say.

“Is it— Is it your…. Uh, that time of the month?”

That makes you want to roll your eyes at him and smack his chest but you restrain yourself, you’re not sure if you want him to see your eyes right now anyway. Instead, you sigh,  “I had it last week, Steve.”

You got it in this very same bed. Awoken by cramps in the middle of the night. and Steve, your lovely Steve had given you a hot water bag while he took off the sheets and put on fresh new ones and then gave you a soft massage that put you to sleep.

“right... yeah, sorry," he says all sheepish, “So what is it then? Did someone say somethin’ at work?”

“No.”

“Did I.. " he hesitated a little, "did I say something?”

“...no”, you curse yourself for pausing before saying it.

“I did, didn't I?”

“No, no. you–”

“honey, you should tell me if I ever say stupid shit– you should call me out immediately–”

“You didn't say anything stupid or whatever. I'm the one who's being stupid.”

his hold on you loosened, he shifted back to give you space to turn around, “What did I say? Hey, look at me,” you finally turn in his hold, facing him “what did I say?”

“We’d have the cutest little kids, won't we?”

“..what?” You stood infront of the kitchen sink. your hands stopped their scrubbing at the pot you were washing. You tilted your head towards him who had his head rested on your shoulder, his arms around your waist.

“Little Harringtons”, you could hear the smile on his lips.

“Harringtons?”

“Or maybe we get our names hyphenated. That works too, it’d be cute”, his hands hold your waist, his duty of drying the plates abandoned. “They’d have my fabulous hair, and your pretty, pretty eyes– cutest kids around the block”

“Our kids?” you repeated dumbly.

“Yeah, and six of ‘em. six little nuggets. They’ll make up half of a football team”, he giggled, warm air hitting the side of your face, “Doesn’t that sound lovely?” he smiled at you.

“...yeah. Yeah, it does.” you smiled back at him which only made him grin wider. His arms tighten around you again, and lips start a trail from behind your ears to down your neck.

You scoffed softly "You’re supposed to help me wash dishes you filthy animal." 

“Oh, fine,” he gave you an over dramatic sigh, before his hands left your sides, skin feeling lonely as ever.

“No, it's fine. I’m almost done anyway", you went back to scrubbing at the bottom of the pot, "Just go and take a shower, you reek.”

“Alright, fine, I’ll go!” he groaned, playfully as a kid, before he leaned against the counter, looking at you with his ‘Harrington charm’. His voice is silky when he asks, “Will you join me?”

“Steve." you said it almost as a warning.

“I don’t hear a no.”

“Okay then, no.”

“Tomorrow morning…?”

“I have an early shift tomorrow, you horndog.”

“We'll make it work.”

“No.”

“Okay", he sighs, “come up quickly though, I wanna be the big spoon today”, pecking your cheek before leaving for the shower upstairs.

Looking at him, you brush the now mostly dry hair falling on his forehead, tucking it behind his ear. Your fingers lingered there, you smile, “nothing, Steve.”  your thumb rubs back and forth on the apple of his cheeks. “You didn’t say anything. it's stupid.”

His hand reaches up to hold your fingers in place, he turns his head a little to kiss your knuckles, “okay, I didn't say anything” he kisses your knuckles again, gaze stuck to your face, “but could you tell me what it is you think you’re being stupid about?”

God, I love him, you think. “Don't worry about it”, your voice barely a whisper as you attempt to give him a smile. You move closer, planting a slow kiss on his lips which are so much softer than yours– he never forgets his chapstick.

And god, you needed this, your brain stops when you kiss him. thoughts quelled and its quiet again. After some time though, your throat starts to burn and your chest is on the verge of a sob. So, when you pull away, you fail to hide the stuttered breath that you take in.

Steve knew there was something to worry about, but when he hears your breath that almost sounds like a sob, he’s immediately on high alert. Before he can brush your hair out of your face to look at you, really look at you, you bury your face in his chest.

It takes him a second to realize that you’re crying and it breaks his heart because you’re trying to hide it.

“Baby..” he feels you curl in further, your face warm against his skin. He moves to pull you in closer, palm holding the back of your head. He just wanted to take away whatever it was that was bothering you. He tried to pull away to get a look at your face to help you calm down but you wouldn't let him. He settles on carding his fingers through your hair, rubbing circles on the little sliver of exposed skin between your t-shirt and shorts, hoping it gives you some sort of comfort.

"Honey", it is then that you finally let in a shaky breath. he feels the skin where you hid your face get wet maybe with tears, sweat, snot, he didn't care-- he just wanted to take all your pain away.

You both stay that way, and you're suprised by how much you sob, how hard you heave. You weren't sure how long you stayed that way, maybe minutes, maybe hours, however long. It feels like forever.

At this moment, encased in Steve's arms, breath hot against his skin, despite the nose plugged with snot, lashes clumped with tears, eyes squinted shut, you think this is comfortable. Yet it hurts. Because you'll have to pull away. It hurts so damn much because you know how this can go, you know it can hurt so, so much more. You know it will hurt.

You want this to last forever, however fucking long one of those is.

So, you hold on longer because, you’re selfish with your love for Steve. You're selfish because despite the heartache, you’ll have him, for as long as you can.

His hold on you gentle yet firm, as if afraid he'd break you. In your head, he already had. He tries to pull away again, to look at you but you can't. Your eyes still squinted close, willing it all to be a stupid dream. “Honey, I promise you whatever it is, you can tell me”, he says, voice soft as feather. Of course it's not a dream.

Your tongue betrays you, “Its…s–” stupid. Silly. It really doesn't feel stupid or silly, but god, you're so scared that you can't say it, you didn't want to say it because if you do it’ll come true, wont it?

“Whatever it is that you think is stupid," he assured you as if he could read your mind, "I still want to hear it because I know I won't think it's stupid."

suddenly it burns, and you need air. you sit up and try not to think about how ridiculously not pretty you probably look with snot running down your face, “What if- what if we- we end up hating each other?” you manage to say through hiccups.

“What?” he sits up as well, he says as if you had said the most ridiculous thing, “I'll never hate you, honey.”

For some reason, tears fill your eyes again at that, “Steve, you don’t know that.”

“Yeah, I do.”

“No. Ste– people fall out of love, Steve- all the- all the time.” It terrifies him how convinced you sound of it.

“Do..... do you think you’ll fall out of love with me?”

The question startles you, its evident in your wide eyes, “Wha– what?”

“Do you think… you’ll fall out of love with me?" he repeats, "You think you’ll hate me?”

You shake your head, the tear that had been sitting on your lower lash finally slides down your already tear-stained cheek.

“Good." he wipes the wet trails left behind with his thumb, "then, why would I hate you?”

Your face twists into an expression that Steve wasn't sure what to describe it as. a deep frown on your lips, chin wobbly, brows scrunched up together, eyes red and tired yet nostrils flared. “‘Cause", you start but before you could continue another sob leaves you. you look down at your lap, trying to catch your breath. it takes you a minute before you begin again, "do you remember.... what you said about our kids?”

He nods, heart clenching at the way your voice breaks, “I don't think I can… do that”, he doesn't think he's ever heard you sound so broken. “I– I don't think if I– if I want that.”

He sits silent and you think this is it. maybe forevers aren't that long after all.

More tears fall, more sobs leave you, you don't bother to wipe them. What's it matter anyway? He hates you already. He's probably thinking of a way to let you down easily because he is kind like that “Honey.. I want a family..” you feel your heart ripping in two and you just can't look at him.

“And I want you to be a part of that family. I– I want you to be the person I built a family with, no matter the size." He wipes at both your cheeks again, making you look at him, "even if its just us.”

The relieved smile he expected from you isn't there, instead, you frown, the crease between your brows deepens. the part that hurt the most was that you push his hands away, “you’re saying that now, but what happens when years down the line, when we’re old, you– you end up resenting me. Y- you love me right now, I know. But how do you know you wont end up hating me like, ten years later?”

“I dont want to watch you grow old and hate me and then leave me, Steve. I’d rather end this now if we’re destined to just end up unhappy together.”

“We’re not. Okay? We’re not. I know I wont hate you, ever.�� He reaches for your hands again. He kisses your fingers before continuing, “And I know that I want you, just you and whatever that– that that comes with. We could never have kids and I would never hate you for it.”

“You won't be happy", you say meekly, like he'd be mad at you for speaking what was on your mind to him, “You wont hate me but you wont be happy either”, you muttered, chin ducked into your chest.

“Honey”, he hooks a finger under your chin, tilting your head to make you look at him, to make you understand. “you’re what I need to be happy. You make me happy. And.. I’d hope you need me to be happy too”, a wet chuckle escapes you at that. A hint of a smile on your face despite the tears.

“You do, don’t you?” he clarified with a soft smile of himself.

You nod, "yeah", letting out a loud sniffle.

“Good. I know its scary but you’ve gotta put your trust in me. Trust me enough to believe in me when I say that you are what makes me happy. and I am happy."

He wipes away gently at your face, ridding it of the tear stains, “Sometimes, you’ve just gotta trust. I promise I’ll never break it.” 

You sob again but it's lighter than before, you wrap your arms around his neck and feel the weight you felt get lifted, you sniffle into the crook of his neck, "thank you."

You feel his lips on your hairline, "Let's go back to sleep, yeah?"

"Yeah. You still wanna be the big spoon?"

"yeah, I think you need to be the little spoon today." he pulls you down with him, your back to his chest, kissing the skin behind your ear he finally settles in beside you.

You call out his name, he hums in response. "how long do you think a forever is?"

"I don't know, honey."

"Can we stay like this forever?"

"Um.. if you mean us staying forever then yes, definitely forever. But, if you meant me being the big spoon forever, baby, I'm not sure if I'll be able to commit to that."

You laugh, "I love you." you confess.

"I love you too."

[beetlejuicyy]

Hi, hope you're doing well! If it's not much trouble, may I please request Jealous/Protective Bada x fem reader? Where reader is part of team Bebe and dating Bada (a fact only known by the other members and family.) Throughout the show, alot of the other ladies from different teams take a liking to reader and crush on her, finding her sexy and adorable and try to flirt with her and ask her out. Which Bada does well with brushing off for the most part until reader's ex shows up out of nowhere and tries to win her back.. With a little angst, but all in all fluffy and a tad smutty at the end, with sexy dominant Bada?

Possessive

Pairing: Bada × Bebe! reader

Synopsys: you are a member of team bebe in swf2 but not many people know you are also Bada's girlfriend

Warnings: gets nsfw by the end

Notes: im sorry this took so long :(

Masterlist

✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦ . 　⁺ 　 . ✦

You were the first member of team Bebe to find out about Street Woman Fighter 2. The production reached out to Bada and, unlike the previous year when she had to turn down the offer, she was very much excited to join the show this time. She talked to you first, because being on TV meant that all eyes would be on you and your relationship which was very much intimate.

“Are you comfortable with that?” Bada asked. She was the leader of the team you were part of and she always made it clear when she was speaking as your leader or as your girlfriend.

“I know it’s important for you.” You replied.

“It’s important for you too.” She frowned.

“Yes, but I wouldn’t go through the hassle of hiding our relationship on TV for myself. I’d do anything for you though.”

Bada knew that. After deciding you would be teammates only for the public eye, she talked to the rest of the girls as well. Fast forward to the first few days on set, you found it harder and harder to act like friends only. It was stressful and tiring but you couldn’t lean on Bada as your girlfriend, but only as a friend. People were always with you, staff members, other contestants, lately fans would even greet you at the end of a long recording day. When you got home both of you only wanted to rest so there was really no time for the two of you.

But the show was fun and it was rewarding. People liked you more than you expected and soon you made friends amongst the contestants thanks to the missions you collaborated for.

“Bada is the type girls like.”

You heard this over and over since the first day. But the girls took a liking on you too. Maybe you weren’t as intimidating or cool like your girlfriend was, but you would often hear the girls screaming because of your sexy dance or cute charms.

“I wanna take you home with me!!” Harimu yelled as you showed off your moves in a battle. Bada would only smirk and brush it off, even if it was somewhat annoying. She was very proud of you and she couldn’t wait to reward you with a warm hug. She was the one taking you home anyway.

“Could you stop being so pretty? It’s distracting me.” Wackxxy joked when you were on a small break on set.

“Only for you.” You winked back at her in a flirting tone and she only yelled at you in embarrassment, blushing.

Bada didn’t mind this either. She knew you were playful and she was happy you felt comfortable around everyone. It was annoying though because she noticed Wackxxy had been checking you out across the room the whole day. But you were hers and that’s the only thing that mattered.

She didn’t witness the most annoying thing of all though. The leaders were working on the choreography for their mission and Bada was chatting with Halo exchanging impressions and advice about leading a team.

“It’s hard especially when they’re in a bad mood.” Halo complained, although she smiled. “Actually yesterday Haechi Wang was sooo impossible to deal with.”

“Is she ok?” Bada asked.

“Yeah, actually she will be.” Halo laughed. “It’s a secret though.” Bada raised her eyebrows in surprise. Halo didn’t need convincing. “She asked out one of your members. Y/n.” Bada felt her heart stop for a second. People making you compliments, flirting with you that was bearable. But she felt jealousy creep through every cell in her body when she imagined someone else taking you out.

“Oh really?” She replied, forcing herself to laugh nonchalantly.

“Yeah, she was rejected though.” Halo said. Bada exhaled in relief. “But she couldn’t concentrate at all after that. She really likes y/n.”   

Bada confronted you that night on your way home, as if you weren’t exhausted enough.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” She asked annoyed.

“When exactly? When you were busy teaching everyone the choreography or when you collapsed on the bed and fell asleep in your dirty clothes?” You spat back.

She didn’t say anything. It was sad that the only intimate discussion you had that day was to argue.

Sometimes you felt more like a fan of hers during the show. Whenever Bada would leave everyone astonished with her powerful moves and boyish charms you cheered with everyone else. She rarely looked at you, though, busy paying attention to the feedback of the judges  or complimenting and hugging Kirsten. That also pissed you off but you brushed it off.

The closer you got to the finals, the more pressure Bada felt as the leader. Often times she would cry because of stress and all you could do was comfort her like a friend. You couldn’t kiss her, you couldn’t touch her more than a friend would. But that was ok.

Bada missed you, even though you worked together everyday. After Haechi Wang asked you out she started paying twice as much attention to every person getting close to you. She would get so petty that she would simply walk up to you and grab you by the hand when someone would be too familiar with you. It started showing on her face how annoyed she was when people called you sexy or pretty. Her tongue would poke against her cheek in suppressed anger when Mina Myoung called you girlfriend material.

However, the worst thing happened on the first time you had to perform with an audience. After several episodes aired on TV, people were very interested in the show so the venue was full. Amongst those people was also your ex. After the show, as you were waiting for the other members of Bebe to get ready to go home, a familiar voice called out your name. You turned around to see your very ex waiting outside to talk to you.

“Long time no see.” She said. You immediately thought you didn’t want Bada to see her here.

“What are you doing here?” You asked. The relationship didn’t last much but the toxic behavior left wounds that you still had to heal.

“I saw you on TV…” She said, taking a few steps closer to you. “And I missed you.”

“I don’t.” You brushed her off harshly.

“Hey.” She grabbed you by the hand and you felt your whole body react. You slapped her hand away in annoyance. “I know you miss me too.”

“I don’t. Can you leave please?”

“Don’t you think we deserve one more chance?” She insisted, standing right in front of you. You could smell her perfume and the smell brought back not so nice memories.

“What’s going on here?” Everything just got worse, you thought when you heard Bada’s voice. She knew your ex all too well. She walked past you, stopping in between the two of you, her taller frame pushing you gently behind her.

“We were remembering beautiful memories.” Your ex grinned at Bada, although your girlfriend was towering over her intimidatingly.

“She was leaving.” You said at the same time.

“Get the fuck out of here.” Bada said in a low voice. You saw her whole body tense as she clenched her fist.

“So you two are fucking after all! It’s so obvious even on TV.” Your ex was unfortunately not intimidated by her and you expected it. “I know that look in her eyes, when she’s looking at someone she’s fucking.” She continued, and you groaned in exasperation. You tried pushing Bada away but she wouldn’t move. “She’s giving  it to me right now.”

As soon as the words left her lips Bada pushed her violently, kicking her against the wall. Grabbing her by the collar of her shirt, she pulled it harshly as she leaned her head so she could look directly in your ex’s eyes.

“Get lost or I call security.”

“Fine, fine.”

You remembered Bada being angry when you told her things about your past relationship. But you never imagined she would get this violent about it. As your ex left, not before gesturing you to call her, you leaned against the wall and sat down on the floor, exhausted. Bada crouched down in front of you, asking you if you were alright.

“I could handle it you know.” You sighed.

“I’m sorry I just… I got carried away.” Your girlfriend mumbled, grabbing your hand.

“You were badass though.”

The ride home was quiet as always since you started filming for the show. However, it wasn’t stressful like other nights. You were very tired so when you got home you went straight in the shower. You heard Bada over the sound of the running water, asking you if she could come in so she wouldn’t scare you. You thought she was going to take her makeup off or something, but she slid the door open and joined you in the shower. You gasped as her hands were cold when she grabbed you by the hips, pulling you closer. Your back was pressed against her as she pressed her cheek against your wet hair.

“I miss you.” She said.

“You saw me five minutes ago.” You joked but you were feeling a pleasant pressure in your lower stomach as your wet bodies pressed against each other.

“I miss my girlfriend.” She repeated, lips almost touching your ear. Her hand moved lower between your legs and her fingers slid between your folds, over your wetness.

“Then act like it.” You said, grabbing her by the wrist, guiding her hand exactly where you needed it to be. She pulled you gently, pushing you against the wet shower wall, careful not to slip.

“You’re mine, you know.” Her other hand cupped one of your breasts as her fingers pressed in circles against your clit. It was always so easy for her to get you wet. “You can tell that to everyone.” You moaned, leaning back your head in pleasure. “We can rehearse, hm? Tell me.” Her lips presses against the wet skin of your neck, sucking a little to hard.

“I’m yours.” You breathed out.

“That wasn’t it.” She clicked her tongue. You moaned loudly as she inserted a finger inside you, making it even harder for you to talk. “Try again.”

“I-ah…”

“Mhm. Come on baby.”

“I amhm…”

“You can do it, princess.” The more you tried to articulate words the faster her slender fingers moved inside you and you whimpered half in pleasure half in frustration.

“I am yours, Bada.” You finally managed to say.

“Good girl.” She praised you. “You can tell Haechi Wang that.”

[indestinatus]

The silent art of gif making

The gif above has 32 layers plus 6 that aren't shown because this is part of a larger edit. I wanted to share it to give everyone a glimpse of the art of gif making and how long it usually takes for me to make something like this. This one took me about an hour and a half but only because I couldn't get the shade of blue right.

I use Adobe Photoshop 2021 and my computer doesn't have a large memory space (I don't know what to call it) so usually most of psds get deleted because I'm too lazy to get a hard drive. It doesn't really bother me that much because I like the art so when it's done, it's done. Off to somewhere else it goes.

Here are the layers:

Everything is neat and organized in folders because I like it that way. I prefer to edit it in timeline but others edit each frame. There's a layer not shown (Layer 4 is not visible) and it's the vector art. Here it is:

Now it is visible. I don't plan to make this a tutorial, but if you're interested I'd love to share a few tricks about it. I'm pretty new to the colors in gifmaking but the rest is simple to understand. Here, I just want to show how much work it takes to make it.

I opened Group 2 and here's the base gif. I already sharpened and sized it correctly but that's about it. Let's open the base coloring next.

Yay! Now it looks pretty! The edits are in Portuguese but it doesn't matter. There's a silent art of adding layers depending on how you want the gif to look but you get used to it. The order matters and you can add multiple layers of the same thing (for eg. multiple layers of levels or curves or exposure).

This was pretty much my first experiment with coloring so I don't know what I'm doing (this happens a lot with any art form but gifmaking exceeds in DIYing your way to the finished product) but I didn't want to mess up his hair, that's why the blue color is like that. Blue is easy to work with because there's little on the skin (different from red and yellow but that's color theory). I painted the layers like that and put it on screen, now let's correct how the rest looks.

I was stuck trying to get the right teal shade of blue so yes, those are 10 layers of selective color mostly on cyan blue. We fixed his hair (yay!) we could've probably fixed the blue on his neck too but I was lazy. This is close to what I wanted so let's roll with that.

BUT I wanted his freckles to show, so let's edit a little bit more. Now his hair is more vibrant and his skin has red tones, which accentuates the blues and his eyes (exactly what I wanted!). That lost Layer 2 was me trying to fix some shadows in the background but in the end, it didn't make such a difference.

This was part of an edit, so let's add the graphics and also edit them so they're the right shade of blue and the correct size. A few gradient maps and a dozen font tests later, it appears to be done! Here it is:

Please reblog gifsets on tumblr. We gifmakers really enjoy doing what we do (otherwise we wouldn't be here) but it takes so long, you wouldn't imagine. Tumblr is the main website used for gif making and honestly, we have nowhere to go but share our art here. This was only to show how long it takes but if you're new and want to get into the art of gif making, there are a lot of really cool resource blogs in here. And my ask box is always open! Sending gifmakers all my love.

[illdowhatiwantthanks]

Haircut

Alex Blake x autistic!fem!reader Warnings: some innuendo, implied smut, gender presentation struggles, explicit language (let me know if I've missed anything!) Word count: 1.6k

Summary: You get a dramatic new haircut, and you're scared of what your girlfriend will think of it.

You sat awkwardly in the chair, tapping your foot, as the barber observed your hair from behind.

“All of it?!” they asked, raising their eyebrows at you. “You’re sure?”

You nodded quickly. “Every time I say I want it cut short, I end up with like a short bob or some other girly cut. I keep telling them I want it short, like a boy’s, but… that’s never what I end up with.”

The barber nodded. “I feel you. So…” They moved forward to frame your head. “I’m gonna take it in pretty tight on the sides and back with clippers, but I’m gonna leave you some length on top so you can fluff it up with product or style it up front like bangs, that kind of thing. Sound good?”

“Definitely,” you confirmed, smiling quickly. “That sounds great.”

You took a deep breath and looked in the mirror as they draped the cape over you and clipped it at the back of your neck. You heard the clippers buzz to life and met the barber’s eyes in the mirror.

“Ready?” they asked, holding them just an inch from your head.

“Do it.”

And that was it. Years of long hair, gone. You felt both giddy and terrified. On the one hand, you felt more and more yourself watching the hair come off your head. But on the other hand, it was a big change in your appearance. What would Alex think?

She always told you she didn’t care what you did with your hair but, well, you’d never done this. And then an awful thought struck you: did people play with short hair? You hated the feeling of your hair against the back of your neck, hated it getting caught, getting in the way, but you loved the feeling of Alex playing with your hair. Loved it when she’d run her hands through it and scratch her fingernails against your scalp. It was enough to put you to sleep some nights.

The barber touched up the lines of your sideburns and the fade at the back of your head, trimming the top so it laid just perfectly over your head. You’d never been to a barber shop before, but you’d been so frustrated by the girlishness of the salons, you finally caved and found a queer-friendly barber shop here in DC. You’d had high hopes that someone at a barber shop would listen to what you really wanted with your hair, not just what they thought you should want. And from the looks of things, your hopes were being validated.

“The cut comes with a hot towel shave, if you want,” the barber said as they finished up.

“Oh, uh…” you stumbled. “I mean, I don’t have a beard.”

“For the back of your head and neck?” the barber clarified, smiling a little.

You blushed, embarrassed not to understand the lingo of the barber shop.

“Um, yeah, sure,” you said, bobbing your head. “That’d be great.”

You wished you could bottle up the experience–the refreshing warmth of the towel, the cool brush of cream, the way the back of your head felt perfect afterward. And you did bottle it up in your mind to tell Alex. You wanted her to know how great the hot towel shave was, how much girls were missing out on.

When the barber spun you around in your chair, when you could finally run your hands over the soft, shaved down at the back and sides of your head, you smiled wide, holding your hands at your side so you wouldn’t stim too obviously.

You beamed. “It’s perfect! Thank you so much!”

You tipped the barber generously and made another appointment; apparently with hair this short, you needed to get it cut every month.

Now to wait for Alex. You didn’t know why you were so nervous. You loved Alex and she loved you. You tried to put yourself in her shoes. If Alex cut all her hair off, would you still love her? The answer was of course but also… you didn’t know that Alex would seem like herself without her long hair. It seemed like a part of her. You’d support if she wanted to cut it, of course, but it might take some getting used to. Maybe your hair would take Alex some time to get used to as well. If that was the worst thing that happened, you supposed you could live with it.

You’d been living with Alex for a little over two months now and, for the most part, had loved it. But you weren’t used to sharing your space or so much of your time. You loved having Alex around, of course you did, but it was hard learning not to be performative with her. With most people, even Alex to a certain extent, you felt like you were performing personhood, like if you said the right things and acted the right way, people would like you. You’d lowered your guard enough around Alex to know that she liked the not-so-palatable parts of you, as well, but it had taken a long time for you to let your walls down.

For the first few weeks you’d exhausted yourself trying to make conversation all the time, trying to behave the way you did on a date 24/7. Until finally Alex had put down her book one evening, taken your face in her hands, and said, “Darling girl, I am happy to hear whatever you have to say, but if you don’t want to say anything, your presence is just as sweet as your voice.”

You’d curled up at her side and read and not said a word except “I love you” for the next several hours. It wasn’t that your voice had completely turned off in the relationship, rather that Alex had given you the freedom to use it naturally, which was better for both of you.

So when you heard the door open and shut that evening, your voice snuck down into your chest and you could tell, just from the feel of it, the weight, it was going to be hard to get it back out again tonight. You were just so used to making yourself palatable and you knew that, for a girl, hair like this wasn’t palatable. So much of the way you dressed, the way you acted, the way you were wasn’t palatable to most people. Alex accepted so much of you… what if this was a step too far?

You pulled your sweatshirt hood over your head, hoping to hide what you’d changed for just a few more minutes.

“Hi, my darling girl,” Alex said, stretching as she put her go-bag down and kicked off her shoes. You couldn’t bring yourself to meet her eyes, even as your heart surged to see her, to have her back home. Your hands shook by your sides, and you knew it was irrational how terrified you were, but you couldn’t help it.

“Quiet day today?” she asked, sitting next to you on the couch. “You usually have so much to say when I get back from a trip.”

When you didn’t answer, didn’t even look at her, she frowned, starting to worry. She gently took your face in her hands and turned it toward her, eyebrows shooting up when she felt the short hairs at the side of your head.

“Hey,” she said softly. “What’s this?”

Alex slowly pulled the hood off your head and ran her hands along the shaved sides and back of your head. Her eyes were wide, and you couldn’t quite read them.

“You really cut your hair,” she observed, her fingers against your scalp feeling just as nice as they always did.

Your voice felt almost rusted as you forced it out, quiet and hoarse. “Do you like it?” You were scared to hear the answer.

Alex smiled, letting her fingers roam through your hair before grasping the sides of your head and kissing you, running her thumbs through your short, fuzzy sideburns.

“Sweet girl, I love it. It suits you so well.” She turned your head this way and that, as if to get a better look. “You look beautiful.” She pursed her lips, bending a little so you finally had to meet her eyes. “You look like you.”

“You’re not just saying that, are you?” you whispered.

“No, darling,” she reassured you. “I don’t just say things. You know that.”

This time, you kissed her, though not very successfully–you couldn’t stop smiling.

When you pulled away, she grabbed your collar. “No, no, hang on!” she exclaimed. “I need a proper make-out. I want to run my hands through your hair some more. The texture is intoxicating.”

And you were happy to oblige, even happier to oblige given that Alex truly couldn’t keep her hands out of your hair, tracing patterns into the shaved down as your lips roamed her mouth, her neck, as you pushed her gently into the couch, your hands under her shirt against the soft, warm skin of her abdomen.

“Hey,” she protested, giggling, as your hands made their way to her chest. She brushed your bangs out of your face, looking at you with so much love you wondered how you ever could have doubted her. “Why don’t you take me to bed, darling?”

And you didn’t even need your voice for Alex to understand you, for her to see how much you loved her, how much it meant to you that she loved you for you. You clambered to your feet and held out your hand to help her up, pulling her to your side and kissing the bottom of her chin. And as you led her to the bedroom, there were no words needed.

[batneko]

A short fic about Sanji and Reiju and gender.

-

It was not unusual for Reiju to find one of her brothers in her quarters. Even now, they had a lack of boundaries and a fondness for juvenile pranks. But none of it bothered her, really, and letting them get it out of their system got them out of her hair faster. So she didn't change her footsteps as she became aware of the presence in her bedroom, letting her heels clack on the floor and opening the outer door slowly enough that the hinges creaked.

She had not at all been expecting to see this particular brother.

“Sanji,” Reiju said, surprised. He was sitting at her makeup table, a handful of products in front of him, and when he saw her he shoved them aside and covered his face, though Reiju had already caught a glimpse of it in the mirror. “Are you… What are you doing?”

There was a pause, just a moment too long, and Sanji lowered his hands.

He was smiling, though it looked pained. “I thought it would be funny,” he said. There was lipstick on his teeth. “To- to see how bad I would look in your makeup. And I was right! It's hilarious, isn't it?”

His laugh came out like a sob.

“Who… who would ever think a man could wear this stuff? It's just ridiculous, isn't it? I- I should show the others. How funny it is.”

Bright blue eyeshadow was smeared across his eyelids, bubblegum pink lipstick on his mouth, and coral blush mismatched on his cheeks. Blotchy glitter highlights completed the look, such as it was.

Silence filled the room for several long seconds.

“Mm,” Reiju said, thoughtfully. “Yeah, makeup is pretty hard if no one ever sat down and taught you.”

She pulled over the poofy footstool at the end of her bed and opened a drawer, taking out a packet of wipes and a few little bottles.

“Let's clean all that off first, and start from scratch.”

“I just. It's just a joke.”

“I know,” Reiju said. She pulled out a wipe and took hold of his chin. “Close your eyes.”

Sanji obeyed, sitting there obediently as his sister cleaned his face. They both ignored the way his breath hitched with held-back tears.

“Okay,” Reiju said. “We'll start by prepping your skin. You're a smoker, and a chef, so you really cannot moisturize too much.”

“Men don't need to do that stuff,” Sanji muttered, words slightly slurred by her vice grip on his face.

“More men should,” Reiju said firmly. “They’ll age much more gracefully, and no one likes kissing chapped lips.”

“That… that's true…”

“Yes it is,” Reiju said.

She finished rubbing moisturizer on him, and moved on to eyes. “I like to do eyes before foundation, in case the eyeshadow drops on your cheeks. Today let's just go simple, is your heart set on the blue or do you want neutrals?”

“I- I don't care.”

“I'll use a cool-colored shimmer on top,” Reiju decided. “Eyeliner is optional for daytime looks, what do you think?”

“I don't care, this is… You decide.”

“Yes, then.”

After the eyes were done she moved on to primer and a sheer foundation, explaining each step, making sure Sanji learned every tip and trick - from pumping the wand to opening your mouth to make it easier not to blink. Sanji stopped protesting at some point, just sitting there and letting her use him as a dummy.

“There’s an advanced lesson on contouring if you ever want to learn that, but I think this is enough new information for one day.” She considered her work so far. “It's a good thing you and I have the same coloring. I'll let you know what products I use, but don't be afraid to experiment with new ones. And like I said, moisturize.”

“Okay,” Sanji said quietly.

“I'd do your lips but you're probably going to need a smoke soon, right?” She'd noticed his fingers shaking and gave him an easy excuse for it.

“I can wait a little longer,” Sanji said, surprising her. “Since. I'm already here, and you're already teaching me, so…”

Reiju smiled. “I like bold colors but you seem like more of a classical beauty type. Definitely go with a long-lasting one, maybe matte, but with the shimmer I think we want a gloss.” She grabbed his chin again, ignoring the bristles. “Open your mouth.”

When she was done, Reiju gave Sanji a quick powder, then surveyed the finished look. She sat back, and nodded to the mirror, indicating he should look for himself.

The fear in his eyes was almost painful to watch. This was her little sibling, the closest to her out of the pack of them, the one she'd already failed to protect once. If she hadn't pulled this off it might only hurt him worse.

Sanji swallowed and turned in the chair, facing the mirror.

His lips parted, slightly, and his inhale of breath wasn't quite a gasp.

“I… look…”

“Told you,” Reiju said, nodding. “Classical beauty.”

He swallowed again. “It's. It's not funny this time.”

“Of course it's not, you look great. Nothing comical about being a knockout.”

Sanji stared at his reflection for a long time, occasionally turning his head side-to-side to see the other angles.

“Do you want to stay here for a bit?” Reiju asked.

Sanji nodded, silently.

“Okay. I'm going to change in the next room, and then I'm going out.”

He nodded again. “If… I need to take this off before I go?”

Reiju got the wipes out again, and quickly explained how to use cold cream.

“Got all that?” Reiju asked.

Sanji nodded.

“Are you… good?”

“I'm okay,” Sanji said. He gave her a smile, awkward but more genuine than any she'd seen from him in a long time. “Thank you.” Softly he added, “For everything.”

“Any time,” Reiju said.

She hoped he knew she meant it.

[lavender-at-heart]

Could you write Bella swan x tall fem vampire reader? I need reader to feed on humans that are criminals and almost always smokin a cigarette

Omg yes gay Bella is the best version of her. THIS FIC IS NOT COMPLETED, I FELT BAD FOR TAKING SO LONG SO HERES A SHORT VERSION, I WILL ADD TO IT SOON WOTH A MUCH LONGER ENDING!!!! if you want to be tagged in the finish product lmk. Also there are themes of sa (think alleyway scene in first movie) and I know that's an uncomfortable subject so I kinda glazed over and left out detail for that part.

Bella Swan let out a huff of boredom as she walked down the dreary street. An attempt to regain her friendship with Jessica ended up with Jess being spooked. Bellas new tastes were too "extreme " for her and now Bella was left alone, outside the movie theater in Port Angeles. A little miffed but not unpleasant to be alone again, she decided to not make waste of the evening out. Unsure of where to go, she headed forward, down the dark path of concrete, narrowly missing a chance ride on a motorcycle. Bella was in a dark place. Mentally, always, but right now her mind led her to enter a particularly dingey alley way. Her heart seemed to pull her towards the dark abyss before her, much like how her heart pulled her towards biology class on her first day at Forks High.

As she neared a turn in the path a sinking feeling began to creep up her spine. A feeling she had not felt since...

There was a man. Smoking, head turned pointedly towards the ground. He stood there like a beacon to Bella.

Something to make him see me

The man looked up, with that familiar look. Sinister comments laced with something sickly sweet, and Bella knew he'd come running. He had to have, surely he would. The man was not shy in his approach, and Bella did her best to stay calm. Every seccond her safety grew thin. Every minute she took one apprehensive step back. Until there were no more steps to take. Just keep it up for a little while longer, she told herself. He'll be here any moment.

But that moment never came. The sinking realization that Bella was alone with this man, and Edward was nowhere to be found made her stomach drop.

Just when she was about to really try to scream and run, the man was shoved to the wall opposite to Bella, the speed of it whooshing in her face. She knew what it was, the who was not certain. Her headt skipped wildly.

He came! After all!

These thoughts were cut short after she quickly realized her saviour was female. Maybe Alice had seen her in danger and come to the rescue. But this was not Alice. Not Alice, not Esme, not Rosalie, not even Victoria.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you it's impolite to harass pretty girls?"

The metallic tone dripped from the vampires lips, before a crunch was heard. This was no vegetarian, that's for sure. Bella stood, stuck to the wall like flies in a glue trap. Not afraid as she once was, but she knew how crazed normal vampires could be.

Once she was done drinking she turned around with a cool look on her face.

"Thanks" the human girl replied with ample sincerity.

The vampire held a quizzical expression. No fear? No running? No concern or confusion? Seeing this, quiet Bella made an attempt to explain.

"I've been around vampires before"

"Ah" was all the ethereal woman said. The way she said it reminded her of him.

She reached into her old denim jeans and retrieved a cigarette of all things. How odd, Bella thought. She let out a huff of laughter. The flame from the lighter contrasted with cool toned skin, followed by a drag and blow of smoke. The woman looked at her cigarette and spoke again.

"Started as a human, was never able to kick it. Not like it can kill me anyway." She outstretched her hand and offered Bella the cigarette. Bella looked meek and wide eyed. Not wanting to seem "uncool" She took it and gave it a try. She inhaled wrong, she exhaled wrong and then coughed too much. The woman laughed and gave her a pat on the back, red eyes crinkled with amusement.

"you're just a baby aren't ya?"

Bellas face turned beet red. "No I'm not, I just, just never had one before." She stuttered out.

"Breathe in a little, hold, breathe out."

Bella tried to listen to the advice given to her but all she could focus on was the way her voice hit the air. A warm feeling filled her despite the cold weather. A parasitic curiosity filled her. Who was she? Where was she from? How old? Name? Favorite this? Favorite that? Bella wanted to know everything and anything about her, immediately. She knew she would follow this woman to the ends of the earth, and Edward could go fuck himself.

[accidentally-in-fictional-love]

📖💻🐑

bc omg imagining an awkward friends to lovers situation with him in ant man is SO adorable

Not So Typical Heist - Kurt Goreshter/Reader

Warnings: Gender-neutral reader, no use of Y/N, very clueless reader lmao

Wordcount: 6293

Summary: Folsom State Prison. Once you got out you never looked back, your life of crime over for good. You said that, but then why were you answering a burner email from your former Solitary neighbour when you'd never said two words to the guy? The job must be pretty good to tempt you back into a life of crime, or is it the man himself you want back in your life?

Notes: Back to back Kurt 🥰 WOO sorry this one took so long, it's been a busy week so I was only able to chip away at it a little each shift, but each time I did I was swooning so much. I truly love this man, I love writing him so much, and I hope that this version of awkward ends up being okay and that you enjoy it 😊

To say that your time in Folsom State Prison was a rather… undesirable time in your life would be an understatement. Once you got out you swore you'd go legit, too many smart remarks directed towards the guards eventually scaring you straight when they tossed your sorry ass into solitary to cool you off, and when you saw the sun again that was it, no more hotwiring cars you liked and pickpocketing for you no matter how easy the mark looked. The sun was warm and the sky was blue on the day you walked out of there, and when you hitched a ride a suitable distance away you wished the place and everyone in it good riddance.

So imagine your surprise when, years later and out of nowhere, you get an email from an address you don't recognize with a name you do.

Kurt had been next to you in solitary, the man ending up there almost as often as you with his tendency to slip into the guard room and hack the computer so that a security camera might just glitch at the exact moment someone needed to nab some extra food, or a keycard wouldn't be required to open a gate when he felt like taking a stroll. They'd marked him for it, the tattoo artist in your block staining his skin black as thanks for his hard work, and he wore each one with pride as he was escorted down into the small room next to yours again and again. You remembered him well because of all that, as well as the fact that his hair always perfectly styled despite the shortage of products in prison, but you had no idea what the hell he wanted with you considering you'd never once said a word to the guy.

His English hadn't been as good when he'd been brought in, a Russian speaker from another block his translator as he learned from everyone else, but even when he no longer needed the translator and could speak to everyone freely you still never found the words to say to him, those cold, dark eyes always staring you down whenever you passed in the hallway or ran into each other in the yard. You'd seen that he was friendly, his face usually stoic as he conversed but still was social all the same, and the odd hack job he'd do for those with a problem had made life a little easier for the new guys who weren't as ready to hole up there. You weren't a coward, smooth talking actually one of your strong suits and one of the reasons you'd been locked up in the first place, but the second you opened your mouth to talk to him nothing would come out as soon as he'd stare down at you.

Why in the absolute hell was he messaging you now?

The email was a burner, and the message inside was nonsense, but because you'd been in the same block you knew all the lingo to decipher that he wanted to meet you somewhere to discuss whatever the hell a cuffing might be, you must've missed that one back then. The location was a public park in San Francisco with a large fountain near the entrance, he'd be waiting with more info on Tuesday at noon when it was the least busy. You thought about it, wondering what use he'd have with you when you weren't exactly penpals here, but as you were about to pull up a map of the park on your phone it hit you that he didn't want to meet you for coffee and donuts as a fellow inmate, he wanted to bring you in on a job, that's probably what cuffing meant since he knew you were a pickpocket.

You scoffed, you were done with that life, you weren't about to have some guy you barely knew from years ago just come in and drag you right back again, but still you hesitated when you went to delete it. You pictured him in his orange jumpsuit, the sleeves pushed up and his hands brushing back his hair as passed by, his eyes on you like he was figuring out how to hack you, and you pulled up the map after all to see where this park was exactly, your place almost an hour outside of San Francisco.

You wore something discreet to the meeting, your fingers unfortunately twitching as you watched the odd person walk by, millions of ideas to what the job might end up being playing through your mind as you watched the remaining time tick down on the large clock nearby. When you saw him you were taken back a little, not used to seeing him in anything other than orange as he walked through the gate; he looked the same, a bit older but still exactly the same, and clearly you did too as he noticed you and walked right on over. You remained seated on the ledge of the fountain, your eyes avoiding him as he approached, and when he held out his hand to you you felt almost daring when you took it and shook.

‘So, what's the job?’ you asked as soon as he sat down a little closer than you expected, and he looked at you before glancing down to the polo under his leather jacket.

‘X-Con, specialize in security of all kind,’ he answered in a normally loud tone, and you glanced around before shifting closer so he could lower his voice.

‘Whattaya need me for? You got a bit for me you can't hack?’ You stared down the woman walking by, her coat upturned from the chill of the air as well as your gaze.

He hesitated, those dark eyes making you feel like you were back at Folsom again even as the cloudy sky kept you aware of the fact that you were far from solitary. ‘We're in need of secretary and script writer, someone to talk smooth and win over clients,’ he explained, and while it wasn't pickpocketing or hotwiring you could at least still do that; so they were posing as people who'd need access to this security place, probably so he could hack in and grab some blueprints in their files, gain intel in blind spots, you could do that, you could be a great distraction anyway when you already knew how fast he worked.

‘How much it pay?’

‘We're up to the 50 thousand, plus Dental.’

Damn, heisting had benefits now? ‘I'm in, when do we meet?’

‘I thought we were meeting right now.’

Double damn, this guy worked fast, he always was on top of things back at Folsom. ‘You got the address of the place, then?’ He nodded and stood, your coat collar tugged up high to block out the breeze, and when you started off towards the entrance a couple cops decided now would be a perfect time to take a walk. You moved closer to him, expecting him to give you space, but he just placed his hand on your lower back and casually led you towards the road, the cops looking you over but ultimately not doing anything, you were just two people on a walk, just like them.

It turned out that the place wasn't far from the park, your eyes constantly on the lookout for ways to escape as he brought you to a much smaller building and then even smaller office inside than you expected, this might just be a two-man job at this rate. You waited for him to give you the rundown of how long he needed, five scenarios of who you might be already forming in your mind when he just walked inside, no warning for you at all as you rolled with the punches and walked in right after him. There were two people already inside, the one concentrating so hard on his papers that he didn't even look up, the other just glancing your way before nodding a welcome; nice place, this would be probably the easiest mark of your life.

‘The weather it is much nicer than the morning,’ he told them, the distracted man finally looking up with a start.

‘Ohhhhhh shit- welcome! Yeah he told us you were coming, you in the market for some security? We just got in this new brand of camera, does night vision day vision facial tracking the battery on this thing lasts for like a month if you can't have it plugged in, we can give you a great deal if you need any?’ He said it all so fast you had no time to choose an identity, your mouth falling open as Kurt waved the offer away and steered you towards the display cases.

‘Don't listen, he is always in business mode,’ he said lowly, and you straightened your back and decided on someone just as lively to combat it, keep him talking so Kurt could do his part. You gave him a subtle nod and walked over, extending your hand and flashing him a polite smile.

‘I have been thinking about replacing my own security, I live in the middle of nowhere so there's always punks coming onto my property, what do you have in terms of, say, spotlights to scare them away?’

‘Oh for real, can you look that up for me?’ he asked to his associate before motioning for you to follow him over to the wall behind his desk. ‘We've got a few in our registry for now, but I know these guys tend to be popular right here.’ He gestured towards some pretty sizable spotlights as his associate, Dave, as his nametag read, walked up with a list of prices and specs, and out of the corner of your eye you saw Kurt sit down at another desk and start typing, time to work.

‘My place is surrounded by trees so I need something really bright, do you have anything with maybe a speaker, or a buzzer? I'd love to be able to set it off from my phone.’ You were talking out of your ass, trying to think of what they would use back at Folsom, but they still took you seriously as Kurt kept typing out of sight; he was working fast but usually he'd be done by now, maybe being out for so long had slowed him? You waited until they were done before pretending something else caught your eye, some big and fancy camera with a connection of one helluvan alarm system to go with it, their gazes directed away from him you hummed and asked about it.

They gave you the whole pitch, Kurt still working, and you started to fear that he'd get caught when suddenly the door opened again and another man walked in with two large bags of food. ‘Sorry for the wait, traffic was murder on the way back, nearly had to get out and direct it myself when some idiot ran a light,’ he explained, your skin crawling in fear when you recognized that voice; you'd seen him on TV, his face on books and his voice reading it aloud, he might just be the most recognizable man in all of San Francisco by now.

Scott goddamn Lang was placing the bags on one of the displays without a care, the logo the other two were wearing on his shirt as well as he handed out the food, his jacket tossed onto the glass and his eyes instantly going right past you to where Kurt was still at the computer.

That was it, you were so screwed, heist over, time to go back to jail, Ant-Man of all people just busted the both of you.

You were in the middle of holding out your wrists for the cuffs so maybe he'd kick your ass a little softer if you went easy, but instead of suiting up he just walked him over a container and placed it down next to him. ‘So, how'd it go?’ he asked nonchalantly, Kurt opening up the lid to confirm that his order was correct to your pure and absolute surprise.

‘Very well, we have new secretary now,’ he told him as he picked up his plastic fork in his right hand, his left gesturing to where you were standing with not your targets but his co-workers apparently. 

‘Ohhhhh so that's why you're here! My bad, I'll get the paperwork ready, but you might have to learn all this stuff if you're gunna work here anyway, do you have some free time today? Wait, we just got lunch, we'll order you some and then start, that sounds good?’ Again you were stunned as Luis, who was also his co-worker and not your target, you couldn't even believe all this, pulled up a form on his computer and printed it out for you for read and sign, Scott coming over to pull up the restaurant's menu on his phone so you could decide on what you wanted while Dave just grabbed his food and sat down to eat.

Somehow, while you were trying to heist them, they ended up heisting you; guess you had to find a place in town and fast so there'd be no hour-long commute, because you sure as hell weren't about to admit to any of them that you did not wanna be their secretary after all of that.

They ended up helping you find a decent place not only in budget but nearby, and it wasn't until you started moving in that you learned it was only a floor higher than Luis’ apartment, which is where Kurt and Dave stayed as well. It almost felt like prison again being this close and running into him in the halls on your way to the lobby or the laundry room in the basement, and even though you'd been working together for almost a month already you still barely talked. When he wasn't preoccupied with his own work then you were answering the phone or writing scripts, which turned out to be for commercials and whatnot, and when you finally had a moment to breathe he'd be working on the webpage or setting up some code to make incompatible systems work together based on what the customer wanted.

It was a busier job than expected, and it felt weird that first month having all those cameras on you even though they were off and unplugged, but the more you clocked in the more used to it you became. Luis and Scott were easy to talk to, which really helped, even if Luis had a tendency to ramble until you lost the plot. Dave was easygoing and preferred to listen, his answers were always pretty short which made you have to do most of the talking, but he didn't seem to mind or care all that much.

But Kurt, even though years had passed, still never had anything to say to you directly. He would talk to the others just fine, but whenever you'd talk with him there'd end up being some kind of miscommunication that led to you doing an errand together like heading to the bank or post office, or you going with him to pick up lunch. You were spending time together, but talking was still an absolute mystery to you, which is why you were currently sitting with him alone at what you thought was a work get-together to celebrate two months on the job.

The way he'd worded it had sounded like the others had already agreed to it, so when you'd showed up to the restaurant you'd expected them to show as well, but instead you'd just found him there all dressed up and ready to escourt you to your table. You didn't pry, they'd come eventually, but when he started ordering you just figured they'd had to cancel and ordered as well. It was a nice night regardless, he was much easier to talk to outside of work distractions, so when he'd asked if you wanted to get together again next weekend you'd accepted without the promise of the others you'd realized after you got home.

He was quiet all week leading up to it, but this was a new type of quiet, his gaze softer as he glanced up at you and gave you a small smile. He'd been nicer as well, he'd always picked up donuts for everyone before work but now he also grabbed you a coffee, everyone else handling their own on the way there since they left at different times based on the availability of their shared bathroom for the most part. It was exactly how you liked it too, and you had to wonder if he'd asked Luis since he sat closest to you or if he was just that perceptive, but either way he got his information somehow and it was to your benefit. 

After a week of coffees you wanted to do something nice to thank him, so you made sure to get up early and race for the bakery before he could. Your phone was out by the time you got to the counter, and the moment you were wished a good morning you swiped to the photo Luis took after you'd signed the papers. ‘If he walks in, tell him it's already been paid for, please,’ you told her, a crisp $50 bill slapped down on the counter, and she looked you over before recognition came to her eyes and she smiled wide.

‘Of course, would you like your change? He usually just gets the same thing,’ she grinned, but you shook your head and glanced back to see if he was walking up.

‘Nope, I don't wanna get the wrong order so offer him something to drink, or more danishes, maybe? Anything he looks at when he walks in, this is my thank you.’ She grinned again, her elbows on the counter as she already started to prepare the box for him as she always did. 

‘You got it, should I say it was you?’

‘No thanks, I… I wanna surprise him myself, when he gets into work.’ You found yourself trailing off, like it'd just caught up to you that you wanted to be the one to see his smile when you told him, and you were so distracted by that that you almost missed her signal for you to hide. He was approaching the door, just barely seen through the glass, and you panicked just a moment before ducking into the bathroom nearby and shutting the door just as he opened his.

‘Good morning, dear Mocha,’ he said almost monotonously through the wood, but you could hear that he was happy.

‘Still Moina, will you be having your usual today?’ you heard her ask cheerfully, and it went silent as he thought before her voice cut in again. ‘We're actually having a sale on those, buy one for half price or get two and as well as a free coffee.’

‘Yes, very good, my friend would be liking this,’ he told her softly, and you felt your heart skip a beat as you pressed your ear to the door as he kept speaking, but you couldn't hear unless you opened it which you were not about to do. You didn't leave until you heard the bell ring along with Moina's overly loud goodbye, and you peeked out to see her grinning again at you from the counter.

‘Better hurry before he beats you to work,’ was all she said before pushing a bag with the largest treat she had towards you, a silent encouragement to gift him again thanks to your change, and you grabbed it before racing down the street without being seen.

You just managed to beat him thanks to cutting through an alley and circling back, the other three looking up as you burst in all red-faced and out of breath, and they just didn't say a word as they got back to turning on their computers and getting everything ready for the day. You sat down at your desk and caught your breath, the treat thankfully still preserved as you set it beside your temporary laptop until they got you your own computer next month, and by the time he walked in you were pretty much back to normal again. You gave him a wave as he opened the door, and you were about to give him the extra large cannoli topped with frosted sugar and chocolate drizzle as your big thank you when he gave you yours first, your eyes widening as he placed it in front of you along with your coffee.

‘Bakery was having sale this morning, thought you might enjoy,’ he said almost nervously, and you stuttered before giving him his, no second one telling you that he'd only had you in mind when he'd accepted the fake sale.

‘I… I saw, you like sweets so I wanted to thank you, for all the coffee I mean,’ you told him, the others silent as he set down the box for them to tear through before grabbing his chair and pulling it up to your table. He opened up the bag and held up his treat, waiting for you to do the same, and as the powder and chocolate got all over your fingers he tapped his against yours in a toast before taking a big bite the same time as you. It was totally delicious, they nailed everything about it from the flakiness of the dough to the sweetness of the cream, and you laughed when you both ended up with your faces a mess. 

The others started conversing with each other over the danishes and the big sell you were in the middle of finalizing, Kurt sliding his chair a little closer as he wiped off his mouth and offered you a napkin. ‘I am excited for our drinking together, there is place just down the street we like to go to, very good atmosphere, you will like,’ he told you as you took a sip of your coffee, the flavour of it only enhancing the treat even more. 

‘I bet I will, clearly you have good taste,’ you joked as you held up your drink, but you paused when he actually blushed a little, something you had never ever seen before in all the years you'd known him. He took another bite and choked a little thanks to an unfortunate inhale, and you offered your drink to him so he could clear his windpipe again. He just looked at it before accepting, and you swallowed as he did when you saw the way his lips curled over the rim of the cup so he wouldn't spill a drop. 

‘Thank you, I might be having to switch from my usual,’ he grinned as he handed it back, and when you took it you let your fingers linger over his for just a moment before you quickly pulled it back and nearly spilled. He just smiled before taking another bite, and when you stood to toss out the pastry bag you noticed how the other three quickly pretended they weren’t watching you as they turned back to their screens. 

You blazed through your work that day, all four of you piling into the van while Scott took off for his own apartment, and you started to zone out when Kurt sat beside you but didn't say anything after a whole day of stolen glances. You didn't know when it'd happened, but you were realizing that you were starting to get a crush on the guy when Luis hit a bump and your leg bumped into his. You both tensed as you looked down at the contact, but neither of you moved until he pulled into the parking lot out back and Kurt stood to open the door. He jumped out first, his hand outstretched for you to take, and you did just so as you also hopped out and headed to the back door.

‘I'll be ready in about a half an hour, unless you'd rather go later?’ you suggested nervously, Dave hurrying Luis up the stairs first before he could start whatever he was going to say.

‘Am ready now, just need to change shirt to something more comfortable.’ His hand hovered over his chest as he straightened said shirt, and your eyes refused to look away until you reached his floor and he had to split off from you so you could continue to your own.

‘I'll just change my shirt too, then,’ you quickly said as he opened the door, the dawning realization that once you met up again it would be on purpose, this was now a date, wait, was it always a date? You pondered it as you raced upstairs, your keys clanging loudly as you fumbled them from your jacket pocket and tried to unlock your door; you started going over everything as you threw open your closet and tried to find something that was nicer than casual but not too fancy for a bar meet-up, your head swimming with everything that'd happened since you got there. You came up blank, other than the cannoli from this morning you couldn't place any difference in him that would've led to him asking you out a week ago, so you decided to play it safe just in case your feelings were reciprocated. 

You nodded at your reflection as you made sure you looked okay, the door locked again as you pulled your jacket back on and headed back down as calmly as you could manage. He left right as you reached his floor, Luis still talking about something as the door shut, and he couldn't help but look you over and make you doubt your memories again.

‘The walk is fast, we can order some food to be going along with the drinks if you're hungry,’ he said as you stepped back outside, the sun already setting thanks to the fall turning to winter, and you pulled your jacket a little tighter as he led the way to the bar. You were glad he knew so many places within walking distance because it gave you a good chance to try and see if he really was acting different towards you, but the only thing he really did the whole way there was keep pace with you despite his long legs making him naturally faster than you as well as getting the door when you finally arrived. It was cozy inside, just a normal bar with a casual atmosphere as something played on the TV by the counter, a few tables pushed against the wall so people could sit together and eat something while they drank. You did like it, and you let him know it as you picked out a table and checked out the small menus.

They didn't offer too much since it was mostly drinks, just the typical bar food like fries and wings and such, but you were indeed hungry amidst the nerves so when the server came over you made sure to grab an order of fries to go along with your favourite drink. To your surprise he ended up ordering a virgin mule, skipping the vodka entirely as he asked for some various sauces to go alone with your fries, and when the server had left you leaned in curiously. ‘I didn't know you didn't drink,’ you said before you realized how it sounded, and you floundered a little as you tried to clarify. ‘I mean, you asked me to a bar, I thought you might’ve-’

‘Quit during aftermath of The Snap, as they call it, when I was realizing the dependency.’ His voice was soft and serious, quiet and painfully honest, and you looked at the table as you played with the corner of the menu.

‘What… what was it like? Those five years, I mean, when everyone was…’ You didn't want to say it, to say it would be confirming your own death during that time, something you had fought so hard to avoid ever since you came back and found yourself without a home in the blink of an eye. ‘I never knew you were one of the ones who didn't…’

‘Get the dust?’ He said it so easily, and you found yourself subconsciously holding your arms like you were afraid you'd disappear again. ‘It was… lonely, not having the others around, I was managing to keep the business floating but I was finding myself being unprofessional at work, drinking at all of the hours to forget they were gone.’ He looked so sad, you couldn't imagine what it'd been like for everyone during those five years, and after spending so much time around the others you could understand how lonely the office would feel without them there.

‘I'm glad you were able to pull through, you're stronger than me, I think,’ you admitted, thinking about how you'd taken the news that you were gone for so long and how everything had changed so easily without you, and you didn't realize you'd said it out loud when you felt his hand over yours.

‘I was always wondering if you were still out there,’ he said softly, his fingers closing over your hand that you didn't realize was shaking, and again you had to know if he was saying it because he remembered you from Folsom or if he had feelings for you. You flipped your hand around so you could hold his, reciprocated feelings or not you didn't want to lose him in that moment, and when the server came back with your fries you made sure to ask for a nonalcoholic drink instead.

You spent hours at the bar, sipping your drinks and eventually getting some wings to go along with the fries when one hour turned to two and the hunger possessed you both, the room filled with not only yours but his laughter as well as you kept talking. You didn't know why it was so hard to talk to him before, he still kept those deadpan remarks but he had a genuine reply for everything you said, every question you asked, and when it was you who asked if he wanted to maybe do this again sometime his reply came so fast it almost winded you. 

‘Yes, I would very much be liking to, there is event coming up that you may like, I will grab the information on the phone,’ he quickly said as he did indeed pull out his phone, but before he could show it to you you just placed your hand over his and got him to look at you.

‘Kurt… is this a date?’

He blinked, too stunned for words, and he looked around before giving you the most incredulous look you'd ever seen him make. ‘Were you not wanting it to be?’ he asked self-consciously, and you just as quickly shook your head as you scooted your chair closer to the table, your stomach pressed into the wood.

‘No! I mean, I wasn't sure, like I thought it wouldn't be just us at the dinner, so I thought this was-’ He looked away from you, he was taking it the wrong way, and you held his hand with both of yours to get him to look at you again. ‘Hey, if it is, I'm really happy you asked me out,’ you finally told him, and he muttered something in Russian before holding your hands up to his mouth to kiss them.

‘I've never known how to talk with you, you are such the mystery,’ he confessed with a smirk, your jaw dropping in surprise. ‘I ask you out months ago and you ask for job, I bring you to dinner and you expect others, I invite you along with me every chance I get but you no talk, I give you coffee with my number on the cup every time and you no call, I ask you out for drinks and you think as friends,’ he lists, and you feel your face heat up from the absolute embarrassment of missing signals so bad that you were now his co-worker instead of his partner. ‘Just like in Folsom, I try giving you signal and you just look away when I get close, how much more the obvious can I make it that I'm liking you?’

Your eyes widened as he kissed your hands again, every single moment you were together playing in your head again as you finally saw the signs, even all the way back when he was looking at you the way he was now the first time you saw each other in the halls at Folsom. He was so stoic you'd just assumed this was his face, his normal expression since he never spoke to you, but you knew now that he was just quiet, it was the company that brought out his voice as need be, and since you'd never said a word he hadn't either, and still he'd fallen for you just from that alone. He waited for your answer as he lowered your hands back to the table, and without a word you stood and leaned across the whole thing to press an experimental kiss to his lips when the words still wouldn't come out.

When you parted you saw that he'd closed his eyes, he was a romantic under all that stoicism, and you chuckled when he reached up to place a hand on the back of your neck to bring you in for another, then another, like he really had been waiting for this for years. You tasted the time on his tongue, the five years at Folsom, the two you were out just after him, the five he wondered if you were still alive out there, and the two months he waited to see if you would ever feel the same as he sat across from you, all of it conveyed in how much he thought of you until you had to part again for air.

‘I thought I was good at reading people, you were the only one I could never crack,’ you whispered against his mouth, and he chuckled as he let you sit back down again.

‘I'm glad you accepted my first date, the others they convince me to reaching out when I saw your photo in the paper,’ he told you as he finished off his drink and the last of the fries, and you were confused until he pulled up a picture on his phone and showed it to you; there you were, walking in the background of a photo about some new business opening, your face turned slightly towards the camera to see what the commotion was about. You remembered that day, you'd come into town to run some errands, and your heart pounded at the thought of him happening to see this and needing to find you so bad that he apparently hunted down your email to reach you. You couldn't fault him, he was an ex-con hacker after all, only him able to get away with such a thing and make you smile about it as he put his phone away again. 

‘I wish we'd been able to talk at Folsom, this whole time I thought you didn't like me,’ you admitted with a laugh, but he didn't find it as funny as he admitted the same. ‘Well, the cat's outta the bag now, so what do we do?’

‘First,’ he started as he took your hand again so when he stood you had to follow, ‘I will do the asking out of you proper, so the next date can be confirmed.’ He took out his wallet and tossed a few bills onto the table, your coats grabbed as he then led you to the door. ‘Second, we will be needing to make space in your apartment, you are too far from me for my liking.’

‘Oh, so you're gunna move in, just like that?’ you teased as the cold wind nipped at your cheeks, his coat also around your shoulders to keep you warm.

‘Only until we're finding the house nearby, something like Scott's, so as to keep walking to work and my favourite places.’ His mind was completely made up and you could only laugh at his vision, he must've been imagining this for quite a while.

‘Sounds reasonable, any places for sale nearby?’ He unlocked the door to your building and held it open for you so you could hurry in first.

‘Scott's, he is to be moving in with Hope, he give me good price for love.’ He slung his coat over his arm as you ascended the stairs together, your paces still matched.

‘Love…?’

He stopped as he reached his floor, his hand still holding yours as his back rested against the wood, and when his other one cupped your cheek you leaned into it. ‘For long time I've been missing you, I wish to know you even better, the best, I don't want to let you go again,’ he said softly, and you gave his sleeve a little tug as you backed up towards the staircase leading up to your place.

‘The night's still young, you could come home and tell me everything you wanted to say back at Folsom,’ you replied just as gently, and there was no missed signal as his eyes shone with relief and happiness as you both headed upstairs together, no more barriers keeping you apart now that you'd found each other again.

[dialoguestetatet]

Hwangyeon Choi x fem!reader

Fluff, OOC, I got carried away a little in the end, oops. I realized that I was starting to like him a little bit too much

The idiot in love pt.2 (pt.1 is here)

masterlist

For anyone who forgot, Hwangyeon Choi was a very confident person. Therefore, he sat absolutely calmly at a cafe table and waited for your arrival, his leg didn't even twitch from tension, and he didn't tap his fingers on the countertop to the rhythm of the Baby Shark melody. Where did he even hear that tune?

Hwangyeon was cool. Cool. Cool, cool, cool. Coolcoolcoolcoolcoolcool. He wasn't nervous at all. He was serene as the Buddha. There were definitely no butterflies tap dancing in his stomach. What could have gone wrong? Well, anything, because as it turned out, the universe had some personal scores with him and tried to make him look like an absolute fool. Hwan sat and mentally went over the worst-case scenarios for a date: from the fact that he would turn a cup of coffee over on you, to the fact that an escaped lion from a passing traveling circus would attack the cafe on that day and at that time, and you would have to run to the roof of the tallest building. Oh, wait, no, it wasn't like a lion, but a gorilla. Or an orangutan? There's no difference, but didn't the lion escape and make friends with a wild boar and a jerboa? Or was it a meerkat and a warthog? And what did a lion and monkeys have to do with it? Why was he sitting here at all and shaking his leg so that the table wobbled like in an earthquake? Where was he? Who was he? Baby Shark?

"Hey, Hwangyeon! Have you been waiting long? Sorry I'm late", you walked up to the table and waved at him.

He jumped up so abruptly that his knee hit the table. It was painful, but definitely worth it to see you in all your glory. Your face seemed to glow under the rays of the sun, your eyes sparkled with joy, and your lips broke into the most tender smile that has ever been addressed to him. But suddenly your face was filled with concern. "Are you okay? Does it hurt much?"

"What?" What are you talking about? Did you really feel how much his heart fluttered? Was it pounding that loud?

"Your knee", you put your hand on his shoulder and squeezed a little.

Which knee? He didn't have knees, if you keep touching him, he'll have a heart attack, you'll have to call an ambulance, then the date will definitely be ruined. He needed to pull himself together urgently. Oh God, your hand was still on his shoulder, did you want to take him to his grave before he's thirty?

"No, no, it's alright!" He jerked to the side and you took your hand away. Oh no, bring it back, why did he need shoulders at all if your hand wasn't going to be on them? "By the way, you look really pretty".

"Oh, thank you, Hwan, you look great yourself". No, he didn't blush, he was as tough as a tin soldier. Didn't he burn down in the end of the story? What did it matter? You called him Hwan, he'll need to come up with beautiful names for your future daughter.

"Th- thank you", DID HE STUTTER? This shame can only be washed away with his blood. While you were sitting down at the table, Hwangyeon was thinking about how painful it is to commit seppuku and why masochism has always been in fashion.

"I hope you don't mind that I've already ordered?" It wasn't for nothing that he's been scouring your entire Instagram in search of what you liked.

You smiled at him, "Not at all, you guessed my favorite. And I really like this cafe, it's amazing that you suggested going here". God, stop smiling, or he'll have to lean across the table and kiss you. It's a well-known fact that if a person you're madly in love with was sitting in front of you and smiling at you, then you have to kiss them, even if you're on a first date. He didn't make up the rules.

So far, the dialogue has progressed quite productively, Hwan has already learned more about what you do, a little about your hobby (he'll have to google more to be able to support you in this), and about your favorite book (he'll also need to read it, so it'll take some time before he can insert any phrase from it into your conversation).

"You do cycling, don't you?", your question caught him off guard, because he was thinking about whether it was possible to gently take your hand. Wasn't your hand just lying next to the cup? Most likely, your hand was very lonely and cold, so he'll be happy to warm you. Now, what was the question again?

"Oh, yeah, I've been doing this since I was a kid. I love this feeling when you ride a bike, and there's only wind around, the world seems to freeze. I'm pretty good at it and quite popular among cyclists", surely he couldn't miss the chance to brag in front of you.

"I really want to see it sometime", you ran your fingers over the cup.

"Of course, come to the competition, and witness my victory," Hwangyeon gently ran the pads of his fingers over your knuckles. You laughed and moved your hand a little closer to him. "Huh, you're a confident man, I like that." He carefully wrapped his much larger hand around yours, and your palm fitted his perfectly. He stroked your knuckles with his thumb. Suddenly, you intertwined your fingers with his and looked shyly from under your eyelashes. Hwan smiled and continued to massage the point between your thumb and forefinger.

You walked out of the cafe holding hands. While you were ranting about your favorite show, Hwangyeon was considering the possibility of getting slapped in the face and being known as the guy who can't keep his hands to himself if he kissed you. There were two options, the first one was to kiss you, get slapped in the face and watch you run away with the words "you're acting too fast, did you think I was a girl of easy virtue?", and the second one was not to kiss you and regret it until the next date. What if you don't want another date? It was going pretty well, wasn't it? You were smiling, laughing, chatting, holding hands. Your hand is so small, so thin, your skin is so delicate compared to his. He was wondering what ring size you have. This was a first date, calm down, people usually waited a few years after they officially became a couple. What if you don't want to date him? Maybe he should dig a grave right in that vacant lot that he often drove past as a child? He'll simply wait in a hole to die like a giraffe. Why did he have only animals on his mind all day?

"Hwan," you said his name softly. You've already stopped by your house, facing each other. He looked into your eyes and realized that he shouldn't have overthought it. You were standing there beaming with joy, and your lips were so kissable, so it was impossible not to do it. Gently running his hand over your cheek, he touched your lip with his thumb. "May I?" Hwan whispered, leaning closer to your face. "Yes," you breathed into his lips. Fireworks exploded in front of his eyelids from the first touch of your lips. As soft as he thought. As gentle as he imagined. As sweet as he dreamed. You wrapped your arms around his neck, and he pulled you even closer, hugging you around the waist. At first, a timid and tender kiss quickly turned into a passionate one. You ran your fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck while he greedily stole your breath. A shiver ran down his spine as you moaned softly against his lips. Hwangyeon bit your lower lip and pulled it with his teeth. You whimpered and trembled in his arms as he parted your lips and slipped his tongue into your mouth. He was crazy about the way you clung to him, scratched his neck with your nails, sucked on his tongue. He stroked your waist, put his hands on your hips, but quickly returned his hands back, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to deny himself the pleasure of thrusting his thigh between your legs and, clasping your hips, pressing you against him. With great difficulty, he pulled away from your lips. You mewled in protest and reached back. Seeing the blush on your face, half-closed eyes and bitten lips, Hwan began to erratically leave kisses on your nose, cheeks, chin, moving to your neck, unable to resist running his tongue over the beating vein and biting the thin skin with his teeth. "Hwan, please", his legs almost buckled from your pleading moan, he couldn't stop himself and led a trail of kisses to the place between your neck and ear, sucking the skin there in the mark of possession. Breathing heavily, you looked into each other's eyes.

"You're alright, princess?" Hwangyeon chuckled, seeing how disheveled you are.

"More than that, actually," you lovingly stroked his goatee.

"So you don't mind repeating it again?" Please say yes, otherwise he'll cry right here. He won't even be embarrassed by it.

"A kiss?" You're holding your breath.

"A date," Hwan rubbed his nose against your cheek, "and a kiss, a lot of kissing, actually."

"So, just dates and kisses then?" You pouted a little.

"To tell you the truth, I would die happy if you let me be your boyfriend." God, give him the strength to hold on a little longer and not to start making out with you right then and there.

"Oh no, I need my boyfriend alive, so try to survive." Was that a yes? It wasn't a hallucination, right? Hwan's not going to wake up from a coma right now, there's a zombie apocalypse around, and his best friend took his wife away?

"Then I need mouth-to-mouth resuscitation at regular intervals". You giggled and pulled him by the neck, kissing his lips again.

[riddle-me-ri]

A/N: what, no…no I don’t have a problem…again...I don’t know what you’re talking about. This is Instagram’s fault...again. Also I just…am really fond of the wearing significant other’s clothing…especially if said s/o is like…taller and bigger so when the smaller person wears it, it’s cute and wholesome…also I really dig the sweatshirt Miguel wears in the recordings with Gabriella, I like long-sleeved shirts in general but between the cool colors and the collar…I just really like it and want one in my own size lmao and just the overall concept art of him in casual wear makes me wanna give him his domestic life back rip

Trigger Warning: nothing explicit, just some teasing and touching

Word Count: 805

Miguel O'Hara x Reader - Something Borrowed

Miguel was absent all day at the Spider Society Headquarters and instead of moping and groaning about not having him around to mess with, you opted to be productive.

You gathered up all your clothes in the hamper and began taking off the clothes you wore now. Just so you had most of your wardrobe clean and available…until you noticed you have nothing else to change into. 

Oops. 

Your eyes darted between the clothes you discarded and your shared closet. You glance back to the closet and see a familiar blue and gray long-sleeved sweatshirt. The tiny ding of a lightbulb went off in your head. 

Maybe, just maybe, you could still mess with your husband when he got home. 

You snatched the sweatshirt off the hanger with a delighted grin on your face. Once you got the garment over your head, you couldn’t help but laugh. 

The size difference was pretty hysterical. The end of the shirt went past your knees, and your arms and hands didn’t even make it to the cuff of the sleeves. You shrugged, bringing your head in, and giggled. You felt like a turtle shrinking its head back into its shell with how wide and tall the collar was. 

When your face was buried inside the collar, your musings stopped. Your nose caught the homely and hearty scent of Miguel. Your body tingled as you wrapped your arms around yourself, trying to feel a sliver of warmth that Miguel’s body naturally radiates. You longed for his arms to be around you instead of your own. 

You took a deep breath and exhaled. You released yourself from your hold and went back to the tasks at hand. 

You hummed around the house. Twirling, dancing, and sliding around freely. Openly enjoying yourself while you finally managed to mark some to-dos off your list. 

You got laundry started, dishes were put away, had a small internal conflict about dusting away the cobwebs that were being inhabited by a couple of spiders (you put them outside after a jerk flight or fight reflex). 

You were so wrapped up in your chores and mini-concert that you didn’t notice someone entering the front door. 

Miguel trudged in, exhausted, but surprised at seeing you sway around the house. Amused at the sight and you being distracted, he crossed his arms and leaned against the front door. Just waiting to see if you would notice him. 

However, after watching you for a moment, he noticed something else too that didn’t click into his tired mind immediately. 

“Is that my shirt?”

Your heart nearly leaped out of your chest along with the shocked shrill you screamed. 

“What the hell?! How long have you been standing there?”

“I think I asked a question first.” 

“Miguel!” 

“All right, all right, like five-ten minutes tops.” 

“Somehow I don’t believe you, and I don’t have spidey senses.”

“Neither do I, mi cariño." 

"Yeah, but you have heightened senses. I don't, so you shouldn't scare me!" You exclaimed as you playfully smacked his chest.

As you got closer, Miguel’s eyes drifted up and down your figure. 

“You are wearing my shirt.” He remarked, answering his question.

You stood back and looked down, you were so busy you almost forgot your little stunt.

“Uh…yeah, uh laundry…I had to do laundry.” You answered plainly like the reason was simple. 

“And you had nothing else?” Miguel murmured as his eyelids lowered.

“Nothing. I figured you wouldn't mind me borrowing it for the night." You shrugged innocently. 

Miguel wrapped his arms around your waist, pulling you closer to him. The palm of your hands rested on his chest. 

He hummed. "Nope, don't mind at all." 

You smiled up at him, you stood up on the tip of your toes and wrapped your arms around his neck. Even with the slight comfort his shirt gave you, nothing compared to actually having him close to you.

You leaned in and your lips met in a soft sweet kiss. Miguel's grip tightened around your frame as his hands roamed your body and squeezed whatever skin he could grip. Which made him aware of something else. 

He gently pulled away from your lips, causing you to look up at him confused. 

"Are…are you wearing…just my shirt?" 

Miguel's grip tightened unconsciously when you bit your bottom lip. 

"Mmmaayybee…" 

Miguel tilted his head to the side and raised his eyebrow. 

"Oh, you can't judge me. You put a lot of faith into a hologram suit every day in public." 

Miguel chuckled as he grabbed under your thighs and lifted you off the ground, wrapping your legs around his waist.

"I'm not saying anything, mi cariño. There's something I would…much rather do instead." 

Which was the last thing he said before rushing you to your shared bedroom; while your laughter echoed through the home. 

[roanofarcc]

PROJECT SUNSHINE CHAPTER FIFTY EIGHT → I NEVER GREW UP, IT’S GETTING SO OLD

summary: steve harrington x oc

when another product of Hawkins National Laboratory escaped a long-survived nightmare alongside her sister, she crashed into one unsuspecting teenage boy and dragged him deeper into the dark mysteries that made up their hometown.

word count. 3.9k || masterlist || ocs moodboard

warnings: cannon typical violence, child abuse, horror, gore, and depictions of mental illness. parts of this story were written pre-season 4 release. cannon divergence.

a/n. and fifty eight chapters later...

previous chapter ← → next chapter

Rays of setting sunlight poured through the open window of Sunshine’s bedroom, bathing everything inside in a soft, golden glow. A light breeze fluttered the curtains, letting in the smell of freshly cut grass. Sunshine absentmindedly toyed with her necklace as she watched the tree leaves sway gently, sitting in her bed with her legs stretched out over her comforter. In her lap rested Max’s head. She was quiet, too quiet, as Sunshine brushed her fingers through the redhead’s waving locks in an attempt to ease some of the hurt that was wound up so tightly inside of Max. She looked so small curled up on Sunshine’s bed, wearing one of Steve’s sweatshirts that Sunshine had stolen a while ago; it fell just above Max’s knees and the sleeves covered her hands. 

On the edge of the bed sat El and Leia with their fingers working quickly to tie knots in strings to form friendship bracelets for everyone as their going-away gifts. The craft also worked as a nice distraction from the sadness that lingered heavily over all of Hawkins in the wake of Chief Hopper’s death that night at Starcourt. 

Sunshine hadn’t believed it at first; she refused to believe the news her parents broke to her a couple of days following the Fourth of July. It seemed impossible; none of them were supposed to die, not like that and not then. He had three children, a family, and a good life that wasn’t supposed to end so soon. But he was gone, just like that, and his death affected the town deeply, but not as much as it did the group who had been there that night. His children took the news like a dagger to the heart, and they were once again robbed of a promise of new life with Hopper in their little cabin in the woods. The building was in ruins, and he was gone, leaving Joyce to take in the three kids. She insisted that Hopper would have done the same for her boys if their roles were reversed. She brought El and the twins into her home and treated them as if they were her own, despite also reeling from Hopper’s death. The kids lost a father, and Joyce lost another man she loved. Hawkins was thrown completely off its axis.

“Hey, Max?” Leia's voice broke through the stillness of the bedroom. “Can you tell us what California’s like?” 

When the summer came to a close, the Byers-Hopper clan would move across the country and get a fresh start in California, away from all of their ghosts in Hawkins. Sunshine knew it was for the best, but the thought of her siblings being so far away hurt her heart. She kept a brave face for them, though, not wanting them to worry any more than they already did. 

Max shifted slightly and turned her head to look at El and Leia. “You guys will like it, especially if you’re close to the beach,” she said, her voice seemingly stuck somewhere between dreamy and pained. “It’s sunny, almost all of the time, and warm. You guys can learn to surf or skateboard. The people are pretty cool too. It’s…it’s just a lot different than Hawkins.” 

A small frown tugged on El’s lips as she braided her bracelet. “Why can you two just come with us?” 

Sunshine smiled sadly at her sister. “I wish we could, but you know we can’t.” She wasn’t done with Hawkins yet. Her parents were still there, and a single year of high school was waiting for her. Besides, she couldn’t leave Max or the remaining party member until she knew for sure that Hawkins was a safe place for them. There was also Steve and Nancy who would still be there; Sunshine couldn’t leave them either. “But,” she continued. “We’ll come to visit, and you guys will come back to see us. We’ll only be a call or radio away; it won’t even feel like we’re that far apart.”

Seated on the floor, surrounded by a series of journals, Luke and Will paused their reading of the various stories Sunshine had written. She had started writing as a way to cope with everything she had experienced and been through, but it had turned from recanting old horrors to creating alternative endings to the lives of the children from the Lab. She wrote them the happy endings they deserved; it proved to be more therapeutic than digging up bad memories, and according to Luke and Will, they were rather good. 

“The party’s splitting up,” Will said, followed with a heavy sigh. “We’ve never been without each other like that before.” 

“Just because you’re apart doesn’t mean you’ll stop being friends,” Sunshine said. The bond that the party had couldn’t be broken by some distance, not after everything. 

“I know,” said Will, his voice quiet. “I just, I don’t know. It’s scary.” 

“Yeah,” agreed Leia. “Moving is scary. Growing up is scary.” The kids all seemed to agree. 

“But think of it as a good kind of scary,” Sunshine offered. “You guys will get to see new things and meet new people. You’re not replacing us here, you’re just moving on, right? And then you’ll call us and tell us about all of it.” She didn’t want them to think that she or anyone who was staying in Hawkins felt like they were getting left behind. She wished that everything was happening under different circumstances, but they’d get through it and a fresh start would be good for them. 

“Are you guys going to be okay here?” asked Luke, looking between Sunshine and Max. The latter didn’t answer, she instead looked up at Sunshine. 

“Yes,” Sunshine said. “We’ll be okay.” 

A beat of silence passed between them. Luke played with the corner of a page from the journal for a moment before he said, “Can I ask you something, Sunshine?” 

“Anything, you know that.” 

He swallowed, dropping his gaze. “When you lost Ivy, how did you make it not hurt so bad?”

Sunshine sucked in a sharp breath. Loss was something that had long been twisted up inside of her, a familiar ache and space craved out of her heart left by Ivy. 

“I don’t think you ever make all of the hurt go away, not completely. That’s not really how it works.” And it shouldn’t work that way, she had come to realize. The loss of someone who showed you so much love and care was something you carried around close to your chest after they had left. “But you try to remember the good memories you had with them. Even though the Lab was scary, wherever I was with Ivy, it made it feel a lot less scary; that’s what I remember the most about her. That’s what I choose to keep with me.” That’s the version of Ivy Sunshine wanted to remember, the girl who wiped her tears away. 

“It was less scary with Hopper,” El whispered, looking down at the blue bracelet on her wrist that he had given her. 

“He loved you guys, you know that, right?” 

Leia nodded, but her face began to contort in anger. Her emotions sparked, causing Sunshine’s bedside lamp to flicker a couple of times. “We should have gotten more time with him. It’s not fair.” 

It wasn’t, and Sunshine wished she had all of the answers and the power to take away all of their pain and sadness that burned inside the kids, that burned through Hawkins. The town still smelled like sulfur and tragedy. 

“No, it’s not fair,” Sunshine sighed. “But if anyone can get through this and be okay, it’s all of you. And now you all have each other.” 

Will perked up slightly. “It’s like we’re all siblings now.” 

El held the faint glow of a smile on her lips. “Siblings.” 

Standing up abruptly from the bed, Max let out something between a cry and a groan of frustration. Sunshine reached for the girl, calling out her name softly, but Max staggered backward with a frantic shake of her head. 

“Hey,” Sunshine said. “It’s alright-”

“Not it’s not.” Max cut her off, choking on a sob. “It’s not! It’s not the same. Hopper was a good person. Billy wasn’t. I shouldn’t…I don’t…Ugh!” She ran her hands down the length of her face as tears pooled in her eyes. 

In the couple of month Sunshine had known Max, she learned Max was the kind of person to keep all of their feels close to their chest until she couldn’t handle it anymore. Max thought she could handle everything alone, but Sunshine wanted to know she didn’t have to do that. 

Sunshine scooted to the edge of her bed, in front of where Max stood. “It’s okay it be upset.” 

Grief was complicated. Billy had been a terrible person, even before the Mind Flayer infiltrated his brain. He had hurt Max, scared her too. But the death he suffered in front of all of their eyes was hard to grapple with. Sunshine didn’t know what had happened to him until days later, when she was in a slightly better condition. Billy had died at the hands of the monster, trying to come back to his uncontrolled self. The second she passed out, the Mind Flayer jutted towards El but Billy had been standing in its way and tried to hold it off for just a second before the Gate was closed and it was all over. Max had watched her stepbrother die, brutally, and no matter what kind of person he had been, it still had to hurt.

“That’s the problem,” Max cried. “I don’t think I’m as upset as I should be. I don’t know. It’s like I feel…I feel kind of relieved but not in a good way, exactly. I just…I don’t know what or how to feel.” She wiped the tears on her cheeks away with the sleeves of the hoodie before she hugged her arms close to her chest, curling into herself. “He tried to kill all of us.” 

“When he was possessed,” Will reminded her, knowing the best out of everyone what Billy had gone through. 

Max shook her head. “He was shitty before that when he wasn’t. But now he’s dead and…and I…” 

“Max,” Sunshine said. A couple more tears slid down the girl’s cheeks before she broke down and fell back onto the bed, wrapping her arms around Sunshine and burying her head in the older girl’s chest. Sunshine held her tightly as El and Leia joined them. All four girls laid in a pile of sniffles and warm embraces. 

None of the kids deserved to spend the last few weeks of summer in mourning. They deserved to be outside, enjoying the warmth and freedom of summer before fall stepped in and they started in the uncharted waters of high school. Instead, they all were teary-eyed and more lost than they had ever been before. Sunshine could fight monsters and bad men all she wanted, but she couldn’t stop the pain that all of the kids felt; she couldn’t go back in time and stop it from ever happening in the first place. All she could do was be there to remind them that they weren’t alone in the world. 

They stayed huddled together until Max’s tears dried up and Sunshine’s arms went numb. Between the soft music that played from Sunshine’s radio and the gentle breeze that washed over them, the girls nearly dozed off until a soft knock came from the door, and in came Sunshine’s mom. The woman wore a small smile as she took in the scene before she said, “Walter just got home with the pizza if you guys are hungry.”

Luke and Will were quick to abandon the journals they were reading and stood to their feet at the mention of food. “Thanks again, Mrs. Torres, for letting us hang out here,” Will said. 

“It’s no trouble at all, sweetie. Anything to help out your mother.” Mary-Jane’s smile faltered at the mention of Ms. Byers. “You tell her that you’re always welcome here, and if she needs anything at all, to just give me a call, okay?” 

Will nodded and the boys slipped out of the bedroom to eat and probably have a long-winded conversation with Walter about anything and everything. He loved his daughter dearly, but he was outnumbered by women in his home, so when Will and Luke started to come around more to give Joyce some space to get everything in order for their move, Walter was overjoyed getting to converse with a couple of boys. 

“Someone stopped by to say hi,” Mary-Jane said, causing Sunshine to furrow her brows. From beside her mom, a familiar face popped into view with an arm full of flowers and a cheeky grin. 

“Steve?” Sunshine said in surprise. She sat up straighter in her bed and tried to brush down the frizzy pieces of white hair that stuck out in different directions. 

“Hey,” he greeted, stepping into her bedroom. “These are for you guys.” He passed out three different bouquets of flowers to all of the girls. The younger girls all took them with surprised faces and slightly rosy cheeks.

“You got these for us?” Max asked. Her voice was still watery and eyes rimmed red, and by the way Steve looked at her, he picked up on it. 

He smiled softly and said, “Of course, red. I thought they might cheer you guys up a little bit.” 

“Thank you,” Leia said as she stuck her nose into the bouquet.

“Pretty.” El smiled brightly. 

“Come on, girls, before the boys eat all of the pizza.” Mary-Jane ushered the younger girls out before she turned to Steve. “You’re more than welcome to stay for dinner, honey.” 

“Thank you. I just, um…” Steve trailed off, glancing over at Sunshine. 

Mary-Jane’s lips quirked upwards in a smile as she said, “I’ll leave you two,” and left Sunshine’s bedroom, leaving Steve and Sunshine alone for the first time since that night at Starcourt. They had seen each other since, but not without the company of one of the kids or at one of the many funerals for the people they lost that night. Sunshine had been put on house arrest. Her parents didn’t know the extent to which she was banged up, aside from the ugly bruises that decorated her face and neck. She tried to not let it show that there was a constant ringing in her ears and her mind felt even more battered than her face. There was a relentless pressure that continued to drum against her temples, and it sometimes caused her vision to swarm. She knew it would take longer than ever before to heal after her fight with the Mind Flayer, but she didn’t know how much longer she’d have to deal with the troubling after-effects. 

“These are for you.” Steve held out a bunch of roses tied together with a little white bow. They were beautiful and unexpected. She felt that familiar flutter inside her stomach that only ever happened around Steve, and a warmth that spread across her cheeks. “I was going to get you sunflowers, but that felt a little too on the nose.” 

She laughed and rested the flower on the nightstand, making a mental note to use one of the pretty crystal vases her mom kept stored in one of the kitchen cabinets. When the sunlight hit the vase, it reflected a rainbow. 

“Thank you.” She pulled her legs up to sit crisscross before she padded the space beside her. Steve took a seat, running a nervous hand through his hair. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, totally,” he replied, not so convincingly. Clearing his throat, he turned to look at Sunshine. “How are you feeling? I was talking to your dad, and he said you seemed a little better since the kids were hanging around.” 

She sighed softly and shrugged. She didn’t feel great, but she also didn’t necessarily feel sickly. Sunshine felt weird, that was the only word that seemed to describe it correctly. Weird. It was like something inside her mind was thrown off or knocked loose during her fight with the Mind Flayer. Ever since that night, she felt flighty, as if she was watching herself from outside her body; there was a disconnect somewhere inside of her that she couldn't quite explain. 

“I’m okay. Better than I was.” Glancing off to the side, she caught sight of herself in her mirror over her vanity. There were muddled green and blue bruises covering her nose and cheeks. The dark blotches contrasted harshly with her newly white hair that had no proper explanation. Dr. Owens had some of his medical professionals check out Sunshine, El, Leia, and Luke a couple of days later and found no direct diagnosis for how El’s abilities stopped working, Luke’s visions of the past, or Sunshine’s white hair. They were awfully unhelpful, deeming it as stress, which only really made sense of Sunshine, not her siblings. Something else was up with El and Luke, but they had enough on their plate, and subjecting them to more tests would only stress them out even more. So, Sunshine tried to get used to her new look, along with the fading bruises across her face and neck from where Billy had choked her. 

“I guess I don’t really look like it, huh?” 

“What’re you talking about? You almost look as good as me,” Steve said, gesturing his to own collections of bruises around his eye. 

Sunshine laughed lightly, unwinding some of the heaviness that weighed on her chest. A short beat of comfortable silence passed between them before Steve cleared his throat. “I, uh, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

“Yeah?” 

He looked nervous, toying with the fabric of her comforter under his hands and flickering his gaze between her and anywhere else in the room. “Well, you know how we had to cancel our date because of…well, everything?” Sunshine nodded. “I meant it when I said that I would make it up to you if we ever got out of that elevator.” 

Sunshine raised her brows in question. “Are you asking me out?” 

“Second time's a charm, I hope.” He chuckled but it faded quickly from his lips and his expression shifted into something a little more serious. “I realized something when I was hopped up on Russian drugs.” She winced as he hung his head. The doctors had found nothing seriously threatening in both Steve and Robin’s systems from the drugs the Russians gave them, but Sunshine still worried that there would be some kind of bad side-effects in the long run. He seemed fine, but she could tell there was still an air of slight panic whenever he or someone brought up the Russians. 

Steve shook his head. “No, that’s…that’s not how I wanted to start this. Forget I said that.” She said nothing, patiently waiting for him to find the right words. He sucked in a deep breath and started again. “When Robin and I ran off to the bathroom, we talked for a while, just about life and stuff. And when I was talking, everything just kind of tumbled out, stuff that didn’t fully realize until that moment. But then everything else happened so fast. We got split up. Then Billy and the Mind Flayer and you…” He trailed off, gazing intently at his lap for a moment before he closed his eyes with a heavy sigh. Sunshine scooted closer and grabbed his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze and encouraging him to continue. 

“You were just lying there, and it was like, all of that stuff I realized hit me, hard. I thought I wouldn’t get the chance to tell you. I mean, you were…we thought you were…” Dead, she finished inside her head. Either one of them said it aloud, but it was what they both were thinking. Sunshine thought she died too, by the way she felt. But she hadn’t; she had been one of the lucky ones that night, all things considered. 

Still holding his hand, Sunshine leaned forward just slightly, getting him to meet her eyes. “I’m right here, Steve,” she reminded him. “You can tell me now.” 

He stared at her, eyes swarmed with something she didn’t quite know. “You’re my best friend,” he said in a rushed breath like he’d been holding it back for so long it hurt. “You were my best friend when we were little, and you still are now. And even when you were gone, I felt like something important was missing from my life, but I couldn’t figure it out. Then you came back, and even with all of the crazy shit that’s happened, it was like everything made scene again with you here.

“I should have told you how important you were to me a long time ago, but I was scared because I didn’t know how you felt, or if I did, that I would lose you again. But then, that night, I thought we did lose you, and I was never going to get the chance to tell you any of it. I thought I wouldn’t get to tell you how much I like you, Sunshine. But I do. I really, really like you.” 

Sunshine sat speechless for a moment. Her heart felt like it was going to spring from her chest. Her face felt hot, and no proper words came to her mind. In all honesty, she had no idea what was doing until she began to do it, burning with emotions that made her brain feel fuzzy. Her next movements were fast, not very well planned, and clumsy. She leaned forward even more, quickly grasping the sides of Steve’s face, and pulling him close until her lips met his. She tried to remember every romantic movie El made her watch, but the second Steve’s surprise faded, his hands found her waist, and he kissed her back, everything in her brain melted.

There wasn’t some intense explosion like fireworks that ignited inside of her; it was softer than that, sweeter even. The kiss felt like the sun that set warmly outside, slow and in no rush but still bright and illuminating. Unlike all of the fights they endured and the complicated nature of their lives, in that moment, everything felt very simple and easy. It was only the two of them, together, and that was more than enough. 

After a couple of seconds, they pulled back, coming up for air and resting their foreheads together in a fit of smiles. 

“I really like you too,” Sunshine whispered. 

“I’m not totally convinced. You might have to kiss me again, you know, to really prove it.” 

She laughed but was swiftly cut off by Steve closing the small gap between them again. That kiss was still slow, but they were a little surer of themselves. They fit together with ease after an entire summer spent in a limbo of feelings and plenty of ‘almosts.’ Sunshine felt lighter; he was a bright spot in the dreary town, her own sunshine. 

Maybe nothing would ever be normal for them, as if it had ever been in the first place. But her siblings weren’t the only ones who would be getting a fresh start. 

Sunshine thought back to the girl she had been in the Lab, and how she wished she could have seen what the future had in store for her. At eighteen, years older than Subject Seven thought she’d live to, in a home with parents who loved her, siblings safe, and in front of a boy who made her feel wanted in ways the little girl never would have believed. Things were far from perfect, but her life was hers. 

Tagged. @sattlersquarry , @leptitlu , @two-sides-samecoin

[oviraptoridae]

steel towers grow like corals at the edge of the end of the world

detailed process breakdown under the cut:

this is a location from silversea, the (inhales) work-in-progress troika-compatible post-apocalyptic science-fantasy TTRPG slash worldbuilding project i'm developing + running for a few of my friends. i've posted a drawing of this landscape before! someone asked for me to go into my process for digital collage in gimp, so i made sure to document the creation of this piece.

usually i start by gathering a bunch of images from wikimedia commons and by searching on duckduckgo images & filtering for creative commons licensed images. i wanted to start with a surreal landscape that looked more wrong the longer you inspected it, so this time i started by generating a background with commoncanvas (the stable diffusion model trained entirely on creative commons images, more on that here)

this was the final result. i didn't tweak it too much because i wanted the geometry to look unrealistic and warped. through the upscaling process it lost some of the early cgi look, which was sad, so i'll have to work more on trying to retain that.

interesting tangent: at 20% desert and 80% coral reef, a smooth cone briefly turns into a pyramid.

anyway, i decided i wanted it to look like you were on the edge of this environment, not in the middle, so i made some terrain in blender:

this was just a plane that i subdivided a bunch, pulled some vertices around with proportional editing to make dune shapes, and then decimated the faces to get back to a low poly look. i prefer that method to staying low poly the whole time, i feel as though i have more control over the shape.

the texture is a free tiling sand texture i found online, recolored and scaled down to make it pixelated, and then blended with vertex colors to add a little variation. it's very simple and took me maybe 30 minutes of actual work (the rest of the time spent trying to remember how to use material nodes).

this is the point where i took it into gimp and flipped & scaled the terrain until i liked the composition. i'm not bothered about the shadows not matching up, it just adds to how out of place the surreal terrain looks.

next is color correction, but i forgot to take a screenshot of that before adding the next part. gimp has a little fractal generator hidden in the filters tab, and i used that to make a swirling pattern that i overlaid over the sky, masking it selectively so it looked like it was getting thicker with distance. going for an "annihilation" look to the whole thing.

at this point i'm happy with the image and i go on to post processing. this is the part where tumblr's image compression is not doing me any favors, but oh well. when i make glitch art, there are a bunch of filters that are my favorite, but i don't usually use all of them on an image.

first off, i scale the image to 50%, add dithering (3-4 colors per channel looks nicest to me), then scale back up to the original resolution with no interpolation.

then i add "wind" (under the "distorts" option). it makes a cool pixel-sorted effect. at high levels it looks super cool...

but i keep it pretty subtle for this one.

the "video degradation" effect makes the image either too bright or too dark. i like the lcd screen look though. so i use a mask to turn it into a vignette.

i also added bloom at some point during the process, but i don't remember when. i also took the original image before all the glitch effects and overlaid it with the "chroma" blending mode to bring back some of the color that had been lost.

this was a pretty simple collage, but i didn't want to make the post too long. most of my collages involve a lot of moving things around, testing different compositions and images before i decide on a final product.

this image took like 8 hours to make, for example. most of it was spent perfecting the grainy filter.

other gimp effects i didn't use here but i like include deinterlace (which you can use on a non-interlaced image to add deinterlacing artifacts), sample colorize (lets you use another image as a color source to gradient map onto an image), alien map (can't explain. just use it. move the sliders very slowly if you are sensitive to strobing lights), and value propagation (like a very small radius blur that you can tweak in interesting ways to soften an image without losing graininess or pixelated-ness)

i hope this was helpful/informative!

[queenofbaws]

as someone who is SO GOOD at forgetting i was tagged in stuff immediately after being tagged in stuff, i thought i'd go ahead and fill this puppy out while it was fresh in my mind ;)c hehehe thanks for the tag @phenanthreneblue!!!!!!!!

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

156 😎 and hopefully no sign of slowing, lol. i've been writing and posting fic since aboooooout 2007 though, so. do with that as you will.

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

it's. um. it's. uh. a lot. ahem. it's a lot.

(1,923,174)

3. What fandoms do you write for?

currrrrrrrrently the supermassive universe and dragon age, but i'm slowly adding the remedyverse in there, and silent hill pops up from time to time!!! and in ye olden days, i wrote a LOT for kingdom hearts. i've been CONSIDERING adding horizon to the list too, but...only time will tell, hehehe ;P

4. Top five fics by kudos

the (almost)s; who ya gonna call? not these creeps.; my fav part of summer camp [not clickbait!]; lipstick stains & coffee cups; yes, no, maybe so: circle one and let me know!

5. Do you respond to comments?

i do! i figure if you took the time to read AND let me know how you felt about my work, then by golly, i'm gonna tell you how much YOU made me smile :)c i've met some pretty cool people thanks to the comment section, hehe

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

aw man, probably alone time, right? probably alone time. i'm sure there was some extremely angsty stuff in my kingdom hearts days, but lord help me i am old and i have forgotten a lot of that

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

well, the durellion affair ends with everyone getting to eat as much cheese as they want, so i think that fits the bill!!! 🧀

8. Do you get hate on fics?

nah. i've been crazy lucky that, aside from the occasional (and likely unintentional) insensitive comment, people have always been super kind with my stuff <3 the deviantart days were a slightly different story, but why relive THAT time period, i ask you?????

9. Do you write smut?

nope. i'm not, like, opposed, i just don't think it would be good, and i've yet to write something where i felt it would add anything, so. nah. there are so many other things i can do to earn that m rating ;)

10. Craziest crossover?

for sure did an organization xiii/sweeney todd crossover once, in the long-long ago asldkjflsakdjf recently, though, i guess i'd have to say reading & other fun rituals was a VERY self-indulgent way for me to smash the remedyverse and supermassive universes together!!!

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

eh, every time one of those "this site is scraping people's fics!" posts goes around, i end up finding my stuff, but in terms of bumping into an individual nabbing something i've written? not that i'm aware of! (i like to believe anyone reading would recognize the overabundance of adjectives and come tell me, ha!!!)

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

i've had people ask, but i've never seen a finished product, so probably not! i tend to write pretty long stuff, though, and i wouldn't wish that kind of work on anyone alsdkjflaskdjfksljfd

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

i have! none that are posted currently, but i've for sure co-written in the past. i'm also slowly but surely co-writing a fun little thing over here with my buds where our (totally cool and DEFINITELY not overpowered) self-inserts have fun being npcs in the federal bureau of control, so...keep your eyes peeled for that, heheheheh

14. All time favourite ship?

right now? varric tethras and f!hawke 🥺 at this point in time, i only have eyes for them

15. What's a wip you want to finish but doubt you ever will?

sigh. soft reset 😔 it's a big ol' silent hill 2 timeloop fic that i started back in 2015 i think, and as much as i WANT to finish it...i haven't felt the silent hill muse strike in a hot minute. maybe once the remake comes out.

16. What are your writing strengths?

oh, i like to flatter myself that i'm pretty solid when it comes to character voices/interactions 😉 it's why i do so many character studies, honestly - i just *clenches fist* love studying characters!!! i also think my dialogue's fun

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

how much time do you HAVE??? hehehe i feel like i flounder when it comes to straight up-and-down fluffy/shippy stuff, like if the focus of a story is, for example, some sort of romantic gesture, i'm fairly lost. i'm also HORRENDOUS when it comes to keeping things concise, and god help me, every time i have to delete a passage and kill my darlings, i am miserable, so i tend to just...not do that

also? just putting it out there because i do consider it a weakness in regards to writing: sometimes my self-esteem with posting stuff is just. MISERABLE. so i have a tendency to get anxious before, during, and after hitting the post button, just really wallowing in those good, good I'M A FRAUD feelings, lmfao. i'm working on it, though!!! i love writing so much, sometimes the irrational part of my brain just worries i'm not Doing It Right, hahahaha

18. Thoughts on dialogue in another language?

no one's done it better than the thing (1982) and no one ever will

19. First fandom you wrote in?

proooooobably kingdom hearts??? don't quote me on that, though, it very much could've been x-men: evolution asdlkfjsalkjf (those just never saw the light of day)

20. Favorite fic you've written?

c'moooooon. the (almost)s :)

i'm gonna go ahead and tag...hmm... @love-fireflysong @jadedsunshine @unicornaffair @big-ass-magnet @mrs-theirin @theartofdreaming1 @icequeen-07 @chris-hartley and anyone - yes, i mean ANYONE - who wants to talk about their stuff ;) especially YOU!!!

[itsclydebitches]

for all that it's very clear RWBY took influence from a lot of anime, the writers sure don't seem to have learned much of anything from it. i'm watching the redub of the classic sailor moon anime right now, and it's insane to me how much better this thirty-year-old anime packed with filler was at things like character arcs and believably redeeming villains and having a main character that is at once childish and yet a great leader who, when the chips are down, could talk some of the worst evils in the universe down from their plans.

if anyone could talk salem out of her plans for world annihilation by just being able to love her, it's usagi tsukino.

Right? Man, I'd pay for a high-budget, animated version of that crossover lol.

That's one of the big arguments of the Why RWBY is Disappointing vid though, using Cowboy Beebop as an example, if I remember correctly. There's no doubt that RWBY has been influenced by a number of classic series, but deliberately mimicking something that worked in another show doesn't guarantee success, particularly if you don't understand why it worked in the first place. I'm constantly emphasizing that stories are whole products made up of a thousand smaller pieces, like a puzzle or a patchwork quilt, and simply slapping one piece down because it looks good in another story isn't enough. You have to carefully build everything around that piece so that it fits into the unified whole. Continuity, world building, characterization, setup... RWBY is very good at throwing out those "cool" moments, but it does none of the work ahead of time (or, just as often, after the fact) to make those moments satisfying outside of the initial adrenaline rush of watching.

Plus, RWBY is over-crowded nowadays. Characters, mysteries, real world issues, and those "cool" ideas have populated like bunnies until, I think, it's easy for a lot of fans to just get swept up in the spectacle of it all. The simpler your story is, the less there is to hide behind, which is why I think a lot of manga like Sailor Moon still rings true 30+ years later. If you do right by your core concepts and prove to the reader (often subconsciously) that your storytelling skills are strong, it will resonate even after new generations have different expectations in their media, or these ideas have become "cliche" in wake of that initial popularity. If we go with a food comparison (always my favorite lol) Sailor Moon makes me think of something like good home cooking. Looking at it now it's simple, it's straightforward, it has some technical flaws, but the comparatively low number of ingredients have all been treated stunningly well and there is an insane amount of love poured into the dish. Meanwhile, later seasons of RWBY feel like a semi-successful restaurant serving a special so long it took the server a week to fully memorize it, rattling off an absurd number of ingredients and fancy techniques used until you're not even sure what the dish is supposed to be anymore. Some diners go, "Wow, what an amazing, clearly high-end dish! And they've included this super rare ingredient which means it must be good." Meanwhile, others are going, "... Honestly, that sounds like Too Much. I'd have preferred a simple, well-done pasta." And all the while the restaurant—which is pretty big and popular now, garnering a lot of critical attention—is trying to pass this complicated, fancy-for-the-sake-of-fancy dish off as the product of a humble, mom-and-pop establishment. No, you used to serve that kind of food: simple, technically flawed in a lot of ways, but with so much love poured into the dish that most diners didn't care. Now people suspect that your chefs are miserable and we definitely know they're overworked, so even if that insane dish would have tasted great to certain pallets, it was doomed before it even left the kitchen.