#we'll go with ~15 because it is the best i can do. now. if we assume yata had 5 kids in 5 years (technically doable but no fucking wonder

[archersgoon]

went looking for yata quotes because finnikins gilf hunter moment remains one of his best. am now doomed to yata math torment

[shopwitchvamp]

Despairing frustrated rage about tariffs, and only having bad choices ahead:

I've been avoiding making this post for some time now, but today in the latest tariff threats we're staring down the barrel of an additional 25% tariff being put in place on April 2nd for any country that imports Venezuelan oil. If it actually happens that'll put tariffs on Chinese made goods up to 45% (as far as I understand it at least..) and with that, we will have certainly passed the point that I can continue to just eat costs and hope to hold on until things calm down again someday maybe.

With that said we'll be facing a number of pretty much only bad choices in figuring out how to survive this.

A look at those and what might have to change soon under the cut-

I'll be at a decision point on April 2nd, if +25% tariffs happen on top of the 20% that's already in place. Here's the potential actions I'll have to take to keep the shop from crashing & burning within a few months:

1) Raising prices. Well it's obvious that this would be one way to deal with costs going up. Even if my costs are going up 45%, I can't exactly raise prices by 45% and expect anyone to want (or be able) to buy our clothes though. But price increases of 10-20% would have to happen to keep the business sustainable. This would look like mini/skater skirts going from $49.99 to $59.99 (+20%), midis/joggers going from $64.99 to $74.99 (+15%), and maxis going from $69.99 to $79.99 (+14%). I don't want to do this, I will not be making more profit from this (profit would still be down compared to pre-tariffs), and I don't expect it to be received well, but if tariffs are in fact that high.. I don't see any way around a price increase.

2) Not keeping D Size on hand / Additionally raising the price on D Size. So the first part of this, not keeping D Size on hand, already happens at times because certain designs sell so rarely in that size that I can't justify ordering D Size anymore. I always make it available during preorders though, and if any preorders come in for D Size then I'll always get at least a little extra of them (if nothing else than because I usually have to order more than what comes in for preorders to hit the order minimum). I will need to consider making this the way things work deliberately and all of the time because I can't afford the higher cost of D Size only to have it end up sitting in our inventory and not selling when it's on hand. To give an example, D Size skater skirts cost me nearly twice as much as A or B Size. I've been relying on things averaging out alright since I sell so many more A/B/C than D, but with the potential of +45% costs in tariffs it will make D Size so much more expensive that this no longer works. I'll be approching a point of losing money on D Size, and unfortunately the quickest way to lower my average cost is to not order D Size as often. For part two of this one, I could consider raising the price for D Size in the shop so that it's not affecting the overall cost average as much. It may come to that, but I don't think it's the best or most useful idea because I know it will not only upset people- it will also drive down D Size demand even lower, and when it's already the size that sells the least it makes it make even less sense to keep D Size on hand most of the time. So we circle back around to probably just making D Size available mainly during preorder & not keeping them on hand.

3) Purposefully scaling down. There's three parts to this one. One has to do with guest artists, one has to do with my partner, and one is just the scale of the business altogether. For guest artists- with tariffs cutting into profit margins I may end up at a point of not having much to pay them (profits are split 50/50) for their art or to pay me & my partner for our work. We were starting to plan another large collection including guests artists for this summer, but I'm having to rethink if it will be possible or if it makes any sense now. Projects like that might need to be put off until the situation changes. For my partner- my partner was able to quit his job in 2022 and since then he's worked with me full time on the business. If things start looking rocky enough, he would be looking at job hunting for at least part time IT work and pulling back on how involved he is with the business. For the business as a whole- I had a lot of plans in the works for new designs, new collabs, new collections, new types of clothing, etc etc. and all of that could have to be put off, slowed down, or not happen at all. Especially if my partner ends up going back to a "regular" job, I'd be looking at returning the shop to something more like how it was in the 2020-2021 era. Far less new releases, less restocks, keeping less inventory on hand, and so on. Because money/tariffs aside, I would have to go back to handling most things on my own and I can't operate at our current scale solo.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading and I hope I haven't instilled too much fear & panic. We are doing ok right now. We can keep doing ok for at least a few more months even if the tariffs happen. But I want to keep you all informed about what things my look like further down the line. It really sucks to have been doing so well and grown so much over the past few years and to have it all crushed seeminly overnight, but that's what we might be facing. I'll do my best to keep Witch Vamp alive even if it means going backwards to where it's more of a hobby level project and not a livelihood sustaining kind of thing. Then maybe in the future we can power back up when conditions are better..

And who knows, since things are so chaotic and uncertain there's always the chance we luck out and don't get hit with a bunch of this stuff. Right now chances are sounding slim.. but it's possible.

I'll let you all know how things are looking when we maybe know more on April 2nd. See ya then 🖤

[howi99]

From the Nest 15

Blake: *Entering her team dorm, thinking about what happened during lunchtime* (Adam told me his friend was a blond human around our age. With him being from Mistral... And how he fought Cardin-) *hearing voices coming from the rooftop* ?

_ _ _

Blake: *sneakily approaching the voices, recognizing Jaune's but not the second one*

???: -still believe her to be the maiden. *Annoyed* Honestly, why did you do that!?

Blake: *Peek, seeing a Woman with Black hair looking eerily like Yang* (Who is that!?)

Jaune: *sigh* Because, Raven, had i not separated her soul from it, i wouldn't have been able to heal her!

Blake: (Raven? Like his bird? And what are they talking about?)

Raven: If Ozpin learns about your ability-

Jaune: Then he'll need me even more. *Lighting up a cigarette by tapping the tip with his finger, his right eye shining with magic for a second* The more bargaining chips we have, the better we'll fare, right? *Giving it to Raven, lighting one for himself with a chuckle* Although, what would that make me? A bachelor? A manservant?

Blake: *confused* (Wait, wasn't his semblance aura amp? What did he just do? Why so many questions!?!)

Raven: *take a puff of smoke, then sigh* You know we can see you, right?

Blake: ... *Blink* Wha-

Jaune: *point to her "hiding spot"* Blake, your bow is sticking out.

Blake: ... *Embarrassed* How long did you-

Jaune: When you gasped for air while being amazed by my little magic "trick". *Shake his head with a smirk* Did nobody teach you to not listen when people are having a private conversation?

Blake: *bashful* It wasn't my intention at first...

Raven: *looking at Jaune* That's your White Fang friend?

Blake: *taking one step back* How did you know!?

Jaune: *confused* ... You are a faunus trying to lay low... And i checked online; there's not a thousand Blake Belladonna you know?

Blake: ... I knew i should have changed my name!

Jaune: *smile* Also, Adam told me a lot about you!

Blake: ... He did WHAT!?

_ _ _

Jaune: -and that's why i'm here.

Blake: ...

Jaune: *Scratching his head* You weren't really supposed to see that, but i guess since i know your secret, you should be alright with keeping mine under wraps, right?

Blake: *looking at the bird perching at the top of his head* She turned into a bird...

Jaune: That's not important right now-

Blake: I just saw a fully grown woman turn into a raven, i discovered magic exists and i also learned my partner and my best friend have known one another for years. AND THAT SON OF A BITCH KNEW MAGIC EXISTED AND DIDN'T TELL ME!?

Jaune: ... *Sigh* That's going to be a long night.

[notscarsafe]

OKAY SO what with the TWO new Hermits implied by the updated banner I will say that, though the Skizz truthers have me convinced, I now have room to do my own crazy red string monologue and throw my hat in for my choice

1) Mythical J. Sausage (the J is silent) is a multitalented S-tier builder that absolutely deserves to be shoulder to shoulder with the Hermits. The man does buildings, interiors, terraforming, custom trees, and he does them SO WELL.

2) The production values!!! Beautiful replay mod sequences with shifting camera perspectives, shaders, music that sets the tone for each segment that's different from series to series. He already has more than a million followers on YouTube and for good reason!!

3) He has been SO consistent lately. He started a hardcore world about three months ago (about the time you might expect the Hermits to finalize their s10 choices maybe...???) and already has 15 episodes and hasn't gotten involved in any other big content. (He did just start playing a little of the BCG server but from what I understand that's super casual /copium copium copium).

4) That hardcore world is conveniently about to reach a good "pause" point. He started his world on a cherry blossom biome island that he's filled with a medieval village and starter farms, he's said it's almost full and what's left is the castle. I'm guessing the new season will start the first week of February, so if Sausage puts out a video this week building out that Castle and finishing that island it will be MIGHTY CONVENIENT TIMING.

5) This man can GRIND. His Hardcore world hasn't even been going half a year and he's built... So much??? Magnificent! And when he was on the Hermitcraft server he did the Razorcrest for scar AND the player head baby yoda/stormtrooper merch AND the noteblock themesong AND still built in the xmas village and other "diamond of peace" and so many other shenanigans. Did the man even sleep? He can grind with the best of them.

6) He can do redstone, too! Maybe not unique designs, I honestly don't know, but he builds farms for build materials no problem.

7) The DRAMA this man loves his improv and his backstory and trauma lore! For every series he does! Can you imagine if he gets to interact with Ren for an extended period of time, what that would do to them, to us?? Give Martyn a run for his money!!

8) Which brings me to my next point, which is that Sausage is already One of The Gang, because he's been in series with so many of the Hermits already! Empires and the crossover, obviously, but also Pirates with Cleo and Origins with Scar, and he's even done MCC! Joel is the only other player with the same depth of different series but there are other people truthing him already.

9) The EPIC BROMANCE with Pearl. My god the devotion of this man to his sunflower goddess bestie. I would try to do ot justice but y'all have seen floweroflaurelins work, you already know.

10) He's already a PG streamer but with HILARIOUSLY PG-13 tendencies. Imagine him and Cleo cracking each other up at an HHH stream, *grips your shoulders* IMAGINE IT.

11) Sausage comes with his own mascot in the form of interdimensional dog extraordinaire Bubbles, but he's also just an animal lover on general. Mans drinks his "I love Jellie" juice and had her in his world even before the sad news of her loss.

12) Diversity win! No one should be hired just for their gender, race, sexuality etc etc unless it's truly necessary to the job, but we were all happy when more women got added to the server in s8 and I know a lot of people would be happy to see some ethnic diversity added, too.

... That bulletin board had a lot more pins in it than I thought it did but anyway MYTHICALSAUSAGE TRUTHERS/ALL OTHER TRUTHERS RISE UP SPEAK YOUR TRUTH! we'll only get to wildly speculate for a few weeks so we might as well make it everyone else's problem ENJOY IT TO THE FULLEST!!

[brucewaynehater101]

I'll admit I love the dadification of Tim by bruce, but I also love tim being much more of a perfectionist and being more efficient than Bruce.

And Bruce would say he loves it- but like. He now sees the problem with working with himself.

__________

A mission goes completely sideways, and it wasn't as if it was the first time it happened. In fact, in the end, they still fulfilled their objectives... just... not in the way they were supposed to do.

"...are you mad at me?" Bruce asks, fingers holding on to the bat-steering wheel so hard he could swear they were white under his black glove.

If he was with Jason or Dick, he'd know his answer. 'No, I'm not mad. I'm disappointed' because it was a gentle answer. It was the right answer. He was a father, a trying one, at least. He could be gentle. He could be nice.

Tim, however, could not.

"What do you *think*, genius?"

Bruce flinches. It's been a while since he felt the familiar signs of tears in his eyes. He forces himself not to cry. He was a *grown man*, he refused to feel shamed by a 15 year old's scolding - a rough glove strokes at the wetness on his cheek.

Tim sighs. "Bruce, cmon. Don't cry. I promise I'm not mad at you, okay? I just-- I got in a bad mood and it was wrong of me to take it out on you. I'm sorry, okay? You did great, Bruce!" Tim smiles at him.

Bruce hears himself sniffle. *God*. He can't believe he's crying. Tim's eyes widen in a panic. "Hey, hey, cmon! No more tears, big guy! I'll ask Alfred to whip up some of your favorites, how about it? And if he can't do it then we can always just order out, right? What do you want, Bruce?" Tim hits the autodrive and wraps his arms around him.

He cannot believe he's crying in a teenager's arms right now.

"We'll be home in a bit, and you did a great job, I promise. I'm not mad at you, in fact! I'm proud!" Something feels lighter in Bruce's chest. He squishes it down.

Tim takes off Bruce's cowl and strokes his hair. "Repeat after me, I did good. Say it Bruce."

"...I did good." Bruce grumbles, leaning into Tim's touch.

Tim smiles at him teasingly. "Didn't hear you, B. Say it louder."

Bruce frowns. "I did good." He says firmly.

"Good job, B!" Tim laughs.

The batmobile slows to a stop in the cave. "Oh look, we're home." Tim remarks casually, as if he didn't have an armful of a teary grown-up. "Let's go, Bruce. You go wash up while I update the logs."

Bruce nods.

Tim walks off to the computer, and for the first time in a long while, Bruce feels small and happy again.

Fuck. I love how this highlights that Tim wouldn't be a perfect father, especially considering some of his "bad" habits or behaviors. He'd try and he'd correct, but, like all parents, he's bound to mess up every once in awhile. It happens. The best part is that Tim corrects his behavior, admits fault, and tries to make up for it.

Good parenting, Tim! (genuine)

We could add on that Tim is a teenager. Emotions are heightened because puberty is a fucking asshole. So, he may occasionally take his frustrations out on Bruce (in this AU). He may suddenly burst into tears, worrying Bruce, or feel the intense need to scream.

He's not gonna be the best fantastic dad (especially since he really shouldn't be parenting an adult as he's a teen), but he's gonna try.

It'd also be cool to see Tim, in learning to gentle parent, eventually gentle parenting himself and teaching Bruce to utilize the same methods with his kids (also, I can go on a full fucking rant on how it shouldn't be named "gentle parenting" cause it's really "paying forward parenting," but I'm not gonna).

Anyways, the scene you wrote was really sweet and I very much enjoyed it

[songmingisthighs]

Maudit

introduction pt. i | pt. ii | pt. iii

<< previous | m.list | next >>

ch. lxviii - 119 on speed dial

cursed!jongho × reader

genre : mythology!au, smau

rating : mature; crude jokes and filthy language

wc : 1.3 k

a/n : i got lucky with this plot oh my ghawddd

buy me coffee ?

so long i've been here, so long are the stories i've written. of what i gathered and lost, loneliness becomes me and pain refuse to depart from me. i've embraced that which ate me away so when you came along, i had no part of me left to give.

The party went splendidly to say the least.

Everything that was planned went on without a hitch, but maybe it went a little too well because by the end of the night, you had to stuff three useless men into three cabs and send them, HOPEFULLY, home. Truly the boys were absolutely useless because you, Wonyoung, and Liz were the only three left to take care of the mess.

After the boys were (somewhat) safely sent home, it was your turn to leave. You had planned on going home a bit later, knowing that Wonyoung's birthday celebration would continue until midnight to also celebrate her other friend's birthday. But if you stayed out, you knew Jongho would just stay up and wait for you, going as far as to pick you up himself. So you decided to tap out at 11 pm and true to your prediction, Jongho told you that he had been waiting at a 24-hour cafe 15 minutes from where you were so OBVIOUSLY he was going to pick you up.

So there you were, outside the barbeque place with Wonyoung, enjoying the night air while Liz stay at the table, nursing her meat hangover.

"Thank you so much for tonight, it was the best birthday/going away party ever!" Wonyoung beamed, locking her arm with yours. You smiled back and nudged her hips with yours gently, "You're very welcome, but it was a group effort. So you ABSOLUTELY know that the meat fest was not my nor Liz's idea." She chuckled at your words and nodded, "Yeah... I kind of have the feeling that the men were behind this because had it been your or Liz's idea, we would have pretty food at a pretty location. But this is nice too," then she let out a long sigh, "I'm gonna miss this when I'm away for my internship." Seeing her sad even for just a bit made you feel bad and you immediately consoled her. "Hey, don't be so down about that! It's not like we're going to immediately lose contact or whatever. We're going to still be friends and when you come back, we'll go out like this again!" Your words seem to bring comfort to Wonyoung because a small smile blooms on her face, "Scratch that, I think I'll miss you the most." You rolled your eyes at her but didn't say anything back to that.

"You know, you should really stay a bit longer. I'm sure Yujin unnie would love to have you together with us to celebrate and we can spend more time together before I get busy with packing and preparing to go abroad!" she batted her eyes at you and as bad as you felt for her, you were thinking more about Jongho. "I'm sorry Wony but I can't, Jongho is already on his way and I don't want to make him wait for too long! He should be here soon anyway," you pouted.

Hearing his name made Wonyoung's lip twitch in amusement. "Oh? Mr. Bossman Choi is picking you up at this hour now, is he? And are you two going home together? Wind down together? Do other... Things together?" Her mischievous tone made you blush as you couldn't help but let your mind be shoved into an... interesting territory. You shoved her away slightly, making her laugh in amusement, "Oh my God, not this again!" you huffed, "Haven't I had enough teasing from Taehyun and Hyunjin? Not to mention Mingi has been quite annoying about this as well." you pouted. Wonyoung shook her head and bumped her shoulder on yours, "It's amusing! I see how happy and comfortable you are with him and It's obvious you're smitten with him! It's adorable, (y/n), truly, I love that for you."

It was one thing to feel your feelings about Jongho but to hear someone affirming it made you feel all... giddy. You wonder if it's time to finally face your feelings and talk about them with Jongho.

"Oh, hey!" Wonyoung's voice cut through your train of thoughts, "I asked my mom about this and she gave it to me as a birthday present!"

Your eyes zeroed in on her finger that was pointing at the necklace with its pendant resting just under her collarbone. "Oh my God," you gasped, taking out the necklace Jongho had allowed you to wear to see the similar-looking logo. Where yours had a horse, hers had an additional Chinese letter.

"They're so similar... Other than the Chinese letter," you pointed out, still in awe. Wonyoung looked down and smiled at her necklace, "Yeah, that's the Hanja for my family name, even the box where this necklace was stored had it as well. Whoever packaged it had to be a true aesthetic genius because- oh my God, I can't even explain it with words. Anyway, I was told that this necklace had been passed down from one daughter who was born during the full moon to the next. There had only been a handful so it was kept a secret amongst the patriarch until the next daughter was ready to receive it. My dad had shown me this necklace when I was little so that's why yours caught my eye," she explained.

While the historical nerd side of you found her lore intriguing, so much so that you wanted to ask more questions, something felt odd. There was a tugging in your heart and you couldn't figure out why.

The oddness multiplied when she touched your necklace and it began to glow. Like an actual glow as if someone had shoved a flashlight through it. Then her own necklace started glowing very brightly to the point that it almost blinded you.

Both necklaces probably glowed for only a couple of seconds but to you, it felt as if it happened for five straight minutes because it made you extremely disoriented. When you came to, you were still trying to blink away the blinding pain but the first sight you saw was Wonyoung looking up at the sky with her eyes glistening as tears threatened to spill down her cheeks.

"What the..."

You snapped your head to the side to see Jongho looking in your direction. You weren't sure but you could tell that he was at least worried and confused, another emotion that was hidden and you weren't sure of was hope, but that might just be you overthinking things.

"What was that?" Jongho asked, trying to step closer to you.

Right at the moment he spoke up, Wonyoung broke off from her trance with a shake of her head before her eyes landed on him.

"Jongho..." She gasped.

To say you were surprised was an absolute understatement because for a moment you thought you had misheard. Or gone crazy. Or both.

Jongho was not better.

The moment his name left Wonyoung's lips, his body froze. Not out of fear or surprise, but because how familiar it felt when she called my name. He hated to admit it, but the way he felt when she called his name had never happened in recent times, not even with you. His heart was beating but it was not the nerves that got to him, it was the familiarity. Like his past was calling him.

Wonyoung then broke into a gentle smile as one single drop of tear finally rolled down her cheek.

"After all this time... I can't believe the moon is still reflected in your eyes," she said softly.

You saw Jongho's knees visibly buckled and he had to lean on the wall for support. The situation was so bizarre for you that all you could do was look back and forth between Wonyoung and Jongho, not knowing what was going on or what to do. Despite the unfamiliar predicament, you were sure of one thing.

Shit is about to go down and you need to buckle up.

network :

@sandsofire @kflixnet @pirateeznet

taglist :

@dinossaurz @redzie02 @stayatinykatsy @tinyelfperson @allisonleannn @yukichan67 @phenomenalgirl9 @dawn-iscozy @aestheticsluut @krustycangrejo @teenyfinds @kirbrary @thedistractedwriter @gxlden-bxbyy @huachengsbestie01 @charreddonuts @that-irrelevant-ricecakeaddict @velvetskize @do-you-remember-summer-127 @borahae-reads @domfikeluva @hwalighters @akunoeyebrows @ateezourstars @blueyyyuy @willowwyy

@roronoas-wife

[ywpd-translations]

Ride 814: Naruko, run away!!

Pag 1

1: Beppu city, in the Oita Prefecture, a town located inside of a large bay on the east coast of Kyuushu, surrounded on three sides by mountains

2: Known for hot-springs and sight-seeing areas, it's always been visited by a lot of people since old times

The old springs boasts the largest amount annual volume of water in Japan, and it's one of the highest in the world

3: Hot-springs gush out all over the city

4: The “Hell Tour” around the spring ponds is also famous

5: You can enjoy the magnificent mountain scenery, the volcanoes, the seafood, and a panoramic view of the city from the Tsurumi peak at 1375m of altitude

Pag 2

1: Beppu Port, the opening to the sea, connects to Kansai's and Shikoku's main ports and it's an important route for logistics and tourism

2: Started in Kyuushu, Fukuoka Prefecture, the race went south

3: passed the sprint line and the mountain line, then turned towards the Beppu Ferry Terminal and the Minato Parking lot

4: This is where this year's Inter High's

Pag 3

1: first day finish line is

Pag 4

2: Alright, we're in front of the finish line!!

3: On!!

We're in time!!

4: There's the final gate!!

I see it, on!!

Run!!

Yes!

Ye-yes!!

Pag 5

1: Really, when we had to stop at traffic lights twice on the way I thought we wouldn't make it

Ooon!!

2: Rokudaii!!

3: Kaburagi... Danchiku...!!

4: Miki, what's the situation!?

5: The race entered the coastal highway already!!

6: Naruko-kun is running away alone!!

Kyoto is following with two people

Imaizumi-kun is waiting in the group behind!!

There are

Pag 6

1: 3.5km left!!

3: 3500m left!!

Pag 7

1: They're coming!!

There's only one person in the lead!!

Amazing!

He's running away alone!!

It's Sohoku!!

2: So red!

That guy's incredible!

He stands out so much!!

3: Have I shocked, Hakogaku-san!? Didi you attack, Midosuji!?

4: Since I was running in front of Hotshot until I jumped ahead at the 5km mark, they thought I was the assist!!

Pag 8

1: And because of the situation you were expecting, your decision was several seconds too late!!

Those seconds turn into a wide distance in road racing!!

2: The strategy of not deciding an ace sounds good, but should set just one rule?

3: We'll carefully listen to each other's strategy, and if one of us agrees with the other he'll help

Yeah, I'll do my best. If we agree

4: You'll help me so much!!

I don't really trust you

… you think I do?

Oi

5: Alright, I have one thing too

It's trivial, but everything needs a name

6: A name?

8: We won't choose during the race, but

Pag 9

1: That day, whoever passes the finish line first is the “ace”!!

3: Kakaka, nice, let's do it!! Good!!

4: That was interesting, Hotshot

5: If I keep going like this I'll be the one who'll take it!! And with a large difference!!

In road racing...

Pag 10

1: There are two ways to win flashily!!

The “top goal” at the head of a pack of sprinter

2: And another one, is when a single person attacks and jumps ahead alone when no one expects it

3: and he runs away

4: and runs away and shakes off those behind him who are desperately chasing

5: And takes the finish line alone

It's the “escape goal”!!

6: This will be the most exciting thing for the audience today!! I!!

7: Will be at the Inter High's big stage!!

Pag 11

1: I......

2: seeee....

3: youuuuu

Pag 12

1: Naaruukooo!!

Pag 13

2: I saw you!!

3: As expected.... that presence earlier, it was you, Midosuji!!

4: Kakaka so you chased me?

But that's fine, I just won't let you catch up

Let's do it!!

5: You'll come with me to the finish line!!

That way

6: the audience will be even more excited!!

Pag 14

1: Ru-

2: shaaaaaa

Pag 15

1: Waaa what an incredible speed!

The pack is chasing the three people ahead!!

Waaa incredible!

They're so close!

2: The Hakogaku in the lead has a face like a demon!!

3: Huh, “demon”, you said- now that you mention it, two years ago in this race there was the “Straight-line Demon”

Idiot, don't you know it!?

Huh

4: That demon is his little brother!!

Pag 16

2: Shinkai Yuuto!! He's fast!!

3: He's fast, yon!!

Ah, this is road racing's top speed

Mountain bikes are fast on downhills, but this- woah!!

4: This is another kind of risk!!

5: It's amazing, this impetus!!

Pag 17

1: I'm shaking!!

Sorry, Sonomoto-chan, but I'm going ahead!!

2: With this acceleration of Yuuto

3: many people fell behind!!

Pag 18

1: I was left behind....

What's with that acceleration

You can have that acceleration on paved roads....?

2: I'm sorry.... Higashimura-san....

My.... legs.... can't...

3: I had underestimated road racing a little....

4: Please..... Higashimura-san...

Pag 19

1: Ninoshima!!

You entrusted Hiroshima's fate to me!!

2: The ones who fell behind now are Gunma, Ninoshima, and one more person....

3: It's this acceleration.... clinging to them was hard for me too

It's understandable that they fell behind

4: The guy from the “selected team” too

Pag 20

2: 3km left until the finish line!!

[opheliachoii]

Meet Me on the East Side ❥𓂃𓏧

FEATURING : Yukimiya Kenyu, Itoshi Sae, Oliver Aiku, and Nagi Seishiro

ABOUT : They were your highschool sweethearts, puppy love to be exact, but time changes when you graduated highschool. Cheat incidents, Fell out of love, focusing on priorities, or basically just ghosting you out of the blue. But years past as your paths met once again, will you give them a chance?

note : this a multiverse AU, the plots were inspired by two songs ; Eastside by Benny Blanco, Halsey, and Khalid, and Knees by Bebe Rexha. Choose any of the two to listen to. Enjoy!

❥･• Yukimiya Kenyu

— Many students knew that you were inseparable. Kenyu, being the star player in the soccer team of your school, and you, being the head of the student council. He had many fangirls, as much as many fanboys you had as well.

You supported him 24/7 when it comes to their game, you were his number one cheerleader. Everytime you shout his name, his ego becomes unstoppable, resulting him scoring as much he could.

But then as graduation came, you were alone in the bleachers, the day was about to end. The breeze was so soothing, that you took a deep breath, waiting for the love of your love to come over. Since he was the one who wanted to meet you in that certain spot.

The empty soccer field gave you nostalgia, you knew you couldn't see him play in this field again. Instead, you'll see him play in a bigger field. You knew he's going to another city to chase his dream.

"Yuki!! You yelled "Baby! Congrats to us! We finally made it to the end of high school!" You hugged him.

"Y-yeah.." He stuttered worryingly "Is there something wrong?" You asked "I called you here to tell you something.."

You gulped because you were nervous, the vibe seem to drop "I'm breaking up with you.. I need to focus on my career for now.." He coldly stated "W-what?" You stuttered "Is it really necessary? Sure we'll be far apart but we can still contact each other! I don't care how many days you will reply, as long as you update me.. I understand you're focusing on your career but.. Am I the reason who's pulling you down?" He couldn't answer, so he went silent. You started crying "Yuki please.. There must be some other way—"

"I made my decision. I'm sorry. I truly love you but, it's for the best.." He caressed your cheek one more time before he walked away.

You were stunned, couldn't move at all. Everything happened so suddenly. Your knees went weak, and you cried so hard, that your voice echoed all around the empty field and bleachers.

— 15 years later —

You're now a CEO of your favourite organization, Blue Lock. It's been your dream to be the head of your favourite sport, well.. Used to be..

But you still grasped that dream because ever since, your passion was to lead. Even though you couldn't do the certain things, but you were insanely amazing in leading them. You graduated from Business school with latin honours, in which led to where you are now.

It's been 15 years since you two lost contact. The last conversation you had with Yukimiya was during graduation, which was tragic.

But you did see him on television, and he indeed. Became one of the best strikers worldwide, representing Japan. You despised him a lot, but deep inside, you were still that little highschool girl who was proud of him wherever he was now.

You still loved him..

Sure, you dated some dudes in college, but he was that guy where you would give up everything for him. Well, it's sort of true where first love is indeed irreplaceable.

Your secretary Anri, gave some news for you "I GOT NEWS! Ego brought some amazing soccer players! You should check their profiles out!" There she handed a USB filled with all the players' profile.

"Thanks Anri, I'll check these out! Would you mind bringing me more coffee?" She agreed and politely left your office.

You sat down and plugged in the USB on your computer. There were around 300 players in Blue Lock "Hmm they sure are talented players here, wow.."

You scrolled and saw the Top 11 best players in Blue Lock, and froze as you saw who was number 5.

"Y-yuki.." You gently pressed your mouse to open his profile, he definitely became more attractive. You analyzed all his personal info, it seems his eyesight was getting worse.. You suddenly feel worried, because you knew his eyesight was already bad during highschool, but it didn't stop him from playing soccer. You saw his favourites, likes and dislikes. You simply chuckled "I guess he never changed at all.." Then you stumble across the "my type" section.

Type : [ Someone who laughs a lot and will always watch over me, support me, and love me for who I am. Someone who's really good at leading me. ]

A tear dropped from your eye "H-he.." Suddenly Anri barged in with the coffee you asked her to fetch for you "Here's your coffe— Hey? Are you crying? Is everything alright?" You immediately wiped your eye and smiled as if nothing happened "N-no! I'm all good!" Anri had suspicions but she just brushed it off.

"Hey, we'll be meeting the top 11 later on, we'll train them before the U-20 tournament will commence" You simply nodded. "Of course, I'll be there." Anri happily left your office, you simply sighed.

"After 15 years I'm finally meeting you again..."

— Timeskip —

"Welcome Diamonds in the rough.. You made it this far.." Ego stated. "Today we'll be preparing for the U-20 tournament.." You noticed there were small amounts of players in the lobby, you simply whispered to Anri "I thought there were around 300 people- only top 11?" Anri whispered back "These are the surviving players. The rest, eliminated." You quietly gasped.

You tried looking for him in the crowd until the door opened. There, Itoshi Rin, Shidou Ryusei, Bachira Meguru, Isagi Yoichi, and..

"Yuki.." You felt relieved "Wait.. No.. Why am I like this- he's your ex!" You talked to yourself "Ex? Who?" Anri gasped "ONE OF THE PLAYERS HERE IS YOUR EX?!?" You covered her mouth "It was way back highschool okay? That was only puppy love-" You defended.

"Oh sure~ wait until I found out who is your ex!" Anri teased "As if-"

"Hey! You two! What the heck are you guys blabbering about?!" Ego angrily called you two out which brought attention to everyone in the lobby.

"Shit." All were eyes on you two "SORRY GUYS! You may continue Ego! Hehe sorry-" Anri pulled you out of the lobby.

But before you got out of the lobby one special person laid eyes on you "Eien..?" He called out, but you couldn't hear him.

( Eien means Eternal means 日本語 ) It was his endearment to you before.

"HE SAW ME-" You panicked. You felt nostalgia because the same feeling where you had a crush on him during your freshman years in highschool "This feeling brings back so many memories-" You mumbled "You still love him don't you?" Anri teased "What if I still am..?"

"BUT I HATE HIM!" You suddenly yelled "He dumped me because he wanted to focus on his soccer career!" Suddenly you had flashbacks and started crying. "Hey.. Look, I don't know the full story, but it seems you really loved this person.."

"I still do Anri, I still do.." She didn't know what to do so instead, she hugged and comforted you until you stopped crying.

Little did you know, some of the boys, and Yukimiya overheard you and Anri. "Dang, she looks so hurt-" Bachira grieved "If I was her friend I would've choked the dude to death "Hiori innocently spoke "Woah- isn't that a bit too far—?" Yukimiya defended "No-? He could've just taken the Long-distance relationship so what?" Hiori added which the other boys agreed.

Yukimiya felt guilt all over him as he saw how hurt you were..

"Had I made the wrong decision?"

— Timeskip —

You went out to get some fresh air. Your eyes were still swollen from crying so much earlier, you decided to head to the open soccer field nearby, and laid on the middle of the field. You let out a huge sigh "Gosh, why are these feelings coming back.. It's been 15 years. Move on dammit!" You fought with yourself.

There was a moment of silence until you got startled as you heard a familiar voice.

"That makes the two of us now, I'm glad"

You sat up as you couldn't believe it "Yukimiya.." "What happened to 'yuki'?" He asked "Do I still need to call you that? We're not together anymore right?" You suddenly went back to your senses, you were furious "Eien, I'm sorry..." "Stop calling me that, we're done." You coldly stated "And what are you doing here?! You're not allowed to get out" You added "Well I escaped, and followed you here.." You went silent.

"Hey, I saw you crying earlier, my chest was aching see you cry, knowing it was because of me... I deserve to be choked by Hiori indeed..." He looked down "You better be! I really hate you so much!" You angrily spoke. "I had a tough time Kenyu.. You left me there, I couldn't get to explain myself properly that time.. You left me without saying a proper goodbye.." You cried "It hurts.. IT HURTS! 15 YEARS! I should've gone to therapy at this point.."

"Hey, don't say that.. I totally understand your pain, I was a jerk that time.. I was only thinking of myself during that moment... I was immature, I'm sorry..." He apologised "Look, I know you can't forgive me, but believe me, ever since I broke up with you, I never dated ever again. If you saw my type in my profile, I was describing you.." He suddenly cried.

"I know. I saw. Why are you crying? Don't prey yourself. I totally understood you prioritizing your career that time, it's my decision to continue loving you until this day." You coldly stated "Can we start over?" He asked "I promise, I won't leave you like that again.. And this time I'll prioritize my career, and you.. Eien.." He cupped your cheeks "I know it's been 15 years, it was so long ago, but.. Can we?" He desperately added.

"Give me time.." You replied "I'll ask you out again, starting from the beginning.. This time, I've changed, I grew." He suddenly kissed you passionately, the breeze swiftly touched your skin, melted from his kiss "Fine, but if you'll leave me again, there's no more chances, I'll definitely move on, even if it takes another 15 years to move on." You both laughed.

On the corner bush, there was Anri and Ego spying on the both of you "Bingo! So Yukimiya Kenyu, Top 5 striker in Blue Lock was her ex.." "What the heck are you talking about-?" Ego curiously asked "Oh, nothing, I just witnessed broken pieces glued back together."

❥･• Itoshi Sae

— You and Sae were both an athlete couple in highschool. Him as a soccer player, while you as a gymnast.

You two were the star in your campus, everyone dreamed to have a relationship like you two, both talented and never declining face cards. As you both graduated highschool, the two of you were given an opportunity to your dream university, you in France, while Sae in Spain. Sure, both of you were headed to Europe, but you'll still be miles away from each other.

But despite that, you two handled the long distance relationship. Updating 24/7, late night talks every night, and daily messaging every morning.

But one night, you tried calling Sae. Usually he would answer in a millisecond, but he didn't tonight. You tried again but this time, he purposely did not answer the call.

Your brows furrowed "What on earth is his problem?" You sound pissed. A few minutes later, he messaged you, but your eyes widen from his sudden message for you.

Love ♡ : [ Hey.. Sorry for not answering your calls, I was trying to type this message for you. I'm really sorry for what I'm about to say to you, I hope you would understand me. I'm sorry but I'm breaking up with you. I can't have too much distractions. I need to focus on my career first, maybe in our next life, we can be together, without any distractions. I'm really sorry again. Good luck on your journey as an gymnast in Paris. I'm sorry. ]

— Love ♡ cleared your nickname —

— Itoshi Sae cleared his own nickname —

— Itoshi Sae blocked you —

You were too stunned to even let out a word. You read his message, again and again, trying to cope with his message he just sent you. All you did was to cry..

"Sae.. Why.." You cried all night, forgetting to train yourself for tomorrow. You cared less about it and went to bed and sobbed until daylight..

Weeks passed since your break up with Sae. You can't seem to keep up with training because your mind was too empty at the moment.

"Mon chéri, what's wrong?" Your instructor approached you "Why the long face?" She added "Oh nothing Madame! Just thinking about something these days" You covered it with a smile "Are you sure? You must focus! Your recital is coming up and special guests will be there, you can't disappoint them are you?" She replied.

"No madame, I won't." You finally got back to your senses and went back on track.

"I don't care about stupid Itoshi Sae anymore, if he's focusing on his career, why shouldn't I?"

— 8 years later —

Roses, tulips and confetti rain over you as you bowed after your grand performance, applauses were echoing the whole auditorium.

As the curtains closed, you let out a huge sigh "What a night!" You went back stage and got greeted by the staff "Mon chéri! You did amazing! I'm so proud of you for making this far! From performing, to competing soon enough! Your tournament is next week, are you ready?" Your instructor proudly asked "Yes! Of course madame! I should bring my fiancé too, if that's alright with you?" You asked.

"Of course! A little support couldn't hurt right?" She chuckled. You smiled in relief, I'll be telling him madame! Thank you so much!" "As you should! That man certainly inspired you does he?" You happily nodded.

— Timeskip —

"Finally! It's over, we won again!! We won against France's star soccer team!" Charles proudly cheered "Indeed, I could use a warm dip in the bathtub tonight with the view of the eiffel tower" Shidou added "I'm going to watch the gymnast competition tonight!" Ness also added "Competition? Tonight? Interesting, I'll come with!!" Charles replied "Hmm, I suppose I should watch too, I love flexible women" Shidou cheekily laughed.

"What about you Sae, aren't you tagging along?" Kaiser asked "No thanks, I should train instead." Sae coldly stated "AWW C'MON BRO!! Just this one time! We deserve this, right everyone?" Ness pleaded. "And besides, the star gymnast is competing too! She'll surely win! I saw her tricks and wow she's spectacular!" Ness added "We should go!" Charles said as everyone followed.

Kaiser's phone rang "Oh, gotta answer this, you should come along Sae, my fiancé is competing too. You should see her, she's too perfect" Kaiser said with admiration with his eyes. "I see, sure, I'll try to come along" Sae answered "Good, gotta go.. Hello? liebe? Yes?" Kaiser closed the door as he left.

Ness was preparing to go but Sae stopped him "Hey, may I know who's the star gymnast who is competing tonight?" "Oh!! Wait here!" Ness showed a video of you performing. Sae paused for a moment. "She's... She's m—"

"Magnificent right!?" Ness interrupted, now let's go! He said as he pulled Sae out of the locker room.

"She was once mine..."

— Timeskip —

You took a deep breath as the whole gymnasium was yours to perform on "You can do it Mon chéri, I know you can!" Your instructor cheered "Thank you madame!" You finally had the confidence to come out the gymnasium and showed yourself, you were glimmering, as your shiny fitting dress has reflected the spotlight.

"Here goes nothing" You motivated yourself.

"THAT'S HER!!! WOOO!!" Ness screamed "Wow, isn't she a beauty~" Shidou flirtly spoke "Damn- she's really flexible, does she even have bones?" Charles jokingly said "What the fuck?" Sae suddenly spoke which startled Shidou and Charles "Chill bro- what are you on" Shidou defended "Yeah- you sounded like you're her boyfriend" Ness and Charles added.

"BECAUSE I WAS." They went silent "Be for real right now-" Charles spoke "No way-" Ness added "Psh- you're joking" Shidou rolled his eyes.

"I'll prove it. Watch me." Sae sat back and continuously watching you.

"Did he went cuckoo?" Shidou asked which Ness and Charles only shrugged.

Sae admired you so much, he reminisced the time when you two were just in highschool.

— Flashback —

"Love! Haha! Look!" You called out to Sae "Okay, wait.. Okay now!" He yelled.

You showed your triple flips then a smooth landing with a split. "How'd I do?" "WOO!! THAT'S MY GIRL! You did so well love! I can't wait to see you performing like that during nationals!" You pounced at him causing you two to fall on the ground.

Laughter echoed the field, you two were so happy, you were on top of Sae, faces inches away from each other. "Let's chase our dreams okay?" You said "Of course my love let's chase them together." He replied then passionately kissed you, you kissed back. It was one of the most romantic moments you two ever made.

— Present time —

He saw you successfully landed on the last move you did and bowed. You looked around the gymnasium, everyone cheered for you, he smiled. He knew he was proud of you. You saw Shidou, Ness, and Charles cheering, so you did the same.

The three turned to you and thought you were weird, but brushed it off after.

You were the last contender. It was time to announce the winners. It was intense, but you remained calm and confident.

On the other hand, Sae was worried and nervous for you, he prayed you would get the gold medal, if you did, then you will be representing France for the internationals.

Everyone cheered as your name was announced as the first place, you were speechless, you had mixed emotions.

You got up on the podium feeling overwhelmed. Everyone chanted your name, you looked around, but your eyes landed on a familiar person.

No it can't be..

You saw Sae happily jumping with his teammates yelling "She did it!!" You didn't know what to feel. But joy overshadowed all your feelings at the moment.

"Wait- Where's Kaiser?" Ness asked.

— Timeskip —

As you were wiping your sweat with a face towel, Sae approached you, which startled you.

"Hey... Congrats.. I-I'm so proud of you.." He stuttered, feeling awkward from the conversation.

"Sae?" You paused "What are you doing here?" Your brows furrowed again, you hated seeing him at this time "We had a game here in France, and my teammates wanted to watch your competition, I didn't want come along, not until Ness showed me one of your performance, you did really good.."

"Don't do this to me Sae, showing up out of the blue after you cut ties with me 8 years ago.. What are you on?" You spoke as you felt pissed.

"Hey, look.. I'm sorry okay? I wasn't thinking straight that time, I was too stressed.. I couldn't tell you what happened to me that time." He defended.

"No need, I moved on. But I'm really thankful to see you tonight, even though it was unexpected." You chuckled "I'm too immature to long a grudge on you right?" You added, he awkwardly laughed "Yeah.." He cleared his throat, "Hey, uhm- how were you? Should we have dinner sometime?"

You simply chuckled "I would but, I couldn't. My fiancé might burn you to pieces, and I wouldn't want that" "Fiancé—?" Sae asked.

"Liebe, ready to go— Sae? What are you doing here? I thought you wouldn't come?" Kaiser entered as he was playing with his car keys. "Kaiser? Wait.."

"Oh? You two know each other?" You asked "Yes schatz, Sae is my teammate. I haven't mentioned, sorry liebe" Kaiser answered "How 'bout you Sae? How did you know my fiancé? Quite unexpected honestly" Kaiser asked.

"Oh.. Uhm- we go to the same highschool before.. Yeah.." Sae coldly replied.

You went silent, knowing that your ex and your soon-to-be husband is on the same soccer team. You decided to take a deep breath and cleared your throat "So~ uhm.. I guess we should get going Micha? Can you grab my bag? Thanks" "Oh sure liebe, I go get it" Kaiser left you and Sae.

"So..."

"So..."

You both went silent. "Well, at least we finally reached our dream right? Me, being the star gymnast, and you as a star midfielder, and overall your team itself is famous, right?" You awkwardly laugh.

"I'm... Too late am i?" Sae looked at you desperately "Sae.. I-"

"I'm so sorry I left you.. I'm glad Kaiser is treating you better now.. I wanted to be him again, but.. I guess I was too late" He forced a smile.

"I'm sorry Sae.."

"Let's go schatz? See you Sae, call me if we're training tomorrow hmm?" Kaiser said as he wrapped his arm around your shoulder.

You turned back seeing Sae looking so lost. You mouthed 'thank you, and I'm sorry..'

Sae just watch you disappear from the room, letting out a smile but tears were rolling down his cheeks.

"I love you.. But you're not mine anymore.."

❥･• Oliver Aiku

— You two were an amazing duo, but sometimes you two couldn't get along as well. Some say you were in a toxic relationship, but you didn't listen because you were so inlove with him.

But there was one time where Aiku invited you to go to a KTV bar with him. You simply agreed cause you thought it would be another date.

You wore a beautiful blue satin dress, excitedly you messaged him you were on the way "I can't wait to see him again!"

— Timeskip —

You arrived at the KTV bar and asked the counter which room was Number 308, she happily led you to that room. "Here's the room miss!" "Thank you so much!"

As you were about to enter the room, you peeked on the small window of the door. There you saw disco lights and the room was dim, but you clearly saw Aiku— with another girl..

Your head was boiling as you barged in the room "OLIVER AIKU! WHAT IN THE FUCKERY IS THIS?" You yelled.

"Woah- my love chill, this is Denise. Denise, this is my girlfriend" It seems Aiku was drunk. "Girlfriend? I thought I was your girlfriend?" The girl looked confused.

"YOU'VE BEEN CHEATING ON ME?!?! I DID NOT EXPECT TO BE IN A POLY RELATIONSHIP!" You cried. "We're over Aiku." Before you could walk out, he grabbed your wrist "Wait baby! Don't go! I can explain—" A huge slap landed on Aiku's face "Don't TOUCH me!" You flicked your arm and left the KTV room..

As you left the room, you cried. You couldn't believe what had happened just now..

"They were right, I was in a toxic relationship... I was too blind to see it.." You ran out of the venue and went home.

— 6 years later —

You just got home from work, exhausted. You were working full-time in the office, but your exhaustion disappeared as your 6-year old son ran to you. "Mama!!"

"Aww my baby Ollie, how are you? Did the maid gave you dinner?" You hugged him.

"She did mama! But I don't want to eat without you, I want to eat McDonald's with you! Please please!" You chuckled "Well, I am hungry too so~ let's go?" "Yay!!" He cutely cheered.

— Some time later —

You two were walking home from an alley, bringing take-out McDonald's when you see two men approaching you, they weren't friendly.

"Ollie get behind me." You sternly said as your son went back "Mama... I'm scared.." They were about to steal from you but someone pounced them from behind. "Look out!"

He fought the two men with ease, but at the same time he got injured. "Oh my goodness are you oka— OLIVER?!?!"

"I'm fine— MY LOVE?" You smacked him with your heavy shoulder bag which passed him out. "Oh shit- why did I do that-"

"Mama..? Why did you hit Mr. Hero? He saved us but you hurt him.." Ollie tugged your jacket. "I'm sorry baby, mama seemed to have reflexes-"

You decided to bring Aiku to your home, you carried him, and dang he was heavy. Your son kept laughing all the way home.

— Timeskip —

Aiku finally woke up in a place where he's unfamiliar with "Shit- where am I-?" Ollie was peaking in the door from the outside, checking up on Aiku "Hey little guy, don't be scared, do you know where I am?" Aiku asked gently.

"You're in our house Mr. Hero, mama placed you in the guest room, you were badly hit by mama, I'm sorry mama hit you.." Ollie answered.

Aiku simply chucked "It's okay, little one, your mama must be scared that's why, by the way what's your name?"

"Ollie" He said as he gave you a piece of chicken nugget. "Eat." Aiku gladly accepted the kid's nugget. He noticed Ollie's eyes were just like his, "Hey little one, look, your eyes look like mine, see?" Ollie gasped, you're right! I have heter— het— hetetormia!" Aiku laughed "Heterochemia little one, it's okay, nice try!" The both of them laughed. "Where's your papa?"

"I don't know, mama said, my real papa is nowhere to be found, but, I have a new papa!" Ollie happily said. Aiku went silent, "Really? What happened to your real papa?"

"I don't know, mama does not tell me.." Aiku went silent again.

"Mama!! Mr. Hero is awake!" Ollie happily went to you "Yes, I can see that baby.. Go to auntie maid first if that's okay, I need to talk to "Mr. Hero" here hmm?" You stated "Okay!" Ollie ran downstairs.

"T-thank you—"

"What were you doing in that alleyway?" You inserted "I was gonna ask you that? What were you doing in that alleyway with a child?!? That place is dangerous!"

"It was the shortest way home alright?! I'm too tired but my son wanted McDonald's with me, how could I say no?"

"But you should've at least rode a taxi back-?" "Why are you so concerned Aiku?"

"Answer me. Is that my child?"

You went silent. "Tell me please.."

"And what if he's yours? We're way over now Aiku, thank you for saving us, you may now leave the house now." Aiku grabbed your wrist "Pfft, this is nostalgic isn't it?" You flicked your arm "Nostalgia my ass, now leave."

"Please, if he's my son, can I make it up to him at least? Since when did you get pregnan—"

"THE MOMENT YOU LEFT ME." You both went silent. "H-how?"

"After I broke up with you, as soon as I got home, I felt sick." He went silent

"And when I had a gut feeling, I took the test. And it was positive.. YOU DON'T KNOW HOW MUCH I SUFFERED RAISING A CHILD ALONE.. I never thought of abortion, never ever! Even if the father of the child was a jerk!"

"I-I'm sorr—"

"But I'm happily engaged to someone else now, who's a father figure to Ollie. We're totally happy, he bought a house for us to settle in, got me into a perfect job, a tiring one but still thankful. And a loving man." You cried. Aiku couldn't let out a word.

"My life had been a roller coaster ride, but Ollie was a blessing to me. And I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world."

"Can I at least... Be responsible for the child? For making it up?"

"I'm home!" A man called out from downstairs "That's him." You said as you went out of the room, and soon Aiku followed.

"Papa!!!" Ollie ran towards Barou and he carried Ollie. "How's my sweet boy doing?"

"Me and mama almost got snatched but luckily Mr. Hero saved us!" Ollie happily reported.

"Mr. Hero?" Barou asked as he landed his eyes on you and Aiku "Honey.." Barou knew between you and Aiku

"Love, I know.. Oliver, thank you, for everything. But I think you should leave.." You sternly said. "But I don't want Mr. Hero to go!!" Ollie cried. "It's okay little one, I have to go.. Call me Uncle Oliver, okay?" He said as he pats your son's head.

"Okay Uncle Oliver! When can we see each other again?" Ollie innocently asked.

"Soon, little one. Soon.." Aiku said as he bid you and Barou farewell and left.

As Aiku got out from the house, he looked back and saw your shadows from the window looking so lively, like a small but perfect family.

"I'm glad your doing well, my love.."

❥･• Nagi Seishiro

— You two are quite known as gamer couples during highschool, it may seem cliché, but for you, it's heaven. Imagine, playing your favourite games with the love of your life.

Nagi seems to be the lazy type but he is really good with hygiene and cleanliness. And he's really good in taking care of you. You didn't know why people call him 'lazy',  when he's with you, he's the opposite of lazy, I mean he does act like a sloth, but he was never lazy in your eyes. He always come over to your apartment to play games with you, sometimes study date.

You also got used to his way of messaging you, he takes so long to reply. Sometimes he ghosts you, but when he's with you personally, he's really "boyfriend material".

Though recently, he soon joined soccer with Reo, his best friend. He was effortlessly good at it, I mean- he's the boyfriend who can do it all. You were proud of it, and you weren't sad at all, because he always found a way to make time with you by playing games.

But one time, you noticed he wasn't online. Even the online games, RPG, all offline.

"Huh- that's weird" You tried calling him through number and social medias but no answers. You gaslighted yourself maybe he was busy. But those "busy days" you thought Nagi had went for over 2 months now.

You felt betrayed, he ghosted you for 2 months now. Which was weird, because even Reo, you couldn't contact him.

You had enough, you went to the sports office in your school, and ask where Nagi had gone. Their coach said that they had an invitation from a certain soccer school. But usually Nagi would update you if ever where he was. You overthought, maybe the place they went took their devices, which is funny- because it would look like they were prisoned.

— 2 years later —

It's been 2 years since Nagi ghosted you, you're finally a freshman in college. You graduated without him, you felt sad but you had to continue. You never held a grudge over Nagi, because you still love him.

"Wherever you are right now Shiro.. Always remember I am here supporting you from afar.." You spoke to yourself as you felt the breeze brushed your skin.

You're a college student currently taking Computer Science. It's been you and Nagi's dream to develop a game, but you two couldn't figure out what game would you develop. So you decided to study about computer logic for now..

— Timeskip —

You overheard your blockmates about this "Blue Lock", everyone was so hype about it. You were curious so you asked one of them "Uhm— excuse me.. What's this Blue Lock you guys are talking about-?"

"Oh! It's a team of soccer players who are playing against U-20, you know Sendou? Omg he's so hot!" They squealed "Soccer?" You repeated "You heard that right!" The other one replied.

Hmm.. Blue Lock.. Interesting..

— Timeskip —

As you got home, you opened your laptop and checked this Blue Lock thing everyone was so hyped about.

It showed soccer players, who were indeed going to play againt the other team called U-20.

You scrolled through the player's profile, and..

You gasped. "NAGI!?!"

You pressed his profile to see if it was really him. "It really is him... He's going to be playing against the U-20, and he's part of the Top 11 in blue lock? Wow, Shiro... I never knew you went this far.."

Then you saw the other players who will be back-up players for the game, then you saw Reo.. "Mikage— REO?!?!" You gasped once again "How many chapters did I miss?!?!" You noticed Nagi's features matured "He changed a lot.."

You researched on where to buy a ticket for the game and...

"Bingo!"

— Timeskip —

It was time of the game, and soon enough you arrived just in time, and as you were finding a place to sit, you saw someone selling jerseys. Then you saw a Jersey with Nagi's name on it.

You comfortably sat on a seat with Nagi's jersey. "This is cozy-" You surprisingly complimented.

There it was, the players came from from the inner gymnasium and you finally saw your white haired cutie "LET'S GO SHIRO!!!"

The person sitting next to you "Who are you supporting to?" "My boyfriend" You proudly said, they gave you a judging look but you didn't care. You were admiring Nagi from afar.

The game soon started and majority of the people where only cheering for U-20. "Why aren't they supporting Blue Lock?" You asked yourself.

The game was neck-to-neck, but then suddenly Nagi got the ball, and did an insane trick.

"Nice to meet you Japan. I'm Nagi Seishiro!" He kicked the ball and scored a goal for Blue Lock.

Everyone went silent, everyone was too stunned to speak even his teammates.

"Uhh— did I mess up introducing myself?"

Everyone cheered, the crowd goes wild. Blue Lock got up from their bench and cheered on, even U-20 was impressed by the skill Nagi has executed.

You went silent for a moment, as if everything blurred around you.

"That's your boyfriend right?" The person next to you interacted again. You couldn't respond because you were too focused on Nagi.

"Shiro... You've evolved..."

— Timeskip —

It was 3-3, it was tie and only 5 minutes. You were shivering, worried because the game was on the edge of the tightrope.

"Please please..." You manifested.

Suddenly one of Nagi's teammate berserked from the opposing teams blind spot, then he scored.

3-4

Blue Lock won..

Everyone cheered, the crowd went insane. You cried, you did not expect these two whole years, your boyfriend ghosted you because he was intensely training in Blue Lock.

"I'm so proud of you.. Shiro.."

— The next day —

Overnight, you finally decided what game you would develop, a soccer simulation. Where everyone can be a soccer player.

You fell asleep on your desk with the screen with full-brightness. Someone was knocking on your doorstep.

You were too tired to wake up so you didn't care about the knocking on the door, but you soon heard a key unlocking your door.

You wanted to check it out but your body was too heavy to sit up, you only had an hour sleep, because you were up all night developing the game.

You soon felt a kiss on the cheek, and was carried in bridal style. "Hmm.." You groaned "I'm home baby.." You heard a familiar soothing voice. "Hmm.." Is all you could answer.

As you woke up, you noticed you were already in bed, you swore you were sleeping on your computer desk. You saw a glass of milk and cookies on your side bed and Choki beside the food. "Choki?"

You soon turned to your computer desk, a fluffy white hair peeking out on your computer chair, doing some typing and clicking.

You tried to approach slowly, but he turned the chair immediately and pounced on you.

"SHIRO?!!" Both of you made a thug sound as you fell to the floor "Hi baby." Nagi was now on top of you. "I'm home." He calmly said as he laid on you. "GAH!! You're heavy, get off!" You cried.

He assisted you to sit up and suddenly kissed you "I missed you.." He pouted. "You literally ghosted me for 2 years you lazy ass." You rolled your eyes "I thought you never thought of me as lazy..."

"I'm mad at you. Hmph— HEY!" He carried you and led both of you to bed "I saw the game you developed, you knew huh?" He brushed your cheeks "Yeah, I watched your game yesterday, you did amazing out there"

"How did you know? I couldn't update you... Our phones were confiscated" You laughed "I KNEW IT!" You laughed again "I knew Blue Lock because the university I'm in were talking about it, you're literally the topic of the students" You chuckled.

"Oh how I missed your laugh..." He said as he snuggles himself in your body. "Even though you ghosted me for 2 years straight, I still waited for you.." You suddenly felt emotional. "I'm sorry for making you wait baby, how 'bout we snuggle the whole day straight?" He suggested. "But.. The game?"

"The game can wait, for now, I want you.. It's been so long since I scented you... I missed you so so much.." Nagi buried his face onto your chest, you simply chuckled.

"You physically changed, but you're still the Nagi Seishiro I know.." "I grew taller didn't I?" You both laughed "Yes you did Shiro.. Yes you did.."

You both fell asleep in that position, you indeed will be sleeping the whole day, after a chaotic week you just had.

End.

[timeslipcamp]

honestly looking up the demons in the ars goetia was the worst because as i was reading through it and looking at some of the connections i was like DAMN this is really cool. aw man, now ive gotta do a whole post on subarus demon smh

spoilers through ep 15

back at it again with the crack theories!! it's what i do best, what can i say.

initially, when i was going through the demons in the ars goetia, i was like "huh, dantalion sounds a lot like dandelion. i wonder if that's going to have to do with us." and then i got further in my list and saw it was subaru's demon and there went that theory. and THEN i read more about dantalion and holy shit dude

anyways this is just a post going a lil more in depth on subaru's stigma, demon, and where i think he fits in the story

so first off, the ars goetia is fucking bonkers. in my professional opinion (i'm an opinionated nerd and a former humanities major), all grimoires that were written around the 13-15 centuries (and were widely publicized) are so goofy. the like, "modern" witchcraft thing is so funny to me because these experts were just making things up and making up their rules and all wildly contradicting each other in every book. i love the drama

but that's not what you're reading this for so i'll get off my soapbox

several of these demons are listed in a bunch of grimoires, but the tkdb wiki (however reliable) lists the ars goetia, so we'll go with that description

shoutout to wikipedia for having one of the only compilations of info that didn't have pretentious drivel to get through (i'm not being a hypocrite shh). tumblr mobile stop deleting my drafts challenge

as far as i can gather, the rankings in the ars goetia are meaningless lol. each demon has their title and their legions and satan rules over all. each demon is also listed as the things they were meant to teach, because the purpose of having these demons in a list was for summoning purposes. you would summon a demon, wear its seal so you could control it, and ask it questions based on what it had dominion over.

the demon's other abilities were what i was really interested in, especially in relation to subaru. the first one listed is the ability to declare counsel on anyone; basically he can read minds. he knows anyone's secret thoughts and can also apoarently change them to his will.

this one applies directly to subaru's stigma. his stigma is the ability to read residual thoughts from people and objects. there is zero doubt in my mind that if we were to enhance his stigma, he'd be able to read active thoughts. or more! luca summoned a whole ass creature with his and all he can do is guard or whatever. who knows what he could do? change thoughts maybe?

manipulate thoughts to the point of someone being intermittently amnesiac? side eyeing my incomplete taiga theory post

the next ability listed isn't as relevant, "cause love and show similtude", but the NEXT part: "show the same by means of a vision." could subaru, in theory and while using us, project the memories he's seeing so that everyone can see them as well?? i think so!!

the last part is also just so subaru, "many faces," meaning he can appear as anyone, man or woman. ngl, i thought subaru was a lesbian the first time i saw him and got so excited, but this is definitely referring to his ability to act. we saw a bit of it in episode 15 where he auditions for the haunted house and then acts like SUCH a freak in that room. love him.

there's also a part about the demon always being depicted holding the book but idk what that means yet, will revisit later

subaru's abilities are so fascinating and honestly he has so much potential to do some crazy shit with us boosting his stigma. i do think he fits aomewhere into my theory about what's going on with taiga's memory but again, i don't have a solid theory yet just because of how little information we have.

the main theory thatni have about subaru is that i think he did have something to do with taiga's memory issues, and i do think he's the type of person that could be blackmailed into helping the faculty and work against the ghouls. his stigma would allow him to get an insane amount of information on the other ghouls simply by touching things discarded by them. the galaxy express area is full of lost items, it'd be a field day for him. who knows how much he's found out about the campus just by grabbing things in there?

maybe he doesn't leave his room anymore because he found out too much last year. maybe he doesn't want darkwick to use him any more than they already have. who knows?

what we do know is that subaru is a squishy little freak and i'm so fascinated by him and his story. can't wait for the next sinostra chapter to come out and (hopefully) get more info on taiga.

asks and dms always open!

[pankowblues]

pairing: rafe cameron x reader fake dating

summary: fake dating Rafe Cameron and but you two end up falling in love

warnings: kissing ig

word count: 911

a/n: idk i have nothing to say but the dividers ill fix one day i dont like how there so big what are your thoughts on them please share

You and Rafe walk hand in hand inside your kitchen into your kitchen where Rafe’s family and yours is sitting. You and Rafe had to start fake dating for your parents to I guess like you more? You don’t even know why. “You don’t have to kiss… just give me a peck on the cheek” you whisper to him as you guys walk him. He listens and fake smiles to your parents and gives you a little peck. You guys go and sit down in your seats and start eating dinner not really doing anything with each other as you are just eating. Rafe starts to speak “"These kisses are just temporary. We'll separate soon enough." He then kisses you on the lips and you not expecting it. And Lowkey he’s a really really good kisser but then you remember you don’t like him so you stop thinking like that.

The next time you and Rafe have to do this whole couples stuff again and this time it was your dad’s friend engagement party. You and rafe come inside the place where the party is being held not really holding hands. “Can you put on a smile? You look like you're ready to dig your own grave." You tell him "For a matter of fact, l am.” You just scoff and continue walking. The majority of people know you guys are “dating” but you will need to make it believable. You guys take your seat but about 15 minutes in you guys are sooo bored and you guys start making small talk which leads to conversations. Who knew you could relate to Rafe so much.

As the weeks went on you and Rafe surprisingly texted more. And as time went on things like unknowingly holding hands, even when you are not in front of family or friends, getting used to making two servings of everything, Sitting close to each other, and sharing glances across rooms all became habits.

Then the day of your birthday came. You got a ton gifts from everyone. Even Rafe, he got you a Tiffany necklace, jellycat, and some makeup (he had to ask Sarah for help ofc). It’s later at night and you’re at the bar with your all friends from school. Boys and girls so your “boyfriend” was there. Everyone was dancing and you were standing by the bar when Rafe came up to you. "Let's dance, yeah? It's your birthday, they'll be suspicious if we don't." He told you as he held his hand out. You nodded and took it and walked to the floor. Once you got home you texted Rafe you were home since he told you too which was also something he didn’t have to do but still did.

At some point fake smiles turn into genuine ones and both of you wanted to be there for the other one, even though you two aren't even a 'real' couple. You and Rafe walked to the beach with his hand on you back keeping you close. As you two sat down on the sand Rafe looked at you making eye contact. For the first time you looked deep into his eyes and you and him just gazed at each other with so much love in your guys eyes. "Kiss me." He whispers "What? We don't have to pretend right now." "I know, but I need one right now." You kiss for the first time that was meaningful, and genuine. The kiss meant a lot, more than it should have. Where would this put you two now?

This is where things went downhill. He started distancing himself from you because they started to think that there is definitely something wrong with him. You were getting really upset, mad, confused and a lot more feelings. You didn’t know what you did wrong. Then the day came where he finally came to your house with flowers and chocolate and his hair was so messy. Matter of fact he was messy. But he did something you didn’t see coming. He started tearing up and started confessing his love to you.

"Listen I...I love you. I don't know if it's okay to fall in love with your best friend, but I love you. And it's fine, if you don't love me back, because loving you has been the easiest thing I've ever done, and I'd never stop loving you even if you didn't love me back. And I’ve been distancing myself cause I can’t seem to figure out if I really do love you but I know I do I know it" By the time he was finished he had tears down his face and so did you.

You stare at him in awe, tilting your head "You know what? It is okay to love your best friend, because that's what I've done as well. And I would've never knew that you also love me, if you never said it. So let me say this, I love you too. And I understand you don’t know how you felt but you need to learn to talk out your feelings Rafe"

He pulls you in by your waist and slowly kisses you and the tears that run down both of your cheeks while doing so. The kiss showed love, passion, forgiveness. He pulled away putting his forehead on yours. “May you do the honors of being my real girlfriend” he says smiling. “Yes of course” you say giggling.

taglist: @rafecameroncoke, @0xstarzx0, @wearemadeofstardust0, @v4mqvs, @aariahnaa, @congratsloserr

[dilvuc]

𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖗𝖊: fluff

𝖌𝖊𝖓𝖉𝖊𝖗: male

𝖙𝖎𝖙𝖑𝖊: interruptions

𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖓𝖌: jing yuan x m!reader (+ yanqing and sushang)

—

"Did you come here for training or did you come here because you enjoy resting on my thighs so much?" Jing Yuan asks you. You were resting your head on your beloved's lap after your training with your student, sushang. You ended training early to see your beloved.

"The second part and I also wanted to see you again because I miss you." You mumbled, keeping up a stoic expression.

"You're good at hiding such emotions, but you're not best at stopping your tail from wagging." Jing Yuan chuckled as he glanced at your fox tail wagging around.

"W…whatever…" you blushed as you leaned up off the male's lap and wrapped your arms around his waist, pulling him close. "No one is watching, I want my kiss."

"Hahaha~ You're so clingy." The general smiled as you slowly leaned in for a kiss, but you were interrupted.

"Eh? Master [Y]? What are you doing here with the general?" Sushang questions, "I thought you said you were going to go grab some drinks."

"You lied to your student?" The white haired male inquired.

"It was to get her distracted…" you sweatdropped.

"Hey! General! You lied to me! You're only doing this on purpose, aren't you?!" Yanqing exclaimed.

"Hey…you two are really close to each other. Were you about to kiss?" Sushang narrowed her eyes on you two.

"..."

"Wait a minute! Don't tell me you two are dating! No wonder why the training was cut short!" The blonde whined.

"Is that the reason you two lied to us because you wanted to keep your relationship a secret?" The brunette haired girl questioned.

"My apologies, Sushang. Just keep this as a secret and I'll buy you some treats." You told the girl.

"Some treats, eh…?" Sushang smirked. "I want a day off."

"You're off for today. Run free, little birdie." You shooed the girl away.

"Strale, please." Sushang held her hand out.

"Eh…?"

"General! You earned me another training!"

"Ah. My apologies. Maybe tomorrow." Jing Yuan sweatdropped.

"But I want it today!" Yanqing pouted.

"I'll give you strale for the swords if you leave us be. We needed some alone time together, you know…?" The white haired male handed a bag of strale to the blonde.

"I can?! Thanks general! Have fun!"

You handed the 15 year old girl some of your savings from your pocket, letting her run off with Yanqing, "Kids…"

"Just let kids be kids. Let us continue before we are interrupted." Jing Yuan chuckled, cupping your face. Unable to hold back, you interlocked your lips with the white haired male's lips. Jing Yuan wrapped his arms around your neck as you both lay down on the ground.

Jing Yuan pulled away, "...Shouldn't we tell them that we're married?"

"We'll tell them later. I'm still hungry, you know~" you lick your lips. "It's not mating season yet, but I'm up for it~"

The white haired male blushed, "Let's take this home in bed."

"I couldn't wait, let's do it now."

"W-what if they come back?"

"Don't worry, they won't be back until tomorrow~"

masterlist

[lunamochii]

'your love and support is what keeps me going.' oikawa toru x f!reader

"Are you coming? Class is going to start."

You read the message of your friend replied "I am, just buying something." Bowing to the shopkeeper, you exited the shop and prepared your speech on why you are late to your teacher. Thankfully, she just let you in and your friends is eyeing you suspiciosly.

The class went on for an hour and half and with each minute passing by, you can tell your body temperature rising. You thought your fever will go away yesterday since you just stayed all day at your house. You even said no to the date you supposed to have with Oikawa. The moment the class ended, you excused yourself from your friends who wanted to know why you're late, you were never late.

"Shit.." You whine when you felt the throbbing pain inside your head again, you already drink some medicine but it's not doing any good. Looking at yourself at the mirror, you look horrible.

"Are you okay, miss?" Looking up, you notice some first years and you just weakly smiled at them

"I am, thanks." They just nodded and went out of the bathroom, after fixing yourself. You tried your best to get to your classroom, your vision getting blurry and it's like everything is spinning. The moment you open the door of your room, your head began to throb, horribly.

Last thing you heard is the voice of your classmates and friends screaming your name.

The last thing Oikawa wants right now is the attention from his fans, he likes it don't get him wrong but he really wants to focus on their training this time.

"Are you still mad because she declined your date?"

Iwaizumi said when he approach the setter, Oikawa woke him up at the middle of his nap just to cry and whine on how you don't love him anymore. He knows his bestfriend is a lil'bit dramatic so he let him rant and he just went back to sleep.

"We planned it for so long! She knows our schedule doesn't match up so we specifically agreed on that date."

The brunette huff and spike the ball he was holding and let out a sigh, if something came up you would've told him. Iwaizumi stared at his bestfriend before shrugging and returning to practice, some time later there was a commotion at the entrance of th gym

"Please! We need to speak to Oikawa-san!"

"I told you that his busy!"

Coach Nobuteru glared at his captain and Oikawa grimace and went to calm down his 'fans' but before he could speak, your angry bestfriend shove all the girls and glared to Oikawa

"Your girlfriend collapsed!"

He didn't need to get a go signal from his coach and sprinted towards the clinic of their school. He never ran that fast all his life, he was panting, hard, catching his breath as he entered the clinic where he saw you getting check up by the nurse

"Baby.." he manage to blurt out while wiping the sweat off from his face and approach where you are "Rest for 15 minutes first. Oikawa take her home after she take this medicine." He nodded and grab the medicine from the nurse's hand. The nurse excuse herself and slightly close the curtain, enough to cover you and Oikawa.

"Why didn't you tell me?" You look at him and sighs "You have a match coming up, I wouldn't want you catching my sickness."

It's true but you could have inform him, he grab the stool and sat beside you. You laid down on the bed, facing him. Your right hand slowly coming up to cup his cheeks and he groan feeling how hot your palm is.

"I'm sorry. I know we've been looking forward for our date yesterday... I'm so-"

"Shush it doesn't matter. All that matters is you'll be healthy and energetic again, okay? Now, rest. I'll go get our things, when I come back you'll take this medicine and we'll go home, okay?"

Even if you are wearing a facemask, he can still see your smile. He lean forward and kiss your forehead and almost curse when he felt his lips get burn. Even if he misses the practice tomorrow, he'll nurse you back to help. He won't get weak just by missing a single practice. Plus, when you are all well again he'll have your whole love and support and it's enough to fuel his desire to win everything in life.

[roseareeh]

Agony | Gareth Emerson x Cheerleader! Reader

Notes: Before you read, be aware that Reader is dating someone else in this. I had to make Reader from a catholic family to make this work. MDNI, 18+ only

Warnings: Descriptive abusive relationship, hint at being talked into having sex, hint at restrictive eating, a very short sex scene

Word Count: 2.9k

"Watch where you're going, freak.", your boyfriend Andy said as he purposely ran into and pushed down one of the students from Hellfire. You knew him, he was in your social studies class. "Andy, that's enough.", you scolded him. Your boyfriend gave you a confused look as you helped him gather his books. "Sorry. Hope your okay.", you said to Gareth before grabbing Andy by the arm and dragging him away.

That was your first interaction with Gareth.

The same night, you had a huge fight with Andy. He accused you of liking the 'freak boy', asked why you helped him. "Because he's also a human, Andy." You tried your best to remain calm, it was your way of trying to controll his bad temper. While you truly loved Andy, he gets angry easily. But there was one safe strategy to this. "Come on, Andy." You wrapped your left arm around his torso and cupped his face with your right hand. It gave him the perfect view of your cleavage, and made your eyes look especially big and innocent. "I like helping people. That's why you love me, don't you?" With a sigh and a small eye roll, he let out a small "Sure." His hands found your hips and held on tightly. "There's some other things you do that I love." One swift movement later, you were laying on Andys bed, underneath him.

You're fucked. In social studies, you were given presentation assignments and partnered with a random person to work with for two weeks. Just your luck, you were partnered with Gareth. Despite it not being your fault, you knew Andy would pick a fight over it. Regardless, you and Gareth pushed your chairs together and looked at the topic you were supposed to write about. "Write about your favourite moment from world history.", you read out loud. Gareth seemed happy about it, but you furrowed your brows. "The only history I know about is cheerleading and the crusades." Gareth gave you a raised eyebrow. "Crusades?", he asked before grinning in amusement. "That's a wild card." You laughed a bit at his words. "My family's catholic, that was kinda our thing." So, the crusades it was. Both of you told your teacher about the topic you chose do your assignment about. "Whatever we can't finish now, we can do after school.", Gareth suggested. The thought alone made you nervous, considering Andy. "Uhm...I-I don't know...you know how my boyfriend is..." He knew how he was, but what worried him is that you looked very scared. "Well, maybe we'll do it at your house with one of your siblings around?" His suggestion sounded fair enough to you.

But it didn't to Andy. "Why the fuck would you even agree to hang out with the freak?!" He yelled at you in the parking lot after school. "It's for school, Andy...", you defended yourself in a quiet voice. "I don't fucking care, you should've asked for another partner! Are you actually that stupid?!" Your eyes started watering at his words. "I'm sorry...", you mumbled while holding back tears. "Sorry isn't gonna fix how dumb you are." He turned around and got in his car, the door slammed shut and it made you flinch. You watched him drive off before getting into your own car to cry. After a good 15 minutes, there was a knock at your window. It was Gareth. You rolled down your window with one hand while whiping your tears with the other. "You okay?", he asked in a worried tone. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine.", you lied. "Just...frustrated about cheerleading, is all." He didn't believe you, but he wouldn't say that out loud. "Hey, uhm, my friends all kinda dipped out on me, do you wanna start the assignment today?" You couldn't, not after that fight with Andy. "I have cheer practice out of school today. We can stick to Thursday, okay?" He reluctantly nodded before saying goodbye and "I hope you feel better soon.", then getting into his own car.

At home, you already started reading through your books about crusades. You tried at least, because Andys words still rung in your ears. All your life, you didn't feel stupid. Sure, some classes are harder than others but you weren't an idiot. At least you didn't think that until you started dating Andy. Every time a boy looked at you the wrong way, flirted or stepped too close, he called you oblivious, dumb or stupid for not realising it. Many times, it didn't even seem like flirting to you. But Andy was a guy, he must know...right? "Honey, Andys here!", your mother yelled from downstairs pulled you out of your thoughts. His footsteps approached your upstairs room and the door opened slowly. "Hey.", he said in a calm tone. You got up from your bed to walk over to him. "Hey.", you said back. Your boyfriend closed the door behind him before putting his hands on your hips. "I'm sorry, baby. I shouldn't have yelled at you." An actual apology from him is rare. "It's okay if you can't always think of smart solutions, you're good at other things. You just leave the thinking to me next time, yeah?" Did he genuinely think you were stupid? Maybe he's right...he does know you best. "Sure. Thank you, Andy." You said as you wrapped your arms around his torso. "I think there's a way you can make that mistake up to me.", Andy said as he slowly led you towards your bed. Honestly, you didn't feel like it but he'll start another fight if you'd say no. So you just follow lead.

Gareth came to your house on Thursday, two days later. You already put all the books you had on crusades on the dining table in your home in the morning, so both if you just drove to your house after school to start on the assignment. "So, we should probably explain what a crusade is first, and then talk about the big eight ones in more detail. I mean, there's minor ones but if we were to talk about all of them we'd be there for hours." You laughed a bit at your own words. "You know a lot about that, huh?", Gareth asked with a small smile. "Oh, it's just something my brothers liked when I was a child. I'd always sit quietly on the stairs when they watches Gates Of Paradise in the living room." He laughed a bit on your words. "Well, you're the smart one here. I'll just follow your lead." Those words struck a bit. "Oh no, I'm not that smart.", you said with a small wave of your hand before opening your first book. Gareth, however, was very confused by your self-degrading words. "Do you wanna talk about what crusades are, then I talk about the first big one, and we just switch back and forth?", you asked. Honestly, he was still taken aback by your comment, but he didn't want to bring it up again; he wasn't your friend, it would be too invasive. Having Gareth there for your assignment was odd - you didn't actually feel so stupid when you worked with him. It made you doubt Andys words for the following days.

"Mornin' baby.", Andy grumbled next to you. Both of you were at a party the night before, where Andy got extremely drunk and threw up in his driveway, bathroom and the side of the road on the way back. You stayed sober, being the designated driver like you were every time the two of you went to a party. "Promise I'll drive next time.", he mumbled as his arms snaked around your waist and pulled you closer to him. Andy promised that every time he woke up hungover. "Sure.", you whispered as you pulled the sheets up higher. "You okay?" He let out a low groan, indicating his raging headache. "Need some aspirin?" Andy hummed in response, so you got up and walked to his bathroom where you got his aspirin. After going downstairs to get a glass of water, you walked back into his room. "There you go.", you said as you put his things down on the messy nightstand. "Andy, I need to get home soon for my assignments. You want me to come over again later?" He turned to look at you through squinted eyes. "Sure. You can make me feel better then, hm?" You were at a point where the thought of having sex with Andy grossed you out - it made you feel tainted every time. But fighting with him made you feel even worse. "Sure, I'll see you later. Let's say around six, I'll bring dinner." He gave you a small smile and a pat on your thigh. "You're not that dumb after all." Sure, let's say that.

Gareth didn't make you feel stupid. In fact, you were looking foward to working with him again. He didn't make you feel nearly as stupid as Andy did. On your way to his house, you picked up coffee, donuts and bacon & egg breakfast muffins for the both of you. A short drive later, you were already knocking on his front door to be greeted by his mother. "Good morning.", you said to her with a smile. "I'm Gareths assignment partner, we wanted to continue working on it today." She smiled at you. "He's up in his room. Come in, I'll fetch him for you." His mother made you sit at the dining table where you also put the food down until Gareth emerged form his room. "Morning.", he said as he slumped down next to you. He looked like he just woke up, so you slid him his coffee. "Just rolled out of bed, huh?", you asked with a small laugh before taking a sip of your coffee. "Rough night.", Gareth mumbled. "Thanks for the coffee." He drank a lot of it in one gulp, but it seemed to kick in really fast. "I also brought food.", you said as you slid the brown paper bag with his donut and breakfast muffins towards him. "Take your time, I'm free until five." Gareth ate his breakfast quickly, so quickly that you gave him your donut, but he fully enjoyed it. "You're honestly the best, (Y/N). I couldn't have a better partner." It sounded wrong, and in the back of your mind you knew that Andy would kill him for that comment, but you didn't say anything. "I try my best.", you said with a small smile. "It's nice to be appreciated for once." Those words slipped out without you thinking about what you were saying. Your eyes went wide as he looked up at you with a questioning and concerned look. Shit. "What do you mean?", he asked you. You mumbled out a few excuses, that you didn't mean it like that and that you didn't mean to say it, but it didn't change his concerns. In fact, he worried a lot since he first worked with you and you basically called yourself stupid. "It's, uhm..." Maybe it would be relieving if you talked about this to someone. All your friends were on the cheer team, it would find it's way to Andy. "My boyfriend, he...well, he made me realise I'm not really smart. But even when I think I have a good idea, he thinks it's stupid, so...it's nice to have that appreciated." Gareth started hating Andy even more at that very moment. He didn't know you too well, but he knew you weren't dumb. In fact, he admired how well you did in social studies despite not liking it much. "You're not stupid, (Y/N), if anything he's stupid for saying that." His words gave you a funny feeling in your stomach. "Oh, I don't know.", you said. "I'm good at other things. Cheerleading, driving, se-" Luckily, you cut yourself off. "S-sewing." He raised an eyebrow. "Sewing?" Your cheeks have turned a deep shade of red. Did you seriously almost say the word Sex in front of Gareth? "Y-yeah. I sew my own bows. You know, for cheerleading." He laughed before finishing his coffee. "I've heard worse excuses. Good one." You forced out a chuckle while your face was still flushed red. "Coming up with that excuse on the spot is pretty smart, you know." By now, you couldn't look him in the eyes anymore. "I know it's not my business, but you deserve someone who doesn't make you feel stupid. Because you really are not."

Gareths words stuck with you more than Andys did. They meant more to you than your boyfriends words, his didn't sting as much anymore. As you were riding him and he finished inside you, your mind wasn't even with him anymore; it was with Gareth. He looked so cute after he just woke up...what were you thinking? This can't be right, can it? "Fuck, you're incredible." Andy groaned once he came down from his high. "You're my own little pornstar, aren't you?" You gave him a small smile as you got down, since he wouldn't try to make you cum anyways, and cuddled up to him. "You're usually not this needy afterwards.", Andy commented. There were no words you could possibly say right now. You were too deep in your own head, thinking of nobody but Gareth. No way in hell could you develop a crush on him. "I just...love you an extra lot today." You said to your boyfriend. "Aren't you cute?", he said before giving you a kiss on your forehead. If you'd convince yourself enough, you'll stop developing feelings for Gareth and fully love Andy again.

Your plan was mediocre at best. Both you and Andy started fighting more, he accused you of cheating, called you stupid multiple times a day. It peaked when he called you a whore because you had to meet with Gareth for your assignment. At this point, you completely lost feelings for him. Every time he came around with a fake apology, every time he convinced you to have sex with you as an apology, every kiss on the forehead afterwards, it made you feel dirty. At this point, you were eating less, showered twice a day and changed your sheets daily. It was a rapid decline over the course of one and a half weeks. And with the deadline of your assignment approaching, meaning you won't have an excuse to spend time with Gareth anymore, you grew anxious. He made you feel good about yourself in a way no friend or, god forbid, your boyfriend could.

"Hey, Gareth?" Might as well take a risk. "My brothers wanna do a movie night tomorrow. I thought Gates Of Paradise would be something you'd like, considering our assignment." He smiled at your suggestion, a genuine smile not even close to what Andy gave you. "That sounds great.", he said. Since the both of you finished the assignment that day, it made you truly happy that he was willing to spend time with you outside of schoolwork.

"It's just with my brothers.", you said to Andy when he asked why he couldn't join you for movie night. "I promised them some time with just me because I've been so busy with the assignment." He sighted at your words. "But you'll be here tomorrow?", he asked as his hands cupped your cheeks. Gross. "Yes, Andy, just you, me and The Outsiders." He smirked before giving you a quick peck on the lips. "How about you bring those pretty silk PJ's that drive me insane?" No thank you. "They're in the washer right now. How about your shirt?" That still pleased him, although not like your silk pyjamas did.

It didn't matter what you wore when Gareth was around you, he was kind to you regardless. You were in an oversized Pointer Sisters shirt and boxershorts you wore over your underwear when your elder brother led him into the living room. "Hey Gare.", you greeted him with a smile. Gareth plopped down on the couch next to you while your brothers made a construction of pillows and blankets on the floor to lay on. Your younger sister joined them on the floor as well since she was finally old enough to watch crusade movies without peeking from the stairs like you did as a child. "I didn't know what sodas you liked, so I brought a few.", Gareth said as he handed you a sixpack of cherry coke, a sixpack of sprite and a sixpack of diet coke. "Diet cokes good.", you said with a smile. "Yeah, ever since she's been on that new diet of hers.", your eldest brother commented as he took the sodas out of my hands. "Cherry coke's her favourite if she's not trying to loose whatever weight she thinks she needs to loose." You threw a pillow from the couch after him as he left the living room. "It's just for practice." but Gareth didn't buy that explanation. He didn't want to say anything in front of your family, but he did make a mental note to himself. Your other brother and your sister left the room to grab snacks and the movie, leaving you two alone for a few minutes. "Andy doesn't know you're here, by the way.", you said. "He...well, he doesn't really like you. Actually, he's jealous. Thinks you wanna steal me from him."

Oh, if you knew.

[dandylovesturtles]

we're stressed but we remain silly (actually this is super angsty lol)

more Sidelined + Firefight (Firelined???) propaganda for the @tmntaucompetition

Sorry I keep stealing your boys @remedyturtles

Spoilers for chapter 15 of Firefight, cw: for heavy injuries + blood, no actual recounting of how they got the injuries in this fic, though

Please consider voting for us! Thanks!

-----

In the time it takes Donnie and Leo to get medical supplies, it's been decided that they'll be teaming up with the Firefight guys.

The situation has also, somehow, managed to deteriorate.

If Leo thought these guys looked like death warmed over before, now they just look like plain old death. The other Donnie is littered with bloody injuries and his leg is bent in ways it really should not be. And the other Leo...

Leo shudders at the cracks in his shell. He's not sure he wants to know what kind of monster could do that.

The Leo is chirping periodically - help help scared - and the Donnie answers back by tapping on his shell. Leo knows enough now to recognize it as Morse code; trying to calm him, coax him into coming out. It doesn't seem to be working too well.

"...I think we should have brought more medical supplies," says his own Donnie, yanking Leo out of his reverie. "This may not be enough."

"I don't even know where to start," Leo confesses softly. Really, they need to see a doctor, but Leo has no idea where to find one. Maybe one of the older turtles here has more medical experience than they do? But he has no idea who to ask...

"We'll just... do the best we can," says Donnie, and he sounds determined. Leo finally tears his eyes away from their deathly still mirrored versions, the Leo cradled close in the Donnie's arms, to look at his own twin. He's got his jaw set and teeth clenched, like he does when he's gearing up for something particularly unpleasant, and Leo isn't going to let him face it alone.

"Alright." Leo starts laying out their supplies on the bleachers, sorting it for easy grabbing. "Let's see what we can do."

-----

When he tries to take the other Leo away, the other Donnie bites him.

Really, he should have been prepared for that.

It's only hard enough to graze the skin on his arm, but Leo still hisses when it happens. The other Donnie's eyes fly to his face, then widen and let go, which is good, because Leo knows what could have happened if he bit down harder.

He looks horribly guilty, his eyes flying between the Leo in his lap and Leo's own face. His eyes are glassy and he may not be able to fully distinguish between them. So now he thinks he bit the brother who is still chirping periodically - help help scared - and boy does Leo feel like a tool.

He holds up his hands in surrender, rushing to reassure him. "It's okay, that was my bad. I could have telegraphed that way better."

"Excellent work, Leon," chides his own twin, who looks thoroughly unimpressed. He immediately grabs Leo's arm in one hand, then reaches for the disinfectant with another. "We're supposed to be treating their injuries, not yours."

"It's fine, it's just a scrape!" he says, but doesn't actually do anything to stop Donnie from cleaning it. His immune system has been pretty much useless since the armor, and mouths are nasty.

Besides, the gentle attention Donnie is giving his wound, despite his harsh tone, seems to be doing something for the other Donnie. He doesn't loosen his grip on his twin, but something unspools in his posture as he watches, attentive, as the wound is cleansed and covered. Like it's finally clicking for him that they're here to help. That things are... well, better than they were.

Leo gives him his biggest, most reassuring grin, and says, "Yeah, see? We're gonna get you guys all patched up."

Donnie finishes his work, then pulls on a pair of gloves, thankfully already modified for three-fingered hands. He holds out a pair for Leo. "Are your hands steady?"

It's not at all an unfair question. Leo nods. "Yeah. For now, anyway."

Donnie nods back, letting the gloves fall into Leo's palms. "I'll start work with Leo, you take Donnie. Start with the lacerations on his back. I... don't think we can do much for his leg."

"Right."

Donnie steps over and settles down on the bleacher next to the pair, body angled towards them. He holds out his hands for his counterpart to see.

"Hello, Donatello," he says. "Can I start treating your Nardo? I'll keep him right here - you can maintain physical contact if you want."

The other Donnie hesitates. He hasn't spoken since they arrived, his only active communication the continuous taps against his own Leo's shell. It's not surprising - there's no way this situation isn't overwhelming. But it's making this whole process a bit difficult.

Donnie's never let difficulties slow him down, though.

"I swear," he says, clear and steady, "I'll treat him like my own Leo."

The other Donnie looks down at the bloody shell in his lap. Then he looks at Leo, who gives another smile and a little wave from his wheelchair.

Again, it seems to be clicking, and slowly, very slowly, the other Donnie unwraps from around his precious bundle, and lets him go.

His chirps get more rapid when that happens, and the other Donnie's taps get more rapid. They're close enough that he can keep a hand on his Leo's shell easily, can keep up the Morse code, keep telling him that he's safe. It means Leo's going to have an awkward angle to get to the other Donnie's own injuries, but that's alright. He's gotten good at reaching things that aren't convenient.

He wheels himself as close as he can get, then leans over the arm of his chair and gets to work.

It has to hurt, but the other Donnie stays stalwart, all his focus on reassuring his twin, barely twitching as Leo cleans and bandages the wounds. So Leo works in silence, lets him tap away. He knows enough to recognize it, but not enough to know what he's saying. Still, he can take a good guess.

Eventually, Donnie has done all he can to the other Leo, and Leo himself is flagging. His hands had been steady when he started, but this kind of work wears him out quickly - his hand muscles are cramping, and his wrists are sore. Donnie catches on, because he always does, and announces that they'll trade places without leaving room for argument.

So after a little maneuvering, Leo has his counterpart in his lap, while his twin works on cleaning the other Donnie's arms and legs as best he can. The taps are still going, and the chirps still come, here and there.

Leo can't do much to help now, so he tries to help. Tries to think of what would make him feel better, if they were switched.

He looks over at the other Donnie, battered and bruised and bloody, his leg twisted and his breaths wheezing.

And the next time the other Leo chirps, he says, "It's okay. Donnie's safe."

And he says it again, and again, and again, each time he hears the chirp, until-

"You're safe, too, Leo."

He looks up, at his twin, whose hands have stalled in their ministrations. He's looking at the shell in Leo's lap, but for a brief moment his eyes flick up, and they lock, and there's something meaningful there that Leo has to rush to catch.

"You're safe, too."

Leo watches Donnie, for the first time he notices the shake in his twin's hands. And it occurs to him, if it hurts him to see a Donnie in this state, like he's never seen before, then for his twin to see a Leo in this state, when he has-

He takes a shaky breath. The chirp comes again, and this time he says, "Yeah. You're safe. Donnie's safe. It's okay. No monsters here."

They keep it up until Raph and Mikey come back with the chairs and the food and blankets, the ones Leo drapes over his legs to keep them warm. By that point, they've done about all they can, and with some maneuvering they get the other Donnie in the transport chair, and pass his twin back to him, safe in his lap.

He still hasn't made any move to come out, but no one tries to force him.

"Let's ask the staff if there's anywhere these guys can lay down," suggests Raph, and they all nod in agreement to that. The bleachers are not comfortable enough for naps, especially not in the state these guys are in.

"Do you need me to push you, Nardo?" asks Donnie. "You said your wrists were hurting."

"They're fine," he protests, giving his hands a shake. "Don't..."

The word "worry" dies when his counterpart chirps again, and he catches Donnie's flinch when it happens.

"...Well," Leo says, "I guess I could stand to take a break."

His twin looks relieved. Leo's glad one Donnie does, at least.

Donnie grabs the handles of his chair; Raph takes the handles of their teammates'. And with that, they're off.

[clarisse0o]

Camp Wiegman-Part 64

Lucy Bronze x Ona Batlle

Alternative Universe : Military School

Words: 5k

Masterlist

———————————————————————

Monday, March 1; 6:15 AM - Alexia and Ona's Room

Returning to my roots stings throughout my entire system. I'm exhausted. My first night away from Lucy's arms was a disaster. Needless to say, I didn't get a wink of sleep. Now she's doing her usual rounds around our beds while I yawn so wide it feels like my jaw might unhinge.

"Rough night, Batlle?" she teases kindly.

I groan pitifully, causing my friends to chuckle. She stops in front of me, scanning me from head to toe, checking my outfit before pulling me into her arms. A sigh of relief escapes me instantly. I bury my nose in her neck, inhaling her scent deeply to ensure I remember it. When I finally lift my head, she lingers on my face. One might think she's scrutinizing my barely-there makeup, but it's probably my dark circles she's focused on. Then she kisses me properly, making Alexia clear her throat after a moment.

"We should get going."

"Yep," Lucy exhales. "Go on, off you go," she says.

I head for the door, following my roommate.

"And Ona," she calls as I reach the threshold.

"Yes?"

"Don't forget your evening classes. Time to get back into the groove."

I smile and nod. We spent yesterday reviewing my classes and finishing the last bits of homework I had left. I'd already done most of them during the evening classes before the break so I wouldn't be bothered during the two-week vacation. It was a good way to get back on track.

"I don’t plan on missing them. Have a good day, Commander."

A smug smile stretches across her lips as I leave the room. I catch up to Alexia, who had gone ahead. She smiles when I reach her.

"Looks like things are going well, huh?"

"Better, yes, but it could still be better without this decision hanging over me."

"Has she changed her mind?"

"Yes and no. She explained the reasons behind her choice," I reply, shrugging. "We'll see. First, I plan to negotiate at my next meeting. Then, I’ll send a few requests to other galleries, and we'll see."

"That's already something. I hope everything goes well."

"Absolutely!"

We step outside, where most of our friends are waiting. My eyes fall on Alessia, reminding me of yesterday’s anxiety. She and her sister know about Lucy. I don’t expect them to tell anyone, but it's still a situation that could make things awkward. We greet everyone before heading to the cafeteria. Good habits really are coming back.

"Your sister’s not here?" I ask Ale.

"Well, turns out she’s got a girlfriend now."

"Really?" I ask, surprised.

"Yeah, apparently she's here, at school, so I assume she's with her."

"Wasn't she a bit difficult because you were away for two weeks?"

"Nope. Seems like having a girlfriend has its perks. I plan to find out who she is just to thank her."

I laugh. I'm curious too. With everything that happened before the break, I hadn’t noticed her getting close to anyone in particular.

"We’ll do our investigation if you want," I tease.

"Oh, for sure! If she thinks she’s going to keep her in the shadows, she's dreaming."

"And you’re the one saying that?" I tease again.

"My case is different."

"Of course," I mock. "Still, it’s time for her to introduce her at least once."

"Yeah, yeah. Soon, since the year is almost over, and I plan to move in with Jenni after school."

Seems I’m not the only one thinking about the "after school" period. I hope she tells her soon because I have a feeling this situation might backfire given how Alba is. We reach the cafeteria. Once we’re served, we sit at our usual table. From where I am, I can see Lucy join her side with Ingrid. I don’t linger, though, afraid I won’t be able to look away from her. The others start recounting their fantastic vacations. I turn to Alessia, who’s sitting next to me. Best to address the elephant in the room right away.

"How were your holidays?" I ask her.

"Pretty good," she admits. "And yours?"

She’s calm. A bit too calm, and probably a little embarrassed too. Lucy did make a point of kissing me in front of her to stake her claim the day they caught us together. I still don’t know if Alessia saw that. All I know is that Lucy marked me with a huge hickey on my neck again last night, just to be sure. My friends haven’t seen it yet since I’ve kept my scarf on, and I plan to keep it that way for a while.

"Good as well," I reply with a small smile.

"Is your girlfriend planning to keep an eye on me from now on?" she retorts, without much emotion.

I glance over at Lucy and see that, indeed, she’s sneaking looks at us between sentences with Ingrid. I bite my lip to suppress a smile. She’s impossible. Yesterday's lecture about jealousy clearly wasn’t enough for her. Maybe it’s time I tell her how much I love her to get her to relax.

"I'll talk to her. Don’t worry."

"Have you seen the hickey she gave her?" Alexia teases mockingly.

"Stop," I groan, unconsciously covering my neck with my hand. "It was the only way to leave without a ten-hour lecture."

Alessia and Alexia laugh at my expense, making me blush even more. To be honest, I like Lucy’s jealousy, but I’d never admit that to them. After our cold moment, she simply reminded me that she loves me no matter what. She knows how to reassure me.

"Did someone say hickey?" 

We turn toward the voice we all recognize. Alba stands behind me with her tray in hand. I smile softly at her. I’ve missed her, actually. I didn’t expect to get so attached to her personality, but I have. She’s genuinely a good person deep down.

"Mind if we join you?"

It’s only then that I notice someone standing behind her. It’s Misa, and judging by the look she gives me, there’s no doubt she’s the girlfriend Ale mentioned. She never hung out with us much, but it happened occasionally. All I remember about her is that she wasn’t very friendly. Her choice surprises me, but after all, I don’t know her well enough to judge their relationship. The question was mostly for show, as they sit down at the end of our table. I exchange a look with Ale, who doesn’t seem thrilled with what she’s seeing. She’s understood the situation just like I have, but I know from previous conversations that she doesn’t like Misa much either. Neither of us knows how to place her.

"So, what’s this about a hickey? Who’s the victim?" Alba asks again.

"Ona," Alessia replies. "Apparently, from her girlfriend."

"Really?" she asks, surprised. "You’re with someone?"

I run my hand through my hair, feeling awkward. I didn’t want this to spread around the table. I feel like Alessia is challenging me, which is irritating. But if Lucy gave me a hickey, it’s because she wants people to know I’m taken, right? After that little internal debate, I nod.

"Uh, yeah. I’ve been dating someone for a little while," I admit.

"Wow, didn’t see that coming," she smiles. "That’s cool! Is she from here? Do we know her?"

"Alba, that's none of your business," Alexia cuts in. "And you? When were you going to tell me you were dating Misa?"

I'm relieved by her intervention. It gives me time to breathe, and she knows why. I can’t afford to reveal Lucy’s identity.

"If I’d waited as long as you to admit I was seeing someone, I wouldn’t have told you until next year," she retorts proudly.

- "What nonsense," she muttered, rolling her eyes before glancing at me.

I stifled a small laugh. I gave her a sympathetic smile, but in reality, her sister wasn't wrong.

- "So, are we not allowed any juicy details?" Alba returned to the original topic.

Of course, she was back to me. Unfortunately, I hadn't had time to think. I just shrugged. I would like to share with them, but I know I can't reveal everything.

- "She's a girl. A few years older than me, and well, that's it. We've only been together for a few weeks."

Only a few weeks. Now that I say it, it feels like we've been together for months. I'm already eager to reach our first month. Unfortunately, that's in a few days, and we'll still be here. I'm trying to stay positive, reminding myself that we'll be in Barcelona this weekend. At least I’ll have the advantage of being on my home turf. I can plan something for her at a place she doesn’t know, with Mapi as my accomplice.

- "So, you're into girls too?" Misa asked.

I leaned to see her as she was sitting just next to Alessia. She kept eating while glancing at me. Surprisingly, she smiled. Now that she knew she had nothing to worry about with Alba, maybe she’d behave differently.

- "Indeed" I replied, without going into detail.

- "And this girl," Alba asked again, "does she treat you well at least?"

Alexia rolled her eyes again, making me suppress a laugh. Honestly, they should have stayed away from each other if they were going to act like this in each other's presence.

- "Absolutely. She's amazing, even if sometimes she struggles to grasp that she's the only one who matters to me."

I punctuated my words by showing off the huge purple, almost black, hickey on my neck. She had pinned me down against the mattress, leaving me no means to defend myself. My friends gasped in disbelief, making me chuckle slightly.

- "Damn, seeing it again now, I realize she didn’t hold back at all," Ale teased as I quickly covered the evidence. "Think I can tease her about it?"

- "You? Tease her?" I raised an eyebrow. "I’d love to see that," I mocked.

- "Oh, shut up," she mumbled.

- "Wait, you know her?" Alba asked, surprised.

- "Yeah. Who do you think I spent my vacation with?"

- "Any particular reason she marked you like that?" Alessia asked, trying to prevent a sibling argument.

- "I don't know," I admitted, shrugging. "Jealousy, I guess. She knows a bit about my friends... I mean, I tell her about them a lot, so she probably feels threatened," I quickly corrected myself.

- "I wonder why. You practically devour her with your eyes. You'd have to be blind not to notice," Ale commented.

I hid my blush behind my mug of hot chocolate. I knew how true her words were. I just hoped it wouldn't be too obvious here at school. Even though there were only two months left and Lucy had said she didn’t care if she got expelled, I wasn’t on the same page. I wanted her with me until the end, so I hoped we could stay discreet. It had been a while, so I glanced over at her table. I was disappointed to find it empty. I looked quickly toward the line where people were clearing their trays, but I had to admit the truth: she was already gone. Clearly, I was already missing her, judging by the pang I felt at this realization. This day was going to feel longer than I’d like to admit.

Monday, March 1st; 5:15 PM - Lucy and Ingrid's Office.

I tried not to seem too eager when I headed to Lucy's office. First, I had to be patient while Alessia talked to me after class, and then I had to weave through the students in the hallway. If it were up to me, I would have sprinted from class the moment the bell rang. But sadly, that only happens in movies. So here I was, standing in front of her office door, which was wide open. I tapped on the wood to announce my presence before stepping inside. I didn’t wait for permission anymore—I felt at home here after having come so often. I was greeted by an empty desk on the left and Lucy behind the one on the right. We were alone. Perfect.

- "Hello," I said cheerfully.

- "Close the door," she ordered without taking her eyes off the screen.

I was already almost at her desk when she gave the command. Oh, she didn't seem to be in a good mood. I turned back to obey without complaint. A few months ago, I would have already retorted for her to do it herself. But now, I sensed this wasn’t the moment. I hoped everything would be fine. I had missed her so much today, and I didn’t want to spend the little time we had together in a bad mood.

- "You're late," she noted, as if it needed pointing out.

- "Did you miss me?"

I tried to joke to lighten her mood. To my surprise, she stood up abruptly to face me.

- "Hell, yes."

Before I could react, she spun me around and pressed me against her desk. Her slightly cold hands slid under my already open jacket. I smiled against her lips as she took them without asking. She grabbed my thighs firmly, lifting me onto the desk. I welcomed her between my legs, running my hand through her hair. For someone who wanted to keep our two relationships separate, we were far from her long speeches.

- "Take off that scarf," she growled, tugging at it.

I laughed harder as I unwrapped it before she could strangle me with it.

- "You like seeing your marks on me? I got so many comments because of you."

- "Really? I didn’t see you take it off today."

I raised an amused eyebrow. So she was watching me. Good to know. To be fair, I wasn’t any better, but now I understood why I kept running into her in the hallways.

- "You did it on purpose, didn’t you?"

- "I have no idea what you’re talking about."

I laughed, wrapping my arms around her neck. She smiled mischievously in return.

- "Well, just so you know, my friends know I’m taken. I talked to Alba this morning, and the others figured it out. They teased me all through lunch trying to figure out who you are. I said you weren’t from the school, but they think I’m lying."

- "Why would they think I’m from here?"

- "No idea. They think I don’t have a life outside of school."

"Well, aside from Mapi, you don’t see many people from your old life," she reminded me. "They’re not wrong, really. »

- "Well, it's easy to meet people nowadays. There are social media or even dating apps."

- "As if that’s your thing... It isn’t, right? Maybe I should take your phone away…"

- "Hey! No way, you idiot. As if I’d do something like that."

I roll my eyes before she kisses me again. I’ve missed her lips. It’s hard to go from two weeks straight together to a sudden cut. I’ll be happy when we no longer have to deal with the constraints of school.

- "Did Alessia say anything?"

- "No. She thinks you’re very... How do I put it? Vampiric. Or something like that. I don’t think she expected you to devour my neck."

She laughs and kisses the mark. I checked it in the mirror again during lunch and realized it’ll probably stick around for a few more days. She then steps back from between my legs, signaling that our little break is over. I hop off the desk, landing on my feet.

- "As long as she doesn’t hover around you anymore, I don’t care what she calls me."

- "Oh please, like she’d even try to go up against you. It’s a good thing she knows now."

- "Hmm... Alright, get your stuff out so we can tackle your homework. How were your classes?"

- "Boring, as always," I sigh. "I’ll be glad when I finally graduate."

- "I get that, me too," she admits with a small smile. "But we’re not there yet. By the way, I talked to Wiegman about your interview."

- "Already?" I ask, surprised.

- "Yup. The sooner it’s settled, the better. That way, we can avoid unnecessary arguments."

- "What did she say?"

- "She’s giving you permission to go, since it’s after your time here. But she’ll have to inform your mom."

I shrug, indifferent. It’s not like my mom doesn’t already know I had an interview. She’ll figure it out soon enough.

- "Will you come with me?"

- "Of course, I’ll drive you," she smiles. "There are perks to still being your guardian. Now, you just need to call Mr. Fields to find out the date."

- "Yeah... Can we also check out other galleries?"

- "I’ve already done some research," she tells me. "I made a list and sent it to Beth. Since she’s more knowledgeable and knows their reputations, she promised to review them and let me know which ones are worth sending your resume to."

- "Thank you. You’re amazing," I reply sincerely.

- "It’s only natural," she says, linking our hands. "I’ve thought about it a lot, and I want to apologize again for making you think I wanted to push you away. That was never my intention."

- "I know, don’t worry," I smile softly. "Let’s wait to see what Fields says before getting ahead of ourselves. He might offer something else."

- "Don’t get your hopes up too much. He can have as many apprentices as he wants. If you say no, that might be it for him."

- "We’ll see," I say confidently. "He seemed really interested in my profile. Maybe he won’t want to let me go so easily."

- "Babe, seriously. I don’t want you to get your hopes up and be let down. I’ll be happy if he offers you something else, but it’s better not to expect too much."

I nod. She’s right. Ever since I got the positive response, I’ve been feeling confident, but I’m likely setting myself up for a fall. I sigh, sinking into my seat.

- "Shall we get to work?"

- "You’ll get to work," she replies with a small smile. "Try to do it on your own, and I’ll correct it. I’ve still got a lot of work to do since the break is over."

I groan as I pull out the management assignment from this morning. Our teacher didn’t go easy on us, and we’ve already been hit with five exercises under the pretext that we need to be ready for the big day.

- "It’s not as fun without you."

- "Oh, come on. I won’t be sitting next to you during the exams. This is the final stretch. You need to learn to handle it on your own now."

I sigh and pout but still get to work. In a few months, I’ll be sitting through the same kind of exercises, except it’ll be on an exam paper for four hours straight. For now, I have nothing to complain about. The stress is slowly creeping in. I know I won’t be fully prepared, especially in my main subjects. Let’s not forget I’m two years behind. And to top it off, I found out today that we actually have compressed courses. Murphy explained that due to the school’s structure, we’re missing a semester out of the usual three years. After quickly doing the math in my head, we only have three semesters instead of four in a given track. At least I understand now why we’re moving faster than normal. Fortunately, my teachers often revisit points that were covered in previous years during the course. Thanks to Lucy, I’ve started asking for help more often. While I think most of my exams are out of reach, Lucy believes in me. She says I might have some terrible grades, but I can still pass. That’s all the support I need. I’m determined to prove her right. I don’t care about having outstanding grades, just passing is enough. I’ll focus on excelling in the subjects I’m stronger in, like literature and languages. They won’t be the most heavily weighted, given the track I chose, but it’s better than nothing. Time passes, and I finally finish the exercises for my upcoming classes.

- "Can you check my work?" I ask my girlfriend.

- "Of course."

She pushes aside her pile of papers and grabs my assignments. She picks up a pencil and starts reading through them. I take advantage of the calm moment to admire her. She moves her long brown hair to the side, making her even more beautiful. I smile as she unintentionally reveals the mark I gave her. It’s much smaller now and a few days old. Our bubble bursts with a knock at the door, followed by its immediate opening to reveal my management teacher. His sudden presence reminds me that we’re never truly safe from being interrupted, even with the door closed.

- "Oh yes, I forgot about your evening classes," he murmurs. "Good evening, I hope I’m not disturbing you."

- "Not particularly," Lucy replies. "How can I help you?"

- "I was just following up on the field trip, but I can come back later if necessary."

Lucy leans back in her chair, crossing her legs, but she keeps my packet of assignments in her hand and removes her glasses—the ones that make her look so irresistible—with the other. She places them on the desk and massages the bridge of her nose, closing her eyes for a moment before opening them again.

- "I’ve already told you, Ona isn’t a problem. What do you need?"

I can’t help but smile at her cold tone. He’s definitely getting on her nerves. I turn back to my teacher, who looks slightly flustered.

- "Well, I wanted to confirm that Miss Engen and you will be part of the teaching staff accompanying us."

- "Alright. Is that all?"

- "For now. I’ll let you know the date of the trip and which group you’ll be in charge of."

- "Hmm. If you’re organizing the groups, make sure Ona is in mine. Since I’m designated as her guardian until the end of the year, it’ll allow me to keep an eye on her."

I can’t help but laugh at that request. Thank goodness Wiegman put her in charge. We’re definitely taking advantage of it now. I thought I was being discreet, but Lucy must have heard me because she raises an eyebrow as she glances at me. I bite my lip to stop myself from laughing again. I love it when she plays the serious role like that.

- "Any objections?" she asks me.

- "None," my teacher responds.

It’s too much; I have to laugh again. He doesn’t even know who she’s addressing anymore. Lucy doesn’t miss the opportunity to remind him.

"I was talking to Ona. »

- "No problem, Bronze," I replied with as much seriousness as I could muster in that moment.

- "Good. Well, that's settled then. I'll be waiting for your update."

- "Great. Thanks again for agreeing."

Before he turned to leave, I smiled when I noticed him lingering on Lucy's neck. She couldn’t have chosen a better time to show off the mark I left on her. Then his eyes shifted to me, narrowing slightly.

- "See you tomorrow, sir," I said innocently.

- "Hmm... see you tomorrow."

- "Have a good evening," Lucy added just before he left.

I turned back to Lucy, who had resumed correcting my work as if none of that had just happened. Her glasses were back on her nose. With the door closed again, I seized the opportunity.

- "Is he always that annoying?"

- "He never was."

- "Really? I think he is. He tries to get to you at every chance he gets."

- "Well, now you can be sure he won’t come by after class, not with you here."

Her mischievous tone didn’t sit well with me. I slumped back in my chair, crossing my arms. It was obvious that if he wanted to be alone with her, he wouldn’t come by at this time anymore. That idea bothered me a lot.

- "You're not going to sulk, are you?" she teased. "I was as cold as possible. I think I made it pretty clear, didn't I?"

- "Hmm..."

- "Plus, I made sure you’d be in my group for that outing," she added. "I couldn’t really do much more than that."

- "Yes, you could. You could tell him outright that you’re not interested in men."

- "Fine. I’ll do that if that’s what you want."

A silence settled in. My mood lifted a little. I hadn’t expected her to go that far, but I felt relieved. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about him anymore. I watched her as she reached the last page. She had used her pencil several times, so I could already tell there were corrections to make. When she finished, she handed everything back to me.

- "Here you go. You made a few mistakes, but you’ve understood the essentials."

- "Thanks," I replied shyly.

I took my papers and started working on my errors. Most of the time, they were just careless mistakes. Management requires a lot of formulas, and even though I’d memorized them with Lucy’s help before the holidays, I still mixed them up sometimes.

- "How was your night?"

- "Rough," I admitted. "I had trouble getting used to my small bed again, and I didn’t sleep much."

- "Your nightmares came back?"

- "No... I’m a bit afraid they will, but we’ll see. Worst case, I’ll ask to sleep over with Alexia."

I felt close enough to her now that I could ask her for that. I was sure she wouldn’t mind if I did.

- "Hmm... If it’s just her, I think I can accept that," Lucy said with a small smile. "You should take a page out of my book, you know. I know how to control myself."

- "Is that so?" I giggled. "Shall we talk about how you stared down Alessia after I talked to her? I saw you," I accused her shamelessly.

- "I think we should calm down," she laughed. "It’s not like we just spent two weeks living together."

I smiled. She didn’t even try to defend herself.

- "We should, that's true, but I doubt I could resist. I love your jealousy. It makes me feel important in your eyes."

- "You can. You're the most important person to me anyway, baby."

I blushed softly at her unexpected compliment.

- "You are too. Never doubt that. No one even comes close, no matter who I talk to."

- "Noted," she smiled. "Just make sure to remind your friend that you're taken."

- "You do that quite well on your own," I teased, tilting my head to expose my neck. "She knows, don’t worry."

- "Then we have no problem," she smiled wider.

Indeed. Aside from the issue of next year, there didn’t seem to be any more problems between us. I sincerely hoped everything would turn out fine, and even if it didn’t, I was confident we’d find a way through it.

[sirjocktrainer]

Welcome to the new year.

This year I'm going back to something I did a few years back called the weekly workout. Each week during 2013 I highlight an exercise or active for jocks to do.

For 2025 I'm going to do something a little different since you can just look at the tag and see the exercise from last time. https://www.tumblr.com/sirjocktrainer/tagged/weekly%20workout

What I am going to focus on is what makes someone a good jock, or good pup, boy, marine, etc.

These are my preference and interest, other people will have other views.

This week we start with the basics. Starting with Rocky and now a few other jocks I'm using following mantra for good jocks.

A good jock workouts hard.

A good jock eats right.

A good jock obeys coach.

Three simple phrases but they change a man from just being a random guy to being an owned jock.

A good jock workouts hard-straight forward enough it means a good work always gives his best effort. He pushed himself and does what he can to workout be that 15 minutes of bodyweight exercise or full hour and a half gym workout.

A good jock eats right.-this one is hard for a lot of jocks. If you plan to make this real and not just a jerk off fantasy a jock needs to take care of what he eats, protein to build muscles, vegetables for vitamins, carbs for energy.

and last A good jock obeys coach- This one is different for everyone, we'll go into more detail over the year what this means for me but the basic level mean you flex and report each workout. A good jock, show off those muscles and let your owner know you worked out and how it felt, how pumped your muscles are. If we can't be there in person we still want to know.

They're straight forward but much harder to do because they aren't on off, they're every day, every week, for a lifetime.

Are you jock enough for it?

PS: Next week we're talking goals, so start thinking about one.