#what i meant to say was i already have to cosplay as a girl in my day to day irl lol

[sunnysssol]

rewording my last post bc it ... sounded kinda weird auwhdhf but yeah! from now on i'm using they/he pronouns, please refrain from referring to me with feminine terms of address

[auclairedetoru]

Hello! I'm a little nervous because I haven't requested anything in a long time, but I was hoping that maybe you could write something for Gojo with a tall, muscular fem reader? Maybe some headcanons? The buff girlies hardly get any love. Thank you 🥺

- 👾Anon

Absolutely! I've noticed the majority of the time the reader is always described as smaller than the character, which don't get me wrong, I love feeling petite and adorable in fiction since that's not the reality 😭 but the strong tall girlies deserve representation too, that's why in my roomie! Sukuna story I made the reader a boxer!

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Oh you asked Gojo about his girlfriend? Oof, get ready for him to talk your ear off.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 He'll tell you all about her personality. How she's incredibly sweet, and she takes care of him and his students and friends with all the love in her heart, and she's so smart, he's pretty sure whoever made her chose only the best qualities.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 And then he starts talking about her looks and physique... Oh boy, if he wasn't hyper excited before, he's gonna be now.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 The first thing you'd notice about Gojo is how fucking tall he is. He's nearly 191cm, 6'3 in freedom units. He could very easily cosplay slenderman. People have a hard time looking up at him because their necks start to hurt after a little while, but... Not his girlfriend.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 She isn't as tall as Gojo, but she can make eye contact with him with ease, and he LOVES it! He can wrap his arms around her shoulders and hug her, he can kiss her without bowing down nearly 90 degrees, he can give her piggy back rides without having her stand on a chair first. He just loves her height, it was perfect, like she was made that tall just for him.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Then there's her strength, and no, not the mental strength, but physical. Every time he sees her wearing shorts and/or sleeveless shirts, he goes feral. She makes him feel like a Victorian man seeing ankles for the first time, or like a school girl with a crush.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 His girlfriend trains hard everyday, and over time she has built very strong muscles that make Gojo salivate. His favourite thing to do is bite them, which earned him the nickname "vampire Toru" and every time she feels his teeth sink into her arms or thighs, she'd say something along the line of “uh oh, vampire Toru is awake!”. Namami told him that if he had a tail it would start wagging because of that one simple sentence.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Gojo loves play fighting with her because she manhandles him with no fear of hurting him and it drives him crazy. Sometimes he lets her win just so she can pin him down on the floor, he would playfully gasp with a hand in front of his mouth to make her giggle, but the blush on his cheeks is very real.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 When his students met her for the first time, they were in awe (except for Megumi who already knew her). Her smile and voice were so sweet, but everything else about her would definitely crush them with a flick of her finger.

“Your shoulders are very broad.”

“thank you! I worked very hard on them.”

“and you're so tall.”

“you'll catch up to me eventually.”

“... Can you teach me how to be like you?”

ᯓᡣ𐭩 At first, Gojo didn't like that, he was supposed to be their role model, not his girlfriend! He huffed and pouted when they ignored him and focused on her instead, but when he got home and his pretty girl showered him in cuddles and kisses and told him he is still her number one, he was back to his happy self.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Speaking of cuddles, Gojo loves when she holds him and vise versa. He never believed in soulmates, but with the way they fit in each other's arms no matter who's the little and big spoon, he started to believe she really is the other half meant for him and him only.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 He doesn't have a favourite love language with her, because they were all his favourite ways of loving her. Whether it's through kisses, gifts, words, he does them all. He knows that the world has been harsh on her given that she doesn't look like what people think a woman should look like, so he tries his best to give her back the confidence they have taken away from her.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 Over the years and with the help of Gojo, she has become so confident and secure in herself. She stopped hunching over and hiding behind baggy clothes and now stands tall and wears whatever she wants, because she found someone who loves her for the things she thought made her unlovable.

ᯓᡣ𐭩 So yeah, his biggest flex is his tall and buff girlfriend.

It went into a totally different direction than what I had in mind but I hope you like it!

[loveandmurders]

So I read your 'What Soulmate AU for which slasher?'

And I was wondering if you could write a story for Billy Loomis?

On your wrist: "You gonna die tonight, love"

On their wrist: "And fuck, of course my soulmate is a serial killer" 

Hello love and THANK YOU FOR THIS REQUEST!!!! Gosh, I've been so excited to write for it, so I hope you'll enjoy it very much <3

Request based on this post.

GHOSTFACE IS MY SOULMATE (Billy Loomis x female reader)

Warnings: no proof reading, morally grey reader, mentions of sexual desire, mentions of killing, Billy plans on killing you, a few strong words.

You were on your own that night. Your parents were out for a little dinner together; they were celebrating their wedding anniversary. You didn’t mind having the house all to yourself for once. You had cooked some noodles, as you were too lazy to do more, and you were distractedly watching TV. Actually, you were barely listening to whatever that was happening on the screen, as your eyes were on your wrist. Your fingers were tracing the words on your skin. Your family and friends always tease you for the first sentence your soulmate would ever say to you: You’re gonna die tonight, love. 

And you had to admit, you didn’t really get it.

Everyone had some “normal” stuff such as “Hey, my name is” or “Hey, I love your dress” or “It’s been a while I wanted to ask you out”. But no, you apparently couldn’t do the boring stuff and you had to have something about love and death. You weren’t too sure if it was a threat to be honest. It could be a sentence said during halloween for instance, or during a horror convention. You loved horror movies, so your family thought that you were gonna meet a guy or a girl or someone doing some slasher cosplay. You wanted to believe that too. It would be too strange for your soulmate to actually want to kill you, right? 

Plus you didn’t really see yourself like the kind of person who could attract serial killers; you weren't Sidney Prescott. You weren’t attracting troubles usually. In fact, your love for horror movies and gruesome stories had always surprised your relatives, because you seemed too sweet to enjoy that kind of thing.

You continued to stare at your wrist. Alright, your soulmate must also like horror stuff and probably enjoyed cosplays. It sounded like a fun soulmate, right? And the nickname showed that they were quite flirtatious. It sounded even better! 

You sighed as you stroked the “tonight” word. You couldn’t count all the time you hoped it would indeed be that night. So many of your friends had already met their mates, and even your parents found each other before your age. You started to worry. Of course, you still had a lot of time and some of your friends didn’t even have one word on their skin because their soulmate died before they met. You thought you were lucky that yours was still around, but you were getting impatient. Your parents told you you should date people even if they weren’t your soulmate, but it felt strange for you. You only wanted them, and no one else. It felt too wrong to kiss someone who wasn’t meant for you. Maybe you were too loyal and romantic.

You sighed once again, nibbling on your food. You tried to focus on the TV, so you would stop thinking about your soulmate. You relaxed a little and you told yourself that you needed to be patient, that one day you would find them and everything would be soft and happy. You grabbed the TV remote and you tried to find something good to watch. What was good when your parents weren’t home or close by was that you could watch whatever you wanted… Including very bloody and violent movies. You had always tried to play it cool about your love for horror movies and especially about slashers, but deep down, nothing was making you hornier than a big killer destroying life for the sake of it.

If you were really honest with yourself, you would admit you were a little bit jealous of the attention Sidney got from Ghostface. Of course, you knew you shouldn’t think something like that. But it sounded very hot. Such a pity you weren’t interesting enough for a killer, because you would love to be called in the middle of the night and threatened by a dangerous murderer... 

Damn, you really hoped your soulmate would understand something like that and wouldn’t think you were a weirdo. You tried to remind yourself that your mate couldn’t think something like that, because they would love all of you, even the darkest part of yourself.

You were wondering what Sidney had you didn’t though. You were sighing once again when the house phone rang and you jumped in surprise. You thought your mother was checking on you or that one of your friends wanted to chat around. Your mouth was full with noodles but you still took the phone, not saying a word while you were chewing. You waited for the person to talk, and you had to admit that you had the strange sensation of having eyes on you. It was a little bit unsettling, but you were probably getting paranoid because of your obsession and because of the local news constantly talking about Ghostface. You heard someone heavily breathing into the phone and you felt goosebumps spreading all over your skin. The sound was ominous and for an instant you had the sensation of being in one of your favourite horror movies. You swallowed your food and continued to wait for the person to speak. Your heart was beating so fast, as if you knew something was going to happen.

“You’re gonna die tonight, love” the stranger finally said and you rolled your eyes, almost face palming yourself.

“And fuck, of course my soulmate is a serial killer” you grumbled. There was a moment of silence after that. “Hey, you’re still there?” you asked

“You’re really messing my plans up, you know that I hope” the killer you guessed was Ghostface grumpily said

“Well, sorry about that… You can still kill me though” you teased. Truth to be told, knowing that your soulmate was a serial killer was making things a lot easier for you; you wouldn’t need to hide your liking for dangerous people at all. Fate was doing things well sometimes.

“I really should because you’ve always been a pain; did you really need to call me a “serial killer” in your first words to me? Always had to hide my wrist because of that.” they continued to argue and you couldn’t stop yourself from letting out a little giggle

“Well if you were behaving, I wouldn’t have said that!” you hummed, finding the situation very funny

“You are enjoying yourself way too much, Y/N” Ghostface commented, but you could hear a slight hint of amusement in their voice.

“Maybe.” you smiled “Are you around then?” you asked as you started to look around yourself, trying to find from where the eyes were looking at you

“I am. But I need to find someone else to kill now.” they replied

“Oh, really?” you sounded disappointed “I mean, I’m glad you won’t kill me, but I thought we could meet in person right now?” you asked. You had waited for this moment your whole life, so you weren’t too eager to let them go that easily. Ghostface chuckled.

“So impatient. Don’t worry, love, I’ll be back. Let your room window open and I’ll meet you there in a little while.” they told you

“Promise?” you asked, a little bit worried they were going to disappear from your life now you just found them

“Promise.” they hummed before hanging up

You were on your bed, impatiently waiting for your serial killer. You were trying to read but you couldn’t focus on the words laying in front of your eyes. You parents weren’t back home yet, and you hoped Ghostface was going to show up before they could interrupt anything.

You heard a sound against your wall so you sat up, your heart beating so quickly once more. You nibbled on your bottom lip as you nervously played with your fingers. You had to admit that when the infamous Billy Loomis appeared at your window, you couldn’t believe it. You sat at the edge of your bed as he entered the room before leaning against the wall, the head tilted to the side. You watched each other in silence. Your heart calmed down now you were in the same room, and you could feel the bonds linking the two of you growing and becoming even stronger. You had always found Billy particularly hot, but a lot of people in school thought the same, and he knew it. You couldn’t have thought that the man was actually your soulmate. He finally softly smiled at you.

“Staying silent and not being all over me already? That’s good. You would have annoyed me otherwise” he said and you arched an eyebrow at him

“I knew that popularity was making people become assholes,” you teased and he laughed. He was liking you already. You were truly perfect. He had always thought that his soulmate would be afraid of him, or would be a problem in his masterplan, especially when the words on his wrists seemed to mean you knew the truth about him. But he shouldn’t have worried about it.

“You won’t call the police on me?” he asked you, just to make sure. You quickly shook your head.

“Of course not” you replied seriously this time “You’re my soulmate, I wouldn’t do something like that to you. I don’t mind you’re a killer. Actually, I’m not very surprised” you admitted and he smirked

“Yeah, I’ve noticed your little doodles about slashers in class. That’s why I picked you as my next target. I thought I could have some fun with you.” he told you

“You can still have some fun with me… Just a different kind of fun” you winked and he came closer to you, looking like a predator. He cupped your chin to make you look up at him.

“Already playing with fire, love” he hummed, his eyes were so dark and helding all kinds of promises “Maybe you shouldn’t trust me that easily. I was planning on killing you after all” he continued

“Key word: “was”, love” you smiled as you leaned into his touch. His fingers against your skin were sending electricity down your whole body. 

“Touché” he hummed and leaned so your lips were brushing against his. You boldly cupped his face and brought him even closer, so your mouth crashed onto his. He passionately answered your kiss and he made you lay down on the bed as he topped over you. He let you catch your breath for a second before leaning for another kiss. His touch was absolutely intoxicating and you just couldn’t get enough of him. You wrapped your legs around his waist and you heard him moan against your lips. He seemed to want you as badly as you wanted him. His hands were already freely roaming your body as you tried to press yourself impossibly closer to him.

“Are you gonna make out with me like that at school too?” you couldn’t help to ask, half teasing half serious

“Always” he groaned, clearly in need for more of you

“Thought you were with Sidney” you asked

“Shh, don’t worry, she’s soon to be dead anyways” he replied. His fingers were already under your top.

But you both stilled when you heard the front door being open and your mother calling your name.

“Shit” you mumbled with a pout on your lips. You had forgotten about your parents. Billy stroked your cheek and tried to calm down.

“Go downstairs. Spend some time with them. I’ll wait for them to go to bed to join you once again. You won’t get rid of me that easily” he darkly promised

“Oh yeah?” you teased, but deep down you were so relieved the man didn’t want to leave and was eager to spend as much time as possible with you. “You don’t have anything better to do?” you asked with a little smile.

“You need to make up for disturbing my plans, love” he teased back

“Y/N? You’re upstairs?” your father called for you

“Go, now, I’ll make up to you all you want tonight” you winked at him as you gently pushed him away from you, no matter how awful it felt.

“Promise?” he hummed, already knowing the answer

“Promise, my serial killer” you smiled. He stole another kiss from you before leaving your room.

Hopefully Sidney was going to be dead very soon so your boyfriend would be able to solely focus on you, you thought as you went downstairs, a smile on your face.

“How was your evening, mom, dad? Mine was really great” you said

“Ah yes?” your mother smiled at you, waiting for you to elaborate

“I think I’m in love” you hummed, your head full of love, death, kisses and chaos.

[epickiya722]

You know what, season 2 broke a lot of our hearts, didn't it? Well, here's some moments I thought were funny, heartwarming and just off the wall to lighten things up!

Starting with the Hidden Inventory/Premature Death Arc and if y'all want, I'll do a part 2 for the Shibuya Incident!

NOTE: I may have talked about some of these moments before in other posts.

Utahime, just all of Utahime in the first episode. She's awesome, I adore her. "SHOOOOKOOOO!!"

Chibi Satoru and Suguru. Especially the part of Suguru walking up the stairs as the others were talking. "Urusei."

"SENSEI, I SAY WE STOP THIS HUNT FOR THE CULPRIT!"

"SO IT WAS YOU!"

"Blegh!"

Shoko dipping out.

Suguru was really about to jump Satoru with a curse!!!

The fact that Suguru even went from wearing regular-waist pants to high-waist ones from manga to anime is glorious. Whoever decided that knew Suguru was meant to be a fashion icon.

Digimon

That WALK!!! Y'all, those are Special Grade sorcerers!

Suguru scowling Satoru on his behavior, also... "Satorrruuu~" Did he have to purr? That was a purr!

I love Satoru Gojo, I do. But with those glasses, he really do be looking like one of the Three Blind Mice from Shrek.

I don't know how but Toji somehow made saying he took his wife's last name scary. Like, he was very intimidating that it bypass me the first time of how cute it is that he loved Mamaguro a lot.

They actually added Suguru fixing himself a cup of tea in the anime!! This teenager really had that man captured by some Kissing Curse, told him he couldn't be a rice farmer and had himself some tea. Iconic.

Ooh, Satoru didn't have to do Bayer like that. But I applaud him for taking such a selfie!

Shoko trying to explain how RCT works actually irritated Satoru... which is rare!

Riko actually was the first to defeat Satoru. Did him dirty!! Suguru actually laughs at Satoru getting slapped while in the anime he looks shocked. Either way, his reaction is funny as hell.

"You look like a liar! And what's up with those bangs?" Then Riko got jumped for that!

Suguru's bangs ain't that bad, come on!

Knowing how Suguru turns out, it's something he's the one to tell Kuroi that she's Riko's family. Years later, he had his own "family". It's actually heartwarming he tells her that.

That old man didn't even get touched yet and he was already seeing his dead dog from 50 years ago!! Man's life flashed right before his eyes and he even says that! The whooping Suguru put on him was so bad that he was having visions!!

The one time Satoru is shown to have some sort of charm is with a bunch of school girls. The teacher should be locked up though.

Baghead man really had on the All Might cosplay.

Toji didn't have to say a word to that man and he still scared him shitless. Alright, Toji, I see you being all scary!

Satoru really be carrying kids like they're bags of groceries. Did it with Yuji, he did it with Riko.

"I failed!"

Kuroi being rescued! Satoru really stomped on those guys!

The plane scene. Satoru checking each passenger all with a glare. Meanwhile, Suguru was just chilling with a book, sitting there all pretty.

The whole beach scene!! "IT'S A SEA CUCUMBER!!"

Teen Kento having that hairstyle and his dynamic with Yu is just too adorable. He looks like he has Wii music playing in his head all day. Such a good kid!!

I cannot believe that DIO's VA is also Toji's. It's funnier when Toji has had beef with Satoru as a kid and DIO has had generational beef with the Joestars.

I just know that Worm Curse was having the time of its life on Toji's back while he was jumping around and being tossed about. Also, Toji smiling the whole time while fighting.

Suguru actually has mad hops! Did y'all not see that long ass jump?!

Squid gun. Speaking of, where in the hell did all those squids come from?! I need a story on that one!

Toji talking about how he fights for a while before Suguru tells him to shut up and due.

"Am I pretty?" "Sorry, you're not my type." Okay, well, damn.

The Worm Curse pretty much "NOPE" at Suguru.

That kick was fucking personal, I just know it! Also, the fact that Toji actually thought about the curses inhabiting Suguru's body is something. Especially, given later. I actually question that when Suguru dies in JJK 0, did Satoru have to deal with any curses?

Toji remembering Megumi.

Also, if you pay attention to the Worm, that thing sometimes matches Toji's expressions. It's like Reki and his headband (SK8 the Infinity).

Satoru standing all menacingly outside for Toji.

"Is he high?" Well, given that a few moments later he'll be floating in the air.

The fact that people have described Toji's death as "turned into the Apple logo" to "the Rengoku treatment". Y'all are out of pocket! And he looked so disappointed, too.

"Mommy... hug me..." That scene is just...

"I like girls with healthy appetites!" Yu, never change!!

Yuki's reaction to what Suguru tells her about what he has heard about her. "She's pouting."

"I heard you the first time. That's why I said 'huh'!" Bro was just that mad.

Shoko. Just Shoko when she and Suguru meet in Shinjuku.

Heartbreaking as the scene is, you had one lanky ass teenager looking deranged on one end and the other with the "I'm going to the store real quick" fit on having this fight in front of KFC. Becomes even funnier when you remember the slogan "finger lickin' good". What does this have to do with anything? Think about Yuji.

One, where did Suguru get the robes from? Two, given he was born the following year in February after Satoru, if I did my calculations right... Suguru really started a cult at 17. No wonder there were objections. After he killed that guy, I'm sure everyone was like "oh, he's unhinged".

Okay, but the head rubs he gave the twins were so cute!! Look, they may been raised as killers, but it's sweet that they were Suguru's family. He adored those girls and they adored him!

The first meeting between Megumi and Satoru!!

Satoru waking up and seeing his students was just so heartwarming!!!

[xoxomoonlightxoxo]

P&C | Ch. 6: You Can Be My Baby For Tonight

➪ Playlist (Spotify) l Series Masterlist

“Okay, that’s going to be an hour,” I say, pressing the power button. Finally, I made eye contact with Jungkook, who was now busy smelling the fabric softener in my basket. 

“Hhmm, peaches, that’s why you smell so nice,” he grins softly, meeting my eyes. I hide my flustered state with a giggle and pack up. Hoping that something comes up so he can leave, I ask if he has any plans for tonight. He shakes his head. 

“Nope, which reminds me, there's going to be a welcome party at one of the frat houses, you should come,” he says, his doe eyes sparkling under the basement lights. I genuinely try to give it a chance, but the mere thought of another party is making me nauseous. 

“Oh no thank you, I really should just stay back and focus on school,” I reply with a soft smile, hoping he would get the hint. 

“Come on Mira, it's only the second week. Plus, Jiah and Jimin will be there as well.” Jungkook says, not breaking our eye contact. 

“Well, I'll think about it, but thank you again for the invitation. Anyways, why are you so determined to make me go?” I laugh, flipping my hair to the side feeling my ego rise as we speak. 

“Have you become obsessed with me already?” I tease. 

“Relax Kenough, I want to redeem myself from the last party. That was sleep-deprived Jungkook,” he scoffs, leaning back on the laundry machine. 

“Ok ok well, can't wait to see your redemption arc,” I tease, sticking out my tongue as I make my way to the exit door. Jungkook follows behind.

--

When Jungkook said he didn't have any plans for tonight he really meant it. For the next hour, we just walked around campus and talked about our life before university. He was in a band with Tae and Jimin when they were in high school called, Bulletproof Boys. I had to laugh. 

“And you dared to make fun of my shirt?” I cackle, trying to maintain my composure at the goofy name. 

“YAH! That was the best option, be glad we didn't go with Tae's idea, The JJV” he quickly scoffs back, stuttering from frustration. I can't help but begin to hiccup from all the laughing. 

“JJV? That sounds like a disease … or a cult. Did you guys even want to attract girls or …?” I giggle, looking him dead in the eyes. He pushes me gently before sitting on the bench in front of the dorm building. 

“So, have you decided yet?” Jungkook quickly changes the subject as I take a seat beside him. Amid the giggles, I look up at him with confusion. 

“Oh, you meant the party? I mean sure, I guess, I'm feeling better now. Anyways, who would want to miss out on the opportunity of seeing a not sleep-deprived Jungkook?” I smile at him, sticking out my tongue. 

“Be careful Miraya, you might manifest something,” he leans in, giving me a grin. I pretend to puke and walk to the entrance. Again, Jungkook follows like a puppy, teeth peeking through his soft smile. 

--

7:00 p.m.

Jiah: Hey lovely, are you almost ready? I’ll pick you up in about 15 mins. 

I look down at my phone, hair still in rollers as I touch up my makeup. My body tenses up, nerves are at an all-time high. I’m still not 100% sure about going but evidently, it’s too late now. What’s the big deal? It’s just going to be me and Jiah, Jimin, Tae, and Jungkook. Stop it, Mira. I dismiss the tension and quickly fix up my hairdo with a layer of hairspray. 

We were at the destination within the next hour, both of us looking great as usual. Jiah wore her new mini silk dress with a sweetheart neckline. Hair in a half-up, half-down style she was giving sexy princess vibes. I was contemplating between two options but decided to go with a black ruffle mini-dress with my knee-high boots, leaving my hair down in soft curls. Borderline looking like I planned on cosplaying someone from Pirates of the Caribbean, but hey, it looked good so who am I to change? 

The welcome party was set at a huge frat house. Very surreal as I’ve never seen one in real life, let alone stepped foot into it. After leaving our Uber, I could see the mob of people flowing in through the entrance door lit by bright neon lights. Jiah gives me a reassuring smile as we blend into the madness. 

“Hey, girls!” I hear Jimin’s voice waving from across the room. Jiah waves back as we try to make it through the crowd of people, some of whom are already tipsy while others are too busy busting down moves on the dance floor. The whole place smells of alcohol and a mix of every perfume you can think of.  

“Hi baby,” Jiah melts into Jimin’s embrace as I say hi to the rest of the guys. 

“Hey Flip-flops, don’t you look nice?” I hear Tae’s tease as he salutes a hello. My eyes can’t help but roll, as I giggle at him. 

“Hey Tae, you don’t look too shabby yourself,” I grin with a soft smile. We spend some time catching up before I ask about Jungkook’s whereabouts. 

“He should be by the food table, said he was going to get us drinks,” Tae replies as I nod and excuse myself before heading to the said place. 

It was like looking for Waldo, everyone looked identical under the dim lights. Before heading back to the group with a plate full of various snacks, I’m halted by the feel of a hand on my shoulder. 

“Hi Peaches” Jungkook whispers into my ear. My eyes widen as he smiles back, his doe eyes somehow still sparkling. 

“Oh, peaches?” I giggle raising my right eyebrow. 

“What? Tae can call you flip-flops but you draw the line on peaches?” he grins, leaning back on the table, taking the plates off of my hands. I try to talk back but he is already walking back to the group, looking back at my appalled state. 

--

So far the party was nice, we talked, or should I say gossiped, ate lots of food, and drank. I am not intrigued by the idea of alcohol, but it fits the theme tonight so I let loose. However, from the few instances that I did consume it, I can definitely say I’m a light drinker. The phenomenon proved itself once again, as I found myself swaying on the dance floor after two tequila cocktails. Jiah and Jimin decided to take a breather outside, while Tae was busy playing beer pong with his other buddies. 

“Please don’t stop the music … music … music,” I muttered under my breath as Rihana blasted on the speaker. With my hands in the air and eyes closed my body gave into the ambience. Before I could mutter the next lyric I was interrupted by Jungkook’s presence. 

“There you are, baby,” he says, his body filling the space between us. His hands pretend to rest on my waistline, cautious to not make actual contact. 

“Baby?” I question, looking up at his concentrated face. My eyes are hazed, lids heavy as I try to make out what is happening. 

“It was either that or some random stranger disturbing you,” he whispers into my ear, as I feel his lip ring on my skin. I was too drunk to even notice the guy in question, but something about Jungkook’s protective side made me step closer. 

“I like baby more than peaches,” I tip-toe, trying to reach his ear, placing my hands on his broad shoulders. Within a split second, my sober consciousness revokes my action, backing away as my gaze lowers to the floor. I try to shake my head before letting out a soft sorry. 

Jungkook steps closer and lifts my chin with his index finger and thumb, his eyes meet mine as he lets out a little chuckle. 

“You can be my baby for tonight,” he reassures, knowing dam well that he would be dead on a stick if I was sober. However, right now, neither of us protest the tension as our bodies groove with the music. My hands are once again on his shoulders, as he gently pulls me closer by the waist. Eyes locked on each other, the room becomes silent. For a moment, it was just the two of us. 

“You look beautiful by the way,” he whispers into my ear as I lean my head on his chest, feeling the fatigue build up. I try to reply with a soft thank you before feeling my heavy lids close. Jungkook’s hold on my body becomes firmer, as I melt into his embrace, the smell of his cologne blending in with my perfume.  

Before he could check on my state, Jungkook was interrupted by a bright flash coming from Tae’s phone camera. His boxy smile grows wider when he analyzes the situation on the dance floor. Pocking out his tongue he teases Jungkook with the photo, before taking a sip of water in hopes of sobering up. 

“How did this happen?” Tae chuckles, trying to see if I was still awake. His hands inches away from moving some stands of hair out of my face before being interrupted by Jungkook tsk. Tae shakes his head, raises his hands and backs away with a wide smile, rolling his eyes.

Previous l Next

[a-little-unsteddie]

for a minute in the sunlight I

i reached 400 followers today which is insane so have part one of a fic i’ve been working on. once i’m not half asleep i’ll post it to ao3 as well, which will be linked at the end of this note. this is an au i’ve been floating around in my head for a while now, which basically is my rendition of a meet cute ft. Famous!Steve x Normal(ish)!Eddie. except, eddie is a cosplayer, the character that steve voice acts for is coincidentally the character that eddie cosplays as, but that’s later. eddie has no idea that steve is the VA tho. ALSO eddie runs a booth in artist alley with chrissy! anyway, here is part one lol.

ao3 link

—part I: 1.7k words—

“Eddie Munson! You better be on your way!” Chrissy’s voice greeted him as Eddie pressed the ‘accept call’ button and pulled the phone up to his ear. He looked around his hotel room and grimaced.

“I am! I swear I am! I’m gonna get us coffee, though,” he said, grabbing his backpack filled with his convention supplies. He looked around the room, almost ‘aha’-ing out loud before grabbing the ‘artist’ lanyard he had gotten the night before as well as the hotel keycard.

“Good! If you’re not here before the booth opens I swear to god I’ll cut your hair!” She threatened him, causing Eddie to laugh.

“Relax! I’m almost to the cafe,” he lied, dashing out the door and shutting it quietly behind him to not alert the girl on the other end of the phone.

“You’re supposed to be here, y’know, at the convention, to be at your booth, to sell your art!” She snapped at him, sounding more amused than actually upset.

“I’ll be there soon! With coffee!” Eddie repeated, before hanging up just as the elevator dinged at him to indicate its arrival. He stepped onto the elevator, smiling stiffly at the stranger already occupying it. She glanced at him, but ultimately ignored his existence, which was just fine in his opinion.

Okay, so. Eddie knew Chrissy was right to be mad at him—he was meant to be at the venue around 9, and it was nearing 10, and the convention starts at 10:30, so really he had about 45 mins to get there, which was more than enough time to get there. But he was supposed to be there at 9, so he could be set up by 10, for opening at 10:30. He was forever grateful that Chrissy was a morning person and willing to put up with his bullshit.

They had known each other for years, growing up in the same small middle-of-nowhere town as each other. She had been cheer captain while he was forever bullied by the other jocks, but she had come to him one day and decided that he was going to be her best friend. Well, more like, Eddie decided that he wasn’t going to sell some girl hard drugs and instead talked to her.

The rest was history, as they say.

Eddie helped her get away from Jason, her abusive boyfriend, and Chrissy helped him get away from Hawkins. She was also the primary reason he was able to do art and cosplay as a full time gig, as she was able to market and manage his chaos better than he ever could. What had started out as a hobby that Eddie took on to express his frustration with the world had turned into his career, thanks to Chrissy. He had started out by posting his art onto instagram, tiktok, and tumblr, just wanting to show off the work he did for some fandoms he was active in.

Chrissy was also the one to convince him to try to sell his art. To his surprise, fans and non-fans alike ate his work up and bought the fuck out of it. Chrissy also helped him with starting to do conventions as a job rather than as an attendee — she helped him put together his portfolio and designs and ideas into something cohesive that could be set up in a booth in the artist alley of whatever conventions they could get into.

All of that is to say, Eddie owed a lot to Chrissy for his current life. One thing that Eddie couldn’t get figured out was time management. He was able to do most other things with Chrissy, like managing his online presence, restocking his prints when he was low, managing the booth when they were at a con. However, he could never seem to get anywhere on time the first go around. The first day of cons, without fail, led to Eddie arriving a few minutes before the booth opened to the rest of the con.

Which is why Eddie was running late, again.

Chrissy should know better than to expect him on time, but he also figured maybe he could work harder at being on time. Not that he didn’t try, he set an abundance of alarms every time, but one thing or another caused him to be late. This time it was the fact his alarm was set for 7:30 in the evening, instead of morning. He had woken up, checked his phone, saw it was 8:37 and shot up like a rocket to get his shit together. He was meant to do some sort of look today, but had decided against it so that way he wasn’t completely behind. So he just did a basic look — unfortunately that still took him nearly an hour. He didn’t even do make up, which to be fair, he never did on the first days of conventions.

Eddie was so caught up in his thoughts, rushing towards the cafe he knew was near the convention center, that he crashed right into someone leaving said cafe. He swore loudly, stumbling back with wide eyes.

“I’m so sorry, I should’ve been paying more attention, oh my god,” Eddie rushed out, staring at the spilt coffee on the ground. There were two to-go cups laying there, making Eddie feel even worse because this person wasn’t just getting coffee for themselves. He looked up to apologize again, except the words died in his throat.

Was it cliché to say it was love at first sight?

The man looked less angry and more just sad at the coffee that was spilled at their feet, which, to be fair, Eddie felt really bad about.

The man looked up and caught Eddie’s eyes and Eddie was gone. He had honey colored hair, eyes made of milk chocolate, freckles dotted his cheeks, and Eddie could see moles on his neck and expected him to be covered in them. He smiled apprehensively at Eddie, as if expecting a sort of reaction to seeing him, but Eddie was distracted by his jawline. He felt heat crawling up his neck, and took a deep breath to steady himself.

“I’m more than happy to buy you new coffee, I’m so sorry,” Eddie apologized again, eyes wide.

“No— it’s okay,” the man responded and Eddie was floored because was there anything about this man that wasn’t completely perfect? Eddie knew he likely had heart eyes but he couldn’t help it, the stranger was just gorgeous.

“I insist! I ran into you, caused you to spill not one but two coffees! Let me buy you replacements at least,” Eddie pressed earnestly, smiling brightly, trying to put on his charm which he hadn’t used in years. It seemed to work, because the stranger's cheeks tinted pink as he nodded shyly. “Great! I’m Eddie,” he said, reaching out to offer his hand to shake, before changing his mind immediately and moving to grab the door. “After you, sweetheart.”

“Steve,” the stranger—Steve—responded, smiling timidly as he ducked back into the cafe. Eddie followed, letting his gaze drop for a moment to take a peek at his ass, which Eddie was dismayed to also find perfect. This is simultaneously the best and worst day of Eddie’s life.

“Nice to meet you,” Eddie said as they came to a stop at the end of the line. “What are you in Chicago for?” He asked, cocking his head to the side.

Steve seemed to relax at the question, smiling softly as he answered. “Well, officially, I’m here to go to a convention, but unofficially I’m here to visit a friend I don’t get to see as often as I want.”

Eddie lit up, eyes bright with excitement. “Oh, no way? I’m going to a con too! I run a booth in artist alley! Maybe we’ll see each other?” He said, grinning at Steve. The man smiled back, eyebrows furrowed as he took in the excited man beside him.

“Yeah, maybe,” he agreed, raising his eyebrows.

“Look for a booth called CorrodedCoffin Art, and that’ll be mine! If I’m not there, Chrissy will be, so you can just ask her where I am,” Eddie said, enthusiastically. The idea that he could see this man again was already making him vibrate with excitement.

“I’ll look for you,” Steve said earnestly, smiling crookedly. “I have a lot to do this weekend, but hopefully I can stop by and see you.” Eddie bobbed his head, pretty much bouncing in place.

“Cool! Oh! It’s our turn. You can order first,” the metalhead said, gesturing in front of him. Steve smiled at him before turning to the barista.

“Back so soon?” She asked, raising her eyebrows.

Steve laughed, glancing at the man next to him. “Yeah, this guy ran into me and spilled both of my drinks,” he said, leering teasingly at Eddie, who felt his cheeks heat.

“I said sorry! And I’m buying you new drinks to make up for it,” Eddie defended, crossing his arms and pouting. Steve snorted softly, before returning his attention to the barista. He ordered his two drinks before moving to the side to let Eddie order.

“One large iced caramel mocha, and one extra large iced white chocolate mocha, please,” he ordered with a hum. He handed over his card, barely disguising a wince as she read off the total to him.

“Extra large, huh?” Steve asked, raising his eyebrows. Eddie laughed, shrugging helplessly.

“I was supposed to be at the convention center an hour ago,” he admitted, smiling, “the extra large is for Chrissy to make up for it.” He paused for a minute, looking Steve up and down and decided ‘fuck it’. “Can’t say I regret being late, though,” he said, winking at the man. Eddie delighted in watching Steve’s cheeks turn pink and itched to know how far down his body the flush spread.

“Well, I for one am glad you were running late,” Steve said, causing Eddie to grab a piece of his hair and hide a grin behind it. He watched as Steve’s gaze went down and then back up to meet his eyes.

Sooner than either man hoped, their orders were fulfilled. Eddie checked the time absentmindedly and cursed, seeing it was nearing 10:15. He reached into his bag and grabbed a sharpie, grinning as he wrote down his number onto a napkin.

“I am running late, but text me, maybe?” He asked, grinning shyly at the man as he tucked the napkin into his front pocket. He winked at him one more time before grabbing his drinks and dashing out the door. Chrissy would forgive him, probably.

[esta-elavaris]

Flufftober Day 30: Self-Worth/Self-Love ~ James Norrington/OC [1.973 words]

My Flufftober '23 masterpost can be found here, and my behemoth of a main fic about these two is here 💜✨

This is the final bit in the little mini storyline I had going on with these - it's first referenced in day 10, it builds a bit in day 21, and we dig into it properly here!

On their final night in London together, Theo had to concede that she hadn’t had half as bad a time as she’d expected. In fact, she hadn’t had a bad time at all. Sure, she spent the first couple of weeks waiting for all to suddenly turn bitchy towards her, using things she’d said when her guard was down to mock the begloved Irishwoman who may or may not have been a witch, but…it didn’t happen. And now their final social occasion, their farewell dinner, was drawing to a close, and she had to accept that it simply was not going to happen. Screw interdimensional time travel, this was the real miracle.

She’d even taken to dressing how she actually wanted to dress. Alright, leggings and band shirts were still out, but to her own tastes as far as fashions of the time went – rather than cosplaying as whatever she thought people would expect Mrs Norrington to appear. Which often meant dressing how Elizabeth would.

The last of their guests, Lord and Lady Montague, remained in the drawing room as the others left in order to finalise business, and everything was looking decidedly golden.

“I’ll confess, Admiral Norrington,” the older man insisted on continued use of James’ former title – a mark of respect, she thought, “I was prepared to come here, listen to some hare-brained scheme, before throwing what little gold and help I possibly could at it merely as a personal favour to Governor Swann.”

“Oh really, Henry,” his wife scolded, very half-heartedly, from where she sat beside Theo.

“I wouldn’t say it now if it had all proven true,” he pressed on. “I confessed myself impressed, by your plans, by your lovely wife, by you, by all of it. And very optimistic. You go forth with my full backing, and not just the sort that I offer out of obligation to save any awkwardness.”

Theo smiled, bowing her head as Lady Montague – or Alice, as she insisted she call her – squeezed her arm as if in agreement. Her experience with the upper crust of English society had begun with Beckett, and he was an act she had no wish to see repeated.

The Montagues stood, James and Theo following suit as Henry continued.

“I wish you luck, not that I think you’ll need it, going forth – and going forth with all the support you might need, from myself at least. And my contacts in the north. I’ve already written to them, I did so last night so I could reassure you of that fact before we saw you off.”

It was taking all Theo had not to start literally jumping for joy. As James expressed his thanks, Alice rounded on her and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Speaking of writing, you must promise to do so! You’ve been such a breath of fresh air, Theodora, I’m going to miss you sorely when you’re gone! You must come again. I insist, I really do.”

“I will,” Theo laughed. “I promise, I will.”

Her penmanship with a quill was improving, so with any luck James wouldn’t be obligated to scribe whatever letters she had to send.

The goodbyes were lengthy, but the moment they were out of the door and well out of earshot, Theo was hooting a laugh and throwing her arms about her husband in celebration – not content to let him downplay his success here. Only after that did the tiredness that had been culminating over the course of their time here really hit, and she returned to the sofa and sank down onto it with a sigh.

“You made an enthusiastic friend in Lady Montague. For life, I should think,” James said as he followed her in.

“Careful, James, you’re brushing against condescension – all that’s missing is a pat on the head and a good girl.”

Although that last part might be worth revisiting at a later date. He chuckled, walking to the bar cart and pouring them each a drink before he sat down on the couch beside her, handing her the crystal tumbler of whiskey.

“I know these things are tiring for you, but if it’s any consolation you handled it all marvellously.”

Theo made a humming sound, taking a sip and sighing. He was right – they were exhausting. Not even just because of the cultural differences, which one wouldn’t expect to exist between two such small neighbouring islands, but because of her origins, too.

“It wasn’t so bad as it was when I first arrived,” she admitted. “I…have more stable footing now, than I did back then. Don’t need to be paranoid that if I say my favourite colour is blue, it’ll be a secret code for I worship the devil every Tuesday night in these times.”

“No, that would be red,” he said drily.

“Duly noted.”

Back when she first arrived, it had been toughest. Having to constantly self-edit and really think over what she said before she said it, thinking of how she could skew an anecdote to fit the time – or if she could at all – by which point, the conversation had often moved on and she was left standing quietly like a lawn ornament to the side. With James, it had always been surprisingly easy. Even before he knew, when they were just talking, and he wasn’t trying to finagle details of her past out of her. And now she didn’t have to worry about it with him at all. A safe haven in human form.

It was Theo’s own humble opinion that she was at her best when she could speak her mind and crack her stupid jokes and, well, breathe. That hadn’t often been possible in Port Royal. Because they were of this time, and because they seldom shared her sense of humour – and going into this, she’d expected it to be more of the same. Amplified, perhaps, because this was London, where all of them had hailed from.

But either island life had made those there less friendly towards newcomers, or the old lot just really resented her for what she’d found with James. Then again, maybe arriving as a castaway, living in the jungle for a bit, and then running off with a pirate…multiple times…had something to do with it, too. Who knew?

In any case, she’d lucked out here – and she was relieved, but exhausted still. And more than a little sheepish.

“I’m sorry.”

“For worshipping the devil?”

He had not sensed her change in tone, thinking she was still joking. There was a precedent for that, wasn’t there? Theo was content to let it rest there, unsure if it was really a conversation she wanted to have anyway. But then he turned his head and regarded her fully, and the silence became a little less comfortable than it usually was between them.

“Sorry for what?” he asked, and then when she did not respond, asked again. “Theodora?”

“It…doesn’t come naturally to me. Not here.”

“What doesn’t?”

“The social side of it. Here.”

“She says as we sit here, drinking to her success.”

“We’re drinking to our success, don’t be daft.”

“I’m drinking to yours. Now tell me what you meant. Was someone unkind tonight?”

“Not at all. But…”

Well, they were having the conversation now. What good would it be to sit and make him pull teeth and figure out what was bothering her via a series of yes-or-no questions?

“…this is what wives are supposed to do, isn’t it? Here, I mean. Take joy in organising dinner parties and playing hostess and filling every spare hour of every day with luncheons and dinner parties and balls? Representing the team in the sophisticated social circles – the ones not inhabited by pirates and sex workers, anyway. It’s not exactly…”

A marriage to a fine woman. But she wouldn’t use those words – because they weren’t meant for her ears, because it would appear the matter of Elizabeth still weighed upon her (which it genuinely did not), and because it didn’t exactly convey how she felt. That made it sound like she doubted his feelings for her, or like she had no self-worth…which had never been one of her problems. God bless her dad and how he’d raised her.

“I don’t fulfil the traditional job requirements,” she finished lamely.

Then, though, she saw how he looked almost outraged by her words and winced.

“I’m not saying I don’t think you’re happy. Only that it would be understandable if you were…oh, I don’t know. Frustrated, now and then, at having a wife who you always need to explain to people.”

In all of their time together, they hadn’t ever really had a chance at living in a normal manner up until now. There’d always been some sort of grander game at play – some new adventure-slash-mortal peril tugging at their tailcoats. The bits in-between that kinda sorta resembled normality had been breathers. Blips between storms – between maelstroms.

James smiled a little as he bowed his head, and Theo wasn’t sure how to even begin taking the gesture. Had she really sounded that ridiculous? God, she shouldn’t have opened her mouth at all. But when he raised his head again and looked to her, the smile slipped away, and she knew her worry had shown on her face.

Sighing, he bent forward to set his glass down on the floor, and then took her free hand in both of his.

"Do you think I have none of the same fears? Three centuries of progress lies between here and where you hailed from. Between myself and then. And you have given up much for me…have sacrificed much for me..." as he spoke, he ran his thumb over the knuckles of her gloved hand. “I believe that you are happy just as you know that I am. But, sometimes, I do fear that one day you may grow to question whether it was all worth it. For you have sacrificed plenty, and I have gained much. I have gained everything.”

“Everything you’ve gained, I have too,” she insisted. “I never regret the choice I’ve made. Not even in passing.”

“And nor do I. I do not wish for a wife, Theodora. I want you. As you are. However you are. However you will be. And as for needing to explain you to people – if they do not possess good taste, that is their own affair. I enjoy being among the lucky collective who do.”

Theo felt herself flush, but he was not finished. He slipped one hand away from hers and brought it instead to cup the side of her face, thumb running across her cheek just as it had with her knuckles, urging her towards him so that he could kiss her – a kiss that was so slow and filled with such adoration that she was sure she wouldn’t be able to string another sentence together for at least an hour.

He pulled back, but kept her close, pressing his brow against hers.

“And I confess, if you suffered a head injury and began to take joy in little other than place settings and the town gossip, I should still love you but I would mourn it,” he teased. “You take little joy in these sorts of gatherings? Good. Nor do I. So I know I will never need to suffer through them unless entirely necessary – and when those times do come, I’m afforded the opportunity to witness you, to use your own wording, charm the pants off of those necessary. Now tell me, what facet of any of this is supposed to disappoint me?”

“What if I tell you I really am a witch?” she teased, pressing another kiss to his lips as if to prove her mood had lightened.

“I shall carry your broomstick for you with great pride,” he promised.

Links: AO3 -- FF.net -- flufftober masterpost -- dividers by cafekitsune

[tocja]

Okay, I try to avoid this whole Eurovision thing since Israel is not banned, but something caught my eye.

I came across Polish entries, and first on the list was a song by some young woman in cheap babushka/stereotypical Slavic girl cosplay. And it made me irrationally mad. So mad, actually, that I started talking to myself about why the idea of a young blonde in red lipstick and a plastic flower crown makes my blood boil.

And I came to the conclusion that I hate the idea of 'vague Slavicness.'

There is this ideal that being Slavic means the same thing across borders, and as much as I can appreciate cosmopolitan sentiment in this statement, I have to also notice that this is exactly the type of narration which is used by Russia to deny us identity.

'There is no Ukraine - they are just half-baked Russians';

'They are not Poles - they are Russians in denial';

'We are all the same in our Slavic brotherhood and we will be stronger as one' - and I've met my share of Slavic nationalists to know that for some people, those sound like promises and not threats.

If we are all the same, then it is not an attack - it is unification.

And Slavicness means a lot of things; it is not the same even within the borders of the same country. Seeing this idea of being vaguely Slavic, enough to be recognized as one, but not to the point of giving yourself any actual cultural identity - it seems extremely pandering, as if we are trying to show some sanitized version that could be easily sold to everyone. Everyone recognizes 'babushka,' and who cares if you don't even use that word in Polish - your Slavicness makes you semi-Russian by proxy.

And not to be misunderstood - I don't think that the mentioned singer did that on purpose; I am pretty sure she just wanted to make some cute folkish tune that could represent her country.

I just think that the aesthetic of being Slavic is so ingrained in us that we actually forget that this is a culture, not a box of Pinterest/propaganda prompts.

I am rambling; it doesn't have to mean anything. Maybe because I come from a part of Poland with a strong regional identity and work in a museum, I am uncomfortable with the idea of a 'universal Slav,' and this video just serves as an excuse to rant about things that were already bothering me."

Ok fking wait a second

I was just finishing, when i decided to check the video again. The description states:

Kwiaty" is not just a song; it's a heartfelt journey into Slavic, old-fashioned love. Dama's lyrics take us back to a time when gestures spoke louder than words—buying flowers, sweet words, and walks under the moon. The song contrasts this nostalgic ideal with the modern lack of effort in relationships. Dama sings of a Slavic girl's strength, bravery, and confidence, longing for genuine connections. "Kwiaty" becomes a bridge between cultures, inviting reflection on the essence of sincere, old-fashioned love.

what the fuck is slavic old fashioned love

I was saying that I don't think the singer meant anything bad, and well - yes she did, here you go, you get romanticized slavic traditionalist propaganda about GOOD OLD TIMES XDDD

The lyrics are crazy

So you want me but you won't open me door

So you want me but you won't walk me home

So you want me but won't pay on our date

So being with you and without you it's the same

As it is shown by the text above, I am not native english speaker, I make my share of mistakes, but I am pretty sure that some wonky english is on display here.

I have Slavic blood

I keep my head high

And my tears dry

So don't waste my time

Oh yeah babe, there it is, Slavic blooded girlboss.

OKOKOK i don't want to show more text as it is physically painful, but I couldn't find a better definition of ''vague slavicness'' even if I tried. Some '' Slavic dama'' singing about ''Slavic love'' What makes it slavic? plastic flower crown, white frilly dress and patriarchal views. Culture? Those things I mentioned are not culture?

I believe that slavicness can be genuine, historically informed, modern and progressive please please please don't let us fall into conservative superficial ideals, just because it sometimes feels like there is not much more to us and our culture. We are rich and diverse.

It took a turn lol

[anotherwvba]

By Blood or By Choice pt. 7

By now, the anime party was in full swing. The sounds of “Just Communication” blared through the speakers as the opening of “Gundam Wing” played on the projector. Disco Kid, cosplaying as Dandy from “Space Dandy” was moving to the music as he caught up with Little Mac and met his fiancée Allie. Masked Muscle had arrived too, moving through the crowd in his casual attire, lucha mask firmly in place, saying his hellos having just arrived.

Piston Hondo had also arrived, dressed as Tuxedo Kamen from “Sailor Moon”, much to Mika’s delight as she insisted on pics with him in their respective cosplays. King Hippo had a full plate of snacks, Cutie having overseen him at the snack table while chatting with newcomer Luna. And Niki was sitting at the tech table and talking to Bald Bull as he was explaining his Gunpla collection.

In the midst of this amazing atmosphere, friends and fighters all having fun and taking a well-deserved break from their daily grinds, the doors opened and Skye Ivy walked into the gym, loudly announcing her presence.

“Yo, the star of the South Side, the fastest feet on the Circuit, and the only girl in the WVBA that can say she’s Chi-Town Tough has arrived! You may now officially get this party started!” With a dramatic flair and her Chicago accent coloring her words, Skye was the picture of confidence, a true fighter in every sense of the word.

Everyone turned to see Skye. Her nose was bandaged and her body bruised, but she wore the wounds of her fight with Reina like badges of honor. She was decked out in boxing attire, a white sports bra and white trunks. Her hands were taped up and red gloves hung around her neck. And on her trunks, there was a black star just below the waistband and a footprint on the left leg. Mika’s eyes lit up and a smile formed quickly.

“Ippo?!” Mika squealed as she darted across the room, “Skye! You nailed it, girl! That’s an awesome ‘Hajime no Ippo’ cosplay. You look amazing!”

Her enthusiasm overtook her as she wrapped her friend in a big hug, but Skye winced playfully. “Easy there, champ. Reina really did a number on me. I’m gonna be feelin’ those punches for a while.”

Mika’s expression went apologetic as she loosened her grip, but Skye pulled her in closer and leaned in, her voice a soft whisper meant only for Mika. “Thanks for being there for me, Mika. In the gym and in the crowd. I couldn’t have done this without you. Means the world to me.”

Skye held on to her friend, tears welling up at Mika’s whispered response. “Always, Skye. You’re my friend, my roomie. I knew you had it in you. You showed everyone what I already knew. You belong here. Ipinagmamalaki kita.”

After their tender exchange, Mika led Skye through the gym to introduce her to the new faces she hadn’t met. Skye’s spirits continued to soar as she met the likes of Bald Bull and King Hippo, as Luna hugged her and got her socials, but then her eyes went as wide as a kid on Christmas morning.

“You’re… you’re Little Mac.” Skye said in an almost hushed tone.

Mac chuckled uncomfortably, “Yeah. That’s me. I saw your fight with Reina. You really got a lot of heart. A lotta people would’ve folded fast in that fight.”

“Th-thank you.” Skye’s nerves were on edge, standing face-to-face with her idol in the sport. “I was there when you knocked out Flamenco in Chicago to win the Major Circuit Title in Chicago. You’re the reason I laced up the gloves. You… you’re my hero.”

“I remember that fight. Don’s tough as hell,” Mac shuffled his feet, not accustomed to the hero worship, but then he looked up with humble eyes. “But after what I saw last night, if my fight lit that spark for you, I’m honored.”

Mika, still standing next to her roomie, could feel Skye wanting desperately to say something else. With a gentle nudge, Mika nodded to Mac, encouraging Skye, whispering, “He’s cool. Say what you wanna say.”

Skye’s eyes darted to Mika, then back to Mac, “Um… would you have time, if it’s not too much, to come to one of my workouts? I’d love to get some pointers from the Champ.”

“You know, we champs, too,” Bald Bull said with a smile, sitting next to King Hippo.

“Shh!” Cutie jokingly slapped both their heads from behind. “Let the girl have her moment.”

“I’d love to. How about we workout together tomorrow? Doc arrives in the morning,” Mac offered.

“Oh my God!” Skye’s excitement went into overload. “Really? Like, train with? Not just watch me, but work with me? You and Doc Louis?”

Mac nodded with a smile, Allie wrapping her arm around Mac and smiling warmly. “Maybe I’ll join you, if that’s okay?”

“HELL YEAH!” Skye nearly jumped out her boots. “Thank you, so much!” She offered fist bumps to the couple, finally calming down, the wave of awe finally washing through her.

Meanwhile, Bull looked over Skye’s attire with a puzzled look. “Skye?” She turned to him as he pointed to the star on Skye’s trunks. "Why black? Ippo’s stars are gold."

Skye's expression turned serious, “Actually, I’m going to add a black star to my own trunks. This is for my loss to Reina.” She took a deep breath, resolve in her voice as she continued, “We don’t take beatings lying down where I come from. I’ll get my rematch, and I’ll put that cheating lucha chick on her ass, lights out! When I do,” Skye pointed to the star, “this comes off.”

“Good for you, girl!” Cutie nodded, “Just leave some for me. I want a piece of her, too, after the way she fought against you. You treat opponents with honor, not like she did you.”

Skye nodded solemnly to Cutie as Niki approached with a glass of sweet tea and offered it to Skye. “Well, I think we’ve talked enough about Reina ‘Gonna-Get-Wrecked-by-the-Whole- Damn-Circuit’ Adora.” Skye took the drink and smiled as Niki raised her own glass, “Here’s to the Women’s Circuit and our newest fighters.” With a nod to Luna, then to Skye, “Welcome to the family.”

Cheers and welcomes and well wishes washed over the room. Skye looked around, her gaze scanning the room filled with new allies and future opponents, a feeling of warmth and true belonging overcoming her. Yeah, Skye. You found your tribe. "So,” Skye said with a questioning look at the screen, “somebody wanna tell me why that big ass robot has a sickle-shaped lightsaber?”

[2dayihaveaheadache]

New Obikin snippet. A tiny scene from College/University AU, in which bookish lit professor Kenobi met Anakin (who is a total Twink and with that absolutely Obi-Wan's type) at a bar. Just as the sun raises, Obi-Wan flees out of guilt (catholic guilt, let's hope he was nice enough to leave a note) and now is faced with his growing affection for the infatuating young man (or more so a looming sexual crisis)

I do find it hard to realize my true potential And without the right credentials I am lost

A new attraction meant a possible new love and that could only lead to a new heartbreak, sighed Obi-Wan, dwelling on memories of last night’s Twink. 

A knock echoed through his office and tore Obi-Wan out of his thoughts. Office hours, he reminded himself with a smile, grateful for the distraction. The door was opened and a girl entered with confident steps. She was tall for her age, over 5’8. Her bleached hair was braided and formed into two horns on her head – a fashion statement, Obi-Wan guessed. Alternative or Punk or whatever the teens liked nowadays and could combine with Dr. Martens and an excessive amount of black. As an Add-on a couple of the strands had been colored blue to give her some kind of two-tone look. “Ahsoka Tano, my dear.”, he greeted her, smiling with gritted teeth. “How may I help you?”

She was a party beast, known for her excessive drinking and her disaster-attracting behavior. A can of black spray paint was her best friend and together they decorated the walls on Campus with political statements on regular bases. “Fuck the system” or “The system failed us.” seemed to be her favorite ones. Some weeks ago, she had trashed University property with a baseball bat – God knows, where she got it from, probably her brother, he guessed, another nightmarish creature of GenZ – but most importantly she belonged to the 48 students in Obi-Wan’s creative writing course. So, whatever she wanted was now his problem. At least she did not count to the “I-Want-to-kriff-my-father-and-have-no-problem-with-It” Students. Another group of students of his, who paved the way for sleepless nights with their writing – why did father issues need to be romanticized by Pop Culture again? 

“Good afternoon, Professor Kenobi”, she greeted and bowed her head down a bit. Untypical for her usual unruly self, he noted. She fidgeted with her fingers and looked down 0at her black-painted nails as if she was nervous and bottling up something, planning something nefarious in her demonic mind of teenage madness. “I wanted to speak to you as the dean of the English faculty.”, she explained, averting his gaze. 

He raised an eyebrow and took another sip from his tea cup, no need to lose his mind – yet. He wasn’t going to let himself be lured to become some kind of pawn for her weird games. He was not going to let his helpfulness be exploited. “What can I do for you, Ms. Tano? Is this about your exam?”

“No-“, she tried to say but he had already interrupted her and continued talking. Better to keep her distracted before she can open any sort of box of Pandora in his office, he has to clean up behind her. 1“I haven’t corrected them yet so I can assure you I haven’t found anything troubling. I hoped I have stressed that enough in your course, creative writing is a process that unveils us and leaves us vulnerable. Nothing to be ashamed of. I as the supervisor, have no right to play judge of your content, it is more the mistake you make in the way of telling it- ” 

Her bright laughter interrupted his speech and she cringed in her seat as if he had just told her that he believes in extraterrestrials, that are cosplaying as cats on earth. Now that he has the thought - “Sorry, Professor Kenobi, nice words, but we all know that you and your colleague play bingo with our texts.” 

“I don’t know what you are-“, he tried, pushing up his horn-rimmed glasses, straightening his back and brushing off the dust of his jacket, realizing how ridiculous he must look – or more how ridiculous he behaves, dancing around his student as if she is a ticking time bomb. 

“It’s been leaked years ago, no need to play it down, and posted all over the internet.”, Ahsoka laughed and the timidness from before disappeared from her expression. She pulled out her phone and tipped something into the search bar, the black-painted nails clicking against the screen. “Have you never wondered why your rating on ‘Professor 101’ is so catastrophically low?” 

“I just assumed, that it was a natural consequence of my teaching style and the ideals, I project onto my students. A study of the portrayal of the hero figure in 18th-century French literature is not for everybody and therefore I cannot expect maximum grade from all of you.” 

“Here.”, she commented and offered Obi-Wan a look at her phone screen. Twitter was opened and a Tweet with an attached photo could be read. It was by a user named ‘Rex_the_tryannosaurusRex’. What a reliable source, he mocked in his mind, why do I even try to teach them anything? before he looked at the image more precisely. Shame flooded his system. It was an obvious bingo grit sketched lazily onto a sticky note and a high score was marked under it. Nearly all squares in the grit were underlined. That year he had won with everything he had noted down, his high score. 

“Someone has to provide the material to make bets on and who would be better than the supervisor of the creative writing course?”

“Ms. Skywalker, what you are stating is an accusation that should not be made lightly.”, he tried to sound serious – but how can he with cheeks as red as a lobster? 

“Relax, professor.”, she smiled and put the phone back into her leather jacket, which looked awfully familiar to Obi-Wan but he did not dare to think the threat to an end. Wasn’t it the one that he had sneaked his fingers under it to feel the muscled back of –

”Our college is a bit messed up. The lectures are wild, so are our professors and so are we students. In fact, we actually make bets on your bingo game too.” 

“Ahsoka Tano Skywalker, this is-“

“For years I have been betting on you on your victory streak, Professor Kenobi. Your gameplay is easy to analyze and if you ask me, pretty predictable but who cares if this provides me with 8 free beers each semester.”, she continued and ignored him completely. 

“Please-“ 

 “Winning is a simple task to accomplish if somebody would just follow your rules. Make a vertical row with the father issue, at least one spelling mistake in the word abrupt, everybody seems to change the b and p at least once, and ‘end’ written in capital letters at the end of the essay. Bingo, you win!”, she cheered. 

That was a bitter pill to swallow, Obi-Wan told himself and tried to calm down his quickened breathing. The entire student body seemed to have officially lost their mind and loved to drag their professor into their misery. Though examining Ahsoka Tano Skywalker and her cheeky grin, which could only be a portrayal of madness, she seemed to be completely fine with it. She showed symptoms of hysteria and still was caught in her haze of teenage craziness. How has it come that the world did evolve into this?

“You cannot have possibly come to my office hours to humiliate me, Ms. Tano.”, Obi-Wan stated and felt anger coloring his voice, which he tried to suppress by taking another sip from his teacup, the china shaking dangerously. He set it down again with all the grace, that he could manage, and took a long deep breath, just as Qui-Gon explained in his stupid yoga sessions. 

“To be honest, I have come exactly for that. I wanted to humiliate you though not for the silly bingo game.”, she grinned and then added,” This is a little joke between you and me.” 

“What ridiculous other thing have I committed that makes me worthy of your mockery in your opinion?”

The absolute sweetest smile he had ever seen in his life flashed on her face and she asked in an innocent voice of a little girl, “How does it feel like to have fucked my brother?”

... that's the scene. Hope you enjoy!

[pcrtgasdace]

Thoguhts on the one piece live action? I was skeptical at first but I’m kinda excited now 👀 and who would you like to see cast as the rest of the crew?

I am excited! At first I was skeptical too, long before the cast was announced actually... because the reputation of live action adaptations speaks for itself... But this cast? They've charmed me, honestly. And I think it says a lot that Oda chose them and met them and agreed with the choices.

The cast ifself exceeds such strawhat energy and they are all so genuine and excited!! And you can see them trying not to let the pressure get to them by being optimistic. I mean, they've done their research, they're interactive with the fandom, they're fans themselves and I'm optimistic overall that their acting performances will be well done.

I am not nitpicking about certain changes in character design like the lack of Usopp's ridiculously long nose or Sanji's eyebrow. They look fine as it is. I think people have to realise that when adapting into another medium you can't just do it 1:1... it wouldn't work, it would seem like a cosplay movie that doesn't take itself seriously. Being open for creative changes is the only way to look at a live action and so far I'm actually looking forward to see what they've accomplished. And I can't wait to introduce others to OP this way, especially my dad, lol.

I am not setting my expectations too high, but if the OP LA show can at least be entertaining in it's own right and be a somewhat cringy but still fun watch, I am totally fine with that! I am not expecting a master piece. I just hope they don't squeeze too much into little episodes.

The CGI is something I am not too fond of, regarding the sea dragon mostly, I am sure they could do better, but I thought Luffy's stretching looks just as ridiculous as I imagined! In a good way. Because that's his power! The devil fruit is meant to be crazy and silly! And I think with the shot we've seen it looked fairly decent.

I was impressed that they did the green hair with Zoro, I was actually not sure they'd do it because it's hard to get the right tone in real life and make it not look bad. But they did a good job, honestly. The action sequences we've seen so far also looked promising.

I love that the team and cast are dedicated to be close to the source material as possible, but still take different approaches and do minor changes.

I am so excited about a lot of things actually, seeing little Luffy and SHANKS (Peter Gadiot as Shanks is still a casting I am so so hyped about!). Luffy's and Zoro's meeting and the little girl trying to feed Zoro the rice balls... they've already casted those characters so we will definitely get to see those moments and I am wondering how emotional Arlong Park is going to be - especially the Nami-stabbing scene (if they even do it, but I'd really hope they won't erase this fundamental moment).

If the LA ever gets that far, I could see Anya Chalotra actually as a nice Robin, even though she isn't Russian she's got the tan and looks and she can act. But then again, I don't really have a preference - I trust the team to find the right people. Though I have seen some fancasts like Elizaveta Boyarskaya and Yulia Persild that I liked.

Yasmeen Fletcher as Vivi, also a fancast, but a good one.

I am pretty open about that, I mean, see how nice the cast is we got. We don't need big Hollywood names. But then again, if big Hollywood actors WANT to be a part of it, then why not? Jaime Lee Curtis loves One Piece and it would be awesome if she could play Dr Kureha. I am pretty sure if the show suceeds and continues that they'd invite her into this. Anyway, it's still time left and we can only wait and see how the show turns out. Either way, I am optimistic and even if it turns out bad, it won't change my opinion of the cast - they don't deserve any hate or negativity for simply doing their job. You can't make everyone happy and that's it.

[poopwons]

———💕SISTERWIVES HEADCANNONS WITH JEAN💕———

a/n: I had a silly little thought and wrote it out. My bestie is a good 4/5 inches taller than me and Jean is a whole foot taller than me, so we thought this would be funny. Also, I’m on mobile so sorry if it looks weird.

Cw: nothing really, fluff if you can call it that, maybe slight infantilization, but I’m literally doing it to myself and honestly, this is all in good fun and not meant to be taken seriously at all.

————————————————————————

Going out in public with his girls is stressful to say the least. One of them is so short he’ll lose her in the crowd if he’s not careful. The other gets distracted. To make things worse they both had tendencies to wander. One will veer off and the other will follow, the only comfort to him is that they usually stick together.

It was easy enough to find them most of the time, Jean is tall, he towers over most people, so picking out their vibrant hair is how he usually finds them, or if he knows something that will have caught their eye, he’ll head that way and sure enough, the two of them are stopped, “oohing” and “ahhing” at this or that.

However, this weekend presented a problem. They planned to go to a con, and with all the celebrity guests that were attending it was sure to be packed. Huge crowds of people, most of them dressed up in cosplays, making it harder for him to find his girls based solely on looking for their hair; lots of art stalls, which means lots of shiny things for the girls to get distracted with. Jean has a plan though.

“Are you serious?” One of the girls scoffs, giving the other an incredulous look.

“Yeah, we aren’t wearing those.” The shorter one agrees.

Well, fuck. This was the only plan he had. How is he supposed to keep up with both of them? He can’t keep a hand on each of them the ENTIRE time.

He sighs, “it’s gonna be crowded, you both know how you are. It’s either this, or I’m tying balloons to both of your wrists or something. I gotta be able to find you.”

He’s hoping they’ll agree to it. He knows it’s probably a little embarrassing, but he has to make sure they’re okay. A crowded convention center full of strangers? There’s bound to be a creep or two thrown in, and what if something happens to one of them?

“We can make it part of a cosplay,” Jean adds, hoping it will appease them.

“What cosplay could that possibly be for?”

“I don’t know— look, will you please just do this for me?” He sounds exasperated, so it’s clear he’s been a little stressed about this.

“Would it really make you feel better?” They ask, looking at each other, speaking in that silent language they’ve developed over the years. Luckily for Jean, he’s smart. He’s picked up on their looks over the years, and thankfully he gets them to agree to his ridiculous idea.

✨Anyway, this is how Jeanie talked us into wearing silly little leashes, so he doesn’t lose us in the crowds at conventions. We are ready to cause chaos and he’s already sick of us✨

[the-firebird69]

See of course knows about the gun and she's German and she's my mama and she's smaller than Claudia but I have a larger German Mama too like Claudia and they call him German high or Uber German and that is what they're saying in the movie time machine but they're smaller people nothing against smaller a lot of Asians are of hours they're mostly six or seven foot and they're just as sharp if not sharper sometimes he's a little slow is a lot going on. It's actually my version his are bigger cuz they're higher caliber but this is a special gun A lot of people going to buy it they're making it out of an alloy not necessarily titanium it's very strong it's like super strong steel and it's partially stainless it won't rust and they're replicas they're not real but they're real close to being real and it the chamber moves and there is a space for the cartridge but it's just not machined it's very difficult to machine it the way it's made my husband knows how to do it though cuz you mentioned it but you'd have to be a real good Machinist and the cost is not cheap they're like $300 that's a pretty heavy and a lot of people want to use them as cosplay and they're made by our company and there are guns and they are very very cool and it's really a clip that goes in and it was way back in the 1800s and he says no it was earlier but I'm not saying that's right guys and it was powerful and it took special charges that could easily make without brass sometimes without anything chamber would chamber any kind of round almost even padding and gunpowder that was what was around and in a flash you'd have a weapon instead of having to make a spear or something all you need was gunpowder a saltpeter that's around here some places or pure phosphorus. And we have a lot of fun with it or cocaine actually I won't say anything works because it's so strong this is a very strong steel use we make the replica already and we just have to place it there and he makes his and both mines say the same thing on them and insignia is the same but the guns are numbered number one and number two it's left and right or right and left and he says right and left probably. It is in a nutshell I love my husband a lot and I'm telling you the truth and he's getting screwed up a little by you guys but this is going to help and you'll see he's got stuff and recognize it and she does and she's a crazy woman about him and shouldn't be she's attractive woman and you guys don't stay looking good for some reason giving you mac woman. Granted she's mostly naked and she's sitting there threatening me to be a lesbian or look like one or something and he says no she's threatening to make it appear like you look like when to threaten you and she's in the family and that's bad so I say it too she says good see you learn this doesn't want us to but good

I'm having fun with her now she's bothering me since where is it he says I don't know cuz he's asking him I thought you meant mine, he says she can handle it she's German and have some rugers are pretty big almost 50 caliber since true they take a rifle cartridge and it's like that I think I see it firing the movie and it's incredible he says that's why it's the older fashioned chamber because it doesn't have a kick it has a kick like 357 but if it was a regular cartridge it would have a kick like a mule she agrees too usually 357 you can hang on to and she said it looks like that no but the impact is a little bit more but wow she says this is going to be cool especially if that bar again I want the internet and I have a pirate character and I mean Hellboy. Since I'm in Hellboy too and she is too red but she's quiet all the time and she's the other girls talking Tim does a lot of talking too Tim Doyle let's see what you're saying you have to control the creature and that's a German father let me have it cuz I used to do a lot of drinking came out all right. Now back to me he says I'm so good looking he was going to die good Lord and looks like a jester on the handle I wanted you to know first looks like a female gesture and that's what she looks like and that's what it means it was on their way back then too and they knew about it so they get what we're saying

Calipso

I'm here. I'm on the support group well part of it but usually me

Tom Jodd

Is pronounced Tom joad but it spelled that way he says kind of spell both it's an alias just like okay we've heard it all

Bg

[carolmunson]

-coolio voice-: awwwww here it goes:

Instead of the Good Morning tough girl you were expecting the next day, it was Good Morning beautiful that you read.

i'm already fucking done.

The black low cut ribbed top you match them with has a lace trim along the sleeves and the dip down down the middle.

my favorite thing when i read your fics is that i get to cosplay that have big natch titties.

“Hey, tough girl.” Pearly whites flash when he says it sweet, dripping with extra honey just for you.

why am i literally blushing? irl?

The weight of them pulls it down just enough to see the beginnings of his dark curls underneath and the silver pendant at the end of the chain that always hangs around his neck.

slut.

“You look too pretty to be going on a date with me,” he says it in a way that almost makes you believe it.  “Look who’s talkin’, handsome,” you manage to get out, making the apples of his cheeks dust your favorite shade of pink.

fuck off leighanne

He’s gentle when he takes your socked foot in his hand, the warmth of his skin seeping through the cotton. It makes your heart race. He grabs your sneaker, the slight platform looking small in his grasp when his fingers wrap around your ankle to push it on. The pad of his thumb rubs at the soft skin there when he has to use a little force. Long fingers work the laces like a pro, forearms flexing when he tightens after each eyelet, always just enough, never too tight. Leaning back on your palms, you watch him with the kind of adoration you couldn’t hide even if you tried when he repeats the same process on your other foot.

FUCK OFF.

He chuckles, pulling your hand to his lips, they’re soft like silk when they press a kiss to your skin. It’s enough for your face to relax, eyes glazing over at the contact. “I promise honey.”

i'm not going to survive this.

“Such a good daddy Steve, it’s cute,” you giggle, the nickname falling way too easily off your lips to not even be looking at him.

i actually don't even know why you're like this. you're psychotic.

“Hopefully not in a sink.” It comes out of his mouth like he’s been waiting for this moment his whole life.

oh BROTHER this guy STINKS. I HATE HIM.

“Yeah, I realized that after I’d ordered, but could you imagine if I was left waiting here for ten minutes with two of these?!” You lift it up like it's heavy before narrowing your eyes playfully, “Why? Got a problem sharing with me or something?”

lmao she's so me.

“Delicious actually. Is that a hint of strawberry?” Steve asks with a widening grin, the pad of his thumbs swiping away some of the excess lipgloss he’d gotten off the straw.

the way we would just be fucking in public at the fair.

“I’m plenty good at this game, I just didn’t want you to get discouraged.”

i'm so sick of him actually lmao

“And don’t worry I’m not really going to make you pay for the funnel cake after I beat you.”  

my brain processed this as beating me in a different way. anyway.

“I don’t need glasses - who are you? Where’s that sweet girl from next door, huh?” He can’t help but laugh when your smirk breaks out into a fit of giggles.

hehehehehehehehehe.

“Which one do you think Bandit would like?”

AND WHAT IF I CRIED?!

“If it wasn’t for a drunk night with Eddie and my other best friend Robin after a shitty day at work,” He shrugs, picking at the dough, “telling me about this three bedroom apartment in Chicago they had found real cheap through some guy named Rick, who knows what I’d be doing now.” 

SURPRISE LORE! SURPRISE LORE!

The two of them talk “shop” for a few minutes, but all you can focus on is the fact that Steve put this all together and it’s something he’s been doing for years. Channeling his grief into something good and it makes your heart swell.

okay but like, why is he PERFECT?!

“God, I’ve wanted you this close all day,” he confesses like it's a secret he’s exhausted from keeping. 

ARE YOU INSANE?!

It’s too much but not enough all at once, the longer his lips move against yours it’s like they're never meant to be apart, like he didn’t know how he went this long without them.

there are tears in MY EYES.

He stops halfway down the stairs before jogging back up to kiss you again, this one a little tender with a whispered “Sweet dreams tough girl.” attached to it.

I SQUEALED LIKE A PIG. I AM UNWELL.

anyway, i'm not okay.

All I Really Want Is You

older!neighbor!widower! steve x fem!reader chap eight/ten - a slow burn series of blurbs - updated every wednesday

Red, White & Boom

summary: A Fourth of July block party ends in fireworks.

wc: 6.8k (🙄 it’s fine, you’re falling in love.)

warnings: 18+ series for future chapters. I don’t know based on Steve’s promise in the last one, what do you think? 😏

author’s note: there were so many different versions of this chapter before I got here and I just want to say thank you to my friends who helped me through this one. I just wanted it to be perfect 🧡

🌇 <- chapter seven | (bonus chapter playlist)

The Masterlist / The Playlist / The Tune:

July 4th -

Instead of the Good Morning tough girl you were expecting the next day, it was Good Morning beautiful that you read.

Steve Harrington woke you up calling you beautiful for the three mornings after that too. 

The night before the fourth, you could hardly sleep with his promise to kiss you still fresh in your mind. It lingered and attached itself to every thought since he left you with it. 

How was he going to do it? When was he going to do it?  When he picks you up? Middle of the date? End of the date? What if he changes his mind? 

The nerves are even worse as you stare at yourself in the long mirror of your room and your eyes catch the time. 1:52pm. Steve was ‘picking you up’ at two and you were on your fourth outfit in the last hour. Trying to find something that was cute enough for a first date but also practical for walking around the city in the summer heat was starting to feel impossible. 

Date.

The word makes the fluttering start before he’s even arrived, a smile tugging at your lips when you think it again. Would you get used to it?

The shorts you settle on are a high waisted dark denim pair that cut off and fringe in the middle of your thighs, The black low cut ribbed top you match them with has a lace trim along the sleeves and the dip down down the middle. It hugs your curves in a way that makes you feel confident, something in your closet you know you won’t spend the whole day adjusting and fiddling with. 

Knock, knock - knock, knock 

Jumping when you hear his knuckles against the wood, you give yourself another once over before deciding it’s good enough. With your shoes still in the corner of your room, your slippers slide against your floor all the way to your front door. Nerves tighten your chest, a shaky breath leaving between glossed lips before you stop to give yourself a minute to let it sink in- mentally preparing to see the man who showed up at your front door steps with his heart in his hands. Your handsome neighbor with a past and a Bandit as his best friend.

You have to hold back the sigh that threatens to escape when you lay your eyes on him for the first time since that night. His grin is lopsided, the almost beard he had is gone, like he’d shaved it the next day leaving just the kind of stubble you liked the most.

“Hey, tough girl.” Pearly whites flash when he says it sweet, dripping with extra honey just for you.

His hair is freshly done like when he’s on his way to work, the grays on the sides seem lighter from spending a weekend out in the sun. The sleeves are short on his dark navy button up, the linen material fitting him loose and snug in all the right places. The two ivory buttons on top are undone, leaving a place for his Raybans to dangle. The weight of them pulls it down just enough to see the beginnings of his dark curls underneath and the silver pendant at the end of the chain that always hangs around his neck.

“Hi Steve.” You bite your bottom lip to try and contain your smile, your hips twisting from side to side with your hands behind your back, you can’t help it when he talks to you like that. 

He’s wearing the same pants you saw him in when you brought him cannolis. The cream ones he almost kissed you in. The bottoms are cuffed, a pair of dark brown loafers on his feet, they look worn in but the gold buckle on top of them still shines in the dingy light of your stairwell.

“You look too pretty to be going on a date with me,” he says it in a way that almost makes you believe it. 

“Look who’s talkin’, handsome,” you manage to get out, making the apples of his cheeks dust your favorite shade of pink.

Opening your apartment door a little wider, the knots in your stomach twist a little tighter when his eyes linger on your lips.

Is he gonna do it now?

“You can come in, I just gotta put on my shoes.” You clear your throat, stepping aside when he doesn’t make any moves, tugging at the low cut collar of your shirt like it’s tight as your blood starts to run hot. 

You’re hit with the smell of his cologne when he crosses the threshold, it’s different today, more woodsy than you’re used to and it makes your head spin. He looks around with fresh eyes, admiring all the details he missed now that he can see them in the light of day. Glimpses of you that he hasn’t gotten to know yet. Missing pieces to your puzzle. His gaze slowly finds its way to your kitchen that almost sparkles. 

“That’s two visits in a row that I’ve come here and your dishes are done.” Steve points to your empty sink, “I’m impressed.” 

He gets his first eye roll of the day.

“Careful, we haven’t left yet. I could still cancel.” Wiggling your slipper covered feet as a reminder, you smirk. “My shoes aren’t even on, it’d be so easy to do.”

“Oh yeah? How easy?” He raises his eyebrows in a challenge, the corners of his mouth twitch as he tries to keep his face straight.

“Like flipping a light switch, easy,” you retort smugly, making sure to sway your hips a little more when you walk to your room. Fighting the giddy smile that threatens to take over your face, you lose when you’re out of his sight.

You aren’t expecting him to follow you, but you find him standing in your doorway when you take a seat on your bed.

“If it’s so easy…” there’s a new confidence in the way he looks at you now, like knows you want him too. 

He looks at the untied sneakers next to your feet before taking the first steps into your room. He pauses to let you stop him, but when you smirk at him with a cocked eyebrow he closes the rest of the space. Crouching down in front of you, playful eyes meet yours from under thick lashes. The freckles that dot the top of his nose seem darker in the daylight. You wonder if there’s a way to find and kiss all of them. 

“Let me make it harder.”

He’s gentle when he takes your socked foot in his hand, the warmth of his skin seeping through the cotton. It makes your heart race. He grabs your sneaker, the slight platform looking small in his grasp when his fingers wrap around your ankle to push it on. The pad of his thumb rubs at the soft skin there when he has to use a little force.

Long fingers work the laces like a pro, forearms flexing when he tightens after each eyelet, always just enough, never too tight. Leaning back on your palms, you watch him with the kind of adoration you couldn’t hide even if you tried when he repeats the same process on your other foot.

He ties both in a perfect bow, a proud smile wrinkling the corners of his eyes when he looks up for your approval.  Your favorite strand already begs to come out of its gelled confines and your fingers itch ready to brush it away again if it escapes.

“I usually double tie it,” you giggle with another wiggle of your foot. “I mean, if you really wanna make sure I stay put.”

Steve huffs out a laugh, hot breath fanning against your skin that leaves goosebumps in its wake. He holds your stare while tying his perfect bow into a duplicate on both shoes, smirking when you squirm.

“No running now honey.” 

The neighborhood is alive in a different way than you’ve seen before, the rush of everyday life is replaced with sparklers, Italian ice, and live music. The cars that lined the sides of the street including Steve’s are nowhere to be seen. Multicolored tents with homemade signs of vendors from all over the city replace them instead. 

The sun hangs high, bright in the cerulean sky. Golden and warm like the man next to you. His Raybans cover his eyes now, leaving you defenseless against trying to read his thoughts. It’s different in public like this, it’s not just you two in the spaces between houses - in front yards, in alleys, in kitchens. It’s new feelings, new territory, and lots of people, but Steve searches for comfort in you when he takes your hand into his like it’s nothing.

“This is not what I was expecting when you said block party,” you say with an overwhelmed giggle, walking with no real destination, moving with the crowd. 

The fair rides catch your sight from the end of the street taking up the middle school parking lot. A ferris wheel just high enough you think you’d be able to see the lake from the top of it. It blinks multicolored bulbs, red white and blue flags hanging from its hinges blowing in the breeze haphazardly. The sweet smell of honey roasted almonds almost over powers the sizzle of Italian beef, and the butter of the popcorn. 

“Yeah, they go all out because it’s sponsored,” Steve offers with a shy smile, “This is actually my first one if I’m being honest, I usually go out of town for these, Bandit hates fireworks.”

“Wait? Is he home? Is he going to be okay? Do you have one of those vest thingy’s? I’ve read about them-“ Your pace slows, worry setting deep in your features and Steve thinks it's the cutest thing he’s ever seen.

“Yes, he’s in good hands. He’s staying with his aunt Nancy in the suburbs where it’s not so bad.” He chuckles, pulling your hand to his lips, they’re soft like silk when they press a kiss to your skin. It’s enough for your face to relax, eyes glazing over at the contact. “I promise honey.”

“Such a good daddy Steve, it’s cute,” you giggle, the nickname falling way too easily off your lips to not even be looking at him. Steve’s jaw clenches, he wants to kiss you. Bad. It doesn’t help that your gloss shimmers like glitter in the sun. Tempting him. The worst part is knowing you’d let him kiss you too. 

Not yet - the plan. 

His hand twitches at his side, he wants the familiar comfort of his fingers through his hair to ease his nerves but he can’t. It took him way too long to get it styled like this. Instead, he scratches at his jaw with a tight lipped smile.

“Thanks, I try.” 

The two of you wander through the different tents, a tentative hand always finding its way to your lower back whenever you stop at something you want to take a closer look at. Light conversation about your weeks at work comes easy, your touches staying a little shy, both of you unsure how to act in such a crowded place. 

The more the afternoon goes on like this, the endless butterflies that only exist for him start to stir from their cocoons. It’s when you lean over a table to get a better look at a moonstone that’s delicately hanging from a silver chain, that they start to stretch their wings. They flutter when you feel bold fingertips trace a line up your spine before long fingers wrap around the back of your neck giving the tense muscles there a squeeze. The pad of his thumb digging lightly into the spot behind your ear that makes your eyes want to close. You tuck your bottom lip between teeth to hold back your groan, the week of heavy trays and heavy thoughts coming loose under his touch.

“You like that one?” His voice startles you, it’s deep, rich and just above a whisper right by your ear. He chuckles when you jump a little letting his hand slide down the dip of your back, blunt nails scratching at the small of it.

“Yeah, it’s cute. I used to have one just like it but I lost it a few years ago.” Your eyes trace around the smooth stone, before seeing the sixty dollar price tag attached to it. 

Not that cute.

“Hopefully not in a sink.” It comes out of his mouth like he’s been waiting for this moment his whole life.

The glare you give him makes him snort, hands raising in surrender while your reflection in his lenses turns you into a giggling mess. The sixty year old woman in a moo moo trying to cool herself down with a paper fan on the other side of the table doesn’t think either of you are very funny. Steve digs for his wallet, your mouth opening in protest before he pulls out a crisp twenty from the tan leather billfold.

“Let’s get out of her hair, I saw something a few tables down that I want to grab for Eddie. Want to get us a lemonade and I’ll meet you?” Steve points to the concession stand on the other side of the tent, where a line of over excited kids and their already worn out parents have formed.

You watch his eyebrows raise behind the frames of his sunglasses when you just stare at the money in his hand making no indication of grabbing it. He knows what you’re doing.

“I asked you on a date if you remember, tough girl, I can buy you a what? A six dollar drink?” He huffs, lips twitching despite himself.

Steve gets his second eye roll of the day, this one accompanied with the kind of smile he wants from you all the time. He hopes it was the reminder that you were on a date with him that makes you beam like that. 

“Fair enough of an argument, I guess,” you sigh with a hint of a giggle at the end, and it makes him shake his head, white teeth on display leaving you a giddy mess.

He holds the bill out for you to take again, even though his eyes are hidden behind tinted lenses, you know he’s giving you a look. You tuck your bottom lip between your teeth to try and stop your smile from growing, your fingers wrapping around the bill sweetly.

“I’ll be five minutes,” he starts as you tuck the twenty into your back pocket.

“I got your number handsome.” You wink, making his cheeks bubblegum pink as you walk away. “No running, remember?” 

“That double knot isn’t coming loose honey. Five minutes.” He gestures the minutes with his hand, the kind of grin on his face that threatens to make you fall in love.

🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋🍋

The heat starts getting sticky, the breeze from before coming to a standstill making the plastic cup wet in your hand. The condensation drips down the bright yellow lemons that decorate it and onto your fingers but it feels good. You shift from side to side awkwardly next to the concession stand, people watching with the green bendy straw in your mouth. You’re closer to the school now, the sight of fair games in the shade of tents cooled down by giant fans catches your eye. The empty ring toss table calling your name. 

That’s when you see him, an irrational anger settling in your gut at how he somehow looks even more attractive than he did ten minutes ago. You can tell the moment he spots you through the crowd, a giant smile stretching so wide across his face it threatens to compete with the sun and it's just for you. 

“That was longer than five minutes, Steve,” you tsk when he reaches you, trying not to overthink the fact that he doesn’t have any sort of bag.

He chuckles, a little out of breath, giving into his impulse to run his fingers through his hair. The heat of the day finally ruining any product that was left in it.

“You just got one lemonade?” He points to the dripping cup in your hands with a smirk.

“Yeah, I realized that after I’d ordered, but could you imagine if I was left waiting here for ten minutes with two of these?!” You lift it up like it's heavy before narrowing your eyes playfully, “Why? Got a problem sharing with me or something?”

He lifts his sunglasses pushing them up to rest on top of his head, and they almost get lost in the thickness of his honey and pepper locks. The full force of the mossy green browns of his eyes make your thighs press.

“No, just wanted to make sure before I did this.” Leaning forward, his gaze stays focused on yours before his lips wrap around the straw. His adams apple bobs in his throat when he takes a long gulp, while beads of sweat collect and drip down the sides of his neck making you lick your lips. 

“G-good?” You manage to ask when he pulls away wiping his chin with the back of his hand.

“Delicious actually. Is that a hint of strawberry?” Steve asks with a widening grin, the pad of his thumbs swiping away some of the excess lipgloss he’d gotten off the straw. You rub your lips together subconsciously, the corners of them threatening to pull up when he puts his sunglasses back on.

“Strawberry and watermelon actually.” 

The air between you grows thick with something that’s not the humidity, especially when you see the way more sweat glistens from the tease of soft curls on his chest. Was that a third button undone?

“I didn’t catch the watermelon, I’ll just have to get a better taste next time.” His ears catch your quick intake of breath. He could do it now, really taste you. The way your eyes keep dropping to his mouth tells him you want him to.  

Stick to the plan.

He takes the cup that you have to hold with both hands into one, fingers wrapping around it with ease. Stealing your hand in his other, they intertwine like they missed each other. The cold condensation left on your palm from the lemonade cools the warmth of his heated skin from the sun and from you.

“Let’s go check out the games.”

“You know ring toss is a scam right?” Steve sighs, the two of you standing in front of the booth you’d eye’d from across the block. 

“It’s not a scam, it’s a game of skill Steve.” 

You give him his third eye roll of the day and it makes the corners of his lips curve despite giving you one in return.

“I thought you were Mr. Sports anyway, shouldn’t you be good at this? Don’t you work for the Cubs or something?” You copy his stance, taking note of how it gets him more irritated.

“Mr. Sports? I do marketing, I don’t play for the team,” he scoffs at the nickname, but the playfulness that fills your eyes is contagious and it’s enough to feed his soul for months. “I’m plenty good at this game, I just didn’t want you to get discouraged.”

“Me? Discouraged?” You give him a sarcastic laugh and it makes his cheeks push up. He can’t remember the last time he smiled like this.

“I’m just looking out for you, that’s all.” He shrugs, taking another sip of the lemonade so he doesn’t laugh at the face that gets you to make.

“You don’t have to look out for me, in fact I’m gonna raise the stakes Harrington.” He loves how you say his last name like you’ve known him for years, especially when you’re heated. “The loser has to buy funnel cake after this, or is that too much for you to handle?” You raise your eyebrows, in a challenge.

“It’s never too much for me to handle.” Steve makes sure to look you up and down, enjoying the way it makes you squirm before continuing, “And don’t worry I’m not really going to make you pay for the funnel cake after I beat you.”  

He signals to the teenager on the other side of the table for two rounds, laughing at the way you scoff around giggles giving his shoulder a light shove.

———————————————————————

It takes about three throws for Steve to realize he’s going to eat his words when he watches the plastic ring bounce off the lip of the bottle again. 

“Aww maybe the next one, champ.” you pout with a quick flick of your wrist, your fourth ring hitting the top of the bottle before spinning down the neck of it with a hollow hum just like the three before and it makes Steve’s jaw clench. “I like extra powdered sugar by the way.” 

He grumbles something to himself grabbing his last ring, feeling the heat of your stare on him, he tries to ignore the way it makes all the blood rush to his cheeks and focus on at least making one. His eyes squint as he picks his target.

“Maybe you need those glasses that were on your desk?” You shrug nonchalantly, conveniently refusing to meet his incredulous gaze, a smirk playing the edges of your lips.

“I don’t need glasses - who are you? Where’s that sweet girl from next door, huh?” He can’t help but laugh when your smirk breaks out into a fit of giggles.

“I'm competitive when it comes to meaningless games, Steve. What can I say?” You sigh, your admission making him snort as he refocuses on the bottle again.

“Competitive but hates sports, makes total sense,” mumbling, he does a few practice throws not letting the ring go. He’s not expecting you to come up beside him so close that he can smell the perfume you sprayed this morning. He wants to bury his nose in your neck and inhale.

“Just bend your arm a little here, baby,” the teasing edge to your voice is gone, replaced with something sticky sweet like the lemonade he shared with you, like your strawberry and watermelon lip gloss. ‘Baby’ rings loud in his ears and needs to hear you say it again, he always wants to be your baby. 

Your touch is gentle when you bend his elbow just slightly, soft fingers that feel electric. 

“You settin’ me up?” Steve’s eyes meet yours, smile going lopsided when he catches you getting a little shy.

“I’m not! I promise.” You giggle again and he decides he’ll buy you as many funnel cakes as you want. “If you think you’re throwing it too soft, you’re not.”

You back away to let him make his move, he’s more concentrated than you’ve ever seen as he takes your advice to heart. His tongue pokes out as he lines himself up, silently counting to three before letting go. You hold back your squeal watching it catch on the top, spinning sloppily down the neck plastic clinking against the glass loudly.

“Wooo!” Steve’s hands shoot up the bottom of his shirt rising with it giving you a glimpse of his happy trail. Excitement radiating from his bright smile.. 

God you just want to kiss him.

“See, skill, not luck,” you tease.

“How’d you get so good at this?” He questions watching you make your fifth one without a second thought.

“I lived in a small town with nothing to do but stupid games like this.” You shrug, you hadn’t thought about home since moving here, a nostalgic pain hits your chest.

“You get to pick a prize,” the teenager cuts into your conversation, refusing to let Steve ask the questions that were obviously on the tip of his tongue. 

He points to the grid wall behind him where everything from classic teddy bears, purple dragons, and dancing bananas are strung up in a pop of bright colors. Steve watches with admiration at the focus on your face as your eyes look over every option like it’s the hardest decision you’ve ever had to make in your life. Then you look up at him and ask-

“Which one do you think Bandit would like?” 

Maybe his plan was stupid, maybe he should just say fuck it and kiss your right here. 

“I think he’d really dig the banana, definitely his style.” Steve nods casually trying not to let it show that he thinks he’s already falling in love with you.

You beam at him before telling the kid your choice, excitedly grabbing it when it’s handed to you. Steve looks out to the sun starting to set burnt orange and pink in the sky telling himself he can hold out for at least another hour, maybe two. Maybe.

“You should have seen the woman’s face when I asked for more sugar,” Steve huffs, dropping the deep fried treat in front of you. The sweet powder puffs like smoke falling off the dough like snow landing onto the already formed piles that cover the bottom of the paper plate.

“She was just jealous,” you wave off, wiggling your fingers in excitement unsure of where to even start as he takes the seat next to you, knees bumping under the picnic table you’d found.

“Jealous of what? The dentist visit I’ll need to pay for after this?”  Steve cocks an eyebrow, pulling off a piece regardless of his complaining. His sunglasses hang down the middle of his shirt again, the sun low enough for his eyes to come out of hiding, stealing some of the confidence you have when you don’t get distracted by them.

You roll your eyes for the fourth time and it starts making him feel spoiled, especially the way the corners of your mouth always give you away curving up the littlest bit after each one.

Ignoring his complaining you plop a piece into your mouth, the extra sugar sticks to your gloss and he really starts to hate his plan again when he watches your tongue dart out to lick it off. 

“So what made you move here?” Steve asks, the curiosity from before coming back as he brushes some of the powder from another piece.

A small laugh escapes through your nose, your eyes meeting his from under your lashes before darting back to the dessert. You didn’t have an exciting or dramatic reason to give, not even a career path. The nerves of a different kind kick up in the fear of being perceived as a mess once he really gets to know you. It makes your palms sweat.

“I don’t know, New York always intimidated me,” you offer with a half smile, picking at the sides of the fried dough.

“Come on, tough girl.” Steve bumps his shoulder with yours, his cologne mixing with the day in a way that has you wanting to bottle it up for yourself.

You sigh, lips twitching in a grin before giving into him.

“It’s just something I’ve always wanted to do. Live in a big city.” You gesture around you before ripping off another bite. “My parents have never lived anywhere else their whole lives, so I promised myself that if I was still there when I was thirty, I’d do it. I’d pack up and move no matter what, and that’s exactly what I did.” You laugh, popping the small treat in your mouth. 

“I don’t really have a plan? I don’t really know what I’m doing which is scary and exciting all at the same time,” you admit, avoiding his gaze hunting for another perfect bite and it just kinda feels like stress eating now.

“You sound like me.” Steve chuckles, and it makes you freeze, finally daring to look at him. The tan he got from the day was already starting to show, the laugh lines under his eyes a little more prominent from this close. The stubble that lines his jaw has a little more salt than pepper.

“Yeah?” You hate how quiet your voice sounds, blaming it on the way his thigh is pressed tight against yours.

“You think I wanted to get into sports marketing my whole life?” Steve snorts, “I”m from a small town in Indiana, I worked at an ice cream shop in a mall and a video rental store after high school. I had no idea what I wanted to do, or who I was.” 

His hand reaches under the table, fingers wrapping around your knee to give it a reassuring squeeze.

“If it wasn’t for a drunk night with Eddie and my other best friend Robin after a shitty day at work,” He shrugs, picking at the dough, “telling me about this three bedroom apartment in Chicago they had found real cheap through some guy named Rick, who knows what I’d be doing now.” 

There’s a moment of silence between you, letting the realization that the Steve you’d built up in your head wasn’t the man next to you. The man next to you was better. He was real. Hope blooms inside your chest that maybe you weren’t so lost after all.

“Well, that just made me like you even more. Great.” You fake annoyance but your shy smile gives you away.

“Oh yeah?” He flirts, wiggling his eyebrows at you leaning in closer, loving how he can hear the stutter in your breath every time.

“Well, maybe.” 

“Maybe?” His question comes out soft, his nose bumping yours while his eyes linger on the sugar that collected on your already sweet lips. 

You nod with a sigh, sticky gloss and fluttering lashes, big eyes that beg him. The hand on your knee comes up to cup your face, the tip of his thumb tracing your bottom lip before tugging it down mesmerized by how it still shimmers after all this time.

Fuck the plan.

“Harrington? I thought that was you!” 

Both of you jump, your hand nearly flipping the plate when an unsuspecting voice pops you two out of your bubble. Again. It takes everything inside Steve not to groan out loud, recognizing the man behind the interruption instantly. His boss.

“Richard?” Steve’s voice changes to the version you’d heard on the phone as he spins around in his seat giving you the perfect view of the way the linen stretches over his shoulders.

He was going to kiss you and now he’s talking to Richard.

Your eyes meet a much older man’s dark brown ones, he looks somewhere in his mid to late sixties, but the kind of late sixties that told you he had money. The thick white cotton of his t-shirt looks Egyptian, the light wash jeans look like the kind of denim that cost more than your rent. The hundred and fifty dollar leather Cole Haan sneakers on his feet make it seem dressed down despite the wing tip. Casual rich.

“I didn’t think you’d be here sir.” Steve chuckles nervously scratching the back of his neck. 

“Well, someone has to see where the money you convinced me to spend is going.” He smiles but it’s warm in spite of his playful jab. 

“Besides, I’ve heard it’s you that doesn’t come to these things.” Richard’s eyes meet yours with a knowing sparkle behind them, “But I've got an idea why this year’s different.”

The heat rushes to your cheeks from the implications of his words and you try and bite back your own grin when you look down at the half eaten dessert.

“Well it’s always good to see you outside of the field Harrington, I think The ALS Foundation and the Chicago Parks District will be happy with their checks this year. Great job as always son,” he compliments proudly.

The two of them talk “shop” for a few minutes, but all you can focus on is the fact that Steve put this all together and it’s something he’s been doing for years. Channeling his grief into something good and it makes your heart swell.

“There’s an empty skybox with your name on it for next week’s game, bring your girl. It’ll be fun. I’ll let you two get back to it.” Richard’s voice gets louder with his departure breaking you out of your thoughts as he pats Steve on his shoulder, giving him a fatherly squeeze. 

“Enjoy the fireworks.”

He throws you a wink before walking away taking your kiss from Steve with him.

The music thumps low in the distance when you two get to a part of the lake that isn’t a public beach. It’s a Marina but not one for just anybody, the docks are mostly empty but the boats that are there look expensive, definitely not rentals.  

‘What are we doing Steve?” You whisper but it sounds more like a yell when he pulls out a keycard to open up the gate that stops you from going inside.

“My buddy has a boat, well it’s not here but his spot is, at the very end. We’d get a perfect view of Navy Pier and the fireworks. No people.” He opens the gate with a loud creak, his hand extending out for you to take. “Jus’ me and you.”

The skyline shines behind him, the wind catching in his unruly hair with the kind of smile you’d be insane to say no to. 

So you don’t.

You slide your hand into his without any hesitation, like it’s meant to be there, watching the way it disappears in his grasp.

“That’s my girl.”

The dock bobs in the small waves under your feet as he leads you out to the empty spot all the way at the end. The lake looks black, endless with the other side nowhere in sight. If you didn’t know any better you’d think it was the ocean. You’re almost scared when you get to the end and all you can see is the white tops of the water breaking against the rocks. 

The faint sounds of voices from the crowds at the pier catch in the wind, the long tourist attraction shining bright not that far from you. The ferris wheel towers above the lake, the glass enclosures catching the lights from the city while its own twinkles against the stars in the clear sky. 

“Steve, this is gorgeous.” You don’t know where to look, the man or the city.

He grins like he’s proud of himself, letting your hand go to lay the blanket down. Your eyes take in the view again while he gets situated, and you try to picture what it’s going to look like in a few minutes with all the colors in the sky. 

“Baby,”  the pet name comes out easy for him when he uses it to get your attention, like it’s what he should’ve been calling you all along. He likes the smile he gets when he says it too.

Both his hands reach out for you to take, helping you down to sit in the space between his legs. His knees lift up when you sit, while his arms wrap around your waist to pull you close. With your back to his chest, he rests his chin on your shoulder, his stubble tickling your neck when the tip of his nose runs along your jaw inhaling the powdered sugar and strawberry that still lingers on your skin.

“God, I’ve wanted you this close all day,” he confesses like it's a secret he’s exhausted from keeping. 

“Yeah?” You whisper, tilting your head to give him better access while his lips ghost against the shell of your ear, feeling the way they curve into a smile.

“You have no idea, beautiful girl.” He presses a soft kiss on your temple, the tips of his fingers exploring your rib cage and you wonder if he can feel the butterflies.

His lips drag to the apple of your cheek where he leaves another one before he pulls away, the music getting louder from the pier signaling the start of the show.

“Thank you for today.” You turn your head to look at him because you already miss him.

He tilts his chin down to meet your eyes over the slope of his nose, his knees going flat on the ground while his hand comes up to cup the side of your face. The pad of his thumb tracing the high bone of your cheek while he holds your gaze. He doesn’t care if he misses the fireworks.

“Really, I should thank you for everything you’ve done since I moved here,” you keep going with a low voice, the water lapping against the dock underneath you creating the kind of peace you don’t want to disturb.

The tip of his nose bumps against yours, quick breaths meeting in the middle. All he’d have to do is tilt his head.

“Honey, you saved me.” Steve’s brows furrow when he presses his forehead against yours. 

The sting is happy when you smile at him through glassy eyes, tilting your chin up just enough for your lips to brush.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Color flashes bright in the inky sky, it lights up Steve’s face in red’s and blue’s that sparkle against the jade and chestnut in his eyes. This time the interruption isn’t one that can stop him, closing the space he finally gets to do what he’s wanted to do since that night in his kitchen.

He’s gentle at first, his top lip brushing against your bottom and he loves the way it makes you sigh, giving into him the moment they finally connect. You turn in his lap, your hand finding its way to the back of his neck to pull him closer already needing more, your fingers curl in the soft hair at the base of it, greedy. Colors explode behind your eyes rivaling the ones above you when he dares to lick at your bottom lip, the firework display just the background to the main event when you let him in.

It’s lemonade and mint when his tongue massages slow against yours, his thumb tugging at your chin to open you up more for him. He kisses you like he’s sure of himself, taking his time so he can savor every moment of it like he could do this all night if you’d let him. He would too. The summer of unspoken words and miscommunicated feelings disappear when your lips move with the kind of desperation that comes with letting go. Giving into everything you both tried to fight while your tongues battle for dominance.

It’s too much but not enough all at once, the longer his lips move against yours it’s like they're never meant to be apart, like he didn’t know how he went this long without them.

The fireworks get louder above you signaling that you’re near the end of the show and you wish you had more time, especially when he starts kissing down your neck when he needs to catch his breath. Wet and sloppy, his lips make a sticky mess from all the gloss he collected from you, the watermelon he didn’t get to taste before making itself known. Sugary sweet like the girl in his lap. 

“I know it’s super lame to ask for a second date while on the first one, but that baseball game is next week if you want to go?” He finally speaks, breaking the silence, nudging his nose against yours when he finally stops his assault on your neck, swollen and pink, his lips shine with the evidence of you. 

“Only if you teach me the rules, or I’ll have no idea who to yell angrily at if you don’t.” You grin, nuzzling into his neck.

“Deal.” 

His chest shakes with laughter, while a hand smooths down your back pulling you even closer to him. The smoke from the fireworks still lingers in white wisps in the air. The lapping of the water falling in time with your breathing, while you and Steve enjoy the quiet, letting the crowds go home before you try and make your way back. It’s a night of hushed words, shared secrets, and stolen kisses. 

He walks you home at half past midnight, kissing you till you’re dizzy against your door with a promise of a text in the morning. He stops halfway down the stairs before jogging back up to kiss you again, this one a little tender with a whispered “Sweet dreams tough girl.” attached to it.

You don't need to wish for sweet dreams anymore, not when you have Steve.

———————————————————————

beta’d by @superblysubpar

dividers by @newlips

[ampleax]

6/30/23 - I don’t think I’m meant to live past 30

Hello. I should’ve made a life update first but I can’t get this thought out of my mind. I can’t view myself as anything other than 18. Growing up is inevitable, changing is inevitable but I can’t see myself growing older and settling down. I will always see myself as that girl running around with my friends, that girl who would do anything just to get a glimpse of her crush, the girl who’d use research as an excuse to play Paladins. 

I guess I’ll just catch you up on my life for the past few months. I’m not gonna tell you about the other stuff because they’re irrelevant but FG’s doing well (surprisingly). After J and I found out about the whole K situation, they made it easier for me to actually come back to calls and hanging out with them isn’t as bad anymore. I’m still friends with S and the others but honestly, I’m only going for S.

Actually, I thought S and I were drifting apart. I felt like she was living her best life and she didn’t need me by her side and I understand, I’ve always heard people say that high school friendships don’t last. But one night, I was listening to dorothea and I got really really emotional. I couldn’t stop myself from messaging her while sobbing and with snot all over my face, I told her I missed her. I just want to cry in her arms, she’s my twin flame and distance won’t break the bond that we have. S, we’ve changed so much in the past year but our friendship will always remain the same. Now that I think about it, you weren’t able to return my hugs back in Grade 10 because you’ve always struggled with showing affection (We were literally the golden retriever friend and black cat friend in the group) and the last time we hung out, you actually hooked your arms around mine! Tried my best not to get emotional because we were in public and even though I know you might never see this, please know how much I love you. 

I think I should explain the main part now, and I don’t know what acronym to give this guy because someone’s already A! But I’ll put him first so okay, I met A back in Cosplay Carnival. We already met back in Cosplay Matsuri 2022, I was cosplaying as Ann and I forgot who he was cosplaying as but he took a picture with me and my friends! Okay so I took a little break from typing and now I forgot what I wanted to say.

He was really cute and polite that day! I don’t know, I just liked how he nodded everytime he saw me. I honestly can’t type without looking like an idiot because I’m smiling to myself so I’ll get to the point. I’m with someone now and they make me feel happy.

But honestly, I can’t help but think that he’ll get tired of me soon enough.

I

I don’t really feel like writing anymore. I’ll come back next time.

[lucidreamer-uwu]

heyhey!! Just wanna say you're really talented!! Also! can i request like a friends to lovers fic with leviathan or maybe belphie? if this is too much feel free to ignore, and have a great day ❤️

(Ps. can i be ☁️ anon?)

Final Boss Level with Leviathan

“MC STOP DYING ON ME!” Levi screams through laughs as he tries his best to reach your location in the game you were playing so that he could revive you.

Lucifer wasn’t home that night and wouldn’t be until morning. That meant that he wasn’t there to tell you off for staying up too late with your otaku best friend. That also meant that you were going to spend it, savor it, staying up all night.

“Levi!! HELP!” You scream, laughs bursting out of the both of you when you helplessly try to retreat as the enemy chases you down. “WAIT! Don’t die yet!” He echoes your laughter.

The night carried on with the two of you playing games, trying on different cosplays, and watching anime together. But when you settled down to read a manga side by side in his bathtub of a bed, that’s when things got serious.

You were reading one of the volumes of “Vegetables Basket” and stumbled upon an argument.

“This guy’s such a tsundere! I wish he would just tell her how he really feels” You’d complain to him, but he’d defend the character. “W-well that’s only because he thinks the girl’s super cool and that makes him nervous about telling her you know-!” He protests. Nevertheless, you both continue to read side by side.

Internally sighing, you try another attempt to send him a hint by commenting once more. “Don’t you think you should tell someone how you feel if you like them? It’s only fair, you know” You pout right at him, making it more obvious. Surely he gets it now right?

Why won’t he just tell me? You thought.

You knew that he was crushing on you, you’ve heard him talk in his sleep before. You were so happy when you found out that he felt the same way you did, but you wanted him to tell you right to your face. Otherwise, how could you ever know for sure?

He did know what you were talking about because he was aware that you knew. He wasn’t asleep when he confessed to you his feelings, he knew you were awake too, but the thought of acknowledging it short circuits his brain.

“Y-yeah, but still-!” he says lamely in reply, slightly blushing at you. You did nothing but frown at him, unamused. He’s really done it now.

You get up from bed and leave his room, telling him that you’d be back with some water for the both of you. He didn’t get the chance to tell you that there was still water in his little supply box because you were already out the door.

As you walk the halls to the kitchen, you recall the time you had confessed your feelings to Levi. It was quite a time ago, and you were still waiting on him. You promised yourself that you wouldn’t force it out of him, but did you have to wait forever?

When you return to Levi’s room holding two glasses of water, you see that the third born was holding a game controller and sitting in front of a screen. He looks at you, blushing, and asks if you wanted to play Yourcraft with him. You weren’t really in the mood to, but he was a little too eager to play this time, that it was almost suspicious.

Meanwhile, back at the room, Levi was stunned and internally crying. What was he doing? He knew you liked him, all he had to do was return your feelings right to your face! Why can’t he do it? “Come on, Levi! Get it together!” He scolds himself, and turns to Henry. “How can I possibly do it, Henry? Confessing to them face to face is like, FINAL boss level IRL!"

A pause of silence passes by and the avatar of envy gives a determined nod at his goldfish. "You're right! I should do it! Wish me luck, Henry!"

Giving in, you take the extra controller he offered you after setting down the glasses.

For a while it was normal, but then you start to notice Levi constantly glancing over to Henry. He often did that when he was nervous. What was he nervous about?

While you were distracted and lost in your thoughts, Levi had started building something that seemed random, and it was messing with your own creation. “Hey, move over, this is my spot!” You giggle, trying to break all the blocks he was placing in your area. But he wouldn’t stop, nor did he listen to you. He just continued racing you to placing blocks over your own. So much that you couldn’t catch up. “I swear Levi, if you keep messing with me, I will explode a TNT right here and right now, you dork!” You threaten, in a much better mood now. “If I can’t have this spot, no one can!” You let out a war cry.

You were about to release the explosives just when Levi called it quits and asked for a peace treaty. You agree after a few cake offerings from him to you, but before he let you take down his creation, he asks you to view it from above. You thought he was being mega sus, but once you did as he asked you to, you couldn’t say a word.

“I… Like you a lot…” He whispers, sounding extremely cool as you read the lines of his creation over yours that spelled the words I ♡ u.

“I-I…” You stutter, feeling the heat overtake your whole face. You tried to make it seem like you weren’t a flustered mess right now by turning to him and saying something, but the moment you turned your head, you were surprised to find that Levi’s face was RIGHT THERE. Your lips connected, you were both embarrassed with eyes as large as plates.

When I Wake Up with Belphegor

As if the same sides of a magnet, the two of you both repel, distancing yourselves away from the other. “Th-that was my first kiss!” You exclaim, covering your mouth, mirroring him. “M-m-m-me too!” He stutters.

Your lips were close and well within kissing range. All he had to do was close the distance and all the bottled-up feelings he had for you would be out in the open. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time now. His brothers were nowhere in sight, you two were alone, and the atmosphere was just right. It was the perfect opportunity. It’s now or never, he thought, and sealed it with a tender kiss.

The vision of you faded and the feeling of your lips departed from his, leaving him cold and yearning for your touch.

He shifts in bed and opens his eyes, frowning when he realizes that it was yet just another dream. “This can’t keep happening” He growls to himself, feeling rather cranky.

It has been weeks since he started having dreams about confessing his feelings to you. Don’t get him wrong, he plans to do it in real life, he wasn’t a coward. He just couldn’t find the perfect moment to go through with it. All his previous attempts were ruined by his brothers interrupting. Especially Mammon.

You turn in your sleep, groaning as you did. Now you were facing him. He felt the urge to go back to sleep, but he much rather stare at you for a while since he was already up.

The way your face looked so peaceful as you lay there next to him was everything he could possibly ask for. How your gentle breathing calmed him into a sense of serenity was like none other. You gave him the peace that he thought he would never have gotten back after what had happened between you two.

He promised himself he wouldn’t, but he just couldn’t help but poke your cheek. The soft skin under his finger made him chuckle. “Cute…” He hums.

He continues to poke different parts of your face consistently, promising to stop after each time but failing to hold himself back. He ends up disturbing your slumber, causing you to awake.

“Belphie?” You’d groan in confusion while your eyes squint. He only smiles and caresses your face in his hand. “I couldn’t sleep” he offers as an unconvincing alibi to accidentally waking you up. “You couldn’t sleep?” you raise your eyebrow at him in disbelief, and he chuckles, moving in closer to take you in his arms.

You gladly snuggled up closer to the demon under the sheets that cover you both, reveling in his warmth. It was soothing, and having him near you was always comforting.

The two of you snuggled in bed gave you access to the beating of his heart. It hindered you from falling back to sleep for it was thumping so loudly and at a quick pace.

Meanwhile, Belphie was on cloud nine. The only thought that was going through his head was coming clean to you with his feelings. This was the perfect moment he has been waiting for.

“Belphie?” you call. “MC” he cuts you off and abruptly confesses. “I like you”.

It was as if your world had stopped. Your heart was beating as fast as his now, your hands were cold despite being sandwiched in between yourself and him, and your face could never have be hotter.

“W-what?” you ask just in case you didn’t hear him right. “I’ve been meaning to tell you about this for so long now. But every single time that I try to, my idiot brothers get in the way” Belphie curses in frustration and you could tell that he was frowning over your head.

You could not believe what you were hearing. Belphie was telling you that he liked you. You’ve only ever been crushing on him since forever and now he was telling you that he felt the same! Since when? That didn’t matter now, all you really cared about was this moment you were sharing with the one you liked the most.

“I…” you stutter.

All of a sudden, the door to the attic opens and Mammon is instantly in between the two of you. You don’t even know HOW that happened.

For a moment it was silent, the atmosphere was tense, and a single movement could lead to catastrophic events.

“Mammon” Belphie speaks up, death seeping within his words.

“Yeah?” Mammon replies as if the situation wasn’t out of the ordinary.

You were afraid to move even an inch, and feared for Mammon’s life. You knew what was about to happen and braced yourself for the worst.

Belphie turns into his demon form, anger bubbling from within him, causing for the second born demon to head for the stairs out of the attic as he was chased down by your crush, waking everybody in the house up in the middle of the night.

Chaos was unleashed at the House of Lamentation that night, but when morning came, you managed to suppress Belphie’s anger towards his brother by confessing to him how you felt as well. He almost completely forgot about what had happened the previous night and happily gave you a deep and meaningful kiss right there and then in the middle of breakfast with everyone watching.

Surprise! I did both! Just a little special something for my very first emoji anon uwu ~

Thank you for the compliment btw, you're too kind 😔💕. I had lots of fun writing these so I hope you enjoy them! Hope to hear from you again ☁️ anon!

~ Em