#what if some noise canceling headphones were introduced

[tuphup]

Unfortunately I find his character sad and funny which means I will draw him, bastard that he is. also pathetic

[fremedon]

I did my first phone bank of the season tonight, for my state's senate campaign.

I know we all hate the phone around here. But as a raging introvert with an audio processing disorder, I actually find phone banking hugely easier than almost any other phone interaction (and many in-person ones).

So I thought I'd write up a brief explainer of how it works.

The big thing to know about phone banking is this: It is largely not about persuading people to change their votes. It has three other, very simple, goals:

1.) Gather information to help the campaign determine where to concentrate its resources.

2.) Remind people that there is an election and get them thinking about and making an active plan to go and vote.

3.) Remind people of the candidate's name.

That's it. That's all you have to do. Two-thirds of the time they'll hang up on you and you won't even do that much. It's easy.

So. You sign up by going to the website of a candidate you'd like to support and looking for volunteer opportunities on their website. There will, somewhere, be a place to sign up to phone bank

You can phone bank from home these days; or you can do what I did tonight and go into a campaign office. If you go into the office, there will be campaign volunteers there who can answer questions for you and walk you through what to do, but you will also be within earshot of other people on the phone, so if background noise is a problem you might prefer to do it from home or bring noise-cancelling headphones.

They will send you a link to an autodialer, which you will call from your own phone or computer. The autodialer will work its way through a list of numbers. No one you are calling will be able to see your own phone number; they'll just see the number the autodialer is using.

The system will work its way through a list of numbers and only hand off to you when someone picks up. At this point, the screen will display the following:

1.) The name of the person you're trying to call;

2.) a set of buttons for how to record the initial response: Hung up, Answering Machine, Wrong Number, etc, and some version of You Are Actually Talking To the Right Person;

3.) an actual script for introducing yourself. You don't have to follow it exactly, but you can, and it will give you the points you need to try to hit--for introductions, that's usually going to be your first name, the campaign you're calling for, and that you are a volunteer.

If the call ends here--they hang up; they tell you you have the wrong number--you hit the button that best matches what happened, the call ends, and when you're ready you can tell the autodialer to send you the next call.

If the person is willing to talk, you click the button for that, and the screen will move on to the next page of the script--there will be some amount of information to give out--again, you don't need to read it all--one question to be sure to ask, and buttons to record their answer.

Most of the time, the question is going to be "Are you supporting this candidate," and your answers will be on a scale from Strong Yes to Strong No. For most of the campaign season, people answering either of those will be taken off the call list because they're not likely to change their mind; people who are undecided will keep getting calls. Right before the election, strategy will change from persuading the persuadables to getting out the vote, and then everyone who's already said they're supporting your candidate might get another round of calls to remind them to vote, and gather information about who has already voted and who the campaign should still be calling or sending canvassers to.

Sometimes there will be multiple questions; tonight, we asked three: Are you supporting the Democratic Senate candidate; Are you supporting the Democratic House candidate for whichever district we were calling; and--if they answered yes--Are you interested in volunteering.

You do not have to be able to answer every question or give a persuasive speech to phone bank for a political candidate. Very few people want to have a long conversation with you. If you do get someone who does, you have a script in front of you which contains talking points and often links to further information.

But the most persuasive thing you can do is the thing you have already done just by calling: you've let them know that someone near them, one of their neighbors, a real person with a name and a voice, cares so much about electing this person that they've volunteered their free time to make it happen.

You do need to be polite and positive at all times. That part is not really negotiable. No one that you're talking to is going to remember more than one talking point at most anyway--but they will remember that that nice person from the campaign was so polite and so cheerful. I am a salty gloomy bitch in RL, but my phone-sona brims over with love for my fellow fucking humans.

And you know, I really do feel some of that love, by the end of the night.

If you think this sounds like something you can do, I recommend giving it a try. It's an excellent way to channel your anxiety about the election into action, and it's not nearly as scary as it seems.

[justwinginglife]

Hello?! I hope I'm not late to make a request😅

May I request for Hoshina's reaction to making the reader accidentally cry?Reader is sensitive to loud noise like loud voice,thunders etc...and Hoshina has always been careful in raising his voice at her or attentive but he accidentally raised his voice at her because he mistook her as someone else?

Omg hello! Welcome to my page. You are not too late- I would be honored to write this for you.

The Sound Of His Love

Soshiro Hoshina was sweet, he was funny, he was protective, he was charming- but the thing that stood out the most to you was that he was incredibly considerate.

Your entire life people had teased you for scaring easy- whether it was thunderstorms, construction, fireworks, it didn't matter. Someone could close a door a little too loudly and you'd jump. You couldn't help it. Something about volume was overwhelming to you and you found yourself constantly shrinking at how loud the world was.

But not Soshiro Hoshina. He was gentle, he was soothing. And when he learned about your sensitivity to noise, he made every effort to be a safe haven for you. He didn't see you as lesser, he just saw you as someone who needed a little more love and he always had an abundance to give.

He even let you move into his place after your neighbor got a particularly noisy, particularly rowdy new dog. The man was a dream come true.

So now you wanted to do something to surprise him. You'd never been able to visit him at work because of all the shooting drills that were going on and the possibility of the alarm going off any second to signal a kaiju attack, but today you wanted to try. He was always cooking for you and cleaning up after you (even going so far as throwing out his old vacuum and just sweeping the carpet so as to avoid any noise), so this time you decided to make him a lunch to thank him.

You plated it all pretty in your little bento box and even put a sticky note on top with a little love letter on it.

You had already called up Mina the day before, Hoshina- being the thoughtful person that he was- had introduced the two of you in case you couldn't reach him (and he also just wanted to show you off to someone), and she had approved your little surprise visit, saying she'd help anyway she could.

So today you put on your noise cancelling headphones and make the walk over to the base, your lunchbox in tow. You're greeted at the door by Mina and she leads you to his office to sit and wait for him. Then she gets the idea that she should dress you in one of her uniforms so you look like a soldier, "I bet it'll really do something to that boyish brain of his to see you like this", she winks. You blush and let her do what she wants.

Then you just sit in his office chair and wait.

Little do you know, Hoshina is having the worst day. He had to make the long journey out to the First Division today on almost no sleep for a joint mission, he usually gets a kick out of pushing Narumi's buttons but today the Captain was being extra irritating towards him for no apparent reason, and to make matters worse, Narumi got most of the kills causing Hoshina to sulk about why he was even there in the first place. And then, just to add to his already miserable day, his train ride back got delayed, he got soaked waiting in the rain for it to come, and he was starving. By the time he dragged his dripping, aching body back to his office, he just wanted some piece and quiet and of course he opens the door to find some soldier twiddling their thumbs in his chair.

"Soldier!" He booms. "Who told you that you could let yourself into my office?? I want answers, then I want push-up's, then I want your sorry ass out of my damn office!"

With every word he thunders, you flinch, sinking deeper and deeper into his chair until you feel the tears starting to well up. You know he doesn't know that it's you and that he's probably just had a bad day, but you're still shocked to find that your gentle boyfriend can be not so gentle when he's not around you. You slowly swivel the chair in his direction, your shaking hands lifting the hat away from your face, revealing your tear-stained cheeks to him.

He drops to his knees in an instant.

"Baby..." He gasps. "Oh my god baby, you're here."

You give him a small, weak smile, trying to wipe the tears away, embarrassed that they just keep coming. "S-surprise?"

He slaps his forehead- hard. "I-I'm... I'm so so sorry for yelling at you baby. Please don't... please don't cry, I'm sorry." He pulls himself to his feet and envelops you in a warm hug, repeating his apology over and over again in whispers until you've stopped shaking.

"I-it's okay." You say finally.

He shakes his head vehemently. "It's not okay. I never should've raised my voice at you even if I thought you were an officer, I was just having a bad day baby I'm so sorry. It's really not who I am."

You smile again, this time more confidently. "I know that's not who you are baby. I'm sorry you've had a bad day. I made you lunch."

You gesture to the bento box that's been waiting on his desk.

His eyes widen and he starts to look even more ashamed. He falls to his knees again, curling up and laying his head in your lap. "I don't deserve you." He murmurs, stroking the length of your legs.

You start to blush and you're glad he's nuzzled himself against you and can't see your rosy cheeks.

"I can't believe I made you cry. I swore I'd never make you cry." He mumbles against your legs.

You rub a hand over his shoulder. "It's okay baby, really. I know you didn't mean to."

He shakes his head again. "It's not okay and I will never make you cry ever again, please forgive me."

You kiss the top of his head. "Already done baby. Now eat your lunch so this trip was worth it."

He pulls away from you, finally able to smile. "I'll clean the whole box out if it'll make you happy."

He finishes scarfing down the food and you both walk home together, hand in hand.

This relationship of yours may at times be difficult to navigate, but you know he always tries his best and that's enough for you.

Decades down the road, when you're both old and gray, you smile to yourself as you realize he's kept his promise, he never made you cry ever again.

[sleeplessdreamer14]

oooooh you should do a little piece on 1A & midoriyas twin in the support course. i think it would be cute

fandom: my hero academia

summary: both midoriya twins are attending UA, one in the hero course and the one in the support course

contains: mentions of the deku fan club, implied ururaka, iida, and/or bakugou x reader

a/n: if this gets enough notes I’ll do another one where it’s the other way around 🔄 divider credit goes to @cafekitsune

while Izuku wanted to become a pro, you wanted to be a support hero

all throughout grade and middle school, the two of you would constantly imagine what it would be like to work as heroes together

and then high school rolled around and Izuku got ofa from All Might (yes he told you everything) and you frankly lost your sh!t

thank goodness your mom wasn’t home yet because it took a solid 15 minutes for you both to chill tf out

never had there ever been such pure delight in that apartment

anyway, you both got into UA and you wound up buying a pair of noise canceling headphones so that Hatsume’s projects wouldn’t blow out your eardrums

it took a little while but you eventually learned to tune her out a bit so you could focus on the gadgets you and Izuku had come up with in junior high

the first time Iida and Ochako formally met you was in episode 14 when they stopped by your department you had to yank Mei off of Deku and tell her to stop feeling up your brother

the brunette almost immediately saw the resemblance and honestly thought you were pretty cute in your work outfit

Iida greatly appreciates how much calmer and more cautious you are than your pink-haired classmate, wishing he had come to you for help sooner

he also found you pretty easy on the eyes

during the sports festival, you two kept an eye out for each other

and just when you thought you couldn’t be prouder of him, you saw him fly through that faux minefield and couldn’t suppress the beaming smile on your face even if you wanted to

in the next round, you had no time to focus on the scratch in your throat as you tackle hugged Izuku without a care in the world about which place you came in

your laughter was contagious as he hugged you back, double high-fiving you as you parted

talk about supportive family, right?

although you don’t interact as much as he and Izuku, Toshinori has a lot of faith in you and holds you in high regard

also, in regards to the Deku Fan Club™

when he introduced you to the rest of his class, their title was officially changed to the Midoriya Fan Club

honestly, sometimes he stops by your department with some half-baked excuse just to see you cuz he misses you

oh-ho-ho and just picture the day that you feel a tap on your shoulder while you’re working and you take your headphones off and find Bakugou of all people standing before you, asking for your assistance

you were a little tempted to poke and prod at him a little, but ultimately decided to just help him out

you’ve waited this long for him to simply talk to you, might as well not try your luck

ever since you got into UA, he had been hesitant to talk to you but finally decided to bite the bullet (after Kirishima used some good old reverse psychology on him)

as you tinkered with his support items, you stole a couple glances over at him, smiling to yourself as you noticed the differences between him and the guy you knew back in middle school

you’re consistently over at the 1A dorms, especially while Izuku was under house arrest, and you like to have little meet ups with the rest of the class so you can come up with concepts for support items

sometimes Aizawa forgets that you’re not in his class with how often you hang around

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again; look out world, here come the Midoriyas

I hope this shall suffice

[ellecdc]

I went to get my teeth checked today and kept on thinking abt how Lily would be a great dentist. Gentle hands, nonjudgmental, would be so accommodating to any requests or requirements you have like noise cancelling headphones or something…. And she would be soooo against the trend of recommending treatment purely based on cosmetics rather than need. Like we have doctor Remus how about dentist Lily 😂😂

you know what? this was so cute that I had to write it - also, the conversations between reader and Lily are real-life conversations I've had with dental hygienists so be nice to me, I'm still recovering hahhaah

dentist!Lily Evans x reader who goes for a routine checkup

CW: written with a fem!reader in mind and references to a medieval woman accused of witchcraft but should be gender neutral/no pronouns used otherwise, reader has a brother for plot purposes, reader had braces growing up for plot purposes, reader has a bar on the back of their teeth for plot purposes, also.....reader doesn't floss DON'T JUDGE

You were lying back on the large vinyl-covered dentist chair pondering what exactly it was about dentists that caused so many people anxiety.

This was obviously a distraction, though, as wondering why dentists were so fear-inducing was far more comfortable than thinking about how anxious you felt right now.

You supposed that as a species, humans were wholly dependent on their mouths; it was how they ate, how they emote, a method of air intake, and also how they communicate. For hunter-gatherers, an injury to one's mouth could very well have led to dire consequences.

Of course, something happening to one's mouth wouldn’t necessarily leave them completely helpless in today's day in age with modern medicine.

And though you may not have been a hunter-gatherer, you were also decidedly not a medieval woman accused of witchcraft awaiting your trial by ordeal. But the longer it took Dr. Evans to join you - leaving you ample time to consider the various torture looking devices while reclined on this chair that looked like it could sprout restraints at any moment - the more you began to feel an awful lot like a medieval woman accused of witchcraft awaiting her trial by ordeal. 

The sound of the door clicking shut interrupted your spiralling as you tried to sit up straighter in your chair only to slide back down to your original position. 

But perhaps this wasn’t your trial by ordeal; perhaps they’d already gone ahead and executed you and you were actually sitting in heaven’s dentist office because surely the beautiful woman adorned in scrubs standing before you with long, thick red hair which had been artfully plaited away from her face was an angel? 

You realised belatedly that you’d been sitting there with your mouth agape staring at her instead of confirming your name for her.

“Yes! Yes, erm, sorry.”

But the angel - Dr. Evan’s, she introduced herself as but insisted you just call her Lily - simply waved you off and pulled a stool over to sit beside you. 

“No need to be sorry! Between the constant whirring of machines and my penchant to speak a mile a minute, it can be hard to keep up sometimes. So! You’re here for a routine cleaning?”

You nodded dumbly at her as she pulled a surgical mask up over her mouth and nose, mesmerised by the way it seemed to accentuate the brilliant green of her eyes which only appeared even greener when she smiled at you.

“Alright, well let’s take a peek at what we’re working with here, shall we?” She asked as she encouraged you to lay back after putting a bib on you like some nappy-wearing child.

Oh god; you didn’t know an angel was going to be looking in your mouth! You were expecting some grey-haired bored doctor with a superiority complex; now an angel will know you don’t floss!

“Wait!” You shouted abruptly, startling the angel doctor and encouraging her to put some space between you, though she schooled her expression very quickly. “Okay, listen, I’m sorry. But you see, I had braces as a kid, and they put these bars behind my teeth! You know, to keep them from shifting? And they’re great - so great, no complaints truly; they’ve done their job, see!” You paused to bare your teeth at her like some socially awkward chimpanzee. “No shifting at all. But! But, you see, my teeth are so sodding close together now - again, totally fine! - but between that and the glue and the bar, it’s sodding impossible to floss. Oh shit I just said sodding to a doctor! Oh my god I just said shit! I’m sorry! I just don’t want you to think I’m some plebeian who doesn’t care about dental hygiene because I do! But I honest to god, hand to my heart walked around with a piece of floss stuck between my teeth for three days after I tried last so I just...sorry…”

You fought to catch your breath and it took you possibly too long to realise the angel doctor Lily was laughing at you; the mask impeded the smile but the crinkles in the corners of her emerald eyes and the gentle shaking of her shoulders gave her away. 

“I’m so sorry, I honestly thought you were about to tell me you were going to throw up on me - which would be fine! Worse things have happened quite frankly.” She chuckled as she seemed to relax back into her stool. “Why don’t we take a look?”

Burning with embarrassment, you did as you were told and opened your mouth immediately, wondering if it was at all possible for her to feel your jack-hammer pulse through the barely there fingertips pressed to your jaw as she peered into your mouth. 

“Well honestly, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of build up anyway! I wouldn’t have known you’d not been flossing.”

“Wait, really?” You asked then, causing her to move her gaze from your mouth to your eyes. 

“There’s a little bit of plaque but nothing out of the ordinary! Basically what I would expect to see from someone coming in for a routine check up.” She confirmed before taking one of her torture devices (a dental scraper) to your teeth as you watched her auburn brows cinch closer together. “Your teeth really are close together.” She murmured mostly to herself.

“I wasn’t lying.” You defended quickly, earning you a bright and bubbly laugh from the doctor. 

“Sorry; force of habit. I hear a lot of ‘I absolutely brush my teeth twice a day’ and ‘I floss regularly’ when I can easily see that neither of those things are true.”

After she had explained what she was going to do, you spent the better part of the appointment with her fingers shoved into your mouth. 

“I do not envy your orthodontist; you have a very small mouth.”

You snorted inelegantly at that as she removed her hands from your face. “My brother would disagree.”

You were rewarded with another tinkering laugh as she inspected her cleaning. “Don’t worry about the flossing hun; I’d rather you come in and have me do a cleaning for you than to hurt yourself or damage your teeth trying to floss.”

“I’m not in trouble?”

“Even if I did have the authority to scold you, you would not be in trouble. But I hope to see you in another six to twelve months for another cleaning!” She said as she walked backwards from the room with one last (now maskless) smile in your direction.

Suddenly, dentists didn’t seem so scary, and you found yourself rather looking forward to your next appointment.

[alotofpockets]

A piece of home | Kerstin Casparij x Dutch!Reader

Where you're studying in Manchester and find a piece of home in Kerstin.

(Dutch / -English translation-) & @totaly-obsessed thank you for proofreading!

Woso masterlist | Words: 1.2k

-----

As you settle in one of your favourite coffee shops, you put on your headphones and get your books and notes out of your bag. You had a big exam coming up, and you were planning on spending the morning here studying for it. 

A soft tap on your shoulder is what interrupts your deep focus. You turn, and are met with the hopeful gaze of a girl. Adjusting one side of your noise-cancelling headphones you acknowledge her presence. “Hey, sorry to interrupt. I was wondering if I could sit here.” She points to the seat opposed to you. “The rest of the place is packed.” Glancing around, you realise for the first time how busy it had gotten since you had sat down about an hour ago.

“Sure, take a seat.” You smile softly at her, and move some of your books to the side. She places her coffee order on the table, “Thank you, and I promise I won’t distract you again.” You chuckle and shake your head, “You’re fine, don’t worry.” 

With your headphones back on, you block out the noise in the shop again, and focus back on your notes. The girl in front of you had opened up her laptop, and was intensely watching the screen, and taking notes from time to time. A part of you wondered what you were doing, but she was just a stranger that wanted to sit down in the last empty seat in the coffee shop, and you were just the kind stranger that allowed her to. So, you push the thought to the back of your mind, and flip the page of your notebook to continue reading your notes. 

The soft buzzing of your phone on the table is the next cause of your focus leaving your school work. Flipping the phone, you smiled at the name that popped up on your screen. Your little sister pulling a silly face covers your screen as you pick up the facetime call. “Hey kleintje.” -Hey little one.- You say with a big smile on your face, “Ik ben aan het leren in een café dus ik kan niet lang bellen, maar hoe was school?” -I’m studying in a coffee shop, so I can’t call long, but how was school?-  Since you moved to Manchester to study abroad, you have called with her every single day. Your mom had been nervous to have another kid so long after she had you at eighteen. The age difference between you and your sister was twelve years, but she was your little best friend from day one. You listen to your sister tell you about her day, before you hang up the phone again, with the promise to call her for longer later that day. 

You look up to find the girl in front of you looking at you. She blushes when she realises you caught her looking. “Sorry, ik probeerde niet te luisteren, maar het is goed om Nederlands te horen tussen al deze Engelse mensen.” -Sorry, i didn’t mean to listen, but it’s so good to hear Dutch amongst all these English people.- You hadn’t expected her to start talking in Dutch and were taken back slightly, before your smile grew. “Zeg dat wel, wat toevallig dat je nou net bij mij komt zitten” -You can say so, what a coincidence that you came to sit with me.-  You laugh at the coincidence, before introducing yourselves to each other. 

Your books and her laptop were long forgotten, as you got to know each other. Kerstin ordered the both of you another coffee, and a few croissants for lunch. 

Over the next couple of months you found a piece of home in each other. You often found yourselves back at the coffee shop where you met, the shop where your love story began. It had become a part of your routine, you would study, and she would analyse matches. Having found out what she was doing on her laptop after all.

Kerstin was going to national team camp back in your home country, which was perfectly timed with your week off and week of online classes, so you headed back home with her with the plan to meet each other’s families for the first time.

While she had to meet her teammates for camp right away, you went home to your family. You opened the front door with your key, and not two seconds later your little sister jumped into your arms. “Je bent thuis!” -You’re home!- You hold her tight, “Ik heb jou ook gemist, kleintje." -I’ve missed you too little one.- It was nice being able to catch up with your sister, mom and stepdad a little before you would introduce them to your girlfriend.

After two days of training, Kerstin had a day off. You took the train and met her in Utrecht, where you spent some time together, before you headed off to meet her family first since she hadn’t seen them since she got here. 

Her home felt warm, and comfortable from the moment you stepped inside and were welcomed by her parents and two brother’s with open arms. The nerves you had felt on the way here vanished instantly at how great they were. You got to know them over a home-cooked dinner, and a few boardgames after. When it was time to head to bed, you felt like you had known her family for years.

-----

kerstin_casparij just posted

kerstin_casparij: Always 🧀ing with this one

-----

After a lovely breakfast with her family, you made the trip back to your place. This time bringing Kerstin along. With your girlfriend’s hand in yours, you let her into your home. She was welcomed just as warmly into your family as you were into hers. It made you really happy, especially since she was the first girl you had ever brought home to meet them. 

Kerstin’s bubbly personality was a perfect match for the ball of energy that was your sister. You were watching them interact with each other. Your mom noticed the loving look in your eyes and nudged you slightly, “Dat zet je aan het denken, hè?” -Makes you think, right?- Her comment brought a blush to your cheeks, and made the butterflies in your stomach spring into action. 

With a match to play in Breda, Kerstin had invited your family to watch the match in the family and friend’s section. She has also asked your sister if she wanted to walk onto the field with her.

You were grateful for the fans that had filmed the interactions between Kerstin and your sister, and had posted them on TikTok. They were in your favourites folder, and you were watching them on repeat back in your apartment. You were so focussed on them, that you didn’t hear Kerstin walk up behind you and watch over your shoulder. 

“Hoe vaak was dat?” -How many times was that?- You turn around instantly with widened eyes. Kerstin’s smirk grows when your face looks like you felt caught. “You’re cute. Ik hou van je.” -I love you- She places a soft kiss on your lips. “Ik hou ook van jou.” -I love you too.- 

She sits down beside you, and you cuddle into her side. “Klaar om je zusje te bellen?” -Ready to call your sister?-

-----

y/n_y/l/n saved TikToks

-----

💗 If you enjoyed this fic, please consider liking, commenting, and reblogging! You can also supporting me by leaving a tip 💗

[operationslipperypuppet]

FigAyda headcannons!!!!! (Please)

Oooh fun! Thanks!

Fig is so so careful with her words when she first asks Ayda to come to one of her concerts. Like, consults Jawbone to make sure she’s explaining enough but not overexplaining anything. Ends up with something like “I would really like you to attend my concert on (date). I do know that it might be outside of your comfort zone, and I know that we have agreed to help each other step out of our comfort zones occasionally, which is why I feel like I can ask. However, I know that it might be a step too far out for you and you will not offend me if you say no to this. But I absolutely would enjoy the knowledge that you were there, listening while I play.” Ayda is touched by the care she puts in, and says yes. Fig makes sure to introduce her to Zelda, beforehand, so she knows she will have someone familiar wherever she ends up. She gives options of sitting backstage, in seats, or near the stage. She even makes sure Ayda has access to ear plugs and noise canceling headphones, if she wants them. They go to a local rare book store in the town they’re visiting before the concert, and Fig is so happy to just watch her girlfriend look at old books for hours. Ayda has a great time, especially since Zelda is there, but only attends the occasional concert. And Fig is absolutely content with her doing this.

Fig has a tendency to “sneak” off to Compass Points, on Leviathan, some weekends when she has nothing else going on. The reason “sneak” is in quotes, is that she always shoots Gilear a text before she does it. However, she tends to do it on weekends when she already knows he left his phone and keys at school, or gets incredibly lucky and he just doesn’t check it because it’s under a floorboard somehow and Cathilda hasn’t found it yet. Sandra Lynn is getting fed up with this habit. Gorthalax honestly thinks it’s funny.

Ayda is always excited to find out what Fig is learning in her classes. She is fascinated by how things are taught to young adventurers, especially since she is entirely self-taught. This actually causes Fig to go to one bard class a week, just so she can answer the questions that Ayda asks, because she adores the look Ayda gets when she’s asking these questions. She also adds a wizard class, in addition to the barbarian classes, just so she can see if Ayda is missing anything by not going to school (she isn’t, but Ayda is touched that Fig thought to check it out). Fig’s homework grades actually also go up as a result of this.

Often, their dates will entail sitting quietly in Mordred, or at Compass Points, while Fig writes music and Ayda does research. They bounce ideas off of each other, not really looking for specific feedback, just needing to say things aloud. They both always feel the most inspired in doing their work when this is how they work. But they do get distracted and make out a good 50% of the time.

[privateanxieties]

for all you give (give it back to you)

Summary: The story of how you worm your way into Frank's heart and mind, making him believe he might be worth a second chance.

Pairing: Frank Castle x Reader (she/her, no y/n)

Words: 3,300 (hurt/comfort, fluff, some canon-typical descriptions of violence, allusions to sexual intimacy, romance, trauma healing)

--------------------------

It starts slowly, which Frank can attest is uncharacteristic of all events unfolding in his life. Even more puzzling, there's no grand design — it's soft and simple, the way she carves out a spot inside his heart. He runs into her every day on his evening run, and every day he gets more unsettled by the thought of danger lurking in the shadows of alleys and bridges, just waiting to swallow her up. It's not because of any budding affection that he feels, at least not at this point. He doesn't even know her name. What he knows is how he was raised, and if anyone condemns him for being old-fashioned in his views, then so be it. He can't bear knowing she's out there past ten at night, wandering the streets of a shitty New York neighborhood in the name of cardio.

It's a progression of these thoughts that leads him to do the unthinkable and introduce himself one day, and the way he goes about it would make for good nightmare fuel, were he not already stocked up on that.

He pretends to trip and falls on his face. He's tried a version of this before with Sarah Lieberman, and back then just as well as now, he knew there was no other way. You don't just approach a woman who's outside at this time of night, especially if she wants to triple the danger for herself and wear those stupid noise-cancelling headphones. He'd expect someone his own age to have more sense than that, and sometimes he wonders if she's not just looking for trouble on purpose.

His assumption is rather quickly disproven, because nobody who speaks in the manner she does could ever be brazen enough to start a fight. No — she's all softness and kind eyes, and the gravel in his palms stops stinging the moment she pins him down with a concerned look and a soft hand around his wrist. It's a minute or two before she's got him following her to her private practice just a block away, because apparently he's a little too good at faking accidents. The nasty cut she stitches up for him with quiet precision and a rambling mouth doesn't even hurt, not when he's so focused on whatever's in her voice that he finds so familiar. She speaks in a way he can't seem to shake, like there's something there that his own mind knows intimately yet remains secretive about.

He should've said no to grabbing coffee the next day. He really should've refused, because now that he knows what her laugh sounds like, he's in real trouble. And he fights it, at first. He gives it his goddamn best. But a man like him knows when he's done for, despite all the bravado and all the willpower. He knew it the moment she looked away from him and stared into her black coffee, quietly telling him she was glad he let her help him, that he was going to say yes to the next coffee they'd grab together. And the next. And the next.

And eventually, his own rambling mouth — a novelty exclusive to her presence — reveals things it really shouldn't, like a first and last name he's supposed to have buried and forgotten, along with an identity he's sure will ruin dinner. The information falls on deaf ears. Not because she isn't paying attention; she seems to look at and see only him as he moves between the stove and the counter inside her kitchen, prepping his mother's old pasta recipe. No, Frank has a feeling she isn't just listening. Her gaze is as soft as always, yet this time there's a spark that finds him trapped, frozen in place in the middle of the kitchen while she raises one delicate eyebrow and says two baffling words: I know. Then, even more perplexing: I was waiting for you to be comfortable.

Comfortable. What does it mean for him to be comfortable? Is that what he was when he opened his mouth and revealed the truth? Or was he just compelled by attentive eyes and an openness that hurt to be in the presence of while he was still hiding his true self? He doesn't deserve her acceptance. He's not even sure he wants it. He's been past wanting things for years, just waiting for life to happen as he crawls along, fragments of what could've been fighting to quell his breath on each new day bestowed upon him. He's got nothing to want. Nothing to hope for.

So why doesn't he move when she approaches him, slowly, fearlessly, in the way one might a startled creature? Why does his chest tighten and expand all at once when she greets him tenderly, a whisper of his real name falling from her lips? Most importantly of all, why does she keep worming her way further inside his gut, and why doesn't it burn like he knows it should?

Maybe it's because she does it at a glacial pace, which a famously impatient man can't help but respect her for, at the same time that he fears the place from which that tenacity springs forth. A restoration project of his magnitude isn't just daunting — it's straight up dreadful, rotten floorboards and black mold eating away at every inch of a once proudly robust construction. It's not smooth sailing as the months dissolve away, but she perseveres. He has bad days and worse nights, and every time they bid each other farewell once the clock strikes eleven and their run ends, Frank's mind is left to stew in words and gestures that make no goddamn sense — his and hers both.

For one, he's smiling what feels like all the fucking time. What he's so happy about when his life is what it is, only God may know. What he knows is that there's no possible way to keep his lips flat and his chest empty when she tells him stories of long nights in the emergency room spent removing dubious objects from places they really shouldn't be. One too many phallic contraptions was what it took for her to finally quit hospital work and open a private practice. Frank tries and fails to keep a straight face while asking her to describe the experience. She, on the other hand, meets his challenge head-on, attempting to draw a diagram of the witty invention on the napkin resting by her coffee — thus, a weird game of pictionary unfolds between them, and they have to stuff their pockets with no less than eight scandalous napkins each before leaving a generous tip for giggling like lunatics the entire time.

Next, and maybe this one's all in his head, but she's on a frequency his stubbornness can't find fault with. She gives him space when he needs it. Sometimes they don't see each other for days, despite living less than five blocks apart, and never does she push for contact. She doesn't ask him what he does during that time away, maybe because she knows or maybe for the same reason she didn't tell him she knew who he was. Maybe she's waiting for him to confess how he still spends a good deal of his nights, despite not needing the confirmation. She lets him come to her and he does it without fail each time, though his little I'm sorry for my radio silence apology tokens don't hold a lot of variety. She likes flowers, coffee and whatever baked goods he can get his hands on, so now Frank is a regular at the neighborhood florist and a fancy bakery on 51st knows his order.

Most of all, he's baffled by how little needs to be said between them for a world of knowledge to be exchanged. She gently coaxes one or two sentences from him that leave a lot to be desired in the way of details, but then she meets his eyes as they sit next to each other on her couch. And finally, he tells her — not with words, but with his own eyes, blinking rapidly or not at all, dry as the desert one moment and the next suddenly flooding. He tells her about a little girl he had, one whose body would have only been identified by prints or dentals. He weeps over his baby boy without so much as a cry, because he too left the world a worse place for his departure. And where he used to mutter it to himself repeatedly, Frank says his wife's name only once— he says it with the same reverence as always, and he hopes she won't begrudge him the comfort he receives from another woman.

He knows Maria wouldn't blame him, but he's not so sure he isn't blaming himself. Whatever he's doing here, it needs to stop. Whatever he tells himself her soft touches mean, or those looks, or that smile — he can't be right. This isn't meant for him. He shouldn't have this. There should be no one he looks forward to seeing, no one he thinks about before the thundering fall of hammer on concrete and after the laying of his body down to rest. There shouldn't be anyone to stay his hand and extinguish his anger. Only rage should exist, because rage is the only thing he really has. He doesn't know what he is if not this, and he makes the mistake of telling her as much while she stitches up the first real wound he's gotten in a long time. Neither of them pretends not to know what the result of a knife fight looks like, and he doesn't tell her how it went down because she doesn't ask. It's a good thing, because every time he closes his eyes and sees that woman's face as she was held at knifepoint, his mind superimposes different features onto it and his blood boils over. All he saw in that moment was her. All the cops are going to see at the scene will be scattered fingers and a leaking skull.

Frank himself doesn't feel very put together as he fights sleep under her caress, a hug he didn't ask for suddenly enveloping him whole and quieting the one-track mind winding him up repeatedly. He was late for their run tonight. That could've been her. His fault, his fault, his fault. The words disappear when she finds the nape of his neck with a gentle touch, drawing him into her chest and resting her cheek atop his head when he finally relaxes. His own hands grasp at the plush edges of her exam table, mimicking her gestures almost subconsciously but not daring to reciprocate on actual flesh. Seconds pass, and then minutes.

My sister died because of me.

The words startle him like a shot went off right by his ear, when in fact they were barely whispered. Frank, however, doesn't move when frightened. He's learned this about himself: he can never twitch a muscle in any of his nightmares, can never stop what he knows is coming. He can't stall the tragedy any more than he can avoid feeling its effects.

I used to run with her. That was our thing. I got mad about something… something petty, I'm sure. And I didn't go one night. Just one time. I knew it was wrong. I knew it was dangerous. Should've told her not to go, but I didn't. Cops were at my door the next morning. She was stabbed four times. The thing is, she would've survived, if she'd had someone to help her. Someone who knows their way around first aid.

He can feel her shaking from their closeness, can infer what she's thinking by the slight change in her voice. She's all blame, that's what it is. That's what it was when she first spoke to him all those months ago, and he latched onto it without even knowing, pulled in by soft eyes that glimmered in understanding. He thought it was unending kindness that he glimpsed in there, and in part, that was still true. But there was something else that lingered, something that seemed to inform her approach with him over the better part of a year. That frequency he stupidly thought she was on didn't happen by magic, or by fate. They didn't click because of some grand plan. It was simply life in all of its unfairness, dealing out blows to whoever it found with their guard down, deserving or not.

She doesn't deserve this. Frank knows it, and his chest puffs up in defiance of the pain in her voice as she tells him about the night they met from her perspective. It was a few short weeks after her sister's death. That evening run had become a ritual of a different nature, and he realizes with some horror what it was she'd been trying to do. The headphones made sense now, not as a tool of the careless, but of a person who cared too much. Cared enough to try to invite danger inside, scope it out and lure it back from the shadows in the hopes that she might look upon it herself. Confront it herself.

She confirms as much when she tells him they still haven't found the killer.

She made herself an easy target so she could look a murderer in the eye, and with that thought, he does finally recoil. He wants to argue. Wants to refute the notion. He can't. He can't, because to take that truth away from her would be to take it away from himself. She did what she thought she had to do. The difference is, she still has all her humanity left, yet the blame can't seem to leave. It eats away at the light inside her eyes, and despite that she's not bitter. She doesn't recoil from company or people in general, and she doesn't abandon everything she knows in favor of oblivion and a corner to waste away in. It's unfair. It's not right to live with it and still have to function. It's not right to have to get up and be a good person in a world of shit. It's not right… and she does it anyway. For a man who sees only one kind of injustice, the realization is almost enough to demolish him. That's life — you can be riddled with guilt and still unflinchingly gracious.

It's just never that simple, Frank muses quietly, until it is. It's never this quiet in his mind, unless she's somewhere near.

For the first time ever, he wishes she wouldn't wait for him to move or speak. He can see it in her face, what she needs, but much like him, she won't ask for it. He wishes she knew that there's nothing she can't ask of him, but since she doesn't, he's gonna have to make that clear. And if he has to move at a glacial pace too, then so be it. He'll worm his way in just like she did, and he hopes she won't begrudge him the same tenacity she showed. By the way she leans her cheek into his palm, he doesn't think she will.

It's a little easier after that, as more months melt away, to stop questioning everything they do together and its meaning. When they laugh together, it doesn't feel foreign or undeserved. When he has bad days, he doesn't hide any place beyond her apartment, doesn't stray much farther than her sheets and doesn't utter many words besides praise for how she moves and feels around him. When she has bad days, which he's come to learn the look of, he unearths the meaning of devotion to something other than rage. He's not known desperation like this for longer than he can remember, because it takes a while to figure out what she needs and how to help. He thought he could see it clearly, but all he'd really been looking at was another one of those injustices. Frank turned his grief into anger. She's unfairly burying hers inside and watching it lay waste with a careful eye, never cowardly enough to admit to what she really wants. She's so brave, this woman. His.

He almost can't believe he's thinking it. Frank's role as protector ended with the last breath his family took. He didn't think it could ever be born again, but with the first tears to fall from her eyes, a brief moment sees him meeting a different type of rage. It scalds, but doesn't leave him empty. That's how it used to feel when he was all consumed with it just a few years ago. Instead, it's just a means to an end now. So he starts going out again, looking for the shadows that haunt her, because the only thing that will help her is the thing only he can provide. Kisses help. Hushed promises soothe. True healing, and he knows this in his bones, can only come after an end, and that's what she never got. She graciously gifted him a fledgling second life, but he won't start living it until she meets him halfway.

You did it for me. Let me do it for you.

He doesn't try to lie to her — it doesn't even occur to him. He tells her the truth and his plan in full as she sits on the couch and he paces her living room restlessly, now and then chancing a look at her. At first, there's silence. It stretches unbearably, and when she speaks, the tide breaks.

I don't know what hurts more. The fact that she's gone, or that it's my fault.

Hey—

No matter what, that won't change. I've thought about it. Killing the man who did it won't make it any less my fault or her any less dead. Frank, I—

Sweetheart—

It's you. You're… the only part of this equation I didn't see coming. You're the only thing that makes a difference. When I have bad days, I don't think about the man I want to see dead. I think about the one that makes me feel alive.

She says things like this sometimes — things that yank his heart straight from his chest and stomp on it until it comes apart at the seams. He's practically vibrating with it, this need to say something in return, but nothing rises to the magnitude of her confession. At least, nothing that he thinks he's earned the right to say to another person again. But his girl… She knows. He can see it in her eyes that she knows, because he's on her knees in front of her, holding her face in both his hands. Frank has done so much with them throughout his life. He's taken more than he's given. He's hurt more than he's comforted, ripped apart more than he's put together. What he now uses them for is as sacred as a thing can be, because if he won't speak it with his lips, he'll press it into her skin with his fingers. If the words won't form in his mouth, he'll use it to adorn her body with the reverence of a man who has found and lost and found again.

In the end, as his hands rewire themselves for holding and forget all else, he stops questioning it entirely. Whether by accident or by design, what's been given to them both is not something to make sense of. It's something to cherish, a devotion to each other that consumes not, but instead nurtures. He knows now the answer to that most important question: if she wormed his way inside his heart and the path she trailed doesn't burn, it's because she belonged there all along.

.

.

.

-fin-

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this piece as much as I fell in love with it in just one afternoon. Please let me know what you thought of it, and if you liked it, kindly allow others to reach it through a reblog or comment. Thank you for reading.

[13scoupsoficecream]

In The Universe Factory

Pair: Producer!Woozi x Girlfriend!Reader

Genre: Oneshot, Swearing, Smut minors DNI, Unprotected sex (please use protection irl), Idol au, Seventeen member Woozi, Describes female anatomy

Between you and Jihoon both your days off are different but you usually spend the day together no matter where you both are but, it sometimes can differentiate on your schedule that day. For example, last time you had a day off Seventeen had a comeback and Jihoon had a music show in the morning to attend, an interview to star in and, a going Seventeen episode to film that afternoon.

So, you did not spend it with him but, you had some great sex to help him get rid of the stress later that night. However, today is extremely fortunate because all Jihoon has scheduled is staying cooped up in the studio working on music and you decided to join him as it is cozy and like a second home from your shared apartment from the countless times you have both slept over here.

Right now, you are cuddled up in a fluffy blanket you bought to store here so you can stay warm as Jihoon likes the air conditioner on all the time in here, and from previous experience you had nearly froze your titties off and argued with him for an hour to turn the temperature up as your body lost feeling from the constant ice temperature against your skin.

Your phone battery died 2 minutes ago so your busy staring at the back of Jihoon’s head lost in space feeling a little aroused because you were busy watching thirst traps on TikTok his fans posted about him, and man were they great edits of him. However, blessed you had the real deal all to yourself so you could flex on his fans. Not actually as you are a kind person and would never do that.

Unless it is your cousin who would never shut up about him, when having the biggest crush on him, and never believed you when you came out saying you were dating Jihoon. Until you brought him back to your hometown to introduce him to your family. Let me just say you got eye daggers sent your way from your cousin that entire weekend you spent with the rest of your family.

The fortunate thing is she stopped ogling over him and chose a different Seventeen bias as it was a bit weird for her to crush on the man her cousin is dating. Coming back to reality where you are horny staring at your boyfriend who has his noise cancelling headphones on and you have a problem of wet underwear that only he can really help with.

You were being a bit shameless eye fucking him behind his back as he worked away but, you could not help but let your eyes trail along the veins that decorated his arms and take in his biceps that contracted every time he moved the mouse to rearrange vocal snippets he was recording in the sound booth earlier and, instrumental sounds that could work in a new song.

You stood up leaving the blanket behind and walked to him tapping his shoulder. He glanced your way but looked back at his computer monitor and kept working on what he was doing not bothering to ask why you tapped his shoulder. Being a bit frustrated with this you moved his hands and sat down on his lap placing your chin on his shoulder looking at the couch you were previously on.

There was a little height difference between the both of you so he could just look over your shoulder as you sat in his lap. He did not bother to protest from this as an incident from quite a while back lead to days of you ignoring him because, as you worded it, ‘he was being cruel for not letting you show your affection to him while he still gets to work.’

You were seated on him heavily as you wanted a bit of friction on your lower region as it was aching a bit from not being touched or delt with and it felt relieving getting what you wanted. When you had sat down one of his hands automatically was placed at the small of your back as a reflex so that you did not fall or anything like that.

You could feel his thumb tracing circles where his hand was mindlessly as he kept working and briefly stopped to ask you, “what you want baby?” You were a bit embarrassed to tell him straight up you were horny and wanted to ride his dick after watching short not so family friendly videos of him as you did not have the confidence for that.

“Just want to cuddle.” You replied lying through your teeth trying to prevent yourself from rolling your hips against his to feel him through his sweatpants. Key word being tried, but you could not hold yourself back as you are practically craving for him now as you were throbbing from not getting yourself any attention at all down there.

You started with one roll of the hips and did not get a response from Jihoon. So, you did it two more times for more friction only to feel the hand on your back grip you instead of softly tracing along your back. “Are you sure you just want to cuddle?” He asked, his full attention on you with his head turned and you hide your face in his shoulder in embarrassment.

You really thought he did not hear you when you replied earlier however, he proved that he did, but you did not forget to roll your hips again even when feeling embarrassed and a small mewl left your lips from how good it felt. “I just need a little attention.” You let out trying not to sound super needy as you start to feel him grow under you giving you the friction that was needed.

Your underwear was beyond wet and your vagina begging for more attention now as you had teased yourself with rubbing against Jihoon. “I am nearly done ___, give me a bit more time.” You were too out of it to comprehend what he was saying just focused on making yourself feel good on his lap feeling him turn rock hard underneath you.

He let out a groan in your ear frustrated as you did not listen to him and from being horny from you rubbing yourself up all on him. Your fists held the bottom of his shirt tightly, pulling it up wanting it removed to be able to get the both of you as close to each other’s flesh as possible, and to touch his body as it is as chiseled as a Greek God statue.

Woozi’s work was long forgotten now as he took his headphones off throwing them on the desk and having his attention completely on you as you both are now completely sexually frustrated from the constant rolling of your hips and now him responding as his lips were on yours. He quickly pulled off your shirt dropping it on the floor and immediately taking off your bra.

His lips travelled to your neck leaving his love marks on you with both of his hands placed on your breasts, fondling them giving each equal attention. Your pace of grinding down on him speeding up as you wanted more, needed more. Between gasps you let out, “please take it off.” You begged pulling up his shirt with one hand and the other rubbing up his toned abdomen underneath.

He let go of your breasts to pull his shirt off for you, leaving the both of you half naked now. You could get off to rubbing yourself on him, but you felt empty inside at that moment and needed him so bad. His hands were back to attend to your breasts not going downwards to help with where you really wanted him, leading you to whine out his name being tired of the teasing.

Your whines were shut up instantly with his lips on yours, but you managed to moan out his name between the sloppy kissing telling him to hurry. Your hands were now placed on his biceps feeling the amount of muscle they had, and your hips were speeding up as you felt your release catching up now while feeling his cock twitch through his pants telling you he is about to as well.

Before you both could get your release Woozi lifted you up easily and your arms instinctively wrapped around him so that you did not fall, feeling each muscle on his body contract carrying you back to the couch. You protested with noises as you lost your climax from him stopping both your actions just to move the both of you.

However, your complaining did not last long because you felt the soft material of the sofa on your back and your pants were removed by Jihoon letting your whole pussy be on show for him. You swore you heard him moan at the sight but did not pay much attention as you sat up practically ripping his sweatpants off him to get him naked.

The air conditioner on your skin cooled you down a little as your skin was burning hot from the adrenaline and the body heat of Jihoon. Once his pants were gone you pulled him closer wanting him in you quickly so you can chase back your high and cum already. Woozi did not bother with a condom as you both have had unprotected sex many times and you are on birth control.

Sometimes it is better to still stay protected but you trust each other enough, and right now you are both desperate for each other. Once Jihoon was close enough, he positioned himself at your entrance and pushed in slowly and erotic moans escaped the both of you. A melody of them came from you especially after finally feeling him in you after craving him.

Without wasting a second, he started pump himself in and out of you. Now Jihoon is not that long but very girthy so he fills you up so well, an amazing stretch, and he can angle himself so well to rub himself up against your g-spot. That is exactly what he was doing right now hitting himself up against it making you moan even louder thanking the architect the studio is soundproof.

Your climax was catching up again as Woozi’s finger rubbed on your clit to stimulate you even further. Your moans got even higher pitched as you were so close to releasing and Jihoon’s hips slowed down making his thrust sloppier but deeper. “I’m so, so, so close baby.” You moaned out breathlessly as your about to come.

“Come - fuck - for me love.” He replied in your ear as euphoria passed through you as you came pulsing around his penis. From the tight squeeze you created when releasing, Jihoon also came following just behind you as you both collapsed down still connected. Beads of sweat exchanging on each other’s skin as he lay on top of you.

As you came out of your déjà vu, you looked down at your music producer lover whose face was placed between your breasts making you giggle a little. You put your hand on his hair and combed your fingers through it as he came down from his own high. “I want to stay like this, but I can’t.” He said while looking up at you staying still in the same spot.

You laughed a bit louder at his comment not really wanting him to get up, “No one is stopping you, are they?” You questioned, and he groaned placing his face back between your breasts, an obsession you would say he has. “Except for myself.” He mumbled but you still heard him and smiled hugging his head no longer petting it and pecking the top then letting go.

He sat up disconnecting himself from you and grabbing tissues conveniently on top of his desk helping you wipe yourself from the sticky mess between your legs. Once you were a little cleaned up, he helped you put your clothes back on and tucked you under your blanket in a different spot from where you both fucked so your clothes are not too dirty.

He looked at the wet spot where you both were originally connected at and sighed, “I am going to need to get this cleaned somehow before the boys come in tomorrow.” You giggled slipping into a groggy mind as sleep is slowly overcoming you, but you manage to say before falling asleep, “I will clean it later as repayment.” Woozi smiled at you lovingly and kissed your forehead.

He walked to his chair to finish off what he was doing earlier, before you redirected his plans, and you fell asleep comfortably on the sofa. Woozi would look back at your sleeping figure occasionally to get some inspiration from you even if you were sound asleep. You were just the person he needed, his comfort whether awake or asleep and his idea machine in the universe factory.

Word count: 2184

[ideasarestuckinmyhead]

headcanons of alphonse dating someone who wears a lot of pastel colors but listens to the most loud ear bleeding headbanging deathcore metal music

Cute heavy metal listener!

Loves how u dress up says you two are THE pastel couple.

Ngl when he first heard the songs u listen too it was so funny. Bc it was when he first me you.

So he walls up to tall to you and you cant hear him so he taps your shoulder. One doing that you took off your headphones he heard the screamo you were listening too.

Ngl kinda reminds him how he has a dark mode but you mix the pastel colors and your death metal so nice.

Tries listening to like two songs to surprise you one time. It did hurt his ears but he loved how you were talking about the songs you'd think he'd like.

But obviously listening to it not the loudly, but as time goes on hes use to it.

Finds it so funny when people ask you what you listen too and play a song. The reactions makes him laugh every time bc the old people of the town are clutching their pearls hearing the heavy metal band you found last night.

Tries to help you craft jewelry and other things for your outfits that combine your pastel colors and heavy metal.

One time he was listening to a song he ended up loving form the bad you introduced to him and even played it in the shop one time.

Loves seeing you bake in a cute apron and hearing just death metal in the background as you ask if he wants rainbow sprinkles on his cupcake.

Tries getting posters of the bands you really love and has some too of that one band he ended up loving.

Since the town is becoming bigger he's happy more people who like heavy metal come to you asking what bands you recommend for them to listen too.

If you ever do snag tickets to see one of the heavy metal bands live he goes. But Al might get overstimulated by all the noise so he brings noise canceling ones to enjoy with you.

In all he loves his partner that looks so cute is letting death metal blast in their ears.

[piratefishmama]

Crossing The Line | Part 14

Said metalhead was wearing a leather jacket, black, ripped at the knee denim jeans with a wallet chain dangling from a belt loop draped round to his back pocket, a bullet belt, that shouldn’t have been as attractive as it was, combat boots, and an iron maiden tee.

His hair was its seemingly usual unruly mass of dark brown curls, and he had lightly smudged dark eyeliner around his eyes to make his eyes pop. That was the extent of how much effort Eddie had put into his outfit. And yet he looked like the tastiest little snack Steve had ever seen in his life, he loved it.

They were like polar opposites style wise but from the look on Eddie’s face they were both exactly what each other wanted.

“Sweater vest for Eddie” Steve parroted with a warm smile and a bashful little, “I figured… I mean… I thought you’d like it.”

Now, Eddie had turned up at that apartment, with the intention of figuring out whether or not Steve was wearing ear plugs at his gig and just lying to him to get into his pants (which, flattering, but also rude), and going from there.

But then Steve opened the door in that sweater vest. With that smile. Claiming he wore it because he thought Eddie would like it and his heart just did a series of pathetic flip flops and any hope of Eddie ever being mad even if he did wear earplugs went out the window because what the fuck. What the fuck.

What the ever-loving fuck.

How was this man real?

He needed to send Mike Wheeler a goddamn gift basket for sort of introducing him to the guy although he was pretty sure Mike would blow a gasket knowing he was severely crushing on the guy who apparently ‘ruined’ crazy train.

He didn’t even ruin it, it was just… a different style than Crazy Train was supposed to be in! “I love it… suits you way more than the metal look, definitely should have worn it for the gig.” Would have stuck out like a sore thumb but by god he’d have been the prettiest thing there.

Cool as a cucumber, Steve leaned himself against the doorframe, that bashful smile turning coy with just the raise of a brow and the flash of teeth “I dunno, then I’d have missed the look on your face just now.”

“Well I mean, sweater vests, cute glasses, slippers, are we having a cosy night in, Stevie?” Be cool, be cool, be super cool, don’t be a weird little nerd, don’t be a weird little nerd.

Steve reached out, warm hands taking Eddie’s own, then gently, he tugged Eddie inside. “Well, we can if you come in.” And he was hit by a wall of something delicious. A smell so delightful that his stomach just had to rumble in protest over the fact that he wasn’t already eating it.

Ear plugs? Who gave a shit about ear plugs really?

Okay no, he had to stick to some morals, even if his stomach was angrily telling him to wait until after dinner because then at least if Steve turned out to be a very sneaky asshole, he’d at least have gotten a meal out of the night.

“Wait wait” the door was closed but at least Steve seemed to pause, that smile dropping, replaced by curiosity, god how did he make that look cute? Stupid knitwear an glasses combo. “Okay so… this is probably gonna sound dumb, but Frank noticed it, y’know Frank, our bassist? He uhm… he noticed you were wearing what looked like ear plugs at the gig and uh…” oh god the eyes widened, his eyes widened, Eddie wanted the floor to swallow him whole. First real date in god. How many years? And he was fucking it up by bringing up something nobody else would bring up on a date with Steve Goddamn Harrington. “…Were they… earplugs?”

Fuckers would probably just be happy to be there. Could wear those big ol construction site noise cancelling headphones and nobody else would bat an eyelid, but it was about PROFESSIONAL COURTESY, Eddie was a musician too!

He didn’t want to be on a date with someone in the industry (wildly different success rates with it but WHO CARES) who was lying about liking his music to get in his pants.

It could have gone a few different ways, gaslighting being one of them, but Steve smiled, he had such a pretty smile good lord. “Mmhm, c’mere I’ll show you.” Steve was still holding his hand, so Steve had the full capability of pulling him through the entryway toward one of the two bedrooms in the obviously temporary apartment, probably just rented for the time they were there like an Air BnB situation. The room was pretty tidy, save for a little dressing table covered in hair products. “Theeese are them.” And he produced a little silver cannister from his bag and deposited it into Eddie’s hand.

Curious snooping was pretty much accepted in that situation, so Eddie unscrewed the top and emptied the contents into his palm, two sets of black earplugs with a little hole running through the centre, fitted with a sort of white mesh material which sat snuggly within the hole.

“…What am I looking at here, Steve?” Steve just breathed a little laugh and took one from him, then popped the centre circle out of one, the little white mesh disk sitting perfectly in his palm.

“So, short story long, I was a dumb teenager. Rich kid surrounded by bad influences, y’know the whole stereotypical drill, pretty much every magazine in the country and some outside of it painted me as kind of an asshole, ‘King Steve’ they’d call me. I hated it but it’s kind of like quicksand in those old adventure movies, y’know? Just dragging you under, inescapable. Anyway, I also walked headfirst into a low set doorway ogling Chris Hemsworth’s biceps so... I’ve had a few brain injuries.” He tapped the side of his head with his index finger twice in rapid succession. “That uh… it has side effects… brains are tricky, a few too many concussions can get you hearing loss, sight loss, it can get you chronic migraines, aversion to sound, lights, it can do a lot of invisible damage… I… struggle with sound sometimes. And my sight too hence the glasses, but sound is the relevant one here.”

Eddie tilted his head a little in question, a silent motion to continue, research had given him none of this information. Maybe that he was a shitty teenager once but nothing else.

“Sharp noises, like uh… electric guitars played in a certain way, speakers turned all the way up, I get migraines basically and these are designed to filter out certain pitches to make things easier on my ears. Maybe… maybe I missed a few chords here and there, maybe some of it sounded a little off, but I can still hear through the plugs just fine. Robin got them for me, they’re supposed to help people with tinnitus, sensory issues, migraines…” he took the plugs back one by one, placing them back into the cannister and dropping it back into his bag, before he returned to Eddie and retook his hands, giving them a gentle squeeze “I swear I could hear just fine during your gig, and I really enjoyed it. I really like your music, Eddie… I think you’re amazing.”

Eddie felt like he was going to spontaneously combust right there on the spot.

Flattery always did have a certain effect on him, and with it being laid on so thick, honeyed words without an ounce of dishonesty in them… there was really only one response he could conjure in the moment, “…can I kiss you?” And the smile it earned, worth the brain dead moment.

“Well since you asked so nicely, but only one, dinner first, kisses later.” Kisses. Kisses. Plural. Many many kisses. Eddie felt like one of those cartoon characters that got all flushed and then just simply melted. Even though the kiss Steve gave him was chaste, a gentle, but lingering press of soft lips against his own, one of Steve’s hands cradled his cheek and god,

How had he lived until that moment not kissing Steve Harrington?

“Nono one more” was his sole complaint when Steve eased back, feeling the breath of Steve’s laugh dusting his damp lips, and the caress of his lips so very close whispering,

“Okay, just one” before doing just that.

Part 16

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

Am I (30F) the asshole for possibly being part of the reason someone (50? F) got laid off? So there was a lady who started at my work about a year ago. We work in a field with a lot of deadlines, and we're in different departments. But the office space is one huge open area, so if people are talking loud enough we can hear them from across the room. Normally this isn't an issue, since most of our work is done on computers. A lot of the people we work with in her department actually work virtually, so we don't get to see them in person much. But she was in-office. We also had a working relationship with her predecessor that was solid enough that he'd trust us to do some things on our side of the project without checking in first. He also understood the sheer volume of deadlines we had to work with in a day, and if we ended up a little late on his assignment because the previous assignments were more chaotic than expected, he wouldn't get upset. She, on the other hand, did not understand what took us so long, or that there were deadlines that we absolutely had to get through before we could start on her projects. She would yell and swear loudly at her computer at the person assigned to her project for the night, especially if they made a mistake, or what she perceived as a mistake due to not understanding how our systems had to operate to meet these deadlines. One day I was assigned to her project, and I heard her yelling and swearing at me from her desk. I'd made a mistake while juggling multiple other projects, but it was something fixable well in advance of her deadline. She started telling me off on the chat program we use, as I tried to explain what happened. I took a screenshot of that conversation and showed it to my boss, because it wasn't the first time it had happened to someone working on her project, and frankly I was a bit tired of hearing her shout at us. But the next day I talked to some of my coworkers about it, and realized that she likely didn't know we actually worked in the same room, let alone the same building as her. So I came up and introduced myself.

And...things did seem to get a bit better after that. She stopped yelling at the computer as much.

Not completely, though. And she still yelled at the other people in her department if they screwed up. Or if they were running late. I actually bought noise cancelling headphones to help block her out. It got to the point where I started prioritizing helping her on her department's projects above others, just so my department wouldn't have to hear her swearing and complaining from across the room. I think she was called into HR once about it, but I don't know details there.

I did, however, talk to my coworkers more about her, and mention that I'd been focusing on these projects more than others just to try to stop the yelling. Which...the way this office works could easily have been passed on to upper management. Cut to a couple weeks ago when I got back from a short vacation, and I realized I hadn't seen her around for a couple weeks before or after that. I asked someone in that department if she was on vacation, and they said she'd gotten laid off. They didn't give any more details. I don't know if what I said had anything to do with her being laid off. I'm worried it might have. I didn't want her to lose her job, I just wanted the yelling to stop.

What are these acronyms?

[sporktato]

Ghost HCs because I’m in hell

(ft. Riley family, Price, and Soap)

- has piercings - no face ones though both because of the mask and because they make it easier to get hurt in a fight

- also paints his nails (no one’s gonna know, how are they gonna know?)

- long hair + undercut combo. Like hell will Ghost let anyone behind him with a blade, and really only Price knew he had long hair pre-MW2. When he does do his undercut he has to borrow a mirror from Price as his room doesn’t have any.

- doesn’t have dog tags. they were buried with Washington’s body, which Ghost had mangled to pass as his own body to ensure Simon Riley stayed dead (This raised a lot of questions from Soap once he realized he didn’t have tags)

- huge reader, really his only normal hobby at this point

- on the topic of reading, on Simon’s birthday Price will take him to a used book store and pay for whatever Simon picks out

- also wanted to be a librarian when he was a kid. The public library was a huge escape for him, and it was quiet and safe and full of knowledge and everyone there was kind and quiet and it was perfect

- has really weird music tastes. like not even necessarily bad, just like will shuffle through every genre you can think of in 5 songs, and none are by a band you’ve ever even heard of. Majority of these he’s picked up from others (Roach, Tommy, Price, Frost, etc.)

- can fight with a bo staff. Learned from Price, and when Price decides Ghost needs to get some energy/frustrations out or work through something, they’ll spar with the staffs (mainly to make it harder for Ghost to really hurt Price if he gets too in his head at any point)

- Price taught him to drive

- almost constantly wearing noise-cancelling headphones/earplugs to keep from being overwhelmed. also why he wears the over the ear headset instead of the in-ear that Soap does, they go over the earplugs

- VERY good with kids and tries really hard to be good with women too, but he knows he can be really intimidating sometimes. Has ordered many an Uber for random drunk girls

- regarding being good with kids, aside from the obvious of being an amazing uncle, kids are also just so much easier for him. Like when they’re sad they cry, when they’re mad they scream, when they’re hungry they tell you. He might not always know why they’re doing or feeling what they are, but at least he doesn’t have to guess

- first and last suit he bought was for his brother’s wedding. Price took him suit shopping, and when Simon’s mom learned that, she invited Price to the wedding too (Price went and danced with Mrs. Riley, there’s a video somewhere of it that cuts to a very embarrassed Simon)

- TOTAL momma’s boy!!! Once he got into the army, every dollar went to his family but he made sure his mom always had the best he could afford. Called her ‘Momma’ until she died. (Probably has a tattoo for her - maybe something in her handwriting?)

- speaking of parents, did more than just throw his dad out of the house when he came back from basic training - actually beat him to death. Only Price knows about this, as he’s the one Simon called sobbing, not knowing what to do with his dead dad’s body

- His sister-in-law, Beth, was Scottish. Ghost very much knows what Soap is saying. He also knows Scottish lullabies and other folk songs.

- Simon actually met Beth first, and once he deemed her worthy, then introduced her to Tommy.

- Tommy was super big into photography and videography. There’s hundreds of photos of Simon, Beth, Joey, and his mom floating in the cloud somewhere. He also had a photography account, so there are photos of Simon Riley still out on the internet (Bonus HC, Soap - like every artist - uses reference photos when he needs/wants, and found Tommy’s account, and has actually drawn Simon dozens of times over based off of Tommy’s photos without realizing)

- chronic pain, constantly. Has numerous ice packs, heating pads, and braces, but usually just ignores it and suffers through it

- knows how to braid hair. Learned when Beth was pregnant, because like hell would Simon let his niece or nephew walk around looking like a bird’s nest if they ever decided to have long hair. Beth came home one day to find Mrs. Riley patiently teaching Simon on her own hair and almost started crying right there. Nowadays he braids his own to keep it tidy under the mask

- once he decides he trusts Johnny, and wants Johnny to know Simon and how Simon became Ghost, will just dump the most traumatic stuff on Soap before carrying on. He’s self-aware enough to ask Soap for permission first, but once he’s given it, he’ll just talk. Johnny has sat through many minutes of Ghost telling him about the torture, the brainwashing, about snakes and prostitutes and drugs, about being buried alive and the rapes and holding his dead nephew’s still warm body, and then Ghost will sigh a certain way, and change the radio station, or start the kettle, and continue with life, seemingly unaware of the fact Soap is breaking apart for him, tears in his eyes and tense and wishing Simon Riley had been given an ounce of luck, and that Soap could kill those bastards twice.

That was a lot, but I did say I was in hell. Feel free to incorporate into any fics or art! (please tag, I’d love to see >:) )

[something-bout-the-weather]

I Don't Wanna Be Your Friend / Matty Healy x Reader

Thank you to the anon that gave me the idea for this one <3 It is the friends-to-lovers story of my dreams the longest thing I've written so please let me know what you think! Enjoy!

Present Day (Aged 22)

You can’t believe how quickly the past few years have flown by. Especially, now that you somehow find yourself unpacking boxes in your new home, the home you are sharing with your best friend, Matty.  

You and Matty had only recently taken the plunge to rent a flat together in Manchester. You'd just got a job here after finishing uni and Matty's band had just finished their latest tour around the UK and he was ready to spend some time relaxing and starting work on their next album. You'd been best friends for 6 years now and it had just made sense to the pair of you to save on rent and get a place together. 

Matty was unpacking his room and you yours. Music was streaming through the house and you found yourself reminiscing on the day you and Matty met at college all those years ago. 

6 Years Ago (Aged 16)

It was your first day back at college after summer and you didn’t want to be there. You’d come prepared though, with your noise-cancelling headphones and the latest album you’d been listening to, on repeat, as you walked to the first class of the day, which was actually one of your favourite subjects, music.

Arriving into the classroom you noticed a few new people coming through the door. One, in particular, caught your eye. You’d seen him and his unruly head of curly hair in the college halls, always with a guitar case on his back, but had never spoken to him before. You’d always thought he looked cool but had been too shy to introduce yourself, maybe now was your chance.

The class had barely sat in their seats when the teacher announced a group project and explained that the pairs had already been chosen. As luck would have it, your teacher had picked the curly-haired guy as your partner, so you had no choice but to introduce yourself.

 “Hi, I’m Y/N,” you announce as he made his way over to sit in the chair next to you.

“Matty,” he replies, “I think I’ve seen you in the halls but you always seem completely engrossed in whatever you’re listening to in your massive headphones,” pointing at the headphones currently hanging around your neck.

“Yeah, they are the only things that help me get through a day in this hellhole,” you joke.

“What are you listening to at the minute then?” he asked. This turned into a huge discussion about what music you listened to and how the pair of you had extremely similar music tastes.

Both of you, it turns out, had a lot more in common besides the music you listened to. You also shared some favourite TV shows and movies and even what you liked to do when you weren’t working through the endless amounts of college work. It was clear instantly that you were both going to get along. 

The class seemed to pass quicker than normal and it wasn’t long before you found yourself heading out of the door towards your next class. 

“Hey Y/N, wait up!” Matty shouted across the hallway making you turn around to find him in the crowd of students.

“Yes?” you reply, unsure of what he is about to say to you.

“What are you doing at lunch today?” he enquires.

“Nothing other than roaming these halls,” you respond, gesturing to the bustling halls around you.

“Fancy coming to the record shop in town with me and grabbing some food?” he asks with a pleading look in his eyes.

“Yeah, sure. Sounds like a plan. Meet back here at half 12?” you suggest to which he just nods, before turning and heading in the opposite direction down the hall. 

Present Day (Aged 22)

You remember that day the pair of you had spent the remainder of the afternoon in the record store, flicking through the vinyls, getting to know one another and ditching your classes. You knew immediately you’d found a best friend in Matty and the pair of you had been inseparable since. 

You hoped you'd made the right decision by renting a place with Matty as you found yourself in a bit of a tricky situation. Over the years, you'd slowly begun developing feelings for Matty. You couldn't think of anyone better to share a place with but it was a real worry for you that it would somehow ruin years of friendship if your true feelings for Matty ever slipped out. 

You were completely unaware of the fact that Matty also had feelings for you too. His started to develop a lot earlier than yours though. They started to grow back when you gave him a Valentine’s Day card 4 years ago.

4 Years Ago (Aged 18)

The last two years had passed by in a blur. You'd made the decision to go to university and so far you were enjoying it. Matty on the other hand had joined a band and they were doing everything they could to have their music heard. He'd been so busy lately playing gigs in all sorts of venues and travelling around the country. Mix that with you being overloaded with uni work, and the pair of you hadn't seen one another for a couple of weeks. 

So, the pair of you had planned on going to watch the latest Quentin Tarantino movie, on opening night, which just so happened to be Valentine’s Day.

“Happy Valentine’s Day!” you shout at your best friend as he makes his way over to where you are waiting for him outside of the cinema. 

“Y/N don’t say that so loudly, how many people do you want to make think we are a couple?” he asks worriedly. 

“People can think what they want Matty, we are just two best friends here to see a movie and catch up,” you reply nonchalantly.

After stopping at the counter to get some popcorn, sweet and salty at Matty’s request, you head for your seats.

“Before this movie starts, Healy, I have something for you,” you say as you dig into your backpack. 

Little does Matty know you’ve got him a Valentine’s Day card and some chocolates. Neither of you has a Valentine’s this year so you thought it would be quite nice to get your best friend something to put a smile on his face and let him know you appreciate him. 

Holding out the card and a box of his favourite chocolates you excitedly say “Happy Valentine’s Day Matty!”

Matty takes them from you in complete shock, before saying with a look of sheer terror on his face, “Y/N! I haven’t got you anything.”

“Don’t worry my dear,” you reply, “I’m just being silly and wanted to make you smile. Please open the card right now!”

Matty carefully opens the card with two eggs cuddled up on the front and the words ‘Thank you for being an eggcellent friend. Happy Valentine’s Day!’ surrounding them. You watch him contentedly as he reads out loud what is written inside, “To Matty, thank you for being my best friend. I will always be there for you, no matter what! Love you lots, Y/N!”

You watch as the smile grows on Matty’s face before pulling you into a hug and whispering softly “Thank you so much Y/N, you know I’m always here for you too.” He slowly pulls away before looking into your eyes and pleading “Can we make it a tradition to send each other a Valentine’s Day card each year? I’ll even give you one!”

“Of course!” you reply as Matty’s grin widens and he gently places a kiss on your cheek. You can't hide the look of surprise on your face and, it seems neither can Matty as it seems to be a shock, even to him.

Life clearly wants the pair of you to sit in your thoughts about this though as if on cue, the lights in the cinema dim and the film begins. So, both of you turn back to the screen with so many thoughts whirring around in your heads. 

Present Day (Aged 22)

Even looking back on this memory you are still completely oblivious of the fact that from that day forward Matty had been slowly falling for you.

That day was also the start of one of many friendship traditions. Every year since then you'd sent Valentine's Day cards to each other, even if you couldn't see each other on the day. Always with an excellent pun on the front and some sentimental wording inside. One day you were sure it would have to stop when you got your own partners, but for now, it was a tradition you didn't want to break.

You looked back at the memory fondly and thought of all the other random traditions the pair of you held. Your favourite tradition was one which had begun two years ago on Christmas Eve. That was also the year that you started to develop feelings for Matty. 

2 Years Ago (Aged 20)

You always spent Christmas at home no matter what. So that's why you find yourself waiting outside your hometown's freezing cold train station waiting for Matty to pick you up. He'd just finished the first leg of touring with his band, The 1975, to promote their first album.

You'd not seen him for two months now and you couldn't wait to catch up and start what you hoped would be a new tradition. The plan was to go to your parent's house straight from the station. They were celebrating Christmas with friends and wouldn't be home until late on Christmas Eve. So, your house was the perfect spot for the rest of your plan. Tonight, you were going to order a takeaway and watch a Christmas movie. Tomorrow, you were going to wake up early, exchange gifts and just enjoy the festivities. 

Just before your toes became a block of ice, a car, blaring music through its speakers, pulled into the car park. Of course, Matty had to make an entrance. 

He'd barely stopped the car before he was jumping out of it as if it had burst into flames. He ran around the front of the car with his arms wide before picking you up, spinning you around and enveloping you in the tightest hug possible as he shouted "Y/N!" 

You were certain he could feel your heart beating out of your chest. You were sure that you'd avoided the cliché of crushing on your best friend but over the past few months, a feeling for Matty had started to build which you hadn't been prepared for.

Something about seeing him live out his dream, perform to a crowd and still make sure that his best friend was happy and doing well at the end of the day, had you going weak at your knees. Let's hope you could hide it and it wouldn't ruin a friendship that you truly adored.

"Hi Matty," you say back as he gently places you down on the solid ground again. 

"How is my best friend?" He asks. 

"About to freeze to death if we don't get to a warm house soon," you joke. 

"Well, your carriage awaits m'lady," he says opening the passenger side door for you to get in. 

Hours later you were both full of takeaway pizza, cuddled up on the couch watching Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. You could feel yourself dozing off but didn't want to spend all your time with Matty asleep but knew sleep was needed.

"Matty?" You ask sleepily.

"Yes love," he replies.

"Can we turn this off and head to bed? I'm shattered" You say barely managing to keep your eyes open. 

"Of course dear," he responds before turning off the TV and lifting you into his arms carrying you towards your bedroom. 

He places you gently on your bed before softly kissing you on your forehead and whispering "Night Y/N sleep tight, I can't wait to swap gifts in the morning. I've missed you so much," before heading back to his usual spot on the couch, in the lounge, and heading to sleep himself. 

What Matty isn't aware of, is the fact you'd heard everything he said as he put you to bed last night and it was not helping your growing feelings for him, at all. 

That didn't stop you from running into the lounge at 8 am screaming "Merry Christmas!"

Matty jumped out of bed, fists at the ready, to fight whoever had broken into your parent's house. 

"It's me you idiot," you manage to get out between giggles, "I was only making sure you knew it was Christmas." 

Somehow you find yourself all of a sudden, being thrown over Matty's shoulder, and put down on the couch before being ambushed with tickles. The pair of you can't stop laughing and honestly, you couldn't think of a better start to your Christmas, with Matty. 

"Presents time!" Matty cries out as he guides you both to sit by the beautifully decorated tree. 

You exchange a whole heap of gifts including books, records and matching sweaters for one another. 

Just when you think the gift exchange is over Matty pulls a tiny box from under the tree and gestures at you to open it. 

Inside it is a stunning necklace with his band's box logo hanging from it.

"Take a closer look Y/N, I'm not just using this gift for self-promo," Matty insists. 

You turn the necklace over in your hands to see that engraved on one side of the box is 'Matty + Y/N x'. Tears start to form in your eyes. 

"Matty, this is beautiful thank you so much," you say through tears. 

"I got it so that you have a little bit of me with you every day even when I'm away on tour," he explained. 

"I love it!" You exclaim before pulling Matty into a long hug. You couldn't ask for a better Christmas. 

Present Day (Aged 22)

Toying with the box necklace that has been on your neck ever since that day you can't help but smile. You can't believe how lucky you were to have Matty as a best friend and now as a housemate. You just hope your growing feelings aren't going to get in the way of it all. 

Suddenly, there is an almighty crash right outside your bedroom door and you immediately get up to see what it is that Matty has likely broken. Instead, you find him standing in your hallway looking sheepish.

“What’s up Healy?” you ask concerned.

“Y/N I don’t think I can’t do this,” he admits.

“I’m sorry Matty, you’ll have to be a bit more specific. You can’t do what?” 

“This,” he gestures around himself, seemingly at the towers of boxes in the hallway.

“Jesus Matty, we’ve only just got here. Give it a couple of days and all these boxes will be gone,” you reply, sounding exhausted.

“No, not that,” he stresses before blurting out, “I can’t live with you and pretend I don’t have feelings for you. I’ve been crushing on you ever since you got me that Valentine’s Day card years ago. And, to be honest, I thought you were beautiful even before then.”

You stand there in shock, unsure of what to say.

“I’ve fallen for you, hard, over the past few years. I love how much you enjoy our silly sentimental traditions, I love your company even when it's just sitting together in silence. I love your laugh, your beautiful eyes and the smile you do after eating a good slice of pizza. Look, what I’m trying to say is I love you. I can’t hide my feelings anymore and I get it if you want me to leave. But, I just had to let you know before I drove myself insane.” He confesses before looking down at his feet, clearly embarrassed.

“Matty,” you say as you take his face in your hands and look directly into his gorgeous brown eyes, “I love you too, have done for years” you confess. And, with that, you do the one thing that you’ve wanted to do for years, kiss your best friend.

Your breathing is heavy as your lips press together. It was like you’d been preparing for this your whole life as you feel yourself relax into Matty’s warmth. You can feel the thud of Matty’s heart against your chest as he threads his fingers through your hair. You both know this could easily go further, without question, but there is so much that needs to be said first.

As you slowly pull away from each other, you hear Matty mutter, “Holy shit!”

You are sure your cheeks have gone bright red but you don’t mind at all as you confess to Matty, “Well, I don’t think we can exactly pretend we don’t have feelings for each other anymore.”

“According to all our friends, I was quite poor at hiding them anyway Y/N. I mean how didn't you realise I wrote Fallingforyou about you!"

You stand there shocked at the declaration Matty has just made. 

"But it seems you were completely oblivious to that and many other things,” he jokes.

“Says you,” you manage to get out between laughs, “You were just as oblivious as me!”

You both stand there for a few seconds in contented silence, holding one another, before Matty asks “So, where do we go from here then?”

“I mean we’ve seemingly missed a few crucial steps and already have a place together so, I guess we continue unpacking, take things at our own pace and see where this goes. We already know each other pretty well and we’ve got years ahead of us, so let's just take this as it comes," you suggest. 

"That sounds perfect to me! I love you Y/N” Matty professes.

“I love you too and I'm so glad I can finally say that out loud” you declare before your lips hurry to find his again.

Looking back on it now, you can’t believe how oblivious you had both been to the fact that you had been slowly falling for each other over the years. Who knows where this would go from here? But, one thing about it is certain, you cannot wait to find out.

[cookiewriting]

Her monster

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader (there is no romantic relationship here but read it as you want)

Warnings: angst, violence, hints of panic attack, unwanted male attention, language (let me know if I missed some others)

A/N: Sorry if this is bad, maybe I'll rewrite it later but right now I just wanted to finish the story even though there was too many ideas in my head for this 😅

~ 1k words

Part 1

Tonight was supposed to be fun. Your friend told you they would take care of everything. If you ever wanted to leave, you just had to say the word and they would get you back home. You needed this. You needed to get out of your apartment. Or at least that’s what they told you. They even convinced you to leave your noise-canceling headphone at home. Now you were regretting all of that.

The second you stepped foot in the club, you knew everything was wrong. Today just wasn’t a good day. The noise, the music, the movements, all of it was just too much. You wanted to leave immediately but the small voice in your head laughed at you. You just came here, how could you dare to ruin the night with your silly sensibility? You could go through this a little more, you had gone through worse than that. Your friends deserved a good time.

That was exactly the kind of thought that led you right to the situation you were in now. Seated at the bar, nursing your fourth drink of the night and wishing your body processed alcohol like a normal person. You tried to keep yourself distracted by scrolling your phone and watching over your friends but soon you lost them in the crowd and ended up sitting alone at the bar. Worst idea ever.

It started with the smell. The cheap beer you knew wouldn’t be served here, and a lot of sweat. The man sat next to you and you made the mistake of looking at him. He smiled and started introducing himself but the alcohol in his system made it difficult to understand any of his words. You were about to excuse yourself when he suddenly got up and a flash of anger passed through his eyes.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

You definitely shouldn’t have gone out tonight. As you scanned the room for any help, you came to realize your friends were too far away to see any of this. You started to panic and blindly hit a button on your phone. You wanted to run away but when his hand closed around your wrist, you simply lost it. You didn't know what happened then, your body reacted before you had time to think about it. Next thing you knew, you were holding his arm in an unnatural position and there was blood and tears on his face. He was pleading for you to let him go and you did, clearly as shocked as he was in pain.

“Crazy bitch! You shouldn’t be here! You fucking monster!”

Before you could even react, someone pushed you to the side and hit him straight in the face. You shivered as a crack confirmed his nose was definitely broken if it wasn’t before. You didn’t register what was happening in front of you. You just knew it was a woman and she smelled familiar.

“Who’s the monster?” she asked “You’re the one who grabbed her. And don’t you try to lie, we’ve got it all on camera.”

You knew this voice. You heard it so many times on TV and even once in real life. Still, your brain kept slowing down and you couldn’t get any grasp on reality anymore. You almost missed how gentle arms guided you to the club’s exit. Your body absentmindedly followed the redhead to a black car and she helped you settle in it. As soon as she started to drive, you closed your eyes and allowed yourself to finally fall unconscious.

-------------

You woke up hours later. You immediately noticed the soft sheets wrapped around your body weren’t yours. A little bit of sunlight was passing through the curtains and you could discern a female figure watching over you. Her name came to your mind as your eyes spotted her red hair, Natasha.

Everything suddenly made sense in your brain. How you entered her number as an emergency contact. Your panic when the man rose his voice at you. You pressed the emergency call button. You called an Avenger because a man couldn’t keep it in his pants. You called Natasha because you couldn’t handle him yourself. Your face went blank and you immediately got up starting to apologize.

“Hey… Hey… Listen to me. Don’t do this to yourself...”

Gentle arms kept you in place and you had to fight every cell in your body to keep yourself from fighting back. You knew you would lose anyway unless she let you win. But you didn’t have to struggle for long. As soon as the spy sensed your muscle tense under her skin, she let go of you.

“You’re okay,” she whispered to you and you were taken back to the last time you saw her. “You did well calling me.”

You nodded and your tears threatened to spill when you took a small step back. You tried to compose yourself but the only thing coming to your mind were the words of that man. You were a monster. Why else would you hurt others when they just want to touch you? You couldn’t deal with loud noises and too much light could make you lose control over yourself. You always knew you were weird, it was no secret to you. If people said you were a monster, then it must be true.

“I am a monster…” you let out after a long silence. “They’re all right. I am the monster they see.” “Well then,” she said. “You’re my favorite monster.”

Your head shot up and your eyes met the green orbs looking at you. You wanted to see horror in them, rejection even, but there was nothing but compassion. She brushed your arms asking for permission and you took her hands in yours. The contact made you shiver but it also helped you stay grounded.

“I’m a monster too remember?” Natasha asked bringing a sad smile to your lips.

You pressed her hands lightly and she pulled you into her embrace once again. This time you let your tears fall and the sobs soon escaped from your lips. Maybe you were a monster and maybe they hated you but in this world, there was one person you would always be able to rely on. Because you’re not just a monster, you’re HER monster.

[starrook]

anniversary munday

celebrating TOA and the people who contribute to make our group what it is. repost, don't reblog. only fill in what you feel comfortable sharing! happy anniversary, TOA! here's to many more years spent together.

Name: Bren

Pronouns: they

Birthday (no year): Nov 6th

Where are you from? What is your time zone? NJ, EST

How long is your roleplay experience? 10+ years

How were you introduced to roleplaying as a whole? Warrior cats official forums back when they were around! Stumbled into fanclans first and then went into human OCs with PJO. FERP was my first time playing canon characters.

How were you introduced to TOA? Heh.

Do you have any pets? I currently have Klein, 7 month old Standard Manchester Terrier. Recently said goodbye to Frisky, 15 year old terrier mix and my childhood dog.

What is your favorite time of year and why? (Season, holiday, general period) Right about now, late summer-early fall when the weather is starting to get reasonable.

What is your IRL occupation? Office admin/events coordinator.

Some interests and things you like/enjoy? I try to keep up with my art! I also like to listen to financial podcasts.

What non-Fire Emblem games do you play? HSR and Sudoku

Favorite Pokemon type & Pokemon: If I had to pick a type, maybe normal? As for Pokemon I have a soft spot for all dog pokemon but Dachsbun and Mabosstiff knocked it out of the park for me.

Tell us some funfacts and trivia about yourself! I am allergic to raw apples. My favorite childhood snack was cut apple with salt and lime and I miss it so much. Apple juice hits but it's not the same. I also wrote a couple of supports for the Gay Fates hack way back when! Though I wouldn't want to read them now tbh hahah old writing....

How did you get into Fire Emblem? I was... maybe 14? I saw Awakening, thought it was interesting and picked it up only to rage quit at chapter 9 (was too focused on marrying Frederick asap that the rest of my army was behind). Then I got interested in Fates and the rest is history.

What Fire Emblem games have you played? I've played Awakening, Conquest, Shadows of Valentia, Sacred Stones, Three Houses (GD Route) and Engage. ...The only games I played through the end were Sacred Stones and Three Houses—

First & Favorite Fire Emblem games: First was Awakening! I have a soft spot for Fates gameplay.

List your 5 favorite Fire Emblem characters across the series! I don't play favorites :weary: Alcryst grabbed me like no one else has tho tbh I'll give him that.

Who was the first character ever to make you go “ooh I like this one in particular” and why? Can be any context and reason! Volug/Nailah. I know I said I got into FE through awakening but my actual first introduction to Fire Emblem was through a youtube video that was showing off the laguz transformation and attack animations. Please understand this was in the midst of my middle school werewolf phase.

Any Fire Emblem crushes? 😳 Not a crush per se but (slaps noise cancelling headphones on Alcryst before dunking his head into a toilet bowl) Diamant is neat :)

If you’ve played (or are familiar with) the following games, who was your first S support? Who would you S support nowadays? - Awakening: First Frederick, now Lucina - Fates: First Silas, now still Silas - Three Houses: First Claude, now probably still Claude - Engage: I didn't get that far. My first choice was Diamant but I fucked up and he's too far behind to support now, so I'd go with Pandreo

Favorite Fire Emblem class? A good armor knight is worth their weight in gold. Donnel!Kjelle, Louise, and Effie were beasts in my playthroughs.

If you were a Fire Emblem character, what would be your class and stats? Would you be playable? If I was a Fire Emblem character I would be dead <3 But if I had to be playable I would be an early game cleric/support unit type.

If you were a Three Houses character, what would be your affiliation? Regular civilian! But if I had to pick a house, absolutely Golden Deer

If you were an Officers Academy student, what would be your boons, banes and potential budding talent? Boons: Faith, Heavy Armor Banes: Literally everything else. Maybe Authority budding talent?

If you were an Engage character, which nation would you originate from? Firene, they have good weather

How do you pronounce TOA? 🤔(separate letters, to-ah, other?) Tee-Oh-Ay

Current TOA muses: Alcryst and Claude

Past TOA muses? Nanna, Lukas, Arval, Niles, Silas, Lyon

Who was your first TOA muse? If you no longer have them, can you see yourself picking them up again? Claude!

Do you believe you have a type of character you gravitate towards writing? The fact that I wrote three moon-associated archers is completely coincidental!!!!!! I like grounded characters that can be both amicable and absolutely vicious when the situation calls for it.

Do you have characters or types of characters you don’t think you can handle writing, but wish you could? Tiki is one of those characters that I think I could RP well but I'm not confident I would be able to keep up with the Archaneans. Rhea is similar, but where I trip up with her is that bc she is such an important central character esp to Fodlan's history I'm intimidated by the idea.

What kind of scenes, situations etc do you believe you enjoy writing the most? Emotional scenes... anything where there's love and family involved gets me crying

Do you have any scenario in mind for your muse(s) that gets you thinking “man I hope I get to write this one day”? FELL XENOLOGUE ALCRYST!!!! Alcryst in situations basically

Favorite TOA-related memories? Claude surviving Ree's Hundred Hand Snake bitch double boss from Unlocked Hell.

Present or past tense? Present.

Normal size text, small text, no preference? Normal, formatting is a pain

Got any potential muse delusions to share? 😉 F!Shez! I'd like to play female characters actually.