#when voting starts and when voting ends there's definitely a rush

[vividxp]

My commentary on the Fulton County shenanigans is that fucking with poll workers should absolutely get you in heaps of trouble. Also more people should volunteer to poll work. It is absolutely an point of failure that fascists can game because most SOE offices are desperate for volunteers. Also you get paid.

[worstcharacterpoll]

[Image description: A tournament bracket of 32 contenders, labeled "Tumblr's most hated." The matchups on the left are Vriska vs. Pearl from SU; Rex from Victorious vs. Rick Sanchez; Ansem the Wise vs. Gul Dukat; Kylo Ren vs. Kokichi Ouma; Scrappy Doo vs. Sheldon Cooper; Pierre from Stardew vs. Mort from Madagascar; Seraphine from League vs. Heimskr; and Jurgen Leitner vs. Andre Glacier. The matchups on the right are Walter White vs. Light Yagami; Buck Cluck vs. Ross Geller; Bramblestar vs. Starlight Glimmer; Goro Akechi vs. Pariston Hill; Katsuki Bakugo vs. Berdly; Angel Dust vs. the Impostor; Olaf from Frozen vs. Hooty; and Zenos viator Galvus vs. Tony Stark. The bracket is red on a black background. End ID]

Here is the official bracket for the most Hated Character on Tumblr! Each round will last 24 hours, with a 12 hour break in between. Round 1 should start Feb 9, 2023 at 9:00 AM CST.

As a reminder, this tournament is for the characters that you hate the most, so always vote for your least favorite of the two options. The winner will be publicly executed.

FAQ under cut:

Q: Why did you put in x character and not y character? Aren't there more hateable characters from that franchise?

A: I wanted to keep the competition light-hearted, funny, and interesting. I intentionally avoided most shitty parent characters, dictators, characters who were meant to be hated, etc., as well as characters heavily associated with bigotry and sexual assault, and gravitated towards characters that were more divisive in fandom. Exceptions were only made for characters I am familiar enough with and can use my own judgement for. Using Zenos as an example: He is a villain who is very evil and meant to be hated, which I mostly avoided when taking suggestions for things I wasn't familiar with myself. However, he's very divisive between people who think he's a good interesting villain, people who don't think he's a good villain and don't like him in the story at all, and people who want him carnally. Walter White is also meant to be hated, but he has a meme status, and as a villain protagonist I think he's more interesting than most "meant to be hated" characters. Also, there are certain franchises that I simply didn't want to include. If JK Rowling wasn't such a real and horrible political presence, owing all her influence to Harry Potter, I would've definitely put Snape on the poll. As it stands, I don't really want to give HP any attention. TL;DR answer: Because it's funnier that way

Q: But I LIKE that character :(

A: As mentioned before, I specifically gravitated more towards characters who are more divisive rather than universally hated. They are usually more interesting, and there is more variety with those types of characters - you don't have shitty dad character #1 vs. shitty dad character #2. I actually looked for "anti-(character)" tags and discourse about that character when making decisions about who to include. lol If you actually like some of these characters (uh, my condolences), vote against them in their respective matchups.

Q: Is it too late to suggest a replacement?

A: Yes.

Q: Why are you doing this?

A: I feed off of hatred and violence. I want to see who tumblr users REALLY hate.

Q: Why Pearl?

A: It was quite a while ago now so I get it if people don't remember, but Pearl discourse used to be a big thing and people argued that she was irredeemable for many of the things she did early on in the show. If you remember the "Pearl hates the Irish" meme, that was a parody of how much people hated her

Q: Why Hooty?

A: I haven't seen the Owl House but I'm told many people think he's annoying. Also he's voiced by Alex Hirsch and fuck that guy he did my boy Ford so dirty I'm still mad about this

Q: Why Starlight Glimmer?

A: MLP:FiM is another show I didn't really watch but she was a villain who got redeemed and became a main character and a lot of people think her redemption arc was rushed and botched and she actually made a lot of people quit watching the show. One of my close friends really really really hates her and I don't think that's an isolated incident

Q: Why Berdly?

A: Annoying. Personally I think his arc of becoming less annoying was pretty fun but a lot of people still hate him.

Q: Why Bakugo (instead of Mineta)?

A: I actually debated this a lot and held a preliminary poll which Mineta actually won. But then I decided democracy is dead because Mineta really wouldn't be as interesting as Bakugo in this tournament because he's basically universally hated. Bakugo is more interesting because people who hate him REALLY hate him, while people who love him REALLY love him. Kind of like Vriska. I think. I never read Homestuck and I don't plan on ever doing so.

Q: Why Tony Stark?

A: He's a heavily divisive character because he's a war profiteer billionaire with a superiority complex, but the narrative treats him as a morally pure hero. Also, he's MCU Spider-Man's mentor and most of MCU Spider-Man is basically defined by Tony Stark and he's not allowed to be his own character. There's a bunch of other stuff but I didn't watch and I don't care about most of the MCU. Personally I'm a really big Spider-Man fan and I despise him for what he did to Peter Parker but I shall refrain from making this a long rant.

Q: Why did you include characters that you're not familiar with?

A: I didn't want to exclusively have characters from my interests. I wanted a bit of variety. Before the poll started, I accepted submissions for candidates, and basically trusted submitters to send in decent characters. Some of the characters I ended up with may go against the vague guidelines I set for myself, which kind of sucks, but that's how it is now.

Q: This bracket sucks.

A: Make your own tournament then. I'm just some guy making a tournament on tumblr dot com for free. Don't take it too seriously.

[cheolhub]

DREAMS, FAIRYTALES, FANTASIES — CHOI YEONJUN + CHOI SOOBIN ࿐

summary. ever the unconventional gift giver, yeonjun would rather give you something memorable for valentine’s day. what better gift than his smoking hot best friend?

wc. 2.67k

warnings. threesome! oral (m. receiving), light degradation (use of slut & stupid), heavy praise, heavy pet name use (baby, pretty, princess), shy!soobin <3, needy f!reader, teasing dom!jun, unprotected sex, creampie, facial — MINORS DNI 18+

note. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY MY LOVES!! to everyone who voted in the poll for the yeonbinnie 3way, here it is ! i hope u enjoy it <3 kisses 4 u all 💋

p.s. reblogs and feedback are extremely appreciated— i also love to hear ur thoughts <3

most boyfriends get their significant others chocolates for valentine’s day. maybe jewelry or roses or even a nice book, but yeonjun isn’t like most boyfriends. no, yeonjun is unlike any other man you’ve ever dated. he doesn’t want to gift you flowers that would die within days or shitty chocolates that make your tummy hurt– no. yeonjun wants to grant you memorable experiences. ones that’ll make you happy. ones that you’ll definitely remember. he wants all your dreams and fantasies to come true.

so if not chocolate and flowers… what does yeonjun gift you?

his best friend. choi soobin. 

he remembers the first time yeonjun introduced you to him and his other best friends vividly– like it was yesterday. to soobin, you were shy and so cute. just his type. but he started noticing small changes in your behavior every time he saw you. 

he noticed the moment things took off in your relationship with yeonjun. he’d only ever observed from afar, but he could just tell yeonjun was becoming more and more intimate with you as the weeks past; he just knew his best friend was corrupting you, the sweet girl he’d so desperately craved. you had gone from innocently twiddling with your thumbs and blushing to showing small acts of public affection to not-so-quietly begging yeonjun to fuck you in the car away from the guys because you couldn’t handle being empty for longer than a few hours. you turned into such an insatiable little thing, all yeonjun’s doing, of course– soobin knew that for sure. 

but yeonjun also noticed soobin’s desire from the get-go. soobin could barely hold eye contact with you and he’d blush every time you’d giggle or whine or tease– hell, you just needed to breathe in his direction and soobin’s all red in the face. 

once yeonjun knew you were completely comfortable in your relationship, he started implementing things he knew you’d love. i.e. toys, degrading names, and other people. other people being none other than the choi soobin. the soobin he knows you drool over and ramble about from time to time. all he had to do was talk to you. 

he did, and just as he suspected– you were all in. of course you were, he could tell from the second the question slipped his lips. 

he’d asked you weeks prior to valentine’s day. honestly… you barely remember the conversation. blood quickly rushed to your head and core when he suggested adding him to the mix for just a night. you remember the way you bit back a moan at the thought of his tall, broad, undeniably handsome best friend fucking you with a cock you just knew was huge. you remember trying to mask how turned on you got at the idea of it all– the both of them at the same time– and ended up shifting in your seat, nearly grinding your wet cunt against your sofa. you remember yeonjun fucking you on the very same sofa not long after you agreed, calling you a needy slut for wanting two cocks and for nearly cumming untouched over the idea of soobin fucking you.

so, yes, the conversation was a blur, but you do remember agreeing.

you still found yourself very surprised when yeonjun showed up at your apartment on valentine’s day with soobin trailing awkwardly behind him.

“happy valentine’s day, princess,” yeonjun smiles beautifully and your heart flutters at his unbelievable charm. “brought soobin over since he was all alone, hope that’s okay?” he knew it was one hundred and ten percent okay, but he loves hearing your verbal responses. especially in times like these where he knows you’re needy and excited to be ravished by him– by him and soobin now.

soobin feels his pants tighten at the sight of you. he wonders if there’s anything under your hoodie. or if there’s anything past your cute little shorts. he thinks about the silky material being soaked by your folds. how wet you could be. how much prep it would take to fit inside your pussy and– god, what do you feel like? will you wrap around him like he’s dreamed? will you milk him for what he’s worth? fuck– he needs to stop. he’ll cum before you could even be within arm's length of him if he doesn’t.

“y-yeah…” you blush and soobin can’t help but think back to when he first met you and how you were acting the same way then. cute and shy. “hi, ‘binnie,” you walk up to him to give him a quick, friendly hug. 

the height difference has his hard-on pressing into your tummy and his breath hitches, but so does yours. he’s fucking huge. in more ways than one. yeonjun just smiles while watching this unfold, his best friend and his girlfriend exchanging greetings… if they could even be called that. 

he stuttered, looking down into your eyes, “h-hi.” you smell so fucking good to him. 

“hi,” you parrot, mind forgetting that you already said that. you can’t seem to rid the memory of his cock though. even through his pants, you could feel the shape, the size, the perfection of it all. 

yeonjun stifles a laugh and you quickly snap out of your thoughts and the mini-staring contest you didn’t realize you were having with him. “baby?”

your voice comes out thick, dry, “yeah?” you turn to see a cheeky smile spread across his face. 

“you wanna go to your room ‘n wait for us?” he asks but you see in his face he’s not really asking, he’s telling you. you nod, padding over to your shared room to wait for the boys. your boys. 

only then do you realize how lucky you are to have yeonjun and not only that but have him so willing to share you with his best friend of many years. then you realize again– you’re going to have both of them tonight. you’ll get to feel both of them filling you to the brim, stretching you out, making it work– making themselves fit like a glove. 

you find that soobin is a soft kisser when they finally come into your room. quite the contrast from your playful lover. you start with a peck, barely letting your mouth open out of mere shyness, but gradually, the kiss gets more and more heated. his lips are plush as they glide against yours, tongue slipping into your eager mouth. he’s letting out tiny whines while he’s heavily breathing through his nose and you see that he’s just like you– someone who easily gets worked up by a little makeout session. 

yeonjun smiles, watching the two of you. he grows harder in his jeans at the sight of you breaking out of your bashfulness and reverting back to your needy self as you are with him. with your arms wrapped around soobin’s neck, you move to straddle him and his large hands laid flat against your back, pulling you deeper into him. 

when you finally break from the kiss and blush at your current position, noticing the way your half-covered cunt is just above his clothed bulge. your eyes quickly avert to yeonjun’s, silently asking if this was okay. 

he comes to the edge of the bed where soobin sits, patting your head. “‘s all good, princess, want you to feel good, alright? make soobin feel good, too, he’s been dreaming ‘bout this a long time.” yeonjun outs soobin and he blushes furiously, sending his best friend an incredulous look.

your eyes come back to soobin, “you have?” you whisper, core aching at the thought. you’ve been dreaming about both of them for a long time, too. 

he nods his head slowly, surely embarrassed. 

you let out a sharp breath, rolling your hips against his. “i really want you to fuck me.” you murmur, dreamily sighing out your following words, “both of you.”

and that’s how you ended up in your current position on your knees with your ass raised in between yeonjun’s legs.

“don’t be so gentle, soobin, she can handle it,” yeonjun grunts, hands tangled in your hair, gently tugging at the strands between his fingers. “isn’t that right, beautiful?” 

you hum, looking up at your handsome boyfriend through your wet lashes, attempting to nod your head. he looks so good back pressed against your headboard while you reside in between his legs, but you know he thinks the same of you, if not more. your mouth is full of his cock, hands splayed over the top of his thighs as your pretty, painted nails dig into the muscles causing a delicious sting for your masochistic yeonjun. 

soobin was so nervous when you asked him to fuck you. not only fuck you but fuck you raw– promising all will be well with your overly needy and whiny voice. eventually, he couldn’t resist, the offer being too good to pass up. 

you were drooling from the second he showed you his pretty, flushed cock to when he pushed into your tight, dripping hole to now. he’s taking yeonjun’s words into consideration before slamming into you harder much like he’s been deprived of pussy. 

your face scrunches up in pleasure as you choke over your boyfriend's cock. said boyfriend moans out loudly, “that’s it, baby, is binnie making you feel good?”

you pull off him, gasping and eyes screwing shut, “yes! yes, binnie, you’re making me feel so good!” you praise soobin and his grip on your waist tightens. 

yeonjun pushes you back onto his length, thrusting at a nice pace into your mouth concurrently muffling your moans and whines. his grip on your hair tightens and his eyes nearly roll back– your mouth is always so fucking good to him. 

“such a perfect little slut, taking me ‘n soobin so well, baby– fuck, so so well.” he groans before looking to soobin. “tell her what a good girl she is, soobin.”

you clamp tightly at your lover's words, a high-pitched sound making its way out your mouth full of cock. 

soobin’s hips stutter as he feels your gummy walls contract around him, enveloping him oh-so enticingly. “s-such a good girl, Y/N– so tight ‘n pretty,” he moans breathily, fueling your ego. 

you nearly cum on the spot, digging your fingernails deeper into yeonjun’s crescent-marked thighs. you muffle out a ‘thank you’ body taking a mind of its own as you push your hips back desperately to meet his. you don’t forget about yeonjun either, letting your throat constrict around his long cock. 

yeonjun notices how the praise spurs you on, “you just love being called pretty things, don’t you?” he chuckles airly, brushing your hair out of your face and admiring the way tear streaks coat your flushed cheeks. 

“love it, junnie,” you say, taking a break from constantly gagging on your boyfriend's heaven-sent dick, replacing it with one of your hands instead. “love it s’much.”

“pretty girl,” he coos, thumb brushing against your swollen lips. “look so pretty taking it all for us.” his thumb slips past the pillowy muscle allowing your lips to warp around the digit. he basks in the way you moan, eyes trained on him. “shit, bet soobin wishes he could see you looking like a mess right now.”

soobin moans loudly at this because, god, yes, he would kill to see you right now. he would kill to see you in tears over getting fucked by him and his best friend. he would kill for the way your pussy is swallowing him whole and grasping onto him for dear life. 

mindless and unaware, soobin’s thrust grew harder, pushing deeper, tickling that spot. he feels like he may burst any moment and then he hears yeonjun say his name, causing him to halt. 

“‘s not fair that i’m the only one who gets to see her,” he says, a devilish smirk overtaking his features. his eyes divert back to yours, “on your back for him, baby, let him see what a pretty princess you are.”

you nod eagerly allowing your boyfriend to move out of the way so you can switch positions. your back hits the mattress and you finally take in soobin’s appearance. silky hair sticking to his forehead, pink lips swollen and parted, chest huffing– he looks like a dream. 

he could say the same and more about you, though. he’s sure he’s gonna fall in love with you if he stares at you for a second longer, but he’s just so mesmerized by you that he can’t tear his eyes away. you’re more than a dream, more than a fantasy– you’re a fucking real-life princess. 

“put it in me, ‘bin…” you whimper, nimble fingers moving to toy with your clit to avoid losing momentum. “please? wan’ it so bad, baby.”

soobin curses under his breath, the pet name making him twitch. now he knows he’s gonna fall in love with you. he knows it isn’t just because it’s valentine’s day.

he slips his bulbous head back into your soaked cunt, groaning when he feels you stretch to take him again. he’s gonna die, he knows it.

your eyes roll and your back arches with a whine leaving your lips. “‘binnie, ‘s so good, so so so good.” 

yeonjun snickers, “stupid girl.” he pinches your nipples, rolling the perky nubs between his fingers while soobin fucks into you eagerly. 

you gasp at the onslaught of pleasure, eyes screwed shut and a stream of moans and cries leave your mouth. to yeonjun’s surprise, you blindly grab at his cock, stroking it with your free hand. 

“fuck, baby.” your boyfriend moans out when you squeeze the girth in your contrastingly small hand. “not too fast, shit.” his words are breathy and you just wish you could open your eyes to see how gorgeous his god-crafted face looks at this moment. 

“wan’ you both to cum– fuck, please cum for me– ‘m so close.” you cry as soobin’s cock finds your sweet spot again, ramming against it with every stroke. “s-soobin! inside, please cum inside me!” you beg him, rubbing your clit faster and gripping him like a vice. 

“pretty girl.” soobin whines the pet name out and you gasp, mind fuzzing over the sound of his voice and the cute name he’s called you. “shit, ‘m cumming.”

“f-fill me up!” 

at this, soobin chokes, hips stilling as he feels himself cum. you’re suddenly filled with warmth and it practically triggers your own orgasm. the tightrope in your tummy unraveling as you coat his cock in your arousal, a near-silent scream leaving your mouth.

you lay there and he fucks you through his orgasm, the aftershocks leaving you shaking and shivering under the men as you languidly pump yeonjun’s still-hard cock. 

“junnie,” you whine, teary eyes finally opening to see how he’s looking at you like he wants to devour you. 

he grunts, “so fuckin’ cute, baby, my cute lil fucked out princess.” his rambling makes you realize he’s close just at the sight of you. he’s twitching and throbbing in your hands and you just smile nonchalantly.

“please cum on my face, baby.” you purr, regaining strength and pumping his wet length with more vigor. “make a mess on my face, junnie.” 

he moans when you stick out your tongue expectantly, sitting up on his knees and replacing your hand. he comes faster than you think, breathily calling out your name and curses. his seed shoots across your face, some of it landing on your tongue and some landing on your chest. 

the room is filled with soft pants as everyone tries to recollect themselves. after a few minutes pass, yeonjun pipes up. 

“did you like your valentine’s gift, princess?” he asks with a smug grin. 

you and soobin both laugh before you look between the two unbelievably handsome men and you give him the most honest answer you can conjure up.

“i loved it.” you whisper. “but i think it’s your turn to fuck me and soobin’s turn to watch.”

© cheolhub — all rights reserved, please refrain from copying, reposting, modifying or translating my work on any platform.

[pandorasprongs]

JAMIE TARTT | and i don't even like you that much. wait, i do. f*ck.

PAIRING: jamie tartt x fem!reader

WORD COUNT: 5.8k

SUMMARY: jamie is actually a board game nerd and starts spending more time with one of the employees of a local shop.

WARNINGS: language

A/N: this idea came to me as someone asked me if i wanted to buy another volume of a board game we had HAHA if you can figure out what game i'm referring to in this story, hmu! alsooo i want to apologize for the length i swear i didn't mean for it to get that long, but still, i hope you all enjoy! title is from the song 'apple cider' by beabadoobee!

It was another slow morning in the store, given that most of your frequent customers were forced to be in school at this time. You ended up continuing one of the readings for your class during your shift. Despite a wave of drowsiness hitting you the moment you opened the book, it was still better having free time to be tired than the afternoon rush when 13-year-old boys came in to get another booster pack of Magic: The Gathering cards.

You were practically setting all these children up for a gambling addiction the way they'd spend 20 pounds trying to get one of those shiny ones in their deck. You never bothered to learn the names really, because that wasn't part of your job description. When it came to those kinds of things, those boys probably knew more than you did.

When it came to board games though, that was your area of expertise. It was partly one of the reasons you applied to work here while you were finishing up your Master's, — and also because of how generous the owner was with your salary, — so you always loved helping people out for their board game nights. You didn't have regulars that would come in often, but here and there, there would be a person you recognize from before asking about another game.

You don't know how much time had passed, but after deciding that your brain could no longer take reading the word cognitive multiple times in a sentence, you end up shutting the book and resting your head on the counter.

Soon after though, you hear the bell at the top of the door ring, causing you to jolt up. You only catch a glimpse of the guy walking towards you before he drops his head, his cap completely blocking his face, and a loose black hoodie covering his frame.

For a second, you get worried that the store was about to get robbed but the man finally stops in front of you and speaks, in a thick Mancunian accent. "Do you have any suggestions for board games? Like for family and stuff,"

You swear you've heard his voice before. Maybe from school? Or a former customer? You decide to shake it off before replying. "Well, this is a board game store, so there's quite a lot to pick from. Do you have any specific theme in mind? How many players?"

"There'll be 3 of us, but I'm not really picky with the game. Not any of those monopoly type shit though, cause I'm sick of never winning."

You chuckle at the revelation and that's what gets the man to look up at you. It definitely wasn't his appearance he was worried about. His chiseled jaw and striking blue eyes almost draw you in, not to mention his hairstyle looks eerily like the one David Beckham had in the 90s, who you had to admit was a crush of yours as a kid. He could even pass as a contestant on one of those dating reality shows.

And then it hits you where you've heard his voice before. This guy was on Lust Conquers All and was immediately voted off. You remember it well because your sister was so pissed at him for joining the show since the football season had just started. Jamie something, but the show never mentioned his last name. You try to hide your realization by turning to the shelf behind you.

"Alright uh, I’d recommend this one." You turn back around and slide it across the counter as Jamie (?) starts looking at the box from all angles.

"Looks cool," is all he says in reply and he looks back at you, presumably for you to explain the game. You tuck a piece of hair behind your ear before going on your usual introduction to the game.

"Basically in the game, there are 4 characters you can choose to be your 'heroes.' Your main objective is to get your opponent's health to 0 using the different cards in your set. All the characters have different decks and skills you can use throughout the game, and some of them even have side kicks." You look back up for a second to see his expression and you can tell that you're still holding his interest.

"So for example in the one I gave you, you can battle Sinbad, Medusa, King Arthur, and Alice, who's fucking amazing, by the way."

"Alice? From fucking Wonderland?" You laugh at his surprise before nodding to affirm it. "She's your favorite then?"

"How'd you know?" You ask sarcastically. "But yeah, she's just really versatile and it's just really fun to shrink and grow every turn just to piss off the other players. I'm practically unbeatable using her." You admit though you're not really sure why.

Most of the time when customers come in here for a game, they don't ask questions and just buy the first one you suggest. That’s probably why you answered Jamie's question so earnestly. Cause he's the first one to ever ask you what you liked about the game.

You quickly run through the rest of the rules and mechanics of the game with Jamie chiming in occasionally. You describe the other editions as well and Jamie is tempted to buy the other one — "How is anyone supposed to beat fucking Dracula?" — before he ultimately decides to take home the one you offered.

"If I end up losing using Alice, you owe me a refund." He states as you ring up the game. You playfully roll your eyes as you scan the barcode on the box.

"Oh yeah, since you're the first customer of the day, you get a 7% discount on your purchase," you quickly inform him when you glance at the post-it note on the register screen reminding you about it in bold letters.

Instead of the usual gratefulness or blip of happiness from hearing that news, Jamie instead asks, "Is that really a thing or are you doing it because you know who I am?"

You look at him to check if he's serious and given his blank look, you assume he is. You don't know how to respond to that, so instead you just slowly shake your head.

"Wait, do you not know who I am?" His question itself comes off as arrogant, but given the genuine surprise in your voice, you're not sure how to feel about the guy after he says it.

You decide to answer him honestly. "I do, but given that you walked in here in clothes that make you look like a stalker who's about to rob the place, I didn't think you'd want me to make a big fuss about it, Jamie."

His shoulders seem to relax at your statement and once he goes quiet, he finally pulls out his wallet. You quickly place the game in a paper bag and hand it over to him.

He whispers a quick thanks and turns to leave, before pausing. He turns back to you, "Look, it's not like I'm dressed this way because I'm embarrassed to be in a store like this—"

"I didn't think you were," you answer blankly with a hint of sarcasm. You decide to mess with the guy a little bit because hey, when's the next time a famous footballer comes into your store again? "Why, is there something I should be embarrassed about?"

Jamie quickly shakes his head. "No, fuck no! I think it's cool, really. You know, being surrounded by all these games and cards and knowing so much about them. Especially someone like you,"

You tilt your head in amusement. "What do you mean someone like me?" Jamie's embarrassment only seems to deepen at that.

"Fuck I didn't mean it like that. Honestly, when I came in here, I was expecting some teenage boy to be at the counter. Wait no— I mean, girls can like all this stuff too! I just didn't expect someone attr—," he stops himself and shakes his head. "Shit, wait,"

You watch Jamie scramble for words and you decide to just put an end to his misery. "Look, look, I was just joking around. I don't give that much of a shit about what you said." The football player visibly relaxes and you hold in a laugh at that reaction. "And you're basically right about the kind of people who work here. Most of my co-workers can't work these hours right now 'cause they're off studying for their A-Levels."

"Yeah, well thank you for this," Jamie lifts the bag slightly and you give him a genuine smile.

"No problem. Hope you enjoy the game! And if you ever feel compelled to dress like a shitty robber again, you can come back and tell me what you think." Your sarcasm no longer throws Jamie off who instead, just playfully rolls his eyes and leaves the store.

You go back to your reading for your behavioral science class, putting your interaction with the football player in the back of your mind.

—

The next time you see Jamie is two weeks later, although this time, he comes in right before closing. Technically, you weren't the only one assigned for this shift, but you decided to let your co-worker go home early since he said he had an English exam the next day and still hadn't studied.

So, you were counting down the minutes to 8 pm when you hear someone come inside. Fucking hell. You force a smile, "Hi, welcome! We'll be closing in a few minutes, but please approach me if you need anything so you can have a speedier process."

"Are you really that desperate to get rid of me?" The person moves away from the shelves and turns out to be Jamie Tartt, you learn his last name is. He's wearing another grey hoodie but seems to have decided to ditch his hat. Good, because you weren't sure how much longer you could stare at the ICON written on it and not judge him. "I wanna know, did you think offering to help the customer would get them out of here quicker?"

"I had to try something," you defend yourself, shrugging. You notice Jamie carrying the bag you used to wrap the board game and slightly frown. "Didn't like the game?"

He follows your eyes and is quick to correct you. "I loved it, actually. First time playing a board game that Simon didn't win during the first round." You aren't sure who Simon is, but you laugh nonetheless. "And you're right, Alice is fucking unbeatable."

"I'm glad you liked it, and Alice," you start, but then glance at the time on your phone. "But, is that the only reason you came here?"

"Well no, I was wondering if you wanted to play. That's why I came so late, in case there would be too many people if I came at the usual time."

"Yeah, there was a fuck ton, actually, as you can tell from the fully stocked store." You say, pretending to look around the room. "But sure, if you want. I don't have anything going on tomorrow anyway," Now you're really glad that you didn't procrastinate that paper due tonight.

Jamie smiles as he starts to unbox the set and you grab one of the chairs behind the counter and push it to the other side for the footballer.

Never did you imagine you would spend a Saturday night with a hot football player playing one of your favorite board games, but here you were. In between one of the rounds, the topic of football is brought up and you admit that you don't know all that much about it despite your family being made up of fanatics.

"Everyone has their team they support. My dad loves Arsenal, my mum loves Chelsea, and my sister bounces between West Ham and Crystal Palace. Though, she fucking hates Rupert Mannion, so maybe this is the end of her West Ham support." You answer as you shuffle Jamie's deck.

"Shit, the season must be fun for you guys," Jamie remarks and you snort, though instantly regretting letting that sound out. The football player looks unfazed, so you decide not to apologize for it and answer his question instead.

"Yeah, I basically end up being their messenger till the finals, which ends up becoming World War 3 if their teams are competing," you hand him his deck back and start the round, but your conversation doesn't end there.

"What team would you support then, if you got into football?" He looks hopefully at you.

"Yours, probably." You confirm as you look through your first hand of cards. "I mean, I'm about to destroy one of their players at this game. It's the least I can do."

"We'll see about that," Jamie replies and you roll your eyes playfully, but you smile.

Working at the store meant you were surrounded by board game fans every day, but not even your regulars would come in here after your shift to play. You couldn't help but feel warm at how Jamie matched your enthusiasm about the game, something, you admit, you didn't expect from the player. You knew nothing would probably come from this harmless happy crush of yours, but if he decided to start coming in often to play, you wouldn't be opposed to it.

Your attention turns back to the game once Jamie picks his next move. He smirks at his decision until his expression suddenly shifts. "Wait, if you're not into football, how'd you know who I was the other day?"

You move your piece before looking directly into Jamie's eyes and respond, "I just really love trashy reality shows." Jamie playfully groans at the reminder and you burst into laughter before you continue the game.

True to form, whichever of the two of you uses Alice is the one to win that round. You finally decide on a tie-breaker with your favorite being banned from usage.

"Christ, if this is how you maneuver in a board game, I wonder how good you are at football." You tease, as you glance at his character being at only 4HP.

"I'm fucking amazing, actually. Ask your family, they'll tell you." Jamie moves a few spaces on the board, hoping to escape your Medusa, but instead, he falls into one of your traps.

You corner him and finally reduce his King Arthur's health. "And there you go, 3-2."

It takes Jamie a second to absorb everything before he slouches. "Fucking hell." You laugh before getting up from your chair and helping him keep all the pieces and cards.

"Better luck next time, Tartt."

Jamie, whose competitive side seems to be shining in this game, doesn't let it end there.

Almost every week, he would come into the store at night asking to play. He was definitely getting better, but after making a deal where the loser has to tell an embarrassing story after the round, you realize you know more about him than he probably does about you.

"God Jamie, how are you alive?" You ask as he shares a story from when he first started the league.

"How was I supposed to know doing multiple headers in one match could lead to a bloody concussion?" He retorts, only making your eyes widen even more.

"I'm pretty sure that's common knowledge to about 80% of the population," you say through your laughter.

It's almost 10 when you finish playing, so you grab your jacket and start heading to the door with Jamie. You lock the store up and notice that Jamie's still hanging around you.

It's dark outside, but it seems like his features were even more enhanced by the moonlight. The light hit his eyes just the right way that it made the blue more evident. You notice just then how his hair is neater today, mainly because of his sports headband. The front strands of his hair had fallen out it though, falling on his face in just the right way that it gave you butterflies. Did all footballers look this attractive?

You realize that you may have been starting a bit too long and as you tuck the keys in your jacket pocket, you decide to ask, "Need anything else?"

Jamie opens his mouth to say something, but instead, he just shakes his head. "Nothing actually, just good night," he waves and starts walking in the opposite direction, but you swear you hear him muttering something under his breath.

—

It had been a week since then and you had to start telling yourself to not be so excited when you hear the bell ring. Every time it did, you'd look expectantly at the door expecting to see Jamie again, asking for another or a new volume or even just game tips. Each time, you'd end up disappointed and would have to fake a smile to the customer approaching you.

This time you hear it ring, and you do your best to not look up. If it was Jamie, you knew that your boss George probably would be sounding an alarm. You only learned the Monday after that he was a major AFC Richmond fan when you mentioned that a football player had visited the store multiple times to play board games.

"Do you think we can get him to sign a picture and put it on the wall? Can you ask?" You quickly have to explain how those interactions were the only times you ever spoke to Jamie and had no actual way of contacting him.

As you close your laptop, — one more paragraph and that essay is done! — you look up to find two guys standing in front of you.

"Hi, do you have any board game recommendations?" the one on the right greeted, his accent quickly revealing him to be Welsh.

You don't have a chance to answer because the left one lightly elbows his friend before whispering (though loud enough for you to hear), "He already told us what to get, bruv."

You may not know who this 'he' is, but the guy pulls out his phone and shows you a picture of a board game, the same one you recommended to Jamie. Wishful thinking gets you to believe that they were friends of his and he liked it so much that he told them about it. And maybe about you, too.

You've never been so happy to be right.

You nod your head and as he kept his phone, you started pulling the same edition from the shelf behind you when you hear a screeching sound that almost made you drop the box.

"Oh my God, Colin Hughes, and Isaac McAdoo!" George exclaims and you wonder where you've heard those names before.

The owner joins you at the counter as you place the board game in front of you. Maybe you weren't pretending to be as peppy as you usually do, because George decides to ask, "How are you so calm? Do you know who these guys are? They're Colin Hughes and Isaac McAdoo!"

"I heard you the first time," you turn to the two guys once again, embarrassed on behalf of your boss.

"They're part of the starting team of AFC Richmond!" And that's when it clicks. On one of your all-nighters, you decided to take a break and search up Jamie Tartt just to see what you could find. You ended up at his club's website and saw the rest of the players as well. You didn't pay them much attention given that you were so focused on player number 9, but you saw enough pictures to recognize them, at least.

"So you guys do know Jamie," you think out loud and the two players turn to each other, before sharing looks of realization.

"Oh, you're the girl!" Colin exclaims and you can't help but feel butterflies in your stomach.

"Yeah, I guess so," you try and act as nonchalantly as possible, so neither of them picks up on anything. You turn back to the game and ask, "Is this the one you wanted?"

"Jamie said there were other versions?" Isaac asks and you nod your head to confirm it, which he smiles at. "We want the Sherlock one."

"Okay," you reach for that one on the shelf as George starts offering them discounts on the game.

When he almost offers to give it to them for free along with another set, you stop him by slamming the box on the counter. Why were you the one trying to keep his business alive? "Here it is, hope you enjoy it!"

You ring up their purchase, still trying to hold your boss back from scaring these footballers away before they can pay. You finally bag the whole thing and hand it to them. "Thank you!" you shout as they exit the store.

"Yeah, see you soon!" George says afterward and you look at him in confusion.

"What the fuck was that, George?" He only sighs, most likely the embarrassment only hitting him at that exact moment.

Once he goes back to doing inventory, you can't help but replay what Colin said. Oh, you're the girl! Why was such a simple phrase like that affecting you so much? For all you know, he might've mentioned you being a sore winner, which wouldn't be the first time you've been called that.

But you still hope he said good things about you and maybe even kept better things he thought to himself.

—

"Okay, time's up. Please pass your papers." You write one last word as you get up to give your exam to the proctor, sighing in relief that the semester is finally over.

You had asked for leave for the past few days and didn't have a shift until tomorrow, so you decide to treat yourself to some coffee and pasta for lunch at the campus cafe.

As you settle down at one of the tables, you get a phone call from George. He was more than happy to let you take the time off, so you wonder what emergency had to happen for him to contact you.

As soon as you pick up, George screams your name into the phone. You pull it away from your ear for a second, and respond, "What? What do you need?"

"Look, I'm sorry to disturb you on your day off, but you said that your test ended at 2:30, so I decided to hold off calling you till then. Anyway, someone came in a few days ago asking if we host board game nights."

"And we do," you answer for him as you chew your sandwich.

"Right, and then he said that he was from AFC Richmond." You flinch after imagining how your boss could've reacted at that revelation. "They wanted to hold it a few days ago," George pauses.

"Why didn't you say yes? You could've been game master."

"Yeah well, I wanted to, but they specifically asked for you to go." You put down your sandwich and straighten up. George continues, "I told them you were on leave, but they said they could wait till you were back at work. I said that your test was this morning and I would ask if you'd be willing to end your leave early."

"Okay, sure." You answer, a little faster than you intended. You couldn't believe that the team — and maybe even Jamie personally, — was willing to postpone their game night just so you would be the one to facilitate it.

The surprise was evident in George's voice. Normally, you would reject his idea the moment he mentioned board game nights, but something about this was different for you. "Oh okay, well, I'll send you the address. I'll be bringing the boards there since you don't have a car and I'll meet you there at 4 pm. It's a restaurant, so maybe you can get something to eat before 'cause shit can get crazy at those things and it's best to load up."

You don't know how a board game night could get crazy, but you decide not to comment on it. He sends you the details through text before you end the call and continues eating your sandwich. The place wasn't too far from campus, so you didn't have to rush to get there. But after 10 minutes, you consumed your sandwich and were out the door with your coffee in hand.

While walking, you decided to familiarize yourself more with the players trying to put names to face before you had to interact with all of them at once. You started to get the hang of it, — even looking at team photos and naming them one by one as a test — as you get to the venue at around half past 3.

You arrive at a restaurant called Ola's, and you remember seeing one of the Richmond players post about it. Your dad wanted to have dinner here once, but they were always fully booked so the four of you gave up trying to get a table there.

Because of that, you expected the place to be swamped with customers, but instead find an almost empty restaurant. You notice one guy standing in the middle of it and approach him.

"Hi," He turns around and you recognize him as Sam Obisanya, meaning he must be the owner. You introduce yourself quickly before asking, "Am I at the right place? I'm here to help host a board game tournament."

Sam's eyes widen as he seems to recognize you. "Oh yes, this is the place. Sorry, I didn't expect you to be so early. We already fixed up the tables, but I can also help in setting up the boards if you like."

"Ah no, it's alright. My boss is the one who’s bringing them. I came from my university, so I don't have any of them on me right now." You quickly explain and Sam nods as he leads you to one of the tables to relax, while he grabs some appetizers from the kitchen.

He makes his way back to the table, though he can't seem to stop looking at you. You subconsciously start fixing your hair, wondering if you should've gone to the bathroom before going in here.

He seems to pick up on this and is quick to reassure you, "Oh, I'm sorry for staring. It's just Jamie has mentioned you so many times, so it's nice to finally put a face to the name."

Your heart skips a beat at the mention of the football player. You grab some of the food he offered as you reply as calmly as you can, "Oh yeah, did he tell you how he is nowhere close to beating my number of wins?"

Sam lets out a short chuckle. "No, but I'm not surprised. He did say you're very good at it." You smile and decide to ask why they decided to do a board game night.

It takes a second before Sam replies, "Oh well, Coach always says to do team-building activities every once in a while, and seeing as Jamie has asked almost everyone on the team to play the game at least once, we thought it would be a good idea. I think Isaac and Colin got their own board too and they started bringing it to the clubhouse."

"Shit, I didn't realize that football players loved board games so much," you remarked as you hear the door to the restaurant open.

Both of you look up to see George, who is trying to carry 12 boxes of board game sets. You rush out of your seat to help him out and so does Sam. The sight of the player almost makes your boss drop all of them from his arms, but you quickly scoop four of them and Same takes another four.

"Sam Obisanya," George exhales, once some of the weight is literally lifted off him.

The player simply says, "Hello," and states that he'll start setting up the four boards on the tables near the back.

You snap your fingers to get George out of the trance and the two of your start setting up on the rest of your tables, dropping the character figurines at the bar table and putting the sign-up sheet next to it. Slowly, the restaurant starts filling up with players with George gradually losing his mind at the number of footballers from his favorite team.

You finally get him to leave, but only by promising to convince the team to take a picture with him when he came back to pick up the boards. You're pretty sure he's already making plans to put it on a canvas and hang it on his bed.

You settle yourself behind the bar table to be in charge of the players setting up, each time expecting it to be Jamie standing in front of you. You try and keep your focus on the task at hand every time you hear the boys greet someone new.

Isaac and Colin are the next to write their names and they give you a look that you can't quite decipher. Soon enough, Jamie finally gets here and you straighten up in your seat. He greets some of the players till his eyes land on you.

He approached the bench and once he looked up, he observed out loud. "You're here,”

"Aw, did you want to get rid of me that badly?" You mimic him before explaining that you finished your leave earlier, "just to see you, of course." — with some truth behind that statement. Jamie laughs — albeit, a little awkwardly, — and takes the clipboard. As he signs up, you decide to take the chance to tease him. "Heard you were talking about me to your teammates."

Jamie's eyes widen and he stops writing to shoot glares at the rest of AFC Richmond, not sure who told you. Jamie turns back to you and you laugh. "Don't worry, Tartt. I'm sure you just told them how I'm an absolute god at the game and you're glad I'm not playing tonight." The football player simply rolls his eyes as he joins his teammates.

Once the whole team is complete along with their kit-man Will, you decide to start the tournament. "Okay, hi everyone! Welcome to your board game night." The crowd cheers and you're startled by their enthusiasm. You quickly explain the rules of the night, — though they seem to already know most of it, — and the order of players. It's a draw lots method, so the players will be randomly given a character and an opponent.

Once everyone gets their characters and settles in, you start making rounds in case anyone had any questions. After a while, you start heading back to the bar when someone taps you on the shoulder. You find Jamie already done with his round.

"How'd you win that quickly?" You don't try to hide the surprise in your voice. "Even I take like 20 minutes minimum to win."

"Oh I didn't," Jamie clarifies, and you widen your eyes. "I just couldn't attack Dani. I mean, look at that face." You turn to their table and find Dani smiling at you — "This is fun!" — and waving using his Dracula figurine.

You laugh at his reasoning. "Alright then, guess you're done for the night." You walk back to the bar and Jamie stops on the opposite side of it.

"You hungry? Sam said there's prepped meals in the back and since none of the games are ending soon…" Jamie offers and you obliged, seeing as this might be the only time you might ever get to eat in this restaurant. He grabs two plates from there and settles down next to you. Surprisingly, he managed to grab one of your favorite dishes. You remember mentioning to him that you had tried it at another restaurant in the past and loved it, but you doubt he even remembers it and dubbed it a coincidence.

You decide to keep the topic off board games and instead let him talk about what he's doing since he last saw you. Turns out they had multiple back-to-back matches, so practice was tight and he didn't have time to visit you. He also said the next time he did, it was one of your teenage co-workers manning the counter.

"Oh, Chuck! Yeah, he's pretty shit at board games." You say blankly while you shove another spoonful of food into your mouth.

"I ended up just buying a card game and leaving." Jamie continues and you laugh.

"Sorry, you went all the way there for just that. I go to class on Wednesdays, so I don't have a shift then." The conversation then shifts to your degree and you explain that you plan on becoming a psychologist.

"There is another upside to getting that degree too," Jamie chimes in, and you tilt your head. "You can fuck with someone's head while playing."

"Okay, psychology isn't mind control." Though, you think about it for a second. "But it is pretty close. You’ll be my first victim.” You make your sound more ghostly in that last sentence and Jamie pretends to act terrified and faint.

There is a short silence between the two of you when you realize that most of the rounds are done. You start organizing the next round and once the games start, the other players start going around and rooting for their teammates.

It leaves the area near the bar much more isolated and Jamie lowers his voice. "About that card game I got, it's pretty fun, too."

"Yeah?" You ask as you bring your plate back to the kitchen.

"Yeah. I'd love to take you out and talk about it," you stop in your tracks before turning back to the footballer who adds, “If you want."

You turn around to see Jamie is much closer to you now. It's only then you realize how much taller he was than you, but despite that, you’re not intimidated, especially with him looking so expectantly at you.

It takes a second before your mouth turns into a smile. "I think I'd like that."

Jamie does this small bounce thing on his heels, before trying to tone it down. You only laugh and kiss him on the cheek before heading to the crowd of players. He follows suit and rests his arm on your shoulders.

Some of his teammates notice and start cheering. You look at them confused before deciding to ask Jamie, "Was this all an elaborate scheme to ask me out?"

He shakes his head, "No, 'course not. Was there a deal made after I lost a game to Jan? Possibly," The both of you laugh as you playfully push his head away. You start to accept that this unfairly attractive football player — whom you'll be going on a date soon — can be as much of a nerd as you.

If this is what George meant when he said game nights could get crazy, well, maybe you should’ve given them a chance earlier.

[tonberry-yoda]

A Hobie Thing To Do - Hobie Brown

notes - Here's the Hobie fic for that poll I did! Thank you everyone who voted and the Hobie lovers for asking for another fic! It feels a tad rushed story wise, but it's silly and I like the concept, so I hope you enjoy! Stay hydrated everyone! word count - 810

London was pretty boring. You were expecting more when you moved there, but honestly, it was a lot of rain and a lot of the people you were already used to. College was nice and everything and it wasn't like you were miserable, but you were definitely bored.

Until you met him. Hobie Brown. A punky, guitar playing, pierced up boy with a loud mouth and amazing hair.

You met him while goofing around with a band you played with occasionally. He kicked open the door with drinks in his hands and smiled when he saw you, setting down the drinks to shake your hand.

"You have amazing eyes." he told you with a wink.

You told him you liked his outfit and you hit it off from there, playing music together or eating junkfood in your dorm.

And not too long afterwards, the two of you started dating. He never called it dating, but never got mad when you did, so you definitely considered the two of you to be together in some romantic regard.

Plus, he would kiss you without hesitation and wrap his arm around you whenever someone seemed to be bothering you.

At the end of the day though, after weeks of dating, the two of you became inseparable and the only time you were really away from each other was when you were at school.

"Have you guys seen Hobie?" you asked the band as you walked in with sandwiches, handing one to everyone.

"No," said the drummer, Curtis, shoving the sandwich in his mouth. "I don't know if he's coming. He didn't say anything."

You just nodded and sat down, turning on the TV. Curtis' parents always had it on the news channel and it was playing something about Spiderman.

"Ugh, Spiderman," said the singer, Alley, rolling her eyes. "I hate that guy."

"Why?" you asked, turning to her. "He's a punk dude, I think he's so sick."

"Yeah, but he's just making excuses to break the law and claim he's saving the world. It's not very punk if you ask me,"

"That's so stupid, Alley."

"Maybe to you. I think it's pretty rational."

"I just think you don't know the guy," Hobie said, walking in and grabbing his own sandwich. "Though, maybe you're right."

"Hey, Hobie." you smiled, kissing him on the cheek. "Where were you?"

"Well, it's finally not gross out, so I figured I'd walk today. Sorry I'm a little late. Anyways, what's Spiderman up to?"

You watched the TV for a second and turned back to Hobie. "Apparently someone was trying to attack some bus downtown and he saved it."

Hobie just hummed in response and kept eating. He felt weird about not telling you that he was Spiderman, but at the same time, he thought it was obvious at this point and was trying to see how long it would take you.

"Who do you think's under that mask?" Curtis asked.

You just shrugged. "Probably some rockstar. Maybe someone we've seen live?"

You and the rest of the band became coming up with theories about Spiderman as Hobie kicked back his feet and watched himself save the bus in slow-mo for the fifteenth time with a stupid grin. You really weren't going to figure it out, were you?

Well, in that case, he thought it would be fun to tease you a bit.

You were on a walk in the rain, petting stray cats and shopping. Hobie had his Spiderman costume on and waited until you got into an alleyway before hanging upside down in front of you, shocking you a bit.

"Spiderman?" you said. "What's up?"

He smiled under the mask and stood in front of you before walking over to a wall, leaning against it. "What's up with you?" he asked.

"Just going home." you told him.

Hobie rolled his eyes under the mask. He didn't even change his voice, how did you not notice it was him yet?

"I heard you're in a band." he said.

You tilted your head. "How did you know that?"

"A friend of mine knows you."

"Really? Who?"

"His name's Hobie." He had to hold back laughter.

You thought for a minute and looked at him unamused. "Really, Hobie?"

He shot a web and hung back upside down in front of you before making sure no one was around to slide off his mask.

"How long have you been Spiderman?" you asked.

"How long has Spiderman been around?"

You rolled your eyes with a smile. "This is crazy."

"Unexpected?"

"No. This definitely feels like a Hobie thing to do."

"Why's that?" He smirked.

"Because of course, you of all people would be Spiderman somehow."

"I guess that is a Hobie thing to do, innit?"

You cupped his face and smiled before pressing your lips to his as he hung upside down.

~~~~~

into the spiderverse masterlist | pinned post 2023 @tonberry-yoda – do not repost or claim ANY of my work as your own! likes, reblogs, and comments are not only welcome, but appreciated

~~~~~

[one-idea]

I don't think you understand the chokehold your AUs have on me.

Btw how's that dream dream no mi au comjng along?

Also I saw the voting poll. SANJI AND ZORO ARE GOING THROUGH IT

Oh thank you so much!!!! I’m glad you’re enjoying them.

I have a lot of thoughts on the dream dream fruit. And I’ll share two scenes with you

I know how I want it to start off.

I think it will start off with the crew getting attacked but a large “pirate crew.” While they out number the strawhats they are nowhere near their skill level, so the crew is having some fun showing off. Even Nami and Usopp and having some fun trying out different moves and showing off their skills to the other crew members. (In a serious fight they never get to see what the rest of the crew is doing, I can see them taking turns in a less serious fight and applauding after fancy moves)

And it’s all fun and games at first. Until Zoro and Sanji start counting KOs (they’ve been doing it the whole time for the whole crew, but Zoro definitely got the most in one move and now Sanji has to top it and it’s a constant back and forth)

Luffy moves to take his turn sweeping most of the enemies from the deck. While he finishes his move Zoro and Sanji start fighting each other. It’s stupid and petty, nothing out of the ordinary for the two. Luffy sees them and starts to laugh until he spots and enemy flying straight at Zoro.

He moves without thinking. He knows Zoro can watch his own back but he’s the captain, he takes care of his crew. Plus Zoro and Sanji are having fun, no need to interrupt them. So he blocks the hit.

And he drops like a stone.

Zoro sees the hit coming. He’s already pivoting to intercept it when Luffy blocks it. He can see Luffy moving to block it to, he’s got crazy observation haki, but he also trust Luffy. These are weaklings, no one here should be a threat and if Luffy wants to fight more Zoro’s not going to stop him. That is until Luffy drops, and Zoro’s world comes to a hault.

Because that hit was suppose to be for him. Luffy just protected him and got hurt in the process. This shouldn’t be happening. All of these “pirates” were weak. Not a single one is anywhere near the strawhats, Luffy shouldn’t be hurt.

But he is.

And he’s not getting up.

Zoro’s enraged and immediately goes after the perpetrator but they’re gone. A blink and you miss them disappearance. And it looks like the rest of the “pirates” are gone as well. Zoro and Sanji want to give chase but Robin wants to know what happened to Luffy before they rush in.

This is of course when they realize Luffy’s dream has been stolen.

Ive been playing with the idea that the devil fruit user can use the persons dream to control them, but maybe that’s after they’ve had possession of their dream for a while. (Still playing with it)

Another scene I’ve been thinking about is when they are trying to get Luffy’s dream back.

There first attempt ends with them popping someone’s dream and finding out they can destroy them.

I think in the second attempt they are able to knock the devil fruit user away from Luffy’s dream. But the Bubble almost pops via crashing into the environment.

Zoro moves to get in between Luffy’s dream and whatever might harm it. He drops his swords because there is no way he is destroying Luffy’s dream. And the bubble bumps into him (maybe he even catches it in his hands)

But the moment he touches it the world whites out for a second and when it comes back into view, he’s not where he once was.

Instead he’s standing on a beach besides Luffy. Shanks is a cross from them, wearing Luffy’s straw hat taking about how proud he is of Luffy for becoming the King of the pirates.

Before Zoro can get his bearing Mihawk joins them and Shanks turns to his old friend and immediately roasts him about losing his title to Zoro. And wait a second when did Zoro beat Mihawk? Like he would remember that!

But Luffy’s laughing (and it’s the first time he’s heard his laugh in days) and he smiles and says “of course Zoro won, he’s the first mate of the king of the Pirates, and the world’s greatest swordsman.” And he turns and just beams at Zoro. (And it’s the first time since this nightmare started that Luffy talked about his dream, not only that but believed in his dream AND in Zoro’s) it’s enough to make tears well because he’s missed this Luffy so much.

And as he looks around he can see their whole crew is around them. Nami is showing off her map to Vivi. Sanji and Zeff are together cooking food for the group, and he can hear Sanji telling Zeff about where the All Blue is. Copper is talking to Law about how to cure every disease. Usopp and Yasopp are talking and he can hear Usopp telling his Father about his adventures as a Brave warrior of the sea. Robin is talking to a group of their friend (Yamato/red hair pirates/heart pirates) about the true history of the world. Franky’s next to her blubbering about how his ship made it around the world. Brook is playing Music to Laboon who’s hanging out in the water. Jinbei is talking to Sabo about Fishman and Human equality.

And it’s perfect. Their crew is happy, and safe, and their dreams have all come true.

And Luffy is next to him smiling that grin that puts the sun to shame. And Ace is walking over the join the conversation.

And Ace is walking over the join the conversation……

And just like that it snaps into place that this isn’t real.

The world starts to fade out and when it fades back in Zoro’s back on the battle field. He’s on his knees with his swords around him. Right where he dropped them to make sure he didn’t pop Luffy’s dream

But Luffy’s bubble isn’t there and for a heart stopping moment he wonders if he popped it. In trying to save it did he destroy it?

And then Sanji’s in front of his screaming at him, because what the hell man! You had Luffy’s dream in your hands and you froze!?!? The devil fruit user took Luffy’s dream back and you did nothing to stop them!!!!

Nami comes over and yells at Sanji to stop because Zoro hasn’t moved. What if the devil fruit user took his dream to!

But Zoro pushes to his feet his brain finally catching up with everything that just occurred. And he know two things. 1) he’s getting Luffy’s dream back even if it kills him (he already knew this but now he’s got more motivation. He’s seen Luffy’s dream and it’s beautiful and no one gets to take that from his captain) 2) he knows why Luffy doesn’t believe in their dreams any more. It’s because their dreams have become part of Luffy’s. Luffy’s dream can’t come true unless they all accomplish their goals as well.

Ya but these are some of the ruff ideas I’m playing with.

I hope you like them and let me know if I should expand on anything!!!

[rose-of-gabriel]

My Teammates, My Friends

Set at the end of s1 ep12: Basic Straining

Harold's revenge doesn't go the way he planned. Courtney reflects on what her team means to her.

Beginning of a series of Season 1 rewrites bc I still love Duncney and can't let things go.

It was the breeziest Courtney had ever felt going into a bonfire ceremony. Yes, they’d lost the challenge, and she was fully prepared to start strategizing again in the morning, but for right now everything just felt right. Duncan stood amongst their fellow Killer Bass members on the other side of the fire pit, meeting her gaze before giving a dramatic roll of his eyes at how much Chris was milking his time at the podium. Courtney ducked her head, a heat rising in her cheeks that had nothing to do with the burning embers of the fire.

Even when Bridgette and Geoff were called, leaving her in the usually precarious position of bottom two, she didn’t feel worried. For maybe the first time in this competition, her team actually felt like her friends. It was probably - definitely - sad to admit, but she’d never experienced that before. Every “team” she’d ever been a part of - debate team, model UN, student council - had all been so performative and impersonal for everyone involved. Courtney would call those people her friends but she knew it wasn’t the kind of friendship she read about in books or magazines; friends who made you feel at ease, who had your back unconditionally. Yes, she was aware that this was still a competition, but as long as the teams remained, there was a tentative, hopeful, nearly forgotten part of her that trusted the four people before her more than she had anyone else in a long, long time.

These thoughts wrenched to a halt when she realized Chris had cut himself off mid-monologue. She re-focused, expecting to see military personnel or aliens raining down on them since there wasn’t anything else she could think of that would make Chris surrender the spotlight. There was no surrender, though. The devious, snake-like expression curling across his features opened up a pit in Courtney’s stomach, and from the looks of her teammates she could tell they’d noticed the pause with equal trepidation.

“Now campers,” Chris said, setting the plate and final marshmallow atop the podium before reaching into the placket of his shirt, “we have an interesting development.” He produced a folded stack of paper and held it aloft. “See... according to the ballots we received in the ballot box, every. single. person. voted Courtney off.”

The pit in her stomach imploded, leaving her sick and dizzy. She barely heard the reaction of her teammates over the rush of blood in her ears.

Pressure built behind her eyes as her gaze ricocheted across their faces, landing finally on Duncan, or where he would have been had the punk not already taken several imposing steps in Chris’ direction. “Dude, no fucking way! ”

Chris jumped backwards, raising the ballots high in one hand and throwing the other up in front of him. “ Hey! Hold it, hold it, hold it!”

Geoff and DJ both reached to grab Duncan’s shoulders, and while he did stop, his expression was murderous. Chris continued quickly. “All six ballots were for Courtney, making me and the producers more than a little curious as to why one of our fiercest competitors would vote herself off. So we went back and had a looksie at the confessional booth footage.”

Chris inclined his head to where Chef Hatchet was laboriously pushing an old dolly with an even older projection set up the slope toward the bonfire. While Courtney by no means had her barings back, she still noticed how Harold’s shoulders had hiked up to his ears and he had scooted as far from her on the log stool as he could. Suspicion stirred in her mind but she was too rattled to interrogate it.

“Lights please!” Chris called. The array of tiki torches and lanterns surrounding the fire pit suddenly faded to nothing, the only light now coming from the bonfire and the harsh, white light of the mobile projector. “Chef, if you would be so kind, roll tape!”

Chef arranged the projector so it displayed on one of the massive, flat rock faces that walled in the area. He pulled a VHS tape from the front pocket of his apron and opened a compartment on the side of the projector. Before he inserted the tape, though, Harold burst to his feet. “Wait!” he screamed, throwing his spindly body in front of the lens. “Wait, you don’t have to show it.”

“Oh, don’t we?” Chris grinned.

Courtney’s nerves were frayed to the point of snapping. “ Harold.” She growled, rising to her feet with her fists clenched. “ What did you do?”

Duncan was next to speak, cracking his knuckles. “You are dead, shrimpy.”

Unaffected by their outbursts, Chris continued coolly. “You’ve got a choice here, Harold. We can either play the tape or not, but somebody has to walk the dock of shame tonight.”

Everyone had put the pieces together by now; even Geoff’s usual half-grin was soured in a glare. Duncan started toward their condemned team member, but Courtney beat him to it. Harold shrieked and covered his face, but instead of clocking him Courtney grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt. Though he had a good few inches of height on her, Courtney yanked him down with enough force that his knees buckled, putting them at eye-level.

Her voice simmered with intensity as she hissed his name. “You have exactly five minutes to get on that boat. Because if I watch what I think is on that tape and you’re still on this island, I promise that you are never. leaving it. Understand?”

“Yes.” He squeaked, eyes nervously flitting between her and the team.

The instant she released her grip he was gone, sprinting for all his worth back to the cabins. Courtney inhaled deeply through her nose, efforts to calm herself ruined by Chris chiding, “Easy, Courtney. Chef’s gonna escort him to make sure he doesn’t hide out anywhere and to make sure no one tries to deal out their own justice, vigilante style.” He chuckled. “Although that would be awesome. ”

For a second Courtney thinks she might actually punch Chris’ lights out, but the host is saved by Bridgette throwing her arms around her teammate. “Oh my gosh, Court! Those were like the worst two minutes of my life.”

Two minutes? Had all of that really just happened in two minutes. Courtney felt like she’d just stepped off a rollercoaster and her stomach was finally catching up with her. When Bridgette released her, she pressed the heels of her palms against her forehead and closed her eyes. There was sound and movement all around her but nothing concretely registered except for the rough, warm pressure of a hand sliding down her spine to rest at her lower back.

“You okay?” Duncan said into her ear, so quiet she wasn’t sure if anyone else heard.

His voice and his hand on her back were the anchors she needed to feel like she was on solid ground again. She dropped her hands from her face and her shoulders fell with them as she surveyed the teens around her. Bridgette was visibly the most affected, hazel eyes wide like Courtney would vanish if she blinked. Geoff and DJ wore similar looks of both sympathy for Courtney and anger for the situation, and Duncan…

Well, Courtney didn’t know what to make of the look he was giving her. It was somehow soft and warm yet still retained its fierceness from before. She wasn’t sure if it was the intensity of his gaze or the crash of adrenaline that made her shiver. “I’m good.” She tried to sound more confident than she felt.

“Man, that is one sick little dude.” DJ groused, crossing his arms over his chest.

Geoff added, “Yeah, Court, that was wickedly messed up. Sorry, brah.”

Courtney shifted her weight just a fraction to press more firmly into Duncan’s hand, forcing a steady exhale from her lungs. “I’m just glad he was dumb enough to make all of the ballots the same.”

“Seriously.” Duncan agreed, pulling her an inch closer.

She turned her head to look up at him, nerves settling enough to crack a smile. “You have any experience with voter fraud?”

“Pfffft, that’s weak shit.” He dismissed, though the corner of his mouth ticked upward.

The vice in her chest eased, and the airiness from before was returning. These were her friends , friends who were angry on her behalf and happy that she was still here. Friends that surrounded her with support but she knew would give her space if she asked for it. That was the last thing she wanted, though, threading her arm across Duncan's back.

“Anyone up for stealing some brownies from the mess hall while Chef’s distracted?” She asked.

Geoff whistled, “Heck yeah!” at the same time Duncan praised, “Atta girl.”

It was DJ who hesitated. “Sure you don’t wanna see the ginger twerp off, Court? I know I’ll be happy to see him go.”

Courtney hummed thoughtfully. “The look on his face would be pretty satisfying.” Her gaze flickered to Duncan’s with a mirrored grin. “If we’re quick we can do both.”

The expression on Duncan's face turned wolfish as he addressed the group. “You heard the lady.” He said and the five of them took off toward the mess hall, Courtney’s heart soaring with every step.

[whompswhomp]

sandalwood and ocean water.

Omni-Man x Homelander content includes: fluff, beach themes, grumpy homelander, protective omni-man, kisses, comfort, confessions (etc.)

John hated the beach. Hated, hated, hated the beach. Everything about it, from the overbearing blaze of the sun, the too-loud rush of the waves, the sounds of annoying little shit-eating kids running amok in the distance made his skin crawl. He’d have been more than happy to stay in Vought Tower with the fancy Norwegian air conditioning system and a popsicle or two despite the unbearable heatwave ravaging the city.

Yet, when Nolan had walked into the common room to see most of the Seven draped half-naked across furniture, scorching like ants under a lens in the palace of glass windows that made up their living quarters, he suggested that they all take the day off and go to the beach. The Deep had of course been the first on board, and the others dogpiled on so fast that John’s protests of “No, we’re not going to the goddamn beach,” and “There’s nothing fun about swimming in a giant basin of fish piss,” were entirely drowned out. The damned idiots had run off to change into their swimsuits and pack their bags before he could even blink. “Looks like you’ve lost the vote by majority rule, my dear,” Nolan had teased him, eyes crinkling in that stupidly handsome way when he smiled and leaned down to press a kiss atop his lover’s golden hair.

It was situations like this that really made John wish he didn’t let Nolan get away with shit all the time. One flash of those perfect teeth, one soft look from those gorgeous sky blue eyes, and every synapse in John’s brain that fired in order for him to process and successfully say the word “no” died a miserable death. 

“Whatever.” John mumbled, crossing his arms beneath his chest. He tried his best to actually stay annoyed at his lover instead of melting like ice cream in the summer sun at the soft look in his eyes. A look that was reserved only for him– the only warmth in an otherwise endless expanse of ice. 

Nolan simply smiled and gestured towards the ocean, where waves crashed gently over the sand. “Join me?” he asked, extending a hand towards John, “A little saltwater and sunlight will do you some good. And there are so many beautiful sights to see underwater.”

John had to force himself not to make eye contact with Nolan or he knew he’d end up saying yes, so he distracted himself by reaching over to the small cooler at his side and withdrawing a popsicle. He shoved half of it in his mouth in one go, wincing a little at the sudden cold. “I’m busy. Go have fun splashing around in the water like a four year old. Don’t be surprised if the Deep starts biting your fucking ankles or whatever.” he grumbled through a mouthful of cherry flavored ice.

Nolan narrowed his eyes at him suspiciously, but shrugged and turned to head for the water. “Suit yourself, then. Don’t eat too much sugar,” he told him, and rushed off towards the waves. John rolled his eyes at his comment, reaching for another popsicle once he was gone. He’d make his way through the whole box if he damn well wanted to, thank you very much.

Although he’d told Nolan he didn’t want to swim, John found himself unable to keep his eyes off the sight of his boyfriend in the water. For someone so powerful, it was incredible to see how graceful he was in the water, like he belonged there. He’d dive down towards a deeper part of the water, then resurface, sweeping his dark hair out of his eyes like a supermodel in one of those dumbass commercials. It was stupid how hot he was. No one should be that good-looking, he thought to himself as he blindly reached into the open cooler for another popsicle, having indeed made his way through the whole box in the span of an hour.

However, when his fingers reached inside, whatever they brushed inside the cooler was definitely not a popsicle. It moved. As in, scuttled. He could hear whatever it was skittering around the ice inside. Letting out a very undignified squawk, John scrambled to his feet, overturning the entire cooler in the process and sending frozen margarita pouches and various ice creams and popsicles scattering across the sand. “What the fuck, what the fuck?!” he yelled. Out of the cooler scuttled a small hermit crab, clearly startled by all the commotion. John yelped and climbed fully up onto his lounge chair, curling up as far into the corner of it as he could, as if the thing would attack him. He tried zapping at it with his heat vision, but missed as it began scurrying back into the cooler to escape.

“John! Are you alright?” John heard, turning to see Nolan running up to him with a look of concern. He didn’t even have the decency to be embarrassed, instead pointing to the cooler with a shaky hand. “There’s a crab! In the damn cooler! It won’t leave!”

Nolan stared blankly at him for a few seconds, his expression unreadable as he processed this information. Then, much to his chagrin, he started laughing. Laughing. At him. John wanted to wring his fucking neck. “The hell are you laughing at?! Get rid of it!”

“Oh, I’m sorry my dear, but this is too funny. The great Homelander is afraid of a hermit crab.” Nolan chuckled, picking up the cooler with one hand and reaching in. He pulled the hermit crab out by its shell, the little thing peeking its beady eyes out at John, which freaked the man out even more. “Seriously? This little thing? Come on John, it’s more scared of you than you are of it. It’s kind of cute, even.”

“That thing is not cute! It’s fucking horrifying, get it away from me right now– stop! Don’t bring it closer!” John shouted at him, snatching his sunglasses off his face and chucking them at Nolan’s chest when he got closer with it to try to show him. “Get it out of my face! Nolan! I’m serious!”

“Alright, alright. Relax, I’m just playing with you. It can’t hurt you, you know.” Nolan soothed, placing the crab down on the sand and gently shooing it away. He knelt down next to John, dusting off the fallen refreshments and placing them back in the cooler. He offered the blonde his hand again, getting him settled back down comfortably in his chair instead of folded up against one arm in terror. “Why so jumpy today, hm? I’d expect you to be out in the water challenging the others to a splash fight or something.”

John glared at him, but scooted over to make room for him on the edge of his lounge chair. As much as he hated to admit it, his boyfriend was right. He found the beach to be a terribly overwhelming environment. He was always grumpy when he was overstimulated, and everything about this place made him uneasy. Not to mention that this was his first time ever actually spending time at the beach. Sure, he’d flown high overhead before, but he’d never actually been to the beach. Truth be told, he didn’t even know how to swim. Vought had never seen it as a priority, and especially not since The Deep joined the team.

“It’s nothing.” he insisted, keeping his eyes on the ground. John hated being in unfamiliar environments, especially ones where he wasn’t in control. Although they were few and far between, this was definitely one of them. He couldn’t look like a fish out of water in front of the others. And especially not in front of Nolan. Showing weakness was still not his forte, even though his lover had made it clear that he loved all of him, even the weaknesses he tried to pretend he didn’t have.

“Johnny. What are you not telling me?” Nolan asked, placing a hand on his lover’s thigh. He reached out with the other to gently grab John’s chin, tilting his face back toward his own so he’d meet his gaze. And damn it, he couldn’t look into those eyes without feeling safe. He knew he could share anything with him. Even the parts of himself that he hated most. Especially those parts.

“I don’t know how to swim,” John found himself blurting out before he could stop himself, “And I’ve never been to the beach before. I don’t know if I like it. It’s… it’s new.”

“Oh, puppy.” Nolan sighed, reaching for John’s hands and lifting them both to his lips to press gentle kisses to the backs of them. “Why didn’t you tell me? I know you’re not fond of new places, but this doesn’t have to be so scary. I’m here with you. You know I’d burn the world before I ever let anything in it hurt you.” he said, and his words were so tender that it made John’s heart ache.

The blonde supe sighed, and leaned forward, burying his face into Nolan’s shoulder. As usual, he was so warm, and he smelled like sandalwood and ocean water. It was John’s favorite scent in the world. “I’m scared.” he mumbled.

“I know. But I’ve got you. Come on. Let’s take a dip, hun.” Nolan encouraged, scooping John up gently into his arms bridal-style, as if he weighed little more than a feather.

“Fine. But if you drop me I’m breaking up with you.” John warned him, folding his arms and looking up at him expectantly.

“Then I guess you’d better hold on tight,” Nolan grinned, and bounded towards the water, causing John to cling to him like a disgruntled cat.

He couldn’t have hidden his smile if he tried.

[yanderepuck]

You Voted. I Wrote It.

And we got smut this time around.

Winning prompt: Him teaching you how to give a blowjob

And the winning guy ended up being Leonardo

"Rub it, cara mia."

Leonardo starts to moan as your hand wraps around the middle of his cock, rubbing it, slightly twisting your wrist.

"Ungh, use both of your hands."

You do as he says and move your hand down to his base and place your other hand in front of the other. You kept doing the same thing, but twisting your hands in the opposite direction.

His moans got deeper. "Now use your tongue. Ungh... right on the tip."

You inch closer and stick your tongue out, licking the tip of his cock like its a lollipop. Dragging it slowly, tasting the precum when you pull your tongue back into your mouth.

"Che brava ragazza~ Keep going."

You keep your hands on his cock rubbing him slowly and lick his tip again, and again, and again. You shuffle on your knees trying to get in a comfortable position, occasionally looking up at him.

Leonardo is leaning back on his hands as he's sitting on his bed. "Go on and take more of me in your mouth."

You were nervous. Yeah you've had sex before, but not orally. Opening your mouth, you lean in, just taking in a little past the tip.

"Ohh. Don't be scared to use your tongue, amore mio."

You start by sucking his tip, getting comfortable with it. Then you swirl your tongue around, licking around the ridge. As his moans get louder you remove one hand and take more of him in.

"Ungh...proprio così, cara mia."

You look up at him, hoping you're doing a good job. It's pure bliss on his face. His cheeks are getting reder, and his moans are getting louder.

After a few moments you take his cock out of your mouth so you can catch your breath. Leonardo let's out a whine

"Noo... Don't stop now."

He looks down at you, his face still red.

"Don't rush into it, cara mia. You can take your time."

His hand combs through your hair, going all the way to the end before placing it on your cheek. His thumb gently rubs your skin.

You let out a soft hum and lick his tip again, going slow, and making eye contact with him. Keeping your eyes locked you put him back in your mouth, slowly bobbing your head.

It took every ounce of self control he has not to have you deep throat him after that look you gave him. He wasn't going to force you down on him. It's your first time doing this after all.

You keep your hand at his base, twisting your wrist while you bob your head

"Ungh.. cara mia, stai andando così bene."

His breath is airy. His hand goes through your hair again, but stops to carcass the back of your head.

"Try taking more of me, bella."

You aren't sure if you can. You have about half of him in your mouth. How are you supposed to take any more of him without gagging?

But you do. You want to do what he says. His cock lays on top of your tongue and take another inch of him.

Your free hand comes up to cup his balls. The little gasp he made let you know that's definitely a thing you should do, so you begin to massage them in your hand.

You've heard different things about it feeling good, but Leonardo must love it.

You get a little excited and your head goes a little too far forward, and triggers your gag reflex. You quickly move your head back and cough.

Leonardo leans forward, putting his hand on your cheek.

"Are you okay, cara mia?"

You use the back of your hand to wipe some drool coming out of the corners of your mouth. You cough a few more times, and just nod your head.

"You did really well."

He smirks.

"But I haven't made you cum yet."

You have planned on keep going, even though you're still making small coughs.

"It's your first time, we don't need to go all the way. Besides, there's other things I want to do to you."

He chuckles and pulls you up to bring you into his lap.

Your eyes go wide, not expecting to be grabbed. His hands go up your thighs, squeezing them.

"Why don't we try something new~"

[whipitgod]

Under Different Circumstances.

Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes

oneshot (?) - wc: 2.2k

summary: Bucky is a live figure model and Steve feels kind of like he might pass out. AU

warnings: not canon compliant, light swearing, allusions to sex, and crack-ish as usual

a/n: you guys voted for artist steve/figure model bucky in the poll so here it is!! i hope this doesn't disappoint cause i struggled a bit with how to end this one. lmk if you want me to write a pt.2 to this with their date! If you like this remember to leave a like/reblog! maybe even follow me :D! Happy reading!!

!!!!REQUESTS ARE OPEN!!!!

The only phrase his mind can seem to supply him is a mortified, oh sweet merciful Jesus. The most attractive man he’s ever seen is standing naked in front of him posed like the Hercules of Farnese statue, and Steve feels like he’s going to pass out. Steve had barely looked up from where he was setting up his art materials when the man had walked in, only looking at him once the instructor had begun introducing him.

The instructor had clapped her hands together, gaining the attention of everyone in the room, “This is James,” she’d motioned to the man standing next to her, “He’s gonna be our live model today.”

The man had smiled at this, waving at all the people sitting behind easels, “Please call me Bucky, you’re all about to see me naked; I think we can move past the formalities.”

Steve thinks he’d heard a few people laugh at the comment but honestly, he's not really sure, way too focused on the man, Bucky, starting to disrobe at the instructors prompting. The blood had immediately rushed from Steve's head down to a lower part of his body making him shift awkwardly, not taking his eyes off where the man was being instructed on how to pose. 

That was over 5 minutes ago, and Steve has yet to do more than draw a rough outline of the pose; Steve knows the man is aware of his struggle too, the asshole had winked at him when he’d caught the blonde staring, mouth slightly agape. Steve had almost flinched at the wink, his gaze immediately shifting to the paper in front of him as his face heated. He can feel how red his face and ears are and he knows Bucky can see it; Steve’s never been the most devout religious person but, in that moment, he sends up a silent plea to whatever higher power there might be to put him out of his misery.

With more strength and determination than he honestly thought he was capable of, Steve focuses on the drawing in front of him, beginning to sketch the hard planes of the man's muscles. Good god what is this guy's workout routine? Steve’s not naive, he knows he’s an attractive guy. He’s put a lot of effort into his body and appearance in general and he knows his build is impressive, but sweet Jesus so is Bucky’s.

Is it weird if I ask him how he’s getting that much muscle definition before I try to sleep with him? The thought causes a quiet chuckle to leave him before he can stop it, the sound cutting through the silence of the room causing a few heads to turn towards him much to Steve's horror. He can feel his face getting hot and resolutely stares at the sketch in front of him; He can feel Bucky staring at him and when Steve chances a glance up from his paper he immediately meets the man’s curious gaze and quickly looks back down.

He’s got to admit, the dark-haired man is a little intimidating, not even just appearance wise. Bucky had been staring at him just about as much as he’d stared at Bucky, with his brows furrowed like he’s trying to figure Steve out. Steve would almost describe the look Bucky was giving him as being resemblant of the kind of look you give someone when they owe you money.

Steve isn’t ashamed to admit that the look is doing nothing to deter his growing attraction to the man in front of him, he’d even go as far to admit that it's making him more attractive. Steve really doesn’t want to think about what being attracted to a man that looks kind of like he wants to punch you means for him from a psychological standpoint; Whatever it means Steve is sure of one thing, and it's that the man has a serious resting bitch face, and it's really doing it for him.

Steve miraculously manages to finish the sketch, only getting sidetracked a few more times as he works. He's broken out of his focus by the sound of the instructor announcing the end of the class and he chooses not to look up when he hears the instructor tell Bucky he can go get dressed, thanking the man for coming. He packs his materials with a practiced efficiency, only stopping when he hears the sound of footsteps approaching his station

Looking up from his bag he’s met with the sight of Bucky smiling down at him, he sucks in a sharp breath as he meets the man's eyes. How is he hotter up close? Steve stares blankly at the man for a moment before standing from where he was crouched putting his stuff away, he makes note of the fact that they are almost the same height; Bucky was probably about an inch or so shorter than him but just as broad. 

The man holds out his hand for Steve to shake and he grabs it hoping that his hands aren’t sweating enough for Bucky to notice, “Hi, you must be Steve?” at Steve’s ensuing confusion he continues on, “I’m a friend of Sam’s”

Steve’s brows furrow deeper at this, “You know Sam?”

“Yeah, he’s actually the one who told me I should do this. He’s always trying to get me to step out of my comfort zone.”

Yeah, out of his comfort zone and into Steve’s apparently. Steve feels his eye twitch slightly; he’s going to kill Sam, “Oh yeah? Given that you recognized me, I assume Sam told you about me? All good things I hope.” 

Bucky gives him another smile at this that Steve can't help but return, the man's smile doing weird things to the blonde's stomach, “All good things. He honestly didn’t say much about you, just that he had a friend named Steve that took the class.”

Steve lets a breath he wasn't aware he was holding at Bucky’s response, but his relief is only short lived because apparently the man wasn't done, “He also told me that you would be the blonde one that was and i quote, ‘built like a brick shithouse’,” Bucky stops for a moment, eyes trailing up and down Steve's body before landing back on his face, a teasing smile forming on his face, “and I gotta say, he wasn’t lying.”

The man is confident, almost bordering on cocky, but Steve reasons that the confidence is justified. Most of the time Steve would say that an attitude like the one Bucky has meant that a man was overcompensating but Steve had just stared at Bucky in all his nude glory for close to an hour and he can confirm that there is no overcompensating happening here. Yeah, he looked, he’s not ashamed to admit it; it was kind of hard not to when he had to draw it. 

Steve's mouth feels dry as he chokes out a thank you and Steve’s floundering only serves to embolden Bucky, the man’s teasing grin stretching even further and a soft sound akin to a laugh leaving him. Steve manages to regain his footing a bit, he squares his shoulders and decides that two can play this game. He wants to flirt? I’ll show him flirting, I'm gonna flirt so hard it knocks him on his ass, “I wish Sam had told me about you, I would’ve loved to see you naked for the first time under different circumstances.” 

The words shock Steve a little bit as they leave him, dear god reel it in Steve. He’ll be the first to admit that he might’ve taken it a bit far, he just met the guy and he’s probably actively scaring him off. Much to Steve's delight and surprise Bucky lets out a sharp bark of laughter at the words, shaking his head slightly, a wide smile taking over his features once more.

The dark-haired man digs in his pocket, pulling out his phone and unlocking it before handing it to Steve, “I would love to explore what these ‘different circumstances’ entail,” Steve begins typing his number into the blank contact Bucky had pulled up, “But right now I have to run, I’m meeting my sister for lunch.”

Steve hands the man his phone back and he sees Bucky set the contact's name to ‘brick shithouse’ and he has to bite back the laugh that threatens to escape him at this, “Well how about you text me later and we can set something up?”

“Oh definitely,” Bucky’s eyes trail up and down Steve's body for what feels like the hundredth time before continuing, “I’d be crazy not to.”

Steve lets out a laugh that’s honestly more of a giggle that makes Bucky’s smile even wider; Steve’s never been this humiliated and turned on at the same time, it's a little bit startling.

“It was nice to meet you, Steve.” The man starts walking away before Steve can even begin to form a response, and he stands motionless watching Bucky’s retreating form.

As soon as the man is out of the room Steve is fumbling for his phone, pulling it out and immediately clicking on his best friend’s contact. The phone only rings a few times before Sam picks up, “Hey what's up ma-”

“I want you dead.” Steve cuts off the other man's greeting in a sharp tone as he picks up his bag of art supplies.

“Good afternoon to you too, I assume you met Bucky.” Steve can hear the smirk in Sam’s voice, and it makes him falter for a second.

He gathers himself after a second of silence, “Oh my god! You planned this!”

“You can’t prove that.”

“Cut the shit Sam.”

A quiet chuckle echoes through the phone, “and if I did? You kept complaining about being single and I got sick of hearing it all the time.”

“It's not right to spring this kind of thing on me! I need at least forty-eight hours to emotionally prepare for a situation like that.”

“I’m sure it was fine, you are a frustratingly attractive dude, it's kind of hard for you to scare someone off.”

Steve breathes a laugh at this, “Aw Sam, do you have something you want to confess to me?”

“Oh yeah man, I'm sorry you had to find out about my undying love for you this way.” The words come through the phone in a sarcastic deadpan that has Steve letting out a laugh that's more of a cackle than anything, “So how did it go?”

“It went good, I stared at his dick for an hour and then all but asked him to bend over.”

Steve hears Sam choke at this, and the sound of a cup being set down aggressively followed by coughing as Sam recovers from the statement. Sam takes a second to regain his composure while Steve laughs at him, “Jesus Christ man.”

I’m kidding,” a brief pause, “kind of. I did stare at his dick, and I did say that I wanted to see him naked under different circumstances.”

Sam is quiet for a moment before responding with a pained sounding, “I’m happy for you.”

Steve laughs harder at this, catching his breath slightly he pushes on, “I think we’re gonna meet up later,” he stops for a second, what can only be described as a shit-eating grin forms on his face, “Hey, do you know if Bucky’s a top or a bottom? I don’t really care either way, I just want to know what I should prepare for. He kind of gave of top vibes but I could picture him bending o-”

“I’m hanging up now.” 

Steve hears the beeping that comes when you end a call and pulls his phone away from his face, he laughs so hard his sides start to hurt, a few tears escape, and he wipes at them. As grateful as Steve is that Sam orchestrated him meeting Bucky, He’s still a little bit bitter over the lack of warning and he intends on making Sam suffer a bit. He sends a text to Sam that reads ‘Jockstrap or no jockstrap?” Sam only sends a thumbs down emoji in response and Steve fights the urge to break down into another laughing fit. 

His phone beeps with a text from an unknown number, the text reads, ‘Hey it’s the guy who’s junk you stared at for an hour, we kind of went about this backwards. Dinner tonight? I can pick you up at 7.” the phrasing of the first part making Steve’s shoulders shake with silent laughter; How romantic.

Steve stares at the text for a minute before responding, ‘7 is perfect, can’t wait!’ The message was initially typed with at least six exclamation points before Steve had thought better of it, he sent another text with his address before closing his phone and letting out a squeal that if asked about he would deny. His head snaps up at the sound of someone clearing their throat, and Steve is mortified to find the instructor standing a few feet away from him with curious eyes.

Steve huffs a nervous breath, “Oh hey, didn’t see you there.”

“Are you alright?”

“Oh, I'm great.”

[veniteme]

Hunting for Gems

episode 5 part 2

ash island x reader

prev |

When Ash Island is forced to participate as a producer for the latest season of Show Me the Money, he knows it won’t be easy. But when his partner is you, a rising producer from H1GHR, maybe it won’t be as bad as he thought.

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

Show Me the Money X Episode 5 - Producer Live Performances

The moment you've all been waiting for! Our producers have been rehearsing non-stop for their live performances.

This is their last chance to appeal to the contestants before team selections begin. Since our producers are usually the ones doing the judging, tonight they will be the judged! Before leaving tonight, all audience members will rank the producers from best to worst performance. Higher ranking producer teams will receive a special advantage in the next round!

What are your expectations coming into this round?

Saf: Honestly, they're not high. I'm not too well-known as a producer yet, so I'm not sure we'll be getting many votes. The other producers are legends, household names. I'd probably vote for them, too. But we're not too worried about our placement.

Ash Island: If our team is good, they should be able to win with or without any advantages. What matters is we're performing and putting out music that we like.

Saf: Yeah, we're really excited for everyone to see what we've been working on.

-----

As you and Ash take your spots on the darkened stage, you take a deep breath. This is your first time singing for such a large crowd. And it's going to air on national television. No big deal.

You close your eyes and calm your shaky hands. This is what you've been working toward for weeks. It's just you and these songs you know inside and out.

You open your eyes, and the music starts playing.

-----

Changmo, Hash Swan, and Leellamarz all sit in slack-jawed silence as the final notes play.

"I know," Ash says with a smug smile. "She's good right?"

"This was her first time singing?" Leella asks in bewilderment.

"Yeah, you would not believe how hard I had to work to convince her to do this," Ash tells him.

"And you've been hiding her from me this whole time?" Changmo exclaims. "She would've been perfect for my last single!"

Ash frowns, not liking the thought of your first song being with Changmo instead him. "She would've-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Hash Swan interrupts, leaning toward the screen. "What is that?"

-----

Still on the adrenaline rush from performing, you stretch your arms out to Ash for a hug as the crowd continues to cheer all around you.

Wrapping his arms around you, he leans his head in to whisper in your ear, struggling to be heard over the crowd.

When you throw your head back in laughter, you notice his arms tighten around you, not letting you get away from him just yet.

-----

"You ever see him smile like that before?"

"Nope."

"Definitely not when he hugs me during a concert, that's for sure."

Ash just stares at them doubtfully as they talk about him like he's not even there. Until your laughter on screen catches his attention.

"Oh, yeah. He's got it bad."

-----

What did you say to Saf at the end of the performance?

Ash Island: I told her she did a great job, of course.

Saf: He also said maybe one day I'll be as good as him. Please, which one of us was getting all nervous when they put their arm around me during that last chorus?

-----

Thank you to all the producer teams for putting together such phenomenal performances! The results are in, and we will now reveal how the audience ranked our teams.

Ash Island: We don't really care about how we ranked against the other teams. We're satisfied with our own performance, and that's enough for me.

Saf: He says that but then secretly hopes to win. He'll go home and pout about it later.

"In fourth place, ranked last by our audience with a total of 52 points, we have..."

You close your eyes, bracing yourself to hear your team called.

Your eyes go wide as another team is called, and you look to Ash with surprise.

He scoffs, "Please, have some self-respect. You did way too good for us to rank fourth."

Your heart warms at his words. His face is all confidence as he reassures you.

The MC starts up again. "And in third, gathering 127 points, we have..."

You're not even nervous this time, since you're almost certain your name will be called.

And your jaw drops when it isn't. "We're in the top two?" you ask Ash in shock. You honestly can't believe it. You grasp his hand in yours as you wait for the next announcement.

"We will now reveal the second place team. Receiving 239 points, we have..."

You close your eyes and give Ash's hand a squeeze.

Contestant 1: It was almost unfair, letting Saf sing. I don't think anyone was expecting it.

Contestant 2: Ash Island was too good. His performance, his gestures, diction, flow just exude hip hop.

Contestant 3: That was a new song they performed wasn't it? I really liked it. I think the appeal of their team would be being able to make music like that with them.

-----

You allow yourself another leap of joy as you and Ash exit the Mnet building for the day. "I can't believe we won!"

"We didn't win," Ash reminds you. "We got second."

"We were in the top 2! That's a win to me," you defend.

Ash lets out a sigh but can't stop the smile from creeping into his expression. "Okay, you're right. Let's go eat to celebrate. On me," he offers.

Your eyebrows raise, "Right now?" Filming had run pretty long so it was already late at night.

"Yes, we've been on set all day. I'm starving. And you only performed to appease my begging, so it's my treat."

It had been a long day, and you should eat before heading home. "Alright, let's go," you agree.

Ash has a big grin on his face as he puts his arm around you and leads the way.

[damagedintellect]

Craig Tucker x Fem!reader

💌 Craig Tucker is a mother fucker: Chapter 1  ���  

Summary:  You want to say that it wasn't your fault buuuuuut it kinda was. You didn't think much of it as you casted your joke vote for the "Hottest guy in school" and in hindsight you should never listen to Clyde but it was pretty funny at the time. Craig just wanted a peaceful junior year and you can't blame him for that however waking up the morning after a party, in his bed, being told that you two were dating wasn't exactly your definition of peaceful either.

Notes:  I was always too scared of the fandom to post it back in the day but I wrote this before Creek was made canon so let's just say Craig is bi for my sake because I've had a huge crush on him since forever. My S/O pointed out that Craig is just Trafalgar Law but with a guinea pig instead of a polar bear and I haven't been the same since I have a type and it's them.

💌 Word count: 3,043 💌  You Are Here | Chapter 2 =>

You look in the mirror and stare at yourself for a little bit, Today was the first day of the new school year. You had moved to South Park in the middle of your Sophomore year and needless to say that moving in the middle of the year is just plain weird. At that point in the year everyone in the school has already known each other for a while and have already formed their friend groups and at first you had a rough start making friends, but eventually you made a few good ones. You perk up when your phone rang scrambling to answer it "Hey, we're outside" Wendy said, you could also hear Bebe in the background shouting "Get that ass in the car!" you smiled as you hung up on them and rushed outside, you were excited. You could feel it, today was going to be a great day.

Today is not going to be a great day.

Wendy and Bebe lied. They said that they were picking you up early to go eat breakfast somewhere but you noticed Wendy drove straight to the school. You had questioned where they were taking you and they didn't say anything. Instead of breakfast they took you to the sunshine sparkle girls club meeting or whatever the fuck they called it.

"Why are we here" you huffed as the rest of the girls showed up to the meeting. Last year they tried to get you to join but you turned them down. "(Y/n) almost every girl in our grade level is apart of the committee." Wendy chimed in as she handed you a paper and motioned for you to sit down. "Yeah, but why do I have too and what's up with the paper?" You sat next to Bebe who was giggling at your defiance "If you're not apart of the committee people write you off as a two faced bitch. Trust me it's better if you join and just become a partially active member."

"Honestly, most of the members only participate in the first meeting which is fine because it's the most important one." Wendy walked up to the podium "Today we decide who the hottest boys in school are!"

You stared at your paper and swore under your breath "Fuck" the entire meeting was basically suggesting that you go about the first day as you would any other day but the moment a guy catches your eye you should write that name down. Most of the girls managed to turn in their votes immediately. Wendy said that you could write your crushes name down but you have until the end of the day to change your mind. Now it's not like you don't have a crush, you do, but you haven't told anyone who they are because well,

"Wendy who did you vote for" you heard some girl ask "I bet she voted for Stan she always votes for him every year." another rang and Wendy blushes "We're voting for the hottest guy in the school my crush on Stan has nothing to do with it."

And there it was, your best friend had a crush on the same guy you did.

Stanley Marsh

It's hard to explain but every time he's around, you get butterflies. You had a few classes with him last year and he seemed pretty cool even though you only talked with him a few times. Stan was the one who gave you your welcome to South Park High tour and if it wasn't for him you would have fell down the stairs but he caught you just in time. Thinking back that's probably when you fell for him, pun intended, and since then you've just admired him from afar. Getting up from your seat you fold the paper and pocketed it. You have until the end of the day to decide whether you were going to out yourself or not and worse case scenario you leave it blank. "So who'd you vote for?" Bebe asked as she walked back from turning hers in "Honestly I'm going to scout out the hotties, walk among them, become one of them."

"You have no idea who to vote for do you."

"Not a clue"

The bell rang and everyone made their way to their first class. Bebe walked with you for a little while but you didn't have the same class. You picked a random seat in the back not really paying too much attention to who was in your class. You spaced out for most of the class anyways. You guess you could always just vote for one of your friends but you wouldn't want anyone to get the wrong idea. According to Bebe the student body really liked their rumors and so far you feel like you've been pretty good with laying low. At least you haven't heard many but then again maybe you just weren't paying attention.

Mr. Garrison called on you and you didn't even notice until you felt a tap on your shoulder "Uh (L/n)?" A familiar monotone voice brought you back to reality "Hmm?" it was Tucker, Craig Tucker. You raised your eyebrows causing him to gesture towards the front at Mr. Garrison, who was waiting for you to read the next paragraph. You quickly apologized and continued where they had left off. As soon as you were done you turned to Tucker and mouthed a "Thank you" but he only stared at you with a blank expression "Yeah well maybe pay attention next time dumbass" he whispered flipping you off. "Tch well fuck you too" you whispered back using both hands to do the same. God Tucker always gets on your nerves, it might be a new year but it feels like the same old shit.

When you first moved here, you and Tucker got off on the wrong foot. You're not even quite sure why, but it did escalate to a fist fight. That was some time ago at this point and a lot has happened since then, coincidentally you ended up in the same friend group. However anytime you two were left alone you'd still butt heads. Honestly you wish you could remember what started it all but from that time last year you both couldn't stand each other.

As if you weren't already having a hard time, for the rest of the class you couldn't focus. You glared at Tucker waiting for class to end so you could bolt. He noticed you staring and stuck his tongue at you. You grit your teeth only staring back at him. As soon as the bell rang you took off to your next class.

"(Y/n)" you hear someone behind you call out to you but you were walking pretty fast.

You couldn't tell whose voice it was so you turned around and ended up crashing into someone. You felt an arm wrap around your waist as they caught you right before you hit the floor. Your eyes widen and your posture stiffens "Hey are you okay (Y/n)?" It was Stan and he was holding you.

Your hero.

You really tried to keep it together but end up stuttering "T-t-thanks to you I'm f-fine." He helped you upright as you continued "As always your reaction time is impeccable." He smiled and scratched the back of his neck "Hehe you think?" you both stare at each other laughing a bit before you both went quiet. You should say something but your mind goes blank when he smiles at you "Well anyways we probably should get to class. It was nice seeing you." You waved him off. You feel like an idiot and yup there were the butterflies. You lightly slap your cheeks and continue going to class.

You heard your name once more but you were lost in thought looking at the floor. You felt an arm around your shoulders and you were met with a bubbly voice "Oooooo, I saw that! So are you going to vote for Stan? He's been number 1 for a while." It was Bebe but not too far behind her were Clyde and Tucker as you walked into your next class. You shake your head as all four of you sat at the same table. If you did vote for Stan, Wendy would probably flip out. She's pretty compulsive when it's about Stan. "Or and this is a pretty big or, why don't you just vote for your crush." Bebe said wiggling her eyebrows at you "And up the chance they find out, sounds like social suicide to me. Hard pass."

"Wait (Y/n) you haven't voted yet!" Clyde said as he smiled in anticipation "Nope" you shook your head "Since I came in the middle of last year I wasn't aware this was going to be a thing."

Clyde stands up slamming his hands on the table "Ooo GIVE ME YOUR VOTE!!" everyone in the class turned to look at Clyde and he sheepishly smiled. You and Bebe laughed at him with how desperate he sounded "Okay, okay calm down. I was going to leave it blank but I'll vote for you." He waved you off "No not like that I mean I want to vote for someone." He grinned while Bebe gasped "WHAT? Clyde Donovan not voting for himself. Who are you and what have you done with Clyde." You both laughed as the teacher started class. It was "Life skills" which mean it was a fancy version of home ect.

The usual first day back icebreakers followed by a small overview of the class. It was mostly going to be a lot of group work and projects with the people at your table. All your classes were short because it was the first day so class went by fast. The bell rang before you knew it and you all parted ways. Or so you thought you noticed that Tucker was walking in the same direction as you. You rolled your eyes "Oh joy" you said to no one in particular as you both walked into the same classroom. He took a seat all the way in the back which you did the same only a few rows away since most of the seats were already taken. You could see Wendy from where you were sitting and you almost got up to greet her before you noticed that Stan was sitting next to her. They looked like they were really good friends, you didn't want to intrude. You frowned and rested your head on your hand. Now you just want class to be over.

Through most of the class you were just fiddling with your pencil to pass the time that's when a note landed on your desk. You opened it to see it was a drawing of a small Tucker flipping you off saying "I thought I told you to pay attention!" you couldn't help but laugh as you drew over his drawing adding in a mustache and devil horns making another speech bubble that read

"Since when could you draw?!"

Yes, you know that it's grammatically incorrect to use both punctuation marks but you didn't care. You waited for an opportunity where your teacher was facing the board and threw your reply back. You watched him open it and saw him smirk as he drew something else on the note. This was pretty much how you both spent the rest of the class scribbling doodles to each other and making snide remarks. When the bell rang you thought about trying to talk to Stan again. You looked to the front of the class to see Wendy and Stan laughing as Stan offers to hold her things while they go off to lunch. It doesn't seem like you had a chance at all they've known each other for so long and you barely even talk. A hand waves in and out of your vision "You really need to stop zoning out, you're in the way." You snapped out of it and slapped his hand "In the way my ass, you could have walked around me." you both walked to the cafeteria. Not together you both just so happened to be walking to the same place at the same time.

As you approached the usual table you were greeted by Tweek and Token who didn't miss a beat to point out the obvious. "Whoa Tweek are you seeing what I'm seeing." Tweek nodded "I-i-it's very rare to see them AH together."

"And not at each other's throats." They both gasped "Could this the start of-" Craig narrows his eyes at them flipping Tweek off and interrupting Token "Oh fuck off. I don't have a choice she's been in all my classes so far." Token laughed and nudged him playfully "I don't know there's a lot of rumors about you two."

"P-p-people think you two are-AH-dating." You start choking as Clyde and Bebe joined the party "Yeah I'm surprised you guys didn't hear about it until now." Clyde said sitting down next to Craig who rolled his eyes "No I've heard the rumors. They're annoying." He glares at you "As if I'd ever date an idiot like her."

You stick your tongue out at him "I haven't heard any, so pray tell what are they" You thought you did well laying low. Bebe laughs at you hugging you while petting your hair. "Poor (Y/n) so oblivious when it comes to herself." you tried to push her away but she hugged you tighter "It was around the end of the year when you and Craig had that big fist fight." You stopped her right there "Best day of my life, what about it." you will never forget the day you got to punch Tucker in the face.

Craig was fed up he clenched his fist and slammed it on the table "Tch, You know what? I'm out of here. I can't stand her." He left flipping everyone off. As you all watched him leave Bebe hit your shoulder "Ow, hey he can't complain about that day! He was the one who started it, may I me remind you he hit me first!" you defended yourself "Anyways that was when they started. If you haven't noticed Craig doesn't have any interest in girls." Clyde added and the rest of the table agreed "He doesn't give any other girls the time of day so naturally people would think he has a thing for you with all the attention he gives you." Token said as Clyde nods "He does treat you special comparatively. I mean I wouldn't doubt if he did."

"H-he's not good with ACK expressing his feelings." you rolled your eyes "Yeah yeah or he could actually hate my guts but whatever I don't really care." you rubbed your temples "Could we change the subject already." Bebe perked up "We could always talk about who you're gonna vote for!" why, why you.

Eventually Lunch was over and you continued with the rest of your day. You did notice that Tucker was in some of your next classes but you made it a point to ignore him. At least as much as you could anyway and before you knew it, it was already the end of the day. He wasn't in your last class so that was a plus. You slowly got up from your seat looking at the blank paper, should you just turn it in anyways? You sighed about to write a name down when you heard footsteps from outside the room.

"(Y/N)!! Oh thank god you haven't left yet!" Clyde appeared in the doorway as the rest of your classmates were leaving the room he was panting pretty heavily "I.....oh god I'm out of shape.....give me a minute." he tried to catch his breath and you pat his back "I would have been here sooner but I had to lose Craig he can't know about this. Do you still have your vote please please PLEASE tell me you do." you laughed at him "Seriously this is what you're so worked up about? You can take it." you handed it over to Clyde who scribbled down a name. You leaned over to see who he was writing. You both smirked "Oh I see. So that's why you wanted it so badly." Clyde gave you a thumbs up "I'm not saying I'm rigging this years list but I've pretty much been doing this all day." he helped you gather your things "Do you know how hard it is to not have Craig around?! Pretty fucken hard like god damn man he shows up out of nowhere!" you walk out of the room with Clyde and almost on cue you see Tucker approach. You clutch the note "My lips are sealed but I do have to turn this in now." you waved them goodbye and made your way to the committee's secret not so secret base.

When you arrived Wendy looked frantic probably from trying to tally up all the votes. You knocked on the door frame to get her attention. She looked up at you with the biggest sigh of relief "Are you turning in your vote?" you handed her the paper "Yup but, are you okay you look a bit shaken up?" you were concerned you've never seen her like this before. "Well right now we currently have a tie for THE hottest guy and everyone else has already turned in their votes. I'm glad there was one left."

"I'm the literal last vote? I feel oddly special." Wendy looked down at the paper and back to you then back at the paper and back to you. "A-are, are you sure this is who you're voting for? I mean this helps but I thought you-" you cut her off, you know how this must look but at this point you didn't care. "Don't ask I've had a time, but yes I'm sure that's my vote." quite frankly you thought Wendy was going to keel over she looked kind of pale. "Wendy are you sure you're okay?" She gave you a forced smile.

"I'm fine. If anything you broke the tie."

[cadybear420]

I'm not sure if this is a popular opinion or not, but I feel that Zoe's redemption arc in HSS book 3 was really...I don't know, rushed? I'm saying this because even in the beginning of the book she was really bitchy to MC & Co. , and showed no signs that she was genuinely trying to be a better person, and then at the baseball game when Brian tried to hurt Myra, she just did a 180 degree arc?

Don't get me wrong, I liked that we get to see a redemption for her, especially if you play the truth or dare game and even later on she doesn't exactly become buddy-buddy with MC, but rather focuses on improving herself as a person, but I feel it's a rushed edition to the book.

Send me unpopular or popular opinions about anything Choices and/or HSS related, and I will rate them on the aforementioned scale and elaborate if possible

My Rating of this opinion:

strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

My Elaboration below:

I'd say I mostly disagree, but I do also see where you're coming from and I have thought about this before. Through most of Book 3, she is still pretty antagonistic towards MC and friends. I haven't done the cheer route in Book 3 yet, so there could be some character details that I'm missing, but it's also probably safe to assume that she's in a similar boat as Max, Brian, and Terrence.

I think I would say that it is a little bit rushed, but it's not out-of-place or out-of-nowhere.

To start, Brian's continuous hitting on Myra is by no means arbitrary. Early on in Book 3, he shows a pretty clear resentment for Zoe having moved on with a new boyfriend Terrence. Brian is established as a womanizer, he brags about going after multiple girls and even hits on a few other girls like Sydney. But eventually he persists on Myra. Why persist on her? Quite simply, Myra, like Terrence, is a band kid.

I bring all this up because Brian was definitely targeting Zoe with his behaviors to Myra. And there's no way Zoe didn't pick up on that. It's at least very likely that that motivated her to stand up against Brian.

I think it's also worth noting that while Zoe is still antagonistic to people like MC and Maria, throughout Book 3 she seems to have more or less moved on from both Caleb and Brian. Even when they're on the prom committee together, she more or less leaves Caleb alone. She doesn't try to spite either of them like Brian was doing to her, nor does she try to win either of them back or asskiss them like she did to Caleb in Book 1. She's got a new boyfriend now. She moves on, but Brian does not.

Not only that, but there's a significant difference between how Caleb and Brian react towards her behaviors as well. When Caleb gets cheated on by Zoe, he's angry at her for it and rightfully calls her out, but in the end he ultimately moves on and doesn't try to get back at her. When Brian gets cheated on by Zoe, he retaliates by spending weeks on end trying to spite her... which pretty much counts as indirectly bullying her.

Basically, Brian's choice to continously purposefully target Zoe over the Book 1 cheating fiasco even after she's moved on from all of it, could have very well been a driving force in her choice to stand up against him and start improving herself.

I think the other big reason why it didn't feel too rushed to me is, like you said, the fact that she simply starts to improve herself. As opposed to just suddenly "turning good". At prom when she warns MC about Max and Kara trying to scare people away from voting them for prom, she says something like "I really am trying to be a better person".

In that sense, I'd even argue Zoe's arc is less so a "redemption" and moreso an "atonement", or at least the beginning of an atonement– although Caleb does forgive her out of having realized all the problems with their relationship and having moved on from her, the narrative still treats her as someone who needs to work on improving herself and is set on that path.

[creative-hell]

         Amid the hustle and bustling of folks trying to get their fix of booze and buzzes before he’d close up shop early to usher in the new year, Diluc had to admit he was damn near at his wits end. 

         Now he loved his job at the tavern for the most part. Really. He loved hearing the clink of glasses as he worked, the sounds of a good pour and how fun the mixing process itself could be. Even if dealing with drunks and fools would prove be quite the annoying affair, time and again. Not to mention a particularly heavy rush of people clamoring for a drink never failed to drive him mad, even at the best of times.

         And if it wasn’t having to make order after order for people with dwindling coherence that really got to him, it was the loud swarm of voices ringing in his ears. Incessantly. All-consuming. Boring right into his ears and brain like a hammered nail, no matter the good humor of the tavern goers or himself. 

         Yeah, no—it was definitely that. He could never handle such raucousness all that well, after all.

         A part of him wished he hadn’t decided to give Charles the night off to be with his family. The man really helped on days like this, where the tavern would find herself chock full of chatting folks abuzz with excitement and booze alike. When Diluc was seriously starting to feel overwhelmed, lack of sleep and social battery-influenced and all. He wouldn’t dare send for him  now, of course, but at this rate…

         Diluc's eyes scrunched shut as he shook his head.

         No, he’ll hold out until closing. Just an hour or so more. He could do this. Even if he did feel himself seriously wearing thin-

         “Move over.”

         Diluc blinked then frowned, dazed gaze fixing into a glare as it settled upon Kaeya leaning against the bar. “What?”

         Kaeya gave him a bit of a lopsided grin before scoffing lightly and nodding at him.

         “You heard me,” he chided. Leaning a little closer, fingers drumming atop the counter. “Now go on—move over.”

         Diluc felt his eye twitch at that.

         An order given, eye glinting with...something—mirth? Mischief? Whatever it was, Diluc didn’t think he had the emotional capacity to try and figure it out in the moment. Not unless he wanted to fray his patience any more than it already was. Because Kaeya honestly had the worst timing to try and pull any of his usual antics right now-

         “No.” Ideally, that would be enough to get his point across. It certainly would with everyone else. But when it came to this guy—

         Kaeya sighed, feigning heavy remorse as he shrugged. “Oh well. I just didn’t want to risk hitting you.”

         —of course he’d do as he pleased anyways. 

         Diluc could scarcely get out a sharp, “Don't you dare,” before Kaeya had placed a hand on the counter and nimbly leapt over it. Utterly fumbling the landing, considering the drinks he's had earlier.

         Diluc immediately put an arm out, swiftly wrapping it around the man’s midsection and tugging him back to prevent the tipsy Captain from planting facefirst into the cabinet or any of the barrels. 

         Seriously, pulling a stunt like that right now—

         “Are you fucking insane?” Diluc hissed, grimacing as a drunken cacophony rose behind them due to Kaeya’s antics. A tinkling bell of laughter spilled from Kaeya’s lips in response as Diluc pulled him further away from the wood. “You could have gone around, if you were so set on it!”

         “Now where’s the fun in that?” Kaeya teased, patting his arm. “I knew you had me.”

         Diluc stiffened and swiftly let go, folding his arms around his chest as he threw Kaeya a withering glare.

         “Thanks for the vote in confidence,” he said flatly.

         “You're welcome,” Kaeya cheekily replied on turn.

         Diluc's hand moved to pinch the bridge of his nose. Seriously...why did he have to start acting up now- “Glad that's sorted. Now go back over there.”

         Kaeya’s grin dampened a slight, just for a moment, before he shook his head. “I’m here to help.”

         “Don’t need it,” Diluc reflexively said. Then paused, blinking as Kaeya’s words caught up with him. “Wait–what?”

         Kaeya huffed, dodging the question in turning his attention to Nimrod as he walked up. Well. Stumbled, more like, Diluc couldn't help noting, with certain distaste.

         “Well, well,” Kaeya crooned, leaning up on the counter with his ever debonair smile. “Here for your final drink, Nimrod?”

         The man huffed. “Aw, come on now, I’m not done yet!”

         Were it up to me, your last would have been two drinks ago, Diluc internally grumbled. He opened his mouth, but Kaeya swiftly beat him to the punch.

         “Now, now—this’ll be your fourth glass of dandelion wine,” Kaeya told him, tone sickly sweet like he were scolding a child. “What would Eury think if she knew?”

         Nimrod’s mouth dropped open, as he flushed. “I—well...!“

         Kaeya hummed indulgently. “Now, between us—if you want to sober up enough before you get home to the Missus, I’d recommend you just pay up the tab and head on home. Get some fresh air to clear your mind? But considering today’s auspicious nature, well…I’m sure we can let one more slide. Yeah?” 

         Nimrod blinked blearily.

         Diluc stared near as blankly as Kaeya tutted, eyes crinkling up endearingly. “Ah, apologies; rather long-winded, was it?” 

         Nimrod nodded.

         Kaeya hummed, as though mulling over a solution. Damn well already having three the moment the man walked up, Diluc reckoned- “Tell you what, head home to dear Eury now, and I’ll treat you to your next round next time we meet, yeah?”

         Nimrod dully mulled it over then his eyes widened. Shaking his head, chuckles spilled forth from his lips. “Well, I can’t say no to drinks with the Captain!”

         Kaeya beamed. “Splendid! Master Diluc, his tab if you would?” At the lack of response or reaction, Kaeya clicked his tongue and grabbed the notebook himself.

         Diluc let him, silently watching as they settled accounts, Nimrod fumbling for the Mora and leaving it on the counter before he’d stumble off with loud goodbyes.

         “Hm, maybe he needed an escort,” Kaeya mused, more to himself than anyone else as the door slammed shut. He swept the hearty tip the man left into the box below the counter, then paused and looked back over at him at last. “What? Cat got your tongue?”

         Diluc jolted, shaking his head to dash off the stunned daze. 

         “Kaeya, what are you doing?”

         The man had the nerve to offer an innocent look at that. “Well, what does it look like?” Bruce stumbled forward. Kaeya immediately flashed the man a winning smile and knelt, retrieving a bottle of dandelion wine. "Look, I know–ah, grab me some sweet berry juice and mint please–how to play barkeep too, y'know?”

         He was aware. Father had trained them both around the same time, up until his death. Still regardless of that fact—

         “But why?”

         Questioning yet, Diluc still moved to complete Kaeya’s request. 

         Kaeya hummed as he mixed the drink, swiftly and efficiently, before placing the finished cocktail on the counter. He gently pat Bruce’s flushed face before sending him off with a wink ( ugh, blink and coy little tip of his head, more like, all things considered ), and at last turning back to Diluc.

         He hesitated.

         "Why do you want to help all of a sudden?" Diluc asked again.

         Kaeya's elbows settled on the counter-top as he rested against it. Lips pressed into a fine line as he looked over at the tavern's patrons. Staying silent a moment, two, then ultimately shrugging.

         “You just seemed like you needed a hand,” he answered simply.

         Diluc blinked, eyes widening in surprise. Then brows furrowing not long after.

         That...was that it?

         He eyed the other, searching Kaeya's steady expression for any sort of ulterior motive or trick. Even as that statement had admittedly sparked certain warmth in his chest, perhaps even a bit of relief too, in spite of himself. "...really?"

         And yet almost as soon as he'd asked—perhaps a little too swiftly after the fact—a coy grin tugged at Kaeya’s lips.

         "Alright, alright, I’ll admit it," he said, raising his arms. "It’s not like I’m planning doing it for free, anyways.”

         There it was.

         Diluc must have made quite the face at that; no sooner, and Kaeya wound up bursting out in laughter. Which only burned at his patience and composure all the more-

         “Only a bottle!” Kaeya wheezed, waving his hand a little. “Only a bottle, that’s all I ask, I promse–”

         “You’re asking too damn much,” Diluc retorted, turning to greet José as he sauntered up.

         Kaeya snickered as he pushed off to grab more wine, fruits, and wolfhook juice. “Ah, But that’s not a no, Master Diluc~“

         ...alright, so it really wasn’t.

         And by all means he should say no. Should keep Kaeya out of his space and make the man mind his own business. To let Kaeya continue to nurse that Death After Noon like he had been for the past hour ( what was up with that? He never let the drink sit that long unless he was truly lost in thought or otherwise worried about something- ). And yet now…

         Kaeya's lip jutted out in a childish pout.

         Diluc eyed him, then gave a long-suffering sigh and rolled his eyes as José chuckled. “One glass of wine.” Kaeya brightened up. “And that’s final. You hear me?”

         Now, it would appear to be yet another instance of Diluc letting Kaeya do as he damn pleased in the end anyway, as he always had when they were children. As he still did a little too often nowadays, even if it meant his own patience would be worn to a thread and the festering, resentful emotions left buried in his chest would wind up dredging back up within moments of the other opening his mouth. Letting Kaeya poke and prod and taunt, snipping and shoving back in kind, until they both had enough. Until someone really bit back, and the distance between them had grown again as they went off to lick their respective wounds. Knowingly letting it happen each and every time, without even a glimmer of hope it'd turn out any different; this damned little game of give and take they’d started the moment they’d begun to speak again.

         Again. And again. And again—

         Diluc shook his head to dash the thought, holding his hand out for the bottle. “Just don’t mess me up. You hear me?”

         Kaeya scoffed and grinned, handing it over. “Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it.”

         Contrary to Diluc’s concern, they had only awkwardly stumbled around each other for two orders. Two orders, before they’d fallen back into an all-too familiar pattern they hadn’t enacted in damn near half a decade.

         A comfortable pattern, where Kaeya was his staunch support, moving in such perfect tandem with him, almost as though he were only an extension of Diluc’s self, rather than his own person. No words needed, no looks nor gestures made. Simply action matching and complementing action; two cogs in a well-oiled machine. 

         Drinks flew from the bar faster than they had in the past hour, leaving ample space to relax in between each surge of patrons looking to get their fix or paying their due amounts and heading off on their way. Leaving Diluc plenty of time to mull through his thoughts on all this, now that his brain was thankfully not about three seconds away from melting out his ears.

         To think he and Kaeya would still work so well, after so long. After the stark changes each of them had gone through, their current…situation, considering.

         Honestly the fact that Kaeya was still willing to to help him after everything, to just STAY with him now, was nothing short of strange to Diluc. Not to mention the fact that he’d noticed his distress, even when he made sure to school his features to their usual stoicism, and chosen to act in helping with it, rather than poke the bear like he otherwise would nowadays.

         It was a welcome surprise, sure, but more than ever...well, Diluc couldn’t understand just what Kaeya wanted out of it.

         He’d wanted his drink, he’d said that much aloud—but things were never so simple with this new Kaeya.

         Diluc knew this well, having watched the man gather his intel and talk with others, in the tavern, and out in the city. Even the rare occasions when he'd drop by the Knights HQ to personally deliver something for Jean.

         This new Kaeya was cunning, eye almost always gleaming with interest and mirth, and sharp as a falcon looking for its prey. This new Kaeya wrapped his intentions and motive up in flowery words and innocuous gestures, and somehow wound up benefiting from them all far more than the very person he’d offered aid to in the first place. Diluc was well-aware of this, even after a mere years’ worth of observation. 

         Thus...was that the case here? Or was he just being paranoid?

         Because right now, as Kaeya would actually follow through his offer, to take his role alongside him quite seriously and never once try teasing him throughout, nor pull any sort of mischief…

         For a moment, Diluc could almost pretend nothing had happened that night. That he hadn’t done the unforgivable and swung his claymore with full intent to kill over Kaeya’s truth, instead of hearing him out like he usually would. That he hadn’t pushed Kaeya away, time and again, only deigning to watch what he could almost delude himself into thinking was hurt flickering in that lone, starry eye every time he did. That he hadn’t outright abandoned Kaeya, bleeding and breaking, while they were both still hurting over the loss of the man who loved them so dearly, who gave them everything, who was home.

         That he hadn’t hurt Kaeya enough to make him become some whole other person in his absence.

         Like this, as they were now, moving in tandem like two working halves of a whole, he could pretend the Kaeya beside him was still the boy he’d known near half his life, and once adored more than anyone else in the world. That they were still thick as thieves and the family they’d promised they’d always be.

         He could pretend nothing had changed, as he’d catch Kaeya’s face scrunched up a slight in focus, the way it always had in their youth. As Kaeya’s hands trembled ever so slightly with each flawless pour ( you hurt that hand, his mind whispered; he was always such a nervous boy; his heart murmured ). As Kaeya matched his pace, and wordlessly backed him up or took over altogether when he needed it, almost subtly preening under each quick, murmured thanks he gave him.

         But even with all this…he knew it wasn’t so.

         He could pretend all he liked, but there was no erasing the truth gnawing at him the more he watched the other work.

         Kaeya was no longer the shy, sweet little boy who always stood behind him. Who hardly ever let go of his hand or sleeve, as he whispered what he wanted in Diluc's ear for him to voice in his stead. Kaeya was no longer the reserved young man who looked damn near ready to crawl out of his own skin in a crowd, even among their fellow knights. Kaeya was no longer the trusted confidant Diluc would wake at ungodly hours to conspire and speak with, seeking comfort in the one person in all Teyvat who knew him better than he knew himself.

         No, nowadays, Kaeya was more of a flouncing peacock who seemed compelled to charm and dupe anyone and everyone he met with that silver tongue of his. Who seems to find it so damn funny, deliberately playing up on Diluc’s nerves and patience, until wisps of flames danced on his fingertips for him to back away from. Who kept his cards so close to his chest, people often made it a game to see who’d truly had his favor and who knew him best, when really, none of them did at all.

         Diluc certainly didn’t. Not anymore.

         Maybe he never did.

         Even with more than a year reunited after that fight, even after night after night in each other's company right here in the Angel’s Share, Diluc still would find that new Kaeya a stranger.

         A stranger he couldn’t stand to see, so tightly closed off even as he would pretend to be everyone’s friend. A frigid fortress of a glacier, heart walled off with the rimed ice of Dragonspine, that no one could ever hope to melt through to. Holding all the more secrets Diluc could only begin to ponder and dread.

         Just how many people nowadays were truly close to him nowadays? Jean? Lisa? Rosaria? That Albedo he liked to mouth off about, and seemed so taken by?

         Did Adelinde still recognize her precious boy as he'd once been?

         Did anybody at all?

         And Diluc…had he truly taken that Kaeya from them all? All in a fit of grief and rage? Had he burnt that boy to cinders, for those closest to them to mourn alongside Father, as Diluc ran away from it all? To escape the aftermath he’d wrought and let them all pick up the pieces without him?

         Guilty guilty guilty-

         Had he truly killed him that night, too?

         A soft, icy touch brushed against his forearm.

         Diluc wrenched back, a sharp bitterness rising in his throat.

         Kaeya swiftly pulled away too, his back hitting the counter with an audible thud as a flicker of something flashed across his features. Panic? Fear?

         In that moment, Diluc could see Kaeya—the real, sincere Kaeya he’d so treasured once before—unsure, hesitant, and so openly so—right before his very eyes. The man's shoulders hunched a slight, almost as though he were half expecting him to lash out or push him away, bite out some bitter remark for him to wither under or rise to match. 

         All that in a split second, before Kaeya schooled his features to a more calm facade.

         “Final call’s up,” Kaeya told him. Tone passive. Oddly composed, save for a slight edge to it. “I think you can take it from here?”

         Diluc blinked and looked around.

         Patrons were moving on out or finishing up their drinks across the tables. The bar itself had been wiped down and neatly reorganized the way he liked it, a parchment with inventory noted down in Kaeya’s other hand. 

         Just how much had he spaced out just then?

         “Y-yeah,” Diluc managed, taking the list. “Thanks. I’ve got this.”

         Kaeya nodded slowly. His mouth opened to speak. Pausing a moment, uncertainty flickered across his features again, before it ultimately closed and he smiled again.

         Back to being the Cavalry Captain once more.

         “I suppose I'll take my leave then,” he said, gently pushing past Diluc to get to the side door. 

         Diluc numbly watched him go back around. As Kaeya moved to reach for his Mora—wait, was he leaving already?

         He forced himself to snap out of that funk, quickly moving to pour Kaeya a final glass and setting it down before him as the pouch rested in hand.

         Kaeya blinked then quirked a brow. “That’s…what’s this for?”

         Did…did he forget?

         “I promised you a drink,” Diluc replied, brow furrowing a slight. “And, don’t—“ He stopped, a twinge of guilt prickling in his heart watching Kaeya freeze, almost dropping Mora as brief panic flashed on his face. “Don’t worry about your tab, either. As thanks.”

         Kaeya stared blankly at him, a moment, two…then the corners of his lips tugged a slight. He quickly turned his gaze to the drink immediately after, with a huffed little soft breath one could almost mistake for a laugh.

         “Well, no need to be so generous with me over a little helping hand.” Wasn’t he the one who said he wanted something out of it in return? He really did forget…or had he not actually intended to take that reward in the first place— “But I certainly won’t refuse such a gift from you, Master Diluc. Much obliged.”

         Kaeya took the glass and raised it in toast, before swiftly knocking it back.

         Diluc grimaced as Kaeya let out a punched exhale.

         That…that wasn’t how he was supposed to drink it. What, was he in such a damn hurry to leave? Or was it because he—

         “Well!” Kaeya set down the glass, and outstretched his arms as he backed to the door, raising his voice for the others, “Thank you for such a marvelous evening. I’ve had quite my share of fun tending to you all.” Ever the showman nowadays, he bowed as a wave of cheers rose among them, then straightened up to wave as he turned to head on out. “I look forward to seeing everyone again next year! Goodnight!”

         A couple patrons blinked confusedly at him. A couple more chuckled and shook their heads at his little joke.

         And Diluc?

         “Pfft…!”

         Diluc instinctively clapped a hand over his mouth to stave off the sound, but evidently Kaeya had heard him anyways.

         Clearly, seeing as the man had damn near fallen over himself trying to turn and look back at him in shock.

         All that served to do was make Diluc laugh all the harder, spilling past his hand until he needed to lean on the counter for support.

         That stupid joke...Kaeya had said that his first new year’s celebration with them. An abrupt, odd little statement he’d up and blurted out before the old grandfather clock before them had struck midnight. 

         He remembered being thoroughly confused by it, and how both Elzer and Father had promptly choked on and spat their drinks, how Adelinde had begun to damn near cry with laughter as little Kaeya flusteredly buried his face in his shoulder. 

         It had taken Diluc two explanations to understand, in his distress of thinking Kaeya was going to leave again, then in confusion over the wordplay. And it had only taken that one time for it to have become their New Year’s greeting, playfully haunting Kaeya each and every year until the eve of Diluc’s 18th birthday. 

         No. That was a lie.

         The last time Kaeya had said something like that to him had been the year after that day. When he’d written him a letter he hadn’t been able to receive until months afterward, with the familiar words neatly scrawled above the man’s initial. 

         In hindsight…it must have been less of a warm season’s greeting then. Rather…could it have been hopeful statement? An unwritten question mark punctuating his words, rather than a simple comma, in fear of rejection or worse?

         Or….was he reading too much into that all over again, having gotten so damn nostalgic after working with Kaeya just now?

         But then again…looking at a Kaeya now, he had to wonder.

         The man stared at him with open awe, warmth all but radiating from him. His eye gleaming with a certain air of joy and pride as a stunned smile tugged at his lips, like it used to whenever he was praised by Crepus or Varka. Whenever he’d gotten a compliment from Adelinde and Tunner, or whenever he….made Diluc smile.

         For the first time in years, he’d made Diluc smile.

         The thought seemed to catch up with him too, as Kaeya abruptly paled, hastily laughing the lapse off and waving. “Well! Seems I’ve left Master Diluc in a good mood! Lucky me! Perhaps I'd better take my leave while it lasts!”

         He was running away.

         It hit Diluc as he watched a Kaeya scramble for composure and attempt to make his retreat. He hadn’t even done anything wrong this time, yet somehow it looked like Kaeya was even more set on and desperate to escape than when he truly crossed a line and really pissed him off.

         Why? All because he made him laugh?

         His eyes widened. Wait...could it be-

         “H-Happy New Year, Master Diluc," Kaeya said, jolting as he accidentally bumped into a knight as he backed away. "Ah, that...heh, goodni—“

         “Come home for dinner,” Diluc blurted out. 

         Kaeya froze. Quite literally, ice crackling across the floorboards beneath him. Either because of his abrupt demand or the sudden hush and hastier retreats the other patrons took up the moment Diluc's voice rang through the tavern. Even to the point of Huffman quickly patting him of the back in sympathy ( Kaeya flinched at even that…he really did still hate physical contact- ), before him himself made a mad dash for the outside.

         Diluc felt his stomach churn.

         Shit, wait how loud had that been—?

         “What?” Kaeya managed. Moving to gingerly wrench his boots out of the ice, even as his gaze remained locked onto Diluc's. Every bit reminiscent of cornered prey, he realized.

         Of the first time he'd ever set eyes on Kaeya, fifteen years ago.

         Diluc drew a shaky breath at the thought. “Come home. For dinner.”

         A wheezed one of Kaeya's own sputtered out in a cloud of frigid vapor.

         Kaeya's eye briefly darted to the door.

         Diluc fidgeted with his glove.

         He couldn't say he didn't understand Kaeya's reaction now. All things considered, he would feel exactly the same way in his shoes. Still…still, if there was even the slightest chance his assumption was true, that Kaeya's behavior now wasn't just some act he was putting up, that that mask really had begun to crack—

         “I don’t—“ Kaeya’s mouth pressed into a fine line. Shifting in place, damn near squirming like he were being interrogated which…wasn’t what Diluc intended at all. Yet still all too achingly familiar.

         So all this time...Kaeya really didn't-

         Kaeya cleared his throat. “I-I have plans," Kaeya tried to reason. "I can’t...look, I appreciate it but—“

         He’s running. He’s running away!

         Don't let him run—!

         “Adelinde wants to see you there,” Diluc hastily interrupted. He drew breath as Kaeya's eye widened, tentatively continuing, “She—" briefly hesitating, chewing his lip. "She hardly ever gets to see you. Especially outside of work. You know how much she misses you.”

         Kaeya winced.

         Diluc wanted to as well. Both in it being a damn sore point he'd deliberately hit, but also...ugh, this was just as disconcerting for him, as it was distressing for Kaeya- “So just…just this once, come home, and let her spoil you again…please?” When Kaeya made no moves to try and leave again, Diluc cleared his throat. “Come on...surely you wouldn’t want to disappoint Adelinde, now would you?”

         It had worked once before. Bait meant to keep Kaeya close, when all else failed. Except before...before, Adelinde herself had been to one to drop it on him. To hit Kaeya with the emotional impact of it, and help ensure he'd stick around. Because he could never say no to her, from the moment he'd met her.

         And now...was Diluc even capable of managing that?

         He didn't know.

         He could only watch, a hollow pit boring into his gut, as Kaeya’s mouth opened and closed, once, twice. As he shook his head, eye carefully looking Diluc over once. Then again, like he were carefully trying to unravel him. No, dissect him, it felt a lot more like.

         The thought made Diluc almost want to crawl out of his skin.

         Still, he let Kaeya scrutinize him, get his fill of observation and letting the words, the plea, hang over him...before Kaeya at long last managed a bit of a laugh.

         “Adelinde must…miss me more than I thought for you to be so pushy about it,” he finally said, tentatively meeting his gaze.

         Diluc felt his ears warm uncomfortably as he cleared his throat.

         "Ah," he managed, crossing his arms.

         That got a bit of grin out of Kaeya. Not his typical swaggering, cocky one. But the very same he’d seen from the moment Crepus had brought him home from Sumeru.

         That smile, to his relief, he knew very well.

         “You’re...you're right though,” Kaeya conceded, rubbing the back of his neck. “It--it wouldn’t do to disappoint Adelinde. So...I suppose a quick bite with family wouldn’t hurt.” 

         “It wouldn’t,” Diluc readily agreed. 

         “We’d better be on our best behavior though,” Kaeya remarked. Tone a little more serious. “I’d...hate to upset her if we get to our usual antics, tonight of all days.”

         I’d hate it if she saw us fighting like we always have lately, he meant.

         No, wait. That wasn't quite right, was it?

         I’d hate to fight like we usually do. That was more like it.

         “I’m sure we won’t get up to any funny business,” Diluc reassured him. Perhaps a bit more confidently that he actually felt. Perhaps a promise they were inevitably bound to break. But it was just enough to make Kaeya’s squared shoulders relax a hint.

         “Okay,” Kaeya said. “Okay…” He hesitated then shook his head. “I’ll have to make a quick stop by my place first before I go.” He shifted. “Is...that alright?”

         Are you going to try and run away again?

         Diluc averted his gaze.

         No. Trust him.

         Diluc pursed his lips...then looked back to him, and nodded.

         Kaeya gave an acknowledging nod of his own, turning to the door. His hand rested on the handle a moment before he turned around. “Do you...maybe want to come with?”

         Diluc’s eyes widened.

         For Kaeya to be willing to show him, even after the sheer lengths the man went to keep that place a secret…

         So it wasn't just Diluc putting his trust on the line here.

         A gesture of good faith.

         As though all Kaeya had done this evening wasn't enough of a show for it.

         Still...Diluc took a moment to mull it over, as he glanced at the otherwise clean bar. At the unswept floors around, stray glasses on the tables across the room, knowing more were likely the same upstairs. Then to the dirtied rags sitting in the bucket, and all the windows that needed a good wipedown...

         …well. He could always clean it the next day. Perhaps he’ll even strong-arm Kaeya into it as well. For the trouble.

         With that thought in mind, Diluc gathered the Mora from the register and hastily shoved the evening's profits away into the safe below the counter. What did he care if anything happened to it all anyways?  Not like he didn’t have the chump change to spare—

         “Well—” He grabbed a bottle of dandelion wine of the shelf, setting onto the counter then nimbly hopping over it the lacquered furnishing.

         Kaeya huffed a laugh and rolled his eyes as Diluc took hold of the bottle again and strode to meet him.

         His hand grasped the frosted doorhandle in Kaeya's stead, a gentle warmth exerted to thaw the ice layered over it, as he'd let out a soft, but sure breath,

         “—I suppose I could make a home delivery. Just this once.”

[seriouslysam8]

AU Sneak Peeks and New Poll Because I Have Zero Self-Control

Snippers below.

No, I do not have a snippet for the Sirius/Lily story. I honestly thought that one would lose by a long shot and only have a vague idea on plot.

Anyway, each snippet is around 1500 words. MAJOR spoilers ahead. I mean, really big spoilers.

I may end up writing both of these because I love the plots so much. But I'm curious what you guys think since I do want to really start planning and writing one as my side project once my current side project Bête Noire is done.

Juggernaut Snipper – James Lives AU

Harry is 4

Harry made a beeline for James’ desk, shrugging off his rucksack as he went. Jumping into the big leather chair, Harry sat in it sideways with his legs dangling off one arm and his head off the other. He reached out towards the desk, making himself spin. James smiled as he bent down to pick up Harry’s rucksack off the floor, tossing it onto the sofa. 

“Grandpa! Guess what?” Harry asked as he stopped spinning, looking at the portrait of Fleamont Potter on the wall upside down. 

Fleamont laughed. “What is it, Harry?”

Harry sucked in a breath, the corners of his lips twitching. “WELL, I saw a bunny last night in the back garden and Sirius turned into Padfoot to chase after it and the bunny hopped right in front of me, Grandpa! I tried to grab him but Dad said he could have rabies and not to touch him but I dunno what rabies are. Sirius was more concerned about fleas because he has really, really thick fur and the fleas are really hard to get out and they make him all itchy. But I tried to grab the bunny anyway and Remus told me I should try to listen a tad better but it was a bunny, Grandpa! How can I not pet a bunny?” Harry rambled, taking a deep breath. Finally. “What’s rabies, Grandpa?”

Fleamont chuckled. “Merlin, you are definitely a Potter, aren’t you, my boy?”

Harry reached out a foot towards the desk, pushing off of it to cause him to spin again. “I guess? That’s my last name, Grandpa. Dad’s name is James. Did you know that?”

Fleamont beamed. “I do think I recall naming him that.”

“Harry,” James called, peering down at his son in his chair. “Can I have my chair back?”

Harry frowned. “But, but the sofa doesn’t spin, Daddy!”

James raised his eyebrows above his glasses. “Unfortunately, it does not. But if I can get my work done quickly, we can leave sooner.”

Harry sighed, rolling off the chair and nearly hitting his head on the desk. He dragged his feet as he made his way over to the sofa, plopping down in an exaggerated fashion and looking up at the portrait. 

“Mrs Figg is sick,” Harry told his grandfather. “Dad had to bring me to work because Remus has meetings and Sirius has work too. Sirius said he’d stop by to go to lunch with us.”

“Well, what a nice godfather you have,” Fleamont commented, his eyes sparkling. “You know, I bet Sirius is going to rush through his work so he can come play with you.”

Harry shrugged. “He had to do an in’pection of the potions room today.”

“Inspection,” James corrected, looking up from his documents to catch his dad’s eye in the portrait. “Just our normal quarterly inspection. Nothing happened to the potions’ room. Don’t worry.”

“I am not worried at all!” Fleamont confirmed, though he didn’t look convinced. “I mean you and Sirius running the business is what I always wanted! I have total faith in you both.”

James snorted, turning back to the ingredient purchase parchment. “I’m sure you do, Dad.”

“Am I gonna run the business one day, Grandpa?” Harry asked. “When Dad’s too old? I can do in’pections of the potions’ room. Sirius let me go with him once. I got to wear gloves and a hairnet and funny big glasses.”

Fleamont nodded. “I think that’s a wonderful idea, Harry! Perhaps, you’ll even invent your own potion to add to the line! We both know your father and your godfather aren’t very inventive when it comes to potions.”

Harry giggled. “Dad buys all his potions! Remus likes to take the mickey out of him for not even owning a cauldron!”

“James!” Fleamont huffed.

James winced, realizing he was going to get absolutely zero work done. “I would not risk my child’s life with my subpar potions ability. 

Truth was, Lily had always been the potioneer. It felt wrong to take her cauldron to the new house. He had the money to buy the potions he needed. What he couldn’t buy due to the apothecaries being closed or out of stock, Andromeda Tonks was normally kind enough to make him anything he needed at the drop of a hat. She had come through for some late-night Pepper-Up Potions for Harry in the past. 

Harry huffed, his legs kicking his rucksack. “Can I go do an in’pection with Sirius?”

James sucked in a breath, setting his quill down on his desk. He glanced at Harry over the top of his glasses. James didn’t need to see him properly to know he had his pouting face on. Harry and Sirius were inseparable. 

“Fine, you can pester Sirius,” James agreed, pushing his glasses up. 

Harry whooped as he jumped off the sofa. He stomped his feet, swinging his rucksack on his back as he waited patiently by the door to the office. James ambled over to the cupboard by the door and pulled out the supplies they needed to go into the potions’ rooms.

Kneeling down in front of Harry, he shoved the kid’s wild black hair underneath the hairnet before placing on the safety glasses carefully overtop Harry’s navy blue glasses. Standing up, he held out his hand for Harry. 

“Ready?” James asked. 

Harry grabbed his father’s hand but shook his head. “I need gloves!”

“When we get to the room, all right?” James replied as the two left his office. 

It wasn’t often James walked through the building. Being known as the Vanquisher was terrible even on a good day. He felt like an imposter. Everyone thinking he was same great and powerful wizard, but in reality he had been pinned to the ground and listened as his wife was murdered and his son was marked by evil. Nothing he did was heroic. Everything he did was just to protect his family. 

He tried and failed to buy Lily time to run. He lied to the public about what had happened on that fateful Halloween night. The thought of people knowing his son had survived the Killing Curse, that he was special, made James want to vomit. No, it was better to be dubbed the Vanquisher and let Harry live as normal of a childhood as he could. 

People whispered as they passed. Some trying to look particularly busy or some just shellshocked that their reclusive savior boss had left his office. Sirius dealt with the day-to-day operations while James stayed locked in his office dealing with the business side. Honestly, the roles should have been reversed. Would have been if life hadn’t gone to shit when Lily died. He had been social before, had loved talking with everyone. It had been Sirius who had been moody and a loner. Somehow, they both just changed because they had to in order to survive. 

Stopping outside the potions’ room, James bent down to put the too big gloves on Harry’s hands. Tugging his wand from his pocket, he tapped them to shrink them. Harry clapped, a wide grin crossing his features. 

“Remember, we use our indoor voice and there is no running,” James explained. “You do either of those things and you’ll find yourself with a one-way ticket back to my office until I’m done working. Understood?”

Harry nodded. “Yes!” When James raised an eyebrow, Harry lowered his voice and repeated, “Yes.”

James smiled. “Good boy. All right, stay close and don’t touch anything.”

James rose to his full height and held out his hand for Harry. They made their way into the potions’ room which was lined with oversized cauldrons in neat rows. Potioneers milled around, surrounding one person in particular: Sirius Black. 

Sirius’ hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, just barley fitting in one underneath his hairnet. He squinted at one of the potioneer through his safety goggles as he listened to whatever he was being explained to him. His head nodded occasionally before he looked down at a piece of parchment and checked something off with his quill. 

James could feel Harry practically vibrating next to him, bouncing on the balls of his feet like he was trying to get his godfather’s attention. As though sensing their presence, Sirius turned towards them and smiled. He motioned for Harry. James let go of his son’s hand and watched as he walked towards Sirius in a very slow and exaggerated form. A rare smile spread across James’ thin lips. Harry seemed to be the only person who made him smile these days.

---

Untitled Fleamont and Euphemia Lives AU

Takes place a few months after Halloween

Fleamont’s heart pounded in his chest as he stared at the floor in the middle of Courtroom Eight, waiting for Sirius to appear for his arraignment and bail hearing. Harry sat slumped against him, his stuffed stag and black dog clutched tightly to his chest. Euphemia bent down to speak to him, a soft hum of words ringing in Fleamont’s ear but he couldn’t concentrate on what she was saying. 

They had debated if they should bring Harry to the Ministry for hours, going back and forth on what the right thing to do would be. In the end, despite knowing he would be stared and gawked at, they brought him. Harry had seen Sirius’ picture in the paper and he had always ended up sobbing for his godfather. The small child cried for Sirius as much as he cried for his parents. Maybe, just maybe, seeing Sirius would help Harry just a tad. 

The Wizengamot filed into the room with dismayed looks. Some of those arrested in the past month had not been given any sort of due process. Some had simply been tried without any formalities, tossed into Azkaban without another thought. Fleamont knew some of those wizards were guilty. But he also knew some had not been. Fleamont had to fight for Sirius to even have a hearing. 

Sirius’ lawyer walked up in front of the Wizengamot, standing to the right of the circle in the middle of the court room. Fleamont wrapped an arm around Harry’s shoulders, pulling the small boy into his side as he leaned down towards him. 

“Harry, I need to you listen to me,” Fleamont whispered. 

The child looked up, his trainers kicking against the bench of the gallery. 

“We’re going to see Sirius in a bit,” Fleamont explained. 

Harry’s entire face lit up, his green eyes sparkling. “See-wis!”

A strained smile crossed Fleamont’s face. “Yes, Sirius, but Harry, you can’t talk to him or go to him, all right? We have to wait right here but you can wave at him. Does that sound like a plan?”

“See-wis!” Harry exclaimed, looking happy and oblivious to what was just said to him. 

Fleamont frowned. “Are you listening, Harry?”

A click sounded. Fleamont snapped his attention to the center of the room. A small circular cage rose from the floor. Sirius stood inside, his hands cuffed in front of him. He had his head bowed, his long hair looking greasy and matted. The striped prison robes hung off him worse than the one-time Fleamont had been allowed to see him when he was first arrested. Sirius had always been lean, but he looked downright starved at his point. Like Azkaban hadn’t given him more than a few crumbs of food in the month he had been imprisoned. 

“See-wis!” Harry shouted, his finger pointing to the center of the room. 

Slowly, Sirius turned his head to the right, his wide eyes locking onto Harry. Tears brimmed his eyes, his Adam’s apple bobbing. He raised his hands just a tad, his left hand giving a very small wave but it was enough to cause Harry to enthusiastically bounce and wave back. 

“We are here today for the arraignment of Sirius Orion Black, accused of murdering twelve Muggles and one wizard. Mr Black is also being charged with conspiracy to commit murder by joining the Death Eaters. How do you plead, Mr Black?” Barty Crouch spoke, his words clipped and his gaze focused on a piece of parchment in front of him. 

Harry rose from the bench and tried to walk towards Sirius. Fleamont reached out to grab him, keeping him from moving any closer. 

Sirius looked at the Wizengamot. “Not guilty,” he croaked in a strained voice that didn’t seem to belong to him, like he hadn’t spoken a single word in weeks. 

Murmurs broke out in the courtroom, nasty and hissing voices who all thought the worst of him. Sirius looked down at the ground, his body trembling. Fleamont wanted to embrace his son and comfort him. 

“The plea has been entered and the defendant may be taken back to Azkaban,” Crouch announced in a bored tone. 

Sirius’ lawyer stepped forward. “Excuse me, sir, but there was also supposed to be a bail hearing as well.”

Crouch scoffed. “A bail hearing? There are no bail hearings for murderers.”

“See-wis!” Harry cried, his stuffed animals dropping to the ground as he tried to shrug Fleamont’s hands off more forcibly. “See-wis!”

“What evidence do you actually have that Mr Black committed these crimes?” Sirius’ lawyer persisted. “Mr Black does not have the Dark Mark. His wand is in evidence, so have you even looked at his last spells cast in the month he’s been sitting in a cell in Azkaban?”

In a second, Harry broke free. He tumbled off the bench seat and ran as quick as his little legs would allow him towards Sirius. People gasped and shouted. Sirius turned to see Harry bolting straight for the cage. Fleamont took after him. 

Sirius crouched down in the cage as best as he could, his hands reaching through the bars just as Harry stopped outside of the cage. Harry grabbed for him, trying to push his body through the bars. 

“Enough! Get the child out of here!” Crouch roared. 

“See-wis! See-wis!” Harry sobbed. 

“It’s okay,” Sirius murmured, his voice cracking. “It’s okay.”

Fleamont fell to his knees next to Harry, an arm wrapping around his shoulders. Harry only fell down, a tantrum already brewing at being denied access to his beloved godfather. Silent tears poured down Sirius’ face as Harry sobbed his name over and over and over again. Fleamont reached between the bars to give Sirius’ arm a squeeze. 

“He misses you,” Fleamont whispered. “He calls for you and, and his parents every single night,” he explained, unable to speak the names James and Lily out loud in fear that he would break down in front of everyone in the courtroom.  

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say because Sirius’ body gave a violent jolt. Harry clambered onto his knees, a screech escaping his lips when he tried and failed again to fit through the bars. Sirius cupped the boy’s face with one hand, the other dangling uselessly because he didn’t have enough room to force both hands through the bars.

“Hey, hey, it’s all right,” Sirius said in a shaky voice. “I’m all right. I’m right here.”

“Mr Potter, this is highly inappropriate!” Crouch roared. “The boy needs to leave now! I never want to see him in my courtroom again!”

Fleamont rose to his full height, squaring his shoulders. “That boy is sixteen months old!” Fleamont roared. “He just lost his parents! Watched his own mother be murdered right in front of him! Now he is being denied access to his godfather!”

“Mr Black is accused of murder!” Crouch replied, rising from behind his podium. “We don’t allow accused murderers bail!”

“Yet, I’ve yet to hear any concrete evidence against him!” Fleamont shouted. “The Ministry is rounding up its citizens, innocent or not, and throwing them in Azkaban without properly examining the evidence! The trials are just shams now! Due process has been thrown out the window! I will not stand for it! I will now stand by when someone I care deeply about is a victim in this Ministry’s crusade to look strong!”

“Enough!”  Crouch shouted. “Guards, escort Mr Potter and his grandson out of this courtroom!”

Fleamont wheeled around to look at the wizards approaching them. “Touch my grandson and you will regret it!” Fleamont growled. 

“See-See-wis,” Harry hiccupped, his body still struggling to get to Sirius. 

“Stop, please, Harry,” Sirius murmured. “Just calm down. You need to calm down.”

Fleamont turned around, crouching down next to Harry. He wrapped his arms securely around the boy, pulling him back away from the cage. Harry went limp in his arms, his screams loud enough to make Fleamont’s ears ring. Sirius rose to his full height, leaning back away from Harry as best as he could in the small space afforded to him. Fleamont picked Harry up off the ground, struggling not to drop the thrashing child. 

“SEE-WIS!” Harry screamed, both hands reaching out for Sirius. 

“It’ll be all right!” Fleamont shouted at Sirius, his glasses sliding down his nose. 

Sirius didn’t say anything, his face pulling as though it was taking everything he had in him not to break down completely. Fleamont carried a squirming Harry out of the courtroom, two guards following them out. Once outside, Fleamont say Harry down on his feet and he melted on the floor to continue the tantrum. With a heavy sigh, Fleamont settled down onto the floor next to his crying grandson and waited. 

It wasn’t a few moments later that Euphemia exited the courtroom. She only had to shake her head. Bail had been denied. Fleamont would have given anything to have Sirius home with them. Harry jumped up from the floor at the sight of his grandmother, running to be babied in her arms. Euphemia didn’t waste even a second, scooping the boy up in her arms and rocking him. 

Fleamont stood up as people filed out of the courtroom. Photographers not so discreetly snapping images of Harry. He positioned his body to block the press, his hand pressing against Harry’s back. 

“Sirius looked dreadful,” Euphemia whispered. “They have to be starving him.”

Fleamont nodded, a grave look crossing his features. “That or he’s purposely not eating because he’s upset about everything that has happened.”

[walker-extended-universe]

Walker Episode Bracket

"Just Desserts" won by just a few votes! How will it fare against the next episode, 3x08 "Cry Uncle"?

The episode picks up right where the last one left off as the Walker family finds Abby collapsed outside. Everyone rushes to the hospital and we're all relieved to find that she will be okay. But August is definitely in hot water with his family, even after she makes her recovery.

Her health scare has Abby thinking about the future. She wants to update her will and try to reconnect with her estranged brother. While Bonham pushes back against any will talk, Cordell is happy to drive out to Dallas with the kids to speak with Uncle Willie and hopefully sort out the issues between Stella and August. Things start off pretty horribly as Stella and August argue in the backseat until Cordell kicks them out and makes them walk the rest of the way to their destination. Their first interaction with William also goes terribly until Cordell arrives to try and smooth things over. It's not until breakfast the next morning that things start to come together after Cordell leaves them alone at the table and forces them to address the issues between them. While there's not much apologizing, Stella does start to recognize that part of August's acting out is that he feels neglected by the family, whether there's favoritism or not. William also turns around by the end of their trip and admits he does want to reconnect with Abby but it won't be easy. This leads to him calling her for the first time in 20 years at the end of the episode.

Meanwhile, back in Austin, Cassie and Trey are assigned to work a case regarding a missing mogul and James has very special instructions for Trey- to report everything back to him and not make any moves without direct approval. Trey does his best to follow those rules but finds it hard to fight back against Cassie when she pulls rank and follows her instincts. While the case does get solved, Trey gets reprimanded by James for not following the rules.

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