#I am happy you like knowing about this family ^^

[selenitespeculations]

Jason descended onto Gotham like a wraith, taking over Crime Alley in a bloodbath that wouldn’t be forgotten any time soon, but some of his plans had been adjusted. The influence of the pit had been almost non existent between falling in the portal-pit and leaving Danny behind in Amity Park, but the further he traveled the stronger it became. It was as if the air in Amity Park had an effect on the Pit Rage, leaving it calm and docile. Even once he was back in Gotham, Jason felt more in control then he had ever managed in Nanda Parbat.

Jason was so happy when Danny talked about making his first friend. A boy in his second grade class had been getting picked on by some of the other kids.

“They were being so mean to him!” Danny had exclaimed one night on a phone call with Jason. “I wanted to punch that stupid Dash in the throat! But I didn’t!”

“Good job controlling yourself kiddo.” Jason had praised him. “I’m sure just being your friend helps him to feel better.”

“Yeah Tucker probably would’ve been scared if I hurt Dash,” Danny continued thoughtfully, “but one day I’ll figure out how to give Dash a taste of his own medicine without it being traced back to me.”

“That’s the spirit Danny,” Jason chuckled, “just make sure there’s no blood, remember that he’s just a kid too.”

“He’s an asshole of a kid though.” Danny pouted, and Jason lost his battle to the full belly laughter he’d been holding back.

“It’s true! Don’t laugh at me!” Danny cried, “You’re kinda an asshole too Jay.” He grumbled under his breath until Jason finally got ahold of himself.

“Sorry, sorry,” Jason wheezed, “I’m not laughing AT you I swear, it’s just a little funny to hear you talk like that, you gotta admit!”

“I do suppose it must be rather jarring.” Danny said in his best snooty prince voice, before breaking out into giggles himself. “Ok yeah I see what you mean.” Danny admitted once they had both caught their breath. “Everything is so different here.”

“But a good different, yeah?” Jason asked

“Yeah, a good different.”

Jason made sure to call Danny often, and Danny did the same, but as time went on the length between calls got further. Danny got busy with school and new friends, civilian life being surprisingly fraught with stress and joy alike. Holding himself back from showing some of these kids what he could truly do was difficult at times, but if he wanted to keep his new life he’d have to act the part. Jason was living the vigilante and crime lord life in equal measure, both causing and stopping disasters, and helping out during the semi-annual World Ending Events (TM).

There were several times when Jason almost went back to Amity Park, the urge to see that Danny was safe in person so strong he almost hoped on his bike to ride east, but Danny managed to talk him down over the phone every time. The worst was always after some big attack or timeline altering event.

“I’m Fineeeeee Jay!”

“I know, I know, but I had to make sure!”

“You know if you try to come out here after every big battle your family is going to get suspicious.”

“Their your family too ya know”

“I’ve never met B in my life, he doesn’t get to claim me as part of his furry brigade.”

Their laughter always calmed Jason down enough to remember why their only communication was through the burner phones, ones he had highly encrypted the second he’d gotten back to Gotham, and walked Danny through doing the same to his. It was to dangerous to go see Danny in person, especially with the way Talia had been on his ass the second she realized he was back in Gotham.

“I want her to know I’m alive,” Danny had said in one of their calls, just before Jason’s first encounter with Talia, “but not where I am.”

Luckily with how they had been deposited in the middle of nowhere Midwest by a magic portal no one knew about, it was pretty hard to trace an exact location. Sure, given time, Talia would probably be able to do it, but Jason had managed to convince her this was the best possible solution for Danny’s happiness.

“Where is my SON!” Talia had almost gotten the drop on him. Jason’d only been in Gotham for a few days before Talia appeared behind him while he was scouting one of Black Masks bases.

Jason hadn’t jumped. He absolutely did not. Maybe just a little hop. She definitely didn’t scare him thank you very much.

“Not here.” he’d said hurriedly, voice distorted by his helmet, grappling off the building down to where his bike was.

He lead her back to his most secure safe house, one that scanned for bugs or transmitting devices the second you entered. Talia lit up like a Christmas tree with all the devices she had on.

“I’ll tell you what I can, but first all of that has to go.” Jason was not negotiating on that one. Talia, obviously disgruntled by being told what to do by a 19 year old she’d personally cared for while he was recovering from his death and subsequent resurrection, tried to be sneaky and leave a couple trackers and listening devices on Jason, but even without the tech alerting him, he was trained by the Bat himself, and Talia wasn’t gonna get anything by him, especially if it would put Danny in danger.

“He’s alive.” Jason had confirmed, once Talia had put all her equipment in a lead lined box.

“Where is he?” She had demanded, desperation leaking through the tight control in her voice. “Where is my son?”

“You know I can’t tell you that. Not after what happened-“

“Nonsense!” She cut him off, “he is MY SON, he belongs with ME!”

“After you failed to protect him?” Jason was getting angry now. “I know you love him Talia but he’s OUT! He’s safe! He is finally getting to be the kid that he is-“

“He is no normal child!” Jason was getting tired of being interrupted. “He is a prince! One of the Demon Twins! He belongs with me! With his brother!”

“And he would be if you had stood up to Ras! If you-“

“My father is-“

“Stop!” Jason was done. “YOU allowed your children to be brought into Ra’s’ sphere! You could’ve hidden them away, put them somewhere safe! But no, you thought that you could convince your father to have an actual heart!” He took a deep breath to steady himself, Talia blessedly silent for once. “You put them both in danger, and just because Damian hasn’t been irrevocably harmed yet, doesn’t give you the right to Danny after what the kids been through.”

“I just want him to be safe,” Talia finally admitted. “After I heard- once I’d discovered what my father had ordered,”

“It doesn’t matter anymore.” Jason cut her off this time. “You failed your duty to Danny as a mother. You lost the right to be the one watching over him.”

“I followed the trail. I thought it would be easy to find you both, that the blood would lead me right too you. But when the trail ended at the edge of that cliff-“

“Cliff?” Jason asked, confused.

“The cliff.” Talia said, as if he was being intentionally obtuse. “The one in the cavern behind the Lazarus Pit? The trail of blood ended there.”

Whatever portal had brought him and Danny away from Nanda Parbat must have closed, taking the Not-Pit with it.

“I won’t tell you where he is.” Jason stated again. “And I won’t tell you how we got out.”

Talia sighed, “But he is safe?”

“As safe as I could make him. And he’ll only stay that way if neither of us interfere. If Ras catches wind he’s still alive…”

“He won’t.” Talia affirmed. “My father assumes him gone, that his plan worked, but the assailant was never found. He may become suspicious, especially since there was no body recovered, and you disappeared the same night.”

“Then you have to lead him to believe I got out myself, under the cover of the chaos.”

“And Damian? He is grieving his twin.”

“He’s too young. He may be a good assassin, but we can’t expect a seven year old to hide the fact that his twin brother is alive out in the world somewhere. Even if he doesn’t say anything outright-“

“The change in attitude could alert my father, yes.”

Jason asked Danny after, if there was anything he wanted Jason to pass on. It would be a risk, letting Talia know they were still in contact, but if Danny wanted to get a message out that was his right, in Jason’s mind.

“I’ll keep writing my letters, to mother and Dami, but I’m not ready for them to read them yet.” Had been Danny’s response.

“It’s up to you kid,” Jason replied, “when it comes to this, you’re in control.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time kept moving forward, and Jason’s cluster fuck of a family continued their crusade of miscommunication and chaos. The biggest bump in the road came when Damian was dropped off in Gotham. Kid lived up to his name Demon Prince for sure, and Jason watched from afar, only interfering when he knew about the situation and felt it absolutely necessary. Damian refused to even acknowledge that he knew Jason from his childhood in Nanda Parbat, and Jason played along.

Jumping between The Outlaws and his position as head of the Red Hood Gang, he kept in touch with Danny as much as possible, but deciding what to tell the boy about his brother was difficult. He didn’t want to scare Danny, or make him feel guilty for his relatively peaceful civilian life, but he felt obligated to at least keep him updated once everyone was okay and the danger of the week had passed. He didn’t tell Danny everything, Jason knew he himself didn’t even know the half of the shit Damian and the rest of the Bat Brigade got up to, but Danny deserved to know that his twin was in Gotham with their father at least.

Years passed, trauma and death following Jason and his family like a shadow, and Jason began keeping more and more from Danny. ‘He’s just a civilian child now,’ Jason reasoned with himself, ‘there’s no way I’m putting any of this shit on him.’ Danny still asked about his twin, and Jason gave him the PC version of events, skipping over some things entirely.

Reconciliation with Bruce, and Jason’s ever growing collection of adoptive siblings, was slow going. One step forward a hundred steps back kind of slow going, but Danny encouraged him to keep trying.

“He’s your father and he loves you.” Danny would state unequivocally. “He’ll have to accept that you two have different methods and morals eventually.” Really, for a kid only 12 years old, Danny was wiser than many people triple his age, but in the end he was still a child, and had the emotional and impulse control to match.

Danny updated Jason on his life in every call, complaining about school and chores and homework like any child his age. He spoke about his friends and adoptive family, about fitting in and learning about the world around him. Hiding the calls got more complicated as Danny got older, the Fenton parents easy to dodge with how much they worked, but Jazz was another story. Danny’s older sister was smart, and paid far too much attention to his actions for Danny’s liking.

“She’s so nosy!” Danny complained to Jason. “She acts like shes an adult already!”

“I’m sure she’s just looking out for you,” Jason consoled the disgruntled preteen, “if you wanted to, I’m sure you could open up to her a bit. She seems mature enough to keep your secrets, as long as they don’t put you in danger.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Danny sighed, “I think I might tell her about you, at least so I don’t have to be so worried about hiding the phone. She’s almost caught us talking a couple times now.”

“She probably already knows about the phone, especially if she’s as perceptive as you’ve told me.” Jason said. “She might just be waiting for you to come to her.”

“I’ll tell her. Say you’re an older brother or cousin or something. That you couldn’t take me in back then, and that’s why I was at the adoption fair.”

“Whatever you want kid, you don’t have to tell her anything you don’t feel comfortable with.”

Things settled into a new normal as Jason began working with the Bats more regularly. He still had his Gang, and The Outlaws, but he found himself turning to his father and siblings more regularly; helping them when they asked for it, and sometimes when they didn’t. He’s pretty sure Barbie knows about Danny, Oracle sees everything after all, but she’s kept her findings to herself to Jason’s knowledge, so he didn’t bring it up.

Danny and Damian turned fourteen, new horizons opening up with their freshman year of high school looming closer. Danny seemed more distant lately, but Jason tried not to worry too much. Puberty’s a bitch and Danny probably wants to figure stuff out on his own without telling Jason about every little thing. They still talk, but less regularly than they used to, and Jason could tell Danny was holding things back.

‘It’s a normal stage of development.’ Jason told himself. ‘Once he feels more stable in his own skin again I’m sure he’ll be more comfortable talking to me about what he’s been up to.’

Danny seemed more tired on their calls as well, but promised it was just late nights out with friends, or school assignments left for the last minute. Jason felt there might be more to it, but didn’t push. He didn’t want Danny to feel cornered, so Jason made it his mission to make sure Danny knew that he could tell Jason anything, and that he would always be there if the kid needed him.

Jason never would have guessed exactly what Danny was hiding.

Protective Instincts

Hmmmmmmmmm

Idea.

So we all mostly headcanon that Jason was around tiny Damian when in the League right? And if we do demon!twins or siblings Danny they meet too?

Well what if, now hear me out, what if while taking care of them Jason notices early on how Danyal, or as he likes to be called Danny, doesn't seem to have the heart to be an assassin compared to Damian. And even under the pits influence and the LOA teachings, Jason's protective instincts of protecting kids is still strong. And notices how... lack the protection around Danny is compared to Damian, the true heir.

What if, when Jason leaves the League to start his revenge against Bruce, he fakes Danny's death by killing off the little 'guards' he did have and takes the kid with him.

But as he goes to Gotham Jason has to decide.

Drop the kid off in a good family, give him a new identity and keep him hidden or keep the kid and raise them?

[sowerpatch]

terms of play [chapter 7 - in transition]

Summary: Azzi Fudd built the Golden Valkyries on a dare, but drafting Paige Bueckers was all strategy. Fresh off an NCAA title, Paige is everything the team needs—and everything Azzi shouldn’t want.

Officially, it’s all business. Unofficially, it’s glances that linger too long and touches that mean too much.

Author's note: this is an AU where Azzi owns the Golden State Valkyries and drafts Paige. Azzi's family are all original characters. Also, Azzi is three years older than Paige.

*CHAPTER LIST HERE*

Chapter Summary: Paige and Azzi said it was over.

Boundaries drawn, feelings shelved, rules in place. But with every game, every glance, every unexpected moment off the court, the line gets harder to hold. They agreed to stop, but how long can they mean it? Word count: 5,577 Author's note: first, I'd like to thank everyone for reading this fic. i'm overwhelmed but very happy with the comments, messages, and reactions. i didn't know a lot are reading this nonsense, but thank you! second (and you may not want to hear this), i may not update for a couple of weeks. i am going on a trip so i'm not sure i'll be able to do so. i hope you'll still want to read this if it's not frequently update until third week of july. third (if you're also reading my other on-going), unfolded will be updated but i also apologize it will not be that frequent due to the same reason above. thanks for supporting and reading my works.

Fudd Holdings, San Francisco. May 2025. 

The sky outside her windows had settled into its noon haze, but Azzi hadn’t looked up from her desk in hours. Her monitor cast a soft glow across the dark wood, spreadsheets opened and minimized in equal measure. Her fingers hovered over the trackpad, scrolling through a document she had already reviewed twice that morning. 

The knock on her door was brief. Nika stepped in without waiting for permission, balancing a takeout bag and two bottled teas in her hands. 

“I know you didn’t eat again,” Nika said as she shut the door behind her. “And I’m not letting you call a candy bar lunch.” 

Azzi sat back in her chair, one brow lifting. “You’re persistent.” 

“I work for a woman who hasn’t taken a real lunch break in ten days,” Nika replied, placing the food down. “Persistent is the bare minimum.” 

Azzi didn’t argue. She slid the papers to the side and reached for the tea, unscrewing the cap but not drinking yet. Across the desk, Nika opened the takeout containers with practiced ease. 

“How is your WNBA team?” Nika asked without looking up. “Season started last week.” 

Azzi didn’t flinch, though the pause before her answer was longer than usual. “Lisa’s handling things,” she said. “It’s her role as general manager, and she’s doing it well. I step in only if I'm needed.” 

Nika glanced up, reading more than what was said. “Good for her but that’s not the same as you supporting them.” 

“I’m busy.” 

“With what?” Nika didn’t soften her tone. “All deadlines are in. Contracts are locked through next quarter. We’re ahead of schedule with every major client. Even your advisory meeting next week was rescheduled by you.” 

Azzi set the tea down, untouched. 

“You’re not too busy to show your face at a home game, Azzi. And neither the team nor the city thinks you’re invisible. So if this is about being busy, I don’t buy it.” 

Azzi held her posture, her gaze fixed somewhere beyond the window. But the pause spoke more than anything else. 

Nika watched her for another beat before easing back into her chair, unpacking a fork from its wrapper.  

“You don’t have to talk about it,” she said. “But don’t pretend like this is just scheduling. You’re not fooling anyone.” 

The room stretched between them, filled with paper, food, and the weight of everything unspoken. 

Azzi finally reached for the container, though she still hadn’t eaten a bite. Her voice stayed level, careful. “Lisa knows what she’s doing.” 

“Sure,” Nika said, spearing a piece of grilled chicken. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t still look for you.” 

-    Valkyries Headquarters, San Francisco. May 2025. 

Practice was nearly over, but Paige hadn’t slowed once. She moved through the drills like they were personal, like every missed shot meant something more than just another rep. Her jersey clung to her back, soaked through from the effort. While the rest of the team eased off, she kept pressing. 

“Okay, Paige, you trying to earn Finals MVP in practice?” Kate called, grabbing a towel from the bench. 

Paige gave a quick laugh. “Just keeping sharp.” 

Kiki, lounging near the sideline with her water bottle, chimed in without lifting her head. “If this is about Rookie of the Year, relax. I’m not trying to take it from you.” 

“I just want to do well. Don’t want to let the team down.” 

Kate tossed her towel over her shoulder and walked past. “You’re not. We’ve got your back. So maybe stop trying to bleed for every drill.” 

Paige nodded, but she didn’t stop. She didn’t even look toward the locker room when the others started filing out. She stayed at the three-point line, adjusted her stance, and kept shooting. 

The gym thinned out, noise fading as bodies left the floor. Lights still buzzed overhead. The sound of the ball hitting the rim echoed louder in the emptying space. 

One more shot. Then another. She moved like she could outwork the ache settling deep in her chest. 

- 

Barclays Center, Brooklyn. June 2025. 

The arena buzzed with rising energy. Lights swept across the court, catching on polished shoes and tailored jackets. Courtside filled with the usual rotation of executives, celebrities, and carefully groomed donors. 

Azzi sat quietly among them, legs crossed, her posture composed. Ines sat on one side, Tony on the other. Neither drew attention. 

Three nights earlier, New York liberty owner, Clara Wu had attended the foundation’s gallery fundraiser uptown.  

Toward the end of the event, in the space between polite farewells and final handshakes, Clara had asked if Azzi would be attending the Liberty vs Valkyries game. It hadn’t sounded like pressure, but Azzi understood the subtext. Clara rarely asked for anything directly. 

Azzi had smiled and said yes. She didn’t want to appear distant or detached, not while her team was in town, not so early in the season. By the next morning, Ines had secured the only tickets still available.  

Courtside, unfortunately. 

Across the floor, the Valkyries were already deep in warmups, moving through drills with controlled intensity.  

Paige stayed near the top of the arc, locked into rhythm, her eyes focused straight ahead. If she noticed Azzi’s presence, she didn’t show it.    The game had turned brutal in rhythm and pace.  

The Liberty held a five-point lead, and the crowd rode every possession like a wave, roaring with each defensive stop and every made shot. Bodies hit the floor more often now. Elbows flared. Timeouts were used sparingly. 

Paige moved with urgency. Her focus locked on the ball like nothing else existed. Sweat clung to her temples, her movements crisp and tight, no motion wasted.  

When a tipped pass ricocheted off a defender’s arm and spun wildly toward the sideline, she didn’t hesitate. 

She dove. 

The hardwood scraped beneath her as she slid forward, arms reaching, hands wrapping around the ball just before it could bounce out of bounds. But her momentum kept going. Her body skidded past the line, straight toward the courtside seats. 

She crashed at Azzi’s feet, shoulder brushing against her legs before she caught herself. 

“Shit—sorry,” Paige breathed, looking up. Her voice came low and rushed, all heat and adrenaline. 

Azzi’s eyes met Paige’s, calm and unreadable. 

For a second, the noise in the arena blurred behind them. 

Then the whistle blew. Paige scrambled up, tossed the ball to a teammate, and jogged back onto the court. 

Azzi didn’t look away right away. The faint trace of contact lingered in her skin. But her face gave nothing back. 

-    Team bus on the way to the airport, New York. June 2025.  

The internet had caught fire. 

Clips of Paige diving out of bounds and crashing at Azzi’s feet spread across every platform.  

Slow-motion edits looped the way Paige looked up at her, the brief glance that passed between them, the stillness of Azzi’s expression.  

Screenshots froze the frame at just the right second, turning a routine hustle play into something cinematic. 

Fans called it poetic. Dramatic. Predictable in the way only stories you couldn’t write better in fiction tended to be. 

“This is gay history,”  

“She literally landed at her feet. You cannot make this shit up.” 

“It’s giving princess and her knight,” another caption declared beneath a still of Paige on the floor, Azzi seated above her, untouched, statuesque. 

#ValkyriesCourtship alongside #PrincessAndTheHooper trended before the fourth quarter highlights even aired. 

Even sports media picked it up. A panel segment ran on afternoon television, showing side-by-side clips with commentary that couldn’t resist the subtext.  

ESPN headlined it “better than anything on Netflix.” 

Paige had seen enough of it by the time she reached the team bus. Her phone hadn’t stopped buzzing, but she left it face down on the bench.  

Kiki had sent her the clip with three crying emojis and “Oscar-worthy fall.” 

Kate pulled up another edit as she sat beside Paige, this one layered with a ballad and a dramatic fade to black. 

“You good?” 

“It was just a save.” 

“Sure. You threw yourself at the sideline like a knight charging into battle and landed at Miss Fudd's feet like you meant to bow.” 

Paige adjusted her hoodie without answering. 

Behind them, Kiki laughed. 

“She’s blushing.” 

She didn’t turn around. If she was, she wasn’t giving them the satisfaction. 

- 

The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas. June 2025. 

Las Azzi stared at her calendar, one hand pressed to her temple, the other resting over her laptop’s trackpad. The confirmation email sat open in front of her, clear as day. 

She leaned back slowly in her chair, eyes narrowing. 

There was no way this wasn’t deliberate. 

The Valkyries were playing the Aces. In Las Vegas. Tonight. And somehow, despite the number of ways she had tried to avoid repeating last week’s coincidence, here she was again. Same city. Same schedule. Same team. 

She remembered Nika casually handing off the file three days ago. Something about a last-minute scheduling conflict, how the developers were pushing for face time, how it made sense for Azzi to take. At the time, it hadn’t sounded strange. 

Now it did.    Another email which held two tickets to the game had found its way to Azzi.    Right. 

It wouldn’t look good if she didn’t show up to the game. Not when people knew she was in the city. 

If Nika and Ines had planned this, they weren’t going to admit it. But Azzi knew them both too well.  

She should have seen this coming. 

- 

Michelob ULTRA Arena, Las Vegas. June 2025. 

The game was tight. The Aces pushed in transition, fast and aggressive, but the Valkyries kept pace, sharp in their switches and relentless on the glass. The score stayed close, every possession carrying weight. 

Azzi sat still through it all. Close enough to feel the vibrations under her heels. She didn’t react. Didn’t lean in. Just watched. 

Paige was everywhere. Fighting through screens, calling switches, sinking shots like she was burning through something no one else could see. She didn’t slow down. She didn’t ease up. 

When she hit a three just outside the arc, her eyes searched briefly beyond the baseline. 

Azzi met the look. 

The moment was brief. The game pressed forward.  

- 

The Venetian Resort, Las Vegas. June 2025. 

The machine clinked quietly as Paige pressed the button again. Lights blinked. Nothing hit. She reached into the cup and slid another coin in. 

The Valkyries had pulled off the win. A tight, scrappy six-point finish that left the Aces frustrated and the bench breathing hard. 

Paige had smiled when she needed to. Nodded during the interviews. Let her teammates pull her into the photo. But once it was done, she slipped out early and didn’t look back. 

She found herself now hunched at a forgotten corner of the casino floor, staring through the slot machine like it owed her an answer she couldn't phrase. 

A pause behind her, then Azzi’s voice. 

“You know I’m not paying you to lose your money on a stupid machine.”    Paige slid in another coin and pressed the button, not bothering to turn around. The reels spun and missed again. 

“I know you’re ignoring me,” Azzi continued. “And I deserve that. But I wanted to say congratulations. You were great tonight.” 

Paige’s eyes stayed on the machine. “Hm, ‘s that all?”     Azzi wanted to say more. To sit down, to explain, to ask for something she hadn’t figured out how to name yet. 

She stood there for a moment, unsure if she should say more or walk away. The noise around them was constant—machines whirring, voices rising and falling, the usual chaos of a casino floor. It wasn’t the right place for this type of conversation.    “Yes. Have a good night, Paige.” 

Azzi moved through the casino without looking back, weaving past clusters of tourists and cocktail servers until she reached the elevators.  

One had just arrived. She stepped inside, pressed her floor, and leaned back against the wall as the doors began to close. 

A hand shot through at the last second. 

The doors jerked open. 

Paige stood there, a little breathless, eyes steady. She stepped in without asking and let the doors slide shut behind her. 

“D'you already have dinner?” 

Azzi shook her head. 

Paige glanced at the buttons, then back at her. 

“Wanna order room service with me?”    - 

The coffee table was a mess of wrappers and half-crumpled napkins. Paige leaned back into the couch, one leg tucked under the other, working through the last of the fries like it was a timed competition. 

Azzi watched from the armchair, equal parts fascinated and horrified.  

She had offered a quiet space for their impromptu dinner since Kiki was already asleep in Paige's room. 

Paige had inhaled three burgers in under fifteen minutes and was now making quick work of the fries without so much as a breath. 

Azzi reached for her untouched sandwich, glanced at it, then looked back at Paige. 

“Do you want mine too?” 

Paige didn’t even pause. “What is it?” 

“That was sarcasm.” 

“You’re gonna need to be more specific if food’s involved.” 

Azzi shook her head, sinking deeper into the chair. “I’m genuinely alarmed.” 

“You’ve seen me play,” Paige said through a mouthful of fries. “How is this surprising?” 

“You didn’t unhinge your jaw during the game.” 

Paige grinned, tossed a fry in the air, and caught it with her mouth.  

Azzi sighed and reached for the water bottle on the table but didn’t drink. Her gaze lingered on Paige, still working through the fries like nothing in the world could distract her. 

“You’ve been playing really well lately,” she said. “The last few games especially.” 

Paige slowed her chewing just a little. “Oh.” 

Azzi smiled. 

“I mean, thanks. I didn’t know you were watching.” 

There was a pause. Azzi could have let it pass, could have deflected or changed the subject, but the quiet between them felt too close to something real to lie through. 

“I haven’t missed a game,” she said. “Even if I’m not there, I watch. Every one of them.” 

Paige blinked, then looked down, a trace of pink blooming along her cheeks as she reached for another fry she clearly didn’t need. 

Sitting with her hands loosely clasped in her lap, Azzi’s eyes fixed on the untouched sandwich beside her. The weight between them had been there the whole night, carefully unspoken, but now it pressed harder, closer.    “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “For what happened. For how it happened. It wasn’t fair to you. If I could take it back... I would.” 

Paige didn’t answer right away. She wiped her hands clean with a napkin, taking her time, then leaned forward, resting her arms on her knees. 

“I don’t regret kissing and making out with you that night,” she said.  

Azzi finally looked at her. 

“I only regret putting you in a position. You were already carrying too much, and I pushed you when I should’ve backed off. That’s on me.” Her voice dropped. “I’m sorry for that.” 

Azzi shook her head slowly, the words already forming before Paige could say anything more. “No. Paige, I was the one who kissed you.” 

“And I kissed you back.” 

Azzi looked away, lips pressed together for a moment before she spoke again. 

“I let my emotions get the best of me. That night... I wasn’t thinking clearly.” 

“That’s exactly my regret,” Paige leaned back slightly, eyes holding firm. “I didn’t stop to think what you were going through. I shouldn’t have let it go that far when I knew you weren’t steady.”    She stood up abruptly. “God! Azzi, you just had to deal with your brother that night and all I could think was myself and my stupid ego.”    Azzi’s brow lifted, disbelief flickering across her face. 

“You’ve really been carrying this like it’s on you?” 

"Well...” 

Azzi motioned to the couch. “Sit down.” 

Paige hesitated but did as she was told, settling into the cushion with a quiet breath. 

“Listen,” Azzi started, her tone even but not cold. “I don’t know why you’re blaming yourself, but don’t. And if it makes you feel better, I appreciate your thoughts about me. It’s been a long time since anyone’s cared enough to think about what I’m feeling.” 

She paused, eyes fixed forward. 

“But I’m not going to lie. We’re re-opening something we shouldn’t cross again.” 

Paige sat still, her body tight, listening. 

“We started on the wrong path, Paige. And if we keep walking it, it’s going to lead both of us somewhere we won’t come back from. Whatever this was, we can’t keep going. There’s too much at stake. Not just for me. For you too.” 

Paige kept her gaze on the floor, jaw tight. The words weren’t new. Not really. She had imagined this conversation too many times—Azzi choosing control over closeness, reason over feeling. But now that it was happening, the actual weight of it pressed in deeper than she expected. 

She had been holding on to guilt, turning it over in her head like a stone she thought she could smooth down if she just kept at it long enough. But hearing Azzi say it out loud, the finality of her tone, made it clear that nothing she’d been carrying would change the ending. 

Still, it stung. 

It stung to be told they had started on the wrong path when it had been the only one that felt right. 

She nodded slowly, barely. 

“Okay,” she said, though it didn’t feel like one. 

- 

Valkyries HQ, San Francisco. May 2025. 

The Valkyries were rolling. Eleven wins, three losses. The best start of any expansion team in league history. Their chemistry was sharp, execution cleaner with every game, and the league had started paying attention. 

Paige was a headline regular now. Her stats held weight, her plays made highlight reels, and the noise around her name had shifted from hopeful to certain. Rookie of the Year wasn’t just possible—it was probable. 

All-Star voting opened with her name already at the top of the ballots. 

She felt it, the momentum. The lift of it. Practices ran smoother, her body felt lighter, even the travel days didn’t drag. 

But that talk in Las Vegas hadn’t left her. 

Azzi hadn’t shown up to a game since. Not once. Not even for the home stands. 

The gym had emptied out over an hour ago, but Paige was still there, catching her own rebounds, the steady rhythm of the ball echoing through the quiet space. Her body moved on instinct—one dribble, two, rise, release. Net. Repeat. 

She wasn’t tired. Not enough to stop. 

The sound of the door clicking open didn’t pull her attention right away. Only when footsteps drew closer did she finally glance toward the baseline. 

Azzi stood just inside, arms crossed, the faintest trace of something amused in her voice. 

“Practice ended a while ago. If you’re staying this long, I should start charging you gym maintenance.” 

Paige caught the ball and held it. Her breathing slowed as she turned to face the person living rent free in her head for the past couple of months. 

She let the ball rest against her hip, then spun it slowly in one hand. 

“I don’t want to slack,” she said. “We’re on a five-game win streak. Last thing I need is my boss getting mad I’m not putting it all out there.” 

She looked up, a flicker of something teasing behind her eyes. 

“Last I heard, she never misses watching our games.” 

Azzi scoffed, stepping forward without hesitation. She plucked the ball from Paige’s hand like it belonged to her.    “You really think flattery’s going to make me overlook the fact that you’re hogging the gym?” 

Paige grinned and walked backward toward the free throw line, holding out her hand, shrugging. “If I said I was staying late to honor the legacy of the franchise, would that make it better?” 

Azzi turned the ball slowly in her hands. “It might make it worse.” 

Paige laughed, stepping back with a bounce in her step. “I’m just trying to keep the lights on. You know, making sure your multi-million dollar floor space stays in good use.” 

“I should charge you rent.” 

“Add it to my contract,” Paige said, motioning toward the court. “Tell you what. You make one shot, I’ll clear out.” 

Azzi tilted her head. “You think I’m just going to embarrass myself for your amusement?” 

“I think you’re dying to see if you can make one,” Paige said, voice low and teasing. “Come on. You’re standing on the floor of your own team’s gym, and you’ve never even taken a shot?” 

Azzi stared at her for a long second, then shook her head and let out a sigh. 

“You’re relentless.” 

Paige grinned and walked toward the free throw line, tossing the ball up and catching it. “One shot. I promise I won’t tell the world. Unless it’s perfect.” 

Azzi followed her slowly, arms folded. 

“This is ridiculous.” 

“This is team bonding.” 

“You’re not my team.” 

“I’m your headache. Close enough.” 

Azzi let out a breath, finally taking the ball back. “Fine. But I’m blaming you when this ruins my reputation.” 

Paige stepped in, already adjusting her grip. “If anything, this is gonna make it better.”    Azzi stared at the hoop like it was challenging her. She adjusted her grip on the ball, stepped awkwardly toward the free throw line, and squared her shoulders like she had watched athletes do a hundred times from the sidelines. 

She launched. 

It left her fingers too flat, spinning awkwardly in the air before clanking off the front rim and bouncing back with a dull thud. 

Paige bit her lip, then broke into a jog to chase it down before it rolled out of bounds. 

“That was…” She paused, dribbling the ball once. “A very brave attempt.” 

Azzi crossed her arms, unimpressed. “You don’t have to sugarcoat it.” 

“I’m not.” Paige grinned. “I’m saying you’re clearly an expert at hitting the exact part of the rim that guarantees it won’t go in.” 

She walked the ball back, but instead of handing it over, she stopped in front of Azzi and held it with one hand. Her voice dropped, softer this time, and something in her face shifted. 

“Let me show you.” 

Azzi hesitated, watching her closely. There was no mocking now. Paige’s grin had settled into something quieter. Not serious, but careful. Like she was trying not to move too quickly through a moment that meant more than it should. 

She nodded once. 

Paige stepped closer, placing the ball in Azzi’s hands again, but this time kept hers there too. She adjusted Azzi’s grip gently, her thumbs brushing over Azzi’s knuckles. 

“Right here. Let your shooting hand sit under the ball. Other hand just helps guide it.” 

Azzi didn’t look at the hoop. She looked at Paige. Their hands were tangled around the ball, Paige’s fingers warm and steady. Close enough to feel her breath when she spoke again. 

“You don’t need to force it. Let it roll off your fingers. It’s about rhythm. Trust.” 

Azzi swallowed hard. 

“Trust the shot?” 

Paige’s eyes met hers. “Trust yourself.” 

The gym felt too quiet. Just the creak of sneakers on polished wood and the low hum of lights above. Paige stepped behind her, setting her palms lightly on Azzi’s elbows, guiding them into position. 

“Bend your knees a little. Keep your elbow under the ball.” 

Azzi followed. The motion was stiff, but she listened. 

Paige leaned in, voice at her ear. “Now lift it slow. Let it go at the top.” 

Azzi raised her arms and released. The ball floated, not perfect, but cleaner. It hit the backboard and bounced toward the rim before falling away. 

Better. 

Azzi turned to look at her, something flickering in her eyes. Not frustration. Something else. A heat she didn’t name. 

“That was almost good,” Paige said. 

“Almost?” 

“I think you need another lesson.” 

-    Paige’s apartment, Oakland. June 2025.  

The apartment was dark except for the soft glow of Paige’s phone. She was sprawled on the couch, one leg tucked under her, the other stretched toward the armrest. Her hair was damp from a shower, and there was a half-finished protein shake on the coffee table. 

Her thumbs tapped quickly. 

Paige: You looked good last night.  Paige: But I still think your hair looked better during draft night. 

She attached a photo. 

It was Azzi, polished and poised, walking into a real estate conference. Hair pulled back in a sleek twist, dressed in a charcoal pantsuit that made her look every inch the power executive Twitter loved to obsess over. 

Azzi: Where did you get this? 

Paige answered before the read receipt even registered. 

Paige: Internet. You’re famous, remember? 

Azzi exhaled through her nose, typing slowly. 

Azzi: Are you stalking me now? 

Paige: Maybe.  Paige: Just enough to form an opinion about your hairstyles. 

Azzi: And here I thought you were too busy chasing Rookie of the Year. 

Paige: I multitask. 

Azzi sat up straighter in bed, the corners of her mouth betraying the start of a smile. 

Azzi: You really liked my hair that night? 

Paige: I like a lot of things when it comes to you.  Paige: Want a list? 

Azzi hesitated.  

Azzi: I’m scared of that list. 

Paige: You should be. It’s long. 

Azzi: Paige. 

Paige: Azzi. 

Azzi: I thought we weren’t doing this. 

Paige: You texted back.  Paige: So maybe you’re doing it too. 

There was a pause. Paige watched the typing bubble appear and disappear three times. Then finally: 

Azzi: Goodnight, Paige. 

Paige stared at it. Then sent one more message without thinking. 

Paige: I still like your hair better down. 

She set her phone down beside her, the softest grin tugging at her mouth as she leaned back into the couch. 

While Azzi lay still in the dark, phone on her chest, heartbeat louder than it should be. She didn’t reply again. But she didn’t stop reading it either. 

-  

Rocco's Cafe, San Francisco. June 2025. 

The clink of glass against ceramic filled the space between them. Afternoon light poured through the tall windows of the restaurant, the kind of place Nika always picked—unassuming, elegant, with an outdoor view that cost more than it looked. Azzi sat across from her, shoulders relaxed, her phone turned face down for once. 

Nika stirred her espresso, eyes flicking to the plate Azzi had barely touched. 

“Westlake signed,” she said. “The rezoning permits came in yesterday.” 

Azzi nodded, lifting her glass. “Good. I want the contractors briefed by Friday. We’ll reroute phase three if they can’t break ground in time.” 

“They will.” Nika took a sip, then leaned back in her chair. “What about the Dallas project? Still holding?” 

Azzi glanced past her toward the window. “We’re waiting on final numbers. But I’m not rushing that one. The board will push if I give them a reason.” 

A beat passed, comfortable and slow. Nika tilted her head, her voice quieter. 

“How are you?” 

“I’m fine?” 

“You’re more than fine.” 

Azzi looked at her confused. 

Nika smiled, sharp but kind. “You’ve been smiling. Laughing. You even left the office before seven last week.” 

Azzi raised an eyebrow, daring Nika to continue. 

“You’re glowing.” 

She shook her head, but her mouth twitched like it wanted to smile. 

“And forgive me, but I have a feeling Jake’s not the reason.”  

Nika lifted her cup with a knowing tilt, like she was letting Azzi keep her secret while quietly reminding her it wasn’t all that well hidden. 

-  San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco. June 2025. 

Azzi reread the message from the Valkyries’ training staff, the words sharp in their precision.  

Concussion protocol.  

Paige had been pulled from practice following a hit during the game against Indiana two nights ago. 

Azzi had watched that game from a bar in Dallas, her tablet propped up between half-finished cocktails and development briefs. The meeting with local contractors had stretched past dinner.  

Her flight home today was late and quiet, and somewhere over the Rockies, exhaustion claimed her. 

The message hadn’t registered until she was standing outside Terminal 2, luggage beside her, the San Francisco air cutting through her blazer. She scrolled absently while waiting for the car. 

Another text sat beneath the first.  

Let us know if you’d like to see the medical report. 

She didn’t reply right away. Headlights pulled up. The town car stopped cleanly at the curb. 

She typed her reply. 

Not necessary. 

Tony stepped out, moved to the trunk. Azzi got in without a word. The door closed with a soft click, and the city hummed low around them. 

She stared straight ahead.    Thinking.    More thinking.    “Tony, we’re making a detour.” 

-    Paige’s apartment, Oakland. June 2025. 

Paige blinked, hard, like it would help make sense of the shape in front of her. 

Azzi stood at the doorway, calm as ever, hair tucked neatly behind one ear, as if she belonged there. She hadn’t called. Hadn’t messaged. 

And now Azzi was stepping inside like she hadn’t just knocked a minute ago, like being let in meant she belonged there. 

Paige raised an eyebrow. “You know, knocking doesn’t mean you get to just walk in like it’s your office.” 

Azzi took two more steps in, ignoring the comment entirely. 

“You’re in concussion protocol,” she said. “I got the update this morning.” 

“I—what? Wait, how do you even—” Paige closed the door slowly. “You’re not even on the medical distribution list.” 

“I don’t need to be.” 

“Okay. Cool. Great. Love the vague billionaire surveillance energy,” Paige muttered. “That’s definitely what every injured rookie wants.” 

Azzi raised an eyebrow, unbothered. “I didn’t hack into anything, if that’s what you’re implying.” 

Paige snorted. “You didn’t have to. One look from you and half the staff probably tripped over themselves to send an update.” 

“I asked, they answered.” 

“Right. Because that’s totally normal. Just your average team owner flying across the country to check on a player with a bump to the head.” 

“I’m not your average team owner,” Azzi’s gaze didn’t waver. “And it wasn’t just a bump.” 

Paige’s breath hitched before she could hide it.  

She tried to mask it with sarcasm. “So what now? Are you here to run your own tests? Gonna flash a penlight in my eyes, ask me who the president is?” 

"Would you answer if I did?” 

“Depends,” Paige said, voice lower now. “Are you gonna tell me why you really came?” 

Azzi didn’t look away. “Does it matter?” 

“It does if you want to keep pretending this is just about basketball.” 

“Paige.”    “Azzi.” 

Azzi exhaled, slow and tired. “I was worried.” 

Paige stepped closer, the tension in her shoulders softening as she reached out and cupped Azzi’s face with both hands. 

“I’m fine,” she said gently. “You don’t have to worry.” 

Azzi didn’t answer. Her eyes stayed on Paige, and before she realized it, she was leaning into the warmth of that touch, drawn by something quieter than reason. 

Paige moved in without rushing, her hands sliding down until they rested on Azzi’s waist. She pulled her in, carefully, like she didn’t want to spook her. Their bodies met in a slow, steady hold. 

Azzi let herself be held. 

“Didn’t we agree we need to stop this?” Azzi’s voice was soft, but the weight behind it settled between them. 

"I only agreed half-heartedly.” 

Azzi rolled her eyes and gave her a light smack on the arm. Paige caught her wrist before she could pull away, grinning. 

“Let’s just have this night, please.” Paige said, voice lowered to something more honest. “We don’t have to do anything. I miss you.” 

There was a pause, then a quiet mumble from Azzi. “I miss you too.” 

Paige wrapped her in a hug, slow but firm, the kind that said more than words could carry. She held Azzi tightly, grounding herself in the contact, in the relief of having her this close again. 

“How was your flight?” she asked after a moment, still not letting go. 

Azzi answered once they finally pulled back, their fingers laced. “Long. Delayed twice. I hated every second.” 

“Stay the night,” Paige said without thinking. 

Azzi blinked. Her body stilled. “Paige—” 

“It’s not what you’re thinking,” Paige added quickly. “We both need rest. That’s all. Just... don’t leave.” 

Azzi hesitated for only a beat, then reached for her phone. She typed out a message to Tony to go home without her. 

Paige disappeared for a moment and came back with a folded UConn sweatshirt and matching joggers. “You’ll look better in these than I ever did.” 

Azzi gave her a look, took the clothes, and changed in the bathroom. When she emerged, the room was dim, Paige already under the covers. 

She climbed in, the air between them thick with hesitation. They left a small space between their bodies, but not for long. 

“Come here, ma,” Paige said, voice almost teasing. 

Azzi didn’t bother pretending. She folded into Paige’s side, resting her head on her shoulder. 

“I’m only doing this because of your concussion protocol,” she murmured. 

Paige laughed, the sound low and grateful. “If it means I get to have you like this, I’ll bang my head every day.” 

Azzi let out a quiet laugh of her own, her breath brushing against Paige’s neck. 

Paige pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you for coming. And for checking on me.”    “We’re so bad at stopping this.” 

[wickwoods]

𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬-

Ex-husband!Dad!Eddie Munson x AFAB!Ex-wife!Mom!Reader-

I found the divider on Pinterest! Creds to original poster <3

Word Count: 4.5K

Summary: A couple of months after your divorce with Eddie, you meet his new girlfriend at a Harrington pool party. Too bad she’s a total bitch, though.

Warnings: 18+, Smut, Dom!Eddie, Sub!Reader, Unprotected sex, Eddie doesn’t exactly cheat, Reader and Eddie have two kids together, No use of Y/n, Eddie cums inside reader, Reader has boobs and pussy, PiV, Oral sex (fem receiving), A snarky comment about how reader “should” be eating…These are the main warnings but please feel free to let me know of any I missed, happy reading! <3

You heard her voice before you saw her.

“Eddie! Grab my purse from the backseat!” You turned over to the wooden gate when it slid open, locking your eyes on her. Roxy, Eddie’s new girlfriend.

‘She’s pretty.’ You decide in your head. ‘Too bad she’s a total bitch.’ There were multiple occasions where your friends had complained about her behavior. The most recent being Nancy complaining about Roxy trying to give her parenting advice when she didn’t have kids herself.

You watched as she made her way to the large white table where you sat at and pull up a chair to sit on. Eddie strolled in a few moments after her, taking a seat next to her and setting her purse down on the table.

Roxy didn’t greet you, and you didn’t bother to speak to her either. If only she knew how to keep her mouth shut. “Do you know how many carbs are in that? Salads are way better for a body like yours girl, trust me.”

Your eyes widened with surprise at the girl's nerves. You shifted your gaze to Eddie’s bright red face. “She serious?” You ask. You turn back over to Roxy, her face stone cold serious. Your eyes didn’t falter as you responded in a cold tone, “I gave birth to two children. My body was a home for them. I am comfortable in my body, sorry you’re not comfortable in yours.”

Your hands made a loud smacking noise as you slammed them on the table, making Eddie and Roxy jump back in surprise. “Fucking bitch.” You muttered as you pushed yourself up from your seat, turning on your feet to walk to the back screen door where Wayne, Steve, and Nancy were standing.

You couldn’t believe it. Who the fuck does she think she is? She had no right to comment on your body. God knows you went through enough of that in High school.

“You alright, sugar?” Wayne’s raspy voice rang through your ears as he flipped a burger patty on the grill. “Yeah I'm just gonna head inside for a couple of minutes, Nance, can you watch the little gremlins for a bit?” She smiled and nodded her head, “Of course.”

You gave her a quiet thanks and made your way inside. Unbeknownst to you, a certain metal head was trailing right behind you. He made himself known with a loud clear of his throat. You tried to ignore him and pretended to be hyperfocused on the bowl of macaroni and cheese resting on the counter.

“Hey,” Eddie walked over to where you stood and reached for your forearms, “I’m so sorry about that. I’ll tell her to watch her words around you-“ You shook your head from left to right. “No, Eddie. Keep her away from me or we will have a problem. Keep her away from my kids too.”

Your eyebrow twitched as it usually did when you got mad and it made Eddie smile. “Alright, sweetheart. Let's go out there and enjoy the day. I still gotta say hi to the little troublemakers.” He smiled at the thought of the children running outside. They were the perfect blend of you two. Everyone could see it.

You both made your way outside, being greeted by more family spread around the Harrington backyard. You greeted anyone who was close enough to hear you and walked over to where Nancy stood talking with Robin. You kept your gaze on Eddie and watched as he ran around with the kids.

You could swear you had heart eyes at that moment. If there was one thing you would never disagree on it was that Eddie was a great dad. The best you’ve ever seen. He cared about his children and it was clear just how much he did. He took the role very seriously.

“Are you getting in the pool? I think I am.” You heard Robin’s voice snap you out of your thoughts. “Maybe later.” You replied.

A little after the sun began to set, you decided to finally step into the large pool. The surface was gleaming with the sun's glare of sunshine and it looked beautiful. Eddie was already in the water, holding baby June in his arms. The ten month old squealed as her father lightly dipped her in and out the water.

You looked to the edge of the pool, seeing your five year old Ronnie swimming with his bright yellow arm pool floaties clung onto his little arms. “Momma! Look at me! I won Auntie birdie!” Aunt birdie- being Robin- was pouting playfully at the corner of the pool. You summed up from their faces that they had a small swimming race and that Robin had let Ronni win.

“That’s amazing baby!” The enthusiastic tone you had on didn’t let him know that you knew Robin had let him win. He basked in his glory a bit more then moved on to play a new game. Eddie looked up to where you were standing and asked, “You coming in?” You nodded, reaching for your t-shirt. You lifted your shirt from your torso then moved on to the jean shorts you were wearing.

You felt his blazing gaze on your body as you revealed the dark red bikini you had on. It was one of his favorites back when you guys were still together and you knew it. It was exactly why you never bothered to buy a new one.

His eyes tore away from you when June splashed her tiny hands all around him. “You little menace!” Her giggles rang throughout the backyard as Eddie tickled her belly. You stepped in and swam over to them, holding your hands out and calling June's name.

The baby girl looked at you and gave you a big gummy smile. She was such a happy baby. “Are you ruining daddy’s hair?” You cooed when she grabbed a fistful of Eddie’s hair, yanking it lightly into the water. “You encourage this sick behavior? You are a sick woman, sweetheart.” You giggled.

Robin swam over, Ronnie trailing right behind her. She grabbed June from Eddie’s grasp and said, “I’ll take the little munchkins to get some food. You guys enjoy the pool.” You knew what she was doing. The tiny smile on her face as she looked at you said it all. You didn’t try to stop her. Neither did Eddie.

“Alright. Bye Robs.” Eddie said. He stared at you awkwardly for a minute before speaking, “So..how have you been?” You quirked an eyebrow before responding, “I’ve been good…just dealing with the kids. June entered her walking stage so that’s been…something. She just wants to walk into anything that screams ‘danger’.”

Eddie chuckled awkwardly, avoiding your eyes as he did so. You couldn’t stand the awkward act. It made you feel like you guys were strangers all over again. “How about you? How’s life treating you?” You asked him. “Well, I can’t complain. Things are okay for the most part. Wayne was finally promoted to the big manager position so that’s a great thing.”

Your eyes widened in excitement. You knew that one of Wayne’s biggest goals from working at the plant was to become one of the few managers there. “That’s amazing! I’m so proud of him.”

Eddie smiled at your display of affection for his uncle. He couldn’t help but compare the way you and Roxy responded to the news. Roxy had only hummed and smiled when his old man gave them the news. She didn’t bother trying to hide the fact she wasn’t listening to a single word he was saying. He stared at you with a longing gleam in his eyes.

He seemed like he was about to say something but was interrupted by the voice of none other than Steve Harrington. “You guys mind if we join? No? Okay, great.” Not waiting for a response, Steve ran in, jumping and causing a big splash. You squealed and turned away in surprise.

Expecting it to happen, Eddie only smiled and watched as Steve shook his hair out like a dog after a shower. Nancy followed in suit, causing another big splash. This time, Eddie turned away and swam over closer to you.

You both turned back when you heard Steve speak again. “You guys wanna play….” He paused for a dramatic effect. “Chicken fight?” Eddie responded almost immediately, “Game on, Harringtons.” He looked at you and motioned for you to get on his shoulders. You obliged, hopping on with precise movements so you wouldn’t hurt him.

This wasn’t your first rodeo of the game with the Harringtons across you. The most recent time you guys played was back in ‘86, right after graduation when you guys took a trip out of Hawkins.

The game began, you and Nancy squirming on the guys’ shoulders as you fought to push the other into the water. The guys were cheering on, and even Dustin and a little Harrington joined in. You fell in, and Nancy was whooping with pride along with Steve. Eddie turned to you and chuckled when you came up from underwater, hair stuck to your face. “It’s alright sweetheart, we’ll get them next time.”

The night dragged on, and at around 7:50, Roxy’s voice was heard once again. At some point you had heard her arguing with Eddie on how she didn’t wanna go into the pool because her makeup would be ruined.

“Eddie! I want to go home! I’m tired.” She whined. He heaved out a sigh and began to climb his way up the three steps at the edge of the pool. You decided to get out at that moment too. “I’ll be back, I’m just gonna drop her off and come back for another burger. Wait for me?” One look of his dark brown eyes, and you felt like you were under a spell.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll be here.” You smiled as he tossed his keys in the air once before catching them and walking over to Roxy.

When he came back, you were already sitting down at the white table and dressed back into the outfit you came in. You held June in your lap as she babbled on to herself.

Ronnie was in the seat next to you with another small burger on the styrofoam plate in front of him. It had gone cold a couple minutes earlier when he began to listen to his uncle Dustin intently. Dustin was rambling on about a new Marvel comic his girlfriend Suzie had gotten him for his birthday.

“Hey, I’m back. I’m gonna get a burger really quick.” He walked over to the grill and served himself before coming back and taking a seat on the other empty seat next to you. Wayne was sitting in front of you, you had been talking to the old man about his new position at the plant and asking him questions about the perks.

“Well I'm very happy for you, Wayne. You deserve this more than anyone I know.” He gave a big smile, looking almost shy at the praise. “Thank you darlin’…Well I oughta be headin’ home. Got a big day tomorrow. I’ll see you guys soon.”

He gave his goodbyes to everyone, hanging a little longer to give plenty of hugs and kisses to his grandkids before finally heading home.

After all the food was done and everyone was worn out from all the socializing, each person bid their goodbyes to the Harringtons and made their way to their respective cars. You and Eddie were the last ones left parked on the edge of the Harringtons sidewalk.

You were about to open the back door to strap the kids in when you heard Ronnie’s little voice behind you. “Daddy, can you come to our house and tuck me and Junie in?” The little boy had your eyes and he knew the effect it had on Eddie. He made his best puppy eyes and stared directly into Eddie’s.

Eddie both loved and hated when he did. Loved because it was just about the cutest thing he’d ever seen. Hated because well…he couldn’t say no to any requests his five year old would make. “I don’t know buddy, ask your momma.” He looked up at you with a smile as the five year old turned to you with the same eyes he used on his father.

You hummed for a couple of seconds and responded in a teasing tone, “Hmm I don’t know Ron, maybe i’ll only let him come over if you…give me a bunch of hugs and kisses.” Your voice went a bit high pitched at the end of your sentence as you dropped down to your knees and wrapped him up in your arms, landing small kisses on his little cheek.

He giggled as you did so and you released him then turned to Eddie. “You follow us in your van?” He responded, “Yeah.”, pulling out his keys and making his way over to the old, beat up van.

“I’ll see you guys there!” He hopped in and started the engine. You quickly strapped June in her car seat and Ronnie in his. He kicked his little legs in happiness and it brought a smile to your face. You could feel the love he had for his dad radiating off him. You began to make your way home, Eddie’s van following right behind your red convertible.

You arrived a few feet ahead of Eddie's van. He parked right behind your convertible in the driveway, hopping out and walking up to the back door of your car where the kids were. He unbuckled them from their seats, sticking his tongue out in an attempt to make them laugh. It worked, of course.

Once you all were inside, you began your usual night routine, this time with Eddie’s help. It wasn’t often he came over at nights to tuck June and Ronnnie in. He preferred to be over at the house during daytime and to tuck them into bed when they were at his own apartment.

For a moment, it all felt normal again. Like a peace that was never disturbed by the divorce papers you both had willingly signed. After bath time, two bedtime stories, and a load of cuddles and kisses, Ronnie and June were settled in and deep in their sleep.

Eddie flipped the light switch next to the door off and with practiced stealth, shut the door without making a sound. Triumphantly, he turned to you with a smile and took a playful bow.

You giggled, turning on your heel to walk back to the kitchen. You were about to offer him a glass of water, but he beat you to it, surprising you with some news.

“I broke up with her…” His eyes held an expression you couldn’t quite put your finger on. It was hard to tell what he was thinking about at the moment. Of course you were happy he wouldn’t have to deal with her nasty attitudes anymore, but it didn’t mean you still didn’t feel bad.

“Oh, Eddie. I’m sorry.” He shrugged his shoulders casually. “It’s alright, sweetheart. Just glad I won’t have to put up with her anymore. What she said to you was…out of pocket.”

You smiled. Eddie had walkways been so protective of the people he cared about. God forbid June or Ronnie ever got hurt by another person, Eddie would be on their case for the rest of his life. You pondered in your head for a while before gathering the courage to ask, “Do you wanna stay for a while? Watch a movie?” He nodded.

“Yeah, of course.” You both made yourselves comfortable on opposite ends of the couch, you on the left, and him on the right. You went with your favorite movie genre, Horror.

Midway through the movie, you saw Eddie jump back when the red haired murderous clown in the movie got a little too close to the camera through your peripheral vision. You giggled to yourself and turned to look at him.

“You alright there?” you teased. He squinted his eyes in a playful glare. “Glad you find my fear hilarious, sweetheart.” Ever the drama king. You giggled even harder and it brought a smile to his own face. He slowly moved over to where you were sitting, putting both his hands on each side of your torso.

Your eyes widen in fear. You let out a little “no” but his mind was already made up. Squeals escaped your lips continuously as he began to tickle your sides.

”No! No, stop! I’m sorry!” You managed to get the words out in between your giggles. “You’re sorry?” He paused for a few seconds before picking up right where he left off. “G’nna have to do a lot better than that, sweetheart.” He smiled when your giggles got a little louder.

You stopped moving and giggling completely when you felt something prodding your thigh. “What’s?- Eddie…are you?…” He looked mortified. In sync, you both look down to see that Eddie was hard. His first instinct was to push himself off you.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry.” He put his head in his hands, looking almost ashamed of his hormones. “Eddie..” You tore his hands from his face, forcing him to look at you. “It’s fine. Stop freaking out. We have two kids together.” You attempted to make him feel better but you could still see the embarrassment behind his brown eyes. “I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

You pressed your forehead against his, and pressed a light kiss on his nose. “It’s okay…relax.” He turned his head upwards slightly, about to press a kiss to your lips before pausing midway. “Can I kiss you?” You nodded. “Please do.”

He didn’t hold back, his lips finding place in between yours. His lips sped up like he had been craving it since the last time you guys ever kissed. You didn’t mind, this is what you had been craving for a while. He pulled away, leaning down enough to attach his lips to your neck. Pretty noises escaped your lips when he nibbled on a certain spot.

“Ed-Eddie, let’s go to the room.” You had to pull his head up from his neck when he didn’t respond. His eyes were blown with desire, the brown irises now replaced with wide black pupils. “Yeah-shit, yeah.” You were about to stand from your place when you were swept off the couch in one fell swoop.

A small gasp escaped your lips and you looked at Eddie in surprise. He didn’t speak, only using one hand to shut off the TV. He spun around and made his way into your guys’ old shared bedroom. You trailed kisses down his neck in the meantime and even left a couple of marks on the right side of his neck. God, you just realized how bad you’ve been missing him.

How bad you needed him.

When you guys made it into the room, he laid you down carefully on the bed. “Beautiful girl.” He leaned in again, connecting his lips with yours. His tongue swiped against your lower lip, letting a bit of drool drip down your chin. You granted him entrance, his tongue expertly finding yours and tangling them together in a heated dance that made your thighs clench as best as they could with his leg in between them.

Feeling the tug of your hand on his shirt, he pulled back just long enough to take the black t-shirt off. You caught a glimpse of some tattoos that were etched into his skin permanently, including the one he had gotten for you two years ago.

It was nothing crazy to the point where people could immediately understand he had gotten it for you, just a small piece that only you two understood held a deeper meaning than he let on. Next to come off was your outfit.

Eddie’s hands were cold as they undid the neatly tied bow of your bikini. He pressed his lips between your swell breasts, leaving a path of purple bruises down your stomach. Your back arched into the air in response to his lips.

He pulled himself up just enough to attach his lips to your right nipple. You responded with a whine, him sucking on the rock hard pebble in response.

“Eddie, I need you, please.” Your eyebrows were furrowed in pleasure, a pit of pleasure burning in your stomach. If you didn’t have him soon, you were going to explode. Your hands reached down, undoing his belt buckle with eagerness.

One hand stroked against his dick in the process and it made him grunt in pleasure against your nipple. You pulled his bowers down along with his boxers. He stood up for a minute to shake off the garments so they landed on the floor away from the bed.

When his dick was exposed to your eyes, you reached down between your bodies, tugging on it and giving a couple of strokes to his tip with your thumb. “Fuck sweetheart, you’re gonna make me cum before I can even get in that pretty pussy.” He chuckled.

“Then hurry it up.” You sassed. He reached over to the nightstand next to your bed, moving his hand around inside the small drawer in search of a condom. When he realized there was none, his jealousy spiked up immediately. “Where’s the last condom we had?”

You stared at him sheepishly before responding in a meek voice, “I might’ve had someone over once last month…You can’t blame me! I was really horny.” He stared at you with squinted eyes. “You had a girlfriend anyways!” You tried again, but his face twitched in thought. “You know…I never slept with her.”

You felt genuine surprise. Eddie had always been a horny individual, it was no wonder you guys had two kids. You figured they must have shared a bed more than once while they were dating so you didn’t feel as guilty when you slept with the guy you had over.

“How was I supposed to know?” You muttered. “Doesn’t matter, sweetheart. Y’know why?…because I'm going to make you forget that man. Gonna fuck you so good you’ll only remember my name after.”

His words made you whimper and your thighs got embarrassingly wet with your slick through your jean shorts. He made quick work of taking your shorts and underwear off with the help of your hips lifting off the bed.

He let out a groan when he made contact with your glistening pussy. “I missed her. So pretty.” Using both his calloused hands, he spread your legs open by your thighs before slipping a finger in between your shining folds to toy with your clit.

You let out a moan and grabbed the sheets in a tight grip, your knuckles turning white with the force. “Fuck, I love watching you fall apart for me.” His finger slipped in with his words, thrusting at a sensual speed. Your hips thrust forward. You fucked yourself on his finger for a while before he halted your movements by pressing his other hand on your lower belly.

A second finger slipped in, making you gasp/moan in surprise. The sounds that were coming out of you were unrecognizable and embarrassingly loud, but you couldn’t help yourself- he was making you feel so fucking good.

He leaned in to press a kiss against your folds, then gave an experimental lick to your clit. “Eddie, please. Need your mouth baby.” Never being one to decline the offer, he began to eat you like a starved man.

Wet noises of his tongue flicking up and down filled the room. You managed to keep your voice low enough to the point where nobody but Eddie would be able to hear you. Your shaking legs were a dead giveaway to just how much you were enjoying this anyway.

“Cum on my tongue sweet girl. Wanna taste your cum. Show me how good I make you feel.” You bit your bottom lip harshly to contain the whine that so desperately wanted to get out. “M’close Eddie. So close. Mmm…love your mouth.” You felt his smile against your cunt and looked down to meet his eyes.

One final suck on your clit and you were seeing stars, cumming so hard, your legs were shaking. “Ahh fuck, Eddie.” His tongue flicked up and down for a couple seconds before he came up from between your legs, chin glistening with a mix of your arousal and cum. “Tastes so sweet. Just how I remember.” He winked.

“You ready for me to fuck you, sweet girl?” You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him in for a kiss. “So ready for you Ed’s.” He reached down and took a hold of his cock, hissing at the contact of his cold hand. You can feel the tip of his cock rubbing through your folds, making you moan, desperate for him to give you the delicious stretch of his dick.

“Shh, I know sweetheart. Just needa be fucked so good don’t ya?” You nodded, your mouth dropping open when he finally thrust his tip in. Out of everyone you’ve ever been with, Eddie was the only man who could ever give you the satisfying feeling of being stretched with only his tip.

His hands found a place on each side of your head as he thrust his hips forward, making inch by inch enter you slowly. “Fuck me, Eddie. Please baby, I need it so bad.”

He couldn’t hold back anymore, pounding his hips against your pelvis over and over at a steady but fast pace. “Fuck baby. So tight. Mmm squeezing my cock so fucking good.” You mewl loudly in response.

“M’yours Eddie. Pussy made only for you.” The sounds of his full balls smacking against your ass filled the room. It only fueled Eddie’s primal urge to fill you up with every last drop of his cum. A string of little “ah ah ah’s” left your mouth when his thrusts didn’t relent. His tip managed to nudge against the spongy spot that made you see stars.

“Right there Eddie. Don’t stop, please.” He chuckled darkly. “Wasn’t plannin’ on it sweetheart. Never wanna stop fucking this pretty pussy. All mine.” His lips met your harshly, spit mixing and teeth clashing against each other. There was no holding back your moans anymore.

You moaned loudly into his mouth when you felt the band in your stomach snap. Your hands trailed behind his back, leaving dark red scratches along his pale skin. You came with a loud moan, your legs shaking once again.

He came a second after you did when he felt the squeeze of your cunt against his dick. “Fuck, sweetheart. G’nna fill you up so full of my cum, give you a third baby. Wanna see you all pretty and pregnant with my child again.”

When you both came down your highs, he pulled out slowly, hissing at the cold breeze when he left your warm hole. He reached over the edge of the bed and grabbed his abandoned shirt, using it to wipe up the remaining drops of his spend on your pussy. When he finished, he dropped down next to you, pulling you close to him and wrapping his arms around your neck.

“G’night sweets.” You smiled against his chest. “Goodnight Eddie.”

Note: Pleas enjoy this horny monstrosity while I work on November Rain part two <3

[nogutsnogloria]

summary: there’s always someone to believe in you when you don’t believe in yourself.

a/n: this is just strictly platonic all around-family telling you you can do something even when you don’t think you can.

michael robinavich x jack abbot x dana evans x reader

your standing at the nurses station getting your cases ready for handover when you are brought out of your work by your favourite drink being waved in-front of your face. you look up to see dr. abbot leaning over the counter with the drink in his hand looking like he needs to ask you something.

“what’s that for?” you ask with eyebrows raised, because even if he’s brought you a treat for no reason before the look on his face screams this one comes at a price.

“we’ve been called up” he’s extending the drink in his hand so you finally decide to take it. “called up?” you’re at the end of your shift and you know if you thought about the sports reference long enough it would maybe click but you need him to spell it out for you.

“robby and gloria are conducting interviews for dana’s replacement with the dayshift nurses who are on this morning, they need some backup until about noon. that’s us. we are the backup. it will only be five extra hours and yours have been pre approved for double time. the job is just covering the nurse having their interview, like a floater.” you nod at what he is telling you and answer “okay no problem, you didn’t need the drink to ask that but i do appreciate it”

you’re honestly shocked at the news that they haven’t picked a replacement yet. any nurse you talked to about the posting had applied as soon as they heard about it, and it feels like said posting went up forever ago.

dana’s final days as a contracted charge nurse are coming to an end. she has decided not to fully retire, but to be given casual privileges so that she can choose when she wants to work and be with her family more. you are happy for her, if anyone deserves to slow down it’s dana. she has been there for you since your first days in your practicum as a nurse, and she is the reason why you picked emergency medicine when you finished nursing school almost ten years ago. however the first line you got was for night shift and you never looked back, you occasionally covered days when asked, but you were comfortable on the night shift.

the raise becoming a charge nurse would be nice, but you decided to not apply because dana will have some unbelievable scary, huge shoes to fill.

your standing at handover listening to the doctors speak on the cases you’ve been working with all night. when night shift breaks off and day shift can have a pre-shift meeting. it’s the usual updates on the standard of care that upstairs is really pushing down here. robby finishes up the meeting with “and remember we have the outdoor patio reserved at the pub down the road after shift today. i hope everyone can stop by and enjoy time with each other away from the hospital.”

you hang back to check in with dana. “anywhere specific you need me?” she smiles at you over her glasses. “nah kid i know you know what your doing. hop in wherever you see fit, we do have some baby nurses on today who might approach with questions, and if you tell any of the other nurses here i will deny it-but you give the most approachable energy so i am just warning you in advance with that one. oh and i really appreciate your help here, if you want to stay even later than they told you be my guest.” she looks at you to let you know that she’s kidding she doesn’t expect you to stay after an extended shift “oh, thanks for the offer dana but no thank you, i am taking my five hours of double time and im running” you both laugh at that.

you’re finishing up checking on vitals on an intubated patient waiting on an icu bed when one of the aforementioned baby nurses is approaching you looking like someone stole her puppy. “are you available to help me? the patient is a bit agitated and is making it really difficult to get an iv started.” you completely understand being in the emergency room stinks but you aren’t going to let some asshole ruin a new nurse’s whimsy. “of course! lead the way. i will just be there as back up okay? you know how to do the job you wouldn’t be here if you didn’t. don’t let some grump tell you how you should be doing it.” you say to her as she leads you to the exam room.

she opens the curtain and the guy looks less than impressed to see you with her and raises his voice at you. “look i already told the little bitch, unless there’s a painkiller in that drip no one is coming near me with a needle, she didn’t need to call mommy to come help.” you see jack and robby making their way over to the commotion. you put your hand up to signal that you’ve got it. the other nurse turns to you a bit shaken. “dr. mohan didn’t prescribe a painkiller. it’s just fluids, he was brought in by the police unconscious and inebriated-he can’t leave until care is done.” you now feel the need to protect the younger nurse after his little outburst so you step in between her and the hospital bed and look at the patient in the bed with a raised eyebrow.

“mr. roberts you really shouldn’t speak to my nurse like that. she’s just trying to help you. your doctor didn’t prescribe a painkiller but she did prescribe a bag of fluids that will help with the headache. now you can cooperate and let her do her job or i can get someone in here to restrain you, and she still does her job, either way she’s giving you the fluids. one of the ways doesn’t give you mobility to get up and use a bathroom when the fluids start working. you give him a bit of a screw you smile to tie the whole thing together. the patient sits back and grumbles but ultimately lets the nurse start the iv, you spend extra time with her to show her the easiest way to stick a dehydrated vein and both of you leave the exam room.

“thank you for that, honestly i was losing the battle in there.” you look at her “it takes time to stick up for yourself, we can’t make everyone happy, some people just enjoy being miserable.” that makes the new nurse relax a bit. “well thank you again for helping.” you pat her shoulder and head in the opposite direction.

next couple of hours pass and you just float where needed. noon is approaching which means your long awaited shower and bedtime is also approaching. “hey we need your help on an incoming gsw to the abdomen, four minutes out. surgery is meeting us down here.” dr. langdon rushes past you with dr. santos and dr. king following behind.

you meet dr. abbot at the trauma bays and get gloved and gowned up. you do your job while langdon, santos and garcia bicker. you watch as they do, but you can tell its becoming a bit much for dr. king so you tell her she’s doing a great job, once the patient is stable enough they are still puffing their chests with one another battling over who actually stabilized the patient so you finally pipe up. “what does everyone need? gold stars? applause? we’re backed up enough as it is down here can you get this guy upstairs and into surgery please?” that gets everyone moving. you didn’t notice robby sneak in and stand with jack to observe at the end so when your turning around and disposing of your gown you bump right into him. he’s biting back a laugh at your comment to the duelling doctors. “oh dr. robby sorry i didn’t see you there.” he catches you so you don’t bounce right off him. “no worries kid, just came to let you and jack know you’re free to go. interviews are all finished, thanks for the help today.” you walk towards the locker room to grab your things.

jack and you live pretty close together so you usually walk to and from work with one another when you can. while waiting for him by the desk you pull on your hoodie pulling your ponytail out from the neckline. “are you coming to the pub later?” dana asks you. “oh that seemed like a dayshift thing.” you say non committal. jack walks up behind you “and what shift exactly are you getting off of?” you raise your eyebrow and grab your bag putting it over your shoulder. “an extended night shift.” you give him a look you hope conveys you absolute dummy. that makes everyone laugh including robby. “no the invite was extended to everyone in the team huddle, abbot seems to think he was included, that means you are more than included as well.” you nod “yeah, sure i can come for a bit after i take a nap, i guess i will see you all later.” with that you head home.

its about eight when you find yourself heading to the pub. you are quickly greeted by jack “i owe you a drink for today” you roll your eyes at that “you really don’t, but i won’t say no” he gets you a beer and you two head over to where robby is sitting and take a seat. “how were the interviews today man? you have someone lined up yet?” jack asks as you both sit down. “well we actually had 56 out of the qualified 57 nurses at the hospital apply so it took a bit to get through it all.”

you can feel both their eyes on you as you take a pull of beer from your bottle trying to look anywhere else but at either of them. abbot has argued with you every time you told him you weren’t applying, and now you are starting to suspect that he went behind your back to throw your hat in the ring anyways. “well lucky you that’s a huge pool to choose from, i’m sure someone fits.” your kind of afraid to look at robby because now you think the two attendings are about to interrogate you about your choices so you decide to get ahead of it.

“was today some weird audition. jack was telling you lies about how i could be a charge nurse so you set this up to see me in action. did you even have interviews today?” you take another stressed pull of your beer.

“see robby i told you she was smart.” jack can’t help himself. he put a hand on your shoulder “and i’m not kidding or lying when i say you could do the job and you could do it well.” you turn to look at him “you really don’t want to work with me anymore?” he shakes his head at you “that’s not it, just can’t stand to see you waste your potential.” you groan and lay your head on the table. “who are you? my dad?” you can now here dana laughing behind you too. “oh great! were you in on this too? is there no one i can trust?” dana sits on your other side and rubs your shoulders. “kid i hand picked you years ago when i first met you, you can blame jack and robby but i am being the difficult one here.”

you lift your head up from the hiding spot. “there is seriously no one else? i don’t believe for a second that watching me work for a handful of hours made up your mind about me” robby shakes his head. “we could offer it to someone else but from all the stories i have heard about you from these two, you just picked up the extra hours today without complaining about it, the way you helped anyone who asked and kept everyone on track that is exactly what i am looking for in a charge nurse. the job is yours.” you sigh. “what if i crash and burn? can i go back to my old job?” robby nods. “all of us just want you to succeed, and if you try and it doesn’t work-which i don’t see happening by the way, you are more than welcome back to your old job.” you bite your lip and then release it, thinking. “okay so do i need to officially apply? or is hr going to reach out with the contract?”

[beabatoru]

10 things I hate about you 𝜗ৎ hockey player! gojo x reader

pt. 1/2

pairing ⊹ ࣪ ˖ college au - hockey player! gojo x reader

summary : getting accepted into one of the ivy league universities was supposed to be you getting the best education you could get, not the centerpiece of a bet created by none other than the hockey team, the players challenge satoru that he can't make you fall for him in 10 days in which he allows his pride take over to go out of his way to take on the bet thinking it would be easy. what he didn't expect was to fall for you instead, but after you find out his ulterior motives, your trust in him shatters and so does his heart. now with the truth out, he is now more determined than ever to get you back, but this time, he isn't playing games.

warning / tags ⟢ fluff, angst, brief smut, college au, this fic is based on the film '10 things I hate about you', partial angst with readers father regarding sickness, reader is low income.

w.c : 10k

a / n . this is a reupload from my old blog ! and yes this fic was inspired by '10 things I hate about you'

transferring from a community college to one of the top 10 universities was a huge step for you. you weren't even sure how you did it. but those two years of attending your local community college that wasn't even ten minutes away from your house paid off. one that made you feel ashamed in going since it felt like a detour from your actual goals.

growing up, you promised your family members that they'd see you majoring in the best schools and in becoming something they would be proud of to call a daughter. thats why you studied so hard in grade school, getting the best grades not allowing them to go below an 85%. but after your mother left shortly after your father got diagnosed with cancer. your dreams had to take a backseat to allow you to become the backbone of your family that consisted of you, your father, and your two younger brothers.

money came in short with your minimum paying job and it just wasn't enough to pay off any college funds. your brother who just turned sixteen always helped you out with groceries and bills now that your father retired from his job, after you forced him to, making sure he was taken care of at all times. hospital bills were also pricey, sometimes your insurance wouldn't cover all the costs and they had to be paid directly from your personal money.

so after applying to yale and actually receiving an acceptance letter in the mail a week after had you trembling in both excitement and fear. you were happy you could finally get the education you've been longing for, but on the other hand you wouldn't want to leave all the responsibility to your brother. he disagreed and encouraged your dreams instead when you sat him down to talk.

"y/n you've always been wanting to go to university. im sixteen now, im not the ten year old you know anymore, I am more than willing to take care after dad and matt."

you let out a sigh as you averted your gaze back down to the letter in your hands. the bold lettering called out your name and you tried to resist. but you couldn't.

"anything happens, you call me immediately." you firmly ordered. the pink haired boy chuckled, the corner of his lips lifted up as well as the corners of his eyes wrinkled before nodding. "got it."

thats how you found yourself packing the last bit of your shirts. no matter how hard you tried to, you just couldn't help the bit of tears that spilled from your eyes. you paused, letting out a shaky breath before feeling a pair of arms wrap around your waist. you looked down to see the soft face of your brother, Matt.

"sissy dont cry. me papa and yuji will be okay!" he promised.

you knelt down to wrap your arms around him as well, holding onto the warmth you were going to leave behind in a few hours. then, another pair wrapped around you both, a much stronger set of arms, then another, your fathers, who was weaker than before but still full of love. before you knew it, your whole family was cuddling together in the comfort of your own room.

no words were exchanged for a few minutes.

"ill miss those blueberry pancakes you make" your father whispered, making everyone giggle. you raised your head up, propping it on top of matt.

"ill leave the recipe for you guys."

your father placed a small delicate peck on your forehead.

airports were your least favorite method of transportation. you couldn't handle hearing the incoherent voice in the speakers call out the plane that was about to board in twenty minutes, or the panicked looks on peoples faces when they realize they booked the wrong flight, or the people just in general, so many people. the whole process was messy and annoying.

your family walked you to where the escalators headed up to your gate. with a sigh, you turned to face them watching as they held back tears. "ill miss you guys." a beat passed. then another. and you found yourself in another family hug.

it was still weird with the missing pair of warm arms that belonged to your mother. but looking back, maybe they weren't warm at all. they were always cold and empty whenever you hugged her. you reminded yourself that she left willingly. you quickly pushed those negative thoughts behind, not wanting to think about her when you had the next best four years of your life right ahead of you.

"call me if you need anything." you said with your voice more steady.

your father nodded before everyone let go at the sound of the speakers calling out your gate number. with one final look and a last goodbye, you stood on the escalators holding back tears of your own.

if the process of checking into the airport wasn't annoying enough, the next five hours boarding the plane itself would be. the man snoring next to you couldn't be any louder, the baby crying behind you wouldn't shut up, and the women gossiping in front of you was the only source of entertainment you could get.

but it all came to this. yale. the beautiful sight of the university's campus. you took it all in, seeing how students walked in with luggages or boxes of their own with the assistance of their parents or friends.

the sun casted a glow on the building itself making it appear straight out of a movie. you stood there for a moment, continuing to take it all in before your main character moment was interrupted by someone bumping into you.

he had white hair that resembled snow itself. he stumbled a bit before regaining his balance. the boys behind him that you figured were his friends laughed at the sight.

"oh uh sorry." he quickly apologized, glancing your way smiling like he meant the entire opposite of his apology before playfully nudging his friend as they continued making their way into the building. you blinked, continuing to watch as he disappeared. he was oddly.. beautiful.

after picking up a few papers form the directory, you followed the directions on the map to where the dormitories were located. you found out that you would be sharing your dorm with a roommate, you didn't mind as you saw this as an opportunity to make your very first friend.

and you were right because the second you twisted the door knob, not fully getting to turn it around before it swung open on its own, introducing a rather tall girl with the prettiest aesthetic and the sweetest smile plastered on her face that comforted you in ways you didn't know you needed.

"hi! I'm miwa!" the girl said in which you returned her greeting with your name. she moved to the side allowing you to step in. you took in the large room. it looks like she already has claimed her part of the room on the left side. band and show posters plastered all over her walls neatly with stuffed animals lying peacefully on her bed. it reminded you fondly of matt recalling how he has millions of plushies on his bed.

"need some help with that?" she pointed at your suitcases. you hesitated at first not wanting to bother her but it wouldn't hurt, right? "yes please." you chuckled which made her grin.

"great, roommate bonding begins now!"

hours pass by full of cleaning and organizing and chatter between you and the blue haired girl. you found out that she's been here for the past two years and you explained to her that you were a transfer. somewhere in between hanging fairy lights and folding blankets, she let it slip that she's crushing on a boy that is on the hockey team.

"didn't know they had a hockey team here." you said as you placed the last piece of clothing in the closet provided by the school. miwa gasped dramatically. "okay now I need to take you out to watch a game sometime!"

she flopped down onto your bed next to you. "its like an essential yale culture."

"deal. i'd like to see how good looking this boy you claim is the most handsome boy in all of yale to exist really is."

"he is!"

the first day of school wasn't until next week, yet you could already feel the nerves setting in as well as the homesickness. you pulled out your phone, dimming the brightness now that miwa was asleep and all the lights were turned off. pressing on yujis contact you sent him a message.

you || 9:04 P.M

everything alright?

yuji || 9:10 P.M

everything's great

you let out a sigh of relief at his words.

the first day was full of chaos, at least for you. you woke up a bit late after your alarm failed to do its job, you lost your map that showed the entire campus, and on top of that you had no idea what to wear.

after brushing your teeth and washing your face, you quickly slipped on a pair of pants and a cute top before rushing out of your dorm all while brushing your hair. you made it on time thankfully, but you surely learned your lesson to set your alarm to full volume.

your classes finally came to an end and you dragged your tired body that was aching from carrying all the syllabus and textbooks in your bag towards your dorm. miwa was already there scrolling through her phone.

"oh hey!," she flinched as she took a closer look at you. "you look rough"

you placed your bag down on the floor before flopping on your bed. "I am rough" you said with a grumble. she moved from her bed towards yours. "hey lighten up, tomorrow will be better. its the second day of school and the first hockey game"

"already?"

"yeah. since its the same previous team as last year versus some other school. coach said he wanted to kick off this season early for some reason. im not complaining, I get to see kokichi!"

"oh right your man" you teased which made her chubby pale cheeks turn a light pink shade before she bolted towards her closet pulling out two tops. "okay so which one says 'hey cute hockey player over there! wanna go out with me?'"

you burst out laughing before pointing at the one on the right hand. "that one, definitely that one."

you were never the type of person to enjoy sports. your brothers and dad enjoyed them though. they always connected both the couches together and gathered a bunch of blankets and snacks whenever a big game came up. now you are here witnessing one happen right in front of you, not on a screen.

you pulled out your phone to snap a picture to send to the family group chat. one you created after you had to delete the previous one with your mother in it. you angled the phone carefully, snapping a picture of the players already spread out ready to kick off the game.

you stared at your screen for a second before sending the message to the group chat. the second you sent it, the announcer's voice came to the speakers and the crowd erupted.

"there he is!" miwa squealed as she pointed at the dark haired boy, kokichi. he was rather attractive and you could see why she liked him. they definitely would make a cute couple. he was walking with a friend who had white hair. your eyes squinted as you looked a bit closer.

it was the same boy who bumped into you a week ago. his white locks were messy and he had a grin plastered over his face. it seemed that he was popular with the girls because they went wild at the sight of him.

you were interrupted from your thoughts when miwa's elbow made contact with your shoulder. "look, he waved at me!"

your eyes traced back to kokichi. "yeah, I saw." but your eyes kept wandering back to the boy with white hair. number ten. you watched as he placed his helmet on and slid across the rink to get into position.

a buzzer sounded across the arena, putting the game to a start and sending the crowd into a loud roar. you sat a bit straighter as you tried to keep track of the hockey puck. all the players were a blur of white and blue as they slid through the ice rink.

number 10 was sharp.

he was focused and quick, weaving through the other players. he stole the puck clean with a swift movement of his stick, gliding towards the opposite teams net. the air was thick with anticipation and it seemed that the entire arena was holding it's breath, and you didn't realize that you were holding yours as well.

then he hit it straight into the back of the cage with a satisfying clank.

applause echoed and so did the screams of the players' name.

satoru.

he rushed to his teammates doing a small celebration before continuing the game. maybe hockey wasn't too bad.

the game ended as soon as the buzzer could be heard, with your school winning. people made their way towards the exit or down to the rink. the hockey cheerleaders, glittering with their tiny ass skirts, made their way to their boyfriends who were players.

but most of them?

they went to satoru, congratulating him like he had just saved the world itself from an apocalypse. his hands reached to take off his gear, forehead dripping with a thin layer of sweat.

"im gonna go talk to kokichi." miwa said as she stood up from the bleacher already feeling the nerves settling down her stomach. you nodded, following her. she wrapped her arms around the boy, a hug in which he returned as well.

"thanks for coming." he said in a low voice placing his lips on hers practically melting the poor girl setting her rosacea on fire. you stood there a bit awkward not realizing that a pair of eyes was placed on your figure.

"hey, is she new?" a player asked his friends, pointing directly at you.

the other boy shrugged. "I guess, never seen her before." he turned to satoru who was busy untying the shoelaces of his skates, whistling at him. "yo satoru! remember when you were whining about not having any other girl to crack?"

satoru's eyebrows furrowed in confusion for a bit before he approached his friend. "yeah, what about it?" the guy grinned, jerking his chin toward the bleachers.

"what about her?"

he could barely see you due to his poor eyesight now that he had taken off his contacts. he saw you with a girl he knew was in a situationship with kokichi, his friend. "who the hell is that?"

"she's new. go after her."

satoru grumbled. "she looks like a total loner." his friend shrugged, untying his long black hair. "you like a challenge though, don't you?" he tossed his stick into his bag. "ten days. thats the bet"

"woah we're making this a bet?" satoru raised his eyebrow. there was a beat of silence, long enough to make him think this through. it's been a while since he's been laid, not wanting to continue the life of being a frat boy and a 'play boy.' he really just wanted to focus on his studies and hockey as well, if he found a girl somewhere throughout that then he'd settle down.

he grabbed his water bottle, taking a sip from it. "ten days." he repeated, mostly to himself. "suguru I don't know-"

"you backing out?" suguru questioned, wanting to stir something.

no matter how much he wanted to resist, he just couldn't because no matter how much he swore that he stopped doing that shit, he missed it just a bit. "fine, ten days."

his jaw was tightened watching as his friend smirked. the group chuckled a bit, like it was just another 'harmless' game. satoru glanced at you.

pretty.

you and miwa made your way to the exit after the little make-out session with her now new boyfriend. she kept squealing about how she couldn't believe she finally got together with him. you were incredibly happy for the both of them.

"he kissed me! like he actually kissed me! I thought I was going to pass out!"

satoru debated, standing still for a moment. you were a step away from leaving, your arm wrapped around your friends, chattering about whatever. part of him wanted to plan this through, something smoother than just..

"fuck it." he mumbled.

his legs moved before his brain ordered them to. "hey-" he called out, jogging a bit to fully reach you. you turned slowly, miwa did too with her eyebrows furrowed. he realized that maybe this wasn't the best option. his lips parted a bit before continuing.

"uh.." he scratched the back of his neck. "you dropped something."

you stared at him in confusion. "no I didn't.." you looked down to confirm that you in fact, didn't drop any item.

"right uhm, that was supposed to be my opening line" he cursed at himself, but it made you chuckle. satoru was dorky, you thought. he had an uneven smile before he looked back at you.

"im satoru"

"I know" you felt like everyone in this damn school knew who he was. "oh im y/n." you quickly introduced yourself after the small pause. for some reason, satoru didn't feel like this was the beginning of a bet he agreed to, but a beginning for something he wasn't ready for.

"go out with me."

miwa snapped her head so fast towards you, you could have sworn you heard a crack. you blinked at satoru, unsure if you heard him right.

"what?"

"go out with me, please." he repeated confident just like the first time. you weren't entirely convinced. "is this a joke?" satoru froze. of course this was a joke. he always played around with random girls so why did it make him feel guilty this time.

"no. I want you, pretty." he smiled softly, showing off his pearly whites that could have any girl soaking her panties in under 10 seconds.

you could feel miwa vibrating next to you, begging you to say yes, or at least something. "I think i'll pass." you mumbled, not unkindly just firm enough to make your point, staring at him for a bit before turning your heel to leave with miwa who now had a disappointed look on her face.

"whyyy?" she whined.

a grunt left satoru's lips. "I can take you out somewhere, anywhere! real nice places sweetheart!"

"like the 7/11 in broadway?" you shot back. he froze before chuckling a genuine laugh, shaking his head. "even better!"

the corner of your lips tugged up a smile as you giggled with miwa at his advances as you both left.

"well look at you missy, pulling mr captain of the hockey team."

"im just that good." you continued to hold your smile, not letting it drop.

and neither did he.

every night at eight, you'd have a video call with your family, just to make sure everything was alright back at home.

"he had an appointment today." yuji said while he was washing the dirty plates, handing them to matt to dry. you used to always put the dishes away back to their original places, but you were no longer there to do your job and that hurt you a bit.

it stung seeing how they had to adapt to live without you and you recalled how you all had to do the same when your mother left. you watched how matt didn't hand it to anyone, he just placed them down.

"and the results?" you asked, your voice quiet and steady but ready for any news you didn't want to hear. not yet.

"not out yet, but im sure nothing has changed since last time he got checked up."

yuji turned off the sink, handing the smaller kid the last dish before drying his hands with a towel. "how's yale treating you? saw the picture you sent."

you hummed looking back at how the day went. "it's going great I guess. our school won the game by the way, oh and a boy wants to take me out."

"you agreed?" yuji has always been the overprotective type, despite you being older.

you answered by shaking your head. "no, he's sketchy."

"how come?" now he was completely alert. a boy is hitting on his sister hundreds of miles away from home? not on his watch. you shrugged.

"he has a whole fangirl club or something."

matts voice could be heard from afar. "he's a red flag!" his words made you chuckle. "you been teaching him new vocabulary?"

yuji rolled his eyes. "its the kids at his school. but seriously, trust your gut. if you don't feel like something is right about that gut, don't take his offer."

you nodded, pressing the sleeve of your sweater up to your nose taking in the scent of old memories. it hasnt been washed since you left home and that nostalgic smell lingered.

one that you desperately wanted to go back to.

satoru could've sworn he left dissecting frogs back in high school, but here he was again, poking around at the laid back amphibians internal organs. "no way am I doing this shit." with a mutter, he placed the tweezers down gagging, shaking his hands in disgust before pulling out his cigarette box, sliding one out placing it in between his pretty pink lips, far too pretty for a man. "smoking in class? you'll set the smoke alarm off." suguru scooted closer to his friend.

"better than doing a bbl on a frog." satoru grumbled, looking away not being able to stare at the gross mess that was right in front of him. "that girl from yesterday.." he narrowed his eyes in thought, trying to remember your name. "y/n" he mumbled after it finally reached him.

"she didn't want to go out with me." he continued. the black haired boy scoffed, not comprehending the words that were coming out of the school's playboy. " you're satoru fucking gojo, this should be easy as hell for you!"

"look man, I dont do this shit anymore."

suguru rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he looked at the frog's corpse. "I'll pay you." satoru grunted bringing the lighter up to his cigarette, huffing it slowly before blowing it towards suguru, in which he looked down at the smoking boy unimpressed.

"I have enough money, I don't need your pocket change."

suguru paused in deep thought. "you're right, heard she's only into pretty guys anyways." satoru brought a hand up to his chest as if he was truly hurt, because he was.

“are you telling me im not a pretty guy?” he took out the cigarette from his mouth, before crushing it down against the table, which left a nasty dent on the cheap laminate. "why do you want me to play with her?"

suguru brought his pierced tongue out to lick his dry lips. "I guess I just miss the old you. seriously satoru, I'll pay you. 300 bucks if you take her out on a date," he scooted closer to his friend. "500 if you get in her panties. and 1000 if you manage to make her your date to hoco."

as if divine intervention occurred, the door creaked open, pausing the chatter between the two boys. there you were. wearing a well put together outfit that just made satoru's hormones run crazy, as you made your way to your desk. the sight of you made gojo straighten his posture suddenly hyper aware of every detail of himself. quickly running a hand through his hair and gulping, his adams apple bobbing.

he turned to look at suguru who was already giving him a pointed look.

"bet."

another thing that you like about yale's campus is that its not too far away from shopping areas. you found a nearby barnes and noble not even a few blocks away from the school. it soon became your go to stop where you would buy books and cd's. you weren't able to fit any of your beloved music or novels when you were packing, so you started a new collection that was placed neatly back at your dorm.

you entered, the bell placed on top of the door notifying any workers of your entrance quickly making your way to the music disc section, straight shelves full of cd's. you're surprised to see many new arrivals.

some were year old music, and some were rare old ones from the 2000's. you reached out to grab a few, a soft smile plastered on your face as you scanned the labels. so deep into it, you didn't notice the bell chiming again.

'debut' by bjork was being held by your hand right now, having an inner battle with yourself whether to be financially responsible for today. you placed the cd back when you remembered that the hospital bill from your fathers last visit would soon come back. and you were not looking forward to seeing the multiple zeros behind whatever number was in front of it.

"excuse me, have you seen any cd of bjork?" the smooth voice behind you asked. "oh yeah-" you answered, turning to look back at the voice.

halfway through your sentence, you took a good look at who was behind you. satoru. "oh, it's you." your eyes narrowed as they focused on him. the boy slid his glasses on the crown of his head. you didn't know he even wore those. satoru seemed to have noticed your observation.

"lost my contacts."

"are you stalking me?" you asked defensively which just made him laugh. his body got closer to yours as he skimmed through the cd's.

"you not getting that bjork one?" he asked tilting his head as his long pale fingers slid the music disc right out of its place. the plastic creaked the second he held it.

"uh its a bit expensive.." the words came out in a mumble, almost embarrassed to admit you couldn't afford a fifty dollar cd. you shifted your weight onto your right leg, looking anywhere but him.

he looked at you before looking down at the case. "guess I'll get it."

you blinked. "didn't know you liked her."

"I dont. but I like you, so I'll get it for you, baby. anything else you want?"

you head snapped towards him, watching how he didn't even let you answer as he placed the bjork case that contained the disc you've been wanting for a while into a shopping basket. you were so shocked you didn't even realize the term of endearment.

"its fifty.." you reminded him.

"be a sweetheart and dont mention the prices, I dont care one bit about it." your eyes dropped to the basket, lips parting to say anything but nothing came out. nothing but a, "can I get the post one..?"

you couldn't find how much one has ever spent at barnes and nobles, but you were pretty sure you may have broken whatever record there was. satoru didn't mind, just like he said.

when the cashier asked how he'd like his receipt he declined it. when he saw the total on the screen in bold green letters, he ignored it. and when he handed you the bags full of books, cd's, and figures, some that you didn't even ask for. he just noticed you staring at them for a little too long and he'd just grab it and place it in the basket, he had a smile plastered right on those pink lips.

"I think I deserve a kiss for all of this.."

its the least you could do, right? besides he didn't tell you where he wanted the kiss. so you stepped up on your tippy toes a bit to place your lips on his cheek.

"thank you. seriously thank you." his smirk softened to a smile, returning the kiss but on your forehead making your breathing stutter.

"any time," he mumbled kissing your nose before backing up. "oh here, give me your phone"

your hand pulls out your phone from your back pocket, handing it to him. "what for?"

"im putting my number in.." his fingers typed quickly, the dumb smirk on his face not leaving, before slipping it back into your hands.

'my sugar daddy'

you visibly cringed at the name he chose. "you've got to be kidding me." you said with pure disbelief. he nodded, proud of his decision. "I did buy you all this didn't I?" he tucked a strand of loose hair behind your ear, leaning down to whisper into it.

"ill send you a picture to set up as my contact photo. perhaps a nude?"

"perhaps not."

miwa's eyes widened when she saw you stumble into the shared dorm with heavy bags on each hand. "woah.. didn't know it was black friday." she half joked, getting up from her bed to help you out. you exhaled in relief when the weight was taken from your poor limp arms. "and I didn't pay a single penny."

she averted her gaze from the bags up to you. "who did pay for them? your sugar daddy?" your face burned at that damn name. "you're not wrong. it was satoru." you held up your phone, opening this contact name you knew would have miwa laughing.

she squinted, looking at it before she burst into giggles.

"hes so extra." you set the bags down on the desk, taking one thing out at a time. miwa wiped the tears that spilled from her eyes. "how'd this happen?"

you dragged a hand down your face, shrugging. "he saw me at the store and offered to buy me whatever. but I swear I didn't ask for all of this."

"he likes you."

you paused for a second. "does he now?"

it was a dumb question. who else would buy a random person they have no interest in hundreds of dollars worth of barnes and noble? no one, except him of course.

you retold the same ridiculous events to yuji, who still wasn't pleased at the idea of you getting hit on not even a month into school. his arms were crossed over his chest as he was lazily sitting on his desk chair, same as you.

"return everything."

you scoffed. "no way! even if I did I wouldn't be able to, he didn't ask for a receipt."

"he shouldn't be buying you shit. didn't you tell me yesterday how your gut was telling you something was off?"you moved from your desk to your bed, sighing as your back hit the mattress. "well maybe I was wrong about him."

satoru felt proud of being able to treat you like a princess, buying you all sorts of things, showering you with everything you wanted. he remembered how you hesitated on buying that cd. it bothered him a bit.

'did she have a problem with money?'

his phone rang with a message from suguru.

'party tonight at the frat, you coming?"

of course he was, he hasn't missed a single function since he joined yale. his fingers typed out, "Omw!" but before he could send it, he stopped, and then deleted it. why was he thinking about you right now?

why is he declining a party?

"im not in the mood tonight."

he stared at the screen for a moment, realizing that he actually sent that. a calloused hand rubbed his cheekbone, exhaling before he received another notification, this time not from any of his friends but from spotify.

'the marias are performing near you! click to see ticket prices and shows available!'

the marias? where had he heard that name.. his mind instantly flashed to you. you were holding the marias disc, the one he bought you along with all the other cd's. it was as if his body was moving without him knowing because a second later, he was buying two tickets.

your first day was an unconfirmed barnes and noble date. but your second day, the concert, would be an actual date.

he clicked the 'pay now' button without hesitation.

you weren't expecting to see a screen showing the digital receipts slip right into your line of sight while you were halfway through placing some textbooks in your locker. the bold blue letters read, 'THE MARIAS'

"hi pretty.. got these for you and me." your eyes widened at the familiar voice. the white haired individual really had a habit of sneaking up behind you didn't he? "you.. you got-" you stammered, blinking at the sight of the tickets, then back at him.

"got these for you and me." he repeated himself, both his voice and gaze softening. not sure to be flattered or continue being suspicious, you slowly reached for his phone, taking it from his pale hand to make sure what you were seeing was real.

not only did he buy you both tickets to a music artist you liked, but he also got the best seats. "you got the marias tickets.." you said mostly to yourself. his smirk was still there, but it showed no sign of being cocky.

"mhm, thought you'd like it."

"satoru.. you already spent so much on me yesterday.." how come a boy you barely knew was dropping a thousand on you each day. "I told you I like you. this can be our first date." he gently grabbed back his phone.

you swallowed, your mind trying to wrap itself around the unexpected layers of satoru you’d been seeing over the last few days. and you wondered if you were the first one to see this version of him.

"one date." you said firmly as you lifted up your finger, finally agreeing to his advances. his charm was different.. it was bold, yes, but real. "don't push your luck, im only accepting because its bjork."

"there will be more than one date, pretty." there was short pauses between his words allowing each syllable to sink in. like he meant it.

you had no idea why you were allowing him to score another point at this game he was forcing you to play. "at least let me pay for the gas.. or for the food." you offered but satoru only scrunched his face up shaking his head.

"don't do that."

he had some extra cash on him. 300. just like suguru promised when he said he'd pay satoru 300 if he managed to take you out on a date.

"just wear something pretty for me, and easy to remove."

you rolled your eyes. "im not sure about that second part, you're pushing your luck here sir."

"mm no not sir baby, its sugar dadd-"

your hand shot out to cover his mouth, cutting him off before he even had the chance to finish. he was shocked for a bit before he licked a long stripe against your hand moaning.

you recoiled immediately, gagging with a mix of shock and disgust. he chuckled at your discomfort and the sight of you wiping your hand on his chest.

"you like that baby?"

"no!" you shot back, closing your locker before rushing to the bathroom to properly clean your hand.

"ill see you later my love!" he called out.

miwa helped you get ready for the concert date after school. she straightened your hair pin straight while you both talked about what could happen later. your phone vibrated with a notification from 'sugar daddy'

"you still wearing something easy to remove right?"

you stared at the message. any past thoughts of him not being that bad quickly vanished. obviously, you weren't going to give him the satisfaction of your reply, so you left him on read. guess that hurt his feelings because a few minutes later he texted again.

"im joking baby :("

"still haven't changed that contact name?" miwa asked, finishing up the last strand for the final section. you grumbled a little 'shut it'

"im kind of nervous.." you admitted. this was going to be your first date after all.

miwa stopped, her hands hovering in mid air, before she turned your chair to face each other. her expression softened, a mix of understanding and excitement. "hey, it’s okay to be nervous. besides you kind of already know him.."

"briefly." you couldn't help but sigh, your eyes following her figure as she chose an outfit from her side of the closet to lend you.

"he wanted something easy to remove right?"

"dont."

you both met up to where you agreed, which was just outside the girls dormitories. the second he saw you, his heart fluttered.

you looked, no, you are gorgeous.

"...hey" a smile crept up on his face. he was dressed casual while you went all out thanks to miwa.

"hi" you smiled softly.

"you're so beautiful.." you'd be lying if you said you weren't flustered. even if you tried lying, the dark tint of pink on your cheeks would say otherwise. "thank you"

with a chuckle, he led you to his car. a model of the year, typical for a rich ass boy like him. being the gentleman he was, he opened the passenger door for you before closing it as you settled yourself down.

he made his way over to the drivers seat. "can't believe I finally landed a date with you" he mumbled before reaching over to hold your hand in his.

why was he acting like this? it was just a bet.. right?

you stared down at your hands that were now intertwined. you'd expect his to be cold from how pale they were and the amount of time he spends playing hockey in the cold rink.

your eyes lifted to his face, he was focused on the road now, a quiet little smile tugging at the corners of his mouth, like just having you next to him was enough.

"im going to be honest, i don't know any of this bands songs."

your breath caught in your throat. "you bought the tickets without knowing how they were?"

he shook his head. "I bought the tickets because I knew you knew who they were." his hand squeezed yours, keeping his eyes on the road. "have I told you how absolutely sexy you are? I mean look at this.." his hand moved from yours to tug at your skirt, making you gasp.

"feel good, baby?" he continued squeezing your thigh, biting his lower lip as he felt the warmth of your skin.

he slapped it playfully, moving his hand onto the steering wheel leaving you flustered.

"pervert.."

the concert was beautiful. the music reached your heart it made you tear up, of course some songs hit close to home. gojo couldn't help but admire you from time to time. watching as your pretty mouth sang along to the unknown lyrics.

"lets take a picture pretty." he said out of nowhere. "a picture?" he nodded before pulling out his phone, wrapping his arm around your waist and pressing his cheek against yours, snapping a few pictures of you and him throughout the night, mostly of you. you did the same, filling up your gallery with endless pictures and videos.

he pressed his lips on your temple before pulling away to continue enjoying the performance.

as the night came to an end, he drove you safely back home, both of you discussing the songs you enjoyed being performed the most.

"I think I enjoyed back to me the most"

"no way! paranoia was clearly the most enjoyable."

he rolled his eyes. "yeah well I think what I enjoyed the most was seeing you sing. you're gorgeous baby."

"you already told me that like twenty times."

"and ill continue to tell you for the rest of my life and beyond that." his words made your stomach twist. not in a bad way. definitely not. you watched how the dim light lit up his face making him look even more handsome than he already was.

"want to go to the ice rink?" he asked.

'right now? I dont think im wearing the appropriate clothing for skating.."

satoru grinned, pulling up to the building where the arena was in. "good thing I came prepared then." he reached towards the backseat, pulling out a duffel bag.

"you can thank your friend miwa."

you stared down at the clothes, which belonged to you, now on your lap. light pink thighs and a sweater as well as leg warmers. "you guys planned this?"

"she helped me out. I wanted to make this the best first date."

it was late, so the place was quieter than usual, dimly lit, making the place peaceful. the cold air nipped at your cheeks as you both stepped inside, and you tried your best not to show how nervous you were.

"ive never skated before." you admit.

"good thing your man is a hockey player." he finished tying up his laces before getting down on one knee to tie yours. he said it so casually. 'your man'

satoru looked up at you all while he continued fumbling around with the laces on your skates. "I really hope we have that romcom moment where you slip on the ice and fall right into my arms."

"what type of movies are you watching?" you giggled, feeling the heat creep up to your neck.

he finished the second skate, placing it on the ground before gripping your thighs. "like I said.. romcoms." he murmured, bringing you closer to his face. he darted his tongue out to lick the inside of your thigh.

a gasp left your lips. "h-hey.."

he didn't stop there.

he was starved. his lips traveled all throughout your inner thighs, nipping once in a while. "pretty.."

a shaky hand pushed his head away, watching as a string of saliva connected his lips with you. "so uhm.. you gonna teach me how to skate..?"

the fog of tension shattered the moment you placed your hand on his forehead, pushing him away. he licked his lips before chuckling. "yeah, come on."

the second you stepped onto the ice, you were already struggling. it was more slippery than you'd expect it to be, but satoru's large hands, placed on your waist, kept you steady.

"lean on me."

you held onto his arms, following his step wobbling once in a while.

"I got you doll."

twenty minutes was all you needed to learn how to maintain your balance on the ice. you excitedly followed satoru, holding his hand as you both made rounds around the rink, your skates gliding smoothly. he glanced at you, smiling as he watched you. "look at you... natural born skater" just as he said that, you bumped into his shoulder.

"natural born liar."

he chuckled seeing how your eyes showed signs of being tired. he wrapped his hands around your waist, lifting you up with ease. "lets get you out of here. kind of sad we didn't have that cute moment."

"what cute moment?" you wrapped your arms around him before he placed you down the carpet when he got you both out the ice rink. "the one where you fall right into my arms and we kiss."

you rolled your eyes. "maybe next time."

he raised an eyebrow, kneeling down again to take off your shoes. "so is that a confirmation that we will have another date?"

"mhm." you hummed quietly and before you knew it, you were leaning into a kiss with no control over your body, like it was possessed by a curse or something.

he hesitated for a second, deciding not to kiss you back. it was just a bet.

"lets go."

you stared at him in hurt and betrayal. this is what he wanted wasn't it? you felt your heart sink deeper as the seconds passed. you didn't allow him to put your shoes on, doing it yourself instead.

"baby.."

"dont." your voice wasn't firm, it was soft. barely even a whisper to be honest. "you're just messing with me aren't you?" he looked startled, like he had gotten caught with his hand down the cookie jar, because he did.

"no..no you're not something to play around with."

you were mad. furious even. "feels like it."

opening the door after gathering your clothes, you left without a goodnight. or a kiss. once you were out of view, satoru dragged his hands down his face groaning. he's grown attached to you without knowing it in the span of three days. and he's hurt you by denying your kiss.

he rushed after you.

"let me walk you."

"its fine. my dorm isn't that far."

"damn it y/n." he pressed his lips against yours, cupping your jaw. the kiss was full of frustration and it was desperate. his other hand found your hip, bringing you closer to him. he wanted to deepen the kiss, but he noticed you weren't kissing back.

he pulled away before smashing his lips against yours again, hoping that you'd kiss back this time but you didn't.

"I'll see you later.." you mumbled out.

he watched you walk away quickly in the direction of your dorm. now it was his heart who was sinking. he didn't remember any of his last 'bets' hurting this much.

so why does it feel like you were ripping out his heart right now?

when you reached your dorm, ready to get any call from your brothers, you already planned not to mention anything. not the concert date with satoru and definitely not how yuji was right about him. you couldn't let him have that 'I told you so' moment.

your phone vibrated at the back of your pocket as soon as you dropped your bag onto the floor. miwa was staying over at her boyfriends tonight, giving you and satoru any privacy if things went to a more heated direction.

it did. sorta.

with a sigh, you slid your thumb across the screen, answering the call from yuji.

"took you a while."

you forced a laugh. "sorry, you woke me up." you allowed your body to rest, flopping down on your messy bed with a 'thump', the back of your head sinking into the pillows.

"I'm just calling you to let you know that a hospital bill might reach you."

you quirked an eyebrow, staring at the ceiling. "its going to be sent out to me? all the way to yale?" yuji let out a small 'mhm', casual like he was commenting on the weather.

"yeah, from dad's last check up."

"oh," you rubbed your face, feeling a different kind of tired. "thats right."

"its just from his prescriptions and shit.. I would've paid it myself but.." his voice trailed off.

"no, no dont worry about it. not like i'm already drowning in student loans or whatever"

"of course not." you could hear him chuckle from the other side of the phone.

after the call ended, you let the silence settle. you received your mail usually by the end of the week in your small issued mailbox that was located in the front of the school. most of the time it was just flyers for clubs you had no intention of joining. but soon, a hospital bill that you desperately wanted to leave behind home, where it belongs, will appear right inside the small box.

after dreading to see the ridiculous amount you had to pay for oral chemotherapy medication, your mind circled back to satoru, a finger brushed against your lips, reliving the moment he placed his against yours in a kiss you wanted to return, but didn't.

you felt like it wasn't real.

why would he hesitate in the first place? your hand dropped back down against the mattress, gripping the bed sheets to brace yourself from any tears that might come out.

miwa dragged you to watch kokichi practice in the ice rink. the memories from last night hit you like a wave every other minute you sat on the bleachers. the same spot you were rejected.

you were annoyed.

no. pissed. pissed at how he dodged your kiss like it meant nothing and honestly you have every right to be. because why is he hesitant to kiss you when he’s the one that was so desperate. is this some sort of sick joke?

you didn't want to mention it to miwa or anyone. you were too embarrassed and the poor girl was happy she even had the opportunity to help out satoru with last nights date. you couldn't take that away from her. when she asked how it went you spared the details and just gave a brief summary.

"it was fun, he took me to the concert, we sang. then the ice rink, thanks by the way, and he taught me how to skate."

"thats so cute!" her face lit up.

you both continued to see the hockey players glide across the arena. but someone was missing. number 10. your thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a microphone starting.

“can't take my eyes of off you..” a voice murmured into the microphone, a voice you instantly recognized. satoru. you blinked once. and then again-unsure if you were hearing correctly or if the loud ass volume you listen to your music in was finally catching up to you.

you squinted your eyes to see the white haired boy stand right in the middle of the rink, the whole team joining him as well. his body stepped forward, then another, until he broke into a dance. you let out a few chuckles of disbelief as you watched him make a fool of himself.

“i love you baby!” you wanted to crawl into a corner and die from embarrassment. “and if it’s quite alright, i need you baby..” his finger pointed right at you. a few people around you chuckled as well, one yelling, "go verona!"

you brought your hands up to you face covering it in embarrassment as a flush appeared. he was so off key now, yelling out the lyrics as he did little tricks around the ice, nearly slipping but catching himself with a dramatic spin. he made a bee line towards the top of the bleachers. you wanted to escape but he was quick, wrapping an arm around your waist.

“oh pretty baby..” he panted as the chorus died down. he placed the microphone down, grabbing your cheeks without a warning with both hands planting a long and sweet kiss on your plump lips. this time, you kissed back without hesitation from either of you.

"satoru.." you managed to say before he continued his desperate kisses, sliding his tongue into your mouth leaving no room for the words that were swirling in your head. miwa was ecstatic, clapping with others, who were surprised that the ex-playboy was acting straight out of a 2000's movie.

"shut up.. let me just kiss you." his fingers threaded through your hair.

and kisses continued all the way to his dorm, no sign of stopping any time soon as he pushed you down his bed.

"im sorry about yesterday.. let me make it up to you."

"I think you did already with your little performance."

he chuckled, shaking his head. "nah, you need more than a song."

satoru wears everything on his face. like everything. you could tell what he was feeling with just a glimpse at his blushed face that turned from his usual pale color to a deep red. his mouth was open when he sank into you.

he smirked when he watched you struggle to take him. the small moans you let out made him twitch. "you look so fucking good. taking my cock like this." he wrapped your legs around his bare waist before his large hand found your neck, wrapping lightly around it.

"sa..satoru.." you whimpered.

"mmf- yeah that feels good. so.. tight and wet f'me. should've done this yesterday." he rolled his hips against yours gently. satoru has never been this gentle during sex towards anyone. he slid in and out of you slowly, making sure you felt every single one of his veins.

"oh fuck.. not going to last long inside this warm fucking pussy."

he licked your lips before shoving his tongue down your throat. satoru pulled away, forcing your jaw to open to spit right into your mouth.

"swallow."

you obeyed, swallowing his shared spit, opening your mouth to show him.

"good girl."

you screamed, gripping his shoulders when he slipped almost all the way out before slamming all the way in. he was loving this, almost forgetting the amount of money he would receive for getting into your panties.

it wasn't until you both finished, and his arms were wrapped around you in a comfortable position to cuddle, placing loving kisses on your forehead, that he finally remembered that this was all a bet. was.

he was scared that maybe he didn't want this to be just a game. his breath stilled, his fingers still tracing random shapes on your back as he pulled back slightly, taking a close look at your peaceful expression.

he didn't want it to end.

he took a look at his calendar that was placed on his nightstand. he counted the days knowing he didn't have that much left with you.

"love?"

you hummed, opening your eyes, your expression soft, when he called out to you.

"i'm playing tomorrow.. then we're having a sort of 'hoco' type of thing at the frat.. come with me?"

you nodded, placing your head on his chest listening to the way his heart beat at a steady pace. "course.." you murmured, he did tire you out after all. his body relaxed at your answer. there were still so many things left unsaid, so much you both needed to figure out. but he was okay with just having you this close to him right now.

you didn't call your family that night. your phone was put on do not disturb, laying on top of the nightstand. satoru's arms were still wrapped tightly around you.

but across the country, yuji grew worried, because not only were hospital bills going to reach you, but terrible news as well.

he paced back and forth outside the hospital room, the one where your father was currently staying, checking his phone every second to see if you have seen his messages or calls.

nothing from you.

he tried to come up with a reason. you were probably studying, or just busy in general. he wanted to cry because the feeling of being the one now responsible for everything was finally sinking in. he didn't know why your father collapsed. he didn't know if your aunt was on her way to pick up matt from school. and he didn't know when the hell you would answer your phone.

"answer.. please." he prayed.

the next day when you woke up to the sound of shuffling, you were met with several forehead kisses.

"sorry baby, have to go straight to the rink." your eyes fluttered open slowly, eyes adjusting to the morning light. you remembered the game today, and the party as well.

"practice hard.." your morning voice came out groggy, in which he let out a soft laugh.

"ill see you later baby." with that he left.

you looked around, still groggy, seeing the clock on his wall. eleven o clock.

your eyes widened. shit. you were late for class. you threw the blanket off of you, quickly putting on the same clothes from yesterday. when you reached for your panties, you noticed they were ripped. the sudden pain you felt on your stomach was a reminder of your poor decisions from last night.

you slipped on your skirt, praying you wouldn't flash anyone by the time you got to your dorm. after grabbing your bag, you reached for your phone before bolting out of his room.

when you made your way to class, you felt a deep feeling in your gut telling you, no, yelling, that something wasn't okay.

the cold air of the rink hit you the moment you stepped through the doors, crisp and biting against your skin. the faint sound of blades carving across ice echoed through the space, mixed with low shouts and the occasional laughter of teammates mid practice.

miwa was buzzing beside you, excited to see her boyfriend play, and for the party he asked her out to. you caught sight of satoru not that far away talking with a boy with gauges.

"I'll be back: you said to her.

"okay! I'll go grab us some seats then!"

you watched as the blue haired girl quickly made her way up the bleachers, snatching a good spot for the both of you. you approached satoru, ready to scare him as you snuck behind him.

"dude, I'm telling you I fucked her already, pay up." he grumbled.

your entire world stopped for a second. were you hearing correctly? the other boy laughed. "thought you didn't want to take this bet?" his hand reached for his pocket, pulling out his wallet to slip out a few hundred dollar bills.

it all suddenly clicked.

"it's whatever. honestly, she's everything i've wanted in a girl." the boy you thought you could trust accepted the bills into his hand. how could you have thought that this actually meant something. that you actually meant something to satoru.

"are you fucking kidding me?" you stared at him, feeling so many emotions all at once. anger, betrayal, and even denial. your mind was processing what you just heard. you wanted to hear it wasn't real, that he wasn't only after you because of a bet and that he actually likes you. but you knew you were better than that, you couldn't help but connect all the dots. the way he just randomly went up to you? the way he spent so much money on you?

it wasn't fate. it was orchestrated. and you felt stupid for now realizing.

there was horror written all over gojos face. "no baby.. baby listen to me." but you refused, shaking your head. you refused because the following words were going to be the confirmation that you dreaded to hear. without another word, you turned away pushing though the crowd. "y/n!" he shouted, but you didn't turn back. as you made your way down the hall, his hand wrapped around your wrist, "please, PLEASE listen to me!" in which you yanked back.

"it was all a bet huh? and for what? I knew I shouldn't have trusted yo-" you were interrupted by his lips molding against yours. no matter how much you wanted to melt into it, you didn't. your hands landed on his chest, pushing him off you before wiping your lips. the boy stood there, stunned, as his sad blue eyes watched you walk out.

how could he do this to you? after you accepted his dates. after you let him use your body for pleasure. after everything?you felt horrible for leaving miwa alone, but you didn't want to ruin her day. her boyfriend was playing hockey, with satoru.

it was when you pulled out your phone, ready to block him, when you saw the several missed calls from yuji and from your fathers doctor. your heart sank even more. you quickly found a secluded spot.

satoru wanted to follow after you, desperate to fix things. but he couldn't, not with a game he needed to play. but in all honesty he was done playing.

yuji was screaming at you through the phone. his voice was raw. one you haven't heard in years.

"I called you twenty fucking times y/n! all of last night, where the hell were you?!"

you were hyperventilating. the situation sinking in, the one with gojo and the one where your dad was on the brink of death. "with.. with this guy.."

silence.

"with a guy?" he spat. “you were with some guy while dad was- y/n, he’s in critical condition. they had to resuscitate him last night. and im over here wondering that something important was going on with you only to find out you were busy sucking some guy off. was it the guy you told me about?"

"..yeah..but it didn't end well."

"I dont fucking care about that right now. honestly im glad, let this be a lesson. we thought we were gonna lose him. and you were out playing house with some asshole?”

you didn't answer, too busy trying to even breathe. "im sorry... im sorry." yuji didn’t respond right away.

"i already paid half of the shit," his sharp voice continued. "if you could send some money over that would be great. and those bills, have you paid them yet?"

you swallowed hard, tears stinging the backs of your eyes. “o, I… I haven’t had time, yuji,”

“you haven’t had time?” he repeated like the words physically hurt him. there was a long pause. when Yuji spoke again, his voice had softened.

".. just please pay his medication.. my job isn't paying that well."

"I will.." you said quietly. "where is matt?"

"he's with aunt teresa. i'll call you if anything happens again, please answer next time."

you sniffled, wiping your runny nose. "okay. I love you."

click.

the call ended with him not saying those words back. you still had your phone up to your ear, wishing that magically yuji would say it back.

you felt so unwanted

unloved.

you could feel your eyes stinging even more and your throat closing up on you. you felt like you were losing everyone, your father slipping away in a hospital bed miles from here, your brother who had always been your anchor, your voice of reason, now too exhausted to carry you, and satoru.

satoru.

that night your phone was blowing up. call after call, text after text- all from him.

satoru : y/n please.

satoru : call me, return my calls lets talk pretty.

satoru : it was a bet, but believe me when I tell you that I truly love you.

satoru : I love you. say it back baby. please I need you. can't lose you, im sorry love please don't leave..

you remembered when you planned to block him before the call with yuji, your finger hovered over the red block button. but you simply put your phone on dnd and headed to sleep recalling the horrible events of tonight. tear stains were placed on your cheeks, mascara ruined, just like how your life felt.

miwa had tried, she really did. she tried her best to comfort you, but she understood you needed space. the sweet girl provided you with extra blankets as well as water, she even rubbed off the remaining makeup on you.

satoru hasn't felt this horrible since he accidentally flushed down his sisters goldfish back in first grade. but it wasn't the same.

the goldfish didn't hate him. you did.

and he hated himself for how he made you feel. he hated himself for doing this to you. but god was he grateful to have taken on that bet. not for the money, but for you. because of the bet, he met such a wonderful girl who he was completely smitten for. too bad that the girl now hates his guts.

the weather matched how gojo felt. he looked like hell.

his usual outfits was replaced by a simple white t-shirt with sweatpants. the confident boy was now just a regular burnt out college student who looks like he missed out on eight hours of sleep to study for his physics final. he hasn't eaten since yesterday, deciding his body didn't deserve to be rewarded with food.

he made his way to the small mailroom provided for students. his face lit up when he saw you there, not looking so good like him.

"baby."

his voice startled you, making you drop your mail, watching as they scattered all throughout the tile floor.

you crouched down to gather your mail, avoiding his eyes, heart pounding in your chest from too many things at once, his voice, your brother’s call, the reminder of your father, the unbearable guilt, and now him standing here, looking like someone you didn’t know how to love right now.

satoru knelt beside you, brushing your fingers by accident as he helped you collect the envelopes. the moment your skin touched, a sharp breath escaped his lips.

thats when saw it. a bunch of letters from kaiser permamente.

"what's this..?"

you froze, hand curling tighter around the envelope like you could hide it, like you could make it disappear if you just willed it hard enough. but he had already seen.

you stood quickly, clutching the papers to your chest. “it’s nothing.”

“sweetheart…” His tone shifted, serious now. “that’s a hospital.”

"i know, i can read." you shot back.

satoru rose to his feet slowly, eyes still locked on you, his earlier exhaustion now sharpened with concern. “y/n?” His voice cracked. “is everything okay?”

you didn't know how it came to this. but you were hugging him tightly, crying into his chest like he wasn't part of the reason why you were going through it.

.

.

.

[caffeineaddictedturtle]

Look at all those chickens

OT8 × gen!Reader genre: fluff,drabble warning(s): lowkey hella cute, no beta we die like man an: i explain it here

Chan:

He would just look at you dumbfounded: what are you two going to do with these chickens? He knows you didn't think it through, he isn't mad at you, secretly loves all of them and wants to buy at least the same amount so you can have little chicken pairs.

Already thinking about buying a farm far away from everyone where you can have goats and baby cows, maybe some horse and of course dogs and cats. Heck, he would even buy you a whole zoo just to make sure his little princess has all the animals she can possibly think of.

Minho:

He would tease you with feeding them to his kids, enjoying how your face scrunches up from the thought. Deep inside, he is intrigued by them, and slowly warming up to the idea of having a bunch of baby chicks.

He also says up until the AM to look for chicken coops and things he can build for them so they can play and have a comfortable place to stay. He is trying to be secretive about it to surprise you and to not blow up his cover.

Changbin:

He would literally hold back tears and show you all the pictures he has saved on his phone about baby farm animals. He is a softie and you always knew it.

He names all of them silly names and feeling quite happy about them until one poops on his floor... he might be in for a wild ride with figuring out how to potty-train chickens.

Hyunjin:

He already wants to make sketches of you and your kids, thinking about poses he could have you hold them so he can make sure he gives justice to your beauty. Feels overjoyed by this new milestone you two accomplished: having a dozen of little feathery kids.

Han:

For a solid minute, he laughs, not thinking you are being for real. Then, when he realized he was happy, he named all of them names like pip, peep, squeak, lil pip jr. and the list could go on and on.

After a week or so of having them, he started

“teaching” them how to fly, making you watch it in horror. But let's face it, he is so clumsy he has dropped one or two of them accidentally when dropped one or two of them accidentally when you weren't home.

Felix:

As soon as you opened the box, his eyes light up, living that Stardew fantasy with you. He makes lots of pictures of them, you with the chicks, and his own SKZOO. He sends the latter picture to the group chat with the boys, announcing that BbokAri somehow ended up being a father and that the mother left them. You just laughed at the soap opera he suddenly started to write about his own merch plushie, but you didn't stop him.

Seungmin:

You showed him while the others were there as well, bragging about your new-found family with Minnie. Everyone was over the moon about how adorable they were, except your boyfriend, who simply told Felix that he thinks they are his kids, delivering it with the stone-cold expression he mastered probably at birth.

I.N.:

He gets super excited, although finds it a bit silly.

Said a joke along the lines of must’ve cheated with Felix's SKZOO, which earned a chuckle from you.

As he starts to play with them, one immediately pinches him with its beak making you forget about your kids and making sure that your boyfriend is okay, babying him just a little more.

masterlist ║request something

[isetfiretomyself]

Yandere Male Chef X G/N Actor Reader

This is my first request for a Yan online! YIPPEE :D I don't think I'd respond to questions again because damn it ruined my engagement last time. This took me way longer then expected to get done(⁠ ⁠≧⁠Д⁠≦⁠)Guys I need you to understand how long it took me to figure out how this guy was gonna lose his mind(⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠) - Jay

Trigger Warnings! Putting people in harms way, Unhealthy Protectiveness, Violence, Gore, Cannibalism, Tricked into Cannibalism, This Fic gets a little darker then my normal stuff! This is all fictional I don't condone toxic behaviour or crimes irl!

🔪Yandere Chef who worked at his families restaurant till he was 17. He was taught to cook with love and care! He then got the opportunity to learn professionally were he spent years working with the best of the best! It's wasn't about fun anymore it was about perfection.

🔪Yandere Chef didn't like people by the end of his training and worked out private work was so much more isolating then high class restaurants. He would come in for romantic dinners, parties, whatever, whenever. He didn't care.

That's where he met you. Wade learnt what to expect from certain clients. Influences usually want small appetizers for parties, athletes want meals they can heat up but you. Actor's usually want a show piece for events, you just wanted your favourite meal alone on your birthday. How bizarre?

🔪Yandere Chef knocked at your penthouse. You opened the door. "Hiya! You're here!" Wade isn't used to people talking so excitedly around him. It reminds him of his childhood before yelling negatively was what ingrained into him. He didn't really like having these feelings brought up in him.

🔪Yandere Chef was lead to your kitchen where you had all the ingredients neatly laid out, cute. What surprised him more was when you sat opposite him elbows on the counter. "You don't need to be about. I won't burn your kitchen down." "Oh! I know! I just wanted to keep you company! If I'm allowed?"

🔪Yandere Chef was taken aback. "Who am I to deny you on your birthday?" He was so curious about you that for the first time he questioned a client. "Why are you alone on your birthday?" "Oh! I prefer being on my own!" "Amen to that." He mumbles while focusing on the meal.

He plated your meal and to his surprise you ate all of it. If it's one thing he's learnt from celebrities is that they never eat everything. Something about being "humble" or not being "greedy", whatever it's insulting to see the food he spends hours cooking get only half ate.

"This is so good! You're so talented!" You were so excited over his food it threw him off guard.

🔪Yandere Chef felt a little embarrassed. He's not had so much praise since he was a child. He was more thrown of guard when you tried tipping him on your birthday. "You don't need to do that." He tried resisting but you wouldn't let it happen. "Please, I really, really want to! I haven't had such a delicious meal in a while!"

Wade went home looking going through the cash you gave him. Most of the time celebrities pre pay, completely ignore him and send him on his way. On a bad day he'll actively hear people negatively talk about his food. You were so happy it was such a harsh contrast.

🔪Yandere Chef was hired for a house warming party. Some rich actor wanting show off his mansion. He was there hours early making appetizers because none wants a real meal anymore. He had everything set up and was about to leave and till his client stood in his pathway.

"Listen it's totally optional but you're hard to get and I think if you showed your face it'd be pretty cool. I mean you're notoriously hard to get and I did give you a generous tip."

That's how Wade ended up with swirling red wine around in a glass, sat on an expensive sofa debating if he should stain it. He had people come up to him mainly trying to hire him or trying to get gossip on his prior clients. He was going to leave when he hears someone from the other side of the room. "Oh my! Wade! Hiya!" You come rushing over. "I thought you made the food, it's so delicious!" Then like a proud parent you dragged him around telling everyone how good the food is and how they should try it. It was so embarrassing!

🔪Yandere Chef was leaning on a wall watching you talk to others. Why does he always feels so embarrassed around you? That's when your laugh brought a realisation within him. You're so pure in such a vile industry. You remind him of his family restaurant, where there was hard work but joy in his creations.

Wade noticed the way some of the others side eyed you. He felt a scoff come from his throat, they were so stuck up, it irritates him.

🔪Yandere Chef takes his hands in yours. "Would you want me to make you another meal? This one's on me." The host's visitors were all shocked. Behaviour like this wasn't common! He noticed the eyes on you made you embarrassed. "I don't mind..." You mumble.

🔪Yandere Chef was making something for you in your kitchen. He was actually trying to engage with you this time. "So." Wade said cutting up vegetables. "You're an actor but you get nervous at parties, why?" He watches you trace circles in your counter. "I don't know...I was a child actor so I suppose it's all I've known." His face hardens.

🔪Yandere Chef thinks you deserve better. I mean you're a good actor but you're better then acting in his eyes. "How many movies have you been in then?" "Didn't you look me up?" "No?" Everything went silent. You had lunged forward over the counter and hugged him. "You're the first person not to goggle me in a while..." You mumbled into his shoulder.

Now the two of you had a sort of alliance or whatever. You called it a friendship.

🔪Yandere Chef was cooking for some rich couple while they were watching TV in the living room. He didn't mind, the women was sweet but the man was cold. He's glad they left him alone. He could faintly hear the TV when your voice was on the screen. Must of been a show or movie you were in.

Wade felt himself smile when he can hear your faint voice from the screen. That's when he can hear his client being rude about your appearance.How dare they!?

🔪Yandere Chef was following a recipe from the husbands descendants. The ink was smudged already in some places so what if he smudged the part on how much spice he was suppose to put in the meal?

It was too spicy. The couple started yelling at him. But he simply pointed at the recipe he followed. By the end the couple was apologising to him completely unaware Wade was in fact to blame.

🔪Yandere Chef didn't like people who were rude to his friends. And you were his friend now. You said so.

🔪Yandere Chef started hanging out with you more and realised maybe he didn't hate all rich people. (Acting like he isn't yk...rich)You were so down to earth. Wade had you round his house watching movies when and advert for your show came on.

You cringed leaning on wades chest to hide your face. "Mute it! Mute it!" You cried. "Seriously you don't need to act." He rubbed the side of your arm. "I just don't want to feel useless.." That's when it hit him, the best idea he ever had in his entire life.

🔪Yandere Chef opened a restaurant! The famous private chef opening up a small restaurant in a busy part of the city. He had the help from his business friend (Yandere Ex Wife cough cough) to insure it.

🔪Yandere Chef needed your help. Well need is a strong word. It gave you a reason not to act, helping your friend! The more you helped, the closer you two got, the closer you two got, the stronger he's feelings for you grew. Manifesting into someone more sinister.

Who complemented him it never meant anything compared to you. You would come in to help the chef's to clean the kitchen after the shifts sometimes too! Aren't you a cutie?

🔪Yandere Chef was opening up early in the morning. Putting his keys into the door but before turning he hears your voice. "Wade! I'm on my way to a magazine shoot but I made you something!" You show a box of homemade sweet treats. "Don't eat them Infront of me...I don't want to know what a renowned chef thinks of my online recipes!" He watches you run off. He hates that your still in the public eye. So casually complacent with your discomfort because what if the change is worse than the norm?

🔪Yandere Chef sat in an empty booth of his restaurant before his employees came in. He opened the box and to see cookies, brownies and sorts. He bites into one. It was so average but tasted so good. Thick tears run down his face, splattering against the table. He's never been the one served food before. Since he was a child he always cooked his food and dinner. Unprovoked act of kindness was something that hit him in a sensitive spot.

🔪Yandere Chef kept working and till he heard you had came to visit. As much as he complains about you being in the public eye but you haven't done any acting since he opened his restaurant, I suppose Wade's plan sort of worked.

Wade walked through. He was going to ask you round his, he as many times before but this time it romantic. He wants you, He needs you to be his. He see's your gorgeous face but before he can talk to you, A waiter has got your attention to try and flirt with you. This angered him. You don't deserve some dirt like that, the world doesn't deserve you. Nobody deserves you.

🔪Yandere Chef had staff stay back to help him clean. Purposely giving the guy trying to flirt with you a hard job so he stays back longer. "Boss, I'm done. I'm going to clock out for the day,Okay?" He turned his back not being able to see Wade pick up a meat tenderizer and smash it on the back of his head.

The lifeless body lays on the white kitchen floor. Wade had already turned the cameras off. The cameras needed to be reset anyway so nobody knows who came in and never came out. The servers head was caved at the back, a slight dent filled with dark red blood before overflowing onto the floor. "Disgusting pig." He said while spitting on the corpse. Wade took out his own personal cooking utensils from a tool box. Taking out a meat cleaver he slides it along the body's corpse angling it away from the corpse and pushes down in a sliding motion skinning the flesh of the bone. It reminds Wade of how his father taught him to handle meat while preparing a dish.

You were in bed, it was quarter to midnight and you were snuggled in your bed thinking about your day. You hope Wade likes the food you made. He was very supportive! Acting was something you felt like you grew out of and he understood that. You've been trying to stay out of the public eye since but it's all you've ever known. Maybe you could ask Wade for a job? Is that scummy? I mean he was so caring! While you were debating the ethics of asking your friend for a job, you hear a knock on your door.

You were scared a little. Checking your doorbell camera, you see Wade waiting there. "What are you doing here?" You asked, rubbing your eyes. "Midnight snack?" He ruffles your hair. Usually you wouldn't eat so late at night but Wades such a good Chef. It was a meat you've never tried before goat, horses? It was strange.

Little did you know Yandere Chef had feed you the man who tried to flirt with you.You didn't know is this is a morbid start to a brutal end.

[asce-of-hearts]

Ohh can i request a yandere Shanks with the prompts "What do you mean you're scared?" and "I dream about being with you forever." and an reader that mysteriously appeared from our world to theirs on his ship and at first he promised her to find a way back but then he refused to do so because he wants to keep her by his side as his partner— she loves him too but she is torn apart with wanting to go back to even though her life there isn’t that great— but her family needs her yadayada? (He maybe also believes its destiny/fate that she appeared on his ship of all the places and she is also kind of younger than him in her early twenties) If it isn’t to much to ask, Thank youuu❤️❤️

Forever

Contents: Shanks with prompts: 🐏🐃

more Shanks content here

TAG LIST

PROMPT LIST

WARNINGS: YANDERE.

"Would you be heartbroken if you could never return?" Shanks asks you with the smallest furrowing in his brows. You look at him, wide eyed, expectant. Truly at a loss for words.

"I mean... I guess so. It's not easy to... to leave my life behind." You answer, looking at the floor. He takes your hands in his. "It's scary, to think that... that fate, that god, that something made me appear in this place, in this ship. It feels so... so out of place, I am out of place."

"Scared? What do you mean you're scared?" He asks with an incredulous smile. "You're here, you're safe, you're mine. Isn't that enough, ___? Isn't that just enough for you to be happy, to... to consider staying here, with me, forever?" The proposition is blunt, you already know what he's implying and you don't like it, not one bit. But it is there nonetheless, even if he promised to help you go back. "You-" His voice is shaky. "You feel from the heavens, and landed right here, with me. I think- I just think that must be sign. A sign that you and I, we were mean for something, you and I were meant to be together."

"What are you even saying?" You ask, trembling, eyes glossy. You already know what he wants, but you want confirmation, you want confirmation that you should run away and hide.

"I dream about being with you forever," His grip on your hands tightens. "Is that so wrong? Is that so selfish? That I want to keep you with me, forever?"

"Shanks-"

"___. Don't, don't start with the same excuses," He barks, making you look at him in the eye. His gaze is intense, manic. "Don't you want to be mine forever?"

hope you enjoyed this

have a great day/night

TAGGING: @bookandyarndragon  @massivepenguinunknown @anieluvs @eroscastle @aenbyveryverygayperson @goldenglow149 @lurexin @hbk99450 @stranger00001 @delicatelycraftedbambi @kitzusune @3v37773  @coolnekochan9961 @moshergurl @chercheryblossomsweet @hannas16 @mimihaitani @bad4amficideas @flow33didontsmoke @purple-obsidian @acehasmyheart @jellystar-star @architectofsuffering @mrstraffy @poopooindamouf @nutz4nainaiiii @whatupbishs @dreamcastgirl99 @gina239 @idk67876

[lynzishell]

Epilogue 💛 Atlas

The rest of the year flew by in a rush of one event after another.

First, there was Spencer’s birthday party. It was the first family event that Ezra and I were both present at, and overall, it went okay. I focused on spending time with everyone else and just let him exist in the same space as me, which was the best I could do at the time.

Dawn also saw Ezra for the first time since high school that day. She did try to be kind and talk to him, as is her nature, but it was quite satisfying that Phoenix didn’t like him from the moment she introduced them. Maybe that’s petty of me, but it’s true.

The important thing though, is that, even though we all walked away a bit sore, Spencer had a great birthday, ice skating and celebrating with her family and two best friends.

When Winterfest came around, we stuck with our original plan to visit Phoenix and Dawn in the city. It was fun to see Aspen getting excited and opening presents. I know our little ones won’t quite be old enough to properly enjoy the holiday, but I’m still so excited for next year and our first Winterfest with them.

Dawn also surprised us with an amazing gift. She knitted two little onsies for Sadie and Simon, which I’m happy to report, they’ve both finally grown into!

That afternoon, when they were ready to head to Copperdale to see Pheonix’s uncle, Ash and I decided to spend the rest of the day with the Goodes after all. I’m glad we did. Even with Ezra there, it was nice to have our usual evening of games and music.

I’m absolutely in awe of Spencer with her violin. She finally mastered Einaudi’s Experience and wanted to play it for us, a duet with Pop on the piano, of course. The performance brought tears to our eyes. Listening to her play with such skill and emotion, she should be in a concert hall, not standing in our living room in her little mis-matched socks.

As happy as I am to have our own place again, I wouldn’t trade the time we spent living there for anything.

For New Year’s we’d planned to take it easy. Watch movies and likely fall asleep well before midnight. But, as you can see, that isn’t what happened.

We got a call from Lex saying that Evan had been dumped, so we cancelled our plans and drove to the city. Charlee raced to Evan’s apartment and dragged them to Lex’s where we were all waiting for them. After a bit of venting and a few tears, we were able to cheer them up, and we all celebrated the new year and good things to come. Charlee was even able to convince them to move to San Sequoia with her and Jay, which I know Ash is happy about.

I’m really grateful we ended up spending New Year’s with our friends because the going away party they had planned for us the following weekend ended up being canceled because… well…

The next morning, I woke up on Lex’s couch being jostled by Ash. He was in a panic because our phones were blowing up, and with the way I was laying on him, he couldn’t get to either of them. He was worried something bad had happened, that someone had been hurt.

But, when I sat up and checked my phone, it was the opposite. Li was in labor. All at once, everything became real.

We drove to the hospital as fast as we could and barely made it in time. But we made it. And now that our twins have arrived, life will never be the same again.

I suppose you want to meet them now. You will. Soon.

Prev // The Goode Life

A/N: I will try to introduce everyone to Sadie and Simon this weekend.. just know I’m completely obsessed with them! But this wraps up this part of my story. From here, I plan to split into two stories: The Good Life will focus on Atlas & Asher (and occasionally the extended Goode family) and my Star Sign Legacy will go back to Phoenix, Dawn, and Aspen as the main focus. I’m currently writing their next big arc, which will take some time, so for now I’ll be sharing sporadic gameplay of the boys (cos infants are my favorite thing in game)

[bigheartbuck]

i keep these longings locked

part i part ii mentions of abbytommy/tommy-centric/eventual bucktommy

tw: internalized homophobia/homophobic language

I promise the next bit is going to be more lighthearted!

tag list: @sweaters-and-silly (lmk if you wanna be added too) ______________________________

His chest is tight as fuck. Tommy breathes through it. Head between his knees, feels his pulse uncomfortably loud and present in his neck. Lockers have emptied out mostly. His vision is swimming. He feels like throwing up.

"Kinard? Oh shit, hey."

He can hear fast footsteps, and then a warm, big hand on his shoulder. "You got it," the voice says and Tommy's brain is desperately trying to place it. His hands are shaking. "Inhale.... hold your breath, three, two, one, ....exhale. Good. Again, come on."

By the time Tommy emerges from what feels like the deepest, darkest sea and comes up for air, he's realized that the warm hand and firm voice belong to his new captain. Hen had given him a week tops. But Nash has persevered. Four weeks and counting. Tommy would've rather been found dead before ever letting Gerrard see him like this but Nash has a softness to him. His whole lets have dinner together shtick, his we're a family and we ride together pathos, his unwavering determination to make them act like a team -- Tommy's not sure he quite fits in there. Right now, though, he's glad it's Nash who found him like this and not Howie or Hen. They'd stage an intervention immediately.

Nash hands him a water bottle, sits down next to him. "Better?"

Tommy lets out a shaky breath. “Thanks cap. I, uh, I don’t know what just happened." He rubs his hand across his face. “I don’t usually get… like this.” He forces a smile. "Guess it was a couple of tough calls."

Nash eyes him, somewhat curiously. Several beats. "Everything alright at home?" Tommy shrugs. He should go home. Sleep it off. He meets Nash's steady gaze, but there's a flicker of genuine concern. Tommy can't handle it, Nash's empathy.

"Yeah. Everything's good," he lies and reaches for his bag. Nash stops him. "Not so fast. I uh -- I'd been meaning to talk to you."

Tommy blinks, confused, his hand still hovering near the strap of his bag. He’s not sure where this is going. "Uh oh," he says dryly. His pulse is still racing and only slowly returning to normal. "Am I being fired, too?" Deluca is still pissed at Nash but Tommy knows it was the right call. He's been putting in the work, though. Doing his part. It would be really shitty timing for Nash to let him go as well.

Nash’s gaze sharpens for a moment, like he’s sizing Tommy up, and then he exhales softly. “No, you’re not getting fired.” He pauses, like he’s choosing his words carefully. Tommy's shoulders relax. "But?" he asks.

"But..." Nash continues, "I've been wondering if maybe you're not exactly who you're supposed to be."

"That so?" Tommy asks, aiming for casual. Nash doesn't know, does he? Fuck. He wonders sometimes if it's all over his face. Tommy Kinard thinks about kissing boys. Tommy Kinard is a queer. Don't ask, don't tell. But look at him, he tries so hard to be a big guy but he'd take it lying down, wouldn't he? Fuck. He needs to get his dad's voice out of his head. It's funny, the way he is still such a fuck up. How he tried to make it work so hard and how he still failed. He would've given everything to be happy with Abby.

He juts his chin forward. Nash looks at him with so much kindness it makes Tommy want to crawl out of his skin.

"You're a pilot," his captain says, oblivious to the dark spiral of Tommy's mind. Tommy exhales. Breathe. For fuck's sake. Breathe.

"And you're competent, skilled, you're quick. I'd love to keep you here. But I keep thinking maybe you belong elsewhere. And I hear the Harbor is looking for someone like you."

Tommy must look genuinely surprised because Nash lets out a huffed laugh. Tommy hasn't considered flying in years. "Seriously?"

Nash nods. "You're one of my best. But I saw the way you lit up when we called in air support last week. You loved working with them. So, my guess is, that's where your heart is."

Tommy thinks no one's ever paid attention to him like this before. His stomach unknots slowly. Shoulders uncurl.

"I'll -- I'll think about it."

Nash squeezes his shoulder. "You should. It can feel like suffocating. Denying yourself what you want."

Tommy stares down at his hands.

"Yes, cap," he says, throat working.

"Bobby." Nash points to the jeans he's wearing. "Off shift. I'm just Bobby."

"Bobby." Tommy echoes. His legs still feel like jelly.

He takes a few sips from the water. "I might --" His tongue feels heavy in his mouth.

"I might have to look for a new place soon."

He hasn't talked to Abby yet. But he needs to, has to. He wakes up, shirt soaked through with sweat at least twice a night. The darkest, deepest sea in his mind and his father's voice are so hard to turn off. He can't live like this anymore. He's been googling apartments. Abby doesn't even know yet.

"I really uh --" Tommy doesn't know why he keeps talking. "I tried to make a good thing work and it didn't work."

Bobby nods. "And that's causing the panic attacks?" He asks it matter of factly.

Tommy clears his throat. "One panic attack." Lie. But Bobby doesn't have to know or be right about everything. "And I guess --" He hesitates. "Gotta figure out some stuff. Big stuff."

Bobby doesn't say anything for a while. Keeps his gaze steady. Tommy thinks he could probably confide in him. Bobby would see the ugly, dark, twistedness of Tommy's insides and tell him it was okay. That it gets better. And the thing is, Tommy knows. He knows. He saw some kid online the other day on YouTube. They were what, 15? When Tommy was 15 -- well. He's mid thirties now, not any less terrified. It's difficult to explain, out loud. How his head works. How the stuff that goes for others, doesn't apply to him. How he's less deserving of it.

"The big stuff," Bobby says after a while. He looks at Tommy, face open. He says it like a question, gently prompting Tommy to continue.

Tommy's eyes prickle. He should go.

He exhales. "Yeah. Been pretending to be... Someone I'm not."

He's a teenager and his dad caught him with a magazine of naked men and his hand down his pants. He's in the army and Micah is kissing him. He's 34 and engaged to a beautiful woman and he feels nothing when she shakes around him.

His mouth is dry as cotton.

Bobby squeezes his shoulder. "I hear you." A beat. "Don't need to say anything else."

They sit like this for a little while longer. Then, Tommy gathers his things, shoulders his bag. The ground feels a little less shaky. His knees don't buckle. He'll find an apartment. And he'll tell Abby.

"Kinard," Bobby says when Tommy's already at the door. Tommy turns around. "Promise me you'll think about transferring, yeah? Go after what you want?"

Tommy huffs out a laugh. Shakes his head. His chest is lighter. "Aye aye cap." He gives a half hearted mock salute. What he means to say is thank you.

He's pretty sure Bobby hears it anyway.

On the way home, at a red light stop, a jeep comes to a halt next to his car. A guy leans out of the window and asks for directions to the LAFD training academy. He's young. Bright smile, short blond hair. Tommy tells him where to go and the guy thanks him profusely. "Starting a new chapter," he says enthusiastically and adjusts his backwards hat. Out of his stereo Tommy can hear hip hop blaring. Eminem. "Me, too" Tommy shouts back and watches the lights switch to orange. "Good luck then!" the guy shouts over the revving engine and grins. "See you around!"

Tommy laughs.

"You, too!"

Lights turn green.

[exhaustedgayjew]

#vent okay but can we talk about the awkward silence and the way leftists get uncomfortable when i mention anything to do with my (((culture))) like yes im making challah, yes i lit candles... why does that bother you so much? why do leftists get so uncomfortable when i talk about my experience being jewish????? (its rhetorical because unfortunately i know why) like im in a gc with around 5 leftists (non-jewish ofc) and quite literally every time ive mentioned something like rugelach and they asked what it is, or i said i was making challah and they asked what is is and ive told them, or them talking ab golems in fantasy and me saying hey those are from jewish folklore, they literally every single time either dont say anything or change the subject.

tbh the ignoring honestly just feels worse than blatant antisemitism, like damn sorry for existing as a jewish person!!!! the indirect silent antisemitism is what pisses me off the most. and its not like them not knowing my cultural dishes or history is what bothers me, im more than happy to educate ppl! its the fact that they'll be, for over an hour non-stop, talking in the gc and then when i mention something to do with being jewish, the entire gc will go dead silent and not talk till someone changes the subject or they'll skip over my msg!!! being jewish and trying to exist in non-jewish spaces is so fucking hard and i am tired!!!!!!!

(this is also why dating as a young person is so fucking scary cause literally everyone in every political side hates jews and i feel like im only ever going to feel 100% safe in a jewish relationship but i also live in an area where i am 99% sure my family are the only jews and its sooooo fucking isolating. and also the nearest shul [which is quite far away btw like i have to train for over 2 hours to get there] only has old people or like extremely young people, even on holidays!!! i even went there for rosh hashanah and not even one njb my age!!!! [also all the honey cake was gone by the time i got through talking to everyone who greeted me and im still upset ngl] i also had to change unis cause the only uni nearby was flying the palestine flag everywhere and saying genuinely the most awful fucking things ab jews and israel(is) and i couldnt go there without having a panic attack so now im doing online uni and i literally never leave my house and i feel like im going a little insane #nothavingagoodtime)

#iamnotproofreadingthiscauseiamtiredandhungryandmildlyupset

thank u for coming to my ted talk

[changingplumbob]

Second Round - Day Six (BB) 2 of 2

@belsasim, @corrienteallita, @cawthorntales, @hashimasims, @ravingsockmonkey, @pixeldistractions - Sim creators and co-writers

Kaye: *happy dance*

Sarah: I told you we should have stayed home to play video games

Kaye: *sitting* What? No! I've already had my date

Devin: She's right. Kaye gets bonus points and you get the date Sarah

Sarah: No way! Maybe I should believe in luck...

The weather today makes for beautiful views at the cafe Sarah has chosen for her date.

Deanna: Do you think you're mostly lucky or unlucky?

Sarah: I don't think I'm either lucky or unlucky.

Deanna: Neither at all?

Sarah: I believe in hard work

Deanna: Dreams do require work

Deanna: Can we get deep for a bit? My family believe in the watcher but I know not everyone does. Do you believe in fate, you know, destiny? Or do you think we're all at the mercy of some watcher?

Sarah: Eh, I don't really know? 

Deanna: I think it's good to be able to say we don't know about things

Sarah: My sister believes in all that stuff. She's even studying to become a church pastor. But everybody believes something different and who am I to say who's right or wrong?

Deanna: *smiles* I like the open mindedness

Deanna: Say you can live anywhere. Where would you live?

Sarah: San Myshuno! I'm a city girl—all the culture, the technology, the marvel of human design and invention, and just being able to step outside your apartment and reach literally anything you want. It's a few hours away from where I go to school and we go there sometimes on the weekends. I can't wait to move there after I graduate

Deanna: Some amazing technology inventions are coming out of there

Sarah: Absolutely! I know San Sequoia or Del Sol have big tech communities but San Myshuno is definitely a hub

Deanna: I have to say I like being in Tartosa because it's close to my family. I could be persuaded to move if it was to somewhere stable, not constant packing and unpacking

Sarah: Moving for someone is a big ask! *thinking about the now-ex-girlfriend who wanted her to move in together, and she dumped her instead...* 

Deanna: It is but I'm willing to compromise. I get tied to people more than I get tied to places

Sarah: I hope I would feel honored, if someone wanted to do that for me, but you'd have to really really see a future with someone to make that move.

When everyone is back at the villa it's time to work on their skills. While some challenges are more up to luck, there are some that are influenced a lot by skill.

Harmony and Billie decided to build on today's challenge and focus on their fitness skills. Mariela is feeling playful and decides comedy is the way to go! No one will be able to escape her jokes. Dee meanwhile has picked logic to focus on. Rounding out the group Kaye and Sarah have picked charisma to work on.

Devin: Another date with Sarah. How did it go?

Deanna: Pretty good I think. She has interesting ways of looking at things

Devin: So sentiments?

Deanna: None today. I mean we had a good time but not spectacular gold level

Devin: Clearly I need to tell the contestants to up their game...

After skill time we give everyone a chance to unwind. Time for a water balloon fight! Contestants get in to their hot weather outfits and head outdoors. Sarah is quick to wind the others up. Strangely Mariela takes a back seat for this activity, maybe trying to not be a target since she came into this round in the lead for this group.

Harmony smiles and throws some balloons but it seems no one wants to return fire (for which she is grateful because dodging while clumsy…). It doesn't take long for Sarah to get pelted and for Kaye to take over riling everyone up duties. Strangely this group seems apprehensive to throw at Deanna, even when she's wide open.

Deanna does want to participate though and ends up hitting Dee right in the face, knocking her sunglasses. Whoops. Sarah finds it hilarious while crafty Mariela appears beside Dee, picking it as a safe spot for a while. Harmony grows sad at her inability to hit anyone but Billie assures her she's fine.

Deanna: Thanks for playing everyone. Your sunglasses aren't busted are they?

Dee: *sighs* They are fine, my face is less so

Kaye: Looks fine to me

Billie: Yeah but we've still got our sunglasses on

Sarah: Why? Don't tell me they're tied to your outfits

Mariela: It's fashion. Can't ruin the hashtag aesthetic. Hashtag vibes. Hashtag llama

After dinner autonomy is set to full and Deanna is locked out of all rooms (and away from computers). To start things off though she suggests the group watch a movie. I don't tell her to do anything so the night is very much up to the contestants.

Sarah: The Island? Are they on an Island?

Dee: Supposedly they'll go to an island... I don't believe them

Kaye: I could tell you but spoilers

Billie: Scarlett Johansson, she's so beautiful! But why are they all in white? Where's the colour?

Harmony: Maybe they don't have colour in the future

Mariela: Is it the future? Why are they basically slaves if it's the future?

Dee: Are they slaves?

Mariela: He can't choose his food or what he wears or what his job is, sounds like slavery to me

Sarah: Eh, Sean Bean! I bet he dies

Harmony: Why do you say that

Billie: There's this thing that if he appears as a character he's probably going to die because most characters he plays die

Kaye: *to self* not spoiling it, not spoiling it

Mariela: Well... not slaves exactly

Sarah: Clones? For rich people to have transplants?

Billie: And babies apparently

Dee: That's so messed up! And yet... I can see rich people doing that

Kaye: Same! They make some crazy calls

Harmony: I sure hope they manage to get away from it all. I'd like a happy ending

After the movie everyone chats for a while.

Sarah: That was wild. Did they need so many explosions

Kaye: It's an action movie, action movies have explosions

Dee: *sighs* Not my favourite genre

Deanna: Sorry to hear that. I'm not a big action fan but I watched so many movies with Devin, I figured Scarlett Johansson was a safe bet

Mariela: She is gorgeous. I could be talked in to watching most movies she's in

Billie: So Harmony can you show me how you get from sketch to animation

Harmony: *smiles* Sure! I'll grab my digital sketchpad

Deanna joins the growing list of sims who decide to brew coffee after 8pm… interesting choice. Sarah heads to one of the house computers and gets some gaming in for the day. She needs some digital time to relax. Kaye decides to nap on the couch in the lounge despite the stereo going… it's not a very successful nap. Billie and Harmony keep chatting.

After seeing Deanna have coffee Dee decides to follow suit. Maybe copying her behaviour will win her over? Maybe? Mariela decides to go sleep in a bed! But she chooses the same room that Sarah is gaming in… I don't know how she manages to sleep through the game sound effects. Billie and Harmony talk until Harmony heads to sleep and it seems everyone is talked out for the day.

Gym build by @hashimasims Cafe build by @sleepyselkiesims Villa renovation by @paracosmic-sims

[ilovegt]

HIIII, I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOUR JOB 😭😭😭😭IT'S JUST AHHHHH, I THINK IT'S GOING TO GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK OF SUCH BEAUTY 🛐🛐🛐

LOOK AT THIS, NOW YOU HAVE A FAN FROM MEXICO 🇲🇽 (I'm trying hard to learn English, but for now I use translator 👍🏻

I have a few questions, Trevor and Bennett have been in a relationship before they met??

What are their hobies?

And finally, I'm going to make a fanart (I don't draw like the gods but I still want to) I made it wait >:)

God, I adore Tumblr for giving me the chance to talk to people from all over the world❤️‍🔥

THANK YOU, THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I TREASURE YOUR WORDS AND HOW HAPPY I AM TO SEE THIS KIND OF REACTION TO MY WORK 😭😭😭😭💥💥💥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

(And don’t worry, bro, I use a translator too🤝)

1. Well, Trevor definitely not, but Bennett is questionable. Even if Bennett did have relationships at some point, they were clearly not serious and not meant to last. And they don’t play any role (at least for now I haven’t thought about it), so it’s unlikely I’ll ever bring up that topic.

2. Trevor is a sporty guy. He often goes out into nature, either alone or with friends. He just runs, and on weekends he goes to the gym to build muscle.

He’s constantly meeting new people—maybe not closely, but by now he knows half the city. He's always dragging his friends to all kinds of events; whatever’s happening in town, he already knows about it.

He doesn’t really have any home-based hobbies (unless watching all seasons of My Little Pony counts as one)

Bennett, on the other hand, is his complete opposite. He loves reading books, can stare at the rain through a crack in the wall for hours, walking in cloudy weather, or just sit and sew something.

He’s an introvert, reserved, and slightly sociopathic (just a little). He gets really exhausted by people and big crowds.

His social circle includes only his family, Trevor, and one cool guy he rarely sees when delivering letters. Bennett calls him “Mr. Piranha,” lol.

So all his hobbies are quiet, solitary ones.

By the way, he probably even tried writing stories as a teenager, but over time he forgot about that hobby due to all the stress and responsibilities.

3. OH MY GOD, I WILL BE GRATEFUL TO YOU AAAAAAAAAAAAPP 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏🔥❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥💥🔥💥🔥❤️‍🔥🔥💥❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥💗❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥💗❤️‍🔥🔥❤️‍🔥💗❤️‍🔥🔥💥💥🔥

[lyngracetalksnwritesnstuff]

Jiang Family Analysis

Ok, so, I've wanted to make this post for a while because I've always had some distinct opinions about the Jiang Family, though not all of them are bad, per se.

Just a few disclaimers before I get started:

THE FOLLOWING IS MY PERSONAL OPINION AND MY OPINION ONLY. I HAVE (WHAT I THINK IS) SOUND REASONING FOR IT, BUT IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT OR AGREE WITH IT, YOU DO NOT HAVE TO READ THIS. I AM NOT TRYING TO PRESSURE MY VIEWS OF THESE CHARACTERS ON OTHERS. THIS IS SIMPLY HOW I SEE THEM. THIS IS ALSO NOT VERY JIANG PARENT FRIENDLY, SO BE WARNED. IF I AM FACTUALLY INCORRECT, YOU ARE WELCOME TO CORRECT ME IN THE COMMENTS.

Ok, here we go!

Jiang Fengmian:

I honestly have no respect for this man. Like, zero. I am glad he took in Wei Ying and gave him a home, but in doing so, he also destroyed his own home. Obviously, Madam Yu's abuse is not his fault; he didn't force her to abuse Wei Ying, but on that subject, he completely lacks backbone here, as well as pretty much everywhere we see him. The first and main reason I don't like him is the fact that Jiang Cheng's hurt and confusion on why Jiang Fengmian chooses Wei Ying over him is obvious. It's so incredibly clear. Madam Yu straight up tells him he's favoring Wei Ying over Jiang Cheng, and he does nothing to fix it. Over and over again, he's faced with problems he could so easily solve if he were to speak clearly and truthfully for one—because we know that he does love Jiang Cheng—and he chooses not to. Another example of this is the rumours that Wei Ying is Jiang Fengmian's son. I can't quite remember if it is stated directly in the novel, but we do know it was a prevalent rumour that would've certainly made it to Jiang Fengmian's ears. I am certain he knew Madam Yu may have thought Wei Ying was his son, or at least knew many people did, and yet again, he does nothing to address this issue. Another issue we see him use the "if I don't say anything, it can't get worse" approach, is with Wei Ying's abuse. He knew Madan Yu regularly abused Wei Ying, which, yes, while sort of period-appropriate, the level of abuse he received was not the norm, and the time it occurred at never excuses child abuse. Yes, Madam Yu usually did it when Jiang Fengmian wasn't home, but he was well aware of it. He could've put his foot down at any point—he was the godamn sect leader—but he chose not to. While I don't know if this was a sick way to attempt to appease Madam Yu, or just pure cowardice, I do know that no man with enough conviction to bring in an orphan, but without the backbone needed to protect them from abuse, should ever raise a child. We also see this failure to address issues with the general deterioration of his family and how he never seems fully present with them.

My take on this is that it's a sort of defense mechanism he developed from when he was first married to Yu Ziyuan, which was arranged, and I assume neither of them was happy with. Her verbal abuse (educated guess, we don't actually know anything about the state of their marriage pre-Wei Ying, but with Madam Yu's anger issues during the timeline, I kinda doubt they would've been a recent development, especially since anger seems to be how she expresses unhappiness) would've made it hard for him to stand up for himself, and he chose the route of "well, if I don't say anything, it can't possibly get worse" as a way of defending himself and helping himself cope with the unhappy situation. I feel like most of his issues are rooted in a fear of being wrong. Think about it, if he doesn't take a side, he can't get yelled at for choosing the wrong one, and if he never addresses a problem, it can't get worse—at least, so he thinks. Inaction is still abuse and neglect, intentional or not.

Madam Yu:

Again, I have very little respect for her. I enjoy her character base—a strong warrior woman forced into an arranged marriage with a complete pushover, and going mad falling for rumours and whispers about him being unfaithful, but as a person, she disgusts me. First and foremost, her behavior towards Wei Ying. This is the main issue I have with her, though I have bones to pick with her about her treatment of her bio children. Being angry at your husband because people are saying he cheated and then had a child, which he proceeded to bring back to your home to raise, is one thing; that's mostly valid. But taking that anger out on said child and systematically abusing them is completely and totally inexcusable and an abhorrent thing to do. Wei Ying did nothing wrong, a fact that he never seems to grasp, even near the end of the story, where he starts to heal and grow as a person. Madam Yu did such irreparable damage to him that he automatically assumed everything was his fault, even and especially when it was not. And all of that was for no reason other than petty bitterness, anger at his skills, and disdain for his mother. I also believe her behavior towards Jiang Cheng is mostly to blame for his later issues in life. She was the only parental figure who showed him even a shred of attention and investment in his progress, so as any child would do, he tried to model himself after her. This also does kinda loop back around to Jiang Fengmian, as if he'd showed even a little bit more affecttion towards Jiang Cheng, he might've turned out with healthier ways of expressing emotion. Madam Yu showed him that the only way he'd ever be important or worthy to anyone was if he was better than Wei Ying, better than someone—anyone else. This obviously left him with deep-seated self-worth issues and unhealthy ways of coping with grief, guilt, and uselessness. Lastly, her treatment of Jiang Yanli. This isn't something I've seen talked about a lot, but it's definitely there. I feel like Jiang Yanli is Madam Yu's Child She Doen't Pay Attention To like Jiang Cheng is Jiang Fengmian's. But instead of being bitter about it, Jiang Yanli focuses on being a positive parental figure to Jiang Cheng and Wei Wuxian and keeping their broken family together.

I really think Madam Yu's incessant anger is a product of feeling trapped in her environment, with a husband and children she never wanted, in a place she never learned to call home. This obviously doesn't excuse her abuse towards literally everyone in that household. It also doesn't excuse how she constantly would drive a wedge between Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng, isolating Jiang Cheng from his peers and driving home the thinking that if he was better than them, he shouldn't associate with them, and if they were better than him, they were rivals.

In summary, for both Madam Yu and Jiang Fengmian, I truly believe that had they been in a happy relationship, or not been in a relationship at all, their children's lives would've been so much better. You can blame Wei Ying and Jiang Cheng, and Jiang Yanli, all you want, but at the end of the day, it was their parents who taught them how to act, and they were terrible role models. This obviously doesn't excuse any bad decisions they made, but it does explain them.

Wei Ying:

Wei Wuxian is a tragedy. Abandoned as a young child (though not willingly) and taken into an abusive home where he was taught that he could never leave because of the debt he owed them and that everything bad that happened was his fault. Then, as an adult, he was shamed for doing whatever he could to survive and protect his loved ones, even by his own family. He tried everything he could to save everyone and be the good guy because that was his job, in his mind. He had to save everyone and be righteous, but he also wants to, which is what makes him such a fundamentally good person. Then, when he does an objectively good thing and saves innocent people—which is what he's been taught to do his whole life, by the whole cultivation world—he's condemned for it, society telling him, "No, not those innocent people. You can only save the innocents we tell you to; otherwise, you're a villain." He tries everything to be good, to take care of those he cares about, does everything he's told, and fails.

Because he was doing the very thing cultivators prided themselves on, he was pushed off the edge. Even after he comes back and his name is cleared, it's never quite the same, because everyone still associates him with the "Evil" Yilling Laozu who haunted their cautionary tales. Because the cultivation world deemed him unclean and evil, Wei Ying—barely an adult at the time—was pushed to death because he tried to save innocents who deserved to live.

The saddest thing of all is that he never defends himself. He'd defend the Wen Remnants and keep the Yin Tiger Tally out of the hands that would abuse it, but he never once tried to defend his own actions regarding demonic cultivation and why he uses it. He lets people assume the worst of him because he thinks he deserves it.

Jiang Cheng:

Okay, here's a complicated one! I'd like to start this with a message to all the Jiang Cheng haters and stans who claim that Jiang Cheng is purely good/bad and that the other is selectively reading the text: Congratulations, you're both reading the text selectively. Jiang Cheng is a complex characters who makes bad decisions and good decisions and has reasons for most of his actions, just like any well-developed character.

Jiang Cheng is perhaps the most tragic of all the characters. He was happy until Wei Ying came into the picture, and he had to adjust to another sibling in the house. Then his mother started to push him to be better than Wei Ying when he really doesn't want to, but he has to want it, because he can't afford to lose the love his mother gives him when his father ignores his existence exept for an occasional dissapointed glance. He has to show him as well, then he'll love both of them the same. His mother starts to double down on both Wei Ying and him, alienating them further, leaving Jiang Cheng isolated from most of his peers. He only had Wei Ying and Jiang Yanli, and maybe Nie Huaisang. That, along with the poor emotional processing he copied from his mother, causes him to drift further away from others his age and become more attached to Wei Ying, as he's his only friend at this point. He never learned how to properly socialize as a child, and doesn't see the point now, because Wei Ying promised to never leave. Another tragic part of Jiang Cheng is that I don't think he realized how he was trying to chain Wei Ying to him and Lotus Pier. I truly think that he was just desperate and lonely and didn't think about how their promise would affect Wei Ying's life.

When Wei Ying leaves with the Wen Remnants, Jiang Cheng was angry, confused, and terrified of losing Wei Ying, so much so that he was ready to take him back by force. I think that if circumstances had allowed it, he would've taken the Wen Remnants to Yunmeng just to get Wei Ying back because he's his only friend, the only one he has left after Yanli marries out.

I think a lot of Jiang Cheng's character is created from his crippling fear of being alone because he's never had to be before and it terrifies him. Madam Yu, as I explained earlier, was not a good emotional role model and only taught him to mask all of his other emotions and express everything through anger, which makes him come across as rude and asshole-y to others. Often, I see "Jiang Cheng character development" portrayed as Wei Ying learning to read into his anger, but that is NOT character development. Character development is having that man learn to express emotions other than rage and hate. Let him learn to show sadness, happiness, love, fear, all the things! Wei Ying shouldn't have to learn how to read his shouting, and Jiang Cheng should learn how to Emotion properly. This obviously wouldn't be an easy process, but it is something he could do if he pushed himself to, with the help of his family and friends.

Jiang Yanli:

Okay, so first of all, Jiang Yanli is our queen here, okay? I've seen people portray her as more on Wei Ying's side, or more on Jiang Cheng's side, or absent like Jiang Fengmian, and (in my opinion) that is Incorrect. Jiang Yanli is the glue that holds her family together. There is a reason they stayed together for so long, and it was Yanli. I see her as the eldest daughter who sees all the cracks in her family and tries desperately to fix them and put the pieces back together. Siblings suffering from a lack of a positive parental figure? Okay, she'll be the parental figure. An arranged marriage that will help her sect and make her mother happy with her (for once)? Alright, sure. A nephew or niece will surely bring her brothers together. She is also such a tragedy because she never once complains about having to do so much work to keep her family together. She just smiles and makes more soup and tries her best to mediate her brothers' latest argument. She's constantly fixing, mending, mediating, giving advice, and making her brothers smile, and it never shows. She had to give up her childhood to parent her brothers, and she never even mentions it. She gives her brothers both unconditional love and support and hopes it's enough. She may not understand everything they do, but she loves them and will never let them forget it. She tried so hard to keep her family together, and it wasn't enough. It might've been, if she had survived, but even then, Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying were already pretty at odds. Honestly, the most impressive thing about her is how she managed to be the perfect, loving, caring shijie to Jiang Cheng and Wei Ying without much parental guidance herself. Madam Yu was never happy with her and ignored her most of the time, and I assume Jiang Fengmian was her main parent until Wei Ying came into their lives and he diverted all his attention to him, which she never held against Wei Ying. She is one of the kindest, gentlest characters in mdzs, yet also one of the strongest.

So, that's my take on the Jiang Family! Remember this is just my opinion and take on these characters, and some of this is pure inference and educated guess, as we don't have a lot of canon evidence for what Jiang Fengmian and Yu Ziyuan's marriage pre-Wei Ying, and we also don't have a lot of info on the Jiang Family from pre Wei Ying and from when they were children, so I tried my best to fill in the gaps.

Hope you liked this! It's like 2 am where I am rn and I'm exhausted, so sorry if this doesn't make sense lol! I promise I'm still working on Chapter Four of my Yilling Wei Sect AU, I just took a break to write this cause I needed to get it out of my brain. I may do the other main sect families later this week too!

[maoam]

What do you think of this wattpad article explaining Sakura’s love for Sasuke?

https://www.wattpad.com/1165203867-sasuke-sakura-an-analysis-5-sakura%27s-reasons-for

You do understand this has like what 10+ parts? I can't use pics much because wattpad doesn't allow me to copypaste text, so I have to use screenshot. Thus I can't use as many pics from the manga to debunk lol. I am NOT going to handwrite her arguments. Maybe I'll make a video or masterpost to another site about SS. But I'll address couple of the claims now.

She lost hope in Sasuke though.

There is a reason why Kishimoto did this constantly with Sakura in the war arc. He used juxtaposition, a writing tool to compare Naruto and Sakura throughout the manga. While Naruto was determined, sure of himself and his relationship with Sasuke, and aware Sasuke was good inside (for example, he looked happy and content when he announced that he won't give up on Sasuke even if they both had to die), Sakura looked meek, unsure and upset. She didn't trust Sasuke. When that random guy told Sakura Sasuke must a good guy since she loves him, she felt guilty. Since she thought it wasn't true. Even in her confession, unlike Naruto, Sakura was angry, upset and pathetic. There was no other reason for Kishi to do that other than to show Sakura did not know the true Sasuke, nor did she care for him.

Sasuke shared his deep thoughts and feelings to Sakura... and Sakura said he never says anything to her. XD Because she does not give a damn about his deep thoughts or his feelings. Both her confessions showed she knew nothing of substance about him. She said she'd be just as lonely if Sasuke left as Sasuke was when his family was massacred, and then took her own family for granted in the process. She's ungrateful and shallow and takes things for granted that mean the world to Sasuke. How on earth are these two compatible? Aside from that, Sasuke does not need someone as weak as Sakura. He doesn't want or need Sakura bawling her eyes out and making a pity party to make him feel sorry for her, and he found it annoying everytime. Just because Sasuke found it in himself to be polite, nice or courteous with Sakura at times, doesn't mean she is someone who has traits Sasuke finds lovable, nor that he doesn't found her lact of tact or her selfishness irritating. He said it himself, there is no reason for him to love Sakura.

The listed reasons for Sakura to love Sasuke are pointless because they are reasons why op would like Sasuke over Naruto. These things are never shown to be the reasons Sakura likes Sasuke. Kishi said if he showed a reason for Sakura to like Sasuke, it would look contrived. Again, use evidence, not headcanons. And Kishimoto showed Sakura to be a hypocrite when it comes to the "pervertness" since she wanted to watch Sasuke pee while hitting Naruto on the head for trying to pee in front of her. She also liked Konohamaru's sexy jutsu when it was something she liked, once again showing her as hypocrite. Kishi also said she has a habit of stalking Sasuke so...

I lost interest when she used a bunch of filler to defend Sakura lol. Use canon or I'm not interested. I have a post that shows one filler that stole narusasu dynamic to use for narusaku. "Sasuke's courage and boldness inspired Sakura!" and then in Forest of Death she stood around screaming and did nothing. What Kishi does with Sakura is give her little something, and makes her go three big steps back. You can't say Sasuke influenced Sakura when she constantly went back in her progress. Sakura getting mad once or twice when the rest of the time she wilts like a dying flower (in canon, as I said fillers don't matter) doesn't change the fact she's pathetic. She also begged him to take her on his journey of atonement he wanted to take alone just for romantic purposes (when he had shown nothing but disinterest and rejection towards her) shows she has no respect for him. I did laugh when she compared Sakura vs Gaara (if you can call it that) to Hinata vs Pain because true, both were equally pathetic, though I'd say Hinata was far worse since she literally made the situation worse for Naruto. Sakura standing around uselessly with a kunai is a meme in the fandom for a reason. I'm also not impressed by her asking Tsunade to train her, since like I pointed out Sakura knows nothing of Sasuke, they don't have a deep bond, she's just addicted to him like Kishi said. She didn't have the resolve to train but expected Naruto to get Sasuke back for her, even after treating him like an inferior. Only when she realized he couldn't did she even bother to make an effort. She was too busy expecting the three men in her team to save her damsel ass. Lol. She did NO training even when she didn't make it to the chuunin finals. She actually did ZERO training in part 1 unless she was told to.

"The series says Sakura suffered many broken bones under---" filler, didn't happen. Sure, she did things because she was thirsty for Sasuke, like seek information about him or trained under Tsunade, but that doesn't change the fact she does display meek behaviour around him she does not around anyone else. And that does not change the fact she knows nothing substantial about him, considering she keeps saying the worst things in her "love" confessions, and keeps trying to act pathetic to get his attention.

And Sasuke didn't only care for Naruto because Naruto was needed to end the tsukiyomi. This is shown multiple times. And Naruto realizes it too.

イタチ 亡き今 やっ とオレは 一人になったように思えた…だがナルト…あいつ だけは斬っておかなければならない.

Itachi naki ima yatto ore wa hitori ni natta youni omoeta…Daga Naruto… Aitsu dake wa kitte o kanakereba naranai.

Now that Itachi is dead, I thought that I became completely alone… But Naruto… I must only kill (literally cut) him.

He believes that as long as Naruto is alive, he can never be alone and he can never accomplish his goal to become the darkness that he hopes to be. Naruto is the only bond left for him, and killing him is the only way for him to become alone in the dark. This is clear as a day. So for this SS shipper to completely ignore this and insist Sasuke is only saving Naruto because he needs him is completely false.

Sasuke is many times said he needs to "cut" Naruto himself. To be completely alone. Him cutting Naruto from the team 7 picture, Naruto's speech to Sasuke about body moving its own (Kishi's way of giving closure to this pivotal moment between them), Sasuke instinctively putting his hand before Naruto despite Susanoo already protecting him (which Naruto again took notice of), Sasuke telling Obito HE will cut Naruto, Sasuke motivating Naruto with only two lines... list goes on. Where does Sakura factor in this? Because she is not that important. Because as Naruto said, he is Sasuke's only one. SS shippers have no understanding of authorial intent or narrative or subtext. Sakura herself knows Naruto's importance to Sasuke, that's why in her pathetic confession she whines how she "can't get close to Sasuke" and "can't exchange blows with him" things that Naruto does. Sasuke himself noted in a chapter AFTER Sakura's confession that Naruto kept coming closer to his heart. It's Kishi's way of mocking SS and underlining NS. This is not rocket science.

Using @narutouzumakiarchive images for convinience.

And what's more, the reason why I'm against SS the most is not because Sakura is pathetic around Sasuke (although that certainly helps) but because Sasuke is not in love with Sakura. Sakura has no qualities Sasuke admires or finds lovable. Sakura doesn't respect him nor does she appreciate the things he does (family for example).

You can also check narutouzumakiarchive's posts debunking common SS arguments, it includes many that she also used.

[tommyiloveyouiconfess]

2025/06/25

“i don’t know if i’m a boy or a girl.”

—what does being a boy mean to you? what does being a girl mean to you?

“i don’t know. if i try to describe it, feelings, behaviours, signs, it immediately becomes stereotypical, reductive, misogynistic…”

—do you have dysphoria?

“sometimes… maybe. not really. mostly i like how i look in my body a lot. i always do, really. but sometimes i like a flat chest. other times i… don’t care.”

—do you have euphoria?

“i like looking good as a girl. i like feeling pretty, feminine or just… existing as a girl who’s pretty. but i like looking like a boy too. if i wear just boxers my body feels like a boy’s and i love it. but i’m so neutral on my body when it’s bare too. i feel numb sometimes. i like my body.”

—do what makes you happy.

“both make me happy…”

—then be both.

“but that doesn’t make me happy.”

—then be neither.

“no. no no no no no—”

—okay! jesus. i don’t know. what do you feel inside?

“what is inside?”

—for fuck’s sake…

“no, really. is there a ‘deep down’? is there an ‘in my heart’? does gender even feel like something in your heart and soul? or are those just… feelings. what if i feel feminine because i was raised feminine? am i feminine? i feel blank. what if my different gender feelings with different people are unrelated to gender and are just… feeling different around different people? and i was just so consumed by gender thoughts that i applied it where it meant nothing? am i even masculine? what does that mean? i know i don’t need to be. can’t i just be me? what if those feelings are just… me being me? and it’s nothing to do with gender?”

—if nothing has anything to do with gender, just pick one at random. what do you want to be? if you want if, just be it. done.

“no, that’s not how it works.”

—why? why not?

“…fine, i’ll humour you. i want to be a boy i want to be a boy i want to be a boy (but what does that even MEAN no i don’t, the moment i think about it i don’t really, not really, unless. what does it mean?) i guess i’ll be a girl. no sense in making things difficult.”

—why don’t you want to be a girl?

“i do! of course i do. i am a girl. i love being a girl. i feel in my heart i’m a girl.”

—your heart? but you just said…

“i said what IF. i don’t KNOW if there’s such a thing.”

—okay. fine. whatever. anyway. do you want to grow up as a man?

“no. it scares me. if i grew up a boy to a man, i feel like i would be missing out on a whole life… one i was meant to live.”

—why don’t you feel that way about a man’s life? aren’t you missing out on that too?

“well, it’s different… growing up a woman is what i was meant to do.”

—is your crushing guilt religious in nature?

“…what?”

—the guilt you feel over everything you do, every change you make… why do you feel it?

“i guess… because i was born in a certain way with a certain path and certain predestined experiences… this is who i was intended to be.”

—universal predestination, huh. does your family factor in? the world? how do you imagine yourself in twenty years?

“i don’t know. i don’t know i don’t know i don’t KNOW. it’s blurry and never anything like me and just concepts and i don’t KNOW. i can’t predict who i will be. who i would be.”

—do you want to grow up as a man?

“no. i don’t. well. what does that mean? would i not just be me? would the perception not be the only thing that changes?”

—you said no… why? what is a man to you? what does being a boy mean? what about being a girl?

“…aren’t we back where we started?”

—…hm. so we are. well, maybe this time around will be better.