#sorry for the delay on replying to asks/messages guys!! you know how it is

[starleska]

may have flown a little close to the sun and entered real burnout town today (which has a lot less to do with fixation and a lot more to do with people being inconsiderate at work!!) 😴😴 so may just do a little gentle drawing...maybe some real selfship this time...

[hamiltonaf]

Veiled Emotions | Lando Norris

Part 1 | (Part 2)

Pairings: Lando Norris x BFF!Female Reader

Word Count: 2.8K

Warnings: Sexual tension | Slow Burn

A/N: Hello my lovelies. Apologies for the delay, I had a busy week and it was my birthday, so consider this a gift from me to you guys. I got a bit carried away, so I hope you loves enjoy .xx

(Y/F/N) - Your Friend’s Name

It was the next morning, and thankfully (Y/F/N) let me sleep in, and didn’t bother me to wake up early. I woke up in a pretty good mood until I turned to the side table and looked at my lockscreen to see I was flooded with message notifications from Lando, as well as a number of DMs reacting to my story last night.

 

I opened Lando’s messages first - it was just good morning texts and a spam of him saying my name to wake me up. However his last message said ‘(Y/N/N) I’m coming home later today. Are you busy today ? Call me when you see this ❤️’. Hmm I wonder what it’s about…

 

Before replying back I went through a few of my Instagram DMs. Some asking if it’s Lando, others asking for a better soft launch, though one DM caught my eye from João, the last person I would ever expect a DM from.

 

João

Hey beautiful… I know this seems crazy but would love to get to know you better. How about tonight after my match ?

 

Y/N

Hii ! We just started following each other… eager to see me already ? lol just playing. Sure ☺️

 

João

Was not expecting that to work 😂 but I’m glad it did. Are you free to come to my match at 6 ? Its at Wembley 👀

 

I yelled for (Y/F/N) and luckily she was in the kitchen which isn’t far from my room, “Girl something major just happened!” I said as I sat up against the headboard. “Omg is it Lando ?” She asked as she jumped in the bed beside me. “Yes and no, well not right now. So you wouldn’t believe this but João just DMed me asking if-“

 

“Babe slow it down and reverse. Did you just say João DMed you ? AND YOU ARE THROWING THAT OUT SO CASUALLY ?” She screamed in shock. “Erm okay sorry I guess for not making it a big deal ? Anywho, he wants to go out to tonight after-“ “YES !” She cut me off. “I didn’t finish my sentence” I huffed. “I don’t care, you’re going to whatever he invited you for” she smiled. “Well he first said to meet after his match, and now he’s inviting me to his match as well” I held my head in my hands. “I wish I had your kind of problems. A footballer and a f1 driver fighting for you ? The potential chance you have of being a football or f1 wag is crazy !” she squealed as she clapped her hands.

 

“I take it that I say yes to both ?” I raised a brow. “Absolutely !” She said in an obvious tone.“But I don’t know how I feel about going. I mean this is all literally happening bc his ex is dating my Lando” I sighed. “My ?” She teased with a smirk. “Oh my god what am I even saying” I said in shock as I shook my head. “This boy is making me lose my mind” I groaned in frustration.

 

“Okay jokes aside..I understand where you’re coming from. We don’t know what his intentions are and I get that you may feel uncomfortable. Why don’t you ask him if a friend can come with for the match so you have company” she suggested. “I can’t tell if you’re being helpful or if this is an excuse to come with me to a football match” I furrowed my brows. “Well mainly the first one but I won’t deny the second one” she pursed her lips. “I see how it is, oh well either way I’m not planning to go to this match alone. I’m just going to ask him if you can come with” I said as I opened the DM once again.

 

Y/N

I’ve never been, so it sounds like fun, do you mind if I bring a friend with ? 😊

 

João

Don’t mind at all. Whatever you say 😉 Will send you a pass and details in a few for the 2 of you. Look forward to seeing you.

 

Y/N

Perfect ! Thank you so much. See you later 🥰

 

 

“Okay done !” I smiled as I closed the app. “Great, now what about Lando ?” She asked curiously. “Oh yeah..about him-“ I started to laugh nervously. “Oh no. What now ?” She crossed her arms over. “So uhm, he’s coming back home today and well, he asked me to call him when I saw his message” I shrugged casually. “Did you call him ?” She raised a brow. “No ?” I furrowed my brows. “Well what the heck are you waiting for ! Call him right now because I wanna hear this” she yelled. “Okay fine jeez” I scrolled for his name and ringed him.

 

I cleared my throat whilst it was ringing, “Hey you’re finally up” he greeted. “Yeah I just saw your message. What’s up ?” my gaze lingered to (Y/F/N). “Well I’m flying back in a few hours..thought we should meet up, that’s if you’re free” he said hopeful. “Why does he sound shy ?” (Y/F/N) whispered. “Shh- Uhm yeah unfortunately I’m busy today Lan, maybe tomorrow ?” I pressed my lips together. “Oh I see..what are your plans ?” He asked. “Well João wanted me at his match today, and we’re going out after, so I have no idea what time I’ll be back.”

 

“Hmm wow…I take it that you’re going for the Euros then ?” He asked. “Yepp that’s right” I replied. “Great, then I’ll see you later. Bye !” His tone changed. “Byeee” I said lastly as I ended the call. “Did you hear correctly ?” (Y/F/N) asked confused. “What ?” I asked even more baffled than she is. “He said he’ll see you later” she said. “Ohh, well maybe he means before we leave for the match” I suggested. “Oh yeah you got a point” she dropped the subject as our focus was on having brunch.

 

After brunch and trying to kill some time, I had a shower and started to hunt for an outfit. Thank god for (Y/F/N) as she helped me narrow down my options. The look we’re going for is I’m an up-and-coming wag, but I’m mainly just a friend.

 

As we were about to leave, I failed to mention that João sent a driver to escort us to the stadium. Nice touch. (Y/F/N) squealed and pinched me when she saw the car. “Girlll you can have Lando, I’ll take him” I stifled a laugh and tried to hush her before the driver heard us.

 

Upon our arrival at the stadium, we were then escorted by a team member named, Anna. She was really sweet, as she took her time to give us a tour. I was not expecting her to actually take us to the dressing rooms where I was tapped on the shoulder by João. “Hello” he said softly. “Hi omg we finally meet” I smiled as we then exchanged a hug. “About time” he nervously chuckled. “Yeah thank you again for inviting us” (Y/F/N) butted in as she started taking to him.

 

“Well thank you for accepting my invite. I hope you guys enjoy the match, and you’ll be cheering me on” he winked. “Of course !” (Y/F/N) smiled at him. “Sorry to leave so suddenly, I have a team meeting. See you later yeah ?” He said as he started walking backwards. “Yepp” “Goodluck for today’s match” (Y/F/N) added. He waved us off before he finally left. I gave her a side eye before Anna guided us to our seats and bid goodbye.

 

The stadium was full to capacity at this point, however, the match was only about to start in 15 minutes. I thought the view from the box would be a great time to post, but yet again, the fans beat me to it.

 

f1gossipgirl just added to their story

“I swear this girl doesn’t rest” I giggled as I liked the stories. “You look insane, bestie” (Y/F/N) said as she looked over my shoulder. As I continued to go through the stories, my jaw dropped at the caption.

 

f1gossipgirl just added to their story

“Ain’t no frikken way” I said in shock. “Bitch what the hell. Where is he ?” (Y/F/N) started to frantically look around us. As if on queue, the camera pans to Lando, and his face appears on the big screen. “Oh. My. God” we said simultaneously. “Call him right now” I huffed. “Is that a good idea though ?” Before she could reply, she grabbed my phone and dialled his number. “Are you insane ?” I said as she then shoved my phone to my ear. “Hey love” he answered.

 

“Hey you…so like when did you plan on telling me you’re here as well ?” I know him so well that I could tell he’s smiling on the other side, he’s enjoying this a little too much. “Well, I did tell you that I’ll see you later” he half laughed. “Are you stalking me ?” I asked playfully. “No” he scoffed. “Defensive… so you are stalking me” I giggled. “No no I mean I was actually invited, in fact I was going to bring you with me but someone beat me to it” he huffed. “Hmm okay keep telling yourself that” I smiled.

 

“Where are you anyway ? Why don’t you come here and give me company ?” He suggested. “I’m with (Y/F/N), I can’t leave her alone” she then shoved my shoulder. “I’m not a child, you can leave me alone !” she said lowly. “That’s fine, she can take the seat and you can sit on my lap.” Is he flirting with me ? I guess so considering how (Y/F/N) started giggling. “Haha very funny. I don’t think your girlfriend would like that”

 

“Girlfriend ? Where did you hear this ?” He asked. “Okay just forget about it, I’ll see you later. Byeeee” I said as I ended the call.

 

The match ended at 93 minutes with the score being 2-0 - Portugal had won, which is great but disappointing to see England lose.

 

(Y/F/N) and I stayed in place as everyone was leaving. “Can I escort you ladies to a private room so you can get comfortable until João is back ?” Anna suggested. “Yeah sure” (Y/F/N) replied. I followed behind their lead whilst I scrolled through my phone. “Avoiding me, love.” I looked up and I was met by Lando. “Oh hey you” I smiled. “Where are you off to ?” He eagerly asked. “Well, I’m following (Y/F/N) and Anna, she’s escorting us to a private room until João is done, but I’ll see you around” I quickly gave him a smile as I tried to walk past him. He grabbed my hand and pulled me back.

 

“Wait. I feel like I don’t see you anymore these days” he pouted. “I could say the same for you. You’re in a relationship and now well so am I” I lied as I attempted again to walk past him. He yet again successfully pulls me back. “Can we just talk…alone and clear some things… please” he asked sincerely. I glanced over to (Y/F/N) and she nodded towards Lando, hinting I should go with him. “Okay fine.” I walked over to hug (Y/F/N), “Don’t worry I’ll cover for you” she whispered. “Thanks, I owe you” I said back softly. “Anna, thank you for helping this evening. If you’ll excuse me, I unfortunately have to go, but (Y/F/N) is here to accompany João” I smiled at her. She nodded with a smile.

 

I walked back over to Lando, “After you” he smirked as he stood aside for me to walk ahead. Once we were at the parking, he walked ahead of me to his McLaren as he opened the passenger door for me. “Have I told you how beautiful you look today ?” He asked as he leaned against the door. “No, but thank you” I gave him a small smile as he sat in the driver's seat.

 

“So I think let’s clear the air on the topic that seems to bother you” he said as he tried to hide his smile. “I’m sorry but it doesn’t bother me” I scoffed. “By saying it doesn’t bother you, means it bothers you” he smirked. “I think what bothers you is that I was invited to this match by João and I was supposed to be on a date with him after, so you followed me here to ruin my plans” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Yet here you are, in my car. With me” he continued to smirk. “I only came here to ‘clear the air’ like you asked” I raised my voice.

 

“I love to see you get angry” he said as he leaned more into his seat to face me. The sexual tension in the car really got me flustered. “Lando, this is not funny ! Get to the point already, or I’m leaving” I huffed. “Okay okay sorry… so…are you actually dating him ?” he asked. “Are you serious right now ? You called me for this ? Are you trying to get information again for your girlfriend ?”

 

“Again with the girlfriend story” he laughed. “What is so damn funny ? Share the joke so I too can laugh” I rolled my eyes. “She’s not my girlfriend” he held in his laugh. “Wait what” I could feel the heat rush to my cheeks. “But I swear everyone and their mothers said that you’re dating her ? I felt like such an idiot being your so-called best friend because everyone knew this except for me” I argued. “Well sorry to break it you like this but you fell for the rumours like everyone else”

 

“But she went on this trip with you guys and-“ he cut me off. “Yeah because she’s friends with Pietra and besides that, I asked you to come with but you said no” he pouted. “Because like I told you, I didn’t want to be a third wheel” I sighed. “You wouldn’t have been a third wheel because you have me. If anything, she was going to feel like a third wheel because I’m closer to you… I was really hoping you were coming because I was so lonely, that’s why I video called you last night, but then you thought something else and cut the call on me” he called me out.

 

“I mean can you blame me with everything I’ve been hearing ?” I scoffed. “Now that that’s out of the way. Are you dating him ?” He asked as he leaned on the console between us. “What’s it to you ?” I grinned. “Oh come on, I answered your question, the least you can do is answer mine” he pouted again with the puppy dog eyes. “I guess you can say it’s a yes and no answer” I said playfully. He tilted his head to the side, “It’s either a yes or no” he said as he leaned closer towards me.

 

It started to feel really hot with all this sexual tension. I could feel the moisture and tiny beads of sweat start to form along my collarbones and my cleavage. It’s as if (Y/F/N) confident spirit took over me when I answered his question. “Well, yes I’m dating him if it means it bothers you and no, I’m not dating him..unless, you’re interested” I smirked as I tilted my head. He sniggered as he broke eye contact for a second before meeting my eyes again. He grabbed my cap and put it on himself backwards. “What are you doing ?” I furrowed my brows. “Something I should’ve done a very long time ago” he said as he entangled his fingers into my hair and closed the gap between us.

 

Our lips met in a rush of warmth, a collision of uncertainty and desire. The kiss was both sweet and fierce, a moment that felt like it could unravel everything we’d been avoiding. My hands wrapped around his neck and trailed into his hair, lightly pulling on it. When we finally pulled away, breathless, I found myself searching his eyes.

 

He bit his lip as he pressed his forehead against mine. “Wow” I said, my voice shaky. He chuckled softly, a smile spreading across his face. “Yeah, wow…always wanted to do that.”

 

I wasn’t done messing with him. “Then why didn’t you ? Oh right, you were so busy hitting on your ‘girlfriend’ that-“ he cut me off by capturing my lips in another kiss. He broke away to look at me, “You know you drive me insane sometimes, but it shows how much I love you when I can’t stop thinking about you or when I randomly smile at something you said” he blushed. “You already love me ?” I teased him. “Yes. Yes I do” he said as he gave me a quick peck. “Okay” I smiled. “Don’t you love me too ?” He pouted. “I’m still thinking about it” I pursed my lips.

 

“What is there to think about ?” He asked in shock. “I think I’m gonna need a little bit more of your lips on mine to decide-“ I tried to hide my laugh as he then cupped my face with his hands. “Is. This. Good. Enough. For. You” he pecked my lips after each word. I giggled at him being silly, “Okay okay, I love you too.” “Damn right you do” murmured as his hand moved to my neck and placed his lips on mine once again.

[stinkyturd]

After Hours Request

Pairing: Jin Kamurai/You

Comments: Jin has gotta be in my top three favorite characters. Tsunderes have a special place in my heart, and I think that this guy has a huge soft spot for the protagonist. I know I'm setting up a lot of commitments for myself, but I wouldn't mind doing a part two for this one at some point. Enjoy!

A senseless distraction you were.

It was unfathomable how much you continued to preoccupy Jin's thoughts well after your departure from Frostheim. Locked away in his icy chambers, the captain found himself far too often reaching for his phone to check for your texts throughout the day. It wasn't as if the two of you were on that friendly of speaking terms.

Jin recently began to have subliminal urges to send you at least one or two texts throughout the day that would inadvertently force an interaction. Be it requests, demands with threatening connotations, or even inquiries about other houses-- Jin found a reason. If it were possible, Jin would write a substantial check to Darkwick in order to have a non-negotiable monopoly of your time.

The Frostheim Captain found himself becoming increasingly more impatient with the delays in your replies, or the lack of frequency in which you would agree to make an appearance at his doorstep. You always chalked it up to the Chancellor needing you elsewhere and it was really starting to infuriate him. Jin knows it's not inherently your decision, but that didn't stop him from being a tyrant about it.

Right now, Jin is watching the 'typing' bubble animate on the left side of your chat log. The Frostheim Captain had sent you a message, summoning your presence to help him sort through paperwork that wasn't that disorganized to begin with. In fact, Jin had messed up the filing cabinet intentionally to make it less suspicious that he asked for assistance in the first place. You weren't that dumb, and Jin knew you could eventually catch on to his antics if he didn't throw in a few precautionary measures here and there.

'Sorry, Jin! I can probably come later this evening, but I don't think it will be before 7pm! The Chancellor assigned a mission for me at Obscuary. They need me to drag Edward out for this one.' 10:24am

Jin clenches his jaw in irritation at the news. Of course, that bloodsucking piece of shit is the culprit. Just as he begins to brainstorm a reply, another text comes in from you.

'We can always reschedule for tomorrow! I think I'm supposed to help in Frostheim anyways, I'd have to double check with Cornelius, though.' 10:25am

Jin scoffs at your presumptuous message. You seriously thought you were going to weasel your way out of this one? Without hesitation, he cascades his fingers against the touch screen to type out a reply.

'No. It needs to be done by tonight, even if you have to pull an all-nighter. I expect you to be here at seven on the dot. If you fail to do so, anticipate consequences, brat.' 10:25am

The Frostheim Captain lays back on his couch, with his phone hovering over his face, as he waits for your reply. You could deny him, but Jin knew you wouldn't. Even if you weren't intimidated by his status and supernatural abilities, you did still owe him. Much to Jin's delight, you had clumsily shattered a vase a few weeks prior that was likely worth more than any home you had ever lived in. Now that you were indebted to him, you were in no position to reject him.

Sometimes things just fall perfectly into place.

'Yes, Master, your wish is my command

(���・//ε//・｡)!' 10:26am

Jin's grip on his phone loosens as he reads the text you sent, and it collides painfully with the bridge of his nose. Sitting up abruptly, the Frostheim Captain clamps a hand over his face as he feels the blood rush to his head from your unpredictable string of words.

"Master...? What the fuck is wrong with her?"

--

At around 7:15pm, you arrive at Jin's doorstep. You begin to wonder if not showing up at all would have less repercussions than showing up fifteen minutes late. Sometimes you were five minutes late, but never fifteen.

When you had passed Tohma on your way to Jin's room just a minute or so ago, the vice-captain spared you a knowing and thoroughly amused glance. Jin had likely made a comment or two about your tardiness in passing.

So what? The mission had taken longer than you had planned, and you had to rush to even make it here at the time that you did. No matter how unreasonable Jin's deadlines were you just knew he wouldn't see it your way. You had hoped that Jin would be sleeping upon your arrival so you could lie and say you had been there since seven, but your luck would never permit such mercy.

Pushing out a deep sigh, you mentally prepare yourself before rapping the massive navy double doors that stood before you. Five times to be exact, as per Jin's instruction in the past.

A few seconds later your phone vibrates within your pocket. You pull it out and see a short text from Jin displayed in your notifications.

'It's open.' 7:16pm

Stowing the device away, you pull the door open and slip yourself inside.

Upon entry, you don't spot Jin. You cautiously take a few steps forward and look around the room. An end table that is staged in front of the teal couch that you frequently find Jin sprawled over has an ashtray placed in the center. In it, there's a smashed cigarette butt that's still venting small billows of smoke.

Maybe he's in the bathroom?

Whatever, you could just get a head start on that paperwork that he was bitching about. You make your way over to Jin's desk that's positioned by the right back corner of his room and open one of the drawers that you recalled him storing paperwork in. The cabinet's hanging folders were thrown off kilter in such a way that the papers inside were spilling into the bottom of the drawer-- some even thrown haphazardly on top of it all.

Did Jin just get bored and violently shake up the desk to make you materialize at his beck and call?

What a funny idea that would be. You couldn't complain much, you figure, as you begin pulling out the bin's contents and setting them on top of the desk. At least his pretty face would end up being the highlight of your day, even if it would inevitably be scowling at you the entire time. You take a seat at the desk in front of you and get to work sorting. It occurs to you pretty quickly that not all of the documents were dated, so you begin separating the unknowns into a different pile as you wait for Jin's arrival.

At some point during your rifling, an out of place square paper flies out from in between the stacks in front of you.

"Oops," You mutter absently, your eyes trailing to the sheet as it descends to the ground. A polaroid, you realize.

"What are you doing here?" The question mindlessly flows from your lips at the inanimate object as you lean down to nosily peer at the subject of the photo.

Much to your surprise, it was a photo of you and someone else. At first, you don't recognize the other subject, because the face of the person next to you had seemingly been burned with the tip of a cigarette. This was one of the photos Kaito had taken with you before when he was testing out his new camera.

How did Jin get this? And why is it here?

Suddenly, a blue slipper stomps over the photo laying on the ground in front of you. You gulp, not daring to look up right away.

"Haha... Jin, what a surprise. Where were you anyways?" Your voice comes out strained, as you have a sneaking suspicion you just saw something you shouldn't have.

"You show up late, then start digging through my shit without permission? It seems you've gotten too comfortable, honor student," Jin bites out icily.

"Well, ya see I thought I'd get a head start on the paperwork," You explain as you lift your head slowly. Unusual, he's wearing white? And what a strange material-- oh shit, oh god.

Jin is standing in front of you with just a towel wrapped around his waist. The Frostheim Captain's lithe torso is fully exposed and on display for your unprepared eyes to soak up. His white hair is still damp, some pieces clinging loosely to the contours of his pretty face that is now glowering at you with disdain.

To prevent yourself from the humiliation of becoming a stuttering mess, you shield your eyes with your hands before continuing to speak to him. "Um, so... yeah. Late? That's what we were talking about? Sorry, the mission took longer than I expected. Edward took way too many breaks."

Jin clicks his tongue, clearly not pleased with your answer. "Did you tell that bloodsucker that he was wasting my fucking time?"

"Ah, you know, that might have come up? I don't think he really cared, to be blunt about it."

"Looks like your next task will be in-depth research on how to snuff out an immortal." You hear Jin shift next to you.

"Right. So gracious of you to overlook my transgression. I'll do my best, Master." Your lips threaten to curl up at your second integration of the suggestive word that day.

Sometimes, messing with Jin subtly was kind of fun, if you could get away with it. And you only did it because he would so shamelessly refer to you as a servant! This was his comeuppance, as far as you were concerned.

Alas, much to your disappointment, your bait was swiftly ignored.

"...How long are you going to sit there with your hands over your face?"

"Until you put your clothes back on," You retort.

"How presumptuous," Jin drawls. "And if I don't feel like it? How do you plan to get any work done?"

What a stubborn ass, new tactic.

"Well... I guess I can. I can't make any promises that I won't ingrain your mostly naked, flawless, body into my memory and use it as a reference to paint on canvas later," You say, feigning a dejected voice.

Jin's footsteps walk somewhere off to the right, if your hearing serves you correctly. "You've been mouthing off quite a bit today. And who says you can just use my likeness without my permission?"

You're really making this too easy, Jin.

"...I could probably say the same thing. I don't think I've ever seen anyone keep a photo of me tucked in their drawer so secretively like that."

The Frostheim House is cold as hell, but you're pretty sure the temperature just hit below zero.

Jin's voice comes, "... Just what are you implying, brat?"

"Implying?" You chuckle nervously, beginning to regret your glib comment. "No implications here. Why do you have a photo of me, anyways?"

"None of your fucking business," Jin counters. The sound of a drawer rolling open enters your ear canal. Is he finally putting on clothes?

"Right, not my business..." You repeat, stifling a snicker.

"... Wipe that smirk off your face," Jin demands. You think you hear him put on clothing at this point.

"Right. Just give me a sec," You say, splaying both hands fully over your face to cover your grin that won't be going anywhere for a minute. "If it makes you feel any better, I will fully welcome a Jin portrait being hung up in my room."

Jin scoffs. "Shut up, idiot. Uncover your eyes."

Obediently, you do as he asks. You find the Frostheim Captain standing by the wardrobe near his bed wearing a pair of matching blue pajamas. It's almost envious how he can look so beautiful in something so casual.

"Hey, clothes! I don't think I've seen you not in formal clothing. You look nice," You praise him with ease.

Jin averts his gaze from you, not being one to take compliments easily. "Had you not been covering your eyes like a moron; you would have had the honor of choosing my outfit. Anyways, enough chatter. I summoned you here for a task."

"Right!" You pick up a folder and hastily resume your quest to organize Jin's paperwork. "I got this. I'll make you almost glad that I broke your fancy vase."

Jin smirks at that. Striding across the room, he picks up a box of cigarettes from an end table. Pulling one out, he places it between his lips and lights it.

"You're only putting a miniscule dent in the cost to make that up, you know," Jin remarks coolly as he takes a drag.

"That's okay," You reply as you sift through a stack of papers. "I think I'll be more disappointed when you run out of reasons to call me here. Call me crazy, but I actually like being around you."

"... Don't go saying dumb shit like that so easily," Jin chides, slumping onto the couch and out of view. "Wake me up when you're done."

"Sure thing... Master," You near whisper the last part to yourself with a snicker. If Jin heard you, he chose to ignore you.

You're not sure how long you've been messing with papers, but at some point, you begin to feel thoroughly exhausted. Pulling a few all-nighters this week to keep up with your studies, Darwick's requests, and Jin's demands must have been taking its toll. A yawn escapes you when you're on your last folder. Surely it wouldn't hurt to rest your eyes for just a split second?

Caving into your whims, you rest your head against your forearms.

Just for a second, you tell yourself as you drift off to sleep.

When you open your eyes again, you're lying on something soft and silky. The sudden change in your immediate surroundings alarms you enough to sit fully upright. The room is dark, save for the moonlight shining in from the grand windows against the back wall. In the distance, you spot an all too familiar piano.

A dead giveaway that you're in the Ice King's room.

Holding your breath, you shift your eyes to your right. Jin is lying there next to you, probably closer than he should, considering it's a king size bed. The Frostheim Captain appears to be fast asleep underneath the covers, laying on the side that's facing you.

How the hell did this happen without you waking up? Did Jin seriously carry you to the bed with him? You're not even wearing your shoes or jacket!

God his face is deceptively peaceful and pretty when he's asleep so defenseless like this. And as much as you'd love to cuddle up to this sleeping beauty for the night, you can't. Maybe in another lifetime, if you're lucky.

You're not sure why Jin didn't just wake you up and tell you to get the fuck out, but you're not planning on taking any risks. Carefully, you lean your weight towards the edge of the bed with the intention of escaping without a sound.

Without warning a hand grips your wrist.

"Bianerus."

Your body goes stiff. "...You're awake. I was just going to see myself out."

Jin narrows his eyes at you. "Tch... do you know what time it is? You're not going anywhere. Your stupid little cathedral is nearly a mile from here."

"I know my way around this place," You argue as you fight back a blush.

"Lay down," Jin commands.

Your body lays flat against the bed, of its own volition. "Okay, yes Master," You squeak out.

"And stop calling me that, idiot."

"Okay, Boss," You manage as you giggle awkwardly at the ridiculousness of the situation.

Jin rolls his eyes in irritation. "You're insufferable. Just call me Jin."

"Jin..." Daringly, you shift your eyes to meet Jin's icy blue ones. Your heart skips a beat, as he's about a foot away from your side.

"...Tohma never saw me leave."

"So?" Jin counters.

"Uh... he's definitely going to think something is going on," You warn him, your cheeks heating up.

Jin raises a perfectly groomed eyebrow. "What difference does it make?"

"Well... as long as he doesn't spread that information around, I guess not much. Your fangirls would probably eat me alive, if they thought..." You avert your gaze, far too mortified to finish the thought.

Jin sighs. "Tohma wouldn't and even if he did, I'd kick his ass."

"Alright, I'll take your word for it," You concede, albeit reluctantly. "... Of all the beds I could end up in, I gotta say I didn't think this would be on the list."

Jin's eye twitches, in annoyance, you think. Suddenly, he flips to face away from you.

"Should you find yourself in another bed, relay the name and House of the unfortunate owner to me," Jin grumbles.

You blink. "Huh...?"

"That's an order."

You're not sure exactly what Jin could mean by that, though there aren't too many conclusions you can draw from such a request. "... Is the owner unfortunate because it's with me, or for another reason?"

"Shut up. I'm going to sleep."

Your lips involuntarily clamp shut for the moment. It seems that he's still activating his stigma. No matter, you were persistent.

A few minutes pass. In that time, you hear vibrations against a surface from somewhere on Jin's side. Peeking over him, you spot your phone on the end table on his side.

Plugged in a charger, too? God, he's cute.

Your phone has been set to receive notifications for just texts, so you wonder if it's something important. Maybe if you're super duper careful you can reach for it without disturbing the slumbering ice king in front of you.

Making up your mind, you steel yourself and slowly move to reach over him.

"Tch, how many times must I say it? Lay down."

Stigma activated, you find yourself collapsing partially on top of Jin. Your left arm slumps over his torso and your face ends up buried in his hair.

Holy shit, you're basically spooning him.

"Uhm, l-look I wanna apologize, but you're quite literally forcing my hand on this one," You stutter out.

"If you listened the first time, this wouldn't have happened," Jin replies, calmly. The Frostheim Captain shows no intention of moving or forcing you off. If anything, you swear you feel him relax into the contact.

"R-Right... So, are you gonna stop using your stigma, so I can get off you?"

"No," Jin deadpans.

Hah... if this is a dream, you sure hope you don't wake up.

"Okay, yeah... I can work with that. I'll just… chill." Not that you had a choice. And since you don't, you take the opportunity to not so subtly sniff his hair.

Smells like sage and juniper. It's so soft, too.

"...Weirdo," Jin mutters. You're pretty sure the back of his ears are turning pink. What a fortuitous day this is.

"Sorry, you smell good. Just so you know, if you intend on sleeping like this, I may start to get the hots for you. Aren't you rich guys supposed to be thrown into arranged marriages? If that's the case, I'm sure your fiancée would be furious," You ramble like an idiot.

"... I have no such fiancée," Jin says simply.

You feel the effects of the stigma wear off as your body relaxes into him. If he really didn't want you to move, then wouldn't it be fine to properly cuddle him? Would that be too far?

Deciding that the pros outweigh the possible cons, you snake your arm properly over Jin's torso and bury your face into his shoulder. The Frostheim Captain shows no indication of rejecting the calculated advance.

Maybe it's fine to stay like this. At least for a little while.

Tomorrow this could be weird. But that's tomorrow's problem. Maybe Jin would just pretend like nothing happened and the two of you would never bring this up. Whatever the outcome would be, you'd live with it.

Before you know it, the warmth from Jin's body nestled against you lulls you to sleep.

--

By the time you had woken up in the morning, Jin was already gone. You had checked the time on your phone and noticed that you had gotten up pretty late. Late enough that you were most definitely going to miss your first period. Not wasting a beat, you bolted out the door to properly get ready at the cathedral.

It was now lunch time and Kaito had caught you just after your last class and requested you eat with him by Frostheim's stomping grounds with Lucas. Currently, you sat at a bench next to the two Frostheim students, with a bento box that you purchased from the school cafeteria in hand. Kaito was rambling about DIY projects that he was working on in his free time. You did your best to stay tuned in, but you couldn't stop thinking about the events of last night.

"I understand you're busy with crafts, Kaito, but you should try to join me on a mission sometime. It will reflect well on us at the end of the year if we just apply ourselves to even a few more," Lucas implores. Always persistent with his futile quest to get Kaito to do anything productive in relation to Anomalies, or Darkwick.

"Fuck that! You can do that shit yourself. Why would I risk my life trying to fight those monsters when I could be learning to do stuff that's actually gonna help me?" Kaito argues loudly, as usual. "It's not like my stigma is that badass anyways! You get it right, (Y/N)?"

You tear your eyes from your barely touched bento and relocate them to Kaito's disgruntled face. "... Sorry, what was that?"

Kaito huffs and scrunches up his nose. "This jerk is trying to drag me on a mission again! I'm gonna eat shit, so doing personally productive things is better anyways, right?"

You look at Lucas who's giving the blonde a tired look.

"Yeah... I get both of your sides, but I think if you're enjoying yourself it's not time wasted. By the way do you know what time it is?" You ask absently. "I realized about twenty minutes ago that I can't find my phone."

You really don't recall touching your phone since you woke up, which is concerning. And you had been so preoccupied with getting out of Jin's domain as fast as possible, there's a chance it's lying in the grass somewhere.

"Oh shit, for reals?" Kaito's agitated expression turns into a look of concern.

Lucas pulls out his phone to check the time. "It's 12:45 pm. When's the last time you saw it?"

"No clue. Was in a rush this morning," You explain vaguely.

"Want us to help you look for it?" Kaito asks, setting aside his lunch box.

"No, that's not necessary," You insist, chuckling weakly. "It could literally be anywhere."

"You could try retracing your steps," Lucas suggests with a sympathetic smile.

"Speaking of retracing steps..." Kaito starts as he regards you with skepticism. "Is it true that you were in the Frostheim dorms before class? Someone mentioned it in passing."

Fuck.

Why was everyone at this school such busy bodies? You hadn't even considered that anyone would notice, so you didn't prepare an excuse.

"Uh... I don't know. Maybe I was passing through?" You offer an explanation, though Kaito and Lucas don't look convinced.

"Passing through?" Lucas repeats, lifting an eyebrow. "Perhaps the student thought you were someone else. You don't pass Frostheim to get to the main campus from your dorm."

Kaito places a finger to his chin, confusion etched on his face. "I dunno, I think it was one of (Y/N)'s first period classmates. You sure you aren't seeing someone here?" The blonde furrows his brows in determination. "Cause, I'll warn you now, pretty much all of these Frostheim students are total losers. They don't deserve your company!"

Lucas rolls his eyes. "I think that statement is more of an unfair and biased conjecture."

Just when you were about to prepare a bullshit excuse, a voice came from behind you, nearly startling you out of your skin.

"Oi, you lose something?"

You feel a tap on your head. Slowly, you tilt your head upward to find Jin looming over you, with your phone in his hand.

"Oh..." You near whisper.

Shit, shit, shit…!

"I found it outside my room. You ran out so quickly this morning, I'm surprised you didn't face plant into the cement on your way out," Jin goads, smirking impishly.

"WUUUUAAAAAAAAAHH...?!?!" Kaito screeches in horror, shooting to his feet. His teal eyes flick back and forth fervently between you and the Frostheim Captain.

Lucas just blinks in surprise, likely drawing the same conclusion as Kaito.

Jin covers an ear with his palm in irritation. "Tch, you're too fucking loud."

Impervious to Jin's irritation, Kaito continues to keep his voice aggravatingly elevated. "Y-YOU G-GUYS A-ARE...?!"

Your face burns with embarrassment, and you wave your hands frantically in an attempt to refute the assumption. "N-no, seriously it's not--"

"And what if we are?" Jin challenges, smirking smugly.

"Jin...! What the hell are you doing?!" You protest.

All the blood seemingly drains from Kaito's face. He crosses his arms over his face, shaking his head vigorously. "NO, NO, NO, I DON'T APPROVE...!"

"Too bad, pipsqueak. I didn't ask for your approval," Jin taunts. The captain drops your phone into your lap, since you neglected to actually take it in your state of distress.

"Congrats, guys...!" Lucas chimes in, an awkward laugh spilling from his lips.

You bury your face in your hands. "What the actual fuck is happening right now...?"

Cool fingertips touch your shoulder. "Come see me after you're done with your classes. You didn't finish your chores yesterday, servant."

"Hah... yeah, yeah," You grumble in response.

Jin's hand departs from your form and you hear him walk away. After a few moments, you uncover your face to find your Frostheim friends looking at you like you grew another head.

"Uhm... context?" Lucas asks, his eyebrows tented.

"Why didn't you tell us you were dating the fucking ice king himself?!" Kaito demands, clearly not any less excitable from the revelation.

"Uh... I guess I didn't know I was."

[miam0re]

*waves at you*

Kafka messaging reader when she asks where are you and Blade for the past few hours and reader replied with "he's fucking me." and Kafka just replies with like "oh? is that so?" And the reader dropped her phone while Blade just keeps splitting us open for hours, and he just thrust up and bounces us up and down on his dick until we're screaming.. IT MAKES ME DROOL AND MY HORN-NKEE SIDE GO WILD IM SORRY IF IT SOUNDS WEIRD (this came out because I had a dream of it and i woke up like this feeling like this-)

THANKS-.🫶

Screaming along with you ahhhhhhhhhh

i don't even know what to title this lmao uhhhh

He's Fucking Me | Blade

NSFW, Fem!Reader, slight punishing, cock riding(because we're all whores for Blade), orgasm denial if you squint.

Just hours and hours of you spending your day bouncing on Blade’s cock because how often do you get to spend the day having your brains blown out by his massive girth? Not often with either Kafka or Silver always with you guys. What cockblocks. Even today, your phones had been buzzing and going off with messages and calls from the gal, so eager to meet you. But with how Blade was splitting you open, pumping you full of load after load till you had your tongue lolling out with moans flying from your lips…you really didn’t want any distractions. 

"Where are you and Blade????"

“He’s fucking me.”

A quick response to her texts before your phone slips from your hand and Blade has your wrists pinned behind your back, mouth sucking hickies on your breasts and neck. 

“How bold of you to take your mind off my cock for even a second. I don’t take well to being disrespected like that.” 

He stills his movements, leaving you helpless and grinding on his cock with no leverage but the circling of your hips. You whine and pull against his grip, wanting to sink your nails into his shoulder and get some real good fucking, but he wasn’t having it. All he does is glances at your twitching clit, eying the way you try to fuck yourself on his dick. It pleased him how desperately you tried to move, screaming and crying and whining and apologising. He smirk slyly, red eyes burning with passion through his bangs. A single thrust to the warm walls of your cunt…just to show what you’re missing. He knew you wanted it, but delaying your pleasure and watching you squirm like this was so enticing.

“Fuck yourself on my cock till you make me cum. Then perhaps I’ll consider flipping you over and fucking you hard.”

Yeah Kafka’s further messages teasing and asking for ‘details’ were left unanswered for the rest of the day. 

taglist: @stygianoir

[mrscelebrini]

Chat am I cooked? I just poured my heart out to a girl 😗

“Fart you need you stop. You have a boyfriend who’s the same guy you promised me you’d never even consider in that way. You need to stop sending me snaps of yourself on your friends phone. You need to stop liking my instagram post. You need to stop. EVERYTIME I look at my quick add your name is on the list, and it hurts knowing I can click a single button and try to reconnect to you. I don’t get why you would ask your friends for their phones to talk to me even though that was only a week and a half after you unadded me and you had already replaced me with the same boy you told me you’d never think of in that way. In my mind and in my heart I still haven’t let go of you and everyday I hope to come back to you but I know that cannot happen unless you feel the same way which at this point Im certain you don’t and the other thing preventing is your parents. So if both of those things aren’t possible you need to stop interacting with me completely even if we aren’t messaging your still liking my instagram posts and sending me snaps on your friends phones and EVERYTIME you do that it hurts me because I’m reminded of what I want most but I cannot have, and I can’t have not because something I did wrong or something I’m doing to make it to where I can’t have but it’s because it’s completely out of my control and I hate when things are out of my control because it makes me feel powerless and I can’t do anything to change it. I’ve tried telling you to stop in the past by sending your friends messages to send to you and all you’ve said in response EVERYTIME is “I’m sorry” yet you continue to do it. At this point it just feels like you’re doing it to make sure you know I won’t stop wanting you back. And at this point I don’t need a reply I need an answer I need an actual answer. Saying you’re sorry proves nothing if you don’t change how you act by quitting the actions and decisions you keep making. And whenever you do send me a snap or when you liked my instagram post it just gives me false hope. Every single time I open a snap from your friend and see you it makes we want to cry from how much I miss you and it fucking hurts, it seriously does at this point and it’s destroying me mentally everyday. I’ve been delaying sending you this message for a couple weeks now because I’ve convinced myself that, because you didn’t block me or that because you do still follow me on instagram I do still have a chance of having you back. But if that isn’t true, you need to leave me alone and I need you to move on with my life even though in my mind right now I’d rather be stuck on missing you everyday than move and try to find anybody else because even though we haven’t talked in over a month I still can’t even talk to anybody else without missing you and thinking about you. Part of the reason is because when I said I’d wait for you as long as you waited for me I was completely serious and I was willing to wait forever for you but unfortunately you didn’t seem to feel the same way. Since you had already replaced me so quickly. I’m sorry if this message seem repetitive I’m just not good with explaining things so I explained the same things a couple of times to maybe help you understand how I feel. I’m sorry if this message caused any trouble but I do truly miss you still and I don’t think I ever won’t miss you. Because I did make a promise to you and I hate people who don’t keep their promises and I hate liars so it’s basically impossible for me to forget about the promise I made. Please read this messsge and try to fully understand it.“

From a scale of 1-1000000 how cooked am I..

[thollandneedy]

Diamonds are forever- Nathan Drake

A/n: Literally the cutest. I'll try to write more cause my college vacations are on, baby!

Warnings: None actually

Summary: Nathan meets a rich model, and try to get her giving her presents. But, sometimes, we just need love.

Don’t forget to share, like, comment and leave your ideas here

Bellah’s Masterlist 🪻

Y/n L/n could be considered a patrician, and had many eyes in the media because of her beauty and how her luxuries were supported by her modeling career. Like many men wanting to have her, Nathan was no different.

The two had met at a betting party for famous paintings in Barcelona, where they had exchanged only a few words. Nathan could be considered a private guy on his social networks, not letting the girl know much about him, but what she did know was that he was rich. If he wasn't, what would he be doing at an auction?

What intrigued her most was that his manner was different from the other men she went out with. They squandered their wealth, arriving at her doorstep with the loud sound of sports car exhausts or even taking her to the most expensive restaurants where a plate with just one piece of meat could be the minimum wage for an entrepreneur. The truth was that Y/n, as much as she was a woman who liked to be pampered, had also come to appreciate simple outings, and apparently Nathan was the kind of guy who felt the same way.

During the week in which she was taking photos for her first magazine cover, Y/n received a notification on her cell phone that vibrated on her thigh. The woman opens her eyes, removes the moisturizing mask that was on her face, and sees the screen glow with: “Nathan_Drake1999 followed you”.

Y/n smiles sideways

It takes so long to find your Instagram

The girl slides the tab of her cell phone up, going straight to his social network and following him back. Not even 30 seconds later, a message appears on the top flap of her pink phone.

'Sorry for the delay. I wanted to play hard to get.

Y/n laughs to himself, replying:

'I thought that was my role.

'In reality, your role is just to be pretty and agree to go out with me tonight. What do you think?

'I think you find me too easy if you think I'm going to agree to go out with you straight away. Try to win me over a little more, Nathan boy.

Nathan takes a deep breath for himself, looking at Y/n's last message once again, realizing that she had been deactivated from Instagram after sending the message. The brunette ran one of his hands through his tangled hair, as it was early in the morning and he had only just woken up. The sun was already shining in the open sky, but the curtains in Nate's apartment didn't allow the sun to greet him yet. Doing a quick search, he tried to find Y/n's address on Google, as many celebrities had their addresses displayed on gossip sites, but it wasn't Nate's luck. If he wanted to surprise her, he'd have to put his ego aside and ask for her address, but there was a bigger problem.

What do you give someone who already has everything?

'What's your address now?

The message vibrated once again in Y/n's hand, who had been expecting a message from him.

'234 Vellyview Street, New City Building.

The telephone in Y/n's apartment rang loudly, while her ordinary feet took her to the kitchen, where she answered the door internally, hoping that Nate would come to see her in the morning. The model couldn't help but admit to herself that her doorman wasn't tired of receiving men proposing to go out in the morning, afternoon and evening, considering everything that was sent to the apartment by the brands that partnered with her.

'Miss, Y/n. There's a dark-haired man with a huge bouquet of flowers here, and he says they're for you. May I let him in?

'Is he handsome?' Y/n spins the white phone line on her finger, looking down at her bare feet.

'Um, yes?' The doorman looks once more at the dark-haired man in a black shirt, dark jeans and a black leather jacket.

'Go ahead' Y/n hangs up, glancing around his kitchen one last time before checking himself out in the mirror.

His dishes were washed, the windows clean and open, showing the immensity of the colorful city. There were several small cacti on his worktop, adding a splash of color to the white room with planned wooden cabinets, a large grey fridge and an island in the middle of the kitchen that also served as a dining table. Y/n's father had taught her that it's much better to live in a simple place and travel more, than to have a big place that will give you a headache later on. Even so, she wouldn't give up living in a place where each floor had only two doors because of the size of the blocks.

The woman pushed her hair to one side, moving towards the door like a puppy waiting for its master. She didn't want to show that she minded Nate's visit, but she did. As soon as the doorbell rang, the woman looked in a small mirror at the side of the corridor leading to the front door of her apartment, checking that her natural make-up really did look natural. Opening the door, her attention was drawn by what seemed to be countless red roses, and soon a voice behind them called out to her.

“Can I put them on the floor?” Nate asked with effort in his voice.

He was finally hearing it again

“I thought you were stronger than that.” Y/n retorted, leaning her body against the door frame and crossing her arms, resting on her freshly manicured nails.

It was nine o'clock in the morning and he still looked impeccable. His innocent eyes managed to take in his hot body, leaving even a hint of curiosity as to how big his muscles were under his shirt.

“How do you manage to look flawless on a Tuesday morning?” Nate looked her up and down, respectfully returning to meet her challenging but sweet gaze

“I have my model beauty tricks.” Y/n comments, looking at the roses once again. “So, what was your plan?” She faces him, turning her head to the side as she asks, allowing him to come up with a less intrusive alternative to the other men who thought they could buy her for simple things.

“Breakfast if you were in the mood.” Nate replied, as if waiting for an answer that wouldn't come any time soon, until he gave her a better option. “Or I could leave. I know you have afternoon work to do. By the way, congratulations on the magazine cover. I don't know much about fashion, but if you're on it, you're certainly right.”

Y/n couldn't give up, even though her first thoughts were of a casual fuck in the morning to calm her nerves.

“I've already had breakfast.” She lies.

“Well, I'll be going then.” Nate agrees, giving a toothless smile.

“But thanks for the roses. They're really beautiful. Could you put them inside my house?” Y/n asks, immediately receiving a silent 'yes' from Nate.

The man carries the flowers once again, flexing his arms and legs to carry them into the girl's living room, who closes the door behind her, following him into the room. As soon as he puts the flowers down once more, his eyes are drawn to the various valuable items he has in his living room, including one of the paintings he was reading that was auctioned off the day they met. Turning his torso to look at the details of the items, Y/n sat down on his white sofa, watching Nathan mentally comment on everything that was there.

Paintings, famous montages, a chandelier with small diamond stones, a flat-screen TV, a large lamp next to a glass table with a green flower positioned to give the house a more natural look. Everything was minimalist, but could easily be worth more than several thousand dollars.

“Do you like it?” Y/n adjusted her pink bell-sleeved sweater.

“You have good taste.” Nate comments, still overwhelmed by the apartment and the view from above.

“Thank you. I'm trying to add more color here. I feel like there's too much white, but now there's going to be a lot of red too. Luckily it's my favorite color,” Y/n comments, looking at the large bouquet of roses on the floor. ‘Do you want to see everything?’ Y/n asks the man, who finally turns his attention to the woman curled up on the sofa.

“Of course. It would be a pleasure.” Nate removes his coat, placing his jacket on the sofa.

Y/n gets up from the sofa, pulls up his gray sweatpants and walks past the explorer, showing him each room as if he were in a museum. Throughout her passage, she could see various pieces of art and technology in the house, including a small television in the bathroom for when she was too bored in the bathtub overlooking the hills. Even his closet had a collection of shoes, bags, jewelry and sunglasses. In fact, everything he had thought of giving as a gift to impress Y/n was a total failure, so if he wanted a trophy wife, he would have to give her something she deserved.

(…)

A week after Y/n's big cover debut, the city's events gallery was packed with photographers, models and potential brands that would like to partner with those present. Nate had been unusually invited to be part of the private party, which was also a decoy event so that he and Y/n could see each other again during the time they were talking.

The venue was sophisticated, with a clear sky and plenty of stars to enhance the evening. Fortunately, that day a rooftop had been welcomed so that there were dj's playing on the mixing bench near the main entrance to the elevator, while some waiters passed back and forth trying to serve the influencers. Nathan looked with curious eyes at the image of Y/n, which seemed to be far away due to the number of people passing in front of it. Around her, there was apparently a queue of tall men in suits, who presented her with a gift, seeking her attention.

“Congratulations on your breakthrough, Y/n. I hope you like it.” One of the men commented to the woman in the white midi dress.

“Oh! You shouldn't have, Drew.” The woman stares at the man's hands, which are holding a Swarovski pen.

“Now you can sign lots of autographs so that when they see you in magazines, they'll say: Is that you?” The man laughed forcefully, as if he wanted them to look at the gift he had given.

It was a competition for Y/n's attention, and that much was clear. As a beautiful woman, Nate couldn't lie and say he wasn't impressed by the number of men queuing up for her to accept their gifts. The brunette straightened his navy blue dress shirt, walking among the people until the eyes of the woman in white met his. Y/n smiled, causing those who didn't understand who she was smiling at to wonder.

“You came.” Y/n smoothed back the lock of hair on either side of her bangs.

“Well, you called me.” Nate says hello with a smile. “The party's great. I didn't know you'd done an interview for them too.”

“I didn't mean to brag.” Y/n gestures modestly, smiling without showing his teeth. “What have you got there?” Y/n points with her eyes.

“Well, since the flowers didn't seem to be enough, I decided to put in a bit more effort.” Nathan hands Y/n the heavy bag, attracting the curious glances of the men and women who were already with it before the adventurer arrived.

Y/n carefully opens the orange Louis Vitton bag, causing her pupils to dilate at the sight of a beautiful diamond and white gold dantelle necklace. The woman puts one of her hands to her mouth, then looks at Nate and once again at the necklace.

“I didn't know what to get you, since you have a bit of everything, and diamonds are forever, right?” Nate comments.

“Nathan… that's…” Y/n tries to find words, closing the necklace's box and putting it back in the box before giving the brunette a warm hug, who drops his hands to the woman's waist and holds her tight. “Let's go outside. I want to talk to you.” The woman said into Nate's ear, who silently agreed, being guided by the model's soft hands.

They were both outside the penthouse, near some plants and a sofa without armrests. Y/n sat down, adjusting her dress and saying:

“I love it, but I can't accept it.” Y/n says, causing confusion in the young man's eyes.

“Why not? Isn't that enough?” Nate frowns.

“It's too much, and that's why I can't accept it.” Y/ explains. “You know, if you had been more romantic than just sending me a message on Instagram and then sending me roses without even saying good morning first, I would have agreed to go out with you. Not everything in my life is about money, and that's certainly something I want you to understand. I don't need 200 roses or a necklace worth over 800 thousand dollars. I need a partner who can take care of me in the little things.” Y/n says, placing one of his hands on Nate's leg, staring into his chocolate eyes.

A moment of silence hangs in the air, no matter how loud the electronic music behind them. Nate tilts his head down, agreeing and feeling bad for allowing his conquering side to override the affection and attention that Y/n needed.

“I'm sorry.” Nate exhales. “I was an asshole and a million dollar necklace wouldn't be enough if I didn't treat you like enough too.” Nate comments.

“The necklace is worth a million?” Y/n is amazed. “What do you do for a living?” Y/n asks, still not believing the price of the necklace.

“We can talk about it on a date.” Nate comments, drawing a silly smile from Y/n. “Can you eat Mc Donald's?” The brunette asks, remembering that models usually have a strict diet.

“I can, and I haven't eaten in years, actually.” The woman stands up, holding out one of her hands to the brunette. “Let's go before they find out we've gone. I can't stand eating canap��s and drinking champagne any longer.”

“You're really not what I thought.” Nate comments, holding Y/n's hand.

“That's good, because the media is fake.” The model smiles, receiving a kiss on the top of her hand and heading out of the event.

As much as diamonds last forever, love would always be the best gift you could receive from someone. Because the body corrodes, but love is forever.

[allinthemagicshop]

Not How I Wanted to Meet Your Parents

Bangchan X Fem!Reader

wc: ~3000

Angst, fluff at the end

Again, this makes me cringe a little bit looking back at it but also I think I see some potential to grow from this so here's yet another from my vault

No warnings that I can think of, besides pet names maybe? Insecurity, crying also present. Some cursing.

I do not own the rights to Stray Kids or anything related to them, this is a work of pure fiction and just for fun

Channie💕: hey babygirl, I’m so sorry. I have to stay late at the studio again. I’ll just go back to the dorm instead of waking you up so don’t wait up. I’m sorry.

I crumpled into myself. Texts like these have been coming daily for the last three weeks straight. Every single date night was canceled, always for the same reason. I can’t bring myself to think of it as an excuse. That would be he is trying to find ways to avoid me. Unless he finally realized that I’m just holding him back from creating more, creating better. Maybe I am just a pawn to find inspiration in, like a learning experience more than a loving one. I lay my phone down on the nightstand and glance over at the sweatshirt Chan left the last time he stayed the night. It’s been nearly two months since then, his scent long gone. Instead of replying, knowing I wouldn’t get a response, I leaned over and shut my lamp off. Maybe in my dreams he would love me again. 

●●●

The morning light shines through the small crack in my curtains. I sit up, rubbing my eyes as I lean over to grab my phone. No new messages. My heart sinks. This is the part I was dreading the most. Never had Chan canceled a date night and not immediately tried to reschedule. So this is it then. Taking a shaky breath, I shut down my phone. It’s no better than a paperweight right now when all I’ll be doing is waiting for him to reach out first. It’s childish of me, I know I could reach out first, but that brings more brewing of hope that it isn’t over if he responds. Or worse yet, if he does respond and confirms that it’s over. 

Letting my despair guide me, I shuffle towards the bathroom. Turning on the shower, I peel myself out of the clothes I wore to sleep in and step under the cold water. I don’t want warmth, that’s what he was. I just want to hide in the rain and gloom as these thoughts take over my body. It’s not like I can pack up and move out, we don’t share an apartment. Changing the code to my apartment is a possibility, but then I have to let all my friends know the new code and explain why it had to be changed. The only other option I can come up with is going back home for a few days. I moved to Seoul for school, but my family was back in the States. It’d give me the distance I need, and maybe some home cooked meals would heal the hole in my heart. I know Dad would pay for it, he’s been asking me to come home for a couple months now.

Taking a deep breath, I shut the water off and wrap a towel around me as I step out. Sighing, I walk back towards my bed and sit down at the edge. Bracing myself as I start my phone back up, I immediately call Dad as soon as it allows me to. “Hey! I know I’ve been delaying coming back home but I really miss you guys. I have the next two weeks off and was wondering if that would work for you and Mom?”

  “Darling, anything works for our little girl to be back in our arms. Give me a second to look at flights. How long would you need to pack? We still have plenty of your clothes here, you know.” Laughing a little as I struggle to keep my composure, I glance around the room. “I can be ready to go as early as tonight then.”

“Really? There’s a flight that leaves at 5pm, your time. You’d have a couple hours to pack. Is that enough time?” His giddiness is almost palpable through the crackling speaker. A genuine snort forces its way out. “Sure, Dad. Thank you, I love you and I’ll see you soon then.” I stand up as he replies, “I love you so much, honey. Your mom is going to be so happy to have her baby back home for a while.” I hang up a little after a little more farewells are exchanged, insisting that I need to start packing. I make the mistake of glancing down at the screen before I get changed.

Channie💕: good morning, sweets. I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can attempt to reschedule. It’s so hectic here with the comeback so soon and the album not being near ready enough. We’ll talk soon

Dread coils my gut, nearly knocking me over. That’s two messages without the words I need most. With shaking fingers I finally respond back, Oh okay. I love you. I throw my phone on the bed and walk away towards the closet, changing quickly. I refuse to look at my phone again until I have a suitcase packed. 

●●●

Almost two hours later, I finally find the courage to pick my phone back up. Checking the time, I notice two notifications: one text and one email. Unlocking the screen, my heart shatters. Both are from Dad. The email is the flight information, informing me that I have around an hour to get to the airport.

Father Dearest: y/n, I forwarded the email with all ur flight info. Oh, honey, I can’t explain how excited I am to have u home with us. If u haven’t finished packing yet, good luck. Love u!

Sighing as tears finally fall down my cheeks, I order an Uber to take me to the airport. I know I should text Chan, but I can’t bring myself to allow even the possibility of going unanswered again. I’ll let him know before the plane takes off, using the cushion of the flight to allow me the escape I’ll need.

An agonizing 20 minutes pass before I’m climbing into the Uber. I spare a glance  up at my apartment as we pull away. A part of me hopes he’ll show up to find me gone before I can even text him. It’s selfish and petty, but I just want Chan to feel a part of the agony I’ve been feeling. A simple conversation might be able to solve all of this, but we haven’t been able to have a solid 5 minute conversation in the past month, let alone one long enough to require what needs to be said. He couldn’t even get time off for a quick phone call on our one-year anniversary last week. Tears are slipping down my face before I know it. I quickly rub my sleeves over my face, not wanting the driver to ask questions. 

We finally pull up to the airport and I climb out, thanking him for the ride. I barely feel present in my body as I walk through the motions of the airport. Next thing I know, I’m sitting in my seat staring out the window. The announcement comes that phones need to be turned off soon. Taking a deep breath, I prepare the text for Chan.

Hi, Channie. I want to start off by saying I’m not mad, I completely understand. You’re an idol and I knew this was going to be difficult when I agreed to be your girlfriend. I guess I misjudged exactly how difficult it would actually be. I want to thank you for the last year. You were such a blessing in my life, crashing into me and claiming your spot in my heart. I don’t know if you feel the same, I can’t talk to you anymore to confirm or deny my suspicions. The distance between us recently has said more than we’ve been able to. I’ve decided to make it more physical for a little while. I’m headed back home for a couple weeks. I know the timezone difference is going to be hard to communicate, but we’ve gotten so used to it that it shouldn’t feel any different. If this is goodbye, all I ask is that you just remove your stuff from my apartment before I get back. I’m sorry I couldn’t be stronger. I do love you, Chan. I just miss you too much to keep this up.

I hit send just as we begin our take-off. Shutting my phone and my feelings off, I lay my head back and drift to sleep, keen on waking up only when I can step off the flight into my parents’ arms. 

●●●

I didn’t last the whole flight, but the last few hours were filled with reading the book I had packed just in case sleep evaded me. It was enough to not think about Chan, but never enough to dull the ache in my chest. We finally landed and shuffled off the plane, all heading towards baggage claim. Refusing to turn my phone back on, I felt like a robot on autopilot as I followed the crowd. I grabbed my suitcase and squared my shoulders as I prepared to face my family. They knew about Chan and I’s relationship, but I don’t want this trip to be about my broken heart. I walk out the doors and it takes me only a minute of scanning before I hear my name being shouted seconds before Dad barrels into me, lifting me off my feet in a hug. Mom wraps her arms around me as he sets me down, tears falling down all our faces.

“Oh my baby! You’re finally home! I’ve missed you so much.” Mom sobs into my shoulder, holding me tighter than should be humanly possible. I hug her back before tapping her shoulder, in need of oxygen. She pulls back with a relieved smile. “I have your favorite dinners planned for the whole time you're here. How’s Chan?” 

My own smile falters for a split second before I straighten myself out. “Oh, you know, he’s just busy with his comeback. I had plenty of time to myself to make an impromptu trip,” partially the truth, just not the whole story. I can work with that easier than an outright lie. I smile at both my parents as they nod in understanding, Dad grabbing my suitcase to put in the car while Mom pulls my hand to get us going. The ride home is full of small talk about how work is going, how school was this last semester, how they are enjoying Dad’s new bonus from work. I fall into a comfortable silence as they keep the conversation flowing between them. 

●●●

After dinner I finally find the courage to turn my phone back on, it’s been nearly six hours since I landed. It’s early morning back in Seoul, close enough to a full day since I sent the text to Chan. As my phone turns on, I’m bombarded with notifications. Missed calls and texts, nearly all from Chan.

Channie💕: Baby what?

Channie💕: You didn’t actually leave did you?

*two miss calls from Channie💕*

Channie💕: Y/N please answer me. I can’t stand this, don’t leave me. I love you so much

Channie💕: I know I haven’t seen you in a bit or been able to talk to you but I don’t want to lose you

Channie💕: Baby please be at home, please let this be some cruel prank

Channie💕: You’re really not at home. Oh my god, baby please come back to me. I can’t lose you please don’t do this I love you

*four missed calls from Channie💕*

Channie💕: I get it. Baby, I understand it’s hard. I should’ve tried harder for you. You mean so much to me. I fell into my typical work pattern and left you out, I’m so so fucking sorry. You’re a priority too and I neglected that. I need you

Channie💕: you went back home… for fuck’s sake I screwed up. I just saw the date. Oh my god y/n im the worst. I didnt even take off for our anniversary. You were waiting for me to even acknowledge it and i couldnt even do that. I fucked up so bad

Channie💕: Babygirl… i feel like i cant even breathe right now, my heart’s been ripped out and flew across the world with you

*eight missed calls from Channie💕*

Channie💕: okay okay, I know this is getting excessive and I get that you’re on the plane but you should’ve landed by now. Just let me know that you’re alive. 

Channie💕: My sweet girl, I will fix this. Fix us. I can’t imagine going through life without you in it. 

Channie💕: I hope what I’m about to do doesn’t further break us, I love you so much, to the moon and stars beyond

The last text sent my heart into a stuttering stop. What did he mean by that first part? A wave of relief followed by anxiety floods my system. The last text was sent almost four hours ago. Tears welled in my eyes as I listened to the multiple voicemails he left. All practically the same as his texts, only I could hear the voice breaks and sobs between words. My heart cracked open and pain seeped through me. 

Chris what are you doing? I understand that you’re busy, you don’t need to apologize, I’m the one who couldn’t handle it. We can talk when I get back, just focus on the album. Maybe with a longer time to plan we can sit and have a proper conversation. I still love you.

I chewed on my lower lip nervously as I waited for his response. After staring at the screen for nearly 30 minutes with no reply, I sighed as I assumed he just had to go back to work, blocking out the relationship that was sinking underwater. I quietly changed and crawled into bed. One last glance at my phone showed no new notifications. Tears flooded my face as I turned over in my childhood bed, resigned to sleep until the pain subsided.

●●●

I woke up to my mom shaking my shoulder. Blinking, I turned over to her, my face swollen from crying until I passed out. “Oh honey, I’m sorry to wake you up but there’s someone here to see you,” Mom bit down on her lips, like she was trying not to smile. I sat up and grabbed my phone, realizing that I’d slept for nearly 14 hours. “Okay, who is it?”

Mom shook her head and finally let the smile break free. “I think you should check for yourself, they said they’ve been wanting to see you for a while.” I cocked my head, confusion etched across my face. She just smiled brighter as she backed out of the room. “Just get dressed and I’ll send them up in a couple minutes. They’re finishing some tea up with your dad.” Tea? Dad doesn’t even like tea, he’s a die-hard coffee lover. Confusion still clouding my mind, I walked to my closet, ignoring the suitcase on the ground and threw on a sundress I had left here. I didn’t know who was waiting or how formal I had to be. I quickly threw my hair into a braid before checking my face in the mirror. The puffiness wouldn’t be able to go away in time, as I already heard rushed steps up the stairs. It finally dawned on me that whoever it was was being sent up to my room. Who would my parents have me meet in my room instead of downstairs with them?

As soon as the thought finished, my door was practically kicked open. I had less than 2 seconds to process who it was before arms were around me and squeezing me almost as hard as Mom had at the airport. Instantly the familiar scent hit my nose and I reeled back, surprise taking over the confusion and tears welling up faster than ever before.

“My sweet babygirl, you think I could handle two weeks with you in another country across the world after what I did?” Chan smiled as tears streaked down his face, clearly wary of my reaction. “I- fuck. I’m so sorry for everything,” he fell to his knees in front of me. “I didn’t expect to meet your family like this. Hell, your dad’s first impression of me was with tears streaming down my face and blubbering out what I did before I was even invited in,” Chan laughed at himself a little. “Of course, then I was immediately brought to the kitchen where he had me sit down and explain everything. I felt like such an idiot saying it all out loud. I wouldn’t have forgiven me if I was him. But then he said it wasn’t up to him, it’s your decision on if I should get kicked to the curb.” I stood in silence, staring down at him. He wrapped his arms around my legs, shaking from the sobs he was clearly holding back. “Baby, my y/n. I don’t even know where to begin. I screwed up so tremendously. The company couldn’t even stop me before I had booked a flight and had Bin race me to the airport. Felix called me a moron before I left,” at that he leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck.

“He’s not wrong.” I sunk down to my knees to be level with him. His eyes widened and tears still silently slid down his cheeks. I shook my head as I pulled him to me, finally hugging him back. “You’re a moron for coming here when you should be working on the album. But I don’t think I’ve ever loved you more. We can get through this. I just- it sounds so selfish- but I needed to truly see if you still wanted this. This was more than I ever expected.” I pulled back to look him in the eyes, bringing my hands to his cheeks to wipe the tears away. I leaned forward and connected our foreheads, breathing in his presence.

His words were barely a whisper as he breathed them into our shared space. “I thought I lost you. I swear on my career that I will change for you. You mean too much to me to watch you slip away again. I love you more than words can express. To the moon and stars beyond, my angel. Always.” I closed my eyes at his confession, breathing in the love he was giving back to me.

“How about we go back downstairs and reintroduce you to my parents. Since, you know, you’re meeting them now.” I giggled softly as he stiffened. 

“Can we hold each other a little longer first? I look like a mess and it’s been long overdue to have you in my arms again.” I fully laughed at that. “Of course, love. You’re mine, they can wait to see the best version of you while I piece it back together for a bit.” He pulled away and stared at me. Without another word, he launched into a tackle, hugging me like he would never let go. 

[diazheartsbuckley]

I have such a weak spot for this one: Soldier!Eddie/ (frustratingly annoying)war correspondent!Buck

Any updates or snippets you can share? 🥺👉👈

Hi Hippo! 🩵

I’m sorry this fic has been pushed so far back in my mind because life has been a mess lately but let me offer you a little snippet 😚

The idea is here for those of you who don’t know about it. And check out the amazing cover that @ronordmann made 📸

Ask me about my wips 💌

More under cut ✂️

As Eddie’s superior officer, Captain Nash, delivered the news of the impending arrival of the war correspondent, Evan Buckley, Eddie gritted his teeth.

“Why do I have to talk to that guy? We all know what he’s after” Eddie said, the disdain and contempt that he holds for reporters clear in his words. In his eyes, they were nothing but vultures, just picking at and digging into the worst moments of people’s lives for a few minutes of spotlight.

“My friends haven’t been dead for-…” He turned his wrist, wanting to look at the time, only to be distracted by small dried out blood splatters across the clear glass. Eddie swallowed harshly, pushing down unshed tears. This morning, he was leading a team of four soldiers. Five if he included himself. Now all that was left, were him and Mills.

He cleared his throat, shaking his head and lifted his head to look at his Captain, an understanding but stoic smile plastered across his face. “They haven’t been dead for more than eight hours. Their bodies are barely even cold yet, Cap. Why now?”

“I get your reluctance, Diaz, but Buckley’s inquires can’t wait. He’s got friends amongst the higher ups and I’m just relaying the message to you” Captain Nash explained, arms folded across his chest. “And we have to provide him with the information that he’s seeking, no matter the timing of it”

Eddie’s jaw clenched, hands curling into fists at his sides. “With all due respect, Cap, their deaths are still pretty fresh in my mind. I’m not sure that I’m the right person to talk to a reporter right now. Why not take Mills?”

Captain Nash’s mouth curled into a straight line and Eddie instantly knew what that meant. “Right, of course he’s requested to talk to her too. Isn’t there anything we can do?” Eddie could feel the grief weighing heavily on him but his stance never wavered, willing to do almost everything to get out of talking to a fucking reporter.

Having worked with Captain Nash for years, Eddie could recognize that solemn smile from a mile away. “I’m afraid not but I hear you, Eddie. And your concerns are duly noted” Bobby replied, his tone reflecting a deep understanding of Eddie’s pain. They had both lost people before but he could tell that this was taking a toll on the younger man. “But orders are orders. We need to cooperate with Buckley’s investigation, even if it’s the last thing we want to do right now”

With a heavy sigh, Eddie unclenched his fists and nodded in acceptance. He brought his hand to his chest, fingertips carefully tracing the cold metal of his St. Christopher’s medallion. It made him think of his own family and it made him think of the families of his dead friends. PFC Norwahl had done nothing but rave about how excited he was to go home on leave in two weeks and finally meet his newborn daughter, even sharing pictures with the entire team who had shared their joy with him.

The weight of duty bore down upon Eddie, mingling with the grief that clung tightly to his heart, threatening to squeeze the life out of him. In the midst in all the loss and turmoil that the ambush had caused, Eddie knew that he had no choice but to face Evan Buckley, no matter much he wished that he could delay the inevitable.

Using this as my fuck it friday/inspiration saturday ✨

I was tagged by @tizniz @diazsdimples @cal-daisies-and-briars @daffi-990 and @spotsandsocks 🌹

Tagging!! @watchyourbuck @wikiangela @jeeyuns @honestlydarkprincess @loserdiaz @steadfastsaturnsrings @wildlife4life @thewolvesof1998 @theotherbuckley @giddyupbuck @jesuisici33 @vampbuckley @athenagranted @exhuastedpigeon @elvensorceress @whosoldherout @weewootruck @puppyboybuckley @poughkeepsies @rogerzsteven @underwater-ninja-13 @actualalligator @butraura @slightlyobsessedwitheverything @evanbegins @disasterbuckdiaz 🩵🦋

[thevestigeofvanillaan]

Bullworth Academy.

south park - bully scholarship edition (2006) au.

part one.

sorry this is SO delayed.. ive been so busy and my phone broke but hopefully this is good enough for now, the juicy stuff is coming soon guys😭👍.

content: swearing, stereotypes, hateful/discriminatory comments, groping of a minor, "y/n", smoking, >18 characters, alternate universe (characters aren't canon), alcohol, lot of dialog, talking through facial expressions (partial)

summary: at bullworth academy, you'll never get your way. beyond the cliques of jocks, nerds, greasers, preppies, bullies, and even non-clique students; are a bunch of assholes who attempt to make anyone's life harder with the snap of their finger. and when you met the people in the cliques, you realize how real it all was.

tags: @h-harleybaby @p1-f1 @hannah-h-pleb @milkyhere @cristuit @z-zephyrr @bro-flov-ski @59candelas

"Don't forget your suit case in the trunk!" Your mom said as she pulled in front of the large black gate.

"Not gonna." You reply, scoffing at her giggly tone. She's gonna run off and have a blast without having to take care of her teenage daughter, isn't she?

She pouts, "You know this is for the best, darling. I mean, you have been acting like a fool at your normal high schools; so maybe a change of scenery will do it for ya."

You sarcasticly smile and slam the door, walking to the trunk to grab your bag.

Grunting, as it's heavy with your needs for however long you'll be sleeping in those damn girls dorms.

"Need help with that?" An older woman asks, walking up.

You finally get it out, close the trunk and tap on the car hard so your mom gets the message to leave. "Uh, nah, I've got it."

"You've been expected, you're a week late Miss L/N." She says.

"Yeah, who are you?" You ask trying not to sound too disrespectful as she leads you through the gate and towards the main school building.

She cacks like a dog before whispering, "The one who's fucking the principal, little brat. Get inside." Practically shoving you into the building.

It was horrendously spirited on the second week of school. Football season was pretty huge for Bullworth. They went all out.

Getting acquainted to all this was weird to say the least. You'd gotten a tour of the school and the dorms by the same woman who never actually introduced herself.

"So, 'one who's fucking the principal'.." You start. "Thanks for the tour, but I need to get settled on my own now."

With a coy smile, she says "Farewell then. Bullworth will treat one like you good." She then winks and walks away.

Couldn't tell whether that was meant in a sweet way or not. You enter the dorms and attempt to walk to your room with the background full of moaning and coughing likely from smoking. You find your way to the noise of the coughing which sounds like it's in the direction of your room anyways.

How lucky, it was in your room. Two girls, one blonde, one with black hair, both smoking a joint.

You walk in awkwardly and set your suitcase somewhere, putting ur backpack on the floor as they watch your every move.

The blonde stands up. "Hi! You're the new girl.. you're Y/N, right?" She offers the blunt to which you take a hit as you nod.

"Sure." You cough and blow out some smoke.

"I'm Bebe, and this is Wendy." She points at the black haired girl. "This is Wendy's and your room, and I'm sure you'll get along. She can be shy sometimes, but once she's used to you and smoked up, you'll love her." She introduced.

Handing the blunt back and nodding at Wendy, you make your way to sit on the empty bed.

"You been helped around by Ms. Fuckface?" Bebe asks.

"I'm assuming so." You shrug and Wendy hands you the blunt.

Bebe giggles, "Let us introduce you to Bullworth."

The duo walks you around the premises.

"You kissed my Eric?!" A tall brunette cheerleader screams.

"He's not yours, bitch!" A similarly brunette girl screams back before plunging forward and grabbing the others' hair.

"Melody Adams, and Delilah.. nobody knows her last name." Bebe says as we walk past the cat fight.

Curiously asking, "Who's Eric?.. The.. guy they were yelling about.?" You ponder around.

Bebe hums. "He's actually new too. Wrestler, fucks around, but does good deeds to keep out of shit between the cliques."

"Dreamy." Wendy adds quietly and Bebe scoffs.

She points, "There he is! Eric!"

He walks over in all his pride. "Well hello there, who's this sweet piece of pie?"

"Quit it, Cartman. This is Y/N L/N. She just started today, we're getting her to know the place better." You wave as Bebe introduces you.

You notice that Wendy squeezes a finger of yours, and has a devious look on her face when you look at her. All you do is smile back

Eric chuckles. "Alls I know is don't get into shit with any of the cliques, keep your reputation good throughout all them and you'll be fine." He winks and walks off."

"Dreamy." Wendy repeats.

You giggle, "As if. Seems kinda extra.. and—"

"Horny, right?" Bebe interrupts.

"I guess." You shrug and watch him skate until you can't see him anymore.

The bell rings indicating its lunch time. You had both classes in the afternoon so you didn't have to worry until later.

"Let's go to lunch! Show you all the cliques." Bebe winks and grabs your hand, dragging you inside the school and to the cafeteria.

Once you're there, you see the groups of people wearing different uniforms. "Over there are the non-cliques, they for the most part leave people alone and are.. lone wolves. There's not that many so you'll see Eric, Kyle, Butters, and then a bunch of other unimportant people. But they're like, the trio of the non-cliques.. that can be us just.. guy version!"

Bebe went on a mission to deeply explain who everyone was before taking you to the non-clique table. "Hey guys!"

"Shut up, Bebe." That red head she called Kyle spoke with a mouth full of food.

Butters, the blonde wearing a pink shirt reaches out a hand, "Butters, it's uh, nice to meet you." He nervously smiles as you shake his hand.

"Y/N."

"Aren't you just adorable, 'Y/N'.." Kyle mocks before laughing.

Eric scoffs, "Leave her alone, man."

He only laughs harder before standing up, "Come on, Cartman. Let's go egg some prep scum houses."

Butters hastily follows but not before he gives an awkward wave goodbye as to say "nice meeting you".

You wave back and once they're far enough to where they can't hear, you ask "Why do you all call him Cartman?"

"It's not rare for Bullworth students to be known as their last names.. don't be surprised if you're called L/N a couple times or more." Bebe responds, drinking from a water bottle in-between sentences. "Vodka." She shrugs with a smirk. "Want some?"

Contemplating before taking a large sip, you stand up. "I'm gonna go for a walk, see you soon?"

"Later, L/N." Bebe winks and you wave to Wendy who returns it.

You walk around campus on your own, earbuds plugged in and music playing.

Eventually when you're done walking, the bell rings alarming to go to class, in which you make your way to.

Scoffing to see Kyle in the same Chemistry class as you. But at least you knew someone there.

Walking up to the teacher, saying "Hi, I'm Y/n. Where do I sit?"

"Ah," He smirks. "You're the new girl."

You nod and awkwardly smile at his weird facial expression.

He wraps an arm around your waist, which was odd but you were too stunned or scared.. or.. something to even move away. His hand moved up and down the side of your waist as he introduced you to the class.

"You can sit next to Stan, sweetheart. Stan, raise your hand so the pretty girl can see who you are." The teacher says and your face scrunches up.

You see a boy raise his hand, closer to the back of the classroom. You finally leave your teachers hold and walk over to Stan.

Stan only looks at you when you sit down. And once the teacher begins teaching, Stan whispers, "He's a weirdo.. seriously. The groping? Was that really at all necessary?"

Giggling slightly, you respond, "It was uncomfortable."

"Understably. Dude's got at least 15 years on you." He laughs quietly.

There's silence until he speaks again a few minutes later. "Do you got a pencil? Don't got one ever and I think there's gonna be a pop quiz today."

"Yeah, mom made sure to give me extras because 'you need to take notes'.." You scoff and reach for your bag to grab a pencil.

When you look up, you see a familiar pair of eyes staring into yours.

Kyle.

He looked fierce. And it was then when you got a good look at him. Scar on his left eye brow. Freckles among his face. And small yet noticable beauty mark below his right eye.

As you look down for just a moment you see how his arms are crossed. The rest of his body is facing diagonally, but his eyes are on you. His posture was laid back, and his legs were manspread.

At that, you make a dirty face as to say, "What are you looking at?". His face responds with his eyebrows raising, like he was cockily saying "You.", before he smirked.

His eyes fall down to your chest and his smirk only grows. Your curiosity leads you looking down, to see cleavage hanging out of the too tight uniform.

Mentally scoffing, you look up and quirk an eyebrow, to say "Like what you see?".

He nods slowly, and only one time with a grin.

You covered your cleavage with your hand, almost like saying "Too bad.".

Sitting up and handing Stan the pencil, saying, "Keep it."

He looked at it, then at you with a crooked smile. "Thanks."

Class ended after a ridiculously long wait. There was a pop quiz, which he didn't make you take since it was your first day.

As you leave the classroom, a familiar red head catches up to you, walking beside you. "What?" You ask.

"Can't walk with the new girl? Jeez." He scoffs sarcastically.

Giggling at first. "No, you can't walk with the new girl." You respond and breifly look at him. He raises both arms as to retreat, though he keeps walking. "What do you want?"

"Wanna walk you to your room. Is that a problem?"

"Sure is. You know if you get caught by any prefects you'll be in big trouble, right? Even I know that and I just got here."

He chuckles as you both exit the school building, making your way to the girls dorms. "I'm the star student of this school. I wouldn't get in trouble."

"Okay, 'star student', what's it mean when a girl says 'go away'?" You ask, not expecting an answer.

And he didn't give one. Just kept walking by your side until you reached the building. You watched as he looked around before walking in with a smirk.

To that, you were appalled. And now you're the one making sure nobody sees him in there.

Checking around to make sure no girls are walking around you quickly guide him to your room before shutting the door.

"Okay, why are you even here?" You ask genuinely.

He chuckles. "Hang out, get to know what the new girls motives are."

"Motives?" To that, you laugh. "I have no motivation or clear purpose of being here other than the fact that my mom hates me and wants me to stop getting kicked out of regular school systems. There's nothing different or 'new' about me. I don't even want to be here so would you just—"

He cuts you off by aggressively kissing you. "God, I thought you were quiet but you're just talk, talk, talk, aren't you?"

You couldn't seem to form a sentence that would even fit this scenario anymore. Only sitting down on your bed and staring at your shoes.

Not long later is when Kyle sits beside you, you could sense he was looking at you but you didn't want to look at his face. "Wanna know my motive?" He asks.

There's silence. "Do you?" He asks once more.

To which you respond, "I'm waiting."

"To kinda make like uh, a statement. A lifestyle. To change the Bullworth way to be.. Kyle's way. You know?"

"You're not always gonna get your way." You look at him. "Nobody does."

"Well what do you think im trying to do? I'm trying to make it so it can always go my way!"

You laugh. "You're an asshole. Is this supposed to make me like you? Because it's not working."

"No." Silence appears for longer. Nobody spoke for what felt like several minutes. But you noticed how when he was thinking his leg bounced rapidly up and down.

He finally stood up. "You wanna go somewhere?"

to be continued..

[meanbossart]

ASK TIME, sorry for the delay!

What's more serious than two men glistening under the sun smashing balls together in a grease pit (thank you also!)

I'll be honest with you guys, sometimes I don't know if I SHOULD answer to these because, well, It must come across as trite after a point to keep expressing my gratitude over and over, but I can't just leave them sitting in the inbox either. I'm so flattered by every single word of encouragement and compliment I get on my art, characters, or writing, the fact you guys who are strangers to me as I am to you decide to take the time to give me a little pat on the back or leave me a funny message is just incredibly sweet. So, thank you so much - the amount of messages can be a little overwhelming so please just know that even If I don't reply, I read it, and it put a smile on my face.

Thank you for checking out Sad Sack and our comics! Hopefully it wasn't too shocking an experience considering how I've since become an Elves Holding Hands And Bullying Wizards kind of artist LOL Not that me and barbatus don't have more work in that genre we plan to do (though admittedly nothing that comes close to the level of brutality in Sad Sack), but YOU KNOW... I realize that, if people found my ASS GRAB COMIC to be scandalous then me and my partner's comics might just put someone in the hospital if they were to stumble across it unprepared lmao

I'm glad to hear the experience was overall a net positive though, and ESPECIALLY that it inspired you to pursue your own projects! I definitely second the sentiment that the least that we (We as in people who were in the dumb edgy circles you described when we were younger) can do with all that bullshit we exposed ourselves to is to try and kindle some creative flame out of it, within reason, of course.

If you ever finish this comic you're thinking of working on, please link it my way if you are comfortable with doing so! I would love to see it.

BONUS:

Guys I have like 3 messages asking if I played fear and hunger. It's okay, you aren't obligated to have read every single thing I ever posted to find out I literally have a F&H tattoo, that doesn't bother me, I just wanna ask, sincerely, why does that come up so often. WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO SAY TO ME. DO I EMANATE FEAR AND HUNGER ENERGY. DOES IT SEEP OUT MY PORES ONTO MY OILY FINGERTIPS OVER THE KEYS OF THIS KEYBOARD AND ACROSS THE WORLD WIDE WEB? WHAT'S GOING ON.

[bqstqnbruin]

Drunk Texts

Me? With another fic? This fast? Ground breaking.

Anyway, this has been sitting in my google drive for way too long and I finally finished it. It's inspired by Drunk Texts by New Rules.

Thank you to my besties @kat-hearts @raysofcrosby @matthewtkachuk and @assmanselke for reading this, but they have no idea what the ending is so hahahaha

If there are typos, I'm so sorry, Grammarly is being weird

Warnings: mentions of sex, alcohol consumption, swearing, the ending

WC: 5k ish

Flashbacks are in italics

_______________________________________

The sun was up, there was a bird outside his window happily chirping, the city below his apartment was alive and bustling on the beautiful late summer day.

Anthony felt like he wanted to die.

He couldn’t remember having a worse hangover, trying to wrack the usable part of his brain to figure out if he had anything besides alcohol the night before. He was pretty sure he had at least one glass of water, thinking he had maybe a bite of food but that proved to be way too little to counteract what was probably a bottle or two of wine and whatever else his teammates had given to him to drink last night. 

He sat up from bed, his head pounding as he rubbed his eyes and searched for his phone, haphazardly on his nightstand under what he could only hope was his own underwear and not someone else's. If some other guys boxers were there, Anthony knew he had more than one problem to deal with. 

It was the same thing every single time he went drinking after a bad night, his room and probably the rest of his apartment left in a disaster, but the worst part were the drunk texts he knew were sent by him the night before. Drunk texts sent by anyone were horrible, incoherent and easy to blame on being inebriated, but his were always exceptionally bad. 

Anthony got out of bed, his head pounding with every movement he made. He knew he had to check his phone at some point. Delaying it any longer would just lead to more issues with his life later on.

The one person he hoped he hadn’t texted was right at the top of his messages, a message that somehow combined French, English, and absolute gibberish into one text, undoubtedly from him, showing up in the preview. 

He tapped the messages with Scarlett, the last girl he dated, and still couldn’t get out of his head. She was, unfortunately, used to his drunk or stupid texts, Anthony unable to form a proper thought when it came to her.

‘I like you’ was the only text he could decipher at first glance, an “oh fuck,” escaping his lips while he tried to piece together why his teammates would let him not only drink so much, but keep his phone on him the entire time. 

“Who is that over there?” Anthony asked, staring at the girl with long, dark hair, talking to one of his new teammates. 

“Uh, that’s Quinn,” Brock said, “your teammate.”

“No, the girl he’s somehow talking to,” Anthony replied.

“Not sure, I normally see Quinn with her when we come here, though. She always shows up when Quinn texts her,” Brock shrugged, “I think her name is Sarah? Sage?”

So she probably likes Quinn then, if she’s showing up when he asks. He shakes his head, “You only know that her name maybe starts with an S, don’t you?”

“Yep.” 

Anthony sighed, trying to take in the girl Quinn was talking to. He swore he had seen her before, something about her trying to work its way through his memory. 

“Go talk to her.” 

“What?” he asked, looking at his teammate.

“I promise you that Quinn does not have enough in him to pull a girl like that.” 

“Isn’t he one of your best friends?” 

“Yes, that’s why I can say it. Now, go.” Brock practically had to shove Anthony away from the table. 

Anthony stood there frozen, staring at Quinn and this girl while his mind went a mile a minute as to how he was going to talk to her. ‘This is ridiculous,’ he thought to himself, ‘she’s just a girl, talking to Quinn. If Quinn can talk to her, so can I.’

He felt his entire body shaking under the weight of himself as he tried to make his way over to the girl and Quinn. He could just tell Quinn he wanted to buy him a drink, celebrate the win they had the other night, something, anything. 

“Hey, Tito,” Quinn called out, pulling Anthony from his thoughts. Quinn and the girl were staring at him, the heat rushing to his face as she smiled at him. “This is Scarlett.” 

Anthony knew he had to speak. She was staring at him. She was smiling at him. She was clearly waiting for him to say something to her, but all functions that his body possessed suddenly stopped, including the one where he was able to get out something as simple as, “hi.” 

“Um,” Scarlett started, Quinn standing to the side laughing at his teammate, “Quinn tells me you just moved here from New York?” 

“L-long Island, um, yeah,” he managed to get out, starting to think of all the ways he wanted to disappear into the Canadian wilderness out of embarrassment. 

“What’s it like there? What’s there to do?” she asked him, Quinn slowly inching away from them. 

“Uh, leave.” As soon as the words left his lips, he shut his eyes, hoping that when he opened them, he would discover that the stupid things he said didn’t happen and were just a dream. He opened his eyes to see Scarlett biting her lip, trying not to laugh at him. 

She took a sip of her drink, not breaking eye contact and making Anthony’s heart skip in the process. “You’re either way too drunk to be talking to someone right now, or I, for some reason, make you really nervous.” 

Anthony lets out a sigh, a smile on his face. “What if I told you it was both?” 

There was something about the laugh that escaped her lips after he told her that that made him forget everything. He swore he blacked out while talking to her, but not from the alcohol. He had never felt more sober than that first time he met her. He remembered nothing about that night except the way her eyes lit up when she smiled, a crooked smile spreading across her face when she was flirting with him, the way he knew heat was rushing to her face, probably from the second hand embarrassment of him attempting to flirt back. 

“So, you and that girl looked pretty cozy last night,” Brock teased him the next morning after practice. None of them had been particularly happy that they were called for last minute drills, all of them sweating the alcohol from the night before more than anything else. 

“Are you in love?” Quinn teased, his voice dripping with that pre-teen gooeyness that got under Anthony’s skin.

“I just met her,” he started.

“Love at first sight exists, my friend,” Elias joins in, hitting Anthony hard enough on his back that he nearly fell out of his stall. 

“Dear god, I need to go back to New York,” Anthony groans, drowned out by the sounds of his teammates laughing. 

“There’s no way Long Island is better than here,” they kept going.

“We called it the ‘God forsaken island,’ growing up,” Quinn added, the guys laughing even harder as they continued to rib Anthony. 

“I liked you all better when you didn’t know me.” 

“You know we like you better when we make fun of you,” Elias tried to reassure him. “Have you at least talked to her since last night?”

“How would I do that?”

“You got her number?” Quinn questioned. 

Anthony tried to think back to the night before, failing to remember anything past his initial meeting with Scarlett and the absolute fear that he felt trying to talk to her in those first few minutes. “When did that happen?”

“Right after the eighth green tea shot.”

“You let me have eight?” 

“Scarlett kept buying. I wasn’t going to argue with her,” Quinn said, holding his hands up in defense. “We tried to get you to stop, but after the third one, you threatened to pour them all over Brock.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t going to let you get my white shirt dirty.”

“God forbid you get your five dollar Walmart shirt a little dirty with some alcohol.”

“Hey, no-”

“Guys!” Anthony finally cut in, his teammates all turning to look at him. “I don’t have her number.”

“Have you looked at your phone since last night?”

“Only to turn off my alarm when it was still on ‘do not disturb.’”

“Scarlett a hundred percent has texted you already if you haven’t texted her. She’s not one to wait for days for a guy to reach out to her,” Quinn told him. 

“I don’t think I like that you know so much about her,” Anthony mumbled.

“I met her the first weekend I was here my rookie year and she somehow has appeared in my life every weekend since. Check your phone.” 

The guys start to file out and head home, Anthony and Quinn sitting there by themselves. Anthony didn’t even know what he would say to her. How does he start a conversation with a girl he barely knows, who he was too nervous to talk to the night before? 

“You make her sound like a stalker,” Anthony sighed, trying to search for his phone. 

“I’ve known her for years and she hasn’t stalked anyone.”

“That you know of.”

“You miss a hundred percent of the shots you don’t take.”

“And that is the closest to being Gretzky that you’ll ever be.”

“Just check your phone. You were babbling like a dumbass the second you met her. I haven’t known you for as long as I’ve known her, but I definitely know you well enough that you don’t act like that around girls. Ever.” 

Quinn finally got up to head home, leaving Anthony alone in their locker room to do as he pleased. 

Anthony sat back in his stall, letting his head hit the back and getting engulfed in his clothing hanging behind him. What would he even text her? Is it too soon to text her? How could he send anything that would be good enough for her to want to respond?

He finally pulled out his phone to start going through his notifications. News from around the league, random DMs from people on Instagram, a text from his mom that he would forget to respond to until after she was asleep for the night, and a message from someone with just an emoji as their contact. It was the blushing emoji, Anthony remembering Scarlett telling him that her friends called her ‘Scar,’ and that was the first emoji that popped up when someone tried to search for her name. 

‘So how often do you get a girl's number and not text them back after that night?’

Anthony couldn’t figure out if the banging was just the throbbing headache he had or someone actually at his door. 

“What the fuck could you possibly be doing here this early?” he groaned at his teammates standing at this door. 

“It’s 2 pm,” Quinn says, pushing his way into Anthony’s apartment without an invite, coffees and bags of food in hand.

  “It was either us doing the wellness check or the police,” Brock adds, flopping down on the couch and sending Anthony’s phone on to the floor. 

“I don’t trust them to drive safely anywhere after they’ve spent the night drinking, so I had to come, unfortunately,” Elias tells Anthony, picking up his phone off the ground and handing it to him. “Has that girl texted you back yet?” 

Anthony’s head whipped up in shock. He really had no memory of last night. “Girl?” 

“Yeah, you know, those who identify with she and her pronouns?” Quinn says, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Can you be a girl and not use those pronouns?” Brock asks while chomping on a bagel. 

“Very important questions for a later time, please,” Anthony interrupts, trying to look through his contacts to see if there was any name he didn’t recognize. “What girl?”

“You don’t remember?”

Anthony sat on the couch next to Brock, throwing his head back and letting out a guttural sigh. “Why would I remember anything from last night? That would make my life so much easier, and obviously, we can’t have that.” There was no way he could meet a girl and not remember her, right? There was no way he could possibly have drank that much alcohol to the point where he blacked out if he was with his teammates. 

“Not your usual type, but still pretty.” 

“She was hitting on Quinn first.”

“She was not.”

“She only stopped because you’re too dense to realize when someone is hitting on you.” 

“You could have had a relationship for the last five years if you picked up on that girl in the coffee shop.”

“That’s-” “Hello?” Anthony interrupts his teammates. “We were talking about me?” 

“Oh, yeah,” Brock says. “You really don’t remember the girl who bought you like four of the drinks you had?” 

‘ ‘What are you doing today?’ came up on Anthony’s phone from an unknown number. 

Scarlett had called him immediately after he sent his text to make sure he was ok. “Ti,” came through his speaker, the nickname she called him that made his heart race for no reason. “It’s two in the morning, what do you mean what am I doing today?” 

“I want to see you today,” Anthony slurred, drunk from his night with his teammates after winning the first round of the playoffs. 

“Only if you promise to get some water right now,” she giggled. “You know you forget to hydrate when you’re celebrating.” 

“Come out with us. I want to see you.” 

“I am in bed already,” she said, hearing Anthony let out a drunken groan. “I’m going to be helping Brooke at her street fair stand in the afternoon, I can meet you after that for you to take me on a date then.” 

“I want to take you out now,” he whined. 

“Dinner tomorrow at your favorite restaurant. You’ll pay.”

“I’ll pay.” 

Scarlett hung up before Anthony could say anything else.

The next morning, he woke up on Quinn’s couch, Elias sitting on the chair, Brock on the floor for who knows what reason. He didn’t even remember getting back to Quinn’s apartment, let alone how he ended up on the couch. 

“Why are we here?” Anthony asked, no one in particular.  

“I was the most sober of the four of us,” he heard Quinn yell from the kitchen. 

Following his teammates' voice, he attempted to get up, a pounding headache nearly knocking him off his feet. “How did that happen?”

“I’m not sure, but I fucking hated it,” Quinn mumbled. “Even Elias threw up four times last night.” 

“It might be five times soon,” Elias said, stumbling into the kitchen behind Anthony. 

“Good morning sunshines,” Brock yelled, groans coming from all three guys in the kitchen. “What’s everyone doing today after we get breakfast together?”

“Plotting your murder,” Elias muttered massaging his head with his fingers as if he were trying to will the hangover away through that method.

“At least wait till our season is done for that.”

“I think I’m seeing Scarlett,” Anthony said, trying to remember if his conversion with her the night before was real or not. 

Quinn hands out cups of coffee, a confused look on his face. “Like, you’re seeing her right now? In the room with us?”

“What’s it like having two brain cells that constantly have to fight for third place?” Anthony groaned, “No, you dumbass, I mean tonight. I’m seeing her tonight.”

“You’re finally going to see her somewhere that isn’t a bar and in a state that isn’t halfway fucked?” 

“I actually think I’m going to join Elias in murdering you,” Anthony countered. 

“You can’t hang out with Scarlett if you’re in jail for murdering me.” 

“What are you going to do with her today?” Elias asked, changing the subject. 

“I have no idea. I might be paying for whatever it is we do, though.” 

Anthony spent the rest of the morning getting annoyed at his teammates as they teased him, calling him a simp for Scarlett when he had only interacted with her in person while they were both drunk. They hadn’t even been on a real date yet. Scarlett telling him to take her out that night was going to be their first. 

“Look, I need to impress her,” he cuts them off after they get back to Quinn’s place. “So either you are all going to help me figure out how I do that, or I’m going to put in for a trade request in the off season.” 

The four of them managed to put together a plan that didn’t make Tito want to kill them. The first step was to go to Prototype, her favorite coffee shop in the city, and getting drinks for her and Brooke and surprising them at Brooke’s street fair. He had their orders saved in his phone for god only knows what reason, but he knew they would come in handy at some point. 

“We should come, too,” Quinn said, grabbing his stuff to follow Anthony out the door. 

“You should not,” Anthony protested. 

“We want to see what you’re like out of your natural habitat,” Brock teased.

“What the ever living fuck does that mean?”

“I think it means they want to see you try to flirt with her when you’re sober,” Elias translated.

“No. Nope. You three are not coming.” 

“You don’t have a car to get yourself anywhere and you still don’t know how to navigate the public transit system here.” 

“Fuck.” 

Anthony reluctantly let his teammates take him where he needed to go, hoping that he could lose them at the massive street fair that Brooke and Scarlett were working. Thankfully, his teammates had the attention span of squirrels, soon veering off from him and leaving him to wander with a tray of three drinks, hoping to impress the girl he desperately wanted to see sooner than that night. 

“Ti?” he heard from behind him. “Anthony, what are you doing here?”

He turned to see Scarlett walking up to him from across a sea of people, her smile alone making him lose all brain function. He should have known she would have the same effect on him sober as she did when he was drunk. “I, um,” he started, trying to remember what his reasoning for being there even was to begin with. Why did he have to see her so early when all she did was make him freak out in the best way possible? “I brought you coffee.”

He practically spilled it down the front of her by shoving it into her chest. “Um, thank you?”

“And for Brooke, too.” 

“Oh! You haven’t even met her yet?” 

“You told me that you two have the same favorite coffee order from Prototype, so I just got two of them,” he told her, feeling his cheeks turn bright pink. 

She gave him a soft smile, clearly impressed that he would remember not only her order, just her best friends, no matter how simple they were. “I knew you were a good one.” 

“Do you want us to text her?” Brock asks, craning his neck to try to read over Anthony’’s shoulder at his phone. 

“We can tell her you’re a good one,” Elias offers, the first hint of sincerity coming through his voice that none of his other teammates had shown to him all night. 

“Or that you’re bad,” Quinn draws out. 

“I’m not a thirteen year old boy trying to text his middle school crush, Jesus Christ.” 

“Tell her you’re like him,” Quinn adds. 

“You’re Jewish, I thought you don’t believe in him,” Elias asks. 

“Well, yeah, but he was still a historical figure. We just don’t believe the religious aspect that-”

“Hey!” Anthony interrupts, again. “Am I just here as comic relief?”

“You have to be funny to be considered that.”

“Ok, I’m leaving,” Anthony gets up from the couch, only to be pulled back down by Brock.

“We’re teasing you. You know this. And we’re in your apartment, where are you going to go?” 

“What do I do?” Anthony groans, throwing his head back with his hands over his eyes. 

“Text her back or ignore her.” 

“No, I mean,” he groans again, “I texted Scarlett last night.” Much to his surprise, he’s met with silence from his friends for the first time that morning. “That’s what shuts you up?”

The three of them exchange worried glances, making Anthony’s heart race and head throb even more than the hangover already had. He knew drinking anything was going to make him do something stupid. He just didn’t think his teammates would also agree. 

He handed them his phone, letting them see the string of stupidity from the night before. 

“There’s no way you texted her all of this,” Brock said.

“You can literally see the texts on his screen,” Elias groans. 

“God, you’re an idiot,” Scarlett told him between kissing him, one hand on the back of his neck pulling him towards her, the other on his guiding it towards her waist. 

Anthony didn’t know what to say as he felt every inch of her, pulling her back towards his bed. He sat down, his lips still connected to hers. Scarlett straddled his waist, her fingers gracing the hem of his shirt.

‘God, this has to be perfect,’ raced through Anthony’s mind, every other thought that wasn’t about Scarlett unable to break through his brain. His heart started racing as the two of them took off his shirt, fiddling with hers next to slip it off over her head, Anthony wanting nothing more than for his lips to be back on hers as fast as possible. 

He moved her off his lap, gently pushing her onto her back. He took a moment, both of them catching their breath while Anthony’s heart continued to race. “Wow,” he let out, Scarlett giggling at him. “You are just.” He couldn’t find the words to describe who she was, his mind still blank from anything other than her name. 

“Do you want to…” she asked, drifting off, her eyes traveling down his body. 

“Oh, god, yes.” Anthony said, crashing his lips to hers, feeling her smile against his.

‘This has to be perfect,’ kept running through Anthony’s head as they stripped more of what they were wearing, piece by piece. ‘She’s perfect so this has to be perfect.’

 She was ready. He could feel she was ready. But Anthony?

“Hey, hey, wait,” she stopped him. “Are you ok?”

He hung his head down, her hands pushing his hair back off his face. “I’m so sorry.” 

“We can stop, if you want to,” her voice came out small, clearly upset. 

“I’m sorry,” he repeated, rolling off her, unable to look at her. The two of them lied there in silence, a long pause that made Anthony more anxious by the second. 

“Are we ok?” Scarlett asked, finally breaking the silence. 

Anthony stared at the ceiling, trying to figure out what to say. “Yes?”

He heard her sigh, getting up to put her clothes back on. “Let me know when you’re sure,” she said to him, leaving his room. 

As soon as he heard his front door shut, he covered his face with his hands, letting out a deep groan. He wanted it to be perfect. He had been trying so hard to make everything for her as perfect as he was able to make it. Why the fuck did he have to get into his head like that. 

Anthony reached for his phone, pulling up the group chat with his teammates. ‘Who can come here ASAP?’ he sent, putting his phone back on his nightstand without even waiting for an answer, rolling over immediately and pulling his sheets over his face. 

Anthony didn’t know how long he had been asleep, hearing his front door open while he was still in his bed, his clothing strewn across his floor. 

“Tito, where are you?” he heard Elias’s voice carry through his place.

“Fuck,” he muttered, throwing himself out of bed to try to find something resembling pants before they could make it to his bedroom. 

“Tit-oh.” Quinn said, bursting through his bedroom door before he could fully get his sweatpants on. “Guys I found him.” “Jesus, Quinn,” Anthony said, nearly falling over. “You couldn’t wait?”

“Had to make sure you weren’t dead,” Brock said, spraying a mouth full of crumbs of who knows what everywhere, Elias following him with an annoyed expression. “We thought you were with Scarlett tonight.”

“He clearly was,” Elias said, gesturing to the mess that was his bedroom at the moment. 

“So what, you finished, she left, and your first thought was to call us?” Quinn asked, plopping down on Anthony’s bed, Brock following suit. 

Elias and Anthony took the floor, his three teammates trying to read the expression on his face. “No, I didn’t finish.” 

“With Scarlett?”

“I didn’t even,” Anthony started, putting his face back in his hands. “I didn’t even start.”

“Oh,” was all he heard from Elias, Brock and Quinn both silent for once. “We thought you really liked her?”

“God, yes, I do,” Anthony said. “This was supposed to be the first time we slept together and I fucked it up.” 

“That happens,” Elias shrugged. 

“It’s not even just that. She asked if we were ok and I couldn’t answer her.” 

“Why would you do that?” Quinn asked.

“I panicked. I’ve been panicking. Since the first time I saw her, I have been freaking out because she deserves more than what I can give her, and it fucks me up,” he let out, surprised he was even able to put anything into words. “I mean, Brock, you had to physically push me to her because I was frozen. Quinn stood there when I couldn’t even talk to her. We were all here the night I freaked out because I didn’t know how to text her, or what to do for our first date. I have been out of my mind about her since the second I saw her, and because of that I have fucked up so badly, I don’t know if she wants to see me ever again.” 

“Ok, you told her last night you wanted to see her,” Brock reads out. 

“When was the last time you saw her?”

“That night she left my apartment when we tried to…” Anthony trails off, not really wanting to recount the night again.

“What about the last time that you talked to her?” Quinn asks, handing Anthony his phone back. 

“She had called me one night after a game a few days later to say that she was sorry she left that night the way she did but she was upset that I didn’t have an answer for her.” 

“And?”

“And we talked it out, I thought we were fine, she said we would talk later, and neither of us reached out again.” 

“So you both ghosted each other until you sent her a bunch of drunk texts last night,” Quinn says.

Anthony groans, throwing his head back again. “Fuck, yes, Quinn. What do I do?”

“Well she hasn’t answered yet, so she either hasn’t seen it or also doesn’t know what to do.” 

“At least start with telling her you were drunk and that you’re sorry you sent all of those  texts,” Elias suggests. 

“Or we go over to her place and you ask her yourself.” The three of them look at Brock, Quinn, and Elias liking the idea, Anthony absolutely mortified. “I mean, you haven’t seen her in a while, you haven’t talked to her in a while, and drunk you clearly wanted to change that last night.”

“What about sober you, right now?” Quinn asks.

“Hungover me,” Anthony corrects, “Wants to go to bed until sober me reappears.” 

“Well that won’t be until tomorrow,” Brock points out, “So what would sober you want to do?”

Anthony smiles, his teammates knowing what he wants to do, what he’s wanted to do since that first night at the bar.

“I’ve got the keys,” Elias says, the four of them rushing out the door. 

Anthony felt his heart racing as Elias drove through the city, surprised he even knew where Scarlett’s building was. By the time he pulled up, his palms were soaked, his throat was dry, his legs anxiously unable to stop shaking. The guys had to practically throw him out the door, Anthony having no idea what the hell he was going to say. 

He managed to get up to her apartment, thankful that he was well known enough that the doorperson let him in, worried that the security was loose enough that they just let him in at the same time. He knocked on her door, finally starting to calm down as he waited for her. 

Anthony didn’t hear any movement in her apartment, knocking again after waiting for what felt like forever. He felt his phone buzz, a text in the group chat asking how it was going from Quinn, immediately followed up by Elias scolding him. 

He knocked a third time, hoping that she would answer. 

She wasn’t there. That, or she was ignoring whoever was at the door, given that he was showing up unannounced. 

He turns back around, heading back down to Elias’s car, letting them know he was waiting for the elevator. 

The door opened, Anthony moving to the side to let the person already there off while reading the texts that were flooding in from his teammates. 

“Anthony?” he hears, forcing him to look up from his phone.

“Scarlett,” he lets out, both of them smiling at each other. 

[hamiltonaf]

Can you do one with Kylian being very jealous of yn all the time and every time she talks to a guy friend he gets mad and makes a big fuss about it and yn gets tired of him and wants to leave him but then he gets upset and begs for forgiveness but she is so tired of his bullshit and want to take a break from the relationship but after 1-2 months they get back together and he got jealous again so she wants to know why he is like that and it turned out that his ex girlfriend cheated on him multiple times so he had trust issues and she assured him that she wasn’t going to do the same thing

Trust Issues | Kylian Mbappé

Pairing: Kylian Mbappé x Female Reader

Word Count: 2.1K

Warnings: Minor angst

A/N: Hii loves ! I’m finally back. Apologies for being MIA, I had a lot going on, plus I had writers block. I’m sorry in advance if the end is disappointing - I honestly feel like I forgot how to write lol. If you’ve sent a request before, please note that I’m working on it. Anywho, enjoy .xoxo

Never thought I’d come to a point in life where I had to cut off all my guy friends for Kylian’s sake. I’ve told myself in the past that if I had to face that in a relationship then I’m walking out. Mentally I’m playing hangman with Kylian’s name.

I love Kylian, I really do, it’s also cute at times to see him get jealous but when it comes to a point when he tells me that I need to stop talking to my guy friend then I don’t vibe with that. He’s basically saying that he doesn’t trust me.

We’ve fought, he apologised, I looked past it for us to move on, but he just crossed the line.

I went out for a friend’s birthday dinner, Kylian decided to stay back and chill at home, though he promised he would pick me up after. The birthday dinner felt like a reunion as some of us were seeing each other after years, it was great catching up with everyone, especially Daniel. Him and I were really close growing up as our parents were good friends, but since I moved and was with Kylian I rarely attended gatherings.

It was getting quite late and Kylian was delayed, I didn’t bother rushing him since Daniel was accompanying me and we were just catching up on lost time. We were stood outside the restaurant, dinner had just ended, some had left and others were in their own conversations. “So how are things going? What have you been up to ?” Daniel eagerly asked. “Well, I’m in my final year of studying so it’s been a bit much but I’m coping. How are things going for you ?” I replied. “Life is great. Can’t complain” he smiled proudly. “Still running your parent’s empire I suppose” I smiled. “Nothing has changed” he grinned.

“Good for you Dan. You’re living the dream” I half laughed. “I’m living the dream ?” He scoffed. “Yeah of course ! You’re travelling literally every other month, flying first class and living the good life” I said. “Yeah but you’re the one dating the football player !” He stated. “Speaking of him, let me just check how far he is” I paused to check my phone if perhaps Kylian called or messaged. Nothing.

Just as I locked my phone, my head turned when I heard a car rev in the distance, he’s here. “Oh look. There he is” I said as both of our heads snapped to Kylian pulling up beside us. Daniel leaned towards the car as Kylian rolled down the window, “Hey man, I’m Daniel” he introduced himself. “Nice to meet you. I’m Kylian” Kylian shook his hand. “Heard a lot about you. We should meet up soon, I’ll message (Y/N)” Daniel suggested. “Yeah sure” Kylian said lastly. “Take care bro” Daniel said before pulling me in for a hug. “Bye Dan. Until next time” I murmured. “Until then. Ciao” he said as his hand rubbed my back before breaking away from our hug.

I got into the car and immediately I could feel the tension in the air. “Hi baby” I smiled as I leaned in to kiss his cheek. He didn’t say anything or react, he just remained stiff. I knew what was coming and I wasn’t ready to face the drama for the umpteenth time. Choosing not to say anything in the car until we got home was the best decision. The second the door shut, he didn’t surprised me by being the one to bring it up. “What was that ?” He raised his voice. “What was what ?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Who even was that Daniel guy ? I was there for only a minute and I could see the way he was looking at you. You both seemed to enjoy that hug a little too much” he said. I scoffed, “Are you being serious right now ?”

“Do I look like I’m joking ?” He yelled annoyed. “You have honestly lost it !” I yelled as I turned my back on him and stormed towards our room. “(Y/N) I’m talking to you !” He yelled for me as he followed me to the room. “How the hell can you say we enjoyed that hug a little too much. Are you trying to call me a cheater ?” I raised my voice as I turned around to face him. “You’re just putting words into my mouth. My point is that if another person had seen you both together, they would think you’re a couple. I don’t want you seeing him again” he said.

“You know what Kylian ? I’m done” I huffed. “What do you mean done ?” He asked baffled. “I mean that I can’t do this anymore. I can’t continue being in a relationship where my own boyfriend doesn’t even trust me or allows me to talk to other guy friends of mine without assuming I’m cheating. I’m living a lie by staying in this relationship. Go find yourself a girlfriend that you can control because I’m not that girl” I said before getting a bag and packing it with my belongings.

“Babe please don’t do this. I swear I’m not trying to control you. I’ll admit that I got jealous, okay ? But please don’t go. I love you so much, what will I do without you ?” he pleaded and tried to stop me from packing but I continued.

“No Kylian ! Today you literally crossed the line, I couldn’t care so much for the other guys you said I need to stop talking to, but the fact that Daniel and I go way back and now you want me to cut off our friendship ? He’s basically apart of my family because his parents and my parents are friends. Kylian…I’m so tired honestly of us going back and forth. It just bothers me that Daniel attempted to be your friend in that minute you met but instead you ignore all of that and insinuate that I cheated ? Get some help because I need a break from your shit…this has gone past jealousy” I said in anger, I didn’t have it in me to cry.

“(Y/N) please. I’ll change okay ? I’ll do better. But please don’t go. Please give me another chance” he begged. “Kylian I gave you way too many chances. I can’t believe how long I’ve dealt with this and didn’t leave sooner” I said as I zipped up my bag. “So that’s it ? You’re just going to throw away a 2 year relationship ?” He asked. “All I know right now is that we need space away from each other. I love you Kylian, I do, but I think it’s best for the both of us” I pressed my lips together as I threw my bag over my shoulder. “So we’re over ?” He asked teary eyed. “I- please don’t make this harder than it already is” my voice cracked as I looked up in hopes that my tears would disappear.

“Babe you can’t give up on us. We’re meant for each other” he said as he grabbed my hands and rubbed small circles at the back of them. “Kylian, consider this a break rather than a break up. We can both wisely use this time to focus on ourselves…if we’re meant to be, we’ll find our way back to each other.”

Those were the last words I’ve said to him face-to-face. I left that night and ended up staying at my parent’s house. They were surprised to see me and were quick to ask where Kylian was, I just lied that he’s travelling for an away game. 2 weeks of staying with my parents raised suspicion and they figured out that something was wrong, my mom especially. I told my mom exactly what happened and luckily she took the hint to not talk about it.

Not a day passed that I didn’t receive a message from Kylian. Countless ‘I love you’ and ‘I miss you’ flooded my phone daily, it wasn’t easy taking this time to focus on myself when he was on my mind all day. Whilst making his message clear, he indirectly would ask for us to talk it out and as much as it hurts, I refused. No point in us getting back together if he’s going to go back to square one.

After about a week, I caved in and started replying back to his messages. Eventually easing in to phone calls and FaceTimes. It’s been 3 weeks since that day I called on a break, today I decided it’s time to meet and talk things out.

He seemed sincere and genuine when we met, of course I couldn’t help but give him another chance. We were meeting for one week as if we were in love all over again and after that one week, we’re back together.

Daniel was in town and he wanted to meet up, I happily accepted his lunch invite and was looking forward to rekindling our friendship. Kylian was at training so I thought I’d get ready in the meantime until he was back.

“Ma chérie !” He called as he entered. “In the room, Ky !” I yelled. He came into the room and whistled behind me. “You look beautiful” he said as he placed a kiss on my neck. “Thank you babe” I blushed. “Where are you going ?” He asked as he walked over to sit at the edge of the bed. “I’m going out for lunch with Daniel” I said casually. “Wait, what !” He asked as he stood up. “Why ? I thought we agreed that you wouldn’t see him ?” He said as he changed his tone. I dropped my mascara on the counter and stood up, “Are you back to this nonsense where I can’t have guy friends ?” I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest.

“Do you not know how the story goes about childhood guy friends falling for their girl friends ?” He stood up to stand arms length away from me. “No, Kylian ! That’s not how the story goes. Do you not know it takes two people to be in love which hello ? I’m obviously not.” I said as I started to grow angry. “(Y/N), you don’t know how a guys mind works” he said as he shut his eyes for a second. “Before I walk out of this relationship one more time, could you care to explain your reasoning behind why I can’t have guy friends ?” I raised a brow. His face softened when he heard me mention walking out.

“Babe please no . I’m sorry” he rushed over to me to hold my hands in his. I pulled my hands away from his grip, “Explain Kylian…I can’t continue entertaining this.” He sighed and dropped his head before mustering up the courage. “I have trust issues because of my ex” he admitted. I was shocked. “Well, what happened ?” I asked curiously.

“I trusted her and was never one to question anything she did until I found out she cheated on me with those guys she called her friends. Soo…I’m sorry for jumping to conclusions and assuming the worst, I was heartbroken and felt betrayed. It’s been hard for me to accept having trust. It’s not you babe, I promise I trust you, I just fear that your guy friends will convince you to leave me and walk away from our relationship. I can’t bare losing you, not again after the break” he said as he got emo. “Aww Ky” I pouted as I pulled him in for a hug. We never left each others embrace for a few minutes until Kylian broke away to kiss my forehead.

“I’m glad I got that off my chest. You deserved to know. I love you so much and I’m sorry for my behaviour. I’m trying to be a better boyfriend for you after our break so please be patient with me” he pouted. “I get it now. Thank you for being honest babe” I gave him a quick peck on his lips. “You can go out with Daniel, I won’t stop you any longer” he sighed. “Look, as your girlfriend, I want to help you through this. Remember Daniel suggested you guys going out ? Well why don’t you join us, I’ll send him a message and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind. That way you have an idea of what Daniel is like and you have a peace of mind. Also, it’s not just about trusting Daniel, I would like if you and Daniel could be friends. I mean the man is practically family” I half laughed before sending a message to Daniel. “Shame I feel bad now for hating on the guy” he sighed. “Well what he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him” I winked then sent the message.

[mako-neexu]

The scent of fire and ash, sights of grey, debris and smoke.

Artoria grips her staff tighter, her lips pursed as she glances at her friend staring down at the town's remains.

...Being behind her, she couldn't see what Ritsuka's expression was.

Glancing to Oberon, his gaze remained sharp on their friend. But when he spared her a brief look, they understood.

"I'm sorry, Fujimaru. But we're too late."

Da Vinci's voice rings through the intercom. "Not one had survived the incursion."

An attack so sudden, planned by their elusive opponent that continued to do any and all sorts of trouble in this singularity.

It was already hard enough to pinpoint their location, much less when their act has already happened before they even get a wind of it.

Without missing a beat, Da Vinci continued, "In any case, the vehicle you guys rode on will still have energy left enough to go back to base camp. I've already sent Mash and Kadoc the message to regroup over here. But Holmes and I talked about scouting another area of the land."

Artoria makes a face. She knows the situation is urgent and yet, at least, Da Vinci- Chaldea should give Ritsuka a min-

"Understood," Ritsuka replies, opening the controls of her communicator as she pressed and typed on the programs to send in information, "I'm already sending some plans and suggestions your way to capture the enemy with some of the evidence they'd left."

It's hard to see it. More so with her back turned to them, but if Artoria squinted she could see what lies beneath her words.

"As for the terminals, I'll ask Orion and Mordred to guard 3-AT and 5-BK tonight. Is that okay?"

"W-woah! I didn't think of that! We'll do a security lockdown sequence around that area then to protect the devices. That's some quick thinking, Fujimaru."

Finishing the last of her report in record time, the Master closes the programs from her communicator. "No problem."

"We'll see you in a bit then!"

As the line had cut off, Ritsuka finally turned to them.

...The problem with Ritsuka was that when she has her mind set on something, she would wholeheartedly believe it.

So much that in rings true whatever Ritsuka says to Artoria.

"Sorry for the delay," Their friend smiled. "Shall we head back down?"

—The problem with Ritsuka is that along with how her fairy eyes can't sometimes discern her truth, was that she had a perfect poker face.

Right now though, Artoria could see how paper thin it can be.

Empty eyes, easy smile, no light to be found in irises of sunset. And however faint they were, Artoria heard sharp whispers of self-blame, apologies and grief beneath it.

But one was predominant amongst the rest. First heard before it became a small cacophony to her ears.

Cold. She felt so cold.

Both Oberon and Artoria reached out-

And enveloped Ritsuka.

She could see that paper thin smile break in an instant.

-

Suffice to say, Oberon complained later about a wet shoulder with Ritsuka having to apologize while laughing.

...And that smile rang true with a tone of relief and ease to Artoria's eyes.

[goosegoblin]

I tried looking for some advice/opinions about this on reddit, but couldn't find anyone going through a similar situation.

my boyfriend and I are getting serious. he's a wonderful guy, but he's a religion/ethnicity that is considered to be directly against mine. neither of us are religious or have any conflicts within the relationship. my parents like him too. however, my parents are immigrants and their entire community and social circle from the last few decades is people within my religion. as my boyfriend and I have been getting more serious, they've been getting more and more worried about the backlash, criticism, and mockery they might face from their community. it's easy to say that they should make new friends, but this is all they know.

I don't plan on living near them for long, so I won't face this myself. I'm worried that I'm being selfish for choosing my boyfriend. they don't ask me to break up with him because they see how happy he makes me and how much healthier my life is. but I really worry for them.

it's not fair for me to hold the burden of their relationships and friendships, but at the same time, am I a terrible daughter for continuing to be with someone that could cause them a lot of pain, ridicule, and possibly isolation?

should I bite the bullet and end my relationship before more people get hurt? my parents have given me everything and I love them so dearly. but I really can see a wonderful and loving future with my boyfriend. I don't want to hurt my parents, but I don't want to regret not giving my relationship its best chance. I'm so torn and it's really been eating me up lately :/

Hi OP- sorry for the delay in replying to this.

I'll start by saying that I don't have experience in this area, so if anyone knows more than me or feels the advice I'm giving is bad or harmful, please do step in and say!

The only thing I am fully confident in saying is that you are not a bad person and you are not a bad daughter. You are allowed to love who you love. Other people will always judge you for things, in a myriad of ways at a myriad of times. It is unfortunate that your relationship may make things harder for your parents, but that is not a good reason to deprive yourself of the things and people you love. Do not let hate be stronger than love.

I don't think your parents are silly for having the concerns they do, and I absolutely will not minimise their experiences and fears. My partner's family are immigrants and I know a huge part of their social circle is people from the same background/ country of origin. It would be incredibly hard for them to lose that. I can only imagine how hard that idea of losing valued friends must be for your parents, especially when you take into consideration the racism/ xenophobia they may have faced living in a country that they were not born in, and how much support and comfort they may have gotten from their current social circle.

But at the same time, a form of support that would exile members because one of their children dated someone from an opposing religion is a very conditional form of support. There is a part of me that wants to say "anyone who would abandon a friend because of who their child chooses to date is not a friend worth having", and whilst I understand it's somewhat dismissive, I do think there's truth there.

I notice a lot of language like 'may' in your message. Is it possible the people in your parents' lives may be more forgiving or understanding than they anticipate? It's easy to dwell on what if it goes badly, but I think it's worth acknowleding that it's not guaranteed. It could go well! It could go average. We can't predict how other people respond to our actions; all we can control is our own actions, and how we take steps to shape our own lives.

It is okay to want things. It is okay to want people. It is okay to live your life for yourself, and not to please others. It is okay to make choices to maximise your own joy even though others disapprove. You do not need to live in shame or grief or guilt or turmoil. I promise.

[rhithefella-sillytimes]

Jeremy and Rachel

But in the pokémon AU :>

"After the battles and classes today, let's meet up. It's important."

"Yeah, okay Rach. I'll be available."

"Awesome! I'll be by the cafe. Oh, and please tell the others."

That was the conversation they made hours ago. And yet, there was still no sign of Jeremy anywhere. Rachel found it weird, Jeremy always went through with the promises he made. Well, the promises he made to her, anyway. He was a reliable guy, and he's not the type to ditch anyone last second... right?

The champion anxiously stirred the cup of coffee with the spoon in her hand. The cream had already dissolved by this point, both by the formerly warm coffee and her stirring of it. It's gotten cold about an hour or two ago, but she doesn't dare to take a sip just yet.

Her garchomp, on the other hand, had other plans. He'd already ordered his 10th serving of pancakes, and was chowing down on it like it would be his last meal. Rachel glanced over at him and thought:

Thank Arceus, the pancakes have free refills. If it weren't, I wouldn't wanna know what might happen to my wallet...

Her train of thought got disrupted when a waitress approached the table.

"Hello miss, would you like to order something as well?", she asked, waiting politely but eagerly for an answer.

Rachel shook her head. "Oh, no, I'll pass. I'm... waiting for someone.", she replied. The waitress nodded her head, walking off to another table.

Rachel pulled out her phone, checking for any updates from her friends. So far and... radio silence. They didn't even see her newer messages. To her, it was getting concerning.

What was going on? Why haven't they showed up at all yet?

She texted a mutual friend, asking them if they'd seen them anywhere.

"Hey, have you seen any of the guys anywhere after classes? I've tried contacting them and they aren't answering."

"No, not really."

"Not even on the street? Not even online?"

"Nope."

She sighed, before asking another friend, and then another. They all answered something similar, about not having talked or even seen any of them around.

This was starting to alarm her more and more as time passed. She wasn't sure what was going on, and why they'd just go radio silent out of nowhere.

Jeremy wasn't like this. He wouldn't do this. None of them would. These guys, they're the loudest sons of a gun I've ever met. Going radio silent isn't like them. Not at all.

Something must've happened. Either that or I'm just blowing this waaay out of proportion.

...Maybe I am. Maybe I am. I should just keep waiting, maybe it isn't too serious. Maybe these were all just coincidences.

An hour passes, and Rachel's concern is at its peak. She stood up from her seat and was about to pay and leave to find them herself when-

The bells of the cafe entrance door ring, and a few familiar voices fill the cafe, the same familiar banter like always. It was the school's league club's Elite Four. Her friends, the people she's been waiting for.

Samuel and Roderick were busy bickering slightly, while Kevin kept to himself, looking tired.

And as always, Jeremy was trying to be the mediator.

She took a sigh of relief, before she called out to Jeremy, trying to sound less worried than she actually was.

"Hehe, it took you long enough. I was... starting to get really scared. Where have you been?"

Jeremy shrugged, sighing. He was about to explain when he was interrupted by the banter escalating to an argument. He turns his head, glancing at Roderick and Samuel's and sighing.

"I WAS WATCHING OVER MY SISTER, BY THE WAY!"

"Oh yeah? How did she manage to climb the tropius then?!"

"I don't know! DON'T BE MAD AT ME FOR THAT!"

"WHY WOULDN'T I BE MAD, SHE COULD'VE HAD MORE THAN A FEW BRUISES IF KEVIN DIDN'T CATCH HER!"

Jeremy then looks back at Rachel. "We had to delay a little because of that. Had to take Rod's sis to the clinic."

"Oh...", Rachel exclaimed, slightly feeling embarassed now. "I'm... sorry. Is she fine?"

"Yeah, she's okay. Only got shaken and had some mild bruises and scratches from the grass and rocks. She'll be fine."

Rachel sighed in relief. "Oh, phew."

"'C'mon, this is Rod's sister we're talking about. His family's... a tough bunch. I'm sure she'll be okay.", Jeremy chuckled.

Rachel smiled as well. She's always admired Jeremy's optimism.

How was he able to do it? How was he able to look at the good in anything and everything? I should probably ask that to him sometime, as well as other questions.

"Uh, but on another topic, you wanted to talk to us about something, right?", Jeremy asked, before gesturing to the others to quiet down. They obliged, making quick and slightly disgruntled apologies to each other.

"Oh, of course!", Rachel snapped her fingers, remembering why she wanted to talk to them in the first place. "But first, you guys should sit down. Grab something to eat."

She then ushered them to the table, and watched as the boys took a seat before she did. The waitress from earlier had returned, taking their orders.

As the boys wait for the orders to arrive, Rachel took a sip of the coffee she'd been stirring for a while before speaking.

"So I've brought you guys here for something really important.

It's... about the league club."

Jeremy rested his head on his hand, his elbow placed down on the table beside his plate. "Hm? What about it?"

Rachel sighed. "Well, Miss Wong just talked to me today. Oh, that Miss Adelaide, she's the only one that cares for it these days, and she's only a volunteer...

anyway, she gave me a heads up that the faculty's losing interest in the league club. They might give even less money than before. And if this keeps going at this rate...

We might even have to close the club. For good. I... understand that we could always fund it out of pocket, but uhm... we're just students, we can only do so much."

Those words made the group stunned.

Roderick's mouth slightly went open in shock, and he was stunned into a rare silence.

Kevin's constant anxious expression worsened, and his hands stiffened into fists.

Samuel looked a twinge more worried despite keeping his composure, and his eyes started looking anywhere but to Rachel.

"Huh? Why would they do that?", Jeremy asked, before continuing, a small smile returning on his face as if to reassure. "We should think of a way to keep them interested. This can't be the way the league ends."

Rachel nods at Jeremy, before looking back at the group. "That's why I called you four here. As the ones sort of in charge of this, I think we really need to talk about how to get them interested."

Sam's attention returned to the group, and he made a suggestion. "I'm thinking we should probably do what we did last time. It worked well for a long while."

Though the others seemed confused, Jeremy caught up with what the Ice Trainer said. "Oh, right. We could always do that!"

Rach looked at Jay and Sam. "Huh? Uhh... What do you guys mean by that..?" The other two looked at them as well.

Samuel nudged Jeremy, and he began to explain. "You guys do remember what we did last time, right? You know, adding a gimmick. We can do that again."

"Heh, good idea. What gimmick do we do though? It's not like we can do the dangerous shit like megas. And we can't do teras, we already have that.", Roderick asked.

A few seconds of silence pass, and Rachel seemed to smile as she came up with an idea. "We can do double battles! Uhhh, well... like an optional thing people can do."

This suggestion seemed to be met with a lot of interest, as the group unanimously agreed with her. Even the introvert of the group, Kevin, was not too opposed to the idea.

Rachel then pulled out a notebook from her bag, starting to write down notes for the plan. "Alright, we should assign who would be partnered up with who. I'll let you guys talk it out over the week, and you can just text me about your decision.

But as for me..."

Rachel locked eyes with Jeremy.

"I've made my choice.", she says, with a grin.

Jeremy looked slightly embarassed, but he couldn't help but be flattered. "...Me?"

Rachel nods her head, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Well, yeah. I mean, you've been... really helpful when it comes to keeping the club up, and I... couldn't think of anyone else that I'd be glad to do doubles with."

Jeremy's face started to flush a bit, as he felt even more flattered and embarassed at the same time. "Oh... thank. you... I'm fine with that. I won't let you down.", he says, nodding quickly.

Rachel smiles. "Heheh... I know you won't."

I know you, and you'd never let anyone down... right?

[kadytimberfox]

Kady's Expanse (Re)watch Blog

Episode 1.02 - "The Big Empty"

Hey all -- doing the second episode writeup quite a while after the first one I did (sorry about that giant delay but I've been quite busy recently!). This one and the ones going forward are hopefully going to be a bit shorter now that all of the table-setting is more or less out of the way.

I'm going to go ahead and limit myself to the summary and then highlight one or two of my favorite/least favorite things about each story thread. Once again, I'm intending this to be a companion rather than a comprehensive look at the show as a whole, so we're keeping spoilers light.

Strap yourselves in -- this is going to be a REALLY long summary.

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

Summary

We open on a very sweet scene between Holden and his girlfriend on board the Canterbury as she teaches him how to make the perfect cup of coffee. He's quickly wrenched back into reality as the crew of the shuttle Knight, the only survivors from the Cant, fight their way through the storm of debris peppering their little ship in the aftermath of the ice hauler's destruction. An infuriated Holden has to be talked down from shooting his own crew as he's forced to watch the mystery stealth ship disappear from view, gone forever after getting away with the mass murder of everyone he's ever loved.

Meanwhile on Ceres, Detective Miller has much worse problems: his water ran out in the shower and now he has dried shampoo in his undercut. Since Julie Mao's off the station, Miller can use her shower to wash out his hair and look for more clues about her disappearance while he's there, I guess. He deepfakes Julie's voice in order to hijack her Alexa and finds some scathing messages between Julie and her father Jules-Pierre, who's apparently fed up with sponsoring her racing career.

While Miller scrubs all the shampoo out of his hair, we get our actual introduction to Chrisjen Avasarala, who gets told off by Undersecretary Sadavir Errinwright for torturing that guy from the last episode. "No, Chrisjen! Bad!" he says, wagging his finger at her. "No war crimes! Put him in the tank if you want to talk to him!"

Chrisjen begrudgingly agrees and, amazingly, her prisoner is actually starting to talk now that his lungs aren't being crushed. He decides he doesn't have to tell her shit about the OPA and whatever connections they might have to Mars, which he is correct about. She says she can send him somewhere much worse than this. He says do your worst.

Back on the Knight, the crew take stock of their situation. Drifting in a leaky lifeboat with no radio, a blown airlock, and bleeding more atmosphere every second, things look sufficiently dire. Holden quickly takes charge -- the thing he hates doing, remember? -- and makes a simple calculation: no radio, no rescue, and everyone slowly suffocates to death. Since the airlock is busted and opening the door now would suck all of their oxygen into space, the crew vent the cabin, don their space suits, and Holden and Amos take a nice walk outside to fix the antenna while Naomi takes charge of the repair job inside.

Miller has finally finished his shower and links back up with Havelock to jump on a top-priority mission: some rich Earth guy's lawn is turning brown. Miller thinks it's a local gang, the Greigas, who've stolen water before but aren't usually this obvious about it. It ends up being a bunch of upstart kids selling water out of a warehouse, and Miller gets his third shower of the episode as he's drenched by a falling water barrel. He captures the lead kid, but decides to let him go after telling him to stay away from Da Akwa!

While being stranded in space is terrifying, it does give everyone onboard the Knight time to get to know each other better. Holden asks Amos what the hell is up with him and Naomi (valid question), and Amos replies by telling him that the only thing keeping him from ripping Holden's helmet off and kicking him into space is that Naomi wouldn't like it. He then calmly asks Holden to pass him a drill.

After a lot of swearing, a lot of suffocating, and a lot of kicking, the radio finally crackles to life. All they have to do now is sit around and wait to be rescued by someone who's okay with losing their on-time bonus. The irony is not lost on them.

After her failed interrogation of her OPA friend, Chrisjen tells Errinwright that she needs to move him from her Top Secret Torture Chamber to an Even More Top Secret Torture Chamber on the moon. She shares her fears that Mars is supplying the OPA with stealth tech, but Errinwright is skeptical; the cold war helps Mars more than Earth, so they have little motivation to rock the boat. She tells him to keep an eye on their weapons facilities anyway.

Later, she gets a message on her iPad that her prisoner killed himself on the way to the moonbase by denying himself an injection of medication designed to keep him alive through the hard G's he pulled during the ascent. A message to Chrisjen after she used that very same gravity to torture him earlier. As far as ways of dying go, that's pretty badass.

Back on Ceres, Miller chases down the last of his leads and goes to the dock master to try to find the Razorback, Julie's racing ship. The dock master doesn't know anything about the Razorback, but he does remember Julie fondly; he tells Miller how he saw her kick some creep's ass after he hit on her. He also tells Miller that Julie shipped out on the Scopuli, giving Miller one more key piece to the puzzle. He ends up scrolling through her Space Tinder in a definitely-not-creepy way and finds someone she matched with, which is basically what qualifies as a lead for him right now. His ex-partner (in both senses of the word) Octavia finds him and clearly thinks he might be a little too invested in this case, which she's right about.

After some tense waiting on the Knight, the crew's distress signal is picked up. Unfortunately, it's received by the big, badass pride of the Martian Navy, the MCRN Donnager. Given that the Cant was lured to the Scopuli using a Martian beacon and blown up by a ship using Martian stealth tech, Holden and company are less than enthusiastic about their rendezvous with the Mickies.

Holden flexes his home video skills with a desperate recording explaining everything they know about what happened, saying that their deaths will only confirm that Mars was responsible for the attack. He broadcasts the signal only to learn that the Martian warship's jammers were in range, leaving it unclear if anyone even heard his transmission.

As the Donnager tractors the beat-up shuttle and Martian marines cut through the hull, the crew try to make peace with their apparently impending deaths as a swarm of laser sights find their chests.

"You are prisoners of the Mars Congressional Republic. Move and you die."

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Unless it wasn't clear from the size of that summary, HOLY SHIT SO MUCH HAPPENED IN THIS EPISODE. Miller basically has two full separate story arcs, there's plenty of character moments and good tense action in the Knight crew's fight for survival, and Chrisjen's story finally gets started in earnest. There could've easily been two full episodes' worth of story here, but the pacing doesn't feel too fast, either. It's just delightfully dense. Let's dig in!

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Holden and the Knight

In any show about space, space needs to be really scary. You can say "life in space is hard and dangerous" all you want, but unless you show the audience the perils of space travel, they'll never take it as a serious threat.

This part of the episode is about establishing that threat. Most of the danger happens after the stealth ship leaves and before the Donnager arrives, when the crew is alone with nothing but the titular Big Empty to contend with. And we spent a good chunk of the last episode getting to know a bunch of characters who just got nuked, so the audience knows that no one here has plot armor (except for maybe Holden). It makes for an absolute rollercoaster of a sequence as the crew jumps from one crisis to another.

Easily my favorite scene from this episode is Holden and Amos' conversation as they're trying to fix the radio. Amos is one of the most fascinating characters in this show, and we get our first good look inside his head here. What we seem to find, initially, is that he's a sociopath, but it's more complex than that. He simply appears physically incapable of comprehending morality or ethics. It's not that he doesn't care about people; it's that he lacks the ability to think about people in anything except purely rational or practical terms.

He doesn't think that it would be "wrong" for him to kick Holden off the shuttle, just as he doesn't think it would be "right" not to, because his brain isn't wired to think about things in terms of "right" and "wrong". The reason he doesn't do it is because of Naomi's disapproval. He's aware that he doesn't have a moral compass, so his solution is to use Naomi as a barometer against which to measure right and wrong behavior.

And suddenly, so many things about him click into place: why he listens to everything Naomi tells him, his deadpan demeanor, even why he might take a job as a mechanic on an ice hauler; less of a chance of doing something wrong if you interact with other people as little as possible. Naomi being his direct superior is also a plus.

This will come up again and again as we continue to dig into Amos and as he begins to form relationships with the rest of the crew. What I love about him is that a set of less capable writers could've easily written him as a character who struggles with a lack of humanity because of his mental illness, but he's one of the most fundamentally human characters I've seen on television.

It's not even necessarily framed as a bad thing; it just makes him different from the rest of the crew and creates some fascinating relationship dynamics with Holden, Naomi, Alex, pretty much everyone he interacts with. For mental illness to be treated with this level of care and nuance is so rare on TV and it's wonderfully refreshing.

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Miller and Ceres

Remember the conversation we had last time about Julie being Miller's Dulcinea? Yeah, this is what I was talking about.

I actually want to focus more on Miller's B plot this episode, since the Julie investigation is only the focus of about three scenes that I basically covered in the summary. Before we move on though, I wanted to point out that Julie's dating profile confirms that she is canonically pansexual! It's more of an easter egg than anything, really: the only on-screen or referenced relationships she has are with men, but it's still a nice touch.

With that aside, the main thing I wanna talk about this time around is the scene with Rich Earth Guy as he's complaining to Miller and Havelock about his lawn. My favorite tiny detail in this scene is the way Miller takes a drink of water. He takes the tiniest sip out of the glass and swills it around his mouth, savoring it for as long as possible before pouring the rest of the glass carefully back into the pitcher. The opening text of "Dulcinea" told us that water is more valuable than gold in space. Miller, the only Belter in the room, treats it as such. It makes Rich Earth Guy's complaining about his lawn water seem ludicrous by comparison.

As a good leftist, I'm definitely a sucker for anything that lets me hate on a guy who's basically the space-age equivalent of an HOA board member, but this is also a great example of the absolute disdain off-worlders on Ceres have for Belters. It's not enough that Rich Earth Guy gets to live in the only part of this station that looks like utopian paradise, surrounded by beautiful green spaces and observing his kingdom from his massive balcony; no, those filthy Belters have to know he's up there. They have to appreciate him, respect him, thank him for being so generous as to use his lawn to cycle the air that they breathe.

He's not this callous with his language, of course, but you can feel the sentiment dripping from his words. And we can immediately tell that he doesn't really care that his lawn is important to the station; he just gets off on feeling important.

Havelock, to his credit, is still naïve enough to try to call Rich Earth Guy out on his bullshit. This place you live in might as well be an alien planet to Belters. And maybe if Belters weren't down in the shit fighting for their fucking lives day after day, they'd have a little more time to appreciate your lawn. Again, he's a little more subtle than that. But not by much. Rich Earth Guy hands him a cactus and tells him, politely, to fuck off.

As we're going to find out, Earth is basically run by thousands and thousands of Rich Earth Guys. And every single day, whenever the Belt reminds them that they never get to see Earth's lawn, that they're too busy breaking their backs for Earth to ever even dream of having a lawn of their own, Earth hands the Belt a cactus and tells them, with varying degrees of politeness, to fuck off.

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Chrisjen and the UN

And now it's finally time to see what's got Chrisjen worried about her lawn. We still don't spend too much time with her this episode considering all the madness going on with the Knight, but we still get our introduction to Errinwright, who's going to be a key player at the UN going forward.

My favorite Chrisjen scene in this episode has to be her conversation with Errinwright after her failed interrogation of the OPA prisoner. As she's talking about shuffling her secret political prisoner between black-site interrogation facilities, Errinwright openly wonders how no one is keeping tabs on this woman. His answer is self-evident: he's appointed himself as Chrisjen's watchdog.

Their relationship appears mostly transactional: Chrisjen allows Errinwright to keep an eye on her and shares information in him in exchange for his support in the government. It's clear from the jump, however, that both of them are using the other to achieve their goals. Chrisjen's goals are clear: she wants to figure out what the hell's going on with Mars and the OPA. Errinwright's motivations remain unclear at this early stage, but it's clear that Chrisjen trusts him, at least as much as she trusts anyone.

Without spoiling very much, Errinwright's character is defined by his relationship to Chrisjen, and he helps develop Chrisjen's character in turn. The thing that becomes clear in this episode is that he and Chrisjen are so close to each other because they speak the same language and play the same game. I'm very much looking forward to seeing them play that game in future episodes.

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If you're here, thank you so much, again, for bearing with me through this ludicrously long post. I'm trying so hard to work on being brief, and again, there was a ton of stuff I didn't talk about in this episode that I really, really wanted to.

Happy holidays to you all! I'll be picking up the story with "Remember the Cant" in hopefully less than a month -- sorry about that delay again. See you starside!