#& i’m definitely excited to find the energy to reply back to him–even if it’s just a small thread here or there

[akuzeisms]

   ⬐ @seeasunset ⬎

🥰 - I’m following you because I love your writing and content and I just want to read your stuff ➕ - Other reason(s) - I forgot if I filled out your interest checker and didn't want to fill it out twice if I did but!! I just came to say hello!!

first of all I am SO SORRY I took an eternity to answer this—but I have been the biggest slowpoke in life as of late

but I’m glad you enjoy my content & writing, slow as it comes! As for my interest tracker, you did fill it out, so that’s all fine there—but if you’re ever not sure, or you forget, or you just wanna double check (and this goes for anyone reading this), seriously, just ask. I understand being forgetful or being like “wait, did I or didn’t I?” and I’m more than happy to give a yay or nay. It doesn’t bother me at all. It signals to me that you respect my boundaries & want to be sure that you’re respecting them by doing so. I also don’t mind if interactions are just once in a while, as long as you engage with me! Engaging doesn’t have to be in-character writing, or actively writing, it could just mean we chat on headcanons or pictures I post, or fun little dash games, sending little asks, that kind of thing. Obviously, writing is preferred, but sometimes things just don’t click. As long as I don’t feel like I don’t exist on your dash, that’s all that matters to me.

[icyminghao]

lean on me

pairing: husband!mingyu x gn!reader genre: drabble, hurt/comfort, some fluff warning(s): mentions of food, mean coworkers word count: 0.9k

summary: your husband seems to be feeling down, but you can’t seem to figure out why.

Your husband’s being awfully quiet tonight.

He’d come back home a few hours ago, saying nothing other than a soft “Hi” in reply to your enthusiastic greeting, and immediately went to take a shower without smothering you in hugs and kisses.

Which is incredibly unusual, considering his tendency to start telling you anything and everything about his day the moment he walks through the front door to your shared apartment despite having told you almost everything through text already (to your endearment). Coupled with the fact that today was his first day at his new job, you fully expected Mingyu to have many things to recount from his day at work and the welcome dinner afterwards.

Leaning against the kitchen counter, you try to recall the events of the day as you scroll through your text history with your husband, but come up short. Your eyes gloss over the last few texts he’d sent you as you purse your lips together in thought.

my gyu: i’m going to the welcome dinner now!! [18:01]

my gyu: i’m so excited :) can’t wait to tell u all abt it!! [18:01]

you: so excited for u!! have fun bb <3 [18:02]

you: how’s the dinner? [20:12]

The realisation that your husband never replied to your text hits you only now, and you’re met with the sudden urge to check up on him.

You pocket your phone, brows furrowed as you shuffle through the apartment and into your bedroom, only to be met with Mingyu’s back as he lies down on the side of the bed further away from the door.

If your suspicions are correct, your husband is most definitely not sleeping.

Something must’ve happened at the welcome dinner.

You creep towards Mingyu, climbing onto your side of the bed and engulfing your husband in a back hug immediately. Mingyu tenses for a split second before resting his hands on your arms.

“Is everything okay?” your voice is soft, and you plant a kiss on the back of Mingyu’s neck while waiting patiently for a response. Mingyu hums weakly in affirmation.

Silence ensues as you don’t probe him further, deciding to give him time to process things.

Your husband sits up and turns around to face you after a while, and you smile at him while following suit, hoping to give him some of your energy.

“I went to the welcome dinner earlier…” Mingyu begins as you nod, reaching out to hold his hands in yours as you rub circles on the back of his hands.

“They said it was company tradition to diss the newcomer, so that’s what they did once we got a few drinks in,” you raise an eyebrow at Mingyu’s words, but make no move to interrupt him. “The jabs were funny at first, but some of them started talking about my lisp and imitating it, and I just didn’t find it funny anymore. I didn’t say anything, company tradition and all, and I feel stupid for even feeling upset when they were just joking and—”

“It’s not a joke if it’s making you upset, baby,” you can’t take it anymore, deciding to cut him off while squeezing his hands tighter. “Your feelings are valid, and they shouldn’t have made fun of you like that. Not then, and not ever.”

Mingyu’s eyes start glistening, a result of him tearing up at your words. “But if- if this is a running tradition, then the others would have been able to handle the disses. I’m just- sensitive for no reason, right?”

You detach one of your hands from your husband’s to cup his cheek, a deep frown etched on your face.

“Baby,” you begin, slowly picking and choosing your words in your head, “You’re not being sensitive, you’re allowed to feel upset about this. This… ‘tradition’ is already very questionable in the first place, and I’m really sorry you had to go through that. It just doesn’t sit right with me to have people literally insult and make fun of you and for you to have to be fine with it. You can feel upset. In fact, you should feel upset, because there’s literally no world where such behaviour should be condoned.”

Mingyu leans into your touch, letting the first tear fall from his left eye. Your heart aches so much, and you pull Mingyu into your embrace, where sobs start racking his body as he buries his face into your neck.

“T-thank you,” your husband manages between sobs, and you squeeze him tighter around you. “You’re always so good to me.”

As a people-centric person, Mingyu tends to put others’ concerns and well-being first, often disregarding himself and his own feelings that it eventually culminates into him feeling miserable. Even then, however, he puts up a front as much as he can, and it breaks your heart every time you see him like this. You’re determined to remind him that he’s loved, and that his feelings, just like anyone else’s, matters.

The next few minutes or so are spent in each other’s arms as you encourage Mingyu to cry his heart out, and it’s a while later when he’s calmed down, head on your chest as you both lie down and get ready to retire for the night.

“I love you,” Mingyu whispers, tilting his head up to kiss your jaw. “I should quit my job, shouldn’t I?”

You smile, pulling him tighter against your chest. “I love you, too, baby. I’ll support you in whatever you choose to do.”

“And baby? There’s nothing funny about your lisp. If anything, I think it’s really cute.”

Mingyu beams at you in response, and you swear his goofy grin could light up the whole world.

You’re never letting him go.

a/n: kind of… inspired by the latest gose episode (class president part 2)

masterlist

taglist (send an ask to be added!): @slytherinshua @weird-bookworm @viscade @pepperonidk @belladaises @tastymintchocolate @chanceonceli @hrts4hanniehae @wantmatthew @moonkyeom @coupstatu

[headphonegrl]

“Do you feel old?” You ask Jude, your voice hoarse from performing multiple songs back to back on the garish karaoke machine his mum had rented out for the occasion. There are now at least a dozen badly shot videos of you singing in Jude’s camera roll, including a rendition of ‘happy birthday’ sung by you and his brother where half his index finger is covering the lens. 

“What’d you mean?” After hours of displaying nothing but rash energy, Jude finally feels himself getting sluggish while trying to endure the unbearable gnawing feeling of pins and needles rising up his legs; a big plush sofa sits untouched on the other side of the living room but you’ve both decided to drunkenly cram yourselves onto the armchair in a mess of tangled limbs. 

“Just a silly question.” As you flutter your eyes shut, Jude tries to get a proper look at the glitter eyeshadow you had meticulously applied earlier that evening. In the wake of a large round of tequila shots, some of his friends had insisted on having their own ‘sparkle stuff’ and began queuing at the bathroom door like kids waiting to get their face painted like a tiger at the zoo. “Do you feel any older yet?”

“I’m not sure.” It’s the kind of question he’d once been asked in the primary school playground, with a blue birthday badge pinned proudly onto the fabric of his uniform. Back then it seemed very easy and obvious to answer plainly with a ‘no’, though now he’s finding himself stumped for a reply entirely. “Do you ever feel like that?”

“I think the last age I felt was seventeen.” You say definitively as if you've thought about it at great length before. Jude hadn’t known you at that age, but his home screen for almost a year was a photo your mum had shown him of you pulling a horrific face while blowing out the candles of your seventeenth birthday cake. 

“That’s probably the same for me.” Embarrassingly, Jude had once referred to himself as a ‘seventeen-year-old’ during a frenzied post-match interview and then had to sheepishly correct himself by clarifying that he had just turned nineteen. Sometimes he feels like the years are slipping through his fingers like sand and there’s no sufficient way to stop them.

“Then before that it was twelve.” You continue as you do a little cat-like stretch with your free arm which Jude finds incredibly endearing along with everything else you do; he supposes it’s a very common side-effect when it comes to being in love.

“I found being twelve proper boring.”  It was something he remembers expressing even at that age. Just as if he had been dropped off somewhere by his childhood and was painstakingly waiting for his teenage years to finally pick him up and take him somewhere exciting. “It’s such an in-between age.”

“That’s true.” The sky in the open window behind you is that awkward shade of grey that appears just before sunrise, like a page when a printer begins to suddenly run out of ink.

“I wish we’d known each other as kids.” Jude feels as though he goes through life with your name humming inside his chest like a second heart and yet this sentence seems so intimate that he can’t even look at you as speaks. Instead, he takes extra care and attention towards staring at the ceiling and inspecting all the sparse helium balloons that have floated up towards it.

“So do I.” Your words come out as a dozy whisper and Jude finds himself smiling up at a star-shaped foil balloon. He’s not twelve or seventeen, but he’s just turned twenty and loves you so much that he doesn’t even care that both of his legs have gone completely numb from sitting with you on this unbearably uncomfortable armchair.

[kumabeom]

sweet dreams - kang taehyun

hubby!tyun, use of the word : princess. yn’s family is very 🤨

spend a happy christmas with taehyun. even though yn has been on the verge of a breakdown due to work and family, taehyun is always there to listen and to wish you sweet dreams and a goodnight.

taehyun’s eyes lingered on your body, noticing the way that your line of interest was directed to the couch. he also couldn’t help but noticed that your greeting to him… it wasn’t as lovely as usual. taehyun ran his mind through the past few days, the two of you definitely haven’t gotten into any fights.

he continued to scrub the dirty dishes with the soapy sponge, although he still kept an eye on you, constantly turning around to check up if you were still… alive. he noticed the way that your eyes were closed, but he could tell that you weren’t exactly asleep.

“tyun..” you called out, voice barely even reaching his ears. he turned all the knobs off, water coming to a stop, taking off his gloves. and setting them on the counter.

“yes, love.” he came and sat down at the end of the couch right next to your head, he was careful to not sit on any part of your body including your hair.

“you should take a break, you’ve been at it since the morning.” you spoke up, voice grumbling and your right cheek pressed against the couch. you laid on your right side, pillow underneath your head.

“mm.. i have but i’ve taken a ton of breaks, i just feel pretty energized.. do you need me to do anything for you, princess..?” he questioned, moving a bit closer to you, only to see a wet drop run down your cheek.

“i’m fine, tyun.. i just need to get my laptop out, but it’s right here in my bag.” you replied, touching the bag that was leaned onto the leg of the sofa. taehyun felt quite sad to see you in such a difficult state.

“can you follow me for a second, yn.” he patiently waited for your answer, catching sight as you nodded your head. opening your eyes, you sat up and taehyun could see the sheer sorrow in your face. he offered you his hand, which you were happy to take. he led you into your shared room, he sat you down onto the soft bed that was in the center of the room but against the wall. he looked through your dresser, finding you the christmas pajama that was meant to match with his, but he had an apron on at the moment. “can you change real quickly, and then i’ll be back.. mkay ?”

“mhmm..” you hummed in response, looking at the pajama set that was now in your lap. you had no idea what taehyun was up to, nor was he going to let you find out what he was going to do. you put on the set, opening the door that taehyun had shut to give you some privacy. “tyun…”

taehyun was convinced that he had some kind of superhuman hearing, after all this entire time the volume in your voice hadn’t been very loud. he turned around, seeing you peeking out of your shared bedroom. he simply sent you a soft smile, walking over to you, he grabbed two headbands. one had black cat ears on it and the other was a gray bunny one, he put on the black cat one, pushing back his hair. handing you the remaining one, as you followed his steps.

he led you into the bathroom. your hand in his, before he let you go, taking out your oil cleanser and applying it to your face, before he did the same to his own face, he waited for you to wash your face before he washed his. you couldn’t help but feel your spirits slowly lifted as taehyun did the best he could to make you feel happy.

“what kind of face mask do you want to do today ?” he asked, caressing your cheeks as he noticed the way that your lips started to turn upwards.

“whichever one you’d like, as long as i get to put it on you !” you exclaimed excitement and energy slowly returning to your body. he pressed a kiss to your cheek, picking out a face mask. the two of you took turns placing the mask on each other. which only ends up with you sitting on top of the counter and taehyun’s face looking up at you as you took off the mask after making sure that enough time has passed. he wrapped his arms around your waist, picking you up as you instinctively clung onto him, your legs embracing his torso. “be careful, tyun !”

“of course i have to be careful, i wouldn’t want to hurt my princess..” he replied, carrying you into the living room where a bunch of snacks were waiting on the coffee table which filled the space between the couch and the tv. “y’know i only really even work out just for you… just so i can treat you like the princess that you are.”

he teased, bringing his lips up to his your cheek, a subtle red blush settling on your face. you were happy to have a partner that showed nothing but love for you. you wished that you could be as affectionate as taehyun, and you do try your best. but taehyun just goes an extra mile.

“maybe i should start going to the gym and treating you like a prince ! i’ll carry you all over the place, hyun !”

“ah, but i love treating you like a princess. you deserve all the love in the world and luckily for you, i’m just the right person to do that for you.” taehyun couldn’t help but smirk, settling himself down on the couch as you practically melted into his arms since he had been carrying you. he grabbed the tv remote, turning on the tv and playing a random christmas movie. he threw a blanket on top of the two of you as you snuggled closer to him.

“tyun…” you called out, eyes still on the screen watching as snow began to fall, introducing the movie’s main character to viewers. taehyun only hummed as a reply, his arm around your waist, his hand caressing your hand. “can we.. or do you want to go visit your family for christmas ?”

“i thought we were going to go see your family ?” taehyun questioned, pausing the movie so that he could put all of his attention on you.

“well… yeah.. we were, but-..”

he heard your small stuttering voice, worried for you. he knew that your family situation wasn’t the best, in fact he fell victim to one of their little accidents. taehyun.. wasn’t supposed to marry you, you were supposed to marry your mother’s friend’s son. so when taehyun proposed to you, he didn’t really have permission to marry, he did it anyways.. and when the two of you showed up to your family’s house for christmas, let’s just say you got a lot of unnecessary comments and nasty stares. however, you made the right choice by getting engaged to taehyun. he spent all night and the day after, making sure that you were okay and that you had no regrets about him. which you didn’t, you also spent that day making sure to show him all of your love, sure you were the prime target of all the rude behavior, but it was bound to hurt taehyun too.

“do you want to spend it here, just with me or with my family ?”

“why don’t we spend the 24th with your family and then on the 25th it can just be us.” you replied, smiling up to your husband, eyes full of love and adoration.

“sounds like a great plan, my princess.”

“by the way… thank you…” you turn your head to look at taehyun.

“for what ?”

“for cheering me up !! you saw that i didn’t have a really good day today and instead of avoiding me.. you took really great care of me, tyun.. you really are the right person to give me all the love in the world, and i’ll try my best to be the person to give you all the love in the universe.”

“of course, i can’t just sit back seeing you so down, you can always talk to me, you can even take out all of your frustrations on me..”

“i wouldn’t ever do that.. you shouldn’t have to live through the consequences of other people. it’s their fault that i felt down so they’ll face the consequences for doing so !” he chuckled, scratching the top of your head, running his hands through your hair.

“should we go to bed ?”

“oooh ! yes, please.”

the two of you moved to your shared bedroom, turning off the tv, realizing that the two of you only even got through 2 minutes of the movie which was barely even the beginning of the movie. you laid down on the right side of the bed, pulling the duvet over your body, as taehyun did the same thing but on the left side of the bed. you immediately moved over to him.

“i really do love you and cherish you, taehyun.”

“i love and cherish you, too.. sweet dreams, my yn.”

©️soobpricity

taglist : @run2seob @soobadooba @mrsyawnzzn @matcha-binz @ye0nvibezzn @yutacchin @kittyhyuka (send asks !!)

[igglemouse]

It's only the first trimester but this pregnancy thing is already a bit rough, at least more than I imagined. I never expected it to be easy but I do get tired of having to run to the bathroom. Yeaaa, lets not talk about that!

Instead lets talk about waffles, more specifically, chicken and waffles! My appetite has definitely started to change as I find myself more likely to completely clean a plate but I don't think I've had any specific cravings yet? I mean, right now I'm craving golden waffles and slightly crisp fried chicken drenched in sweet syrup, does that count?

Naturally the scent of waffles wafting waffly through the house is enough to draw Pascal down to the kitchen. I'm pretty sure waffles are his favorite food and the way he lights up before digging into them tells me that I might be right.

He takes a few bites, makes a groan of approval, then turns his attention to me, a bit of concern on his face. "You okay?" He asks with his mouth half full. "You spent a lot of time in the restroom this morning and-"

"Yeaaah, just one of those things I guess?" I say trying to pass it off casually. The constant nausea is common during pregnancy, right? Probably nothing. "It'll be okay!"

"Yeah," he mumbles, getting right back to his meal.

That reminds me, Pascal hasn't really talked much about this whole 'we're going to be parents' thing too much and by too much I mean not really at all? He's told me that he'll be there for the baby and for me and that matters but I do wish he was a little more involved.

I think he saves most of his enthusiasm for mud baths. It's a ritual for him, I think. I can understand why, it can be very relaxing sinking yourself into a puddle of earthy mud and letting the world melt away. I understand he kicks a ball around for a living but it does take a lot out of him. Athletes really push their bodies past limits. It must be a ritual of his at this point.

As for me, I find my own way to unwind. Grooving to Latin pop, the infectious beats fill the room and gets my feet to move but not too much. Sure would hate to trip or something buuut I'm hoping my little one is vibing to the music too!

Doing laundry isn't in any way more fun than dancing but it has to get done. Even if the sun is bearing down on you, making you sweat, and...why doesn't Pascal have a washer and dryer again?

But I wasn't going to spend my entire day under the sun, especially when Sara decided to drop by again. She's been coming over more and more lately, I don't mind, but as I've mentioned before she's a bit nosy. Always asking questions and trying to pry, just a touch annoying actually, but there's something endearing to it? It's almost like little sister energy, if that makes sense? Maybe that's just me wishing I had a little sister.

She does remind me of an old friend I had back home, in Selva. A softer version of her, a less confident version of her, but a version of her all the same. Candela was her name but that's a story for another day.

As soon as we sit down Sara dives right into the topic of Pascal. Completely expected, remember, she's the nosy prying type after all but I decided to turn the tables back on her and ask her about her own love life.

"Umm, remember, I'm not so fortunate," her reply is hesitant and her voice cracks a little, letting me know this is more of a sensitive topic for her.

"Sara, you're way too hard on yourself! I know you've had some luck-"

"What's luck if I'm sitting here single," she interrupts, set on putting herself down I guess.

"Sara, you're young, we all are," I say, wanting to defend her from herself. "It's really not that big of a deal being single. Sometimes, it's better than being stuck with someone that's abusive."

"Yeah...well, for now, I'll live vicariously through your relationship so lets hear about it." The smile on her face is forced but I agree. I don't want to force her to talk about her.

So I tell her about Pascal and me but there really isn't any excitement because there isn't much to go on about? We are just sort of...living together? No big adventures or vacations, nothing overly romantic, we've just been sharing a space and going through life day by day I guess.

"You're going to have to pull him off the pitch long enough for you two to do more together," Sara suggests. It's a good idea. The SPL, which stands for Sims Premier League, has an offseason doesn't it?

After Sara leaves the house feels a little quieter. That's alright because I'll always have ice cream! It's the sort of thing that can bring joy to any evening and so I step right over to the kitchen and pull out my nifty ice cream making machine and make me a bowl of it. because, why not? Feels like a butter pecan kind of day to me and it's feeling like I'll be needing two bowls!

One thing I think I have to consider when it comes to living with Pascal is that I've been doing most of the chores. Whether its scrubbing countertops or washing the dishes or doing laundry out in near 100 degree heat, it's me doing it all and here I am vacuuming so that we're not inhaling dust. Makes me wonder how he was keeping this place clean before me? I'd ask Pascal to do it for tonight but...

The mechanical whir of the treadmill and the pounding of his feet had told me he was busy. I quietly slipped inside of his workout room, which, now that I think about it, looks like it would be better suited for a child but maybe that's a discussion for another day.

I have to squeal out a hello to get his attention and once I do; "Does the offer still stand?" I ask, voice raised to be heard of the rhythm of his workout.

"Huh?" He kinda shouts back, a little out of breath.

"Moving in, does it still stand?" and I shout right back.

"O-oh! Yeah! Of course! Of course it does!" He stammers back and gives me a smile. I'll leave him alone for now I guess.

So yeah, it looks like I've mad my decision or rather, fate has made it for me.

I do have some concerns but that's expected, right? No one is perfect.

Honestly, if I were not pregnant with his child I do not think I would have made this decision but now that I am I want to do everything right. That includes raising a child the usual way. Mother, father, a house, a family, that kind of thing. It's at least worth a try, it's more than what was done for me growing up.

I'll miss this place. I wasn't here for long but that's the story of my life. I don't tend to stay in places for too long. The universe always nudges me on to my next chapter and on to the next episode..

Frida Varela Index ~ Next Episode 6 'Familiar Connections'

[justice-maul]

Promises~ Young Tony Stark x Top Male Reader | College Au

Summary: Reader is sharing a dorm with Tony Stark and they often fight thanks to Tony being an immature entitled dick so the Reader decided to put him in his place

word count: 2,432

Author note: I’ve been reading more young tony stark fics and can’t find any good male reader ones so in the words of Thanos, “fine I’ll do it myself”

Warning(s)⚠: Sub Tony, spit, hair pulling, blow job (Reader receiving), finger sucking, p in a, Reader has a huge dick, a little bit of nipple play, taking off condom in the middle of sex (wrap it before you tap it guys), and breeding

You sighed dramatically as you saw the mess in the sink once again your lazy roommate didn’t do his job.

Anthony Edward Stark was the last and the worst person you expected to room with but it did make sense because you were both the same age despite both being the youngest at MIT

he was a genius with no common sense or human decency and though you acted normal with him at first you eventually got fed up with his attitude and rudeness, so you started treating him with the same energy he gave you.

so you marched towards his room steam basically blowing out of your ears as you knocked on his door once, then twice, and immediately you barged the door hitting the wall

“Anthony,” you said with pure malice in your tone as he shot up immediately and the girl beside him groaned in her sleep

“Jeez, do you knock?” He said rubbing his eyes as he slowly got up from the covers

“I did. Twice. You forget to do all of your chores and you brought home a girl while I was sleeping making way too much noise” Tony chuckled at that last part as he tried to find the rest of his clothes in the dark

“I’ll do it later don’t worry about it,” He lazily replied

“You have one more chance Anthony, I’m not joking.” You said

“Ok well I promise I’ll do it later, alright cross my heart,” he said ironically

“I’ll hold you to that.” You scoffed out slamming the door shut going to the kitchen to make yourself some breakfast before class

You watched as the girl left his room with tony giving her a kiss and saying he will see her later, same thing he said to every other girl he brought back to the dorm

“He probably doesn’t even know her name” you mumbled scoffing at the sight before putting your stuff away and heading off to class

When you first moved in Tony took no time in claiming the largest room with the largest bed which ticked you off because he didn’t even give you room to argue, you were sure that he only did that because of how entitled he was.

The entire school day you were thinking about what you were going to do to Anthony when he didn’t go through with his promise the pure excitement on your face being subtle but very clear

At the end of the day you walked back to your dorm and settled down before finally looking in the kitchen to find the sink dirty the trash full and the entire dorm an absolute mess.

You took the liberty of cleaning everything with nothing but a calm expression on your face before Anthony got home from yet another party as you plopped yourself down on the couch after making yourself a drink

“Yeah I’ll definitely be there you can count on it” you heard him laugh as he clicked the door shut walking in with a dumb smile on his face wearing a black shirt with a collared jacket on that was now wrinkled and messy

“Hey Anthony,” you said in the calmest voice possible as he jumped back and put a hand over his chest trying to calm himself down

“God you just love scaring the crap out of me huh” he laughed almost nervously clearly knowing exactly what he did wrong

“Hmm let me guess you just forget the promise you made me? Or were you busy this time?“you said staring him dead in the face anger slowly building up inside of you

“I- well I had to kinda…” he stuttered scratching the back of his neck while trying to come up with a way out as you sat up and slowly walked towards him

“You know what Anthony I’m so tired of your bitchy attitude and your empty goddamn promises, you're selfish and you never take anything seriously your the most annoying person in the goddamn world!” You said as you backed him against a wall pinning him there with one arm

He looked up at you with a different expression from earlier that sent a shiver throughout your body but you weren’t going to give up that easy so you grabbed his chin and forced him to look up at you

“Do you have any idea how much work I had to cover for you? How much sleep I had to miss or time to do my own work?” You said pure anger coursing through you

“I can… make it up to you, make it…” he looked down at your pants hinting slightly before making eye contact again “worth your while” his voice barely above a whisper now.

You both just stared at each other silently, both not knowing what to say until he opened his mouth and took in your thumb sucking on the tip slightly

You wanted to pull your hand away and yell at him but you were too shocked to do anything, just watching his every movement that made you feel so unbelievably aroused, as he treated it like a cock

he licked your thumb before releasing it from his mouth with a string of spit still connecting it to his pretty lips that you wanted to ruin so badly

you wanted to fight back the urge to give in to his sexual antics but even you couldn’t deny the fact he was attractive, and at this moment he was downright gorgeous

You removed your thumb and grabbed his hair with the same hand pulling him closer and kissing him roughly as he wrapped his arms around your neck letting your tongue inside his mouth

After what felt like hours of you two making out, he reached his hand to your cock and slowly rubbed up and down as you groaned into him and he repeated the motion teasing your dick as his hand glided down your cock

You pulled him by his hair off of you as he tried to catch his breath, taking your other hand you rubbed his now plump lips as he looked up at you with a pleading face begging you to ruin him

“Let’s see what else your pretty mouth could do,” you whispered out leaning close against his lips and watching as he slowly sank down to his knees and unbuckled your belt using his teeth to unzip your pants

Eager to see your dick, he shimmed your shorts off your cock almost hitting his face as he starred for a moment stunned before grabbing it, he looked up at you with doe eyes as you gave him the ok

He licked a long stripe on the underside of your cock, before moving to suck on your tip and finally taking you all in while rubbing what he couldn’t fit in his mouth as his moans vibrated around your cock

“You know if you used your mouth …Shit, for more things like this we wouldn’t have had a problem in the first place Anthony,” you groaned as he started to deep throat your cock, bobbing his head

He choked as he took more of you in his mouth, his nose was pressed against your stomach as he struggled to breath gasping and releasing your completely wet cock from his mouth,

“You’re so fucking huge,” he said softly licking a stripe on your slit, sucking off the precum before taking you back in his mouth as tears started falling out of the corners of his eyes

he jacked you off with his hand and gagged on the rest of your cock looking up at you with tear-stained cheeks as you ran your fingers through his hair

You felt yourself getting closer, feeling it build in your stomach as you yanked him by his hair off of your cock and jacked yourself off while he looked up at you and stuck his tongue out in an erotic manner

That was the final push you needed as you released all over his face getting it everywhere on his cheeks, his lips, and some on his tongue as he swallowed it down eagerly

He swiped the cum off his face and licked it teasingly staring back up at you as he licked the rest off his lips which were now bruised with a beautiful red and pink hue

“What else do you want me to do?” He said with a glint in his eyes that showed utter excitement while biting his bottom lip which turned an even darker color

“Depends, how much farther are you willing to go?” You asked pulling back up your pants as Tony smirked up at you

“As far as you want me to,” he said through his lashes as you grabbed his collar and pulled him up towards you and he stumbled into your arms

You yanked him towards his room, opening the door and pushing him in before slamming it and pinning him against the wall

You immediately kissed him more tenderly with more passion and fire burning inside of you, slowly moving your lips against his as he regained his balance and leaned into the kiss softly sighing into you

You grabbed his waist and deepened the kiss pushing your knee against his crotch grinding it down on his hardened cock as he gasped into you, his hips were moving in sync with your knee long moans leaving his mouth

You pulled away from the kiss removing your knee as he lightly groaned and you both tried to catch your breath, smelling his cologne from how close you were

“Do you have any condoms on you?” You said looking at him as he slowly nodded regaining his composure as you moved back giving him room

“Yeah, let me… get them,” he breathed out before walking over to his drawer and rummaging around, finally pulling out three condoms and flashing them to you

“Here, this will probably last us,” he said setting them on his nightstand as he turned towards you nervously waiting for you to make a move.

Walking towards him you grabbed his chin and tilting his head up as you started to kiss up his neck, he grabbed at your shirt pulling you closer to him

You pushed him down on the bed and he looked up at you with those honeyed eyes of his as you traced his jawline with your hand and he leaned into your touch breath hitching

You begin tracing his neckline before tugging on his top signaling him to take it off as you did the same removing your shirt before backing him up into his large bed

You pushed on his bare chest making his back hit the bed, as you removed his pants along with yours throwing them off to the side, he watched you intently being the most silent he’s ever been

“Aren’t you cute when you finally close your fucking mouth” you mockingly said to him as he let out a small whimper, you positioned yourself between his legs

You reached over to his bedside table grabbed a bottle of lube and pulled down his boxers before you poured some on your fingers and traced his rim

“Shit,” He hissed at the coldness and the sudden touch as you then prodded your finger into his hole as he let out a small noise, you began to loosen him up getting him ready for your large cock

You finally loosened his hole up enough and positioned yourself in front of his entrance as you grabbed his thighs spreading them apart and slowly pushed yourself in as he groaned

“Oh, f-fuck,” he moaned out at the feeling of you finally bottoming him out, you gave him time to adjust as he held on to your shoulders for support as he finally relaxed around your length

You began to move and slightly rocked your hips moving back and forth quickly growing faster in your movements until Tony was leaving marks on your body and throwing his head back as loud moans left his mouth

“I can feel you fucking into me,” he shuddered out as long moans left him he tried to muffle the noise with his hand but small whines and whimpers escaped his mouth

You slammed your hips against his prostate causing him to let out a moan as you started to fuck against it repeatedly abusing his sweet spot as his moans echoed throughout the room

You moved rough and slow against him fucking his hole as breathy whines erupted from his throat, you reached over and began to tweak his nipples as he gasped letting you play with buds in your hand

You moved more animalistic against him fucking into him with pure hunger as you practically abused his gaping cunt as he let out loud sobs at the impact and hardness of your thrusts

He loudly groaned covering his face with his hands as his entire body was shaking and his red cock was standing tall leaking precum as he felt his orgasm approaching as he started leaving scratch marks on your shoulders

Leaning over you sloppily gave him an open mouth kiss tonguing him as he tried to messily kiss you back reaching a hand down to stroke his own cock feeling his orgasm build up in his stomach

He finally came throwing his head back in pure bliss before letting out a choked whimper as your movements didn’t still against his throbbing hole and he practically screamed

“Take it off… I want it inside” he panted as you pulled out and removed your condom before pushing slowly back into him moving fast and hard once more as he whimpered

You fucked him at your own pace chasing your release as your thrusts moved faster against him before slowing down and finally spilling your load into him leaving him a gasping mess

You removed your cock only to watch your cum trickle out of his gaping cunt and his entire body a blush red his chest heaving, you leaned down kissing up his chest to sooth him as he hummed

“We should definitely do that again,” he said catching his breath and handing you another condom as you laid down next to him chuckling

“As long as you keep your promises,” you said as he rolled his eyes scoffing and you both laughed

Anthony kept his promises and in return, you rewarded him each time and established a relationship together. Living at the dorms with Anthony Stark became much better and you finally got along and managed to have a good year with him by your side.

Oh and you guys decided to share the big room (more like you made him but whatever 😂)

~The End~

[matty-bear]

II. Is It a Crush or Attraction? [N.S]

Type: Chapter two of The Influencer series

Pairing: Nick Sturniolo x Male!OC

Warnings: SFW, fluffy

Summary: Nick replies to Finn’s message and they set up a date to hangout. The day finally comes and Nick tells Matt about his feelings for Finn. He tells the younger that he will take the hangout as an opportunity to get to know the guy before he decides on if he has a crush on him or if it’s just an attraction. 

Notes: I need to get better at writing summaries… Anyways, hope you guys enjoy this chapter! :DD

Text color guide! Purple: Nick, Blue: Finn

WC: 3475

CH1 CH3

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚　 ˚*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚＊ ＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

Finn: I know this might sound really sudden but would you be up to hanging out sometime? 

When Nick reads over the message, his jaw drops and his phone slips out of his hand and falls onto his thigh. He had to take a minute to register what just happened and to figure out a reply in his head before he picked his cell phone back up. He lets out an anxious exhale as he unlocks his phone and opens up Finn’s message. His thumbs twirl around the keyboard rather nervously before he finally types out a response. 

Nick: I’d totally be up to hanging out! What should we do? 

The moment the male hits send, he sets his phone face-down on his blanket and covers his face. A small “fucking hell” escapes his lips before another ding startles him. He slowly removes his hands from his face and picks his phone back up, his eyes widening when his eyes skin over Finn’s response. 

Finn: Are you a fan of shopping by any chance? 

A huge smile spreads across Nick’s lips as he opens the message again, his thumbs rapidly typing a response. 

Nick: I LOVE going shopping 

Finn: Perfect! :D I know a few thrift stores that hold some pretty good clothes if you’re up to joining me! We can stop by some well known shops as well if you don’t find anything. 

Nick: I’d love to go with you! When would you like to go? 

Finn: Does Thursday work for you? 

Nick: Yup :D 

Finn: Sweet! You mind if I pick you up at your place? 

Nick: I don’t mind that at all

Finn: Could you send me your address so I don’t show up at a rando’s house? 

Nick: Of course! It’s ________

Finn: Dude you live like 10 minutes away from me

Nick: No

Finn: Yea I’m at ________

Nick: Holy fuck- I can basically walk to yours if I need to 

Finn: Yea you def could! I’ll still pick you up tho. Don’t want you wasting your energy on a lil walk. Anyways, I’ll see you Thursday? 

Nick: Definitely :D

Finn: :DD 

Once Nick hearts Finn’s final message, a few giggles escape his lips as a soft shade of blush dusts over his cheeks. The male couldn't believe that he just made plans with a guy that he met at an INFLUENCER party. And he likes shopping? God, he was so excited.

The red-head turns his phone off and plugs it back in before setting it back on his nightstand. He finds himself slipping further under his covers, the movie still playing on the television being long forgotten as a large, dorky smile stays glued onto his lips. 

Nick hasn’t felt like this for anymore before. I mean, sure he did have like one or two crushes before but that was back in grade school. Part of him was surprised that Finn had such a large effect on him in such a short amount of time and the other part was shocked that he exchanged numbers with him.

The only thing the guy did was help him out with making drinks because he had no clue what he was doing and now he had this warm feeling in his chest. Nick did find the male attractive. VERY attractive even. I mean, why wouldn’t he? He could only imagine how he would look in broad daylight considering how he couldn’t get the best look of him at the party due to all the dark lights. 

As Nick rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, he pondered about whether or not his attraction to Finn was something more. Attractions and crushes were very different in his opinion. Like he finds many people attractive (both male and female) but he wouldn’t say that he has crushes on them. Crushes are something that get you giddy. They make your heart beat out of your chest every time you have an interaction with the person. 

Wait. He felt giddy once he stopped texting Finn... And he felt his heart doing flips when he was face to face with him at the party…

A heavy sigh escapes Nick's lips as he smacks both hands over his face, a groan following shortly after. It was a little too soon to label this  whole predicament a ‘crush’ but a small part of the male knew that he had one. He knew he had to get to know Finn more before he could officially say he has a crush on him. He could’ve been putting up a front at the party for all he knows! People put on fronts at parties right? Or maybe he wanted to save Nick from embarrassing himself further by helping him out get the drinks. 

The millions of questions that flooded Nick’s mind started to give him a headache. So, to spare his thoughts from further spiraling out of control, the male turned onto his side and moved his pillow to the side of the bed. He proceeded to lay diagonally so he could continue to watch Edward Scissorhands on his television. Edward Scissorhands ALWAYS helped calm his nerves when he was in a predicament so why wouldn’t it help right now?

Nick allowed himself to be fully engrossed in the film for the next 30 minutes. He battled the tiredness that was threatening to force his eyelids shut, but he tapped his cheek lightly every so often to snap out of it. This obviously didn’t work and he ended up falling into a deep slumber, the recurring memories of Finn overtaking his mind as he dreamt. 

~~~~~~~~

Two days passed by like a flash. It was finally Thursday and Nick couldn’t help the giddiness overtaking him when he saw a text from Finn asking if he was still good for the hangout. After texting him a quick response, he spent a good portion of his morning flipping through his closet trying figuring out what to wear.

After finally settling on an outfit, Nick set it aside and exited his room to go downstairs. The moment he stepped foot in the kitchen, his eyes landed on Matt who was sitting at the island. The latter, feeling that someone was staring at him, tore his focus away from his phone to look up at the older. 

“You seem like you’re in a good mood again.” Matt says, watching with a curious gaze as the red-head approaches their fridge. 

“I am.” Nick replies, the cold air from the appliance sending a chill down his spine the second he opens it. 

“Care to share why?”

“Nope.” Matt rolls his eyes as Nick takes out the milk and sets it on the counter. The male reaches up to open the cupboard and takes out a small bowl and a box of cereal. He gently sets both items down and shuts the cupboard before quickly preparing his breakfast. Once the task is done, he grabs a spoon and takes a seat across from Matt on the island.

The latter watches with narrowed eyes as the older whips out his phone and eats his cereal, the same dorky smile on his lips that he had when he entered the kitchen not faltering. At the sound of footsteps emitting from the stairs, Matt turns his head towards the sound, a small smile spreading on his lips when a familiar figure appears from the staircase. 

“Nicks being weird again.” Matt states as Chris walks into the kitchen. The latter looks over at Nick at Matt’s statement, his eyes narrowing as he stares at him. 

“You got something to tell us, Nick?” Chris asks, walking over to the older and landing a few pokes on his bicep. The red-head smacks the younger’s hand away with the shake of his head and returns back to his cellphone. Before Chris walks over to the fridge, a text message coming down from the top of Nick’s screen catches his eye.

The moment he reads the name ‘Finn,’ he was close to calling the older out; however he keeps his mouth shut and continued on his short venture to the fridge. As much as he wanted to continue his teasing,  he knew he would have the chance to when the older fessed up. 

A few minutes passed and all three brothers remained in the kitchen. None of them said a word to each other as they kept to their cell phones, the presence of one another being enough to keep them entertained. That was until the sound of a chair scraping against the tile startled Matt and Chris. Both males look up abruptly to see Nick set his bowl in the sink and walk to his staircase, his eyes staying glued to his phone as he types a few things on his screen. After a moment of standing in front of his staircase, Nick finally ascended the steps. 

“You gonna go snoop later or what?” Matt asks while nudging Chris’ shoulder once the older was out of sight. 

“You go do it. He’s more likely to tell you something than me. Especially if it’s about who I think it is.” Chris replies, his gaze falling back on the phone in his hand. 

“What? Did I miss something else?” 

“No, you didn’t. Just go up there later, beat around the bush, and tell me what happens.” 

“Okay...” 

~~~~~~~~~~~ 

The soft voice of Melanie Martinez bounces around the walls of Nick’s bedroom as he gets dressed for the hangout with Finn. He quietly sings along to ‘Orange Juice’ as he looks at his reflection in the mirror, his eyes scanning his face and hair for a moment. He ruffles his hair with his hand a few times to add more volume to the mop of red hair atop his head before he exits his bathroom.

He makes a beeline to his desk and picks up his phone to check the time. 3:13 PM appears in big, white letters on his lock screen before he nods his head and shuts his phone back off. He has about 22 minutes before Finn shows up. 

Nick makes his way over to his closet to grab his shoes and slip them on, his tall frame bending down slightly to adjust the tongue that’s scrunched up under the laces. The moment he stands back up, the sound of his door creeping open alarms him. He turns his head around towards the sound and his eyes immediately roll in annoyance. 

“What do you want, Matt?” Nick asks, a soft sigh escaping his lips as he walks by him. 

“Woah, chill out. No need to give me an attitude.” Matt mumbles while slipping further into the room. He curiously eyes the older’s tall frame as he digs into his box of jewelry before he speaks up again. “Where are you going?” 

“One of my friends asked to hangout today.” The older replies simply as he picks up a necklace and earrings.

“Who? Madi?” 

“Nope.”

“Then who?” 

“Why are you being so nosy, Matt?”

“Why are you being so secretive?” An exasperated sigh escapes Nick’s lips as turns around to face the younger. He bites down onto his bottom lip as he takes in the male’s curious expression. 

“Promise not to tell Chris?” Matt forces his lips together and looks around the room for a moment before he nods his head. “I’m going out with the guy I met at the party. Well… not going out but just hanging out.” 

“Really? Never thought you’d be willing to hang out with someone that quickly.” Matt watches as a soft shade of red brushes over Nick’s cheeks as he raises a hand to rub his nape. A smile begins to spread across the younger’s lips as the wheels in his head begin to turn. “Do you like him, Nick?”

Nick falls silent for a moment, his face heating up in an instant, before he clears his throat and speaks up. “I don't know yet.” He slowly begins as he turns back around to grab the earrings he put aside moments before. “I don’t wanna put a label on it yet since I’m a little scared.” 

“Is this hangout gonna give you the opportunity to get to know him before you put that label on it?” Matt asks as he takes a seat down on the older’s bed. He watches as Nick gently nods his head. 

“Yeah, you know I don't wanna get into all that lovey-dovey stuff until I know the person.” 

“Oh, I know.” A few moments of silence pass by before Matt speaks up again. “So what happened between you two at the party? I know Chris was up your ass the entire night but I wanna know what actually went down.” 

“Basically I was just staring at all the drinks like a total idiot and he scared the shit out of me when he came up to me and asked if I needed help. When I turned around I literally looked the guy up and down MULTIPLE times. He’s attractive as hell, Matt. Like he has dark blue hair, has his ear pierced, had this cool ass blue and black striped and ripped sweater that complimented his hair perfectly, black jeans that had the perfect amount of bag to them, and Doc Martens. I think he has tattoos as well but I couldn’t really tell because the lights were literally blinding me.” As Nick continues to ramble about Finn, Matt can’t help but smile widely at the older. He hasn’t seen his brother gush this much about someone in YEARS. So to see him get flustered and ramble about this guy was very endearing to see. 

“Wait just a minute.” Matt starts, holding up a single hand to calm the giddy male in front of him. “I need a name, Nick.” 

“Oh, right! His name is Finn! You know, like Finn Wolfhard who played Mike in Stranger Things. Well he’s not THE Finn Wolfhard but you know.” Nick replies with a small smile.

“No, I get you. So, where are y’all gonna go? It’s just you two right?” When Nick nods his head rapidly, a soft chuckle escapes Matt’s lips before he continues, “Do you need a ride there?” 

“Nope! Finn said he was gonna pick me up. Did you know that he literally lives ten fucking minutes away from here?”

“No, I did not.”

“Well, now you do. I could literally walk to his place whenever I wanna see him and he could do the same! I obviously wouldn't walk to his house at night because I’m terrified of walking alone at night but you know where I’m going.” 

“Yeah.” A little chuckle escapes Matt’s lips as Nick clips a star necklace around his neck. “What are y’all gonna do?”

“Finn mentioned some thrift stores downtown that have some pretty good stuff so we’ll go there first. He also said that if I don't find anything there that he’ll bring me to some well shops.” 

“Awh, he cares about you.” Nick shoots the younger a confused look the moment the statement escapes his lips.

“What do you mean?” He asks, his head tilting to the side slightly as he puts in an earring. 

“You said Finn told you that if YOU don’t find anything at the thrift stores, he’ll take YOU to better shops. He clearly cares more about you finding stuff rather than him. I find that a little cute.” Matt explains with a small shrug. 

“Oh.” Nick feels his face grow warm as he gently shuts his jewelry box and tucks it away in his desk. The sound of Matt giggling rings through his ears for a moment before a faint ding alerts him. Nick quickly runs over to his phone on his desk and picks it up, a small and faint scream escaping him at the sight of a text from Finn. 

“What’s up? Is he outside?” 

“YES.” Matt watches endearingly as Nick paces around his room for a second before he runs up to him, an anxious expression clear on his face. “Do I look fine?”

“Nick, you look great. Take a few deep breaths and go outside. You got this, Bud.” Nick nods his head and follows the younger's instructions as he pats his shoulder a few times. Once he's collected himself, he whips his phone out to reply to Finn. As he puts his phone in his pocket, he looks back at Matt who gives him an encouraging smile before he leaves the room, the younger following close behind him. “You got everything you need?” 

Nick pats down his pockets a few times before he nods his head. When Nick steps into the kitchen and passes him, Matt freezes for a moment when a specific scent breezes past his nose. “Is that the Melanie Martinez parfum?” Matt asks as he points a single finger towards the older. Nick halts momentarily before slowly turning around, a nervous smile clear on his lips. 

“Yeah… Why does it smell bad? This is literally my first time using it.” The older ask, panic flooding through his body as he runs up to Matt and grabs his shoulders. 

“No! No, it doesn’t. It smells nice actually. I’m just used to you smelling like that one cologne you always wear.” Matt pats Nick's head lightly to reassure him and watches as the older lets out a sigh of relief.

“Okay thank God. Wish me luck, I'm actually terrified.” Nick downs a glass of water on the island to calm his nerves before he makes his way to the staircase leading to the downstairs.

“You’ll be fine, Nick. Just don’t be weird.” 

“Matt!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding! Now go, don’t wanna keep Finn waiting too long.”

“Right. I’ll see you later!”

“Be safe, Nick! Text me if anything bad happens!

“I will!” Nick waves goodbye to Matt before hurrying down the staircase. He lets out a small sigh when he comes off the last step and shakes his nervousness out of him before he opens the door and steps outside. He immediately squints as the Sun momentarily blinds him and raises a hand over his eyes as he quickly locks the door behind him.

The moment he turns towards the street, his eyes land on a white Tesla sitting in front of the driveway. A small smile immediately spreads across his lips when he spots a figure sitting in the drivers seat. When Nick walks up to the car and stops by the passenger door, Finn looks up from his phone to look over at Nick. He quickly unlocks the door and sends the male a smile as he steps inside the car. 

“Hey.” Finn greets, his eyes wandering over the red-heads frame for a moment before he looks away to put his phone away. 

“Hey.” Nick breathes, returning the smile with a small one of his own. After he shuts the door, the red-head turns to look at Finn, his cheeks flushing when his eyes scan over his face.

The sun shining through the windshield was highlighting his sharp features perfectly and the freckles dusting over his cheeks and nose looked absolutely adorable under the light. His eyes trail up to his eyes, the slight of the eyeliner around his light brown irises making his stomach do flips.

“You look really good by the way.” Finn starts, his statement causing Nick to snap out his gaze. “I’m digging the matching star earring and necklace set.” 

“Oh, thanks.” Nicks looks down for a moment as his face grows hot, his smile growing slightly. “You look great as well. I’m absolutely loving your outfit.” 

“Awh, thank you! I’m a big fashion guy so it takes me at least 30 minutes to put an outfit together. And because I was hanging out with you today, I had to make sure I looked my best.” 

A shy giggle escapes Nick’s lips as a faint shade of blush dusts over his cheeks. “I completely get that, I’m the same way.” 

“Say, are you hungry or anything? We could get something to eat before we head to the shops.” 

“Maybe after? I had breakfast not too long ago.” 

“I’m down for after!” Finn gives Nick another smile as he pulls the gear shift down to drive. “You wanna get this hangout started or what?” 

“Oh, absolutely.” When Nick nods his head eagerly and buckles himself in, Finn begins to drive off.

The drive downtown was full of laughter as the two boys got to know each other, the faint beats of the artists playing on the radio in the car creating a warm atmosphere and helping get rid of any and all awkwardness for the two as they began to get more comfortable with each other.

[healix17]

Not to request twice but I see Cygates also an option so how about a bit of a silly old fashioned fanfic trope?

Cygate fic where Cyclonus and Tailgate swap bodies. Could be pre or post relationship. Up to you.

Omg I'm so SORRY FOR THE LATE REPLY, I WAS SOOO BUSY WITH A MATH TEST!!!!!

But here's the fanfiction—I wrote it in a rush.

Swapped Circuits

In the quiet corners of the Lost Light, strange things always seemed to happen. Cyclonus and Tailgate had seen their fair share of adventures, but this was new, even for them.

It started with a harmless exploration of a newly discovered chamber deep within the ship. Tailgate, ever the enthusiastic explorer, had urged Cyclonus to join him. The chamber was filled with ancient Cybertronian artifacts, one of which was a peculiar device that glowed faintly when they approached.

“Tailgate, be careful,” Cyclonus warned, his optics narrowing as Tailgate reached out to touch the device.

“I just want to see what it does,” Tailgate replied, curiosity getting the better of him. The moment his fingers brushed the device, a bright light engulfed both of them.

When the light faded, Cyclonus felt... different. He looked down at his hands – smaller, white and blue hands that definitely weren’t his own. He turned to see his own body standing awkwardly beside him, looking just as confused.

“Cyclonus? Is that you?” came Tailgate’s voice from his own mouth.

Cyclonus, now in Tailgate’s body, frowned. “It appears we’ve swapped bodies.”

Tailgate, in Cyclonus’ body, blinked. “This is weird. Really weird. What do we do?”

“We need to find a way to reverse this,” Cyclonus said, trying to maintain his usual calm despite the strange circumstances. “First, let’s see if the device can undo what it did.”

They approached the device again, but this time, it remained inert, as if it had exhausted its power.

“No luck,” Tailgate said, crossing his arms. It was strange to see Cyclonus’ usually stern face displaying such an expressive pout.

“We should seek assistance from the others,” Cyclonus suggested. “Perhaps Perceptor or Brainstorm can help us.”

As they walked through the corridors, they garnered more than a few confused stares. Cyclonus’ imposing frame and Tailgate’s small stature made for an odd visual when their personalities didn’t match their bodies.

When they finally reached the lab, Brainstorm looked up from his workbench. “What happened to you two?”

“We’ve swapped bodies,” Cyclonus explained tersely.

Brainstorm grinned. “Fascinating! I’ve read about such phenomena but never seen it firsthand. Come, let’s see what we can do.”

Hours passed as Brainstorm tinkered and theorized. Throughout the process, Cyclonus found himself growing more impatient in Tailgate’s body. His partner, on the other hand, seemed to be having an unexpected amount of fun experiencing Cyclonus’ strength and abilities.

“You know, it’s kind of cool being as tall as you for a change,” Tailgate said, flexing Cyclonus’ muscles. “I can see why you’re always so stoic. It’s hard to be scared when you’re this strong.”

Cyclonus couldn’t help but smile at Tailgate’s enthusiasm. “And I see why you’re always so full of energy. Your smaller form is quite agile.”

Finally, Brainstorm clapped his hands. “Got it! I think I’ve figured out how to reverse the swap.”

With a few adjustments to the device and some recalibrations, another flash of light enveloped them. When it faded, Cyclonus looked down at his own hands once more, feeling a sense of relief.

“It worked,” Tailgate said, now back in his own body.

“Thank you, Brainstorm,” Cyclonus said, inclining his head slightly in gratitude.

“No problem! This was an exciting challenge,” Brainstorm replied, waving them off.

As they left the lab, Tailgate looked up at Cyclonus with a grin. “That was quite an adventure. But I’m glad to be me again.”

“Indeed,” Cyclonus agreed, resting a hand on Tailgate’s shoulder. “Though it was... enlightening to experience life from your perspective.”

Tailgate beamed, leaning into Cyclonus’ touch. “Maybe next time, we can find a less dramatic way to see things from each other’s point of view.”

Cyclonus chuckled softly. “I would prefer that.”

Together, they walked back to their quarters, grateful to be themselves again but also more appreciative of each other’s unique strengths and perspectives.

---

I hope you enjoyed this short Cygate fic! Let me know if there's anything you'd like to add or change.

[fastandfictionalmen]

Is it casual now? (Fabio Quartararo fic)

Word count: 2.3k Fandom / characters / setting: motogp , Fabio Quartararo , Y/N Request: yes (private request. Theme: “Is it casual now” & a car smut scene) Pairing: Fabio Quartararo x Y/N Rating: Mature Genre / trope: smut, one shot Description: Fabio and Y/N define their relationship after having a steamy episode in the car.

We were on a drive back to Barcelona from Montmelo. Was I supposed to stop here? No. I barely knew where we even were, I knew what Google Maps was telling me on the phone and when I pulled over, I decided that this decision will just have to be one of the “say a prayer and hope for the best” ones. And I was most definitely not a “say a prayer and hope for the best” girl. I was a planning girl. A girl who didn’t do wild things. A girl who had schedules and timelines and checklists. But ever since first meeting Fabio, I had been dipping my toe into this other end of the spectrum. And that’s how I found myself here - turning the key and switching off the headlights of the car on a side road in a forest in pitch-black while my boyfriend…well, not boyfriend…situationship…lover ...we never defined it…had his hand in my panties. Me from a year ago would not recognise me now.

Fabio was charged after the test session today and also a bit tired, which is why I was behind the wheel of the rented BMW. In hindsight, maybe the wrong choice—because he got handsy as soon as we sat in the car. At first, I told myself—and him—to calm down. His hand on my thigh as I left the parking lot seemed innocent enough. Flirty, but nothing too much. But by the time we reached the first roundabout, his hand started drifting into X-rated territory. We were passing through the streets of Montmelo, with Google telling me to take a right turn in 200 meters, when his hand slipped beneath my skirt. He didn’t say a thing, just smirked as his fingers hooked into my panties, making me twitch.

“Fabio, god, please. I need to focus if we don’t want to cause an accident. We’ll be in the hotel soon, and then we can have fun,” I said playfully. His excitement and charged energy in the passenger seat was infectious.

“I know,” he replied, smiling, “but I want to do this now.” He emphasized his words by pulling on my panties hard.

“Fabio! I swear, if you continue this, I’ll run us off the road…and then we’ll never get back to the hotel.”

He laughed at my obvious mix of exasperation and playfulness. “Well then, I guess you focus on the road and let me focus on you.”

“I don’t think that’s how it goes—it’s hard to focus on anything when your hands are all over me.”

“Oh really? So you can only think of me now, huh?” His grin widened as his fingers moved more beneath my skirt. “How about now?”

I gasped as he found the sensitive spot he knew all too well. “Fabio,” I managed to breathe out, “someone could see us.”

We stopped at a red light, and I turned to him. His face was a mix of excitement and desire, and he was sporting a huge grin. He knew exactly what he was doing to me and he was far from done.

“How about you find us a side road?” he suggested with a smirk.

“I barely know where we are. I’m not sure how to…” I started, laughing at the absurdity of the situation. I’d never seen this side of him before—so playful, so touchy. This was new, but it was doing something to me. We hadn’t been seeing each other for long, and it had always been casual, fun, and hot. But tonight, he was hotter for me than ever, and it was intoxicating. 

“And what if someone sees us? …Sees you? It’s not like we’re somewhere where no one’s heard of racing,” I countered, my cautious mind in overdrive.

“They won't. Just drive towards the forest there—we’ll find something. And remember—focus on driving,” he finished with a smirk, his fingers continuing their teasing as the light turned green.

Thank god no one was behind us. I stepped on the gas, making the fun decision for once. I turned towards the forest, finding a random road that seemed to lead deeper into the darkness. Fabio didn’t stop, whispering provocative things in my ear as his fingers explored. I hit the brakes harder than necessary, barely turning off the car before he slipped a finger inside me.

“Fabio, oh god…”

“See? It wasn’t that hard,” he grinned.

“What are you doing to me? Are we really about to do this?”

“Oh, we’re definitely about to do something,” he teased back.

“Fuck it,” I laughed. “I brought us here, so might as well. But I swear, Fabio, if someone sees us, after I die from embarrassment, I’m coming back to haunt you.”

“They won’t,” he said slowly, “and besides…you’ll be quick.”

“Me, huh?” My voice was barely a breath as his fingers continued moving between my legs.

“Oh yes,” he replied, his tone low and deliberate, “you.”

He shifted, unclipping my seatbelt. His own was already off as he motioned for me to come over to his lap in the passenger seat. He had already pushed his seat back and he grabbed my waist, helping me straddle him and move over the center console.

I looked directly into his eyes and burst out laughing. “Fabio…I’ve never done this. I have no clue…and we don’t have condoms.” The rational part of my brain was in overdrive and I couldn't escape the comedy of the situation: my rational half battling it out with me being so attracted to the man below me currently that I was throwing caution to the wind.

“Always the worrier,” he chuckled, “we won’t need them. Not yet. Don’t worry—have some fun. You’re tense, and I want to see you let go.” He smiled at me before kissing me.

I loved kissing him. He always started sweet, slow, his mouth firm and then adding intensity. His hands were low on my back, roaming upwards to my bra and below it. I could feel him in his joggers getting hard underneath me and I started slowly grinding on him while my hands were tangled in his hair.

He pulled out a hand from my shirt and grabbed my ponytail and pulled lightly so my head was tilted back breaking our kiss.

“Not so fast, miss. I want to focus on you now.”

He kissed down my neck, his lips hot and wet against my skin. “I want to see you cum,” he whispered into my ear before kissing me again. “I want to watch you let go.” His words sent a shiver down my spine, his fingers working their magic. It was the hottest thing I had ever heard a man say to me. He knew how to push my buttons and he knew how to push them right.

I started moving on him again, desperate for more, when he bunched up my skirt to my waist. Just touching him wasn’t enough. Feeling him hard against me through his joggers did something to me.

“Oh no…what did I tell you?” He playfully bit my collarbone. “Don’t tease me. I want to see you first.”

“Fabio, please…stop teasing with words and show me some actions,” I teased back. All thoughts of where we were—some random road in a dark forest—had faded into the background. All I could focus on was him beneath me.

“You want actions? Oh, I’ll give you actions,” he joked, his hand slipping into my panties for the second time tonight. He didn’t waste time, his fingers finding that sensitive bundle of nerves, and I gasped, my breath catching.

His kisses grew more intense, as he matched the rhythm of his fingers with my movements. I could barely get out his name between breaths, lost in the sensations he was creating. His finger slipped inside me, and I gasped hard.

“Fabio…oh…don’t stop.”

“Wasn’t gonna. Don’t worry. Now, I want you to let go. Come on…let go,” he urged. He kept up the rhythm, his fingers driving me to the edge. My hands roamed his torso, desperate to feel more of him.

It was too much. I leaned back, my hands gripping his knees for support, and looked at him. He was perfect—his smile, the twinkle in his eyes, promising so much. He knew exactly what he was doing to me, and he wasn’t stopping. His hands picked up speed, pushing me over the edge.

“Fabio…don’t stop. I’m so close, please…don’t stop,” I begged, my voice a whisper.

“Yes…come for me,” he murmured, his words a final push. “I want to see you come. I’ve been thinking about it all day, every time I saw you so tense, so focused on work. I just wanted to see you like this…to see you lose control.”

Fabio continued talking, but I could barely comprehend everything. His fingers, his hand, my movements alongside them, the feeling was getting too much and I was about to come. “Fabio I’m - “, and in that moment he suddenly sped up his fingers a bit more and it threw me off the edge without being able to finish my sentence.

The sensation crashed over me. I kissed him hard, barely breathing, lost in the moment.

“Oh, Fabio…that was…” I had no words.

“I know,” he smiled against my lips, kissing me again. He slowly removed his hand and hugged me close. I breathed in his scent. A crisp shower gel which I didn’t recognise and…just him. I was still slightly trembling, trying to catch my breath, and leaning my whole body on him, while his hands continued to run over my back in slow circles.

“That was…,” I moved to look him in his eyes.

“I know I know,” he smiled against my lips again.

“You’re stunning. That was so hot…all I could think about the entire day was seeing you like this, falling apart on me…because of me.”

I started to move, feeling him rock hard beneath me. “Fabio…how about we switch—now it’s your turn. I should only be fair and pay this back,” I joked, my hands wandering down his perfect abs. I wanted to taste him, to see him come undone because of me.

“Oh no, not now. I can wait. I wanted to see you like this…but me? You can pay it back in the hotel.” His smirk told me he was definitely up for a fun night, despite the long day. “And besides, you said it—we don’t have a condom, and I’m not sure I could contain myself after this,” he added quietly, his voice a bit rough. He looked into my eyes, and I saw a mix of pleasure, want and that typical Fabio twinkle I got so used to recently..

“So come on,” he lightly slapped my ass, “get to it, chauffeur. We still have a 20-minute drive out of this forest.”

“Funny. You know chauffeurs don’t really give you these benefits with their jobs, so I’d change that if you want a happy ending tonight.”

“Nah.” He laughed, helping me back into the driver’s seat. “Let’s get us untangled, my chauffeur with benefits.”

He adjusted himself in the passenger seat, clearly trying to get comfortable despite the obvious strain in his joggers. I tried to smooth out my skirt and buckle myself in.

“Hands above the belt for the ride back now—got it?” I warned him with mock seriousness.

“I would never do anything else. I’m all about safety. I’m a good boy,” he replied, holding his hands up innocently.

“You don’t fool me, Diablo,” I shot back, turning the car on. The windows were fogged up so I rolled them down quickly and blasted the AC to clear them up. We started slowly back down the road and back to Barcelona again.

“Oh, and one more thing…” I said, a mischievous smile playing on my lips. “I never said anything about my hands.”

I reached over and placed my hand on his crotch, I could feel him tense a bit under my hand and his abs shook as he let out a laugh..

“You’re gonna be the death of me. Remind me to never let you go.”

“Really? Never letting me go?” I teased, squeezing him lightly.

“I would be an idiot to do anything to fuck this up.”

“Oh…so we’re a ‘this’ now?” I teased again. “I thought we were just casual.” We initially started this all off very casual and we were having too much fun to put a label on it. I wanted to stay private, and our schedules were messy so we agreed on meet-ups on the down low when we had time, with no big expectations. I was fine with that. I enjoyed my time with him but also enjoyed not stressing it. We would slide into each other's DMs on Instagram when we were traveling and we’d meet up. Sometimes a date. Sometimes a hookup up. Usually both. Keeping it casual was keeping the pressure off from both of us. Like today. I was for the week in Barcelona on a short work abroad vacation to catch a bit of sun when he messaged me that he had a test going on close by and asked if I was down to meet up. So I drove up there, did some work from the motorhome and watched the test session with the unsaid agreement that we would definitely be spending the night together. I had an overnight bag in the trunk of my car ready in case it would be his hotel and not mine.

“Oh, we’re still casual, huh?” he said, smiling, but leaving the sentence hanging in the air.

“I just had you come on me in the passenger seat of a rented car in a Spanish forest, and you’re saying we’re casual?” he chuckled. “Damn, woman, you’re a tough one.”

“I mean…when you put it that way,” I conceded, laughing. He had a point. This was far from casual. I had always been a monogamous girl, not one to sleep with someone I didn’t care about or wasn't serious about. The casual was there to not stress about separation, living arrangements, meeting the family etc. Our physical aspect was way more than casual to me. I made an exception because of circumstances rather than not wanting to be more serious. but as I sat there, hand in his lap, the lines definitely felt more blurred now.

“Oh, we’re so not casual anymore,” he said lightly after another moment of my silence.

“I am deleting that from being associated with us. No ‘casual’ anymore. Only firm. Serious,” he continued, playful but there was an undercurrent of sincerity.

“I can definitely feel that,” I joked, giving him another squeeze. His breath hitched, and I could see him trying to adjust himself again.

“Yep—sooooo not casual.” He paused. “I might have to ask our hotel if they have a chapel when we get there if you keep this up,” he joked, making me burst into laughter.

This is getting serious, I thought to myself as I was driving, a warm feeling spreading through my chest. I was falling for this man on the passenger seat. And this casual thing was not something we should be discussing now but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel warm and giddy from him initiating this line of conversation. I was so down bad. And it was so not casual for me anymore either.

I was falling for him, and this casual thing we’d agreed on was becoming something more—whether we admitted it or not.

“Yep. So not casual anymore, Fabio,” I finally said, breaking the silence.

“I love the sound of that,” he replied, taking the hand I had on him, intertwining our fingers, and kissing the back of my hand. My hand stayed in his for the rest of the ride.

He was right. So not casual anymore.

[miasmaghoul]

Mushy May - Day 1

(ENORMOUS thanks to @forlorn-crows for putting together this month of prompts for all of us to mush over. 💜)

Prompt: Bathtime Rating: Teen Pairing: Aether/Swiss Contains: mild hurt/comfort, cozy tub times, Aether forever being a caretaker Word Count: ~1.5k

Summary: Aether and Swiss share a hotel room and make a delightful discovery.

“This is swanky,” Swiss remarks with a whistle, eyes flitting everywhere. “Imperator must’ve really shelled out the big bucks for this place.” 

“Seems like it,” Aether agrees, tossing his duffel onto one of the plush beds.

The hotel room is nice - probably too nice for the lot of them, honestly. Not exactly opulent, but nice. Spacious, open, the walls a very pleasant shade of blue and the carpet pale gray. The beds are identical, dressed in all white with entirely too many pillows, bracketed by an oversized window on one side and what must be the door to the bathroom on the other. He knows they passed the closet on their way in, he caught a glimpse of an ironing board. 

“Look, there’s even a minibar!” Swiss trills, scrounging through the small fridge housed next to the dresser beneath the massive flatscreen tv. He grimaces a moment later, holding up a packet of trail mix. “Nothin’ good though, all healthy shit.”

“Just skip the nuts and eat the chocolate, that’s what Dew does,” Aether mumbles, toeing out of his boots.He sits heavily on the edge of the mattress and sinks back into the duvet with a low groan. 

He feels dead on his feet. Has for days now. They all seem to be in the same boat, even the excitable ball of energy that is Sunshine having become worn and quiet. The tour is wrapping up, only a few shows left, and Aether’s pretty sure the exhaustion has seeped into his bones. He lets his eyes slip shut while Swiss continues his exploration of their space, tuning in to the mechanical hum of the air conditioner. A door clicks a minute later and Swiss makes an excited ooh sound.

“Aeth, c’mere,” he beckons, “you gotta see this.”

“I’d rather look at the insides of my own eyelids for the next several days, thanks.” Aether scrubs his face with both hands when Swiss gives a soft snort, prodding his arm.

“It’s worth it, I promise.” 

Aether can hear the other ghoul’s smile in his words and sighs, prying tired eyes open and finding Swiss grinning at him from just inside the bathroom. He heaves himself up with great effort and shuffles his way over to find -

“Is that…a hot tub?”

“Yep,” Swiss says with a grin, patting him on the shoulder. “That is most definitely our own private jacuzzi.”

“I’m going to kiss Imperator for this,” Aether groans, already shrugging out of his t-shirt and tossing it out the door. He starts working at his belt and Swiss makes an amused sound.

“Someone’s in a rush,” he teases, moving to sidle back into the main room. “I’ll leave you to it.” Aether catches him by the wrist before he makes it more than two steps.

“Where do you think you’re going?” Swiss looks up at him, raises an eyebrow. 

“Figured you might want some privacy,” he replies, giving a half shrug. “I know you’re wiped out -”

“We’re all wiped out.”

“Well, yeah,” Swiss concedes with a soft chuckle, “but you always get it the worst.” 

“All the more reason for you to stay,” Aether says, slipping his belt from its loops and popping the button fly of his jeans. “You can scrub my back. Help me relax.”

“I mean, I could,” Swiss murmurs, eyes following Aether’s fingers, “but, uh, I think we both know I can’t be trusted around you naked.”

At least he’s honest. 

Aether smirks, flashing his one gilded fang as he lets his pants fall to his ankles. Swiss follows that too, watches Aether step out of the pool of denim and move to turn on the tap, perusing the selection of soap bottles on a shelf over the tub. 

“You’re a big boy, I think you can control yourself,” Aether lilts, swirling a hand through the water. He can feel Swiss’s eyes where they’re stuck on his ass, still clad in his boxer briefs.

“See, you say that,” Swiss mutters, but Aether can hear him shucking his shirt. “I’m not so sure.” 

Despite the words and Swiss’s overall flirty demeanor, Aether can hear how tired the other ghoul is. Can hear him wince when he moves the wrong way, still nursing a sore back after that nasty fall. Neither of them have the energy for more than this tonight, and when Aether turns he catches Swiss in a yawn. He gives the other ghoul a sympathetic smile.

“Bad tonight?”

“Yeah,” Swiss says with a nod. There’s no use hiding it from Aether and they both know it. “Been a rough few days.” He turns to the large mirror over the sink and runs a hand along the still-purple spot along his ribs. “Looks a little better, but fuck is it sore.”

“Looks like it.” Aether joins him in front of the mirror, rests gentle fingers on his spine. “Know what would help?”

“I can think of a few things,” Swiss mumbles, leaning into Aether’s touch and grinning at him in their reflection. Aether gives his shoulder a flick and Swiss sticks his tongue out. He yawns again then, and Aether finds it contagious.

“In the tub,” he instructs, patting Swiss on the back and moving to gather a few towels, “before we both pass out.”

Swiss doesn’t argue further, letting Aether get everything arranged. He pads to their bags and grabs their toiletries - he’s sure the products here are fine, probably better than what they usually use, but there’s a comfort in the familiar scents they carry. Aether strips himself of his underwear and socks before venturing back into the bathroom, finding Swiss settling into the water with a hiss.

“Too hot?” 

“Nah,” Swiss sighs, laying his arms along the curved edge of the tub, “I shower with Dew too much for heat to bother me.” 

Aether hums in assent - he knows firsthand that their fire ghoul prefers his showers just shy of boiling - setting their respective shampoos and soaps on the edge of the tub and pausing to scratch at Swiss’s scalp. The other ghoul purrs deep in his chest, nuzzling Aether’s hand and sinking deeper into the water. He looks so relaxed already, Aether can’t help but smile. Swiss returns it easily, deep crinkles at the corners of his tired eyes.

“Scoot,” Aether says softly, gesturing, “let me in so I can take care of you.”

Swiss grumbles far less than he normally would, sliding forward just enough to allow Aether to climb in behind him. The water is definitely on the scalding side, but it feels all the better for it. Stripping away the strain and tightness lacing their bodies with each passing moment. Aether gets his legs around Swiss’s, rests back against the wall of the tub with a sigh, and Swiss immediately leans back into him.

“How’re you always so comfy?” Swiss squeezes his thigh and heaves a deep sigh when Aether rests those massive hands of his on his shoulders and begins to work out a knot.

“It’s a mystery,” he says, amused by the catlike way Swiss kneads at his legs. “Now hush and let me work.” Swiss doesn’t argue.

Aether focuses, reaching past his own exhaustion to tap into his power. It bleeds from his fingertips in soothing waves, soaking into Swiss’s skin, and when Aether leeches away his pain the other ghoul’s resulting moan is pure relief. Aether lets out a tired huff, slips his arms around Swiss’s neck to rest over his chest and relishes the way the other ghoul melts back into him.

“Fuck, thank you,” Swiss slurs, turning his head to press a kiss to Aether’s chest. “You need to figure out how to bottle that shit, you’d be rich.” Aether chuckles, resting his chin atop Swiss’s ducked head.

“If I did that I wouldn’t have an excuse to get you like this,” he murmurs, eyes drifting shut. The water is so pleasantly warm, and Swiss’s weight against him is infinitely soothing.

“You say that like you need one.” 

Aether could make a jab about Swiss being easy, but his banter batteries are officially drained. He sighs and gives Swiss a fond squeeze instead, bringing one arm back to paw at the edge of the tub.

“Where’s the damn - ah, here we go.”

Aether presses a button and the tub’s jets whirr to life, surrounding them in roiling waves of bubbles and a cloud of steam. He settles back against the wall and pulls Swiss with him, the other ghoul twisting in his arms until he’s on his side with his head pillowed by Aether’s soft but strong chest. Aether tips his head back, lets it rest against cool tile while his hand strokes the length of Swiss’s spine. 

“Still gotta return the favor,” Swiss murmurs, the words muffled by the bubbles and the way he’s speaking directly into Aether’s chest hair. Aether hums, but makes no effort to move.

Soon enough they’ll make the initiative to actually clean each other. A quick pass of shampoo and soap before they rinse off in the shower and fall into bed, probably still damp and in much the same position they’re in right now. Or maybe Swiss will slide those strong arms around his waist and sleep on his belly, wrapped up in Aether’s legs. Or maybe they’ll be spooned, Aether lulled to sleep by Swiss’s rumbling snores. He’s not sure, and it really doesn’t matter, because for now,

“This is enough,” Aether assures, holding Swiss close and closing his eyes once more, “this is enough.”

[ryuichirou]

GloMas asks

Anonymous asked:

Woke up randomly in the middle of the night thinking about if Azul topped Idia, Malleus, and Rollo in the Masquerade event.

I can imagine he'd do it as a display of control, the adrenaline he'd get from Malleus if Malleus agreed would be indescribable. Idia could be the one to build up his confidence in the situation and Rollo is just a victim of circumstance lmao

+

Anonymous asked:

Not sure if you guys read the GloMas event but since it's dropping (and since EN will most likely censor the hell out of it) again, what about AzuRollo? I'd ask about the other two ssr boys but they're on your bottom list sadly. I just feel like something should've been done with Rollo's whole "do whatever you want with me, I've already lost everything" thing at the end.

+

Anonymous asked:

Just out of curiosity with Rollo (the bottom supporter Anon here once again!) do you have any specific pairings with him? Like MalleRollo?

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

Hi to all the Anons in this post; I decided to reply to all of you at once because we realised that one reply kind of bleeds into another, and by the way I’m putting all of these together you might already know what I’m about to talk about lol

But I’ll actually start by replying to the third Anon: we don’t really have any solid ship with Rollo now. MalleRollo confused us a lot, because their interactions were definitely flirty on Malleus’ part, but since we see both of them as bottoms, it didn’t really click with us. Or maybe it didn’t click with us, and this is why both of them are bottoms… I’m not sure what came first lol But yeah, I said it at some point already, but we’re getting solid “I’m tickling you, come on, tickle me back” vibes from the way Malleus acts towards Rollo and angry tsundere sounds from Rollo himself, which is obvious and lovely and fun, but just… a liiittle off/not enough, I guess? It’s a personal thing, as always.

But Rollo is very fun himself and has such a wonderful potential for either shipping or sexual scenarios. Of course, he fits nicely with the randos from his academy, and any other mob-type character, but what about any ships with our NRC boys?

And this is where Azul comes in handy lol And while AzuRollo isn’t really a ship that sails and burns everyone around it with its sheer power for us (…yet?), there really could be some potential with them. Their dynamic is also interesting, with Azul being overly sweet and nice, while also thinking that Rollo is a naive righteous prick that should be easy to fool; and Rollo just straight-up calling Azul a scoundrel and telling him that he feels that he has bad intentions.

Plus, like the second Anon mentioned, something really has to be done with Rollo’s "do whatever you want with me, I've already lost everything" thing. Like come on, he is a nicely-packaged present with a shiny bow on his head, please someone come take him lol Waiting for Azul to say “don’t mind if I do”

(also you’ve pointed out how the EN version is going to censor the event, and god how I hate even thinking about it, you are so so right :”))

Now, the first Anon. This makes way to much sense and I honestly feel so happy for Azul... Look at him go, topping three people in one day, and such a powerful bunch of people!! Azul feels like the type of person who would miraculously find energy after achieving something as exciting and impressive as grabbing Malleus Draconia himself by his horns, so Rollo is probably going to get the worst treatment when it comes to Azul’s horny feralness lol Truly, a trip to remember.

And of course, we should all thank Idia for building his confidence up and giving him a warm-up. After all that, Malleus is probably going to be the only one who isn’t completely exhausted and a little bit (or not) ashamed of himself…..

[zaharya]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love ❤

Thank you so much for the tag @spiritofcamelot! 🥰 let's get into it then!

Horizons Over Battlegrounds — BBC Merlin, 14.5k Honestly, if someone only ever reads one thing of mine, I hope it's this one. It's a canon era fic, specifically based on that scene in s4 where the knights prank Merlin by pretending they didn't leave any food for him. I always hated this scene, it felt so utterly wrong that they would treat Merlin so terribly — this fic is my fix-it for that atrocity. It's also just some of the best writing I ever produced, and I never felt like I reached that standard again since. So yeah, this one is my pride and joy.

I wish I'd known then — BBC Merlin, 7.5k (WIP) Merthur watches Heartstopper, my beloved. Yes, this is a WIP, but it’s one of my favourite things I ever started. It was supposed to be a quick, fluffy Drabble for Dopamine, but has grown far far beyond that; it’s probably the most detailed character study I’ve ever done of Arthur — and also Nick and Charlie from Heartstopper 😅 Writing it is definitely a challenge, especially the pacing, but it’s very rewarding too when I figure out how to do a certain part. (Spoiler warnings for HS season 1!)

Get Him Back — BBC Merlin; Loaded March (by Footloose) spin-off, 14.6k If you know me at all, you know I love fight scenes, but because most my fics are short, I rarely get to write them properly. This one finally gave me the opportunity, and these scenes are among my favourite fights I’ve written, ever, and it makes me sad that only so few people will ever see them. I mean i get it, it's a spin-off but I’m sad anyway (maybe a bit less now that I have another fic with fight scenes; A Faire Fight).

Blackout Beaming Gold — BBC Merlin, 18.7k Steampunk AU my beloved! Originally written for Whumptober 2021, this one got a bit out of hand as well. I keep thinking that I wanna write a sequel, but I never find the energy to work it out in my head. My dear friend Sunfall also made amazing art for this, and it was such a joy to do this together. Featuring MurderFeline!Aithusa, low-key soulmates Merthur, pretty magic, and some quick fight scenes even.

My Breath In Your Lungs — BBC Merlin, 6.5k Another Whumptober fic, my Merman!Merlin AU; featuring a trapped Merlin, Arthur coming to rescue him, and one of my favourite not-quite-kiss scenes. I even commissioned art for it, and the lovely Miralya did an absolutely stellar job of it!

I know it says five favourite fics, but I have to give Mine To Protect an honourable mention, otherwise this just feels wrong. This is the first fic I ever published, and the older parts are honestly not up to my improved writing standards — hence why it didn't make the top 5 — but i’m still proud of having written something as big as this (213k WIP).

Tagging (without pressure of course) @tyalangand, @merlinlikethebird, @ask-geralt, @fabledfrog, @multishipperpirateking, @excited-insomniac and anyone else who feels like participating!

[suometar]

WIP Wednesday

I was tagged by @kallisto-k last week and since I always get their tags on Thursday, I decided to jump directly to next Wednesday :D

I've worked on four wips over the last week (out of seven in total lol) but two of them I'm writing with a friend so you'll get snippets of the two of my own!

Also enjoy the rare view into one wip I've worked more on and then another one that's literally just first words on a paper at the moment XD

WIP #1: Shutter love

The preparation routine, close to meditation, was interrupted by someone walking into the studio. Steve raised his gaze from the screen and a smile spread across his face when he saw Billy.

“Hi! Welcome! I’m Robin, we talked on the phone,” Robin greeted Billy, walking to him, and showing where he could leave his coat and his cloth bag to wait for the shoot to begin.

“Happy to be here,” Billy replied with a smile.

Steve took in the sight of Billy and Robin greeting each other. A shaft of sunlight streaming through the high windows caught the edges of Billy’s blond hair, igniting golden halos to dance around his head.

As if feeling Steve’s gaze, Billy looked up and their eyes locked. Time stretched thin, gossamer and fragile between them. The gaze was an electric thread, unspooling from from whatever it had been gathered into the other night, weaving through the space, drawing them together despite the distance.

Steve broke the spell first and walked towards Billy, each step measured and sure, but his pulse thrummed beneath his skin, betraying an excitement he hadn’t felt in years. There was something about this young model, something that beckoned like the promise of an undiscovered country.

“Hi! Nice to see you again,” Steve said, extending his hand and feeling the spark ignited in him in the party a few nights ago rekindling at the touch.

“Yeah, you too,” Billy replied, taking Steve’s hand and shaking it with firm confidence. A handshake of someone who knew their worth but didn’t make too much out of it.

The handshake lingered for a heartbeat longer than necessary and so they stood there, the handshake evolving into a recognition of the energy that was sparking between them.

Then the world rushed back in, and Steve rushed to remind him he knew nothing about Billy and definitely not if he was free or even interested in men.

“It’s an honor to get to work with you, Mr. Harrington,” Billy continued, his lips curving into a smile that reached his eyes. The sincerity in his tone matched the grip of his hand—earnest and eager.

“Please, call me Steve,” Steve said, releasing Billy's hand reluctantly. “And the pleasure is all mine."

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WIP #2: Get out of my dreams, get into my car

“Uh…no. I’m not angry about…anything,” Steve replied.

“Good. Because you don’t have to worry about that. Moving away, I mean. I’m not planning on moving in with anyone soon.”

“Oh. Wait. You’re not?”

“Should I be?”

“But…Was the date horrible?”

“No, it wasn’t. It was nice.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.”

“Planning to see them again?” Steve asked quietly after a moment, staring at his coffee mug.

Billy shrugged. “Maybe.”

Steve just nodded.

Billy could feel the tips of his ears burning when he tried to find words for the second thing he wanted to talk about. “Um…That wasn’t all I wanted to talk about.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. Uh…” Billy took a deep sigh. Better just to spit it out. “The red panties…” He felt his face burning. “They’re, uh…they’re mine. I, uh…I—I like to wear them. Sometimes. It’s a secret and…no one has known until now. I’m sorry you had to find out that way.”

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No pressure tags: @destroya2005 @disdaidal @medusapelagia and everyone else who wants to participate!

[stewardofningishzida]

Meta-Fic Sequel - Chapter 2: Catching Up

Meanwhile, in the Marvel universe…We have Wong being a mother hen, Avengers banter, and questionable decisions being made. Yayyyy! Here we goooooo!~ TRIGGER WARNING: Language, passing mentions of trauma and one drug reference, a couple of real-life scary news stories mentioned (but not in-depth).

*After Stephen’s return to his home universe, it took a few weeks at Kamar-Taj for him to fully recover.  Being in a non-magical universe for so long had drained him and the Cloak of Levitation of magical energy and it unfortunately cost Cloak its sentience and “life”.  The sorcerer, aided by his mentor and friend, Wong, took the relic to Enitharmon the Weaver.  It was a tough job re-enchanting the Cloak, but it was done as Stephen gradually regained his own magic.  Stephen is overjoyed to have regained his silent companion.  Though he still conceals his excitement out of pride.  Wong smirks knowingly.  After both relic and mage are sorted out, the older man resumes training Doctor Strange for the Trials of the Vishanti.*

Stephen (going through what was probably the 20th practice round of the day):  How long did anyone else have to undergo training before this?

Wong:  Decades if not centuries, Strange.  Your case is more of an emergency promotion if anything.

Stephen (sarcastic):  Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Wong:  I did not say anything negative about your capabilities.  Just that you lack experience.

Stephen:  Experience?  I literally lived through millions of different timelines to find the right one to beat Thanos!

Wong:  I mean in a breadth of things, Strange.  Not necessarily in terms of time.  You will get there.

*Stephen huffs and continues to train as hard as humanly possible.  After a few more hours, Wong decides enough is enough.*

Wong:  Strange, as great as your devotion to the role may be, rest is essential for general well-being.  Stop for now.  You can continue tomorrow.  *He gives Stephen a look.*  …and don’t even think of stealing more books to memorize overnight.  I WILL know.

*Stephen gets a stubborn expression at first, but then he gets a text notification on his normal phone from his own universe.*

Wong (slightly smug):  I let your teammates know that you’re back.  I’m sure that they have many questions for you.  *His expression softens slightly*  Go.  Spend some time with your friends, Strange.  They’ve been concerned about you.

*Stephen checks his home universe’s phone.*

Tony Stark (text): Hello to the consulting wizard of Bleecker Street. I hope you know I have chosen to believe you get no signal in there whatsoever. Because you definitely did not leave me on read for weeks. Also Cap told me to message you again, so you can go complain to him all you want. He keeps insisting we meet to debrief, as if 80% of meetings could not be resolved through email. You back from the universal tailor shop yet?

*Stephen sighs and decides to reply.*

Stephen (text):  Hello, Tony.  My apologies for the delay.  Being trapped within a non-magical universe severely drained me and I needed to recover.  I’m back on my feet and the Cloak has been successfully repaired.  If the team wishes, I can portal over to Avengers Campus posthaste.

Tony (text): Posthaste? Who the hell - -

Tony (text): The team (Steve) very much wishes you get your magical ass over here posthastily – Yes!!

*Stephen glares at the messages and grabs his Sling Ring.  The Cloak glides over and latches onto his shoulders.  He pats it fondly.* 

Stephen (to the Cloak and himself):  Okay…Time to debrief.  

*He opens the portal to the common tech lab in Avengers Campus and steps through.  When he does, he’s greeted by the sight of a rather irritated Tony Stark with Captain America hovering over his shoulder while the younger man attempts to hide his phone screen.*

Tony (to Steve): I don’t care if he gets offended, I was not going to type “at your convenience” as if I was writing a memo to my boss. I’m usually the one getting memos from nervous employees!

Steve:  Was the cursing really necessary, Tony?  *He points over Tony’s shoulder at the offending text.*

*Peter Parker is leaning against a nearby table, glued to his own phone.  When he notices the portal, he looks up and straightens quickly to greet the sorcerer.*

Peter: Doctor Strange! Hi! You did pop by. *He shuffles his weight nervously and crosses his arms over his chest, nearly hiding his phone under his armpit. His eyes shift from the sorcerer to the two bickering heroes*

Tony: *His head whips toward Stephen and the portal the moment Peter talks, and he throws a hand out toward the sorcerer as he addresses Steve* See? Worked like a charm. Now get off my back and go bother him for a change.

*Steve sighs and shakes his head before walking over to greet Stephen.  The portal closes behind Doctor Strange as he walks to the group.*  

Steve (polite):  Hello, Stephen.  Welcome back.

Stephen:  Hello.  *He gives Steve and Peter a respectful nod.*  It appears that this universe remains intact, which is a relief.  *He glances at Tony to acknowledge the other man’s presence.*

Peter: *He reels back at the odd expression and squints his eyes up at Stephen* Wait…was there a chance that it was not going to? You were gone for like a week!

Tony: *He leaps off his stool the moment he sees Stephen drawing breath to answer Peter* Nope, can it. The universe is still very much where and how it should be. We saved it. Kinda traded my arm for it as part of the deal, in fact. The least it can do is stay saved for more than a few months. *He waves his right arm as if Stephen could have possibly missed it when he was the one who saved Tony in the first place. The sleek nano tech is the red, gold, and silver colors of the Iron Man armor*

Stephen (raising an eyebrow):  It was actually two weeks.  As for the universe, that WOULD be nice, but unfortunately, interdimensional crises don’t take months off.  *He snarks.*

Peter: Right… *His voice is quiet but his small frown remains. It’s clear he’s attempting to appear unbothered in front of the adults.*

Tony: *He rubs his left hand down his face tiredly. He then sends Stephen a fulminating look and nods his head toward Peter, urging him to mind his words of doom and gloom in front of the teenager* So, Steve, you wanted to interrogate David Copperfield here, right? It’s why you disturbed the sanctity of our lab party? You asked, I delivered. *He waves his hands in front of him again, silently conveying a “have a it” at the Captain*

Steve (stepping forward):  All right.  Well, Stephen, it’s been several weeks since you’ve contacted any of us.  So, care to update us on what exactly has been going on?

*Stephen looks at the group and gives a small nod.*

Stephen:  I suppose all of you deserve an explanation.  So, I’ll keep it concise.  Essentially, there was an accident while I was in the middle of fighting an interdimensional being and as a result, I ended up trapped in another universe with no way out for 2 weeks.  *He looks at the group.*

Steve (raising an eyebrow):  Another universe?  Could you please describe it?

Stephen (a bit reluctant):  This universe is similar to ours, but without magic, mutants, or any versions of us.  They have knowledge of us, but somehow, we’re all just fictional characters in comic books and movies to them.  In addition, they’re suffering from the results of a global pandemic that killed millions *Gives Tony a sideways look when the other man immediately goes to speak*  —Yes, I quarantined during my recovery—, immense political corruption, and numerous other crises.  

Steve:  That sounds surreal and more than a little intense.  What are the inhabitants like?

Stephen:  The inhabitants I met were kind and hospitable people.  However, due to the lack of magic, the Cloak and I were slowly drained until the Cloak lost its sentience and I could no longer cast spells without aid from what little residual magic leaked through the interdimensional rifts leftover from my arrival.  *He’s containing his displeasure at this part.*

Steve (sympathetic):  It doesn’t seem like it was an easy time.  How did you finally get back here, then?  Also, what have you been doing since you came back here?

Stephen:  After my final attempt at casting a portal failed, Wong managed to pick up enough of a magical signal to find me.  My time after that was mostly spent repairing the Cloak, recovering my magic, and training for the role of Sorcerer Supreme.  My Trials begin within the next 2 months.  *Something occurs to him.*  While I was trapped in the other universe, the group helping me provided some research materials for us to view and interact with.  To ensure that none of this affects our own timeline, they omitted anything related to us.  So, feel free to go through it.

*He conjures the large bag that Trix gave him before he left.  It has the dvds, cds, cell phone I gave him, some covid tests, and a few books in it.  Stephen sets it on the table in front of the other three heroes.  Captain America gives Stephen a shocked look, but decides to rifle through the bag curiously.*

Steve (glancing at a movie that he recognizes):  That’s…quite a story, there.  *He looks at Stephen for a moment, concerned.*  Are you feeling all right now?

Stephen:  Better, thank you.  

Peter: *He immediately perks up at the sight of the large bag Stephen procured, and he eagerly leans closer for a better inspection* Did all this really come from another universe?

Tony: Ah ah ah *He quickly snatches Peter’s wrist with his good hand before Peter can reach the zipper* FRIDAY? Do we know if this is toxic to us in any way?

Peter: What? Doctor Strange is magic. Surely he just…decontaminated this with a spell, right? *He gives Tony a weird look before turning to Stephen for confirmation*

*Stephen nods*

Stephen:  I did, but since our magic isn’t in their universe, we can check it just to be sure the effects of the spell worked.  It hasn’t hurt me or Wong.  So, chances are that things are reasonably safe.  There are also some antibody tests in there for the disease.  So, we can always reverse-engineer it if anything is contaminated.  *He’s levelheaded about this.*  

FRIDAY: My scans did not detect any anomalies, boss.

Tony: *He sighs and releases Peter* Alright. Have at it, kid.

*Peter opens the bag and pulls out the first thing that sticks to his fingers, which happens to be a DVD. He turns it over a few times before placing it on the table in front of Steve and Tony.*

Peter: Huh, this is weirdly uncanny…*He continues to pull the items out before one in particular catches his full attention. It is a special edition of Jurassic Park* No way! Did that universe also still have dinosaurs around? Could that be a thing? What is the world like if the meteor never hit?

Stephen (patient):  Oh, those are their special effects for movies.  They’re revolutionary in that universe.  A way of compensating for the lack of magic and mutants.  The dinosaurs there are still extinct like ours.

Tony: Give it here, Pete, you take forever. *He hooked the bag’s strap with his finger and dragged it closer, curiosity finally taking the better of him as he dug in elbows-deep into the bag*

Peter: Aww *He deflates for a moment before his eyes catch on to another plastic case Tony just discarded* No way! Star Wars? Wait, this one looks mostly the same…

Tony: *Totally ignoring Peter’s rambling* Yeah, say, Strange, did your summer holiday universe also happen to be stuck in the 80s? This thing is ancient. *He turns his hand to reveal the phone Stephen brought back with him. It’s a far cry from the latest Stark Phone model.*

*Stephen gives Tony a sour look.*

Stephen:  Their technology is, admittedly, rather behind ours in some ways.  They haven’t even gotten beyond their moon yet in terms of space travel.  *He holds up a dvd of a moon landing documentary.*  

Tony: *His eyes immediately zero in on the documentary Stephen has, and he leaves the phone on the table to instead make grabby motions at the sorcerer.* Gimme.

*Stephen passes Tony the dvd. Tony quickly flips it over and reads the information on the back cover.*

Tony: Neil Armstrong, Charlesworth, Milton Windler…They really don’t mention Howard at all in this… *He looks back up at Stephen, finally seeming to understand their absence in the other universe*

Stephen (reiterating):  Howard Stark never existed.  Nor did any of our families or us.

*He digs through the bag and pulls out a thick book.*

Stephen:  Steward, one of the women there, also left us an encyclopedia.  It has some descriptions and photos of their technology.  Plus, a bit more of their history.

*Steve picks it up to look.*

Steve:  You weren’t kidding.  Some of their modern, government-issue machines look like the ones that I was trained to use back before I got frozen.

Tony: *He leans over to glance at the book Steve is holding* The Manhattan Project. Without Howard…did they still…?

*Stephen nods grimly.*

Stephen (deadly serious):  The Cold War also still happened and Russia is currently trying its damndest to restart it AND has been threatening the world with nuclear missiles.  Not to mention their North Korea…

*Steve looks horrified.*

Peter: But… They’ve got fail-safes, right? They must have. The UN should have been created too if they’ve been through the same wars we have.

Stephen:  They do…Though apparently, a false alarm got set off a few years back and alerted Hawaii to an incoming ballistic missile.  There was a huge news story about that.  So, they’ve come dangerously close to nuclear war multiple times, but have managed to narrowly avoid it.

Steve (looking at an article):  Who is this Donald Trump?

Stephen:  You don’t want to know, Steve.  Trust me.

*Tony rubs a hand over his face, clearly upset by all the information. He nibbles on a hangnail while he takes in the entire contents of Stephen’s bag now strewn about his lab table. There isn’t much, all things considered. He probably won’t find much use for the outdated tech either, regardless of its otherworldly origin.*

Tony: Alright. Well, it sure sounds like one depressing world to choose for a vacation, but this is it, right? You made it back and our universes are not going to collapse like one lame Big Bang reenactment.

Peter: *He leans his elbows on the table and looks up at Stephen with his head tilted in curiosity* So how did you survive all that time in another universe? You said you met kind people, but we didn’t even exist there.

Stephen:  Yeah.  Their names were Trix, PrettyWitch, Tear, Steward, Fox, Laer, Tua, Alexis, and Weevil.  Steward let me stay at her house and everybody helped me research different ways to try and get home.  Oh!  Also, Steward did offer to keep my cell plan active over there, but needless to say, the phone doesn’t work between dimensions.  *He toys with the buttons absentmindedly.*

Tony: *He squints his eyes at Stephen suspiciously* I thought magic didn’t exist there either. How could you have anything to research?

Stephen:  They don’t have magic, but they do have mythology, urban legends, and occult books.  They were willing to help me try anything vaguely supernatural that might work.  None of it really did with the exception of one spell, but that was a side effect from my being there.  Also, unfortunately, a group of miners there was consumed by an entity that came from one of the rifts…*He looks considerably ashamed of that last part.*

Peter: Dude…

Steve (gentle and understanding):  You did what you could, Stephen.  Even if we want to, we can’t save everyone.  You did the best you could with what you had.

*Tony gives a deep sigh and observes Stephen carefully, from the guilty slump of his shoulders to the way his scarred fingers continue toying with the ancient cellphone. He’ll probably never understand this so-called multiversal travel, but he’s no dimwitted asshole either. Whatever Stephen lived there seemed to be of great impact to him, and the Avengers had long learned to have each other’s backs.*

Tony: Well… We’ve cracked how to build communication devices that can transmit messages thousands of lightyears away. FRIDAY, where did we get Nebula’s last message from?

FRIDAY: Last message was received from the Guardians of the Galaxy’s headquarters in Knowhere, boss. But she confirmed the new propulsion engines you helped design were successful in making the Celestial’s head mobile, so calculating their distance in relation to us is impossible.

Tony: Of course they were successful. My point is, what do you think of figuring out a way to communicate between different universes, Pete?

Peter: *His expression brightens at the mere idea* Do you think it can be done?

Tony: Between you, me, FRIDAY, and our good doctor? I wouldn’t say our chances were abysmal. *He crosses his arms over his chest and sends Stephen a smug smirk* If anything, it’ll be a fun challenge.

Stephen (small grin): All right.  Challenge accepted. 

*A few months pass as Tony, Peter, and Stephen attempt to modify the phone for multiversal communication.  Stephen can only help sporadically due to his intense training and Trials, but after he passes, he gains his new title of Sorcerer Supreme.  He does have more responsibilities now, but still manages to come by Avengers Campus regularly to help work on the project.  The former surgeon also works with Dr. Bruce Banner and reverse-engineers a vaccine to the covid virus from the antibodies in our universe’s covid test kits and every Avenger gets inoculated just in case something happens later on.  Eventually, they think that they might have gotten a breakthrough with the phone. Which is why Stephen sneaks out of Kamar-Taj as soon as he finishes teaching novices after he suddenly got a new text from Tony.* 

Tony (text): Hey, Stranger Supreme. Drop by the lab whenever you’re on a break in this dimension. Turns out one of the pockets in that alternate universe bag of yours had a hole. Found a USB stuck in-between the fabrics. You’ll want to see this.

*Stephen portals into the lab.*

Stephen (curious):  Did they save some other documents for us or something?  

*Tony looks up from where he’s busy soldering something onto what appears to be one of Sam Wilson’s Falcon wings. His face is smudged with black stains, and his eyes are wide behind his protective glasses. He smiles when he sees Stephen and quickly puts away the soldering iron.*

Tony: Wow, you really are here. I figured you wouldn’t see my texts until next week at the least, what with you being out of town so often after you got promoted to Headmaster.

Stephen (raising an eyebrow):  *Mildly sarcastic.*  Very amusing, Tony.  So, what exactly did they leave for us to find?

Tony: *He hops off his stool and removes his protective glasses before approaching Stephen with a big grin* Something close to state secrets, I would say. Definitely the type of thing that could be universe altering. It might even break the multiverse.

*Stephen stares at Tony for a moment, worried, before fully processing the shit-eating grin.*

Stephen (realizing what it might be):  They didn’t…

Tony: *He squints his eyes at Stephen’s reaction, tilting his head to the side* Oh, you know what it is, do you? FRIDAY, privacy mode. *He crosses his arms over his chest and leans his hip against the nearest workbench while FRIDAY darkens the glass windows surrounding the lab, his eyes never leaving Stephen’s face as if he could read his thoughts through sheer force of will.* Show Stephen the contents of the first folder, cheer him up a little.

*A hologram flickers to life near them, large enough to cover almost an entire wall. Yet Tony’s gaze stays fixed on Stephen, unwilling to miss his reaction as a video of none other than Wong begins to play. He’s listening to music in a dark library, and Beyonce’s singing voice can be heard despite the fact that he’s wearing earphones. A small portal fizzles into existence behind him, and a disembodied hand quickly snatches a book off the shelf and is gone before Wong can turn around and see it. The action gets repeated a few more times until even the book Wong was reading gets taken from right under his nose. Tony didn’t need to use his genius to deduce Stephen had been the one pulling the prank.*

*The video is followed by a couple others, all of them depicting Wong as if viewed through a camera lens. The final video in that folder clearly depicts Wong singing karaoke with two young adults Tony had never met but was not surprised Wong never spoke about. Tony had technically just shown Stephen a gold mine of blackmail against his best friend.*

*Stephen watches the videos, a grin spreading widely across his face.  He seems relieved, thinking that he got away scot-free.*

Stephen (amused):  Wong is NEVER living this down…Thanks, ladies.  *He looks like a kid on Christmas morning.*

Tony: *His expression shifts into something that screams smug victory* Glad we both agree. Because I…will certainly be looking forward to tons of new favors from both our ex and new Sorcerer Supreme. FRIDAY?

Stephen (suddenly going back to dread):  What?  *He stares in horror.*

*FRIDAY smoothly swaps to the contents found in the second folder of the USB file. The following video looks distinctly homemade in comparison to the previous ones. The resolution is different, giving away the fact that the video was taken with a cellphone, but the image is still impressively clear. There is no denying that it is Stephen himself standing in the middle of a cozy living room with a younger woman. They are both singing karaoke to the lyrics that appear on a TV screen, and three other women are singing along with them on the surrounding couches.*

Stephen (exasperated):  …Of course.  Trix was filming that night because it was our last night together.

Tony: *He laughs* And it sure looks like it was quite a night!

Stephen (sighing):  Damnit, girls.

*The video is followed by a few others, each full of carefree singing, silly dances, and laughter. There are a few photos as well, candid and selfies alike. Everyone sports tispy blushes, and a few pictures even include ugly and funny faces being pulled at the camera. Even so, the final picture looks incredibly tame and sweet in comparison. It is a selfie of all five of them with Stephen squeezed into the middle of the frame, surrounded on nearly all sides by the girls’ bright smiles. FRIDAY leaves that photo up for Stephen to admire, and even Tony drops his teasing aura to give the sorcerer a moment to enjoy his memories.*

Tony: Sure looks like you met some good people. *He has finally stopped looking at Stephen, staring instead at the sweet picture with a sincere smile.*

*Stephen’s expression has gone from dread and exasperation to more of a gentle, reminiscent smile.*  

Stephen:  Yeah.  They are.  I can’t really be mad at them for this.  They literally risked their lives and even faced interdimensional entities to try and help me.  *He looks at the picture for a bit longer before getting back to business.*  So, you mentioned a potential breakthrough with the phone earlier…?

Tony: Oh yeah. That new spell you and Wong tried on it seems to have done it. Still bothers me to hell and back that I have no idea what that dimensional energy even is. *He scoffs in annoyance and pushes himself off the workbench with a roll of his eyes* FRI? Lift the privacy mode. Super secret wizard files won’t be displayed again. *He moves to the little food station shoved into a corner of the lab, where he fiddles with the coffee maker until a secret compartment pops up. He extracts Stephen’s USB from it, and turns to hand it over to Stephen* Here. I’d keep that far away from Wong if I were you.

*Stephen accepts the USB drive and tucks it into his pocket for now.*  

Stephen (back to his old self):  Thanks.  *He gives a grateful nod before narrowing his eyes suspiciously.*  So, how many copies of those files did you make?  *He curls his lip, knowingly.*

Tony: *He reels back, a hand pressed to his chest purely for show* Your lack of trust in me is absolutely appalling. What kind of tech genius do you take me for? That’s obviously the only physical copy in existence. In this universe, at the very least.

Stephen:  Mhm…A pot-stirring kind.  One with plenty of cloud storage for electronic copies waiting to be sent.  Don’t even think about it.

Tony: *His lips twitch in amusement, holding back a smile* Cloud storage, he says. This is why monk wizards should not have state secrets. FRI?

FRIDAY: A single digital copy of the file has been made and saved in Mr. Stark’s personal server. It is heavily encrypted with a code Boss programmed himself, and the files have been locked against any online uploads or physical downloads.

Tony: *He puts his hands on his hips, quite proud of himself* There you have it. No one but me can access them, and even if they did there was nothing they could do with them. I could easily change that though, so keep an eye on your phone. I’ll text you the specifics of my first wish, Jeannie, dear.

*Stephen makes an irritated noise.*

Stephen (exasperated):  Besides…that…When is a good time to test the phone?

Tony: How about this weekend? Say…Sunday? Peter’s coming over again, and he made me promise I wouldn’t test it without him here. Cap should be back with Nat from Wakanda on Friday night anyway. Guy’s engaged with the storyline as if it was a soap opera, so you might want to save yourself the bother of being hounded for another briefing.

Stephen:  *Giving Tony a weird look at the soap opera remark.*  That, I can do.  Should be free after checking the wards on the Sanctum.

*When the weekend comes, Stephen joins Tony, Peter, Steve, and Bruce at the lab they claimed for themselves in Avengers Campus while they worked on this project together. Bruce usually only popped in for short periods of time to give his input on the different energies they could experiment with to make Stephen’s phone work again, but he made sure to come see what happens with the interdimensional cell phone now that they are ready to test it.*

Stephen:  Okay.  I’ve let Wong know what we’re doing and he wants to keep posted on any updates.  Thanks for joining us, Bruce.  How are you feeling?  It’s been a while.  

Bruce (calm and amiable):  Alright.  I’m just curious to see how well this works and observe the properties of the other universe.

Peter: *He stands next to where Tony is sitting on a stool. He’s nearly vibrating in excitement as he stares down at the phone on the workbench* I think it’s going to work. It should work. I mean, Tony and I got the battery working again, and then Doctor Strange and Wong seem to finally nail the spell they created together.

Tony: Well, there’s only one way to find out. *He reaches over to push the phone in Stephen’s direction, silently urging him to turn it on*

*Stephen pushes and holds the “On” button and the phone activates.  Everyone waits in tense silence, holding their breath as the phone’s screen lights up and the little bars at the top desperately search for signal. After a few seconds, they stop in a complete set of solid white bars, and the first chime of a notification is the first sign of their success.*

Peter: Yes! *He pumps his fist in the air and instantly turns to high five Tony, who is smiling as widely as he is.*

*Another notification ping from the phone interrupts them, followed by another, and another. Stephen’s eyes widen slightly as the screen suddenly floods with a wall of notifications. There is a large backlog of text messages from the group.*

Various texts:

“Test”

“Hi, Stephen!  Can you see this?  We know you’re busy, but please reply with a simple “yes” if you’re there.”

“Erm…We think there’s some leftover magic here still.  Some weird stuff is happening.” 

Articles texted:  

“Glowing Baby Born in China, Experts Baffled”

“New Genes with Unknown Origin Discovered”

“Populations of Extinct Animal Species Re-Discovered”

“Cryptid Sightings Rising, Mass Hysteria Blamed”

“Russian Oligarch Dragged off of Yacht, Killed by Mermaids”

“Mothman Attracted to Headlights, Steals Car”

“Florida Man Swallowed Whole by Megalodon, Massive Prehistoric Shark Dies of Drug Overdose”

More texts:

“It’s starting to get bad.  Please help if you can.  We know these texts aren’t going through, but we have to try.”

 “We have a problem.  If you ever get this message, please help.”

*The last one is a blurry picture of a Chupacabra, teeth on full display outside of a tent.  The only text with the image is “HELP”.*

*Stephen’s eyes get wider with concern.*

Stephen (quietly):  Oh shit…

Bruce: (concerned): What’s wrong? Did it work?

Stephen:  Yes, but the rifts in their universe got bigger and now they’re being flooded with interdimensional energy.  It’s pure chaos.  *He shows them the articles and pic.*  This is my fault.  I have to get over there and fix it.  *He texts Wong to update him on what’s going on so the older sorcerer can help him get back in case he gets stranded again.  Then, he gets ready to go it alone.*  

Steve:  Wait!  This is an entire other universe getting flooded with energy from our universe, right?  That’s a job for a team.  We’re coming with you.

Stephen (stubborn):  It’s my mess, Steve.  My responsibility.  

*Wong portals in.*

Wong:  Exactly. So, you will take responsibility and resolve this properly with your team.

*Stephen deflates slightly, having been called out.*

Bruce: I will hold down the fort here. Their world doesn’t need a Hulk in it and you don’t have to worry about taking multiple Avengers with you.

Steve:  I’ll let the others know what’s going on.  Stay put for a minute.  *He runs to go tell Natasha, Vision, Clint, and Scott what’s happening.  Sam is unavailable due to an ongoing mission with Bucky while Thor is busy being King in New Asgard.*

Peter: I’ll be going too! As I’m sure you recall, I make excellent back-up.

Tony: *He immediately jerks his stool around to face Peter, face gone completely pale.* What? Absolutely not. Your aunt would kill me.

Peter: But Mr. Stark, the people in that world don’t have heroes to protect them! Dr. Banner is right, we’ll need a discreet team. Spider-Man is perfect for the job!

Tony: I don’t care! Didn’t you learn anything last time? I can’t… *He bites back the words “protect you in a different universe.” Peter grits his teeth and looks away, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest. Tony looks at the other Avengers for help.*

Bruce: Why don’t you compromise? Peter gets to go but you go as well. Who knows what technical issues they’re having over there that they might need help with and a suit of armor sounds more…grounded compared to the rest of us.

*Tony turns to Bruce, brown eyes wide and nearly pleading. He really doesn’t want to go on another mission into the unknown. He doesn’t want to leave his universe. He likes his universe! Likes it so much he gave his right arm for it, in fact.*

Stephen (to Peter):  As long as you don’t go off on your own, kid.  Stay within at least one of our lines of sight.  Deal?

*Stephen doesn’t like any of this, but he figures that since Peter was involved with the Thanos debacle before and several other crises, he’s pretty much a fully-fledged member of the Avengers anyway.  He’s still protective of Peter, but the kid’s growing up quickly and given the collective trauma that they’ve all been through, they should have each others’ backs.*

Peter: *His head snaps toward Stephen, and he gives him a bright grin* Yes! Deal. I promise.

*Tony turns to send Stephen a betrayed look.*

Bruce: Tony, you don’t even have to be gone that long. Stop the major stuff and set up something to help them learn to protect themselves then come home. Wong and Stephen know how to get back and forth between the two universes now plus think of all of the data you collect not only while you travel but in a different universe completely!

Peter: *Hesitantly* Mr. Stark…you know you don’t have to come. You could stay behind with Dr. Banner. We can replicate our work on Doctor Strange’s cellphone on all of our communication devices, and…and I could take all the samples you told me to.

*Tony looked even more crestfallen as Peter spoke. Probably everyone in the lab knew that would never work. He shifted his attention back to the two sorcerers, wondering and gauging if he was willing to put his life and Peter’s in their hands again. It annoyed him that his answer was a confident “yes.”*

Tony: Pete, I know you only want to go there for bragging rights about Star Wars. I cannot in good conscience throw you at Strange with no babysitter.

Peter: *His mouth drops open, offended* Who says I need…? I’m nineteen!

Tony: Exactly. *He puts up his fingers to count* Can’t vote. Can’t drink. I’m going. *The moment the words leave his mouth, he slumps on the workbench and runs a hand down his face tiredly* Pepper’s going to kill me.

*Captain America runs back in with the other Avengers in tow.*

Natasha:  Hey. Steve filled us in. I’ll help hold the fort with Bruce.  I doubt you guys need a spy.

Clint:  Same.  The campus shouldn’t be left unguarded.

Vision:  I shall ensure the smooth operation of Dr. Banner’s equipment by patching myself into the system.

Scott: I’ll go. You guys could use someone who can get into small spaces undetected.

Clint: No Hope then?  

Scott: No, she’s on vacation with her folks…Hank’s gonna kill me for taking his suit again, though. 

Stephen:  Okay.  Looks like we have our away team.  *He turns to Wong*  Happy?

Wong: Very.

Stephen: We should go.  *He opens a large portal to our universe for the group of heroes to go through.  He can already notice that it looks and feels…different there.*

***To be continued***

[bokura-no-digital-world]

Ken Week 2023 - Day 6: Career/Hobbies

Days: [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] Title: First Day At Work Characters: Ken Ichijouji, Wormmon and Hikari Yagami. Pairing: Ken/Hikari Summary: Ken has his first day at work and later receives a surprise from Hikari. Cross-posted on AO3 and FFN

Ken and Wormmon stopped outside the police station for a couple of minutes. It was their first day as detectives and the man was feeling a mix of excitement with anxiety. After years of hardworking in college, it was finally time to put his knowledge into action. “Ken, aren’t you going in?” “I am.” He replied, still staring at the door. “I’m just trying to assimilate everything first.” “I see. It’s a big moment.” “Yes, it is.” He took a deep breath and a step forward. “Alright, let’s go in.”

The noise from the inside of the office invaded Ken’s ears as soon as he walked in. Police officers were either talking loudly on the phone or to each other or walking around in a hurry, and no one gave him attention. Ken couldn’t help but wonder if that was a daily routine or something important and urgent had happened that day.

“Seems like a lot of work here. No one came to talk to us yet.” “I guess it’s just a routine.” Ken shrugged and checked his phone. Him and Wormmon had been sitting for about an hour, waiting to be noticed by one of the police officers.

Only after another hour or so that an officer came to talk to them. He apologized and said things were chaotic that day. Then he took them to a room in the end of the hall and quickly went back to what he was doing previously. “Looks like it’s just the two of us again.” “I wonder what’s going on for everyone to be so stressed.” “Why don’t you try to find out? Maybe you can be helpful.” “You think so?” Ken looked at Wormmon. “If they needed my help, they would have asked for it.” “Not exactly.” The Digimon said. “You’re the new employee here. I think you should volunteer to help.” “That’s a very good point.” He walked to the door and looked over his shoulder. “Come on, let’s go.”

They walked back towards what seemed to be the reception area. He couldn’t help but notice things were much calmer now and half of the staff seemed to be out. Still, he couldn’t find the officer who had talked to them earlier. “You shouldn’t be here, sir. If you want to talk to a clerk, you should wait your turn.” “Oh no.” Ken turned to a woman sitting on a desk, frantically typing on a computer. “I work here. Today is my first day.” “Oh, are you Ken Ichijouji?” She looked away from the screen for a moment. “That’s me.” “Nice to meet you. I’m so sorry. There’s a been a massive situation and we’re trying to solve it.” “That’s what I came to talk about. I was wondering if you needed extra help.” “Didn’t you say it was your first day?” “I did. But I thought I could offer to help if needed.” “Hmm, we don’t usually ask newbies to get to the streets so fast, but I guess we can make an exception. Still, I need to check with my boss. I’ll be right back.” “Alright.” He said as he watched the woman disappear in the hall.

The woman returned five minutes later with a piece of paper in her hands. She was distracted she didn’t even see Ken and Wormmon were still there until he fake coughed and she looked up. “Oh, that’s right. I’m so sorry! My boss is willing to make an exception this time, but you’ll have to be very discreet about it.” “Got it.” He said with a smile. “We’ll definitely be cautious about it.” “Good luck.” “Thank you. So what do we need to do?” “These are the instructions.” The woman handed a paper and some folded clothes. “And this is your uniform, you’ll need it from now on.” “Thanks.” He looked at his partner. “Let’s go, Wormmon.” “Let’s do it.”

****

“This place scares me.” Wormmon said as he looked around. Everything was dark and had a strange energy. “Are you sure this is the right place?” “That’s what it says in the paper.” Ken unfolded it again and looked at it. “Yes, that’s right.” “I’m not getting a good feeling from it. Can we go back and try to find another mission?” “I’m sorry, buddy, but we’ll have to do this. This is my first chance to prove I’m capable of being a good detective and I’m going to take it. You’re free to stay here if you want to.” “No, I want to go. As much as I’m terrified, you might need me.” “I can call you if I get in trouble.” “I’m going in with you.” “Then let’s go.”

****

Ken opened the door from his apartment later that day and quickly threw himself on the couch after taking off his shoes and leaving them by the door. He took a deep breath and looked at his partner. “So, today was a good one, huh?” “Absolutely! I definitely wasn’t expecting to be thrown into a mission in the very first day.” “Neither was I. But I’m glad we were, so we could see what it was like.” “Was it what you expected?” “It was.” He looked at Wormmon and nodded. “What about you?” “Same.” Ken was about to say something when the doorbell rang, surprising him and his Digimon and making them look towards the door. “Were you expecting someone?” “Not really.” He stood up and went to open it. “But I have a feeling I know who it is.” “Who?” But he didn’t get his answer right away; it took a few more seconds until he heard Ken’s voice again. “Hey.” “Hi.” Hikari’s voice echoed. “I hope I’m not disturbing you, but I brought you food to celebrate your first day at work.” “Thank you.” Ken couldn’t help but smile. “You’re not disturbing at all, please come in.” “Thanks.” She walked in. “I promise I won’t take long. Hello, Wormmon. How are you?” “Hi, Hikari. I’m good, what about you?” “I’m good too.” The woman smiled at him and then turned to the bag over the sink, taking a few pots out. “There’s a whole meal here. Salad, main course and dessert.” “That’s quite a lot of food.” He said surprised. “I know. I purposely made more, so it could last a few more days.” “Wow, I can’t thank you enough for this. You work all day and still managed to make this amount of food.” “It wasn’t any trouble at all. I had to make it to myself too.” Hikari said softly. “So how was your first day at work?” “It was quite busy, actually.” “We went on our first mission today.” Wormmon said from his place on the couch. “Really?” “Yeah, we started in a rather chaotic day at the station.” Ken placed his hand in the back of his head and laughed a little awkwardly. “Isn’t this a standard? I assumed people would already get into action on their first day.” “Not on their own. First we follow more experienced officers before we have our own mission.” “Oh I see. And how was it?” “It was amazing, so thrilling. We had to go to a rather dark place.” “That doesn’t sound good.” “It was a terrible place.” “Wormmon was scared to death. He even suggested we should go back and get another mission.” “You agreed to that, didn’t you?” “He didn’t.” “Thank you, Wormmon.” Ken was ironical with his partner and then turned to his girlfriend. “He’s a sensitive Digimon. It wasn’t scary at all, it was just a normal place. Besides, it was a big opportunity to me.” “I’m not sure how I feel about that. It gets me worried. It’s too risky.” “Every job is risky.” “Being a teacher isn’t.” “You don’t have to worry about me, Hikari.” He assured her. “I can take care of myself. Besides, if anything more serious happens, I have Wormmon with me.” “I know, but…” Hikari looked away for a moment and bit her lower lip. She tried to look confident when she looked at him again. “Okay, I’ll believe you. But you have to promise me you won’t put yourself at risk if you can avoid it.” “I promise.” “Good.” She smiled. “Well, now that the food is here, I should go home.” “Already? Can’t you stay a little more?” “I wish I could, but I don’t want to get in the way of your routine. And I also have to work tomorrow too.” “You’re right.” Ken said disappointed. “We’re both working.” “Yeah, but the weekend is coming. We can definitely do something. I miss hanging out with you too.” She approached him. “Are you sure you can’t stay a little more? Just half an hour, I promise.” “It’s really hard to say no when you ask like that.” She looked up at him and smiled. “Okay, I’ll stay.”

“And then you put this piece over here.” Ken grabbed a piece from the board and moved to another position. “Check-mate.” “I honestly have no idea what you do did. You explained how to play chess, but I can’t get my head around it. It seems so difficult.” “It isn’t that much. It gets easier as you play.” “I bet it does. Would you be upset if I wanted to do something else?” “Absolutely not. It was getting boring anyway. So what do you want to do? Watch a movie?” “No, I need to go soon. If we watched a movie, I’d probably fall sleep and stay the night here.” “Would it be such a bad thing?” “Considering my mom would freak out if she found out I slept here when we’re not even engaged, then yes.” Hikari covered her mouth and her eyes went wide as soon as she heard what she had just said. “Oh my God! I didn’t mean to…” “It’s okay, don’t worry about it. I completely understand it.” “You really didn’t get offended by it? I don’t want you to think I’m pushing you into proposing to me in any way.” “I didn’t get offended at all. I think your mother would freak out too, so we better not push our luck.” “Yeah…” She bit her lower lip and laced her fingers together nervously for a moment. “How about we bake a cake?” “A cake?” “That’s a great idea! I’d love to eat some cake right now.” “That sounds perfect to me. Let’s do it!”

Ken finished putting the ingredients and bowls on the sink and went to get an apron for Hikari and one for himself. “Is this all we need?” “I think so. You’ve never baked a cake before?” “Not completely on my own. I’ve helped my mother before, but never really bothered learning it. It’s not something I feel proud of right now, honestly.” “Well, there’s always time to learn it and change things if you want to. Do you?” “Absolutely, let’s go.” “Alright. Then let’s start. First you need to put flour into the bowl and then…”

Ken and Hikari were looking at the oven to see if the cake was ready. She had a large smile on her face. “Looks like it’s ready. It also looks beautiful, you did a great job on your first time.” “Really?” He looked up at her with his eyebrows raised. “Can you tell just by looking at it?” “Of course. I can tell it looks soft, which is a good thing. No one wants to eat a cake that doesn’t look soft.” He couldn’t help but smile and looked at the oven again. “You should really feel proud.” She grabbed the thick gloves on the sink. “Some people take months or maybe years to learn how to bake a cake. Some never do.” “Did you?” “At first, yes. It took me a few months to learn and a couple of them after I learned to mess it up again.” She laughed. “Until I learned for real. So getting it right the first time is a huge accomplishment. Great job.” “I only did good because of you.” “No, I didn’t do anything.” Hikari shook her head and said in a reassuring tone. “I was just guiding you. You did all by yourself and deserve all the credit for it.” “Thank you.” Ken smiled at her. “You’re so amazing.” “I know.” She bragged and giggled before opening the oven. “I think we can take it out now.”

“So, what do you think?” Ken turned to Wormmon when he finished eating his slice of cake. “It’s so delicious, Ken! You’re such an amazing cook.” “See? I’m not the only one who thinks so. I’m very proud of you.” Hikari ate some of her cake. “By the way, I completely agree with Wormmon. You’re an amazing cook.” “Well, then I’ll have to bake cakes more often. That way you can come here more and spend more time.” “Oh, so is that a bribe?” “Absolutely not. I could never do that.” “For the record, I wouldn’t need a cake as an excuse to come here. I already have enough of a reason to.” “You two are so cute! I’m so happy you found each other.” “Me too.” “So do I.” She leaned over and kissed him briefly. “I hate saying this, but I really have to go now.” “Alright.” Ken stood up and noticed she was collecting everything from the table. “What are you doing?” “I’m pick the dirty dishes to wash them.” “Absolutely not.” He picked them up from her hands and went to place them on the sink. “I will do that.” “Are you sure? Cause I don’t…” “Yes, I’m sure.” He walked to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I don’t want you to get in trouble with your mother for being at your boyfriend’s house more than you’re supposed to.” “Okay, okay. I’m going.” “I’ll walk you to the door.” “Thank you.” “Text me when you get home.” “Alright.” She kissed him briefly. “I’ll see on the weekend.” “Of course. Thank you again for the food.” “You’re welcome.” “Ken?” Wormmon spoke when his partner closed the door. “What is it?” “You do know that Hikari wants to get engaged, right?” “I do.” He leaned against the door and closed his eyes. “And it’s gonna happen soon.”

[astranva]

Anything Goes Podcast | Backstage Girlfriend

Backstage Girlfriend!Universe Masterlist

Word Count: 1.4k

Category: Idk, angst-ish & fluff-ish maybe

Warning: Some swear words

Summary: Bsgf!YN sits for Emma Chamberlain’s podcast, Anything Goes, to talk about relationships after her break up with Harry and being with Joe.

.. 

“Ramble,” the podcast began with the robotic voice.

“Hello,” Emma greeted into thousands of people’s devices, “I’m actually not alone for this one,” she said, “I have Y/N Y/L/N here with me.”

“Hiii,” you said, your voice sounding as if you were smiling as you did.

“Dude, I’m literally, like, so excited to have you with me for this one.”

“I’m so excited, too,” you said, “Anything Goes has been like my best friend during so many days so I can’t believe my voice will, like,” you giggled, “Be on it.”

“I’m so flattered, I’m so flattered,” Emma said with a grin, “You know it actually means so much to me that you actually were, like, open to talk about that topic today, which is relationships, because,” she paused, “I know you’re like a very private person and things have been, like,” she paused again to find the right word, “Very hectic and just, too much for you.”

“I think I got a pretty good experience that I learned a lot from,” you said, “Like, so much was gained in the past, I don’t know, 4 years in my life–or like, it’s nearing 4. I wish I had someone stop me back then and just tell me, like,” you paused, “Don’t do that, don’t do this, avoid that, avoid this, and like, stop putting so much energy where it’s not appreciated. I wish I had someone tell me that so coming on here, talking with you, I don’t know I just feel like some sort of a big sister, maybe?” You chuckled.

“Awww,” Emma cooed, “I get that, I seriously do. Okay so, just to get it out of the way, you’re in a relationship right now, right?”

“Yes,” you replied, “I am.”

“How’s it going?” 

“Pretty well actually,” you giggled, “Yeah, I’m–I’m grateful for him and everything he’s done and still does. It’s–I think I can actually say I’m in a healthy relationship, you know?”

“That’s a huge thing to say, I’m so fucking happy for you!” Emma exclaimed, making you sheepishly giggle, “How do you come to the conclusion that, like,” she paused, “Like you pause and you reflect and think ‘hey, I’m actually in a healthy relationship right now’? Like what made you know that?”

“Alright so, my last relationship was–I don’t know how to describe it,” you chuckled, “But it just affected me so badly, you know? Like, he was a great person–an amazing friend, amazing son, stuff like that, but like, right in the middle, stuff happened and things just sort of,” you paused, “Got blurry. It’s always bound to happen when you’re with someone who’s creative and into, you know, the business. But I was getting hurt in the middle,” you said, “Like, now I go to bed, fully knowing that the person I’m with actually loves me and wants to be with me, and is just–Like, he’s not afraid of showing it, he’s not afraid to stand up for me if shit goes wrong–You know, stuff like that. They’re all things I wish I felt back then, you know?”

“Yeah,” Emma sighed, “God, feeling secure in a relationship.”

“Exactly,” you confirmed, “And I’m not saying that my ex was a monster or anything, love was definitely there. Like, I seriously don’t even feel like I hate him or want the worse for him or anything like I honestly thought I would, because I know he’s an amazing person.”

“So where did it all go wrong? Or like, when did you decide that you just couldn’t and there was like, no more fighting to do?”

You took a breath, organizing your thoughts and words before talking, “I think I just realized my actual worth, you know?” You chuckled, “And look, I know it sounds like cheesy shit people say on Instagram but–something happened and it just made me realize that I was avoiding so many bottled up feelings because I was putting that person’s comfort and, like, his happiness and success before mine. Like, way before mine. And it reached the point where all these things they’re going to get on the expense of my wellbeing,” you enunciated, “So like, something happened and I just–” you snapped your fingers, “Got a wake up call or something and was like, I can’t actually do this anymore.”

“Did he try to fix it or was it, like, beyond repair?”

“It was about priorities, you know? And like, principles that I thought neither of us would ever cross but then it just wasn’t the case anymore. So I felt like I was two steps away from falling into some kind of, like, an abyss or something and suddenly it was all just scary. Like, I think I’m actually losing myself in this relationship. I don’t feel secure, I don’t feel loved, I don’t feel appreciated, I just–It was very draining and always so worrying,” you said, “Like to the point where it affected my sleep, my–my diet, my relationship with people because I wasn’t comfortable, you know?”

“Look, I don’t mean to be offensive,” Emma said, “But I’m so fucking happy you’re out of that. Because–Because, I know you, right? We’ve known each other for like 2 years and I actually got to see your progress after the breakup. It was like, you were going through moon phases, am I making sense?”

“Yeah.”

“Like, I remember you were sad as fuck after it for a long while, and then you went through that phase where you just, avoid confronting or just, reflecting on the past years of your life, and then I saw you when you got into a relationship after taking so much time for yourself and to, like, you know, give it time so it doesn’t get fucked,” Emma said, “To right now, both of us sitting on my bed. Like, I’ve actually seen it.”

“You have,” you smiled, “Honestly, I think everyone around me saw it and at some times, I was just so sure that they gossiped about it, like collectively.”

“Dude, I made new friends from yours just because we were talking about your last relationship,” she said, “I seriously had a group chat with three other friends, mutual friends, and we’d update each other on your status,” Emma chuckled, “Like, hey guys, Y/N went out of the house tonight. Hey guys, Y/N posted a story on Instagram.”

“Awww,” you cooed, “That’s so cute, I’ll actually cry.”

“For real!” She exclaimed, “I think it’s because we knew how in love you were with your ex,” she said, “Like we knew it was serious from your side, you know?”

“Yeah.”

“So, now what? Has it affected your current relationship?”

“Well, I mean of course I was like, really nervous at first,” you chuckled, “I just didn’t want to go through something like that again, like been there, done that. But my boyfriend was–and he literally still is, just, so patient.”

“He knows the deets?”

“He knows the deets,” you confirmed, “I think that’s one of the most important steps to take after a breakup and like, getting into a new relationship. It was just so important to me to be 100% honest and transparent with my boyfriend when we were, like, actually getting into a relationship or you know, when something was just going on.”

“And how did he take it? Because sometimes, some people can be like,” she paused, “That’s too much work, I don’t want to be with somebody who’s like–who had a bad experience that actually affected them.”

“No, no, none of that,” you said, “I consider myself like, really lucky. Because he was so fucking understanding, so patient, you know? There was no rush, it all just, you know, flowed so naturally. And I think that–him being like that, and giving me my space to, you know, get out there and sometimes to just lock myself in for when it got too much–these were stuff that made me feel comfortable enough in like,” you snapped your fingers, “No time. Like it all just made sense, you know?”

“Y/N, I literally feel like crying right now.”

“Noooo,” you dragged with a giggle before a sound of shuffling was heard.

“If you guys can hear movement, it’s because Y/N is hugging me right now,” Emma said.