#And big man is trying to fish for content bc in his own words “make money! get fish quick!”

[technicoloriing]

Deep Cut gets a new side gig, just in time for the splatfest! (x)

[hqrbinger]

BY YOUR SIDE.

summary; moments in the kitchen with them! pairings; arataki itto, kujou sara, xiao, eula x gn!reader (seperately, no pronouns used!) warnings/tags; mentions of food, cooking, baking, domestic fluff! no beta, basically just brainrot (kinda set in a modern teyvat-esque type place idk man i was just writing without a goal) notes; this is dedicated to and inspired by @starglitterz bc her kitchen brainrot fic she wrote for me sent me into a downward spiral of kitchen brainrot..... archons help me.... also my eula characterization cld use some work, i just wanted to add her in for ven hehe <3 love u m.list | song- by your side. ; OMORI OST

reblogs are greatly appreciated <3

even in the dim, blue light of the EARLY MORNINGS, you can be sure that ITTO is in the kitchen with you. while you're frying your perfect eggs over the stove, bedhead and sleepwear and all, he's sauntering in yawning as he presses a kiss to your cheek with a sleepy 'good morning'. his hands rest on your hips, creeping forward little by little until he's embracing you from behind, his chin resting on your shoulder as he watches you cook. his voice is still raspy from sleep and his big t-shirt-baggy pants combo hangs loosely over his toned frame as he shuffles around the kitchen to start the coffee and set the table. you watch him fondly from the stove, smiling softly at the sight of your boyfriend's uncharacteristically gentle demeanor. it's almost comical seeing such a big, muscular, oni gang leader in his sleepwear humming while pouring coffee and gathering dishes, but these moments are precious to you. when his eyes meet your staring, returning your affectionate grin with his own, you know you wouldn't trade your mornings for anything in the world.

KUJOU SARA, whether she realizes it or not, is always expecting you once it reaches MIDDAY. you're always waiting outside the tenryou commission's gates, basket of groceries in hand, waving as she approaches from a long morning's work. you walk her to your home just like you do every day, babbling about whatever events had happened to you during your errands, showing her the new furoshiki cloths you had picked up from oguro mio's shop, mentioning how you managed to get today's fish on sale. once back at your place sara sits down at the counter, like usual, watching as you get to work on making lunch. she notes the way you work so smoothly as if it was just second nature, never skipping a beat even as you continue to talk. she admires how you're able to cook and wash rice just right, how even as you're clearly focusing on her rather than the food, everything still continues to come out perfectly. sara doesn't even realize that she's zoned out staring at you until after you're standing right in front of her, your freshly made bento box neatly wrapped in the new purple furoshiki you had bought that day held out proudly for her to take. she can't help but smile as she walks back towards the tenryou commission, staring at the cat-shaped rice the entire way back.

dinners with XIAO under the hazy light of the EVENING are always memorable, especially if you're able to drag him into the kitchen beforehand. he's not one to eat conventional food, we all know he only enjoys almond tofu, but this doesn't compel him enough to stop you as you try and teach him how to cook your favorite meal. he can't push you away as you gently steady his hands on the kitchen knives and he can't ignore the feeling of contentment as he knocks hips with you as you simmer vegetables on the stove. and he especially can't deny the butterflies that erupt into flight at each smile and words of praise each time he manages to do something right. while he's trying his best, his focus is split unevenly between you and the task at hand. his eyes seem to naturally pull towards your furrowed brow and the way your hair is pushed back away from your eyes, and he can't stop the flush when he catches himself staring. after the two of you finish eating the meal you made together up on the balcony and you look up at him expectantly asking him to teach you how to make almond tofu, he realizes just how in love he really is.

when you wake up past MIDNIGHT craving brownies, EULA is always prepared to help make the best damn brownies in teyvat. she'll happily follow you out of bed, letting you drag her by the hand into the dark kitchen, chuckling softly with you as you take out the bowls and cups. even if you know how to add ingredients properly to the bowl (and chances are, you do) she'll insist on helping guide your hand, standing very close behind you. her glacial hair is messy, falling around her face and tickling yours as she stands oh-so-close to you while adding said ingredients, small words of praise falling from her lips with each addition to the mixture. she'll hold her finger covered in batter to your lips to taste, even swiping a bit onto your nose while smiling as you pout up at her. she'll stand beside you, her arm loosely wrapped around your waist as you mix and will slide the pan into the oven once you finish. she thinks you're just adorable as you cuddle up in the living room waiting for the brownies to cook, jumping up every now and then to check to see how they're doing. she'll watch with nothing but fondness as you clean up after the mess you both made until you splash her with a bit of water from the sink, that mischievous look shining in your eyes. she'll chuckle, mentioning how she will have her vengeance before moving to come help you tidy up.

© hqrbinger. all writing and works belong to me and me only, do not repost, translate, or copy any of my works under any circumstances.

[leviiattacks]

CASHIER LEVI AND LIKE THE READER IS THE CUSTOMER AND IT’S LIKE THEY HAVE A CRUSH ON EACHTOHER

author note :: honestly not my best at all..... like at all..... this was actually pretty good but the entire draft got deleted and i just lost all my effort but i felt bad for starting it and not completing it for anon so you may take whatever i have managed to salvage. i hope u enjoy it :’( i am extremely sick rn and yeah writing is the only break i am currently getting from anything :-) SO AGAIN I’ M SORRY ANON..... i may write a 10k + word fic on this though so i can redeem myself bc this is just disappointing 😭

word count :: 3.3k

every single thursday you stop by ackermart. maybe it’s because the day is convenient for you or perhaps it’s because of a certain cashier that works the evenings...

HAHA it’s got nothing to do with a cashier why would it have anything to do with a cashier? :-)

today is like any other. you walk through the fresh produce aisle then proceed to make your way towards the bakery section picking up a loaf of bread

it’s stupid, you know it is but... you think you’ve worked up enough courage to speak to him today!!

and who is him you may ask?

levi at till number four. his tired eyes always happen to pierce into yours and his calloused thumbs brush past your skin when you hand him your rewards card

levi is what his bright red name tag says and although he doesn’t look like a levi you’d like to think your crush isn’t stealing someone’s identity so you believe that it’s his real name

anxiously fiddling with your basket you’re beginning to think this was a horrible idea

the girl ahead of you is flirting up a storm with him and although he’s not reciprocating it by any means you still feel deterred

levi bags the last of her groceries and looks up at her when she asks for a way to contact him. he doesn’t look mad... just bored?

“ma’am. this is an ackermart i don’t think it’s appropriate you ask me for my number. the customer service line is listed on our website.”

the woman raises a brow looking completely flabbergasted. okay, if everything before this wasn’t a warning THIS sure was

she stomps off when she realises levi isn’t kidding and you think you’d feel bad for her maybe if she was more respectful about it

“next customer.” levi calls over his shoulder and you shuffle forward pretending to be engrossed in your phone

“cash or card?” he asks plainly.

you hear the BEEP of your groceries being scanned and think on it for a while before replying with “cash”

you’re clearly pretty good at your pretend to be totally into your phone act because levi tries to get your attention but you don’t hear what he has to say till the third time he repeats himself

but even then you’re still unsure what it is he’s said????

looking down you see his hand is stuck out in front of you and now you’re even more confused

faltering for a second you look at his palm and then speak

“um, i guess your hand is nice? it’s pretty big compared to the rest of you actually.”

“i was asking for your cash?” he says and now you look at his palms in mortification

gasping you yANK your hand into your purse as you laugh awkwardly fishing around to find your money

“oh, OH i knew that. just kidding!! i mean- i meant that thing about your hand?? but i thought it was- i funny? yes the joke funny? i’m-”

he leans back into his spinning chair and sighs contently. “you’re not making much sense peaches.”

“pe- peaches??” you repeat. no way you’ve heard that correct

levi lazily points at the abundance of the aforementioned fruit in your grocery bags

“you must love em.”

“i, well yeah i do like peaches but i also like...” um??? what food would make you look sophisticated and professional?

OH YEAH

“FRENCH CUISINE :-)!!!!” you say rather proudly

“...cool. i guess.” levi hands you your grocery bag which is basically an invitation asking for you to get out

he doesn’t seem mad but he’s definitely going to look back at this encounter and laugh his ass off at how stupid you are

hanging your head down low in embarrassment you make your way out towards your car

there’s always next time!! maybe you can practice in the mirror yeah that does sound like it would help!!!

okay so.

it is officially next time.

actually you never got the opportunity to practice in front of the mirror because you chickened out of looking like an idiot even if it was in the privacy of your own home

but!!! you did try to practice some cool pick up lines because who doesn’t like a good pickup line or two??

the two mini milk cartons in your hand and the pack of doughnuts you have tucked under your arm aren’t too heavy so you aren’t too worried about having to wait in the line

for some reason the guy in front of you keeps turning around and glancing at you as if you don’t even exist

you are not casper the ghost

also casper is a little boy and you definitely aren’t a little boy

finally after a good five minutes the man ahead of you is having his stuff scanned but he’s STILL doing it. even levi notices and gives him an odd look which borders annoyance and anger.

“can i pay for your groceries? maybe walk you to your car?” the stranger asks suddenly

so that’s what this is, he’s simply taken an interest in you

my god this is new but it is uncomfortable and you’d rather say no

“oh, i actually walked here and no thanks i can pay for my own. enjoy the rest of your day!!” you hope your white lie is enough to fool the man but instead of agreeing as any other person would he looks majorly deceived

“i saw you in the parking lot.” ok this is getting a bit too uncomfortable for your liking

“c’mon i’m offering to buy your shit too?”

his voice is raising and you’re not sure what exactly you can do but thankfully for you the manager steps in and takes him away before any more threats can be made

the man had taken up so much of your attention you almost forgot levi was even there until you turned back around

“do you want a member of staff to accompany you to your car? it’s getting dark out.” levi’s comment helps ease your nerves and you try to laugh off what just happened

“i’m good :-)” you say shaking a little. you’re unsure if it’s the cold or the fact you still haven’t completely calmed down

“you sure peaches?”

“i haven’t bought any peaches this time.”

“you’re still peaches to me.” your cheeks flush at his confidence

wait, maybe this is your chance. you’re the last person in his line and they’re closing up for the day so...

“could you walk me to my car?”

and to your surprise even before you can take back what you’ve said levi agrees

it stays like that for a while.

every thursday levi walks you to your car by the end of his shift, all the while the two of you exchange a few words together

like last week you asked him what his favourite colour was (he said purple) you’ve learnt about his hobbies (he’s a decent cook), you’ve even found out about some of his own personal problems. he had mentioned suffering with insomnia in passing.

to be honest each and every time he walks you to your car he has to notice that you begin to park further and further away from the front entrance. but if he does notice he doesn’t say a word about it

“is that all you’re checking out?” you ask with a cheeky grin plastered across your face

looking down at your new dress your lopsided grin is far from fading away any time soon. you especially picked this one out after asking levi what his favourite colour was last week

god. this is so embarrassing but never actually have you had a crush this huge

levi who’s sat behind the counter shoots you a look which almost seems to be on the verge of uninterested. he isn’t entertaining this at all or this is just his typical bored face, you can’t really tell

BUT..... you still have a huge crush on him and you aren’t one to give up this easily

for the record you don’t harass him or anything, just the occasional hint is thrown around but he’s either really dense or doesn’t care

his expression does you no favours, you can��t tell what he’s thinking half the time

“you’re always buying energy drinks... might want to cut down on those they’re no good for you.”

warmth blooms in your chest. he’s just saying it to make small talk but the fact he even thinks to bring that up has your heart fluttering

“i- well- yeah i will!! just have a few overdue essays to get over with :-)” twiddling your thumbs together you think that makes your nerves too obvious so you begin to scratch at the back of your neck

if anything is a dead give away it’s your constant neck scratching, thankfully levi hasn’t picked up on it

“so you wore purple today?” his eyes linger on the thin straps of your dress and you feel the goosebumps rise up onto your skin immediately

“oh yeahhhh-”

“did i tell you yellow was my favourite colour last week?” he asks holding up a neon yellow pack of crisps and for the first time you see him smile

he looks so ?!|>\€|^ pretty ?!/)/&

wait?? yellow??

“didn’t you say purple?”

“no?” he crosses his arms playfully over his chest thinking for a bit

“maybe i did but no it’s really yellow.” he says as he hands you your bag

nodding your head you smile “yeahhhh sure it is.”

damn, now you’re going to have to find a yellow dress just to make him revert back to purple because who even likes yellow?? that’s a deal breaker right there??

update

it’s been two weeks!!

and a yellow dress has been found and secured B-)

it’s been a pretty rough day at work and you need to desperately collect a pack of green tea and get going

you don’t know when exactly being a secretary meant you had to babysit your boss’ children but that’s what the last week has entailed

being made to work overtime to this extent has had an effect on you and you’re ready to head home as soon as you swing by ackermart

not seeing levi for a week made you a little :-( because to be honest he’s the highlight of your thursday evening BUT!! you’ll be able to see him today at least

walking in through the entrance you’re met with connie smiling right at you, he holds the door open for you and smile back greeting him

“so you didn’t come last week...?”

it’s weird for him to ask that, after all you don’t really speak to anyone here apart from levi, you’re surprised you’re enough of a regular to be known by name

“oh i didn’t think anyone would notice? but yeah i had to work overtime you know what boss’ are like.” groaning you crouch down and look at the pot noodles on display

“i didn’t notice it. boss man did.”

“boss man?” you ask feeling out of loop

“levi.” connie answers as he hops into the backroom

????

isn’t he just a cashier??

“you still look confused.” connie remarks as he heads back out with a cardboard box full of pringle’s tubes

“levi’s the boss man, this is his store. he literally only ever mans the cash register on thursday evening because of you.”

at that you start laughing because it makes no sense at all to you

there’s no way connie is being serious

“good one.” you say as you stand up with a chicken flavored noodle in your hand

“i’m not kidding?”

turning around you give him a skeptical look

he sighs and shakes his head.

“listen. me and the part timers are tired of making bets on when he’ll give you his number and i bet that it would happen today so if you could confess to each other that would be perfect!!!”

“who said i like-”

“anyone with a brain can tell you both like each other.” he’s rolled his eyes so far into the back of his head you begin to take him a little more seriously now

“i... did i make it that obvious??” you’re directly facing him trying to get out as much information as you can

“yeah. very. at least levi wasn’t as bold.”

“i think you’ve got the wrong end of the stick he definitely doesn’t like me.”

connie gives you an “are you fucking with me?” look and you look away trying to distract yourself with the the canned goods lining the shelves

“he was worried sick when you didn’t come in for the entire week. he even asked me if he scared you away.”

“maybe i’m just his favourite customer?”

“favourite customer my ass he has a crush on YOU. confess.”

playing around with the ends of your sleeves connie sees he’s fighting a losing battle unless he gives you definitive solid proof

“please... i’ll get free barbecue if i win the bet and i’m kinda broke rn :-(” okay, you do want connie to eat well and be treated and maybe this is a good thing. if levi doesn’t like you then you can move on!!

“i’ll think about it.”

before connie can continue talking you make a beeline towards the tea aisle whilst throwing a “see you next time!” over your shoulder.

by the time you’ve gathered all of your groceries your basket is full to the brim. you’ve been lingering as much as you can out of fear but you think you’ve collected just enough courage to ask for his number

looking at the cash register levi is sat there and your shoulders slump. he’s probably going to say no and you’re going to look like a huge loser.

right as you’re about to take a step towards him levi finally spots you and gives you one look before standing up from his seat

“hi!” you wave at him

“...hey!” he smiles wide but he bites it back pretending it was never there in the first place

placing your basket in front of him he eyes what you’ve got

“hm... lots of peaches as per usual peaches.” the nickname that rolls of his tongue makes you tremble a little. will he call you that after you fuck everything up with this stupid confession?

his tongue pokes at the inside of his cheek when he gets to the heart shaped box of chocolates

“a gift for a friend? didn’t know you had those?” he teases as he scans the barcode

“gift for a crush!” you reply back enthusiastically as you dig through your wallet looking for your card

levi doesn’t respond for a few seconds and an awkward silence fills the air. you glance up to see him looking at you open mouthed in shock

“good luck.” he murmurs under his breath he’s not even returning your gaze at this point and is hurriedly scanning through your barcodes

“you okay?” you ask worrying about his mood

“yeah, yeah. great.” he’s quieter than usual.

the rest of your encounter is the same, levi silently bags your groceries and you can’t tell if this is a good or bad response.

just as he’s about to place the heart shaped box into your plastic bag you lunge forward holding his wrist to stop him

“no i don’t need those.”

he cocks his eyebrow upwards trying to analyse your expression and gain an understanding of your thoughts

“don’t tell me you’re chickening out. whoever it is will say yes.” he scoffs as he places the chocolates into the bag handing them over to you with a warm smile

there it is again. the fear returns and you swipe your tongue over your slightly dry lips.

no way.

is he telling you to confess to someone now? so he must not like you?

taking the bag away from him you scratch your neck out of habit and huff feeling frustrated

“he keeps giving me mixed signals.” you say hoping he catches your drift

“give him the chocolates and let him put two and two together. don’t even say anything.” his advice would be great if he weren’t the guy you were trying to confess to in real time

nodding you reach into the bag and bring the box back out before gently placing it in front of levi

“are you serious?” he asks and your face drops seeing the possible displeasure in his eyes

great, connie and the part timers just over analysed he doesn’t like you, obviously he doesn’t like you, why would he like you?

without looking back you hurry out, the embarrassment is eating you away now and the thought of ever returning to ackermart isn’t even feasible in your mind

at this point you may as well change your name, identity, dye your hair, have a few children and wear sunglasses the next time you come back so you look like a soccer mum and not the foolish y/n who thought they had a chance with their cute CASHIER???

god, you probably look like a creep

the sound of footsteps can be heard behind you and labored breaths follow before levi calls out for you

“please wait up.” he grumbles. slowing down your pace you let him catch up to you. he grabs at your wrist and sighs in relief

turning you see him savour the air

is this the part where he confesses he likes you too or—

“your receipt you forgot it.” he gasps as he opens your hand for you and places it into your palm

oh.

fingers clasping shut onto the paper you feel the humiliation seep into your pores

this.

is.

the.

worst.

moment.

of.

your.

life.

“open it.” he offer you a boyish smile and your nerves don’t let you find comfort in it

you grimace as you fold it open, you’re imagining he’s charged you an extra £100 for having unwanted feelings for him and if that’s the case you’ll die on the spot

but instead your eyes light up in joy. you’re pleasantly surprised

...

inside of the receipt is his phone number haphazardly sprawled across in black biro - you even double check by comparing it to the number for the customer service helpline

hello??

HELLO.?.!/)£ HIS NUMBER???

“if you just wanted to return the chocolate this is embarrassing.” he’s the one who’s now scratching at his neck and you find that he’s endearing this way

the streetlight from above illuminates him, the shadows cast over his face and his brows aren’t furrowed as they usually are

you open your mouth to reply but connie cuts you off unintentionally. he can be heard YELLING into his phone ecstatic that his plan has worked out

“I WIN!!! HA BBQ’S ON YOU JEAN!! MUST SUCK TO BE YOU.”

you and levi look at each other and laugh, reassuring the other of what has just happened.

well...

you guess this is the start of something new? maybe??

:-)

[n0tamused]

Hellooo hon can i request pls? Can u write for tobirama a one shot where he rejects his s/o but then he sees her with another guy in the village often and starts to realize about hia feelings but its late bc she is marrying this other guy? I need some angst hahahah. Its ok if you don't want to write it! Thank you 😘

A/N: Hello anon, thank you for the request! Here's some Tobirama angst. It made me sad to write this but here we are. The things we do for angst. Hope you enjoy.

Warnings: none. Just pure sadness.

Words: Around 1.475

' The Fire Which Didn't Burn '

-"No. I do not love you."

Those words echoed in your mind days after his initial rejection. Over and over again until it was all you could think about. It stung your heart each time you repeated the sentence. The never ending feeling that it was something you did wrong wrecked your mind, it made work harder and rest scarce for a while. You didn't understand. You were sure he felt at least some semblance of love for you, in the end you were the one he truly did let in his company. One he could rely on for anything that he may need. Or did you read the signs that wrong? At that point it wouldn't be a surprise if it was all for business sake, seeing as you both worked together on making the village prosper and bloom.

But that was almost an whole year ago. Even more. Since then you have moved on from the heart ache. Although a few select close friends knew of your pain, you never indulged them with your gloomy moods that came and went. It was a tendency you seemed to pick up from the younger Senju and the years you spent at his side. Not letting anyone really in. Only letting them scratch the surface of it, to know enough to leave you be.

It has been a whole year since the last time Tobirama had spent proper time with you, a whole year since you both sat down to unwind and discuss things amicably. At the confession of your feelings for him he was rather cold, cooly brushing you off and trying to get back into his work. He didn't feel like it was such a big deal then, he believed that it didn't matter as long as you both still remained a good bond. But he was proven wrong. You recoiled from his reach and even disappeared from his sight. His ears seldomly heard of you anymore. It was as if you disappeared from the village all together. Even if he saw traces of your work, your signatures and reports. It was all superficial.

At first this didn't bother Tobirama much, even if he was initially worried about your lack of communication with him. The man was simply so drowned in his work to take some kind of action, to do anything to smooth things over with you again. On certain days, when work was lesser, he would indulge himself in things he did with you once. Only then feeling the effects, the weight on his shoulders due to your absence. There was no more of your reasoning voice, no more laughter, no more endless teasing when the two of you were alone, no more long nights where the two of you shared your worries and even fears. There was none of it. Only distant memories.

As stubborn as he was, he would finally come to terms that he, in the very least, missed you greatly. That he should've done something sooner. Now he felt embarrassed to even try after so long had already passed.

Tobirama had recently started to seek out information about you. Head full of things, horrible things. Were you alright now? Have you moved on?

As it turns out, yes you were alright and yes...you have moved on. You were still working as a ninja, so how you managed to keep out of his sight so much and for so long surprised the silver haired Senju. And when word reached him that you were getting married soon. He was...he didn't know how to feel, actually. You had found another man to love and share your burdens and future with. He had spotted the pair of you once in the village, walking peacefully side by side. Hand and fingers entwined together. You pressing into his side once to give him a quick hug. Him smiling down at you, a genuine, earnest smile which you reflected back just the same. It made Tobirama ill. A deep, gut wrenching feeling over took him so much that he wanted to bolt. As unlikely as that was for him.

Perhaps this was karma. You were his most trusted friend. You understood him at best and at worst times, and you dealt with him when he was being difficult. You were with him at his side even when his brother got fed up with his arrogance. The amount of times you sat at the stairs on his porch, waiting for him to cool off were countless; even your company alone was salve enough. And not to even mention your beauty, you were the rare one that really caught Tobirama's eye, like no other woman has before. And yet, he pushed you away. Perhaps this was his punishment. The maker gave him a chance, a chance to be happy and content and have someone with him and he let it fall and shatter to the floor. Tobirama could only scowl, and he found himself in a sour mood ever since.

He wouldn't admit it but his heart was aching. Was this how you too felt?

-"Tobirama!"

You exclaimed. Shock written all over your features, the basket of fruit, fish and vegetables hooked onto your elbow. Neither of you knew what to say at first. Tobirama was just as shocked as you, regretting not using his sensory abilities to sense you and turn in another direction. Now that you two ran into each other his tongue felt dry.

Your breath stopped in your throat as you searched his eyes, his face for anything that could indicate some sort of reaction. Yet the only thing you found in his scarlet gaze was yearning, and then emptiness once he collected his racing thoughts.

"Y/N. It.. it has been a while."

He spoke, clearing his throat while his heart felt as if it was going to burst out of his chest. The clothes he wore suddenly felt suffocating and scolding. A tangible tension grew between the two of you.

"Yes. It has been...How have you been doing? I surely hope you are getting some proper rest, I heard there was quite a scuffle recently."

Trying to keep the conversation average failed. A frown became prominent on his lips as he only nodded, in a almost mechanical fashion, but didn't respond to the question. You caught his gaze flickering, only for a second, down to your ring finger. Where the silver ring was. A small gem held on the top of it. And you understood, in a way.

"Oh..."

A wind breezed past the two of you, but it didn't feel comforting. It felt chilling and hot and dry all at the same time, like raking hands that clung to the both of you. If you were paying just a little more attention to the Senju, you would've seen the sadness collect in his eyes. Even if his face remained cold and unreadable. His eyes gave it all away.

The conversation ended rather awkwardly with both of you wishing each other well and saying your goodbyes. So many things were left unsaid then. It wouldn't take Tobirama long after that quick encounter to really admit it to himself that he has grown feelings for you, that he was in love. Realizing a year too late. A year he wished he could get back so he could be with you instead of that man. A year that could make it all better, for the both of you. But no matter how many sleepless nights he had, no matter how much he wished and even prayed, he couldn't take your happiness away. He couldn't even dare do such a thing, couldn't dream of it.

Sometimes you would even worm your way in his dreams, his mind visualizing a future he knew he couldn't have. A happy one with you at his side, in a house different from the one he was in now, with enough space for the both of you and even another addition. No matter how much he dreaded those dreams, he let himself drown in the comforts of them even if for a moment. Letting himself experience what could have been. The phantom touches and plush kisses that soon turned to dust in his mouth when he woke. The image of you still dancing vividly in front of his sleep hazed eyes.

Other times he even found himself crying in those dreams, angry, bitter and regretful tears. Clinging onto you in his dreams, pleading to not wake up yet to make it all better. It pained him. That he couldn't have you anymore. You were now married to someone, and that someone wasn't him.

Tobirama saw how happy you were, genuinely. And he wasn't going to take it away just because of his own mistakes.

Now it was his turn to share the pain you went through. He accepted it all. It was now his responsibility. His mistakes.

[rokutouxei]

the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

ikemen vampire: temptation through the dark theo van gogh / mc | T | [ ao3 link in bio ]

The challenge seemed pretty simple: to try to befriend the university bookshop’s most sour employee, Theo van Gogh. As a literature major with a boatload of book recommendations on her back, it ought to be a simple task indeed. But as she uncovers what lies between Theo’s pages, the more she finds it harder to become closer to him without having to put the feeling directly into words. What can she learn from Theo about what it means to stay—and how can she teach Theo about what it means to let go? | written for ikevamp big bang 2020!

[ masterpost for all chapters ]

CHAPTER 9 OF 22

You will let my tender hook Catch the folded darkness inside you, let me occupy The dented place at the base of your throat. - "One Life", Carlomar Arcangel Daoana

--

She wakes up late.

Comically late.

No hangover, thank god—but it’s 11am and she’s dressed in lent pajamas in a bed that isn’t her own. She shoots up to sitting position in a second, and standing in a minute, trudging out the room to the bathroom at the end of the hall.

By the time she’s up and out of the room, a little more awake, Dazai and Arthur have already long gone, the only remnants of their presence the bit of glitter that they had wiped onto the sofa they nestled in.

And text messages.

She squints when she reads it, not because she had a hard time reading what it said, but—because she couldn’t believe what it said.

A series of text messages from Dazai:

[ 7:23 | Dazai ] ur still asleep but ur friend kinda hot

[ 7:24 | Dazai ] ofc I woke up first but his eyelashes tho???

[ 8:32 | Dazai ] pls tell me he’s not a douche bc im rly gonna jump him

[ 9:03 | Dazai ] mgonna jump him

[ 10:19 | Dazai ] abt to find out if he’s got the magnum sized dong u promised

Oh, god, what has she done.

With a groan, she heads down the hallway, phone securely in the pocket of the sweatpants, to see Vincent and Theo preparing a meal in the kitchen; Theo preparing some sort of fillet (fish? Chicken?) and Vincent frying some onions and garlic on the stove, filling the kitchen with a nice aroma.

“Good morning,” she says softly, as she shuffles onto one of the dining table chairs.

“Thought you died,” Theo says with a snort; but once he turns around to face her, all derision goes away in his face and is replaced by a quiet surprise.

Vincent beams as he turns to get the fillets from Theo. (It’s chicken.) “Good morning. Did you sleep well? No headache?”

She shakes her head. “Nope, I’m good. Thanks for letting me sleep here last night and for the clothes.”

“Of course, no problem at all,” Vincent answers, turning back to the pan. The chicken makes a sizzle as it meets the oil.

Theo is still staring at her with an odd look on his face.

“Earth to Theo?” she calls out, waving her hand in front of her. “Something wrong?”

“Broer. Why did you lend her my clothes.”

Oh.

“You know how most my shirts are, paint-stained in all the weird places.”

She feels the cling of the cotton around her skin so differently, so suddenly. Oh.

“She wouldn’t have minded, she was drunk.”

That’s correct, but—

Vincent smiles at Theo, the kind of smile one makes when they can see through someone; she’s filled with a kind of relief at knowing that Vincent can do that to Theo. Maybe the man isn’t an impenetrable a character after all. “No need to be shy, Theo.”

“I am not,” he insists, finally tearing his gaze away from her and heading to the sink to wash the used chopping board and the knife. “I just don’t want her wearing my stuff.”

She smirks. He is shy. True, she didn’t get the opportunity to think about what she was putting on last night because she was so tired and knocked out by the alcohol, but…if that was the price she had to pay to see this side of Theo she doesn’t have the opportunity to witness often, then it was worth it. Oh, the ever put-together Theo, brought to his knees by only one person in the world, the one he trusts the most: his brother.  “Is it because your personality is contagious?” she teases, “wouldn’t want to catch that.”

He answers her with a glare. “Reverse. It’s your stupidity that’s contagious.”

“Oh, we’re pretty much equally as stupid, Theo. No need to worry.”

“We are not,” he says, and then Vincent elbows him carefully.

“You really should be a little gentler to your friends,” Vincent comments, as he turns the fillet onto its other side.

Theo grumbles something unintelligible and it makes her laugh. Sitting in the kitchen, watching the two brothers side by side with their back to her as they prepare—she checks the clock—lunch for the three of them, she hums, content. She’s lived alone for all her life here in the campus, and it was one she looked forward to after living in a house crammed with people for most of her life. But sitting here, watching them share the chores and maybe have a little banter with each other—makes her reconsider that maybe, maybe settling down in even the worst of places isn’t that horrible when you’re in good company.

Theo opens the plate cupboard and hands her a set of it with some cutlery. “Set the table at least, freeloader?” He says, though his voice lacks all the venom his words otherwise had.

Okay, she’ll have to reconsider if Theo counts as “good company.”

--

Theo barely survives lunch with her and his brother because of how much he gets teased by the two. He might argue that this is worse than being stuck with her and Arthur because since it is Vincent, he does not get the leeway to have a comeback, only able to grumble in displeasure at being see-through. They stuff their bellies not only with Vincent’s famed chicken with herbs but also with a hefty amount of laughter.

She slides back (slightly disgusted) into her costume to walk back home in, confident that many other students will be trudging along the streets suffering the same fate. (“Not everyone wakes up as late as you.” “There’s bound to be at least one, right?”) When she comes out of the bathroom, there’s a book on top of his neatly-folded clothes.

They speak at the same time.

“I could wash these first before giving it back if you—” “You had that with you all this time?”

Silence.

She breaks it with a laugh. “Yeah, it was a Saturday. I didn’t want to break the schedule.”

“You get so thorough about the weirdest things,” he comments, but he takes the bundle in her arms anyway. “It’s alright, I’ll have them. Let me get you a book, too.”

She follows Theo into the studio, where he crouches in front of some bookshelves. Vincent peeps from behind his easel. “You should walk her home,” he offers, as Theo pulls a few books out of the shelf.

“No, it’s alright, I’ll be fine! I’m not drunk or dizzy. The walk will help clear my head.”

“It’s twenty minutes out,” Theo points out, getting up.

“Just promise that if you find me asleep on the street you’ll pick me up?”

Handing Murakami’s Dance, Dance, Dance to her, Theo grins. “I can’t promise that.”

“Oh, Theo, you know you will.”

Even when she is long out of his sight, the smile on his face does not go away. Even as the day shifts into mundanity. Even as he’s carting a bagful of clothes to the launderette. Even as he picks up some groceries on the way home. Even as he prepares dinner for Vincent, who is a few hours deep into painting.

Maybe for a moment, it goes away, but—

He thinks of her and the smile comes back full force.

--

She spends the rest of Sunday recovering and hiding away in her room after the very socially draining party, but by Monday she’s hopped onto her bike and headed for the literature club’s little gazebo. She’s left a message for Dazai, asking for company. Sure, they spent quite a lot of time together in the past week, after having jumped through thrift stores and boutiques for the perfect Night Circus costume (and yes, she made him read the book beforehand too, for good measure) but Saturday was quite a day. She’s brought a couple of cookies for sharing with him, sitting at their usual spot, looking out at the quadrangle next to it.

“Toshiko-san! Sorry we kept you waiting!”

The plural takes her off guard, and she turns to find that Dazai has brought a rather distracted-looking Isaac along, his hands in the pockets of his slacks. Isaac is always dressed so well—she supposes it’s part of the uniform or something of being seen as a respectable professor—but she sure does want to see him dress down once. T-shirt, shorts, that kind—Isaac seems to take everything too seriously.

The pleasant feeling of seeing a friend she hasn’t met up with in a long time is quickly replaced by confusion, as the science complex is nowhere near the Arts building. “Nice to see you here, Isaac,” she says, but also with the lilt of a question.

Dazai answers said question. “He’s here because he has nothing better to do, so I asked him to come.”

Isaac makes a face that’s both resignation and panic. “He passed by my office.” –and dragged me out because he wouldn’t take no for an answer, she finishes in her head.

“I see,” she answers, even though that’s not really an explanation in itself.

She knows Isaac through Dazai, and Dazai knows Isaac through a very peculiar class: Occultism 101.

A class team-taught by three major colleges in the university—the College of Arts, the College of Science, and the College of Social Sciences—Occultism 101 is one of the more controversial classes on campus because of its nature. It goes through a long history of the evolution and persistence of supernatural beliefs and practices among nations in the world, in that nice gray area between religion and science. There are only two kinds of students in Occultism 101: those who believe and who are genuinely interested, and those who do not believe and would like to spend an entire semester saying “bah! That’s not true!” to themselves all the time.

Occultism 101 is typically taught by professors from the College of Social Sciences and College of Arts with backgrounds in religious practices and other mystical behavior (whether in history or art), and then occasionally, in the middle of the semester, guest lecturers from the College of Science come in to give lectures on how these “supernatural events” may be explainable through scientific means. Say, how the piping system in a building can cause haunted “cold spots”, or how floating dust particles can come up in a photograph as “orbs”, or the likes.

And she doesn’t want to be very stereotypical about it, but a lot of people in the College of Science are pretty… well, square, and so no one really wants to teach Occultism 101, even if it’s only a few meetings in a semester. This is how this job ends up to unwilling, no-choice Ph.D. students such as Isaac.

It was just his luck that Dazai was in the section he taught.

“So, Osamu, care to tell us about your little date last Sunday?” she asks, as the other two have taken their seats across her. Dazai swoons a little at the mention of Sunday. Isaac looks at him with unsureness.

(Isaac has had the miserable experience of being the victim of Dazai’s flirtation at some point in time. One can see how that has instead simmer into a rather tentative friendship. All is well.)

Dazai rests his elbows on the table and places his chin on the palms of his hands. “He’s so dreamy.”

“No he isn’t,” she swiftly replies, without thought.

But Dazai pretends not to have heard it. “He’s not looking for a serious relationship though,” he adds. “Not that I am, either.”

“You aren’t?”

“No, sweetie,” Dazai explains. “But he’s my type and I’m his type and we couldn’t just leave it at that so I have his number now, and a little… arrangement.”

The word hangs in between them, swaying.

Oh no, that’s not any good. “What arrangement.”

“You don’t need to sound so concerned.”

“This is Arthur we’re talking about,” she insists, and the name makes Isaac flinch a little.

“Doyle, the med student?” Isaac asks, and she turns to him, blinking.

“You know him?” Remembering Arthur during the party, her mouth falls into a small o. “He knows you too, doesn’t he?”

Isaac scoffs. “Who in this university doesn’t?” Arthur’s pretty well-known to be a flirt. Something like having a checklist of bedding at least one person in every department—a rumor that would have been a little more shameful if the rumors also didn’t say how he was so good at it.

She nods. “Well, fair enough.”

“No, no, he’s an absolute sweetheart to me, so it’s definitely a you problem,” Dazai insists. “It’s just a friendship with benefits, yanno?” He emphasizes every of the following syllables with his tone and his hands: “Nice, big, hefty benefits.”

And even Isaac, who usually refrains from commenting no matter how much he has to say, has to quip with “Terrible choice, really.”

And she has to agree. “I respect you, but not your taste, Osamu.”

Dazai grins. “Understandable.” He picks up one of the sandwiches she’s prepared. “You make it sound like I’m the only one making bad decisions though.”

“Excuse me?”

He turns to Isaac. “You should have gone to the Halloween party. She brought her little boy toy.”

She scoffs. “He is not my boy toy.”

“You sure do have him around your finger though, getting in matching costumes and all that,” Dazai says. “Spends Saturdates with him all the time.”

The only strategy that will work in times like these is straight-up ignoring him. “Anyway—” she begins, about to steer the conversation away when Isaac speaks up.

“It’s nice to hear you’re getting close to other people,” he says softly. Isaac has a way of speaking that makes it always seem like he’s spent so much time thinking about what he said before he actually said it; so sometimes it’s hard to gauge if he’s saying it casually or entirely seriously.

So she blinks. “You make it seem like I have no friends, Isaac.”

“I-It’s not that!” he suddenly blurts. Ah, there. There’s the usual Isaac. “You’ve spent so much time focusing on your work lately, it’s nice to know you’re relaxing with other people sometimes.”

And he doesn’t say it, but she sure does hear it: the you haven’t been to the astronomy club in a while and it’s made me worried about you.

She doesn’t go religiously, but she used to attend fairly often to hang out with the other members and just look up at the stars. Isaac tries to organize at least two sessions in a month, one to look at the moon, and another to point at the stars. She hasn’t been able to catch them in a bit.

But then, slowly, as the image of the view outside the astronomy club’s hangout is refreshed in her mind, the way the physics building rooftop is just high enough to provide a good view of the rest of the campus below, the city downtown, just at the right place on campus that at night, the rest of the sprawling town’s streetlights trickle out like golden LED veins through the threes—an idea begins to implant itself into her head.

Taking root immediately.

She likes to go up here to think. She really shouldn’t have had permission to go up there on her own, in her free time, since they have rules about club hours and the likes, but Isaac is a close friend and gave her a spare key, so she can come and go as she pleases. And sure, the Grove is a nice, quiet place for book clubs and maybe doing homework if one doesn’t need an electric socket, but up here in the astronomy club’s “the Rooftop”, she feels like she can float away into the vast ocean of her thoughts and get lost in them for a moment.

She feels small up there. And that’s a good feeling.

She won’t tell it to Isaac’s face but it’s one of the primary reasons why she applied for the astronomy club in the first place. The stars are great no matter how dumb she is at physics, but the view—it’s really something else.

What does the world look like from the point of view of a star? How tiny are human lives in the vast expanse of the universe? How long have these stars been out there, how long will they stay out there, how much longer will they stay in this universe more than we will?

…This is why Theo teases her for being a literature major: all these goddamn metaphors.

And for a split second, she thinks…

Maybe it isn’t that bad to share that same quiet space with him?

…You know, to talk books.

“About that…”

Isaac and Dazai turn to her.

“Mind if I sneak in an outsider to the Roof?” she asks, facing Isaac with genuine hope in her voice.

Isaac only shrugs. “Do as you please,” he says casually, taking a cookie from her little box on the table.

And she grins like he’d just given her the light of the world. “Thank you, Isaac.”

Dazai shakes his head, because he knows she’s got no denying herself out of this one the next time.

[yelenasdog]

believer (bucky barnes x fem spiritual!reader)

genre: fluff!! like .001 seconds of angst if u could call it that.

summary: just the buck man being a cutie with a reader who does spiritual/occult stuff😎 

words: 733, another blurb bc i can’t stay focused long enough to write a full thingy

warnings: none, rlly unless u count tarot, crystals and steve and sam being weenies LMFAO

disclaimer! i’m aware of the roots of spirtuality and the culture and religion many of the practices stem from, ex. hindu, and i also don’t wanna offend anyone who is spiritual/hindu/practices the craft, as i also practice it, so the things steve and sam say in here are just based off of things people have told me before. (steve and sam also would like... never say that stuff so uhh, it’s just for the story, ok maybe steve bc in avengers he was like “there’s only one god ma'am!1!” to nat) kk enjoy, btw i have more disclaimers at the end :-)

·。·。·。·。·。·。·。·。·。·。·。·。·

Her keys jangled loudly as they turned to allow entrance to the home, her smile as bright as ever as she looked over her shoulder at the man, beckoning for him to follow her into the warm space. When he entered, his senses were overloaded with what could only be described as her. The smell of what seemed to be chamomile, rosemary, and cedar filling his nostrils, mixing in with her coconut and honey scented shampoo he had grown so accustomed to. 

Sunlight peered through the many windows, making the crystals that adorned her home sparkle, her plants silently showing their thanks by growing big and strong from the water and light they had been provided with. Nazar charms similar to the one around her neck hung off the walls, acting as reminders of her travels, but also as a warning to any goers with negative intentions in her abode. 

A fluffy white cat came waltzing out from under the sofa that was by the balcony like he owned the place, rubbing against her leg in a good-natured greeting. She reached down, patting the creature before offering for the man to show affection to the fluff ball. He kindly declined, but quickly changed his mind at the first sign of a pout from the girl. She stood up, satisfied with the new relationship she had started between the cat, who he learned to be named Alpine, and the man.

He followed her back to her room, which not surprisingly, was just as much as a reflection of her as her living room was. More natural light flooded the area, another cat lounging atop what appeared to be a hamper, while simultaneously basking in warmth. 

She set her bag down on her low rising mattress, fishing out a seemingly old and worn box from an even bigger container that seemed to be oddly-orderly. She seemed to know where everything was though, so he trusted her process and what she was doing. 

Once she acquired what she was looking for, she gently reached for his metal hand. He didn’t flinch at the contact like he normally would, instead, trusting her completely, yet again. She guided him to a small ledge off the side of her apartment that could have easily been mistaken for a miniature jungle in the city. 

Both of them moved so they were sitting on small chairs, the burly man scared to break the flimsy material, not wanting to intrude or disturb the seemingly natural order of the home. She giggled at his behavior, telling him that it was alright and that she didn’t mind if he sat on the floor if that’s where he would be more comfortable. 

His face flushed a deep scarlet color, eliciting another giggle from the girl as she began her work. She opened the box, rummaging through the contents until she found what she had been trying to find. She pulled out what seemed to be a deck of playing cards, shuffling them a few times until she was content, the man’s icy blue eyes focusing intently as her ring adorned hands moved expertly.

His friends had made comments, Steve saying that she seemed a little, “off the wall” as he liked to put it, Sam adding in how he didn’t trust her or her methods. But the man had no trouble in telling them off, letting them know how truly wonderful she was, her free spirit only making him more inclined to the girl. But after some time, they both were able to see the positive impact she had on the man, helping restore him to who he was before, filling his empty shell that years of abuse from HYDRA left behind.

The man had been somewhat spiritual growing up, sure, church with his Ma and Pa and Becca on Sundays, praying if he ever felt compelled. But after everything that had happened he had little belief in anything or anyone, choosing to bottle up any feelings or emotions that would come along with doing so. But despite all of that, he sat in front of the girl, completely vulnerable as he allowed her to lead him on his path to moving on.

So you could say Bucky Barnes was not usually a spiritual person, but he would have to say that if he believed in anything, it was her.

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hi! just wanna ley y’all know that all my nazar boncuk/mati (evil eye) charms and amulets are purchased from turkish and persian vendors and that i understand their cultural importance (btw ik u can buy them from other vendors that are arabic, greek, etc, but i just like these two turkish+greek sellers on etsy, lmk if u want the names! ) i lit rally am trying so hard to be cognisant so i hope nobody is upset by this vwlrktbkjln. ANYWAY i just wanted to try to write a short lil something without a lot of dialogue, bc i’ve been trying to improve my writing style and my ability to desribe things ig lately and have been focused on a really long one shot that imma post soon. i’m hella excited to post things i’m proud of! kk bye stay funky xx

[devorass]

Suggestions for the prompt thing: main cast day at the beach, Asra taking the apprentice to a Burning Man/Extravaganja type festival, Nadia being a fashion designer who finds her muse in the apprentice, apprentice coming home to find Julian trying to get into their apartment because he’s drunk and thinks it’s his (he lives next door)

aa i love all of these! thanks for sending them in

Main Cast-Day at the Beach

Asra-He probably loves going to the beach late evening/during sunset, and feels his magic rejuvenate with the water-He’ll show his excitement subtly, his smile a little brighter than usual, his posture more relaxed-Just wants to hold hands with you and run knee-deep into the water, even if he’s not wearing a swimsuit-Will play-fight in the water with you, collect shells he thinks you’ll like and make them into a necklace later on when you’re back home-Would collect sea water for magic rituals to take back with you-When it gets dark he’ll just sit by the water’s edge with your hands in his and your head on his shoulder, just taking in the sounds of the waves and the still of the night-Just a big ol’ sweet sap, really

Julian-Day at the beach? More like Night at the beach-It would probably not even be a planned trip really-Stumbling out of a nearby pub, he hears the sound of waves crashing on shore and his ears perk up-And when he notices a path towards the beach? He turns to you with the most dubious smirk-“How about some skinny dipping?” he suggests-and now here you are-Laughing like kids and dipping one another into the water -He’d wrap you up in his coat once you’re outside the water, “so you won’t catch a cold”, he says, not bc he’s embarrassed now after your skinny-dipping venture, ofc not--While you’re both drying up, he spends the time with you in his lap, telling you stories of his time with pirates and stories of Mazelinka’s pirate captain days

Nadia-Honestly, when she wakes you up one day saying ‘We’re going to the beach!’, you’re not even surprised-Like, it’s Nadia. She loves to spoil and surprise you, and she’s the best last-minute planner you’ve ever seen-She loves your excited smile when you’re close enough to the sea to see the ocean-Would probably set up a private area for just the two of you-You’d think she’s a countess, maybe things like stepping on seaweeds or mossy rocks would bother her-But don’t forget, she was raised by the sea-side-She loves the beach more than anyone-Would be content to just spend the day swimming and sunbathing with you-You can ask her what any kind of fish you see is-she’ll know -By sundown she happily rubs her hands on your sides to warm you up, before taking you back home for a warm shower with her ;)

Asra taking their apprentice to a Burning Man-like festival-Honestly, you’d be somewhat surprised he’s into this type of thing-But if you know anything, it’s that Asra is full of surprises-He takes Faust along, since she’s used to warm desert climates, and he knows she can rest in your tent if things get too rowdy/crowded-He’s not much of a drinker, but he might smoke a little whilst you’re there, if you’re both comfortable with it-Would love to walk around and see all the art installations, meet all the people he can meet-You’d probably end up with a huge crowd of new-found friends within hours of your arrival -Since Burning Man is a kind of festival where everyone is involved and can present artworks, music e.t.c, he’d love to play some music with you-Would make and bring incense, dried sage e.t.c with him to give to others! -Spends the night with your new friends, but will look forward to snuggling into you back at your tent -He’d honestly be impossible to wake up in the morning lmao, and being in the middle of a desert? His fluffy hair would become bed-hair galore (but who are we kidding, it’s still be adorable)

Nadia a fashion designer and the Apprentice is her muse

-She’s a world-renowned designer-No, really, she’s famous af-Think brands like Dior, that kind of famous-Her last collection was successful, but it’s been a few months with no news from her company-She hates to admit it, but sitting late at night at her office, her hands forming vice-like grips into her hair, she can’t help but admit it; she has no inspiration-The feeling of defeat turns into fatigue, and she trudges to her bed at the late hours of the night, disappointment coiled tight into her chest-The next morning she’s walking to the coffee shop by her apartment, when a figure catches her attention, walking by her on the street-It’s you-She’s not sure what drew you to her; you weren’t wearing anything extravagant, nor were you doing anything that caught her attention-But you passed by her and it’s like a surge of colours erupted behind her eyes, a dozen ideas and a new-found inspiration burning in her belly-Without thinking, she took a hold of your wrist, gently tugging you in place.-You turned to her with a bemused expression, one that mirrored hers as she realised what she’d done.-Stumbling over her own words, she muttered out a confused ‘Please, let me draw you’-You could’ve said no, you could’ve called her a creep and ran away-But you didn’t-You both settled over talking in the coffee-shop nearby, letting her explain her reasoning-The more she sat by you and talked with you, the more she felt like you were The One for her-From the way you spoke, to your laugh, to the gleam in your eyes; she felt the same way she felt when her hands gripped her pencils, when her hands seamed through fabrics and colours.-You agreed to letting her draw you, and with a flourish, she took out her sketchbook and pencils right then and there, sketching your face with such care you felt a blush creep onto your cheeks-You thought that she’d draw you and that’d be it, and to your surprise, you felt disappointed at the idea-But that couldn’t be further from the truth-When you were about to part ways, Nadia stopped you, taking hold of your arm and scribbling down her phone number on your palm.-Not long after, you became friends, and from friends you soon became lovers-She saw you not only as her muse, but as her beloved, as the person she’d give up anything and everything for-On the night of the release of her new collection, she brought you up on stage as she gave her opening speech, thanking you for the inspiration you gave her, for your love and patience-You became the power couple of the fashion industry

Julian accidentantly trying to enter your apartment bc he’s your drunk neighbour

-It’s 3am on a weekday, and you were midway through a sweet dream when a bang on your door woke you up-You blinked owlishly for a few seconds, trying to figure out what exactly it is that woke you, when you heard another bang on your front door, the sound of clinking metal and a loud mutter-You were being robbed. That’s the only thing you could think of. What else could it be?!-Cautiously, you gripped your cell phone in one hand, ready to call 911, and on the other, you grabbed a pan from the kitchen, raising it over your head as you neared the door and looked through the peephole.-Outside, you could see a tuff of auburn hair, could hear a low voice muttering a litany of what could only be curses, judging by their angered tone and-you assumed that was russian? -Oh god, was the russian mafia after you? Why?!-Taking in a deep breath, you opened the door, readying the pan in your hand…-…Only to come face to face with the most beautiful pair of eyes you’d ever seen-Well, first you saw a dude’s chest. Then you slowly looked up over the tall figure and. Well.-Wasn’t that…wait, you saw this man before. That’s your neighbour! Mr. Ugh, Mr…-“Devorak?” you muttered, trying out the surname you remember seeing on the door besides yours.-“Depends. Who’s asking?” He asked with a wink, leaning down to face you. -He cocked his head to the side, eyeing you up and down slowly.-“That’s weird. What’s a pretty face like you doin’ in my apartment?” he asked, “Not that I’m complaining”, he added with a shrug.-You tried to explain to him that he got the apartments wrong, battling the blush on your cheeks, but to no avail; you could smell the liquor on his breath from a mile away, could see he barely stood on two feet, leaning his body on your door for support.-After a moment of contemplation, you sighed, easing the frying pan down and to the side before you attempted to help him in.-“How much did you drink”, you mumbled under your breath as you wrapped a hand across his waist, hoisting him up the best as you could.-He didn’t answer your question; the moment you hoisted him away from the doorframe, he became instant deadweight, his eyes fluttering closed, small snores puffing air onto your neck.-You tugged him as far as your couch, dropping him there with a thud, but even that didn’t wake him.-You knew, of course, that taking a stranger into your apartment was a huge risk, reckless even.-But you knew this guy. Well, not exactly-but you saw him around a few times, and know he has a sister that lives in the neighbourhood because you saw her in the building often and chatted once on twice and-well, he just looked so defenceless. You didn’t feel threatened.-You filled up a glass of water and set it on the table beside him, then grabbed an extra blanket and threw it over his lanky frame.-You went to bed after that, but sleep didn’t find you until hours later, the feeling of his eyes on yours threading its way into your subconscious every time you tried to rest.-By morning, you woke up with a pounding headache, and for a moment, you thought all of last night’s happenings were just a weird dream.-But as you stretched and padded your way towards your kitchen for a cup of coffee, you knew this was no dream; not when the very same tall, dark, rowdy man from last night was taking slow cautious steps towards your front door.-He noticed you as you came to stand behind him and slowly turned, his expression like a deer caught in headlights.-“I-um-hello..?” he started, last night’s suaveness thrown out the window.-You greeted him good morning and waited, trying to will the awkwardness away, but he seemed to hangover to form a coherent sentence, and your headache wouldn’t let you form any rational thoughts in the moment.-“Thanks for um, for letting me stay. I shouldn’t have drank so much I must’ve mixed up our apartments since I live next to you, sorry I-“-You couldn’t help but laugh at his awkwardness, the way his nose scrunched up in embarrassment.-“Drink responsibly” you said with a grin, and invited him for some coffee.-He declined, hurriedly bidding you goodbye and rushing through the door, but you couldn’t blame him; the guy woke up hangover on his neighbours couch.-You spent the rest of your day like usual, but come evening, there was a knock on your door.-You opened it, and to your surprise, the same face that greeted you this morning stood there, a small smile tugging on his lips.-“I realised we never introdcued ourselves. And we live next to each other, and I did essentially spend the night here so…it’s only right” he said with a shrug. You noticed a box in his hands, and when he noticed your gaze, he smiled sheepishly.-“Ah, thank-you cookies. My sister insisted I should repay you, and I thought, what is the most universally loved thing? Cookies. So, here you go” he handed the box to you, the sweet smell drifting from it warm and inviting. -“And hum, I’m Julian. Julian Devorak.”-You introduced yourself in return, lavishing in the way he tried your name out on his lips, looking to you for reassurance.-“You know”, you started, “cookies go great with coffee. And with company.”-He needed no further invite-He was sprawled on your couch, eating cookies and laughing with you within minutes-And before either of you realised it, spending the day with each other, spending nights in one of your apartments, became a habit-And later on, when you were moving boxes from one apartment to the other, you laughed together over the awkward way you met.

i went overboard with this last one im sorry, i just have a fic in the works with the exact same plot and couldn’t help myself lmao

[such-a-common-girl]

A New Beginning (Carl Grimes x Reader)

Words: 4,444

Carl Grimes x Reader

Summary: You’re a girl around Carl’s age who happens to embrace the apocalypse- in your mind, nothing can bring you down. Whenever Rick finds you in the woods and takes you back with him to Alexandria, everyone is fascinated by your vulgar, outgoing, friendly attitude including Carl. Yours and Carl’s relationship blossoms, going from just friends to possibly something more.

Warnings: Mentions of death, mentions of depression, mentions of drugs, language, violence, vulgarity, attempted humor, fluff

a/n: ok i feel like this is shit bc i am suffering writer’s block at the moment but oh well :)

“Fuck,” You hiss, seeing the three walkers approaching your small, set up camp. One of them is closer to you than you had anticipated, and it grabs your backpack in attempt to bite you. Your backpack, which happened to be full of the food you had spent all day gathering, flies to the floor as you twist your body to stab it in the head.

It’s been a long day, and the last thing you want is to fight off more walkers right now. You’re alone, exhausted, and all you want to do is sleep.

Originally, you were in a small group with a few other people, your parents included. It wasn’t much- only a small camp about a mile off the coast with easy access to catch fish for food, and a freshwater river nearby. It was an ideal place to live during a time like this. But then a fight broke out between two members, causing gunfire to be shot off, and an entire herd of walkers to come your group’s way. As far as you know, you’re the only person who got out.

You’ll admit that at first, depression hit you like a freight train. You were suddenly alone, everyone you knew (presumably) dead, and you had no idea how to survive on your own. You spent months barely surviving, only eating once every few days and running away from walkers instead of fighting back. You were almost at a point of giving up when something just snapped in your mind. You can remember it vividly- you were laying inside of an abandoned house, curled up underneath a blanket when you thought to yourself, “What the fuck am I doing?”

Slowly, you learned and you survived. You taught yourself how to throw knives at wildlife, and how to start a fire to cook them. You ate berries that you found, only eating the ones you knew weren’t poisonous. You didn’t typically stay in one place for very long since you’re on the lookout for other groups that are willing to take you in. You pulled yourself out of your sadness and focused on not focusing on that. You may be alone, but you don’t have to be a “little bitch” about it, in your terms.

That’s how you got yourself into the predicament you’re currently in- the handfuls of berries and the few apples you picked earlier scattered around the floor, one dead walker alongside the dropped food and two other very alive walkers surrounding you.

“You fuckers!” You yell out, looking angrily down at the dropped contents from your backpack. “I spent all day picking those!”

The two remaining walkers started to close in on you, one within an arms length and the other only slightly behind it.

You stab the knife into the side one of the walker’s head, pushing it to the ground. “That’s what you get, ‘ya dickwad,” The other walker approaches you, walking slower than usual as its mouth hangs wide open, ready to attack.

“Oh, come on big boy, don’t play this game with me,” You joke around, attempting to make light at the situation, holding your already bloodied knife up. “Flirtin’ around, taunting me, walking slowly. That’s so not nice!” You pretend to frown. “But, since I am just such a nice person, unlike you who could probably use some lessons in politeness, I’ll do you a favor and make this shit fast.” You run up to it, plunging the knife into its forehead.

The walker, and thankfully the last one, falls to the ground. You wipe a bead of sweat off your forehead, putting your knife back into your pocket. Despite your big girl attitude, taking on walkers alone takes the energy out of you, especially since you’re currently only living on fruit and water. You pick up the items of food that you dropped earlier, setting them back into your backpack before leaning back up against the tree stump.

You take your water bottle out of the side pocket and down about half the water- not the best idea in retrospect, as you don’t know where the nearest water source is, but the heat and the exhaustion from walking all day is getting to you.

“Goddamn, you know for some dead people, you’ve got some strength to you.” You breathe out, still trying to catch your breath as your heart pounds.

After a few minutes, your heart rate has settled and you finally feel comfortable enough to relax. You’re about to set up your camp for the night when you see a shadowy figure hiding behind a tree. You squint your eyes, attempting to see clearer, but all you can make out in the evening light is a dark shape. You know that it’s an actual human being instead of a walker, since they’re just standing there and, you know, not trying to attack you.

“I see you.” You call you, giving the person a little wave. “Come join the party, we’re talking about our favorite Disney princess’.”

You can see the person step forward a little bit, almost hesitantly. You’re well aware that they could potentially be a dangerous person, but you’re also very observant. If they were going to hurt you, they would have done something sooner. They’re probably just as cautious about you as you are about them.

A man steps out into a light, his gun at the ready, a look of confusion on his face. He looks around at your surroundings- a few dead walkers off to the side, your backpack just beside you as you’re sitting down on a blanket. A look of sympathy flashes his face as he lowers his gun and walks closer to you.

“Who are you?” You raise an eyebrow at him, keeping your right hand beside the pocket where your knife was residing.

“I’m Rick. Are you alone out here?” He asks you, the sympathetic and worried look still on his face. You hesitate to answer, the possibilities of ‘what if’s’ running through your brain.

“I’m Y/N.” You end up saying, deciding that he looked genuinely worried enough about you to be someone harmful. “And yes, I’m alone. Me and my group… Well, long story short, it’s just me now.”

“How long have you been on your own?”

“I don’t know. A year, maybe.” You shrug your shoulders, taking your hand away from your knife and reaching over to your water bottle, taking another sip. “Why?”

“Look, Y/N,” Rick puts his hands out, showing that he’s not going to hurt you. “We’ve got a camp a few miles north of here. If you’re willing to answer a few questions, you can come back with me. It’s not safe for a young girl like you to be out here on your own.”

“Oh, holy shit, I’ll answer any question you want.” Your eyes go wide with excitement. The possibility of living with other people again is a luxury you didn’t think you’d have.

“How many walkers have you killed?” Rick asks, looking at you in the eyes seriously.

“I don’t know, I don’t keep track. Usually a few per day.”

“And how many people have you killed?”

“None. Haven’t needed to. Although, I don’t think I would hesitate to if it put me in danger.” You answer honestly. Rick stares at you, as if trying to decide if you were being truthful or not. Eventually, he lets out a sigh and he nods.

“Alright, Y/N. Come on.” He motions for you to follow him as he begins to walk away. You pick up your backpack, setting your water bottle back inside as you get up to follow him. He holds out his hand to take your backpack from you, offering to carry it.

“You know, I saw you kill those walkers back there. I’m pretty impressed.” Rick comments as you hand him over you pack, thankful to not have to lug around a heavy bag.

“At what?” You question. “I stabbed them in the head. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do?”

“No, that’s not what I’m talking about.” Rick shakes his head. “You’re just, I don’ know, you seem different. The way you went about it, what you were saying, how you were just crackin’ jokes along the way… Just don’t see that very often, that’s all.”

“Well, there must be some boring as shit people in your group, huh?” You smile at him. “But really, the way I see it, just don’t take everything so seriously and don’t be so tense all the time. Cracking jokes and poking fun is what gets me through all this shit. Also, imagining it like it’s some kick ass video game helps.”

“You’re something else.” Rick laughs. “The walk to Alexandria shouldn’t be too far, only about an hour or two. I think you’ll like it there. You can live with my kids and I until I can find you a more permanent place to stay.” Rick tells you. “I’ve got a boy around your age, sixteen or seventeen.”

“Oh, god no, I’m not wearing any makeup!” You say dramatically, earning a slight laugh from Rick as he shakes his head.

“I think you and Abraham will get along real well.”

“Who’s Abraham?” You question.

“He’s a part of our group, you’ll meet him once we get there.”

-

The walk didn’t take too long, as you tried to keep the conversation with Rick going. You’ve learned that there’s a few people around your age inside Alexandria, and you’d be lying if you said that you’re not excited to meet them. The only person you’re a little nervous about is meeting Carl, who Rick said was about your age. You’d always been awkward with guys, even back at your previous camp. You never failed to make them laugh, which was a good sign, but when it came to actual conversation that required more than just joking around you always got all shy.

“Here we are.” Rick says, and your jaw audibly drops when you realize that this ‘camp’ he was talking about was an actual walled up city.

“This… This was not what I was expecting.” You gape.

The main gate opens, revealing an entire civilization inside. Everyone stops as they see you and Rick walking inside the main gates, giving you odd looks. You smile and wave at all of them, trying as hard as you possibly can to be friendly. It normally comes to naturally, as you tend to be very extroverted, but you wanted to try extra hard. This is the first group you’ve come along since the beach camp- you want to make a good first impression.

“Hi, I’m Y/N.” You reach out your hand to the man who had opened the gate for you and Rick. He stares at you for a good few seconds before hesitantly reaching out his hand to shake it.

“Come on, Y/N, let’s get you settled in the house.” Rick says, and you follow him to a white house on the corner of the street. It’s cute, and something about it screams ‘safe’ to you. The entire place of Alexandria just makes you feel as if the apocalypse never started, like you’re right back at home. Although you have come to terms with the fact that things will never be the same as they were, and you’d even dare say that you embrace it now, it is a nice feeling to be safe.

“There’s an extra bedroom you can have for now. I’ll show it to you and then I’ve got to step out for a while. I’ll let you get acquainted with the place. There’s a working shower inside the bathroom, I’ll have Carl or Michonne bring you some new clothes. That sound good?” Rick asks you as he walks up the stairs of his house into the upstairs hallway.

“That sounds more than good, thank you.” You beam at him. He opens up a door to your right, and lets you inside. You immediately run over to the bed and jump on it, relishing the fact that you don’t have to sleep on the ground every night now.

“Hell yes. This shit is comfortable. Please excuse me while I sleep for three years.” You laugh.

“Enjoy yourself, and rest up. You’ve got a long day tomorrow, lots of people to meet.” Rick laughs before shutting the door behind him.

You lay in the bed for a while before deciding to get up and use the shower. You look through the drawers in the dresser, pulling out a towel and a flannel. You’re assuming that the flannel was put in there for this exact reason, just in case a guest was over.

You walk over to the bathroom, closing the door behind you. You turn on the water and begin to strip of your clothes. The water is warm on your back when you step in, and you relish the feeling. Once you finish up, you step out of the shower and wrap yourself in the towel, drying yourself of the excess water.

You quickly throw on the flannel and brush out your wet hair, letting it cascade down your back. You put the towel onto the hanger before you exiting the bathroom and heading back to your room.

“’Cause baby you’re a firework, c’mon let your colors burst,” You sing under your breath as you walk into your room, grabbing your underwear and sliding them back on. The song was very popular before the apocalypse started, and you’d be lying if you said it didn’t still get stuck in your head every once in a while.  

“Oh god,” You hear a voice say from behind you, along with the crash of a few things falling on to the floor. You jump, turning yourself to face the person who had caused such a ruckus. There was a guy standing there, wearing a flannel similar to the one you currently had on, a sheriff’s hat, and holding a pile of clothing in his hands. On the floor beside him was a lampshade that he had seemingly knocked over, earning a giggle from you.

“You’re Carl, right?” You ask, still laughing. His face goes red as he sets the clothes down on to your bed and proceeds to pick up the lamp.

“Yeah, uh, sorry about that.” He smiles in embarrassment, shaking his head. “Just wasn’t, uh, wasn’t expecting to you to be standing here in only my shirt.”

“This is your shirt?” You raise an eyebrow. “Good taste. It’s comfortable.”

You want to laugh and make a joke about how flustered he seems by seeing you in such little clothing, but he seems to be embarrassed enough. You take notice that he’s very attractive, probably the most handsome guy you’ve seen in a long time.

“Yeah, I like it, too.” He laughs. “Well, um, I’m gonna go. Gotta check on Judith. Nice to meet you, though.”

“You too! I’ll see you later!” You beam at him.

“Let me know if there’s anything else you need!” He tells you as he walks out the door.

Once he’s left the room, you settle yourself into your bed. You can’t help but think as your falling asleep about this new life you’re seemingly living now, and how much you can see yourself enjoying it.  

-

You don’t know how long you’ve been asleep, but by the time you wake up, it’s morning. The sunshine is beaming through the windows, your new bed feeling very comforting as your eyes flutter open.

“Y/N?” You can hear a voice say through the door, a few light knocks following.

“Hmm?” You say out groggily.

“It’s Carl. Dad wants you out here so you can meet everyone else.” Carl calls through the door.

You groan, throwing the blanket off of you as you throw one leg off the bed, forcing yourself to get up. Unfortunately for you, your eyes weren’t completely open yet as you started to walk to the door, and you trip over your own feet, landing face first into the floor.

“Motherfucker!” You yell out in pain, rolling over onto your back. You smacked your head pretty hard onto the hardwood floors, as well as a cut on your arm from the bedframe scraping you.

Carl rushes into the room, alerted by your yelling, and starts dying laughing once he sees the positon you’re in.

“How the hell did you manage that?” He asks in between laughs, and you start to laugh as well.

“Who the hell knows, I’m tired.” You shake your head, slightly embarrassed that Carl witnessed that. “Of course I had to embarrass myself in front of a cute guy on, what, the second day we’ve met?”

“I’m cute, huh?” Carl raises his eyebrows, reaching out his hand to help you up off the ground. You disregard his offer to help you up, and you get up on your own.

“Yeah, I’d say you’re pretty cute.” You wink at him, and now it’s his time to blush.

You walk over to your dresser, grabbing a pair of jeans and sliding them on. You know that Carl is watching you, but you don’t mind. You then put on your shoes and walk out of the room with Carl, heading downstairs to go meet up with Rick.

As you’re walking down the stairs, his eyes glance down to the cut on your arm. He reaches out to touch it slightly, making you wince.

“You get that from your fall upstairs?” He questions, and you nod. “It looks like it hurts.”

“Yup, it hurts. But not ‘getting fucked in the ass without any lube’ kind of pain, I’d say it’s a mere paper cut level pain. I can handle it.”

Carl begin to choke on the air he’s breathing, unable to contain his shock at what you just said. It soon turns into laughing, and you can’t help but grin. Laughter looks good on him.

“I can’t believe you just said that.” He laughs.

“If I’m gonna be living here with you guys, you’re gonna have to get used to it. Everyone here seems so tense, so serious. You guys need to learn how to let loose and enjoy yourselves every once in a while. What’s the point in living if you can’t crack jokes and have fun?”

“I guess you’re right.” He agrees with you as you two enter the living room area, heading towards the front door. “I think you and Abraham will like each other.”

“I’m intrigued. I wanna meet Abraham as soon as possible, because your dad told me the same exact thing.”

You and Carl walk down the steps of the patio, the warm sun beaming onto both of your faces. People are walking by, but this time they aren’t giving you any kind of weird looks.

Carl motions for you to follow him. You stay close behind him as he leads you some place, you’re not sure where. After a few minutes of walking, you’re in front of a decent sized building with at least a dozen people standing outside. Rick is standing in the center of them, his eyes lighting up when he sees you two.

“Hey, Y/N, come here. People wanna meet ‘ya.” Rick waves you over.

“I’ll talk to you later.” You tell Carl, nodding at him as you walk over to Rick.

Everyone is looking at you sympathetically, which you hate. You don’t like sympathy and you certainly don’t want any from these people. They all look nice enough, though.

“Well, hi everyone! I’m Y/N.” You smile at them all. “Sorry to intrude on your camp here. Didn’t even wanna come, Rick here practically had to force me.”

A look of shock crossed all of their faces before they realized you were kidding, and they all started to grin.

“You already know me, and I’m assumin’ Carl since you’re wearin’ his shirt. This is Daryl, Carol, Maggie, Glenn, Michonne, Rosita, Eugene, Abraham, Tara, and Sasha. That over there talking to Carl are Ron and Enid, and Ron’s little brother Sam.” Rick introduces you to everyone.

“We’re glad that you’re here, Y/N.” The woman Rick had introduced as Maggie tells you.

“So you were all alone?” Carol frowns, a look of concern on her face. “You can’t be older than seventeen, which must have been terrifying.”

“I mean, not really. To the being scared part. At first, yeah, it was nerve wracking going from having all these people with you to suddenly being by yourself. But it wasn’t too terrible, really. I didn’t mind. I’d even go as far as saying that there were times when I enjoyed myself.” You explain. “But yes, alone as a cat lady on Valentine’s Day.”

“You’re funny. I like you.” Abraham comments, patting you on the back. “I see why Rick here has been sayin’ you’re like a girl version of me.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” You smile. You can see Carl staring at you while he is talking to Enid. Or, more specifically, she’s talking to him. He’s nodding at her, obviously not listening, as he focuses on what you’re doing. You give him a smile, and he grins a little bit before tearing his eyes away from you.

“Carl, huh?” Maggie raises her eyebrows.

“Hm?”

“I see you two lookin’ at each other.”

“Oh, no, we’re in this, like, contest to see who can embarrass themselves the most in front of each other. It’s sad, really. He almost broke a lamp when he first saw me, and then this morning I fell face first onto the floor, and… Yeah, I’m rambling. I’ll stop. But, I won’t deny that he’s cute.”

“You’re adorable.” Maggie laughs. “Well, if you ever need anything, let me know.” She says before walking off with Glenn.

You talk to a few more other people, all of them intrigued and genuinely shocked at how you managed to be so upbeat and friendly during a time like this. But overall, everyone here is nice and you get along with them pretty well.

“You know, if you’re talking to someone, you could try to look a little more interested in the conversation.” You whisper into Carl’s ear as you approach him.

“I was interested.” Carl lies, turning towards you. “I’m going back to the house, you can come if you want.”

“You looked bored out of your mind talking to that girl Enid. You just couldn’t tear your eyes away from me, huh?” You tease him, following him as he walks to your shared house.

He doesn’t respond to you, keeping his face straight as he focuses on getting to the house. You take this time to admire him, realizing just how attractive he truly is. You noticed it last night, but he just seems to only be growing more handsome to you by the minute.

“You know, I can’t tell why you’re being so nice.” He comments as the two of you walk up the porch steps and inside the door. “I’ve never met anyone like you before, you know.”

“To be fair, I’ve never met anyone like me, ether.”

“I like it.” He admits. “You’re so different from everyone else here. It’s a nice change of pace.”

“Thank you.” You smile.

“I’ve got some comic books upstairs, if you want to come read them with me?” He offers.

“Comic books?” You scrunch your nose. “I’ve never read them before. Although I watched Iron Man and he was a comic book character I think.”

“I’ll show you, come on. They’re pretty good.” He grabs your hand in his, leading you up the stairs to his room.

His room looks similar to yours, not very personalised or intricate. You definitely wouldn’t assume it was a teenage boys room, but you realize that this is probably not where he grew up. You know nothing about Carl.

“Carl, where are you from?” You ask him as you sit down on his bed beside him, picking up a comic book.

“Georgia. Most everyone you met here today is from there, actually. We only got to Alexandria a few months ago.” He tells you. “What about you? You’re like this big mystery girl to everyone here.”

“Besides the fact that I’m fucking awesome? There’s not much to me.” You shrug. “I grew up in Tappahannock, a small town on the beach in lower Virginia. Once this whole shit storm happened, we traveled up north a bit and had a camp on a beach. That didn’t last, obviously, and here I am now.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologise. It’s fine. I’m a big girl and I handled things.”

“We went through a lot of shit, too. If it makes you feel any better. First it was a camp outside Atlanta, then Maggie’s farm, and then for a while we were staying at a prison but some douchebag who called himself the governor blew it up. There’s more, but…”

Before you realize what you’re doing, you lean in and kiss him on the cheek. He tenses as your lips touch his cheek, color flushing to his cheeks.

“Wow, I’m sorry, I have no idea where that-” You start to say, but you’re cut off by Carl’s lips pressing up against yours.

His lips move clumsily against yours, but it’s sweet. He presses down onto the bed, climbing on top of you as you two kiss. Your hands travel up to his shoulders as you wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him in closer. The two of you pull away after a few moments, your foreheads pressing up against each other.

“I’ve been wanting to do that since the moment I saw you.” Carl whispers.

“Since the moment you first saw me in my underwear and you popped a boner? Yeah, I noticed that, by the way.” You tease.

“Yeah, that moment.” He smiles. “I never thought I’d be so happy about my dad bringing back some random girl he found in the woods.”

And in that moment, you knew that this was going to be the start of something.