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#I like this one so so much probably one of my favourite drawing ever I'm not even kidding
keishawantskisses · 2 days
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Oh, nothing much, just a list of reasons why I am so excited to permashift to my ultimate 4d reality //better current reality//
∘₊ ✧───────────────────✧₊∘
— EXPERIENCING DESIRED SCENARIOS
I am a hardcore daydreamer just like my brother and sister shifters(you guys🫵🏾), and I can't wait to really live the silly imagines I always have in my head. Even if it's something relatively small, I will still get to live every second of them.
Idk if some of you guys will remember that one post where I mentioned Googlebox? But I'm mentioning it again🙄 because I scripted me, my love of my life, his sister who is my bff, my own girl bff and her boyfriend are part of the program teehee. I swear no one will ever understand how much of a comfort show Googlebox is to me and in general.
The idea of being on TV whilst watching TV and relaxing with my favourite people and eating my favourite food just makes me melt. It's such a core memory to me and idk I just love showing off how perfect my family is to everyone else
— FOOD
I can't wait for all the delicious food I'll get to eat. There will never be a single time where I have to eat something I don't like or don't want to ever again, because why should I have to? I'm mostly excited to have stuff like popeyes, McDonald's, seafood boils, those Korean and Japanese foods you see on mukbangs, loads of fruit bowls (I really do love fruit), basically everything meat/barbecue, pasta including ramen, and sweets too cus🧍🏿‍♀️🤷🏾‍♀️
— NO UGLY CLOTHES ALLOWED
Never will there be a day or night where I will ever need to wear clothes that don't suit me or clothes I don't like. My closet is going to be full of the cutest and gorgeous late 90s and early 2000s skirts, shirts, bellbottoms, flares, jackets, oversized ts, shorts, belts, slippers, jewelry, panties and bras etc etc
— ALREADY COMPLETED WORK
In my better cr, I scripted that I am already miles ahead of everyone in college work (and best believe all my work is at distinction level) so I have all the time in the world to do what I want until the next brief; I also scripted the date of month that I will wake up in my better cr in is the 16th April last week so I will have only 3 days of college next week (because i go in on mondays, tuesdays, wendsays and Thursdays) and 4 weeks of freedom to myself. (I also scripted my teachers let me do my own art work in my free time in class, cus sometimes all a girl wants to do is draw their ocs🥺)
— CURRENTLY IN MY MOVING ERA
In better cr, I am kind of in the planning process of moving out of my house to my apartment penthouse with my friend group. I'm thinking of moving out at 18 or 19 years old since I'm 17 rn and I still want to explore my better cr house cus it's wayyyy better than this one. But even once I've moved out I'll probably keep visiting my old home where my mum and her husband lives because.
∘₊ ✧───────────────────✧₊∘
Overall, I am so excited to experience everything I have ever dreamed of. I know I deserve my freedom and peace, excitement, and joy. Being able to just do what I want when I want and always knowing that no matter what, everything is going to be okay.
Life is so amazing, and it's so worth living. I know I will manifest my desired reality in no time, and I know all of the stress, time, anxiety, and patience won't be for nothing. Life is mine to explore, and I can't wait to do so
@4ellieluv @livingmydreamlife5555 @theshifterbear @cocozydiaries
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diazsdimples · 2 days
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20 Questions for Fic Writers
Tagged by @dangerpronebuddie thanks friend!!
How many works do you have on ao3?
13! Will be 18 when I finish all my current wips (should be 19 but one has been abandoned 🥲)
What's your total ao3 word count?
230,841 words
What fandoms do you write for?
Exclusively 9-1-1, mostly because I deleted all my old British Actor RPF fics 😐
Top 5 fics by kudos:
1. Buck's Baby (By Accident) (Buddie)
2. For the rest of my life (for the rest of yours) (Buddie)
3. Sweet child of mine (Bucktommy)
4. In a drought I'll give you water (Buddie)
5. Fucking Finally (Finally Fucking) (Buddie)
Do you respond to comments?
Eventually 😬I try my best!!
What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
None of my published fics have a shred of angst. However, Frostpunk AU is full of it so it'll be that
What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
All of them?? But probably Sweet child of mine or For the rest of my life (for the rest of yours) for hopeful endings
Do you get hate on fics?
Not really? I did have one person get mad at me for events that transpire in Buck's Baby (By Accident) but idc really
Do you write smut?
No. Never. Smut is terrible.
(This is a blatant lie, 7/13 of my fics are smut and I have 3 wips that have smut)
Craziest crossover?
I don't write crossovers.
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
If I have, I'm gonna throw hands
Have you ever had a fic translated?
Not that I know of!
Have you co-written a fic before?
Currently co-writing 2 with @hippolotamus and @theotherbuckley!
All time favorite ship?
Buddie. Always Buddie. Will always be Buddie. Followed closely by Bucktommy
What's a wip you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?
I really hate to say this but probably my Single Dads AU. She's so beefy and the size of it has scared the hell out of me. As much as I love it, I don't think it gets as much traction as other wips and the beans just haven't been there.
What are your writing strengths?
I honestly don't know, I think I can write smut pretty well? And I'm not bad at cute stuff. The honest truth is I am extremely insecure about my writing abilities and think I'm average at best.
What are your writing weaknesses?
I struggle with dialogue as I often feel like I'm being too OOC. Also descriptions. I spend the most time sitting there thinking of how tf to describe something.
Thoughts on dialogue in another language?
I can google translate pet names and that's where I draw the line. I don't want people to say that I'm saying stuff wrong.
First fandom you wrote in?
Marvel and Sherlock, at the same time.
Favorite fic you've written?
Play me like a fiddle is my labour of love and the fact that it flopped the way it did made me so sad. My next favourite would be You've got me whipped (Brat!Buck BDSM fic) cause it was so out of my comfort zone but I feel like I did it well, or In a drought I'll give you water because I have never been funnier in a fic than in this one.
Tagging (if you wanna): @theotherbuckley @hippolotamus @daffi-990 @watchyourbuck @bidisasterevankinard
@neverevan @aroeddiediaz @spotsandsocks @alliaskisthepossibilityoflove @nmcggg
@jesuisici33 @wikiangela @loveyouanyway @cal-daisies-and-briars @exhuastedpigeon
@kitteneddiediaz @thekristen999 @actuallyitsellie @loserdiaz @elvensorceress
@underwaterninja13 @rainbow-nerdss @smilingbuckley @spagheddiediaz @steadfastsaturnsrings
@thewolvesof1998
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nouverx · 3 months
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I feel the room swayin'
While the band's playin'
One of our old favourite songs from way back when 🎵
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sskk-manifesto · 4 days
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#Wow. Okay ♡#I love this episode. The animation is flawless. The drawings quality is out of the world for real.#I love this episode so much I'm so grateful so much care and dedication went to this sskk centered episode.#(Refraining to talk about what 5x03 could have been)#Sorry for repeating myself but seriously the illustrations this episode are so so pretty.#I rarely appreciate how Akutagawa is drawn in the anime but when it comes with this episode I really like how he looks too.#And Atsushi that I already like a lot in the anime on average‚ this episode is just fabulous. Handsome even.#Seriously I don't know who the animators are but I want to kiss them. This art style is one I dare say I like even more than Dead Apple–#that although is obviously more detailed is just... In comparison too rough for my personal taste?#The art style for this episode is very delicate and soft and I love it tons#And the directing is just great. No weird pacing or awkward ost choice. It's neat.#The reiterated placing ss/kk on opposite sides is neat. The lightening is likeable and especially the purple scene is super pretty.#The “don't compare me to him” scene is neat. The ss/kk final scene is AMAZING. It's gorgeous and stunning and awestriking and every other–#epitome in the world. It's like the only scene I believe turned out better in the anime that it is in the manga which is saying SO MUCH.#But it's really that good!!!!! My favourite anime ss/kk scene ever.#Aaaaaahhh please let me talk about it forever it's sooo pretty and especially poignant...#The heaven-like soft yellow light and how it contrasts with the bleak stormy background. But especially their softening features...#Man that scene. okay. Akutagawa's quiet surprise!!!! That scene is. Idk. Unfortunately chapter 88 exists–#but it's nearly the most romantic thing ever.#I'll leave it at this. It's not like the bsd animation suddenly became a masterpiece and this is still an episode–#I would say I like less than my least liked k/l/k episode (Trigger animation my beloved). But in comparison with the rest of the anime–#It's really bsd anime at its peak#random rambles#Aah peoples btw I'm probably going to spam ss/kk‚‚‚‚ a lot today. Apologies in advance unfollow me now etc. etc.
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maopll · 13 days
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"Enough with the what would you do if I was a worm let's talk about what would I do if YOU were a worm !"
You slammed your desk on the counter looking at your boyfriend with eyes that show dedication and spirit.
"Why would I ever turn into a worm?" he gives you a puzzled look.
"No we are just assuming like hypothetically ! So listen with your eyes and ears !" you run across the counter and whip a chair and sit beside him as if you were about to piece quantum theory.
"I'm listening" he crosses his arms and rests his chin on them.
"So first of all I have a criteria... I'd throw you or feed you to the chickens near the market if you were ugly"
He looks at you with disbelief in his eyes "you'd throw out your boyfriend of so many years?..."
You then quickly say to lighten up his mood, "But! I probably won't throw you once I know you are my boyfriend !"
You stand up and move over to him and wrap one hand around his neck, while the other draws an impression of something on the air.
"I'll bring a big terrarium for you! I'd fill that with your favourite plants, you favourite log of wood ! and even feed you premium worm feed as well!" Your eyes sparkled like they had stars in them.
"But..." your shoulders slump and your voice softens," I wouldn't like it if you become a worm... that means that I would get neither a fulfilling kiss or an affectionate cuddle from you"
He looks at you with wide eyes. That was the thing that he least expected to hear from you but a part of him also makes him feel like it was to be expected because... that's just how you are.
"So don't turn into a worm— mmmhph ???" Before you could even finish your sentence, he kissed you on the lips while pouring all his love, he tried to hide his face but the red hue on his cheeks were a dead giveaway to how much he was blushing.
"Idiot... I'll never turn into a worm..."
— NEUVILETTE, wriothesley, WANDERER, ayato, ALHAITHAM, zhongli, DILUC, XIAO, welt, DAN HENG, blade, DR RATIO, luocha, jing yuan, LUCIFER, SATAN, leona, VIL, MALLEUS, Jack, RIDDLE, AZUL
tagging: @fictoculus @poison-demon @mitsvriii @pianopuppygirl @sleepy-waffle
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justporo · 8 months
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Even more fluffy relationship headcanons for Astarion and Tav
Listen guys, I'm not done yet. For now, as soon as I get one idea out, three more pop up in my mind and since you guys seem to really like these (it's seriously and positively insane to me), I'll happily provide you more as long as I am able to. So, let's-a go: more headcanons and little ideas about them being together!
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(Gif from here!)
You love when Astarion smiles at you - just openly and full of joy; the sort of smile you've rarely seen from him during your adventures but they keep getting more and more, also they make him look just so young and carefree and beautiful and your heart just... melts
When Astarion quickly notices how you basically faint whenever he does this, he starts employing it to work his charms on you when he needs it - not the real big and joyous smiles though because they are so real and cherished to him he wouldn't dare use it to tease or manipulate you - they're only reserved to make you happy
Charming you is like breathing to Astarion though, you are just so helpless against his flattery and flirting because why would you resist if you could just give him everything that makes him happy?
When you mention once though that you'd hope to gain some immunity to it some time, Astarion is insulted: "No, love, making you blush is my favourite thing in the world. You are so beautiful with your cheeks all flushed. As long as I have a say in it, we will never stop!"
Tav likes teasing him just as much as Astarion enjoys it the other the way around: "You know if you would stop drawing your brows together all the time, it'd take fifty years off your face immediately." Moments of silence in which Astarion is just utterly shocked by your burn, then: "Who taught you to be this brutal, darling?" You raise an eyebrow at him, he helplessly lifts his arms: "Yeah right, I have only myself to blame."
Also, Astarion and Tav are definitely the kind of power couple that throw each other meaningful sassy looks when they're with other people and those are talking shit or something
Also, afterwards they will most definitely discuss and gossip over everything they experienced
Astarion is definitely the kind of man that would shower Tav with gifts, from coming home with a single beautiful flower that "reminded me of you, my beautiful blossom" ("How cheesy..." "Ah, so rather a gouda next time?") or a nice bottle of wine to share to bigger gestures like jewelry or expensive dresses ("When am I ever gonna wear this, Astarion?" "I don't know, we'll just make an opportunity!")
Tav loves all of his gifts but probably the small ones or the hand-crafted ones the most, she's happy with the little things but Astarion insists she deserves the big ones just as much
One time though, Astarion comes home with something else entirely; it's pouring outside and he's completely drenched and hiding something in his doublet jacket; "What do you have there, Astarion, a wheel of cheese?" Astarion carefully opens up his jacket to reveal a small white kitten that is just as drenched as him and is desperately trying to cling to the vampire's chest. "I found her all alone in a dark alleyway, cold and completely soaked, I thought maybe we could take care of her and she could be friends with Scratch?", he says while he carefully lifts up the small ball of fluff with an incredible softness in his eyes. Your heart is thoroughly melting as you walk over to them and you give Astarion the most loving of kisses
Well, the last one would almost be a drabble on it's own, I saw a similar post that made me think of this (I will find and tag them later!) Hope you enjoyed and I'm late for work now, whoops...
This is the post I mentioned before, by @mushy6902 (I hope it's okay I wrote a somewhat similar idea, thanks for inspiring me!)
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songsofadelaide · 6 months
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cw/tw: sickfic, fluff, reader has she/her pronouns, gojo being a little silly. wc: 666
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"She's down with a fever, so don't get any ideas, Gojo."
"Wh— You talk as if I'm going to do something nefarious to her, Shoko!"
"Nefarious, no, but idiotic, probably. Do all of us a favour and steer clear of her in the meantime. We don't want others catching this bug."
They say fever dreams are usually unpleasant, but why was this some kind of replay of one of your favourite high school memories instead? Favourite except for the fact that you were sick. 
"Y'know I've never really actually gotten sick before because of my infinity and all…"
A cool hand is pressed to your burning forehead, a sigh of relief leaving your lips as you come into contact with it. 
"Yikes, she's actually burning up!" 
"That's why I told you to stay away. If you or anyone else catches this, I am going to lock you all in the morgue for all I care."
"You'd do that to her?!"
"Not her, of course!"
Getting sick is probably one of the worst things that could ever happen to you. Some days, you can't seem to sweep your condition under the rug, no matter how hard you try to be normal about it. A cold was starkly different from being cursed and it was such a normal thing that Shoko had no other choice but to treat it normally— by telling you to drink your meds and get some rest. 
Nanami said he'd handle your pending mission, so rest you did. 
There was nothing at all restful about having to stay on campus, though, with Shoko saying she could keep a better eye on your condition there. You felt like the walls and the halls already knew so much. The happiness of your youth, the sadness and anguish of having friends perish before your very eyes, and the bittersweetness of your first love. 
"Pain, pain, go away…"
Your first love that seemed to stalk the halls of the magic college, for some reason. 
"Come again another day…"
The humming sounded far too real now to be a dream, even more so when the same cool touch was pressed to your forehead again. "Ah…"
"It's okay, you can sleep some more."
In fear you may be in delirium, you opened your eyes and found Satoru seated right by your bedside, a wet towel and a basin of water right next to him. "Satoru?…"
"Sorry. Did I wake ya?" He asked, though you couldn't get a read on his expression with that ridiculous blindfold over his eyes. "Heard from Shoko that you were sick, so…"
"Didn't she tell you not to come over?" You said with a sigh. 
"No need to be so worried about me. I've never really actually gotten sick before because of my infinity."
"I know, I know. You've always been too invincible."
He brushed his cold knuckles over your forehead once more, finally drawing out a tired smile from you. "Do you want me to grab you some ice water or something?"
"No, I'm good…" You told him, gently holding him back from moving away from you. When he realised what you meant, he placed his hand over your forehead again. "You're like a popsicle."
It was his turn to chuckle this time. "Ramune flavour?"
"Exactly."
Satoru slightly moved to reach for your hand, clammy as it was, his cold fingers curling around your warmer ones, and somehow, you can't really tell if all of this is real. 
"Satoru…"
"Yeah, sweets?"
"Can you pinch my hand or something? I feel like I'm in high school again and I'm dreaming all of this up. After all, I like you so much that I might even be hallucinating."
He squeezed your hand with just enough force as if asking, is it real enough yet?
"…Real," you sighed and nodded to yourself. "Sorry…"
"Whatever are you apologising for?" He grinned at you. "You think I don't like hearing about how much you like me, even from before?"
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crustaceousfaggot · 1 year
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So I've been thinking a lot about the setting of Disco Elysium. Specifically it being set in late winter/early spring. It's not something I've really seen anyone else bring up.
I mean, the symbolism seems pretty obvious right? Spring is the time of new beginnings, winter is ending and we're entering a time of potential and rebirth. Definitely nothing new. But I think it goes beyond that.
I live in one of the coldest major cities in the world. Not *the* coldest, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a city with over 1,000,000 inhabitants that gets colder than it gets here. Winters are long and brutal and difficult, and when the soil itself is frozen and covered in a foot of packed snow it's really hard to believe that the world could look any other way.
And don't get me wrong, winter is beautiful. The world is quiet and picturesque. There's none of the usual dirt and debris in the streets because it's all buried under the snow. The way that fresh snow sparkles under street lights at night is one of the most breathtakingly gorgeous things I've ever seen.
It's early April right now, and the snow is melting. It's not all gone, but it's getting there. When the air starts to warm up there's this feeling of excitement and anticipation in the air. Spring is here, and any second now the world will be bursting with new life and beautiful greenery.
But it's not. Not yet.
For about a month and a half after the snow starts to melt, the world is grey. No glittering snow, no budding flowers, no swirling red leaves, just puddles of brown water and lawns of brown grass. It's like winter had ended, but the world has yet to realize that it's supposed to be spring. Until it remembers, we're all trapped in a world where there is no season at all.
Sometimes it snows, but the snow never sticks around. Sometimes it rains, but the rain never brings flowers in its wake.
That last month of winter, that first month of spring, whatever you want to call it, is my least favourite time of year. I heard it described once as "the long-preserved corpse of autumn, finally allowed to rot", and that phrase stuck with me. There are eight month old leaves on the ground, skeletal and bleached grey by a winter trapped under the ice. Without the snow to cover it, you can't ignore just how much we've let our city go to shit. The trees are bare and skeletal, and even the evergreens look washed out and grey when they're not contrasted against the snow. Most of the birds aren't back yet, so the only sound outside my window is the ever-present hum of traffic.
It's impossible to ignore the movement and the sounds of humanity, but at the same time the world has never felt so stagnant.
I think there are all sorts of comparisons you could draw here, some of which hold up better than others. The one that first comes to mind for me is sobriety- the line "Full recovery will take years, though. It’ll be depressing. And it’ll be boring. Don’t expect any further rewards or handclaps." from the "Waste Land Of Reality"o thought is one which really stuck with me on my first playthrough, and one which feels especially appropriate here. But that's just one angle.
How much of this was intentional? I don't know. Probably not most of it. Part of me just wanted to go on a little tangent about the seasonal purgatory I'm trapped in once again. But I genuinely don't think there could be a better time of year to set a game like Disco Elysium. That bleak dusty shoulder season, where all the ugliest and most honest parts of nature and civilization are on display. The time of year where I've gone through the ringer and come out the other side, but everything still looks and feels like shit. It's just a different kind of shit.
Spring isn't here. Not yet. And when it does come, it won't fix anything. There will still be garbage on the ground and pollution in the air, there will still be class inequality and senseless violence and I will still be mentally ill.
But still.
For the first time in months, I can feel the wind against my skin without it hurting.
Whatever that's worth.
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yeeterthek33per · 8 months
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Girls Like You (Katrina Gorry x Reader)
A/n y'all wanted part 2, so here she is 😊
Warnings: teeny mention of bad times. Little bit of mention of some violence, not much, though. Mentions of mental health. Some mention of illness.
Also, buckle in, guys. She's a long one.
Part one
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Katrina was sure she'd left her favourite shirt on the top shelf. That way, it was away from grabby hands and accidental spillages. Of course, now that she actually needed it, it was missing.
Harper's sat on the bed, playing with an electronic drawing pad. (She made the mistake of giving her actual non-toxic markers one day. Never again.)
As she digs through the large pile of clothing now on the floor, there's a small knock at her bedroom door.
"Hey, Min, just me and Kyra, you need help with anything?"
She sighs softly, standing up again and walks to the door, pulling it open.
"Yeah, I can't find my favourite shirt. Have you guys seen it?"
Charlie thinks for a second.
"You mean that blue sleeveless one?"
"No, the white button-up."
Charlie frowns for a second.
"Don't you own like ten of those?"
Katrina shakes her head. "No, Harper keeps spilling things on them, and at the rate she's doing it, my washing machine can't keep up, so I'm pretty sure I'm down to one again."
She rubs at her face softly. This really wasn't helping her nerves now. Charlie sighs softly before pushing the girl to the bathroom.
"Just put on your other clothes, and get ready. I'll have a look while you finish up."
"Thanks Cha."
She waves her off and continues digging through the mess that she'd probably end up having to lock in the wardrobe and clean up when she got back.
She puts on a pair of blue denim shorts and a simple tank top, so she's not wearing nothing when she steps out.
Twenty minutes of makeup, and another twenty for hair, later, and she walks out of the bathroom.
She can see Charlie sitting on the bed beside Harper, chatting with the small girl, keeping her occupied while she draws as well.
"Oh wow, is that a soccer ball?"
The girl eagerly nods her head.
"That's so coool. I love it. Who'd you draw it for?"
"Mummy! Soccer makes her happy, I made it for her."
Katrina's heart just melts that little bit more. Charlie turns to Katrina with the same expression, hand over her chest.
"Any luck?"
"Yup, it was on the top shelf in the corner still."
She rolls her eyes, and Charlie tosses the shirt to her.
"Of course it was."
She puts the flowy white shirt on and checks her reflection, huffing slightly.
"Nerves?" She hears from behind her.
Charlie's watching her with a small smile.
"Little bit. Nothing I don't normally deal with. In theory, this should be the easiest thing I've done all week."
The blonde only leans her head into her palm. She knows that's not really the case.
"Buuuut?" She prompts gently.
"But.. ugh, I don't know. She makes me a little nervous, is all."
"A little? Min', you've been jittery all week. What's making you so nervous? She obviously has the hots for you, and she set this date up, despite the fact you asked her out, so she obviously wants to go out."
"I know, but like, what if I end up being a disappointing date or something?"
Charlie gives her a pointed look.
"You're kidding, right? Min', I love you and care about you, and I'm gonna say this in the nicest way possible while your child is currently crawling all over me." Harper grins up at the defender.
"You are the nicest, sweetest, protective, and most caring person and a brilliant mother and one heck of a footy player. If you're disappointing to her, she's losing out on a world of love that she won't ever find elsewhere."
Katrina looks down, fighting a small flush creeping up her neck.
"Okay, but what if the fact that I have a child scares her off?"
"Are you serious? You better not be."
Katrina only blushes more at that. Charlie sighs softly.
"Min', aside from the circumstances you both met in and the fact she met your child before meeting you. She said yes to a date, knowing full well you had a kid. In fact, she messaged you just yesterday, asking if the date went well enough, Could you both spend your second date doing something with Harper. It's been four days, and she already loves this little human being. And I certainly don't blame her."
She trails off, giving Harper a big kiss on the cheek, making the girl giggle.
"Yeah, okay, I get your point." A smile makes its way onto her lips at the sight.
"You better. I'm serious Min', you're too good for her not to know what she'd be missing."
She gives her a grateful smile.
The older woman sits back on the bed, and Harper jumps out of Charlie's arms and into her mother's.
"Hi!"
"Hello, little miss."
It makes her little one giggle again, and she hugs her tight, Harper is very much happy to do the same. She's so grateful to have her. She's been light in her life for the two years since she'd been born.
A ping on her phone pulls her back to reality. It's from you.
"Hey! I'm on my way, be about twenty minutes or so? Say hi to Harps for me.😊"
There's a tingle that runs through her when she reads the message.
Charlie just gives her the I-told-you-so look.
Katrina gives her a small shove and texts you back.
"Hey, all good 😊See you soon 😉. Also, will do!"
-------
"I'm still nervous, Ash, It's my first date in like four months. What if I fuck it?"
"Dude, just don't fuck HER on the first date and it's fine."
Your sister's voice plays over the speaker in your car. You'd called her the moment you left the house, nerves grating you down a bit.
You roll your eyes at her.
"Yeah, there's no chance of that happening on the first date. You forget she's got a kid that she still has to go home to. Plus, she doesn't seem like the type to have sex on the first date and take off."
"She doesn't have to stay the night for you both to-."
"Alright! Jesus, I get the point. But still, she seemed genuinely nervous about asking me out."
"Wait, so why are you arranging the date then?"
"I don't know? I messaged first, she was happy to let me take the lead on that one, I'm assuming she's just a little busy, that's why I jumped in. Figured it would be nice for someone to take her out."
She pauses for a second.
"You said she's a professional football player?"
"Yeah why?"
"What's her name again?"
"Ashley, I'm not letting you stalk her, you already scared my last date off, I'm not letting you scare this one off too."
She gets defensive.
"I was not going to stalk her, I was just curious where she plays is all."
"Uhuh, right. Thats exactly what you were looking for."
"You want my help or not?"
"Not if you're gonna internet stalk the poor woman."
"I'm just making sure she's genuine and not some serial killer."
"Oh my fucking god, Goodbye Ashley."
"I was just looki-."
You hit the hang up button. You were just about to pull up at Katrina's place anyway.
You pull over on the side of the road and quickly check yourself in the mirror.
You went with a rolled up white rolled see-through button up tucked into a pair of black jeans and a black bra underneath. That and a pair of your lucky white skate shoes.
You try and steel your nerves a bit, wiping your palms on your pants and spray a quick bit of mint breath freshener in your mouth.
You get out of the car and make your way to the door and hit the door bell.
----------
"Ooh, shes heerrreee." Charlie takes off down the stairs.
"Charlotte Layne Grant! Do not answer that door!"
By the time she tells Kyra to watch Harper and runs down the stairs she's already got the door open.
"Hey, Y/n! She's just coming down now. Now, no funny business, we want her home by no later than ten and- Hey!"
She gets shoved away from the door by a very annoyed looking Katrina.
You watch on, biting your lower lip to hide a laugh, flowers in hand.
You hear her scold the blonde mildly and then she returns to the door a little flustered.
Her hair is down straight but tucked back just over shoulders. The white flowy shirt, rolled back to just below her elbows, shows off her wrist tattoos and her collarbone. Your eyes trail over it before meeting her eye again with a small grin noticing her having done the same.
"Hey, you."
"Hi." She says it with a grin of her own.
You offer her the flowers, and she pulls you towards her into a hug. Your arms wrap around her, keeping the flowers from being crushed. She's only a little bit shorter than you, so you're able to rest your chin on her shoulder as her arms wrap around you.
It's a short embrace, but she leaves a lingering touch to your waist as she lets go looking up at you.
She takes them inside for a second while you wait and returns swiftly.
You step back, holding out your hand for her's.
"Ready?"
She takes it, her hand warm in yours.
"As ever."
As you both walk down the drive and you open the passenger side door for her to step in, she gives you a grateful smile and a small peck to the cheek. You hear one final yell from behind you.
It's Charlie at the door, sporting a glare. "Home by ten." And gives you an I'm-watching-you gesture. You chuckle and salute at the blonde while Katrina yells back.
"You better be watching my daughter, Charlotte Layne."
Charlie's eyes widen slightly, and the front door slams shut behind her when she takes off inside again.
You close the door once she's settled and return to the driver's seat.
"Alrighty, Clicked in? Let's go."
As you pull away, she watches you carefully, waiting for an explanation as to where you guys are headed.
You hum softly. "So, I wasn't sure entirely as to your preferences, so I've got a few places we're going to, if you agree that is, we don't have to go if-"
Her hand rests on yours, your arm having been leant on the centre console.
"I'll go where you've picked for us. Im not fussed, I'm just here with you."
You smile and nod, her fingers intertwining with yours for the rest of the ride. When you pull up in a spot beside a blank modern style building, there's a little confused look on her face that's adorable.
"C'mon, you'll see once we get inside."
You nod your head towards the place. Katrina raises a brow slightly but decides to trust you as you both step inside.
It suddenly makes sense to her as you both step into a crowded bar.
It's an open mic night. In a gay bar.
It's somewhere you're a regular at, to the point where the bartender, Aiden, yells out to you the moment you both step in the door.
"Ayyy, look who's here, ladies, theydies and gents!"
There's a few cheers around the bar as some of the locals spot you. The bar isn't packed, there's only maybe forty or so people in the room, but there's a stage and a mic setup where the current half tipsy singer has stopped to cheer as you come in as well.
Your face flushes as you turn back to Katrina, a really curious look on her face now. "I'm a bit of a regular... for the karaoke, that is." You rub the back of your neck.
"Well then, miss singer, sign me up, let's see what you've got."
You smile and lead her over to the bar.
"Ms L/n, the usual?"
You shake your head at Aiden.
"Virgin tonight, and another entry for, oh, Katrina, this is my best man, Aiden. He's the one who built this bar from the ground up."
He shakes his head as he fills a glass with some lime juice, sprite, mint, and a little soda water.
"Not on my own. Your girl here runs the place when I'm not in town."
Katrina raises her brows at that. You just smile sheepishly. It certainly explained why you were a regular then.
"Okay, I may have lied a little bit about only coming for the karaoke. But it definitely is a highlight, I swear."
She just gives you an amused look.
"What about you, love, anything to drink?"
"Just a soda water, thank you." He nods and pours her drink. He processes the drinks, but when you go to tap your card, his hand jumps in ahead of yours with another.
"Little bugger, you're gonna get me in trouble, man. Paying for my drinks."
"Who said I was paying for yours?"
He playfully winks at Katrina beside you, and you tut and whack him softly, knowing he's joking with you.
"Don't mind him. He can't keep a husband, so he steals my dates instead."
He puts his hand to his chest, giving you a mock offended look.
"How dare you? I'll have you know, it's husbands, not husband."
You stick your tongue out at him. "Too bad none of them could teach you to finance either."
He raises his hands in surrender, with a small laugh. "Got me there. What's getting added to the queue tonight ladies?"
You look at Katrina, but she just gestures for you to take your pick.
"You're the karaoke expert."
You raise your brow but take the tablet from Aiden. Putting in an intrumental that you know well enough and she'll probably know.
"Up for some gender bent Maroon 5?"
Katrina nods and you both grab your drinks.
You take a seat at one of the open tables.
As you both wait for the queue to progress, you talk about what led you to take over part ownership and what Katrina's life is like playing professionally.
"Honestly, he was desperate for someone to babysit the bar at the time. He knew me from back in Uni, knew I'd graduated with some certs in business management, finance, and accounting. So he calls me up and asks me to take over for a few weeks. I kind of latched onto the place after that, and now I do his yearly taxes for him in exchange for a few free drinks and a lifetime entry to the karaoke. What about you, what's the league like?"
"It gets kind of busy during the season, particularly during the summer months. I get asked to play in other spots, and it gets complicated. I play for the Brisbane Roar currently, so media duty is something I get asked to do regularly."
You raise a brow at that. You knew she played professionally, but to what level? You had no idea.
"That's really cool, and that's November through April, right?"
She nods.
"I was in Sweden for a bit with Harper, but I wanted to come home again. At least for a while."
You nod in understanding.
"I was actually in Sweden for about six months doing international work for a company I used to work for."
She tilts her head slightly.
"Really, when was that?"
She takes a drink.
"I came back about a year ago, so June through November."
"Was it meant to be that long?"
"No, it was supposed to be a permanent move, but I got homesick too quickly, didn't know anyone, and I was living on my own for five out of six months."
"So you told them to bring you back?"
"Ha, no, I just quit. They refused, so I left and never turned back. They were underpaying me anyway, I don't regret it whatsoever. Life is less stressful when you work for yourself."
"So what do you do now?"
"Well, when I'm not here doing Aiden's paperwork, I work as a freelance financial advisor/accountant, it pays decent but the residential market in Brisbane is kind of crap, so I live with my sister and her wife in the meantime, do you do anything between seasons?"
She kind of hesitates for a moment, but as she goes to speak, next in the queue is called up.
"That's us." You take a long sip of your drink and hold out your hand for Katrina to take.
She looks a little nervous, now suddenly overcome with a little stage fright.
"C'mon, these guys aren't scary, just drunk and happy to listen to us sing gay shit all night."
She puffs out her cheeks and takes your hand.
You lead her ip the stage and the small audience in the room cheers.
You take the mic for a second.
"Evening everybody, another night in for me. Bringing you Girls Like you by Maroon 5, covered by yours truly, aand."
You gesture to your date.
"Katrina, my new partner in crime."
You nod at Aiden to hit play.
It's a soft piano based melody compared to the usual guitar intro she's used to, but she knows the song.
Spent 24 hours
I need more hours with you
You spent the weekend
Getting even, ooh ooh
You start out singing, hoping to calm the girl's nerves and let her get used to the atmosphere as well.
She's pleasantly surprised by your singing voice, although given the cheers you got, she'd suspected you weren't exactly terrible either at that point.
We spent the late nights
Making things right, between us
But now it's all good, babe
Roll that Backwood babe
And play me close
You gesture the mic to her, grabbing her hand to pull her closer to you and nudge her to sing with you.
'Cause girls like you
Run around with gals like me
'Til sundown, when I come through
I need a girl like you, yeah, yeah
You grin when she sings into the mic with you. She's pretty good, actually. It shouldn't surprise you, though. The smoothness in her voice makes your heart jump a little.
Girls like you
Love fun, yeah me too
What I want when I come through
I need a girl like you, yeah, yeah
You start to sway a little, and her hand squeezes yours as you meet her gaze. You use the moment to watch her sing. Her blue eyes are sparkling under the orange-yellow lights. Her eyes crinkle slightly, and her nose scrunches when the guys in the audience cheer and whistle.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
I need a girl like you, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I need a girl like you
She blushes when the crowd cheers louder and lets you take over again.
I spent last night
On the last flight to you
Took a whole day up
Trying to get way up, ooh ooh
The mic stays in your hand this time, and Katrina steps back a little to watch you sing. The way you smile brightly while singing, the way your eyes close as you let the music take over you, it has her heart racing a little.
We spent the daylight
Trying to make things right between us
And now it's all good babe
Roll that Backwood babe
And play me close
You motion her back over and she bites her lip, hiding a smile as she shakes her head, wanting to hear you sing instead. You raise a brow as you continue, stepping and grabbing her hand to pull her back towards you.
'Cause girls like you
Run around with gals like me
'Til sundown, when I come through
I need a girl like you, yeah yeah
You brush your shoulder with hers, your other hand settling on her back and you feel hers settle low on your hip, you turn and give her a wink as you continue.
Girls like you
Love fun, yeah me too
What I want when I come through
I need a girl like you, yeah yeah
Your hand is warm on her back, and she can smell your vanilla perfume from her position beside you as it floods her senses. Your voice is soothing, calming her more energetic side and allows her to relax into you as she sings with you.
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
I need a girl like you, yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
Yeah yeah yeah
I need a girl like you
The song rounds out and the audience applauds you both, whooping and clapping and you take a playful bow and turn to Katrina to applaud her as well, giving her a proud smile.
You both step down off the stage, a little hot from the heat of the lamps facing the stage.
"So we gonna talk about the athletically talented mother soccer player being able to sing?"
She coughs slightly and turns her head away. "Nope."
You try to meet her eye again, a small pout on your lips.
"No? Aw c'mon, you were so good up there."
Her face flushes as her head whips back to you.
"Says you. When was that gonna come out? Professional singing level talent."
You end up with a blush matching hers.
"I.. never really pursued it. Not worth it in my opinion."
A raised brow in your direction.
"What? Just not something I was interested in pursuing. Was never stable enough for people so.."
Her face softens, realizing exactly what you meant there.
When her hand grabs a hold of yours again, there's a small tingle that runs up your arm.
Instead of commenting further though, you nod your head at the door.
"You hungry?"
She knows you're avoiding it but she's not going to push, not on a first date. She could actually eat though, she hadn't had food since that morning, a little too stressed about the date and also making sure there no possible way for Charlie and Kyra to screw up looking after Harper again.
"Yes, who knew singing worked up an appetite?" It's said in a joking tone, and you laugh with her as you wave goodbye to Aiden and some of the others.
The moment you step outside, the warm afternoon air has set in with a light breeze. You jog over to the door when you get closer to the car again, opening it for her with a cute bow that makes her laugh. God, you could listen to that all day.
"Such a gentlewoman."
You grin and wink at her, before moving to get in yourself.
"Alright, where to next?"
"How's seafood sound?"
Katrina's face lights up.
"And you just became my favourite person. Seafood sounds perfect, lead the way."
Your laugh gives her butterflies and she swears her heart stutters for a second.
"Yes Ma'am."
And with that, you drive for about twenty-five minutes to a place closer to the water. A little restaurant you'd picked up on while out with your sister.
Katrina's hand is in yours the second you pull out onto the road, her fingers interlocking yours. You graze your thumb gently over the back of her hand. You talk about her early days as a player, her days in the academy and you almost get into her being asked to play somewhere when you pull into a spot.
The restaurant is a quaint little spot, beach themed, because of course it is, and a bar stands on the outside facing the water. Stools line the counter and the waft of cooked fish blows your way in the ocean breeze.
"This place is so good. I come out here when I need to process and just get away, even if it's not too far from home."
"Smells good too."
You wander up to the bar and take a seat behind one of the extended counters meant for two people with the bar window to your right and Katrina sits on the other side.
You order from the employee through the window and get your food without issue.
The woman's soft groan from her first bite makes this worth it.
You chuckle. "Good, right?" She covers her mouth slightly, cheeks reddening as she nods.
She swallows. "Seriously, where the heck do you find these places?"
You shrug, "Honestly, I have no idea, I like to think luck has something to do with it."
"Luck?"
"If, and this is gonna sound bad, I don't really do it so much anymore, but, if I'm having a rough day or I'm feeling lost or just, I need a breather, I tend to wander out into the world for a few hours. Furthest I've gone is like, four hours further inland. Exploring has always been my mental stabiliser. Keeps me cool, keeps me calm when I'm stressed. I don't crave it, and I don't expect it when it does happen but it just kind of happens."
"Where's the worst you've ended up?"
"Well, there's been a few and honestly in my younger years I was kind of stupid too, so I've ended up where I really shouldn't. I was down in Melbourne for four months when I was twenty. In the last month I was there, I ended up wondering somewhere on foot. Keep in mind, it was just a crap way to go about it."
You kind of look off into the waves as they crash.
"But, I ended up being fired that day by a contracting company, they decided they didn't like the fact I was so young and that I wanted more for my qualifications than 10 bucks an hour. So I just left my apartment. Ended up with a missing wallet and a black eye. Turns out my dumb ass had walked where it shouldn't have and pissed off some gang members. After that one, I moved back home again to just focus on my studies."
"I'm sorry that happened. What about the best place you've been?"
You wave her off.
"Honestly, I'm past that. That's nothing. I'm lucky, but it was definitely my dumb ass that got caught out. As for the best place? I mean, Aidan's place. We met while in Uni and I stumbled into the bar one night after a rough day about two years later. He picked me back up and we became buddies after that."
"Alright, what place surprised you the most?"
"The four hour one, I wasn't expecting to find much. I found something, though. I ended up going on a hike and found this amazing lake that just went down forever. Massive open mouth cave and a waterfall. It just looked so untouched and peaceful. It was so green and colourful and it just makes everything in the city feel so grey."
You push around your food. Take another bite and then gesture to Katrina.
"What about you? Before you had Harper, what was going on then?"
"Depends, which part?"
"Why have Harper?"
"I've always loved the idea of having kids. At first, I kind of wanted to wait until I found someone to have a child with, but in my profession, that just doesn't come easy enough. I ended up out injured and right before I came back. That was the moment where I was like, 'Screw it, with or without a partner, I want my own child.' So I walked into an IVF Clinic in Norway, picked the donor I wanted, and started right away. My timing was perfect, and the first try was a success, and now I have little Harps. There isn't a single day in my life where I ever regretted my decision."
Your hand slides across the table as she talks, her's sat unoccupied, and as you listen, you slowly grab it. Letting it sit in your palm and without much thought, she let's you.
You toy with her fingers, running the tip of your index down each one. And then half intertwine them. She squeezes your hands closed, and it settles you fully for the first time since you moved to Sweden and back. Or before that even.
"She's been a light in my life, I feel so lucky to be her mother, ya know, it's Harper's world, and I'm just living in it. The girls on the national team are so good with her."
Your head perks up at that. National team? You ask exactly that.
"National team?"
Katrina's expression winces, realizing her slip up.
"Oh yeah, that too. I've been playing with the national team since I got called up in 2012."
Your brows raise at that.
"As in..."
"Australia. For Australia."
Oh. That. Was. Not what you expected.
"Wow, that's really big. Congratulations..? Sorry, that sounded weird. That's amazing, though. I can't imagine how much hard work that is. I mean, for real, a kid right in the middle of that, and you come back to play. That must be some strength you've got."
Her head ducks slightly.
"Honestly, I'm just glad it worked out the way it has. Harper has twenty aunts and two unofficial sisters that look at her like she's hung the stars. That and achieving my dream is all I care about. Harper, more so. I think, if having Harper had taken me out. I would've okay with that. I'm perfectly happy with it, actually. If anything, having Harper actually saved me a bit, too."
"How so?"
"I ended up with an infection, and it ended up swelling up the muscles between my two pelvic points. The pregnancy actually completely took out the swelling entirely. The pain just stopped one day and never came back. Even after Harper was born."
"I really admire the level of resilience you have. To push back on any expectation, to say fuck it, if that's what you want, you'll make it happen. It's actually really attractive. I'm sorry you had to go through so much though."
She shaked her head, squeezing your hand.
"I wouldn't go back and change a thing about how it happened. It's turned me into the person and player I am. I don't regret any of it."
You smile, watching her eyes as they flick down to your lips for a second and then away. You don't know if she noticed she did it, but you did.
Your hand loosens from her grip, fingertips tracing her wrist up to the tattoo on her forearm and then back down to her palm. Her skin tingles with every touch.
It feels mildly intimate, and you realise she's been silent this whole time, watching you do this. You look up to meet her gaze, a small apologetic smile.
"Sorry, little distracted, I am listening though. Continue?"
She just gives you a soft smile in return.
"What about where you grew up?"
You ponder for a moment.
"I grew up in a small town in New South Wales, actually. We moved to Brissy later, but that's another story. A place like a couple hours south of Sydney. It's really gorgeous there, I haven't been since I was a teenager but the place was really nice. Most of the folks living there were friendly. The schools were kind of crap but that's just the public system. We had a place in the more urban side of the region. Small brick house, big gum tree in front. Good sized backyard. The town had yearly markets. They were okay. Mostly to bring in tourists, though. It worked, and the place ended up really busy right before we left. I loved it when storm season came around. The rain was always a relief to have after hot summers. I love thunderstorms. The rain always helps me sleep better, too. Just anything rain, honestly."
While you speak, she repeats your earlier actions, fingers trailing gently over the veins in your wrist or the slenderness of your fingers. They trace the once obvious scars left there. They're subtle, but they're there. Years of healing over the top of what she assumed was a particularly dark time for you. Your hands are soft but are mildly scarred in their own right. A small scar above your wrist. A big one across the back towards your thumb.
"The town was a part of a bigger community region. The next town over was known for the museum there for one of the more famous sports folk of Australian history. There was the cricket oval in town, too. Just an average joe half rural town to live in honestly."
Her fingers continue their path around your hand, tracing the creaselines in your palm and the callus that sits just on the inside of your left pinky.
"What about your home life? What are your parents like?"
"My parents were... okay. Not great to be real with you. Hence why I'm staying with my sister rather than my parents. Kicked me out at seventeen and haven't looked me in the eye since."
She feels a small amount of anger flare up in her chest.
"Why would they do that?"
"Same cliché as any. Found out I was into girls over guys. Tried to have me cured. My sister had already moved out when this was going on. She knew they were strictly homophobic and took off the first second she could. I don't blame her for that. When they realised I wouldn't conform to their bullshit, I was kicked out. To experience the cruel harsh world, they said. The assholes just realised their children wouldn't give them biological and 'natural' grandchildren."
You roll your eyes as you remember the disgust and disappointment in your birth-giver's eyes.
"What the hell kind of parents do that to their own child? The one they're supposed to love and protect. And care for. And-"
Your hand squeezes hers, and you push the now empty plates aside to grab it with the other.
"Hey, I'm okay. Im fine. I dont miss them, and they'll never get the chance to miss who I am. They'll never get to hear about who I meet or who I'm with. I'm dead to them for all I care."
Katrina takes a small breath and uses your grasp on her hand to calm a bit before shooting you an apologetic look.
It's the first date, dude. Chill pill. So she tells herself.
Your heart swells at her protectiveness. She really was born to be a good mother.
"I hope they never get to see this side of you. Or who you are and who you'll be in five or ten years."
You blush lightly.
"Thank you." It's a soft murmur, and you duck your head slightly.
She smiles softly, and her thumb rubs at your hand.
You gesture to the worker and hand back your plates, and move to the register to pay.
There's some bickering, but after a sneaky slip of the card to the worker, you end up paying for it. Though that does earn you a soft shove and a whine when she hears the eftpos machine beep.
You chuckle softly.
"We better get going. I've got one more place for us to go, and I want to be there before complete sundown." You say lightly joking.
"Well, come on then!" She jogs ahead with a grin on her face, dragging you with her.
You play your routine part of valet and it earns you a tip, consisting of a kiss to the cheek that's far too close to the corner of your mouth and it makes you freeze for a second. She just chuckles, and you shake your head lightly and shut the door.
"It's about a half hour there, so feel free to pirate the aux cord."
You dig it out of the console and offer it to her.
"Aye aye, captain." She gives you a wink while she plugs in her phone.
You hear a familiar tune, and you immediately shoot her an impressed look.
"You, Ma'am, have amazing taste."
She smirks and nods as she starts singing along to the lyrics.
The drive passes by quickly with both of you yelling to various songs.
There's a small beach cove that opens up to a really nice view of the ocean. And it allows the sun to come down on the majorly clear water with a nice sparkle, too. You'd only come across it about a month ago, but it was a regular spot for you.
There was something else you'd wanted to do for a bit of fun, but it seems stupid now, considering her profession.
When you pull in to the driveway leading up to the spot, she gives you a funny look.
The driveway is completely surrounded by shrubbery, so it doesn't really surprise you.
She makes a joke, "Is this where I'm supposed to find out you're secretly a serial killer?"
You roll your eyes good naturedly and give her a slight push as you get out. She jumps out with you, and you both make your way up the path.
The dirt path turns to sand, and you stop, starting to take your shoes off.
"It's only getting sandier from here, so you might wanna take your shoes off."
She nudges you softly and does the same.
"Yeah, I did have another thing for us to do, but I'm afraid you'll kick my butt if we do it."
She has a mischievous look on her face.
"It was beach soccer, wasn't it?"
You smile sheepishly and give her a slight nod.
"Oh, you're on now. Go get it."
You raise a brow at her and jog to go get the ball and some mini cones.
The sun's just starting to set as you return with the stuff and a bag slung over your shoulder that you'd forgotten to grab.
Katrina's standing there staring out at the water when you walk up again. You quietly set the stuff down on the sand and move to stand next to her.
"You find places like this all the time?"
"Sometimes, it's a hit or miss kind of thing. This one was pure luck because I hadn't even meant to come down this way. It was the next street over."
"It looks amazing out here."
"Water is pretty good too."
She raises a brow in your direction but doesn't say anything. You move to set up the cones and lay out the blanket that was in the bag you had.
The moment you start, you realise how physical playing with her is. You keep up for the most part, but at one point, she wraps her arms around your waist to try and steal the ball and you both topple over, her landing sitting on you, legs either side of your hips.
The smug grin she gives you makes your heart flutter, and you lean up on your elbows.
"You give up yet, newbie?"
You give her a mock offended expression and accept the hand up she offers when she stands.
"Surrender?" You think for a few seconds.
You stride over to her, a mischievous glint in your eye. You lean down slightly and whisper in her ear. Her head tilts slightly.
"I'll think about it." At that, you take off with the ball.
"Oi, little cheater."
You cackle and try as you might to keep the ball away. She ends up stealing it from you. Her foot sits on the ball, hands on her hips as she watches you. You're practically dying at this point, huffing. Man, you needed to hit the gym more.
"Surrender yet?"
You flop onto your back onto the sand and give her a pleading hands motion.
"I think I'm dying here."
She just shakes her head at your antics and drags the blanket over to you, leaving the ball by the cones.
You both settle on the blanket, the sun finally going down enough to enjoy the view fully.
You sit, leaning back on your hands, and she does the same beside you, legs crossed.
As your breathing calms and the late afternoon breeze sets in, the waves start to crash a little more than the tiny laps at the sand that they were.
Katrina sighs softly, taking in the feel of the open air and the salty wind and the smell of harsh greenery.
The serenity of the scene put her more at ease than she'd felt in a while. She sits up a bit and shuffles closer to you, shoulder to shoulder, and nudges you softly.
"Thanks for bringing me out tonight."
You smile, "Thank you for agreeing to come out with me."
"I feel like I should be saying that."
"Maybe, but I'm the one that planned."
"I still asked first." You poke your tongue out at her cheekily, and she just laughs.
"Goof."
You clutch at invisible pearls.
"So mean."
"Oh, I'm sorry." There's a jested look on her face, and she moves to straddle you. Her hands settle on your shoulders, and yours find her hips.
You playfully huff with a half smile.
"Better be."
Her eyes flicker down to your lips, gaze darkening as the air around you shifts, your brow raised slightly when she meets your gaze again. You let out a shaky breath as her hand slides up to cup your cheek.
"Kiss me?" It's mumbled, but she still hears it.
Your lips are parted slightly.
"Don't even have to ask."
She leans down and captures your mouth with her own, and your eyes drift shut. The noise around you drifts away as your lips move together.
Her fingers tangle in your hair, tugging you closer to her, deepening the kiss slightly. One of your hands slips up to settle in the small of her back, holding her against you.
She pulls away from you with a playful nip to your bottom lip. You steal one more kiss, and her hands settle back on your shoulders, pushing you onto your back.
You raise a brow at the spark in her gaze, and she kisses you again, hands settled beside your head.
You stay there for a while. Until you're both breathless and have to come up for air.
Your pupils are dilated, and her hair is slightly mussed from you, having had your hands in it just seconds earlier. Her fingers are tracing at the hem of your shirt, just barely having dipped under the fabric to feel the skin beneath.
Her hands are cold, but they leave heated sensations where they travel along your stomach. It sends shivers down your spine, and you have to resist moving your hands where they probably shouldn't go. Not here or now, not yet.
She has the same thought and has to pull her hands back slightly, going back to settle beside your head.
Her teeth nip at your lower lip again. And you groan softly, going to kiss her again, only for her to pull away slightly, an amused look on her face.
"We're both gonna get in trouble if we stay out here any longer." You look around, noting the sun's gone down fully now, and the sky has cleared to stars, twinkling brightly.
"I forgot, we're both on curfew here."
She slaps your shoulder, a cute pout forming on her face. You kiss it away, and she groans, feeling her phone buzz in her pocket, and she pulls away again.
"Seriously, those two will kill me if I don't get home before ten. They hate being left alone with each other for too long, I have to play referee to keep them from fighting after a while. They love each other, but they get along about as well as sisters do. Plus, Harper is most likely loaded up on ten tonnes of sugar, so I'll be putting her to bed after that, too."
You chuckle, nodding in understanding.
"Mine's gonna report me missing if I don't get home soon too."
Katrina reluctantly gets off you, and you both pack up the gear and walk back to the car, shoes in hand.
The drive back is pretty quiet but peaceful. There's music playing softly in the background.
Your linked hands sit in her lap for most of the drive, and you get an occasional hum out of her as you sing softly along.
You get her home at about 9:30pm, having stopped halfway back to raid an ice cream freezer in a servo and some more kissing in the carpark. Almost reminding you of your teenage years, sneaking around kissing girls in the back of your parents' jeep.
Only this one feels a lot more passionate. Permanent. There's a lot more emotion behind each brush of her lips against yours, and it leaves you aching for more. To feel her pressed into you.
"I'd let you walk me to the door, but I'm afraid Charlie might actually interrogate us both."
It's only half joking this time. Knowing by now, that was well true.
"Let you out with a kiss goodnight instead?"
Her breath is ragged. "Please?"
Katrina's feels like she's addicted to your kisses at this point. A breath of fresh air. Your touch sends tingles through every nerve ending in her body.
You get out of the car, and when you open the door, she hops out and grabs you by the shirt, pulling you down into her, and smashes her lips on yours.
You steady the both of you, one arm leaning against the door frame, the other around her waist while her fingers tangle in your hair.
You finally pull away, leaving one last peck to her lips and a dazed look on both of you.
"Message me when you get home safe?"
"Of course."
She smiles and slowly steps away from you, hands slipping off your shoulders with a lingering squeeze.
"Good night, hot stuff."
"Good night, sleep well gorgeous. Give Harps a hug for me."
She nods and turns back to the house. The door slamming open makes her jump.
"Excuse me, young lady, you're one minute past ten 'o' clock. Why are you late?"
Her face flushes red, and she groans.
"Charlie, I swear to god."
The blonde just shakes her fist at you, still leaning against your car as you watch her go inside. A small smirk appears on your face as you wave to both of them and get back in, driving off.
Katrina brushes past the girl, and she calls out after her.
"You're so grounded"
She rolls her eyes, and as she goes upstairs to find Kyra and Harper, she can't drop the giddy grin on her face as she bids Kyra good night and puts Harper to bed.
Hot stuff❤️🥵
"Hey, made it home, alright. Sister might kill me though 😳😅😂"
Katrina 🔥❤️
"Yeah?"
Hot stuff ❤️🥵
"Yeah, turns out she did some digging while I was out... I forget she's a soccer nut sometimes, annnd... well, you can probably guess. 👀"
Katrina 🔥❤️
"Tell her I'm happy to sign anything she wants as long as she leaves you alive. You're not getting away from me just yet."
Hot stuff ❤️🥵
"I'll arrange something, I like being alive."
Katrina 🔥❤️
"I like you being alive, too."
Hot stuff ❤️🥵
"I like you 👀"
Katrina 🔥❤️
"You better, I don't kiss just anyone on the first date."
Hot stuff ❤️🥵
"Does that mean I get a second one?"
Katrina 🔥❤️
"😉 Ask me"
Hot stuff ❤️🥵
"Aboslutely beautiful, gorgeous, sweet Katrina, go on a date with me?"
Katrina 🔥❤️
"🤔"
Katrina 🔥❤️
"No"
Hot stuff ❤️🥵
":("
Katrina 🔥❤️
"I'm kidding you dork, of course I will. Call me tomorrow too and I'll plan this time?"
Hot stuff ❤️🥵
"Will do 🥰"
Hot stuff ❤️🥵
"Sleep tight, gorgeous 😘"
Katrina 🔥❤️
"You too 😘🥰"
-------------------
434 notes · View notes
kitorin · 1 year
Text
how they react when they catch you simping for a fictional character
pairings. shidou ryusei x gn!reader, itoshi rin x m!reader, mikage reo x gn!reader (separate)
contents. crack, smau, a sexual joke and a half (it's just ryusei being ryusei) shinonome akito slander (I'M SORRY I PROMISE I LOVE HIM BUT RIN DOESN'T), exposing my taste in men, written all in lowercase, spoilers for sounds of a summer event (project sekai)
a/n. i thought of this bc i questioned if i liked rin or akito more 😭, and sorry for rin's being so long since i had the most ideas for him :>. i also have no confidence with crack so please bear with me and it's my first smau
shidou ryusei - seong taehoon (how to fight / viral hit)
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when he caught you gawking at the new viral hit chapter, taehoon specifically, he immediately joined you (as he should)
he straight up yelled "smash" at that one scene where taehoon's snacking and he's wearing a tight shirt so you can see all of his muscles
he begs you to re read the series with them, and now you two read each update every week together, fully engaged in the story and taehoon's abs
attempts to recreate all of taehoon's kicks (i headcanon that does taekwondo and has a black belt :>), proudly shows them off to you, with a huge grin on his face (please fawn over him too)
also extensively practices so he can show them off by incorporating them into soccer somehow (doesn't matter if it ain't practical he just wants to impress you), and if he ever has to use them on anyone making you uncomfortable
he probably has a folder in his gallery dedicated to every panel he loves (which is basically all) and recreates his absolute favs (with you as his photographer)
makes a lot of jokes about being in love with taehoon (so do you), but he'd stop them if they made you uncomfortable, and reassures you that a drawing can't compare to how sweet, amazing and perfect you are
honorable mentions to baek seongjun being his second favourite
wants you to do taekwondo as well cause now he has a thing for it after discovering taehoon
"i swear to god men who do taekwondo and can actually fight are so hot,"
"isn't that you?"
"... you don't agree with me...?"
"no you have a brilliant point"
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itoshi rin - shinonome akito (project sekai)
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during the sounds of a summer festival event you spent so much time glued to your phone, full combo-ing literally every hard, expert, and master song you possibly could, leveling up all character ranks, sacrifice countless of hours of sleep (if it's for akito it's very much worth it), and even contemplate spending money
you even tweeted about how badly you need him
rin notices the bags under your eyes, and the lack of sleep you had been getting, he's worried and when he asks you you're too focused on the event story to even register what he says, as you're on the brink of sobbing at young akito and ena
he observes as well, and immediately is jealous of how much of your attention this fictional character was receiving from you
as you're about to spend another few hours grinding, he stops you
"dumbass you need to sleep, and give your eyes a break"
"no i don't, i need summer festival akito,"
"who and what?"
soon you're rambling on how much akito's backstory and struggles already hurt, and how wholesome yet painful the event story was, with akito quitting soccer and ena encouraging him to give music a try, and it only nurtures rin's envy
"you're going to cry for a ginger guy who quit soccer and started his ambition because of his older sister? how lukewarm,"
"yes i am?? and he looked cute as a child and now he's a pretty boy with the best vocals. their event cards are beautiful too i need them. didn't you start soccer because of sae anyways?"
"tch"
"rin... are you jealous?"
"... no, i just don't get what you see in this idiot. i never quit soccer when it got hard and i know how to persevere, i don't give up, i don't experience despair when someone's better than me-"
"so you're jealous,"
"no"
"rin you always have and always will be my number 1. akito can't do anything you've done for me, and can't even compare to how pretty you are,"
"damn right,"
despite being salty, he still installs the game to read the stories, out of pure curiosity and wants to understand what kind of stuff you like
he ends up adoring ena and akito's relationship (the supportive part only ofc), as well as tsukasa and saki's (and secretly wishes sae was as affectionate as shizuku since she reminds him of sae in the past)
you do not shut up when you seem him struggle with hitorinbo envy on master
"I THOUGHT YOU SAID AKITO WAS LUKEWARM,"
"he is, i was just curious why you liked the stories so much,"
"YOU SPENT EVERY FREE CRYSTAL ON THE FIND A WAY OUT EVENT AND NOW GRINDING FOR MORE,"
"... i want his boyfriend"
"YOU READ THE MAIN STORY TOO ?! and you don't need touya you have me"
"THAT'S HOW I FELT ABOUT AKITO,"
"YOU FEEL INFERIOR TO A LUKEWARM GINGER?"
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mikage reo - kang tae moo (business proposal)
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he heard you squealing at a scene of tae moo getting flustered after sunghoon suggested his feelings for hari
he thought that you were having a heart attack and thought something was wrong
reo doesn't even need the show's context to be invested immediately, as he joins you and watches with great interest
after seeing you simp over tae moo, in secret, he binge watches the rest of the series in attempt to mimic any romantic scenes
full on posts the "do you know what my credit card and my love for y/n have in common? they simply have no limit" on his not very private twitter account, and it leaves you flustered by all the comments saying how lucky you are and their jealousy
deletes any comment revealing the source of that line (silently apologises to the writer(s) and credits ahn hyo seop for its brilliant execution)
little does he know nagi made a tweet exposing him
also recreates other cute scenes from the show, and starts looking for more kdramas to watch and recreate (still gets fully absorbed in the plot and dialogue)
innocently smiles when you realize he's just a kang tae moo copycat
"i didn't copy him i'm the inspiration behind him, rich, smart, pretty and utter perfection,"
"i can't deny the second part... i can't believe nagi's seen business proposal,"
"wait what?"
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©kouyun : do not repost, plagiarize, change, or translate
951 notes · View notes
silvergarnet12 · 20 days
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Splatoon was the first Nintendo game to push me out of my comfort zone of single player games, and with the closure of it's servers I wanted to draw a tribute to a game that really means a lot to me.
Some long rambles about the game under the cut.
When I first played the Global Testfire I was 15, and the only mutliplayer games I played were with friends in the same room.
Splatoon was also the first shooter I ever picked up, as I always liked bright colours over more realistic graphics in my games, and back then the only shooters I knew about were Halo(and that was only really a name to me!) and the CoD games.
Any worries I had about being bad quickly vanished as the sheer vibe of chaotic fun the game had, particularly when no one had played it before, got rid of any worries, and all I remember is having fun. And choosing to play as the guy instead of the girl for the first time, solely becuase I wanted a ponytail like in real life(I would continue to use the guy through the series as a tradition, a contrast to what I saw most people online doing).
When the game came out I binged the single player, and vividly remember the first time I fought DJ Octavio, and the first time I heard Calamari Inkantation. If ever a game was to convince me that a song could irreversibly change your life, it was Splatoon. Because to teenage me, in that moment, with Calamari Inkantation playing in the background while I fought an octupus DJ, it did.
It gave me terminal brainworms for this series. And here I am, 8 yrs later. Older and more tired, been through some shit, had some good times, tried, succeeded and failed in things throughout the years.
I've always been grateful that they made the decision for the player character from 1 to return, everytime they've shown up it's felt a bit like seeing an old friend, especially since as the games time skips have always had them close to my age(which probably helped my attachement back in the first game). So hi Three, can't believe we both probably pay taxes now.
I have the original two Inkling Amiibos, in a collection that is slowly building, I'm still attached to Marie, and yes I was on her team for the Final Splatfest.
I cried when it was over, just like I did in 2's Final Fest(I was team chaos, two for two baby!) and will probably do so for 3's as well. Something about this series just makes me super attached to it's world and characters.
So booyah Splatoon, my final online game of yours was well and truly years ago, but I replayed story mode to share you with a friend recently, and I think I'll refight Octavio tonight in honour of the good times.
You encouraged me to try out games I wouldn't have otherwise(hello Overwatch and Deep Rock Galactic), and outlasted one of the other major games of my teenage years(...Overwatch 1 I miss you). So thank you for that.
I'll miss Squid Jump, Inkstrike, the og kit for the NZap 89(why does it's new one not vibe with me ;-;), the Squid Sister's broadcasts and the more saturated colours. At least I can always return to the Plaza in 3, and that Spyke isn't dead like I was concerned he was when 3 released, and see the Squid Sisters perform during Splatfests again.
I have so much more to say in my heart about you but no more ways to word it.
You've been a fantastic game, and will always be a treasured experience that I am grateful to have been a apart of from the very beginning.
Now bring back Moray Towers in 3 damn it! It's in 2 but I DON'T WANT TO LOSE MY FAVOURITE STAGE IF IT"S NOT IN 4.
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borninwinter81 · 1 month
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Queer horror from my teens
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I periodically wonder whether these books are still known and read by young goths and horror fans as they were all extremely important to me in my teenage years, so I thought I'd share them.
Though I'm cishet, during the mid 90s two of my favourite authors wrote primarily queer fiction: they were Anne Rice and another author from New Orleans who is now known as Billy Martin.
He came out as a trans man in 2011, however these books were published prior to that so unfortunately you have to search for them under his deadname. This is why I've used that name in the tags on this post. I don't believe the books were ever reprinted with his current name.
Though I loved Rice, I always felt a more immediate connection with Martin due to his vivid portrayal of subcultures like goth and punk, and how it felt to be a teenager who was part of them. I could see myself in many of his characters as I had the same interests, listened to the same music, and shared the same sense of social alienation. Remember in the 90s the Internet was still a reasonably new thing, and many of us didn't have a home Internet connection at all. There was certainly no social media, no YouTube, and no real way to meet and interact with like-minded teens unless you were lucky enough to have another "weird kid" at your school. If you were a weird kid, you likely had very few friends and were bullied.
That as much as anything else led me to seek solace in books written by an author who I felt understood me, and characters who became my friends.
Lost Souls is about vampires in a kind of Lost Boys/Near Dark way. Fans of the YouTuber OfHerbsAndAltars might be interested to know that this book is where the name of his channel comes from - it's a description of the taste of Chartreuse liqueur.
Drawing Blood is about ghosts, a "murder house", computer hacking, comic art and a very beautiful (if rather messed up) romance. This one is probably my favourite of the three.
Exquisite Corpse is about serial killers, set against the AIDS crisis of the 90s. If you like the Hannibal TV series you'll probably enjoy this one - imagine if Dennis Nilsen and Jeffrey Dahmer had somehow met.
Martin doesn't pull any punches when it comes to descriptions of blood and gore, violence, abusive parents or his portrayal of toxic romantic relationships (of which there are many in his books), but if you can deal with those things there is also a great deal of beauty, phenomenally good writing, and a somewhat unique perspective on the supernatural.
Maybe I'm biased, looking at these through the lens of my teenage self. Maybe they'd seem horribly dated to today's young audience. But I still wanted to make this post in case there's someone out there who will end up loving them as much as I did.
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artemis32 · 1 year
Note
also the first person to come to mind when you said someone stubborn enough to ignore aizawa’s glare was bakugo, I feel like that would stress aizawa out so bad
platonic yandere aizawa shouta iii
Fun fact my top three favourite characters (in no specific order) in bnha are Aizawa, Bakugo and Shigaraki, so this is perfect
Also I finished this before any of the other subjugation drabbles as requested, but I'm clearing out my drafts, so hopefully I'll be able to post a few more this week
platonic aizawa masterlist
bnha masterlist
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Class 1a was up to something. Aizawa knew they were.
They weren’t good at being sneaky, and for the past two weeks, they’d been behaving strangely.
Ever since the class had seen you, he’d been slightly on edge, waiting for something to go wrong. And he knew that it would sooner or later.
Class 1a were disruptive and oftentimes insubordinate. They couldn’t follow the rules and they got into trouble more often than Aizawa could keep count of.
They were troublemakers.
Aizawa knew that.
Which is why he was so suspicious of them.
They had been perfectly behaved in lessons, quiet and diligent, completing every assignment he’d given to them. They hadn’t spoken out of turn or argued once within the past two weeks. Most suspiciously though, must have been the fact that they hadn’t once brought up the question of who you were again.
It made him uneasy.
It made him annoyed.
But instead of addressing the matter as he probably should have, he kept quiet, curious to see what exactly they were up to.
He found out by the end of that week.
****
“Okay sweetheart, I’m leaving now. Are you sure you don’t want to come with me? You’re more than welcome to, it won’t be long.”
You huff out a laugh. Aizawa was running errands and had been repeatedly questioning whether you wanted to come with him. You were sure he was trying to guilt trip you into joining him.
It might have worked.
It was working.
But you were a model student, as so, your homework and assignments had to come first - much to your father’s displeasure.
The only respite was that you’d be staying safely within the walls of UA, specifically in the apartment, which made your father feel much better about leaving you by yourself.
Sometimes you think he forgets that you’re a teenager – old enough to be home alone for a few hours.
“Yes, I’m sure dad. I’ll call you or Mr Yamada if there’s an emergency. I’ll see you later.”
He huffs, accepting that you wouldn’t change your mind.
The hug he draws you into is crushing and he presses your face into his chest. You feel his chest rumble as he lets out a laugh.
“Don’t let Hizashi hear you call him that, you know how much he hates it.”
You scowl slightly. The eclectic blond often insisted that you call him by his first name, or the ever-endearing title of 'Uncle Zashi', making a habit of reminding you every time you happened to accidentally ‘forget’. You enjoyed his company, but his persistent attitude grated on your nerves sometimes.
“Don’t you dare tell him.”
Aizawa laughs again before reminding you to stay safe and call him in the case of an emergency.
You bid him one last farewell before shutting and locking the door. Paranoia seemed to be one of your father’s defining traits when it came to you.
Fifteen minutes later, you’re set up in the living room, surrounded by snacks, stationary, and papers scattered over the floor and coffee table.
****
Three hours later, you decide to call it quits for the day, packing up your belongings and returning to the living room to flop down on to the couch.
You’d been laying on the couch, watching a rerun of some old movie your father enjoyed, when there was a knock at the door.
Thinking nothing of it, you haul yourself up and make your way to the door.
It could have been anyone - Midnight or Present Mic, here to keep you company or watch over you at your father’s request, or it could have been another teacher, here to drop off paperwork for your father. Perhaps it was your father himself, having forgotten his keys.
Living amongst a group of heroes and heroes-in-training makes you comfortable, and you don’t bother checking who is at the door before flinging it wide open.
Two boys and a girl, all around your own age stand before you. One of the boys and the girl look surprised, eyebrows rising, creasing their foreheads. The second boy remains impassive, his dual-coloured eyes trailing over you, head to toe.
“Can I help you?”
They continue to stare at you for a moment before the pink-skinned girl harshly elbows the blond boy next to her.
He exclaims in pain before clearing his throat and smiling widely. 
“Hi there. I was wondering if Aizawa sensei is home?”
If your father had passed one trait on to you, it had to be his suspicious nature. You straighten slightly, nudging the door closed a few centimeters.
“Aizawa sensei is out running a few errands. He should be back soon - would you like to leave a message?”
The boy with the dual-coloured eyes leans forward slightly, his upper body now crossing over the threshold into your apartment.
“May we come in?”
Though he poses it as a question, he doesn’t wait for an answer, already pushing past you and into the hallway behind you.
Your protests fall on deaf ears, and the boy and girl still in the doorway seem to panic alongside you, scrambling in after him.
“Todoroki, you can’t just barge in like that!”
The dual-haired boy - Todoroki - ignores them and chooses to look around the apartment instead, taking in his surroundings with an air of disinterest.
“I have a question. Answer truthfully and we’ll leave.”
His two friends, still panickedly trying to urge him out of your house, still as he speaks. They stare at one another, then at Todoroki, before nodding and looking at you.
By now, you’re anxious and wary, eager to get them out. You take a deep, calming breath.
Doing as they say seems to be the best decision. You didn’t want to stir up trouble, and you definitely didn’t want your father or another teacher stumbling upon the scene.
“Fine, one question and then you’re gone.”
You cross your arms and press your mouth into a hard line, attempting to cover up your anxieties with an air of anger.
The three agree to your terms, Todoroki humming lightly before speaking.
“Is Mr Aizawa your father?”
It’s a loaded question, one you aren’t sure you want to answer. 
While you and your father hadn’t tried to cover up the fact that you were his daughter, you also hadn’t gone out of your way to announce it. The fact that the three standing before you were so curious that they went as far as to basically break into your house to get an answer made you concerned. 
Their eagerness made you believe that it would be best to lie. Then again, what would you tell them - being honest may be the only way to get them to leave without a fuss.
You nod slowly, hesitantly.
“Yes, he is.”
While the boy and girl let out noises of disbelief, Todoroki doesn’t seem to be surprised.
“See guys, told you.”
The blonde boy splutters for a moment, shoulders slumped in defeat.
“Is that all?” You ask apprehensively, still tense and nervous.
An unspoken question lingers in the air.
Will you leave now?
Todoroki nods, thanking you before calling for his two companions.
At the door, he pauses, turning to you one last time.
“Can I ask that you keep this visit a secret, just for a while. Don’t tell Aizawa sensei that we were here. Please.”
His demeanour is serious, though it seems like more of a demand than a request.
You’re already nodding in agreement.
“Yeah, sure.”
Regardless of whether he asked you or not, you wouldn’t have told your father of their visit. The last thing you needed was for his paranoia to be proven correct. 
What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, and he definitely didn’t need to know that three students - three of his students - had been to his home to see you while he was away. Worse, that they knew you were his daughter.
If he found out, you’d never hear the end of it. In fact, you were slightly afraid he may never let you leave the house again.
No, you definitely would not be telling him about their visit.
By the time your father returns home hours later, you’ve scrubbed the memory of the three students from your mind, and he seems none the wiser.
The two of you have dinner and talk for a bit before going to bed.
You make no mention of the day’s events, and he doesn’t ask.
****
For the first time in what could have been years, you were in trouble. Big trouble.
From the moment you entered the apartment, it had seemed eerily still, too quiet to be natural.
When you first entered the living room, you saw your father sitting with his back towards you, posture straight and still. He didn’t turn to greet you and you feel a growing sense of unease when he tells you to sit down.
“How was your day?”
You’ve known your father long enough to recognize his tone, to know that he’s not asking because he’s actually interested.
Right now, your father, the ever stoic Shouta Aizawa, was furious.
“Answer me.”
“It was fine, classes were good.”
“Hmm. How about yesterday? What did you do yesterday?”
You’re wringing your hands now, fingers gripping at each other in a feeble attempt to mask how obviously your hands are shaking.
“Y-Yesterday was good, same as today, classes and whatnot...”
You trail off awkwardly, unsure of what exactly he wants to hear. You don’t ask though, some sense of self preservation telling you to keep your mouth shut.
“And the past weekend? How was your day on Saturday. You had some time alone, what exactly did you get up to then?”
Staring down at the floor, you clear your throat and try to think of an excuse.
“Ah, well, I got a few assignments done and made dinner.”
His hand on your shoulder almost makes you jump.
“Sweetheart, look at me.”
You don’t want to.
You don’t want to look at him, you don’t want to see his anger or disappointment or whatever other negative emotion lays there at the moment.
But his grip tightens slightly on your shoulder, not enough to hurt, just enough to grab your attention. So you close your eyes and take a deep breath before looking up and meeting your father’s gaze.
He’s angry. Angry and disappointed and everything that you feared he would be. But most of all he looks concerned, worry pinching at the juncture between his eyebrows and at the corners of his mouth.
“What happened while I was out?”
You weren’t often emotional, and you definitely didn’t cry. Crying was pointless, it didn’t change anything.
But you had to bite your bottom lip and press your nails into your palms to stop yourself from bursting into tears in that moment.
It rarely happened that you kept anything from your father. You told him everything, no matter how big or small.
Truthfully, keeping a secret this big for as long as you had had been weighing you down. You felt guilty. Granted, you weren’t exactly lying to him, but it pained you to hide something like this from your father.
And so you cracked.
A few hot tears rolled down your cheeks as you sniffled, wiping at your nose with the sleeve of your jacket.
“Three of your students came to the apartment. They asked to see you but I said you were out.”
Aizawa’s grip on your shoulder had lessened, his arm wrapping around you, shifting you closer to him.
“Is that all?”
You debated lying to him, only for a moment. It technically wouldn’t be lying, you just wouldn’t be telling the whole truth.
The idea deflated quickly once his hand came up to brush away a few tears, his thumb gently rubbing at the soft skin under your eye.
“T-They just asked if I’m your daughter or not, they left after that.”
He hums again, staring at you for a few seconds longer. It feels as if he’s pining you in place, pressuring you into talking. Evidently, you have nothing else to say.
“Can you tell me what they looked like sweetie?”
****
You imagined that this is how criminals felt.
Under any other circumstances, it might have been funny.
Before you, lined up in somewhat of an identity parade, were a the three students from your father’s class, along with a few other guilty-looking students.
Three girls, five boys, all standing pin straight, facing forward. 
In the room next door stood the rest of the class, the remaining twelve students standing in silence.
Your father’s fury, evidently, had not been aimed at you. 
Well, not fully.
He was admittedly quite upset with you for not being truthful with him, but his anger was mainly aimed at his students for interfering with his personal life. With his family.
“Sweetheart, I’ve seen how high strung you’ve been over the past few days. I was concerned, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you so I gave you some space. But today one of my students let something slip and I put together the fact that they must have had something to do with the way you’ve been acting recently.”
You didn’t want to outwardly expose the three students who had come to see you that day, but your father had threatened to punish the entire class, so you’d caved and described them as best you could.
So here they stood, not once making eye contact with you.
"Go on," your father said, staring them down with a harsh glare, one like you'd never seen before. You knew your father could be strict with his students, but this was something else.
They all bowed forward at the hip, staring straight at the ground as they spoke in sync.
"We're sorry."
You stand in stunned silence for a few short moments, before shaking your head.
"Oh, um, it's fine. Thank you for the apology. And I'm sorry too."
The blond-haired student from before tries to raise his head, a wide smile on his face before your father's hand meets his neck, holding his head down.
"Did I say you could look up?"
"Sorry sensei."
Aizawa hums, glancing at you.
"Sweetheart, you can leave now. I'll see you later."
As much as you'd like to argue, you don't. Instead, you nod and bow to the eight students before you, bidding them goodbye before making for the door.
****
Aizawa couldn't find you.
He'd stayed behind to have a little chat with a few of his students, intent on returning home to you afterwards, but now, fifteen minutes later, you were gone.
You weren't in the 1A dorms and you weren't at home.
There was nowhere else that you could be, so where had you gone?
He begrudgingly made his way back to the dorms, resigning himself to spending his afternoon with the troublesome students of class 1A.
Only, he didn't have to go very far to find you.
Not with the small crowd of students trying, and failing to hide in the bushes next to the dorms.
He sighs heavily, walking up behind them silently.
Crouching down, he whispers, "What are you looking at?"
The yelps Denki and Sero let out are both panicked and silent, though they quickly scramble back to where they were, shushing Aizawa with flapping hands.
He quirks an eyebrow. Whatever they were spying on had to be interesting if they were brave enough to shush him.
Aizawa shrugs and cranes his neck to see what has them and their friends so intruiged, and-
Absolutely not.
There, sat on a bench in the hidden garden next to 1A's dorm room, was Bakugo Katsuki.
Accompanied by you, his daughter.
And unless his eyes deceived him - was he blushing?
Having seen enough, Aizawa stands and pushes between the students clustered behind the bushes.
He calls your name, and you look up with a start, eyes wide and dazed, your cheeks strangely flushed.
"Dad?"
You and Bakugo both jump up, and you head towards Aizawa while Bakugo slips away.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were going straight home? And why were you with Bakugo?"
You laugh awkwardly, deflecting his questions as you grab his arm and head towards your own apartment, away from the 1A dorms.
"Sorry dad, I got a bit caught up. Hey, how'd the interrogation go?"
You were trying to distract him. Aizawa knew that.
But your father was nothing if not willing, so he let you get away with it, making a mental note to look into what you were doing with Bakugo Katsuki of all people later.
****
Of all the students in your father's class, Bakugo was the one he thought would stay away from you. Far away.
Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be going his way lately, and Aizawa was infuriated to learn that Bakugo had taken a liking to you.
While he may have his own strong suits, he was definitely not the type of person your father would want you to end up with. Honestly, if he had it his way, you would remain happily single and by his side until both of you died.
But those plans were put on the back burner for now.
He learnt, from a collection of camera feeds and fearful student reports, that you had indeed been on your way back home after your father's intervention, but you'd gotten caught up exploring the grounds around the dorm area.
No one could fault you for that - it was Aizawa's fault really, he never let you out on your own, especially not to explore.
It was something he'd have to work on at a later date.
While on your little adventure, you'd run into a feisty blond.
Bakugo had been tasked with clearing away the autumn leaves around the 1A dorms, a minor punishment for some or other misdemeanour, and he'd caught your attention.
That wasn't unusual - you were curious when you wanted to be. It was a trait that your father both loved and loathed.
What was unusual was that Bakugo had played along.
Aizawa knew that Bakugo knew you were his daughter. That meant that he knew not to snap at you or treat you with his usual brutish attitude as he did with his classmates.
He knew that, but he couldn't understand why Bakugo had taken such a liking to you. Aizawa knew you were perfect, but he also knew that he was biased when it came to his opinion of you.
Well, he thought, I'll just have to ask him myself.
****
For the first time in all his years as a teacher, Shouta Aizawa was stunned to the point of silence.
He never imagined the conversation would take a turn like this.
"Sensei?"
He shakes his head, trying to rid himself of the heavy fog over his mind as he throws the quizzical blond a hard look.
"No."
"No?"
He'd never felt any genuine anger or violence towards any of his students, but this-
"Well sensei, we met a while ago. She- I knew she was your daughter, so I tried to keep my distance but, well..."
"I'm sure you understand what I mean."
"We've known each other for a while. "
"If you'll allow it-"
The conversation replayed in his head as a series of broken sentences and snapshots.
He felt off-kilter, unsure of himself in the worst way possible.
The only thing he knew was that, at this moment, someone was threatening to come between you and him - threatening to take you away from him, to steal you from him.
"No," he said sharply, "Stay away from my daughter."
It was Bakugo's turn to look shocked, though he was faster to calm himself than Aizawa was.
"Sensei, is this to keep her safe, or because you don't want to share her?"
It's a strangely phrased question, one that would puzzle anyone. Anyone but Aizawa.
He understood exactly what the hotheaded child in front of him meant by the word 'share'.
It spelt trouble in more ways than one.
"No. You asked and that's my answer. Now go back to your dorm," he says, waving him out without another word.
Bakugo nods and leaves without further argument, not once looking back.
Aizawa slumped back in his seat.
Bakugo knew what you meant to his teacher, beyond what most people thought they knew - he understood the lengths he'd go to to keep you safe and happy. The fact that he'd left without a fight proved as much.
More concerning than that though, had to be the fact that Bakugo was the same as him. He had the same unsettling urge to be with you, to be the only source of your attention.
Aizawa had seen it in his eyes, but heard it moreso in his words.
Share.
No, he wouldn't share you. Not with anyone.
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shy-urban-hobbit · 2 months
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"wait...is this a date?" with Husk & Angel please :3c
Slight C/W for typical Val behaviour
Angel kicked his feet idly where they hung off the arm of the lobby sofa as he scrolled through his socials. He'd only just been able to start moving around without a limp that morning after Val had damn near broken his leg and while he was happy for the break (hah!) from work, he was now starting to go slightly stir crazy after being housebound for two days after Val had decided he was useless while one of his legs was twice the size of the other.
He scowled to himself as he shifted around slightly. He was pretty sure that was a spring digging into the small of his back but he couldn't muster the energy to rectify it - as Hell's most famous pornstar, he'd been in way more uncomfortable positions - he could live with something that wasn't a dick poking him in the back until someone or something gave him a worthwhile reason to move.
"Hey, Legs."
Angel yelped and cursed in quick succession as the sudden appearance of the hotel's resident cat demon made him promptly drop his phone onto his face.
"Asshole." He grumbled, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "First ya ditch me, and then ya make me injure myself. I should make ya kiss it better."
"It's not ditchin' ya if it was work." Husk answered as he placed the new bottles on the bar top, "As for the other thing, can I substitute one of those cups of sugar masquerading as a drink?"
Angel sat up to peek over the back of the sofa. Sure enough Husk was stood holding out a hot pink frappe from his favourite coffee place, an eyebrow raised as he shook the cup slightly, enticingly, "Well?"
"I've told ya you're my favourite, right?" Angel asked, making grabby hands until Husk handed it over, the smell of artificial raspberry filling his nose. "What's in the other bag?"
"Nothin' much. You wanna hang out in my room for a while?"
Angel blinked, finger still in his mouth as he paused in licking off melted whipped cream from where it had run down the side of the cup, "Ain't we got another redemption exercise or hugging circle or some shit in like, 5 minutes?" Not that Angel was complaining; Charlie had used his unexpected freetime to really double down on his possible redemption. Whatever had been said in that meeting with Heaven making her more determined then ever and if he had to look at one more crayon drawing or diagram he was going to start tearing his hair out - he may or may not have played up the whole wanting to rest up and heal thing once or twice, just to get her to leave him alone for 5 minutes (and God bless Vaggie for having his back on that one, even if the look she threw him told him she knew he was exaggerating and even though the princess was always quick to comply with minimal fuss and puppy eyes ever since the whole 'boundary crossing' thing).
Husk shrugged, holding out a hand, "Talked to Charlie earlier, we've both got a pass on this one."
"Fine." Angel took the hand without even thinking about it, gingerly testing his leg after laying down for so long - it still ached, but he didn't end up face planting or anything, "But if we end up having to do some weird extra credit thing later on, I'm blamin' you."
"Noted." Husk chuckled as he grabbed the mystery bag and headed upstairs, Angel's hand still in his.
Angel had only been in Husk's room a handful of times but he'd made a game of trying to see if anything was new or even remotely out of place whenever he entered. The small space was so uniformly neat and organised it was almost like a display rather than an actual living space. Part of Angel wondered if it was a control thing - he used to seek some semblance of control over what entered his body and when and what he'd remember through drink and drugs, why couldn't this be Husk's way? It seemed kind of funny now that the old him probably would've purposely moved things around or hidden something, just to fuck with the other.
"Sooo.... anything specific in that fuzzy head or ya just wanna bask in my presence?"
"So fucking humble." Husk opened up a laptop Angel hadn't noticed sat on the bed before now, "And I was thinkin' a movie. You in?"
"Sure. Surprised Al lets ya have one a those. Y'know, with the whole hatin' any tech after the 40's schtick." Angel said as he settled at the head of the bed, using one set of arms to attempt to plump up Husk's measly excuse for pillows.
"Borrowed it." Husk answered, not giving any details about who from (although Angel had a pretty solid idea if the rainbow and heart stickers were anything to go by).
"Oh my fuckin' God. How dense is this broad?" Angel laughed, throwing his head back against Husk's shoulder after having decided the cat was comfier to lean on than his flat pillows, Husk's arm resting on the low headboard behind them, "The guy's been pining since like, day one!"
"I think the dialogue's maybe one step up from the shit they have you spewin' and that's a low fuckin' bar!"
"Hey, it's all in the delivery, an' I got toys that ain't as stiff as these two." Angel crunched on a strawberry lollipop as the two protagonists acted out yet another 'cute' encounter like they had a gun pointed at their heads, "Y'know I'm surprised ya agreed ta this one. I didn't think it'd be your kinda thing."
"It ain't, but the fact it's so bad it's funny is makin' it bearable."
Angel hummed in agreement, snuggling further into Husk's chest fur as the female protagonists stereotypical gay BFF was laying the truth out for her in that the casual 'not a date' had totally been a date.
"Girl, he invited you over, made sure you weren't going to be interrupted, got you your favourite foods -"
Angel snuck a glance at the various wrappers covering the bed after he'd finally been given permission to dump out the contents of the bag.
"Jeez Husk, you raid a candy store an' just grab anythin' pink?"
"...no."
"Oh my god, you just grabbed anythin' pink!"
"I didn't know what you'd like. Seemed a safe bet."
"Well, well, ain't we the cocky one? Ya that sure I was gonna say yes? And ya bet payed off, just so ya know."
"-sat through something he knew would make him want to gouge his eyes out 'cos he knew you'd like it. How many more clues do you need?!"
Angel blinked, this insult to romcoms suddenly feeling a little too on the nose. Husk clearly felt the same if the way he was suddenly showing great interest in the acid rain falling outside was any indication.
"Wait...Husk, is this a date?"
Husk's tail twitched as he bought his attention to the other demon, cheeks slightly pink under his fur and ears dipped slightly, "It can be, if ya want. Or it can just be two friends hangin' out, rippin' a terrible movie to shreds. Your call."
Angel moved slowly, partly because of his leg and partly because he didn't want to spook the other as he sat himself in Husk's lap, mindful not to let his expression slip into the lewd mask he usually had to wear when he was practically straddling someone on a bed as he cupped Husk's jaw so the cat couldn't look anywhere but at him, "Yeah. I want."
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txttletale · 1 year
Note
Because I'm curious now, what are your favorite TTRPGs? One of my personal favorites is the Kids On Bikes system and its variants for their simplicity and ease of access for new players.
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so first of all--kids on bikes is very cool. it’s a nice rules-light game with a pick-up-and-play vibe. haven’t ever run it myself but i feel comfortable seconding your recommendation. anyway here’s some of my FAVOURITE TTRPGS.
Blades in the Dark is probably my enduring all-time favourite game. it’s a little flawed in places but its core loop is pure fucking elegance at play. flashbacks (you can spend stress, a metacurrency, to have done something in the past) and resistance (you can also spend stress to evade something bad that happens to you) are two of my favourite mechanics in any TTRPG ever. every player character gets to be a competent badass while also facing real, tangible danger with every moment. not to mention an incredibly well-fleshed out and evocative setting in the gaslamp fantasy nightmare city of doskvol.
Eidolon: Become Your Best Self is a game that dares to ask questions like, ‘what if jojo’s bizarre adventure was good’ and ‘what if persona, also, was good’. characters manifest the power of their souls as weird freaks with incredible powers. the ‘reveal your master plan’ mechanic works much like BiTD flashback mechanic and a smart combat system where enemies get stronger as you fight them really makes this the perfect vehicle for creative character-driven superpower-based combat. if you subscribe to the developers’ patreon you can also get access to the draft of the second edition, which does some really cool fucking things like replacing dice rolls with a tarot draw.
Lancer is the game for people who like grid-based tactical combat. it has incredible tactical depth, well-thought out mechanics that interlace perfectly--and best of all, you get to design and customize your own mech from a truly dizzying array of options to find all sorts of fucking insane synergies between abilities like ‘teleport whenever you attack somebody’ or ‘do more damage the more you overheat’. it also has a very comprehensive suite of GM tools that make it a breeze, and even fun, to create and run a balanced encounter with clearly defined and narrativly interesting goals for both sides. i’m not too into the setting for reasons i’ve talked about elsewhere, but fortunately as long as you can accomodate ‘mech combat’ into your setting, none of the worldbuilding is load-bearing to the game’s core appeal.
Microscope is totally different from a lot of TTRPGs in that it’s noit about playing characters, but about creating a world. it’s a beautiful collaborative storytelling tool with deceptively simple tools that can easily add up into your table creating a world that’s way more intricate and eclectic and fascinating than anything one of you could have come up with on your own. good for creating TTRPG settings but also good just as something to play for its own sake!!
Dream Askew would probably round out my top five, but i’ve just posted about that one here--so instead i’ll give this slot to Nobilis 3e, a game that might not be one of my favourite games to actually play, but is genuinely fascinating to read and sit with, a fucking masterful work of both design and literature, something that so distinctly creates a world and a tone that it’s instantly magnetic. not for everyone, but worth checking out.
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queerponcho · 3 months
Text
Transfixed | part 2
previous part | part 3
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collage made by me with pictures from pinterest
moonknight!system x female!reader
a/n: Thank you, for all the lovely interactions I got with my first chapter! I'm glad you like it as much as I do and I hope this 2nd chapter meets your expectations<;33
Warnings: no use of Y/N, fluff, NOT beta read, gushing about the moonboys, flustered awkward dorks, plot-twists, Jake being a menace, (eventual smut, the chapters will be marked individually), inaccurate depictions of DID, egyptian mythology and religion (although I did extensive research I took liberty in changing some things to adhere to my plot...), if I missed anything or made any spelling mistakes pls don't hesitate to tell me!
Summary: You haven't seen Jake for a while and are sure you won't ever meet him again. In fact you've convinced yourself to be unbothered by that theory and are planning to live with it. In typical Jake fashion, those plans are to be disrupted with a surprise visit to his new, favourite part of town...
2,700 words
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Two weeks later
You continue working on your latest hyperfixated studies in the library and try your best to forget about him. You knew it was probable that you weren't going to see him again. So you quickly went back to drawing the library kitten, when you weren't working at the shelter or studying. You tried your best to stick to the cat and really focus on her cute paws and the green spots in her honey coloured eyes…but even those somehow remind you of him. This of course brings back the feeling of you pressed between the bookshelf and his front. His thumb on your chin and his crooked nose so close to brushing yours…how in the hell were you supposed to forget? Him and his advances rivalled many good romances you had read about. The library was starting to feel stuffy so you decided to take a break from sketching and to go get a coffee in the cute place next door. 
Giving the kitty one last treat before stepping out the door, you turn around to wave the cat goodbye ‘byeee barry! See you again soo-’ you stumble backwards over the sidewalk landing on someone. You’re about to apologise when-
‘we really gotta stop meetin’ like this, nena’ Like in any bad romance you meet him again by literally falling into Jake's lap. You look over your shoulder and see him smirking while resting his chin on your shoulder, making his face be much closer than you had expected. You scramble to your feet and dust off your sweater. Leaving him sitting on the floor. ‘Not even gonna help me up?? ay…que mala’ he tutted. He stands up swiftly, looking very pleased with himself. 
‘Hello to you too Jake, i-if you could excuse me I really need to go get my coffee’ you say while you push past him, walking two steps but stopping when he stands in your way looking almost panicked.
‘W-wait wait darling, let me buy you a coffee…please?’ 
You almost make a comment about the very british nickname but are taken aback by his uncharacteristic pleading eyes. It seemed very unlike him but you weren't about to refuse the pretty man you’ve been pining over. ‘Alright- Sure Jake, let's get coffee’ you say smiling but feeling like something's off. You walk slightly ahead, leading him to the nearby cafe. You can see Jake in your peripheral vision, he looked really nervous, seemed to be twitching weirdly and muttering some intelligible things. Maybe he was just in his head about something...you didnt wanna pay it any mind. You entered the „Moonbean “ café. It was this cute and cosy place with lots of natural light and many plants. After you get your ice coffee and Jake (to your surprise) buys himself a black tea with oat milk and honey, you sit down at a corner booth.
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‘Ssso, ahem Jake. Is there anything you wanted to tell me or..?’ you ask, trying to make this situation seem like a normal sircumstance. ‘um yes! Or well no…it's kinda hard to explain but I need to know how you know…well- me..?’ he says while glancing into your eyes intently. ‘...okay, Jake I don't follow..’ you laugh awkwardly. ‘Okay so here's the deal' he rubs his hand over his face distressedly, 'I have DID, also known as dissociative identity disorder a-and we are two people in this system. Marc and Steven- well me! Steven' he takes a deep breath and keeps going. 'So, I wanted to have a coffee with you because we have been feeling like there might be a third consciousness, sharing our body that we don't know about...’ Steven says just a smidge too fast ‘...okay…Steven…what makes you think I have got any information on this third consciousness?’ you ask genuinely curious. You have read about DID but you have never actually talked to anybody that lived with it. 
‘Well…you did call me Jake about five times which leads me to think that erm- you might know a thing or two about him.’ just now you noticed how his entire presence was completely different from Jakes. Jake led with his chest and had a confident smirk practically glued on his face. Steven on the other hand looked tired and like he wanted to hide from any discomfort around him. His shoulders were rounded and his eyes looked like those of a lost puppy in need of a hug, which you were very inclined to give him. Unfortunately for you, his lack of confidence did not make him any less attractive. Which meant you still couldn't tear your eyes away from his features and had to work hard on not embarrassing yourself like last time. Remembering you had to answer him you perked up ‘right, well- I only know him in passing. How come you knew he was at the library?’ you say trying to redirect his attention away from your potentially…strange connection to Jake, don’t really wanna out yourself as a stalker…‘Funny story actually- erm I found this wood-panel in my floor that had a burner phone, gloves, a flat-cap and a small notebook with a folded piece of paper hidden inside. These items confirmed mine and Marc's belief that there might be a third. What surprised us more tho, is what we saw when we unfolded the paper…let me..’ he clears his throat and reaches into his satchel, he hands you the paper but looks to the side, avoiding eye-contact. You unfold it…and immediately want to die. ’oh fuck me- so um- w-what made you think it had anything todo with the- um, library?’ You try to keep your composure but it's very hard when the drawing was of course the sketch he’d taken from your collection two weeks ago. Naturally, he’d gotten his hands on one of the more "racey" drawings you’d drawn of him, you weren't entirely surprised that stalking a handsome stranger could ever come back to haunt you. 
‘So the paper has a footnote printed on it with an address…see? Right here a-above my- well Jakes bound wrists- ahem well yes so then w-we came here and bumped into you…’ his sentence died out and he shyly looked away while blushing. Steven was an adorable man, you were finding it hard to really focus on this serious conversation when all you could think about was how his hair was so unruly this time and his curls were bouncing above his eyebrows, making him look even prettier. How he wears his clothes two sizes too big, hiding his broad shoulders beneath 4 different layers of fabric. You snap out of it ‘so um- any idea who drew it?’ you ask while feeling a warm sensation crawl up your back and your heart-beat increasing ever so slightly. ‘Well- since it’s more…intimate in nature we assume he is perhaps seeing someone..?’ Inhaling sharply you try to stay calm. You really didn't want to tell them that you, a stranger, drew this but seeing Steven so exhausted and distressed convinced you to do the right thing. ‘ um- so..ahhh well…I drew that…’ You closed your eyes and squinted, opening one eye to see Stevens reaction. He was frozen, you swallow strenuously ‘um- Steven..? Everything okay…?’ you ask reluctantly.
 He stares into your eyes and is blushing intensely, looking like a red traffic-light. He's so cute. ‘Yes! I am fine- sorry love, I-I just did not exp-’
 ‘not expect that a total stranger would draw a lewd picture of you? Well, yes I definitely understand that notion’ you laugh. Funnily enough, Steven's nervousness was helping you calm down a bit and not feel as awkward. But something tells you that having this conversation with Jake would've absolutely killed you. ‘Yeah, I also did not expect to immediately run into the artist behind our one and only clue about…Jake, is his name?’
 ‘Y-yes his name is Jake..’ even just saying his name made you feel flustered. Steven noticed your change of demeanour and found it pretty interesting, choosing to interrogate a bit further. ‘Darling- you were saying you know Jake in passing. Would you mind telling us more about the times you saw him? ’
 Were all of this man's personalities into giving you heart-melting nicknames? Maybe someday you’d get to meet Marc well enough to find out… you can’t stop your mind from conjuring up a rom-com-like sequence with them…baking together and going grocery shopping, getting caught making out in your paradise library and going home to keep climbing him like- a hand waving in front of your face interrupts your intriguing daydream. 'Are you okay, love? I know this is a lot to process- if you need a break just tell me, yeah?’
 ‘oh! Yes! I mean no- I am fine. Sure Steven, I'll tell you about Jake.’ You sit up in your chair and begin to tell him about seeing Jake for the first time. He puts his elbows on the table leaning in, not wanting to miss a single detail of your story. 
‘-so yeah then he walked out with this thick leather bound book. It had some Moons carved onto it's cover, that's all I can remember. Then I didn't see him for about a month, until he came back last week to return the book.’ You notice Steven's eyes light up at your mention of the moon-details.
‘he didn't buy the book?’ 
‘he couldn't, the book is a unique scripture and can only be loaned for a maximum of 30 days.’  
‘okay…but something still confuses me. When did you meet him, if he only came back to return the book- and how did he even get the drawing you made of him?’  God, you really didnt wanna talk about this. Maybe you could find a way around actually telling him about what happened, to avoid the embarrassment. ‘Well- he came in and gave back the book. Then he went to look around …and we accidentally bumped into each other. I dropped all my things and he picked up the drawing and kept it without me knowing. We introduced ourselves to each other aand…that's it! Then he left!’ 
‘huh…are you sure that's all that happened?’ He says, his eyes turning darker. you were starting to sweat. You never were a very good liar, especially if attractive people were the ones asking the questions. ‘Mhm! Yeah. That's all’ you haven’t been looking him in the eyes. Jake might have intense and hooded eyes but Steven had impossibly earnest and rounded eyes. You could never lie while looking into such an adorable face. only you hadn’t noticed that the man before you wasn't Steven anymore- ‘hola hermosa. You miss me?’ your head whips back towards him at the familiar nickname. In the short amount of time he had somehow, slid over to your side of the booth. ‘Chiquita…why don't you wanna tell him the truth, ah? You scared he might leave when you tell him about your...stalkerish tendencies? Steven is a smart man, he won't leave such a gorgeous woman behind...’ he winks at you moving closer so your thighs touch.
‘Jake- what is going on. Why aren't you talking to Steven? He’s saying he doesn't know anything about you- fuck me this is all too much’ You say exasperated. You jolt up feeling his breath on your neck. ‘mmh querida i’d love too but I think this cafe might not be the best place for such…improper activities…’ by now he's long moved into your personal space and started caressing you right above your knee, still breathig over your neck. ‘Jake- i-i am being serious I-’ His hand moves up your thigh gingerly and he starts grazing his nose over the spot under your ear. You’ve already forgotten what you were even talking about and why you were even in this coffee-shop to begin with. Your eyes were fluttering and you were breathing deeply trying to stay calm, feeling his hot breath fan over your neck. Once again, trapped between his chest and wooden furniture. He smelled so good, like dark coffee and vanilla, mirroring the bitter sweet smell of Stevens black tea perfectly. If you could buy his smell as a laundry detergent you would douse your linens in it. He circles his arm around your back and waist and lets it rest on your hip. You expose your neck further to him, inviting him in to keep going. You hear him chuckle and wait for him to start kissing your neck. Just as his lips are about to touch you, you feel his hand twitch on your hip, causing your eyes to snap open. You were surprised to see a pair of round and frantic eyes staring right back at yours. 
‘Oh Jesus christ! I am SO sorry, love. I don't know what came over me! P-please I promise. I really can’t contro-’ you cut in before he could continue his panicked rambling. 
‘Steven, it's okay! Don't worry, I-I understand this isn't really something you can control. No need to panic.’ you give him a warm smile which he returns with a blush. Putting your hand on his shoulder trying to reassure him with your gentle touch. His rather dreamy expression gets interrupted by a tense and pensive one. He shakes his head, seemingly shaking off his serious expression. You let go of his shoulder, placing your hand back in your lap.
‘so- just- just based on observations I-I just feel like you might be closer to Jake than you first led us to believe…?’ It wasn't as much a question as it was a statement. You really needed to come clean, even though this would most probably leave you a blubbering, flustered mess.
‘Alright, yes. But it’s not what you think- we never actually did anything intimate…we-we just came a bit close to it like twice or something…’
‘close to what exactly? Darling, i-i don't mean to be rude but we are still talking about things that happened with my body here, so I’d really like to know what happened...?’ You understand why he is getting frustrated but this was really hard to tell someone. Especially because this someone looked exactly like the person who you were just pressed against mere moments ago-
he interrupted your train of thought by calling out your name ‘sweetheart- please. I'm begging you to just tell me what happened’ he takes your hands in his making your arms tingle ‘yes! sorry Steven- this is just a lot to process. Okay i’ll tell you…’ You finally told him about the second “meet-cute”, when you dropped your things because you bumped into Jake after being too focused on his features and had lost sight of him. How he got closer and closer to you and you were trapped between him and the bookshelf. How you, just as before, brushed noses and almost kissed before being forced out of your bubble. After relaying the past events between you and Jake, you looked up from your twiddling fingers and were greeted by a glowing red Steven. He was tugging on the loose skin around his fingernails and had his hands barely peeking out of his too-long sweater, looking right past you. He had a sheen covering his face and couldn’t stop fidgeting. 
‘Steven i am really sorry if i made you feel uncomfortable, if I’d known…I just- I- I don’t think you understand-’ 
Now he refocused his gaze on your eyes and looked even more stunned than before. ‘Sorry to be so forward but- ugh just look at you! How the hell was I not supposed to study you?! You are every artist's dream, with those angular facial features and the inky black curls adorning your head I just can't believe you are this unaware of the effect you have on a room. I know I sound like an absolute cree-’ before you can keep going he cuts you off ‘Would you like to go on a date with me?’
You stopped talking, mouth open without a sound coming out of it. Did he just ask you out?
‘I- if you don’t want too I unde-‘
‘NOno! I mean YES- yes I’d love to go on a date with you, Steven…’ you bit your lip, trying to contain your grin and saw that Steven was doing the same.
You gave him your number and left him alone in the coffee shop. After turning around to wave goodbye one last time you cross the street and walk home. ‘Oh my god’ you giggle to yourself and make your way home.
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a/n: I am so happy you guys liked the first chapter of this fic and hope you like this one aswell!! more chapters are comin' with more tension and plot-twists aaand maybe even a certain marc...
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