#I reread a really good fic and found out that it had more words than the first book

[dizzyjelly]

Kryptonite(18+)

Word Count: 4.2k

Summary: ellie hated everyone, except you. You go out to the bar one night and some guy bothers you, she punched his ass ofc. You get into a small fight but then you guys go back to her place and things get freaky;)

Cw: fighting, drinking, smut, strap-on sucking, strap-on sex, scissoring, rough sex, degrading, praising, spanking, the tiniest bit of overstimulation

A/n: ooh this is seriously dirtyyy! 😭 sorry if I missed any content warnings but I really think that's all. Also, I've been going back to my previous fics and rereading and I just now realize I misspell so much and like forget words, so I'm sorry for all my grammar fuck ups lmao

Ellie Williams was many things, but nice was not one of them. People usually tried to steer clear of her, knowing her mood was negative more often than not. But of course, there was the occasional time when somebody made the mistake of trying to be friendly with her. It typically ended with Ellie cursing them out, or insulting them somehow. And then you'd come around, always calming her down and putting a smile on her face.

Everybody found it odd, from the minute you'd been welcomed to Jackson, Ellie was always so sweet to you. It honestly had jaw dropping, everyone was shocked to say the least. On top of that, it made no sense. I mean, some random girl comes into town and she just happened to be Ellie Williams kryptonite? Absolutely zero sense.

Nobody dared to question it though, and anytime they did Ellie had a lot to say. The main point she'd give was that it was simply 'none of their fucking business', among other things. You, yourself, found it a bit odd. You'd heard stories about Ellie from various people around town, and it was hard to believe she could be so harsh and mean. Was she really as cruel as they'd said? You'd never know, because she was nothing but kind to you.

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

After deciding to get ballsy on patrol, Ellie was sentenced to the unbearable punishment of laundry duty for a week. The only good part of it being that she got to see you, you had been a clothing designer before all this apocalypse shit happened so you knew a lot about clothing. This being the reason for your permanent work assignment staying laundry duty, you'd requested that it be permanent. Maria had no issue doing thst for you, and you were beyond thankful. You and no interest in getting yourself into any kind of danger, doing patrol or something else.

Currently, Ellie was trying to figure out what the hell she was supposed to do with the laundry detergent. She looked at the various bottles, grabbing then to read the instructions on the back. After a minute of trying to comprehend what she was meant to do, she let out a frustrated sigh before slamming the yellow bottle back in its place on the shelf.

"I could help you out, you know?" A brunette boy suggested with a sweet smile, he was younger and very clearly meant no harm.

"Fuck off" She scoffed harshly, "I don't need your help." Her tone was aggressive as she walked back over to the baskets of clothing.

She decided to sort them by color instead, that was something she was capable of. Five minutes or so passed and you came in, late. Very unusual for you, you were one of those people who was either early or on time. But late, you were never late. Ellie's face immediately lit up when she saw you, she smiled from ear to ear as she ran over to pull you in for a hug.

"Oh, hi" You laughed, wrapping your own arms around the girl, "somebody missed me." You joked.

"Shut up" She smirked at you, rolling her eyes, "why are you late? You're never late." She asked, a hint of worry in her tone.

"Um, I was just talking to Gavin, guess I got caught up." Your cheeks flushed red, Gavin was the guy you had a crush on for weeks now.

Ellie couldn't wrap her head around why, he was such a dick. Not that you'd be able to figure that out by the way he acted. He pretended to be a nice, caring guy. But he wasn't either of those things. And since he had you in a chokehold, for some unknown reason, you'd have to find that out the hard way. Ellie tried to tell you, relaying stories she'd heard from friends who'd been with him. But you were just lovesick.

"Oh, k." Her smile dropped now, and she spoke monotonly as she had no interest in why you were so busy talking with Gavin.

You furrowed your brows slightly at her sudden change in demeanor, but ultimately you ignored it. Smiling, you walked over to greet Samuel, the brunette boy who'd usually help you out with laundry.

"Good afternoon, Samuel! How are you today?" You asked, but he seemed kinda down.

He hadn't given you an answer, just shrugged, so you walked over to him and asked what was up. He motioned for you to lean in, so that he could whisper in your ear. Samuel told you about how Ellie had told him to 'fuck off.' And you let out a dramatic gasp.

"Ellie Williams! Did you tell my sweet bo Samuel to fuck off?" You asked sternly, hands on you hips as you made your way over to the girl.

She bit her lip, her cheeks flushed red as she knew she'd been caught.

"Maybe... I'm sorry!" She apologized with a frown, looking at you with pleading eyes.

"Do not talk to my sweet little helper that way, he's my friend." You scolded her just a bit more, and she nodded in understanding.

"Oh, hey could you help me with the detergent? I'm not really sure what to use." She asked you, pointing her thumb in the direction of the shelf filled with various laundry detergents.

"Yes, if you promise to be nicer to my dear friend Samuel." You raised your brows.

"Promise..." She smiled with a playful eye roll.

You proceeded to help her with the detergent, making sure she'd remember for next time. Ellie would continue her work duties, bored out of her mind as she prayed to be let back onto patrol early for good behavior. At a certain point in the day, she'd just be eyeing the clock, counting down the hours until she could finally be free from this torture. You, however, didn't mind the job one bit. It actually brought you joy, helped you to relax even. It reminded you of the days before.. everything.

Once it did fall time to clock out, Ellie was quick to rush out of the laundry area, waiting for you outside. You'd chuckle to yourself and shake your head, she was so dramatic. On your way out, you waved a goodbye to Samuel then smiled as you found Ellie leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.

"Hey, wanna go to the bar?" She asked with a cheeky smile.

You sighed through your nose, hesitant as Ellie was a terrible drunk.

"Fine. But Ellie, please don't get too drunk." You asked, taking her hands in your own.

"Ok... come on." She smiled as she held your hand and walked the two of you to the bar.

Once you got there, you took seats at the bar and Ellie ordered for the both of you. Alcohol wasn't really your thing, but she seemed to know her way around it pretty well. And you trusted her, which was a good choice because when you took a sip of your drink it was absolutely delicious. After another drink and the passing of some time, Gavin had made an appearance.

You saw him and a smile spread across your face, your eyes lit up and your knees felt weak. Ellie took notice to your mood change, following your eyes to see the man himself. She rolled her eyes and let out a small groan as she rested her head in her hand. You turned back around, sipping from your drink and trying to act cool. Then, Gavin had come to sit beside you.

"Hey Y/n, how you doing?" He greeted, the sound of his voice had you giggling.

"Hi, I'm good. How are you?" You asked in return, playing with your hair a bit.

"Oh I'm doing just great. Who's your friend?" He asked, gesturing to Ellie who was now on her third drink.

You sucked in a breath through clenched teeth.

"Oh, this is-" Ellie had cut you off.

"I'm Ellie." She answered him with a harsh tone.

"Well, nice to meet ya Ellie" Gavins voice trailed off as he looked at the door, "I've gotta go." He sent a little wave your way.

You waved back with furrowed brows, then frowned as he was meeting a girl who just walked in. She was pretty, long blonde hair and a striking figure. You sighed, dropping your head down on the bar with a groan. Ellie sighed.

"What's wrong?" She asked in a soft tone, bringing a hand to rub up and down your back soothingly.

"I'm a fucking idiot." Was all you muttered, not picking your head up until a minute later.

You turned around and honestly felt like you could cry when you saw the two of then dancing together, he had his hands on her waist and pulled her unbelievably closer. She laughed as her hands wrapped around the back of his neck. You turned back to look at Ellie, the pout on your face more evident than anything.

"Oh, come on, he's an asshole anyways" Ellie rolled her eyes, glancing over at the dancing pair, then she stood and reached out a hand, "come on baby, dance with me."

You smiled, placing your hand in hers and letting out a small laugh as she pulled you to stand with her. At first, you just held hands and bounced around to some faster songs. But then about two songs later, a slower song came on. Your cheeks flushed red and you took a step back, only for Ellie to snake a hand around your waist and pull you closer.

"Ellie.. what are you doing?" You whispered as she held your waist and pulled you in tight, so that you were practically hugging.

"Dancing." She whispered in return.

You giggled and brought your arms around her shoulders, leaning in so your head rested on one of them. Ellie smiled as her eyes fell shut, your perfume greeting her kindly. You sighed as you relaxed under her touch, nobody could make you feel the way she did. Her hands found their way to your lower back, rubbing small circles onto it. You'd nuzzle your face in her neck, smiling as you brought your hands to play with her hair.

"Fuck Y/n.." Ellie groaned under her breath.

You giggled, lifting your head to meet her eyes. She looked at you like you were the only girl in the world. You looked down at your feet, then back at her. Your breath hitched as your eyes couldn't seem to focus on hers anymore, but rather on her slightly chapped lips. She had to have noticed because a smirk slowly formed on her face. Before you'd do anything you would regret, you stepped back from her. The loss of her touch left you feeling empty, but you would ignore it and just smile as you excused yourself.

"I have to use the bathroom." You simply said, and she took a seat at the bar once again as you made your way to the restroom.

You didn't actually have to go, so instead you washed your hands underneath cold water. And you splashed some on your face for good measure, you'd been getting unbelievably hot during your dance with Ellie. Once you could no longer feel your heart beating in your ears, you left the bathroom to return to Ellie. Unfortunately, there had been someone waiting for you outside.

"Hey, you know you look really good tonight." Gavin spoke smugly as he leaned against the wall.

"Yeah? Thanks." You scoffed, "shouldn't you be getting back to your date?" You spoke matter of factly, trying to push past him.

Your efforts didn't get you much of anywhere, his hand now finding a tight grip on your forearm while the other went to hold your face. You rolled your eyes with a frustrated sigh.

"Ok, come on Gavin I'm really not in the mood." You spoke coldly, willing him to just take the hint and leave you alone.

He tsked, leaning down to whisper in your ear,

"Come on angel, just let me show you a good time." You shuddered at his words, disgusted.

That was your last straw and you found the energy to shove him off of you and into the wall with a hard thud. Then, you saw Ellie turning the corner, her fists balled at her sides as her brows knitted together with anger.

"The fucks going on here?" She asked gruffly.

"Ellie, it's nothing. I'm fine." You placed a hand on her chest, trying to convince her.

Of course it didn't work because the next thing you knew you were watching as she punched Gavin so hard he'd fallen over. Her knuckles were red, and his face began to bruise.

"Ellie!" You screamed as your hands went over your mouth in shock.

Before she could get any other hits in, you'd held her by her shoulders as you dragged her outside. She yelled at the poor guy the entire time. Sending a good amount of threats his way.

"What is wrong with you!" You shouted at the girl as the two of you now stood outside in the chilly night.

"Me? He deserved it and you know it!" She'd shouted back, gesturing with her hands, something she did often when she was angry.

"Yeah maybe, but still! You can't just go around punching every guy that bothers me, I can take care of myself you know?" Your hands were on your hips.

"Oh god, this again? I can't keep having this fucking conversation with you, Y/n!" She gritted her teeth.

"What conversation? The one where I have to constantly remind you that I'm a full grown adult, and I am entirely capable of taking care of and defening myself? I mean seriously Ellie, what's the problem? Do you think that I can't take care of myself?" You asked with a frustrated sigh.

"What, no! Of course I know you can, but I just- I care about you a lot and you shouldn't have to take care of yourself. It makes me feel good to defend you, I don't know why it just does. And I'm... sorry." Sge struggled to get the apology out.

"It's ok. Let's just go home, sleep it off." Your suggestion sounded good, but Ellie stopped you with a hand on your wrist.

"Wait." You looked at her with questioning eyes, wondering what else she had to say.

Turns out, she didn't have anything to say. Instead, she had brought one hand to your waist and the other to the back of your neck. She bit her lip, her eyes flickering between your own and your lips. After a minute or so had passed, she just couldn't resist. She pulled you in and connected her lips with yours, kissing you like it was the end of the world.

"Ellie~" You whined as you parted from the kiss for a moment, immediately diving back in.

This time, you pressed your tongue to her bottom lip. And she gladly let you in, opening her mouth wide so she could taste your tongue on hers. It was something from another world, you'd felt dizzy and giddy, and there was something else too. There was this heat between your legs, it almost hurt. You whimpered into her mouth at the unfamiliar feeling.

"What's wrong baby?" She asked, her forehead resting against yours.

"I don't know, 's all achy down there." You admitted, embarrassed as you'd only dare to stare down at her shoes.

Ellie let out a sinful chuckle,

"Well, I think I could help with that." She gave you one last kiss before taking you to her house.

You stood in her living room, your hand coming to scratch the back of your neck awkwardly as she rushed upstairs to grab 'a little something special' from her room. You'd wondered what she could be grabbing, but not for long as she returned swiftly without her bottoms now and a large black strap tightened around her hips. Your eyes widened at the sight of it, and you knew you wanted it inside of you. Your mouth watered at just the thought of her fucking your brains out.

She walked over to you with a smirk, pulling you in for yet another kiss. You smiled into it, letting out small moans here and there as the taste of her tongue felt so good against your own. You'd sighed as she pulled your top off, now placing kisses along your jaw and neck. It wasn't long before she was placing feather light kisses to the top of your boobs, then palming them roughly as she watched your face contort with pleasure.

"Get on your knees." She ordered after a minute, and you were quick to oblige.

Getting down on the floor, you looked up at Ellie with lustful eyes. She grabbed a fistful of your hair, taking a step closer to you as she held her strap in the other hand. You licked your lips before chewing slightly at your bottom one.

"Open that pretty little mouth of yours for me baby." She cooed, her hand tightening in your hair as you'd opened wide.

She chuckled as she pushed her cock into your mouth, watching with nothing but joy as she shoved it as far as it could go. You'd gagged, unable to help it, then you let out a small whimper which was muffled by her large cock. She groaned at this, tugging your hair a bit, which brought a lengthy moan from your lips.

"Fuck baby, look at you being a good little slut. Taking my cock down your throat so well. Good girl." The praise she'd given you had gotten you even wetter, if that was even possible.

Ellie would continue to move your head up and down for a bit longer until she was satisfied, carefully she removed her hand from your hair and let you pull back. Your lips left her cock with a satisfying pop sound and she smiled sinfully as she pulled you to stand. She brought a hand to your chin, wiping your saliva that had dripped down your chin while you were kept busy deep-throating her.

She'd snaked her hands around you now, gripping at your ass before giving it a harsh smack that made your body jolt with pleasure and excitement. Another kiss was brought to your lips by her, but not for long as you'd pulled away quickly.

"Ellie, please." You whimpered, she only let out a small chuckle.

"Please what? Use your words baby." She kept a finger under your chin.

"Please," another moan, "fuck me. Fuck me good and hard, please I need you." You were begging shamelessly now, and she loved it.

"Well, aren't you cute. Your wish is my command, princess." She smiled as she backed you up to the couch, lying down before pulling you on top of her.

You sat straddling her for a minute, she rubbed your thighs with her hands soothingly before ridding you of both your jeans and panties in just one motion. You bit your lip as she held your hips, lifting you so the head of her strap just grazed your dripping hole. She'd continue to tease you for what felt like ages, before you just couldn't take it anymore so you'd taken it upon yourself to lower down onto her cock. You threw your head back with a loud, pornagraphic moan as you felt the burning stretch inside of you.

Ellie scoffed,

"Did I say you could do that? Eager little slut, you're gonna regret that." She groaned as you continued making the sweetest sounds as she gripped your hips harder.

She'd waste no time, immediately thrusting into you roughly and at a fast pace that had your head spinning. Occasionally, she'd bring a hand up from your hip to place a firm smack against your ass, in the same spot every time. You were sure there'd be a mark, but you didn't care because it felt so fucking good. Then, she'd angled herself just ever so slightly differently and began to hit a spot that you didn't even know existed.

"Oh, oh god! Fuck yes, right there Ellie. Fuckk." You moaned as you called out her name, your hands finding their way to her chest as you began to grind your hips down against her.

"Oh yeah, you like that slut?" She asked, using the rather vulgar name that only got you hotter.

You nodded, feeling as if your vision went hot white at the pleasure you were feeling. It was so phenomenal, you almost thought you mightve been dreaming. But then, she stopped and held your hips tightly so you couldn't move an inch.

"Fucking answer me." She commanded.

"Yes yes. Yes I love it. Please keep going. Please." You whimpered, tears welling in your eyes.

"That's my girl." She smiled as she resumed her rough thrusts, loosening her grip on your hips so you could rut against her as well.

She bit back a moan as the strap had been hitting against her clit just right, that and the sight of you was more than enough to make her cum. The way your tits bounced underneath your scarlet red lace bra, and how beautiful your face looked as you moaned loudly. And oh the way you said her name was just so fucking sexy.

"Ellie- I'm gonna" your breath hitched with a gasp, "fuck 'm gonna cum." your moans got even louder somehow.

"Me too baby, come on cum with me. Come on baby." She'd finally let out a small moan and that sent you over the edge.

However you didn't just cum, you were gushing all over her beautifully long strap as well as her thighs. Ellie moaned louder at the sight of you squirting all over her cock, and then got her own release. She didn't stop pounding into you as she rode out her own high, and it didn't take long before you were feeling overstimulated. But you'd do anything to watch as her eyes squeezed shut with the pleasure of her orgasm.

"Mmn- fuck." She let out a small groan as she removed her cock from your hole, a small string of your slick connecting it still.

You let out a small sigh of exhaustion as you layed against her chest, smiling as her hands came to rub up and down your back. You lied there together for a minute or so before she finally spoke.

"Let's go to my room." She whispered, and you didn't say anything in return.

You'd just followed her upstairs and watched as she removed her strap, sitting on the bed and patting the spot next to her. You joined her and sat with your back against the headboard, leaning forward as she came to kiss you. You'd pulled at her shirt and giggled a bit as she ripped it off, revealing her black sports bra. Then, she'd used one hand to spread your legs before getting into position.

One of her legs straddled your hip, a hand on your shoulder and the other on your waist. Her eyes fell shut as she let out an airy moan when she'd ground her throbbing clit against your own, and you'd let out a similar sound.

"Fuck, baby. Your pussy feels so good against mine." She bit her lip, letting out more moans as she thrusted against you.

Sure, the way Ellie had pounded into you earlier was amazing and beyond pleasurable. But there was just something so euphoric about her sopping wet pussy gliding against your own. The feeling of your slicks mixing together just drove you insane. Apparently it had the same effect on Ellie because she was louder than ever, moaning and whimpering with great pleasure.

Your breath quickened as you felt yourself getting close again, and began to move your own hips against her as well. This made Ellie let out a guttural groan.

"Oh yeah, just like that baby." She said in an almost whisper, her eyes falling shut with pleasure.

And with a few more thrusts, the both of you reached yet another release. Now you weren't the only one making noise, Ellie was moaning while also letting out "thank you's and 'fuck's. After fully riding out your highs, Ellie lied down next to you. She brought a hand to wipe her forehead, it dribbled with sweat and her hair stuck to it a bit.

You felt your eyes vetting heavy, snuggling against Ellies side as you let them fall shut. She'd hold you for a minute before standing up.

"Don't fall asleep yet, baby. I wanna get you cleaned up first." She placed a kiss to your forehead, going to the bathroom then returning with a wet rag.

She wiped you down gently, placing soft kisses along your body on the way. Once she finished that, she'd given you a t-shirt of hers to wear to sleep. She climbed back into bed, pulling you to lay on her chest. You snuggled your head into the crook of her neck, bringing your hands to wrap around her shoulders.

"Goodnight Els." You said sleepily.

"Goodnight baby." She responded with a kiss on top of your head.

[malina-33]

Femme Like You - Chapter 2

Chapter 1

Summary: You are the new tour manager for Arctic Monkeys during The Car era. You are practically the only girl in the team, also younger than the rest (27 y.o.), so your skills are immediately called into question. In particular, by the frontman who is not used to being led by a woman.

Word count: 10,2k

Warnings: swearing, emotional swing (is it even a warning?), kind of voyeurism (slight), age gap

A/N: Dear friends, hi!! I know, I know that I've promised you to update the fic every 3 weeks, and the disappeared for 1.5 months, but I spontaneously found a job, so there was very little time. But the chapter is much longer and with some interesting collaborations ;) I'll hope you enjoy them!

And write down what do you think if I make a description of not only the whole work, but also the chapter before each new part? Or is it better to keep the intrigue till the end?

In any case, I look forward to your feedback, it's soooo much important for me. I won't promise to return before the end of September, but I'll do my best not to delay. I already have an interesting plot for the next chapters, you should like it💔

*guys, English isn't my first language so if I have (and I know I have lol) any grammar/logic mistakes don't hesitate to tell me :)

The first week after meeting with the group flew by unnoticed. You dealt with the documentation, understanding how necessary it is, no matter how much you hated it, phoned the representatives of Ashton Gate stadium, made sure that everything was okay and confirmed the presence of the group and even tried to check the weather since the gig would be held outside. However, it turned out to be a little more difficult with the transport company. Apparently, James forgot to warn them about the temporary removal of his duties, so you had to spend time clarifying the situation and explaining who you are. It seemed that your hands-on approach was excessive, because you were trying to control everything in one time, but only due to the feeling of extra responsibility.

Steven, as promised, sent the contacts of the guys and important people from the technical crew, so now your phone had the names of Jamie Cook, Nick O'Malley, Matthew Helders and Alex "dickhead" Turner among others. 19 years old you would definitely envy yourself. So when you got a message while cooking pasta for dinner on Saturday night, you already knew it was from the drummer and not from an anonymous online scammer.

Matthew Helders: "good evening, Miss Y/S! I hope you aren't busy. We'll wait you on the soundcheck on Monday at 2 pm in Domino, need your advice :)"

You almost overcooked Carbonara bacon rereading the message. "Do they really need my advice?" you whispered, furrowing your brows "About what?". But the only answer was:

You: "Sure! Do I need to take some 12% cider?"

Matthew Helders: "you better not show up without a package lol"

Immediately followed by:

Matthew Helders: "just kidding! We are waiting only for you, but in the company of cider it will be even better)"

You chuckled, surprised at how quickly Matt went from formal Miss at the beginning of the conversation to smiles and lols at the end. To tell the truth, you still didn't fully understand how to behave with them. On the one hand, you are their manager and have a certain influence, as well as subordination. Steven and James don't have it, although they are "higher" in position, but they've been friends for half of a life, and you are a completely new person. On the other hand, in this area there is no place for strict formalities, especially since the guys don't look like those who would comply with them. After all they were big kids no matter how mature and pretentious they could look on stage, and you clearly felt it. Maybe your company will help them to relax even more, so there won't be any awkwardness and you will naturally find an edge where all of you will feel comfortable and which no one will cross.

With those thoughts, Carbonara and Rosé you spent your Saturday night watching your favorite series "La Piovra". You got used to such calm and quiet evenings. The era of parties until the morning has passed in the university years, and it’s not that you don’t go to clubs now, it’s just that the older you become the better you began to appreciate moments of silence. Not to be bored alone with yourself is the most valuable skill that you have acquired in your life. Having lived first with your parents for a long time, then getting married early at the age of 20 and having lived with your husband for 3 years, you were essentially not left alone with yourself. Having discovered over time that you feel absolutely nothing for the person whom you said "yes" to in the registry office, you were horrified and frightened to say at least. You thought that you get married once for a lifetime, but it turned out that happy endings exist only in fairy tales. That period of despondency, depression and eventual deepening into work gave its results. Major labels began to notice you, inviting you to musical projects with famous bands such as Maneskin. You worked with them for 1.5 years, leaving after their heyday at the Eurovision, realizing that you can’t give them more. That was your second decision to leave, but unlike the divorce, it didn't bring you much suffering. You understood that you and the group gave each other a lot, and although the parting was bitter, everyone understood that it was necessary. You still remained friends with the guys and periodically wrote off to meet. You planned to go to their concert, but couldn't find the time. And after your assignment to the Monkeys it became even more harder to shedule.

After the divorce you didn't have a serious relationship, instead you had a dream job, money, a car, a country house and even a corgi Grapes. You weren't afraid of the future, loved the time in seclusion and found inner peace by meditating on the production of cider, which was your unusual but very tasty hobby. Were you fully happy, though? Wouldn't you like to cross the threshold of the house and be met not by a dog's barking, but by a warm kiss on the forehead and a quiet "how was your day"? You probably wanted to, but it was hard to admit, especially considering that the fear of intimacy sat somewhere deep inside, not letting you forget the disappointment that you experienced when you removed the engagement ring from your finger. Although you remained friends who didn't hold evil against each other, the bitterness of your marriage was almost impossible to remove from the memories.

But for now, your head has been occupied by the sudden question of where to put Grapes for the duration of the tour...

Monday morning was sunny and peaceful, you woke up in a surprisingly good mood, put on your make-up, put on your favorite lime flared jeans, loaded a case of apple drink from the basemеnt into the car, patted Grapes and drove off to the studio. The road took about an hour, so during this time you managed to phone your father. You haven't talked much lately due to your workload, and now was almost the only time of the day when you were relatively free. You put the speaker phone mode, listening to the slightly hoarse voice of the man, without being distracted from the road.

"Hello my dear! How are you?"

"Hi daddy, I'm fine, going to work right now"

"My busy bee, James has already told me about your progress" you could hear him chuckle, coughing a little. You could only guess what Ford said to your father, because you spoke to him only once in these 2 weeks, when you recalled him after meeting with the group. And not that your story was very colorful. Therefore, the guys or Steven contacted him, and from this point of view, you couldn't imagine what they possibly come up with towards you.

"He assured me the boys liked you"

"Oh, really?" you said on the exhale, squeezing your hands on the steering wheel tightly.

"Yes, James is pleased with you. Well done, babe!" you melted under his words. It felt like you were a little girl again who drew a family picture that was hung on the refrigerator, even though mom and dad looked like monsters.

"Thank you daddy, I'm very happy to be with them actually"

"Of course, in such a company of men. Should I be jealous? 'Cause I looked through their photos on the Internet" dad said proudly, to which you burst out laughing, stopping at a traffic light.

"Dad, c'mon, no! They're too old for me" you laughed.

"10 years are not a big deal. Anyway, your choice. Just don't forget to eat please, I know how tough you work now. Otherwise you'll get drunk on your cider. God, how did you even manage to get into this alcohol sphere..." the man groaned in prostration. You rolled your eyes, but still smiled without answering. You got used to your father's fast flow of different thoughts.

"And don't roll your eyes, little naughty one! I care about you. So if they hurt you, you know who to call, right?"

"Oi, who will offend whom first" you retorted defiantly.

"Okay okay, I won't interrupt anymore. Kiss Grapes for me. I love you"

"And I love you very much, hello mom"

"I'll pass it on, bye!"

You turned off the call, fully focusing on the road. After talking with your parents, you always felt warm in your soul, so up to the studio you didn't leave a smile when you sang songs from the radio under your breath.

You arrived exactly at 2 o'clock, as agreed with Matt, but when you saw a few more cars in the parking lot in addition to the familiar Cadillac, you realized that the guys had been here for a long time. You must have looked a little ridiculous in a business suit and heels and a wooden box under your arm, but you didn't have other choice. Holding the car key in your mouth and trying to press the button at the same time, you clumsily closed the trunk with your leg. A purse was still dangling somewhere on your shoulder, and sunglasses had slipped from head to the bridge of your nose. "Must be an amazing picture to observe" you thought tiredly "Oh, if only Matt were here".

But before you had time to think about it, you heard a soft laugh behind you. You turned around sharply, noticing the frontman smoking alone near the entrance. You spat the key into the box, finally pressing the right button, and shouted

"And how long do you look?"

"I came exactly at the most interesting moment" man smiled, taking a puff.

You heavily crossed the entire parking lot, approaching him. Turner, having finished smoking a cigarette and throwing it into a nearby trash can, silently took the box from your hands.

"Hi, Y/N" he greeted you wheezing nicotine in the lungs.

"Hi," you frowened a little, but slowly added "Alex".

Calling him by his first name was... Unusual. A week ago the appeal to him was exclusively Mr. Turner, but today he was the first to break this line. "Well, apparently, we will both have problems with the boundaries of what is acceptable" bitterly flashed through your thoughts.

You both entered the building - Alex with a box in front, you behind holding the door. The way was silent. You wanted to say something to break this crystal quietness of his, but by the time you mustered up the courage, you stopped at the door 13A. The vocalist pushed it with his left shoulder, squeezing the alcohol forward, and you trotted along.

As soon as you and Alex entered the sound studio, you were immediately greeted with whistling and loud hooting.

"Look who's here, Miss Y/N"

"Hi, guys! I'm here with gifts as promised" you smiled broadly.

Alex at this time put the box on the table and immediately took one bottle for himself.

You noticed that there were Tyler and Tom in the studio as well, so you mentally praised yourself for taking bottles with a margin. You didn't know them personally yet, but was willing to change it. Turner introduced you to the men, and surprisingly you didn't hear his usual sneer in the voice.

"So, welcome Y/N Y/S, she's our manager for the summer before America starts and James gets back"

"Happy to finally meet you!" you were the first to extend your hand to Tyler, which he shook gently, smiling affably, and then to Tom. But he intercepted your hand, kissing your knuckles and making you laugh.

"Mutually, Miss" Rowley said enchanted.

"And she makes her own awesome cider, get one" Matt ordered businesslike, raising his voice from behind the drum kit.

"Yeah, there is enough for everyone, don't hesitate to take"

Evidently you arrived during the break, and before that they had already rehearsed a bit. You were wondering what kind of advice they need from you. The thought that they just needed cider you pushed back with a grin. But Alex, as if reading your thoughts, leisurely started speaking leaning on the table and holding a drink.

"Well, thanks for the cider, but that's not what we called you for. Since you're such a big fan of My Propeller, we discussed it here and decided that it's possible to put one on the set list for a couple of times. So listen to how it sounds, maybe have some ideas or whatevah" he was trying to sound casual, not attaching importance to his words for you.

"I'll do my best!" you almost jumped from such news.

Jamie chuckled audibly, running his fingers over the guitar. You sat down on the couch as Matt tapped the rhythm with his sticks and the melody began.

Seductive. The first association that came to your mind when you heard the intro of this song. It was your favorite from Humbug for sure and one of the band's all time favorites. Alex never told in any interview what was the secret of the lyrics, and probably that was the reason it attracted you even more. The guys played it selflessly, as if there hadn't been those decades that they hadn't performed it. You liked how they gave themselves to the process, even if it was just a rehearsal. They were in simple t-shirts and Matt was proudly wearing pineapple shorts, but you could swear, a real concert was unfolding right in front of you.

When Alex started singing you tried to hide the goosebumps as best as you could, but it hardly worked out well. His voice flowed melodically, not betraying a hint of wheezing or breaking, which could arise due to the age. He closed his eyes, tightly gripping the microphone stand, and moved his feet to the beat, slightly ridiculous, but at the same time gracefully. Throughout the song, you didn’t take your eyes off the group for a minute, sometimes singing along to the words, pulling the last syllable of

 Coax me out my law

And have a spin of my propeller

When the song ended, you clapped and Nick even made a mock bow.

“I don’t know how objective my assessment will be, because apart from the words of delight I have nothing to add” you honestly admitted. It seemed to you that you heard Alex's quiet "As I said", but Matt was quick to interrupt him asking you "Actually, we have already decided to play it in Bristol, but the question is where to chip in. We'll definitely not start with this one, and the outro is already completed, so..."

You thought a little, trying to understand what motives My Propeller reminds you of, and then the penny dropped.

"Pretty Visitors!" you exclaimed louder than you should have because your words echoed through the silent studio.

"Smooth interlude from Pretty Visitors, yeah, not bad actually" Alex quickly developed your idea, turning to Matt, as if asking "Do you mind?", but the drummer only closed his eyes approvingly. It seemed that they didn't need any words at all, they could understand each other with guitar riffs and drum brakes. Their connection, it was amazing, honed to automatism for past 20 years. They were like scientists in a chemistry lab mixing potions together in an attempt to make a new elixir. It was magic to come true and watching this process was so intimate that you involuntarily felt the heat on your cheeks, as if you were engaged in voyeurism.

***

The hours in the studio flew by. Fortunately for you, the guys decided to surprise fans with the return of Mardy Bum which will be the opener. The exact setlist for Bristol was confirmed at the end of the rehearsal, bringing back Teddy Picker and The View From The Afternoon as well. So looking at the perfect 21 songs, you could only imagine what they would save for London. Originally you were going to visit their concert in your hometown, you bought tickets as soon as sales were announced, but after James's call you easily gave the ticket to a friend, saying that you had won a jackpot.

Tom and Tyler have already left and the five of you are left. You were sitting on a soft chair, moved from the corner of the room, and the guys opposite on the sofas. The boys had laid down their guitars and you were leding a peaceful conversation about life, since the studio rental time ended only in an hour. You told them about your career in the industry, Maneskin and the part time projects you've been working on lately, omitting the details of your divorce because you thought it was too early for them to immerse themselves in such personal aspects of your life.

"By the way, Vic is your big fan and Alex in particular" you giggled, remembering the way drunk Maneskin bassist told you that she would like to sleep with Turner. Those were the carefree times of your youth you warmly remembered.

"Really?" Matt raised his eyebrows as he sipped his seemingly endless bottle of cider "You still have their contacts, right?"

"Yeah, sure, we even text each other occasionally" you quipped.

"And you didn't say you were working with us?" Heldres was surprised.

"Actually, somehow it didn't seem possible" you lowered your gaze, "I mean what would it look like? "Hey guys, look who's here, I now manage the Monkeys btw?" - so what?"

You could tell by the Cheshire smile on Matt's bristly face that this was exactly how he thought.

"Oh no, Matthew, don't you-"

"Oh yes, darling, dial FaceTime, you'll show them our doll" the man neighed, turning to Alex, who had been sitting quietly on the couch until this moment, and fidgeted in place after the suggestion.

"For God's sake, Matt, what a kindergarten behavior" the vocalist howled irritably, rolling his eyes, "I don't even remember their names".

The idea of making fun of Turner a little for the morning case with the box and taking revenge seemed to you unexpectedly delightful. Your hand automatically sank into your pants pocket, deftly pulling it out into the light and finding the right WhatsApp chat.

"Don't worry, you just have to say hi to Vic, I'm sure you'll be fine" you sang sweetly, glancing slyly at Matt, who chuckled approvingly, glad that you supported his idea.

Alex only cursed at this and ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it. Either from nerves, or putting his hair in order before the call.

You moved from your seat to the couch between Alex and Matt, gesturing for Nick and Jamie to join. You put your hand in front of you so only your face was visible in the camera frame, waiting for one of the guys to take the call. It might have been a little ill-advised to call like this without warning on a workday evening, but anyway it was already too late, as the beeps trailed in a string of sounds. You hoped that they didn't have a concert today, in any other case, one of them would definitely pick up the phone from you. And by a happy coincidence, it was Vic who ended up on your screen.

"What the hell, Miss Boogie, are you really occasionally calling after all this time of silence?" despite Victoria de Angelis's accusatory words, she sounded playful. She was a little disheveled and with a bright blush on her face. People were walking randomly with the string interruptions in the background. Apparently, the guys were at the soundcheck at one of the venues, and Vic recently finished playing.

Four pairs of eyes openly stared at you with undisguised interest after hearing the nickname, demanding an answer, but you just mouthed "later".

"Awww, sweetheart, and I'm happy to hear you again too!" you said with an ironic smile.

 "I have a lot of news for you, and I will definitely call you in private soon"

"Are you not alone? Who's with you?" the girl even moved closer to the camera in an attempt to see something.

"Well, I have a little surprise for you. Actually four surprises, but one of them you'll find really special" you said conspiratorially, looking around at the guys who were still out of the picture. Alex sat to your right, trying to portray the most distant look, as if everything that was happening was nothing more than baby talk for him.

"Darling, if you have a group orgy without me, then I will be offended and drop the call" the bassist said threateningly, wiping her forehead with a towel that was hung on her shoulder.

You just burst out laughing "Ok ok, I'm not languishing you anymore. I hope you're ready. Boys, say hi to Vics" and you finally moved the camera further so that Matt, Nick and Jamie, who were sitting to your left, got into the camera frame, Alex's appearance you saved for a dessert.

The musician's reaction exceeded all your expectations. At first she narrowed her eyes, bringing the phone even closer to face, and then she widened them with a loud squeal, jumping up from her seat.

"What the hell, Y/N! What the actual fuck, you're a shitty mutherfucker!!!" she covered her mouth with her hand, chaotically moving the phone in different directions. Apparently, other members of the group came running to her scream, as you heard the voice of Damiano asking what happened.

"What happened?" she repeated "The fucking Arctic Monkeys are sitting next to Y/N!" answering a question off-camera and stabilizing the phone. Now you could clearly see the vocalist leaning over her shoulder, Thomas to the side and Ethan slightly behind.

Finally, the men next to you decided to introduce themselves "Hey, guys, what's new?" Matt said smiling to the camera, Jamie and Nick just waved their hands in a friendly manner.

"Oh my God, what's going on" Vic, still dumbfounded, spoke with a face of complete amazement. Damiano, who quickly figured out the whole situation and realized that Vic was unlikely to be able to communicate normally now, carefully took the phone from her hands.

"Hi, Y/N, long time no see! Hi, boys, how fresh you are" the frontman winked. The words "for your age" were suggested mutely, but David left them behind the scenes. The men next to you just laughed quietly at this remark and saluted the Italian boy.

"Vic, that's not all yet, look who's next to me" wanting to finally finish off your friend, you moved the camera to the side, revealing Alex's presence, who was already sitting with a polite smile on his face, leaning on the sofa armrest.

"Hi, love" Turner murmured hoarsely, turning on his usual charisma. You were surprised how quickly he went from "fuck off everyone" to his stage persona. Indeed, a skill acquired over the years.

De Angelis, after looking at the camera for just a second, squealed even harder than the first time, which you even grimaced a little, because in a quiet studio it sounded deafening.

The camera was still held by Damiano, but the girl in the frame could be seen doubled over, holding back cries of happiness. Her guys just laughed out loud at this, knowing full well what a strong fan of Alex she was.

"Y/N, I'm going to fucking kill you, I'll strap your ass so you can't sit still for another week, what are you doing to me?" Vic didn't let go of expressions, which made the men next to you shamelessly laugh, even Turner smiled predatoryly.

"Holy shit, you're real" the girl muttered in one breath.

Her adoration entertained Alex. Celebrities fangirling celebrities wasn't an unknown story for Alex, so the way Vic behaved didn't annoy him, but brought a feeling of sincere pleasure from what was happening.

"It would be strange if I wasn't, mhm?" the man grunted, changing the position - now he rested elbows on his knees, bringing the face closer to your phone. You could smell his light apple scent from the cider you both drank and the cigarette halo that soaked into all of the frontman's clothes.

Damiano finally decided to take control over the situation by turning the camera completely on himself.

"So, Y/N, if you wanted to surprise Vic, then you succeeded 100%! But we are now at soundcheck, and we don't have much time, and she" nodding towards the bassist "still needs to be brought to her senses. We were extremely happy to hear from you, babe. Call us when you are free and tell us everything in detail. Miss you very much!"

"Guys, me too! Love ya, see you at Glasto!"

"Wait! Take a screenshot!" Vic's desperate exclamation came from Damiano's left side.

He made a focused face, looking for the right buttons, while you and the men simultaneously smiled at the camera.

"Send it to the chat" you asked, ending the call and blowing a virtual kiss. You obviously cut off Vic's "I love you" without being entirely sure it was addressed to you.

The studio immediately froze in deafening silence. You put your phone down on the coffee table, still smiling.

"That was a real buzz, they're cute" Matt said leaning back on the couch. The mood of the guys clearly improved by this little conversation. You were glad that you could somehow diversify their evening after a productive and exhausting day. Even Alex stopped keeping his always compressed lips and frowning eyebrows.

"So, Miss Boogie, right?" Jamie began slyly, reminding you of your infamous nickname.

An approving "ooooo" reverberated around the room, from which you hid behind your palms.

"Damn, I was hoping you'd forget" you muttered from your hiding place.

"C'mon, we're intrigued already" Nick reached out to you through Matt, gently taking your hands away from your face.

Jamie suddenly started chanting your name, encouraging you to reveal this terrible secret, and Matt whistled as if Sheffield FC had just scored a goal.

"God, okay, just shut up please" you gave up.

The four men took more comfortable positions in anticipation of your story.

"In fact, there is nothing special in this story, it's just stupid. When Maneskin was approved for Eurovision, we went to celebrate, how can we not. It was in Milan. We got very drunk in a bar and went for a walk around the city. It was about 3 in the morning, and to entertain ourselves we played Truth or Dare. The most banal thing that could be, but nothing better came to mind. And I chose Dare, 'cause everyone else only cowardly told their secrets. So Vic asked me to dance for a minute on the street to any song that a passerby would name. Well, since at such time you are unlikely to meet any adequate passerby, we only found a beggar in the square. I don’t know how old he was, but the first song that he remembered was Boogie Wonderland" at this point you made a dramatic pause, "so yes, I had to dance to this song at night in front of other poor people who came up to us. Since then they call me Miss Boogie. Everyone is satisfied now, having fun, huh?"

You intentionally crossed your arms in insult, surreptitiously watching the laughing band.

"I bet there's a video" Matt said cheekily.

"Yes, there is, but you'll never see it!" you retorted quickly, glaring at the drummer.

"Your hot cheeks make me want to see this video even more" Nick teased tapping Matt on the shoulder.

"You know what," Alex suddenly announced, "choose any song you want. We play it, and you show the video"

You could swear your jaw was somewhere on the floor.

"Woah, did you decide to go all-in?" Matt asked, also not expecting such a generous offer "Be careful, otherwise you will have to play a Taylor Swift song"

"Ouch, why do you think I like her?"

"Who doesn't like her?"

"Your truth" you nodded approvingly.

"I meant our song. We'll perform it at the concert" Turner interrupted your dialogue, looking at you testily from under his eyelashes.

There was a slight silence, which you broke with a heavy sigh.

"Wow, okay, this is getting interesting" you muttered, leaning back on the couch like Helders had done earlier. The three men to your left looked at each other in surprise, waiting for an answer, while you've been thinking, looking at the frontman.

"Certain Romance," you easily stated, "I want this one"

"Your wish is my command, Miss Boogie," he joked without any hint of smile, standing up "you guys remember how to play it, don't you?"

The guys looked at each other dumbfounded, unable to find words for such a drastic change in the behavior of the vocalist, but after a discordant series of affirmative nods, they received a condescending smile from him.

"Well, that's great, there's still time to rehearse. I propose Sheffield!" Alex said solemnly, thrusting his hands into the pockets.

"Al, ru ok?" Matt raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"All right, man" Turner said artificially.

"This house is a circus indeed" swirled through your head. Alex's behavior was defiant. Emerging into conflict. Literally a minute ago everything was peace and quiet, and now he, like a proud peacock, was arranging a show for you at the level of a cheap soap opera.

"No, but seriously, let's even organize a lottery, since Y/N has such an influence on the setlist" Alex didn't let up.

"Come on, pipe down, you suggested it yourself" Nick intervened carefully, not wanting to stir up the smoldering coals of the conflict.

"And I think all of you are into this idea, aren't you?" Turner didn't raise his low, heavily accented baritone, but the underlying toxicity in his tone was evident, "oh, even better, let's ask our Italian friends for advice! Let's get their opinion and her video as well".

"Alexander, smoke?" you stood up decisively from the couch, grabbing your purse and phlegmatically glancing at the wooden cider box you'd probably have to leave in the studio. But you couldn’t leave the guys in such an atmosphere, so out of courtesy you promised to return again.

"Y/N, no problem, see you before Bristol! Send the screen to our group, 'cause I'm getting jealous for these Italians" Matt gave you an encouraging wink in the end, and you certainly promised to do it tonight.

"They'll kill each other"

"He doesn't stand a chance"

Jamie and Matt said at the same time as the door closed behind you.

Alex imposingly walked ahead, not hurrying anywhere. He politely said goodbye to the security guard, noting that the rental period had already come to an end. Almost bowing, he opened the door to the street for you, artificially gallantly holding it with his hand, still making a show from every gesture, which for some reason made you feel disgusted. You were counting on working with middle-aged men, accomplished musicians, but it feels like you are talking to teenagers.

Damp cold air from the river hit your red cheeks, which made you wrap yourself in a jacket more tightly. Alex took out a pack of Marlboro, offering you one, but nodding to himself, removed it, remembering your words a week ago practically at the same place.

"Well?" he said with a cigarette in his mouth, lighting the filter.

The sky was overcast with a milky haze of fog, which wasn't uncommon for these places, a weak wind was blowing, but not a single sound from the road was heard, which made you hear sparks from ignited tobacco hiss like champagne bubbles, falling on the asphalt.

Alex exhaled noisily, squinting at you with his eyes. His face was faintly lit by the flame of a cigarette, but even in such low light, it was noticeable that his gaze was completely blank. "Amazingly indifferent and deep eyes at the same time. It's impossible to tell anything from them" you thought. Or maybe he was like this only with unpleasant people to him, who you apparently were. You can’t even imagine the way these eyes changed on stage "Where are you real, Alexander?". But instead of asking this, you just threw your head back, tiredly closing your eyelids, showing with your whole appearance how absurd the situation is.

"Alex," there wasn't any visible point to call him Mr. Turner even though you were annoyed "I thought we made a deal, didn't we?"

"Really? When?" his voice sounded even more affected than in the studio, despite the fact that now the man spoke rather quietly and slowly. Or maybe even a whisper would be loud in this ringing silence.

"I just don't understand what the problem is" you continued, as if you didn't hear his words.

"I don't see it either, Miss Y/S"

You raised your eyebrows high as you asked a silent question, which made Alex smirk slightly. Taking a puff, he began to explain to you with the intonation of a parent teaching a child not to put his fingers in the socket.

"Listen, I won't hide it, you brought some chaos to our tour. This is different from your direct duties though - to solve all the problems on our way. But you're a stranger who stirred up our peace and foundation. I was initially against this idea, but James left me no choice. You are undoubtedly an educated young lady, and probably from a moral point of view, I sound like a scoundrel now-"

"You sound unprofessional, Alex. You only make me feel contempt, and I don't care about any moral side"

The frontman looked at you from under his brows, taking out a second cigarette in a row from the pack, waiting for a further reaction, but inside you was a frozen magma that didn't want to break out, muffled by self-esteem. For now.

His words contradicted his behavior. In the morning he carries your boxes and asks for a song advice, and in the evening he gives out this shit. If women's logic is ridiculed by society, then men do not have it at all.

“You know what, when James offered me this job, I was damn excited and proud that I would be working with a team like yours. I was on a cloud nine. But you, Alex, you're just a spoiled boy in the body of a 37-year-old man who hasn't overplayed his ambitions and thinks that his subtle nature is so fragile to understand that you need to hide behind the facade of an asshole so that normal people with good intentions don't crawl into your soul. You are cowardly and arrogant!"

You were breathing heavily, and the words "fool fool fool" stretched on repeat in a red line behind your eyes.

You didn't even understand how they escaped from your lips, absolutely thoughtlessly. You even instinctively wanted to raise a hand to cover your mouth, but pulled yourself back in time, deciding to play to the end. Show after show.

Alex hadn't raised a cigarette to his face during your tirade, so that the wick was almost dead in his fingers. You intensively looked at each other without stopping, and at some point it seemed to you that fear flashed in his pupils. Fear of the revealed truth. However, they were covered with a thick veil of indifference to what was happening in a second, and he finally took the last puff, throwing the butt right on the road.

"Miss Y/S, it seems that you have to go" the musician said unemotionally.

You took one last burning look at his features and, without saying a word, turned around towards your car. How ironic, a week ago you left each other in roughly the same sequence of activities - studio, cider, parking lot, but under completely different circumstances.

Slamming the door shut, you sharply revved, not bothering to warm up the engine, and drove out of the parking lot with a clang of tires. Burning tears of resentment gushed from your eyes, covering the already foggy road in front, but you didn't pay attention.

Your cooperation has just begun, and you have already swept on an emotional swing. Only in the morning you were driving in a car towards the sun and rejoicing at the warm words of your dad, and in the evening you return home, wiping the salty paths with the back of your hand from your face.

You were never embarrassed by tears, you cried out almost all of them during a divorce, but if they dripped from your eyes today, then there was a reason for that. Your parents taught you that after rain there is always a rainbow, after tears there is always peace of mind, you need to be able to live through any emotions in order to turn them into your power later.

***

You haven't seen the boys since that evening until today's early departure for Bristol. Of course, you communicated on all sorts of organizational issues during this time and there was no visible tension, especially since they didn't hear about your quarrel with Alex. You were more than sure that he would not tell his friends about that incident. This is what infringes on him, and therefore makes him weaker, which he couldn't allow.

All these days you have wondered what was the reason for such a sharp behavior, however you couldn't really delve into yourself. Why exactly you were crying - from resentment, overstrain or just an emotional outburst, it was also difficult to understand. Perhaps all together. Over the past month, from your first conversation with Ford to recent events, your life has changed 180 degrees, so it's no surprise that your psyche gave a little glitch.

You've comforted yourself with routines though — setting Grapes up with a friend until your next visit to London, inviting your parents over for dinner to tell you all the details, packing your suitcase for the tour, checking out all the technical stuff, and almost forgetting what kind of adventure you're packing for.

And now, without any idea of the nearest future, you were sitting in a black Mercedes Sprinter between Marcus and James Kerr, Ben was in the passenger seat in front, Steven was riding with the group in the bus. It was only 8 am, you were sleepy, only at the last moment you didn’t forget to remove eye patches before going out, you didn’t even put on makeup, so you sat in the wide sunglasses, even though the sun wasn't visible through the tinted windows of the car.

It seemed that everyone was relaxed, easily communicated with each other and knew exactly what each would do upon arrival at the venue. Unlike you. The schedule was pretty clear - check-in at the hotel, lunch, departure for the soundcheck and then free time for the management and the band, but very busy time for the technicians. Of all this, the most sensible thing was to drink plenty of wine at dinner and walk around the rest of the day in a relaxed state of mind, but those were only pitiful thoughts of creeping fear. Deep inside you were sure that everything would be fine, it couldn’t be otherwise, because even if you didn’t know how to do this or that task, the guys knew their duties, and they physically couldn’t play the concert badly.

"Hey, Y/N, you kinda took working with us too seriously" Marcus snapped you out of your thoughts with his mocking tone.

"I'm sorry, what?" you asked, turning to him.

He touched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and chuckled. It took you another couple of seconds to figure out what he meant, so he took advantage of your confusion to explain "you now going to wear glasses in the dark as well?"

The reference to Alex was read transparently, so you imperceptibly flinched and pointedly removed them, as if not wanting to be associated with him at all.

"No, no, I just didn't have time to do my make up" you honestly admitted, shrugging your shoulders ingenuously.

"Oh, I'm sorry, we-" the guy looked around at all the passengers, "we don't understand this here"

You laughed slightly, at the same time relaxing, and asked him a question that had been of interest to you for a long time.

"Why don't you have women in the team? I mean at all"

Instead of Marcus, Ben decided to answer from the front seat, apparently as the eldest among you.

“It didn’t happen on purpose, but later it became kind of unspoken rule. We are here like on the fishing, you know? We leave our wives, spend time within our male company, it’s like an alternative branch of your life, you do quality work here, you feel needed, while no one owe you nothing and you feel absolutely free in your actions, understanding thoroughly those who are around you"

"Are you aware that this is how a normal team should work, regardless of gender? It sounds somehow sexist. Am I really embarrassing you in actions?" you smiled slyly, anticipating the denouement.

"Actually, besides you, we have 3 other women in the team.." Marcus embarrassingly chipped in.

"Guys, don't bother yourself with excuses, I knew who I was messing with" you laughed, crossing your legs. Marcus looked at you dumbfounded, but said nothing, and James just chuckled softly at the window.

"Well, if you knew that, then you also should know about our tradition, right, guys?" Ben began in a conspiratorial tone, exchanging glances with the guys.

"Um, about what?" you arched an eyebrow in disbelief.

"The newbie is signed up for the after-party. Tonight is your first concert, and after that we go to the bar, the drinks are off you! We're equal here" Ben imperturbably continued to scan your reaction with a fox-eye, waiting for an answer. It's not that you're greedy or unable to pay, but to buy drinks for the whole team...

And as if ahead of your question, the man added "enough management and the band".

As if it changed the essence. But you couldn't refuse, so you mumbled something affirmative, getting a roar of male hoarse laughter in response, and starting to laugh at yourself. You appreciated in people, especially males, this ability - to make a woman laugh. In a time of constant change and stress, finding someone who will make you forget about it was very important.

The rest of the road was spent in the same good mood, and these conversations did help you to forget about your anxiety due to upcoming events. Upon arrival, all the management team and the band settled in the hotel. As James promise, you've been given a private suite overlooking the most beautiful park in the city center. But due to an unknown coincidence, you lived not on the same floor with the attendants, but through the door from the group.

Matt carried your things to your room and you agreed to meet for lunch in 20 minutes.

Since you were able to miraculously did a make up even in the car, thanks to the sensitive driving, now you decided to change into more presentable clothes in which you will be at the concert.

Without changing the habit of choosing clothes carefully and for a long time, you took off your hot sweatshirt, remaining in only sweatpants and starting to go through the whole suitcase in search of those things that would match your mood. You had a couple of looks planned, but today's unexpectedly warm weather changed your plans a little, so you confidently took out a black leather skirt and a white blouse.

A piece of matter fit all your forms perfectly, so you were satisfied with the choice, spinning in front of the mirror by the bed. The black bodice harmonized perfectly with the skirt, and the crazy idea of ​​staying only in it, without putting on anything, flashed through your head like a bullet, but flew out just as quickly as soon as you heard the muffled thud of heels on the carpet outside the door and a muttered "Jamie?" at your door followed by a knock. You hysterically shouted "No!" exactly at the moment when the door opened without a click.

"Shit, Y/N!" Alex, not having time to properly enter your room, but having clearly noticed you in a compromising way, abruptly recoiled, remaining in the corridor, but not completely closing the door so that he could hear you, but not see.

"God! What a mess" you pleaded, rushing to the door. You stuck out only your head, meeting the eyes of the musician, who was discomposedly staring at you point-blank.

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Why are you naked?"

You asked at the same time, shouting over each other.

"This is my room! And I'm not naked!"

"Where's Jamie? I thought he was at 312" Turner asked, a little bewildered, clearly embarrassed.

"I have no idea where Jamie is. How did you even get in?" you were still half-dressed, hiding most of your body behind a wooden door.

"I knocked, but it turned out that it was not slammed at all"

"What the fuck? Maybe Matt didn't close when he left," you muttered more to yourself. You clearly saw the question “What did Matt do here?” that arose in Alex’s head, but which he never voiced. Clearly realizing that the dialogue could not be continued in this form, you abruptly switched the subject, trying to tear his eyes from your neck.

 "I was changing for dinner anyway, so see you there" you sharply slammed the door in front of him, not wanting to go into details, and tiredly leaned your head against the wooden surface from the inside.

"Crazy" you heard quiet along with receding soft steps.

It was your only meaningful conversation with the singer, since that evening. You understood that it couldn’t go on like this for a long time, but at the moment you didn’t have any ideas how to fix the situation. So you just finally put on the look you chose, after checking that the door was locked, then decided to add a black headband, and being satisfied with your appearance, went downstairs.

After lunch, the whole team went to the stadium, where the technicians had already set up half of the equipment. The guys immediately went to the sound check, and you and Steven went to meet Ashton Gate management. It seemed like there was still plenty of time before the concert, and you thought you would have a few more chances to double-check everything, but in the turmoil that was going on behind the scenes, this turned out to be impossible.

To be honest, you were overwhelmed by what was happening. The soft music, people around, the sun rays moving towards the sunset - this whole scene that was unfolding before you as you unexpectedly stepped onto the empty stage a few minutes before the crowd was let into the stadium looked surreal and incredibly familiar, as if you had been here many times before. The noise and chaos behind you contrasted with the tranquility in front of your eyes. The empty space that was about to be filled with a crowd in just a few minutes brought both excitement and serenity. These were the moments that seemed unreal, but made life worth living.

***

The show was about to start, and you stood next to the dark staircase, where the guys from the dressing room were soon to come up. Leaning on the railing, you nervously twirled a lock of hair around your finger. You went through all the items on the checklist in your head, checking off each one mentally, but something still bothered you.

Alex.

Your unfinished conversations and evasive behavior were weighing on you. You felt guilty, knowing that as his manager, you had behaved tactlessly, driven by emotions. It ate at you from the inside. You decided that you would talk to him today, apologize and put this issue to rest once and for all.

Suddenly you noticed a flickering light from the security, which meant that the group is entering the stage, and you turned sharply, both wanting and fearing to see them. As always, looking luxurious, these four men made their way up to the platform, remaining unnoticed by the audience.

"Good luck, guys! I'm buzzing as hell honestly" you tried to sound confident, but your voice trembled on the last word.

"Miss Y/S, is it just me or are you worried about us?" Nick lightly touched your shoulder in a reassuring gesture.

"Well, it's my first time with you" realizing how ambiguous that sounded, you interrupted yourself with a laugh.

"Oh, you'll love it, babe" Matt mimicked a voice from a cheap adult movie, tossing a stick in the air. It seemed like he could find the right words in any situation, and in the future, you would highly appreciate this skill.

All this time, you were glancing at Alex out of the corner of your eye, trying to read his emotions, but he calmly adjusted the folds on his unchanging dark blue jacket and stretched his neck with turns left and right. Seeing that the guys had moved a little away from you, you looked at your watch, estimating that you had 5 minutes maximum, and whispered to yourself "now or never".

"Alex!" you called him out loudly, trying to outshout the crowd "I wanted to talk, I know it's not the most appropriate time, but-"

"Y/N, forgive me, okay," the man unexpectedly began, barely approaching you. For the first time, you saw genuine excitement in his eyes, here, in the darkness of the backstage area of a 30,000-seat stadium. For some reason, only now you clearly feel the difference in height between you two. He looked down at you patronizingly. Maybe it was because of his heels or the knot of nerves in your stomach that made you feel so small in your attempt to hide from his penetrating gaze.

"I've been a complete jerk and acted childish from the very beginning. You didn't do anything to deserve such treatment. I don't want our tension to affect the group and our work in any way, so I admit my guilt"

You stood in shock, slightly opening your mouth. You absolutely did not expect such a turn of events, so your entire improvised speech evaporated from your mind instantly. He suddenly smiled softly, raising an eyebrow, as if asking 'well, what now?' Still not believing what you heard, you nodded your head almost automatically.

"Y-yes, you were a jerk indeed. But I also didn't behave entirely correctly, my first impression wasn't great either," you sighed in frustration, recalling your memories, "I suggest we start over, huh? Hi, my name is Y/N, I'm your new tour manager, nice to meet you" and to confirm your words, you gracefully extended your hand to him.

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Alex Turner, sort of singing here," he shook your hand with an energetic movement. His palm was dry and steady, causing a pleasant warmth throughout your body, "just business then?"

"Just business indeed. And a little bit of music" you said, more relaxed, smiling with all 32 teeth, still holding onto his hand.

"Deal, Miss Y/S"

For a moment, the roar of fans faded away for you, and you only saw the outlines of his pupils in the semi-darkness and his fingers firmly holding yours. However, your fragile moment was promptly ruined by-

"Al, c'mon!" Jamie impatiently called, and your hand felt the gusts of wind instead of calloused skin of the frontman. You watched him walk away in his waddle manner, as he suddenly turned and shouted, winking "By the way, nice lace".

 It took you a couple of seconds to understand what was said, and when the meaning of his words reached you, you exclaimed in indignation "You, motherfucker!" almost stomping your foot, but your cry was lost in the wild roar of the crowd, as the guys were already on stage.

It was a miraculous sight. Four men made people go into ecstasy just with their appearance - this is the phenomenon of the Beatles, and they were proof that rock and roll is alive. As long as they are alive. Every strum on the guitar strings, every touch of the lips to the microphone, every drumstick strike, every hair flip was special in their performance, they themselves were special.

You were fascinated, to say the least. When the performance came to the last song before the encore, Body Paint, one of your favorite songs from the album, that was definitely made to be played live, you were out of words. The whole song built you up to the climax, to the outro that every time was a pure jamming and improvisation. And you literally exploded in ecstasy when Alex started walking around the stage, unable to stand still from the knocking down energy. He closed his eyes in languor, biting his lips, screaming, throwing out his arms, and you couldn't take your eyes off. You weren't dancing or jumping, you were inseparably watching his every movement, arms folded across your chest. Your mouth was agape against your will, and your eyes eagerly punched a hole in the frontman. This is a unique performance, it's something that is hard to explain without feeling it for yourself. You were made up of his music, you literally felt these waves inside your veins, your brain wasn't able to comprehend what was happening, it was like a catharsis for all of you. And you definitely didn't want to be saved.

Suddenly Alex turned his head to your side, continuing to play some divine riff outlining the Van Gogh fields on the guitar strings. His hair was tousled, shirt unbuttoned, but his jacket fitted perfectly. He rested his eyes on your figure, smiling with one corner of his lips, and you looked at each other for good seven seconds which felt like eternity. You were sure that everything was clear in your eyes, and even if he stood next to you and heard you, you wouldn't be able to utter a word.

What you definitely didn't expect when your eye contact was broken and Alex walked to another side of the stage, that tears would involuntarily flow from your eyes. "What the hell..." you wondered aloud, quickly removing the salty tracks from your cheeks. In fact, you perfectly understood why you were crying. From a sense of greatness. The greatness of music, human synergy and the power of unity. It was too much for you, too strong emotions to bear. It was excellent, it was the taste of life, thanks to which you still were here. "God, if you exist, bless this band, they are saints" although it sounded ridiculous and naive, you seriously were ready to pray for the talent of these guys, for the ability to make other people feel alive. You were in your place, you did everything right, you were cruising the victory. Today he convinced you.

As soon as the last chords of "RU Mine?" were played and the bows to the fans were taken, the men disappeared from the deafening roar behind the dark curtains of backstage. Their hair stuck to their sweat faces, and a distinct masculine smell was coming from their shirts. The guys passed by you with exhausted smiles, unable to utter a word from fatigue, and disappeared into the darkness of the corridors.

You didn't know what to do right now. According to your understanding, your job didn't end with pre-concert organization, there were also post-concert tasks to be done. But you were so lost in emotions that you felt like you were drifting away from an anaphylactic shock.

Unexpectedly, Tyler came to you as he was the last one to come off the stage. He fraternally put a hand on your shoulder, tousling your hair with his heavy palm.

"Well, with the initiation into our hell, sweetheart. How're you?"

"Thrilled, and I want more!" you declared confidently, matching his quick pace that was pulling you further away from the frenzy of the crowd.

"Well, don't doubt that, it's just the beginning" he charmingly smiled, and you couldn't help but mirror his expression.

"Now we're going to celebrate, and you're coming with us" it sounded so authoritative that even if you wanted to object, you immediately closed your mouth, nodding in agreement. "Besides, seems like you need to unwind" you remembered.

You left the stadium only an hour later, apparently, it was a normal time for the guys to "recover". You'd made several jokes about one woman waiting for seven men and received offended and teasing looks in return. You got into the same Mercedes you arrived in that morning, and the driver took you to one of Bristol's typical English pubs that the guys loved so much.

You didn't understand their fondness for these quaint places where the sofa upholstery hadn't changed along with the owner. There were so many modern bars in the city, any of which the band could afford to rent entirely, but they paid tribute to traditions, obviously cherishing memories of their lively youth when they started playing their first concerts in similar places. Such a return to their roots after the thousands-capacity stadiums grounded them well. And the warm nostalgia, slipping across the Guinness glasses every time, was a corner of genuine joy for the guys, the only true luxury they possessed.

And overall, you didn't care where to spend money or on what. After all today's events, which felt like a whole month, you didn't mind anymore. In the morning, you looked at your apple orchard in the early mist of suburban London, then stood half-naked in a five-star hotel room in front of a world-renowned music star, and now, in the evening, you huddled next to him on an old leather couch under a red velvet chandelier, drinking a B-52.

Glasses, shots and colorful bottles flashed in front of your eyes like a kaleidoscope. Your head was spinning from the amount of alcohol, and your cheeks hurt from laughter.

"My dear mates, I propose a toast to Miss Y/S and her first concert with us! I don't know if she understands where she has ended up, but we'll make sure she has a great time with us, right, guys? To Y/N!" Matt solemnly proclaimed, rising from the table, and 8 hands, pouring drinks onto each other, reached towards the center of the table to clink glasses.

"Guys, thank you for this opportunity, thanks to James for his unplanned vacation, thanks to Steven and Marcus-" although the latter wasn't here, you decided to thank him as he had been providing you with all kinds of help during these weeks, "for their support and adaptation, and of course, to you Monkeys, for accepting me. I do like your crazy Monkey house" you joked, but it didn't negate the truth. Despite all the past disagreements with the lead singer, you felt that you were still doing everything right. And even if you hadn't gone on this adventure today, you would still feel grateful to fate for such an opportunity to be at the center of life.

"Glad to hear that," Jamie chuckled ironically, "as they say, welcome aboard"

And with these words, you all whistled, and Tom even shouted like a saloon girl from the Wild West. Your evening, or rather the night, continued until 3 am, fortunately there was no concert the next day, so you could at least sleep in a bit. You looked in horror at the amount you had drunk, trying to estimate how long it would take to recover the contents of your wallet. But you had consumed so much gin and tonic that the only thing that really worried you was how to walk straight for at least 2 meters to the bar to pay for it all.

"Drinks on me!" you declared with a mischievous smile to the group as you headed towards the bar counter.

"What, for everyone?" Matt playfully refined.

"Well, yeah," you didn't have the energy to realize his surprise, but he also didn't have the energy to argue with you, "that's no problem".

And thus, the following events spun in your head like a foggy whirlpool. Here you were finally breathing in the fresh air of the street, tilting your head towards the purple sky, then you were half-lying on someone's shoulder in the black minivan, and finally for no reason you were walking barefoot on a soft hotel carpet, but there were no shoes in your hands as well.

You didn't have any memories of walking into your room either. But in the moment, the feeling of soft snow-white hotel sheets flooded your body with long-awaited bliss. You instantly fell into the arms of Morpheus, only on the verge of consciousness noticing that someone took off the headband from your hair, which had been squeezing your head tightly, and silently closed the door.

You may be too drunk to remember each of your actions clearly, but you definitely wouldn't mistake the familiar scent of cigarettes in the room.

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

A/N: Oh, so much has happened in one chapter, and this is just the beginning of the tour... I decided to tell the background of Y/N for a better understanding of her actions. What do you think, maybe you want more of "Italian friends" in the work? Whose line do you want to read in more detail? Share your emotions, it is incredibly valuable to me that someone reads this work actually!

xo🤍

Taglist: @missbabyjay @rentskenobi @findmeincorneliastreet @indierockgirrl here it is!

*if you want to be removed or added to the taglist, feel free to ask me!

[greenhorn-art]

Keep Your Head Up to the Sky (As Your Day Unfolds) by alphera [Twitter]

Illustrated by Shirou_UOHS @shirou-oh-sakura

Fandom: 全职高手 | The King's Avatar

Rating: General Audiences

Category: M/M

Words: 9 270

Time is rarely kind, and impossible to escape. At the ripe old age of 30, Han Wenqing retires from the Glory Professional Alliance and moves forward the only way he knows how: fearlessly and without hesitation.

About the Book

FONTS: Coelacanth, Segoe UI Emoji

IMAGES: Illustrations by Shirou; pastel sky ID: 7007221 from Rawpixel; dark blue sky ID: 7044483 from Rawpixel; Han Wenqing & Desert Dust image from The King's Avatar Wikia; Ye Xiu & Lord Grim image also from TKA Wikia; Glory card png also made by Shirou via Discord

MATERIALS: regular ol' printer paper (8.5"x11", 20lb, 96 bright); ~1.5mm chipboard; Neenah cardstock (8.5"x11", 65lb, bright white); Iris bookcloth (Madeira colour); paper from Gilded Ink paper pad by Recollections; waxed linen thread (30/3 size, white); wheat paste (1:4 flour:water)

PROGRAMS USED: typeset in Affinity Publisher 2; endpapers designed with Affinity Designer 2 and Affinity Photo 2; imposed with Renegade's Community Imposer (settings: Quarto, snug against binding edge, signatures of 2 sheets).

Text & QR codes printed with colour laser printer (duplex, flip long edge), images printed with inkjet printer (HP Envy 5055; one sheet at a time, single sided, place facedown in tray)

BINDING: quarto (quarter-letter) size, sewn board binding with french link stitch and breakaway spine.

.

Absolutely LOVED this story! I've reread this one a number of times, and keep going back for more. Alphera's writing is so good! Ye Xiu is the series protagonist so things usually follow him, which makes it refreshing to see a story through Han Wenqing's eyes. And the author does it SO WELL! AHHH!

It's been a while since my first read-through, but I'm pretty sure this was the first TKA fic that I actually downloaded and started typesetting. Absolutely chuffed to have it finished! (Love me some growth-- the typeset looks a LOT better than my earlier attempts!)

RAMBLES

Another sewn board binding and breakaway spine! Since this isn't my first go at it, the construction of the book was considerably faster and smoother than my last one. It's just as well, because I ran into a speed bump that stretched out how long it took to typeset and print.

The culprit: (very pretty) illustrations. My laser's colour printing capabilities are shot to hell, so I used my inkjet for the artwork. This involved creating 3 copies of my typeset: 1) the completed typeset; 2) just the text, images hidden; 3) just the images, text hidden/white. Then I ran them through the imposer and printed the text version. The real issue was figuring out how to feed the sheets through my inkjet printer to print the images where I want them. Had to go one page at a time, single-sided. (Just need to place sheet facedown in the tray. So flip along vertical axis.) It took a while, but I got there in the end. And the results were SO worth it! 😊

For the scene breaks I left them as written. I had tried inserting images of the Glory Logo and account card, or using crossed swords emojis ⚔️, but nothing I tried worked as well as what the author did. (It's really neat! Different characters were used to indicate the direction of the timeskip: >>>> for a jump forward in time; <<<< for a flash into the past; and ==== for regular scene breaks, a 'next' rather than 'before' or 'later/after'.)

The cover and endpapers were based off of Shirou's fantastic cover illustration of HQW and YX walking hand-in-hand down a beach at sunset. The art itself is phenomenal so I had it stand alone as a frontispiece and didn't do anything fancy with the title page. For the covers, I looked through my decorative paper stash for something red or black to represent HWQ or Team Tyranny. What I found was paper with pinks, oranges, and purples similar to that illustration -- and that was that. I liked how the colours matched the art, and the gold splashed across it. (Gold for victory, gold for wedding rings and a happy golden future together.)

(Sidenote: I love how the beginning of the end of HWQ's career as an e-sports player "starts with a tingle in his ring finger", leading him and YX to taking the next steps in their relationship and eventually getting married 💍🖐)

I went with a red bookcloth for the spine because it's a common team colour for Tyranny, Excellent Era, and Happy. It also represents good fortune, courage, passion, and love -- things that come to mind when I think about YX, HWQ, and HanYe. The particular shade of red I used is Madeira. It's darker than Ruby Red and leans a little cooler, which suits the decorative paper more.

The endpapers use two background images (overlayed, adjusted, using multiple blending modes) and some images of HWQ and YX from The King's Avatar Wikia.

The background images are from Rawpixel -- I was just minding my own business looking for images of clouds and maybe some mountains to represent overcoming challenges/glory/looking up to the sky, when I found some clouds with the same sunset colours of Shirou's art. Figured it was too perfect, and if I'm going to lean into that design-wise, I might as well go whole hog and full-ass it. Then I found a starry night sky to add some darker blues and stars to it to match. After that it was a matter of overlapping them and positioning them to fit. I also grabbed some images of HWQ and YX from the King's Avatar Wikia and added them to it because HanYe. (After removing the backgrounds).

[etrevil]

hey!! I absolutely love the vibes of your blog! I’m getting into bungo stray dogs (or trying to :’) ) and since you seemingly write fics for it, do you have more recs?? I don’t really know what the main pairings are but I like to use fics as a way to see if I’ll like the fandom and pairs!! Thank you!!

you're making me crack my knuckles because DAMN AM I NOW EXCITED :DDD

terms used: bsd (bungou stray dogs), hp (harry potter), mha (my hero academia), soukoku (chuuya/dazai), shin soukoku (atsushi/akutagawa), chuuda (where chuuya tops), fyozai (dazai/fyodor), fyolai (fyodor/nikolai)

First and foremost is the widely beloved I Was Screaming Your Name Through The Radio by ElectricSplatter, which is just a rollercoaster of emotions that grip you by the throat. Do note that the chapters are hella long, but enjoyable. The relationships are fleshed out beautifully.

Magic and Mystery by Allegory_for_Hatred is also a good start because it's a bsd and hp crossover that's just, amazing. Had me up at 3am until I physically could not read. There's an ongoing sequel too!

wtf, since when are you married? by xxalwayssofia is a short, quick laugh that, for me, had one of the best characterization for soukoku. Sofia's stories in general (check her account!) have got the character's personality traits down with little creative liberties.

Ne Chuuya, won't you marry me? is another one by xxalwayssofia, and I die of laughter because of this on a daily basis.

Now, I may be mean for suggesting this, but this fic is a diamond found within a gold mine that will eventually end you up in jail because some rich dude probably owned it first. In summary, it hurts. Like a gunshot wound (wink wink to the readers). And that is Ruiner by gev_ao3 (rated the E-est of E's)! The long-awaited consequence chapter is already out for this one, so when you binge read it the ending will hopefully be satisfying. Just be aware this is incredibly graphic, psychological, and angst-filled to the brim.

I read If the Far Side Saw You by birbleh a considerable time ago, but it both pinches and caresses my heart all the same. I haven't anything else to say other than give it a chance.

Ice Queen by TheHighQueen is a great ongoing Dazai genderbend fic, that follows canon with interesting diverging road stops.

This Color Ain't It by justcallmedude has Kenji, our lovable super strength-powered farmer, as a main character! Crossover between bsd and mha with a dash of angst thrown here and there.

For a shin soukoku pairing fic, I'd suggest Fair Ankles by spirallings (rated E) and love knows no boundaries by dangodangomilk; fun, interesting stories that aren't that long, the latter's a oneshot and the former's ugh, just around 100k words :>

One of the first bsd fics I've read, which is with a fyozai pairing, is Letters from the Underground by ktaem! The writing style has its own refined edge, with the exploration of a what-if scenario that had me by hook, line, and sinker. This fic is still in my tab group because I always keep rereading it!

Now if we're entering the explicit territory, I will forever recommend my favorite series (pairing is chuuda btw) Ineffable Partners by Ch_ee_rios. The eighth installment is currently updating, and I promise, you will cry- or at least feel a significant gut punch.

Head Full of Lies by AbsoluteNegation, as my friend one said, is where the good shit's at. The premise had me instantly curious and soukoku's dynamic is wonderful, messy, and DAMN I LOVE THIS FIC SO MUCH.

Mors Vincit Omnia by themadtree, an soukoku and fyolai fic that will have you bending over and dying of laughter and pain. The author's other works (akai!) are also very good.

The series all that is left by alaruya is a personal favorite of mine. The writing style is unique, with choppy sentences and tear-jerker lines. Was the first story that ever had me thinking, "god I need to bookmark this," and I did.

Bottom of The Deep Blue Sea by arkastadt is a filthy, guilty pleasure. (can you tell I'm an avid bottomzai reader?)

And that's it... I think? I'm also willing to suggest Leafing Through The Pages, I Found You by YunaYamiMouto, but letting you know it's an ongoing reaction fic of the bsd cast to Dazai's life (with the author's own creative choices and headcanons), so there will be a lot, and I mean a HECK TON of spoilers. Which, to be fair, the other fics do have in sprinkles, but this tackles novel events that maybe you'd wish to read at your own pace :D

also shameless plug I have my own fic, the heat of your orange, and I know there's only one chapter but I'm trying my best to update soon

Happy reading!

[snowmist-hashira]

Hiiiiiiii omg you really feeding us with the Yuichiro content! It's so good I swear my day brightens when I reread your fics every time! They're such a pick me up!! May I request a scenario where reader kabedons him? Ahhhhh he'd totally have the reaction where his knees give out beneath him and he slides down the wall! Especially if reader is taller than him and she holds his chin and tilts his head upward. Cause honestly he's probably the same height as Muichiro and 160 cm is pretty smol ngl but ITS SO ADORABLE I SWEAR ESPECIALLY IN THIS SETTING!

And then imagine he's sitting there on the floor, red faced and practically smoking and then reader realises she probably shouldn't leave him there all unresponsive and stuff so she goes to look for Muichiro, but Muichiro finds Yuichiro there first, and he's just so confused and is like "Yui? What... happened? Why are you sitting on the floor here?" And either Yuichiro is completely broken and can't even say anything, or he tries and can only get out unintelligible flustered noises.

Thank you so much for taking time to read this! And do take care and take your time! ♡♡

[Chapter title: Assertive Proclamations]

[Requested] Yuichiro Tokitou x Reader

Wattpad:(One shots) Tokito Twins x Reader Archive:Kimetsu No Yaiba: Tokitou Twins x Reader Details: ♠ Information ♠ Master list: ♠ Yuichirou Tokitou ♠ Word count: 1,665

Artist: natsuneco_02[夏猫]

Links; Twitter

This could become one of my favorite fanfics that I've created. Describing the readers' actions was so enjoyable (and relatable), haha. Also, thank you to @kurumi-igarashi for giving me a few ideas that I used in this fic!

It brings me immense joy to know that my fictions can brighten your day! And the fact that you've re-read them, OMG. I hope this one will flutter your heart just as you anticipated~

I'll be taking a break from writing for a few days, so there won't be any new uploads during that time. However, you can always check my pinned post to see if there are any upcoming stories that I'll be publishing, thank you everyone~

(Scheduled)

The Tokito twins had always been popular in school, thanks to their striking appearances and impressive skills in shogi. Everything about them exuded perfection. Despite the older twin's stoic and cold demeanor, students, especially females, were still drawn to him.

Now, picture this: When Yuichiro Tokito, the older twin, started to show a softer and more gentle side, it caused quite a stir among the students at school. His stoic and cold demeanor had previously contributed to his allure, but now, with this newfound subtlety kindness, he became even more intriguing to others.

His change in behavior didn't go unnoticed, girls, in particular, found themselves drawn to him even more. They saw this as a chance to break through his tough exterior and discover the person he truly was underneath. Yuichiro's popularity soared, and he unwittingly became the subject of many crushes and admirers.

Y/n discreetly glared at the girls from behind her hands, her elbows resting on the desk, and her chin supported by her palms. She couldn't understand why they were suddenly showing so much interest in her boyfriend, Yuichiro now that he had let his guard down a bit.

Although she knew that his popularity was inevitable given his captivating charm, the newfound interest from other girls made her slightly uneasy.

Part of her wanted to remind them that he was already taken as she couldn't help but feel a tinge of jealousy as she saw the other girls gawking at Yuichiro.

“Y/n… You look like you’re about to murder someone.” Y/n's friend nervously chuckled at her intense glare and the potential effect it could have on the unsuspecting students. Her friend knew better than to mess with Y/n when she was in this mood.

"I almost regret asking Yui to be a bit gentle..." Y/n muttered, her glare unwavering as she observed the students who seemed oblivious to the hint. She was the reason for Yuichiro's sudden change in demeanor, while she wanted him to be acknowledged beyond his cold exterior, she hadn't anticipated the amount of attention it would attract, and it was starting to infuriate her.

"Maybe you should ease up a bit on the death glares," her friend suggested half-jokingly. "I know it's frustrating to see so much attention on Yuichiro, but remember, you're the reason for his change and well, now everyone's taking notice."

Y/n sighed, trying to relax her facial expression but still finding it challenging to shake off her irritation. "I know," she replied. "I just didn't expect it to be like this. I wanted him to be more open-hearted, but I didn't anticipate the whole school fawning over him."

Her friend nodded sympathetically. "But hey, Yuichiro is with you, and he loves you. I don't think he's paying much attention to all the extra attention he's getting. Besides, I'm sure he's still the same guy you fell for, just with a few more layers revealed."

"I know that..." Y/n said, her expression showing a hint of a pout. "It's just that these girls are acting as if Yui isn't taken. They're shamelessly flirting with him," she continued, squinting her eyes as she glared at the girls once again, her voice dangerously low.

Her friend could see why the situation was genuinely bothering her, and she understood it. Dealing with other girls openly flirting with Yuichiro was a valid concern, and it was testing Y/n's patience.

"I get it, Y/n," her friend said, empathizing with her frustration. "It's not easy seeing other girls act like he's available when he's clearly not. But you know what? It's a testament to how attractive and desirable Yuichiro is, and you're the one he chose. So, take it as a compliment to your taste in guys."

Y/n nodded, still pouting a bit but trying to keep her emotions in check. "I know, but it's hard to watch, especially when they know he's taken."

"True, some people just lack boundaries," her friend replied.

After a while, lunch break arrived, most of the students had already left the room, Y/n took the opportunity to gather her belongings and tidy up her desk. She carefully placed her notebooks back into her bag, one hand occupied with the task while the other held a drink box carton that she sipped on silently.

As she looked around the classroom, she noticed some of the girls still stealing glances at Yuichiro, who was sitting a few rows away, engrossed in a shogi puzzle.

"I'm glad to see you're managing your feelings quite well," her friend remarked, but Y/n didn't immediately reply, her gaze still fixed on her boyfriend.

Just then, a girl approached and touched Yuichiro's shoulder, causing Y/n to grip her empty carton drink tightly, her grip was so strong that it crumpled under the pressure. The sound of the crushed drink box emphasized her tension, and her initial composure seemed to falter in an instant.

Her friend couldn't help but sweat drop, taking back what they said, "...Or not," realizing Y/n's true feelings were still simmering beneath the surface.

"What do you mean? I'm perfectly composed," Y/n replied, turning to her friend with a forced smile. However, her darkened expression and the increasingly tight grip on her empty drink gave away the truth behind her words.

“I'm sure you are," her friend said with a hint of sarcasm, but she couldn't help but add, "Except for the fact that you're crushing that poor drink box like you're crushing your frustration."

Y/n let out a sigh, finally releasing her grip on the crumpled drink she had consumed. Her friend patted her back, trying to offer some comfort. "I'll head over to the cafeteria, want to come?" the friend asked.

Y/n glanced at Yuichiro and the girl who were engaged in conversation. It was evident that Yuichiro was still adjusting to his new demeanor, attempting to put on a polite smile that only made him more attractive.

"Nah, you go first," Y/n replied, her gaze still fixed on Yuichiro and the girl. She wanted to observe the situation a bit longer.

“Y/n… Please don’t murder anyone.” Her friend chuckled nervously, knowing her well enough to understand the intensity of her emotions.

"I won't.” Y/n replied with a small smile, trying to ease the tension in the air.

Her friend nodded and headed to the cafeteria, giving Y/n some space to collect her thoughts. Taking a moment to compose herself, Y/n made her way over to where Yuichiro and the girl were talking. As she approached, she noticed the girl giving her a curious glance before excusing herself and leaving. Y/n didn't know if the girl sensed the tension or if she was just being polite, but she was grateful for the space.

Yuichiro turned to her, his smile genuine but with a touch of concern. "Is everything okay?"

"I despise it," Y/n began, looking down at him, since she was slightly taller and he was sitting.

"Eh?" Yuichiro's sudden panic was evident as he stood up, concerned about Y/n's reaction. He had never seen her express such strong emotions before, and he felt a pang of worry, fearing that he might have done something to upset her.

"Y/n, what's wrong? Did I do something to upset you?" he asked gently, reaching out to her. "A-Am I not doing what you wanted me to do properly?" Yuichiro's voice trembled with concern, worried that he might not be fulfilling her expectations.

Y/n looked at him, sweat dropping, and uttered her words, "No, you're doing great, honestly... Too well..." Her response hinted that Yuichiro's efforts were perhaps a bit too effective for her liking.

Yuichiro blinked in confusion, trying to understand Y/n's words. "Too good? What do you mean?"

Y/n looked at him, amazed by his adorably dense nature. She released a soft sigh before gently pushing him against the wall. Placing her hands on the sides of his head, she pinned him without restricting his hands. The sudden action surprised Yuichiro, he immediately blushed, taken aback, his heart pounding at his girlfriend’s straight forwardness.

“Yuichiro.” Y/n began, Yuichiro's breath caught in his throat as Y/n's intense gaze held him captive. He was taken aback by her sudden boldness and the closeness between them, their faces a few inches apart. His heart raced, and he struggled to find the right words to respond.

A mischievous smirk appeared on Y/n's lips as she reached out and gently held Yuichiro's chin, tilting his head up to meet her gaze. "You're mine, okay?" she asserted, her eyes locked with his minty orbs.

Yuichiro's breath hitched as Y/n's touch sent shivers down his spine. He couldn't tear his gaze away from her intense eyes, feeling a rush of emotions swirling within him. Her assertiveness and possessiveness took him by surprise, but there was something undeniably alluring about it.

His knees buckled, and he slid down the wall, leaving Y/n taken aback. Yuichiro was blushing profusely, his mouth slightly agape, and he seemed unresponsive. Fortunately, there was no one else around in the room to witness his reaction.

‘Ah... I forgot that he can't handle surprises,’ Y/n thought to herself, realizing that she might have caught him off guard with her straightforwardness.

Y/n attempted to shake his shoulder gently, but it proved futile as Yuichiro remained unresponsive. Worried, she quickly left the room to find his younger twin, Muichiro.

However, just a few seconds after Y/n left, Muichiro returned and saw his older twin, Yuichiro, blushing like a tomato and sitting on the ground, he couldn't help but raise an eyebrow in curiosity. It wasn't a common sight to see Yuichiro in such a state.

“Nii-san? What… What happened to you?” Muichiro asked, a mix of concern and amusement in his voice.

Yuichiro stammered, trying to find the right words to explain the situation. "I-I... Y/n... she said..." He trailed off, unable to form a coherent sentence.

"Ah..." At the mention of Y/n's name, Muichiro immediately understood what had happened.

[drabbles-mc]

Aftermath

EZ Reyes x F!Reader

Warnings: 18+, language, implied/referenced smut

Word Count: 2k

A/N: This fic is the reason taht I got no sleep last night. It hit me at like 11:30pm and I had to stay up to finish it. That being said, I have not reread it and I have no idea if it makes sense. Anyway. Enjoy some messy EZ Reyes.

EZ Reyes Taglist: @rosieposie0624 @noz4a2 @queenbeered @choochoo284 @thesandbeneathmytoes @meadowofsinfulthoughts @mijagif @withmyteeth @kelpies-shed @louisianalady @gemini0410 @chibsytelford @yourwonkywriter @buckybarneshairpullingkink @amorestevens @garbinge @enjoy-the-destruction @bport76 @nessamc @winchestershiresauce @artemiseamoon @littlekittymeow @frattsparty @fanfic-n-tabulous @beardburnsupersoldiers @justazzi @solidly-indulgent @danzer8705 (If you want to be added to any of my taglists, please let me know!)

You woke to the sound of construction, which automatically earned a groan from you. You hadn’t even opened your eyes yet and you were already over the day. The banging coming from outside certainly didn’t help the pulsating in your head. It wasn’t enough to be a real hangover, but it was enough to be a very real inconvenience. You buried your face into the pillow you were resting on, fighting the urge to pull the blanket up over your head as you reached out to attempt to try and blindly find your phone.

But then you couldn’t feel the edge of your mattress. Or your nightstand.

Then you realized it was because you weren’t at your own apartment. And the construction sounds weren’t that at all, but the sounds of the scrapyard.

You shot upright, much to your head's dismay as it sent a shock of pain from one end of your skull to the other. You winced, shutting your eyes tight for a moment as you pull the blanket up so it covered your completely bare torso. You groaned quietly, using one hand to keep the blanket wrapped around you, the other wiping the sleep from your eyes.

Sighing, you looked around the empty trailer. The night before was coming back in waves. There was way too much there to unpack since you weren’t even fully awake yet. You fought the urge to shake your head at yourself, not wanting to rattle your brain further. You blinked slowly a couple times as you tried to let your body adjust, tried to figure out what you were going to do next.

EZ was long gone. You saw that he had nicely folded up your clothes and left them on the counter for you to change back into. You’d call him a gentleman if the circumstances had been anything other than what they were. Still, you got up and pulled your clothes back on as quickly as you could in the cramped space you had. The trailer had felt so much larger last night, but then again , anything beyond the expanse of the mattress wasn’t really your concern.

One good turn deserved another. You had no intention of leaving his trailer a mess. It was bad enough you’d probably created an unpalatable situation of your friendship with him. You’d done irreparable damage to your relationship with both Reyes boys in a span of less than twenty-four hours. That had to be a record of some kind.

The bed was a sofa once more, and you’d folded up the sheets for him. Running your hands over your face and raking your fingers back along your scalp, you decided that there were no other ways to keep procrastinating. Pulling your boots on, you stepped over to the door of his trailer.

Pushing the door open, you squinted and made a sound somewhere between pain and disgust at the light hitting your eyes. Bringing one hand up, you tried to shield your vision from the late-morning light.

You blindly dug around in your purse as you went down the steps of EZ's trailer. Your fingers were searching for your car keys, but you came up dry. You knew that you drove over the night before. You’d only had two drinks and your apartment was apparently way too close to the scrapyard for your own good. You knew you drove. So either Angel had found out and driven off with your car out of spite, or, well, you weren’t quite sure what the other option was.

The last thing you wanted to do was see anyone else from the club, but it didn’t seem like you were going to have another choice. With a small shake of your head, you started to make your way towards the clubhouse.  You didn’t even know what you were going to say if someone asked what you were doing there, or how you’d managed to misplace your entire vehicle.

“Hey, Y/N,” EZ called after you. He sounded the same as he always did. You didn’t know if that was reassuring or not.

You turned around to face him. The second that your eyes locked onto his everything from the night before came rushing back. You tried not to think about it, his lips on yours, his fingers digging into the flesh of your thighs. You shook your head at yourself, physically willing the thoughts away in an attempt to have somewhat of a normal conversation with him. 

“Hey.” You hooked your thumbs onto the beltloops of your jeans  “You know what happened with—”

You stopped short as he pulled your car keys from his pocket and dangled them in front of you. The smirk on his face was nothing but sinful considering everything that had happened. “Parked it in the lot at the end of the block. Figured you didn’t want—”

“Thanks,” you cut him off, not really wanting to get into it. The sooner you could leave all of this mess behind, the better.

He chuckled. Fucking shameless. “No problem.”

He slapped the keys into your hand, his fingers wrapping around your hand for a fleeting moment. That was all it took, one second and one gesture and all that was running through your head was the thought of those same fingers when they were wrapped around your throat the night before.

“Bye, EZ.” It didn’t feel like there was anything else to be said. Or, at least, the smart thing would not be saying anything more than that.

You were a few strides away when he caught up to you, easily matching your pace. “We good?”

You barked out a laugh at that, shaking your head. “I don’t think that’s really a question we need to—”

“Y/N?” Angel's voice cut into your conversation.

You sighed, mumbling so that only EZ could hear you. “I’m changing my fucking name.”

EZ chuckled and shook his head, looking back and forth between you and his brother. Angel did the same, looking back and forth between you and EZ before asking, “The fuck are you doing here?”

“Leaving,” you said, not looking at either of them as you continued walking to the exit of the scrapyard. You didn’t want to linger long enough for Angel to realize that you were still in the same clothes from the night before.

Angel looked at his brother, not understanding what the smug look on his face was all about. “What’d she want?”

EZ shrugged. “Not sure.” He clapped Angel on the shoulder. “I’m gonna walk her to her car.”

Angel reached out and grabbed his brother’s arm, fingers keeping him in a vice grip. “You know what happened with me and her?”

“Not the details, but,” he chuckled, “the ‘the fuck are you doing here’ said enough.”

“And you’re still just gonna—”

“Yea,” EZ cut him off, not sounding confrontational in his tone but the look in his eyes was daring Angel to say something, “That a problem?”

Angel shook his head and rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

EZ didn’t wait around to hear whatever else Angel had to say. He walked away, quickly making his way after you again. He caught up just as you were stepping out the gates of the scrapyard. You’d heard the footsteps, and you knew from the lack of yelling it must’ve been EZ and not his brother. You didn’t say anything, didn’t slow down or speed up your pace.

“You think he’s never gonna find out?” he asked.

You shook your head, still not looking at him. “There’s nothing to find out.”

He laughed. “Really? So if I go back there right now and tell him—”

You stopped in your tracks, turning to face EZ. “There’s nothing to find out because it’s not going to happen again.”

The smile on his face made you want to smack it clean off of him. He was getting way too much enjoyment out of all of this. “Sure it’s not.” He paused. “Did it work, though?”

Your brows furrowed in confusion as you hit the unlock button on your keys. “Did what work?”

He stepped in closer to you, his chest nearly pressing against yours. “Did it make you stop thinking about him?”

You sucked in a deep breath, trying to figure out if closing your eyes so you weren’t looking directly into his anymore would be helpful or hurtful. He waited patiently for your response, the grin not fading from his features in the slightest.

You felt your heart rate spike as the thoughts broke containment once more. You remembered him opening the door to his trailer, just in his jeans. You saw the confusion on his face as he let you in, knowing what had happened between you and his brother just a few hours beforehand. He hadn’t expected to ever really see you again, certainly not one-on-one like this. Or at the yard or the clubhouse at all.

He'd hardly even gotten the question out to ask how you were doing when you told him, “I don’t want to think about him.”

He didn��t try to send you off or push you away. There was a slight moment of hesitation before he recovered, falling right into stride with ease that should’ve been questionable but it wasn’t. You remembered feeling the heat radiating off of his chest as he stood in front of you, about as close as he was standing to you now. You remembered the borderline baiting tone in his voice as he asked, “What do you want me to do about that?”

And you remembered your borderline pathetic response of, “Make me stop thinking about him.”

And he did.

Coming back to the present, you shook your head. “I shouldn’t have done it. It’s not gonna happen again.”

He stepped in closer, making you back up against the side of your car. “But it worked, right?”

You huffed, annoyed because he was putting you in this position, annoyed because he was absolutely correct. “Yes, it worked, but—”

He cut you off by pressing his lips to yours. You knew you should’ve fought against it but you couldn’t. You melted against him instantly, heat rolling over you in waves as his hand came to rest around your throat, applying just enough pressure to have a reason for being there. You should’ve been upset about it but you weren’t.

When he pulled his lips off of yours, his hand remained for a second. His eyes raked over your face, like he was putting extra effort into the memory of it that was going to sit in his mind for the rest of his life. There were far worse sights to have burned into his brain.

His hand fell back to his side and coherent thoughts slowly started to enter back into your brain. “Look, it can’t happen again. I’m sorry I even showed up.”

He smiled, shaking his head. “No you’re not.”

You rolled your eyes. “Fuck off.”

He took a step back. “Gotta get back to work anyway.” You wanted to have something witty and scathing to say but your mind was blank. He must’ve seen it on your face, because the smirk on his face grew as he said, “I’ll see you around.”

You shook your head at him, but you didn’t have it in you to argue. You didn’t want to make a liar out of yourself. Turning around, you yanked open the door of your car and got inside. When you looked back at him, EZ was already heading back towards the scrapyard again like nothing had even happened. You couldn’t see it, but you were certain he still had the same smug little grin on his face.

You leaned forward, resting your forehead against the steering wheel. You shut your eyes for a moment as you tried to will yourself to calm down. How you managed to make so many problems for yourself and then make them worse was beyond you. But here you were, stuck in a mess of your own making. You had no idea if it was going to get worse before it got better, or if it was just going to get worse.

[failedaethercore]

The Missing Messenger

Inspired by @wolfofcelestia's amazing work found here.

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

This (my fourth fic ever lol) was written in a fever state to get it out of my system since this had been consuming me all day today while I did my adulting. Please be kind, I know there are likely a lot of mistakes, But I am trying my best to learn and grow as a writer while writing all these fics.

Also I know I wrote something similar in my last fic, but I think I've ironed it out better this time. So bear with me while I work towards a new theme haha

Rafayel x fem!MC/reader, Xavier, Zayne, confessions, fluffy stuff at the end I swear ;;

Please be warned, this is a dark work and is not a good idea to read if you are easily triggered.

CW: torture, depression, allusions to rape, blood, guns, death, please let me know if I need to add any more (can't think of what else, I swear I'm not here to hurt any of you lovely people)

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

Rafayel was laying on his sofa, one arm artfully draped over his eyes as he sighed in defeat. His latest piece was causing him so much trouble, which made him feel like just giving up and moving on to something else. But he was too far along to call it quits just yet, he wanted to see it finished.

So when his phone hummed quietly near his hand, he let out another dramatic groan and picked it up, praying it wasn't Thomas bothering him to find out when the painting would be done. It was just a text. From you.

Y/n: Hey, I saw there's a new cafe down near the plaza, you wanna go when we both have some time? Apparently they have rose flavored milk tea and really good snacks. I really wanna try it!

Rafayel smirked and sent a quick series of replies.

Rafayel: That might be a little difficult, I'm in the middle of my magnum opus and cannot be torn away! Even if it caught fire, I can never leave my studio until my vision reaches fruition!

Rafayel: But maybe you can bring me some when you come visit...perhaps...this afternoon?

He could sense you rolling your eyes as he sees the word “read” next to his texts. He lets himself full on grin, hoping you'll agree.

Y/n: I do have today off...but wouldn't you like a break? You've been cooped up all week, I thought.

Rafayel: Don't you understand y/n? I must see this through! ...But I could use a little break, if you're willing to drop everything right now and bring me an iced latte with soy milk and plenty of brown sugar boba.

Y/n: And a slice of cheesecake?

Rafayel: You know me so well, it's almost like we're friends.

Y/n: Or enemies.

He chuckles to himself, texting you always managed to brighten his foulest moods, despite the aching in his chest when his thoughts lingered too long on how you were unlikely to ever want to be more than that...just friends.

He sighed and waited for a moment, staring at the screen to see if you were going to say anything else. When it had been long enough, he figured you were getting ready to come over, and he slumped back onto the sofa once more, leaving his phone on his chest as he stared up at the blue coming through the skylights in the ceiling.

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

He didn't think it would take this long to get ready, but he was patient. He may whine and complain and give you the hardest time for making him wait...but he had already waiting so long for you, what is one more hour? Or two...o-or three...

His phone vibrated again, alerting him of a text messsage. He stopped his idle paint mixing, having wanted something to do while he waited for you, and looked down at his phone set beside him.

Y/n: I love you, Rafayel

His chest suddenly felt full and warm, he could feel his heart beginning to beat quickly, and he swore he could feel his ears redden in the delight that phrase had brought him. He reread it several times, pinched himself, even slapped his face with his free hand, just to make sure he hadn't fallen asleep while waiting for you.

He quickly typed a reply once he had confirmed he wasn't dreaming.

Rafayel: Well it's about time! Thought I would have to be the first one to admit it, at this rate...

But the message wasn't read right away. Maybe you were walking over from the cafe now? And you just wanted to confess before your visit. He had no idea why you were being so honest with yourself (and him), but he was so happy he couldn't care about that right now.

He hums happily for a while, waiting even more impatiently for you to arrive. But now it's been an hour. Then two. He checks his phone. Neither of you had ever agreed on a time to meet, but he didn't think you'd make him wait so long...

Rafayel: Y/n? Are you coming? Are you okay?

His joy started to melt into chilling fear, dripping down his spine as he realizes that his confession was left unread, after all this time. That's when the panic sets in fully. Something is wrong.

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

Rafayel is in his trendy sports car before he can even think about what he's doing. Acting on pure instinct alone, he's already across the bridge and meeting the afternoon traffic that Linkon City is known for on a normal Thursday. For a moment he ponders if he should break the law, eyes darting hastily around the intersection before he floors it through a red light, not even bothering to slow down. He was a madman behind the wheel already, notorious for making you white knuckle the armrest whenever you rode with him. But now he was terrified, and determined.

He regains his senses while swerving to avoid a line of slowed cars, and quickly presses a few buttons on the car's touch screen, attempting to call you. Maybe your phone had just died. Please let him be a silly fool who worries over nothing. It rang for a while, before rolling over to voicemail, your standard message of “Hey, this is y/n, sorry I missed your call, leave me a message after the beep! Beep! No, not that one” followed be a giggle and then another beep. “Y/n please be okay, you've been quiet for a while, just starting to worry about my bodyguard here...I'm heading over to see if maybe you just fell asleep, since it's your day off! You better answer your door!”

Before he forgot, he decided to make one more call, pressing another button and starting a call with Thomas.

Thomas sounds elated to hear from Rafayel, thinking he had finally finished the painting and that Thomas could set up a new exhibition around it and the other dozen paintings Rafayel had finished earlier.

“Rafayel! It's about time, do you kno-” Before Thomas can begin nagging Rafayel about making him wait so long for just one painting, Rafayel cuts him off. “Something's wrong with y/n! She won't pick up her phone and I need you to track her down somehow. She's usually not this quiet, you have to help me Thomas!” The man was taken aback, his feet falling off his desk that he had leaned up there confidently at the beginning of the call. He sat upright and had no idea how to respond for a moment, Rafayel never begged for anything. Ever. At least not to him, anyways.

Rafayel waited for Thomas to reply, then shouted at the man. “Thomas! Go find Y/n! I need to know she's okay!” Thomas broke his silence with a stuttered “Y-yeah sure!” before hanging up quickly to make some calls of his own.

Rafayel pressed the gas pedal to the floor, as he sped down the road to come to a screeching halt in front of your apartment complex. He jumped out, not even bothering to make sure the engine was off, but just managing to remember to put the damned thing into park.

He bolted up the stairs, taking each step three at a time, as his long legs screamed at him from the sudden exertion on his usually lazy muscles. He knew your apartment number by heart, knowing exactly where you slept every night, just to occasionally check in and make sure you got home from a hunt okay. Even if he never knocked on the door, he looked up at the window in your apartment until the light came on, and he could see you open the window to let in some fresh air.

He knocked hard on the door, urgency spurring his continued knocks on as he waited impatiently. “Y/n! Hey! You home?!” There was no evidence of tampering that he could detect, the door looked like it always did, so when he had to break it down to get in, he felt a little guilty. Nevermind, he could easily replace it with a better one and the building's manager would be fine with it. He was praying you were just half asleep on your bed and would just scold him for freaking out over nothing.

When he found your apartment empty, not a soul in the place, while the windows were left wide open...his heart, already halfway down to his stomach, finishes it descent into his gut, while tears threaten his eyes. No...this can't be real. He's dreaming, all of this is a lie. He pinches himself again, and again, trying to bring himself out of this nightmare.

When he decides that he is truly not dreaming, he tries to call your phone again, only to hear your phone ringing under the sofa. The song you set as his ringtone would have probably made him chuckle and tease you if this wasn't such a terrifying scenario.

He picks it up from the floor, and looks at it. A photo of him smiling with you while you both pose in front of the camera glows before his eyes. That's when it all starts to blur a little, as tears begin to truly tug at the edges of his sight. He couldn't hold them back anymore, and let out a shout of your name, unable to contain his emotions because he had just found you again.

Moments later, a silver-haired man came barging into the apartment from the balcony, obviously drawn by the commotion from below. When Rafayel saw him, he was immediately on guard, drawing a dagger from behind his back, summoned from a plume of flame in his hand.

The man looked around quickly before drawing his own weapon, a sword borne of light held aloft and pointed at Rafayel. “Where is y/n. What are you doing in her apartment?” Rafayel stares down the weapon with indifference, not even registering the question before he lunges forward, another dagger being summoned to his empty hand as the sound of metal hitting metal fills the space.

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

The fight only lasted a few minutes, but both men were so fast, and so evenly matched, they both fell to the floor quickly, panting, covered in cuts and bruises. At some point Rafayel had punched the man in the face, and at another point the man had gotten a good slice into the front of Rafayel's expensive shirt.

While both of them caught their breaths, the man asked another question. “Where is y/n...and who are you?” He had never met a match in battle, and was honestly a little stunned.

“Well who the hell are you? How do you know her name and where she lives?!”

The man slumps his back against the wall near the television, running his hand through his starlit hair. “Xavier...I'm her upstairs neighbor, and her Hunter partner.” Rafayel lets out a sigh and withers at the fact.

“I'm...Rafayel...she's my bodyguard. Did you hear anything in here earlier?” He is immediately brought back to the entire reason he was even here. “Y/n left her phone, she never leaves without it.” Xavier stares as Rafayel holds up your phone, the tiny charm hanging off it indicating it was definitely yours. He had no idea who gave you the tiny red fish charm, but he had always secretly been a little jealous.

“Then...the noises earlier...” Xavier stares down at the floor. “I thought y/n was exercising for some reason, even though it was her day off...I heard some shuffling noises...but I didn't think anything of it because I couldn't sense any Wanderers.” Rafayel's eyes narrow with every word, until his glare can be felt like a radiating heat from the depths of hell. He would bore a hole right through Xavier's head if he could.

Xavier sheepishly looked away, his quiet and sleepy demeanor made meek in that moment as guilt struck him like lightning. “I didn't realize. ...We need to find her.”

Before both men departed your apartment, Rafayel making a call to get your apartment door repaired, Xavier promising to contact your old friend Zayne who works at the nearby hospital, they agreed to exchange numbers and keep in touch. Their expressions grim as they went their separate ways.

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

Rafayel's soul had now been shredded, drowned, disintegrated, and finally blown away like sands in the storm. This happened nearly on the daily for him, as every moment of you being missing driving him further into madness.

It had been weeks so far.

Where were you?

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

You had been texting with Rafayel when you had nodded off, meaning to get up and get ready to go get tea and snacks to bring to his studio and spend time with him. You were excited, but work had been draining your energy of late, so you let yourself nod off for a bit. Rafayel could wait, plus you enjoyed his bratty pout when you made him wait a little bit.

You awoke to the shufflling sound of something opening your window from the balcony. Or rather...someone. You realized how late it was in the same moment you realized what was going on. Men in neutral and dark clothes, face coverings, and holding rope and other supplies silently entered your apartment, thinking you were still asleep.

You quickly sent a text, knowing there was no saving you now. You could beat them up, you could take out maybe three of them in your current condition. Your energy still low from that last mission. “I love you, Rafayel” the last thing you send, as you don't know if you're going to come back from this as more figures climb into the room, you can hear their boots quietly touching onto the floor.

You jumped up from your position on the couch and ran to secure your concealed weapon you kept in the kitchen. A firearm for in case a Wanderer got too close to the apartment complex, or something like this happening. Unfortunately for you, one of them had a taser gun, and shot you in the back, taking you down before you can even reach under the counter for the weapon strapped there.

You can't make out much as your senses are blacking out from the pain. But you make out a low chuckle from one of the figures, a man with piercing eyes glowers down at you as he puts his boot on your head and grinds it into the floor a little. “...You're going to regret going for that.”

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

It had been what felt like an eternity. Your figure was chained to the floor, the shackles on your wrists and ankles constantly chafing and making your joints ache from their weight. You were losing your muscles from all the lack of exercise, but that didn't mean you didn't still suffer the brutality of your captors.

Every single day, at some point during the day, the door to the pitch black cell would open, light would pour in, and then it would begin.

The first time, you had let yourself feel a glimmer of hope. Rafayel? Had he found you? But no...it was the man with the piercing eyes, everyone wearing masks still despite clearly being in a safe location. They could never be too cautious, it seemed. “You're going to tell us everything you know about Lemurians and where we can find them.”

Your face went a little slack. You knew very little about them, and only knew maybe...two? Three? One of them...you would never reveal their identity to these monsters. You had just arrived at this point, but the shackles were already hurting you, and the taser to your back still stung and caused your nerves to shiver with what you hoped didn't look like fear.

“Don't worry, you don't have to answer right away. Let's have some fun with this first...” At first your face distorts into disgust, until the man pulls out a blade and you see the cloth mask over his face wrinkle in a way that could only mean he was smiling maliciously. His eyes glint with joy at the prospect of hurting you.

But you never broke. Not once. You swore to yourself that death would be better than letting them know about Rafayel. After everything he had confided in you, after everything he had given to you, you would guard it with your dying breath before this scum found a drop of information. So you didn't struggle, you didn't fight, you let the torture continue for forever, as the outside world spun on without you. You wouldn't let others suffer because of your weakness, your failings.

You blamed yourself for being too lax, being too comfortable in your life, when you knew danger was a constant part of your everyday life. Your vigilance had slipped for a moment, and you were the reason you were in this situation now.

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

Once Zayne had been made aware of the situation, he had stopped working for a few days, searching in his own way to find you. The days turned into weeks, before he had to return to his work, guilt riding him on both fronts as he didn't want to give up the search, but he couldn't leave his patients to die.

Xavier had assured him he would be notified as soon as you were located, and Zayne tried his best to take comfort in that, at least. Rafayel was being driven mad, to the point of having barely slept and not eaten for far too long.

He was delirious, laying on the floor of his torn apart studio, as it was too many reminders of you, in some ways. His heart was gone, he felt numb all over, and his mind swam as he stared up at the darkening sky in the ceiling. He had searched through his underworld connections, but couldn't pry anything from anyone. No one knew a thing about it, apparently. But he knew you didn't just vanish into thin air.

So when all felt lost, he decided to try his last resort. You had his heart beating in your chest. From lives lived long ago, you have been reborn with that same heart time and time again. You were breathing because he gave you his everything the first time you had met. And now he had to pull it to him. He struggled for a while to try and tune into whatever frequency it was, he was rusty and hadn't really done anything like this in what felt like centuries.

So when he finally knew he had it, he could sense other Lemurians in Linkon City, he could sense the vast ocean and the creatures that reside there...he could even faintly sense others further still, but not you.

You were a blank space. An empty void stood where your usual place in the universe hung. He didn't realize he had stopped breathing until his lungs screamed for air. He sat up suddenly and gasped, choking on the air briefly before he coughed and started to sob into his hands.

You were gone. Not a trace. Nothing.

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

You were bloody and covered in scarring wounds, broken bones and twisted muscles. Today had been burns on your bare flesh, followed by mild drowning in sea water. But they lost interest, saying you probably liked it, since clearly you liked fish and all that.

You were struggling to breathe through your broken ribs, but you tried to keep steady, breathing through your nose slowly as you kept a stoic expression on your bruised and puffy face. Every day had been something new, something awful. But the taste of the deep salt water had hardened your resolve. You didn't know why Rafayel couldn't find you, but you would escape. You would find him and he would keep you safe again. You had to believe that, despite the fear that this was actually some elaborate play to make you loyal or something.

You were given too much time in the darkness by yourself. Your mind would race to horrible scenarios at the drop of a hat already, but now you had concocted a horrible fantasy where Rafayel had been the mastermind behind all of this, and that you were being tested to be sure you were loyal to him no matter what. But that made you more fearful that whoever Rafayel was running from must be even worse than this.

So you steeled yourself every day, when the shuffling of feet could be heard outside your door, you would sit up and just stoically stare at a spot in your vision that did not exist. Grounding your mind in what you had to tell yourself to survive this.

He was looking for you. He would come. As soon as you could make your move, he would find you. Somehow. If he was truly behind this, then Xavier and Zayne would find you. You had been gone far too long for you to not be missed. This was your courage. And you would be doubly damned by the Gods if you let yourself fail now.

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

The day finally came. They had become less vigilant, as you had never once made an effort to break free, and the fire had quickly died in your eyes. They were almost ready to just let you go, figuring you didn't know anything. The only things they could ever extract from you were screams and grunts of agony. You had even overheard them talking amongst themselves several times, talking about their personal lives as if it was another day at an office job.

So when you were ready, you had snuck a small thin object, you think it was a broken paperclip, to pick the locks on your shackles. You made quick work in the inky darkness that surrounded you, but left the shackles on, to lure them into your plan.

The shuffling sounds came up again, and you were ready. You waited for them to casually open the door, like they had been doing so recently, as you let your eyes adjust to the change in light. They were chatting as if it were just a Tuesday, while you let yourself sprint to the door, pushing through the armed guards. They had forgotten you were a trained Hunter, apparently. Because you managed to pull one of their guns and shoot the other point blank.

The one whose weapon you had confiscated had fallen to the ground and to be sure he wouldn't follow, you shot him in the leg. You made a run for the stairs, apparently you were deep underground. It explained the lack of windows and fresh air in the cell.

The stairs were narrow, so it made it difficult as more and more guards began to pour down to apprehend you, and you could only climb over so many grasping bodies as they struggled to hold you while their injuries otherwise incapacitated them. Before long you were forced to throw the empty gun aside and take things head-on. You punched and bit and kicked your way as far as you could, every ounce of your being put into surviving and escaping. But before long you were dragged down and pinned to the stairs, a boot holding you firmly in place by the center of your back.

The man with the piercing eyes chuckled darkly. “I see you have more fight in you than we had thought...I like that.” He pulled your head up by your hair, at least what was left of it, and forced you to look at his other boot. “Lick it, peasant.”

You blacked out from exhaustion before you could do anything, and he tsked angrily. “Fucking bitch...she shot so many of these idiots. Now I have to clean this up.” He turned to those of his men who were still standing or able to stand, and began barking orders. “Carry out the wounded, shoot those who won't make it, and put her back in the cell. This time...I won't let her keep this worthless hope she keeps clinging to. I will take her tonight, and break her.”

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

It had been months now, and Rafayel was wallowing in the abyss of life without you again. But this time was different. You had been ripped from him and he couldn't even find your body to bury. Every day he prayed you were alive, but then cursed himself for it, knowing if you were, you were most likely suffering.

The day had come, and he was burying his face in a hoodie you had accidentally left in his studio one time, sobbing uncontrollably as his phone kept ringing in the background. He ignored it, Thomas' frantic motions against the drowning undercurrent of Rafayel's soul would never be enough to save either of them.

So when he felt your presence, he bolted upright, tears staining his otherwise beautiful but now gaunt face, and he stared in the direction of where he felt you. He had checked there. Many times, in fact. He had suspected you were in the N109 zone, but how you had eluded him for so long, he had no clue. But now you were somewhere he could find you. And he would be damned by the ocean once more if he let this chance slip by.

His flashy sports car was in need of a wash, and so was he, but he hopped in, before speeding off to reach your location all the faster, once again a demon behind the wheel.

But no sooner had he gotten oriented enough to know which road to take, you vanished again. But he suspected you were in that general vicinity, and wasted no time to get to his usual spot where he could enter the zone without interference.

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

You were reshackled and struggling to breathe as the man with the piercing eyes was holding you by your throat so that you were partly suspended in the air. Your eyes were squeezed shut. Your escape attempt had failed, and now you knew the final thing that could be taken from you, aside from your life, would be ripped from your body forever.

Tears sprang to life in the corners of your eyes as you imagined Rafayel finding your body after all of this, somehow, and how it would break him. You couldn't give in, but despair was gripping your heart harder than the man currently holding your neck.

“I'm going to break you in so my men can each have a turn. After your little stunt, a lot of them need some comfort and closure from what you did.” Your eyes shot open, and you glared up at him with all the defiance you could muster. And it was greater than the will of the Gods themselves, as the man actually stilled for a moment in shock.

His composure resumed quickly, and he took off his mask to reveal a sinister, toothy grin on what might have once upon a time been a handsome face. There were scars and an obviously previously broken nose, but seeing the rest of his face only steeled your resolve. If he wanted to break you, you would put up the fight of your life.

So when the door opened slowly, the faintly brighter light from outside peeking in to drape across a shadowy figure, he snapped up to yell at whoever it was. “Don't you know I'm busy in here?! Wait your turn, ya filthy fucker!” He dropped you to go push the figure outside and shut the door, but before he could reach a hand out to touch the shadow before you both, his hand was sliced off in a blur.

He paused, taking a moment to process what had happened in a fraction of a second. Then he screamed. That's when the shadow stepped into the light filling the cell, and your eyes adjusted enough to see him.

It was Rafayel, covered in soot and blood, a dagger held in his delicate hand as he stared down the man shouting about his hand that was now laying on the floor, blood draining down to the center of the cell, where a drainage grate resided underneath you. Your eyes welled with tears as you stared in shock. He had found you.

Finally. He was here.

His eyes snapped to you, the look of murderous intent softening before he looked over your frail figure. Clearly they were starving you slowly, and all the scarring and blood, filth, everything that they had done to you, rushed into his mind before he snapped back to the man who had finally regained his senses enough to pull out a dagger.

Rafayel slit his throat and turned him to ash before he could so much as aim the thing. The dagger fell to the ground with a clatter, as well as any other metallic accents to his clothes. You gasped as Rafayel's eyes nearly glowed with hate. He would never forgive anyone who so much as glanced upon you in this state. But when he was done, he swiftly softened, his hands finding the shackles and unlocking them in one smooth motion before you register what's going on.

You manage a hoarse, quiet whisper of his name. “Rafayel...” He softly shushes you and picks you up gently, holding you close against his chest as your thin frame drapes across his arms. “You're okay...I've got you, y/n.” You smile, for the first time in a millennia. It hurts so much to smile, and the tears sting your wounds, but you can't stop it. And before long, you're blacking out as Rafayel ascends the stairs slowly, being sure not to jostle you while he tries to still his heart.

It ached so much to see you in this state, but it brought him so much exuberant joy to see you at least still alive. You drew breath, and that meant he could hold your warm hand again, and slowly help you regain your footing after this harrowing experience.

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

He took you to your friend Zayne, since he was a doctor, before anyone else. Xavier was soon notified, and before long you were in your own VIP hospital room. Rafayel never left, even when you were being stripped naked and washed down carefully, and even Zayne had to look away with a blush. Rafayel kept watch, and nearly hissed at a nurse who tried to shoo him out of the ICU room.

Zayne had asked all the staff attending to you to be very careful, and even warned them that Rafayel might not cooperate if asked to leave the room. He had acquiesced to the fact that the purple haired man was going nowhere. Which he secretly couldn't blame him. He remembers the night you were admitted.

When you had been carried into the hospital by Rafayel, Zayne stood still in his tracks when he glanced up to find you looking half dead in his arms. Zayne shouted orders louder and faster than ever, and before long Rafayel was following a gurney into an operating room, despite many personnel pushing against him. He was firm, and unrelenting, so Zayne sighed and made him clean up and put on scrubs to stay sterile.

Rafayel silently watched over the surgery, his eyes looked like he was making a prayer to the last God or Goddess still listening, and asking for the only wish he would ever ask again.

That was a week ago.

You were looked after, and whenever he could, Rafayel held your hand. His sharp eyes kept staring into your soul, praying, willing you to wake once more. He kept his focus on you, unless a nurse came in with a new IV bag, a new drug, then he became vigilant to ensure it was safe. Zayne had given up on assuring him that he would never do you harm, because Rafayel nearly interrogated every nurse that came into the room, even to check your temperature.

But he finally relented to his situation, when he demanded Xavier keep watch while he passed out in the chair next to you, hand still holding yours. Zayne also stood vigil whenever he could spare the time, and a rotating shift of sorts came into being while you were unconscious.

A nurse had taken pity on your hair, as it had been pulled out in places, and shorn in others to shame you. She had done her best to wash it and trim it so that it would look better than it had been (she made sure to do it while Zayne was taking a shift, so she wouldn't have to fight a certain someone over it). Another nurse would bring food for whoever was on shift, though it was usually barely touched. Rafayel especially couldn't bring himself to eat, except when he collapsed once or twice, and Zayne pointed out how guilty you would feel knowing he was starving himself to death.

So after a great deal of staring down from Zayne and Xavier collectively, Rafayel conceded and ate some food. But he never left the room, even then. He thought the food was disgusting, and could barely swallow. But he willed himself to do it, for your sake.

Another week passed, and you were finally making stirrings. Your hand flexed a little in Rafayel's grip, and he sat straight up in that same moment, light returning to his dulled eyes, the numb restless sleep escaping from his form. You stirred, making a groan as the morphine had worn off. “Nnnnh...” Rafayel had to resist tightening his grip on your hand, as your poor fingers had been broken when punching a guard in the dick. If he had known that fact, he would be so proud of you, broken fingers and all.

He hit the nurse call button immediately, and started to shush you as you struggled slightly. “Shhh...y/n, you're safe. You're at the hospital. It's me, Rafayel...I promise...you're okay now...” You heard his voice over the high pitched tinnitus piercing your senses, and you sighed, settling back into the bed as you could barely move anyways. You tried to turn your head to look at him, but your muscles ached even doing that. “It's okay, I'm right here.” He squeezed your palm gently to let you know it was true. “I'm not going anywhere, okay?”

Zayne was notified upon Rafayel's press of the nurse call button, and came rushing in within a few minutes, despite being on the other side of the hospital. He was panting as Rafayel was talking softly to you, as your eyes began to close again. “Did she wake up? Did she say anything?” Rafayel nods then shakes his head, as he strokes your cheek through the bandages, as you fall back into your slumber, this time your muscles relax and you let yourself drift into a dream, instead of the never ending nightmares from before.

It took another two days before you woke up again, but this time you were more coherent, and you managed to sit up with the assistance of the adjustable bed. You stared at Rafayel for a long time before a whisper managed to escape your lips. “...you found me...” Rafayel almost didn't hear you, but he gave you the saddest smile upon realizing your words. “I did...I'm sorry it took me so long...” You tried to shake your head, but it was too much, so you just whispered. “No...you made it just in time...thank you...”

Your voice was hoarse and weak, but your once tight and guarded heart now relaxed and relished in the affection as Rafayel still held your hand, and gently brushed the hair out of your face, or caressed your cheek to comfort you, and many other tiny gestures that melted your heart as he whispered soft words to you. “You're going to be okay, y/n...Zayne is here, and Xavier will be in soon too...everyone missed you so much...” He looks down at his hand holding yours for a moment before he lets out a soft whisper you almost don't hear. “...especially me...”

You give another smile, although it hurts, it is genuine and happy. Hearing that somehow gives you confidence that you were right to trust him. He would never have done this to you, he would have never put you through hell like this just as some sick test. He clearly cared about you, how could you ever have thought those horrible things?

The nurse call button was pressed once more, and soon Zayne came rushing in, while Rafayel was texting Xavier with one hand to do his due diligence and let his new...I guess he'd call him a friend? Know what was going on. Zayne began to check on your wounds, checking every inch of you that he could to make sure you were mending.

“You seem to be doing better, y/n. Do you think you can manage some water?” A tiny nod from you prompts him to step out to hail a nurse, but there's already a crowd of them outside the door, and he sends one to get water for you. You glance at Rafayel as he just smiles warmly at you, his haunted face being pulled into a new expression for the first time in months. “...I want rose milk tea...” You let yourself smirk cheekily as Rafayel gives your hand a quick squeeze. “Soon, y/n...just wait until you can manage something more than water first, okay?” You nod a little and then turn your head slightly when a nurse brings in a pitcher of water, a glass, and a straw on a tray.

You have your first sip of water for the first time in what feels like forever, and you feel refreshed once more in that moment. The cool water slides down your throat and then sinks into your empty stomach, where it suddenly growls loudly in response. “O-oh...” Rafayel chuckles a little, and Zayne clears his throat. “You'll be able to eat solid foods soon, y/n. Just please be patient until we can take care of the bigger problems first.” You nod, and take another sip. You try to take a long, greedy sip, but Rafayel pulls the straw away.

“You're going to choke if you drink too fast...” He chides gently as you pout at him a little. But you understand, as you almost choke on the water you managed to get into your mouth.

Xavier comes in, panting, as he had to push past the mass of nursing staff and hospital personnel outside the door, and leans on the foot of the bed staring at you, mouth agape. “Y/n...you're awake!” You give him a small smile and nod. Your voice is still weak and rough, but you manage a teasing “...and still kicking.”

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

It had been a month since your first day awake, and you had been released from the hospital to your apartment yesterday. You had to hobble around with a cane, as you still suffered from muscular atrophy, and some serious fractures. Bone mending had come a long way since the need for casts or months of recover, but you still had to be careful while you puttered around your apartment, already bored out of your mind.

You got to catch up on some shows yesterday, but that started to bore you, and some of the darker elements brought you flashing back to your time in that cell again. So you'd turn off the tv and stare at the black screen's reflection of you, still thin, weak, and pale. The scars would fade with time, but you also figured it might make you look tougher to other Hunters, so you were almost proud of them.

Your phone buzzed against your thigh, as you looked down. It was Rafayel texting you.

Rafayel: Are you home?

Y/n: Yeah...I'm under house arrest for the foreseeable future...

Rafayel: Good. I'm outside, I can see your light on. Can you meet me at the door?

Y/n: Just wait, I can come unlock it

Before you have a chance to grab your cane, there comes a gentle knock at the door. You grin a little as you slowly make your way to the door, where Rafayel stands behind a large bouquet of...yellow dandelions? How did he know they were your favorite? And don't most people regard them as an annoying weed? You let out a gasp at the display before you. He was wearing his best suit, and had something behind his back, as he beamed a beautiful smile at you.

He had been with you at the hospital the entire time, but he had been eating more, resting more, and spoke more and more like himself once again. So you had watched him come back from the brink of an abyssal spiral into depression he might not have survived, while he watched you come back from the brink of death.

He handed the bouquet to you before gently guiding you back into your apartment. “Come on...I have a treat for you, y/n. I promise you'll love it...” Before you can say anything, he shuts the door behind him and goes to set a large bag of takeout on your small dining table. You let out a weak laugh, as it still aches to strain your ribs too much. But you smile at him as he sets out all the containers on the surface, going to grab some plates and utensils, as you slowly make your way to the chair nearest you.

“Rafayel, you didn't have to do all this...aren't you tired? You barely slept yesterday...”

Rafayel shakes his head adamantly, like a spoiled child being told they had to do something they didn't want to do. “I had to, y/n. If it's for you, nothing is too much...” You blush at his statement, having been reminded recently of the last text you had sent Rafayel before you were sure you were going to be killed.

“O-oh...by the way...Rafayel...y-you can disregard that text from before...y-y'know...that one...”

He stops what he's doing and strides over to you in two long steps. His eyes are piercing through your soul and deep into your heart, exposing every facet of you in a far more embarrassing way than simply baring your naked skin to him. He takes your free hand in both of his and gives your aching knuckles the softest of kisses. “I will never forget that text...” He whispers a breath over your knuckles. You blush more and try to pull it away reflexively. “A-ah...i-it's okay...” He shakes his head and holds your hand against his chest now. “No, y/n. It's not okay...I didn't find you before everything happened to you...” He takes a hand away from yours to gently stroke along your jaw and then run his thumb across your cheek.

“I love you, too, y/n.”

✧𖤐✩₊˚.⋆☾⋆⁺₊✧𖤐 ✩

a/n: this kept me up all last night writing an outline on my phone, so if I didn't finish this I would be upset with myself haha

If you have any requests, please feel free to send an ask, I would love to hear them!

[spookyscarydemonbabe]

Good Enough

A/N- I was so happy when i saw that my first ever Eddie fic was able to be saved 🥰 it’s not my absolute favorite but i love rereading it and seeing how i’ve progressed since then

Summary- Eddie helps make you feel better after being stood up one too many times.

Genre- Fluff

Warnings- None :)

Tag List- @imagine-all-the-imagines @hellfirewh0re @paola-carter @whiplaaaaaaaaash @ladyapplejackdnd @thatlonelypieceoftoast @efvyqrs

Words- 3.8k

He said it would be different than all the other times it’s happened.

The morning started out totally normal. It was friday, the weekend was almost here, and your parents were out of town for another one of their vacations. Which meant that you had free reign of the house and no one to bother you while you were outside smoking.

Eddie knew your routine at this point. Every single friday you met up to buy some more weed to use up for the week and it was always nice to be able to have some consistency with your week. Especially if you got to spend time with Eddie.

The two of you weren’t enemies, but your relationship couldn’t really be described as friends. Colleagues? Acquaintances?

Whatever the two of you had it was definitely weird at school to see each other through the halls. Usually a smile or a wave was exchanged but the two of you never had an actual conversation. Well… a conversation that other people could see.

Your meetups were more than just regular drug deals, it was a way for the two of you to just sit around, smoke a little, and tell each other all the bullshit that happened during the week. It was nice to not only have someone there to talk to but to have someone to listen to you. He would usually tell you the new stuff he’s working on for Hellfire or about band practice or whatever new song he was trying to master on the guitar. You would usually talk about school, the newest horror flick or whatever guy you were talking to at that time. He usually did more of the talking, but it was nice to see how passionately he spoke about all the things that made him happy. He even got you to listen to a lot of his favorite music, making you somewhat of a baby metalhead.

Nothing felt off as you entered Hawkins High, a few smiles and waves at your classmates as you made your way to your locker. As you turned the dial you could feel that someone was approaching you.

“Hey! Same time same place later?” Eddie tapped your shoulder as he walked past, giving you a small smile.

“Yeah! Yeah, same time, same place. I’ll be there after last period.” You smiled back at him, your eyes stayed on him though, watching him walk down the opposite hall.

It was weird. You had never found yourself ever thinking about Eddie more than the usual but the last few weeks he was all you could keep your mind on. With him it was more than just the weekly drug deals, you liked that he actually showed interest in talking with you. You couldn’t put your finger on it but you felt like when he was listening he was really listening out of interest not just because he had to. He made you smile.

As you shut your locker, heavy books in your arms, you smile thinking about your date later tonight. Horror movie at the drive in.

You cent exactly remember how the two of you started talking but you definitely remember how hesitant you were at first. His name was Eric, and though he was newer at Hawkins, he was popular almost instantly.

Attractive, athletic, smart, and he seemed like a sweet guy from the way he’s been acting with you. It wasn’t anything different for you, at least every few weeks you’d be talking to another guy, but for some reason they never really wanted anything to do with you after the first week…

It definitely wasn’t good for you. Your friends knew it wasn’t good for you. Even when you told Eddie about it he said it wasn’t good for you. And they all knew that you deserved better than the guys who ‘wanted’ you. For some reason you were always pretty enough to fool around with for a bit but never pretty enough to date. You knew you were better than that, but it still hurt a bit more every time it happened.

The day passed on normally. You went to class, ate lunch, tried your best to get out of gym with your friends to just go and hide under the bleachers, the usual school routine. As you got closer and closer to the end of your last period your heart raced a bit. It was hard to tell if it was from the weekend getting closer, your date, the fact that you’d see Eddie again in less than an hour, or if it was the nerves telling you that just like all the other guys, Eric was gonna bail on your plans.

You tried to ignore it as you packed up your books on your desk the moment you heard that last bell ring. As you left class you could see Eric waiting for you at your locker.

Smiling and trying to hide your blush, you slowly stopped next to him and opened your locker up.

“Hey! Are you excited for later? I’ve been dying to see The Fly since I heard it was coming out.” You tried to play it cool, but it was hard to hide your excitement.

“Yeah, so… about later,” he turned to you as he leaned against the locker next to yours, “i’m gonna have to cancel.”

Your heart dropped. Even though this same situation happens every other week, it always hurts the same. Your smile quickly turned to a look of confusion,

“Oh. Yeah that’s… that’s fine. I get it.” Trying to keep yourself together as you could feel your emotions starting to take over.

“Yeah, i guess i just forgot i had an emergency practice after school…” He trailed off a bit, eyes wandering a bit behind you.

Turning, you could see the cheerleader he was staring at. She was looking back at him and giggling before she made her way out of the halls.

You sighed as you turned your head back to your locker, packing up your weekend assignments into your bag without trying to acknowledge him as he stayed leaned up next to you. You couldn’t figure out if you were angry, or sad, or just disappointed in yourself for letting the same thing happen for god knows how many times,

“Yeah, im sure. Have fun at your practice, i’ll see you around.” Your bag slung around your shoulder and you slammed your locker shut, trying to quickly make your way out to your car so no one could see the few tears starting to stream down your cheeks.

You were able to make it back to your car successfully, sitting in the drivers seat and tossing your bag into the passengers side. You pulled down the visor and tried to clean yourself up as best as you could, taking a few deep breaths to try and stop the slow, gentle stream of tears.

You sat in the quiet for what felt like forever, just you and your constant stream of thoughts telling you how much better you deserved. How you needed to stop putting so much trust into guys who weren’t giving you the time of day. How Eric was such an asshole for just putting you off for another girl. As they kept running through your mind you could feel your eyes water again and dried them a bit with your sleeves. You still had to meet up with Eddie.

After a few more deep breaths you exited your car, the parking lot was almost empty, and you could see Eddie’s van parked on the other side of the lot. You checked yourself one last time in the mirror, your cheeks were a bit puffy, eyes a bit red, but you hoped he wouldn’t bring anything up about your date.

One last deep breath before you exited your car and made your way through the woods to the bench you had always met on. No matter how much you loved getting your time with Eddie every friday, you were hoping this would go by as quickly as possible.

The old wooden bench creaked as you sat down, your arms folded on the table and you kept your eyes on your fidgeting hands, needing something to try and distract you just a little from your thoughts.

“Hey,”

Your eyes shot up as you jumped a bit, not knowing exactly how long Eddie was standing there before you,

“Hey…” You said quietly, eyes darting back down to your fingers.

Eddie sat down on the other side and made himself comfortable, pulling out his bag of whatever paraphernalia he had on him,

“You ok? What happened?” His arms folded in front of him as he leaned himself down to try and get a better look at your face. He could tell that something was definitely wrong.

“It’s nothing,” You sat up and cleared your throat, wiping your sleeve under your eyes, “just something that happened earlier, it’s fine though.” You faked a smile to try and convince him, but he could still tell that whatever happened with you was definitely not fine.

“If you say so,” he knew changing the subject would probably be the best option but without knowing exactly what happened he didn’t want to say anything to make you worse,

“well sorry about whatever happened, but i’m sure you’ll get over it. I know just how you can get your mind off of it…” He smiled a bit and opened his bag, pulling out your normal amount for the week and gently shook the bag in front of your eyes like it was candy.

You smiled and giggled to yourself, the thoughts starting to fade as your attention was moved from all the bad thoughts to just…Eddie. His brown eyes stayed on yours, but you couldn’t keep your eyes off of his smile. It was almost comforting.

“You know you’re usually not this quiet, it’s kinda weird. What’s been going on all week? You said last time you were talking with some guy, you’re supposed to see that movie later right? You gotta tell me if it’s good, i love those weird, gross, body horror movies.” He said making a few faces and contorting his arms a bit.

You giggled to yourself again watching him act like his usual goofy self.

“Yeah, i um…” you started to watch your fingers again, moving them to your lap to make sure he couldn’t see your eyes start to water a bit, “I’m actually not going anymore. He uh, he cancelled kind of last minute…”

The moment replayed over in your head. Him standing there, watching someone else and lying to you about having his ‘practice’ or whatever it was that he told you. As you kept replaying the same moment the past ones started to creep up into your memory. All the times you felt you were rejected.

Eddie wasn’t the best at dealing with other peoples emotions, but seeing you in this state almost made him feel broken. This was different than all the other times you’ve told him about guys bailing on dates, normally you’d be over it in 5 minutes and the two of you would be back to your normal conversation, smoking and just enjoying being around each other, but whatever happened this time he could tell it broke you too.

“Well fuck that guy. I know guys like him, the ones who play the sports and do all their other boring preppy shit with the same group of people cause they’re scared to do anything else other than what mommy and daddy told them was normal. Don’t let it get to you.”

It made you smile inside knowing that he really was trying to make you feel better, but you just couldn’t escape those damn thoughts in the back of your mind. Your lips curled into a gentle smile as you looked back up into his eyes,

“I try to not let it get to me. Normally i’m over stuff like this but…” You trailed off, looking back down into your lap. The two of you never had any real deep conversations, just the normal bullshitting, and you didn’t want to drag him into any of your personal problems.

“But what? I mean we’re already talking about it so we might as well keep going. Sometimes it’s good to get all this…” he waved his hands around a bit, “emotional shit out, you know?”

He was right. It wasn’t good to keep anything in, but you didn’t want to risk the chance of ruining whatever your relationship with each other was with your boy problems. You took a deep breath and moved your hands back up to the table, your eyes still fixed on your fidgeting fingers,

“I don’t know… I guess i thought it would be different this time with this guy but it was my fault for being stupid-“

“You’re not stupid.” He cut you off, his hand moving across the table, settling gently on top of yours, “and this isn’t your fault. How were you supposed to know the guy was an asshole?”

You watched as he started to move his thumb over the back of your hand. His rings were cold but his skin felt so warm on yours. You’ve never been able to see this side of him, sensitive and caring. It was a big difference in comparison to how obnoxious he always was.

“You’re right… I think i just let it happen to me for too long. I noticed the pattern pretty quickly, i meet a guy i think is nice, we fuck around, we talk for maybe a week, and then they just decide i’m not really worth their time anymore…” You sniffle, trying to hold back the tears you knew were going to slip out eventually, “I know i’m not the best looking or anything, but every time this happens it just keeps making me think about it over and over again.”

He could almost hear your heart breaking as you spoke. His hand softly squeezed yours as his eyes moved to look for yours. Hearing the way all those guys treated you was tearing him up inside. You were sweet, you were nice, you were a bit weird but he loved that you weren’t afraid to always be yourself.

“It hurts knowing that i’m not good enough for anyone, but having people constantly confirming it for me just makes it hurt so much worse…” Your voice was breaking, tears dripped from your eyes and made small drops on the table.

It was hard to hold back your emotions but being able to tell somebody, even if it was the weird, loud guy with long hair that played D&D in his free time and sold you weed every friday, it felt like a weight lifted off of your shoulders to get these feelings out.

Seeing you in this state, crying over another douchebag who wasn’t worthy of spending the time of day with you, Eddie wasn’t upset. He was angry. He was pissed off that so many times, you opened yourself up to people only for them to hurt you in return made his blood boil. He would never admit it to you, or anyone else, but he admired you. Everything about you.

The way your eyes lit up whenever you were talking about the last gorefest you watched. The way you watched and almost seemed to admire his hands as they rolled your joints. The way you had to stand on your tip toes to reach the top shelf on your locker. The way you smiled whenever he made you laugh from being so over the top and dramatic.

He was brought back to earth as you lifted your hands to wipe your eyes, his hand almost feeling empty without yours there under it.

“I’m sorry,” you sniffled again as you wiped away your tears, trying to clean yourself up as much as you could, a bit embarrassed that you let Eddie see you in such a vulnerable state, “I didn’t mean to make things weird or awkward, i shouldn’t bother you with my boy problems.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry!” He stood up and walked to the other side of the table, taking a seat next to you. “Whenever you tell me about all these guys that fuck you over, i’ll make sure they don’t mess with you again,” his arm wrapped around your shoulder and brought you into his side, he whispered into your ear, “you ever need them dealt with and Hellfire club will take care of it.”

You giggled and tried to hide your blush as Eddie’s arm snaked around you to bring you in closer, “Oh yeah? What’re you guys gonna do hm?”

“Oh you just wait and see sweetheart, come monday, we’ll make his life hell.” He squeezed you into his side tighter, making you giggle again.

You wiped under your eyes one last time before moving your head up to meet his gaze. He still managed to tower over you, even while sitting right next to you, and you both smiled as your eyes met.

Wether you wanted to admit it or not, you felt so safe with him next to you. Your eyes looked over his features, his deep brown eyes, his cute dimples, and his lips looked so soft…

Quickly glancing back up, gently biting your lip as a soft blush creeped over your cheeks.

He moved his other hand up slowly, wiping away a stray tear left on your cheek, his cold rings gently brushing against your skin.

“You shouldn’t cry over all these guys that don’t deserve you.”

The tension could be cut with a knife. The feeling of his soft hand on your cheek made your heart flutter, especially with how gentle he was being with you.

“Thanks for helping me feel better,” Your hand moves to his cheek , holding it gently before leaning up and placing a soft kiss on it, “you’re really sweet when you want to be.

You saw Eddie’s cheeks slowly become a bright red as he smiled,

“I um… I just wanted to make sure you were ok, you know?”

You giggled, “I’m definitely feeling a lot better now.”

The wind rustling the trees around you brought the two of you back from your daze. Though it felt like heaven to be so close to each other, you were still just sitting at the picnic table, your weed still in its baggie in front of you.

“Sorry, i guess i just made us get sidetracked,” you cleared your throat and grabbed the baggie in front of you, placing it into your pocket, “how much do i owe you again?”

Eddie was snapped back into reality. He moved his arm from around you to gather up his things,

“Oh yeah, sorry, um…” he stood up from the table quickly and scratched the back of his head, “you know what, this time it’s on me.”

“Really? You’re sure?”

“Yeah, yeah, it’s yours.” He rocked on his heels back and forth, “I’m not gonna have you give me your money after all that, you’ve had a bad enough day already.”

Your lips curled into a soft smile, a gentle blush on your cheeks as you stood up from the bench.

“Well it’s definitely a lot better now. Thanks for being so sweet, i didn’t think Eddie ‘The Freak’ Munson had a sensitive side.” You giggled to yourself and started to make your way back to your car, turning back to him one last time, “I’ll see you on Monday!”

Eddie crossed his arms and smiled as he watched you make your way through the trees. He didn’t want to make himself wait until monday to see you again, especially after how close the two of you were just moments ago.

He argued back and forth with himself, he needed to see you again before then, but his nerves keeping him from going after you. He was absolutely obsessed with you, and felt so comfortable around you, and yet when the thought of actually having to ask you out made him more nervous than anything he had ever thought about before.

As you made your way out of the small patch of woods behind the school, you took your keys out of your pocket, searching through the various other keys and keychains to find the right one. Just as you were about to unlock the door, the sound of shoes on the pavement approaching made you turn your head back to the woods.

Eddie was quickly jogging over to you, seeing his hair blow behind him as he ran made you smile as you hesitated unlocking your car. He made his way up to you and tried to catch his breath,

“Hey so uh, if, if you’re not going to see that movie with whatever his name was maybe um…” He trailed off and you could tell he was a bit nervous, even after being so sweet with you, it was cute to see him get so flustered. You nodded and widened your eyes a bit, wanting him to finish whatever it was he was about to ask you,

“Maybe what?”

“Maybe uh,” he cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head, looking everywhere else except for at you, “I just thought that if you still wanted to see it, you would maybe…” he finally turned his gaze back to you, “wanna go see it with me?”

Your heart almost skipped a beat. You smiled and tried not to trip over your words from the excitement of knowing that Eddie Munson was nervous to ask you to the movies.

“Yeah, i’d love to go with you.”

Eddie smiled and laughed a bit, “Really? You’d really want to go with me?”

“Of course! It’s a date.” You said nodding to him.

“Date, yeah, it’s a date.” You giggled as you heard Eddie talking to himself, “So um, i’ll pick you up around 7:30?”

“Yeah, 7:30 sounds great!”

“Awesome, i’ll see you then sweetheart.” He waved and made his way back to his van, turning back to you once more as you unlocked your car door,

“And don’t worry about anything tonight alright? You need to be treated to a real date with someone who’s not gonna bail on you.”

As you sat back in your car, you watched as he sped off to get himself and his van ready for you tonight. It felt like your smile never left your lips as you thought about what might happen at the drive in… with Eddie… all alone…

Your dirty thoughts aside, you were excited to be able to spend time with Eddie outside of your normal routines. Seeing how gentle and sweet he was with you, and how his cheeks turned pink when you kissed them, and how nervous he seemed just to ask you to a movie made you realize exactly how he felt about you. He made you feel like you were the only person in the world.

You were the only person in Eddie’s world.

_______________________________________________

If you’d like to read more of my work, make sure to check out my masterlist 🥰

[bittersweetresilience]

sunny's favorite fanfiction

By no means a complete list of what I've read and loved, but these are some of the fics I have found the most memorable, captivating, and influential to me. Mostly oneshots. Mostly dark. Mind the Sunny.

clear blood

Prince_Enby (OMORI, 2,674 words)

Hero took a little too long.

I am pretty sure this fic rewired all of my neurons. I wrote a sequel to it. I wrote multiple sequels to it, though only one published. I think about it all the time. I have absorbed it into my body and my writing. The slow build, the foregone conclusion, the denial, the interspersing of memory, even the summary and author's note Altered™ me. This is my all time favorite fic, and from my all time favorite video game.

Each That We Lose Takes Part of Us

aceofbasedesires (The Untamed, 12,652 words)

“Wake up,” he says to his body, alarm making him itch. There’s no response. He says it louder, and then yells it, trying to drift forward. He can’t move. He’s curled over his own body, staring down at it, without being able to do anything. From inside Burial Mounds, Wei Ying’s mind reaches out to those he’s left behind.

Exquisite sadness indeed. I wrote a sequel to this one as well. I love fics that haunt me. I love fics that make me feel like a ghost. I love unhappy endings. I love this part of the show. I love hurt people hurting people. I love inevitability. I love tragedy.

tarnishing

ruthwrites (Mob Psycho 100, 21,147 words)

Reigen realizes that he never gave the man his name. He knew it, anyway— as well as the slogan for Reigen’s whole business. There must be some sort of reason for it. Maybe they’ve met before. As Reigen walks, he becomes more and more certain— he’s seen the man before.

There is nothing I appreciate more than a well done piece of horror. So insidious, so creeping, so everywhere. Lingering. A work of art and a model for manipulative relationships and gaslighting. The final scene with the rope has a full body grip on me.

Cold Water

messageredacted (Homestuck, 6,551 words)

You’re barely finished with your ascension to god tier when they drag you off your quest bed.

Iconic fic forever. I have reread this fic and its remix an unknown number of times over the years. Made for me.

The Decline

EzraBlake (John Dies at the End, 5,284 words)

I'd never heard him make a sound like that. It was almost inhuman coming from John – John, who once drank an entire bottle of tabasco sauce and then got it all over the bathroom because he was laughing hysterically while he vomited. John, who fucked up an alternate dimension by aiming an uncontrollably shitting dog like a rocket launcher. John whimpered.

This fic is so intensely, faultlessly in the spirit of the books, which I adore, that it makes me want to blow up my house with grenades.

power & control

instead (Miraculous Ladybug, 1,404 words)

“Was he always like that?” Félix asks on a ride home from school. She glances to her left: in the passenger seat, he smooths out his uniform, clenching and unclenching his hands into fists. “When you first got married.”

I write the most about Félix and Amélie, and this is the best depiction of them I have ever seen. I call Amélie my queen of England constantly.

This Time I'm Coming Down

telm_393 (The Good Place, 3,585 words)

Jason makes a lot of decisions he might regret.

I had a really hard time deciding between this and Some Things You Can't Touch. True to the characters in a way that makes me want to bite things and scream.

like the sheep

zehecatl (Night in the Woods, 1,564 words)

Sometimes, reality mixes in with memories, and so there's Angus, right across the median.

I am pretty sure it's still sad, but it's a tender sort of sad, like Angus loves him so much it's a sad thing osmosed into my entire personality. Dreams. Gore. Bleeding.

runner ups

The Arowana

chesslyfe5eva (Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, 6,486 words)

"Thank you, father. I've always wanted to look like a third-rate Yakuza lieutenant." "You're welcome. It's a beautiful creature. Kind and self-sacrificing. If anyone in its household were to die, it gives its life and dies in their stead." When Kiyotaka is born, his grandfather gifts the new parents a baby arowana.

Writing about side characters who are almost original characters in relation to a minor detail in the franchise, love of my life. It is so well made.

Terrycloth Mother

rowdymouse (Mother 2: EarthBound, 4,325 words)

Tony's faced with a hard task: providing Jeff all the love he never got and desperately needs.

This actually spoke to my core. It has a very particular feeling shared by The Arowana. Second person perspective never misses.

Until the Walls Break Like Waves

attackfish (Avatar: The Last Airbender, 21,095 words)

It was just before the winter solstice when Earth Kingdom soldiers captured the prince of the Fire Nation and his uncle, the Dragon of the West. It was the dead of winter when they were brought to Ba Sing Se.

I feel like I have to include such a powerful and iconic fic. Good thing this exists.

ten thousand grit

besselfcn (Hunter × Hunter, 1,310 words)

Killua isn’t anything. Killua is a sharpened blade. Killua is the teeth and fillings left behind when a body burns to ash. So what’s another whetstone? What’s another funeral pyre?

Since I read this, what’s another whetstone? What’s another funeral pyre? has not left my brain.

special mentions

running in the shadow

wackus_bonkus (Miraculous Ladybug, 3,062 words)

Félix doesn’t miss the soul bond between him and Adrien until it’s gone.

How could I not award this masterpiece? I love nonlinear narratives and vignette style fics. Especially when they are written by my friend and for me. This is worth the world and deserves everything.

The Homestuck Epilogues

Andrew Hussie, Cephied_Variable, ctset (Homestuck, 190,398 words)

Ten years after their adventure began, the heroes are enjoying a well-earned retirement on Earth C. But John still has one last choice to make.

Can I count this? I'm counting this. This inspired my love for metafiction and shaped me as a person. Narratives, futility, meaning, characters getting worse. I've never seen a more creative usage of visual elements in fanfiction. I devour experimental media.

[rollercoasterwords]

Ok this may come off as ramble-y but i just wanted on come in here gush abt how much I love your fics!! I'm a big fan of atyd so intially that's how i found your work -- through Sirius' perspective -- and i loved that shit (dare i say more than the original,, they're both amazing ofc I'm just biased coz Sirius is my fav character). I come from a super religious/conservative background and I have never related so much to a character with internalised homophobia -- like the resemblance was a little uncanny ngl lol.

But yeah,, than i read 'thtf' becoz i was craving some lesbian fics (coz the marauders' fandom is in a lesbian drought let's be real). And it was so good and i absolutely bawled my eyes out. You're writing i think especially shined in this fic and i remember i would go back an reread pages because they we're so beautifully written lol.

And then i read ur cowboy and zombie au fics (even tho I don't really ship jegulus/marylily) but they were still amazing and so, so fun!!

My favourite fic of yours by far tho is ur most recent fic, 'As the Worm Moon Dies'. I'm a sucker for fics that expand on the world-building/magic of hp because i feel like there is so much missed potential in the og hp series due to jkr neoliberal centrist politics (gag). I loved how u depicted magic in series as more of a spectrum and how every human has the capability for it. I loved how u described the elves and their enslavement becoz holy shit is that a horrible plot point in the og series (dw!! they liked being enslaved!!). Sirius as a death eater is so weird becoz canon sirius would never -- but it also shows just how much of an influence James and subsequently the Potter's had on his life. Ooooh also don't even get me started on the werewolf fighting rings and the hypocrisy of pureblood societies its absolutely so fascinating to me!! Ahh i've reread it so many times already lol. (and obviously, the wolfstar is *chefs kiss*)

I love ur writing so much i actually started reading the captive prince series solely so ic ould read ur fanfics on it lmao. (up to book 2 -- so far very interesting -- and wondering what Laurent's perspective could possibly contain).

Honourable mentions to ur nobleflower and emmary fics because they were awesome and ur characterisation of emmaline as a butch aloof lesbian is now absolutely cannon to me!!

Anyways sorry for rambling so much i just needed to fangirl about ur works!! I just wanted to thank you for all the time you put into them and your services to the marauders fandom. Oh, and if you ever published a book one day i would read it no doubt.

aww thank u 🥹 this is so sweet it’s always crazy 2 remember that there r like…real live actual people out there who r resonating w the things im writing etc so i v much appreciate the kind words 💕 also reading captive prince just 4 the laurent pov fic is crazy lmao but i hope u enjoy the series…book 1 is rough but book 2 will start bringing u back and book 3?? bananas….

[intrepidacious]

time after time: reread edition [3]

series summary: After what starts out as a fairly normal mission, you find yourself stuck in a time loop. Which would already be bad enough in itself if it didn’t also mean having to watch Bucky die over and over again.

pairing: bucky barnes x f!reader

word count: 10.1k 💀

chapter warnings: one last reminder to internalize the premise of the fic, i will just assume you know what’s up from this point on; canon-typical violence; mention of alcohol; some more permanent damage; even more banter. please note that my blog is rated 18+. minors dni. ageless/empty blogs will be blocked without warning.

read the full chapter here | series masterlist | reread masterlist

after an unexptected second week off (i got sick after going on vacation, yay summer!) we return for the third part of the reread event!! as always, if you're new, this is a reread commentary on already published chapters—an extended a/n, if you will. by clicking on the read more you're going to see spoilers up to and including chapter three 💚

every day's a holiday – tl;dr:

in the flashbacks, the reader officially meets sam and bucky for the first time. after hearing rumors about ULTIMATUM, a newly formed group taking after the flag smashers, sam wants reinforcements to find out more. he knows about twelve's time powers from steve, and cashes in an old favor she owes to steve to get her help. bucky, not knowing anything about her yet, is sceptical.

in the loop, twelve is getting nervous about being unable to stop the loop from repeating. experimenting with the timing of the mission doesn't help; neither does entering the downstairs labs through the tunnels as bucky investigates on his own and lands in an explosion. after more than a week on her own, twelve tells sam about her time loop situation. he insists that bucky be told as well. while going to get coffee, bucky writes a note to himself on twelve's arm and asks her to tell only him about the loop during its next iteration. she does, and they attempt to figure it out together—to no avail, as bucky gets shot through twelve and her wounds stay through the next loop. she decides that they're both going to involve sam again and that she will try to contact strange for help.

behind the loop

i'm not gonna lie to y'all, these chapters are getting harder and harder to summarize. there's a lot going on and i have work tomorrow, so let's just crack on.

believe it or not, when i started writing this fic, no way home wasn’t even out yet and i was absolutely convinced that my whole thing with the tower would be canonically impossible. and then we just never found out who bought avengers tower. so that was that.

Like a pesky little voice of conscience. And on your day off, no less.

the chapters i’ve recently been writing have been more serious as the loop continues, and i kind of miss this really fun narrative side remarks that tell so much about twelve as a character. i really love writing her and her concerning habits.

this flashback is the closest i come in the actual fic in tying the whole thing into canon chronologically, i think. the mcu timeline is an absolute mess, but since tfatws takes place in early 2024-ish and the time loop happens in 2025, that gives us about a year or so that the characters have known each other by the time the main plot starts. that is, in normal human time. at least that’s my headcanon.

“Ah-ah-ah.” You wrangled the mug out of his hands before he had the chance to move, barely resisting the urge to kick his shin for good measure.

even though they’re happening in consecutive chapters, a bit of time passed between me writing the nat flashback and this one. i thought it was very funny that my instinct clearly was that everyone would just start trying to break stuff around her to see if her powers were legit. and isn’t that poetic in a way? (there were no deeper thoughts behind this but wouldn’t it be fun if there were?)

despite me sending all of my characters to therapy in this fic (because let’s face it, they all need it desperately), they’re all so bad at expressing their emotions, honestly. then again, what kind of therapist would actually be able to really help you if you’re a super-powered person who loves going into emotional shut-down and guarding themselves with sarcasm? whoever they are, they’re not getting paid enough.

An entire conversation seemed to pass between the two of them without either saying a single word. Sam held up three fingers with a sly smirk; Bucky ended up rolling his eyes.

i loved that little subtle reference to the big three. i was so proud of that one. also continuing to develop sam and bucky’s friendship partnership next to the actual plot is always fun.

He ignored the question, but the way he looked at you and then crossed his arms made you decide to put salt in his coffee.

yay, another little callback to chapter one!! all these months later and sam still won’t let that one go.

“I’d like to see you try.” […] You’re trying. You really are.

this parallel i actually got complimented on in the past and that made me very happy. i’m always trying to make the shift from the flashback to the main plot the least jarring it can possibly be, and this transition just worked so well. also, bucky’s "oddly bright blue" eyes are a little nod to a wrinkle in time, so there’s another little chapter one parallel for you.

this is the first chapter where the first communication blocks are really starting to kick in. the fact that twelve won’t talk to anyone about what’s actually going on with her despite being stuck in a literal nightmare is so integral to her character. not to get to deep but that whole refusing to get help when you should theoretically be able to do something on your own is something we have in common <3 i’m also sending her through the rest of the stages of grief in this chapter, which was very much on purpose. unsurprisingly, anger was the most fun to write.

It’s not like you can google something like “time loop problem” and come up with a list of practical steps to follow. You know this because you did google, and if you have to read the name Phil Connors one more time you are going to scream.

the different approaches to trying to get bucky through the mission alive were also really interesting to come up with. i made a really bad drawing of how i imagine the setup of the whole facility, but i won’t show that to you because it’s embarrassing. anything you can come up with in your heads probably looks better anyway.

this is also the part where twelve officially gets her nickname!! finally!! why only now, you ask? well, on the one hand, bucky really does only use it in specific situations. on the other hand, i literally only came up with it by the time the first two chapters were already posted and i didn’t want to go back. i remember col was posting in the embers at the time and i loved her reader having a nickname so much i wanted to give mine a special little nickname too. i also had to text two friends to confirm it wasn’t stupid as hell. me? insecure? never.

you know when you’re doing a group project and you’re feeling really good about the work you put in and the direction it’s all going and then someone comes in and completely derails the whole thing? that’s bucky in this loop. i love him, but jfc.

"What the hell did you do, rob an ambulance and take a bath?" […] "I don’t know what your problem with them is, and I don’t need to know. But is it worth more than Bucky’s life?"

i love sam. i love him not taking things seriously until he realizes that they’re serious as hell, and then switching to compassionate and level-headed. i know this is a bucky fic but sam deserves all the appreciation and i truly hope i’m able to show that.

i also like the contrast between his reaction and bucky’s to twelve telling them about the loop. we don’t see the first time bucky gets told, but her incoherent rambling at him while he’s just trying to take it in means so much to me. but we’re not there yet. we’re getting coffee first.

holy shit, i just had to double check but i’m pretty positive that this is our first lucy scene. she was never supposed to be in the fic much, but i’m not gonna lie, she grew on me. she’s based on several of my favourite former colleagues of mine, and this is not the only fic of mine she’s infiltrated. we are all but living in the lucy cinematic universe. on a side note, she got her name because i like the name and also because i’m relatively sure there’s no super relevant lucy in a marvel … thing. i often like to include characters from different marvel properties in my fics (like ULTIMATUM themselves), but i just wanted someone without any obvious ties to anything.

“What do you want?” you turn to Bucky. “Coffee.” “What kind?” “Just … coffee.”

any ordinary days fans in the house tonight?

the coffee quest was another side plot i didn’t expect when setting out to write this fic, but it’s served me so well in establishing their dynamic a little bit more. also, the writing thing!! i’m so fond of twelve not being able to decipher bucky’s handwriting at first. and i like that he just comes up with something so practical on day one of the whole thing.

“Crazy?” His expression hardens somewhat, and an irritated flush appears on his cheeks. “Why is it crazy?”

is it just me or do these two seem to be having two entirely different conversations? :)

You don’t think, moving purely out of instinct.

ah, i do enjoy upping the stakes near the end of the chapter. as if twelve’s whole situation hadn’t sucked enough already. but don’t we all love a good 'patching each other up' scene? i’d say it was worth it but then again i know how it ends. also shout-out to sam once again for being a great friend and a good brother. sarah i love you i hope you’re having a great, calm july 4th. sadly, we have a wizard to seek out.

“What do you say, Barnes? Think you can trust me?”

and isn’t that the whole thesis of the story, really?

how it's going

well. not gonna lie but things are not going according to plan!! after my holiday (which was great by the way, thanks for asking) i went back to work for the two days i was scheduled that week, went home and immediately got sick for eight days. i've only been feeling significantly better yesterday, and so writing hasn't exactly been a priority. regrettably.

but fear not, because today i'm pretty sure i had a breakthrough with the thing i've been struggling with in chapter seven. i'm optimistic i'll be able to write the rest of it over the course of the weekend and then finally move on to chapter eight. which is hopefully gonna be a little shorter for a change. oh, i also wrote a bit of an unexpected bonus chapter today so look forward to that at some point.

i'm still not sure if i want to move my schedule backwards or if i'll try to squeeze in another reread chapter next week. i guess we'll all find out together.

until then, take care of yourselves and i'm always here if you're lonely and stuck in a time loop and just need someone to listen 💚

[musette22]

Hello! Sorry for popping in with this random message but I need to vent somewhere and it was always your place that I used to go to. It’s been long, maybe over three years, since I’ve ventured down the stucky-rabbit hole but I was just going on about my day as usual when my brain decided to remind me of the line “but I loved you first”.

Naturally, I had to sit down and stare into a wall for a bit, and once I got home I started rereading Not Easily Conquered. Now, when I was in the fandom I was an avid re-reader of my favorite fics, getting at least five or six reads before I was satisfied (sometimes a LOT more). I’d almost learn entire paragraphs through and through. With NEC, however, I simply couldn’t do more than one reading. It was too emotionally charged, for one, and I also didn’t want to “tarnish” what it made me feel the first time I read it.

But now it’s been such a long time. I think I read it almost seven years ago. And here I am, in the midst of rereading. As I write this, I’m currently bracing myself to start the part with all of the letters in chronological order. I’ve already cried multiple times so it’s not looking great for me.

I’m really happy to see you’re still here. Makes this feel less of a harrowing experience, honestly. And despite what all of this sounds like I actually enjoy reading the greatest love story of all time, of course. Not to be a SAP or anything but it feels like coming home. Anyway. Lots of love to you! :)

Hi my love! Thank you so much for this message, it's so nice to know you found your way back to Stucky and my little blog! You don't sound like a sap at all, that is actually a really lovely sentiment ❤️

Ah, NEC never really leaves you, does it? It's the kind of fic that haunts you, the kind of fic you'll find yourself thinking of out of the blue sometimes and bring back a surge of memories and emotions that can knock you off your feet for a moment. I totally feel you there.

I personally also haven't reread NEC yet, for the same reasons you mention, but I did get it bound, so I am actually planning on rereading it one day! It just hasn't been the right moment yet for me, but I will wait patiently for it to arrive.

I'm glad to hear the moment came for you today, though! And I am absolutely unsurprised to hear that it's still making you cry, even seven years later 🥺 It's just that heartbreakingly good, isn't it? The letters are the most intense, the most beautiful and the most devastating imo, so I am sending you all of the hugs and strength for your rereading of that part! ❤️ I hope you love it just as much as you did the first time around, lovely. I totally know what you mean about it being a comfort that there are so many others who feel so strongly about this story (and I'm glad to hear you're also enjoying it, and not just in excruciating pain..!)

Thank you for your kind words about me and my blog, that means a lot 🥺 I'm not here quite as much as I was before, but I can't imagine ever leaving! Stucky and this community just mean too much to me.

Sending lots of love (and good luck) back at you! 💖

[lavenderslemonade]

hey ! how are you? i saw that your requests were open and wanted to just slide on in, so I’ve got finals coming up life of a college student🤪 and was wondering if i could request a hc format w/ rindou and inui with a g/n reader who just lost all motivation? like just tired and drained b/c of school? thank you!

I'm doing well! Actually one of the reasons I really wanted to work on this one is because I actually graduated from college today, so I understand staying up late and writing/studying for classes to the point of just wanting to be done both mentally and physically. So as it's exams season I wish everyone good luck <3

Requests: Open! Please specify if you want a HC or Fic! If you fail to do so you will have a higher chance of being skipped

Warnings: SFW

Rindou and Inui with a G/N Reader Who's Lost Motivation to Study

Rindou:

- Honestly, Rindou could care less about school, thus, he usually skips it. However, he understands how important it is to you, and actually enjoyed picking you up from cram school back when you were in high school together.

- You'd walk to the nearest convenience store and get a container of cheap ramen, eating outside together while talking about your day. Meanwhile, when the weather would turn cold he'd hand off a warm drink to you stating he didn't want the rest, thought you'd enjoy it, meanwhile the cup is full.

- You miss those days.

- Now that you're in college you feel like your very soul is being sucked out of you. You enjoy your major, however, some of the courses honestly proved to be more difficult than you'd expected.

- Your parent's praise of how well you were doing only did so much. You were grateful, yes, however as your eyes skimmed the book before you rereading the passage over and over again, your brain began taking a negative turn.

- It was about seven at night when Rindou found out that your parents were gone for the weekend to visit family, leaving you alone. He had honestly expected you to text him, asking for him to come over however he'd heard nothing over the past few days.

- He understands you have exams, you'd mentioned so a few weeks prior, but this was steadily becoming concerning.

- Thus, he stopped by your regular convenience store and bought your favorite ramen from back in high school and something sweet to surprise you with.

- His old brother likes to poke fun at him for doing such a thing, however, Rin simply scoffs and rolls his eyes. The amount of times you've patched him up, tried to help him study when he did have to take tests, etc. This was the least he could do.

- When he gets to your house, using the key under the mat, he thinks you're asleep.

- He sees the light under your door and peeks inside. You're hunched over your desk like a shrimp and at first, he thinks you're asleep. Walks over to try and take you to bed until he realizes that your eyes are open and staring down at the book before you.

- Rindou takes in the dark circles under your eyes, how red your eyes are from staring at books all day, and honestly it hurts him to see you this way.

- Doesn't snap out of it till he hears you sniffle, eyes swelling with tears before looking at him. You sob that you just don't get it anymore. You've reread the passage over and over but the words are just slowly molding together. Nothing makes sense anymore.

- He asks when the last time you ate was, and honestly you can't remember. You think you ate some onigiri that morning? Or was it the day before that?

- Everything is melding together. Time, studying materials, everything, and you just want to crawl into your bed, dragging Rin with you, and sleep.

- However, this is one of your hardest classes and you just can't bring yourself to do bad. Thus, you keep pushing.

- You tear your eyes away from the pages once more when Rin tells you that he's going to run you a bath and that he'd brought you food. He closes the book in front of you, and he's waiting for you to try and reach for it as he pulls it away.

- He knew it used to make you mad when he did such a thing, pulling you away from your studies so you'd give him attention. However, he watched as you just stare at the desk full of notes, before silently giving him an okay and standing up.

- He runs you a bath, allowing you to soak while he warms up your ramen. When you're out you're in a fresh pair of pajamas and flop into his waiting arms.

- Leads you both over to the couch so you can each and wraps you both in a large blanket while you watch your favorite show. He doesn't really care for it, but you really need to rest, so he pushes through.

- Stays with you the rest of the weekend to make sure you take breaks, eat properly, and don't overw

Inui:

- Another one that didn't really care about school honestly, but he admires how seriously you take it. During school when you'd stay behind to get a little extra studying done he wouldn't study with you, but he would watch you from over his phone.

- Loves how relaxed your facial expressions are when you're studying. Also loves when you get irritated with a question, furrowing your brows and biting at the bottom of your lip.

- Honestly makes him want to kiss them so bad.

- Doesn't pick you up from cram school like Rindou since he usually has to stay late to help Draken close up the shop, but he does stop by your apartment to spend time with you or to pick you up and take you on a date.

- However, ever since you started college it feels like he sees you less and less, which is understandable. You'll call him when you're getting off the train and walking home or while laying in bed discussing projects you have to do, papers you have to write, etc.

- Sounds like too much work in his opinion, but he's proud of you.

- You mentioned on your last date that you'd be studying for exams over the next few weeks, which he understood, however, he didn't really expect you to go quiet.

- He checks his phone on his breaks to see if you've messaged him to which on rare occasions you will, but on others, it'll be about two-three days since he hears back from you.

- He'll call you on the weekends to try and ask how studying is going but he can hear just how tired you are. Asks why you're up at nearly midnight to which it takes you a minute to respond, "It's already midnight? I thought it was only seven?"

- Wants to do something for you but he doesn't exactly make a killing at his job as he and Draken are still figuring everything out.

- However, he misses you and wants to see you at least for a couple hours.

- Randomly shows up at your apartment to see if you'd like to go out on a surprise date. Your parents are out for the evening on their own date and let him know that they'd leave the apartment door unlocked for him so he could surprise you.

- Gets concerned when they mention that they've been worried since you keep yourself holed up in your room.

- When he opens your door he's surprised to find you sitting on the floor, multiple books laid out and notes scattered around. You look exhausted, weakly reaching out for another sheet of paper to scribble on, but you're stopped when someone pulls the paper away from you.

- You think it's your mother getting ready to tell you for the fourth time that day to take a break and eat something, but you're even more surprised when your eyes connect with your boyfriend's emerald ones.

- Instead of pouting that he took your study material away he watches as you tiredly reach for another book to study. Even though it's your first semester in college he remembers you stating that your goal was to make top scores on all your assignments and exams but is it really worth this?

- Your eyes are red from crying and lack of sleep, the area under your eyes is darker, and the large hoodie you wear concerns him, knowing that if he were to look under it there's a chance you've probably lost a bit of weight from the neglect you're putting yourself through.

- You state that you just need a few more minutes and then you'll join your parents for dinner and take a break. He lets you know that they left about an hour ago and it's nearly nine at night.

- A silence lingers between the two of you as you realize that the day is gone and you're still trying to figure out this one section you have in class. It just won't stick no matter how many times you write it, no matter how many times you read the materials, it's not clicking and to make matters worse nobody including the teacher is responding to your emails asking for help.

- Your brain finally snaps back to reality when you feel Inui drape his work jacket over you. It smells like grease and sweat, but that's okay because it smells like him.

- He leads you out of your apartment and to his motorcycle. You don't even question where you're going, you just let him drive you around as you grasp onto him tightly.

- You finally end up at the beach nearly an hour later. Leaves you with his bike as he rushes to the convenience store across the street. Comes back with two bentos, premade onigiri, your favorite drink and some poki for dessert.

- He remembers when his dad would take him and Akane out when she had exams in high school, buying the same treats and sitting outside at the park near their home for a small picnic so she could get some fresh air and rest.

- Inui feels that the beach would help you relax with the crashing waves and keep you away from your books for a while.

- He sits in the sand with you in his lap, the two of you eating away, and at random points, he gently pokes at your bottom lip with his chopsticks trying to feed you.

- The two of you end up spending most of the night there, at least till you're about to fall asleep.

- Takes you back to your apartment telling you to pack some clothes and takes you back to his place for the weekend. Let's you bring one book to review that you're really struggling with and some notes, nothing excessive.

- Helps you study, and makes you take breaks outside.

[bratshaws]

goodness gracious 58. brb x oc

a/n: i've rewritten this chapter twice, IS THIS GOOD??? I HOPE SO

check out the fic's playlist made by the sweet @wiipes !!

pairing: plus size!oc x rooster

warnings: Fluff, Rooster being whipped, Beatrice getting things and not knowing how to deal with them and rip her subaru

chapters:

1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/17/18/19/20/21/22/23/24/25/26/27/28/29/30/31/32/33/34/35/36/37/38/39/40/41/42/43/44

45/46/47/48/49/50/51/52/53/54/55/56/57

(pls let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!!)

taglist: @mirandastuckinthe80s @roosterschanelslut @wiipes @lcahwriter @shrimping-for-all @gretagerwigsmuse @frenchtoastix

@lizzie-rdj @fanboyluvr @atarmychick007 @comebacktoearthpls

@peachiicherries @mak-32 @lizziespidiepridie @roosterswifey @ollyoxenfrees @piceous21 @sqrlgrl22 @hofficoffi @lexhalstead3 

@lorilane33 @legendarydreamersharkparty @luckyladycreator2 @emilybradshaw @j-6o @louisahale @leobabbyyy @kulicny @winter-run @ktjmac @graciereads 

-

They did spend a good Christmas together, the very first one and Rooster couldn’t be more thankful. They also had a quick look at houses and places they could keep in mind for when they wanted to move out, but just to keep in mind what they liked and what they didn’t. It’d still take a while, especially since they had to wait for their leases to end, but it was very exciting.

Beatrice looked so happy while looking at the options, they both agreed that a house might be better and while Beatrice did live in one, they’d like more space. A part of him, a deeper part that he was still trying to control, said they had to get a house with more rooms because of what the future held. He didn’t mention it out loud however, because he didn’t want to freak Beatrice out by the ‘C’ word being tossed randomly into conversation. 

Thankfully he was on Christmas break until New Years Eve so he’d spend all that time with Beatrice, which she was more than happy to know. He liked being part of her routine, he liked being part of her life. And since the Hard Deck would be closed until the second week of January, they’d have a lot of time together. 

He went to the gym on Monday while Beatrice would take the dress back to Evelyn, even if he told her it was very possible it was a gift his girlfriend was relentless in returning it. The gym itself was fairly empty, most of his friends went back to celebrate the holidays with their families with the exception of Nat, Coyote, Halo…and Jake, but Jake was nowhere to be found and he had a feeling he was with Evelyn. 

He wondered if Bea would like to join him at the gym one day, especially now that she was doing pole dancing, he had no idea if she had issues being in such a place.He had to ask when he got back, because it’d be really fun to have her with him as a morning companion as he did his sets. Bradley took one look at his phone, trying to cover his disappointment seeing that her last message was of her telling him she was on her way to Evelyn and that she ‘loved him!! <3’ followed by several kissy emojis.

He couldn’t help the little smile as he reread the texts, sitting on the bench after taking a breather. However he paused, lifted his head up then licked his lips, “It’s not nice to read people’s texts over their shoulders, Nat.” the woman in question chuckles, straightening herself as she wiped her face with a towel.

“You can’t blame me, you and Bea are just so stupidly cute.” she laughs, pulling out her water bottle to take a long chug before she sits down cross legged next to him. Bradley just rolls his eyes, going back to checking his messages and trying to ignore her, “Oh, come on Bradshaw. You know we are your biggest fans in this relationship.”

“Yeah, we even had a bet going;” Coyote’s voice adds as he pulls his training gloves off his hands, “To see how long it’d take you to finally make a move.”

The young Bradshaw was unimpressed, turning the cellphone in between his hands as he looked at his two friends and their cheeky smiles, “Who won then?  There must’ve been a winner if there was a bet.”

“Oh, I did!” Halo says holding up a hand, face flushed from running on the treadmill, “I told all of them it’d take you less than a month and I was right.” she says as she pulls her hair back into a high bun, joining the others in pestering Rooster. The pilot rolls his eyes again but he’s smiling, he doesn’t have in himself to be mad at this group of people he now considered family.

“I’m touched. Really.” he laughs softly, then places the phone screen down on the top of his thigh, “It’s been really great. She’s really great.” he ignored Nat and Halo’s ‘aww’ before continuing, “But you know I’m not the only one dating right? Bob is too and now so is Jake apparently.”

“Well yes, but you and Bea are just too sweet to not admire.” Halo says with her hands clasped, fluttering her eyelashes, “Like a fairytale romance.”

Considering how he calls her a fairy, he supposed it was to be expected.

“And the way you always look at her or wait for her message is also precious.” Nat adds, pointing to his faced down phone with a smirk, “I know you are itching to check it one more time, just to see if she sent you a message because you are whipped.” and now he couldn’t even deny it because he really was. And Beatrice didn’t even seem to notice how much she moved him, how much power she had in her soft hands and how much of him was wrapped in her little finger. 

Was he complaining about it? No, never. 

He was serious about Beatrice, he wanted them to move in together for god’s sake they were even looking up places for reference, but he was a long term relationship type of guy if he found the one. And Beatrice was the one, without a doubt. “Well,I’m glad we can be entertaining to you.” he says and his hand hovers the phone, only for him to curl his fingers and place it down on the bench when he sees Nat’s knowing look staring at the hand. “Which reminds me, Nat, how are you and Umberto doing? Have you been talking?”

The woman was caught off guard, her smug look melted into shock when he asked her about Beatrice’s Italian cousin, her face turning red as the other two pilots looked her way in confusion, “Wait, what?” Halo asks, “Who’s Umberto?” Bradley gives her a full explanation about who Umberto was, where he was from and what he did, adding he was Beatrice’s Italian cousin who was also in the navy and that he showed up a few months back because of special training at their base.

Nat still looked like she wanted to murder Rooster, but she also knew this was just payback from her own teasing because of Beatrice. She tried explaining there was nothing going on and they were just friends, that was all there was, and yeah she had his number but it was just to ask things about Italy and Navy life, nothing more. Bradley looked like the cat that ate the canary, an expression the female pilot had often whenever she teased Rooster about Beatrice.

Speaking of which, his phone vibrated and he grabbed it with so much speed it almost flew off his hand, turning the screen to see Beatrice’s smiling face as the caller, “Be right back.” he mutters, pushing himself off the bench to go to a private area away from his friends who were now busy questioning Nat about the Italian pilot they just found out about - well, Halo did, Coyote had some idea but he couldn’t know Nat was interested in him!! -

Once distant enough, Rooster accepts the call and brings it to his ear, “Hey gorgeous.” He smiles, looking out the large windows that showed the beach to check the gym’s outside, crossing his free arm under his opposite bicep.

“Hi! I just wanted to call to let you know I’m at Ev’s, I just parked the car.”

“Yeah? How was it, did it give you any trouble?” He knew her car wasn’t the best and these past days she’s been complaining about some weird noises from under the hood and he promised he’d check it out for her as soon as he was able.

“Not really?” there’s the sound of the door opening followed by the sound of plastic as she picks the dress up, “It hasn’t made any sound on the drive here, so…maybe that’s good? How’s the day at the gym though? Did you see anyone?”

“Yeah,Nat,Coyote and Halo,” he tilts his head back to where they were, watching Phoenix gesture wildly while shaking her head with the word ‘no’ being mouthed out to their friends and he couldn’t help his triumphant smirk, “They are fine. We were all on a quick break right now.”

“That’s good!” her voice lowers a bit as she talks to the concierge, thanking the woman once she’s done before her voice comes back, “I’m glad you saw them! Can you send them hi for me?”

“Of course, gorgeous.” he says, listening to the elevator’s doors on the other side slide open and then greet Beatrice in its automatic voice “By the way, what do you want to do when you get back? We’ll have the whole day for ourselves after all.”

“Oh,I don’t know yet, Roos.” he could hear by her tone of voice that she’s smiling, “There’s still a lot of food back at my place so we won’t have to go out to eat, maybe we could take Jojo to the dog park?”

“That sounds good to me.” he hears the ding from the elevator reaching Evelyn’s floor “Sounds like you got there.”

“Yeah…I’ll call you when I go home?”

“Sure baby, I love you. See you in a few hours.”

“I love you too! See you!”

He finishes the call with the same lovey smile on his face, sliding his phone inside his shorts’ pocket and making his way back to where the group of pilots were still discussing what happened between Nat and Umberto, biting his lip to hold back the smile at Phoenix exasperated look, putting on his air pods and going back to his set.

-

Beatrice grins when the call ends, then looks back to where Evelyn’s door appeared, putting her phone inside her back pocket. She’s about to knock it, but the door is already opening before she could, slowly revealing Evelyn’s gigantic penthouse and Wiley, who is sitting sweetly looking up at Beatrice, “Hello, you!’ she coos, crouching to his level to scratch his chin, laughing when the cat leans his head back then lifts his body so she scratches his back as well, “Where’s Evelyn, hm?”

She hears talking coming from somewhere inside her apartment and she thinks she’s with Jake. Would she? Were they already at that level? She watches the door close behind her and lock automatically, fixing the dress in her arms as she wanders deeper inside the apartment, the voices coming from Evelyn’s room were definitely male and female, muffled because of the distance, “Ev?” she calls and the conversation halts for a second.

Evelyn’s head pops out from the edge of her door, to which Beatrice gives her a small wave and holds the dress up “I-I came to give it back.” her friend talks something to the person inside her room before she walks down the hallway to meet Bea, wearing a turtleneck dress and bare feet.

“Bea, what do you mean give it back?” the brunette opens her mouth to explain but Evelyn has her hands on her hips, arching both eyebrows, “It’s yours. You don’t have to give it back to me?”

She knew Rooster suggested it, but that was the last thing in her mind, there’s no way her friend would give her this expensive dress without wanting its return, it was impossible that it was going to happen. And yet, she stood in front of her taller friend with her eyes wide and mouth parted in surprise, watching Evelyn just arch one eyebrow at her, “I…” Beatrice drops her gaze to the dress then back at Evelyn, “I-It’s mine? But–but I–”

“How?” Beatrice nods in silence, making Evelyn smile, “Well, some designers either sell or donate their dresses if they no longer have space in their studios. That’s what happened with your dress and Shells’.” she looks down at the plastic cover, then pats the dress, “So this should be in your armoire, not back in my closet.”

Beatrice only stared at Evelyn, feeling like she needed to sit down, her body leaning backwards until it touched the back of her couch where she supported herself, “I…I…” Beatrice only hugged the dress close to herself, “Thank you, Evelyn.” the black haired woman just smiled, tilting her head in a ‘you are welcome’ way. with her hands still on her hips.

Before they could continue talking, a voice interrupted, “Evelyn! I still need your help!!” the woman in question looked back at her bedroom then towards Beatrice who looked confused.

“I…do you have a friend over?”

“You can say that– “ she clenches her eyes when the voice calls her name again, “I’m coming Marcus! Jesus, calm down! Sorry Bea, I didn’t think he’d still be here when you showed up.” Another figure steps from inside her bedroom, tall and lanky with a zebra printed suit and black pants, huge red rimmed glasses on their face as they make their way over. 

“Evelyn,” the person says, “This is impossible! I cannot find one single model that fits my vision!Oh!” Marcus, Bea assumes, slaps a hand against his forehead and leans back dramatically, “How am I to do this photoshoot without a perfect model???” Evelyn rolls her eyes at his comments, crossing her arms unimpressively. 

Marcus dabs the tips of his fingers below his eyes as if he’s wiping tears, Beatrice notices the tiny diamonds glued on his cheekbones when he does that, pulling out a red handkerchief to add more drama to his whole performance. That is until he opens his eyes and she sees Beatrice, his mouth parting in surprise, “Wait,” he holds a finger, pointing to the brunette, “Who is this?”

Evelyn gently lowers his hand from where it’s pointing at her friend’s face, “A friend of mine, Beatrice.” She notices how Marcus shoves his handkerchief inside his suit and holds both hands up this time, making half a square by joining the tips of his thumbs together. Beatrice only watches it with a worried gaze, sending a question without words towards Evelyn with her eyes but the other woman looks just as confused, “What are you doing Marcus?”

“Oh she’s perfect.” he completely ignores what Evelyn asks, “May I touch your face?”

“I…”

“Marcus, what are you doing?”

The man just ignores Evelyn again, his smile only to Beatrice, “You are perfect. You have the face, the body, the beauty I’ve been looking for!”  After the words leave his mouth, Evelyn finally has another reaction: shock. He’s walking around Beatrice with his hand on his chin, nodding to himself as he takes in what she’s wearing, “Yes, you’d look marvelous in pomegranate–”

“Marcus,Beatrice isn’t a model.” a what? The brunette only watched this conversation with her eyes still wide and face slowly flushing with embarrassment, her mouth still hanging open with surprise, “You wanted a model.” Evelyn wasn’t saying Beatrice wasn’t beautiful, she was, but the taller woman was worried because Beatrice was still very shy and she’d hate to see her getting uncomfortable with something she clearly had never done before.

“No, no, I wanted a vision.” Marcus corrects, holding up one finger. “And I found her.” he sees that the brunette is still confused, so he straightens himself and holds out a hand, “Marcus Beverly, photographer, designer and all time fashion guru.” Beatrice hesitantly shakes his hand, much for the man’s amusement, “You, my dear, are just perfect for a photoshoot I’m planning.”

“...a photoshoot?”

“Yes! Oh yes, you see, my new campaign needs raw beauty, something human. Not,” he makes a face, flapping his hand in the air as if he’s swatting a fly, “The obvious Hollywood body, I want reality and I want beauty. And you have the most beautiful face I’ve ever seen. Look at those cheekbones, that jawline and those lips!”  Beatrice’s cheeks redden even more, eyes dropping to her hands holding the dress to her chest.

“But…I-I’m not a model, or anything like that.”

“Oh darling, no one was born a model.” he scoffs with a grin, ignoring Evelyn’s glare, “You have a natural beauty - oh look at those eyes!- that many people envy.”

Beatrice took in his words with the immediate ‘compliment wall’ coming up. She got used to hearing she’s pretty from her friends, from Rooster and while it still made her a bit uncomfortable she could get why it was being said. Now, when it came from strangers she got…unsure, the goblin voice in her head goes insane whenever that happens. “I…”

“You don’t have to say yes, Bea.” Evelyn cuts off gently, offering her friend a smile before it drops to scowl when she turns to the man in front of them, “Right,Marcus?” the man stops staring at Beatrice to turn to Evelyn, sighing in agreement with a toss of his head.

“Right, right, of course, but…you won’t get out of it empty handed.” he says, like the Fox that lured Pinnochio to Pleasure Island, “You’ll get paid handsomely. I can assure you, I always take good care of my models.”

Beatrice licks her lips, furrowing her eyebrows, “Um…I…I-I’d need to think about that,” she says with a nervous laugh, giving a look to Evelyn that resembles ‘help’ and the other woman immediately walks forward, “But I-I’ll let you know!”

“Oh,sure! Here!” his card is on her hand before she notices it, “I can’t wait to hear from you, darling, the photoshoot will be done February, until then take care!” He disappears back into Evelyn’s room as the two women stare with befuddled faces, Evelyn placing a hand to Beatrice’s back to walk her out of the apartment with Wiley following close by after she slips some shoes on.

She leans down so the orange tabby leaps on her shoulders, where he lies like a fancy pelt as they make their way to the elevator. Neither of them say anything when they enter, still surprised at what just happened, only talking when they are in the lobby with the concierge nodding towards Evelyn as she walks past ehr desk, “Ev…w-what just happened?”

Evelyn opens her mouth, then closes only to open again “I honestly have no idea.” she mutters, walking Beatrice out of the building and back to her car with Wily sliding from her shoulders to land on her already aligned arms as if he was an infant, “He’s…” she thinks about her words, “He’s eccentric, but not a bad guy.”

“How do you know him?”

“I worked with him,” she begins, “As a model and as a designer. I helped with some of his photoshoots when he launched his collection a few months back.” she keeps on scratching Wiley’s head and her eyes remain on Beatrice, “I really had no idea he’d ask you to model for him.”

Beatrice leans her back against the car’s door, running a hand through her brown tresses as she tries to understand what happened. First: she got herself a very expensive dress and didn’t have to return it, then a fashion designer friend of Evelyn’s wanted her to model for him and even gave her his card. All in a matter of minutes. She didn’t know exactly how she should feel because that wasn’t a common thing for her, at all. “I…I just, well, it was a surprise.”

“I know,I’m sorry, you really don’t have to call him back. I can tell him to find someone else.” Evelyn offers her a small smile, one the brunette reciprocates. They chat a little bit more before Beatrice places the dress back inside her car and steps on the driver’s seat, waving Evelyn goodbye and turning the ignition.

Only the car didn’t start.

She blinks at the key, pulls it out then tries again, not a single sound comes out of her fossil on wheels. Evelyn was still outside when this happened, leaning forward to have a better look “What’s happening?”

“...I think my car died.” she mutters, “For real this time.” she tries a few more times but she gets nothing. She knew it would happen, eventually, but she should’ve prepared and now…now she had no car to use anymore. Beatrice sighs heavily, dropping her forehead to the horn and frowning when not even that works anymore, “God damn it.” 

“Do you want me to drive you home?” 

Beatrice looks back at Evelyn and Wiley, who is now staring right at Beatrice just like his owner was before the brunette pulls out her phone from her back pocket to check the time. Hopefully Rooster was done at the gym, “No, I can call Roos…and…figure out what to do with the car I guess?” she laughs out of nervousness at the thought of being without a car for so long. Of course she could sell her Subaru but how much money would she get? It was already old, its value wasn’t that high anymore.

“Alright, I’ll stay with you while you call him, okay?” Beatrice nods, stepping out of the car while rubbing her face, feeling a headache coming already. She was a bit glad it happened after Christmas but she wasn’t glad it happened when she was so far away from home.

“Hey angel, have you got home yet?”

“Um…not really.” she looks back at her car with a frown, “My car died, Roos.”

“Died?”

“Yeah it’s…um…it no longer works so…” she shrugs even if he couldn’t see it, sounding more defeated than she appeared to be, “Can you come pick me up? I’m still at Ev’s.”

She hears him rummaging something on his side, probably his duffel bag “Of course baby, I’m coming right now. I’ll be there in ten minutes okay?”

“Okay…” she couldn’t help but feel sad about the car, it was old but it was hers “I’ll be here.Love you.”

“Love you too, baby.”

Both Evelyn and Beatrice sit on the sidewalk waiting for the blue Bronco to show up, which it does just under ten minutes, parking a bit far from the Subaru as Rooster walks out, already giving the other car a look still wearing his gray top and black and green shorts he used for working out, “No smoke?” he asks Beatrice, who shakes her head with her lower lip jutted out just enough, “Baby, it’s okay. It was its time to go.”

“Yeah,I was telling her the same thing,” Evelyn smiles encouragingly, rubbing Bea’s back. “You wanted to get a new car for a while, didn’t you?” the brunette nods, standing to her feet once Rooster got close enough.

“...I need to call my dad, he knows about cars.” she murmurs, “He probably knows what I can do with it now that its gone.” she sighs, touching the side of the car, then patting the hood fondly. The more she thought about it, the more her head hurt, even rubbing her forehead with a hand when she felt the anxiety and stress already climbing up to immeasurable levels. Rooster frowns, standing close to Beatrice as she rubs her head.

“You okay?” she nods silently, still rubbing her forehead, “Do you want to wait in the truck?”

“No, it’s fine.” Beatrice says with a small smile, “I’ll be fine, it’s nothing.” just the fear and worry of not having a vehicle and fearing if she’d ever get another one. She made enough money on the Hard Deck to pay her bills, her rent and everything else…but getting a new car was something she hadn't thought about. Evelyn then says she’s going back now that Bradley was with her, because Marcus was still in her apartment and was probably trying to figure out how to use the ice machine in her fridge.

She said her goodbyes, then walked back inside her building as Beatrice and Rooster stood in front of the Subaru in silence. She just leaned her temple against his chest, sighing heavily yet again then hugging his middle, “I sent my dad a message, he’s coming over.”

“Okay.” he tilts his head to have a better look at her face, hugging her to himself, “Are you sure you are okay, angel? Hey, look at me.” he cups her chin to tilt her head up, tsking at her sad eyes and lower lip still jutted out, “Pretty girl, it’s okay. It’s not your fault that this happened.”

“I knew it was giving me issues, Roos and I still used it.” she murmurs, pressing her face in between his pectorals with a groan, “I should’ve just asked you to bring me over, I’m so dumb.”

“Woah, okay,” he pulls her head back, cupping her chin one more time, “Unless you have future vision, pretty girl I don’t think how you would’ve known. Don’t blame yourself Bea, we’ll work something out, okay?” 

Beatrice just frowns but nods still hugging him, “Okay, Roos.”

[i-sveikata]

Hii :)

I discovered your vegaspete fic a while ago when you were still around chapter 13, and I think it's safe to say it has changed my life. I remember putting off everything just to catch up on all the chapters when I was about 2 paragraphs in chapter 1 realising I found gold, and I remember spending every waking moment thinking about that fic and even now I think about it at the very least once a week, it's insanely good. :D Once I caught up on the chapters I had so many question, so I used my notes app to put my questions and thoughts down. With my list of questions in hand I decided to read the whole thing again see if I missed anything. Reading the story the second time was just as good and I found I missed so many little details and nuances-and all of my questions were answered for me. You're brilliant, I could sing your praises all day if I had the words! Their characterisation is the best thing I have ever read honestly, so complex and so human!!!

I was in the middle of preparations for my final exams when chapter 16 came out then not shortly after you released chapter 17 and I swore to myself that reading those chapters would be my treat after getting through my exams. I knew that reading them before my exams would easily take up 90% of my brain capacity for weeks, so I had to make some sacrifices. Well, I'm all caught up on the chapters and I am SO VERY tempted to read the whole thing again. I thought that the story would get boring or predictable after a while but no you've proved me wrong. My jaw is on the floor and I can't even imagine how the story will continue, but I can't wait to find out.

I've been meaning to say hello and let you know I admire your work and I am very grateful that you share this masterpiece with us, but I just never really knew how to say it. :D I'm here to show my support and let you know I wish you nothing but the very best. THANK YOU :)

Oh lucky you!! It’s always great to come in at least a couple chapters in because you’ve got a good starting point already- not like the wonderful readers who’ve been in the trenches from the first chap and waiting patiently for updates ever since 😂

Omg that’s so sweet of you to say I’m so glad it left such an impression on you! Lol I totally resonate with the needing to take notes part because this badboy is LONG hahhaha (I literally have a notes page at the beginning of my word doc to keep track of all the details lol)

Ahhhh we love a reread! So fun to discover all the things that you might not have picked up on or realised they were going to be more significant than a throwaway line. Thank you! You are honestly so nice to say so the characterisation is such a core part of this fic (and tbh the focus of all my brain worms about these two dudes lol) so I’m so happy to hear you’ve enjoyed it!!

Oh of course of course having more fic chaps as a treat is honestly such a fun way to go about it I hope your exams went well and you’re happy to see the back of them!

Lol hahha very easy to stay unpredictable when these two characters are essentially batshit for one another- that’s an endless treasure trove of inspo in my opinion hahaha but thank you for the compliment! Ah thanks I do hope you like the rest it’s been such a wild and unexpected journey!!

Thank you for coming to say hello and share your thoughts (also you’ve said it all perfectly there’s no rules on what to say beyond basic human politeness with these things and I do honestly love to hear what you all think) thank you for your support it’s so meaningful to me how wonderful you all have been and you’re so welcome 💛

[vera-deville]

could you make a reader who loves rock and is also super good at physical activities? with Leona and Azul.

Sure! I remember asking you to clarify some things about your request and now I realize how silly my questions were after rereading the request for the umpteenth time.

08/01/2022 - 08/09/2022

Pairings: Leona Kingscholar; Azul Ashengrotto x Reader (separately)

Word Count: 425 (for Leona); 456 (for Azul)

Warnings: Nothing that I can think of!

Gender: Gender Neutral as it was not specified in the request.

Notes: I'm lowkey super hyped about this request because I've never been requested anything like it. It's very unique, so I'm very excited!

Also, I'm going to do headcanons for this request, simply because I feel like it. If you'd like some other type of fic, you're more than welcome to request again!

Oh, and before I forget, the requester has specified that they'd like the Reader to listen to Metaleiro and for the Azul headcanon, the Reader be taller than him.

In which Leona Kingscholar and Azul Ashengrotto have significant others who love rock music and are very good at physical activities.

Leona Kingscholar:

Leona's probably the more chill amongst the two when it comes to a significant other like this.

After all, Sunset Savannah was filled to the brim with extremely athletic individuals, so it didn't faze Leona in the slightest seeing Y/N be as good at physical activities as they were.

What Leona did find amusing was the way Y/N was. They'd never be found without, at the very least, a black choker. Leona recalled Y/N talking about how the NRC uniform wasn't bad because it was mostly black. On one rare occasion when they were allowed to go shopping by the headmaster, Y/N bought many black ties. And black chokers. And chains. And spiky bracelets. Y/N also was an individual who had...interesting tastes in music.

Specifically, rock music.

Leona didn't really have much of an opinion on music, much less rock, but he did have an issue with it when his significant other decided it'd be a brilliant idea to blast the horrid sounds whilst he slept. There was no doubt that Y/N gained much amusement out of the fact.

Perhaps this herbivore was much more bolder than he'd given them credit for.

It was one of those such incidents when Leona was sunbathing and enjoying the serene habitat he was resting in.

Or at least it was serene until Y/N showed up. :(

Y/N excitedly told Leona about this artist they listened to quite often back in their world and now they've been able to somehow find them in some obscure dimension of Magicam. Metaliro was it?

Y/N continued raving about the artist, Metaleiro, and his songs.

Oh, so it was Metaleiro, not Metaliro-

And then out of nowhere (although Leona should have very well expected it), one of Y/N's favorite rock songs started playing.

For once, it wasn't one of the more "heavy" metal songs they'd have force Leona to listen to. Rather, it seemed much more lowkey.

Leona casually asked Y/N what the song was and they told him that it was called "La Casa de Trap." Humming, he acknowledged the song's existence and continued to rest with his eyes closed, hoping to drift away into slumber.

And for once, Y/N decided that they'd let Leona have his serene habitat and played some more gentle rock songs (and the occasional rock trap song) while running their fingers through Leona's hair.

Ruggie eventually stumbled upon the two lovers and smirked to himself. He took a picture or two for future blackmail as well.

Azul Ashengrotto:

Azul's the more surprised of the two.

His significant other is an individual who seemed to only ever wear the color black and would almost never be seen without wearing a choker and a spiked bracelet or two (and chains if they're really feeling themselves that day).

At first, Azul stayed clear of the Ramshackle Prefect, simply because he didn't see any benefits that he could gain from them.

That was the case until the overblots started occurring. And Azul had no choice but to accept that Y/N was an incredibly strong individual for having to deal with everything they do.

When the two first started dating, Azul had a bit of an inferiority complex. Y/N had a much bigger build than him and practically towered over him (not really, but this is his inferiority complex we're talking about here).

He never admitted it out loud, but Y/N could tell that he felt a bit off about not being the one they could rely on for many things.

So, eventually, one day, Y/N sat him down in his office and the two had a nice long chat about how Y/N is a very strong and independent person who doesn't always rely on others for everything.

But that didn't mean they don't rely on others at all. They assured Azul that when they truly needed it, the first person they'd come to for assistance would be him.

Things got a lot better after that. Azul had come to accept that his significant other and himself were equals and just because they don't rely on one another all the time doesn't mean that they don't appreciate one another.

Of course, the teasing never stopped.

What teasing you ask?

Oh, the teasing that Jade, Floyd, and Y/N subject Azul to, of course~

Azul's well known to not be the most athletic student at NRC, but Floyd and Y/N made it their life's mission to torture Azul with athleticism as much as possible.

Azul also questions Y/N's tastes in music at times (although he does respect it). The songs they listen to are loud, have interesting rhythms, and seem...energetic.

Just about every other day, Y/N would track Azul down with whatever power they have (only the Great Sevens would know the answer to that) and make him listen to another rock song they found, or are listening to on repeat once more in their life.

Azul doesn't really have an affinity for rock music, however, he knows that his significant other loves it, and for that sole reason, he respects the musical genre.

Although that one artist Y/N kept raving about...ah, yes! Metaleiro! His music didn't seem all that bad.