#Like wow you're both ignorant and really proud of it wow

[anonymous-gambito]

The Utena fandom is like a safe haven away from The-Curtains-Are-Just-Blue anti-intelectual type "Media Consumers" who hate media analysis because they've never had an independent thought in their life and disregard the work that comes into making a film, a show or writing a book since to them art is just "Content". It's like the "flipping burgers" argument but for art. They think the creators, the crew working at these things are just doing whatever the fuck thoughtlessly instead of bringing their creativity, knowledge, skills and perspective into their work. They make fun of those who study, who write, who find meaning where they can't see it, who work at improving at a skill or a craft while they just spend their time Consuming, because they can't stand how the rest of the world isn't ignorant like them and it makes them feel insecure about themselves.

[mypoisonedvine]

𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 (part one) | neil lewis x reader

title comes from the song you already know by bombay bicycle club

𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 | you've been best friends with neil basically your entire life, and secretly in love with him almost as long. will you ever find the courage to tell him the truth?

𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭 | 10k

𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | smut, angst, pining/unrequited love - 18+ only

𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 | alcohol consumption, 'kid' as a petname, reader being kind of a femcel, jonathan being kind of mvp??

Neil had asked you to make sure the Thriller section was alphabetized; sometimes you thought he was just giving you tasks to look busy, but then again, you could probably use it since the employees of Gumshoe Video never looked very busy.  You spent most of the day on the couches, watching whatever old bizarre gem Neil put on— sometimes you thought he only had employees other than himself so that he could pay people to sit here and watch this stuff with him.  

But, the point is, you were sorting tapes.  Because everyone needs their VHS thriller movies to be in perfect alphabetical order.

There actually was a customer in the store, for once, so it was better not to be on the couch anyhow.  You hadn’t really noticed him when he came in, but as he wandered around the shelves, he seemed to drift towards you.  

You tried to ignore him when he stopped right beside you— and kneeling to look at the lowest shelf, he towered over you— but when you stood up he got your attention.  

"Need any help, sweetheart?" he asked, leaning in a little too close.  "I'm kind of a movie buff."

He had a frat guy kind of look about him— polo, boat shoes, quaffed blonde hair.  He could be good-looking, you thought, if he didn’t dress like a discount Abercrombie model… and if he didn’t hit on random women at the video store.  "I actually work here," you corrected, barely looking up from your task.  This is why we need uniforms instead of just dressing up to promote specials…

"Oh, really?" he smirked.  "What made you wanna work in a place like this?"

"My best friend owns the place," you explained, "and I'm, you know… kind of a movie buff."

"Right," he said, not seeming convinced.  "You like Kubrick?"

You rolled your eyes so hard you almost choked: Wow, what a deep cut.  But you kept a straight-ish face when you looked at him.  "Yeah, he's pretty good.  Don't care for how he treats his actors, but he was certainly a visionary."

"What are your top five favorite Kubrick movies?"

You knew this guy was a tool, but you were still a bit shocked that he actually had the gall to quiz you.  "Excuse me?" you scoffed incredulously.

"Can you even name five?" he asked, looking horribly proud of himself, and you straightened up as you glared at him.

"You're heterosexual, right?" you asked him, getting a confused nod.  "Can you name five women you've made come?"

Neil watched the guy storm out, Lucien cringed a bit from behind the register— and Jonathan, not seeming as if he had been paying attention at all, kept laying across the couch and tossing a ball up in the air to catch and throw again.

“Okay, that’s gotta be the third this week,” Lucien groaned.  “What are you saying to these guys?”

“Nothing worse than what they’re saying to me,” you assured with a frustrated, sarcastic smile.

“Listen, don’t get me wrong,” Neil began, “that guy totally deserved it— but maybe, you know… work on your demeanor with customers?”

“Wow,” you scoffed as you crossed your arms, “do you think I should smile more, too?”

“Wha— no!” Neil denied.  

“Yes,” Lucien said at the same time, though he changed his answer with an awkward cough and mumble when you both shot him a look.  “No, no— you’re good— you smile too much, even…”

“I don’t mean it like that,” Neil promised.  “But I think half the guys that come here are just coming here to see you!  Nobody even rents movies anymore.”  He groaned a little, dropping his shoulders defeatedly.  “Can’t you… tell them you’ll go out with them if they rent something?”

“What?!” you squeaked. “No!”

“Sales would double,” Lucien nodded.

“No,” you said again.  “I’m not letting you pimp me out to sell tapes, Neil.”

“I just mean— maybe you don’t really go out with them,” he suggested.  “Just… allude to the fact that you’re only interested in guys who…”

He trailed off as he searched around the shelves for a bit, smiling when he snagged a copy of The Maltese Falcon.

“— in guys who like The Maltese Falcon,” he grinned, “you know— for example.  Then they rent it to impress you and we make a few bucks.”

“I am only interested in guys who like The Maltese Falcon,” you frowned, snatching the tape away and shoving it back on the shelf.  “But that’s not the point.”

“Maybe you have to be more straightforward, you know,” Jonathan butted in as he sat up, “guys are dumb.”

“Yeah!” Neil agreed a little too easily.

“Just say something about how a massive VHS collection turns you on,” Lucien suggested, and you glared at him.

“Jesus!” you protested, but Neil tried to soothe you a bit.

"C'mon, kid, can't you just… flirt a little?  Get our sales up?"

He'd started calling you kid since you two watched Casablanca together— which was especially stupid as you were both twelve at the time.  At first you complained because he shouldn't be calling you kid with you both being kids; then you complained because neither of you were kids; and then you gave up.  You still punched Lucien for trying to call you that once… you only barely let Neil get away with it anyways.

But you let Neil get away with a lot.  It was a side effect of being secretly, but massively, in love with him.

It had been an issue since middle school— that was when the two of you became such good friends.  Technically, you’d known each other since first grade (where you had shared your crayons, a true test of friendship at the time), and you’d sort of had a crush on him as early as elementary school (mainly because he was the only boy you could stand at the time), but it all kicked into high gear in seventh grade.  That was when you became inseparable, when you got in trouble together, when you stayed up all night watching movies, when you went through all of life’s ups and downs together: you even went to prom together, platonically of course.  

As for your feelings, you’d managed to hide them this long and still be his best friend, even when it sometimes felt like letting him stomp all over your heart without even trying.  Honestly, the only thing harder than being in love with Neil was trying not to be in love with Neil: you adored his sense of humor, his generosity, his sensitivity— and he’d been there for you through the things you couldn’t have imagined surviving alone.  That kinda stuff bonds you to somebody… and when that somebody has the most gorgeous eyes you’ve ever seen, it’s hard not to fall in love.

“Maybe I would flirt if I knew how,” you offered.  “But I’m not exactly, you know, flirty.”

“How hard could it be?” Jonathan interjected.  “Just, you know—”

You stared in quiet disbelief as Jonathan attempted to push his chest together with his arms.  It wasn’t quite working, of course, and the rest of you watched on as he fumbled around trying to force some cleavage.  “You look like an idiot,” you finally informed him after letting him do it for a minute.

“But is he wrong?” Lucien wondered.

“So, what, you guys really think that if I just went up to customers and—” you pushed your breasts together with your arms, accentuating them significantly in your tank top.

“That would work,” all three men asserted in unison before you could even finish.

“I fucking hate you guys,” you grumbled under your breath as you walked to the back, deciding to take your break in Neil’s office until these guys got their act together.

You never stayed gone for long, though— as idiotic as they could be, your friends were certainly charming.  They won you back with a promise to let you pick what tape to put on, and the four of you ended up laying on the couches watching Roman Holiday.  

When the movie was almost over, you rested your head on Neil’s shoulder; you guys did stuff like that, it was normal for you, but it always made your heart skip anyways.

~

This time, you were all hanging out at Jonathan’s primary workplace: the club.  In fact, it was a much larger crowd than just you and the guys— plenty of your local friends and loyal supporters of Gumshoe Video, all sitting around a big table while someone’s mediocre cover band took the stage.

"So, uh, me and Denise broke up," Neil said suddenly, going back in for another swig of beer right after.

The others offered their mild shock and half-hearted condolences, but you knew it was going to happen— he'd told you before he did it.  You tried to tell him that paying off a waiter to spill water on her was a weird way to prove what he already knew, but you couldn't disagree with his conclusion.  She was definitely difficult, and shockingly judgemental for someone who managed to date a video store owner for this long.

“No, it’s fine, it’s fine,” he promised, “I don’t think anybody’s too surprised, right?”

There was an awkward hesitation among the group as they wondered if they should lie, or just fess up now that he was obviously accurate.  You broke the silence to suggest someone go get another round of drinks for the table, and even though that was pretty much a one-man job, nearly everyone agreed and quickly shuffled off— leaving just you, Neil, and Lucien.

“I guess tonight’s your chance to meet somebody new, don’t you think?” Lucien suggested.  “Get over Denise, you know.”

“I think I’m already over Denise,” Neil decided.

“And if I told you that girl back there,” Lucien returned, pointing with the hand still holding his drink, “has been looking over here at you for the past ten minutes?”

You glanced where Lucien was pointing as well, seeing a girl in a denim mini skirt and massive hoop earrings settle her eyes on Neil before looking away quickly with a lip-gloss lacquered smile.

“I think I need some help getting over Denise,” Neil agreed suddenly, patting Lucien on the back before he left the table.  

You wanted to pout, but you were used to this— he was good-looking, he got a lot of attention from women in places like this… it usually didn’t work out for him, though.  Certainly not never, probably more often than most guys, but… definitely not every time.

You tried not to look over too much, you didn’t want to get caught spying or, even worse, looking a little jealous— but you noticed that every time you looked over at them, Neil was talking.  That was his problem, see: he never fucking shuts up.  Guys, girls, anybody who will listen— if you admit to not knowing about his favorite fifty-year-old spaghetti western or the most recent pre-Code horror comedy he watched, he’ll gladly blab to you about it for ages.  The first time you glanced at them, you saw her giving him doe eyes, laughing at something he said— and the last time, those eyes had glazed over and her laugh seemed more nervous and confused; you smirked to yourself.  He’s still Neil…

“So, um,” you struck up a conversation with Lucien, “what about you?  Anybody here catching your eye?”

“That’s actually the perfect descriptor of my type,” he replied.  “Anybody.”

You snorted.  “Then you should go, you know, talk to anybody?”

He shrugged and frowned a bit, and it was a simple movement but you understood completely.

The band started to play a new song, something upbeat and energetic, and you smiled.  “Wanna dance with me?”

“Oh, I don’t think I’m drunk enough for that—” Lucien began to protest, but a minute later you were dragging him up by the stage.  Neither of you were actually any good at dancing, mainly you were just kind of jumping and flailing around together, but it was fun and that was the point.

Eventually, more of your friends wandered in to join you; when the song ended, everyone clapped and cheered, the band bowing in gratitude.  You only stole one more look over at Neil and his conversation partner, watching her interrupt his rant with a hand on his shoulder: your throat felt a little dry.  You just hoped what she was saying was more like hey, my friends are leaving, I’ve gotta go and not hey, wanna come over to my place so you can keep explaining German expressionism to me?

Your heart dropped when he reached for her— what if he kissed her now?  What if he wrapped her up under his arm and they walked out together?  What if you had to spend the whole night thinking about him having sex with her?

“Hey, we should ask them if they know any Strokes songs!” Lucien suggested, tugging on your arm to get your attention, but your mind was elsewhere.

“Uh huh, yeah,” you mumbled blankly, and he frowned at you.

“What’s going on?” he asked, trying to look for what you were seeing; but Neil wasn’t reaching for her, he was lifting his hand to wave goodbye as she left.  You beamed, even though you did feel a little bad when you saw Neil’s shoulders sink— it’s not that you wanted him to be alone forever, you were just relieved that you might have a few more moments to breathe before he got with somebody again.

“Nothing, sorry,” you answered Lucien, giving him your attention again.  “What’d you say?”

“We should ask the band if they—”

And immediately, Lucien lost your focus as you couldn’t stop yourself from looking at Neil again— he was already looking at you, seeing you all on the dancefloor.  You waved for him to join you, and he smiled as he made his way towards the stage.  A new song began, even louder than the last, and you could blame that for not hearing Lucien’s question for the second time in a row.

Although he danced with you all for a few moments, Neil draped his arms over your and Lucien’s shoulders, nearly yelling to be heard over the music.

“You guys are coming over tonight for a movie, right?” he presumed.  “Jonathan’s working ‘til late so he’s out, but—”

“Sorry, I’ve gotta be up early,” Lucien explained, “my brother and his wife are visiting, remember?  We’re getting brunch and—”

“Whatever, party pooper,” Neil frowned, before suddenly smiling at you.  “Guess it’s just me and you, huh, kid?”

You tried not to sigh too noticeably through your smile.  “Yeah, me and you…” you agreed.

~

As you groggily blinked your eyes open, you found Neil staring at you, his face uncomfortably close to yours, with a big smile.  “Mornin’, kid,” he said, raising his eyebrows.

You yelped and nearly jumped out of your skin while he laughed.  “Jesus Christ, Neil!” you shouted, kicking off the blanket on you— and then you began to process where you were and why.  “God,” you groaned as you held your head in your hands, while Neil kept laughing at you, “did I fall asleep on the couch again?”

It was sort of a rhetorical question— obviously you had, it would be much stranger if you woke up on the video store couch without having fallen asleep there.  “Yeah,” he said, standing up and sighing a bit, “but you didn’t miss that much of the movie.”

“What happened at the end?” you asked, stretching your legs and snatching the blanket off the floor to fold up; Neil must have put it on you after you dozed off.

“No, we can finish it later,” he decided, walking up to the register, and you groaned.

“Seriously?  Not even falling asleep gets me out of finishing The Man Who Laughs?”

He smiled a little as he started prepping the store for open.  “Nope,” he said proudly, popping his lips on the p sound.

“It’s not that I didn’t like it,” you assured, getting up and trying to ignore the soreness in your back from sleeping on a ratty old sofa all night— you remembered helping Neil carry this thing from where he found it on the side of the road.  Considering you knew where it came from, it was a wonder you ever sat on it, let alone slept on it… but this happened relatively often.  Sometimes it almost felt like you slept easier here or at Neil’s apartment than your own. 

You stood up and stretched your arms, sparing a glance over at him.

“Can I run home and change?” you asked, and he frowned.  

“We open in ten minutes,” he noticed, “you won’t be back in time.”

“Yes, and who will serve the clamoring crowds that await our open outside?” you rolled your eyes, gesturing out the storefront to the abandoned sidewalk.  “You can handle it on your own.”

“Just go to my place,” he shrugged, “it’s closer.  And I think you left some jeans there anyway.”

Right— you’d borrowed a pair of his sweats to get comfy for a movie night, and forgot to take the jeans back when you left.  You yourself had one of Neil’s short-sleeve button-ups at your place, when you’d both changed there for a costume party, but you let him believe it was just lost… it was too late to tell him now that you had it, ‘cause then he might ask why you kept it so long and then he might, somehow, deduce that you had been cuddling it at night from time to time…

“Right, okay,” you nodded, “but I still need a shirt.”

“Just borrow one of mine,” he said, like it was no big deal at all and didn’t make your heart skip.

For a second you wondered if you should protest— if he was still dating Denise, you probably would’ve said something.  But you decided not to say anything, in case he changed his mind; you nearly bolted out of the store and down the two blocks to his apartment.

Your jeans were on the dresser, draped haphazardly in their same just-peeled-off shape you must have left them in last week.  You grumbled to yourself a little about how he could’ve folded them for you so they wouldn’t be wrinkled… but then again, all his jeans were wrinkled, so he clearly didn’t know any better.

And now the fun part: picking a shirt.  You smiled to yourself as you opened the drawer, perusing through t-shirts with old movie posters and semi-witty slogans… cute, sure, but those were pretty similar to what you already wore.  

But the button-downs?  Those were quintessential Neil, and you'd be wasting an opportunity if you didn't put one of those on.

You felt a little giddy as you opened the next drawer down and found them all folded.  The first one you saw had light blue and white stripes, so you snatched it up and slipped it on.

The fit was definitely off, but you let yourself indulge in a fantasy for a moment: waking up here, in Neil's bed… in Neil's arms.  You'd slip on his shirt while you went to find some breakfast, and he'd hum something about how pretty you look in his clothes, and you'd end up tangled in the sheets again not too much later.  

Sighing to yourself, you buttoned the last button, leaving the two at the top undone so you didn't look too formal, and headed back to the store for opening.

Neil stared at you for a second when you walked in— at the shirt, specifically.  You waited for him to say something, but he didn't.  "What, should I not wear this one?" you asked, looking down at it as well, and he shook his head.

"No, no, it's fine— sorry," he mumbled, "just start sorting out last night's returns, please."

You definitely got a much stronger reaction from Jonathan, as soon as he walked in the door.

(Why was he here when he wasn't even working today?  Who knows— he was just always here somehow.)

“Hey!  You look even more like a lesbian than usual,” Jonathan greeted with a peppy fake-smile as he approached you, and you smirked a bit.

“Don’t blame me, it’s his shirt,” you nodded towards Neil.

“See, I told you you dress like a— wait,” Jonathan stopped mid-insult, looking back at you, then at Neil again, then at you; he pointed his fingers at each of you, crossing them back and forth.  “Did… you two…?”

You narrowed your eyes, waiting for him to explain what he meant.

“Did you guys hook up?!” Jonathan accused, wide-eyed.

You felt your face getting warm, and you stammered out your denial; Neil started waving his hands in disagreement as well, but Jonathan was already on a roll.

“Oh my god!” he yelped.  “The one time I miss movie night here and it gets freaky!  Should’ve known better than to leave you two lovebirds alone—”

“Jonathan, we didn’t—” you choked.

“It’s not— it wasn’t—” Neil butted in.  “She just borrowed my shirt!  ‘Cause she— because—”

“I mean, we’ve kinda all been waiting for this to happen— but I never really thought it would,” Jonathan steamrolled along.  “Well, yeah, I guess I thought it would, I just—”

“Wait wait wait, what?” Neil shook his head, stepping up closer to the two of you.  “What does that mean?”

Finally, he seemed to get Jonathan’s attention, who began to nervously backtrack as both of you stared at him.  “W-well, I just mean—” he started.

“And who’s ‘we all’?” Neil noticed.  “This isn’t just you, thinking this?”

“I… I mean,” Jonathan scoffed, “you know— just, just some people… we thought that maybe… that since you two are so close, that you might—”

“Wow,” Neil chuckled, crossing his arms in disappointment.  “You know, that’s so reductive.  For a bunch of progressive, free-thinking hipsters—” he waved his hands as he said it in a mocking way— “you’re really just, like… like… you know, not!  ‘Cause apparently men and women can’t really be friends?”

“No, come on, not like that,” Jonathan denied, “of course we can—”

“I mean, you’re her friend, you’re both single,” Neil noticed, gesturing between the two of you, “why don’t you two, just, you know… hook up!”

You cringed a little as Jonathan tugged at his collar nervously.  “Well, I—”

“Come on, why not?” Neil went on, smiling at the suggestion even though he was clearly unamused.  “I mean, she’s nice, she’s pretty, she’s got a vagina— why don’t you hit on her?”

“Hey, come on, Neil,” Jonathan sighed, “I’m well aware she’s got a vagina—”

“So what’s the problem?” Neil insisted.  “Clearly you can’t just be friends with someone with a vagina—”

“I would really prefer if we didn’t talk about my vagina anymore,” you mumbled nervously.

“— how come you never hit on her, Jonny?” Neil pressed, backing him into a corner metaphorically— but also somewhat literally, he was leaning in and Jonathan was pressing his back more and more against the shelves.

“You really want me to answer that?” Jonathan replied, almost threatening.  That made you furrow your brow a bit.  It seemed like a rhetorical question, Neil trying to prove a point, but you didn’t expect Jonathan to have a literal answer.

“Yeah, sure,” Neil decided, “enlighten us.”

Neil glanced at you, like you were just as gung-ho about this interrogation, but you were feeling a little sick.  You understood the spirit of Neil’s argument— and technically, you agreed with him— but it still stung to see him so incensed at the suggestion of you two together.  You were trying not to take it personally, it wasn’t like he was disgusted by you or anything… he even said just now that you were pretty, and he’d told you that before, but… it still bothered you a little, for reasons you couldn’t quite describe and that you were sure were illogical.

“I never hit on her,” Jonathan answered, lowering his voice, “because I… I figured it would piss you off.”

That seemed to surprise you both, maybe for different reasons; you bit your lip to suppress a smile.  Did Jonathan really think Neil was that protective over you?  “Why would it piss me off?” Neil wondered, but he sounded a little defensive— defensive in a caught-red-handed sort of way.

“I… I don’t know,” Jonathan shrugged.  “That’s just the vibe I got, okay?  That she’s sorta… off-limits.”

Neil hesitated.  “Well… she’s not,” he decided.  “You’re grown-ups.  Whatever you wanna do is none of my business— as long as you’re not being, you know, creepy or an asshole.”

“Of course,” Jonathan agreed, most of the tension settling as Neil backed up a step.

“Okay, well, ask her out then,” Neil instructed firmly.

“I didn’t say I wanted to!” Jonathan sputtered.

“Neil, Jesus!” you complained simultaneously, and he seemed to relent, shrugging as he walked back to the register.

“Sorry, sorry,” he dismissed, “just letting you know it’s… fine with me!”

You rolled your eyes a bit and looked back at Jonathan.  “Sorry,” you offered him quietly, “he’s… I don’t know.  He gets weird about that.”

“Oh really?” Jonathan scoffed sarcastically.  “Didn’t notice.”

“The real reason you shouldn’t be hitting on me is because we’re coworkers, by the way,” you reminded him.

“Hey, I only work here part-time,” Jonathan noticed, “so I think that means it’s cool as long as we only go out part-time.”

You snorted, but he seemed to get nervous.

“You know I’m kidding, right?” he added quickly, and you nodded with a laugh.

~

"You know, I was thinking— we don't have many events at the store these days,” Neil mumbled around a bite of pretzel, watching you play your turn at Skee Ball.  Normally he would put coins in the machine beside yours and try to beat your score, but the other machine was out of order and you decided to take a relay race approach.  “What if we did, like, I don’t know… maybe a double feature for a couple bucks?”

“Neil, we show movies every night,” you sighed, “and we invite everybody, and ninety-nine percent of the time it’s just some combination of me, you, Jonathan, and Lucien.”

“Yeah, but this time we could do movies that more people like— a little easier to watch,” he suggested, “something that would get new people in the store.”

“New people don’t wanna sit on a musty old couch with strangers,” you reminded him, and he nodded as he chewed and swallowed his next bite.

“You’re right,” he agreed, holding the pretzel out towards you.  “Wanna bite?”

You were trying to get through your skee balls pretty quick, so you just leaned your head over and chomped down on the end of one of the twists while he held it for you.  You hummed in appreciation— it was pretty good, fresher than the last one you guys got here.

Visits to the arcade used to be your thing, back in high school (aside from watching movies, but that was a given).  Then you slowed down with the trips, feeling a little old and out of place surrounded by kids— but the problem was, this place wasn’t filled with kids anymore.  It hadn’t changed much at all since you were both in high school, and that was exactly the issue: it was old, run-down, a bit grimey… kids weren’t coming to arcades anymore anyways, they were all on the Internet apparently.  So, while you and Neil sort of appreciated having the place to yourself, it also broke your heart knowing your old haunt couldn’t hold itself together forever… you two visited not just to recapture some old childhood joys, but to try to do your part to keep the business afloat.  

You pretended to like being here— because you really did want to support the place, and Neil wanted to keep coming back— but it actually made you pretty fucking sad.  Surrounded by all the neon, the noisy pinball machines, the Dig Dug machine that had a fifty-fifty chance of stealing your quarters, the photobooth (you still had some strips from that thing pinned to your wall, some so old that they’d faded from the sunlight that came in your window each day); it all felt sort of eerie now.  You would’ve never known all those years ago how little this place would change, even though you never expected it to— you would’ve never known how little anything would change.  Neil was still by your side, but still so far away… if you could talk to that fourteen-year-old girl now, you would warn her that no amount of time spent running around this place and playing Street Fighter was going to make Neil love her, or you.

But here you were anyways.  “Woo!” you cheered when your final score came through: 50,765.  “Beat that!”

Neil set the pretzel down on the bar-height table (on a pile of napkins, don’t worry, neither of you trusted those tables that much) and brushed the salt off his hands with a scoff.  “Oh please, I can beat that with my eyes closed,” he assured as you crossed your arms.

As he put his quarters in and stepped up to the game, you smiled wide.  “Alright, if you say so.”

You came up behind him and covered his eyes with your hands, making him jump and then laugh.  “What are you doing?”

“Just keeping you honest,” you giggled, holding on tight even when he tried to move his head around so that he could see.  

He did his best, usually struggling to even find where the balls were coming down more than rolling them decently— but after the first three went in the gutter without even scoring, you knew he didn’t stand a chance.  He did score a few times, but when the buzzer went off and he lifted your hands from his eyes, he laughed at the pitiful 1,150 on the board.

“Ohh, that’s too bad,” you winced, “guess you’re just full of it.”

Still holding your hands away from his face, he spun around and twirled under your arms like you were dancing for a moment; it ended with him face-to-face with you, swinging your hands back and forth a bit to force you to twist with him slightly.  “Wanna play Street Fighter next?” he suggested quickly.  “I know I can beat you at that.”

The giddy joy of the moment dropped and shattered; if you thought about it too much, you probably could’ve cried right then.  As pathetic, yet oddly aesthetically pleasing, as it would be to cry in an arcade, you swallowed down the emotion and smiled back at him.  “Yeah, okay,” you agreed.

~

You’d been a little antsy all day— Neil seemed to notice, asking a couple times if you were okay, but you just nodded and shrugged it off.  He had a sense for when you were lying; but that’s the thing, you weren’t lying, really.  You just weren’t sure what to say.  You weren’t sure if you should say anything.  And yet, you felt a little guilty not telling him everything that was going on with you— not just guilty, but plain weird.  Because you usually did tell him everything— except, you know, the thing— but you didn’t know if you should talk about this.  Not that you couldn’t— but should you?

So you were sort of gnawing on your lip most of the day, keeping yourself busy with tallying late fees behind the desk, trying to keep conversation light and meaningless: thankfully, in that regard, Jonathan and Lucien made it pretty easy.

“Okay: fuck, marry, kill,” Jonathan began, “Dracula, the Mummy, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon.”

“Dude, I can’t answer that,” Lucien refused.

“Okay, then Neil, what would you do?” Jonathan changed his target.

“Um, well,” Neil pondered, “I think I’d have to kill Dracula— spare the world from that evil, you know— and I guess I’d marry the Mummy—”

“Freud would like to have a word,” Lucien butted in.

“And I’d fuck the Creature from the Black Lagoon,” he concluded, “out of morbid curiosity.”

You snorted, but didn’t look up from your clipboard.  “You come up with one that Lucien will do,” Jonathan challenged Neil.

“Alright, uhh, let’s see…” Neil stalled as he thought, looking up at the ceiling and stroking his chin dramatically.  “Fuck, marry, kill: Sarah Connor, Ripley, and Trinity from Matrix.”

“Okay, see, that’s a real challenge,” Lucien affirmed.  “If I marry Trinity, do I have to live in the post-apocalyptic wasteland or can she live here?”

“You’d have to live in the Matrix,” Jonathan announced, like it was obvious.

“Hm,” Lucien pondered, “do I know it’s a false reality?  Does she know?”

“She knows, you don’t,” Neil decided.

“Is she gonna tell me?  What if she has another guy on the side in the real world?”

“Okay, you’re overthinking this,” Jonathan groaned.

“And is this the Sarah Connor that’s already had John?  ‘Cause if not, I can’t kill her, or the human revolution stands no chance— but if she has him, I can’t marry her, ‘cause I’m not ready to be a stepfather—”

“You’re useless,” Jonathan informed him flatly.

“Well, it’s easy then,” you offered, still tallying fees on the printed table.  “You fuck Connor, marry Ripley and kill Trinity.”

“Yeah, I guess that works,” Lucien shrugged.

“If you’re so good at this game, you should play,” Jonathan decided.  You looked up from your work for once, finding Lucien looking excited at the idea and Neil looking a little nervous but intrigued.

“I’ve got one for you,” Lucien decided, looking concerningly smug.  “Fuck, marry, kill: the three of us.”

Jonathan let out a giddy ‘ooh’ and Neil raised his eyebrows.  “Oh— I don’t know— that’s too weird,” you shook your head, “it’s different, you’re real—”

“Wait, wait,” Neil interrupted, “now I wanna know.”

You froze for a second, wondering if you should double down on not participating, or if you should tell him the first thing that popped in your head: am I allowed to do all three to you?

Instead, you set the clipboard down and crossed your legs, and the men seemed to straighten up as they prepared for your answer.  “Alright,” you said, looking at them for a lingering moment before sighing.  “I think I’d fuck Jonathan, and then kill myself.”

“Yes,” Jonathan hissed, shaking his fist triumphantly.

“Dude, really?” Lucien snapped at him.  “That didn’t sound like a compliment to me.”

“Don’t care, I stopped listening after ‘fuck Jonathan’,” he replied.  “Alright, Neil, you’re gonna have to make good on that ‘she’s not off-limits’ promise you made to me—”

But Neil wasn’t listening to Jonathan, he was still looking at you.  “Wait— you wouldn’t marry me?” Neil interrupted, putting a hand on the desk and leaning in a bit closer— he looked half-amused and half-offended, and your heart skipped a beat.

“Um…” you started to wonder how to defend yourself from that.  What did he expect you to say?  Yes, I’d marry you, I’ve actually been planning our wedding since junior year.

“Hold on,” Lucien stopped you, “if she fucks you and marries you, that means I’m getting killed!”

“Yeah, so?” Jonathan smirked.

“What, you don’t think I’m marriage material?” Neil laughed… but he didn’t seem like he was really joking, per se.  He didn’t seem serious either, of course, but you decided to take his question seriously since he’d dared to ask it twice.

“Well,” you mumbled, “no.  I don’t.”

Then he seemed a bit more serious, adjusting his posture a bit.  “Why not?”

“I mean… you’re my best friend,” you reminded him, “but… you’re not reliable.”

He nodded, pursing his lips together.

“You’re not ready for marriage,” you continued.  “I mean, I think you’re just as sure of that as I am.”

“Well, yeah, but—”

“And honestly?  You’re a great friend and all, but… if you were my husband, I don’t think I could really… you know, trust you…”

The silence seemed a little heavy— all the men were sort of frozen for a second, you wondered if you should wave your arm around to make sure time hadn’t stopped.  But they did move, Neil first in fact, as he stopped leaning on the counter and nodded a little.

“I’m just surprised that you didn’t fuck Dracula,” Jonathan said to Neil in an attempt to cut the tension, “considering your massive man-crush on Bela Lugosi.”

“Hey, that reminds me, tonight’s movie is Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla,” Neil announced, apparently shaking off whatever odd energy he’d picked up just before, “you in?”

“Yeah, sure,” Jonathan nodded, “should I bring drinks?”

“Uhh, yeah, why not?” Neil agreed. 

“Is a six-pack enough?”

"Uh, maybe…” Neil considered, turning over his shoulder to look at you.  “Kid, how many beers are you gonna want?”

You swallowed nervously.  “Um, I… well, I’m not coming.  I’ve got a date, actually.”

Of course it was just assumed that you would be there; you felt a little guilty admitting you wouldn’t, to the point that you almost considered just skipping said date and staying to avoid the awkwardness.

“Hey, great!” Jonathan said proudly, throwing his arms out wide.

“A date, huh?” Neil noticed, looking happily surprised.  “Sorry, I— I didn’t know— you didn’t say anything—”

“No, it’s cool,” you shook your head, “it’s kind of a last minute thing… you know how they’re showing Rope at the Palace tonight?  I met this, um, this guy the other day and we got to talking, and I asked him if he’d wanna come with me.”

“Rope, wow, that’s a great first date movie,” Neil nodded approvingly, “that sounds perfect.”

“Yeah— he hasn’t seen it, actually,” you admitted, smiling nervously, “so I guess how much he likes it will kinda be a good judge of if he’s worth going out again, right?”

Jonathan nodded approvingly, but Neil seemed skeptical.  "Well, the showing isn't until nine— you can at least hang out until the movie starts, right?"

"I've gotta get home and get changed!" you explained 

"You can't wear that to a date?" Lucien wondered.

"No!" you scoffed, looking down at your ripped jeans and Dracula t-shirt.  "Besides, I have this whole plan of what I'm gonna wear— remember when we did Bonnie and Clyde for Halloween?"

Neil was Bonnie and you were Clyde, in fact; he looked shockingly good in that blood-red lipstick, you tried to convince him to wear it again but he insisted it was a one-night-only situation.  

"I figure if I wear my Clyde suit, I'll look kinda like James Stewart!"

"You're doing drag on a first date?" Lucien pressed, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, lighten up, I'm just dressing up for the movie— I'll still, you know, try to look pretty," you assured.  "What, I don't look good in a suit?  'Cause I got a lot of compliments on Halloween—"

"No, hey, go for it," Jonathan decided, "it's festive!"

"I think it's cool," Neil agreed.  "Have fun, alright?  And if he creeps you out or something, call the store number and I'll come get you."

"I'm not really worried about—"

"You know? Just call the store when you get home," Neil decided, "so I'll know you didn't get murdered."

"Dude, chill," you groaned.  "We're going to the movies, not, I don't know… hiking off-trail in the middle of the night."

You never agreed to call, but you did him one better: you ended up coming back to the video store afterwards, a bit over two hours later.  Of course, the guys were still on the couch— apparently the movie was over but they were watching anime (undoubtedly something Jonathan had brought as a palate cleanser after the movie).

They all looked over at you when you came in the front door and the little bell rang; they seemed excited to see you, and presumably to interrogate you about the date.  You sighed, knowing you couldn't have expected anything else, but you'd come here hoping they'd let you watch something with them so you could stop thinking about the date.

“How’d it go, hot stuff?” Jonathan purred, and you rolled your eyes as Lucien wolf-whistled.

“Oh yeah, it was awesome, best first date ever— I’m at his place having sex with him right now,” you frowned as you tossed your purse down onto the couch, and Lucien chuckled while Neil looked a little defeated.  

“Not that great, huh?” Neil noticed.

“Was he a creep?” Jonathan assumed.

“Did he think the movie was bad?” Lucien pressed.

“No, no, he was great,” you sighed, “he loved the movie.  We talked about it for a bit afterwards and he seemed to really understand it.”

“Okay!  That’s good, right?” Jonathan said optimistically.

“Yeah— so good that I asked him when we could do this again,” you recalled, “and he said that he didn’t wanna lead me on and he wasn’t interested in seeing me.”

“What?!” Jonathan yelped, while Neil winced a little.

“He said I was really cool and funny and easy to talk to,” you explained, “but that he didn’t feel any chemistry.”

“Chemistry?” Lucien repeated, confused.

“He means he’s not attracted to me,” you clarified.

“What?” Jonathan scoffed again.  “Why not?”

“I don’t know!” you whined, but you did know.  “I think I’m just, like, friend material.  I’m just ‘one of the guys’, you know?  Not somebody you actually wanna be with.”

“But isn’t that what every guy wants?  To date somebody who’s just ‘one of the guys’?” Lucien noticed, and then paused when everyone gave him an inquisitive look. “That sounded way less gay in my head.  You get what I mean, right?”

“As much as I would love to never let you live that down,” Jonathan smirked, “you’re not wrong— like, a chick who can hang.  That’s the best.”

“Well, here I am!  Hanging!” you snapped.  “Where’s my harem of suitors just desperate to date one of the guys?!”

“I mean, you are wearing a suit…” Neil noticed, getting a little defensive when you groaned and dropped your head back.  “No, no, you look cool!  I mean, you look really great.  I’m not sure what he wasn’t seeing.”

"Maybe he's got a girlfriend!" Jonathan suggested.  "And he was gonna cheat but he chickened out."

"Maybe he's intimidated by strong women," Lucien added, sounding more like he was quoting a Cosmo than actually thinking that.

"Respectfully, guys aren't that complicated," you assured.  "If he wanted me, he would.  He doesn't.  It's not that deep."

Neil looked away when you said that.

"Well, come take a seat on the losers couch," Jonathan offered, but Neil sitting next to him frowned.

"You think I'm a loser?" Neil protested.

"No, I was talking about that couch," Jonathan said as he pointed to the other one which Lucien was on.

"I'm not even offended," Lucien decided, patting the spot next to him.  "I'd rather be a loser with you than a winner with anybody else."

You smiled and plopped down next to him, pulling your legs up on the old sofa and finding the best angle to see the TV from.  "Okay, catch me up," you requested, bracing for the barrage of borderline nonsensical exposition about whatever obscure anime Jonathan was forcing on the group this time.

~

Since the store closed at eight on Tuesdays, you and Neil decided to go out for a late dinner after locking up— the nearest place you usually walked to was a little hole-in-the-wall dishing out Thai fusion, and even though there were open tables inside, you took your paper boxes outside to eat together on a bench.

You each sat up on it with your legs crossed, facing each other, while he poked at his fried rice with his fork and you stirred your noodles with the chopsticks.

“The Palace is still doing their Hitchcock screenings on Sundays,” you recalled, “I think the next one is Rear Window.  We could make Lucien man the store and go see it together?”

“Yeah, let’s do it,” he smiled.  “But we gotta sneak in the candy, that place is getting so overpriced…”

“Well, that’s a given,” you laughed.  “When I went on my date there I had Sour Patch Kids in my bag, but I was kinda craving Reese’s by the time the movie started..."

"That guy sounded like an ass, by the way," Neil announced with a frown.

"Oh, no, it's fine," you dismissed.  "He was really nice, even when he blew me off, and I… I guess I wasn’t really expecting it to go anywhere, anyways.”

“Really?” Neil scoffed.  “Then why’d you ask him out?”

Just in case.  “I… I guess I’m trying to put myself out there more?”

“Huh?  You’re trying to put out more?” Neil joked.

You rolled your eyes and unfolded your legs to kick him playfully.  “You know what I mean,” you groaned.

“Yeah, yeah,” he admitted, “and I support it.  It’s sort of insane that you’re still single.”

“Wow, thanks for the pep talk,” you rolled your eyes before shoving a thick swirl of spicy-sweet noodles in your mouth.

“No!  I mean, like, I can’t believe you’re single,” he clarified, and you smiled somewhat awkwardly while chewing your mouthful.  “You’re smart and fun and cool and pretty—”

Thanks to the food in your mouth, you didn’t have to worry about coming up with a way to respond to that, so you just shrugged.

“Seriously!” he insisted.  “I mean, guys hit on you at the store— I wish somebody who actually deserved your attention would walk in that place.”

The guy I want is already there every day.  Swallowing, you finally got a chance to talk to him again.  “Thanks,” you sighed, “it’s fine, though.  I mean, I’ve been single this long— I think I’ll survive.”

“Keep waiting for the right one, okay?” he encouraged, and your heart swelled.

“I will,” you promised, sounding more wistful than you meant to.

After a brief lull in the conversation, he cleared his throat and continued.  “Hey, um, while we’re on the topic of Sunday, about the whole fuck-marry-kill thing—”

“I’m sorry,” you offered right away, “I shouldn’t have answered that.  I wasn’t being serious, obviously.”

“No, I wanted to apologize,” he returned, “I shouldn’t have pressed you on your answer.  It was funny.  And it wasn’t like you could say you were gonna kill one of us.”

You snorted.  “Yeah, that one was probably the worst of the three.”

“But I shouldn’t have asked you about what you would’ve done to me,” he shook his head, “I was making it weird.  So, sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you assured.  “Did you really expect me to say I would marry you?”

“No,” he admitted, “I thought you’d say you’d fuck me, marry Lucien and kill Jonathan.”

“What?” you scoffed, though you were still smiling.  “Why?”

“Well, Lucien would definitely make the best husband of the three of us,” he explained, “and Jonathan was the only one who wouldn’t have gotten butthurt about you saying you’d kill him.  He probably would’ve just asked you to give him a nice send-off, y’know…”

You nodded in agreement, wondering if he was going to address the obviously missing third piece of all this… he sure was staring down into his empty fried rice container with intense focus…

“And, you know, as for me,” he began sort of thinly, “I, um… I guess I just figured, you know, you’re the most comfortable with me.”

“Yeah,” you agreed, “obviously, but maybe that would make it worse?  Like, at least with Jonathan, I know that if we ever did hook up or something, it probably wouldn’t mess up our friendship.  ‘Cause we’re friendly and all, but it’s not so serious.  But with you…”

“Uh huh, well, that’s why it’s good it’s just a game,” Neil finished for you, chucking his trash in the nearest can.  “Don’t have to worry about any of that stuff.  Least of all you and I being married.  Talk about a disaster.”

You choked on your throat.  “Yeah.  No kidding…”

“Well, anyways,” he sighed, standing up from the bench and stretching for a moment, “wanna come over and see if the game’s still on?”

“Oh, um, I’m just gonna go back to my place,” you decided, throwing away the last couple bites of your food on account of your suddenly-lost appetite.  “Kinda thinking I should get my sleep schedule in order.”

“That’s good,” he nodded, “I respect that.  Have a good night, then, kid.”

“Yeah, you too,” you breathed, waving as he turned and walked off into the night, tucking his hands into his jean pockets.  

You looked down at your lap, taking a deep breath and shutting your eyes for a second.  Did he have to be so sweet just to cut you down like that?  Could he have even known how it would hurt you to say that?

It’s not even like he was wrong, but you were dying to ask him why he was so sure that you and him together would be so bad.  What was wrong with you that he still couldn’t see you that way?

Not interested in this repetitive thought cycle anymore, and being very familiar with where it leads, you got up and started to walk down the street.  You didn’t turn to go to your apartment, though; you kept going until you heard live music— scratchy, whiny guitars and throbbing bass drums— seeping out of the club.  You just needed to be somewhere familiar that wasn’t the video store or home; and, this place conveniently also had liquor.

You slipped inside— hit by a wave of sound as you entered— and took a seat at the bar, half-listening to the band that was playing, pretending to be focused at all on what was going on in the outside world rather than just spiraling into your own thoughts inside your head.

“Hey,” Jonathan nodded at you from the other side of the bar, and you nodded back.  He instantly started looking for Neil— of course he would— and you deflated a bit.  “You here alone?” he noticed.

“Yeah,” you shrugged.

“Wow,” he smirked, “it’s like when Peter Pan’s shadow escaped.”

You should’ve probably been offended by that, but it wasn’t worth denying— and you were more interested in getting liquored up than justifying that you did, in fact, have a life outside of Neil.

And, actually, Peter Pan was a pretty good way to describe Neil, too.  Fear of commitment, leader of freaks and outcasts, daydreamer… all he needed was some green tights.  “What are you drinking tonight?” Jonathan finally asked.

“What pairs well with feeling completely unattractive and unlovable?” you sighed.

“Well, that would be my drink of choice: whiskey,” he smiled, setting a bottle down in front of you.  “I’ll do a shot with you.”

He poured you both a shot, and you timed it to shoot it back together; he, obviously, took it better than you, and you cringed from the acidic flavor.  "Jesus, people really drink this on purpose?" you grumbled.

"Yeah, give it a few minutes," he assured, "it's gonna numb all those stupid emotions."

"I don't have a few minutes," you sighed, "do you have anything more fast-acting?"

"Yeah— a second shot," he joked, but you nodded in agreement.  "Okay, shit, you're not messing around tonight."

"Nope," you agreed, watching him pour just one shot this time.  "You're not doing it with me?"

"I need to pace myself, I'm here 'til two," he explained.

He slid it to you and you contemplated it for a moment, before forcing yourself to get it down as quickly as possible to avoid the burn.  You still grimaced, but recovered quickly.

"Is it working yet?" he wondered.

"I guess," you answered half-heartedly.

“Well, you could always gush to the bartender about all your problems?” he offered, but you just shrugged it off.  “Come on, you wouldn’t be the first tonight.  And since I know you, I might actually be able to help.”

“I don’t think you can help with this one,” you assured.  “This problem has been going on longer than you’ve been around.”

“Oh?” he pressed.  “Let me guess… boy troubles?”

“Isn’t it always?” you scoffed, irritated that he saw through you that quickly— apparently your reputation of being horrible with men preceded you.

“But this is just one boy,” he presumed.  “One boy who… conspicuously isn’t here tonight…”

“Is it that obvious?” you wondered with a whine, dropping your head in your hand.

“Well, if you weren’t having any issues with him, you’d be with him,” Jonathan guessed— and it wasn’t bad logic.

“But, like, does everyone know?” you wondered.  “Does everyone but him know that I’m in love with him?  Oh god, Jonathan, you don’t think he knows, do you?”

“Wait— love?” he repeated, and you swallowed thickly as you realized the whiskey had already gotten you to say too much.  “You… you’re…”

“Okay, so I guess not everyone knows,” you mumbled.

“No, yeah, I think you managed to keep that under wraps,” he assured with a nod, eyes getting wider.  “Sheesh.  No, I had no clue.  Now it’s even weirder that you guys aren’t together.”

“Well, he doesn’t love me,” you explained flatly.

“Did he tell you that?”

“No, god no— I mean, he tells me he loves me,” you corrected, “but he doesn’t mean— we just say that, you know, like at the end of phone calls or when one of us is sad.  It’s not, like… we never meant it that way.”

“Right, okay,” Jonathan nodded as he wiped a glass— the way bartenders do when they’re listening to people— but he didn’t seem to understand entirely.  “So, you’re not his type?”

“I don’t think I know what his type is,” you scoffed.  “I haven’t really noticed a pattern, have you?”

“You’d have to have a few more data points to really draw any connection between them,” Jonathan laughed.

“Yeah, fair,” you smiled, “he’s only had… I don’t know, maybe four girlfriends since I’ve known him?  One in high school, for a month— then Eva, they weren’t even really serious, just dating for a while.  And then, uh—”

“Tanisha,” he remembered.

“Right!  I liked her,” you hummed.

“What happened to her again?” he wondered.

“Got back with her ex,” you recalled.

“Wow, that blows,” Jonathan sighed.  

“She told me before she told him,” you admitted.  “She wanted me to tell him for her, actually, but I… I couldn’t do that to him.  But I came over right after, you know, and we ate ice cream from the tub and watched movies ‘til we fell asleep.”

Jonathan made a sort of face, one you couldn’t quite interpret, and you tilted your head as he seemed to mumble to himself.  

“What?” you wondered.

“Nothing, it’s just… he’s kind of an idiot,” Jonathan decided.  “I don’t think he gets how lucky he is.”

You wrinkled your brows together, laughing a bit.  “What do you mean?”

“Look, I’m not saying he’s, like, legally obligated to fall in love with you just because you guys get along so well,” he clarified, “even if that’s what Neil accused me of thinking— I really do think it’s fine for men and women to just be friends.”

“So, what are you saying?”

“I’m just saying… like, how do you have someone who cares about you that much, and you end up dating fucking Denise for almost a year?!”

“Well, nobody knows how he ended up with Denise,” you coughed.  “That was a fucking disaster.”

“I mean, not to be crass, but, uh,” he stumbled a little over his words, “I’m surprised that you coming over after that breakup didn’t turn into a rebound, at least.”

“After eating that much ice cream?” you laughed.  “That would’ve been awful.”

“But really, though,” he insisted.  “I have a hard time believing the thought didn’t even cross his mind…”

“I can’t really be sure that it didn’t,” you admitted, “I’m just saying, nothing happened.”

“I guess he’s just known you too long to go for it with you,” Jonathan shrugged.

“It’s not just that— you know Neil, he’s kind of an adrenaline junkie,” you rolled your eyes, “or at least he thinks he is.  He wants adventure, I guess— and he always talks about us doing spontaneous stuff but it never happens— and I’m just too familiar.  Too comfortable.”

“Yeah, he does kinda have something against stability,” Jonathan agreed, “do you think it’s a divorced parents thing?”

“I don’t know, I stopped analyzing that a long time ago,” you groaned, “and I told myself I would stop trying to be what I thought he wanted, but I think I keep doing it.”

“Well, I know you know him better than anybody,” Jonathan countered, “but I know guys, and that guy… there’s no way he thinks of you as just a friend.”

“Why do you think that?” 

“Because he was fucking lying when he said it wouldn’t piss him off if we hooked up,” he insisted.

“You really won’t let that go, will you?” you grinned.

“Did you see his face?  He couldn’t get the image out of his head!” Jonathan assured confidently.  “And then that whole ‘fuck marry kill’ thing— he started getting nervous, I think.”

“Nervous about what?”

“That something could really happen with us!”

“You really think he would care?” you frowned.

“I swear to— to Ash Williams,” he decided, “that if I walked into that fucking video store, and told him that you and I did whiskey shots and you came back to my place and we did the horizontal tango, he would beat me to death with the register.”

“You swear on Ash Williams?” you repeated with a smirk, knowing that meant more than swearing on any deity would mean.

“Him and his chainsaw hand,” Jonathan assured, putting a hand over his heart to add to the bit, and you giggled.

“Well, I don’t think Neil can pick up the register,” you decided.

“In that case, you let me know the next time you wanna get back at him for something,” he offered with a wink, and you smiled at him sympathetically.

“I know you’re trying to be nice,” you sighed, “but you don’t have to do that.”

“Hey, come on,” he frowned, “I know you’ve got this I’m insecure I’m a weirdo nobody notices me thing, but you can’t actually think it would be some kind of charity work for me to sleep with you—”

“No, I don’t mean that,” you sighed, “I know I could get laid if I wanted to—”

“But you don’t wanna get laid,” he finished for you, “you wanna be loved.”

You sighed again, even harder.  “Yeah,” you nodded.

“I know,” he agreed.  “And you know I love you, but—”

“But not like that,” you took your turn finishing his sentence.

His only reply was raising the bottle of whiskey with a sideways smile, a silent offer to pour another shot— for both of you this time.

“Yes, please,” you hummed, watching him fill the miniature glasses with a sigh.

part 2

[cwritesforfun]

The Bear: Carmen 'Carmy' Berzatto x Fem!Reader: Business Dinner

Enjoy;) Masterlist

(YES, the plot has changed. I do not own The Bear characters.) Y/N = Your Name

Y/N's POV

You finish getting ready and you walk out to your living room where you see your boyfriend pacing. He was pacing earlier, but you were hoping he had stopped when you did your make-up. You exclaim, "Carmy, baby, what's wrong?" He turns to you, sees you, and says, "Wow honey, you're gorgeous. I mean, jaw-dropping stunning. Let me see you twirl." You twirl and he says, "I can't believe I'm your boyfriend. I'm so lucky that I have you in my life." You wrap your arms around his neck and say, "I'm lucky to have you in my life too. I've never been happier." He wraps his arms around your waist and kisses you gently. He asks, "Are you sure you want me as your plus one tonight? I'm sure one of your friends would go if you asked." You answer, "Yes, I'm sure. I can't wait to show you off. I'm so proud of you and your success with the Bear. You also said you couldn't wait to try the food at this restaurant, so I'm happy we get to try it together. Why? Where is this sudden hesitation coming from?" He replies, "I just ... I know that there are going to be a lot of business people tonight with their millionaire star boyfriends or girlfriends. I'm not even close to that. Everyone at the party doesn't have anxiety like us and I'm stressed I'll say something wrong. Times like these make me feel insecure about who I am and like being together doesn't work." You ask, "But if you ignore tonight, do you think we work together?" He answers, "Yeah, I mean sh** I love you. I haven't told you that, but I'm nervous and stressed. I don't want to lose you." You say, "I love you too, Carmen Anthony Berzatto. I think you're the sweetest and kindest boyfriend ever." He kisses you on the cheek and you continue, "I know you're nervous, but you'll be okay. We'll be together all night. You won't ever lose me. And I refuse to hear you talk about yourself as worthless and think that. You're worth the weight of the world in gold. You're the love of my life and you're perfect to me. I love every side of you." You kiss and he says, "Ok, if we are going, we should leave before I back out. And, warn me, next time you say my full-time, I felt like I was in trouble." You laugh and you leave the apartment.

Carmy drives you both downtown and you use the valet at the restaurant. It's free valet tonight, but we're allowed to tip.

Outside the restaurant, one of your coworkers waves and walks up with their partner. The coworker says, "Hi, I'm Pippa and I work with Y/N. This is my partner, Jennifer." I introduce Carmy to them and meet Jennifer. We all head inside and ask to be seated at the table together. I know Pippa and she's a good person. She's also very passionate about food. I've met Jennifer once or twice when she drops lunch off for Pippa at work. She seems cool. They should get along with Carmy and not make him feel anxious.

Drinks are being ordered. I know Carmy is still working on staying away from alcohol and being clean. I'm so proud of his journey with it so far. I lean over to Carmy and say, "Check out their Clean Cocktails. It's their version of mocktails and they're really good." He kisses me on the cheek and says, "Thanks babe."

We then get up to get a salad from the salad and appetizer bar. Carmy gets excited to see the fresh fruit and hot fresh bread. The restaurant has some pepper that makes him excited since it's hard to get, so he tells the chef behind the bar that he is the head chef at The Bear and he wants to know more about how they use it/cook it. The chef behind the salad bar says he will send the head chef to talk to Carmy about it after the salad servings are out. This excites Carmy and you're so happy that he is happy.

You both mingle with a few people as you walk back. You can tell some of their eyes linger on Carmy an extra second or just stare weirdly at you both, so you try to keep moving.

As you're eating the salad, the head chef of the restaurant walks up and asks if we want to see the exclusive inside of the preparation of the peppers as well as the meat. Pippa, Jennifer, Carmy, and I follow him to the back. We learn about their process and they let Carmy try, which makes the head chef intrigued. You all try them hot off the pan and they're so good. We then head back to our seats.

The entrees are served and you notice your boss walking over with his wife. Note about your boss, he thinks he's the best boss and the smartest person in the room at all times. His wife is super fake and clearly is only with your boss for the money. Your boss exclaims, "Hello Pippa and Y/N! I don't believe I have had the pleasure of meeting either of your plus ones yet tonight." Pippa says, "This is Jennifer and she's one of my best friends. You also might recognize her from The Chicago Bandits Pro Softball Team. She's the pitcher and the captain of the team." Jennifer shakes your boss' hand. Your boss says, "It's nice that you were able to make it. I'm sure practice keeps you busy." Jennifer replies, "It's the off-season, so I was able to be here. It's a lovely dinner." Your boss nods. To cut the tension, you exclaim, "It is a great event. This is my boyfriend, Carmen Berzatto. He's the head chef and owner of the restaurant, The Bear." Your boss' wife says, "One of my girlfriends said you had lovely appetizers and a fine wine selection." Carmy smiles and says, "I'm glad, tell her thank you. I helped hand-select our whole menu and think it all pairs well with our wines. Our sommelier hand selects it all as well." Your boss asks, "I'm glad to hear you have a sommelier. Do you think that we could get a reservation there for Tuesday at 7:15?" BRUH wtf?!?!?! The Bear is usually full at peak dinner times and most reservations are already fully booked. Carmy pulls out his phone and says, "Sure, enter your details. I'll send a confirmation of the reservation. We'd be pleased to have you." Your boss enters his details and asks, "Will you be working that night?" Carmy answers, "Yes sir, I will." Your boss hands Carmy his phone back and replies, "Good, we want the best experience." Carmy replies, "My staff is highly trained and all have completed training with chefs worldwide. And, my sous chef is the expediter as well. You have nothing to worry about." Your boss nods and then asks, "How did you go behind the scenes tonight? I saw that you all met the head chef too. It took me forever to meet him. I thought he was avoiding me." And for good reason lol ... You exclaim, "Carmen was talking to them about their peppers. The head chef had heard of The Bear and knew of Carmen's work from NYC as well as here, so he was excited to invite us back into the kitchen. They gave us a tutorial on preparing them, and we tried them hot fresh off the pan." Your boss nods and then leaves with his wife. That was weird, ok.

When they're far away, you ask, "Is there even space free at The Bear on Tuesday?" Carmy says, "We always save a few tables for walk-ins, so yes." You reply, "You should put them by the bathroom." Carmy replies, "No, I'm not that mean." Pippa says, "You should spit in their food." Carmy replies, "I don't want it to bite either of you in the butt if he hates it. They won't be at a prime table, but I'll make sure my staff are on their best behavior. I'll even stop by to check in on their meal." Pippa says, "Don't give them a discount. They have the money." Jennifer says, "You're so evil, babe." Pippa laughs. You say, "Yet there was no lie in what Pippa said."

Dinner finishes and light desserts are served. It's sorbet, which is cold and refreshing. Your boss thanks everyone on the microphone and everyone is reminded to pick up the free swag bags by the door prepared by his wife.

Pippa, Jennifer, Carmy, and I leave together. The swag bag includes a bottle of wine, soap made by the boss' wife, socks with your work logo, and extra pens with your work logo.

You tip the valet and you get in the car.

At your apartment, you strip off the dress and slide on one of Carmy's shirts and your pajama bottoms. You go into the bathroom to wash your face of make-up. Carmy walks in, wraps his arms around your waist, and says, "I'm glad I went tonight. I liked being with you. I also will admit that I liked your friends. Pippa and Jennifer were cool. I don't like your boss or his wife. They kind of suck." I laugh and reply, "Yeah, they're not the best. Why did you give them a table this week at your restaurant? Also, I need to rinse my face." You move slightly out of his arms to wash your face then you say, "Ok, we can go to bed." Carmy holds your hand and you both get into bed. You exclaim, "I loved being with you tonight. You're the best boyfriend for going and for putting up with my boss. I feel like I didn't get to show you off as much as I could have. I forget how many people I dislike at work and don't want to speak to. Ugh, I wanted to tell everyone how cool you are and why you're a catch." He laughs, kisses the side of your head, and says, "Baby, it's okay. I think you're a catch too. I'm sure people saw us together and thought we were just the hottest couple." You laugh and say, "I mean we are." He kisses you as he laughs with you.

Masterlist

[the-west-meadow]

hi! i’m not sure if you have anymore request slots open (if you don’t just ignore this) but could you write a roman roy x reader with the prompt “you’re an asshole, you know that?”

i’m obsessed with your roman fics!!

one more just for fun :) I'll open these again in a little while. in the meantime, more Roman dysfunction!

Roman Roy x Reader

prompt: you're an asshole, you know that?

It had been Roman’s idea. Invite Siobhan and Tom over for dinner, impress them with how mature and normal you both were. Roman finally had something he could be proud of: you. And he wanted to show it off.

But Tom couldn’t make it. Sick with a cold, or perhaps just unable to be around Shiv in public at the moment. So Shiv showed up alone in a pale pink pantsuit and the three of you proceeded to drink into the night. 

The Roy siblings held their liquor surprisingly well. Shiv didn’t even blush. The only thing different about Roman was how his hair became increasingly disheveled as the night went on. You sat at the head of the table, getting more and more tipsy, endlessly amused by their banter. 

“And what about you?” Shiv said, turning to you. “I heard you’re the only reason Roman was able to seal the deal with Matsson.”

“Oh, come on,” Roman said. “That’s bullshit. You know that was all me.”

“Hold on,” you interjected. “We double-teamed him, Roman. Did you block that out or what?”

“It was my deal. Dad trusted me to do it. And I fucking did it.”

“So you didn’t have any help?” Shiv chided. “None whatsoever?”

“If you count standing there looking pretty, then sure, Y/N contributed.”

You felt the sting of his words through your buzz. 

“That’s bullshit,” you murmured, stirring the toothpick in your martini glass. 

“You want credit for helping? Okay, fine.” He stood up, performing a theatrical bow. “My deepest appreciation for charming Matsson with your wiles.”

“Fuck off, Roman,” you snapped. 

“You know,” Roman went on, “He only listened to what you had to say because he wanted to fuck you.”

You stood up, staring him down. You saw him cower slightly under your gaze.

“Fuck you,” you hissed, then stalked out of the room.

Shiv looked at Roman and blinked.

“Wow. Great job,” she said.

Roman collapsed back into his chair, sulking.

“You’re an asshole, you know that?” Shiv continued.

“Yeah, so what. I guess it’s the Dad in me.”

“You’re going to lose Y/N at this rate.”

“Maybe I don’t give a shit.”

“Then you’re an idiot and an asshole. Go back there and apologize. I’ll wait.”

Roman stood with a dramatic sigh. “Don’t make me do it.”

“I’m not making you do anything. It’s in your own best interest.”

He shuffled out of the room, towards the bedroom. He tried the door, which was unlocked, and slowly crept inside. 

You were curled in a chair by the window, gazing out at the city. The room was otherwise dark. Roman collapsed onto the edge of the bed and lie back. 

“Fuck,” he sighed. “I’m sorry, I guess.”

“Yeah, but you meant what you said.” 

“Did I?”

“And you were right. Lukas probably only heard me out because he wanted to fuck me. And you were jealous.”

Roman went silent for a long moment.

“Sorry, I’m not capable of jealousy.”

“Bullshit, Roman.”

“Seriously, I don’t care if guys look at you like that. It doesn’t bother me at all to think of Matsson imagining you naked. Maybe I get off on it.”

You looked at him, unable to tell for once if he was being serious or not.

“It’s okay to be jealous.”

“Nope. Not jealous. If I was jealous it would mean I had feelings. Which I don’t.”

You sighed. “Do you think you’ll ever tell me what you really feel?”

“Probably not.” There was a long pause, then he went on in a softer voice. “I don’t really know what the fuck I’m feeling, anyway.”

“You don’t have to know,” you said. “But that’s a start.”

He got up suddenly, then sat down at your feet with his arms around his knees.

“Sorry,” he mumbled.

You put your hands on his head, further disheveling his floppy hair. 

“It’s okay.”

Without another word, you both stood up and went back to join Shiv, who had made herself another cocktail. She watched the two of you enter the room with an amused grin.

“So?”

“Y/N made me talk about my feelings.”

“What’s the verdict?” Shiv said.

“I don’t have any and I hate you both.”

You shoved him lightly as he sat down. He dipped his fingers in his drink and flicked them at you, spraying your face. You rounded on him but stopped. His eyes crinkled with a mischievous grin that melted your heart. Beneath the table, you felt his foot hesitantly touch yours. He glanced at you with a tentative smile. 

Shiv sighed and shook her head, tossing back the rest of her drink.

“You guys are perfect for each other.”

[aphroditelovesu]

let's talk about how amazing yan!mom rhaenyra, please. as soon as she gave birth and had her baby in her arms, she understood that neither dragon fire nor valyrian steel could break the bond she shared with her baby, is half the soul her and is her heart.

yan!mom rhaenyra makes her baby and her three-headed dragon spend time together from the moment they were both born, thus creating an inseparable bond between them.

yan!mom rhaenyra who is completely amazed as soon as her baby's dragon egg hatches into a three-headed dragon, the emblem of the targaryen house. everyone is amazed and scared except rhaenyra, viserys and laenor, yan!grandfather viserys says that bby!reader is a worthy targaryen and he was given a worthy dragon, bby!reader's parents fully agree.

yan!mom rhaenyra who is surprised when the baby's first words of hers are in high valyrian but she immediately becomes proud, claiming it is her valyrian heritage.

I finally found this concept, wow, sorry for the delay in answering, anon! There's this and more to be answered about bby!reader but I ended up stalling with this because I tend to procrastinate and had some family issues but here we are 😁

Yes, we can and we should talk about yan!mom Rhaenyra and everyone on that wonderful and balanced family*irony* that the Targaryens are!

I agree with all the statements, and if you don't mind, I'll extend them.

Rhaenyra loved her baby the moment she had you in her arms, she ignored your cries and just focused on how small and right you looked to her, how fragile and perfect you were. By the Seven, you were hers and Rhaenyra would have almost burst into tears right there if she hadn't been interrupted by Laenor and Viserys. In that moment, she swore to herself that nothing and no one will separate you from her.

As is a Targaryen tradition, a dragon's egg was placed in your cradle and, to everyone's surprise, it didn't take long for a dragon to be born. But it wasn't just any dragon, it was a three-headed dragon, the symbol of the House of the Dragon. This birth just proved how special you were and how she was even more committed to protecting you, even more so after that event.

Dragon fire, valyrian steel and not even the Seven and the old Valyrian gods could destroy the bond of mother and child you possess.

Everyone was surprised by this birth, but as you said, except Rhaenyra, Viserys and Laenor. Those three just smiled and agreed that this is yet another reminder of your valyrian heritage, that you are dragonborn. Daemon just laughed and said it showed how special you would be to the family's future. He even said that when you came of age, he would give you the Dark Sister as proof.

Some weren't as thrilled with this situation, Alicent and Criston in particular. Some say that the Queen's dissatisfaction with this is envy, but this is not true, she is worried about you. She fears that your dragon could become a future risk to you and Criston is sulking about it, the worry and overprotective instincts grow even more after seeing you so close to this three-headed dragon.

Rhaenyra was tending to you when your first words will come out. At first she didn't pay much attention, imagining that the noises coming out of your mouth were nothing more than small gurgles, like all babies do. But as soon as you said something in High Valyrian she was taken aback.

She thought she heard wrong until you said it again and she actually realized you said your first words and they were in High Valyrian! Rhaenyra felt pride fill her as she hugged her bby tightly. This was just further proof of everything, your lineage and how much of her you really were.

Your bby had the weak traits of someone she's come to hate but you're more like her than expected. You are so perfect for your mother, aren't you?

~ Lady L

[somasbrianrot]

Saw that you're taking requests... Could you do one for Solo Sikoa? So like he's got 2 kids with Almia (God bless that woman, she's gorgeous) right? So something like Almia cheated on him and left him with the kids so now he's a single dad of 2 boys. So now he's insecure/scared that the reader wouldn't want to be with a guy with 2 kids but turns out the reader loves his kids. All fluff please?

I'm sorry if it's too much. It doesn't exactly have to be like this. I'm happy as long as it's some fluff with solo.

No pressure though. It's alright if you don't wanna do this, I just wanted to make a request 🤧

Thank you in advance and love you😘

Omg of course, I've personally never written for Solo so I hope I do him justice

and ily too

No Matter What (Solo Sikoa x Wrestler! Reader)

As the Smackdown Women's Champion you had a reputation to uphold, and that reputation was harder to uphold when you were looped into the bloodline, it wasn't exactly your choice but you didn't really mind much, you got along well with the Usos, Roman was pretty impressed with how you held yourself within your title defenses, Paul didn't really associate with you much, except for in promo's but Solo seemed to be the most cut off of them all.

you had thought Solo's whole silent thing was just an act for his character but whenever you had tried to talk to him he either stays silent or walks away from you, you didn't understand so you went to his brothers to ask

"Jey? Jimmy? you in here?" you looked around catering and spotted the two twins chatting with some of the other talent before they turned to look at you "Hey twin! whatchu need us for?" said Jimmy as you walked over "actually, I just want to talk about Solo" "huh? what for?" Jey questions as you all find a table to sit at "Just the way he's been...ignoring me, I'm worried he doesn't like me!" Jimmy and Jey look at each other before nodding.

"It's not that he don't like you, because he does, I think he just might like you too much, you know?" "No! No I don't know!" "Listen, don't tell anyone we told you this but...Solo likes you but he's scared, see his ex Almia and he had two children, Zion and Za'khi, then she cheated and left him with the kids, and he's scared if he tries to make a move you won't like him because he has kids!" you are shocked at the revelation "Fuck...what do I do? I want to show him I wouldn't hate him because of his kids!" "Well Solo is gonna bring them in because the show is finished, maybe that's how" you nod.

You hear little footsteps down the hall and look over to see two young boys followed by Solo, it immediately softens your heart and you smile widely as the little boys run over to see their uncles, you kneel down eye level with Zion "How are you little man?" he stares at you before smiling and wrapping his arms around you "Whoa!" he nearly knocks you off balance but you're able to catch yourself "It's nice to see you too! is that your daddy?" you point to Solo and he nods, you pick him up and stand with him as his little brother walks over, holding his hands up to you and you pick him up as well.

"Wow! look at you big boys! your dad must be so proud to have you two!" you lift them up and they giggle "do you like my dad?" you quirk your brow at the question from the older of the two boys "I mean he's cool, but I think I like you two even more" you teasingly poke his stomach and he laughs "Okay you two, leave her now" you hear Solo say as you lower them both to the ground but Za'khi won't let go of you.

"Awe, he's like a little koala!" you coo and lift him above your head, blowing raspberries into his stomach "He can stay with me Solo, I love children!" you toss him up and catch him.

"You...like kids?" "yeah! I basically raised my siblings growing up, so I know how kids work" Solo stares at you holding his youngest son as Zion walks over and tugs on his shorts "Can she be our new mummy? please?" Solo shushes him but you managed to hear the comment, a huge smile spreading across your face "I mean I'd love too, only if your daddy would let me" you smile up at Solo.

"I-...really?" "yes, I like you too dummy! but I think I love the kids more" you tease and he smiles at you, pulling you into a hug and kissing your cheek "God, you're the perfect woman" you cannot help the smile that spreads across your face as Zion motions for his dad to pick him up, the four of you looked like a picture perfect family, you look at Solo and lean over, leaving a small peck on his lips

"And that's going on the instagram" you look over to see jey holding his phone up, he must have taken a photo, Solo glares at him and tries to snatch the phone from his elder brother, you laugh as you watch Solo chase his brother around, the bloodline really was your family

A/N I hope you liked this!

[i-rate-horse-games]

rating horse life for pc

this is the closest thing to a title screen i could find lol

the player character is shorter than the horse, i dont think ive ever had this pov looking up at a horse, it's scary, eyes right next to their teeth, short people are so brave, wow. this is my horse Ramune out at pasture.

she always has her ears back in the pasture and ignores me the first three times i call her but as soon as she comes over she seems happy? like she really hates socializing but is acting like she does to seem cool to her friends? i have no idea

this game is abandonware now and my copy of it seems to be poorly translated from french, so i'm not going to comment on the funny bits of dialogue, but the dialogue lines themselves were incredibly repetitive!

the game goes like this: you take care of your horse (feed, clean stall, sponge, or brush - not all at once though) which feels like it takes forever but might just be three minutes on average. you compete to win gold medals in show jumping, dressage, cross-country, and eventing.

jumping and cross-country both use the same jumping mechanic, where you change your speed between every jump to the one the game wants and then press the space bar when the ground in front of the jump turns green or white. dressage has you click the left and right mouse buttons to the beat of a metronome, except the beat of the sound and the beat of the flashing lights on the screen don't match and if you follow the lights, you're sunk. eventing is just all three events in a row.

whenever you win, the resident Mean Girl accuses you of cheating, and the Stud Farm owner says he’s so proud of you. there’s a morning-evening cycle and after the sun sets, the stud farm owner tells you the day is over and to go get rest and come back tomorrow. this happens instantly and changes nothing.

you get coins from winning, which you can use to purchase unlockable wearable items for your horse and your rider! although i don't think anything can save this outfit.

you can't customize this rider at all, either, and there's only like four horse color options and then a few custom markings.

next you go to Training in the Training arena, and the stud farm owner teaches you the one trick that distinguishes your competition level from the next, and then you compete at the next level. the mean girl is always competing in the same races as you, and she always scores exactly 85, which is honestly more impressive than getting 100, that's so specific. you have a childhood best friend who shows up every now and then to remind you to take care of your horse like you used to, and that you’ve always been such a better rider than her.

then, although i swear it’s not in the tutorial, you eventually realize you can click on the woods north of the map and go on trail rides, which get you involved in cutscenes that tiptoe around the idea of the game having a plot. so far the mean girl has been caught trying to tire out my horse & we got to chase her “to stop her from hurting herself” and then there was no resolution after she was caught. i was so surprised that she would do such a thing that i tried to take a screenshot and got this weird glitch where half of the stable turned invisible, revealing a second secret stable in the distance... so mysterious...

then we were ordered to ride out there and take a picture of the town using the camera function, which you can use at any time when on a trail ride which Is Fun! here's a picture i took of some sheep!

they're so smooth...

after that, a vet came along with a sick horse and made me ride the entire trail with him slower than a gallop, which is frustrating because the entire trail takes like seven whole minutes to complete, so i started watching videos some random kid fight a giant spider in Grounded while doing that. i also got tired of taking care of my horse ramune, but just feeding her boosts her health, and so far there's been no repercussions to just feeding her a lot and doing nothing else.

the game is pretty repetitive, but if I were still a preteen or younger and not yet aware of my surroundings and the world around me, my dreams of someday riding a Real Horse would elevate this game to a new level. you have to use your imagination and get yourself invested in it in order to have fun with it. and for some, that’s what you’re looking for. overall, it sure is a horse game, and it’s not actively bad, it’s just mid.

i'm rating this game 2.5 out of 5 stars!

★★✬☆☆

smooth cows

[rainydaydream-gal18]

Hello! If requests are still open (if not please ignore ) May I request cute parental moments each bad batch member has with Omega with reader included? For example, Tech and Reader helping Omega with her first pilot lesson?

(The Bad Batch) Batch x Reader: Parent Moments

Author's Note: This is such an adorable request!! Thank you for dropping this in my box! I decided to do little blurbs to answer this. You are free to read each one individually as romantic xReader, or view this as a collection of platonic moments.

This got me thinking about the Bad Batch doing dad stuff, and some of that fed into this XD Will probably make a separate post about it.

Enjoy!!!

Hunter: Teaching a New Skill 

   "Alright, kid. You ready?" Hunter asked, arms folded as he noted the eager expression on young Omega's face. You lifted your hand to cover your lips, stifling a chuckle as she practically bounced up and down.

   "I'm ready!"

   "First, you've got to ease up. Tracking requires patience and focus."

   "Right." Omega relaxed her shoulders. "Patience and focus."

   "That's right. It's about recognizing the signs. You may not be able to pick up on all the signs I can because of my...abilities. Neither can ________, as a matter of fact." He stole a glance your way. His tone was serious, instructive, but you caught the slightest taunting glimmer in his eye as he continued. "But she learned in her own way. And her skills aren't half-bad."

   You rolled your eyes playfully, kneeling down on one knee to survey the ground in front of you. "Yeah, sure." You eyed a branch from a shrub that had been bent in half, most likely stepped on by something large.

   "I didn't know you knew how to track," Omega said in fascination. She tilted her head curiously as your eyes scanned the area.

   "With him around-" you motioned vaguely in Hunter's direction "-we hardly need another tracker. But Hunter thought it would be a good idea to have someone else know a thing or two just in case."

   "And since you were curious about it before, _______ and I thought we'd teach you what we know." Hunter shifted his stance. He looked to you again. "So, what do you see?"

   "Looks like some sort of large leaf-eating mammal just came through here about an hour ago."

   Hunter lifted a brow at you. "And?"

   "Right. sorry. Two leaf-eating mammals. One of them is much smaller. Perhaps it's a mother and her young."

   He nodded in approval at your assessment. "Good."

   Omega's eyes widened in amazement. "Wow! _______! You're really good!"

   "Not half-bad," Hunter repeated, his smirk growing.

   "Yeah," you chuckled. "What he said. So, let's get started. Hunter, if you would?"

   "Rule number one to tracking is..."

- - - - - - - - -

Wrecker: Protective

   You, Wrecker, and Omega were walking through the woods of a strange planet one of Cid’s jobs had landed the Bad Batch on.  Omega practically begged Hunter to give her a job on the mission.  He finally agreed to let her scout ahead, but only if she took someone with.  You volunteered to go, and for good measure, Hunter ended up sending Wrecker along just as a precaution.  Though Tech voiced that the possibility of encountering a danger was minimal, there was no telling exactly what was out there.

   “Keep an eye out, kid,” Wrecker said, though his tone suggested he wasn’t the least bit concerned.  There was a certain confidence he had as the biggest and strongest member of the squad.  It meant that things were less likely to want to go up against him.

   “Don’t worry,” Omega replied, narrowing her eyes as she looked around her surroundings.  “I’ve got my eyes peeled.”

   You were both proud and amused at how seriously she was taking the task that Hunter assigned her.  It was a good quality to have.  She didn’t scoff or complain at even the most mundane jobs aboard the Marauder.  She preferred anything to being left behind.

   Suddenly, you heard the quietest snap, like a twig.  You looked over at Wrecker to see he had picked up on a presence as well.  Omega hadn’t quite caught on yet.

   Another snap.

   This time, she heard it.  She looked over at you with wide eyes, and you put a finger to your lips as a sign to keep quiet.  You then motioned for her to return to your side, and she started taking careful steps in your direction.  

   The kid was brave.  She’d already faced many dangers and handled them pretty well, but in that moment, the worry was evident.  She didn’t like the unknown.  After some of the things you’d all faced, could you blame her?

   And then the threat revealed itself.

   It was a beast of some sort, something Tech had warned about in passing.  He’d said that the likelihood of them attacking was very low as they were mostly nocturnal.  The creature bared its sharp teeth in a fearsome snarl.

   You closed the gap between you and Omega in an instant, wrapping your arms around her and pulling her behind you.  The creature bounded toward the two of you huddled together, but its was stopped dead in its tracks by Wrecker, whose shoulder collided with the beast in a hard tackle to knock it away.

   He drew his blaster and planted his boots in the ground, shielding you and Omega from the danger, and took aim.  “Hey,” he growled.  “Why don’t you pick on someone your own size instead?”

   The creature raked its cold eyes over you and Omega once more, most likely debating whether its prey was worth the risk of dealing with Wrecker.  It lashed its tail furiously and gave another loud snarl.

   Wrecker took one step closer, and it stepped back.

   It finally decided to abandon the hunt.  The beast turned and sauntered back into the forest, leaving the three of you alone.

   Wrecker let out a hearty laugh.  “Smart animal.  Knew better than to tangle with me!”

   A big smile spread across your face.  “Thank you, Wrecker.”

   “Yeah, thank you,” Omega said.  She breathed a sigh of relief, the fear leaving her features and instead being replaced by wonder and admiration for her big brother.  “That was amazing!”

- - - - - - - - -

Tech:  Bickering

   “Very good, Omega,” Tech praised the young Bad Batcher for her ability to follow his instruction.  She beamed at the note of approval in his tone.  “What next?”

   “We take a look at the systems, make sure everything’s operational.”  She squinted at the collection of warning lights flashing across the dash.  Her lips formed a small frown.  “There are a lot that aren’t…”

   “Critical systems are,” he said, raising his index finger pointedly.  “That’s what’s important.”

   You couldn’t help the snicker that escaped you, swiveling your chair in a failed attempt to hide your humor from the pilot.  Tech looked in your direction curiously.

   “What’s so funny?” Omega asked, amusement creeping into her tone at hearing your laughter snowball.

   “Oh, nothing,” you wheezed

   “I believe ________ finds humor in how I maintain the Marauder.”

   You clutched your stomach.  “Sorry.  It’s just- you’re teaching her bad habits.  We really shouldn’t have so many alerts going off.”

   Tech’s voice remained even.   “Numerous events and projects have prevented Echo and I from doing proper maintenance.”

   “Right, right.  I’m sorry.”

   Tech held your gaze for another few seconds while you bit your lip to try and cover another laugh.  His tone was still calm, though you detected that hint of underlying sass.  “I don’t suppose you’d like to assist in repairs?  Seeing that it is a concern of yours?”

   “I’m just saying,” you replied, internally oooohing at his passive-aggressive comment, “that under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t advise Omega to take off with that many alerts.”

   “Critical systems are unaffected.”

   Omega glanced between the two of you.

   “I know, but-” You sighed, grumbling, “I think I will make some repairs.  Where’s the toolkit?”

   “Maybe Tech and I could help?” Omega spoke up helpfully.  “This way, Tech could show me more about the ship, and we can get caught up with repairs.”

   “Excellent idea, Omega,” Tech chimed in.

   “Yeah, sounds good!”  You exchanged looks with Tech, all sass forgiven and forgotten, before diving into the lesson.

- - - - - - - - -

Echo: Fashion Show

   “Hey, Echo!”

   He looked up from his data pad at the sound of Omega’s usual chipper greeting.  You boarded the ship close behind her and waved.  Both of you carried a few beaten-up bags from your trip to the market.

   “Hey there,” he said with a smile.  “Get anything good?”

   “Yes!  _______ helped me find some armor!”

   “At least for now,” you chimed in.  “Until we find something more suitable.  The kid needed it.”

   Echo nodded in agreement.  “Alright, let’s see it then.”

   Omega exchanged looks with you, her eyes alight with excitement, happily taking the second bag and hurrying over to her room.  While she got ready, Echo turned to you.  His brow furrowed in a look of confusion.

   “How’d you manage this?  We don’t exactly have a lot of credits to spare after that last job ended badly.”

   “I have my ways.”  Your tone was cryptic, but he didn’t miss the glint in your eye or the pendant that was missing from your neck.

   “_______….” he began, concerned.

   “Don’t worry about it,” you insisted, giving him a gentle nudge.  “She needs this more.  The kid comes first.  Besides, you saw how excited she is.”

   Just then, Omega emerged from her room, donning her new (slightly used) armor that you helped her pick out at the merchant’s table.  She held out her arms to show it off as she walked over.

  “What do you think?” she asked.

   Echo nodded in approval.  “You look like a Bad Batcher.”

   He was right.  The pieces of armor had been scrubbed as clean as it could, though it had its fair share of scuff marks and scratches from previous use.  She looked battle-ready.

   “It does look pretty cool, doesn’t it?”

   You tilted your head to the side.  “I’m afraid those boots might be a tad too big.”  

   “They’re perfect,” she insisted.  “Oh!  I have to show Echo the cloak!”  She climbed back into her room, and you and Echo both shared a laugh.

- - - - - - - - -

Crosshair: The Pet He didn’t Want

   “Look, Crosshair!”  Omega beamed as she held the pup up towards the sniper. “We found a lost voorpak.  Isn’t she cute?”

   The pup gave a little bark and wriggled around, sticking its tongue out.  Crosshair’s already stern face twisted into a look of mild disgust.  “It’s ugly.”  The pup looked unaffected as he turned to walk out of range, but Omega followed him, holding the voorpak even higher.

   “She is going to be named Brandi.  And she is adorable.”

   “We could use another girl around here,” you joked, resting your hands on your hips.  “Come on, Cross.  Even you have to admit it’s kind of cute.”

   He sat himself down on a crate and began to inspect his rifle, most likely for cleaning.  “Don’t tell me we’re keeping that thing.”

   “Hunter said we can look after her until we find a suitable home,” Omega replied victoriously.

   “How wonderful,” he muttered.

   You and Omega exchanged looks, laughing, and took the pup back toward her room so it could scurry around for a bit.

   Over the next few days, the voorpak began growing on the Bad Batch.  Even Hunter and Echo would smile in amusement watching Omega play with the creature.  Wrecker joined in.  But Crosshair preferred to keep his distance.  He would roll his eyes and offer up complaints if the creature didn’t do its business outside or was in his way.

   It was one afternoon that the others went out for supplies.  Omega asked you to keep an eye on Brandi for a while, to make sure she didn’t get into any trouble, since you were staying behind to do a few tasks around the Marauder.  Crosshair would be around, but of course, he didn’t like Brandi.

   The pup followed you around the ship, barking playfully and smothering you with kisses every time you had to kneel down or crawl into a small space.  It was a few hours in, and suddenly, you realized that she wasn’t at your heels.

   “I’d better check on her and make sure she’s still on board!” you commented to yourself.  So, you set your tools down and went looking.  There weren’t too many places for her to hide, but you kept your eyes peeled just in case.

   Faint yip-yip sounds coming from down the hall caught your attention.  You followed it cautiously, realizing quickly that Crosshair had been down there organizing gear.  You didn’t want him to be bothered by Brandi, so you hurried your pace.  But when you reached the doorway, you were met with a most unexpected sight.

   Crosshair was sitting on a crate, staring down at little Brandi, who was hopping around in circles.  There was a small huff of air, like a brief chuckle, and Crosshair leaned down to pat the creature.

   It yipped again and cuddled up against his leg.  He didn’t say much, but you couldn’t get over the soft expression on his face.  “You’re not all that bad,” he commented, scratching the little puff ball with legs.  “I suppose.”

   You felt a presence appear at your side, and you realized that the others had returned from their trip.  Omega was standing next to you and peering through the doorway with a smile on her face.  She didn’t look all too surprised to see him being so tender toward the voorpak pu, and neither of you had it in you to taunt.  You both nodded and backed away from the doorway, pretending to have just arrived.

   “Oh, there she is!” you stated.  “She disappeared for a few, and I got worried.”

   “There she is,” Crosshair said, standing to his feet with a sigh.  He looked at Omega.  “Took you long enough.”

   “Sorry, we got side-tracked.  There was a really cool snack stand!”

[transsongtaewon]

[Read on Ao3]

"Do you think it's possible to be a werewolf in a cisgender way?"

Yerim was munching on popcorn, watching as the man on the tv turned into a slighter larger, hairier man with cooler teeth.

"What?"

Yoohyun was sitting next to her, ignoring the popcorn Yerim had very kindly placed where they could both reach it. She had asked if he wanted to watch the movie together on a whim, not really expecting him to take her up on it, but he'd just looked vaguely annoyed and agreed. So now here they were, watching a mediocre monster movie together because Yerim thought the summary sounded funny.

"Just, can you be a werewolf in a cis way? Or, wait, do you not know what cis means?"

It made sense, of course. Why would Yoohyun of all people know about this stuff.

"Of course I know what cis means, who do you take me for." Yoohyun looked a little insulted and a little smug at the same time.

"Sometimes I almost understand why ahjussi thinks you're cute."

The look on his face morphed into one of abject horror, making Yerim cackle. "If we destroy another couch this week ahjussi will be disappointed! Don't try to set me on fire!"

Yoohyun sent her a dirty look but did not try to kill her over being called cute. He could be so well behaved at times.

"I just mean, if you have a person and they literally transform into some weird ideal of masculinity but also it's a monster that eats people, that obviously says something about gender."

"But not necessarily in a trans way, right? I understand that it's an exaggeration of masculinity but that doesn't mean it's automatically about being trans, it can just be a general gender thing."

"As far as I'm concerned, all gender is trans." She threw a piece of popcorn at him just because she could. He incinerated it before it could hit his face. "You really don't want any? It's pretty good."

"That's a bold stance. And no thank you."

Yerim shrugged. "Your loss." It really was very good popcorn and she was still amazed that Yoohyun had been willing to make it for her using his abilities. He truly was just a big softy big down - given that one happened to be on his hyung's good side.

"But I mean it, gender is all just a construct with, like, expected performances and stuff, and trans people have to perform more than anyone. Also they're expected to, like, hide a lot of gendered things because they contradict how they want to be seen. Also also hiding things is deceptive and therefore monstrous. Bam."

She felt like she almost made a coherent point there, so she allowed herself a moment to be very proud.

Yoohyun's raised eyebrow accompanied the werewolf on screen ripping someone's throat out. "I'm sure Killermonster 3: Attack of the Clawful Wolf offers great insights into the plight of trans people everywhere."

"Maybe it does. What do you know about media analysis?" Yerim scoffed.

"Oh, so we're watching this for analysis? You should have said so, I could have helped with your homework."

"Excuse you! I don't need help from you of all people."

"Unlike some people, I always had excellent grades in school."

Yerim was deeply tempted to throw the entire bowl of popcorn at him.

"If you mess up the couch, hyung will be disappointed!"

She huffed. She wasn't going to do it anyway, since she was a very mature person who wouldn't act out over something so small. Obviously.

"Anyway. It's literally about people transforming, so how could there not be any trans subtext."

"Would that make Peace trans?"

Yerim couldn't give in now, her honor depended on it. "For sure." A beat. "How does all that work for him anyway?"

Yoohyun looked a little uncertain. "I think the species can change sex at will depending on what is needed."

"Wow."

He shrugged.

"I still will not be listening to your opinions, since you have clearly never thought about your gender presentation a day in your life."

"Maybe not voluntarily," Yoohyun conceded. "But when I did my pr training and styling of course they considered that."

"Wait, really?"

"What do you think they did during that? I had to try out like fifty different looks until we landed on this one." He shrugged. "All the same to me, really."

She tried to imagine Yoohyun doing a cute concept and burst out into giggles. "Would you have gone with it if they decided to out you into frilly dresses all the time though? I thought even you would have your limits."

"Why do you think I've never worn dresses before?" He sounded so genuinely confused Yerim was confused right with him.

"You have? When?!"

"Not since I was young, but it was really the same as anything else."

Yerim blinked. "I really can't imagine that."

"And here I thought you were trying to combat gender stereotypes."

"Where you're correct, you're correct I suppose." She crunched a bit more of her popcorn. "Does Yoojin know about the dress thing?"

Yoohyun looked at her like she had gone a bit insane. "Of course he does, why wouldn't he?"

"I don't know! I just didn't expect this!"

Yoohyun got a look on her face that made her want to instinctively check if her shoelaces had been tied together, even though she of wasn't wearing any shoes. Before she could figure out what the fuck that meant, Yoojin opened the door.

"Hi! Sorry it got a bit late for me, you know how the monsters are." Yerim nodded even though she wasn't entirely sure 'how the monsters are'. "Have you had anything to eat yet? I was going to make myself something, so if you want a snack..."

"That'd be great, oppa! Thank you!" Yoohyun called out.

"Of course, Yoohyun. You too, Yerim? Coming right up."

Yoojin busied himself in the kitchen and Yerim turned toward Yoohyun. "What was that?"

"What was what?"

He really had perfected the innocent look. Yerim decided not to think about this any longer. Trying to one-up the Han brothers in insanity was futile endeavor anyway.

Written for Sctir Pride Week Day 6: Werewolves/Weremonsters

[a-libra-writes]

Can I request any lackadaisy characters of your choosing reacting to a male reader who is normally very apathetic laughing and smiling for the first time?

Sure! many characters here so I put a cut.

♣️Rocky - OH. Oh, wow, that's a great face. A great laugh, too. Wow. If you're reacting that way because of something he did, Rocky is just delighted and will absolutely do it again. This is filed away in his brain for eternity - on this day, at this time, he finally got you to crack. Even if it short-lived. No one believes him when he brags about his triumph.

♣️Freckle - The noise actually makes him startle; he never expected that out of you - not that it's unpleasant! Quite the opposite. It makes him smile too. He was always a bit nervous around you. Though, if you were laughing and smiling at something morbid, well ... maybe he's still nervous ...

♣️Ivy - "Wow! I didn't even know your face muscles worked that way!" She is also committing this historical event to memory, because she absolutely wants to see it again! If something she did or said is what amused you, she's definitely gonna try again later. She talks to all her friends and the other Lackadaisy staff about her accomplishment; they can scarcely believe her.

♣️Mitzi - "That's a sweet smile you have, dear," and she means it. Mitzi is glad to see that side of you, even moreso if she's the only person who got to witness it. If she's the reason you smiled, she gets a warm happy feeling and plots to try again some day.

♣️Viktor - The sudden noise surprises him. His tail puffs just slightly as he side-eyes you, then goes back to whatever he was working on. That was. ... strange. Like seeing a dog walk on its hind legs, or when Mordecai smiled for once - no. He'd rather not think of back then. He grunts and ignores you for a while.

♣️Zib - "Oh thank god, you're one of the living after all. Sometimes I forget." He talks shit, but your smile actually gave him butterflies. He just tugs his hat down and goes back to lounging, though he'll remember that sight for quite a while.

♣️Atlas - He glances at you for a moment, then goes back to whatever he was doing. That was certainly surprising. The others' reactions are quite amusing, too. If he didn't witness it, he may not believe it.

🏵️Serafine and Nico - Serafine grins and elbows her brother to make sure he noticed, which he very much did. If it was one of them who got that reaction out of you, they'll never let the other forget it. They both have something of a competition when it comes to getting reactions out of you; you're much more fun to tease than Mordecai. Well, you've given an inch, now they want to take a mile.

🏵️Mordecai - It surprises him, which it really shouldn't, because he's of a similar temperament. Mordecai is a little disconcerted, but ... well, your laugh is fairly pleasant and the smile does a good job of not looking unhinged. If you were laughing at something morbid or creepy, alas, that kind of ruins the appeal. wait wait why is he thinking about your appeal--

⛰️Wick - He almost drops whatever he was drinking, and blinks a few times before smiling and giving a little laugh himself. If he was the reason for that reaction, he's (very) proud and embarrassed. It was probably silly, whatever he said, but it's nice to see such a pleasant expression on your normally serious face. Truth be told, you kind of intimidate him.

⛰️Lacy - "Huh. I didn't think he had it in him," She says to her boss as you walk out. "A shame, he has a nice smile. .... Sir?" She snaps her fingers several times in front of Wick to get him back to reality.

[oneforthemunny]

Can I please request teacher reader buying Eddie flowers, or something that is low-key but ends up bringing him to tears because he feels so loved?

(He’s also totally the guy who saves every piece of the kids art from finger paintings to their little projects from school)

I hope you're ready for pain bitches (and by pain I mean such tender sweetness it will bring tears to your eyes)

It was a small promotion. Eddie had brushed it off like it was nothing, focusing more on the pay raise and diminishing the rest, but you wouldn't hear it. Squealing and wrapping your arms around him, hugging him tight to you as you rocked him back and forth with pure glee.

The superintendent had wanted to meet with Eddie, a fact that only a few hours earlier had him wracked with anxiety. Instead of the impending doom of being "let go" like he'd worried himself sick about, it was the opposite. A promotion.

The school needed to hire a maintenance worker for the middle school too, but the budget was tight. Not enough to pay an entire other salary, but enough to promote Eddie to janitor of the elementary school kids, and do some oddball maintenance work for them too. He supposed the time in the shop with Wayne had helped, the pay increase showed him that. The superintendent boasting on him about what a great job he did, they just needed more of him.

Eddie was thrilled, grinning when he told you, still a little shy and bashful about bragging on himself, promising that he'd finally get to take you and Oliver and Olivia on the vacation you deserved. You ignored his negative tone, cupping his cheeks and peppering his face in kisses. You were proud, so fucking proud. Beaming in adoration at him and he basked in it.

"Babe," Eddie called, plastic bags full of detergent and milk you'd sent him out for, kicking the door shut gently. "I got the stuff."

Eddie's ears perked, hearing the quiet shushing tones and tiny giggled from the kitchen. His brow raised, living room lacking tiny children watching cartoons or playing with toys.

Eddie called your name, fishing out his keys to sling them in the bowl, brows furrowed when he turned the corner. "Baby, are you-"

"Congratulations!"

Eddie startled, stepping back at the sudden sound, eyes rounding in surprise. The three of you, his tiny, perfect family, all stood in front of the kitchen table. Oliver on a chair, your hand on his back protectively, Olivia on your hip, clapping and gargling excitedly in her little baby blabber that always had Eddie's heart turning to mush. In the middle, a small pan cake. Strawberry frosting that read 'Congratulations Dad!' in sloppy frosting writing- no doubt Ollie's, judging by the sticky residue on his shirt.

"Look, Dad!" Oliver grinned. "We made you a cake!"

Eddie felt it coming, the burn of tears, throat constricting and strangling his words in his throat. "You did?" He lilted as best he could, clearing his throat lightly, too overcome with emotion.

"Uh-huh!" Oliver bobbed his head, too caught up in his own excitement to see how emotional Eddie was getting. "Mom let me break the eggs in, and-and stir it, and we both decorated it! Olivia tried to help, but she kept hitting it with her hands and it got everywhere." Oliver giggled, looking at his baby sister.

"We just wanted to say congratulations." You beamed, rubbing Olivia's back gently. "To show you how proud we are of you, and how happy we are for you."

Eddie pressed his lips together. He refused to cry. He couldn't. Not in front of the kids. "Wow." Eddie choked out, swiping at his nose as casually as he could. "I-I... I don't know what to say."

"Do you like it?" Oliver's voice was softer now, shoulders drooping in defeat.

"No, no!" Eddie said frantically, shaking his head. "I mean, yes. I just... I was really surprised." Eddie said genuinely, setting the bags down slowly. "And I am really thankful you guys did this all for me. So thank you." He nodded, jaw flexing to keep his tears from spilling.

"Congratulations, honey." You muttered, leaning up to press your lips to his in a short, sweet kiss over Olivia's head.

Eddie's hand found your cheek, stroking it lovingly, eyes swimming with emotion. Olivia squealed, squirming and reaching for her father, grabby hands at him that made Eddie smirk, hoisting her onto his own hip.

"Thank you, you guys." Eddie ran a hand over Oliver's head, pulling him closer to his chest. You beamed when you looked at them, Eddie's arm raising to let you in, so you were snuggled to his side, arm over Olivia's back, scratching Oliver's head gently. Eddie's lips pressed to your head, nose lingering over your scalp, breathing in the familiar scent of you to calm his emotions, heart swelling and bursting with love and pride. His little family.

[mysticwolfshadows]

Taken - Zutara - Part 33

First / Previous / Next

When they get to the arena, Toph and Aang are dangling in the air in metal cages.

And then Lord Beifong, the bastard, tried to take Toph and leave Aang too be handed over to the Fire Nation. When the Beifong's were walking past her, Katara tapped her foot, making Toph pause.

"It's your choice," Katara said. "But we could use the help."

Toph's father scoffed. "My daughter is blind. She is blind and tiny and-"

"I'll help," Toph said, pulling away from her father.

They joined the fray, despite Toph's father shouting at them. Toph takes over, telling Sokka and Zukoo to go help Aang instead. Katara smiled, knowing this girl could take care of a few lesser benders. She joined the boys at the cage, nodding to Zuko as she pulled water from her pouch.

"Heat the lock," Katara said.

Zuko nodded, trusting her judgment, and grabbed the lock in both hands, heating it until it was red hot. Quick as a whip, Katara doused it in water, freezing it all at once. There was a crack, and the lock came loose with a tug. Aang crawled out, staring at Toph.

"Wow," he said, blinking. "She's so good. Am I really gonna learn from her?"

"Maybe," Katara said, as Toph finished up. "That's up to her..."

Back at the Beifong estate, Katara stands with the others as Toph confronts her parents. She listens as Toph confesses her feelings, her desire to fight, and genuine love for it. She confeses never having a real friend, but feeling like she has the chance to now.

Katara was so proud of her, only, Toph's father is an absolute ass.

"I've let you had far too much freedom," the man has the gaul to say. "From now on you'll be cared for and guarded twenty-four hours a day."

"But dad!" Toph cries, then turns her head. "Katara-"

"They have no say here," Lao said, scowling at them. "This is for your own good."

But it wasn't Katara that spoke up. It was Zuko, his hands clenched, that stepped forward.

"No," Zuko snapped. "You're doing this for you. Your insane desire for control. You'd rather destroy your daughter than release any of your control over her."

"You don't know what you're talking about, boy!" Turning Lao shouted. "Guards! Escort the Avatar and his friends out. They are no longer welcome here."

As the guards stepped forward, Zuko turned, sweeping a foot out, shooting flames at the approaching enemy. The guards stumbled, and Katara got into her own fighting stance, ready to defend.

"Firebender!" Poppy gasped, shrinking away.

"I am Prince Zuko, son of Ursa and Fire Lord Ozai." He turned back to the Beifong's, smoke rising from his fista as he glared. "And I speak from experience when I say you will break your daughter one day. And when you do, it'll be something you can't take back."

"Get out," Lao tries, even as his voice shakes. "Get out of my house."

"We'll leave in peace," Aang cuts in, his staff pointed towards one man. "Toph?"

"My daughter-!"

"Has the right to choose," Katara said, reaching with one hand to touch the earthbenders shoulder. "Toph, if you want to leave, we won't let them stop you, even if you don't come with us."

For a moment, Toph just stared in the direction of the floor. Then, she nodded. "I'll join you," she said, ignoring her parents cries. "I'll teach the Avatar."

Her father was shouting, and the room was thrown into chaos. They took off, fighting their way out, climbing quickly onto Appa and flying off.

"This is gonna come back to bite us, isn't it?" Sokka asked, peering over the saddle as the Beifong Estate grew smaller and smaller.

"Probably," Zuko sighed. "I shouldn't have done that."

Katara shook her head. "Toph deserved to make her own choice. Right, Toph?"

She turned, finding the younger girl clinging to the saddle. She was looking kind of green. "I think I'm gonna hurl!"

"Over the side!" Sokka shrieked. "Over the side! Not in the saddle!"

First / Previous / Next

[namorslutfanfiction]

Tenoch realizes you have a praise kink and has too much fun using it against you.

Is this about me? lmao thanks nonnie

Summary: It was the way you froze when he casually said 'atta girl' during a stunt rehearsal that gave you away. Now Tenoch new your weakness and he wanted to see how far he could take it.

Fluff, sexy, and semi-smutty.

"Atta girl," Tenoch said as you finally landed the kick at the right time. He noticed you stiffen for a moment then continue making your way to the bench where your water was sitting.

"I told you I would figure it out eventually," You shot at him as you took a swig from your water bottle. You and Tenoch were in stunt rehearsal for some fight scenes you had together. There was a tricky move in the first scene that had taken you over an hour to finally get right.

"We still have 3 more to mark and practice. Remember what Damian said about practicing while he was gone," Tenoch reminded you. Damian was your fight choreographer who was out on some family emergency. He wanted the two of you to keep practicing the complicated hand to hand combat scenes while he was away. Tenoch had been a complete tyrant over it, wanting to make it all perfect before Damian returned. Tenoch was realizing that positive reinforcement seemed to work better than cracking the whip on you.

"I don't think Damian would appreciate you working me to the bone," You replied as you tossed your shirt off, leaving you in a sports bra and bike shorts. You made your way back to the center of the mats and started to mark your steps for the next fight.

Tenoch walked up to you and fondly grabbed you by the nape of your neck, squeezing it affectionately as he joined you, "He would appreciate how good of a job you are doing. Remember when we first started and you kept losing your balance. What you've done is impressive."

You felt your skin heat up at the compliments but ignored it, "Let's just keep going ok?"

Tenoch raised his hands in a sign of defeat after you roughly shrugged him off. "I really mean it though, I am proud of you."

You took a deep breath and rubbed your nose bridge in exasperation. Tenoch found it amusing but called for you to start the next set of moves. As you continued practicing Tenoch made a conscious effort to continue to compliment you as it seemed to really drive you to do better.

In reality you were trying to keep your cool. You were hyper focused on the movements and ignoring the way that Tenoch kept telling you how proud he was of you and how impressed he was by your improvement. It was making you unbelievably frustrated. There was a constant flush under your skin and you were fighting the desire to rub your legs together.

With all your strength you flipped Tenoch onto the mats. Out of breath you looked down at the man who had the wind knocked out of him. Once he collected himself he let out a laugh and smiled up at you. "Wow, y/n! That's my girl, I didn't think you were going to get it that fast."

You suppressed the noise that almost came out of your mouth and offered him your hand so he could get back on his feet. He patted your head and continued his excited laugh, "You're really amazing you know."

Tenoch was surprised when you pulled away and determinedly walked towards your water bottle again. "Are you okay? You seem kind of frustrated."

"I'm fine. Let's just move on alright," You shook out your arms and stretched a little in place.

Tenoch didn't like that you seemed so closed off, especially since you both were getting so physical so he pulled you down to sit on the bench with him. "What's on your mind?"

"Nothing," You replied trying not to let any part of you touch the actor.

"Why are you sitting like that? Relax I'm not going to hit you," Tenoch said, pulling you into his side with an arm around your shoulders. He shook you lightly, "You know I love how fast you're getting this considering how nervous you were before. You're going to look amazing once we start filming."

You looked away, trying not to let the tingles on the side of your body that was touching his overwhelm you. You coughed to try and cover the stuttering in your voice, "Y-yeah, it will be great. Can we start on the next scene now?"

You deftly pulled yourself away from his grasp and made it to the center of the mat again. Tenoch took a minute to watch you, contemplating how warm you had felt against him and how you kept looking away from his gaze. You were normally very confident about eye contact and would joke with him whenever you trained. When he had been harsher you had seemed to relish talking back to him. Something was different and Tenoch had a sneaking suspicion he knew what it was.

"Y/N, is that a new sports bra and leggings set? I don't think I've ever seen you wear them?" Tenoch asked, staring at you from his seat on the bench.

The question caught you off guard, "Uh yeah, I got it last week."

Tenoch stood and smiled as he approached you. He looked you up and down before looking you straight in the eye, "You wear them really well. If I'm completely honest, your ass looks amazing."

Whatever reaction you had was strangled in your throat by sheer will power. You covered your mouth and turned away. You felt Tenoch approach your back, "While I like the view, can you turn around for me?"

His tone of voice had changed to amusement and something darker. You turned around, not meeting his eye. Tenoch was positive he knew why you were shy all of a sudden. He tilted your chin so you would look at him, "That's a good girl. You listen really well. I'm proud of you."

"Fuck," you practically whimpered before you bolted out of the training room. You could feel your leggings become uncomfortably wet between your legs.

~~~

Tenoch felt a little bad for messing with you the day before but he also found your little fetish enticing. You were so in control and dominant normally that finding out that you had a praise kink, of all things, was a turn on.

When he walked into the training room he found you stretching in the middle of the mats. You nodded at him as he entered and dropped off his things at the bench against the wall. He joined you on the mat and got down to the floor to stretch out like you.

"Good morning, y/n," Tenoch greeted you hesitantly. He knew he probably crossed some sort of line yesterday, "You look well rested."

You glanced at him quickly and looked away, "Thanks."

"We can cover the next few fights today and we should be ready for when Damian comes back," Tenoch said as the two of your continued stretching. Suddenly he felt his hamstring tighten into a cramp, "Puta madre!"

As his muscles seized in a painful cramp you moved towards him and pulled his shoe off. You knelt down and lifted his leg up and bent his toes towards his knees while you massaged his calf.

The actor continued to curse under his breath until he felt his muscle start to loosen. You sat back on your legs and kept his calf on your lap while you continued to move his foot and knead his muscle. Tenoch had his arm covering his face as you helped him through the spasm.

"Mmm, fuck that feels good," Tenoch groaned. You paused your movements which caused him to protest, "Wait, don't stop yet, please. You're really good at that."

You were heating up again but continued to knead his calf, running your hands up and down his bare leg. Tenoch took his arm off his face and sat up on his elbows, watching you as you focused on his leg. He realized that your hair wasn't in its usually tied back style. "You look gorgeous with your hair untied like that."

You looked up and met Tenoch's gaze then shoved his leg off your lap roughly. You stood up, "Get up, you baby. We need to practice."

"Hey, you don't have to be so rough," Tenoch scowled half-heartedly as he slowly stood up, still feeling a twinge in his calf.

You ignored his pleas to take it easy as you ran through the fights. Hours were spent honing your skills. Tenoch found himself distracted by how much you improved with your obvious frustration at him. This excited him as he had to catch up to your speed and precision.

By the time you finished sparring and marking your moves for the fights you were both sweaty and exhausted, but successful. You chugged some water. "That actually ended up being easier once we go the timing right."

Tenoch nodded as he took a large drink of water. "Yea once we figured out the beats to the close combat parts it wasn't that hard to get the rest."

You were seated on the bench while he stood next to you looking at his beard in the mirrors on the wall. You had a towel hanging on one shoulder after you had wiped your sweat. You looked up at the tall actor from your seated position, "What no compliments now?"

Tenoch looked down at you and raised an eyebrow. He leaned his arm on the mirror above you and leaned down, "You want to know what compliments I have for you now? What if you get mad again?"

"I wasn't mad," you mumbled.

"Then why did you run off yesterday?" He asked, a teasing smile on your face.

"Why were you complimenting me so much yesterday?" You challenged, not wanting to admit out loud what you felt.

"Like how good I think you look when you're looking up from below me like a good girl?" Tenoch said in a low voice, leaning down over you.

You went silent at his words, your skin grew hot. You bit your lip and let out a huff.

"Now don't do that," Tenoch reached forward, cupped your cheek and used his thumb to ever so slightly pull your bottom lip from your teeth. "Your lips do look sexy all bitten and wet like that."

"Tenoch," You whispered as his thumb gently rubbed your lip. You swallowed deeply.

"Hmm," Tenoch replied still focusing on your lip.

You were heady with arousal now, unable to deny the effect his words had on you. You wanted to hear more, "Tenoch, did I do good today?"

He smiled down at you, and met your eyes, "You were amazing. And you looked so good getting all sweaty and breathy for me."

Unconsciously you rubbed your thighs together. It caught Tenoch's eye and he glanced at your lap. He crouched down and put his palm on your thigh, rubbing it firmly. Now that he was closer to your eye level, he leaned in, "You like being such a good girl for me, don't you?"

"Yes," Your reply was breathy.

"And you'll keep being a good girl for me every time we train, because you want me to be proud of you," He purred against your lips. You wanted to kiss him but knew you had to wait. You nodded, letting a soft moan escape your lips.

"You sound so cute when you're needy," Tenoch smiled then pecked your lips. You groaned in frustration when his lips did not linger, "Tomorrow. I want to see how long you hold out. I want to see how long you can be a good girl for me and wait for me. You can do that, right?"

Tenoch was standing again, his hand grabbed your chin to make sure you were looking at him, "If you're good, I'll reward you."

"Yes, sir," You replied automatically,

Tenoch chuckled as he leaned down and kissed one cheek and then the other, "Don't call me that. Say my name,"

"Yes, Tenoch," You replied, fighting the urge to pull him down for a kiss.

"You've been so good for me. I know you want me to touch you, right?" Tenoch asked, letting go of your chin and moving so that he was standing in front of you. You could see his hard on in his gym shorts. Your rubbed your legs together again.

He took one of your hands and rubbed the back of it against his crotch then let you palm him. When you tried to do more he stopped you. "Now you know how big it is, what it feels like in your hand. Remember that and think about it tonight when you touch yourself."

"Tenoch," You looked up, surprised at his command. He silenced you with a finger on your lip. You opened your mouth and touched it with your tongue. He was struggling too, you could tell by his breathing and the darkness of his eyes.

"Tonight, you'll use that hand and get yourself off thinking about me. Then, I want you to be a good girl and send me a picture of your wet hand after you cum. Do you understand?" Tenoch didn't break your gaze.

"Yes, Tenoch," You knew your leggings had to be ruined at this point.

He smiled down at you with a hungry look in his eyes, then he turned away and picked up his water bottle and jacket. Then he looked at you one more time, "I like how you look when you're imagining me ruining you."

Then he walked out, not caring that he had an obvious raging hard on or that he left his costar a wet mess on the bench. When you had finally calmed down, which felt like an eternity later, you were hot and very bothered. You made your way home, going over the last two days in your head. How far was he going to take this? How far were you going to let him?

Late into the night you sent Tenoch a picture of what he wanted.

TH: Good girl. Where are you?

Y/N: Home?

TH: The apartment?

Y/N: Yes, Tenoch.

TH: Be a good girl and get ready for me. I'm coming over.

....

SO there we go.

Comments, reactions, and reviews, are encouraged,

[agirlwholovesrockstars]

𝖞𝖔𝖚 𝖒𝖆𝖐𝖊 𝖒𝖊 𝖋𝖊𝖊𝖑 𝖇𝖗𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖓𝖊𝖜

𝓒𝓱𝓪𝓹𝓽𝓮𝓻 𝓣𝔀𝓸

"𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯"

彡 𝓼𝓮𝓻𝓲𝓮𝓼 𝓶𝓪𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓻𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽 彡

✦ 𝚙𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚒𝚘𝚞𝚜 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 | 𝚗𝚎𝚡𝚝 𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 ✦

𝕾𝖚𝖒𝖒𝖆𝖗𝖞 : you chose to be perilous at the person that you only just met.....or is it?

𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖉 𝕮𝖔𝖚𝖓𝖙 : keeping it very simple as I can

𝖂𝖆𝖗𝖓𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 : 18+ Knight!Eddie Munson x Princess!FEM x reader, language, use of Y/N, reader and Eddie are both (21), Henry is (30+), Jason (*gags* I know- sorry), age gap, reader will draw bl00d but not (g0re), Enzo! reoccurring :)), old family friends reunion, Jason calling reader a b*tch and slight physical abuse, vi0lence, manipulation, mentions of corpses, binding reader wrists with a rope

𝖂𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖙𝖔 𝕰𝖝𝖕𝖊𝖈𝖙 : finally! some slight fluff, of course, the angst will never left lol, set in 17th century, dark fantasy, romance, action, upside down exists in this, almost revealing everything of the lost memory that Eddie had 👀

𝕹𝖔𝖙𝖊 𝕿𝖔 𝕽𝖊𝖆𝖉𝖊𝖗 : I'm so sorry for the long wait! I got sick and there's been so many life happenings but I'm back! I hope y'all staying hydrated 🥺🫶🏻

𝕬𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖔𝖗 𝕹𝖔𝖙𝖊 : wow, even just a little support on to this series, I tried to post a few parts to test it to see if the crowd will like it and honestly, omg, I'm a bit surprised and literally so grateful for the feedback that I'm receiving and YOU GUYS! the reblogs, the likes and the comments really helped a lot! 😭❣️

☆ EDDIE MUNSON'S MASTERLIST ☆

❣ AGATHA'S MAIN PAGE ❣

"Have you found her yet?"

"No, sign of her, your eminence"

"Then don't stop until you find her!" Henry points at the door, the light from the fireplace adds the flame that's going on behind his eyes

The knight bows and walks away, the receding footsteps echoes as Jason taunts him

"Jason, will you just leave me at peace"

"I think I saw a familiar face today" Jason places his foot onto the table as he leans down on his chair, your father's chair

Henry blinks as he thinks for a moment

"Who is it?"

"I didn't get the chance to ask for his name, but I think and I'm very certain that he is the boy that we took from-"

"Wayne"

"That's right, him"

"What about him?"

He shrugs as he says "Nothing is just I can feel that he will interfere with our plan soon"

Henry hums as he bites to the apple

"He probably doesn't remember anything since you erased his memories, right?"

He stopped chewing as he glares at Jason, "I'm not proud of it and you know it"

"Don't be such a wussy, Henry, we have to make hard sacrifices to fulfill our plan for this world"

He doesn't want to talk about this, he wants you on his side

"You know, you're not like this before when we entered this kingdom, ever since she swiftly walks into your sight- you're pretending to be like what?!?-" Jason makes a mockery of batting his eyelashes at him

"Like you didn't do shit?!? You're not a bad person?!? Don't fucking wash your hands on me and make yourself a change person, Henry, you're messed up since the beginning" Jason punctuates his every point with his finger

"I didn't asked for this, Jason!" Henry now ignores the apple that he's eating earlier, he lost his appetite

"I don't want this, I-I wanted to change!-" Henry can feel himself break for wanting to feel seen

"You can't change when it's already been done, don't you get it?!? You can't fucking have her just admit!" Jason shoots back as he sighs in exasperation

"Do you think she'll forgive you- if she finds out that you what?!? Killed half of the population of her damn country?!? Jason squints his eyes on him as Henry stood up and freezes on the spot

He starts walking as he halted for a second to look at Jason

"Say all you want but I'm not gonna stop until I find her"

Jason scoffs as he muttered words to himself

"I'm just protecting him and well- fuck it- he'll be sooooo devastated when finally got his heart broke" he says as he drank his last ounce of rum

You, Eddie, Jeff and Gareth have been bonded for over a month already and it's almost like you forgotten that you're hiding for a reason

Gareth grew on you, he's not mean to you anymore but still as a dear friend to Eddie- he'll destroy you if you do anything shitty to him

But Eddie is Eddie, he is so headstrong to his belief's and whatever Gareth tries to tell him not to give in to you easily, he always fails

There's nothing that he can do about that but to cave in as well

You will not betray them all, will you?

"Jeff! That's not funny!" You exclaimed as you try to chase him but he always moves away faster than you

He's teasing you about you became so enamored by Eddie at the first place

Of course, Jeff, always and he will never miss it

The way you looked at each other? He already knew

"It's the truth, right? Why would you be infuriated with me if it's the truth?"

"Because!"

"Because, what?"

You sighed as you lift your shoulders "It's ridiculous to even talk about this!"

He beat you again as he runs at the other corner "Why would it be ridiculous?"

You groaned "God- I'm tired, Jeff" you say it with a soft chuckle

He tug a small smile as he stands beside you

"Hey, uh- just to be clear, princess-"

"Please, stop with the formality"

He chuckles "Alright, Y/N"

"Much better"

"You're the light that he needs, you know? I mean- Eddie will never lose his faith on everything, I guarantee you that, is just that you added more to never make him give up" Jeff carefully speaks as he looked from his behind as he saw Eddie and Gareth are both walking together to catch up with you two

Your feelings are not important at the moment and now- Jeff saying this to you

Didn't helped

"Why are you saying this, Jeff?"

"You should look out for yourself too, you deserve to be happy"

It warms your heart to have a friend like him "That's nice of you to say, um- thank you" he saw the gleam in your eyes that falters slightly as he creased his brows for a bit as you spoke

"I know, but not right now since everything is heated up and I just don't want to use my feelings to stay away from the real problem"

He understands your decision and he's glad that you're aware of the obvious tension that you both Eddie had "Your father raised you, right, Y/N"

You giggled "Yeah, he did" you nod

"I picked some firewood!" Gareth speaks as he crossed your path from where you and Jeff been standing

"Yes! I'm so famished" you say as you held your stomach

"Y/N"

"Yes, Eddie?"

"Would you care to have a walk with me?"

"I will take that offer gladly"

You both start walking together as you glanced at Jeff who is already smiling as he looks away and starts helping Gareth

You're living with them for a month and you already knew some of their traits and you can point them out clearly

You can tell Eddie is nervous

You've seen him nervous but never like this

"What is it, Eddie?" You stopped him by holding both of his shoulders

The moment he looks straight on your eyes, he can't stand still

Your eyes, my god- it's like you're from a hazy memory that he really tries to remember but he couldn't

Your touches isn't foreign to him, he trusts you with all his heart and soul, he knows that you're aren't a stranger to him

The memory that he had before? He wants it so badly

The only chilly thing that sends to his spine, it's either he knew you as a friend or an enemy

But, he just doesn't feel anything, not a single thing that he can point out that is bad to you

That's why he is so sure that you are nothing but a straightforward and most trusting person ever

He took a sharp breath "It's been a month and I feel so guilty not telling you anything"

"About what?"

"About me"

"Oh"

You're both sitting together at the boulder and Eddie is now carving random woods

When he is carving random woods at the ground with that furrowed look on his face

There is something, something that he should talk about

You reach his hand and looked at you with those chocolate hues on his eyes

"Eddie, you don't have to tell me anything if you're not ready"

He doesn't replied to your remark, it looked like he wants to listen, so you keep going

"Just because I'm here with you for a while, it's not my place to like that you should tell me everything right away, you know?"

He nods as he ducks his head down

"Unless, you want to talk about it?"

He takes a deep breath as looked back at you "No" he says as he shook his head

"That's okay, you don't have to stress yourself-"

"I just want you to trust me"

The look you gave him it looked like you we're saying "Have you lost your mind?!"

"Eddie, you've earned it in the first place, the day you saved me and the way you genuinely let me stay at your place, that's enough" you say to him as you hold his hand tighter for reassurance

"You don't have to prove yourself to me" you added as you smile

"Why?"

"Because you already proven that you're kind enough to trust"

That comment alone, eases his mind, the thought that is ruining him right now finally flushes deep elsewhere

"You two, there you are! Dinner is ready, guys" Gareth voice snapped the both of you back into reality as you both walked back at the house

"This flavor is really excellent" you say as you munch down the chicken

"Give your compliments at the chef" Jeff nudges his chin towards, Gareth

Gareth dramatically bows at you as all of you laughed to his action

"The vegetables are nicely blanched" Eddie says as he chows down a piece of broccoli onto his mouth

You watch the three men do silly things with each other as the dinner goes filled with lots of bickering and laughing

"I want all of you back in my palace"

They've never swing their heads at you that fast

"Pardon?" Jeff leans forward closer to you as you chuckled

"I said, I want all of you to live in my palace!"

"You're fucking with us, right?" Gareth swallows his mashed potato as he looked over at Eddie who is well....

He looked like his soul left his body and wouldn't budge for a minute

They all cheered as Gareth says

"Wait- The fact that I am friend's with the royal!-"

"Hey, I could be mean if I wanted to" you say with a serious tone

"You don't want her to be like that, Gareth, I've been there and it's not a very good picture" Eddie took a sip from his rum as he glanced at Jeff

"Yeah, it's a terror situation!" Jeff nods along with Eddie

You crossed your arms in front of Gareth as he furrows his brows

"You didn't liked me at first, right?" You lean forward, an intimidated Gareth gulped

He quickly goes to explain himself as his two friends start sniggering at each other

"No! I liked you- now"

"Because you found out that I was a princess?"

"What? No!-"

"You're so awful to me, there's so many ways that I could punish you for being so disrespectful to me"

"Like.... What?"

"Execution"

Gareth exclaims so loudly that you can swear that the roof comes off and his voice wooshes it's way out of it

You, Eddie and Jeff start laughing hardly as Gareth now very looking grumpy

"You should stop taking things very seriously" Eddie points at him as he can't stop laughing

Jeff still wheezes as he looks back at Gareth with that look

Meanwhile, you, looked so smug

"For your information, you grew on me because you didn't do anything to piss me off"

"Like what, exactly?"

"For betraying us"

You nod with a fond smile on your face

"Maybe, it's because- it didn't happen yet or I'm just delusional" Gareth mumbled more words to himself as he collects the plates

Jeff throws a piece of bread at Gareth who smoothly dodges it "Do you think people will finally accept us?" he turns his head around at Eddie as he asks a question

You tilt your head at Jeff because what?!?

Is this what Eddie is trying to tell you?

This is what Eddie doesn't want sometimes, facing the facts but it will always haunts him

"I don't know, man, I wish they'll hear us or give us a chance to speak for ourselves, maybe that day or I hope it will come sooner or later" he gave him a small smile as he stands up and goes outside for a bit

"What is that all about?" you said as you tried to at Jeff who is avoiding your gaze

Jeff opens his mouth to say something but closes it, hesitating as he looks at Gareth who is already drying his hands with a towel, he nods at him

"Eddie, doesn't like to talk about it"

"About what?"

"How he got himself ended up here" Gareth sats down across the table

You blink at them, you think your words very carefully

"What happened?"

"We don't know" Gareth sighs as he wipes the table

"What do you mean?"

"Y/N- he doesn't remember anything what happened to him, the only thing that he can remembers is that he has someone like a family member but somehow he can't pick it up to who it is and I know there's more to the story but that's all he can say for now, so, you gotta have to forgive him, if he's so defensive when it comes to this and he has always been rejected by the public, I mean- your people" Jeff explains as you processing everything

Your eyes flashes with empathy as you finally understand Eddie's guilt

"Rejected?"

"He was false allegedly accused in black magic, Y/N" Gareth speaks as he rest his arm around the chair

Why is that sounds so familiar? your mind went blank as you try to catch the memory that is coming to you

"Including the both of us, Me and Jeff, we knew that he's loyal to what he fights for, so, we helped him and here we are"

"I swear- if I find out who done this to us, I'm gonna annihilate whoever it was"

"Let's not be too hasty, Gareth"

You feel like your heart might burst any second, when you finally remembered the last important information about your life

"I-I think I knew Eddie" your eyes became glossy as you smiled a little

Jeff and Gareth whip their heads at you, the surprised expressions from their face, you can't miss it

"Who are you?" A very deep hoarse voice that's going on outside

You, Jeff and Gareth got wicked at the voice of a stranger as all of you sprint outside

"Don't! I got this" Eddie has himself pinned against the wall, the older man threatens to attack him with a dagger

"Please- drop the dagger, we can talk about this" Jeff walks slowly, proceeding with caution

"Stop this!" Gareth yelled, upset when the estranged man didn't care to look at him for once

If you don't look hard enough, you won't recognize the person

You gasp to yourself as you cupped your mouth

"Enzo?"

He follows your voice, turns his head around and there you are

You could hear him breathing heavily almost like it's unbelievable that you're standing there

"Y/N? Are you real?" He knits his brows together, he is still wearing the same uniform that your father once wore

"Yes, I am- please drop the dagger, they're my friends" you reason with him with pleading eyes

He blinks through the rage from the state he was in before as he backs away from Eddie who is gasping for air as he sats down on the ground

You checked on him to make sure if he was okay, he nods weakly as he watches the person that you claimed, you knew

He's your family's most skilled general, your father, Jim- became one of the greatest duos in history because of how they manage to do anything against war and collision

They prioritize of what the people need, they focus on the weak low points of the kingdom before putting themselves first

You didn't know all of it but you're aware of many enemies that your father Jim had because of his selfless acts

Your eyes welled in happiness as you can't help but to embrace him

"I'm sorry, it's been a while since I saw a real living person"

"It's okay"

"Enzo, are you with my father? Where is he? What happened to him?"

Jeff gave him a glass of water and a plate of dinner, he mutters a small thank you

"To all of violence in my life, Y/N- this- has got to be inhumane of it all"

You brace yourself for his outlandish words

"We fought together, we tried to escape but whatever we do, we always failed- you know- I thought I could never make it out alive" he holds back the tears on his eyes as you rest your hand on his shoulder

"The last time that I ever laid eyes on your father, he was taken by the guards forcefully"

Your friends are watching you and Enzo from afar in the firepit, warming their hands as they observe your conversation

Suddenly, you felt like you slipped off the hope that you're holding onto if your father was still alive

"And then I never saw him again, I'm so sorry, Y/N"

You sniffle as you flash him a sad smile as you stood up and move away a little

Enzo sighs wishing he could do something more or even better than this

But, no, that's the truth- he tried everything to save his dear friend

Eddie saw you standing so still, alone

He wonders if you wanted to be alone but when you turn your head sideways slightly it's like an permission that you wanted a company

When he stands beside you, you shakily wipe your tears from your face, you don't want to him to see you like this

"I don't know where my father is, Eddie" you try to lighten up the mood as you chuckled dryly

"God, I'm so rude- I didn't properly introduce him to you, he's Enzo, my father's general and a close friend"

He nods as he places his palm on your shoulder "It's alright, Y/N"

Despite, having your thoughts fogging from the heartaches that you felt from the past couple of years

Eddie, has a right to know who he is

You clear your throat and look at him directly "Eddie, please listen to me carefully"

"What is it?"

"I think I know who you are"

He places his hand over his chest and swallowed "You knew me?"

You nod aggressively "Yes-" you got cut off

"There you are you little frigid bitch!" Jason's voice startles the rest of you

Eddie wraps his arms around you as you move closer to him

Jeff, Gareth, and Enzo got themselves ready to fight as they walk towards as the castle's guards surrounded you

"Oh- fuck me! Enzo!" Jason grins at the sight of the most respected general whose face scowled directly at him

"You exiled me!" Enzo walks closer to Jason with a look that could kill him instantly but the guards stopped him from holding him off

"What- You did what?!?" Your voice raises out of anger as you eye him with shooting daggers

"We didn't need him anyways" Jason trashes the place with throwing rocks at the house

Making Eddie, Jeff and Gareth furious

"You have no right to do that, Jason"

"I think I do, I think I do have the right to have you back in the palace, young lady!" Jason almost hit to hurt you but Eddie beats him to it covering you with his figure

"Henry needs you" Jason adds, you peek over at the side as you exclaimed

"Why does he need me?!?"

"You should ask him that"

"I don't want to go back in there, you wanted to kill me!"

Enzo looked at your way with your eyes mixing with fear and blazing eyes as he became enraged of what he just heard

"You're so way out of line, Jason" Enzo grunts as he tried to let go from the grip that the guards his holding onto him now

"Why don't you just fuck off?" Eddie has reached its limit, he had enough of this man

Jason laughs in disbelief as he leans forward and you shudder under his tone

"I can execute you for lying, you piece of shit, I knew you we're hiding her!"

Eddie held you tightly behind his back as you wince at Jason's voice

"The way you deliberately disobeyed the rules, outsiders are not meant to be in your world, especially her" Jason pushes him making you stumble from the back as your eyes widened

Jeff and Gareth can't help but to start fighting the guards and making Enzo start kicking and joining the fight

The swords are clashing, the armor is clanking, the shouts from the fight rummaging in your brain

You shut your eyes as you can hear your father's voice from the lessons he taught you

"Y/N, my daughter, being a risk taker- it's about having the guts to trusting your own voice, you set your mind to face consequences and being able to handle it on your own makes you the best ruler of the kingdom"

"So, if you ever you put yourself in that situation, don't be afraid to take a step forward and prove to everyone that they're wrong and don't make anyone else cloud your judgement"

You picked up your sword and impede on Eddie and Jason's fight as you slashed your sword in the middle

Eddie has never seen you this determined and almost forgot that you're so skillful swordswoman

You defeated Jason by making him drop his sword on the ground and start aiming at him

From your action, everyone stopped at what they're doing as they watch you

"You're a making a big mistake, princess"

"I am certainly not"

"You mustn't defend the wrong person, you didn't even know who he is- still haven't remembered anything do you?" He makes a teasing look at Eddie as he furrow his eyebrows in confusion

No, it's a bad move, if you admitted that you knew Eddie, so, you didn't say anything this time

"Why do I get the feeling that you already told him?"

"Just shush your mouth and walk away, Jason"

"The only half of it, you knew, huh?" Jason smirks and it's making your head crack open to his assholeness

Jason fastly grabs his sword and goes to attack Eddie only to be stopped when you block his way

"I am warning you!"

"You gotta be shitting me! This fucking man that you're defending, he's practicing black magic didn't you even think for once that he might be the cause to all of this?!?"

Eddie clenches his fists and a flash of hurt in his eyes that this will be the end of preparing himself for a long time

That Gareth was right all along

But, still he won't drop it, he is certain that he is right about you

"You also know that's a false accusation, Jason, there's no proof"

"Right, discovering dead babies and children from his home doesn't count, huh?"

"Someone else planted them!" Eddie exclaims as he meets your eyes, he thought he'll see something else but no- your eyes didn't falter

You trust him

Jason raises his sword wanting to stab Eddie with it but instead you make him drop his sword for the second time

Making Jason alarmed by your defiance

"There's one thing you didn't know about me, Jason is that when I believe someone is truly innocent- I'll fight no matter what it takes" you paused

"I believe in justice" you say as you move backwards

When he tries to move, you aim your sword back at him

"You want me alive back there, do you?"

Jason didn't want to to nod but he did

You replaced your sword with a dagger as you show it to everyone your arm

Enzo knew what you're doing, despite, the situation being tricky, he is somewhat proud of you for standing up what is right

You did exactly what your father did before

Jeff, Gareth and Eddie almost dropping their eyeballs when you cut your arm making a fresh new wound

Eddie looked at your eyes quickly and you didn't even flinched at the horrifying thing that you just did

Your arms is now dripping in blood making the rest of the guards bow at you

"You gotta have to kill me first, before you get to Eddie"

"Woah- slow down, alright" Jason felt so fucking stupid that you won

One of the guards bind your hands with a rope as you came along with them

"Wait- No! Y/N-"

Your eyes went softer when you looked at him as if you weren't so tough back then

"I'll be fine, Eddie"

"But what about.... Henry?"

You know what he's talking about, you're supposed to get married to him but you won't let it happen, not on your watch

"I will turn it down like I always do, Eddie"

His eyes are begging for you to stay but he can't do anything right now

"Take care of yourself" you say softly as the guards nudge you to move

"Y/N"

You turn your head at him

"Thank you"

You smile sweetly "It's the least thing that I could do to help you, goodbye for now"

For now? What does that mean?

You want to see him again? He hopes so

They all watch you walk away from the place as you entered the portal outside

"Boy, when she spills blood on you, she is serious" Enzo pats behind Eddie's back comforting him

"If they lay a finger on her, I'm gonna squeeze all of their insides to a pulp" Gareth grumbles as he looks over at Jeff who agrees with him

"What do you think they'll do to her?" Jeff is worried about your well-being, the last time he wants to see is you being scared and he doesn't like that

"I'm going to save her" Eddie as he narrows his eyes at Jason who is waving at him annoyingly

"I'm with you, I ain't going to let this place ruled by these people" Enzo says as he removes the dirt from his boots

"It's oath that we agreed upon the first meeting, we swear on our life to protect her even in the face of danger" Jeff adds as he waits for Gareth

"We've been on this mess for too long, it's time for us to fight, to the death" Gareth turns his back and starts packing Jeff and Enzo tailing at him

"Y/N, just hold on, we'll get you" Eddie speaks to himself as he looked up at the sky

[hwabang]

Cake🎂- Yang Jungwon

Genre: fluff + very slightly suggestive (?)

Warnings: fem!reader, idol!Jungwon + idol!reader, older!reader only by a year, slightly suggestive = mentions of dancing sensually together, use of the word Noona, friends to lovers, Jungwon is obsessed with reader

Author’s Note: Y'all remember how in my first Jungwon imagine I wrote in the author's note that he's not even one of my enha biases but I wrote for him before writing for Jay and Heeseung?... Yeah, well, guess who has 3 biases in ENHYPEN now🤭

For reference here's KARD's 'Cake' Dance Practice

(gif not mine!)

"Collab with me."

Jungwon raised his eyebrows as he sipped his lemonade. "When you asked to meet me I was not expecting that."

Deciding to take a sip of your iced coffee, you quirked an eyebrow at him. "What were you expecting then?"

"For you to accept my confession."

You playfully scoffed. "Keep dreaming lover boy."

Jungwon smirked at you. "Always am baby. Why do you wanna collab with me?"

"Well, my members and I did a live the other day and at one point we asked our fans what they wanna see for our 2nd anniversary coming up. The staff prepared some options and the most popular one was doing a cover with another idol. Our team said we get to choose the idol, concept, and type of cover. So yeah. Collab with me."

"Well I gotta say I'm flattered." Jungwon picked up some of his cake with his fork and brought it in front of your mouth. "Say ah."

You followed his command and hummed once you tried the cake. "Wow, that's good. So what do you say?"

"What song do you wanna cover?"

"'Cake' by KARD."

Jungwon smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Is this your way of getting close to me? Because if so then just know all you had to do was say the word and I'd touch you."

Flustered, you took more sips of your drink, hoping Jungwon wouldn't notice the blush on your face. "N-no, that's not it... I– the song has been stuck in my head since it came out and once I saw the dance I knew I wanted to cover it, and now I got the chance to do it so I asked you."

"Hypothetically," Jungwon started, crossing his arms and leaning on them on the table. "If I say no, who will you ask?"

You shrugged. "I'm sure Jake would do it with me."

Jungwon poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue and scoffed. "Oh yeah?"

"Mhm! Maybe even Jay. Oh, I know Heeseung would LOVE to–"

"Yah," he whined. "Stop it I get it; you're hot and desired by many including my members."

You wore a proud smile on your face, loving how easy it was to rile him up. "So you'll do it?"

Jungwon looked at you as if you're crazy. "Of course I'll do it. Why would I give up any opportunity to be close to you?"

You ignored the butterflies in your stomach. "Great! So our team will contact yours and then I'm thinking you can come to my company every day for like 2-3 hours and we can start–"

"On one condition."

You sighed and nodded. "Okay, what is it?"

"After the release of our cover, you go on a date with me."

You were quite taken aback, but quickly gathered your composition. "Jungwon I told you–"

"Yeah yeah, we're both idols and you don't date younger guys." Jungwon closed his eyes and let out a frustrated sigh, opening them back to give you eyes filled with hope. "I've heard it numerous times Y/N."

"Th-then you should stop pursuing me.." Your voice was quiet as you fiddled with the fork on your dessert plate. You said it so easily, sure but did you really want that?

It was almost as if Jungwon could read your thoughts. "See but you don't really want that do you baby." Your silence made Jungwon let out another frustrated sigh as he took your hand gently in his. "Tell me, what are you so afraid of, hmm? And don't say fans, otherwise you wouldn't have asked me to do such a suggestive dance with you."

"Jungwon you're just younger and I don't–"

"I'm a year younger than you Y/N. What's so bad about me being younger anyways?"

"I-I don't know... I guess I'm just..."

Jungwon rubbed the back of your hand with his thumb, trying to coax it out of you. His eyes had a hint of worry in them. "Tell me baby," he said softly. 

You sighed before finally letting your real feelings out. "I want us to work, and I guess I'm just afraid that it won't and I'll be left here all hurt and all alone in the end. So I'm saving myself from that I guess... that's it."

Jungwon pouted before leaning closer to the table, taking your other hand in his free one. "Y/N.. why do you think we won't work out?"

"There's just so much that could go wrong and–"

"And how can you be so sure that'll happen with us? We both will try our best to make our relationship work yeah? So why not just give it a chance? We both want it Y/N, let it happen."

You contemplated a bit as Jungwon kept caressing your hands with his, patiently waiting for a response. "A-after our cover is released?"

Jungwon smirked. "Or we can go on one tomorrow too."

---

idk man i'm OBSESSED with the thought of jungwon being absolutely INFATUATED with a slightly older reader, like 🥵 anyways, hope this little drabble(?) was okay! love y'alll <3

[synestheticwanderings]

happy talk shop tuesday!!! ( ˘⌣˘)♡(˘⌣˘ ) what's a specific scene or line from a story you posted recently that you're really proud of? give us the director's cut on what you liked most about it!

So I’m on a retreat, but I saw this come through when I had a spot of internet and couldn’t stop thinking about it so I opened my Notes app and here we are. I rarely use Notes and to my surprise, I found my seedling notes about Road to Hell from last August which, wow. Apologies for the literal essay that follows.

The first act and intermission came pretty easily, but I really struggled with the second act and the ending, and I was scared I was going to drop the ball. Thankfully, I’m really proud of how the back half turned out, and I think it ended up being stronger than the first, also a lot more hopeful than I initially envisioned.

There are a couple scenes that come to mind, but the hardest to write were actually the parts of the myth that people know best: Orpheus sung a song so beautiful that Hades gave him a chance and then, of course, Orpheus failed and Eurydice was condemned to the underworld. I was obviously always going to stick to those plot points, but doing it in a way that made sense for the story I was trying to tell and in a unique way was difficult!

The scene that Lucy sings to Ezekiel involved a lot of banging my head against the wall and a lot of whining to @ohmyoverland @justice-for-skull and @hailqiqi. For a while, my outline had this very convoluted tempest happening around her. I think I was trying to replicate the final showdown at the Fittes House in The Empty Grave. It never really worked though; from the beginning, Sto was like, you’ve already established what the song does, just imagine what it does in Hades. My counterpoint was always that the sun wasn’t going to shine down in Hades, flowers were not going to bloom. That was never going to happen, because then why would Jessica have to return to the world above? So I very stubbornly kept the tempest in through the first full drafts.

Finally, Jenny flat out said that she didn’t understand how the tempo fit the larger arc of the story, which was like, well, shit. This is why I have multiple readers: if one person says something doesn’t work, I can ignore it, if two people say it, I have to really consider it (never mind that both of them also told me to cut the cell scene and I rightfully ignored them both and reworked it).

Around the same time, I had started watching Doctor Who again since RTD had taken back over, and I was totally enamored with the new companion, Ruby, and the way she was making it snow everywhere at crucial points throughout the season, and spectacularly with the Maestro. There were also a couple of other reasons for the snow: I really liked this idea of hell freezing over, but I also was drawn to what happens in New York City when there’s real snow, how it blankets over everything and how quiet it gets. I was drawn to the idea of this hush in a place usually really cacophonous, and so I ran with it.

It ended up working a lot better. It allowed Ezekiel and Jessica to come to a more natural reconciliation, which in turn softens the gods towards the mortals. Despite everything that follows, it gave the story a much needed pause and space to breathe.

Anyway, that’s the director’s cut for Lucy singing to Ezekiel 🤣 if you read all of this, thanks 💙💙💙