#Seriously makes me tear up when I see these comments. They mean everything to me <:]

[whereismyhat5678]

(hey, the requests are open??? if so, can we see Mr..stick giving burton some tiny-little tummy kisses/raspberries blows, pretty please?)

also wanted to say that your drawing style has changed a lot and you should be proud of what you have achieved! dude, you're a great dude and we love you. <)

(Should remind people I call Mr. Stick Samual so they won’t get confused 😅)

I GOT PUNCHED IN THE GUT WITH THAT LAST PART I SINCERELY THANK YOU-

No man, I really appreciate the words 💗💗 I think my art has improved a lot through the years (and even the months I’ve been on here!) so it really means a lot that people are noticing that as well. It really makes me want to cry bro, thank you so much TuT

[roolette]

How Mk1 Men Fuck You

CW: NSFW, gn!reader

Bi-Han is just mean about it, frankly. Teasing you, never exactly hitting the spot you need him to, close enough to feel it, but not enough to really do much. And don't bother begging with him. He'll just roll his eyes and scoff, wiping the tears from your eyes with his thumb and not doing anything to give you release.

"I've barely touched you... how are you that desperate already? Honestly, it's ridiculous. You'll get what you want, just be quiet."

When he finally fucks you, it's at a relentless pace, holding your hips in place as he thrusts into you. He's stopped the teasing now, and is wholly focused on making you fall apart in his arms.

Tomas just wants to make you happy. He begs to taste you, to let him touch you where he wants to. He whines at the slightest touch from you, and you both know that you're the only one who can elicit these reactions from him. He could spend forever between your thighs, seriously, he'd die happy there. He'll run his hands up and down your thighs while he gives you head, he has to be touching you.

"Ahh... you look so... like this, I mean- don't tease me! I'll come up with a good description, just... let me have this."

PLEASE hold his jaw and make him look at you while you ride him. Remind him that he's yours, and he'll practically melt. He'll likely be the more vocal out of the two of you, babbling about how good you feel.

Kuai Liang is possessive in bed, but how can you blame him? It's the place where you're his, completely. And maybe this is just me being insane over that skin where his hair is up, but but he likes when you pull his hair while he fucks into you. You can also run your nails along his back, and good luck to anyone who comments on it. He's yours, and you're his, and he wants sex with you to be a reminder of that. He likes being able to look at you while he fucks you, especially those lovely expressions you make.

"No, don't look away. Keep your eyes on me. I don't want to miss a second of this."

You didn't initially expect him to be so open with his feelings in bed, but he likes to be vulnerable with you. He feels safe with you, and he doesn't have to be anyone but yours.

When it comes to fast and hard, it's Johnny Cage. Sex with him is always so energetic, and you have to wonder where that energy comes from. Admittedly, it took some time in the relationship for him to be intimate or slow with you, but you got there. Even then, he just likes sex to be fun. He'll crack jokes, tease you, or randomly bite you when you're least expecting it. He'll thrust up into you while you ride him, just to be a dick and throw you off balance. Have I mentioned he's a brat? Because he's a brat.

"So. You come here often? Well, you're about to, and- hey, ow! I'm supposed to be on camera, you know."

When he's intimate and slow, though, he really is. He'll whisper praises in your ear, words so genuine that it makes you blush more than the things he's doing to you. Everything he's too afraid to say sometimes, it all falls apart when you're in his arms.

I'm SICK and TIRED of people saying that Raiden doesn't know anything about sex, etc. He is loving, tender, and occasionally giggly. He sees sex as another way to be near you and show you how much he loves you. He'll kiss you all over while he's inside you, and he loves to praise you. He likes to fuck you with you in his lap and your legs wrapped around his waist. It's perfect, really. He can go deep inside you and look at you at the same time.

"You look so perfect like this. I'll move, love, I promise, just let me watch you for a moment."

He can make you cum fast, but he chooses not to. He likes to draw out your pleasure. Less to tease, and more to make it last as long as possible. He wants to fall apart with you.

Kenshi is going to make you cum on his fingers before he even thinks about fucking you. He's infuriatingly good at it, too. He'll leave you gasping and moaning just from his fingers, and he can't help but smile smugly about it, which only makes it more frustrating. You can beg him to fuck you, but it won't work. That's happening when he decides to, and not a moment sooner. So you may as well get used to cumming on his fingers.

"You're seriously still begging? C'mon, you know it's not going to work. Still, it's nice hearing you like this."

When he finally fucks you, it's slow and rough, going as deep as possible with each stroke. He'll wrap his arms around you while he does, face pressed against your shoulders, muttering praises and teasing words against your skin.

[its-avalon-08]

Can I request a Lando one where reader is a famous skateboarder and she becomes insecure because she is outside the "standard" of girls who he dates and he's comforts her after all the online hate she suffers because of that and says that she's way cooler than him

skatergirl and racerboy (ln4)

✦ pairing - lando norris x female!reader

✦ genre - angst, tears, fluff, hate

Lando watched Y/N from a distance, sitting on the edge of the skatepark with his elbows resting on his knees. The sun was beginning its descent, casting a warm, golden hue over everything. He loved these moments, watching her in her element, completely absorbed in her passion.

Y/N was practicing a new trick, her face set in determined concentration. She launched herself off a ramp, twisting her body mid-air, and landed smoothly, her skateboard gliding effortlessly beneath her. Lando couldn’t help but smile, a sense of pride welling up inside him.

“Wow,” he muttered to himself, his admiration evident. “She makes it look so easy.”

As she skated back towards the start, she noticed Lando and waved, her face lighting up with a smile. Lando's heart skipped a beat at the sight. He waved back, feeling a flutter of excitement just from seeing her so happy.

She skated over to him, her helmet slightly askew and a sheen of sweat on her brow. “Hey there, Formula 1 star. How long have you been watching?”

“Long enough to be amazed, as always,” Lando replied, grinning. “You’re incredible out there, you know that?”

Y/N blushed slightly, sitting next to him and pulling off her helmet. “Thanks, Lando. It means a lot coming from you.”

“I mean it,” he said earnestly. “The way you handle that board, it’s like you’re dancing. I could watch you all day.”

She laughed, nudging him playfully with her shoulder. “You make driving around in circles look pretty cool too.”

Lando chuckled. “Touché. But seriously, your talent and dedication… it’s inspiring. It makes me want to be better at what I do.”

Y/N tilted her head, looking at him curiously. “Really? You’re already amazing at what you do.”

“Maybe, but seeing you push yourself, constantly striving to improve… it motivates me. Plus, I love your whole vibe. It’s so different from anything I’ve ever known. You’re fearless, and it’s one of the many reasons I love you.”

She looked down, a shy smile playing on her lips. “I’m just being me.”

“And that’s exactly what I love,” Lando said softly, reaching out to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “You’re authentic, and you don’t try to fit into any box. It’s refreshing.”

She leaned into his touch, her eyes meeting his. “I’m glad you think so. Sometimes I worry that… you know, I’m not what people expect for you.”

Lando shook his head firmly. “What matters is what I want, and I want you, Y/N. I love everything about you – your passion, your talent, your uniqueness. You’re not just my girlfriend; you’re my best friend, my biggest inspiration.”

Her eyes glistened with emotion as she leaned in and kissed him softly. “I love you, Lando.”

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “I love you too, Y/N. More than anything.”

They sat there for a while, wrapped in each other’s arms, the world around them fading away. In that moment, Lando knew he’d found something truly special, and he was determined to hold onto it, no matter what anyone else said.

time skip

pov. y/n's phone

instagram comments

@F1Fanatic123: "I don’t get the hype about Y/N. She’s not even close to Lando’s exes in terms of looks."

@RacingQueen99: "Why is Lando dating a skateboarder? She doesn’t fit the WAG standards at all."

@GlamGossip: "Y/N looks so tomboyish. Lando deserves someone more feminine."

@SpeedDemon56: "Miss the days when Lando dated models. Y/N just doesn’t measure up."

twitter posts

@F1Lover: "Lando can do so much better than Y/N. She doesn’t even fit the WAG profile. #BringBackTheModels"

@RaceCarDreams: "Not hating, but Y/N isn’t what I expected for Lando. She’s so different from his exes."

@GossipGuru: "Y/N is cool and all, but she’s not the type of girl I’d imagine with Lando. He needs someone more glamorous."

@TrackTalk: "Seeing Y/N and Lando together is weird. She’s too tomboyish for him. #Mismatch"

instagram dms

Unknown: "Y/N, you should just stick to skateboarding. Leave Lando for someone who actually fits in his world."

Unknown: "You’re cool, but not WAG material. Lando deserves a real queen, not a skater girl."

Unknown: "You’re ruining Lando’s image. He needs someone better, not a skater girl."

Unknown: "Why is Lando wasting his time with you? You’ll never fit in his world."

twitter replies

@RacingFanatic: "Lando’s ex was so much prettier. What happened, @LandoNorris?"

@F1Glam: "Y/N is a downgrade. Lando should be with someone more stylish."

@PitStopPrincess: "Y/N is talented, but she doesn’t belong in the WAG circle. Lando can find someone better."

instagram story reactions

👎👎👎: "Y/N is so out of place with Lando. Bring back his glamorous girlfriends!"

💔: "She’s cool but not the right fit for Lando. I miss his old WAGs."

instagram poll

@F1GossipHub: "Do you think Y/N is a good match for Lando?"

Yes (25%)

No (75%)

twitter trending hashtags

#BringBackTheModels #LandoDeservesBetter #MismatchCouple

more twitter comments

@F1Chatter: "It’s sad seeing Lando with someone so below his league. He used to date such beautiful women."

@GlamF1: "Y/N is talented, but she doesn’t belong in the world of F1 WAGs. She’s too different."

@SpeedyGossip: "I like Y/N, but she’s not the type for Lando. He needs someone who matches his lifestyle."

instagram comments on lando’s post

@F1FanGirl: "Lando, you can do better. Y/N isn’t the one for you."

@RacingChic: "She’s not WAG material. Miss the days when you dated models."

@GlamQueen: "Y/N is too different. You deserve someone who fits the WAG profile."

end of pov

Y/N sat on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at her phone. The screen was filled with hurtful comments and criticisms that seemed to pile up no matter where she looked. Each notification felt like a new stab to her heart. She felt utterly crushed by the online hate.

The next morning, she tried to put on a brave face. She chose a floral dress from her closet, something she rarely wore. She looked in the mirror and forced a smile, but it didn’t reach her eyes. She didn’t feel like herself.

As she walked into the kitchen, Lando looked up from his coffee and did a double-take. “You look stunning my love! But are you not skateboarding today?"

Y/N cut him off with a forced smile. “Just trying something new. and no I'm not going today. How’s your morning?”

Lando frowned, sensing something was off. Over the next few days, he noticed she was changing her wardrobe more and more, opting for dresses and stylish outfits instead of her usual skateboarding gear. It wasn’t like her at all.

Finally, one evening, Lando decided to confront her. He found her in the living room, sitting on the couch with her legs tucked under her, staring blankly at the TV. He sat down next to her, his expression serious.

“Y/N, what’s going on?” he asked gently. “You’ve been acting so different lately. Wearing all these dresses that I know you don't like, not skating… it’s like you’re trying to be someone you’re not.”

She didn’t meet his gaze, her fingers nervously fiddling with the hem of her dress. “It’s nothing, really. Just felt like a change.”

Lando reached out, placing his hand on hers. “It’s not just about the clothes, is it? I can tell something’s wrong.”

Her resolve broke, and she turned to him, tears streaming down her cheeks. “I just… I read all the comments online. People saying I don’t fit your world, that I’m not good enough. It’s hard to ignore, Lando. I started thinking maybe they’re right.”

Lando’s heart broke at her words. He pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly. “Oh, Y/N… I’m so sorry you’re going through this. Those comments are nothing but noise. They don’t matter. What matters is how I feel about you.”

She clung to him, her sobs muffled against his chest. “But… I don’t want to be someone who doesn’t fit in. I just wanted to make you proud.”

Lando gently pulled back, looking into her eyes with a mixture of sadness and determination. “You don’t have to change anything about yourself for me. I fell in love with you for who you are, not for who others think you should be. The reason I’m with you is because you’re real, and you’re amazing just the way you are.”

Y/N shook her head, wiping at her tears. “But what if who I am isn’t enough?”

Lando cupped her face in his hands, his eyes intense with emotion. “You’re more than enough, Y/N. You’re cooler than anyone I’ve ever met. The way you skateboard, your passion, your spirit—it’s all a part of who you are, and that’s what I love. Those comments, they don’t change how incredible you are.”

She looked up at him, her eyes searching for sincerity. “Do you really think so?”

“Absolutely,” he said, his voice firm yet gentle. “I’ve seen how hard you work, how dedicated you are. You inspire me every day. And the idea of you changing yourself to fit some standard is just wrong. You make me proud every single day.”

Y/N’s tears continued to flow, but now there was a flicker of hope in her eyes. “Thank you, Lando. I needed to hear that.”

He kissed her forehead, his own eyes misty. “Anytime, love. I’m here for you, no matter what. And remember, you’re the one who makes my world brighter. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. I love you so much baby, don't let anyone dim your spirit.”

They stayed like that for a while, wrapped in each other’s arms, the weight of the world lifting slightly as they found solace in their love. Lando’s words became a balm to her wounded heart, a reminder that their bond was stronger than any online hate. Together, they faced the storm, united in their love and unwavering in their support for each other.

landonorris posted

liked by y/nn, maxverstappen1 and others

landonorris my girl, i love you more than anything. fuck the haters

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Vil, Jack: a Strength that Shines

Ayyy, it’s the childhood friends (?) from the Shaftlands!! It feels like forever since we last got any significant interactions between Vil and Jack. Nice to see them chatting again~

bdjwvsjsGuabs THAT GROOVY THOUGH… Vil looks so judgmental and dismissive 😭 Channeling all his Mean Girl energy to diss Neige Snow White, lol

A Tale as Old as Time.

Four sides drew together to form a glittering box. A lovely maiden rested within the coffin-like casing of the photo frame. Her lips as red as blood, her hair as dark as ebony, and her skin as fair as snow.

She was circled by foliage, her sun-dappled face tilting up, disarmed by some distant call. The girl cupped her dainty hands together, housing a small baby blue bird in her palms. Kindness, goodness, grace—she exuded all of them.

Vil scoffed, tossing golden hair over his shoulder. Her smile was reminiscent of a rival celebrity, one pure as a dove's feathers.

So carefree, so cheery.

How irritating, he sighed.

"One ought to be more cautious in the woods. Who knows what dangers might lurk nearby, wishing to enact harm upon her.

"For a glamour shot though... Hmm, yes. This composition is acceptable. The sunlight is angled upon her face in a pleasing way—it casts a golden glow on her pale visage and highlights the highest points: cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead. The impression is one of total innocence.”

A soft grunt sounded from beside him.

"She's... shining," Jack commented plainly. His critique, clipped. “Didn’t you do a photo shoot like this recently? Similar place and everything.”

Vil’s beauty was momentarily marred by a grimace. “Yes, as promotional material for an upcoming film. However, the feel of it was completely different than what you see here.”

Shadows instead of sunlight. Temptation in the place of innocence.

He, poised amid the creeping branches and dark leaves, a tatter cloak clinging to his curves. A single, crimson apple in his grasp, a sultry look directed at the camera.

He tried to picture himself like the girl in the frame countless times over. Kneeling among the woodland creatures, smiling so serenely. Any pro could pull it off—he included.

But the image never turned out right in his mind.

Not the right amount of sweetness, not natural enough.

Not quite the same.

Not at all.

Blood, sweat, tears. Sacrifices made at the altar. Yet still, the world yielded nothing but broken promises and shattered dreams. The splintered parts and shambles of them, he gathered, forming his own makeshift hope and determination.

He couldn’t give in here.

Vil’s perfectly groomed brows scrunched up.

“I shall have to endeavor to work even harder. I’m not satisfied with things as they are now.”

“Heh.” Jack cocked a small, lopsided grin. “Keeping on the grind… That’s just like you. You've got this."

“Obviously. Nothing will get accomplished otherwise.” Vil’s eyes passed over to the beastmen. “Presumably, you are doing the same."

"Yeah. Haven't skipped a day of my training regimen." Jack slapped a hand on his bicep, which fit snuggly in his glittering white sleeve. "We'll take out RSA next track and field meet!"

"I'd certainly hope so. If I am to taste sweet revenge, I'd prefer it be by my own hand... but I trust you to deliver in my place. I expect good news when next we speak. Do not disappoint me."

"Yessir!" Jack's tail wagged enthusiastically. He stood alert, saluting like a loyal knight. “I'll do my best!"

“Then it looks as though we both have our long-term goals set.” The dorm leader planted his hands on his waist—slim, cinched.

"Yours is...?"

"To surpass myself." Vil jerked his chin toward the girl in the painting. "To shine so brightly that my name not only goes down in history, but overshadows that which was written before."

"That's some big dream you have." Jack shook his head. "The scale's beyond what I can imagine. But knowing how stubborn you are, Vil-senpai... You seriously won't quit until you make that dream come true."

"My, my. Stubborn, am I?" He smirked, arms crossed. "I do believe it takes one to know one.

"You stand back and watch. I'll show you just how dazzling I can be."

His eyes held a steeliness to them. It was matched only by the same in Jack’s. Two strong men and their wills, meeting on equal grounds.

Jack simply nodded—an acknowledgment, an acceptance, of his upperclassman’s confidence. Overwhelming, like a powerful wave, a strong storm, a blazing inferno. He almost felt compelled to drop to one knee, to kneel before such a presence.

Vil turned away from the painting, his arms unraveling from one another. His movements were graceful, nearly ballet-like. And his expression—

Jack caught him mid-laugh. The snooty, airy kind, half-sincere, half-sarcastic. Brows upturned, mouth twisted in a faux sympathetic smile. Flaxen waves framing his lovely features.

His lips moved.

“I’ll topple you from your throne,” Vil vowed.

It was then that Jack noticed.

Vil-senpai's shining like the fair maiden.

[mysterious-moonstruck-musings]

Closed Position: Week 1 (Introductions)

Closed Position Masterlist ||| Main Masterlist Dieter Bravo x OFC (Katarina)

Series Summary: Dieter Bravo, now sober, was looking to change his bad boy image after hitting rock bottom. His team hoped that having him join the nationally televised family friendly dance competition would be a good first step, if they can keep him out of trouble. 

Katarina Stamos expected her last season as a professional dancer on Dancing with the Stars to go the same as it had for the past thirteen seasons. That all changed when she was partnered with the infamous Dieter Bravo. 

Dieter and Katarina are reluctantly thrown into their partnership and must learn to work together to succeed in the competition. In the process they form a deeper connection beyond the dance floor that neither anticipated.

Chapter Word Count: 7.1K

👉 Warnings: Themes dealing with intimate partner violence, past alcohol abuse, and past drug abuse. There will be fluff, tears, spicy language, and smut. This will be a slow burn. Read at your own risk. Dieter Bravo comes with his own warnings.

Week 1 Quote: "Fuck. I might be in trouble."

Dieter’s POV

“Lenny, have you seen this fucking schedule? It’s seven days a week for twelve weeks. When do I get a break?” 

Lenny, my agent, sighed through the speaker phone, “D, I told you this was going to be a lot of work before you agreed to do it. You shouldn’t be surprised…and besides, that’s only if you make it to the finals.”

I scoffed, “Thanks for the vote of confidence…asshole.” Lenny chuckled on the other end of the line. We both went quiet for a moment as I continued to flip through the packet of paper that Lenny had sent over for review, “I don’t even get to have any say on the wardrobe or music. Such bullshit…sucking all the fun out of it. Did you at least drop a bug in their ear about who I’ll be partnered with? If I get stuck with someone I don’t want, I’m gonna be fucking miserable.” 

“I did, but the producers said they always do the partner matching themselves. They have a formula…or something. Maybe bring it up again at this morning's meeting and explain why. They may listen to you on it.” 

I huffed as my eyes continued skimming over the weekly schedule, “I have to get a fucking spray tan every week? You have GOT to be kidding me…Lenny, you know I don’t like using carcinogenic chemicals on my body.” 

“Uhhh, no comment on that…Look, I’ll put in a call and see if they can use something natural for that.” 

I relaxed some, “I would appreciate that. Thank you. Tell them I have an allergy or something…just make it happen.” 

I tossed the packet onto the table and picked up my phone, taking it off speaker and putting it to my ear - now pacing as I spoke, “Well, it looks like I’m gonna be pretty busy for a bit. That’ll be a nice distraction. It beats being locked inside the house at least.”  

Lenny hesitated, but still asked, “How are you doing with everything? Still managing ok?” 

I sighed, “Yeah, I mean I’m going to therapy and all the meetings still. I’ve been doing ok…just trying to keep the stress levels down. That’s what gets to me the most.” 

“How long has it been?”

I looked at the date on my watch, “Eight months today…actually. It’s the longest I’ve ever been clean, and I plan to stick to it this time. I’m feeling good and I want to keep it that way.” 

“Everyone is really proud of you, D. You know that, right? Keep at it and we'll have you back on top in no time.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose, knowing that it was an uphill battle, “I appreciate that, but good luck getting people to change their opinion of me. I’m not sure if my reputation is salvageable at this point. Everyone seems to think my sobriety is some sort of joke. No one is taking it seriously.”

I could hear Lenny inhale deeply on the other end of the phone, “It’s just going to take time, D. Don’t give up yet.” 

I pursed my lips in thought, “Yeah, I guess. Anyway, I need to get ready for this meeting. We’ll talk later, yeah?”

“Yeah, definitely let me know how it goes.”  

Once I hung up the phone with Lenny, I took a quick shower, then spent longer than I should have staring at the clothes hanging in my closet - trying to pick something that says I have my shit together. My therapist kept reminding me that if I dressed like a slob, people were going to treat me like one. So, I was putting more effort into making myself presentable before I left the house these days. Since it was a work meeting, I went for a business casual look, figuring I couldn’t go wrong with that. After styling my hair and getting dressed, I grabbed my keys, phone, wallet, and sunglasses and headed out the front door.

As I approached my car, which was parked in the driveway, I noticed there was a dead bird on the hood. The fluffy gray, brown, and white stray cat that had been hanging around my house was sitting next to it, looking rather proud of himself. I sighed, “Come on dude, really?” And this is why I need to get the garage cleaned out. I hit the clicker to open the garage door so I could get a broom to knock the bird off the hood. As I waded through the mountain of empty boxes from my move six months ago, I cursed myself for taking my sweet time getting that stuff out of the house. Finally finding the broom, I quickly moved to get the dead bird off of the car and shooed the cat away. He didn’t look happy about it as he moved to sit on the pathway in front of the house, watching me until I was finally on my way to Television City Studios to meet with the producers of Dancing with the Stars. 

When I arrived at the studio, I was met by the two executive producers, Stacia and Joe and led into a conference room. I let them do their spiel about what’s expected and the schedule. Nodding along in all the right places, being as polite as possible even though I hated how little say I had over anything. Once they moved on to the topic of how they choose partners, I spoke up for the first time, “I would really like to have input on my partner.” They both moved to speak before I held up my hand to signal that I wasn’t finished talking. 

“Look, I know you all have your formula or whatever, but I have a legitimate reason for asking. As I’m sure you’re aware, I’ve been trying to clean up my image. I’ve been sober for eight months and I would really like to be placed with someone that doesn’t have a reputation for partying…someone who isn’t gonna be a negative influence on me. It’s actually really important to me because I’m actively avoiding being around anyone who is into that kind of lifestyle.” Which is why I spend most of my time alone.  

Stacia and Joe looked at each other, obviously surprised at my reasoning for the request. They were actually stunned into silence. Since neither of them said anything, I continued, “I had my team check into the dancers, and based on their recommendation…I’m requesting that Katarina Stamos be my partner. She has a good reputation and I’m also told she’s very professional and isn’t judgmental…because that’s been an issue here lately that I’d really like to not have to deal with.”

Stacia’s brow furrowed, “Are you looking to actually win? Because Kat hasn’t won a single season that she’s been with us.”

I narrowed my eyes on her. What an asshole thing to say about someone. “Well, maybe that’s because you keep giving her shitty partners.” 

I gave Stacia a sarcastic smile. She had the audacity to look offended by that statement. I had watched the show and seen the people Katarina was partnered with. It was always the older guys that could hardly move. Stacia’s attitude made me more determined to have Katarina as a partner just to prove a fucking point on her behalf. 

Joe interrupted the silent standoff that Stacia and I now seemed to be having, “Alright, let’s think about this…” He turned to Stacia, “Physically, they work together. Their height and proportions are a good match…and Kat is very patient. She would work well with him. Also, if he wishes to be with someone who isn’t into partying, Anika is not the person he needs to be with.”

Stacia looked frustrated and unwilling to give in as she glared at her counterpart. Joe smirked, “If you're worried about the change in narrative, it’s possible there may be other options we haven’t considered.” 

What the fuck does that mean? I leaned forward on my elbows, “What narrative?” 

They both turned to look at me, Stacia now had a sly smile on her face. It was Joe who answered, “We always consider the possible narratives that could come up between partners. How they’ll interact and get along personality wise. It’s an important factor for the show.”

I felt a crease form between my brows, “So basically, you try to manufacture drama for TV.”  

Joe shook his head, “Not exactly, I mean ultimately, yes. We just take personalities and such into account when we pair the dancers with their celebrities. I mean, we do want everyone to get along with their partner, obviously.”   

So, you’re fucking meddlers. Got it. I arched my brows, giving them a tight smile as I nodded, going along with what they were telling me. I now realized I would have to keep an eye on these two. I didn’t feel like they had my best interest in mind. Especially if they were initially planning to put me with the known party girl. 

I cleared my throat before speaking again, “So what does that mean…do I get to work with Katarina or not?” 

Stacia looked at me, now smiling, “I think that may actually be a good match now that I think about it. So yeah, we’ll let you work with Kat. Hopefully you’ll both make it through to finals.” 

What is this woman’s deal? Geez Louise. I eyed them both suspiciously for a moment, “Ok, good. Now I’m finally a little excited about this.”   

They went over a few more details about the schedule before taking me out to meet with a production assistant, who was tasked with giving me a tour of the building and showing me where my dressing room would be. This part of my day couldn’t end soon enough… 

Katarina’s POV

As I was pulling into the Television City Studios parking lot for the first day of my last season on Dancing with the Stars, my phone pinged with a text from Alec, my fiancée.

Alec: I finished up my meeting with production. Are you here? Have you had yours yet?

I leaned my head back against the seat. What the hell has he been doing? I know his meeting was over an hour ago.

Me: Just parked, I have mine in 10 minutes. I’m on my way in…Meet you in the lobby. 

A few minutes later, I found Alec in the lobby. He seemed more excited than he normally was on the first day as he greeted me with a quick kiss on the cheek. 

I leaned away from him, “What’s got you so smiley this morning?” I could tell he was trying to temper it down and have a more neutral expression on his face as he shrugged, “I didn’t realize I was. Guess I’m just excited to see you.” 

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. What are you hiding now you asshole. He didn’t know how well I could read him at this point. 

I arched a brow instead of returning his smile, “So, I assume you found out who your partner is gonna be?”

He continued his attempts at a neutral expression, “Yeah, Lana Thompson…she’s an actress, I think. There was apparently a last minute change to the lineup this morning. You know her?” 

I gave him a tight smile, “Yeah…I know her. She has a bit of a reputation…”  

He feigned ignorance, “Oh? I don’t know anything about her. I’m sure she’ll turn out to be one of those stuck up, bitchy types like the rest of ‘em. Ya know, you’re lucky it’s your last season so you don’t have to deal with these people anymore.” 

And there it is. He doth protest too much. He was excited to be paired with her, I could tell. He saw it as an opportunity. As far as I knew, he hadn’t strayed to another woman in some time, but that didn’t mean he had changed. He still hadn’t earned my trust back and his current excitement only made me more suspicious of his commitment. 

Alec could sense the tension taking hold of my body as he rubbed at my lower back, “Everything ok, baby?”

I gave him a half-hearted smile, “Yeah, just peachy. I’ve gotta go or I’m gonna be late. I’ll catch up with you after.” 

As I was walking down the hallway toward the conference room, I saw Lana Thompson exiting the bathroom. I suspected Alec had already met his partner and liked her more than he let on. Which probably explains why it took him as long as it did to text me. 

When I entered the conference room, Stacia and Joe sat huddled together. They seemed to be engrossed in whatever they were whispering about, but abruptly stopped talking once they realized I was lingering in the entryway. They both smiled, almost over enthusiastically as they welcomed me and motioned for me to have a seat. They studied me for a moment before Stacia finally spoke, “How are things going with you?” 

That’s an odd question and an odd tone. I wasn’t sure what kind of answer she was looking for, “It’s going good, why?” 

She gave me a small smile, “I know it’s your last season because you have things going on…but do you think you’re feeling up to the possibility of making it to finals?” 

I gave her a confused look, “What is that supposed to mean?” 

Joe leaned forward, “What Stacia is trying to say is…the person we have you partnered with this time is going to be a little more physically able than your usual partners. So, you may be in it for the full twelve weeks…if you can pull it off. Are you physically able to handle it?” 

Should I be offended by that? It’s not like I can’t function. It was just painful some days, especially when there were a lot of rehearsals. My joints couldn’t handle the Latin dances like they used to - the jerky movements exacerbating the inflammation and discomfort. That didn’t mean they had to treat me like a fragile porcelain doll though. 

I narrowed my eyes at them, “Of course I can handle it. I could handle it this entire time…which is why I’ve been asking for more capable partners.” 

Joe smiled, “Well, good. Maybe you can go out with a bang this season.” 

What the fuck was this about? I dug my teeth into my bottom lip as I tried to figure out their angle. There was always an angle with them, “Why do I feel like you’re trying to sell this to me?” 

Joe grimaced slightly. “We’re not trying to sell it, but we do worry you won’t be happy about it.” 

I crossed my arms over my chest and leaned back into the seat, “Who is it?” 

Stacia smirked, “It’s Dieter Bravo.”

I looked between the two of them, “You’re joking?” 

They shook their heads in unison. This didn’t make sense. Wouldn’t he be better suited with one of the girls that enjoyed a lifestyle similar to his? 

“What makes you think he and I will work well together? I know I have a lot of patience, but it does have its limits.” 

Joe chuckled, “His people requested you specifically. He’s actually eight months sober and they want him with someone who isn’t going to get him into trouble. He’s trying to clean up his image.” 

I scoffed, “I thought you didn’t let the celebrities have any say in who they’re partnered with?”

Joe leaned forward onto the table, “We don’t normally, but given his request and the reasons for it, we felt we should make an exception. We were thinking of putting him with you anyway.”

I shook my head, “You are aware of his reputation, right? Alec is gonna lose his shit over this.” 

Stacia smiled, “It’s not your or Alec’s choice. We run the show.”

It dawned on me then. Alec had said there was a last minute lineup change this morning and that’s why he was put with Lana. I had somehow managed to fly under the radar when it came to the producers' manufactured bullshit, but now I was right in the middle of it. They were making moves to create an underlying narrative for the show. 

“Who was he partnered with originally? I know it wasn’t me.” 

Stacia looked surprised by my question, “He was never partnered with anyone else before you.”

Stacia was lying. She couldn’t look at me directly when she answered my question - it was her tell. I knew how their minds worked. Dieter Bravo had a reputation for causing trouble and they were looking to exploit it. I’m sure his request caused a hiccup in their plans, so now they were making adjustments to cause drama surrounding him any way they could. 

My eyes shifted between the two of them, “I don’t know what your endgame is here, but I have no intention of playing, just so you know.”

Stacia and Joe sat expressionless, not giving anything away. I assumed they expected this sort of response from me. My tendency to push back at their plans was one of the reasons I wasn’t a favorite of theirs and most likely part of the reason they always worked to get me off the show as soon as possible, every season. Which sucked for my bank account. To add to their reasoning, I wasn’t interesting enough since I never had issues with my partners or whirlwind romances that made for good TV. However, this season they were taking a chance, throwing two bombs in the form of Lana and Dieter into my already tumultuous relationship with Alec. Hoping for an exciting outcome that would play out behind the scenes to stir up tabloid fodder and result in free promotion for the show.  

Joe sighed, finally speaking to break the tension in the room, “For what it’s worth, we met with Dieter earlier this morning…he was actually very pleasant and agreeable. I don’t think he’ll be an issue for you, so long as he continues to stay sober.”

My brows furrowed, “It sounds like you have a lot of faith in him. Good to know.” I moved to stand, “Well, if there isn’t anything else you need from me…”

Joe smiled weakly in my direction, “No, I think that’s it for now…just make sure you review the schedule and let us know if you have questions.” 

I gave them a sarcastic smile before moving to leave the conference room. As I rounded the corner in the hallway, looking down at the floor lost in my thoughts and frustration, I ran into someone. I started mumbling my apologies as I looked up at the stranger. I was met with a mess of curls, piercing dark eyes, and a dimpled lop-sided grin. It was Dieter fucking Bravo looking like he just stepped out of a GQ magazine. 

“Hey there, sweetheart,” he said through a chuckle with his hands on my shoulders to catch me from running head first into him. We stared at each other in silence for a moment. You’ve got to be fucking kidding me, he can’t call me that.  

He had a slight smirk on his face now, “Katarina, right? Looks like we’re gonna be dance partners.” 

I shook my head, my lips set in a tight line, “Don’t call me that.” 

His brow furrowed, “What? Katarina?” 

I scoffed, “No, sweetheart. I don’t want anyone getting the wrong idea. It’s inappropriate. You can call me Kat like everyone else.” 

He was obviously taken off guard by my cold demeanor as he gave me a confused look, “I didn’t…mean anything by it, I-I call everyone sweetheart.” 

I nodded, “Well, you're not gonna call me that.”

He chewed on the inside of his cheek for a beat, “I guess I’ve earned that. Sorry, I won’t do it again.” 

I inhaled deeply, biting my bottom lip as I did so. It didn’t go unnoticed that his eyes shifted down to my mouth. “Look, this is my last season and I just wanna get through it without any drama, ok?”

A crease formed between his brows as his jaw ticked to the side, “What makes you think I’m gonna cause drama?”

I shook my head, now realizing how big of a jerk I was being, “Umm…I…”

He continued to stare at me with a burning intensity, “Just so you know, I’m sober…have been for eight months. Drama is not my thing these days…”

I gave him a tight smile, “Good…hopefully you can stick to it.”  Fuck. That did not come out how I meant for it to.

I could see his jaw muscles flex before he let out a small laugh. His eyes finally shifted downward. He almost looked hurt by that comment. 

I sighed, “I’m sorry…I didn’t mean that the way it sounded.” 

His brows arched as he peered at me through his lashes, “You know, I requested to be partnered with you because I was told that you're professional and wouldn’t be judgmental about my past…I guess I heard wrong. I suppose I should just expect it at this point, right? Maybe I shouldn’t have such high expectations of others.” 

My mouth fell open as I shook my head. I’m such a fucking asshole. He didn’t give me a chance to say anything before he spoke again, “I guess I’ll see you at rehearsals tomorrow. Have a good afternoon.” He gave me a sad smile as he brushed past me. I stood there with my mouth hanging open like an idiot watching him as he walked toward the exit. That was a great first impression. Good job, Kat. 

“Who was that?” Alec asked from behind me. 

I turned, running my fingers through the top of my hair out of frustration, “That was my new dance partner.” 

Alec squinted toward the figure standing near the exit, now stopping to look at his phone, “Is that Dieter Bravo?” 

I could feel my jaw tighten as I took in Alec’s expression, “Yes, it is.” Alec’s head snapped toward me, “I don’t want you working with him.” 

I smiled sarcastically, “Really? And you think I have a choice in that? They made it clear, there is no other option. I asked.”

Alec shook his head, “You could just not do this season. You're quitting anyway. Why not go ahead and drop out?” 

My eyes widened at his suggestion, “Because I need the fucking money, you know that.” 

He chuckled, “Right, for the dance studio.” 

I scoffed, “Yeah, for the dance studio. I don’t understand why you can’t support me on that.” 

Alec didn’t acknowledge my question, “This guy is a known womanizer. I’m not comfortable with this.” 

My head tilted to the side, “So you don’t trust me. That’s rich coming from you. You know…I’m not excited about your partner either, but I didn’t tell you to drop out. If anyone has a right to be concerned, it’s me.” 

Alec moved in closer, causing me to back up against the wall as he got in my face. His eyes were blazing with anger, “You’re never gonna let that shit go, are you? That was ten months ago, and I have been loyal to you ever since. Yet here you are…still throwing it in my fucking face.” 

I had a sudden defiant streak hit me, “You’re the one who brought it up by insinuating that you couldn’t trust me. I’m just reminding you who the problem is in this relationship.” 

Alec moved to put his hand on the wall next to my head as he leaned in further - his nose nearly touching mine as I turned my stoney face away from him, “Don’t you ever talk to me like that again,” he spat out.   

I could feel his eyes drift over my face for a moment before he pulled away and walked off. 

I huffed out a quiet “Fuck” as I exhaled a shaky breath and watched him walk toward the dressing rooms. When I glanced back toward the exit, Dieter was still standing there, frozen in place with his phone halfway to his ear. Once he realized I was looking his way, his head dropped downward, and he slowly turned to exit the building.   

 Dieter’s POV 

As I walked out into the scorching afternoon sun, I ended the call to check my voicemail, deciding I wasn’t in the mood to hear it. I was frustrated by my first interaction with Katarina. It didn’t go how I expected, and honestly, she had hurt my feelings. Based on everything I had heard about her, I didn’t think she would throw my past up in my face like that. At least not immediately, if at all. She did seem a little flustered, maybe she was just having a bad day? 

What followed after our exchange was even more bizarre. It looked like she was having a tense conversation with the man that I assumed was the one she was dating. Lenny had mentioned she was engaged to one of the other dancers. When the man first leaned in, I initially thought they were just having a private moment, but then I noticed the look on Kat’s face as she turned away from him. Something about it was unsettling and for a brief moment, I considered interrupting them. Luckily, I didn’t have to. However, I was left feeling that I had witnessed something I wasn’t supposed to.

Even though our conversation didn’t go as well as I hoped, I was still struck with how beautiful Katarina was in person. Pictures and TV didn’t do her justice. It was probably a good thing she was seeing someone, otherwise I would be in danger of making a fool of myself. Then again, I probably would anyway. My sober self didn’t seem to know how to act around a pretty lady. My confidence and self-assurance definitely weren’t on the same level these days. 

When I got home, I spent more time than I would like to admit staring at my reflection in the mirror - trying to remind myself that I was no longer the piece of shit that everyone still saw me as. It was still hard for me to accept that the old me and the new me were two very different people. Some days it really did seem like it was easier being the old Dieter Bravo, because he didn’t care about how he was perceived by others. I often longed for him to come back, just to quiet the thoughts of self-hate and inadequacy. Those thoughts really could be suffocating and hard to overcome. It was near impossible living with myself on those days.

The anticipation of how our first rehearsal would go was starting to get to me. So, I decided to spend the rest of the evening trying to relax and take my mind off things. With classical music blaring from the sound system, I moved through the house to check in on my plants - watering, misting leaves, and pruning. It was a new hobby I had picked up since rehab. It started with one succulent plant that had seen better days. My neighbor had left it sitting next to the trash bin on garbage collection day. For some reason, I had an urge to attempt to save the shriveled mass. After a few weeks, it was showing new life as the deep purple hues started to form on the leaves. My plant obsession bloomed from there. Now I wasn’t even sure how many I had. I was fairly certain my housekeeper was going to quit if I brought any more home. 

After I was finished with the plants, I spent some time painting until I couldn’t hold my eyes open any longer. It was nearing midnight by the time I had showered and crawled into bed. Even though I was completely exhausted, I couldn’t shut my mind off. The anxiety was now building to problematic levels. It was always at this point that I thought about using the most. By now, the old Dieter would be a couple lines in and a few drinks deep to block out the thoughts. The new Dieter suffers through it as he lay in bed alone, staring into the darkness. I drug both hands down my face and huffed loudly before moving to switch on the lamp beside the bed. I reached for my latest self-help book and began reading.  

I was startled awake by my 7 AM alarm. I groaned as I felt around next to me on the bed for the shrilling phone to shut it off. I sat up, still half out of it, causing the book that had been lying on my chest to fall to the floor with a loud thump. I got up from bed, wiping the sleep from my eyes as I walked toward the bathroom to splash some water on my face. I stood staring at my reflection again, “You look like shit, Bravo.” It was clear I hadn’t gotten much sleep from my dark circles and puffy eyelids. I threw a warm rag over my eyes for a few minutes in hopes that would help.

Standing in my closet staring at the pile of gym clothes my stylist had picked up, I selected a random pair of shorts and a t-shirt, then pulled the tags off. We weren’t allowed to wear anything with brands or logos on filming days, so I had to break down and buy more clothes. It was probably for the best, my old gym clothes were looking a little ratty anyway.    

Once I was dressed, I grabbed my backpack that had a few essentials in it and headed toward the front door. As I stepped out onto the porch and pulled the door shut behind me, I was greeted by my furry squatter who had left another gift near the steps - a dead mouse. I sighed, “Well, at least it’s not on top of the car this time…” The fluffy menace meowed at me as he rubbed against my legs, as if to say, “Look what I did!” 

I was determined to not give in to the furry intruder, so I disregarded his attempts for pets. “Don’t you have a family somewhere to annoy?” I muttered to him as I continued toward the car. He followed me halfway down the pathway before sitting down and flicking his tail around as he watched me get into the driver's side and shut the door. He didn’t look happy about being ignored. 

I gave myself a quick glance in the rearview mirror, reaching to comb down my hair with my fingers. I hadn’t bothered to fix it, knowing it was going to turn into a mess no matter what I did to it. Then, I started the car and drove in silence to the dance studio, not even really sure how I got there as I pulled into the parking lot. I found myself wondering if I had run any redlights as I walked through the main entrance. I felt like I was in a haze as the camera team talked to me in the lobby to fill me in on the plans for filming. 

They wanted to do a brief interview with me before I went into the studio with Katarina. They wanted me to give the whole spiel about how excited I was to be here and working with my dance partner. Truth is, I wasn’t excited. I was nervous as hell, and I was supposed to act like this was the first time I was meeting her. I was unsure of how to act toward her, so when the time came for me to walk through the door to greet her and act excited, I turned on the Dieter Bravo charm the best I could and pretended like yesterday’s conversation never happened.

I was surprised to find how well Katarina did the same thing as she came over to greet me with a smile and a hug and gushed about how excited she was to work with me. However, we were both avoiding looking at the other directly. Clearly there was still some lingering awkwardness between us. After they filmed the introduction, they wanted to get some quick shots of us rehearsing. 

These first few days of rehearsal were meant for learning the basics. We were not actually getting into the first routine yet. We started with some simple stretches and moved into learning the proper frame, the different types of positions, and spacing for the different types of dances. It was all very high level and fast, but Katarina had promised that we would go over it in more detail once the film crew left for the day. The quick pace was mostly for the benefit of the film crew so they could get what they needed and move on to the next couple. 

Once filming was done for the day, we took a seat on the floor for a water break as the crew gathered up all of their gear to leave. We mostly sat in awkward silence until we were finally alone. I could feel Katarina’s eyes on me as I stared at the water bottle in my hand. She spoke first. 

“I feel like I should apologize about yesterday…I was having a shit day and kind of took it out on you. I’m sorry. I honestly didn’t mean what I said.” 

I pursed my lips and shrugged, “It’s fine. I’m used to it at this point.” 

She reached out and grasped my wrist with her left hand, the heat of her touch raced through me as I looked at the glittering ring on that finger for a moment before meeting her eyes, “It doesn’t mean that it should keep happening though. It’s not right and it’s not fair to you. Everyone deserves a second chance.” 

I huffed out a small laugh, “Yeah, except I’m on like my tenth chance. I understand why no one takes me seriously. Really, it’s not that big of a deal.” 

Her face softened as she stared at me for a beat, like she was trying to decide what she wanted to say next. Then she shifted her body to face me as she crossed her legs, “It is a big deal. It’s a big deal to me because I know better. You know…” 

She paused, appearing to gather her thoughts. I moved to lean back on my hand and face her more fully with my legs stretched out to the side. My teeth bit into my bottom lip as I watched her face shift to a somewhat pained expression. It was brief, but I still caught it before she gained her composure. 

“My uhh…my dad was sober for about 14 years before he passed. I know how hard it was for him in the beginning…with everyone doubting him and not giving him a chance. It’s one of the reasons he relapsed the first few times. It can be hard when you don’t have any support from the people around you. I know that…and I don’t wanna be one of those people. You haven’t given me any reason to doubt you, so I wanna make sure I’m giving you a fair shot and support you as long as you’re actively trying to better yourself. I know first-hand that people do change.”

Is she fucking serious? I couldn’t move or speak. She had stunned me again for the second day in a row. I never would have guessed she would share something so personal, especially on our first day together. She seemed sincere in her apology.   

I finally managed a curt nod before I reached to rub at the crease between my brows, “Thanks…I uhh…I appreciate that.”  I let out a small laugh, “I appreciate it more than you probably realize, actually.” 

She gave me a tentative smile, “Does that mean I’m forgiven for being an asshole then?” 

I chuckled, “Of course…and I didn’t think you were an asshole. Not really. I had a feeling you were having a bad day.”

“Whew…ok. Good. I was worried I had already fucked this whole thing up before it started.” 

Ok, it’s kind of hot when she says fuck. I smirked, “Does this mean I get to call you sweetheart now?” 

She narrowed her eyes on me and shook her head, “No. No sweetheart.” She laughed quietly, “But, I might consider a different nickname if you come up with a good one.” 

My lips spread into a cheeky smile, “I think I can come up with something.” She laughed into the top of her water bottle as she took a sip with a slight flush creeping up her neck. Am I flirting right now? I don’t even know what I’m doing. Geez. I looked away in an attempt to reign myself in. I can’t be doing that.  

We were soon back at it, now with a more relaxed atmosphere. We again started with getting my frame right. I stood in place as she moved my arms to the proper position, pushing in between my shoulder blades to straighten my posture. After several minutes in the position, I couldn’t help the groan that slipped out, “This is gonna do a number on my back muscles, isn’t it?” 

She snickered, “You will definitely have better posture by the time I’m done with you. Now, elbows up, you should have a horizontal line from elbow to elbow…and hold it there.” 

She then stood in front of me, taking in my form for a moment before manipulating my hands into the proper position. 

Smiling, she nodded in satisfaction as she stepped closer, “Ok, now let’s go over the hold. The hold is important because it’s how we connect…how our bodies communicate movement to lead and follow.” 

As she spoke, she moved closer, placing her arm along the top of my right one and clasping my left hand in hers. She was very matter of fact with her words as her eyes bore into mine. It was almost distracting. 

“I need you to make sure there’s no space between our arms…here, so keep your elbow flush against mine.” She bounced her arm against the top of my right one to emphasize what she meant. “This is an important connection point because I can feel the pressure from your arm, which will tell me how to follow. As for your left hand, keep it at my eye level. We apply pressure here as well for another connection point.”    

All I could do was nod along with her words, completely mesmerized by her intensity. Once she felt we had the hold down, she began to explain the differences in spacing for standard ballroom versus Latin dances. 

“So…in Latin style dances, we’ll have more space between us…like we are now. It gives us more room to move. We’re gonna be slightly offset from each other while maintaining this closed position. Got it?”

I nodded again as I chewed on the inside of my cheek. I wanted to look at her directly, but I couldn’t. Between her eyes burning into me and the tingling from her touch, I felt like my skin was on fire. I didn’t know what to make of it and it was sort of fucking with my head.

Then she stepped even closer, the front of our bodies nearly flush as she slightly adjusted the position of our arms. I swallowed hard over her proximity and the tangy citrus scent that was now invading my senses. Fuck. I might be in trouble. 

“For standard dances, like the Waltz and Foxtrot, we’re gonna be closer…like this. Our frame will be a little wider and our arms will be positioned slightly lower. We’ll both be looking off to our left instead of directly at each other.”   

I cleared my throat, stepping back slightly, “Sooo…umm…do we look off to the left for Latin dances?” 

Her brows arched as her eyes widened, “Good question. I should have mentioned that. There’s typically more direct eye contact in the Latin dances. It’s actually another form of connection…another way for us to communicate without words.”

She moved back into the Latin dance hold, now making direct eye contact with me. I couldn’t help how my eyes roamed over her face, taking in the minor changes in her expression as she spoke. I wasn’t sure if the close proximity of the standard hold or direct eye contact with the Latin hold was worse. They were both a little overwhelming. 

“Alright, let’s try some steps. We can start with the Rumba.” 

She broke away for a moment to show me the foot movement, then had me give it a try. After a successful attempt, she positioned us back into the Latin hold and we began moving together. Once it seemed we had the footwork down, she backed away with a smirk on her face. 

“You’re actually really good at this, you know. We do need to work on eye contact though.”

I smiled nervously as I looked down at my feet and rubbed the back of my neck, “I’m sorry…I know. Direct eye contact is a little weird for me.” I glanced up at her through my lashes, slightly embarrassed by the admission. 

She smiled and arched a brow in my direction, “Really? I never would have guessed that based on your love scenes.”

My eyes widened. I do not need to think about her watching me dick someone down on screen. Focus, Bravo. I chuckled nervously, “Yeah, I’m not usually looking directly into their eyes during those. I tend to stare between their eyebrows.” 

She gave me a sly smile now, snickering, “Oh, is that why you usually look cross eyed then?” 

My brow furrowed as I gave her a mock look of offense, “I don’t look cross eyed. That’s rude.”

She cackled over my response, “I’m joking. I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen one of your love scenes to know how your face looks.” 

I scrunched up my nose, “Ouch, ok…so you don’t watch my movies. Got it.” 

Her laugh had simmered to a quiet chuckle now as she lightly smacked my shoulder, “I’ve seen some…just not any with a love scene. So don’t be so offended. I’ve seen those TikTok videos though…they gave me a good idea of what I’m working with.”

I rolled my eyes, “Ugh…those fucking TikTok videos. They’re so bad.”  

I had to admit, it was nice to be joking around with her after all the tension that had built up from yesterday. I took it as a good sign that this might actually go ok. What I didn’t expect was the attraction that I was starting to feel as our day went on. However, the obnoxiously sized engagement ring she wore on her finger helped keep that in check every time I saw it sparkling in the light when she moved. As long as that shiny reminder was there, I would be ok... 

Right?

Next: Week 2

✨FUN FACTS: All cast members on Dancing with the Stars are in fact required to get a weekly spray tan. They also do not get to choose their partners, costumes, music, or themes. They can make recommendations obviously, but the producers do not have to honor the requests. When it comes to pairing partners, the producers do have a "formula".

A/N: I wanted to take a quick minute to welcome all of my new and old readers! So happy to have you all with me for my next adventure with Dieter Bravo. For the new folks, I'm a sucker for predictions and theories. If you have them, drop them in the comments so we can discuss. Now on to my normal nonsense...how are you guys feeling about the first chapter? How do you feel about Dieter and Kat's first couple of interactions? What about all the characters that were introduced? I'm curious to know who you want to throat punch more, Alec or Stacia? I'm already in love with these two and I can't wait to share more of them. This Dieter is...something else. I love sharing things from his point of view. He is going to be a good time, as expected. Kat is...kind of a mess, but also not? It's been interesting being in her head. How do you see things progressing with these two? Lastly, a quick thank you to @maggiemayhemnj for giving this first chapter a quick read through to make sure all these plot points were introduced in a way that made sense...because seriously, there is a lot going on here. She also found the perfect disco ball looking dividers for this...and I fucking love them. 😘 👉 I did a fun post about Dieter's plant hobby and his furry visitor. Check it out HERE. 👉 In case you missed it, I also did a character introduction post, which you can find HERE. Until next time, 💜 Mysty

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Credits: Support/MDNI Dividers: @cafekitsune Disco Divider: @deadbranch

[carleycore]

When they insult you (Kenma and Oikawa pt. 2)

A/N thank you all for the suggestions and support! The ideas came from @multi-fandom-fanfic !!

Genre: Hurt/Comfort (i think that’s right) 

Warnings: Mentions of eds, self deprecating thoughts and fluff

Part One 

(Kenma)

After you left he felt bad, he really did. But, he was still frustrated so he finished the stream and went to bed. Hoping you would’ve cooled down by then, but you hadn’t. You were fast asleep in the guest room with dried tears on your face.

The next day he apologized, you forgave him, and he thought that was the end of everything.

The only difference he noticed was how you seem more tired and less enthusiastic.

Before, you were more than happy to wedding plan, and it made him smile seeing how happy you were.

Now, every little thing was seeming to stress you out and you were gone a lot more.

Upon further inspection, he found out you had gotten a job.

“Y/N? Why did i find out that you were working at the new arcade downtown?”

“Oh,” you answered tiredly, “you wanted me to, you remember?”

And he did remember. And he felt horrible.

Somehow his fans knew too.

“What do you mean, what's wrong with Y/N?” he was reading his chats. His entire stream had comments flooded with questions about Y/N

Why isn't Y/N posting anymore?

Did you and your fiancee break up?

Y/N looks so tired recently.

And he knew they were right. Ending his stream he went downstairs and saw you crying on the couch. Looking from your phone to your computer like your life depended on it.

“Is... Is everything okay?” He asked, cuddling you.

“Yeah,” you sniffled, “just balancing school, work, and the wedding is a lot. It's getting overwhelming.”

“Y/N, I'm so sorry. I was just having a bad day and I took it out on you. I'm so so sorry my love.”

“It's okay, Ken. Just please, never do that again.”

“Noted, I love you.”

“I love you too.”

(Oikawa)

Oikawa didn’t apologize. He didn’t tend to. But, you didn’t need him to. You just carried on with your life, only difference was now you were working out more and eating less. 

And Tooru noticed. Complimenting on how beautiful you looked. He must’ve really thought you looked good as the very next day he informed you his friends were coming over for dinner. The same friends he saw in the store.

"Y/N you look beautiful!” Nami complimented, handing you a present filled with baby stuff.

“Thank you, I’ve been trying.” 

“You don’t need to work out,” she said seriously, “I wish I could gain some weight, I hate how disproportionate my body looks due to my bump,” She whined, as you both took a seat at the table.

“That’s nonsense dear,” her husband chimed in. You look amazing. 

That was the support you wished you got from your husband.

Especially now. You didn’t feel well at all.

You knew something was wrong.

And you were right. The very next moment you passed out on the table. 

Next thing you knew, you were lying on a hospital bed. 

“Oh my gosh, Y/N. I’m so happy you’re okay. I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to you or the baby.”

“You got really fucking lucky Oikawa,” Nami sneered, “she was starving herself because you talked about the way she looked while she’s pregnant with YOUR baby.”  

After making sure you were okay and slapping Oikawa Nami and Sato left. 

“Y/N- I-”

“Just save It Tooru. I don’t want to see you right now.”

“I-I know you’re mad at me. You have every right to be. Just know It’ll never happen again and I’ll never stop trying to get you to forgive me. I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m so, so sorry.”

I hope you guys enjoyed! More characters coming soon.

[riiwrites]

Can you make something for Oda? Where he started seeing his s/o who also takes care of the orphans and are gifted as well, maybe able to sing a deadly lullaby, and when the orphans got killed his s/o takes down the Mimic instead, out of grief and rage by using their gift and maybe Oda comforting after that, then maybe they leave together to start a new. (this man seriously deserved better)

a quiet life

a/n : i actually couldn’t wait to write this idea, oda truly did deserve so much better. asagiri when i catch you oda is coming back in the next arc (trust it trust it!)

a/n : i found it quite odd i used 'mom' considering i’m scottish but oh well!

pairing : oda x gn!reader (reader is referred to as mom by kids)

genre : fluff at the beginning, angst angst angst

warnings : mentions of blood & murder

wc : 3k

masterlist taglist main page

"Don’t you think stars are a beautiful sight to gaze upon?"

Oda turns to you, a soft smile placed upon his features.

"Rather lyrical tonight, aren’t you?"

You turn to him with furrowed eyebrows and a playful smirk on your face at his harmless comment

"Don't you enjoy my whimsical poetry?

“Indeed I do, but you only seem to talk like that when something is on your mind.”

You relax your expression and your smirk falters only to the same soft smile he gave you. You look down at the concrete below you as you begin to speak.

“Don’t you think a quiet life would be nice?”

Oda’s smile falls down to a small frown. He reaches from under your chin to lift your head up so you can face him.

“A quiet life?” He repeats, beckoning for you to elaborate.

“Yeah.” Your eyes follow his own as you look up at him. “A quiet life with the kids.”

“You mean the five children who are anything but the definition of peace and tranquillity?”

At this you laugh, your smile returning to your lips as you cock your head to the side with Oda’s hand still resting underneath your chin.

“Absolutely.” You say with such certainty. Oda smiles as his hand traces up to cup your cheek, his thumb stroking your skin ever so gently.

“I’m happy with the life we have currently of course, but..” You pause.

“But?”

“Don't you think having such a delicate part of your life along with such a tough part of it also could shatter everything in such a short bit of time?”

He frowns, understanding what you mean by your words.

“You mean my job, correct?”

You nod, letting out a soft sigh as you turn away from him, his hand no longer resting on your cheek as you look up at the night sky.

“I know I tell you this almost every night but you know I’m right, Oda. This mafia life you claim to have going for you isn’t great and it’s going to catch up on you sooner or later, no matter how much of a good person you are.” You truthfully say, giving him a look of hurt and worry.

Oda gives you a look with sympathy, him only nodding in understanding and turning to also look at the sky. A moment of silence passes through the wind before you continue.

“I just want us to be safe.”

“We will be.”

He brings down a hand to cup your chin once more, bringing it up to make you look up into his eyes.

“Do you remember that creative mind of yours describing to me what our future could be if you had the world in your hands?”

You think for a few moments, recollecting your thoughts until you eventually find that fond memory.

“To build a cabin house with six bedrooms, around four windows placed in each room alongside the kitchen..” You whisper.

“What else?” He urges

“One little TV placed on a cabinet table in the living room so the children can eat their home cooked meals with a proper working furnace, beside it being a cozy warm fireplace that’s well kept away from the children..” You giggle at your last comment.

“And?”

You pause, resting your cheek into his palm as tears fill your eyes, attempting to hold back your sorrow but when you imagine such a peaceful life with such ordinary requests that you can’t reach it becomes a bit difficult for you to maintain composure.

“A little baby room, for when we have our own one day..”

Oda smiles at this, rubbing his thumb up and across your cheek, wiping away the tear that threatens to fall from your waterline. He gives you the sweetest kiss on the forehead, his other hand coming up to rub the back of your head in a comforting manner.

“I want to sit in a room that overlooks the sea.” He says, now resting his forehead against yours. “A room where we can read to all of our children those stories I will write one day and those lullabies you will sing to them also.”

You look up to meet his eyes once more.

“Our children?”

There’s a moment of silence before he lets out a breathless chuckle escape his lips.

“Our children.”

More tears escape your eyes, you sniffle and wipe your tears as Oda wipes some more from his fingers.

“My beautiful partner..” He starts.

“My beautiful soon to be married..” He continues.

“We will be alright.”

You brush through Sakuras hair with one of her pretty pink hairbrushes she insisted on you using. You were helping each one of the children get ready for bed, each one having their own unique personality and behaviour to them.

Kōsuke, being the oldest out of all the orphans Oda took in. He always insists he can get ready himself, and although he can - he hates the rule of having to actually getting ready for bed specifically so it’s naturally your job to make sure he’s managed first.

Katsumi, the second hardest to actually help get ready for bed. Not because he can’t manage it, but simply because he would much rather play baseball outside even when it’s dark.

“I just don’t understand why you two would want to play out here after hours, especially when there’s creeps and bad things out here that lurk in the night..” You speak to the children from the balcony you were standing on, looking down at the two boys who were so persistent on an extra five minutes.

“What, bad things like monsters? Hah! I’m not five anymore! Those stories are stupid!” Kōsuke argues, crossing his arms as he stands stubbornly to clearly state he isn’t moving any time soon.

“Yeah! Plus, if any creepers came up to try and hurt us we’d beat them to a pulp!” Katsumi shouts, balling his fist and punching his baseball glove, his eyebrows furrowing and smiling mischievously, showing his missing tooth on his upper teeth. You giggle, propping your elbows up on the bannister and resting your chin on your hands as you stare fondly at the kids. You pout jokingly as you begin to speak.

“Well, it’s a shame really..I guess I’ll just have to sit all alone and read my lullabies to myself.”

At this Katsumi’s expression flickered into a change rather quickly, his eyebrows now furrowing in a sad manner as his demeanour changes within a flash.

“Hey wait!! I wanna listen to your lullabies Y/N!”

Kōsuke turns around to Katsumi, a look of betrayal written all over his face as he stomps his foot.

“Hey!! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“But Miss/Mister Y/N’s gonna be lonely..” He pouts.

“Uh- no, they’ll have Mr Oda to keep them company!”

“But I enjoy the lullabies..”

“Oh come now Katsumi it’s okay, just go on and get ready for bed kay?” You say with a sweet smile on your face, Katsumis face immediately lighting up as he runs up the stairs to the balcony and into the building.

Kōsuke watches in disbelief at Katsumi rushing off within an instant. He glares at you as you stick your tongue out at him, blowing a raspberry like a child yourself as you turn around and beckon for him to come in, him following behind you without any hesitation with him mumbling and grumbling like the five year old he said he wasn’t.

Next was Yū, he wasn’t much of a bother considering how he was rather preoccupied with his games, although he sure liked to keep your mind busy with him joining the other boys antics and frequently sneaking his electronics into his bed so he could attempt to play them overnight, most of the time his plan fails.

“Yū..” You say with a quirked eyebrow, your hands on your hips as you stare at him from the bunk bed.

He turns to you with a sweet smile that could’ve fooled anyone, but not you.

“Yeah?”

“Give it.”

He tries to pull a confused expression, only making him look silly due to the fact he was trying not to smile whilst being caught in a lie.

“I don’t know what you could be talking about..“

“Miss/Mister Y/N, Yū hid his gameboy under his pillow!!”

“Sakura!!”

He groans in annoyance as you smirk, holding your hand out for him to give you the electronic, him complying with harsh movements as he grabs his pillow, lifts it, grabs the gameboy but places it in your hand ever so gently, crossing his arms and pouting. You pat him on the head with a soft smile, taking his hat off in the process.

“Bed, now.”

Now for the most competent one, Shinji. He was the sweetest and timid boy you ever met when you first started seeing Oda. Rather quiet and cautious with himself and around others but the more you got to know him, the more you saw just how easily comfortable he got with you.

“And no reading under the covers!” You say as you take the book from Shinji.

He nods with a sweet smile as he heads to bed. But before he gets into the covers, he pauses for a moment and stays there, almost seeming like he was hesitating to ask something. You stand as you watch his back freeze and you wait patiently for him to turn around and gain the courage. He turns around cautiously and fiddles with his little fingers before asking quietly.

“C-can you read me it..?” He asks kindly, pointing to the small picture book you took from him and then instantly looking down when he notices you glancing at the book and back at him. Your heart melts, a small pout forming on your lips as you smile.

“Of course, sweetheart. Come on let’s tuck you in.”

Oda doesn’t think Shinji’s ever smiled so brightly in his life.

Sakura was the quietest next to Shinji, although she had a bright and caring personality around everyone. It was kind of hard being the only girl out of all the kids for her, not being able to have the same interests as the boys all seem to have. Sure, she messed around with them and played tricks on Oda with their silly fake mafia style games, but she never actually had someone to talk about the things she really wanted to talk about or do - which is why she found the most comfort in you.

Which is where you are now, brushing her hair gently with the pretty pink hairbrush she so desperately “needed” you to use. She claims it makes her hair shine, you believe so too.

“Your hairs so pretty, Miss/Mister Y/N..” Sakura says with a cute smile as she stares at you through the mirror, seeming so mesmerised by you overall. You grin as you brush her hair so gently, not wanting to brush too hard through her tugs.

“Thank you, Sakura.” You say softly, looking down at her head so you don’t miss any unbrushed ends.

“I wish I had hair like you..” She tilts her head to the side slightly, kicking her feet back and forth on the chair she was sitting on. You furrow your eyebrows playfully, the smile still remaining on your lips.

“That so?”

“Yeah!” She beams.

“Well, what if I told you that I’d much prefer to have your hair?”

At this her face lights up brighter than before.

“Really??”

“Mhm.”

“But why?”

You stop brushing her hair for a moment before placing it on the desk of the bathroom, smiling and placing your chin on top of her head.

“Because it’s so perfect, silky smooth and is the best to style.”

She gets excited at this, bouncing up and down as she pats her legs.

“I really do like my pigtails..” She says with a bit of shyness.

“They’re beautiful on you dear.”

“You do them best though!!” She exclaims, giggling as you hug her gently.

“Hey Miss/Mister Y/N?” She says after a few moments of giggling.

“Yes, Sakura?”

There’s a little pause before she thinks of what to say.

“Are you technically my mommy?”

You stop for a second, practically freeze in place. You blink at your reflection in the mirror before you turn to look at her fully.

“What do you mean, dear?”

She shifts on her butt and turns around to now fully look at you, hugging her knees to her chest as she slowly continues to elaborate.

“I mean..you always take care of us..and you act like our mommy, and although i wouldn’t mind if you were my dad also..I’ve never had a mommy before..”

Your heart breaks at this. She was right, Oda was their father figure that was present in all of their lives from the beginning, saving them one by one from death and raising them up until now without any mother figure present. Although, Oda has clearly done an amazing job raising these kids you can’t help but have sympathy for all of them for feeling so..empty? You’re snapped out your thoughts quickly as you feel Sakuras tiny hand tug on your sleeve.

“Can I call you mommy?”

You pause, until a soft smile is placed on your lips and you lean in to kiss her forehead.

“Yeah, you can call me that.”

She smiles happily, now crawling up to you using her tiny hands to claw at your sleeves to help her get up to your lap. Now sitting on it she cuddles into you, feeling warmth on your chest as you smile happily, wrapping your arms around the small little girl as you rub her back soothingly.

“I love you mommy.” She says sweetly.

“I love you too dear.” You whisper softly, not knowing that Oda had been leaning against the door the entire time with the most heart warming smile ever present on his face.

“You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are gray

You'll never know, dear

How much I love you

Please don't take

My sunshine away”

“Mom! Why do you always have to sing that one song? It’s getting boring now..” Katsumi whines, resting his cheek against the corner of the chair as he looks up at you.

“Yeah, it’s a stupid song..” Kōsuke grumbles, crossing his arms as he looks to the side in a huff.

“Hey, don’t be mean!! I love the song mommy, I do I do!!” Sakura beams, grabbing your leg with her hands as she begins to shake you in her grasp.

Oda chuckles at this, leaning against his hands from where he was sitting on the floor with the kids as you sat in the rocking chair, singing them lullabies before bed.

“I didn’t think you guys could be so opinionated. I remember back in the easy days where I’d just give you all a bottle of milk and you’d be content.”

“Hey! I am content!” Kōsuke retorts, glaring at Oda.

“Do you even know what that word means?” Katsumi asks.

“…”

“No.”

“Neither.”

“Okay but seriously! What’s the deal, mom? Why can’t you sing us another song?” Katsumi exclaims whilst Yū agrees.

“Yeah! I wanna know too!”

You tap your cheek with your finger a few times as you look up at the ceiling, pretending to look as if you were thinking before you looked down at Oda who was looking at you like a lovesick fool.

“Should I tell them?”

“Should you?”

“Should I?”

“STOP IT!!” Kōsuke shouts. “Just tell usss!” He groans.

You giggle. “Okay okay,” you say softly as you place your hands in your lap before you whisper gently.

“What if I told you all..that I had special powers?”

“Like super powers?” Yū asks, you nod. The children all beam at this, even little Shinji who was placed on Odas knee now hitting it in excitement along with Sakura on the other.

“Like Mr. Oda’s super powers..?” Shinji asks.

“Well, the same term - but not the same power.” You start.

“My ability, is to hypnotise those who dare to hear my lullabies..” You explain. “And unfortunately, due to my ability, I can’t sing specific songs to you guys because I don’t want to harm you all with my power, so I found that this song which you all liked seemed to work wonders!” You beam.

“Used to like, now it’s so overused..” Kōsuke groans.

“Be nice!!” Sakura snaps as she slaps Kōsuke on the leg.

“Ow! Hey!”

“Alright that’s enough..” Oda grabs Sakura and places her away from Kōsuke, who just mutters under his breath and sinks further into his pillow.

“Wait wait wait!” Katsumi holds up his hand as to say ‘pause’.

“Is that why whenever I hear your lullaby, I feel myself getting sleepy..?” His eyes widen as he speaks, as if he’s just had a realisation. Oda chuckles at Katsumis accusation.

“I don’t think that’s quite it, Katsumi..”

“No no!! It totally is!! Look at their creepy face!!” He screams out and points to your mischievous smirk as you look down at all the children to which they all squeal at this, now all attempting to hide behind Oda although Kōsuke on the other hand remains unfazed, staying in the same position in his pillow.

You laugh, breaking character completely. “Alright alright! No, Katsumi, I’m not hypnotising you to sleep.” You begin, reaching over to boop his nose. “You, are just naturally tired.”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Yuh-huh!”

Oda picks up Shinji with one arm and Sakura with the other, smiling softly at the other older children. “Alright guys, time to sleep.”

They all groan.

“Nooo!! Please!” Sakura whines, kicking her feet in the air from where Oda’s holding her to which Oda ignores her pleas as he takes her and Shinji out the room, Yū and Katsumi trailing behind soon after, leaving you and Kōsuke alone.

You turn to Kōsuke to see him staring at the floor, seeming to be lost in thought.

“Something on your mind, Kōsuke?”

Kōsuke looks up at you and purses his lips together, muttering a little 'no' under his breath.

You know he’s lying, so you persist.

“Is it the song?”

“…”

“No, the songs fine..”

“I thought it was overplayed..”

“No!” He snaps. “I like the stupid song! I just hate how it makes me feel..” He says the last part quietly, you raise an eyebrow, looking down at him.

“How do you mean?”

“Just..makes me feel stupidly tired and..stupidly..-“

“Content?” You finish for him.

“..Yeah, whatever the hell that word means..”

You smile as he says one more thing. “I don’t want you to stop singing, your voice is nice, you’re nice.”

“I’m nice?”

“Mhm..”

Your smile only grows. You reach over and ruffle Kōsuke’s hair to which he slaps your hand away.

“Thank you for telling me that, Kōsuke..and for what it’s worth, I think you’re just as nice too.”

You actually see him smile, he sits up properly now.

“Can you sing me it one more time?”

“Tomorrow, love.”

“Okay.”

You think that would be the end of that while lasting moment, until he says one more thing.

“Thanks, mom.”

You turn to him as your health melts for the last and final time.

“You’re welcome, dear.”

Little did you know, that would be the last and final time you’d ever sing that precious lullaby to your sweet babies before they were taken from you.

You were walking back from the grocery store, two bags full of sweet treats occupy your arms as you hum the same sweet melody you sang to your kids the previous night.

It wasn’t until you had reached around the corner you see..what is that, smoke? Coming from near the place the kids stay. ‘That’s strange' you thought, maybe the chef had burned something? He’s always one to make mistakes, or so you thought.

You hear police sirens, ambulance sirens and even..screams? You recognise it within an instant ; Oda. Your eyes widen as you begin to rush over to the scene, only to find your boyfriend on his hands and knees, practically sobbing his heart out and screaming his lungs up at the ground as he’s infront of a blown up van. You rush over and kneel down to Oda, dropping one of your groceries to touch his face.

“Oda, baby, what’s happened talk to me please, are the kids okay..?!”

That question made his stomach churn, and he turns his head up to finally look at you, and he looks traumatised and absolutely broken, although it doesn’t answer your question, so you repeat it.

“Are the kids okay..?”

“…”

“Oda..”

“…”

“Oda, god don’t do this to me tell me the kids are okay..”

Oda shakes his head, tears now streaming down his face as he lets out choked sobs inbetween his next words.

“Y/N..I-I’m so sorry..I tried..I tried to keep them safe I just-..I didn’t..”

Your heart drops, your eyes widen even more as realisation hits you like a truck.

You stand up and slowly walk over to the van which is now been surrounded by yellow and black caution tape. You look down at the floor and see blood, lots and lots of blood and one thing that truly confirms your fears makes your heart break.

Kōsuke’s sunglasses rested on the floor covered in smoke confirms absolutely everything.

You drop your groceries, your body shaking with fear, sadness, and anger. You fall to the floor You fall to the floor on your knees as your breathing becomes heavy, little gasps escaping your throat as your throat closes up, your hand covering your mouth as you sob, Oda within a flash is now by your side as hes also on his knees, cradling you and hugging you so close to his chest that he’ll think you’ll disappear from him anytime soon.

“I’m so sorry..I’m so sorry..” He repeatedly whispers, sobbing into your hair as you sob loudly into his chest, both of your hearts hurting so much full of grief and woe.

“My babies..they were my babies..” Your screams are muffled by Oda’s jacket as you breath heavily into it, hyperventilating hard.

You dig your nails into his shirt, tears staining it as you claw as if you were looking for answers, looking for practically anything as to find any source as to say 'Hey, this is a dream' but no, you were right infront of it, the truth.

Your babies were gone.

Days later…

Oda was sitting on the same rocking chair you once sat on when you read and sang those cherish-able words and lullabies to the children. He stares at his feet, in such a grave state of confusion, denial and depression. You had been AWOL for the past few days now, Oda giving you your personal space as he doesn’t want to overstep or push you any further but oh what he would do to be basked in your affection and comfort right now, it was all he needed. He fears if he’s alone for any longer he may do something drastic. That is until..a creak from the door let’s him escape his thoughts.

Blood, the first thing he sees. You covered in blood, your face and body and hands all covered in someone else’s blood made his own run cold, his eyes widen as he sees your hurt expression, you both look into eachother eyes knowing how much you were both truly hurting.

It wasn’t until you dropped to your knees, grabbing the covers of one of the children’s bunk beds Oda gets out his seat swiftly dropping down and hugging you tightly, a little similar to a few days ago. He lets you let it all put, god knows you both need it. You sob and sob until your heart lets out everything you had left to offer, because what else was there left to give? Everything you once had was taken from you within a second, something so delicate, so fragile ; shattered.

“I killed him.” You start, Odas heart drops.

“You killed who..?” He whispers.

“The bastard who took our babies..” You seethed.

Oda notices your voice and how hoarse it was, and that’s when he realises the painful truth. You had used your ability, a deadly lullaby, to kill the mastermind of the plot to take away your children.

“Baby..it’s okay..please j-“

“Run away with me.”

“..what..?”

“You heard me goddamnit, run away with me Oda what the hell are we waiting for?!” You scream out. Your voice, raspy and breaking from the previous moments you ripped that disgusting man’s life away from his throat and body.

“We’ve been sitting, imagining and talking but why not live it already? Nobody’s stopping us!”

“My job is stopping me, Y/N-“

“No the hell it isn’t, stop bullshitting it!! You can quit, you can be free, Dazai will be fine he can come visit us and whatnot the kid will be the boss by twenty-three you know it, I know it..!”

You grab his face into your hands, his cheeks becoming covered in blood from how dirty your own were. With wide eyes you whisper, desperation and need evident within your voice as you plea.

“Please, for me, for the kids..”

Oda looks at you in disbelief, his breathing shaky as he stares at you with wide eyes staring into yours.

“You don’t know what you’re saying, you’re hurting..”

“So are you, but we can heal.”

A pause.

“And..hey, what way to start that goddamn journey by building a cabin house..?” You let out a breathless laugh, Oda laughs with you, resting his forehead against yours as he finally whispers.

“With a room that just overlooks the sea..”

2 years later…

The waves crashing against the shore make a perfect combination with the melody you now sing in the depths of your dark brown clattered cabin.

“You are my sunshine

My only sunshine

You make me happy

When skies are gray

You'll never know, dear

How much I love you

Please don't take

My sunshine away”

“Please don’t take my sunshine away..” You whisper once more with such genuine feeling before you plant a kiss on your gorgeous newborns head, stroking her head as she sleeps peacefully in your arms as you rock back and forth amongst the rocking chair.

You hear a few creaks from the floorboards and from your husband, who carefully steps out of his writers room as he doesn’t want to wake up his child.

“Hey.” You whisper.

“Hey.” He smiles.

“What you doing in there?” You say softly as you nod your head to the writers room hes just emerged out of.

“Working on my book.”

You nod, smiling as you look down at the baby, then back at your husband.

“I haven’t had the chance to ask, what’s it about?”

Oda cautiously walks up to you and kneels down next to you, stroking his baby’s head with the back of his hand.

“Just, how having such a delicate life along with a tough part of it also has its consequences and could shatter everything within a short space of time.”

“Rather melodramatic tonight, are you not?

“Don’t you enjoy my whimsical poetry?”

You smirk as he smiles, before he stands back up and glances out at the window, holding his hands behind his back. You stand up, being extra careful with your movements as you approach Oda and stand beside him. He opens the window wide open, revealing the night sky and the sound of the waves crashing down on the shore. You glance up at the night sky, looking up amongst all the beautiful stars scattered across the horizon, that is until something caught your eye.

Out of all the stars you saw, five took your fancy. Five stars shined proudly upon the horizon as they shined together and with no other star before, at this you smile, tears slowly filling your eyes as you nudge Oda gently.

“They’re beautiful to gaze upon, don’t you think?”

Oda looks up at the sky and instantly knows what you’re talking about and he smiles, his heart aching but healing it’s wounds just by looking at the scenery little by little.

“Yeah, they sure are.”

TAGLIST : @hauntedsol @hopefulpain @forgotten-blues @ruru-kiss @texas-bitch-yee @lvstyangel @thetizzler @is-therelife-onmars @atlasnessie @101strawberries101

@riiwrites

[alwaysmoncheri]

𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 | 𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐨𝐧

summary: in which best friends, y/n henderson and steve harrington get caught up in their feelings while paranormal activities occur in the small town of hawkins, indiana

cw: fem!reader, I wrote this a long time ago(I apologize for everything cringe), shit writing, first person pov, steve being mean, mentions of sex, 2.4k

<3

The next day I ride my bike to school. After stopping by my locker I notice Nancy walking down the hallway a nervous look on her face.

"Hey, Nance," I say, coming up from behind her, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah..." She says hesitantly, "I just... I feel like everyone staring at me." She adds looking at the passing group of girls who seem to be whispering with pointed looks directed towards Nancy.

"Yeah, I see it too." I say, my gaze following the group of girls as we approach Nancy's locker.

"You don't think Steve told—" Nancy starts.

"Steve can be an asshole sometimes," I say, cutting her off, "But he wouldn't stoop that low."

Nancy nods, opening her locker.

"So you and Steve...?" I ask, glancing at the ground.

"Yeah." Nancy says with pink cheeks.

My heart breaks at the confirmation that her and Steve, did indeed, do something last night. My eyes brim with tears before I can stop it from happening.

"Um, I'll see you later Nance." I say quickly before rushing to the nearest bathroom.

On my way, I just so happen to stumble upon Steve. He notices my tear-filled eyes and grabs my arm to stop me from going any further.

"Hey, (Y/n), you okay?" He says softly and gently grabs my shoulders.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I snap and wipe my eyes, noticing I'm making a scene, "Just let me go, Steve."

His eyes go wide at my harsh tone. Steve then notices the people staring all around us and immediately drops his hands back to his sides. Before he can respond I brush past him into the girl's bathroom.

My fingers grip the sink's counter so hard it turns my knuckles white. With tears streaming down my face, I press my lips together in an effort to keep my sobs inaudible. Once I manage to compose myself, I splash water onto my face, take a deep breath, and head for my classroom, trying my hardest to remain unfazed.

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

At lunch, I claim my usual spot next to Steve. Tommy and Carol are across from us. Nancy didn't show up. Thankfully, Steve doesn't mention our encounter from earlier this morning.

"That's why science doesn't make any damn sense to me." Tommy says.

"No, I swear. Look at this." Carol says, proudly displaying her ankle on the lunch table, "It's totally frostbite."

"It's not frostbite, Carol." I mumble, noticing Nancy heading in our direction, a worried look on her face.

"Oh, thanks, man," Tommy says spooning applesauce into his mouth, "It's a heated pool."

"Well, if it's not frostbite, then what is it?" Carol asks.

"Ugh, I don't care what it is," Steve says, clearly grossed out, "It's disgusting!"

"Yeah, we're eating here, Carol," I say rolling my eyes, "So get it off the damn table."

Tommy tries to sneak a spoonful of Carol's applesauce, only for her to swat his wrist in response, "Ew."

"Hey, Tommy." Nancy speaks up, after sitting down on the other side of Steve. "When you left, did you see Barb?" She questions, leaning forward.

"What?" Tommy replies.

"Barbra." Nancy says, frustrated, "She's not here today."

"I seriously have no idea who you're talking about." Tommy says and chuckles at himself. Carol laughs too.

"Come on, don't be an ass, man," Steve says, "Did you... did you see her leave last night or not?"

"No, she was gone when we left." Tommy answers finally.

"Probably couldn't stand listening to all that moaning." Carol comments with a smirk.

"Ooh. Oh, Steve!" She and Tommy mock, "Oh, Steve! Oh, Steve! Ooh, Steve."

"Oh, Steve." Tommy grunts as he bangs his hand on the table.

I clench my jaw, hiding my jealousy and Nancy shifts uncomfortably in her seat.

"Okay, chill." Steve says to Tommy and Carol before they break out in laughter.

"I'm sure, she's fine Nance. She was there when I left." I say, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Yeah," Steve agrees turning to Nancy, "She's probably just... She's probably just, like, skipping, or something." He adds with a shrug.

"Yeah," Nancy says, "Yeah, probably."

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

As soon as the final bell rings, I walk out of the building, feeling exhausted. Across the parking lot, Steve is sitting on the hood of Jonathan's car, with Tommy and Carol nearby.

This can't be good.

Upon witnessing Steve stand up once Jonathan approaches, I rush over to the scene ahead.

"What's going on?" I say standing by Jonathan's side.

"Oh, (Y/n), just in time," Steve says, "Nicole, here was just telling us about Jonathan's work."

"We've heard great things." Carol comments.

"Yeah, sounds cool." Tommy says.

"And we'd just love to take a look," Steve says, "You know as connoisseurs of art."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Jonathan says before attempting to walk away.

"Oh no?" Steve says, as Tommy snatches Jonathan's bag.

"Hey." I utter, taking one step forward, but Steve places his hand on my shoulder and nudges me back.

"Please, just give me my bag," Jonathan begs as Tommy throws the bag to Steve, "No just..."

"Man, he is, like, totally trembling." Steve says unzipping Jonathan's bag, "He must really have something to hide."

Steve instantly pulls pictures out of Jonathan's bag, "Ahh, here we go." He says looking through the pictures, "Oh man."

"Let me see." Tommy says glancing at the pictures in Steve's hands.

"(Y/n), take a look at this one." Steve says turning to me.

With a hesitant step forward, I cast a concerned look in Jonathan's direction. He wears a guilty expression, which only increases my anxiety. Steve hands me the picture, eyes searching my for my response.

The moment my eyes fall on the photograph, my heart skips a beat. There I am in my white bra, Steve wrapping me in a towel after everyone else went inside. In the picture our eyes meet, and there's a hidden meaning behind the glance.

I hand the picture back to Steve and look up at Jonathan with a hurt look, "Jonathan...? What..."

"Dude." Tommy says, looking at the photo.

"Yeah, this isn't creepy at all." Carol says, looking through a few of the other pictures.

"I was looking for my brother." Jonathan defends himself and sends me a pleading glance.

I look away.

"No," Steve responds right away, "No, this is called stalking."

"What's going on?" Nancy asks coming up from behind Jonathan.

"Here's the starring lady." Tommy says with a smile.

"What?" Nancy asks adjusting her shoulder strap.

"This creep was spying on us last night." Carol says, "He was probably gonna save this one for later." She says and hands a picture to Nancy.

Nancy looks at Jonathan shocked and Steve clicks his tongue.

"See, you can tell that he knows it was wrong, but..." Steve says, taking a step towards Jonathan, "Man, that's the thing about perverts... it's hardwired into them. You know, they can't help themselves." Steve finishes tugging at Jonathan's jacket, making him uncomfortable.

Steve then starts ripping the picture he handed me and throws the pieces at Jonathan, "So, we just have to take away his toy."

"Steve..." I say and gently touch his arm before he can grab the camera. He looks at me, and after a moment of hesitation, he shakes my hand off and snatches the camera from the bag.

"No, please." Jonathan says, attempting to make a move for the bag but he's stopped by Tommy, "Not that camera."

"No, no, wait, wait... Tommy, Tommy. It's okay." Steve extends his hand with the camera towards Jonathan, "Here you go, man" Steve says before dropping the camera right in front of him.

The group laughs and Jonathan looks at the ground where his broken camera lies.

"Come on, let's go." Steve says, brushing past everybody, "The game's about to start."

"Boo." Tommy says in Jonathan's face as he walks away.

Carol then rips the pictures in her hands and drops them on the ground with a gasp, "Bye." She says before strutting away.

I glance at the boy with a hurt look in my eyes. Quickly shoving pieces of the photo Jonathan took of Steve and me into my backpack. I look at Nancy who seems to want a moment with Jonathan alone and I rush to Steve's side.

"Why did you do that?" I whisper when I approach Steve.

"I... He was stalking us, (Y/n)." He says catching a glimpse of my distraught face. "I couldn't just do nothing."

"But breaking his camera, Steve?" I say gesturing back to Jonathan, "That was pretty low, even for you." I point at his chest.

"Even for me?" Steve repeats, offended, "What the hell is that supposed to mean, Henderson?"

"You know exactly what, Harrington." I glare at the boy before turning and walking away.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Steve yells, frustrated.

I throw my middle finger up, fighting angry tears, and continue on my course.

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

Nancy called shortly after I returned home from school. I found it odd because I assumed she would be at the game with Steve. Still, she said she needed my help so I reluctantly agreed to walk to Steve's house, in search of our missing friend, Barb.

"Holy shit, is that her car?" I say spotting a familiar blue vehicle.

"Oh my god." Nancy says, worriedly as we walk up to Barb's car and look in the windows, "Why is it still here?"

"I don't know..." I say before walking away, gesturing for Nancy to follow.

I successfully sneak Nancy and I through the back gate of Steve's house, which I know too well. And we continue our search for Barb.

"Barb?" Nancy yells.

"Barb?" I shout as well.

There's a crunching sound that emerges from the woods grabbing both Nancy and I'd attention. We walk into the trees and I feel a tingle down my spine.

This doesn’t feel right.

"Barb?" Nancy calls out again hoping to find our friend.

There's another crunching sound.

"Barb?" I yell.

A dark figure suddenly charges past us, vanishing into thin air.

That definitely wasn't Barb.

Nancy let's out a startled gasp before tripping on an unseen object and toppling to the ground.

"C'mon, let's get out of here." I say, helping the girl up before we both run away.

|☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆|

I sit peacefully in my bed, the quietness of the night surrounding me. Suddenly a loud ringing emits from the living room. Knowing exactly who's calling, I stomp over to the phone picking up angrily.

"Hey (Y/n). Look, I'm really so—" Steve attempts to apologize.

"Jesus christ, Steve, I really don't want to talk to you right now!" I yell before slamming the phone back on the wall.

I sigh, frustrated, before running a hand down my face and trudge back to my room. But before I can make it, I hear the front door open, and a noise that sounds a lot like crying.

As I'm rounding the corner, a figure appears in the dimly lit hallway before me - Dustin, wiping his eyes and making his way towards me. My mind races with concern.

"Hey bud," I say, softly bringing him into my arms, "What happened?"

"They... they found Will's body." Dustin croaks out before sobbing into my chest. I gently stroke his hair and guide him to his bedroom, kicking the door shut behind me.

"Hey, hey, it's gonna be okay." I say slowly tucking him into bed. "We're gonna be okay, alright?"

"Okay." Dustin replies and I kiss his forehead before I slowly make my way out of his room and to my own.

As I walk into my room a wave of grief waves over me. I slowly sink to the ground and lean my head back against my bed frame, allowing my tears to fall. I fold my knees, bringing my head rest on them before I hear taping on my window.

I walk over to the window and open it. I'm met with Steve's sad expression, "Steve?" I say, confused.

"Hey, I just wanted to apologize," Steve says as he climbs through my window. "And when you hung up the phone I just..." Steve trails off, staring at tear-stained cheeks.

"Have you been crying?" He asks, concern in his voice

I look down.

"Oh, sweetheart, I didn't mean to make you cry." Steve says bringing me into his arms and gently rubbing my back.

I shake my hand against Steve's chest and he pulls back, a confused look on his face.

"Will," I let out a sob, "They found Will's body." I choke out while grabbing onto Steve's jacket and burying my head onto his chest. With my face pressed against him, my tears trickle down onto his shirt.

"(Y/n)..." Steve whispers bringing us to sit down on my bed.

Steve stays quiet, allowing me to express my grief, silently stroking my back and gradually running his hand through my hair. His motions soothe me and my breaths begin to even out. Eventually, he carefully raises my face off his chest and gently wipes my tear stained cheeks. My lips quiver and I slowly let out a shaky breath.

"I'm so sorry." I sob again once I catch a glimpse of his soaked shirt.

"Hey, hey, hey, no, look at me," Steve says, lifting my face up again, "What are you sorry for, honey?"

"I got your shirt wet." I say stupidly as I point at his shirt.

Steve chuckles lightly, making me smile at the sound.

"You don't have to be sorry for that," Steve says, taking a strand of my hair and twirling it around his finger, "You know I can always get a new one."

Steve then discards his wet shirt and draws back the soft covers of my bed, gently guiding us underneath. He wraps his arms firmly around my body, drawing me closer, providing me with warmth and comfort.

"What are you doing?" I ask Steve our faces too close. Way too close.

"Sleeping." He says closing his eyes.

"Wh—"

"Shhhh." Steve cuts me off, bringing a finger to my lips, "Go to sleep, (Y/n)."

With that, I rest my head on Steve's warm chest, closing my eyes and letting the rhythm of his breaths lull me to sleep. My tears no longer flow, bringing me well-deserved rest.

<3

next chapter . masterlist . steve harrington masterlist . taglist

thank you for reading, my darling! remember to like! reblog! and comment! i’ll give you a smooch if you do, ily! send requests to my inbox!

tags: @bitterspoons

alwaysmoncheri © ─ all rights reserved. please do not repost/translate/copy any of my work.

[sweater-daddiesdumbdork]

Life Is Short So Make It Sweet

Chapter Twenty-Six: Busted

Summary- 5.3k. Curtis Everett x Plus!Sized Reader. Everyone is getting together for a dart tournament at Paulie's when everything is derailed before the night even starts.

Warnings- Unwanted attention from drunken men, vicious comments and name calling, fighting, police not taking the situation seriously, talk about Curtis's past and his mental health.

A/N- Thank you so much! Everyone who takes the time to like, share, comment, leave me messages and asks. Especially those who just feel seen in this storyline. You all have all my gratitude and appreciation. (let's be honest, I totally tear up and get all emotional) You all honestly are part of the reason I continue writing and sharing. Special shout out to @what-is-your-plan-today for editing. Dividers made by the talented @firefly-graphics

A/N 2- Is there an award for terrible titles? Cause I should have that trophey.

Chapter Twenty-Five / Masterlist

You, Claude and Yona drove together after getting done at the school for the week, heading straight for Paulie's. The three of you were getting ready in Yona’s car, laughing amongst yourselves as makeup was applied in the car's vanity mirrors and someone played lookout while the other changed in the backseat. While you were doing the finishing last touches on your outfit, Claude was filling you and Yona in about having her first official weekend with Sophia present. You were finishing up your lipstick while in the backseat Yona helped Claude do her hair. “How are you feeling about this weekend?” 

“I’m excited. I have a bunch of games and stuff to do with her. I just… want her to like me being around when she's with her dad?” Claude fretted a bit, glancing out the window while Yona calmly braided her long hair in an intricate pattern. 

“You don’t have much to worry about. Sophia likes just about everyone. Ella and Grey are pretty good co-parents.” You assured her. “What are you doing this weekend Yona?” 

The woman whipped a couple of ties in Claude’s hair, patting on the braids to make sure none of them were loose. “Tomorrow I’m taking Edgar to do some indoor rock climbing.” She grinned in excitement. “He claims he isn't scared of heights and it's something I love doing, so we will see.” 

“Okay, that sounds pretty cool and Yona, are you like a professional stylist?!” Claude was leaning between the seats to look in the rear view mirror at the tight curls of braids Yona made in her hair, her head tilting left and right to check them out. “I would have paid a small fortune for this at a salon.” 

Yona shrugged as if it was no big deal. “I used to do my friend's hair all the time at home. What about you?” 

“Oh, I think tomorrow we are gonna have a game night with Tanya, Timmy, Ella and I think Grey was coming around too with you and Soph?” You asked Claude and she gave a nod confirming it. “Okay, I’m ready to get inside. Are you guys?” Another glance out the window made you catch sight of Curtis’s truck in its usual place as well as quite a few other regulars and out-of-state plates, meaning it was going to be a busy night.

Which you didn’t mind, that meant Curtis would spend some of the time helping Paulie at the bar making great tips and giving you a chance to shamelessly check him out while he was working. It always made some fun flirting and usually sneaking off together much to Paulie's dismay. Claiming his place of business was reputable. 

“I'm ready,” Claude said as she pushed the door open and the three of you piled out of the car to make your way to the front door, where a group of men were just stepping out and headed back to the cars that had out-of-state plates on them. None of you paid any attention to passing the loud boisterous group till one reached out to grasp your arm, stopping you in your tracks with surprise. 

“Where you running off to sweetheart?” He flashed a grin that was supposed to be flirtatious but came off more leering than anything. It made your heart tighten, reminding you so much of Jake’s grin that he flashed whenever he had you cornered. Your eyes widened in alarm as you pulled your arm from the stranger's grasp. 

“No thank you, not interested.” You said to brush him off, going to sidestep around him to re-join Claude and Yona who just noticed that you were no longer with them. You weren’t allowed to leave though, he stepped back in front of you, blocking your way. 

“Come on, I’m just trying to be nice. You could at least give me a smile.” His gaze fell down your body. You felt sick at his gaze, taking in your figure as if he was contemplating how easy you might be. From the gleam in his eyes, he wasn’t thinking you would pass him up. 

“Let me go.” You said calmly, good at hiding the flutter of unease building. 

“Y/N… You all good?” Claude re-joined you, glaring at the man in your path as she hooked her arm through yours, making you both a joint team. 

He sneered at the two of you, his circle of friends coming to enclose the space further cutting you and Claude now off from the door. There were a few cold snickers and the heavy smell of alcohol coming off of them. 

“Yeah, let's get inside, I’m sure Grey and Curtis are expecting us.” You went to lead Claude through an opening between the strangers but that too was cut off. Over their shoulder, you saw Yona take a few steps as if to join you but then dart inside. You were sure she was going for some help. 

In the few seconds all this took place, you felt helpless. It would take too long to grab the pepper spray from the keychain in your jeans pocket and Claude was gearing up to swing a punch, you felt her practically vibrating with anger next to you. “What the fuck is wrong with you guys? Fucking dickheads, MOVE.” She snapped, pushing against one's chest to back them up a step.

He was bigger though, an unmoveable force who she bounced off.

The original prick barked out as he waved a hand towards you. “That’s the problem with the girls around here, ungrateful bitches.” He stepped in closer to you, brushing against you momentarily to make you stumble back, his hands once more catching you to pull you aggressively in while you yelled with alarm, slapping at him while losing contact with Claude. “You should be thanking me for being willing to fuck someone like you.” 

You could have sworn you felt bile roll up your stomach while his liquored breath soured the air you were breathing, panic starting to set in. 

“Let her the fuck go.” Claude yanked at you once more into her hold and you lifted your arm, throwing a punch at the drunk stranger. Your aim fell wildly off its mark but it was enough for Claude to pull you out of his reach and then a sharp roar came up behind them. You only saw a flash of Curtis’s dark face, enraged before he struck. His fist landed firmly against the back of someone's head, pitching them against one of their drunk friends. 

“Get your fucking hands off those girls.” His voice was deep with anger, while he shoved his way between you and them, his fist landing in someone's gut, making them keel over and throw up the liquor. Grey came up to block you and Claude, sending you out of the mayhem while Edgar barrelled out of the bar to help Curtis. Yona followed out right behind him to get you guys inside. 

“Someone has to help them.” You rushed, ready to go right back out but Grey caught you to pull you back into the bar. Paulie was coming out with a bat in his hands muttering to himself as he went to go outside and from the distance, police sirens could be heard. “Curtis and Edgar are outnumbered, Grey.” You said in a panic and he shook his head at letting you go back outside. Claude and Yona went around the back of the bar to search for a first aid kit. 

“Trust me, it won’t last long. Curtis and Edgar are fine.” Grey assured you, catching you from slipping around him. “This isn’t either of their first fights. Just stay, okay? Curtis would ring my neck if I let you back out there. ” He let you go and moved to slip back outside. 

“Fuck, fuck fuck.” You swore, waiting all of ten seconds to burst out of the door following Grey. Several cop's cars were flashing lights and scattered around the parking lot. Officers were dragging both Curtis and Edgar into the back of one of the cars. “Hey!” You dashed down the steps to yet again be blocked by another man. 

A sober cop this time. You glared up at him while pointing to the car you just saw Curtis and Edgar piled into. “Miss, go back inside.” 

“Why the hell are you arresting them!?” Your voice raised in question. “They saved me and my friend from being harassed and assaulted.” 

“By who?” The officer stepped aside to show the majority of the men from before bloodied and being helped up. 

“Them obviously.” You snapped. “That one blocked me from going to the bar and the rest joined in him taunting us. Fuck, he even grabbed me.” 

“Okay Miss, we can take you down to the station if you want to put in a formal statement against them.” 

“You still didn’t answer why you arrested Curtis and Edgar. Why not those men?” 

You could see the flash of irritation at you, another officer coming up to join him. “Miss, please calm down.” 

“Don’t you dare tell me to calm down.” Your arms folded defensively against your chest as you kept pushing for an answer. “Why?” 

“Because Everett and Bell assaulted those men and…” He waved his hands at Paulie’s “Intoxicated.” 

“That is utter fucking bullshit.” You spat out and they narrowed their eyes at you. “Claude and I were attacked first and they haven’t been here long enough to be intoxicated. The guys who grabbed me, they’re the ones that are intoxicated!”

“That’s not your call to make Miss… What is your name?” 

“Y/N.” You snapped out. “When can they be picked up then?” You were raging now at the utter unfairness of what was going on. The men who harassed you were being treated by a few EMTs for what looked like bloody, possibly broken noses. They had all miraculously sobered up enough to put on a decent act. “Yes, I will be putting in a report on them.” You were shaking while you leaned enough to look around the cops. “THOSE ASSHOLES HARRASSED ME.” You flipped them the bird while behind you Paulie came up, bat still in hand. 

“She’s right, I just kicked them out for trying to start a fight.” 

“Yes, we are being told it was more like the other way around. That Edgar and Curtis were trying to start something inside with them and they left.” 

Paulie snorted in disgust while you rolled your eyes at them. “Bullshit, Curtis, and Edgar weren’t doing anything but hanging out at the dartboards waiting on the girls for a game. It’s a tournament night here. This lot took up the slot next to them and started in on them looking for a fight. Kicked 'em out, we all look out for each other here. It was my mistake not checking outside to see who was in the parking lot.” Paulie gave you an apologetic look. “I’m sorry Y/N, if I just followed them out, and made sure they left...” 

You put a hand on your friend's arm, smiling at him to assure him you weren’t upset. “Don’t, you had no idea they would mess with us too.”  

“Well, we will look into it, if you got cameras set up or anything.” One officer offered a way to a solution, the other looked like he wanted to be doing anything other than dealing with you and Paulie. 

“Yeah, I have some covering the front door, it should see everything that happened out here.” He motioned to go inside, the officer following him. That left you with the one who seemed to not give a shit. 

“So, I just have to go to the station to get Curtis and Edgar?” 

“We will still be keeping them overnight.” 

You wanted to continue about how ridiculous it was, but it was clear that was the most you were going to get. Turning away, you went back into the bar to grab your stuff. “They are not letting Curtis or Edgar out tonight.” You informed the group, Yona immediately grabbed her jacket to slip back on. 

“I can drive us over.” She informed. “They were arrested?” 

“Yeah, supposedly for being publicly intoxicated. And possibly assault.” Claude handed you your purse you had ditched earlier. 

“Do you want me and Grey to go?” She questioned worriedly while Grey went to dig out his car keys. 

“No, Grey you probably shouldn’t go if you have had anything to drink or else they will find some bullshit to charge you with.” You sighed in aggravation. 

He hesitated before pulling you aside. “Listen, I don’t know what Curtis has told you, but they might give you a bit of a hard time.” 

“Why?” You frowned while listening. 

“It isn’t the first time he has been arrested for fighting and it’s been quite a while but they don't let shit go.”

“Of course.” You pinched the space between your forehead and nose. “Okay, thanks. I will drop you guys a message later about what's going on.” You waved at Grey, Claude, and Paulie on your way out with Yona. 

That little dark thought lodged in your brain, wondering if Curtis was hiding his previous arrest from you all along, or was it something he simply never thought to bring up? 

Edgar paced back and forth in the cell while Curtis leaned back against the wall, one leg stretched out ahead of him and the other folded closer to him, bouncing now and then with anxious energy. They hated this, both of them but all they could do was wait it out. The likelihood they would be let go tonight was slim. Not with his previous track record. 

His eyes were closed as he pictured the look on your face as you looked up at that asshole blocking your way on purpose. You looked calm at that moment, but he could see how wide your eyes were, shining way too brightly with alarm. He had been intent on just approaching and standing the guy down, already knowing he would back down the second he saw him.

But then the bastard had stepped into your space, purposely making you stumble back in an attempt to keep yourself out of his reach, laid a hand on you and that’s when Curtis was ready to rip the man’s head off. 

Curtis did manage to lay the man flat out with the promise that if he ever laid a hand on you or any woman again, Curtis was going to rip him apart. That was when the cops showed up. Familiar faces from years ago dragging him off and slapping cuffs on him. 

‘Bout time we brought you in again.’

He ground his teeth in aggravation at the memories it dragged up, his eyes slitting to open, watching Edgar pace back and forth muttering about asshole cops. Curtis worried about how you were dealing, were you okay? He knew Claude, Grey, Yona, and Paulie would make sure you were fine, but he just kept picturing your face. Hearing you afterward calling his name as the door slammed on him. 

You looked pissed at that moment and he couldn’t help smiling at that. 

“What are you grinning at?” Edgar stopped pacing and slouched on the bench next to him, still a ball of nervous energy. 

“Just thinking about Y/N giving those officers hell.” 

Edgar laughed then, leaning back much like Curtis was. “I saw out the back window, she was mad. Not like it do us any good, but she looked like she was ready to deck him.” 

“Yeah, she did.” Curtis barked a laugh. “I don’t think I have ever seen her mad like that before.” 

“When do you think they will let us out?” 

“They won’t, not till morning at least. Public intoxication and all that.” 

“Bullshit charge, we hadn’t even finished a beer yet,” Edgar muttered in outrage, glancing around the empty cell. “I hate this.” 

“So do I.” Curtis pushed up to stretch himself out, the bench a hard unrelenting place. He would much rather be in his bed with you, soft, and warm in his arms. “Probably those bastards will just get a slap on their hand and let go too.” 

“Fuck I hope not.”

It was hours later when they were finally let go, served with papers for fines they needed to pay. Charges were dropped against them for assault, much to Curtis’surprise. You and Yona were sitting out in the lobby, both of you huddled in the uncomfortable seats, heads leaning against one another in what must have been an unrestful sleep. Edgar was gentle when he touched Yona, his hand brushing along the side of her face, whispering her name. Curtis squatted in front of your seat, letting his hands slide over yours till your eyes slipped open and you gave him a sleepy smile, sliding forward to hug around his neck. 

“Hey, I didn’t think they were ever going to let you out.” You muttered into the crook of his neck

He squeezed you back assuringly, rubbing at your back. “They like to drag ass over this stuff. You ready to go home?” 

“Please.” You pulled back to let him go and Curtis held you against him a second longer before letting you ease off the seat, pulling himself back up to a stand. In the parking lot, you said goodbye to Edgar and Yona, who were quick to promise to call later to reschedule the missed triple date at the bar but you could tell they just wanted to head home. Neither had gotten a lot of sleep that night. Curtis was relieved to see his truck already there. 

“Grey?” 

“Yeah, he said he had a spare to your house and grabbed your extra keys.” You dug them from your purse to hand over to Curtis. 

Getting in, the drive back to the house was quiet. But not the typical comfortable kind that happened between you two, more like you had something on your mind and it was worrying you, causing unspoken tension. “Did you stay there all night Honey?”

“Hmm?” You turned back towards him just as he was pulling into the driveway, next to your car. “Oh yeah, Yona was set on staying till she at least saw Edgar, and good luck getting me to leave after what happened. Every time we asked to see either of you, they had an excuse not to let us talk to you.” You paused as if collecting your thoughts. “They seemed to not like you. At all.” 

“Mmhh, yeah,” Curtis said, he wasn’t ready to elaborate and you let it die there for now. Instead, you both made your way into the house, yawning loudly as you looked at the time. 

“Good morning, about the time I typically wake up.” You chuckle and Curtis rubbed at his face, making himself go cross-eyed a bit. 

“How about today we nap in bed instead, take a real lazy day?” 

“I could really go for that.” You shrugged out of your jacket and hung it up, offering to take his. 

“Deal, you wanna go get comfy upstairs and I will be up with some snacks?” Curtis offered. 

“I can make you something if you want?” You hesitated at the foot of the stairs, thinking out loud. “I have those veggies diced up and you got eggs, I saw them in there yesterday. I could make us western omelets.”

Curtis shook his head, directing you back towards the stairs. “Nope, I got it. Go shower if you want and get comfy… wear that tee of mine I love so much?” 

You went up a few steps, twisting to face him while still inching up the steps, grinning. “That and what else?” 

“Absolutely fucking nothing.” He gave a feral grin, even as tired as he was and you laughed while finishing going up the stairs. Curtis heard the house's old pipes groan, signaling you started your shower. It gave him plenty of time to get some of the quick easy snacks he had in the house. Grabbing some of Sophia’s granola bars, a bag of your favorite goldfish, his stash of Oreo cookies, and some other randoms he found in the pantry. Then he was sure to make you a cup of your favorite tea with generous dollops of honey to sweeten it to your liking. He took a quick sip, making sure it was how you liked it. 

Curtis finally made it upstairs where his bed never looked so good. Especially with a few of your clothes littered on it from where you undressed to shower. Dropping the snacks at the foot of the bed, he heard you turn the water off, steam flowing from out of the shower. Yanking off his shirt and pants, he walked into the bathroom in his boxers, preparing the tub for himself while you stood at the mirror doing a few last-minute things. 

“There’s a cup of tea on your nightstand Honey.” He brushed a kiss to your still bare shoulder, the towel firmly wrapped around you while you rubbed some of your lotion on your face and down your neck. 

“Thanks Curtis, water should be plenty hot. I was quick.” You smiled at him in the mirror while he shed the last of his clothes and slipped in behind the curtain. 

You finished what you were doing, sure to clean the sink off while listening to the water splash around Curtis, now and then the curtain would move with his movements. You retreated from the bathroom before he finished, crawling up on the bed and letting yourself lean back into the pillows. 

There was a lot to take in over the past several hours. Something you hadn’t let yourself ponder on till now when it was all said and done. You hated the doubt that crept in, the way Curtis had gone after all those men without any hesitation or fear, then Grey making mention that Curtis had been in trouble before. It wasn’t that you thought of Curtis as being violent, not towards you in the least and you had only heard him lose his temper with Edgar at Halloween. But Jake was always such a nice guy until he wasn’t and you never would have guessed that from him. You knew him your whole life, your father and his were partners in their consultation firm. 

But then one day it started and you always allowed it to continue while lying to yourself to be okay with it. As much as you loved Curtis, more than you ever felt for Jake, you couldn’t be that way with someone again. 

Curtis came back out, this time dressed in his plaid pajama bottoms and a faded old tee, ready to crawl into bed next to you. You took an appreciative sip of the tea that he made, letting the warm liquid calm you down a bit more while Curtis slipped into the bed next to you, making a grab for the snacks he had brought up and deposited them on the nightstand, grabbing a couple of oreo cookies and flipping one into his mouth. 

“Thank you for coming to get me at the station Honey.” He finally said, breaking the silence in the room while offering you his other cookie. 

You took it, nibbling on it a second before setting everything in your hands aside. “As I said, after seeing the way those officers were acting, I wasn’t about to leave you there.” 

“They dropped the charges surprisingly,” Curtis admitted while leaning back against the pillows, his hand coming up to your back and tracing patterns in it while he started to relax for the first time. “I wasn’t expecting that.” 

You let yourself sink into the feeling of his fingers on you, making your body slowly loosen from his touch, you were soon easing back and curling up next to him, your hand sliding against his chest while he wrapped an arm around you, pulling you into his side. “They had to drop them after Yona and I went down to fill out our reports against that group, Claude will be going in later today, she told me to do the same thing. Between us and Paulie pulling up his security videos, they weren't able to make anything solid stick. Keeping you overnight was just a way to hold you and Edgar for a while longer." You frowned with frustration.  

Curtis tilted forward to press an affectionate kiss to your forehead, scooping you in closer to him.

"It should have never fucking happened. You, Yona, and Claude should be able to walk across a parking lot at any time." 

You felt the tip of his fingers lift your chin so you looked up at him, the sheer concern in his expression, the way his eyes were a wide blue boring into you, you yet again felt foolish over your concern that this man would in any way hurt you. “Curtis…” You twisted to your hip to face him, letting there be a bit of space between you so you could comfortably look at him to talk. "Yes, I was scared at the moment, but I knew you were close.” 

“Mmmh, They will probably just get a slap on the wrist and nothing further than that.” He practically growled and you let your hand raise to smooth the worried lines in his forehead. 

“Unfortunately that is probably gonna be the case. I hope that they learned a lesson in what the word ‘No’ means though. You and Edgar left them quite a few reminders” You let your hand drop once his forehead smoothed out. “But Grey said that you were familiar with the cops picking you up?” You hesitated, not wanting to bring up his past like this, but you had to know. 

Curtis nodded a bit to confirm. “I can’t say the local Duluth precinct and I are on the best of terms. Of course, this was many years ago, but bar fights weren’t an uncommon thing for me.

You stayed quiet, intent on letting him continue with whatever he wanted to share. “As a young man… I was angry? Lost and unsure of myself, my grandparents did an amazing job being my parents. But I was still mad at the world for having never gotten to have that time with my mom and dad, I never got to see Tyler grow into the man he should have been. I had so many what-ifs built in me. Lillian and Wilford tried to help me, but you know when you are young you miss what is right in front of you.” 

“So all this anger, it turned into fighting?” 

“It did, I would get into it with other people. Looking for it I guess would be the best way to put it. It was the only thing that made me feel good.” He glanced at you worriedly but you kept your features neutral. “I don’t know if I’m explaining it right, I was an angry young man. I’m glad you didn’t know me then.” 

“Hey, we all have our shit, right?” You said with a gentle smile. “Keep going, what happened?” 

“I hit rock bottom. Had to spend some time at a minimum security prison. Not long, but it was several months. My Gram came to visit me several times, and my grandfather did a couple of times. But it was easy to see how disappointed he was. I hated it, I was ashamed of how low I went with it. The judge released me and I went to Nam for a more permanent job.” His fingers flowed up and down your arm, making pleasured sensations settle in you, retaining that connection even while you two were separated a bit to face each other. “Sent me to training and I started from the bottom up. Grandpa was retired by then so I worked up to his position.” 

“You must have wanted the change to work that hard Curtis.” You wiggled a bit closer. “Did all those feelings, the anger… they stop?” 

“Um, I channeled them in a new way. Grey and I were friends during this time, he was always trying to get me to go with him to his uncle's gym, just beyond the school called Big Jon Boxing.

When I got out, I finally took him up on the offer. Big Jon taught me some boxing, tossed me in the ring to punch and kick out all those feelings.” 

You half pushed up, leaning on an elbow. “You’re just sharing with me that you can box?” 

Curtis laughed, shrugging a shoulder. “Yeah, pretty good at it too, not to brag.” 

“Do you still go?” You eased down again, now back in his side, curling a leg through his. 

“I haven’t in a while, not since last summer. Grey was telling me Big Jon was asking when I’m coming back.” 

“So since you met me?” You huffed out, making Curtis chuckle again. 

“Well, I also have some equipment down in the cellar for when I couldn’t go. But yeah… I haven’t felt the need to.” 

You smiled a bit to yourself, it was hard not to feel a bit of pride that Curtis didn’t need such an outlet. Your hand slipped under his tee, tracing your fingertips on his belly, sinking into your thoughts. “Would you go back?” 

“Of course, it is like another home, much like Paulie’s is. I just… haven’t. Actually, in light of what happened, would you like to go?” 

“Me? To a gym?” You wrinkled your nose, the idea of it making you wildly self-conscious. Gym’s always felt like a nightmare, all those fit people and then there is you. You tried, in the past. You went to Jake’s gym using his membership. Always when he was at work, not that he ever said anything, but you could tell that he was embarrassed to see you struggling with the equipment. 

“Yes you Honey. We can teach you some self-defense moves in case you ever feel unsafe or have to be alone.” His hand was assuring on your side, all while his belly flexed under your fingertips. You felt him grasp at the back of your thighs, easing you over him till you were straddling him, leaning against his chest till you pushed up to a sit, using your knees folded under you to keep from leaning too heavily against him. Underneath you he looked perfectly relaxed and content, waiting on you to sort through your doubts and fears about going to the gym. “You could knock Edgar out next time he pisses you off.” He smirked at you and you couldn’t help the little amused smile you gave at your friend's expense. 

“So tempting, but…” 

“But what Honey.” His hands slipped up the bare part of your thighs to grasp gently on your hips and ease you to relax against him. “Tell me.” 

“It’s the gym, full of beautiful fit people.” 

“Nah, this is a cool gym. It’s for everyone.” Curtis said. His hands flexed against your hips, making him smirk a bit up at you. “I could buy you all those hot leggings too. All the leggings.” His eyes glinted up at you wickedly, making you feel heat flush your face and down your chest, your heart race in excitement and apprehension. 

“I have leggings already Curtis, you don’t have to buy me more.” 

“I know and you are always fucking hot in them.” He slipped a hand up your back to lightly grasp the back of your neck, pulling you in close for his mouth to find yours, drawing you into a heated kiss as he set out to prove just what he felt when seeing you in those leggings. Being tired completely forgotten when he flipped you to your back and hovered over you, chaining kisses down your neck and working your shirt up while you did the same with his to toss it away for the rest of the day. 

[ateez-ana]

i can do it with a broken heart

i'm always sad when something about that interview pops up in my… wooyoung is perfect and deserves all the love in the world

..........

The air in the dorm room was thick with unspoken tension. Wooyoung, the usually boisterous member of ATEEZ, sat hunched over his phone, his gaze fixed on the screen, but his mind a million miles away. Ana watched him from across the room, a silent observer to his distress.

'It’s just... it’s just that they said I looked like a pig,' Wooyoung finally mumbled, his voice barely a whisper.

Ana’s heart sank. She knew this interview had gotten to him. Wooyoung, with his infectious laughter and boundless energy, was so confident, but beneath that facade lay a deep insecurity about his appearance.

'What are you talking about?' Ana asked softly, trying to hide her own anxieties. 'You look amazing.'

Wooyoung shook his head, his eyes downcast. 'No, Ana, they actually said it. In the interview. It was live, and it was on camera. I know they meant it as a joke, but it hurt.'

His words echoed a familiar melody in Ana’s own heart 'You know, Wooyoung,' she said, her voice soft but firm, 'I’ve been there too. People constantly compare me to the other idols, make comments about my looks, my talent, even my presence in the group.'

He looked up, surprised. 'What do you mean?'

'I'm the only girl in the group,' she said, her voice softening. 'There's a lot of pressure to be perfect, to be good enough. I get so many comments about my appearance, about my talent, about everything. It's exhausting  I get it. I've been called everything from 'fake' to 'talentless' since our debut. People said I wouldn't last a month, that I was just a pretty face. But I'm still here, fighting for my dream.'

She continued, her voice barely a whisper, 'Right after we debuted, I seriously considered leaving. I felt so lost, so alone even if I had you guys” Her gaze softened, meeting Wooyoung's directly. 'The first fan meeting was the scariest, you know? Two girls came up to us, completely ignoring me to talk to the boys. I felt so invisible, so unimportant. It made me question everything.'

'But then I realized,' she said, her voice gaining a strength that surprised even her, 'I was the only girl, the only one who could be a role model for other girls who dreamed of being on stage. And I wouldn't let the negativity dim my light. I wouldn't let it steal my joy.'

Wooyoung was silent, absorbing her words. He realized that he wasn't alone in his struggles. Ana, the girl who always seemed so confident and strong, was carrying her own burdens.

He reached out and took her hand, his grip firm but gentle. 'You're not alone, Ana. I'm here, and we'll face this together. We're a team, remember? We're Ateez.'

Ana smiled, a flicker of hope lighting up her eyes. 'Yeah, we're Ateez. And we'll fight this together, as a team.'

'It's okay to be insecure, Wooyoung,' Ana said, her voice gentle. 'We all have those doubts. But the important thing is to talk about them, to support each other. You’re not a pig, you're amazing. And I know you see the best in me too.'

Wooyoung nodded, a single tear tracing a path down his cheek. In that shared moment of honesty, the weight on their shoulders seemed to lighten. The room, once heavy with unspoken pain, now vibrated with a newfound sense of understanding. They were two idols, facing the world together, each other's anchors in the storm.

'You're perfect just the way you are, Wooyoung,' Ana said, her voice soft but firm. 'Don't let anyone tell you otherwise.'

Wooyoung looked up, his eyes still damp from the tears he'd tried to hide. He'd been so hurt by the interview, the word 'pig' echoing in his mind like a cruel taunt.

'But... what if I'm not?' he mumbled, his voice barely a whisper.

Ana reached out, her hand resting gently on his arm. 'You are. You're strong, funny, and incredibly talented. You light up every room you walk into. You're the best damn dancer I know.'

And as the first rays of dawn painted the sky, the two roommates sat side by side, their shared vulnerability a silent promise of strength and support. They knew, in that moment, that they were not just bandmates, they were friends, allies, and each other's solace. Their insecurities, once seemingly insurmountable, now felt smaller, lighter, a part of their shared journey. They had found healing, not in denial, but in acceptance, in the warmth of shared vulnerability, in the simple act of being seen and understood.

The weight of her words lifted something heavy in Wooyoung's chest. He looked at Ana, her face illuminated by the soft glow of the day , and he knew, deep in his heart, she was right. He didn't need to change for anyone. He was perfectly, beautifully himself.

[poisonsage808]

pls could you write literally anything with tormund, there’s a serious lack of fics for my husband😌love your writing!!

a/n: thank you! and you’re right, it’s criminal! let’s fix that with some headcannons

♡ Crush ♡

Tormund Giantsbane x Reader

• He calls you his favorite southerner (even if you’re from the north)

• He picks you up often and makes comments on how easy it would be to “steal you”. Jon is usually the one to tell him to put you down, he doesn’t listen to anyone else— or rather, one else would dare try. Tormund sees the way you blush, the tiny smile or little laugh you let out when his hands find, grab and lift you into the air,

“Would you like that, my little southerner? You get a look in your eyes when I threaten to make you mine. It makes me think you want me to steal you.”

And he’s right so don’t expect him to stop. If you tease him back though, he will steal you.

• Tormund will offer you giantsmilk to try. Don’t be afraid to tell him no (literally almost nothing could make him upset with you) he’s only trying to get you to drink with him

• He likes to feed you. No, seriously. Tormund will hold bread up to your mouth and wait until you take a bite or reject it. He wants to make sure you’re getting proper nutrition… Food is somewhat scarce on the other side of The Wall. Not only is eating meals a day is a luxury to him, he wants to show you he’ll provide for you, put you first

(Bonus: he dreams of you turning the situation around on him, in his mind it means you’ve accepted his feelings and he’ll die of happiness. He’ll be so dramatic about it, he’ll tear off the bread and then punch the air like he’s won a tourney)

• In addition to that, he really wants to impress you! Tormund will hunt for you to prove his worth, as well as cook and fight with a bit more umph when you’re around or he thinks you’re watching

• He drives Jon and anyone else willing to listen up the fucking wall talking about you! You don’t even have to be doing anything, he admires everything about you down to the most minuscule of details

[avelera]

Headcanon: ADHD Hob and Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria

So I went down the rabbithole on ADHD and rejection sensitivity dysphoria (and found this lecture that legit made me tear up if you have or think you have ADHD, go listen to it here) and it got me thinking, as everything is wont to do, about Hob Gadling and how if he had ADHD, which I think there's lots of fun in-text hints at that at least allow that interpretation, what are some other ways that could manifest besides his ebullient and never-ending love of life in all its endless variety?

So as sufferers of ADHD know, it's not all fun and games. The flip side of living with a dopamine-starved brain that's always seeking out new experiences and seeing the world through that lens is that other emotions slam us hard too, like rejection sensitivity dysphoria aka, "the most minor criticism can feel like an actual knife in the chest, no I don't mean mildly bummed out, I mean full on fight-or-flight brain meltdown because someone told you a comma is in the wrong place in your manuscript (not that I'm speaking from personal experience yes it's that dumb)".

ANYWAY, so I'm thinking about Hob and RSD and specifically 1789.

Specifically the line, "It's just how it's done," referring to horrific practice of human trafficking and how Hob basically shrugs while, to his minor credit, looking suddenly uncomfortable and guilty, about the fact he actively profits from this industry, and the way he cringes in on himself when called out kinda seems to indicate that he knows it's a vile practice and isn't super comfortable with being reminded of his fact by someone he respects, like Dream.

A couple notes on that little exchange between Hob and Dream:

1 ) The face Ferdinand Kingsley-as-Hob makes in that moment is absolute textbook adult ADHD rejection sensitivity dysphoria. Namely, the point where you know criticism hits you like a knife in the heart, particularly from people you respect, and you just have to cover that flinch of literal physical pain with a careful poker face.

The way Hob's tone suddenly goes cold and with his very genteel, received-pronunciation manners he levels Dream with perhaps the closest he's ever come at this point to lashing out, "You're giving me advice...?"

I'm not saying that canonically it's RSD, or that neurotypical people don't suffer pain and disappointment when receiving disapproval, but to my eyes at least, Ferdie Hob takes Dream's comment very seriously, much more so than the comic counterpart did (who needed multiple nudges before he even realized what Dream was trying to tell him about getting out of the shipping business and still seemed a bit clueless about why Dream would want that or care by the end).

2 ) Going into proper headcanon territory, I personally chart Hob's journey from destitute to wealthy slave trader as the product of someone who stopped giving a shit about others after everything he suffered in the 1600s. To be perfectly clear, this is not a fucking excuse for it, it's an examination of motives.

Because technically, after everything Hob suffered in the 1600s, he could have emerged with more empathy for the plight of others. But clearly that didn't happen. From an entirely human motivation level, that leads me personally to the conclusion that since no one helped Hob when he was at his lowest (not even Dream, though I dearly wish it was otherwise and wrote extensively on what would have happened if he had) that led him to the belief, put simply, that fuck the world so long as he got his. Why should he care about anyone else if no one cared about him?

But to go back to the topic of this essay, RSD, there's an additional element to that theory on why and how Hob leaned into not giving a shit about others, and that missing factor from what's described above is the element of everyone is doing it. Specifically worded as, "It's just how it's done."

Another really fascinating lecture I listened to on ADHD talked about how the most common trauma reaction ADHDers have to their sense of rejection, shame, and guilt that comes the way our brains react to the world is by hiding. And that also got me thinking about 1789 Hob in this context.

Because Hob as we see him in 1589 is loud in his happiness. He's sitting there, bold as brass in the middle of the White Horse, showing off his wealth with a banquet, loudly declaiming about how he pretended to be his own son twice, worked in the Tudor shipyards (what would have been 50+ years before) and just how he spent the last 100 years working his way up to his knighthood. The man does not have an ounce of caution in him. But, he is also by far the happiest we ever see Hob (up until Dream ditches him in the middle of their date).

This is important because to my eyes, Hob is living openly and unashamed and with only the barest hint of caution typified by pretending to be his own son every couple decades. The way he describes his last 100 years sounds like an ADHD dream, basically getting a boat load of money from Caxton's printing press (basically the first tech startup unicorn of the modern era) and then running around wherever his interests took him where he also made money hand over fist, kept climbing, and eventually reached the point where he could purchase the acclaim and regard of a member of the (albeit minor) nobility. All of this after being born a peasant. That's just validation and money and prestige and getting to pursue your special interest and live as your authentic self all over the place. And I do mean authentic, Hob doesn't even seem particularly worried about talking openly in the White Horse about being 200+ years old, a strong case could be made that he's not that careful in his personal life either.

So anyway, Hob has this amazing century literally followed by the worst century imaginable, filled with the sort of horrors that can tear a man's soul asunder. Losing his family, his beloved wife in childbirth with their new baby, his adult son, his home, his money, everything he spent a century building. His title and name are gone too because of the nature of how he lost it with the accusation of witch craft, which also means he can't just fake being his own son again to get it all back because they're explicitly going to notice that this time.

And how did this all happen? Because Hob got noticed. He lived there 40 years, overconfident is his own words. Which is a wild thing to say about a bunch of witch hunters showing up at his door! He blames himself for being drowned as a witch. On the one hand, I imagine he has to think that way because otherwise he has to admit to the sheer brutal randomness of life, so in a way he's trying to take control of the narrative by blaming himself.

But it also smacks of ADHD again because ADHDers very commonly shift the blame onto themselves after years of their unique nervous system response making them a round peg in a square hole of wider society. We learn over and over that the mistakes we make are our fault, because of "laziness" or "apathy" which isn't apathy at all but deep agony over our inability to accomplish tasks in a neurotypical way without the support we need, but I digress. But it sure sounds like Hob may have been paralyzed by grief for literal decades and then blamed himself for not getting the mental spoons together in that context to move on and reinvent his life after losing his wife and child. Which would be a very ADHD thing to do.

So after this absolutely brutal smackdown by reality for living too openly, too loud, too ADHD, getting paralyzed by the powerful emotions he felt (if we follow the headcanon) over the grief and loss in his life, what is Hob's next step?

Hiding.

Blending in.

Not rocking the boat.

And again, not excusing it, there's plenty of other industries he could have gone into to blend in that didn't involve human trafficking. That said, if he went to sea, which we know Hob did on many occasions from the comic, it would be seen by his peers there at sea as a normal way to make one's fortune, and then.... well, we have as evidence that this is his current peer-group the sort-of pride with which Hob announces how he's making his fortune these days in the "shipping business", as if he's expecting Dream's approval.

That to me, reads a bit like the people pleaser/social chameleon aspect of ADHD. Hob is expecting to be praised for being successful by Dream the way he would likely be praised by his peers in the shipping business or among the wealthy privileged men of England. He's so steeped in that world now that he's clearly taken aback when Dream takes the (at the time more radical but not uncommon) stance of, "This is wrong."

And Hob knew it. But he was blending in. He was going along with how things are done. He wasn't rocking the boat. He has other hints at trauma responses too, "salting money around the world" in case there's political upheaval, for example. This is not the loud, boisterous Sir Robert Gadlen untouched by loss or trauma. He has been humbled and tempered and, indeed, made afraid by what happened to him.

This sort of wild swing towards protectiveness? Again, also ADHD. As the lecturer I linked first noted, ADHDers are textbook defenders. They are always defending themselves from the world that can suddenly, unexpectedly, plant a knife in their heart because of a perceived rejection. From a world that wants their brain to work in a way it doesn't, so they have to come up with myriad painful coping mechanisms to fit in, blend in, mask, and function. Hob was forced to protect himself after the 1600s, so he did, with money, and with not caring about other people, and with insulating himself from privilege, and becoming a social chameleon.

1589 Hob tries to earn back Dream's interest, but he doesn't fawn. Dream shows interest in Shaxberd and Hob, already starting to get irritated, tells him no, Shaxberd is crap.

And you can tell in 1789 that Hob is thinking about that day again when he gets Dream's disapproval, because who does he reference? That lad, Will Shaxberd. He's fearing rejection and abandonment again, or at least it's crossed his mind after Dream's admonishment. But this time, Hob is fawning more, very nearly flirting. He's trying to play the game better this time, trying to keep Dream's interest, social chameleoning the subject onto safer topics, things he thinks will interest Dream, as Shaxberd so clearly did, so let's talk about him if that's what you care about. Again, another ADHD social chameleon, people pleaser aspect. We are nervous empaths, we are constantly picking up a bazillion signals both real and imagined. And we're so fucking terrified of that RSD knife in the heart, we become people pleasers to avoid it. After the shipping business brag fell through, Hob pivots to talking about Dream and what, in his experience, Dream seems to like and talk about favorably.

So anyway, many many ADHD-esque rambling words later, there's a few more little details I'd add to the list of "possible ADHD behavior, not just the fun parts" for Hob Gadling. Is it canon? Maybe not. But it does make for a great headcanon, in my opinion.

[fiction-is-life]

Congrats on 500 babe! You deserve every single one of them and so many more 🤍 Can’t wait to see you continue to grow and flourish 🦋 love you so much

Can I please request an angsty but fluffy blurb based on this prompt “You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you.” with Rafey baby? I will cry 🥹

Need You

Author's Note: Aww, thank you so much!!! You are too sweet! Thank you for always commenting/reblogging my fics, you seriously don't know how much it means to me! I hope you like this one, I almost cried making it! 💕

Summary: Rafe is lost without you.

Warnings: Pregnancy/labor complications, mention of surgery, depiction of a coma, possibly unrealistic depiction of pregnancy/labor complications

~

It had been over a week.  Eight days, thirteen hours, and forty-six minutes to be exact.  

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.  For the past seven and a half months, your pregnancy had gone off without a hitch.  Every sonogram, every little kick, was a source of joy for both you and Rafe.

Sure, you were young, practically still kids, but you knew you were meant to be.   You had been planning your life after college for years, even before you had started to date.  You were just doing things a little out of order.

But then you had gone into labor early - six weeks too early to be precise.  The doctors said you were lucky to be alive, let alone fortunate that the baby had survived.  They had said that it was a condition called placenta previa, but Rafe hadn’t been listening.  He was still looking at your seemingly lifeless body on the operating table as they handed him the baby, asking for a name.

But he couldn’t even bring himself to name the baby.  He knew it was a boy, but it didn’t feel right to do something so monumental while you were still not awake.  He let his dad and Rose handle everything else, let them make him eat and listen to the doctors say they didn’t have much hope.

Rafe hadn’t even let himself cry - he was still too stunned to do so.  He just sat at your side, watching you.  On the eighth day he broke down, exhausted and drained, and he started to talk to you.

“He’s healthy, you know,” he said, his voice raspy from disuse.  “He’s perfect.  Ten fingers, ten toes.”  He took a shaky breath - the only kind he knew how to take these days.  “He’s got your eyes.  Rose says he has my smirk, though, so I don’t know if that is a good thing,” he chuckled.

He paused and took your hand, gently caressing it.  He sniffed.  “The nurses keep telling me all the stuff I’m going to have to do for the baby.  I know we took those classes, but I feel so overwhelmed.  I just can’t mess anything up for him, you know?  I thought I was going to have you to help me.  You have always been there, (Y/N/N), ever since we were kids.  Always so level-headed, getting us out of trouble wherever we found it.”

Tears started to roll down his face, slowly, but he couldn’t feel them.  “You need to wake up because I can’t do this without you,” he sobbed, finally letting himself feel the emotions that had been pent up for over a week.  He buried his head in your hand, kissing it and covering it in tears in equal measure.  

He sat there for what seemed like forever, simply expelling all of the grief and terror from his body.  When he finally looked up, he gasped and started crying anew.

You were awake.  Rafe leapt out of his seat to kiss your beautiful lips carefully, his trembling on top of yours.  When he pulled back, his heart caught in his throat, and all he could manage to say was a small, “Hey.”

You giggled lightly, still tired.  “Hey,” you replied, also lost for words as Rafe once again took your hand to kiss it reverently.

Rafe smiled, his eyes shining with love as they always did when they looked at you.  He took a deep breath and swallowed before licking his lips as he always did when nervous.  “Would you like to meet our son?”

You just smiled, and Rafe knew that everything was finally going to be alright.

~

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[couldtransitionsaveher]

HAU from POKÉMON SUN AND MOON

JUSTIFICATION:

"Hau is so sweet and so nice and she has had a very special place in my heart ever since i first played sun and moon. Her bulbapedia page describes her as 'big-hearted' and loves pokemon, pokemon battling (which she does mostly for fun but learns to take things more seriously when they need to be) and food! She generally kinda does whatever she wants and still is silly even when people (like Gladion in their first meeting) try to make her feel bad about it. Like i said, i've adored her for years but my trans headcannon/reading is a lot more recent, but now i will never un-see it. (also my trans headcannon for her and my autistic headcannon for her are holding hands in my brain so if it ever feels like this is also a autistic reading of her character you're not wrong.)

Everyone sees Hau as just different, a tad off in some way or another, she has the exceptions of fallowing her grandfather's path but all she really wants to do is make people happy. Her grandfather is a very important member in their community, he's a jolly old man but can be pretty intense. He specializes in fighting types and his own son (Hau's dad) ran off to avoid Hala's exceptions for him. to directly quote bulbapedia: "One of the villagers in Iki Town, where they live, comments that as a [girl], Hau had once witnessed Hala in a rage, which frightened [her] to the point of tears. Nothing Hala did could comfort [her], which he claims is the reason why Hala is "too soft" on Hau".

It's also said that she basically never cries, which is interesting to me. Like she's not any kind of masculine ideal or whatever but i feel like she was exposed to a bit of that 'boys don't cry' idea indirectly. The one time we see her cry is at the very end of sun and moon when her friend (and implied crush) Lillie is going away to have her own adventure. Hau says that she hasn't said everything she wanted to tell her and that she's going to write her a really long letter. This was the biggest fictional lesbian moment of 2016 for me. I don't know how anyone can think she's a straight cis boy after that and i still think about this moment all the time.

I personally read this all as Hau, who loves her family and her community, is given exceptions that on some level she can not handle. To stop being that happy-go-lucky, to stop being too 'soft', to stop the way she is inherently. The ideal end to her arc and story is her realizing that she needs to stop living up to expectations that others give her and finding her own meaning to her life and who she wants to be, and personally i think she would find out that she wants to transition. Thank you and good night." - @pigeon-wizard

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[drama--universe]

Meeting an elf

Requested by anonymous: Hello! Requests are open so I'll take advantage! How would Xichen, Cheng, Guangyao, Xingchen and Yang react to a reader who is an elf? What would they think of her different face shape, different eye color, different ear shape, different fighting style and different language she speaks? (she might speak their language, but in her homeland she would speak her Elvish language) THX!!!

Pairing: Untamed boys x reader

A/N Looked up the Lan rules for this, did not know that the existence of Wei Wuxian added about 500 to 1000 extra rules to the original 3000. Definitely not surprised though, if anything I'm impressed.

Lan Xichen:

Rule number (enter random number)

'Do not bully the weak, or make fun of others'

which Xichen takes very seriously

so meeting you does shock him, but he does not judge

(in all fairness, elves don't look that different from visuals seen in the show)

there is one thing that fascinates him most, which is the glow surrounding you

it confuses him, because he does not understand why it is happening at all

he is fairly quick in getting to know you

is a bit surprised that you are so happy to speak to him

gladly learns your culture and even tries to learn your language

the culture is fine, the language is actually impossible for him

even with how much he loves to learn, he is fairly quick to give up

well, quick is a loose term

give or take 3 months

for Lan's, this is quick to giving up

but loves to listen to you talk to him in your language

loves hearing you sing in your language as well or when you play music

that he does learn

harps are not that different from guzhengs in a way

so he matches his style to yours, and it honestly doesn't sound to bad

besides, it's a way to spend time with you

so overall, he's great

Jiang Cheng:

now honestly, don't hate me for this

but I think he might be a bit off putting

he's not mean, just very judgmental

and he doesn't really hide that

he thinks you look weird at first

the pointy ears look weird and your eyes make him uncomfortable

not really, he just says that

because it actually fascinates him so much

he saw you once, sparring against Wuxian

his mother had disapproved, so he followed

yet he could not tear his eyes from your form

your style, unlike the rougher one he was taught, was elegant

to the point that you seemed weightless

you caught him staring multiple times, yet are confused as to why he remains so on guard and mean

one comment is the last drop and you lash out

it is necessary, really is

and it does also change everything

he actually talks to you

because you force him to sit down and talk to you

which finally reveals his true nature and train of thoughts

overall, he is interested

very focused when you reminiscence about your home

but he just needed a little push in the right direction

Jin Guangyao:

you know the drift on this one

cause I don't sugar coat him

now, what your use is to him depends on when you meet him

before everything, he kind of just needs you as some kind of support (like Xichen is)

if it's after everything, it's more like the use of Xue Yang

which soon enough will also happen even when you meet him before everything

will first try to gain your trust, of course

acts innocent and sweet, compliments you and uses the fact that you're both outcasts

and it kind of works..?

eventually, when you're friends, he starts being more himself

small comments to others and how he wished that they fell from grace

and soon enough, he'll comment about wishing for their deaths

now you saw how they treated him, so you didn't really see wrong in those statements

once he notices that you're comfortable with such things, he starts suggesting

knowing full well that your fighting skills would make you unnoticeable and fast

you're appalled at first

which makes him orchestrate a scenario

someone tries to "attack" him and maybe even "kill" him

and you defend him, which end up in the other's demise

you kind of become an overprotective friend, in a way

Guangyao is sure to tell you who is a threat to him and who isn't

is not shy of lying to you

but all that aside, he is also interested in you as a person

or your kind, if anything

because having you on his side, has them on his side

will turn into an isolation friendship at that point

maybe not the best person to befriend

Xiao Xingchen:

Let's say you meet before he goes blind

I don't think he cares in the slightest

he travels a lot with Song Lan and thus sees quite a lot of things

it is definitely not the most surprising thing to see for him

what is surprising is that you're not an evil being

unlike most different "species"

he's still wary of you of course

because you act different like people normally do, whether it being because of culture or just your personality

but he is still fascinated nonetheless

because he likes to know everything

in a good way

so he will ask you stuff

and be prepared, cause it will be a list to go through

his biggest fascination is your eyes

yes, ironic, I know

because it's not a feature that he often sees

if ever

you're ears, as pointy as they are, don't seem weird

he's seen other people with pointy ears before, just not like yours

if you have blond or red hair, he would also be completely enthralled with it

is kind of glad when you ask to join him and Song Lan

consults Song Lan, but it ultimately it ends up being yes

Xiao Yang:

you meet before he gets involved with Guangyao

give or take, he's 16 years old (He's probably around 17 or 18 when the series takes place, just speculation though)

he's roaming the streets, looking for good victims to pickpocket

he sees you

you looked innocent enough, an easy target

so he creeps closer, hand reaching to your bag

he feels the material of a money pouch and slowly wraps his hand around it

then he's staring up at the sky

and his arm is awkwardly twisted in a position that was paralyzing the rest of his body completely

"You breath too loudly"

the tone is mocking him and he does not appreciate it in the slightest

but the slightest movement made pain shoot up through his body, so he just laid their

the sun created a halo around your head and your eyes were practically glowing thanks to their bright color

he's left in awe for a few seconds before he starts to trash in your grasp

you're kind enough to let him go, watching with glee as he jumped up

he was glaring at you before he walked off

when he sees you the next time, the day after, he wants to retry

so he takes a deep breath before holding it and approaching you once more

his hand grazes the money pouch once more before he is pushed backwards, falling to the ground with a loud thud

you just smirk at him

he tries a third and even a fourth time, but fails every time

yet you always show him that stupid smirk that never fails to send a shiver up his spine

he doesn't understand how you hear him coming, he's never had trouble before

it's the fifth time that he tries that he succeeds

so he runs off, he never runs

only to discover the pouch to be completely empty

he will run back immediately

does not say anything except for 'teach me'

he wants to get better at pickpocketing and your fighting style intrigue him

[loving-strawberry]

✶(Reversed)Breaking up prank goes wrong with Stray Kids✶(Maknae-Line)

Hyung-Line Disclaimer: This has nothing to do with the other post on my blog!

Summary: You take your boyfriend prank seriously.

It was a request!

A little note: I finally manage to post this one too! I didn't mean to postpone it, but it was necessary. ;^^ Anyway, enjoy reading it! And I also kinda threw Felix under the bus on most of the parts...

Genre: Angst, Fluff. (2 Happy endings, 2 sad endings)

Pairing: Bf!Skz x gn!reader

Warning: lot of swearing, insults, actual break up, mention of cheating and hickeys and bruises(fake ones), mention of being a burden, talking about body insecurities and not being good enough, talking about hate comments, mention of falling out of love, mention of throwing up. Possibly some writing mistakes. I really hope I didn't missed any tw!

Han Jisung☆

He went for this prank when it was the hardest for you and you needed him

And he took the prank on another level

That was it for your relationship

Your boyfriend's behavior was super strange all day today, that making you worried like crazy, on top of everything else you were dealing with, and being pretty unstable emotionally.

You finally got to confront Han about his distance he kept constantly all day long, which is uncharacteristically to this 24/7 clingy man of a boyfriend. And he's literally the biggest support and help you can ask for in every moment of your life. But not today for some reason, when it was one of those days you were feeling drained the most.

Your thoughts were interrupted when you hear a knock on the front door of your house. Taking a deep breath, you reach to your door and opened it, allowing your boyfriend to enter. As he enters, you start feeling sick to your stomach, because he looks and acts nothing like his usual self.

He is usually all smiling and cheerful with all of the occasions he gets seeing you, all the time giving you the biggest and warmest hugs you could possibly ask for, and peppering your face with tons of kisses. Telling you how much he loves you. But right now, he has a cold look on his face, and he says nothing but a small hi, and not even the slightest touches. He just enters your house like he's a total stranger.

"H-Han... My love... What is wrong...? You were all day like this." even if you didn't saw each other, his texts responses were as cold, which caused you anxiety all day.

Sighing, he takes a look at you, before speaking "I'm going to be as quickly as possible. I want to break up with you. I'm not in love with you anymore..." this sends shivers down your spine and your heart drops.

"What...?" your face is drained from every color you had at first, as you are trying your best not to throw up everything you've eaten that day. Every thought possible is crossing your mind now, tears trickling from the corner of your eyes, and you slowly came to the realization "Was I too much of a burden to you, that's why you don't love me anymore, wasn't it? I'm sorry... I knew I should've keep everything to myself. Maybe that way you still loved me..."

If Han didn't regret the prank yet, he does it now. He knows very well about how you feel and how low you can be sometimes but he didn't knew today was one of those day where you needed him and his love the most, not to be met with coldness and distance.

"Oh my god... I'm so sorry... If I knew you were feeling like this, I will not be pulling this prank on you-" he approaches you and take you in his arms, trying to get you to calm down. And you did calmed down, but not because of his hug. More likely because you just shut down completely.

"Playing games with someone's feelings I see. Only if it wasn't in this moment of my life. Maybe then I would've find it funny and laughed." now you are the cold one, pushing him away from you.

"I don't know why exactly I wanted to do the prank... I thought it was going to be funny... I didn't meant to make you feel like this... Is there anything I can do to make up for it?" he's saying it with hope in his eyes, hoping you will forgive his dumb ass and give him another chance. You scoff hearing his words.

"'I thought it was going to be funny'. For who? And yeah. There is something you can do. Get the fuck away from me. I don't want to see you again." you spit every word with so much venom, that if your words were able to kill, he will be dead by now.

Han wants to continue on pleading for forgiveness and asking for another chance. He wants to do better for you again, like he did in the past. But he cannot do it anymore. His words are stuck in his throat. He's too shocked to say anything. Shocked by his own actions. Why did he choose to hurt you like this for fun? This got him sick now. He knows that you are going to do better without him. He always knew that you needed someone better than him. Because even if he knows how hard it is to be emotionally unstable, he still pulled such a prank on you. And not just in a simple, direct way. He went straight up giving you cold shoulder all day long before going to the subject itself. He's no good for you. So he doesn't even try to apologize anymore.

He take one more look at you and his heart broke in an instant when he sees the emotionless eyes before him, which usually are filled with love as they are watching him, but not today. Not anymore. Never again.

Han finally take his leave with that. He regrets everything now. He regrets even thinking about the prank in the first place. He just hopes you will get better soon and move on from him. Allowing yourself to be happy. Allowing yourself to love someone who won't hurt you intentionally with a reckless prank.

Lee Felix☆

Felix sees, Felix does...

Can someone take tik tok away from his hands?

Of course he sees the prank and tries to do it.

Who would think that he, from all of the people, will do it, literally the sunshine

But the sunshine won't shine anymore after this

Seeing this prank all over his tik tok, he is starting to consider doing it on you, just of pure curiosity to see how will you react. He is thinking optimistically and imagining you will recognize it's just a prank and laugh it off.

As he's debating on how to bring this up to you, you just then arrive home, extremely angry and mad because of your work. He doesn't see that you are feeling unwell, as you are usually pretty good at staying calm around other people and smiling like there's nothing going on, which is a bad habit of yours.

"Hey, Lixie." you smile, already feeling much calmer. But your calm state is instantly replaced by an unsettling feeling, as you your boyfriend being all serious and having two fingers on his neck, checking his pulse, being a bit nervous about this prank. "Something bothering you?"

"I... I'm breaking up with you" he avoid looking in your direction and doesn't give you any reason for this sudden action. That's when you come up with the realization that it is one of those tik tok pranks. You already being angry, this just adds more fuel.

"Is there any exact reason for it?" you start questioning Felix, entering his extremely dumb joke.

"W-Well... I-...Um..." he didn't think this through, he doesn't have any reason for breaking up with you. You are literally perfect for him.

"Next time think twice before pulling a hurtful prank." you go in the bedroom and start packing up some of your things, Felix not so far behind you, as he now sees that you were actually in a bad mood and did not want to put up with something like this.

"I just wanted to see how you will react to this prank... I'm sorry... I won't do it again. Please, don't leave me... Please-" he starts pleading for you to stay, but to no avail. You continue packing up the essentials in your bags, before heading towards the front door, in complete silence. This sets Felix into total panic mode. He runs after you and grabs you by the shoulders, spinning you around for you to face him again. "I'm really sorry... Please..."

"No, Yongbok. You fucked up real good with your pranks this time. Oh, and you wanted to see my reaction, right? Well congratulations, you have it. Hope you will enjoy being alone from now on. Goodbye." you snap at him, all of the anger stuck in you all day long finally leaving your body. "I'll send someone to grab the rest of my stuffs in a few days." and with that, you move from his grasps and go out the door, leaving what was your house as well until a second ago.

Felix can't do anything anymore, completely frozen in place. As soon as realization slowly kicks in, he starts sobbing. Falling to his knees as his own legs gave up on him. And his heart aching in so much pain, that it could actually stop any second now.

He doesn't even know what he was expecting at first when he decided to give this prank a go. But he surely didn't expect this. He truly didn't want to hurt you in any way. Felix really thought that you will see it as a silly joke, like you always did with every other pranks. He didn't expect you to react this way, but now that he's thinking about it, you had every right to do so.

He played a game he didn't know it was dangerous and he got you hurt. He should've think the consequences through. Not to think this optimistically about a joke that could potentially hurt a person's feelings.

He fucked up and you have every right to go somewhere better. Somewhere where he couldn't hurt you anymore.

Kim Seungmin☆

He does not want to do this prank at all

But after you came with another prank and he knew it was a prank, he gave it a shot

This relationship is plant based on constant jokes and stupid pranks...

Everyone questioning how you are still together...

Your dearest best friend, Felix, shared you a link to an unharmful prank, the hickey one. And you immediately wanted to put it in practice, being the fact the your amazing ass boyfriend last week replaced your favorite lipstick with glue. The most common prank, but you still somehow fell for it. After being stuck with your lips sealed together for a good 30 minutes a few days ago, you swore to get revenge. This opportunity is perfect. And the perfect timing indeed, because in one hour you were supposed to meet with Seungmin for a date. So you start preparing everything.

After securing the fake hickey in place on your neck with some setting spray and making sure it's not going to smudge easily, you start heading towards your meeting place.

Seungmin was already waiting for you, as you arrived. "Took you long enough." he says teasingly, before hugging you.

"I was late 5 minutes, pup." you kiss his cheek, before heading towards the actual you needed to be. As you two are walking, you make sure to move your hair away from your neck, so the hickey could be seen.

Seungmin spots short after that the bruise on your skin, and he can feel his stomach drop. Stopping both of you from your track, he takes a look at your neck. "What is this?"

"Hm? I burned my skin accidentally with my hair straightener." you say it so innocently, trying to look convincing that you actually cheat on him.

"Hair straightener my ass, you whore!" he gets extremely angry now. "If you think I'm falling for this excuse of yours, you are totally wrong."

You try to say something, to fix this situation, but nothing comes out of your mouth. Too shocked of how your boyfriend got this angry over a prank. You really thought it was going be a small innocent prank, but you are terrible mistaken.

"We are done. Go to whoever left this mark on your neck." turning around, he takes his leave. And you can't do more than just to stand there, all confused and hurt for a good second. Before coming back to your senses and go after him.

"Seungmin! Wait! Please! Let me explain!" you try your best not to break down sobbing, feeling super guilty for hurting your boyfriend like this. To your surprise, Seungmin stops and turns to face you again, rising one eyebrow, waiting for an explanation. "It's a prank... It's just makeup...Please... I'm sorry..."

"I know." he says smirking. "I was just returning your little joke."

You look at him in shock and tears streaming down your face, glad that it was nothing but a prank, but mad at him for scaring you like this. "You scared me so bad! I thought I lost you!"

"You scared me as well for a second when I saw that mark at first. But I know you and I know that you won't do such thing." taking a napkin from his pocket and wiping away the makeup from your neck, he then hugs you to his chest, letting you crying everything out.

"Let's keep on doing little pranks that won't hurt us next time. Ok, my love?" he continues rubbing your back in circles motion, trying to calm you down.

"Yeah... This was too scary..." you manage to calm down and look at Seungmin, giving him a small smile.

He mirrors your expression, having the sweetest smile, the one that is meant just for you to see, the one that is melting your heart everytime. "I love you, dumbass."

"I love you too, Minnie."

Yang Jeongin☆

After this prank, he swears he won't listen to his Hyungs ever again, especially Felix and Lee Know

Felix mentioned randomly the prank, and Lee Know came with the suggestion of I.N to do it with you

And poor Innie just went with it and ended up regretting it.

You have felt insecured about your body. Most likely because of the hate comments you get from Jeongin's "fans" on a daily basis, after your relationship got public. People got jealous and starting hating on you. All of the comments about your body. How you should lose some weight. Or how you aren't beautiful enough for Jeongin, got you pretty fast. And now your mind is in a constant spiral. Are you really good enough for him? Does he really loves you? Will he soon see how ugly actually you are and start being disgusted by you?Will he ever stop loving you?

But to your absolute horror, he payed you an unexpected visit, and starts confirming your biggest fears.

You are just standing now in the living room, looking at your boyfriend, while he starts talking "I think we should break up... I fall out of love with you..."

Every color you had in your face until this point, totally drained and gone now. "It is because of how I look... Right? I wasn't enough for you from the start. Your fans were right... " right now, you are incapable of showing any emotions anymore, feeling numb.

Your boyfriend hates himself now for doing this. He knew he shouldn't listened to his older members from the start, but still ended up doing so. And now everything is aching with guilt and regret. "It was a stupid prank... Felix hyung and Lee Know hyung told me to try it. I'm really sorry for doing it. I was way too stupid and accepted it."

"No... It's ok... I wouldn't blame you if you were going to actually do it. You are way too perfect looking to be seen with someone like me. I don't deserve you." the words that came out of your mouth made Jeongin rush over to you and embrace you in the warmest hug he could ever give. Which is rare for him to initiate physical touch.

"Never say that again! Don't ever listen to anyone who is saying this towards you. You are gorgeous. People are just jealous of your beauty. Beside, you are also the kindest person I know, and the sweetest." you end up crying in his arms, feeling so safe and loved with him. "I'll be with you. Forever. I won't leave you. I love you so much, my beautiful angel."

"I love you too... Thank you... for not actually leaving me."

He smiles softly, as he place a few kisses on top of your head. He's not planning on leaving your side ever, not even as a joke. You are his everything. And will make sure to let anyone who made think so low about yourself know that you are loved by him, doesn't matter how you look.

.............................

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