#alright that's one out of like a billion done look @ me

[sexlapis]

- house decor

꩜ nanami x reader

synopsis: you & nanami go home decor shopping and your methods for choosing furniture are…interesting to say the least.

suggestive, heavy sex implications, crack fic, fluff, gender neutral!reader, nanami & reader are married, reader embarrassing nanami

a/n: inspired by this tiktok video ^_^

masterlists

*

you do not enjoy shopping.

the bustling crowd, the loud, busy atmosphere, the blinding strain of artificial light and constantly moving around on your feet for hours on end when you desired the comfort of your home.

you do not enjoy shopping.

unfortunately for you, your newly wedded husband nanami did and being the good partner you are, you willingly put aside your mild discomfort to make him happy.

it’s so difficult being a good, loving and caring partner for your husband, really.

after shoving all of your previous shopping in the trunk of the car, relief floods you. finally, this day is over. it’s only 4pm and a long, cosy afternoon nap awaits at home.

instead, nanami waits beside the car, holding his hand out for you to hold. “come on. we still have one more place left.”

“what!” you groan. “i thought that was the last one!”

“nu-uh. just this one and we’re all done for the day.”

grumbling, you place your hand in his. nanami smiles softly at you and your frustrations ease just a little.

he drags you along the buzzing car park all the way to a large, furniture store.

furniture, huh?

“oh! furniture shopping!” you gleam, a mischievous glint in your eyes that nanami fails to notice. “i’m okay with this.”

“i think that is the happiest you’ve looked since we left the house.”

“yeah, i can tolerate shopping for furniture. not your five billion candles! also, i get to sit down.

“ah, _____,” nanami sighs fondly, pecking your temple quickly, “you are so lazy…”

you huff, but your attention is grabbed by a two-seater, emerald coloured sofa of velvet material. it looked comfortable and seemed like a good deal.

you glide your hand along the rim of the furniture. “what’d you think of this one, kento?”

“hm..it’s alright.” he replies, walking around the sofa and inspecting it like it needs a good fix. “it’s a little small, though.”

“yeah. yeah, that true,” you say, standing behind the lovely, exquisitely made piece of furniture.

you then place both hands onto the outside back of the sofa, and lean forward, effectively bending over. you shift around, seeing how it feels.

glancing back, you see nanami tilt his head and squint his eyes at you.

“…what are you doing?”

you smirk. “you know, jus’…seeing how it feels,” you grunt, standing back up and dusting your hands off like you did a job well done, “it’s too short for me anyway, it would hurt my hips when we..y’know…”

nanami lifts a brow on his perfect face, waiting for you to elaborate.

but you just turn to the kitchen section, skipping away to see what other pieces of furniture and house decorations you can terrorise.

“this one is nice.” you say to nanami, who followed you all the way even in his confusion, of course.

the kitchen setup was modern and sleek, taking on neutral tones like beige, white and brown.

“yes, i do like this one. i can see myself cooking on here.” nanami replies, referring to the electric oven.

“yeah, yeah..” you speak, opening and closing the kitchen cupboards. “hm.”

“what is it?”

“i dunno,” and then, you’re bending over again, this time over the kitchen counter display. “this area is a bit small too,” you jerk your body exaggeratedly, repeatedly moving forwards and backwards like you were being fucked, almost hitting your head on the cupboard above, “yeah, i don’t-”

“_____!” nanami hisses, face morphing into a incredulous expression as he marches over to you, quickly putting a stop to you act, “what are you doing?”

you look up at him from where you’re bent over. “wh-i’m testing it out. seeing if it’s what we need and whatnot,” you turn back around, still in the same position, “okay, now do a few practice thrusts on me, i need to see if-”

“_____!”

“okay, okay.” you huff, laughing a little. you stand up straight, taking a good look at nanami.

a pink tinge coats his cheeks and nose while he frowns at you, almost pouting.

how cute.

you grin and latch onto his fingers, pulling him along with you. “let’s see the bed section now.”

nanami sighs. this day will be longer than he thought.

*

you plonk yourself down on the alaskan sized mattress, body bouncing with the bed itself. sprawling out like a starfish, you hum, letting yourself sink into the comfort of the bed.

nanami stands, seemingly unimpressed. “_____, that’s the sixth time you’ve done that.”

“yeah, kento, i need to see if it’s good to lie on after a long day of work or something..” an idea springs to mind and you sit up quickly, “okay, try throwing me on the bed, but not too hard.”

“_____, no-”

“come on! nobody’s around. look.” you were correct, there was hardly anyone in the store at this time, considering it was a thursday and nearing late afternoon. “just indulge me. just this once,” you beam up at him, “please?”

nanami stared down at you. he and you both know that he will give in. he can’t say no to you, really.

nanami rolls his eyes at himself, holding his hands out and beckoning you over. “come here then..”

you spring up, practically running to him and throwing yourself in his arms. “throw me!”

he shakes his head at you, looking around before throwing you onto the bed. you bounce, cackling and smiling widely as you lay on the bed. nanami shakes his head fondly, looking down at your delighted face. “how is it?”

you breathe heavily, making a face. “eh,” you jump off the bed, “too bouncy and too loud.”

“really?” nanami blanks. “you’ve been jumping on this bed for ten minutes and you don’t-”

“ooo, come look at this armchair, kento!” but you’re already off to your next piece of furniture. you kneel down a little, “this one looks comfy.”

“yeah,” huffing, nanami strolls over, “yeah, it’s nice.”

your hand finds nanami’s back and you prompt him forward. “sit on it.”

he gives you a look. “and you won’t do anything ridiculous?”

“nanami.” you look at him pointedly. “sit on it, i wanna see what you think.”

nanami stared at you for second and obeys, walking to the couch and sitting, legs spread and arms resting.

“what’d you think?” you ask, admiring his thick legs and arms as you stalk closer to him.

“yes, it’s comfortable,” nanami stated and shifts a little. he feels the leather material of the armrest, “and good quality i’d say.”

“hmmm.” that’s all that is said before you’re plopping yourself onto his lap.

nanami sputters. “_____, wh-”

“shh, shush, i’m not gonna do anything this time. just wanna see how i feel sitting on your lap in this chair,” you look back at him from where you’re seated, smiling innocently, “yeah?”

nanami’s eyes thin, clearly not believing you and not a fan of displaying such intimate affection so publicly, but he sighs, “alright….”

you nod joyfully, rubbing his knee and turning to look at the layout of this particular living room. a large, black, smart television that nanami would definitely deem unnecessary, a cream, ruffled rug laid out across the floor, a mahogany, oval-shaped coffee table.

“this one’s pretty boring, right?”

nanami runs a hand down his stubble covered jaw. he forgot to shave, but you can’t say you don’t like it. “yeah, the only thing i like is the armchair.”

before he even finishes his sentence, you’re momentarily bouncing on his lap like a pogo stick, not even giving nanami time to process what just happened before you stand up, placing your hands on your hips. “yeah, yeah we should definitely get this one. comfy, quiet, nice looking. will fit perfectly into our living room, don’t you think?”

nanami stares at you, still planted on the armchair, unmoving. “i have nothing to say to you. you’re unbelievable.”

you cackle. “do you even know me?”

he mumbles, rising from the seat, adjusting his jeans slightly. you smirk, biting your lip and go to say something teasing, but he stops you, “not. a. word.”

*

a brand new, comfortable and most importantly, durable, leather armchair sits in your living room by the end of next week.

a/n: i luv when reader is a little tease 🤭🤭🤭

[beelmons]

Just want Luke Alvez to spell out his name with his tongue against me. I'm a simple woman, with simple needs. No hands, all mouth. my cunnilingus king

no cause this is what i call having taste !

i accidentally posted this without finishing and im going insane trying to speed write it skckwkckwkf DOMT LOOK UNDER READ MORE

Edit: Okay NOW you can look.

cw: oral sex fem receiving, fem!reader

Some people paid billions of dollars to reach space and experience the wonders of the universe, and yet, it only took a heavily underpaid FBI agent to get you to see stars.

Luke Alvez was not a man to eat women out, oh no, he was the one to straight up devour them. Like an avid critic ready to cater his next meal, he would time and again bury himself in between your legs; no further aid needed whatsoever, a dedicated mouth could take you to places you were sure mortals couldn't reach.

It made you suspicious, to be honest. How could a man be so good at pleasing a woman? The only way it made sense was if he had done it hundreds of times before, but taking his time while in deployment and current new schedule in consideration, he wouldn't only have to be dedicated to it, he would have had to straight up clone himself to take two women at a time on the little time he had to spare.

He could do it, to be fair, without the need of cloning himself, after all he had his charm. You don't just open your legs for anyone on the first date, let alone the first thirty minutes of meeting them. He was a witty gentleman, and not hard on the eye at all.

Soon you would find out that his sharp tongue wasn't only skillful on the streets. Something about the way he so passionately licked you thoroughly each time. Or how he moaned along everytime he hit a good spot. Or the weird combination of strokes he pulled at the end, the one that never failed to push you over the edge.

You had to find out what it was, because you were starting to think it was not human. And tonight, as your apartment was filled with lewd slurping sounds, you were set on finding it out.

One little problem, keeping your sanity as his tongue, somehow, reached your sweetest spots was no easy task. It took all of your energy and some holding back from straight up cumming into his mouth without warning. Your face was clenched in what seemed more like pain than pleasure. But your climax was reaching, you were so close, just as close as you were to figuring out what the hell he did at the end, so close, so close.

"Babe, are you alright?" he pulled away to ask.

"No!" you yelled in anger almost instinctively, and certainly without intention.

He was clearly taken aback by your reaction, and the second you noticed his clear confusion, you spoke up again.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." you said, reaching to have your hand land on his hair, not wanting him to be too far from your cunt "I was just so close."

"Sorry, you looked like you were in pain, so..." he tried to explain before you cut him off.

"I was focused." you clarified.

"Focused?" his brows furrowed "Listen, if you have to focus to cum... I'd rather you tell me what I'm doing wrong."

"No. What? Come on Luke, you can't be serious." you complained "I was focused on figuring out what the hell it is that you always do, that it makes my brain be reduced to a pulp!"

You certainly didn't mean it as a praise, but he still found a way to interpret it as such. He broke into a shy chuckle as he shook his head.

"I can tell you" he said "But you have to promise not to laugh."

"Why would I-" you were about to inquire, but he cut you off.

"I spell my name with my tongue." he finally admitted.

"You are kidding." your eyes opened in genuine surprise. It sounded so stupid right off the bat, even more so when you considered the possibility of being true.

Your free hand reached down to have your middle digit trail over your own clit, you were moist enough thanks to him, so nothing else was needed. You began making an experiment of your own.

L U K E A L-

Sure, it felt good, but nothing out of the ordinary.

"Not like that!" he quickly grabbed at your wrist to pull it away "It's not the same if you use fingers, and I'm afraid there is one more secret to it."

You were attentively looking at him talk, so you were able to see his face disappear between your legs. You thought after the break you wouldn't be so sensitive, but boy were you wrong. The second the tip of his tongue landed on your bundle of nerves again, your legs began to shake. Like no time had passed.

You tried your best to pay attention, you really did.

Luke Alvez

But you lost track after the 'K'.

Next thing you knew, you were dripping down in your own release, and he was doing his best to have nothing go to waste.

Your chest was raising up and down from the pants. Legs limb and tired against his shoulders. Once he was satisfied with the clean up, he raised his head yet again. His characteristic, slightly annoying, cheeky grin clear on his face.

"I do it in cursive."

[actual-changeling]

This was supposed to be a short little Folie à Deux meta, but several hours of writing, thinking, and script research later, and suddenly here we are.

Welcome to this glimpse into my insane mind.

So! Let's go on a little journey and discuss the ending of season five, because Folie à Deux not only sets the foundation for The End but actively makes it so much worse than it could have been.

In the previous episodes, Mulder has been ditching her and blowing her off more and more, he keeps doing things behind her back without telling her, they keep having fights about belief vs. hard facts, and then, at the beginning of that episode, what happens?

MULDER: I must've done something to piss him off. SCULLY: What do you mean? MULDER: Get stuck with this jerk-off assignment or have I finally reached that magic point in my career where every time somebody sees Bigfoot or the Virgin Mary on a tortilla I get called to offer my special insight on the matter? SCULLY: You're saying "I" a lot. I heard "we." Nor do I assume that this case is just a waste of our time. MULDER: Not yours, anyway. There's no reason both of us should go to Chicago. I'll take care of it. SCULLY: Mulder! MULDER: I'm monster boy, right?

He actively and intentionally breaks them up against her will. Mulder is making decisions for THEM without consulting or listening to her, and what can she do except let him run off like he so clearly wants to.

Now, what do you think she takes away from that?

After being left in the dark about his undercover mission in the episode before? After Mulder showing her, one way or another, that he does not want to work with her, that he's fine leaving her behind?

But alright, she stays behind, it's simply Mulder being Mulder.

She does the research he asks her to do. She shows up and helps out when he gets taken hostage. She listens to him, tries to understand, she's concerned because he hasn't been sleeping. She does the fucking autopsy even though he went behind her back and tricked her into it. She keeps looking and looking and looking, and by the end, she's not relieved that the case is finally done or that Mulder is no longer actively insane.

Folie à Deux—a madness shared by two, that's what she believes is happening to her, to them.

Shared by two. Scully thinks of them as a pair, a team, an "us" and a "we".

We all know what he tells her when she visits him at the hospital, but let's really really think about the consequences of it.

MULDER: Scully, you have to believe me. Nobody else on this whole damn planet does or ever will. You're my one in five billion.

Yeah, alright, that sounds intensely romantic and affirming of their partnershi— oh that?

Oh, that's Diana. No, I never told you about her even though she's arguably one of the most impactful people in my life. I found the X Files with her, she believes in my theories without giving me any resistance, we were in a relationship, she's back now and I am spending more time with her than with you while ALSO not paying attention to you.

If I will tell you about her now? No. But I WILL treat her like she's my partner and not you.

SCULLY: Say that what you're suggesting were even possible, who'd want to kill a kid whose abilities would offer you the ultimate advantage—I mean in business, in war, in anything? DIANA: Maybe somebody whose business is in keeping secrets. MULDER: Well, let's test him. I think the kid will stand up. Let's run a brain scan and a psych evaluation on him. (looking away) You know what to do, Diana.

Not a single word of recognition towards Scully after the shitshow that just went down with Gibson. Way to go, Mulder, way to go.

On top of that, it is worth mentioning that Fowley calls him by his first name and he calls her by hers. Scully can probably count the amount of times Mulder has called her "Dana" on one hand, and she doesn't call him "Fox" because, and I quote:

MULDER: And I... I even made my parents call me Mulder. So... Mulder.

So, Diana is an exception. Why? Why does she get to call him that? Why she but not Scully?

Why does she get to reappear in his life after leaving without an explanation and have Mulder welcome her back with open arms, offering Scully's position on a silver platter?

Scully needs to ask TLG for help and information about Fowley, and it makes everything so much worse. Within their work-relationship, she's the scientist, that's her job, that's who she is, that's why Mulder needs her, and Fowley isn't one.

Right?

LANGLY: She was there when he discovered the X-Files. She has a background of para-science.

Oh. Oh, okay. Sure.

A big thank you to @sentientsky for sharing the script, which gives us this wonderful additional information:

So, to summarize, she's hot, Mulder's type, has exactly the kind of background that someone working on the X Files needs, and they have an old dynamic to fall back into—a dynamic they fall back into period.

She goes through all that, stays up all night to make sure her evidence is scientifically sound, just for Mulder to not even back her up when Spender and Fowley challenge her.

The script actively states that this is what Diana has been waiting for during the meeting—to refute Scully.

Fowley questions Scully's capabilities as both an agent and a scientist during a meeting right in front of Mulder, and Scully looks at him. She waits for him to say something, to defend her like he usually would, but he doesn't.

He doesn't even look at her.

The betrayal she must have felt, ESPECIALLY after what he told her at the hospital. It's no wonder she writes off anything and everything he says to her when he's injured in some form after that experience.

She needs to make herself believe he was just talking like that because he was having some sort of episode, because what are the other options here?

One in five billion, until someone better comes along?

Until he no longer needs her to do something for him?

Until she has outlived her usefulness and has transitioned from being a vital part of their investigations to being annoying and overly sceptical?

Until it becomes clear that Mulder isn't the issue in their partnership, it's her? That all her fears and anxieties weren't so irrational, after all?

Because it's important to remember that this is the day after she saw him and Diana at the hospital.

After THIS:

How much do you wanna bet that she spent the last, what, twelve hours since seeing them trying to convince herself that it's not what she thinks?

That, of course, Mulder is still her partner. That they're still a team. That she is not an indulgence to Mulder or the X Files, that she belongs down in that basement just as much as he does.

You and me. Me and you. Right? ...Right??

The case goes off the rails, Fowley gets shot, Gibson gets kidnapped, CSM delivers a Star Wars line and later burns down their office.

She stays at his apartment for the night, and we see them interacting when Skinner calls, but Mulder is still not fully acknowledging her. He asks her about Fowley and any news regarding their assignments, but that's it.

No "how are you feeling about potentially getting fired, Scully?"

Now, there's this tiny but important part that they decided to cut, which emphasizes the emotional gap between them; it re-affirms what we have seen for way too many episodes.

Mulder cares about her, but he is completely taking her and the safety she offers him for granted. He is, and I mean this in the least negative way possible, essentially using her as a crutch—without even noticing. Scully notices, though, and in lieu of an explanation from Mulder, she is forced to draw her own conclusions.

I'm going to stay here (your life) if that's okay with you (if you still want me in it).

When they're standing in the ashes at the end, it's just as horrifying and terrible for her as it is for Mulder, and she clings to him for the both of them. She clings to him to keep him from breaking, and he doesn't hug her back.

Scully is giving him her everything, she's trying so incredibly hard to keep him in one piece and soothe his pain, but, tell me, who is taking care of her?

There's a limit, she has reached it, and Mulder doesn't even realize it.

Is he acting maliciously at any point? No, definitely not. However, he is carelessly cruel sometimes, doesn't communicate how much Scully means to him, and simply keeps taking and taking because she keeps giving.

Five years, and yet he still blames and distrusts her when she doesn't immediately jump onto his insect zombie bandwagon. Five years, and never once did he mention the person he found the X Files with. Fowley so easily takes Scully's place and she understandably feels rejected and unloved.

WE know he loves her, yes, but she isn't sure of that anymore. Loving someone comes with feeling comfortable around them and being yourself, yet he is incapable of fully understanding the responsibility they both have to keep each other safe from each other.

Scully is sacrificing herself to keep him from breaking and he does not even notice how she is falling apart right next to him.

[heartfullofleeches]

I am a sucker for tension, imagine Evil! Deity and Dea just constantly playing tug of war with this stoic little reader who just trying to go about their day to day life 😭😭 im obsessed w it

"I could destroy your reality in the blink of an eye. Billions- possibly trillions gone to satisfy the hunger of the unsatisfiable. I've done it before, and I'll do it again as much as I pleas. The only thing stopping me is-"

The forgien creature grabs you by the neck.

"You're so cute."

It throws you into its chest, stroking its fingers through your hair as it squeals in delight. "Such an adorable thing you are! The perfect love, the best pet. Oh, for creating something so precious I'll always this waste of a universe to exist a little longer."

You squirm out of their embrace, keeping them at arms distance while using all of your strength to push them away. "Leave me alone, I have to go to work."

"You won't have to if I take care of your every need."

"Not interested. Plus there's already one of you that tries."

As if on cue, Dea walks out of the kitchen holding a tray of muffins. "My grace, I've made you a snack to eat while on your way to work. Would you like me to pack you extra so-"

The tray clatters to the floor as their eyes fall upon the scene. Strength exhausted, you fall victim to the other god's hold; shielding your face from their onslaught of kisses. Dea forces a smile.

"My grace... Who's your um... friend?"

"They aren't my friend. I don't even know they got in."

The other deity turns to face Dea, lips quirked in an amused smile. "Oh? Are you cheating on me already, pup? It's no surpise that you've gotten the eye of another creator. I'll forgive you this once if you allow me a single kiss."

"Piss off."

Dea's eyes grow dark. Your head starts to ache as their skin crackles with the anger flowing through them; tearing as they lose control of their self and form. "If you are not acquainted with them - then leave."

The god laughs. "My, you have a bit of a temper problem, don't you? If you want me to leave, I'll take my prize with me."

"No."

Dea rips you from their grasp, shielding you with their body. As the writing above their cheeks glows, the other god scoffs.

"Fine. I'll leave for now, but I'll be back for what I've claimed. See you soon, darling."

Just as they appeared, the deity is gone without a trace. The haze over your mind clears as Dea looks down at you with a bright smile.

"Are you alright, my grace?'

"Yea.. My boss is kinda kill me though, because I'm quitting."

[inferencesarchives]

Hello there!

Could I ask for various cookies x cheating reader?

Where the cookies walk past a restaurant and they saw reader and someone else inside, they were talking and laughing that it looked like a date and that's what the cookies thought. So the next day they confront reader about it asking what they did to deserve that, but in reality it's just reader and an old friend catching up and the cookies won't let reader a second to explain

Not What It Seems

capsaicin, dark choco, madeleine x gn!reader

summary: one of your old friends is in town, and you decide to go to dinner with them and catch up. when the cookies pass by and see you with someone else through the window, they automatically assume the worst.

warnings: hurt/comfort, mentions of cheating (obviously), physical touch, crying (capsaicin), petnames (dear/dearest - madeleine), general anxiety, also maybe ooc idk i wrote this at 4 am

Capsaicin Cookie hummed a tune as he leisurely walked. He had no destination in particular quite yet; Instead, he was window shopping in order to find a nice gift to surprise you with once you git home.

In the window of a small hobby shop, Capsaicin Cookie noticed that they happened to be selling a particular item used in a hobby that you had been getting into recently. Smiling to himself as he checked out the item from the cashier, he figured he hit the jackpot. Though, at the same time, he figured he should get you something else as well to go with it. Thus, he began walking down the streets once again.

Not long after, he noticed a peculiar scene inside one of the restaurants he was passing in the corner of his eye. He looked over, hoping that he saw wrong, that he was mistook it in his vision.

His heart dropped. At a table inside the restaurant, Capsaicin Cookie watched as you sat, enjoying a seemingly pleasant conversation with Prune Juice Cookie. Suddenly, millions of thoughts were going through his head, all of them so fast it was almost hard to keep up with, but to him, one thing was abundantly clear: he had failed you as a partner. Clearly, he hadn't done enough for you, and you had moved on.

He rushed home, unable to watch any longer. He had to figure out what he had done wrong. He had to figure out what he should've done for you. As he sat on the couch, the gift he bought for you laying next to him, a billion possibilities ran through his mind. Had he said something that you took the wrong way? Had he been too clingy? Had he been too distant? Had he not shown enough interest in the things you talked about with him? Had he shown too much interest in those things? Had he-

"Capsaicin Cookie? Hey, what happened? Why are you crying?" Your sweet voice along with your hand finding its way onto his cheek snapped him back to reality. He couldn't speak. It felt like his heart had been torn into a trillion pieces, yet at the same time, he didn't want you to leave.

"Hey, it's alright. I'm here. I've got you. You can tell me anything," you gently whispered as you sat beside him. You pulled him in for a hug, "I love you, you know. With all my heart. You can tell me anything. I won't judge." He held you tightly, as if he was afraid you would disappear if he let go.

"...You and Prune Juice Cookie...Are you two a thing? I saw you together through the window," his voice came out quiet and shaky, almost like he was afraid that if he said the words aloud, they would become truth. "Oh, Capsaicin Cookie...Really, it's not like that at all. We were just catching up with each other since it's been a while since we last spoke to each other. I didn't mean to make you think I like him more than you, and I'm really sorry I forgot to tell you that I was going to hang out with him for a bit. Really, I didn't mean for it to slip my mind, and I didn't mean to make you think that I don't like you anymore, because that's not true at all. I love you. I love you more than anything, Capsaicin Cookie. You mean the world to me," you affirmed your affections for him and nuzzled into his neck.

"You promise?"

"I promise."

It wasn't often that Dark Choco Cookie went out. After all, many other cookies feared him. Today was different, though. Today, Dark Choco Cookie decided that brief stroll would help clear his mind. Therefore, he was out and about today.

He honestly hadn't expected to find anything interesting in the windows of the shops scattered around the little town in which the two of you were staying for a few days. Most of the stored sold the same things. Essentially, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary nor was there anything that caught his eye.

What did catch his eye, though, was a certain scene in the park. Something out of place. Whilst everything else in the park was completely normal, the sight of you sitting and chatting with Red Velvet Cookie on one of the benches made his fists clench.

He quietly walked back to the inn where the two of you had been staying, many a question in his mind. As he sat down on the bed, negative thoughts invaded his brain. He had done everything he could for you. He devoted himself to you. He knew he didn't deserve you, yet he chased after your love and affection endlessly. You gave him hope, and now that hope was shattered into millions of sad little pieces.

He didn't even bother looking at you when you walked in the room, parting his lips and getting straight to the point, "So, you and Red Velvet Cookie, huh? You prefer him over me?" Eyes wide, you attempt to shut down his accusations, "No, it isn't like that! We-" "You don't have to lie to me," he cut you off, "I know I don't deserve you." Teary-eyed, you desperately try to get him to understand, "I promise it isn't like that, please listen to me!"

He looked up at you for the first time since you entered. He said nothing. "I swear to you, it isn't like that. We were just catching up, I promise. We just hadn't seen each other for a while and I figured it would be polite if I said hello. I didn't realise that you would think it was like that, I swear it isn't! I love you more than anyone else in the world, I promise! I would never even think of loving anyone else," you pleaded with him, praying that he would realise that you truly wouldn't do something like that to him.

He sighed, "...I suppose you're right. I'm sorry for jumping to conclusions. Just, please, promise me that you'll tell me whenever you're going to hang around a friend in the future. I just...get scared that you'll leave me sometimes, so if you told me about your outings beforehand, it would help." Gently, you placed your hand on his, and said, "Of course I'll tell you. I'm sorry I made you think that I was going to leave you. I promise I'll stay by your side until the very end."

"...Thank you."

Seeing Madeleine Cookie out walking the streets wasn't a surprise to most other cookies. Most days out of the week, the paladin would leisurely peruse the many shops throughout the city. Oftentimes, he would be out buying little things that reminded him of you, and today was no different.

He wanted to get you something nice after he finished his work for the day so that he could surprise you when he got home, as he often did. Unfortunately, however, the shops didn't have very many things that he thought you might like today. Eventually, he walked out of yet another shop empty-handed, frustrated that the place didn't have anything that you'd find interesting. As he was about to suck it up and head home, a scene in the window of the restaurant across the street made him feel even worse.

There, at a table in the corner, you sat, in a seemingly in-depth discussion with Espresso Cookie. Immediately, questions started forming in his mind. Was he seeing this right? You, the cookie who was practically an angel sent down from the heavens to bless him with warmth and love, were quite possibly going out on a date with Espresso Cookie? No, no, no, that can't be right. Surely you were just having a friendly chat, right? Surely you weren't cheating on him? You wouldn't do that...would you?

Madeleine Cookie had to know what was going on. He simply wouldn't allow any possible negative thoughts to linger in his mind any longer. With newfound resolve, he pushed open the door to the restaurant and swiftly walked over to your table.

"...And that's how you- Oh, wow, would you look at that. Mr. Light-For-Brains is here. Hello Madeleine Cookie," Espresso Cookie greeted as you turned around to face your beloved idiot. "Madeleine Cookie!" you excitedly jump up to hug him, a big grin adorning your face. He wrapped his arms around you in return. "Hello, dearest. Am I...interrupting something? A...date, perhaps?" Madeleine asked, quickly getting to the point.

"A date? With him? Pfft, no, no, not at all. We were just catching up. It's been a while since Espresso Cookie and I have seen each other, after all. Don't worry, it's not a date, I promise. Here, sit with us! Oh, and order yourself some food, too!" you explained. "Ah, I see! Thank you for affirming your feelings towards me!" He smiled at you as you giggled, "I love you, you adorable idiot." "I love you too, dear," he said as he kissed your forehead.

"Ugh, get a room, lovebirds..."

"Hey!"

"How rude, Espresso Cookie!"

a/n: my god this request is OLDDDDD to the person who requested im SO sorry for keeping you waiting for so long i just could never think of any good ideas for this fic for the longest time but now it's finally here yay again im so sorry :,) since u didn't specify who u wanted i decided on a cast that would have more diverse reactions so that each part wouldn't seem like the same think over and over again, also i added comfort in at the end of each part because if i write hurt/no comfort i and many others WILL CRY so,,, yea and like i said in a bunch of my recent previous works, im trying to clear out my requests so yea,,, also i haven't been able to sleep a wink at all tonight unfortunately so ive been grinding fics instead lol, im abt to go to bed tho dw yall (it's 5 am help)

thanks for stopping by!

wanna submit a request? see my requesting rules here.

taglist:

wanna be tagged? let me know!

[hajimeshoe]

so if you're still taking requests.... Twisted Wonderland housewardens with an S/o who doesn't get energy from too much sugar, but instead gets tired, and when they eat a lot they go into food comas

Idia was honestly the hardest for me to write for this one, but I think it turned out alright? I hope you like it! It was honestly really fun to write!

Also, not me writing this on four energy drinks while bleaching my hair

Riddle

I feel like Riddle would be a bit confused

Like, sugar is supposed to give people energy, right???

His mother never let him have much sugar when he was young tho, so he'd also be wondering how his s/o eats enough to get into a food coma

"Love, moderation is easy?"

But at the same time, he does understand that everyone is different

He'll TRY to limit your sugar intake to before bed so long as it doesn't interfere with the Queen's rules

If he does find you in a sleepy mood after eating sugar, he'll bring you back to your dorm and get you tucked into a comfy place (if you're not already in your dorm)

If you are in your dorm, he'll get you blankets/pillows - anything you need to be comfy really

Leona

Absolutely loves it <3

All he needs to do if he wants you to skip classes to nap with him is to hop you up on sugar? Aight, BET!

Will 1000% carry around sugar for you and will literally shove it down your throat if he has to in order to have his personal teddy bear nice and tired

If he finds you in a food coma after eating too much? He's manhandling you into his preferred position for a nap with you

He has definitely had Ruggie bring you water that's more sugar than water

Don't get me wrong, Leona knows that sugar is not healthy and too much can do more damage than good for your health

But...he likes his sleep so can you blame him???

"Babe, you're being too loud so eat this and have a nap."

"Leona, that is literally a cup filled with sugar??"

"Did I fucking stutter?"

Azul

So, Azul...I feel like he'll use this to his advantage if he really needs too

For example, if you're just being too much and he's busy then he'll get you some stuff that's high in sugar to calm you down

Other than that though

He lets you decide when you have sugar and how much of it you have

He just assumes it's a human thing to get tired after ingesting sugar

Azul also will let you sleep in his office if you need to

But will absolutely not let the tweels anywhere near you when they have sugar - he doesn't want them forcing you into a food coma for their entertainment

Ultimately, probably the best of the housewardens with it

Kalim

THAT IS SO COOL!!

You get tired when you have too much sugar? My little siblings and I always get super hyper. How does it work? How do you get like that? (Jamil is in the corner wishing Kalim was like you)

He wants to see if deserts and treats from his home have the same result, so expect a ton of treats from him

If he finds you in a food coma, he'll quiet down and make sure you're comfy.

I can see him bringing in doctors to look at you at some point in your relationship tbh

Just to see what's up cuz he's a worried boi

I can also see him trying to diagnose you with ADHD and a billion other stuff until the doctors tell him that everything is normal

Vil

"Darling, you shouldn't be eating enough sugar for that to happen. Do you know how bad it is for you?"

Aaaand you're sitting through a lecture on the effects of sugar on health and beauty

He tries to put you on a diet

I normally don't see him as the type of person to interfere too much with his S/O's beauty regimen, but I can absolutely picture him doing this

He just loves you and wants whats best for you darling, he swears

Cutting out sugar just happens to be what he thinks is best

If he finds you in a food coma, he's gonna try to wake you up to make sure you brushed your teeth and did your skin care routine

Dw he'll let you go back to sleep as soon as you've done both, sleep is an important part of beauty

This is how he shows his love

Idia

Like Azul, he'll use it to his advantage sometimes.

Mostly if he's gaming and you're trying to get his attention

He'll just give you sugar and have you curl up in his lap while he games

He loves you but he also loves his games

He won't bother you if you're passed out from eating sugar, he'll just play a game on his phone or something while you sleep

Idia does not care how much of it you have - it's my personal hc he's a huuuuuge caffeine addict - or when you have it

So long as you're happy and not interrupting his gaming during important events, he's happy

Malleus

"Lilia, my human is broken!"

Confused boy 2.0

Is this normal for humans??

Lilia has to explain that some humans get tired after having sugar rather than getting some energy

He does some reading on humans and sugar

Malleus. Panics. If he finds you in a food coma

Proceeds to cast every healing spell he knows

He's just so caring and protective, he doesn't want anything happening to his precious S/O

He does learn to just make sure you're in a safe place and extremely comfy.

"Mall sweetie, where are we?"

"My chambers in the castle."

"You mean your dorm room at school???"

"No."

Literally brought you to Briar Valley to ensure you're as comfortable as can be

He's so precious just give him all the love

[choco-pudding]

Space Channel 5 Part 2: Sugoku Sugoi Guide Book p. 160-169 (Translations by @lavoszero and myself. Edits and typesetting by myself)

Last part of Report 6 and the beginning of the bonus content.

Imgur link to all of the Sugoku Sugoi Guide Book translations we’ve done thus far.

Plain text below.

p. 160 Noize's Evaluation: The Curtain Falls on the Rhythm Rogues' Attack

Whereabouts of the Blown-Away Purge Thanks to the Astrobeat Jr., I was able to watch, firsthand, as the dance energy of 86,429 individuals combined into something truly spectacular. But I wonder… what happened to Purge? I don't recall Ms. Pine arresting him… were you content with him being blasted away? I dunno. Looking at the lyrics, "All the whole wide galaxy dances for me; yes, I'll make each one of you very happy," maybe he really thought he was the good guy here. Near the end, I think he said something like, "I won't forget this!" Or maybe it was, "See you next week!" Honestly, I’m a lil' worried. Even Mr. Blank was able to covertly return, so…

Ms. Ulala Marching On Anyway, the last was really cool, wasn’t it. Just wow… The Super Ulala Dimension dance and melody was so powerful I could see and hear it from the outside, too. It felt like something straight out of “Ten Billion Days and One Hundred Billion Nights.” It was like a holy cosmic showdown! It really was… I wonder if the “power of love” did all that. To cap it all off, everyone joined in to do the Space Channel 5 pose. I was so relieved everything was finally over. After that, as you know, we marched away like it was a regal procession. I couldn’t just leave after Ms. Ulala cheered, “Let’s march to the ends of the galaxy!" so I ended marching about 24 more space kilometers.

That’s where the report itself ended. Ms. Ulala, though, she was still so full of energy, even after marching, that she went off to dance somewhere else (laughs). The day after that, my team had the day off. Not that we had much to do in the first place. By then, the incident became a huge story picked up by all the regular news shows, rather than special report teams. Despite the whole fiasco, the government didn't really give us anymore commendations, and everything soon went back to normal. Ms. Ulala is still being routinely scolded by Mr. Fuse. I don't think that will ever change.

-

Groove Guru 155

Up Up Down Down Hey Hey Toyota

p. 161

When Mr. Fuse Returned Sometime after I landed the Astrobeat Jr. to watch Ulala and the other’s grand march, Mr. Fuse came down to join me. While we were watching, I said to him "Nice job, Mr. Fuse. I can't believe you're alright." I really thought he met a gruesome fate after the Astrobeat was blasted down. Apparently, he was able to escape unscathed due a number of factors (you can hear the details right outta Mr. Fuse's mouth on the soundtrack CD released on April 24, 2002). I guess it was a traumatic experience regardless, since he went to his usual drinking spot as soon the show was over.

What Did I Do Next? Right now, I'm being interviewed by the Space Police… I don't really mind, they're being nice. But after the incident, I had my hands full! I was involved in the major project to recover all the antennas that had been modified by Purge; it happens when you’re a Technical Development chief with deep connections in the industry. At least the huge dance floor Purge constructed made it easy for all of us to work simultaneously. After about three days, we finally finished and I returned to modifying microphones for Ulala to use while incognito. I made some that look like an ice cream cone, an ear of corn, and a couple of other things.

-

Groove Guru 156

Up Toyota Up Toyota Down Down Down

p. 162 Fuse's Broadcast Notes

Report 6 & Repeat 6 Last but not least, here are the final instructions prepared by director Fuse for the live broadcast of "Ulala's Swingin' Report Show," presented in an easy-to-read fashion. Its contents show useful tips for succeeding on the secret input locations. Modifications made for the rerun broadcasts for "Ulala's Swingin' Report Show" (Reruns have unique features from the first airing) are also included. Note, the timing and locations of the secret inputs are exactly the same between the main (Lap 1) and rerun broadcasts (Lap 2).

The Hidden Inputs

[1~2] Return of Mexican Flyer It’s finally back, the last "Jan, Jan, Jaaaan!," featuring the fan-favorite second and third beat of "Mexican Flyer." After Report 2,"Mexican Flyer" took a long hiatus, but these "Jan, Jan" timings haven’t changed one bit! Let's go, all together now! "Jan, Jan, Jaaaan!"

Jan! Jan! Jaaan!

-

Groove Guru 157

Down Down Down Down Hey Hey Toyota

p. 163

[3] Ulalaaa! U! La! La! Purge the Great had overwhelming power in the confined space of Dance Dimension X. Ulala skillfully dodged the volley of beams, but even she couldn’t outmaneuver an all-out attack, and fell unconscious. However, Ulala came to her senses once she heard the rhythm of her friends calling to her in her mind. But, there was only three seconds left before the Ballistic Groove Gun fired! That would've be the end of the report! What was your quote, Ulala? That's right, it was "when have I ever lost at dancing! Get the secret input "pikoon" right after "lost!"

When have I ever lost [beat] at dancing!

[When Ulala's face pops up, that's the signal that she's ready to shout. The ratings are almost at 200%, rise up and give it your all!]

Flub the Final Finale and Face the Staff Roll Be careful not to miss the final "Chu! Chu! Chu!" mixed in with all the hype. A few mistake here and there before then is fine—reasonable, even—but the ending of the game changes if you flub here. This ending is a not-so-special shortened staff roll against a pitch-black screen, devoid of President Peace’s song. Needless to say, there's no group "March to the End of the Galaxy" either. And on top of all that, Purge won't perform his last hurrah (an input that can increase your ratings by one percent) at the end of the credits! So, if you screw up right at the end, you'll have to redo the entire report again, no matter what! Try again!

[Here’s the rundown on the failure ending; Mexican Flyer plays and the credits roll by super fast. The ratings? 149% at the most.]

[Now, the successful ending. We get to march to the ends of the galaxy and you get to hear the full lyrics of President Peace's soulful song. You get the complete credits roll, too.]

-

Groove Guru 157

Down Down Down Down Hey Hey Toyota

p. 164 Reference Material Direct Hit Interview with Pres. Peace, Post-incident

~Tachibana, interviewing Space President Peace~ Hey, Texas here. The following is an interview conducted by Tachibana of Channel 01. But really, I’m sneakin' this in 'cause Piney, who was with me during this, was being so adorable and hilarious while we moved through the crowd. After the battle with Purge was over, the press started surrounding President Peace, so the president had to walk with Pine leading the way.

Pine: Attention, all members of the press, Space President Peace is very tired at the moment. Reporters, please get out of the way immediately. Reporter 66: Mr. President, a word please… Pine: Please, move out of the way! Reporter 59: Mr. President, do you have any comments… Pine: Get out of the way! (The press still are pouring in) Pine: I said outta the way! Tachibana: Excuse me, Mr. President, may I have a word? Pine, who's heart skips a beat: Oh my gosh! It's Tachi, (Pine's nickname for him), my ideal man, so full of reason and intelligence aaaah!) Pine: Alright (ba-dump), Tachibana from Channel 01, you may approach. Tachibana: Mr. Peace, I hope you're in good health. Peace: Thank you, I'm as healthy as I can be. Tachibana: Could you comment on the recent disturbance? Peace: I believe I can disclose this now, since the case has been successfully and safely resolved… That being said, please, don't hate Purge too much. I don't think his goal to make the galaxy happy was overtly malicious. I think it was just… over the top? He meant well, but went about it the wrong way. Tachibana: I see, thank you very much. Reporter 21: Mr. President, may we have a comment? Pine: Shut up! Tachi is still talking! Reporter 21: Oh, my apologizes… wait, "Tachi"…? Pine: … (I'm done for, I wanna run away). Tachibana: I can ask the question for you, if that's alright? Pine: Ah, alright. (Angrily turns to Reporter 21) Since Mr. Tachibana also asked, I'll allow you to do so, too. But please, limit it to just one question. Reporter 21: Right. Mr. President, what do you make of Ulala? Peace: When I saw the live report of the "Morolian Incident" I was honestly so moved. The fact there are still youngsters who can deeply inspire others, it reminded me that how much good is still in the universe. Disregarding my presidential status, I cannot help by appreciate the fact she saved so many people, including myself, who were under the influence of dance beam. However, I'm not judging her solely as a reporter, but her nature as a person. That is all. Reporter 21: Thank you very much. Pine: Mr. Tachibana, would you like to ask one more question? Tachibana: Yes. Mr. President, what are your thoughts on the current security? Pine: (ba-dump) Peace: Even though I was abducted, I was saved and guided to safety by Miss Pine here, so I think she gets a passing grade. Aha ha ha ha ha! Now then, if you'll excuse me. (Pine shakes Tachibana's hand and slips him a piece of paper) Tachibana: … A phone number??? Pine: (Tachi…)

-

Groove Guru 159

Up Down Toyota

[[Translator’s note: I believe it’s implied that Pine’s internal dialogue is all Texas’s interpretation of her sister’s thoughts. Basically, she’s teasing her.]]

p. 165 Bonus

-

Groove Guru 160

Toyota Toyota Toyota

p. 166 Miss Ulala’s Changing Room

Costumes Cleaning isn’t in Miss Ulala’s repertoire, so the burden of tidying up the Changing Room always falls on us. She'll swear she’ll pitch-in but she never follows through. It’s kinda irritating. Most outfits are returned as soon as the report ends, but some aren’t collected until a few hours after. So, it’s not unusual for some to go missing during that gap. I wonder when we'll have them all again.

01: Channel 5 Retro Gear [Unlock Requirements] Unlocked from the start.

Newly-supplied company reporting fatigues. Made from ultra elastic material for easy movements.

02: Flower Costume [Unlock Requirements] Clear Report 2.

Aromatic Multi-Functional Suit. Regulates body temperature and humidity for extra pleasant reporting at all time.

-

Groove Guru 161

Toyota Toyota Hey

p. 167

03: Gogo Gear (w/o helmet)  [Unlock Requirements] Clear Report 3.

Designed to protect the human body from space dust at high speeds.

04: Gogo Gear (w/ helmet)  [Unlock Requirements] Clear Report 4.

Must have for any space-roaming citizen. The helmet can usually be stored in the back.

05: Spy Suit [Unlock Requirements] Clear Report 5.

Designed for infiltration. A special wire attached to the back allows the wearer to move like a spider.

06: Old Retro Gear [Unlock Requirements] Clear Report 6.

The company-issued suit Ulala used during the Morolian Invasion. It was in her closet.

p. 168

07: Old Retro Gear (Dirty) [Unlock Requirements] Clear Report 6 (Extra Mode).

Designed to protect the human body from space dust at high speeds.

08: Super Ulala Costume [Unlock Requirements] Clear Report 6.

A super costume that is an amalgamation of dance energy. Rumored to be just underwear.

09: School Uniform [Unlock Requirements] Clear 24 consecutive trials in Ulala's Dance Mode.

A modified version of a uniform from School M. Altered by Ulala herself.

10: China Dress [Unlock Requirements] Clear 100 consecutive trials in Ulala's Dance Mode.

Used for the undercover investigation of the Shanghai Restaurant.

p. 169

11: Woolen Wear [Unlock Requirements] Clear Report 1 with the Ratings at 100%

This was a suit that Ulala used to wear for her part-time job a while back.

12: Stealth Suit [Unlock Requirements] Have save data for Rez (PS2). Have save data for Rez (DC).

A super futuristic suit that apparently looks like a wire frame.

13: Pudding Costume [Unlock Requirements] Clear Report 2 with the Ratings at 100%

A costume of Pudding. You can also use it to imitate Padding, who is imitating Pudding.

14: Pine Costume [Unlock Requirements] Clear Report 3 with the Ratings at 100%

A costume of Pine, the Eastern Galaxy Space Police Chief. It can also be used to dress up as Texas, of the Western Galaxy Space Police.

-

Straight Up Filthy Groove Guru 164

Honda Honda Honda Honda

[thecabbagegirl]

Witchcraft smp drabble ft: Scott, Pris, El

"Look El, you know I only want the best for you, and I don't want to tell you what to do, but I really think it's dangerous for you to be around him! Don't you see he's evil?"

"Pris, I know you and he have... A rivalry? He torments you a fair bit? But he's nice to me .... mostly. He did lurk outside my house in the shape of a giant monster..."

"See!

"... But that's just Scott you know? And if he is truly as dangerous as you say, then I'm better off being on his good side! I appreciate you caring and trying to help but I've got nothing against Scott. He's playing by the rules..ish ..."

"Stop, stop, don't say his name again!"

"What? He's not a demon! Scott's not going to appear because we say his name three times! Are you alright Pris? You might be a bit high strung, maybe have a rest?"

A fell breeze swept through the clearing and both witches shivered, a brief shimmer caught the corner of El's eye (almost like someone invisible) and she twitched. Of course Scott wouldn't appear if you said his name three times. And he didn't have a spell that let him hear when people were talking about him. Pris was just caught up in thinking the worst. And Pris was talking again ...

"... and you know what they say about necromancers, they either want to own the world or destroy it. They want control! Over death, over life, over day, over night, over US!"

By this point El was rolling her eyes. "Pris! Stop it. Don't generalise. Besides you know there are two types of necromancers. Sure there are some who want to take over the world, but most just... Are fairly fine, they do their thing without hurting anyone sentient, so it's chill."

"What do you mean two types?"

"Those with hope, and those without it"

"Hope?"

"Look Pris, no-one becomes a necromancer because they're happy. They become necromancers to try and bring someone back."

"Back?"

" From the dead Pris!"

" But everyone knows that doesn't work! Dead is dead! There are billions of stories about people trying that and failing! Scott's not an idiot! He's smart enough to know..."

" Every necromancer is smart! They have to be to get as far as they do. But they're also all desperate! They've lost a mother, sibling, lover, heck even pet. They've lost so much they love they would fistfight gods to bring them home!

The two types of necromancer are this... Those with hope of succeeding in bringing a loved one back, and those who have lost hope! And the Evil necromancers from the stories? They are all the second type. Scott's the first.

So no, I don't think he's completely evil, and I'm not going to stop being friends with him. But Pris? Don't go up to him and tell him its impossible to bring whomever he lost back. If he torments you now, you don't want to know what he'd do if he lost hope. And as powerful as he is? I don't think any of us could survive it."

Pris was silent for the first time in quite a while, stunned by El's outburst.

"So now that we're done with that conversation" El continued, after a brief silence, "I'm off. I've got to figure out what to trade with Bertha, now berries are off the table. Bye Pris."

El flew off, and Pris returned sheepishly to her home also, leaving the clearing they were talking in empty, or, appearing empty.

A shimmer in the air, and a dark haired man faded into view, with a thoughtful look in his eye, and a smirk on his face; which would have been handsome, were it not pale as death.

He spoke to the empty clearing " what a time to be testing my bloody Mary spell, an interesting conversation to overhear".

He grinned and disappeared leaving his last sentence to dispell in the empty clearing.

"impossible to bring back the dead? Sweetie you ain't seen nothing yet!"

[campingwiththecharmings]

Never Have I Ever

AN: I started writing this back in July when I was having issues on another fic and I never finished it because I couldn't really figure out where it was going. I'm not 100% happy with it, ngl, but I really enjoyed writing the dialogue so I decided I'm posting it anyway lol. Hope someone else enjoys this! (Also, this is based on this prompt: "Had a sex dream about a close friend." I cannot seem to locate the post for it though, my apologies.)

(Un-beta'd)

Before you can talk yourself out of it, you grab one of the shots in front of you and down it, coughing a little as the alcohol burns down your throat. As you set the glass back on the table, you slowly meet your best friend’s gaze. He stares at you with slightly narrowed eyes, his lips parted as he absently tongues the inside of his cheek. “You’re messing with me.”

Rated: T Words: 4,567 (bruh) Pairing: Poe Dameron x GN!Reader Warnings: alcohol use, mild cursing, kissing, friends to lovers, possibly terrible writing. AO3

——————

You throw back a shot with a grimace and glance over at Poe who sits across the table, smirking at you over his own line of glasses.

“My turn again,” he says, his giddiness practically rolling off him in waves.

The cantina is busy tonight; Resistance personnel from a myriad of departments are taking the opportunity to unwind after a particularly grueling week. It’s loud, everyone practically screaming to be heard over the Corellian music playing from the jukebox by the bar.

You grumble and slump against the back of the booth you and Poe have chosen in the corner of the room. “This isn’t a fair game, Poe, you already know all of my secrets and now you’re using them against me.”

He chuckles and raises an eyebrow at you. “Yeah, and you know mine. So what’s the issue?”

“The issue,” you retort, glaring at him, “is you’re trying to get me drunk off my ass.”

He shrugs and laughs again, suddenly looking a little unsure. “Well, yeah, I kind of thought that was the point?”

“Then let me have a turn. I’m not getting drunk alone, that wasn’t the deal.”

Poe sighs dramatically and leans toward you a bit before whispering, “But it’s still my turn.”

You roll your eyes and sigh in resignation, motioning for him to get on with it.

He smiles and sits back against the back of his booth. He squints at you for a moment as if studying you and you send another glare his way.

“Alright, how about this one: Never have I ever had a sex dream about a friend.”

Your stomach drops as you return your gaze to his. He winks at you like he’s done you a favor and grabs one of the shots in front of him. He downs it in seconds, grimacing as he sets the glass back onto the table.

“Kriff, is that stuff terrible.”

You wait a beat, unsure whether you should take a drink. If you don’t, it’d be a lie but he’d never know…

But he’s your best friend, one of the most important people in your life and, despite everything, he’s always been there for you. So you had a sex dream about him? So what? It was a billion years ago and it was one time…

Before you can talk yourself out of it, you grab one of the shots in front of you and down it, coughing a little as the alcohol burns down your throat. As you set the glass back on the table, you slowly meet your best friend’s gaze.

He stares at you with slightly narrowed eyes, his lips parted as he absently tongues the inside of his cheek. “You’re messing with me.”

You bite your bottom lip and avert your gaze, suddenly very interested in the graffiti on the wall beside you.

…So interested that you don’t see or hear Poe get up from his side of the booth and move to yours. 

He all but falls into the booth beside you, making you jump. Your attention snaps back to him as he scoots closer to you, pushing you a little further into the booth.

“Alright,” he says, leaning in conspiratorially, “now you can give me all the details.”  

You snort a laugh and tilt your head to give him an incredulous look. “Maybe you’re drunker than I thought.”

“C’mon,” he says, a little defensively, “you know I won’t tell and it’s not like anyone can hear us back here.”

He’s looking at you like he can figure out what he wants to know if he stares at you long enough (or maybe just stares at you until you cave and tell him what he wants to know), but you only smile and raise your eyebrows in challenge.

After a minute of this, he realizes you aren’t budging and tries a new tactic.

“Alright, how about this,” he begins, pulling his leg up to rest on the bench so he’s facing you, “I guess, and if I guess right, you have to tell me.”

You chew on your lip, considering his proposal. “Okay fine, BUT, you get three guesses, and three guesses only, and if you don’t guess right, we never talk about this ever again.”

He beams and sticks his pinky out toward you. “Deal.” 

You chuckle and clasp his pinky with yours.

He laughs and sits back a bit, rubbing his hands together in delight as he considers his first guess.

“Okay,” he says, clearing his throat, “Snap?”

You scoff and shake your head, sipping at your glass of water. He frowns, considering his next guess more carefully.

“Wedge?” he says after a moment, eyebrow raising suggestively.

You laugh, spitting out some of the water you were in the process of swallowing. 

Poe snorts and hands you a napkin. “Guess that’s a no.”

You shake your head again as you wipe the water from your chin.

“No it is Wedge or no it isn’t?”

You glare at him half-heartedly and crumple the napkin into a ball. “I will punch that pretty face of yours, Dameron.”

You throw the crumpled napkin at him and he chuckles as it bounces off his nose and lands on the bench between you. 

“One guess left,” you taunt, raising a brow at him.

He sighs and runs a hand through his hair, biting his lip in consideration. “I’m honestly drawing a blank.”

“Come on,” you chuckle, “Just guess. You wanted to do this, Poe…”

“I know, I know…Alright fine, uh, I’ll just guess…me. There. We’re done, you win, we never have to talk about this ever again. Congrats.”

Your smile drops instantly at his words, face burning with embarrassment.

He guessed himself. Of course he guessed himself. 

You honestly should’ve seen this coming. Why did you agree to this? Now you’re gonna have to tell him and he’s going to tease you about it for the rest of your life—

Kriff.

Somewhere in the back of your mind, you register that he’s talking to you, though about what you have no idea. It takes him a moment to realize you’re not listening to him and he gazes at you with concern.

“Hey, is there a reason you’re flushed all of a sudden? Are you sick?” he asks, putting a hand to your forehead.

You jerk suddenly at the press of his hand, the coolness bringing you back to reality.

“Whoa, you okay? Maker, please don’t throw up on me,” he jokes, his eyes tinged with both amusement and concern.

You nod rapidly and briefly meet his eyes as you scoot as far away from him as you can get, pressing your back to the wall beside the booth. “Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I’m fine.”

His concern slowly morphs into suspicion as he takes note of your movement. “Why’d you move back? I smell bad or something?”

“Yeah, you smell like a herd of wild bantha,” you deadpan, wrinkling your nose at him.

(He actually smells pretty great, he always does, but you’re not about to tell him that.)

“Oh come on, I do not,” he scoffs, making a show of smelling himself. “If you really thought that, you would’ve said something ages ago.”

“Maybe I just didn’t realize how bad it was until you decided to invade my personal space.”

He shakes his head, suspicion returning. “Nah, that’s not it. It’s something else.”

You press your back against the wall behind you, doing your best to maintain eye contact with him as he stares at you again but, despite your efforts, you look away first.

“Come on, just talk to me.”

The pleading in his voice makes your heart ache just a little, but you ignore the feeling and cross your arms over your chest, looking anywhere but directly at him, hoping that he’ll just give up and move on.

But he doesn’t, because that’s just not what Poe Dameron does. And, honestly, it’s not what you do either.

Heaving a sigh, you reluctantly meet his gaze. His brown eyes are warm and soft, just like always, and you think you feel something in your chest crack because of it (whether it’s your heart or the cage you put around it, you’re not sure).

“Your last guess. It…wasn’t wrong.”

It takes him a moment to figure out what you mean, but you see it in his eyes the second he does.

“You…had a sex dream about me?” he asks blankly, still processing this information.

You cringe and bite your lip, nodding.

He’s silent for a moment, still apparently thinking (kriff, maybe he really was drunker than you’d thought).

Another moment and he’s meeting your gaze again, mirth back in his eyes and a teasing smile on his lips. “You had a sex dream about me?” 

Mildly relieved, you roll your eyes and scoff at him.

“Well, I can’t really say that I blame you, I mean, I am pretty irresistible.”

You snort, shaking your head at him. “You’re so modest.”

“It’s ‘cause I’m so hot, isn’t it?” he continues, his voice lowering an octave as he slides closer and cages you against the wall of the booth with his body, his leg pressing against yours.

Suddenly a little nervous, you huff a laugh and put a hand on his chest to stop him from ending up in your lap, trying to ignore the solid warmth you can feel through his shirt. “Actually, and I cannot stress this enough, I find you utterly repulsive.”

He pretends to consider your words for a moment before shaking his head. “Nah, I don’t buy it. You did just call me pretty a few minutes ago. Plus, you’re always going on about how soft my hair is and how nice my eyes are and how my jaw could cut transparisteel–”

“I have definitely never said any of those things, most especially that last one,” you counter, eyebrows raised in mock indignation.

“Well,” he says nonchalantly, shrugging as he averts his eyes to pick at a loose thread on his jacket. “There must be something you like if you’re having sexy dreams about me every night.”

You scoff, embarrassed again, and push his shoulder. “Uh, it was one time, thank you. And no, there’s absolutely nothing I like about you. I actually hate you and I’ve just never had the heart to tell you the truth.”

He hums knowingly, a small smile on his lips as he meets your eyes once more. “Guess what, Sunshine? It’s my turn again.”

You groan, slumping against the wall at your back. “Come on, when do I get to go?”

“When you don’t take a shot, that’s when.”

“And yet you take one almost every other time you make me take one. How does that work?” 

He waves your argument off, shaking his head. “I’m the one asking, it doesn’t count.”

You scoff, twisting your lips in irritation before suddenly narrowing your gaze. “You took a shot on that last one, too.”

He shrugs, chuckling as he raises an eyebrow at you. “And?”

A smile starts to spread across your lips. “That means you’ve had a sex dream about one of your friends too.”

He tenses almost imperceptibly but you’re watching him so closely you notice. He shrugs again, some of the humor leaving his eyes. “So?”

“So,” you respond, dragging out the ‘o’ as you lean into his personal space, his face inches from yours. “Who is it?”

He swallows, studying you quietly with something unreadable in his eyes. “Trust me, you don’t wanna know.”

You continue to silently stare at each other for another moment, realizing too late how close you actually are. Chewing your lip absently, your stomach flips when you see his gaze briefly drop to your mouth. 

In an effort to create some much-needed distance, you slump a little in your seat and pout at him, employing your best puppy eyes. “But I told you mine.”

The strange moment passes as he bites back a smile and pats the top of your head tauntingly. “Aw, you’re adorable. Want me to scratch behind your ears, Sweetheart?”

You bat his hand away with a half-hearted glare and he chuckles. 

“Hey, guys.”

The familiar voice makes the two of you turn toward the end of the table where you see Jess and Connix.

“Hey, I thought you two were on the night shift?” Poe asks, smiling warmly at them.

“Got off early. Well, I did,” Connix says before gesturing to Jess, “She’s still on-call.”

You nod, turning yourself back toward the table to face your friends as Poe does the same. He doesn’t move back over though, so when he settles on the bench, his arm and thigh are pressed against yours.

He never did have any concept of personal space.

“So, what are you two playing?” Jess asks, sliding into the booth across the table and gesturing the line of shots.

“Never Have I Ever,” Poe says, shooting you a mischievous look, “I’m getting all the deep, dark secrets out of this one.”

You roll your eyes affectionately and snort, trying to ignore how warm he is beside you. “Right, because you didn’t already know about that time I threw up on General Ematt.”

Jess chuckles, grabbing one of the shots as Connix slides into the booth beside her.

“Hey, come on, Pava, those aren’t for spectators,” Poe scolds, making a face as he tries (unsuccessfully) to grab the glass from her. “Besides, you shouldn’t be drinking anyway if you’re on-call.”

She shrugs idly, setting the empty glass back down onto the table top. “It takes a helluva lot more than one shot to compromise me, Dameron.”

“Okay fine, but no more. I’m cutting you off,” he concedes, his hand making a slashing motion through the air.

She chuckles, pouring water from the pitcher into her empty shot glass. “Yes, sir, Commander.”

“What about you, Connix? You want in on the game?” you ask, resting your elbows on the table.

“Sure, why not?” she says with a shrug, “Who’s turn is it?”

“Technically it’s his,” you complain, scowling at Poe. “But I’m sure he’d happily forfeit it if one of you wants to have a go.”

He frowns, raising an eyebrow at you, before gesturing with his hands. “By all means.”

“I’ve got one,” Jess says, shooting a knowing look at the man beside you, “Never have I ever gone commando beneath my flight suit.”

You snort, biting your lip to stifle a giggle as Poe scowls in Jess’s direction.

“Are you ever gonna stop bringing that up, Pava? It was one time,” he complains, downing a shot.

“Nope. I still have nightmares about seeing your naked ass.” Jess jokes, smirking at him from across the table.

He rolls his eyes, ignoring Connix’s laughter as he sets the glass back down on the table. “Please. If it was such a traumatic experience for you, you wouldn’t constantly bring it up.”

Jess heaves an exaggerated sigh, resting her chin in her hand. “I will know no peace until all have suffered as I did that day.”

You snort again and Poe raises an unamused eyebrow at you before turning back to Jess. “Can we move on, please?” 

“Sure, Dameron. Sure.”

The game continues for several more rounds, and everyone gets the chance to ask questions, including you. The longer you play, the more buzzed you become. You’re warm and your head feels fuzzy. Suddenly tired, you let your head fall to Poe’s shoulder, snuggling into the soft leather of his jacket.

When you close your eyes (just for a second), you hear someone at the table chuckle (Jess, you think). “Uh oh, looks like we’re losing this one.”

You feel Poe shift slightly as he (presumably) moves to look at you and you whine in protest, burrowing further into his side.

“Looks like it,” you hear Poe say, his voice slightly muffled with your ear pressed against him. “Come on, Sunshine. Time to go.”

You make it back to your room without any issues (save for your repeated attempts to fall asleep on his shoulder while upright and moving). Poe gets you inside and sits you down on the side of your bed.

“Stay.”

You frown and roll your eyes petulantly. “I’m not a Massiff, Dameron.”

“I know,” he says, disappearing briefly into your fresher and reappearing with a glass of water in his hand. “Massiffs are much better listeners.” 

You scoff, gesturing rudely at him and making him laugh.

“Drink this,” he says, pressing the glass of water into your hand.

“So bossy,” you grumble, taking a few sips.

“Yeah well, they don’t call me ‘Commander’ for nothing.”

You snort a laugh (because everything is funny to you when you’re like this). “Well, Commander, thanks for flying me home safely.”

He smiles at you and takes your glass, setting it on the table beside your bed. “Anytime, Sunshine. Now, time for bed.”

“Yes, Sir, Captain Tightpants. No, wait—Commander Tightpants.”

He shakes his head as he kneels to help you untie your boots. “You leave my pants out of this.”

You hold onto his shoulder as he tugs your boots off, setting them side-by-side near the foot of your bed.

“You okay to sleep in that?” he asks, gesturing to the shirt and pair of cargo pants you’d worn to the cantina. 

You look down at yourself, then back at him, and shrug. 

"Okay," he chuckles, ruffling your hair. "Need anything before I go? A snack? Another blanket, maybe?”

Your face falls at his words and you grab onto his jacket as he goes to stand. “What? No, you can’t leave.”

“It’s late and we both need to sleep,” he says matter-of-factly, trying to reason with you despite your current state. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You could sleep here, you know. Help make my dream a reality,” you say, waggling your eyebrows and jokingly running a hand down his arm.

“I’m not so sure I can live up to dream me,” he chuckles, patting your hand.

“How will you know for sure if you never try?” you ask softly, looking at him from beneath your lashes.

His humor fades slowly as he studies you, and Maker, he’s so close and warm and smells so good and suddenly you wonder if he tastes as good as he smells…

You sigh at the thought, swaying forward a little, your eyes falling to his lips—

Something stops your forward trajectory and you look down, confused, before you realize it’s just Poe’s hand on your shoulder.

“Uh uh,” he says softly.

“Why not?” you whine, pouting dramatically. 

“You’re drunk, Sweetheart,” he responds, some of the humor returning to his eyes. 

“Only a little bit.”

He chuckles. “I’m not kissing you when you’re drunk.”

“So you’d kiss me if I wasn’t?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“That’s not a ‘no.’”

He snorts, shaking his head. “You’re a pain, you know that?”

You smile sleepily, gaze half-lidded. “Yeah, but you love me.”

His smile is fond as he gazes at you, that unreadable something from earlier back in his eyes. 

“Okay, enough,” he says after a moment, his voice somehow both soft and firm. “Sleep.”

“Only if you stay,” you argue, stubborn as always.

He hesitates, gazing at you with searching eyes before heaving a resigned sigh.

“Fine. Move over, Sunshine.”

You do as instructed, grumbling about him being bossy again under your breath. He chuckles, toeing off his boots and settling himself onto your small bed. You press yourself into his side immediately, your head finding a place on his shoulder. A contented sigh escapes you as his warmth seeps into you, his familiar scent lulling you into blissful unconsciousness.

—

You whine a little when you wake; your head is pounding, mouth as dry as the sands of Tatooine. At the noise, something constricts around your middle and you freeze, opening your eyes in panic and immediately flinching at the light streaming in through the small windows. You squint as your eyes adjust, briefly taking in the space around you before turning your attention to the person-shaped mass beside (and sort of beneath) you.

Poe.

You sigh in relief, sniffing a laugh at yourself as you study him from your spot on his shoulder. He looks peaceful, at ease, more so than you’ve seen in ages. The crease between his brows is gone, his mouth is a little slack, and it occurs to you suddenly that, despite the jokes and the teasing, he really is beautiful.

A face sculpted by the gods, you think wistfully, resisting the urge to trace his jaw with your fingers.

His eyelids twitch as you gaze at him, shaking you from your reverie. 

You flush, a little embarrassed by your thoughts as you turn away, looking instead for a way to escape his hold without waking him. His legs are tangled up with yours and the arm around your middle has you pressed flush against his left side.

You’re not sure why you’re feeling so nervous about this, about waking up with Poe. It’s not like it’s the first time it’s happened, you can think of at least three other instances off the top of your head. 

So why does this time feel so different?

Your memories of last night are a little hazy, but you’re convinced something happened. You wrack your brain, willing it to conjure any memory from the night before that could shed some light on what you’re feeling but…there’s nothing. 

Deciding that there’s not really much you can do about it before he wakes, you resign yourself to your current fate (and maybe let yourself enjoy the moment a little more than you probably should).

Less than an hour later, he stirs, stretching a little as you sit up enough to meet his eyes.

“Morning,” he rasps, smiling lazily at you with half-lidded eyes.

“Hey,” you respond, a shy smile on your lips.

He narrows his gaze at your tone, raising a questioning eyebrow at you. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” you say, a little too quickly.

His gaze searches yours a moment longer, and you’re sure he knows, knows something is off, that something is different.

But instead he seems to brush it off, an amused smile forming on his lips as he lifts a hand to gesture at your face. “You’ve got—”

“What?” you ask, your own hand immediately coming up to your face.

“Drool. You’ve got drool,” he says, chuckling as his hand cups your cheek, thumb swiping gently at the corner of your mouth.

Your breath catches at the touch, your gaze briefly flicking from his eyes down to his lips. His smile falters a little at the action and your stomach plummets.

“Thanks,” you croak, forcing a smile to your lips.

He studies you with an unreadable expression, his hand still cupping your cheek.

You should be terrified, should be afraid you’ve ruined the best relationship in your life, but somehow all you can think about is how much you want to kiss him.

Him. Poe. Your best friend.

When did this happen? How could this happen?

“Hey,” he says finally, his soft voice shaking you from your spiraling thoughts, “can I try something?”

He seems strangely nervous. Normally, this would intrigue you, but right now all it’s doing is adding to your own anxiety.

You nod in response, not trusting that your voice won’t give you away.

His throat bobs a little and he shifts, moving as if he’s going to sit up. The hand on your cheek tilts your face up slightly, but you don’t really realize why until his mouth is inches from yours. You inhale sharply in surprise and he halts, eyes meeting yours.

“Tell me to stop,” he whispers, his nose bumping against yours as he hovers, waiting. Waiting for you to give him the okay, to tell him this is what you want, that he’s what you want.

You gaze at him, mouth opening and closing wordlessly as you briefly wonder how you got here. But you must wait too long to respond because suddenly there’s an uncertain look in his eyes, and he’s looking away, pulling away—

Without another thought, you reach for him, fisting your hand in his collar and pulling his mouth to yours.

His lips are warm and dry and, at first, they move hesitantly against yours. But then he sighs, pulling you on top of him using the arm still wrapped around your middle. He rolls you over so he’s above you and you gasp against his mouth. He takes advantage of your reaction by slipping his tongue between your lips, the wet slide of his tongue against yours sending a shiver through you. He hums, kissing you harder. 

Eventually, the need for oxygen forces you to break apart, much to the dismay of you both. You press your forehead to his as you try to catch your breath, your fingers playing with one of the buttons on his shirt.

“You okay?” he pants, his thumb idly stroking your cheek.

You chuckle, shooting him an incredulous look. “I’d say so.”

His smile makes your stomach flip. “Glad to have another satisfied customer.”

You scoff and he chuckles, looking at you with the same fondness he always has, and you want to ask him how long he’s wanted this, wanted you. 

“So, uh, what happens now?” you ask instead, suddenly nervous.

“Well,” he begins, averting his gaze almost shyly. “We should probably go on a date or something.”

You bite back a smile, nodding in agreement. “We could do that.”

He smiles again, a glint in his eyes when he meets yours again. “There’s something you should probably know first though.”

“Oh?” you ask, breath catching as he leans in to press a kiss to the side of your neck.

He hums, pressing another to your jaw, smiling when your throat bobs. 

“It was you,” he says softly, kissing the corner of your mouth.

It takes you a moment to register what he said and, when you do, your brow furrows. “What was me?”

He smiles again, lightly kissing your cheek. “In my dream.”

When you realize what he means, you laugh, burying your face in his neck. 

He huffs a laugh, shaking his head. “Okay, sure, laugh it up.”

“I’m sorry but,” you giggle, pulling back to meet his eyes again. “You had a sex dream about me.”

He nods, a little heat entering his gaze. “There’ve been a few, actually.” 

You flush a little, chewing your bottom lip as your giggles subside somewhat. “Yeah?”

He hums in confirmation, nudging your nose with his as he leans in, mouth hovering over yours again. "We'll have to compare notes sometime."

After a beat, you snort, covering your mouth as you laugh again. "Is that a line, Poe? I feel like that’s a line. Has that one actually worked for you before?"

He scoffs, the tips of his ears turning pink. "You know, you're kind of killing the mood here, Sunshine."

You bite your lip, still chuckling. "Yeah well, someone has to keep you grounded, Flyboy."

He grunts, smiling as he leans in, claiming your lips again in a slow, heated kiss. You sigh in contentment, heart fluttering as you thread your fingers through his curls; this…you could get used to this.

Review (pretty please)?

🌟 Masterlist 🌟

i am no longer doing a taglist. please follow @charmingupdates for updates and turn on notifications.

[macsimagines]

I'd like to request Souya, Hanma, and Shion handling their partner giving them the silent treatment, like they've been ignored for a few days at this point.

OOOOOO I hate the silent treatment.

Yandere!Souya

Angry? More like sad-baby. You won't talk to him ever since he and his brother went out all night and he hadn't bothered to even text you.

He didn't think you'd be mad! He said sorry a billion times... He's gonna cry if you don't tell him you love him soon.

Everything he says or does is met with an indifferent grunt from you. Finally breaks down. "Why won't you talk to me!? What do I need to do? I can't take it anymore, honey please!"

Finally you look at him and tell him. "I'm not allowed to go hang out with my friends past 8, but you get to go out all night? Screw you, Souya."

That makes something in him snap. He doesn't hit you. Never would lay a finger on you. But he's throwing items and breaking glass all around the house.

When everything is said and done, he looks down to see you shaking in fear on the floor. Without thinking he embraces you. "Sorry, baby I'm so sorry."

Yandere!Hanma

Dosen't care at first and ignores you right back. He didn't do anything wrong. You were acting like a bitch and he told you as much. Ok so you didn't like it when he called you that but if the shoe fits!

Weeks goes by though. And finally he shows up at your place ready to forgive your bullshit but then he opens the door to find. Some other fucking guy.

"What the hell is this, Y/N?" He asks his voice low and dangerous, "None of your business Hanma. Now leave." You spit ready to throw him out.

But he doesn't budge just looks at you with something in his eyes that you don't recognize. "I don't let you throw a fucking fit and you think you can cheat on me?"

Oh? Fuck that. He called you a bitch you'll show him a bitch. "You don't get to cuss me out in front of all your douchey friends, not apologize or talk to me and then still think we're dating! FUCK YOU. I'm moving on and I want you gone!"

Wrong answer. Good for you growing a pair, too bad it's gonna cost this other guy a few broken bones. And when Hanma is done with him he turns to you, Grabbing you by your hair and dragging you out of the apartment. Looks like someone neeeds a reminder of what happens to people who cross him.

Yandere!Shion

Didn't know you ignoring him. Didn't really care either. It had been a month since you hit him up. Usually you're up his ass. Finds you with some douchebag at a cafe and loses his shit.

Makes a total scene. Flipping the table and throwing the guy around like a rag doll. Grabbing you by the forearm and dragging you back to his place.

"The fuck was that huh!?" he screams tossing you onto the bed. "You just up and cheat whenever you get bored, bitch? IS THAT IT!?"

You're in tears, shoving him away trying to crawl further up his mattress to get some distance. "You're the one that got bored! I was the only one ever trying! I thought you'd at least reach out to me but you never did! You didn't want me!"

He thinks about it. Ok so maybe he wasn't the best boyfriend. He didn't know how to be a good one alright? But he'll learn. Eerily gets calm.

"Ok. I get it. I need to try harder." Congratulations. You could never get the guy to give you attention now you'll never get him to leave you alone....

[vintagexherry]

New idea, probably a bad one (1)

IronMan!Nathan Bateman x Reader

//Iron Man AU,None, not proof read

A/N: that was hell of a writer's block and this is all I came up with?

□■□■

Nathan Bateman are many things.

Rich (ridiculously so)

Philosophical (in his own way)

Smart (even if his head seems to lose a few screws)

And last but not least.

Stubborn.

Ridiculously so.

"I am employed to assist your technological work, not babysit you." You said, trying hard to bite back a groan as you grip your tablet in one hand and clench a fist on the other.

The bright, flourescent lights of the man's workshop give you a throbbing headache, and you can't help but wish you didn't take up the promotion offer.

Speaking of the man...

Nathan spins his chair to face you, his eyes carrying bags that make him look like he needs a vacation (which you offered and didn't work), yet his body is up and going working on a new piece of tech as if his previous one didn't try to kill him.

"Well.... Shouldn't have taken that promotion offer." He scoffs and spins back to continue twisting and turning his screwdriver.

And you hold back to throwing your tablet at the back of his head.

One year ago, you worked under BlueBook company as a simple IT specialist. That was until you got called to suddenly work with as an supporting assistant to Nathan Bateman himself. The CEO, The Boss.

And the man who almost got killed.

You remember seeing it the news. Nathan Bateman and his Turing test winner, Caleb. Found injured at his isolated mansion.

Stabbed and the other one traumatized.

Not much was revealed in the news, and it left billions of people questioning what could have stabbed Nathan and what is Caleb ranting about a female robot killer.

As Nathan heals up in the hospital, the police tried to investigate his house but alas, couldn't get far due to security measures and those goddamn card you have to scan for every room you need to get in.

Months after that, Nathan healed up, Caleb is in therapy, and you are promoted to be his little assistant.

Were you excited?

Maybe

Did you get suspicious once the job offer also need you to sign an NDA?

Maybe.

You tried not to question it. All eyes are still on Nathan after the incident, and an NDA is the least they could do to protect him from the public.

But you could at least get a warning that your new boss is a asshole.

"Yeah I went through your work, your smart, I need that."

He said as he unwraps his boxing wraps and drinks water as he stares you down.

"Oh uh... Thanks sir...?"

"Nuh uh, none of that. Just Nathan."

"Alright... Nathan..."

Working with him wasn't the easiest at first, especially since he's still recovering both mentally and physically. But your determined to make this job at least worth while.

There were hiccups along the way but you swallowed it down like a champ and went along with it.

Little by little, working with Nathan got easier.

yet still a fucking headache

"When your done complaining, get me a coffee."

"No"

He spins his chair again.

"No?"

"No."

Nathan stares at you for awhile.

Then sighs.

"If this is about my bedtime, I didn't hire a nanny"

"Exactly, yet what Im doing could be similar to that right now."

Before he could snark back, you cut him off.

"It's five in the morning and your running on caffeine and tweaking that blue thing."

"It-"

"I know, I know. The Arc Reactor....But Nathan... Your body is still healing and you need to focus on that right now before making a new one."

"You don't get it. That shit is out there parading as a human and who knows, manipulating and killing the shit out of others."

Ah yes.

That 'shit'

After several months working under him, he finally revealed things to you in one drunken night.

The next morning, you talked to him about it, and he visibly winced. You assure him that you won't tell a soul (under NDA and your own willingness) about the things he had said and offered help. His slightly relaxed but agreed.

But right now, he's being the most uncooperative little shit right now.

"Yes. Ava is out, doing god knows what god knows who, but I've been monitoring every news outlet right there and even went far to check any suspicious airplane passenger to see if she went out of the country. Im doing my part to help you, so god help me you atleast go to sleep!" You huff as you raise your voice a bit.

Nathan stares at you, visibly contemplating if he should listen to you or not.

Yes, you do your part to help

but that little Ava shit is still out there.

He should rename her to little shit.

You stare back at Nathan, watching his facial features change bit to bit.

"Fine." After a few moments, he finally spoke. "You owe me."

"Yea, yea, I'll get you your favourite whiskey for dinner." You said, trying to hold back a smile as you watch him drop his tools and stand up and walk past you to the elevator.

As you watch him get it, you let out a sigh.

Finally he listened.

You turn back to his work table, seeing the Arc Reactor laying down on the table. You remember the happiness both you Nathan felt after figuring the perfect material to build that thing for.

You look around the workshop and see several part of metal, some look like an arm and some a leg.

You can't help but feel fond about the moments the both of you went through to get this much progress.

You sighed once more and turned around to close the lights and head to the elevator.

The both of you procured old and new ideas together, even if their bad.

------

A/N: yea im back might make part 2

[fullstcp]

"Golden Hour" by Kacey Musgraves Sentence Starters

SLOW BURN

"I'm alright with a slow burn."

"I'm gonna do it my way, it'll be alright."

"You know the bar down the street don't close for an hour."

"We should take a walk and look at all the flowers."

"I know a few things, but I still got a lot to learn."

LONELY WEEKEND

"It's a lonely feeling without you."

"Guess everybody else is out tonight."

"Guess I'm hanging by myself, but I don't mind."

"I got a million things to do, but I haven't done a single one."

"There's a little part of me that's got the fear of missing out."

"Even if you got somebody on your mind it's alright to be alone sometimes."

BUTTERFLIES

"Out of the blue I fell for you."

"Cloud Nine was always out of reach."

"Now, I remember what it feels like to fly."

"You give me butterflies."

"I was hiding in doubt 'til you brought me out of my chrysalis."

OH, WHAT A WORLD

"Oh, what a world, I don't wanna leave."

"There's all kinds of magic; it's hard to believe."

"How we all got here, nobody knows."

"These are real things."

"Did I know you once in another life?"

"Are we here just once or a billion times?"

"Well, I wish I knew, but it doesn't matter."

"You're here right now, and I know what I feel."

"Tell me it's not too good to be true."

"Oh, what a world, and then there's you."

MOTHER

"I'm feeling everything."

"Hope my tears don't freak you out."

"Wish we didn't live so far from each other."

"I'm just sitting here thinking about the time that's slipping."

LOVE IS A WILD THING

"If you try to hide it, it's gonna shine even more."

"Even if you lose it, it will find you."

"There's no way to stop it, but they'll try to."

"Love is a wild thing."

"Even if you lose me, I will find you."

"There's no way to stop it, so don't try to."

SPACE COWBOY

"You can have your space, cowboy."

"I ain't gonna fence you in."

"Guess I'll see you around again."

"I know my place, and it ain't with you."

"Well sunsets fade, and love does, too."

"We had our day in the sun."

"After the gold rush, there ain't no reason to stay."

"Roads weren't made to not go down."

"There ain't room for both of us in this town."

HAPPY & SAD

"It's not you, it's the glow of the party."

"I'm the kind of person who starts getting kinda nervous when I'm having the time of my life."

"Is there a word for the way that I'm feeling tonight?"

"You got me smiling with tears in my eyes."

"I've never been this far off the ground."

"They say everything that goes up must come down, but I don't wanna come down."

VELVET ELVIS

"All I ever wanted was something classic."

"All I ever wanted was a little magic."

"I wanna show you off every evening."

"I knew it as soon as I felt it."

WONDER WOMAN

"I like where this is going."

"We rarely never ever don't see eye to eye."

"I can show you strong, I can fight for you."

"I can move mountains if you want me to."

"Baby, I ain't Wonder Woman."

"I don't know how to lasso the love out of you."

"Don't you know I'm only human?"

"If I let you down, I don't mean to."

"I wonder if it's scary always trying not to get hurt."

"I know how it feels, it ain't easy."

"There's a reason why you only see it in the movies."

HIGH HORSE

"You're classic in the wrong way."

"We all know the end of the story."

"Everyone knows someone who kills the buzz."

"I bet you think you're first place."

GOLDEN HOUR

"All that I know is you caught me at the right time."

"I'm having such a good time."

"You're my golden hour."

"You've set my world on fire."

"I know everything's gonna be alright."

"I love the light I've found in you."

"You make the world look beautiful."

RAINBOW

"There's always been a rainbow hanging over your head."

"Everything is alright now."

[clumsiestgiantess]

Chapter 21 of The Other-world Universe; is promising to save an entire city of people from an apocalypse the smartest thing to do? No. Is it the right thing? Hopefully.

all chapters listed here

[Calm Before the Storm]

I woke up the next day with the immense relief that I had not rolled over in my sleep.  Yet when I yawned, I didn’t feel Erica's form shift on top of me.  My head shot upright in a mini panic attack as I searched for her, trying to make as little movement as possible.  I was a few seconds away from fully sitting up before I finally found her.  

Erica had — either intentionally or subconsciously in sleep — managed to slip her way into my bra, and was sleeping soundly in the center of my chest.  Bewilderment and relief flooded through me so suddenly, I nearly laughed aloud at the sight.  Heat already began seeping across my cheeks as I watched her snuggle against me.  I was slightly suspicious that this might have been her plan all along, but it was entirely possible that it was a mistake.  After all, she had no blanket, and her spot tucked between fabric and my skin had to be rather cozy.  I have to admit, I don't blame her for sleeping there.

For a while I lay in the field trying to get control over my furious blush, but soon I felt Erica stirring on my chest.  I quickly shut my eyes, pretending to have been asleep.  Obviously, I couldn't see her reaction, but I could feel her flinch slightly once she awoke.  There was a split second of confused crawling around before she gasped; the audible shock behind its sound convinced me that she had in fact not planned for this.

"Holy shit!" I heard her whisper faintly, "How the hell did I get here?"  I bit my lip, desperately trying to keep myself from smiling at her reaction.  Thankfully, I hid my bemusement quickly.  Erica slowly crawled out from the top of my bra, trying her best not to wake me.  As quickly as she dared, she clambered down my side to the ground below.  The echoes of her faint touch still danced across my skin long after she'd stepped away.

When I was certain she had moved further from me, I pretended to wake up.  Erica was sitting on my cast-off clothing when I opened my eyes, no doubt pretending that was where she'd slept.  "Good morning," I addressed her with another yawn, "Did you sleep well on my shirt?"  Even with the slight distance between us, I could see the massive amount of guilt written over every one of her features.  To hide this, Erica busied herself by looking for the top half of her own clothes, which had been tossed off into the darkness the night before.  "Uhh, yeah!  I enjoyed spending the night with you."  Even her voice sounded slightly off-pitch with embarrassment.

"Something wrong?" I asked her.  "No!  Nothing's wrong; I just.. I can't find my stuff."  "Mhm, sure."  My mocking tone gave everything away.  She turned to look up at me, eyes wide.  "You woke up before me, didn't you?" she accused, a bit shaken.  "I may have," I replied, sliding closer to her.  "I.. That was an accident, I swear.  I wouldn't have done that unless you were awake.  You know, in case you disagreed."  "Well.. I don’t think I am disagreeing with it."

For once, Erica became a blushing mess instead of myself.  She collected her things from the ground with flushed cheeks and an embarrassed smile, pressing them to her chest.  We had breakfast together, and Erica promised to come sleep with me at least once every week.  "To keep you company out here," she clarified, "Not because of, you know, anything that happened last night."  “Really?” I mocked a shocked expression, “That’s not the reason?”  Erica rolled her eyes, “Alright, that’s part of the reason.  It’s like.. a billion times more exhilarating making out with someone who’s building-sized.”

With a bemused chuckle, I finished my meal.  "Let's go see what everyone else is up to today, shall we?" I asked after we'd readied ourselves for the day.  "I'm supposed to be guarding the town, but lately I feel like I've just been slacking off."  "Alright," Erica agreed, "I'll go bother Ivan, then."  I smiled, shaking my head slightly.  Ivan is, to say the least, almost the opposite of Erica personality-wise.  I can easily imagine the havoc she undoubtedly thrusts upon him in the Cavern Town.  Usually, I was around to deal with her charisma myself, but I guess he'd been having to deal with it for the past few days that I’d been away.  

I held out my hand for Erica to climb on.  It was an unspoken rule that she would ride on my shoulder whenever we traveled together.  She stretched tiredly across its length before sitting up sideways, her back tucked against my neck.  With her settled in, I started off towards the town.  I couldn’t help but sneak a glance at her every so often.  Erica always seemed the most comfortable perched on my shoulder.  Half of me thinks it’s adorable, but my more reasonable half always reminds me of the times she nearly fell off.  Despite this, the former part of me always wins in the end, and I let her stay.

Reaching the valley of the Cavern Town, I checked in with the guards before anything else.  However, they were nowhere to be found.  Erica and I exchanged puzzled glances as I bent closer to one of the wooden structures.  Multiple large guns greeted me in response.

I flinched harshly, feeling Erica’s grip tighten on me as she was thrown backwards.  After a few tenuous seconds, someone recognized me.  “Get down!” a guard whisper-yelled at me, “There were giants spotted on the horizon to the west!”  My nerves spiked instantly and I dropped onto the valley floor.  If the scientists come back now, I might not be able to fight them off!  Sure, I have my new weapon, but I barely had time to practice with it yesterday.  I haven’t even put up a barrier around the town, either.  What if they attack it again?!

Worst-case-scenarios drifted through my head while I pressed myself to one of the mountains behind me.  They're here for the other-world people, not me.  I tried unsuccessfully to calm myself down, but I knew that wasn’t true.  In fact, they might've come back specifically because of me.  After all, I'd killed a few of them in my rage the last time we'd clashed.  

What if the scientists came to kill me?  I don't think I can fight any more than five of them at a time.  And I only managed to do that because I'd caught them off-guard.  What if they lock me away like everyone else — an oddity from a world that isn’t there?

Suddenly, I was startled from my thoughts by a whisper to my side.  "You're alright; it's ok,"  Erica comforted me, carefully laying a hand on my neck.  "The hazmat giants aren't here.  Just- Just calm down.. you're shaking."  I am?  I am.  I hadn't even realized that my shot nerves were vibrating my body with fear-induced adrenaline.  Try as I might, I couldn't get myself to stop.  My heartbeat pounded in my ears, and I was almost pulled into another downward spiral of worries.  Thankfully, Erica snapped me back out of it.  She tapped my shoulder lightly and I turned to see her.  With one small gesture, she slid into my awaiting palms.

I tried in vain to stop myself from shaking as I slowly brought her in front of me.  Despite that, Erica still wobbled in my cupped hands as she stood, reaching out to gently grip my face for balance.  Once she steadied herself, she stood directly in front of my vision.  "Focus on me, alright?"  My head was brought closer to herself.  "You'll be ok.  Just focus on me."  I listened raptly, trying to match my erratic breathing to her calmer breaths.  Her chest grazed my fingertips with every inhale as she leaned over them.  Erica’s concerned expression filled my view while she tried to take my focus off the possibly vengeful scientists.

Is this how Erica sees me? I wondered, watching her concerned expression inch ever-closer to my eyes.  Do I take up her vision like this when I get close?  It was strangely comforting now, but I could certainly see how overwhelming I would’ve been to her before we got to know one another.

I kept my gaze on her, though she only really fit into my view one eye at a time. Before long, a guard from the structure opposite us gave the all-clear.  I stood up with Erica grasped lightly in my clutches, gazing out at the horizon beyond the mountains around me.  “Where’d they go?” I wondered aloud.  “Must’ve been on the hunt for a different town,” Erica noted, “They know better than to mess with this one, thanks to you.”  I smiled down at her thankfully.  She met my gaze with such tenderness I nearly went in for a kiss before remembering where we were and deciding otherwise.

Together we made it the rest of the way to the cavern, where a small crowd had gathered outside.  I recognized Ivan immediately; he stood at the front, nervously shifting from foot to foot.  He flagged me down, but two vaguely familiar people stepped in the way before I could get to him.

Erica quietly explained from her spot in my hands that they were the co-founders of the Cavern Town: Isabel Ashford and Marcus Stoll.  She’d met them briefly when she’d been ‘kidnapped’ from the cliffside.  These were the same two people who’d negotiated the protection deal.  I knelt in front of them, letting Erica off shortly afterwards.  “Defender,” the kinder one, Ms. Ashford, addressed me as I settled cross-legged on the ground.  'Defender' is my nickname amongst some of the people living there; many of the guards called me by it.  

“The giants could have attacked us earlier, and you would not have been here to do your job.  The one thing we asked of you is that you protect our city as amends for destroying it.”  I nodded my head solemnly, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to protect you.  I have no excuse.”  Silently, I shifted to feel the smooth crystalline structure embedded in my neck.  “However,” I continued, remembering why I’d wanted to return to the Cavern Town, “I might have a solution.  At least, I hope I do.”

With a slight flourish, I slid my gun out from behind me.  A murmur rose from the group of people gathered outside.  “I made and tested this yesterday.  Working properly, it’ll be able to create a protective barrier over your whole town.”  The shorter gruffer one, Mr. Stoll, was ready with multiple questions: How strong is the barrier?  What is it made of?  How deep does it go?  Would people be able to leave once it was put up?  Would they be able to breathe inside it?  Will I continue to stay in the valley after I've set it up?  All good questions; I answered every last concern until the two leaders reconvened and headed back towards the town to debate my idea.

A large number of Cavern Town residents stayed behind once they heard Erica tell me to demonstrate the barrier setting for her, including one of the founders, Mr. Stoll.  He broke away from the other founder and slunk along the edges of the crowd, watching me intently.  I pretended not to take notice, but I could feel him watching me.

After covering various pieces of land with green, glassy covers, I realized I’d yet to figure out how to take them down.  Oh no, please don’t make me recreate this thing again.  Ivan managed to slip through the crowd towards me as everyone gathered around to see the small barriers for themselves — walking through them and testing their strength with various objects nearby.  I watched them intently.  None of them were strong enough to cause much more than a strong ricochet, which worked out perfectly.  I didn’t need anything blowing up by mistake.

Erica surveyed everything from atop one of my knees while I sat in the midst of the crowd, trying my best not to get overwhelmed by the amount of small people surrounding me.  Once he’d made it to my side, Ivan called up to me, but I strained to hear his voice over the crowd and his distance from me.  Erica noticed my confusion.  “He asked if the barriers are really going to do anything, because it looks like they can’t!  Everyone’s just walking through them!” she yelled to me.  Ivan yelled at her and motioned for me to lower my hand to him, learning from Erica’s little gestures.

When my hand touched the ground, everyone around Ivan scattered as if I’d put down an explosive.  I tried not to dwell on the fact that everyone there seemed so frightened of me, or the fact that I had to pick people up just to understand them.  My height was quite the advantage in an apocalypse where ‘giants’ were invading, but it was such a hindrance for so many other things.  I want to help people.  If those same people are frightened of me, then are they really going to want my help?  A small sinking feeling arose in my chest.  These barriers better work…

With Ivan in my palm, I lifted him to my face.  “I didn't say any of that!” he told me, waving a hand at Erica.  “I asked if it was strong enough to keep giants out while still letting people through.”  Erica rolled her eyes behind his back.  “Hopefully,” I answered Ivan.  “there’s no way for anything besides your people and me to pass through one.  The scientists and whoever else tries to get in will be blocked, though I can’t exactly test it with the ‘giants’,” I confessed, “I did test it with a few different objects.  Nothing got through.”

“If they can’t get through it, won’t they try to dig beneath the barrier instead?”  I shook my head, “Even if they tried digging beneath it, the barrier will grow to cover anything they dig out.”  “Won’t it grow over the tunnels we make to get materials and things in and out, too?”  “Don’t worry, I thought of that.  The barrier will stay open around them so long as you make them before I put it up.  If you do it beforehand, the barrier will grow around the tunnels when it forms.  If you do it afterwards, like the scientists might try, it’ll sense that there’s a breach and grow to fill any gaps.”

Ivan seemed satisfied at that, and I let him off beside Erica. She gave him a teasing look and he said something to her. It was hard to tell sometimes whether those two were getting along or not, but Erica burst out laughing and Ivan grinned, so I guessed they were both fine. Before long, the crowd dispersed, leaving me, Erica, and Ivan behind along with a few stragglers.  I glanced around inconspicuously, trying to spot the founder who’d been watching me, but it seemed Mr. Stoll had disappeared along with most of the crowd.

By lunchtime, I was the only one left outside to patrol the mountains and practice with my new weapon — besides the other-worldians in the watchtowers, of course.  They came out in shifts, but there was always someone there occupying every lookout.  The others had left for the Cavern Town by then, hoping to find news about the debate and my idea. I toyed with my barriers, trying to seem like I knew what I was doing while the guards were watching.  Thankfully, I found that I had to hold my hand on top of a barrier and will it to stop existing if I wanted it to fall away.  The idea was somewhere in the back of my mind when I’d first created the crystalline bar. 

I’d just returned to the valley after eating lunch in my field when the founders returned.  Thankfully, they hadn’t arrived sooner, or they would’ve found me missing once again.  “We’ve come to a conclusion,” Ms. Ashford announced.  “You may place the barrier over the town, but only after we put hidden passages in place for our people.”  “Which means you stay nearby until they’re finished,” Mr. Stoll told me with a hint of distrust, “You will sleep right here in the valley, and return to your place in the field only after the barrier is up and functioning properly. Afterwards, I suppose we could cut back on your working hours so long as you make an appearance daily to scout for other giants.”  

The rules were fair enough.  I didn’t like the idea of sleeping in the slim space between the mountains, but it wouldn’t be for very long.  Erica had immediately complained once she heard about my sleeping in the valley.  However, I reminded her about her perfectly fine bed in the Cavern Town.  “At least you have an actual bed, and a house,” I said after she grumbled over the fact she couldn’t secretly sleep with me.  Erica mumbled a half-hearted apology before leaving for the town, yelling: “Steal a bed from your own world if you want one so badly!”  Before I could tell her that was a dumb idea, and the scientists would definitely be able to spot it, she’d vanished into the rocks.

With the plan underway and a full-time job taking up most of my time, the days blurred together quicker than I thought.  Erica would come visit me on the mountainside at least once or twice a day to keep me from getting too bored or too worried.  Ever since those scientists made their way along the horizon, I was anxious that they’d be back to take the town while it wasn’t protected by the barrier.  I trained with my weapon with every opportunity I got, which sometimes included late nights.  I didn’t sleep much anyways; the restricting space between the valley, and the potential to damage more of the mountainsides, kept me up.

Several weeks later, a few crude passages had been established.  They would be smoothed, tiled, and lit eventually, but they were solid enough in their current state to count as complete.  With crossed fingers, I pulled out my gun and shifted it into the fourth and final mode.  The whole town — which had really grown into a city — had to evacuate just in case something went wrong and the barrier somehow failed dangerously.

I was shocked at the amount of people that filed out of the gaping cavern in the side of the mountain.  I’d never seen the whole population in one place before.  Every day a scouting group would come back with various items and occasionally people in tow, but I hadn’t realized just how many other-worldians had settled there.  This has to work, I realized suddenly, Otherwise everyone here might not have a safe space to live anymore.  The scientists know all of this is here.  Why haven’t they come to take it yet?

With everyone finally out of the cavern, the founders gave the signal that it was completely empty.  With careful aim, I guided the barrel to the center of the hollow mountain and fired.  A firework-esque crackle resonated through the valley, making my hair stand on end.  Pieces of rock fell off the mountainside and exploded on the barrier’s face.  Small landslides tumbled dangerously close to the crowd, but I quickly swept them away with my free hand, blocking anything from falling too close.

It was a rather raucous creation, but once everything settled down, the barrier looked stunning.  Tension released from my taunt muscles as my plan fell into place, and I let out a breath I felt like I’d been holding for days.  Soon, everyone from the Cavern Town returned inside — marveling at their brand-new protection.  I could hear the faint noises of celebration coming from within; cheers and music drifted through the barrier and the tunnels. 

As my reward, I was allowed to collect my things and return to the field.  The valley looked a bit more barren than usual without me in it.  I don’t know why I was so melancholy leaving it; I hadn’t liked sleeping there at all. Longingly, I watched the festivities from afar.  “If only I could actually celebrate my accomplishments with them,” I whispered, “but I bet everyone will get uncomfortable if I get too close.” I rubbed the bar on my neck unconsciously.  If only this thing worked how I made it…

Dark clouds rolled in on a strong breeze that smelled of rain.  I put up a barrier around my blankets in anticipation for the storm to come, then lay down and curled up in my empty patch of grass alone, left daydreaming about what I would be doing if I were other-world size with Erica and Ivan out celebrating.

The next morning, I woke up extremely early.  Too early. A storm had started up while I slept, and I was startled awake by a sudden downpour.  The sound of the rain pelting the barrier was horrendous.  For the whole city inside the other barrier, the sound was probably dulled by how full the hemisphere was with rock and machinery and patched-together houses.  For me in my almost empty barrier, the hollowness amplified the noise until it was impossible to sleep or even think.

I angrily took down the barrier and almost went to grab an umbrella from my own world before lightning suddenly streaked across the sky.  Shit, that’s close!  I hit the dirt, realizing that I was definitely the tallest thing in the field.  An umbrella would only make things worse.  If I got struck, I would probably just end up back in the basement rather than dying — just like what had happened on my very first day.  However, the electrical surge from an actual bolt of lightning, no matter how small, might be enough to knock me out.  At the very least, it would be tremendously painful.

Again I found myself hating my stupid living arrangements.  I was wet, my blankets and pillow were soaked, and I could barely keep my eyes open due to my early wake-up call.  The storm stopped a few hours later, but by then I’d stayed up for so long and was so soaking wet that I was already wide awake and shaking slightly with the cold.  I internally rejoiced when the sun came out, warming me up and drying me off a bit.

The whole field was practically underwater — flooded by the rain — so I took my meal to go.  I must’ve looked like an absolute mess.  The moment Erica saw me, she gave me a look that was equally pitying and slightly amused.  “You might want to borrow a brush from your world,” she chuckled, “You look like you were hit by a train.”  “Or a thunderstorm,” I grumbled, “I’ll be back.”  In a moment, I was in my own world.  

Thankfully, everyone was preoccupied with other things at the time, so I was able to get a hairbrush and a fresh change of clothes without anyone noticing me.  I stayed a bit longer once I heard my family making plans in the living room.  Soon enough they would come over to my room to bring me up to speed on their ideas, so I avoided them by taking a shower.  Minutes later, my dad yelled through the bathroom door that he and the others were heading out.  He offered to wait for me, but I turned him down.  I had to get back to the other-world.

With everyone gone, and myself finally pampered and warmed up, I took a moment to stroll through the house, marveling at how everything was just perfectly scaled to me.  Back in the basement, I packed a few extra items for my settlement — including a hairbrush.  When I went to put my things away, however; I got an ingenious idea.  Grabbing my blanket and pillow, I brought them into my world.  “I’ve had just about enough of being uncomfortable,” I grumbled.  

Taking them both into the field of strange energy, I gave them each special abilities.  I imbued the pillow with the ability to make it feel like I was sleeping on a mattress while I used it, and I imbued the blanket with the ability to be the perfect temperature at all times.  “There,” I sighed, placing them down.  “I’ll check on you later.  First, I’ve got to get back to the town.”

Erica was waiting for me in the same spot she'd stood before, milling around aimlessly, waiting for me to come back.  She did a double take once I re-appeared, then nodded.  "Yup, that's much better."  I rolled my eyes with a smile and gently scooped Erica up.  Or, more accurately, I’d barely reached for her before she scrambled up into my hand.  “Where are we going?” she asked, peering over my cupped fingers in excitement.

“Now that I have some time off, I was thinking of exploring the rest of the mountains over here.  I’ll get a lay of the land, maybe find another town.”  “Another town?” Ivan echoed.  He’d just stepped out of one of the new tunnels and overhead me.  “I don’t think that’s a good idea..  You’ll just terrify a bunch of innocent people.”  

“But I could help them!  I could give everyone a barrier just like this one,” I explained, gesturing towards the Cavern Town, now sealed off by an indestructible opaque hemisphere.  “You should wait until we know the barrier actually works before you do that.”  My brows furrowed in concern, and I knelt to see Ivan’s expression.  “You don’t think it’ll work?” I asked, slightly offended.  I’d worked hard to create something that would protect everyone from the likes of the scientists.

“All I’m saying is that we have no proof that it does work,” he reasoned, “I’m fairly confident it will keep the giants out, and so are most people, or else we wouldn’t have let you put it up.  But no one knows that for sure because no one’s ever tried to break in. You said so yourself that you couldn’t fully test it.”  I nodded, seeing the logic behind Ivan’s argument.  I wanted to solve everything desperately — to keep awful things from happening and to prove I wasn’t a part of such awful things myself — but not so desperate that I was willing to give false hope to people just to relieve some of the stress.

However, Erica scoffed in my cupped hands.  “And?  What are you suggesting?  Do you want us to lure some giants over to test it?” She asked sarcastically.  “No!” Ivan yelled, exasperation growing in his voice.  “We should know for a fact that the barrier keeps giants out before we go promising it to others!  If they’re depending on it to keep them alive and it fails, you’re going to be responsible for their capture!”  Erica was ready to quip something snide in return, but I placed my hand over her — holding her in an interlocking cage of my own fingers.  Again, it was hard to tell if they were getting along or genuinely fighting.

“Erica, let it go.  He has a point; we can’t go around giving out barriers claiming they can stop the scientists when we don’t know if they actually do.”  I could hear her grumble in protest, but her voice was too muffled by my fingers to understand.  “I’ll just patrol around the valley today.  Want to come with us, Ivan?”

He shook his head, “I have plenty of things to do in town.”  I nodded, watching him leave.  Was that an excuse not to come, or does he genuinely have stuff to get done?  Erica yelled something and I quickly released her.  “What did you say?”  “I said forget about him.  If he wants to sit around in the rocks, let him.  He doesn’t know what he’s missing out on.”  With an annoyed huff, Erica gave a running leap out into the open air before landing on my chest, clinging to the fabric of my shirt.  She clambered up to one of my shoulders and sat atop it — perched a dizzying height above the ground for someone as tiny as her.  

“Alright I’m set, let’s go,” she said as nonchalantly as if she’d got into a car rather than jumped over a deadly long gap.  Speechless, I glanced over at her with wide eyes.  She snickered and leaned back slightly, grinning at me.  “Something wrong?” Erica asked in an innocent voice.  I shook my head at her reproachfully.  “You’re crazy.  I don’t know how you get the confidence to do half the things you do.”

Erica thought silently as I meandered around the outskirts of the valley.  “Well, I know you’ll always be there to stop anything bad from happening,” she answered with a nonchalant shrug.  Of course I’ll always take care of her, but she she should still be at least a little self-conscious, shouldn’t she? It’s not just her I have to worry about anymore; it’s the whole town. The daunting reality had dawned in my mind watching the crowds of people outside the mountain, but now it had really settled in.

“We've.. stopped," Erica stated in confusion.  I could feel her edge forward slightly, trying to gauge my pensive expression from the side.  "Alexis?  Are you alright?"  A long sigh escaped my lips and I put a hand to one of my temples to massage it.  A slight headache had tormented me for the past few days.  The storm the night before had only worsened it.

"Yeah.  I'm just.. tired, I guess."  I sat down heavily on a flatter part of the mountainside.  "You haven't been getting much sleep in the valley, have you?" Erica asked, realizing how exhausted I really was.  "Well, there's that.  But I've also been so stressed with the whole 'this barrier better work because if it doesn't you might be leaving a few thousand people defenseless' thing too,” I added.  Erica patted the side of my neck comfortingly, I turned to her and she brushed a stray lock of hair from my face.  

“I know, love.  People talk in that mountain, too.  They know they have to rely on you…  It’s a mixed reaction, really.  All those people — I can’t imagine the burden,” she said softly.  “Even-” she paused, shook her head, then started again.  “I’m here.  I’ll help in every way I can, I promise.  I hate that this is happening to you.. to us, but I’m with you.  Even if I’m not physically fighting beside you.  Even if I really want to be…” Erica gave me a little pleading look and I returned it with a half smile.  “If you’re scared or stressed or anything, pick me up anytime and let me help you.”

“Thank you,” I sighed. Smiling softly at her, I reached up and stroked her arm, then carefully rested the pad of my thumb against the side of her head.  A rare genuine smile passed Erica’s lips as she closed her eyes, leaning into my touch.  “I didn’t get a lot of sleep-” I paused to yawn, “last night too, so you aren’t entirely wrong about the no sleep thing either. Stupid thunderstorm kept me up.”  “Then what are you doing carrying me around?” Erica asked incredulously, “Go and get some sleep, you big dork!”  “But, it’s not even dark-”  “If you’re stressed and tired, you have no reason to be up right now!  Go to bed.  No excuses.”

Sighing, I lifted Erica off my shoulder to get a better look at her.  She knelt in my palms, looking meaningfully up at me, gesturing for me to bring her closer.  The moment I bridged the small gap between us, Erica pressed a small kiss onto my cheek.  “Go rest,” she said softly, “You deserve a break, Alexis.”  I gave in — nodding my agreement as I headed back to the right mountain to let Erica off.  Leaving her and everyone behind the safety of the barrier, I trudged off to my things that I’d returned to the field.

When I flopped over onto my blanket, it felt like heaven.  I’d forgotten that I gave little powers to my bedding.  I spread out completely, enjoying all the room I had out in the field.  The tight walls of the valley near the Cavern Town had previously restricted my sleeping space — it had been close to claustrophobic.  Now I had all the room I could want, as well as my new more comfortable sleeping arrangements.  Though there were still plenty more hours of daylight left, I was asleep in minutes.

[excessive-vampires]

Dealing With Demons Chapter 8: Operation Friendship Part 2: Cee

Masterlist with CW

Taglist: @demyxdancer @softvampirewhump @d-cs

We loitered outside by the car while the agents had their meeting with Coleman.

It's so boring just waiting outside.

"Well you're the one who insisted we never go inside the Bureau. Which was surprising. I thought you would want to see everything and nerd out about it."

I'm curious, not stupid. They probably have a basement full of cells for monsters they can't send to prison and like a billion security measures to make sure they never get out. If you go in there it's one mistake and we're done.

"That sounds like something out of a kids' book."

Doesn't mean it's not true.

"I'm willing to bet that I'm stronger than anything they've got to throw at us."

I'm not going to make that bet when the price is our freedom!

"Okay, alright. It's not like I'm saying we should go in there."

A passerby gave Avi a weird look, the demon smiled at them until they quickened their pace. Then they got out their phone and held it to their ear for appearances' sake. And for my sake. They didn't really care if people looked at them weird, but they could feel that it embarrassed me.

I know. I just get anxious.

"Hey... are you sure you don't want to at least call her? We can ditch this case for a while if we need to."

Yes. And you didn't need to start carrying around my phone just in case I change my mind or get another message. I don't want to deal with questions and judgement. You saw that text, even Kelsey believes I don't care about any of them.

"Do you?"

... Not more than myself. If I did I wouldn't have left. A wave of guilt washed over me but I buried it. Whatever. I don't want to be a good person, I want to be a happy person.

It had been my mantra for the last five years. Longer really, ever since I had decided to leave my old life behind as soon as I had the means and opportunity.

"I haven't heard you say that in a while. Do you really still feel like a bad person, Cee?"

We're done talking about this, Avi.

"Okay, I'll drop it. What do you want to talk about?"

Do you have any theories about the case?

"It's probably some kind of symbolism ritual. It's hard to really guess what those will do since they don't follow the usual rules."

I wonder what the Bureau knows about symbolism rituals.

"And she's back."

Seriously, if anyone can actually define what rules they play by it'll be these guys.

"But what they know and what they're willing to tell me are two different things."

Yeah. At least you're making progress with Mike. He seems a lot less scared of you.

"The guarantee that I won't harm him is probably a big factor in that. And I think he likes my sense of humor."

He might like you better than Riley does at the moment.

"Hopefully our little sidequest will change that."

Just then Riley walked back out of the base and towards us.

Operation friendship is a go! I joked.

They laughed, and hearing that made me feel just a little bit better. 

[gayandgayerforventi]

꒰ ָ֢ ׁ 𓈒 venti ◌ hcs ׁ 𓈒 𝆬 ꒱

𝒗𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊

-idol boyfriend au

♡ The Youtube MMD's of him are fr the only inspo I have rn-

♡ Definitely passionate about being an idol

♡ In an au where you're dating, you can't tell me he won't look you in the eye whilst you're on stage and wink. ( Assuming you're at the concert of course. )

♡ Definitely supplies you with front row seats, who would he be not to? Lmao.

♡ People probably notice the not-so-subtle ways he looks at you on stage and as a result there might be a lot of theories about it.

♡ Y'know, tiktoks going ' Oh my god guys, you won't believe this what the hell. Guess who I just spotted walking home. The person Venti winked at!! '

♡ Most contracts forbid dating as part of the job though.

♡ But rumors would probably start up regardless. Hey, would you rather they were shipping you and Venti, or him and Xiao?

♡ I can see him wearing literally any outfit. Like I can just imagine him rocking a skirt in a music video.

♡ I can see a lot of people simping over him to be honest. It won't just be you </3

♡ Like, in the contacts, one of the members ( probably Venti tbh ) could shout out, ' which member do we all love most? ' and it's like a billion people saying different idol members.

♡ I can see people thinking of Xiao as the hot ass emo guy of the group.

♡ I have no idea why I decided to add that as it's totally unrelated, but alright.

♡ I feel like Venti would probably keep the things you give/gave him very close to him, considering he'd have to closet the fact you're dating, and you probably wouldn't get to see each other much.

♡ Like, imagine one night you managed to sneak a small home date with each other where you ended up doing his hair.

♡ I know for a fact I struggle sometimes with braiding his kind of hair, so imagine just trying to brush your fingers through his hair before you finally decided maybe you should actually plait it? Lol.

♡ You'll see him wearing whatever you've done to his hair on stage ;)

♡ Probably updates you on how things are with his job. As in, ' Oh Windblume, we're gonna be having another concert in a few months! ' or, ' Windblume, we're gonna make a new music video! '

♡ Probably plays pranks on the other members. I'm leaving that open for though.

♡ Jean probably suspects something's going on, so you'll have to be careful.

♡ She question the tiktoks and Youtube theories 💀 but then come to terms that obviously, as an idol things like that are bound to happen when you let your guard down.

♡ Chooses to trust Venti, whilst she puts and eye on him.

♡ I can see Venti lyric pranking you-

♡ Okay, but that's all for now. Honestly, I recommend lunASMR's channel on Youtube as she's done Idol Venti before, and she's great. :)

[minastras]

prev • masterlist • next

04 i'll make them pay

words: 0.7k

Jay figured it was fair enough punishment for destroying your car to have to see you on the train almost every day from then on.

It’d been a full week and he still hadn’t talked to you. You’d long given up on trying to say hello to him — because, as Jake and Yunjin very sagely pointed out, Jay was acting like a dick — but you two always ended up sitting in the same carriage. He should’ve just been normal that first day.

You were a very distracting individual, too attractive to look at and too attractive to not look at. Jay’s mind was filled with you, so when you dropped your phone he picked it up without hesitation. He winced and tried to plaster on a friendly smile as he handed it back to you, but it probably came off more like a grimace than anything else.

“Thanks,” you said warily, taking your phone back. “We’re neighbours, right? I’m Y/N.”

“Uh- yeah, hi! Hello,” he laughed, even though you hadn’t said anything funny. His hand came up in a wave, the movement jerky and uncoordinated. “I’m- I’m Jay.”

“I didn’t know you were a UDec student,” you said. Your gaze was still sceptical, wondering why this man who’d been aggressively refusing to acknowledge your existence was now willing to talk to you.

“Me neither! I mean- I didn’t know you were a UDec student, not I didn’t know I was a UDec student-” What was wrong with him? He cleared his throat and tried again, slower this time. “Yeah, I’m doing a PhD in global health.”

At that, your face lit up, the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen. “I’m a PhD candidate too! I’m doing international law,” you replied excitedly.

Jay once read somewhere that all mammals on average had around a billion heartbeats in a lifetime, and he was convinced this conversation alone had used up half of his allotment. It got even worse when you stood up and crossed the carriage to take the empty seat next to him.

“It’s so nice to meet another PhD student,” you mused, unbothered and somehow unaware of the fact that he was losing his mind.

“Yeah, it can be so isolating sometimes,” he agreed, nodding along. He’d agree with anything you said. “My roommates don’t really get it.”

“What do your roommates do?” you asked.

“Jake’s a data analyst, and Yunjin’s a model. She does music on YouTube too,” he replied. Why was he telling you their names?

“Oh, she’s a model! That makes so much sense. She’s so pretty,” you exclaimed. “My roommates and I all agreed that she’s the prettiest girl we’ve ever seen.”

Great. He’d finally gotten to talk to you, and all you wanted to do was fawn over his roommate.

“Hey- um- speaking of that, is there anyone in the picture for you at the moment?” Jay blurted out all in one breath. Curse him and his nervous talker tendencies. Although you seemed not to notice his bumbling attempt at flirting.

“Me? No, I’m done with dating. I don’t think I can take another first date,” you answered. “My friend tried to set me up with her colleague last week and I’m still dealing with the fallout of that mess.”

You also seemed not to notice Jay deflate with each new word that came out of your mouth, changing the subject with a controlled ease that gave him very little time to react.

“What’s your Twitter handle? I’ll give you a follow! And if you want we can exchange numbers, since I’ll be taking the train to campus from now on,” you offered, handing him your phone.

He clumsily searched for his Twitter profile on your account and clicked the ‘Follow’ button, only then realising how sweaty his palms were. His number. You wanted his number.

“How come I’ve never seen you on the train?” he asked, scrambling to continue the conversation before immediately regretting his words.

“Oh, some absolute dickhead wrecked my car last week,” you said with a sigh, taking your phone back from his outstretched hand. “It’s alright, though. I’m hunting the bastard down and I’ll make them pay.”