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sugarcoated-lame · 1 year

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Always A Bridesmaid | Jake Seresin x Reader

18+ only, minors DNI!

Jake Seresin x female Bradshaw!reader

Synopsis: Bradley tells all the guys at his wedding that his little sister is off limits… But when has Jake ever listened to Rooster?

WC: 10.5k (she’s a long one folks)

Warnings: a teeny bit of angst, mentions of alcohol, drinking, smut, oral (m + f receiving), unprotected pinv, slight overstimulation, age gap (not really specified but reader is around 23-24 yrs old, jake is in his early 30s), jake being too damn charming for his own good, rooster being a very overprotective big brother, jake being a menace, and natasha being the best sister-in-law, for the sake of this story we’re gonna pretend that Goose died a few years later than what is canon to explain how Bradley has a sister that’s 10+ years younger than him lol

a/n: it’s been like two months since I initially started writing this, so I’m so happy to finally get it out! (:

read part two here

⋆ . ˚ ✩ comments, reblogs and feedback are greatly appreciated! ⋆ . ˚ ✩

Today was a big day, and you wish you could say you were more excited about it. It’s not every day that your big brother gets married to the love of his life. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw and Natasha “Phoenix” Trace had finally said “I do” and you were ecstatic for your favorite female pilot to officially become a part of the family.

But you were also recently single, having been broken up with by the boyfriend you’d been with throughout most of college and the following two years since you’d graduated.

Things hadn’t ended on bad terms, the two of you just weren’t in love anymore. What worked in college just wasn’t working anymore, and you’d spent the last few months of your relationship denying to yourself the fact that you were unhappy.

You’re pretty sure now that the both of you had known for a while you weren’t right for each other, but you had been scared to end it–terrified at the notion of starting over. But, the relationship had run its course and, ultimately, he was the one to end things.

That was three weeks ago. You’d come to terms with the break-up, knowing it was what’s best for you. But that didn’t mean it still didn't hurt. It didn’t mean you weren’t sad, or that you were ready to be subjected to all the happiness and celebration that goes into a wedding.

You’re granted a brief reprieve from your melancholy thoughts when your new sister-in-law sneaks up and taps you on the shoulder. “Hey… You don’t look like you’re having much fun. Are you okay?”

Natasha asks the question with a sheepish grin. You can tell she’s trying to seem nonchalant, but you can hear the underlying concern in her voice.

Bradley and Natasha had been together five years now, engaged for one, and you could clearly see from the way that he smiled at her and the permanent glimmer in his eyes, that your brother was truly happy. He and Phoenix had become fast friends during their time together at Top Gun, and it eventually evolved into something more.

When Bradley brought Natasha home to meet you at Thanksgiving during your sophomore year of college, you knew even then that she would be the girl he was one day going to marry. Best friends turned lovers. You could only dream you’d find that for yourself someday.

You and Natasha had quickly become close as well. Bradley and Uncle Mav were the only family you had and it was nice to have another person–especially a badass woman like Natasha, in your corner.

The two of you got on like a house on fire, and Natasha was always there to give her love and support. She was like the big sister you never had, and it wasn’t long before the two of you were ganging up on your brother and teasing him together.

As Natasha’s maid of honor, you’d spent the morning with her and the other bridesmaids, helping the blushing bride get ready for her big day. In a fancy suite getting all dolled up while drinking mimosas, having your hair and makeup done before changing into matching bridesmaid dresses of a silky satin—cowl neckline and spaghetti straps, in a soft lavender shade. Helping Natasha into her beautiful, intricately lacy, white wedding gown.

The wedding ceremony was absolutely beautiful and had gone off without a hitch. Bradley had tears in his eyes as Natasha walked down the aisle to the Wedding March, matching smiles on their faces as they joined hands at the altar.

You even shed a tear yourself as the couple exchanged their vows, and before you knew it, Bradley was pulling Natasha in for a loving kiss and they were declared husband and wife.

Then, onto the reception, you’d watched with a slightly sad smile as Bradley and Natasha shared their first dance as husband and wife. You were so happy for the two of them, truly, but it was hard to get into the headspace for celebrating. Seeing two of your favorite people so in love when you’d just been dumped. When your own love life was at a standstill and you were left feeling lost and lonely.

You’d been too preoccupied in your thoughts to notice the first dance had come to an end before Nat came to talk to you. You felt guilty at the fact that she was spending her time worrying about you when she should be enjoying her big day. You’re lucky to call Natasha your sister.

So, you force your most convincing smile onto your face and nod your head, telling her that you’re just fine.

“Just tired from the long day, but I’m having a great time. I’m good, I promise!” You weren’t sure if she believed you, but luckily Natasha was pulled away by one of her aunts gushing over how beautiful she looked and offering her congratulations, before she could protest.

It’s especially hard to enjoy a wedding reception when you’re sat at a table alone, watching as everyone else is having a good time, dancing along to the music being played by the DJ.

Once the first dance was through, the rest of the guests were welcomed to join the happy couple on the dancefloor. You knew your brother had plenty of cute pilot friends, and you also knew–thanks to Natasha–that some of them were single. So, you were hoping that one of them might ask you to dance.

You may have also been hopeful for the possibility of getting laid tonight. You were newly single but even then, it’d been months since you and your ex last had sex. You were sad and lonely and thought, what better way to get back out there and help yourself feel better than hooking up with one of said cute pilots?

Your plan, however, seemed futile because none of the guys would even talk to you. In fact, since Bradley had introduced you to them after the ceremony earlier in the day, his fellow pilots could hardly look you in the eye.

“Guys, this is my little sister.” With an arm wrapped around your shoulders, your brother had rattled off each of the naval aviators’ names and callsigns, and told his friends your name. They were all nice enough, each politely shaking your hand and making small talk, a few of them making jokes at your big brother’s expense.

But you could sense there was an awkwardness there, almost as if the members of the Dagger squad were afraid of you. You couldn’t understand why, but you could tell they were hesitant to keep the conversation going with you.

Initially, you brushed it off. However, as the day went on, whenever you’d find yourself alone in conversation with one of the Top Gun pilots, they each kept the interactions very short and sweet, acting as though they couldn’t get away from you fast enough. Leaving you feeling unsure of yourself and wondering what you could have possibly done to have them all so blatantly avoiding you.

So, after sharing a dance with your dear Uncle Mav and relinquishing him back into the awaiting arms of Penny, you spend the next half hour moping at the table on your own. Absent-mindedly swirling the straw around in your drink, chin resting in your other hand as you watch the festivities going on around you.

And that’s how Jake finds you.

You were adorable. With your sparkling eyes and your hair pinned up into some intricate up-do that Jake wanted to see undone, a few pieces flowing down and framing your face. The hint of cleavage Jake could see beneath the cowl neckline of that lavender dress that hugged your curves so well as you leaned forward against the table, a slight pout on your lips as you observed everyone having fun on the dancefloor.

Jake could tell that you weren’t having a good time and he knew exactly why.

Little did you know that earlier that morning while Bradley and his groomsmen were getting ready in a suite separate from the girls, your brother had had a “talk” with all the guys.

Debriefing about last night’s rehearsal dinner, Hangman, Coyote, and Fanboy–all of the single groomsmen–had been discussing a few of Natasha’s bridesmaids that they thought were cute. Especially the maid of honor.

Rooster’s ears had been ringing when he heard them describe you to a T, and Jake could practically see smoke coming out of them as he turned toward his friends, always the overprotective big brother ready to shut them down.

“The maid of honor,” all of the groomsmen turned to look at the mustached groom as he began to speak.

“Is my little sister. And she’s off limits.” At his words and the stern, serious tone of Bradley’s voice, Jake and the others collectively shut up, matching caught-out and shocked expressions on each of their faces.

“I mean it, guys, I don’t wanna see any of you hitting on her. I love you all like my brothers, but I’m not afraid to kick someone’s ass if I see you trying it on with my sister.”

The guys all knew that Rooster wasn’t bluffing. With rushed apologies and confirmations that they’d leave you alone, the tension left the room as they all laughed it off and went about their business getting ready for the ceremony.

With Bradley’s warning in mind, the Dagger squad had spent the rest of the day being nice—but not too nice—whenever they spoke to you, and tried to keep their interactions with you to a minimum, so as not to face your older brother’s wrath.

They all knew that Bradley could be a bit hotheaded. Even Bob, who is very happily married, found himself a little afraid to spend too much time conversing with you.

Jake was ready to follow the rules too, it was Bradshaw’s wedding after all. He could hold off on pissing off his best frenemy for one night. At least that was the case, until the reception.

When he saw you sitting all alone, all gorgeous and sulking, Jake knew right then that he had to go talk to you. He knew he was the only one stupid enough—or brave enough, if you ask him—to go against your brother’s wishes, and who was Jake if he wasn’t stirring the pot?

Was it so wrong for him to help a pretty lady have a good time? And you were beautiful, strikingly so, so Jake wouldn’t mind if he got a little something out of it too.

Jake isn’t scared of your brother. Besides, Rooster is far too busy dancing with Phoenix, the newlywed couple far too preoccupied with making heart-eyes at each other to notice him making his way over to you.

Your eyes widen with intrigue as the tall, blonde pilot—Jake, or Hangman as he’d been introduced to you—sidles over to where you’re seated.

God, was he handsome. You sit up a little straighter as he plonks himself down in the chair next to you, a devilish smirk on his lips as he turns toward you.

“What is a pretty little thing like you doing sitting here all on her lonesome?” He inquires, a slight Southern drawl to his voice. Texan, maybe?

“Um… drinking?” Your answer is short, but you’re a bit caught off guard and still annoyed by the fact that all of your attempts at socializing tonight with anyone outside of the few members of your family and Phoenix, had failed.

But now, here was Hangman, going out of his way to talk to you and looking you straight in your eyes. His green gaze intense and leaving you a bit flustered.

Jake glances down to where you’re still toying with the straw in your near-empty glass. With that playful smirk still present on his face, he goes to speak again.

“Well, darlin’, I cannot in good conscience let you drink alone. What are you drinking and how ‘bout I buy you another one?” His question makes you scoff.

“Tequila Sunrise, and it’s an open bar, so… no, you can’t buy me a drink.” You roll your eyes at the almost too handsome pilot.

Oh. Pretty and feisty. Jake was going to have a hard time staying away from you.

“Well then, how about I acquire you another one, and because I’m such a nice guy, I’ll even join you?” Jake winks at you and stands, striding towards the bar before you could even answer his question.

Your brother and Natasha had mentioned Hangman to you a handful times over the years, and he was just as cocky and self-assured as they always said. But, you’d be lying to yourself if you said you don’t find it kind of charming, or that you aren’t extremely attracted to him.

Jake returns a couple minutes later, a Tequila Sunrise in one hand and a glass of what looked to be whiskey in the other. He places your drink down in front of you and slides back into the chair next to yours, albeit a few inches closer this time.

“You know, you look pretty miserable over here. Though, I guess I would be too if I had to grow up with Rooster as my brother.” That draws a genuine laugh out of you.

“There she is!” His exclamation makes you giggle, a slight blush taking over your cheeks. Jake loves the sight of your smile. The sound of your laugh. He decides that he wants to hear that sound over and over again.

“He’s not so bad.” You refute through your laughter.

“I just don’t really know many people here, and I kind of get the feeling my brother and Nat’s friends don’t like me very much. I’m not sure why…” You trail off and look down at your lap, shy all of a sudden. Jake has to fight very hard to not smile at how adorable your furrowed brows and pouted lips are.

“You’re the first person here to actually talk to me for more than two seconds.” You let out a nervous laugh and start sipping your new drink.

Jake feels bad that your dumbass brother’s plan to keep the guys away from you is the reason you’re feeling so down, without you even knowing. And no matter how cute you may look, Jake doesn’t like seeing you sad. He’s going to rectify that.

“Well darlin’, now that I’m here, you don’t need to talk to anyone else.” Jake’s smile is still smug, but sincere, and you can’t help but grin back at him. You shake your head and giggle at the cocky pilot, thinking to yourself that it wouldn’t be so bad if he were the only person you had to talk to for the rest of the night.

“Now, how about we finish these drinks and then we head out onto the dancefloor?” To that, you agree, and the two of you sit sipping your drinks and talking for a little while. Getting better acquainted. Jake is fun and very charming, and you love how easily he’s able to make you laugh.

When Jake notices that you’re just about done with your tequila sunrise, he quickly shoots back the rest of his whiskey, ready to get you onto the dancefloor. He stands and you accept the hand he’s extended toward you, his large hand engulfing your smaller one and letting him lead you into the crowd of people.

Standing in front of him now, you only just notice how good Jake looks in his suit. It’s a simple black suit, white undershirt and black tie, like all the groomsmen wore. But the way it fits his body, the way the jacket sleeves are ever-so-slightly too tight around his big arms, and the way you could tell he was extremely toned even under layers of clothing, made you dizzy.

As you make it onto the floor, Fleetwood Mac’s ‘Everywhere’ begins to play through the speakers. Jake pulls you in close to him by your joined hands and spins you around under his arm. The two of you laugh, both a little tipsy.

You spend the duration of the song dancing together like children without a care in the world. Not much rhythm to it or any real dance moves, mostly just jumping around and singing along to the lyrics, Jake twirling you around a good number of times. You’re sure that the two of you look like idiots, but it’s the most fun you’ve had all night.

You dance together to a couple more upbeat songs, and Jake can’t help but admire you. He finds it incredibly sexy how carefree you seem in this moment.

As another classic rock song comes to an end and a slower song takes its place, Jake pulls you in again. This time by the waist, until you’re nearly chest-to-chest. The warmth of his hands setting your skin alight through the thin, satiny fabric of your bridesmaid’s dress.

Your own hands slide up his biceps, coming to rest on his broad shoulders. You look up at him with those bright, beautiful eyes and a shy smile, and Jake finds himself entranced.

God, he wants to kiss you.

You rest your head on his chest as he begins to sway you softly along to the music. As if Jake can feel eyes burning into the side of his face, he turns the two of you slightly, only to find Rooster glaring at him as he stands across the dancefloor, slow dancing with Phoenix.

“What the fuck is he doing?” Bradley quietly asks, mostly to himself, but the question catches his wife’s attention.

“What is who doing?” Natasha queries with a laugh as she turns to look at where Bradley’s hard gaze is pointed.

“Aw, maybe Bagman does have a heart.” Her lips form into an exaggerated pout as she watches Jake and you sway from side to side as he holds you in his arms, your head leaning on his chest. Bradley looks down at her with a bewildered look on his face.

“No, that is most definitely not AW, and no he doesn’t!” He grouches with a sigh. Natasha gives him a questioning glance, waiting expectantly for whatever the hell it is she’s missing right now.

“I told those idiots to stay away from her.” Bradley mutters dejectedly.

“What are you talking about, told who to stay away from who?” Natasha narrows her eyes at her husband.

“Jake and the rest of the squad. I overheard them talking about how hot they thought my sister was, and I told them to leave her alone.” Bradley whines.

Natasha stays silent for a few moments, processing this information and looking up at her husband with a stunned expression.

“Oh, honey…” She can’t help but laugh. Now she understands why you’d spent much of the evening sulking.

“What?!” Bradley practically shrieks. “She’s my baby sister, I just wanna protect her!”

At that, Natasha cracks a smile. She’s always admired how much Rooster loves his little sister and how, with your parents gone, he always felt it was his responsibility to take care of you.

“Bradley, I love you, but you really are an idiot sometimes.” Natasha grins, shaking her head at her husband. The look he gives her is dumbfounded and one of slight offense.

“Babe, I get that you want to protect your sister, but she’s not a kid anymore. She’s an adult and you have to let her make her own choices and her own mistakes. Even if one of those mistakes is Bagman.” Natasha scrunches her nose playfully and Bradley gives her a deadpan look.

“You know she’d be pissed if she found out that you did that.” Natasha smirks, thinking back on a few of the silly sibling spats that she’s had to mediate over the last few years since she’s been with Bradley—most of them due entirely to his overprotective tendencies and your desire to escape them.

“Come on, Roo, you know I’m right.” Bradley rolls his eyes dramatically and sighs, wrapping his arms around his bride.

“Yeah, you always are. Doesn’t mean I have to like it.” He places a kiss on her forehead, and murmurs against her skin. “But if he hurts her, I’ll kill him.”

Bradley glares in Jake’s direction once again.

Jake can also feel the eyes of the other Top Gun pilots on the two of you. They’ve all just witnessed the interaction and look between him and Rooster, some looking on in amusement, others in fear for Jake's safety.

Jake has to bite back a laugh, leaning his head down on top of yours to hide the cheeky smile that plays on his lips. The two of you slow dance a little while longer, Jake’s hands rubbing gently up and down your sides and sending your stomach into a frenzy of butterflies.

Jake decides he’d like a moment alone with you, away from prying eyes. His hands leave your torso, moving to rest on your arms, giving them a light squeeze to gain your attention. The hazy, content look on your pretty face when you look up at him only strengthens his desire to be alone with you. Fuck, he wants you.

“Come with me?” Jake leans down to whisper into your ear, his warm breath sending a shiver down your spine. When he pulls back, you look up to see his emerald eyes boring into you, and you simply nod.

You aren’t sure where he’s taking you, but if he keeps looking at you like that, you’re pretty certain you’d follow him anywhere. He grabs your hand and spares a last glance at your still glaring brother, smirking as he leads you to the exit of the ballroom.

Before you can make it past the threshold though, Jake comes to an abrupt stop and lets go of your hand.

“One second.” He quickly breathes out, leaving you standing by the door as he darts back over the bar.

You’re confused for a moment, but you can’t help but giggle to yourself as you watch him look around to make sure no one is watching before he reaches behind the bar, grabbing an unopened bottle of champagne.

He sprints back over to you, once again taking your hand in his free one and speeding out into the hallway, pulling you along with him. You’re unable to keep from laughing, near breathless as you try to keep up with Jake’s long strides in your high heels.

When he finds a dark, empty room towards the back of the venue hall, Jake pulls you inside with him and closes the door. Before you know it, your back is pressed against it, hitting the hard wood with a thud as Jake crashes his lips against yours, kissing you breathless.

Catching your plush bottom lip between both of his, one of his hands finds your waist in the dark, the other still holding onto the neck of the champagne bottle. You kiss him back with just as much fervor, reaching a hand up into Jake’s blonde hair and tugging lightly, pulling a soft groan from him.

The two of you move in sync, lips pressing together at an increasing speed and intensity until your lungs are burning from the lack of oxygen. Jake pulls back for some air and both of your chests are heaving, light pants escaping your lips as you stare at each other in the dark of the room.

When you look down and catch a glimpse of the bottle still in Jake’s grasp, you let out a breathless chuckle.

“You forgot the glasses.”

He follows your gaze and laughs along with you, though it comes out as more of a pant.

“Shit, yeah. Maybe we can find some in here, if I can just find a light…” Jake trails off, his body leaving your personal space and pulling the warmth of him along with it. You’re left standing by the door, feeling cold and already missing his presence and his weight against you as he goes off in search of the lights.

It’s a quick search, after about only 30 seconds, Jake finds a lamp on a table in the corner of the room. He switches it on, casting the room in a soft, dim golden light.

No longer bathed in darkness, you now see that the room you ended up in is another suite like the ones the bridal party had used to get ready that morning. A couple of fancy olive green velvet couches spread throughout the space, a few vanity mirrors along the far wall, a door leading to a bathroom at the back.

You take a seat on one of the lavish couches and remove your heels, feet aching a bit after the long day. You pull your legs up onto the couch as Jake goes on the hunt for champagne glasses. After a brief and unsuccessful search, Jake joins you on the couch.

“No luck.” His playful pout makes you giggle as he plops down onto the cushion next to you.

“Fuck it!” Jake exclaims as he turns the champagne bottle away from you to open it, a small gasp escaping your lips as he sends the cork flying somewhere across the room.

He hands the bottle over to you with a grin.

“Ladies first.” And there’s that wink again. As you take a swig from the bottle, Jake pulls your feet up into his lap, and you nearly choke on the fizzy liquid in surprise when his fingers begin to massage your calves. Once the initial shock wears off, you can’t stop the contented sigh that escapes your lips at the feeling.

When you’ve taken a few sips, you hand the bottle back over to Jake, fingers brushing as he takes it from your grasp. His eyes remain on your face as he takes a big swig of the champagne and you can feel a blush beginning to heat up your face.

Setting the bottle down on the floor, Jake tugs your legs closer to him again, this time pulling until you’re nearly sitting in his lap and drawing a little yelp from you. Your face is inches away from his and in the dim lamplight you can see that his eyes are blown wide, mostly black with only a hint of that pretty green visible.

Jake reaches a hand toward the back of your neck, gently running his fingers between your shoulder blades and down your upper back, bare due to the low backing of your dress. Grazing your skin with a featherlight touch before curling his fingers around the nape of your neck and pulling you in to kiss him again.

The taste of champagne is prevalent as Jake attaches his lips to yours. His other hand moves to your waist to help guide you fully onto his lap. Your own hands slide along his chest over the soft fabric of his suit jacket and up to his broad shoulders, fingers gripping lightly at the soft strands of hair at the nape of his neck. Your lips move softly against his, finding a rhythm and allowing yourself to get lost in it.

Jake’s hands squeeze at your waist, thumbs just barely grazing the underside of your breasts through your dress as he deepens the kiss. Pulling you impossibly closer as he nips at your bottom lip, eliciting a quiet whine from you. His tongue tracks along the seam of your lips and you’re quick to part them for him, allowing his tongue to work softly against yours.

You and Jake relish in the taste of one another mixed with the sweetness of the bubbly alcohol, your movements becoming more fervent. Your head grows dizzy as Jake groans into your mouth when your fingers gently tug at the hair at his nape.

Jake feels his cock twitch in his pants when he pulls away and sees your hazy expression, all hooded lids and kiss-swollen lips. He presses a trail of sweet kisses to your jaw and chin, working his way down to your neck. His nose grazes the column of your throat, inhaling the sweet, flowery scent of your perfume.

Your head tilts back on a quiet moan, granting Jake more access as his mouth begins to work at the side of your neck. Sucking and biting at the soft skin, teeth sure enough to leave a mark. With your hands still in his hair, you pull Jake back up to your lips, kissing him ardently as your hips involuntarily rut against the growing bulge in his trousers.

You both moan at the friction as Jake’s hand moves to cup your cheek, fingers tangling in your intricately styled hair. As his tongue glides against yours, you feel him begin to pull at the pins, loosening your hair from its confines until it flows freely around your shoulders. He pulls back from the kiss to look at you with a look that screams pure lust.

“Fuck, I’ve been wanting to do that all night.” Jake breathes as he runs a hand through your silky locks. Since he first laid eyes on you, he’d wondered how you’d look with your hair all messy and free, your perfect little up-do unraveled. And fuck, does he like what he sees.

With a newfound sense of need, you reattach your lips to Jake’s, sliding your tongue into his mouth as your hands begin to push the suit jacket off of his shoulders. He shrugs it the rest of the way off, letting out a whispered ‘fuck’ as your lips trail down his sharp jawline to his neck as your nimble fingers begin to work on untying his tie, and straight to unbuttoning his dress shirt after that.

When his upper half is free of clothes, you tease soft, barely-there kisses along Jake’s shoulders and the hard plains of his chest. Eager to touch more of your skin, Jake’s hands make their way down to your thighs, changing positions to pull you underneath him on the velvet couch, your legs wrapped around his hips. He sits up and runs an index finger lightly under the thin strap of your dress.

“Can I?” You nod fervently in response to his question and Jake gently pushes the straps off of your shoulders.

You sit up and Jake pecks your lips, his hands moving behind you to unzip the top of your dress. The soft satin falls down around your torso, revealing a strapless lacy bra that matches the pastel purple of your dress. His hands reach again behind your back, making quick work of unclasping your bra to reveal your perfect, supple breasts.

Jake takes a moment to admire the beautiful picture that’s in front of him before he leans down to kiss at your chest. His lips work softly at the swell of your breast, thumb and index finger coming to pinch at one nipple while his mouth engulfs the other. The moan it pulls from you is music to Jake’s ears.

Your fingers tangle in his hair once again as his tongue swirls your nipple, quiet whimpers escaping you as he kisses and suckles at the skin. His mouth travels to your other breast, leaving a trail of kisses along the way before sucking the bud between his lips, tongue working softly at it until it forms a hardened peak.

Satisfied with his work, Jake grazes his teeth against your nipple, evoking a breathy gasp from you and a tug on his hair as he nips at the sensitive bud before releasing it. You feel a gush of arousal at your core as his mouth starts to trail lower down your torso. Kissing softly at your sternum, your ribcage, and just above your navel.

Goosebumps form along your skin as Jake lowers himself down on the couch, strong hands gliding up the sides of your thighs. Pushing the silky fabric of your dress along with them until it’s bunched up at the middle of your torso, revealing pretty, sheer lace panties that you’re sure are probably soaked through.

Jake presses a kiss to your hip bone, looking up at you with wild eyes awaiting your permission. You swallow hard, nodding your head frantically. You need him to touch you before you go insane.

“Please, Jake,” You hardly recognize the breathless, whiny voice that comes out of your mouth. “Need you.”

Jake runs a finger along your slit over the damp fabric of your panties, your desperate, breathy cries painting a smirk on his lips. He doesn’t need to be told twice.

He teasingly bumps his finger into your clit just to hear you whine before his fingers grip onto your waistband, pulling the lacy fabric torturously slow down your thighs. He sits back on his knees, pressing a kiss to your knee as he helps get your underwear the rest of the way down your legs.

When they fall to the floor, Jake repositions himself on the couch between your thighs, lifting one of them over his shoulder. His lips make a trail up the inside of your thigh, kissing and nipping at the soft skin and enjoying the way your breath catches as he inches closer to where you need him most, before ultimately moving back and starting again on the other thigh. Your fingers tug at his roots, chest breathless and heaving as you wait for Jake to just do something.

You moan out loudly in surprise as your wish is granted, Jake’s tongue licking a broad stripe through your folds. Your fingers tighten in his hair when he presses a kiss to your clit. He pulls back for a moment and just stares at your cunt, pretty and glistening just for him.

You’d be embarrassed at the attention if it weren’t for the look of complete awe on his gorgeous face as he gazes at your core. His tongue glides through your folds again, collecting your arousal.

“Mm, so fuckin’ sweet, baby. Just like you.” And with that, Jake sucks your clit between his lips, drawing a loud cry from your lips as he applies a firm pressure. He alternates between suckling the sensitive bud and dipping his tongue into your hole, tasting the wetness that continues to flow at his ministrations.

As his lips wrap around your clit once more, you feel one of Jake’s fingers begin to tease at your entrance. Gathering the wetness there before the digit enters you, he lets out a low groan as you clench around it. He works his finger in and out, adding in a second to help stretch you out and get you ready for his cock.

Jake can hear your soft whimpers and heavy breathing, he can feel the way your walls clench around his fingers even tighter as he prods at that spongy spot inside of you and he knows that you’re close.

“Gonna come for me, Sweets? You gonna come all over my tongue?” Jake implores with a teasing smirk before he dives back in, tongue replacing his fingers and licking into you.

“Fuck, please, Ja- OHH!” Your plea is cut short as his fingers pinch at your clit once more. Rubbing tight circles in time with his tongue that’s fucking in and out your hole. Jake’s fingers quicken their pace, pressing firmly against your sensitive bud while he devours you, and you fall over the edge with a sharp cry that borders on being a scream.

“So fucking good for me.” Jake mutters against your center, his tongue lapping up your release while his fingers still gently swirl your clit and work you through your orgasm. He licks up every bit of your sweetness, rutting his hips against the velvety couch cushion to gain some friction on his still-clothed cock that strains under the fabric of his pants, as he watches you writhe under his tongue, hands tugging at his roots hard as your loud cries turn into soft whimpers.

Jake only lets up when your shaky hand tries to push his head away from your center, the pleasure becoming too much. Leaving one final kiss to your inner thigh, he pulls back, lips and chin glistening with your release.

You tug at Jake’s hair again, guiding his head back up to be level with yours. You pull him into a bruising kiss, moaning into his mouth as you taste yourself on his tongue. Your hands travel down to unbuckle Jake’s belt and open the button of his trousers, one hand dipping into the waistband to cup him over his boxers.

Jake grunts above you as you palm at his hard length, his own hands reaching down to help you remove his pants.

Only able to get them about halfway down his legs from his position hovering over you, Jake pulls back and stands from the couch. He pulls his dress pants and underwear down in one swift motion. Your mouth waters at the sight of him, his cock long and hard, the tip red and dripping with precum.

Before he can return to his previous position kneeling above you, you too stand up, pushing Jake back onto the couch in a seated position.

“Wha- where ya goin’, darling?” Jake questions you with a breathless chuckle, a bit surprised by the moment of dominance from you. As you drop to your knees in front of him though, he starts to get the hint.

“Just wanna return the favor.” You say it sweetly, giving him your best doe eyes. Jake’s hand comes up to cup your cheek, caressing the skin softly and letting out a desperate groan as you position yourself between his thick thighs.

You trail your nails along the skin of his thighs, leaving light pink marks in your wake as you tease your way to the apex of his thighs. When you finally wrap your hand around him, you feel Jake’s cock twitch in your grasp and look up at him with a sweet smile.

Minx. Jake swears he could cum right then and there.

Your hand rubs along the base of Jake’s cock and up to his tip, collecting the precum dribbling from his slit and dragging it down his length to aid in your movements. Your grip tightens around him just slightly, and you enjoy the desperate sound he makes as you lean down to place a kiss to his weeping tip.

Hand still cupping your cheek, Jake’s fingers move into your hair as you kitten lick at his tip before taking him into your mouth. Your tongue swirls around the ridge of his head, sucking softly and moving further down onto his length. You take as much of him into your mouth as you can, eagerly sucking his shaft and using your hand to rub what you can’t fit.

Your fingers move to grip one of Jake’s strong thighs as you take him as far down your throat as you possibly can, blinking up at him with wide doe eyes. Your cheeks suction around his length and Jake chokes on a loud moan, his fingers tightening in your hair when his tip hits the back of your throat.

“Fuck, fuck.” He gently pulls you off of him with a groan, a string of saliva still connecting your swollen pink lips to the head of his cock. Jake knew he was getting close and he didn’t want to finish before feeling your sweet cunt wrapped around him.

“Need to be inside you, darlin’.” Jake practically begs as he pulls you up to your feet. He finishes unzipping your dress that’s still hanging down around your middle the rest of the way, watching the fabric pool around your feet before guiding you to sit atop his thighs. Fully naked and secure in his lap, you wrap your arms around his neck and lead Jake into another fiery kiss.

“Need you, Jake.” You breathe against his lips, noses rubbing together as you nod your head against him.

You grind your hips down against his in an effort to convey your need. Jake’s hand reaches down to grip his cock, running it along your soaked folds and bumping your clit with his tip, teasing you both as you moan against each other’s lips.

“Shit… I don’t have a condom.” Jake realizes, voice sounding defeated as he looks down and watches the head of his cock tease at your clit once more.

“Fuck.” The word comes out of your mouth as a whine.

Fuck was right. All that hoping and planning to get lucky tonight, and you hadn’t had the forethought to bring protection? Whoops.

Lucky for you, you’d been on the pill for a couple of years now, having started taking it when you were with your ex. You place a gentle kiss to Jake’s cheek before pulling back to look in his eyes as you speak.

“I’m on the pill. And I haven’t been with anyone in a while, so… I’m good.” You chuckle sheepishly, brows furrowing slightly as you wait for Jake’s response.

Jake nods his head eagerly. “Fuck-yeah, I’m all good too! If you’re sure…” he wants to be sure that you’re comfortable.

He can’t help but grin as you nod your head just as eagerly, but that grin is quickly wiped off Jake’s face.

Your brother can never find out about this… Rooster would actually kill him. It’s bad enough that he’s sleeping with Bradley’s little sister on his wedding day, let alone without protection.

It’s an afterthought that Jake realizes he must’ve accidentally spoken aloud, as the giggles that erupt from you in response to the words spoken under his breath hit his ears.

“Yes.” You plant a kiss on his jaw. “I’m sure, Jake.” Another kiss. “Need you.” Your lips move to peck his hungrily.

His thoughts are immediately pulled away from Rooster and Jake couldn’t be happier. Not only does he get to be inside of you, but he gets to feel you wrapped around him with no barrier in between.

Your blatant need for him only inflates Jake’s ego, and makes him impossibly harder. His hand cups the side of your neck, pressing his lips firmly to yours one more time before leaning back to look at you with a smug smirk.

“Go ahead. Take it, baby.” Jake drawls as he leans back, arms stretched along the back of the couch, his words have you clenching around nothing.

At his request, you lift your hips slightly, taking Jake’s hard cock into your hand and lining it up with your entrance. He watches in awe as you sink down around his length slowly, the both of you hissing simultaneously. You at the stretch, and him the tightness of your walls enveloping him.

Your hands hold onto Jake’s shoulders for support as you take him, inch by inch, until he’s fully seated inside of you. You both let out quiet curses at the feeling. You’re not sure you’ve ever felt so full, but your slickness makes for easy movement once you get used to the stretch.

You lift your hips until just the tip of his cock is still inside of you, before slowly sinking back down and grinding your hips against his.

“Fuck. Feel so good, darlin.” Jake groans as your muscles clench around him and you let out a quiet whimper in response.

You bury your face in the crook of Jake’s neck as you begin to ride him, moving up and down his length as your hips work to find a rhythm. Jake groans as you begin to pick up the pace, his hands moving to your hips to help guide your movements.

When you’ve found a good rhythm, Jake plants his feet firmly on the floor beneath him and begins to thrust up into you. Pulling your hips firmly against his with every thrust, hitting that spot inside of you that makes you cry out in ecstasy.

The soft whimpers you let out against the skin of his neck are driving Jake’s movements, the sweet, open-mouthed kisses littered against the column of his throat spurring him on. He grunts as your walls tighten around him in a vice-like grip on a particularly hard thrust.

Jake can tell you’re getting tired as your thighs begin to tremble over his, hips stuttering and losing their tempo as you rise and sink yourself down on his cock.

His hands wrap around your thighs, lifting you off of him and you whine in protest at the loss of the fullness of him. With you still hovering over his lap, arms wrapped around his neck, Jake easily flips the two of you over, gently placing you so that you’re lying back on the velvety couch. He hovers over you, knees digging into the cushions and he leans down to attach his lips to yours as he lines up with your entrance again.

You moan into the kiss as Jake bottoms out inside of you, your velvety walls welcoming him in with ease. Jake lifts one of your thighs around his hips, your leg going to wrap around his back automatically as he plows into you, the head of his cock hitting that spot deep inside of you again and it has you seeing stars.

The room is filled with the sounds of heavy breathing, Jake’s soft grunts and your blissful cries mingling together. Skin slapping against skin as Jake drives into you, the sound of your growing wetness as his cock moves in and out at a rapid pace. Jake leans down to suck a nipple into his mouth as he fucks you, nipping lightly at the skin.

“Jake…fuck! Please…” You’re babbling almost incoherently, the fucked-out look on your face sending Jake into a frenzy.

“I’ve got you, honey. Want you to come for me.” He mumbles against the skin of your chest as he continues to fuck you, one hand gripping onto the top of the couch for support.

He can sense you’re getting close and he applies a firm thumb to your clit, the pressure willing another moan from deep within you. Your fingers lock onto the strands of his hair as his fingers begin to circle the sensitive bundle of nerves.

Jake quickens the pace of his thrusts, and his hand moves to grab the leg that’s wrapped around his waist, instead pushing your knee up to your chest so he can plunge into you deeper. The new angle combined with the consistent pressure on your clit has you screaming out, and you pray that no one walks down the hall past this room right now because they’d definitely hear you.

The sensation of Jake’s thumb and forefinger harshly pinching your clit sends you over the edge, a loud, broken cry escaping your throat as he fucks you through it. His length continues to move in and out of you, hips never slowing their pace. The overstimulation leaves you a whimpering mess, nails clawing into Jake’s shoulder as he searches for his own high.

Jake is nearing his end too, the tightness of your walls constricting around his cock as you writhe and whimper underneath him makes his hips stutter as he slams into you. With a few more thrusts, he reaches his peak with a deep groan. His warm, sticky release coating your walls and you sigh blissfully at the feeling. Jake’s hips slow, not stopping fully until he’s spent, wanting to fill you up with every last drop of his cum.

Once he’s sure that you’ve milked him of every last bit, Jake pulls out of you gently and you whimper at the feeling. Missing the fullness of him already, a sigh escapes your lips as a mixture of his release and yours begins to dribble out between your thighs.

Jake moves to flip the two of you over so that you’re lying on top of him, your head resting upon his chest. You can feel his still-fast heartbeat against your ear, getting slower by the minute as he recovers from his high.

Your own heart is racing too and your mind is hazy as you wind down, you’re not sure that anyone has ever fucked you so good. Jake’s arms wrap around you, one hand reaching up into your hair and gently massaging your scalp as the other softly rubs at the skin of your back.

The two of you lay there for a while, cuddling and quietly talking about everything and nothing. Sharing details about yourselves, wanting to get to know each other a little better.

At some point, you pick up the bottle of champagne from the floor again, still resting on Jake’s chest as you pass it back and forth. Taking sips, both of you pleasantly buzzed—from both the alcohol and the orgasms—as you talk about your jobs, your families, anything and everything that comes to mind.

Eventually, the topic of discussion turns to the events of the day and the wedding, and Jake has you giggling as he makes some joke at your brother’s expense.

Spending time with Jake is easy. You feel giddy, yet comfortable in his embrace and his cocky-but-charming personality hasn’t failed yet to make you smile.

“Maybe we should get married.” The sarcastic tone of Jake’s voice lets you know he’s obviously joking, but his words still have you lifting your head from his bare chest to look up at him, a bit bemused.

“It would make my entire life to see the look on Rooster’s face when he has to tell people that I’m his brother-in-law.” Jake continues, looking down at you with that signature smirk, the mischievous mirth in his eyes eliciting a giggle from you.

Even though he doesn’t know you very well yet, Jake can’t help but think it might actually be pretty nice to be married to someone like you. Sweet, funny, beautiful–and Jake finds he really enjoys spending time with you.

“Yeah, I’d pay good money to see that.” You agree, your body being gently bounced around with the movement of Jake’s chest beneath you as he joins you in your laughter.

“Ok, so I know it’s a little soon for marriage, but I would like to take you out.” For the first time since you met him earlier that day, Jake actually seems a bit… nervous? The smile on his face is a bashful one and you find it’s adorable. From the stories your brother had told about the cocky pilot, you never would’ve thought you’d find him so endearing.

“Like… in the murdering sense?” You try to alleviate his nerves with a bit of humor and Jake’s subsequent deadpan stare has you giggling again. You lean up to press a kiss to his jaw. He pretends to be annoyed by your antics, but you can tell he’s trying not to smile.

“On a date.” He drawls with a dramatic eye roll. You suck in a breath and plaster a pensive look on your face, pretending for a moment like you actually need to think about his offer. You exhale with an exaggerated sigh.

“Ok.” Your arms tighten around Jake’s torso and you press a kiss to his chest.

“Yeah?” Jake tries to keep his cool, but he has a hard time hiding the excitement in his voice. He knows you can probably feel the way his heart has sped up beneath your cheek that’s resting against his skin too.

“Yes. I’d love to go out with you.” You lift your head to gaze up at him once more, trying to bite back your grin. But Jake’s thumb reaches up to release your bottom lip from between your teeth, gently running over the tender skin as he gazes down at you with those glittering green eyes. Yeah, you could get used to that.

The two of you stay wrapped up together on the sofa a little while longer, still talking quietly so as to not disturb the peaceful atmosphere of the ambiently-lit suite. You’re still lying on Jake’s chest, your legs intertwined with his, lulled into a hazy state of comfort as one of his hands lightly runs through your hair, lazily twirling the locks around his finger. His other hand is softly tracing patterns onto the bare skin of your back.

You and Jake have been gone a long while now, and you know if you don’t return to the party soon, Bradley is going to come looking for you. Deciding you’d rather not have your brother find you in such a compromising position with one of his friends, you begrudgingly lift your head from Jake’s chest.

“We should probably head back out there.” You say with little enthusiasm. “My brother’s gonna think you kidnapped me and send out a search party.”

You grumble, pouting as Jake’s hand lightly caresses over your hair. Cute.

He laughs at your sour expression and hums in agreement, sitting up on the couch. The movement of his body taking you with him as you’re still wrapped around him.

Jake ponders if he should maybe tell you about Bradley warning all of the men at his wedding away from you—but ultimately decides against it as you seem so content, so at ease with him. He didn’t want to ruin your good mood or cause problems between you and your brother. And, he really likes you. He doesn’t want to fuck this up.

Maybe he’d tell you one day when Bradley is really pissing him off, he thinks to himself with a smirk.

Jake helps you to your feet before standing up himself and stepping back into his boxers. He tells you to wait a moment while he runs into the bathroom that’s at the back of the room.

While you’re in the midst of securely clasping your bra back over your chest, Jake returns with a damp cloth, kneeling down to gently clean up his cum that’s now dried down the inside of your thighs, leaving a soft kiss to the skin of your hip.

Once you’re all cleaned up, Jake helps you step into your lace underwear, bracing yourself with a hand on his shoulder for balance as your legs still feel a bit like Jell-O after the earth-shattering orgasms he had given you.

He stands to help you back into your bridesmaid’s dress, leaning down to place featherlight kisses to your shoulder blades as he closes up the zipper. Jake even helps smooth down your hair—surely a mess from your earlier activities and his hands running through it—leaving a chaste kiss to your lips before he moves to re-dress himself. This time forgoing his tie in favor of stuffing it into his pocket.

With your heels strapped around your ankles once more, you let Jake lead you out of the suite. Your hand joined with his and your cheek resting against his shoulder as you navigate your way, side by side, back to the ballroom.

When you reach the double doors, you tug at Jake’s hand to stop him before he can open them. The blonde’s cute, inquisitive look reminds you of a golden retriever puppy and it makes your heart flutter. You reach up to cup his cheeks, pulling him in for a brief, but passionate kiss.

“Sorry, I just really wanted to do that again.” You tell him with a nervous laugh and he lets out a satisfied groan.

“Don’t be sorry, sweetheart.” Jake pulls you back in and you can feel the smirk on his lips as he attaches them to yours. The two of you spend the next few minutes just standing there, making out outside of the entrance to the ballroom.

Mouths moving languidly together, and you don’t hesitate to grant Jake’s tongue access when it runs along the seam of your lips. Tongues swirling lazily around one another trying to memorize the taste. When you finally pull back, your lips are swollen, and both you and Jake are beaming.

The reception is coming to an end, and you make it back into the slowly emptying ballroom just in time to see the happy newlyweds making their rounds about the room, accepting congratulations and thanking their guests for coming.

As they come across you and Jake, Natasha is all smiles while Bradley’s expression drops into one of annoyance, his hazel-eyed glare directed at Jake.

Never one to be intimidated by his best frenemy, Jake’s mouth forms into that distinctive smirk, extending the hand that wasn’t holding yours toward your brother.

“Congratulations, Rooster.” Jake speaks confidently. The two of them shake hands, not dissimilar to how they did after the success of the Uranium mission. Except this time, Bradley isn’t smiling.

By the happy look on your face and the fact that you’re not glaring at him—or trying to hit him—Bradley realizes that Jake must not have told you about his earlier warning to his groomsmen. Though he’s still annoyed with Jake for going against his wishes, he guesses that’s for the best. Maybe Natasha was right.

“Thanks, man.” Bradley’s face softens just barely.

“But, just know, if you hurt my little sister, I won’t hesitate to shoot your plane out of the sky. We clear?” Your brother continues, still shaking Jake’s hand all the while. Natasha watches the whole exchange, trying not to laugh.

“Bradley-!” Eyes widening, you try to intercept but Jake stops you, giving your hand a light squeeze.

“No, no. It’s okay, Sweets.” You can hear the mirth in his voice when he says it, knowing he’s going to get a reaction out of Bradley.

“SWEETS?!” Your brother all but shrieks, ripping his hand away from Jake’s as if he’s been burned and Natasha is no longer able to hold back her laughter. The pouty glare he gives her in return ends up pulling a snicker out of you too. Jake chuckles haughtily and wraps an arm around your shoulders before addressing your brother again.

“I’m not gonna do anything to hurt her, Bradshaw. I promise. You have my word.” You smile sweetly up at Jake, delighted by his words.

Your brother grumbles in agreement, recognizing the sincerity in his friend’s voice in that moment, before the two of them shake hands once more. Then, Jake offers the bride a hug and his congratulations, and tells you he’ll give you a moment with you brother, that he’ll be waiting for you by the exit.

With Jake making his exit, your brother’s face finally softens as he turns his attention to you.

That is, until he glances down a bit and you know that he’s clocked the very obvious hickey blooming on the side of your neck when his expression hardens again. You can swear you see his eye twitch and you have to refrain from laughing. Luckily, for both of your sakes, he doesn’t bring it up.

Bradley just sighs before shaking his head. For the first time since the breakup, his little sister looks genuinely happy and if that’s the case, then he’s happy too.

“Hangman… really?” He scrunches his nose and at that, you simply shrug at him with an amused grin.

Your brother groans, “I don’t know what happened, and I don’t wanna know.”

“Deal.” The two of you share a laugh and Bradley pulls you into a tight bear-hug, which you return gratefully.

“Love you, sis.” He murmurs into the crown of your hair. “Love you too, Bradley.”

Natasha watches the sweet moment between her new husband and sister-in-law with a smile.

“I’m really happy for you, big bro. And so proud. Mom and Dad would be too.” Your arms tighten around him as you quietly deliver the sentiment.

You turn your gaze toward Natasha to let her know that you’re now addressing her as well. “Congratulations!”

When Bradley releases you from his embrace, Nat pulls you in for a hug as well. With that, they bid you goodnight and make your way back over to Jake who’s waiting for you by the ballroom doors.

Bradley opens his arm for his wife to step under, which Natasha does gladly, her own arm draping around Bradley’s waist as his moves to wrap around her shoulders. The couple watches on as you cross the room to reach the cockiest member of the Dagger squad.

“I actually think they’re kinda cute together.” Natasha’s tone is a jesting one, but there’s definitely some truth to her statement. Bradley just tilts his head up toward the ceiling, eyes clenched shut as he groans in response.

With the festivities coming to a close, you find yourself incredibly tired. After such a long day–and all the exertion with Jake that evening, you’re more than ready for a good night’s sleep. Fortunately for you, everyone was staying in the hotel at which the reception was held, so it wasn’t a long commute.

Despite your increasing exhaustion though, you were reluctant to bid Jake goodnight.

“So… I guess, if you want, you could walk me to my room? Or…” You trail off, leaving the ball in his court. A tad nervous now, blinking up at him with a bright-eyed, hopeful expression, unsure if Jake will get the hint.

But he definitely does, and the expectant look on your beautiful face makes him smile. What you don’t know is that Jake isn’t quite ready for his time with you tonight to come to an end either.

“Or… you could come back to mine?” He finishes the sentence for you, his grin morphing into more of a smirk, but his tone remains sincere. Placing your hands on his chest, you lean up to peck Jake’s lips.

“I’d love to.” You speak softly against his lips and Jake can feel you smiling. “Just don’t tell my brother.”

Your cheeky remark has Jake letting out a throaty chuckle, his breath warming your cheek before he briefly presses his lips to yours more firmly.

“How else am I gonna piss him off?” Jake jests and you retreat from the kiss, playfully smacking his chest. Shaking your head as the two of you share another laugh. His hands move to slide up the bare skin of your arms as you pull back and Jake can feel the goosebumps forming there.

He removes his suit jacket, leaving him in just his dress shirt, and carefully drapes it over your shoulders. The coat dwarfs your smaller frame, and Jake decides he loves the way you look all wrapped up in his clothes.

“Come on, Sweets. Let’s get you to bed.” Jake softly drawls. The look you give him is one of pure adoration as he takes your hand in his and leads you out into the halls of the hotel.

And though you’re most definitely tired, you have an inkling you’d be more than okay with spending a couple more hours wide awake with Jake when you get up to his room.

Thank you for reading! x

Part two

Taglist: @sebsxphia @wkndwlff @chaoticassidy @dempy @ohgodnotagainn @shanimallina87

also tagging a few others who reblogged the sneak peek of this story:

@sunlightmurdock @rosiahills22 @gigisimsonmars @wildxwidow @sarkasfics @roosters-girl <3

#jake seresin #jake hangman seresin #hangman seresin #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin smut #jake seresin x you #jake seresin x female reader #hangman seresin x reader #hangman x you #top gun maverick #hangman seresin x you #glen powell #jake seresin imagine #jake seresin oneshot #jake seresin x y/n #jake x lil bradshaw #my writing

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seresinhangmanjake · 2 months

Text

Main Masterlist

Series:

Oh, Baby (dad!Jake Seresin): You might not have been his girlfriend, but when you left town one night a month after sleeping together, it completely broke Jake’s heart. Now, a year later, you’ve returned and you’re not alone. You have a new little companion that just so happens to bear a startling resemblance to Jake.

The One I Want (Jake Seresin x Plus Size!Reader): You're new in town and some guy named Jake is about to be your roommate. Being skeptical of new people keeps you lonely and uninterested in any entanglements, but Jake is desperate to change that.

Signed Away (Arranged Marriage AU): You find out about the contractual marriage your parents arranged with Jake’s when you were a baby. You’re plenty angered by it, but Jake doesn’t seem too bothered. He might even be happy.

Stolen Angel (Angel/Demon AU): You thought you were having a one-night stand with some random, normal guy. Turns out he's a winged, demon-like stalker who has been obsessed with you for years.

One shots:

Forgetting: Jake forgets to pick you up at the airport because of his ex, and for the first time, you think maybe you and Jake aren't mean to be.

Can’t Let You Go: When you and Jake broke up, it hurt both of you more than you could handle. Now, after three months of barely seeing or speaking to one another, Jake walks in on the surprise of seeing you in a wedding dress, and it brings past memories and ruined dreams to the surface.

Rather Be with You: Jake has been away for six months and he just hopes you waited for him.

It’s oh so Quiet: you are in a bad relationship, and you just want to be with Jake.

Just a Little Weak: You are Penny’s new bartender and she warns you to stay away from one particular pilot, so you do your very best to please your boss. It is only when Penny goes out of town for the summer, leaving you in charge of the bar, that the pilot finally makes his move, and you finally give in. 18+

Touch and Go: You and Jake had been sleeping together for months, and as sure as you were of your feelings for him, you were unsure of his for you. He, however, certainly knew how he felt about you, and after you decide to go on a long trip without telling him, he lets you know just exactly what’s on his mind. 18+

Lazy Mornings and Whatnot: After coming home from his last mission, Jake doesn’t want you to leave the bed and will do what he has to if it means insuring that you’ll stay, which leads to fluffy conversations.

Jealousy Game: You do a little experiment to try to make Jake jealous and it works, with unexpected consequences that change the way you thought the night would go. 18+

Jealous Jake and the Biting Problem; Jealous Jake and the Other Sleepover Buddy: You and Jake have a friends-with-benefits situation, but when he finds bite marks on you from another guy, he doesn’t handle it well.

Split: You break up with Jake because his actions make you question everything you’ve had between you, but he wants you to take him back.

A First and a Second: It’s soft Dad!Hangman from start to finish. And cute marriage stuff.

Wanting it all: Hangman ends up in the hospital from a very similar Phoenix/Bob/birds situation, and you suddenly regret keeping a big secret from him.

Drunken Words, Sober Thoughts: You and Jake had a history of flirting and occasionally kissing if too much time was spent at the bar, but it never went any further than that. One night, after showing up at your house and passing out on your couch, Jake wakes up the next morning only to learn he had drunkenly confessed his feelings for you.

Alive: After you get into an accident, Jake has a hard time coping with how close he was to losing you.

More Than What We Are: You and Jake are friends with benefits, and you have one rule: No feelings! Jake decides that rule doesn’t work for him anymore. 18+

Less Misery, More Company: Jake has feelings for you but you don’t believe it, so you play a little trick to get back at him for all of his flirtatious teasing. But that little trick fails miserably, and as the weight of your mistake settles in, you realize you owe him an explanation, one that requires you to admit some things you’ve long denied.

Back for More: Jake up and left you without explanation right before a mission. Now he’s returned wanting you back, but you want that explanation before you’ll be willing to let go of the pain and heartbreak from his sudden departure a month prior.

Scrapes and Bruises: When Rooster and Hangman get into a fight over you. Basically, Rooster is not thrilled about your relationship with Hangman, and their issues with one another bring up some fears of your own.

A Mission of Another Kind:Jake is assigned to a mission he did not think he would have to take part in, despite training for it with everyone else. Considering its high level of danger, you had been happy he hadn’t volunteered for it, until he came to your house one morning to tell you he had been assigned and would be leaving within the hour.

Drabbles:

He Doesn’t - Jake doesn’t do relationships...right?

Early - Jake’s a sweet boyfriend when reader gets her period.

Jake helps his drunk girlfriend

His Princess

“The bed is cold without you here”

Perfect for me, Baby - Jake is there for you when you have body-image concerns.

Get Me Through - Jake helps you through the death of a loved one.

#jake seresin #jake seresin x reader #jake hangman seresin #top gun maverick #jake seresin fic

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deathmetalunicorn1 · 9 months

Note

Hi!!! HAPPY NEW YEAR 🥳🥳🥳

Anyways can I request a whitebeard pirates x female child reader? (This is basically were ace and whitebeard survived)

Basically the reader used to a slave for Blackbeard because she has a powerful devil fruit called the ink ink fruit

The ink ink fruit basically let's the user control and manipulate ink into wepons, shields, and sometimes people or other creatures (like the creatures from BATIM)

Anyways so like the reader feels nothing because of years of mental and emotional torture from Blackbeard :(

And she also has a big scar from Blackbeard over her eye making her a little blind but not fully

How would they react to her? Like how they met her, how they saved her and her life in the whitebeard family?

Can you also maybe based the reader of this?

Anyways HAPPY NEW YEAR AGAIN WHOOOOOOO

Sorry if this was a bit complicated bc I'm a bit tipsy hehe

-It was only chance that you had been seen after Blackbeard and his crew tried to kill Whitebeard, without success as Whitebeard blew them all back.

-Ace and Whitebeard were both lucky to walk away from that battle with their lives, they both had new scars to show off, but they were both alive.

-Marco had seen a child on Blackbeard’s ship, tendrils of something black swirling around you as you had broken a window, crawling out of it, like you were trying to escape.

-He easily swooped down, using his talons in his phoenix form to grab you, much to your shock and he picked you up.

-You cried out in fear, looking up and your one good eye went wide, seeing the flaming bird above you, before you heard Blackbeard, “Give me back Y/N!”

-Marco felt your flinch of fear, looking down to see you trembling in fear and he knew he wasn’t going to leave you with Blackbeard.

-Once on the ship, Marco took you to his room, carrying you so carefully, so gently, he could see the tears slipping out of your eyes as he smiled softly, “Nobody is going to hurt you again, Y/N.” you had never known such gentleness before, it was strange and kind of scary.

-Marco took you to his room, which was warm feeling and he put you on his bed, kneeling before you, “I need to go help the others. Will you stay here for a while, and I’ll come get you once we’re safely away from the area? You can sleep here if you want to.” You were hesitant in answering, a bit unsure of him before you mutely nodded.

-He ruffled your hair gently before leaving you in his room, closing the door behind him and you tipped over, feeling the softness of the bed you were on. It felt so nice. You couldn’t help but curl up and fall asleep.

-Hours later, after all wounds had been dealt with and everyone was safely away, making it to one of Whitebeard’s islands, they were all quickly celebrating, drinking and eating.

-Marco returned down to you, finding you up, looking up at the bounty posters he had on his wall, “You’re up- how do you feel Y/N?” you didn’t know how to answer, something he was able to tell before he picked you up, holding you up on his hip, “Let’s get you cleaned up and we’ll get you something to eat.”

-He called some of the nurses who were quick to rush to him, seeing the child he was holding, cooing over you like you were adorable while you didn’t react, looking back at Marco, who you knew was a safe person.

-Marco just smiled softly, “They’re gonna help you get cleaned up, I would but…” the nurses explained while giving you a bath that men, unless they were your father or something, shouldn’t give you a bath, and once you were clean they found a clean dress for you, but no shoes, and brushed your hair out.

-They checked your wounds over, finding bruises that signified shackles, not only around your wrists and ankles, but around your neck as well, as well as new and old bruises, whip marks, and what looked to be knife cuts in your back.

-Your eye that was heavily scarred was useless, you couldn’t see out of it. The thing that worried them was that you seemed numb, telling them that you had been tortured and abused for who knows how long. Long enough to abandon your emotions to keep yourself safe, but they couldn’t tell exactly how long.

-They told Marco everything and you could tell he was angry, hearing about what you, a child, had gone through, but he picked you back up, holding you close as they all headed back upstairs where the party was.

-Needless to say, seeing Marco walking out with a child in his arms was not what they were expecting, eyes wide as the party froze, everyone blinking in unison.

-Marco headed over, all eyes and heads following him, to Whitebeard, who was also surprised. You had never met someone so big before, but like those in Blackbeard’s crew, you didn’t feel afraid of him, you didn’t feel afraid of any of the people you were now surrounded by.

-Whitebeard reached down, taking you from Marco, pulling you up so you were sitting on his lap, “And who are you?” you looked up and answered in a soft, but emotionless, “Y/N.”

-Whitebeard had lived a long life, and he knew a hurt child when he saw one, but he kept his mouth shut about that at the moment before Marco spoke up, telling everyone how he found you on Blackbeard ship, escaping out of a broken window.

-Many saw the bruises on your wrists and ankles, from shackles, and many grew angry- fully ready to hunt Blackbeard down again, not only for what he tried to do, but for what he did to you.

-You didn’t seem to have any emotions, even when Ace brought you a mug of juice and some cake to eat, like other kids who would be all smiles and cheering. You just sat there and ate quietly, worrying the others on how you were acting.

-Marco then spoke, trying to get you to interact a bit more, “Y/N- what was that black thing that was helping you get out the window?”

-You lifted your hand which turned black, almost like ink, and it morphed into different shapes, “Ink-Ink Fruit- it helped me. He always made me do bad things with it.”

-Eyes narrowed, which made you flinch back, your ink returning inside you, thinking they were mad with you, but Ace was quick to hug you close, to reassure you, “We’re not mad at you, Y/N. We’re pissed at Blackbeard- I can’t believe he would treat a child like this! How long have you been with that bastard?”

-WHACK!! Marco was quick to punch the top of Ace’s head, sending him to the ground while pulling you up into his arms, “Language!” which caused laughter all around the deck of the ship while you were confused.

-You looked at your fingers before holding up four fingers, “This many years I think.” Looking at your size, they estimated you to only be about 8 or 9, since you had been malnourished, meaning you had spent over half your life, almost, in Blackbeard’s clutches.

-Whitebeard stood, a foreboding aura surrounding him, “Teach- he’s going to pay for this!” a roar of cheers rung out around him as everyone agreed. You were confused, looking up at him, wondering why they were all so upset and willing to help you.

-Over the next few weeks, the crew, who had adopted you, everyone except for Whitebeard becoming your big brothers, as Whitebeard became your papa, had been treating you so nicely, helping you heal, trying to teach you how to be a normal kid, since your childhood had been snatched away from you.

-They had a chance to see your abilities in action, you could control the ink to create full bodies, creatures that looked like devils, but cute, like something a child would draw, as well as weapons, shields, and the tendrils which were like arms to help you in various situations.

-You had expert control over your ability, as you had eaten your Devil Fruit when you were very young, but also ‘thanks’ to Blackbeard, who would beat you or let one of the others beat you if you did something wrong, you had learned quickly how to control it, to avoid beatings, which still sometimes came, just to keep you in line.

-It was strange for you, being on the Moby Dick, you never knew hunger since coming aboard, everyone aways made sure that you ate your three meals and would always give you snacks, which sometimes would cause fights, as your appetite would be ruined for an actual proper meal.

-You had your own room, between Marco and Ace, with a soft, warm bed, all for you, you had clean clothes and you got to bathe on a regular basis. It was almost like paradise for you.

-You never hurt again, other than the few shots you had to get, to help boost your immune system, but those only hurt for a bit. It was strange to walk around with no pain, as not a day had gone by without you being in pain and to have that now gone… it was weird.

-You had been gently forced into participating with your big brothers, sitting with them at mealtimes, joining them on the deck to watch others train or to enjoy a party, and they would include you on their, child friendly, conversations, asking you your opinions on things like your favorite cake flavors.

-Whitebeard knew this was going to be a process, one that was going to take a lot of time and patience, but he could see that you were trying, at least a little bit, seeking out certain members of the crew, like Marco and Ace, whom you felt the closest with, and you weren’t as hesitant to answer questions as you had been.

-Whitebeard smiled when he saw you peeking out the doorway leading to the deck, looking around before you spotted him. He smiled warmly at you as you trotted over, your face as neutral as normal, but he noticed your eye did look just a bit brighter.

-He grinned, setting his mug down as you peered up at him, “Hello Y/N- what brings you out here today?” you lifted your arms up, silently asking him to pick you up and he grinned, reaching down with one hand and picked you up with ease, setting you on his knee, “Will you tell me more about Rock?”

-Whitebeard grinned, as he had been telling you stories about his past, when he was in the Rock Pirates, and to see you asking him for more, it was a sign of improvement, seeing you asking for something, rather than taking what was given to you, something they had been working on.

-Whitebeard paused, seeing you look back towards the door where he saw Vista, Marco, Izo, and Ace all giving you a thumbs up, as they had encouraged you to go ask the old man for a story.

-He chuckled warmly, seeing the truth, but he didn’t mind, as you were taking it step by step, as he told you of a raid that he and Kaido took part in, working together, after they had snuck off after Rocks told them not to.

-You gazed up at him, listening to his tale, and he remained silent, seeing the small smile on your lips, seeing you finally smiling for him.

#one piece #whitebeard #marco #izo #vista #blackbeard #portgas d ace

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ilovenarumitsu · 2 months

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More Than Just a Theory

narumitsu / wrightworth

People often talk about the 'meet them twice' theory. This theory has a few interpretations (NaruMitsu edition):

1. You meet someone at an earlier time, lose contact and disconnect, but connecting with them again at a later time.

The first time Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth met, they were in fourth grade. Phoenix recalls the class trial more often than he should. He never forgot Miles for what he's done to help him and was determined to do whatever it takes to repay him for his kindness.

When Miles disappeared suddenly from school, Phoenix was devastated. Larry, concerned, tried his best to cheer him up but to no avail, Phoenix was destroyed.

Life happens and he decides to be an attorney, in hopes that he'll meet Miles again in court and can repay him like he should have done years ago.

His prayers are answered.

2. You meet someone and lose contact with them but you find them in someone else that you meet.

During his university years, Phoenix was involved in a murder case involving his girlfriend at the time, his Dollie, Dahlia Hawthorne. Mia Fey fought relentlessly for Phoenix's innocence and this only reminded him more and more of Miles and the class trial.

Phoenix saw a part of Miles in Mia and this led him to start his journey as an attorney.

3. You meet someone on a surface level, but then you really meet them.

When they meet in court for the first time, their eyes reconnect like the last time they met each other was yesterday. It was an instant connection. Phoenix was face-to-face with the pair of eyes that he's been thinking of for years. The reason why he's an attorney today is standing across from him in the courtroom.

The only thing they knew about each other was surface level. Nothing out of the ordinary. It wasn't until Miles' 'suicide' note that Phoenix regretted not getting to know him on a more intimate level rather than coldly nodding in the hallways. Phoenix grieves on what could have been.

The day Miles came back, it was like he was a new person. And now, Phoenix finally gets to know the real him; the Miles Edgeworth that fights for the truth, who fights for what's right.

The one thing that connects all these interpretations together is that no matter what, the universe always has a way of bringing two people together; regardless if one of those people are represented in another person.

Phoenix Wright and Miles Edgeworth were destined for each other, whether they liked it or not (they do).

#narumitsu #ace attorney #miles edgeworth #phoenix wright #they love each other #gyakuten saiban #wrightworth #fluff #?#mostly phoenix pov #still cute #i miss them #mia fey #dahlia hawthorne

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weirdosinthestereo · 19 days

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At Home Barista (Jake Seresin x F!Reader)

Author's note: Hello again! This is just a short story I thought would be cute. Gotta give all of Glen’s characters some love right? Here's a fluffy Jake Seresin drabble.

Warnings: None! Just fluff!

Jake was nervous as he set up everything. He hoped he had gotten everything she needed. “Calm down, she's going to love it!” Rooster said as he put ice in a cooler. They were celebrating your birthday today. It was the first one since you and Jake had gotten together a year ago. In that time, Jake had noticed just how much you loved coffee. Espresso, drip coffee, instant coffee, all of it! Jake had also watched you scrolling TikTok trying to find the best home espresso machine for months. Using people's opinions and videos to make a decision. Jake took matters into his own hands by buying you the machine you had been eyeing, the Breville Barista Express. The rest of the Dagger squad helped Jake get the rest of the pieces by buying something he had assigned to them. Now, Jake stood in front of the small coffee nook he had made in your shared kitchen. He had set up all your syrups, sauces, and other nick nacks in this dedicated area. It was perfect. Now, they just had to wait for you to get home.

“Hangman! Bring the burgers out here and quit rearranging that thing!” Coyote calls from the backyard. Jake huffs through nose and grabs the marinated burgers from the fridge.

While Coyote and Bob cooked, the rest of the group had some drinks and enjoyed the setting sun. “Who knew that Hangman of all people would be nervous about the gift he got his girl?” Phoenix jokes as she notices Jake constantly checking his phone to see if you're home. “This is serious! This is one of her favorite hobbies.. or obsession? Whichever makes more sense.” Jake jumps up, nearly spilling his beer when he hears a car door shut. “She's here!” He calls while running for the front door. The rest of your small group of friends huddle in the kitchen while they wait for you to come in.

“Jake? I thought we were getting together tomorrow?” You ask as he opens the front door. Jake smiles as he watches you come up the stairs. “Well, today is your actual birthday. We wanted to celebrate today!” Jake said as he got behind you and covered your eyes. “Jake Seresin! What have you done?” You asked playfully as you smiled and let Jake lead you around. Jake smirked as he led you to the kitchen, “Me? You know I'm the perfect little angel.”

Rooster scoffs at Jake's words, but smiles as he covers it with a cough when Jake glared at him. “Surprise!!” Everyone yells when Jake has you standing in front of the coffee nook. You stared shocked for a moment and then realized what they had all done. “Jake? Is this..? It is! You bought me that espresso machine I wanted?!” You asked excitedly as you looked at everything. Jake smirks as he nods, “Sure did baby girl. Everyone else bought other pieces to complete your little barista station. Now, you can practice all those recipes you've been looking at online.”

You turn and look at Jake with eyes full of love. Jake smiles cockily and opens his arms for you. He knew that look and laughed as you jumped on him and hugged him tightly. “Thank you! Thank you thank you thank you! I love it so much!” Jake couldn't help the small chuckles he let out as you pepper his face with kisses. You jump down and then hug everyone else on the Dagger squad for your gifts. Thanking them multiple times. You felt like they were your chosen family and it made your heart swell that they cared so much for you.

“Alright! Let's eat!” Jake said as he ushered everyone to the dining room where they had made a small buffet to make the burgers and hotdogs.

-_-_-Two Days Later-_-_-

“You okay there Hangman??” Bob asks as he watches Jake excitedly do his work. Jake had been rushing around all day and sporadically doing things.

“Yes!! Yes yes yes. I'm great! Never better! Hey! Don't mess up my clean floor!” Jake yells as he sees a rookie going to walk where he had just cleaned. Jake then decided the best course of action was to chase them down.

“He said he had a quad shot latte this morning and he usually doesn't drink a lot of coffee. Y/N has been feeding him coffee ever since the party to see if she is making it right.” Rooster explains with a shake of his head.

“He's not even assigned to clean the floors…” Bob says, confused as he watched Jake irritably clean the floor again where the rookie had been walking.

#glen powell x you #jake seresin #fluff #jake seresin x reader

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cryptictongues · 2 months

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Purrfect Medicine

pairing: Joshua Rosfield x Fem!Reader rating: G word count: 4.2k summary: You find a stray cat and Joshua doesn't know how to feel. warnings: This is straight up fluff!

Author’s Notes: Remember when I posted a poll a while back and this and that Clive smut won? Well, here is this one LOL sorry for the wait!

Please read my pinned post before following me! Minors and ageless blogs will be blocked as this blog’s content is NSFW.

[AO3 Link]

The deadlands near the Northern Territories were dreary and dark, something that the realm has become far too familiar with in recent years. Its void of life has created an eerie stain on the map of Valisthea; a tell-tale sign to people that nothing good survives there with its lack of resources. Joshua knew this, yet you had somehow convinced him to set up camp for the night right in the heart of them.

It wasn’t something the both of you had planned for, being that he wanted to get to Prince Dion sooner rather than later. However, you had insisted on stopping for the night when he started to cough non-stop, wheezing more and more with each stretch of travel. He knew you wouldn’t take no for an answer, the stubborn being that you are, and he wasn’t in any mood to argue. The last thing he remembers was you setting up the tent around him as he went in and out of consciousness, sleep taking over his brain until he was no longer present mentally. Now, as his mind starts to wake up, his first instinct is to locate your figure. He didn't sense any movement and the sounds of the deadlands were silent. Sitting up quickly, fast enough to make him dizzy, he pulls back the flap of the tent to see everything has been set up for the night, except you were nowhere to be seen.

Joshua groans. He can’t believe you ran off alone again. After telling you numerous times to not leave his sight, you still don’t listen. While marching to the beat of your own drum is a trait he admires greatly, it drives him absolutely insane at the same time. It is times like these where he wishes his body didn’t fail him so greatly; to have the energy to take care of himself better. It would save him a lot of trouble for himself, but for you especially.

Joshua has known you since the two of you were kids. You were kept in the medicine houses, learning how to heal Rosarian soldiers as the time for war was upon them. He recalls being there a lot as a kid, being as sick as he was. He would always watch you as you watched one of the healers work on him, concentrating on what to do and use for certain ailments. He was charmed the moment he saw you, his chest fluttering in ways he didn’t quite understand at the time.

Those were the only times he saw you. The two of you hadn’t spoken any words to each other unless needed for assessing, and that was that. It wasn’t until after the events of Phoenix Gate, where he remembers vague images of someone pulling him out of the rumble and loaded onto a carriage, where the girl who made his heart flare worked on him all the way until they went into hiding under the protection of the Undying. Long story short, being the only two children in isolation from the rest of the world made it very easy to become fast companions and the Undying declared you his guardian for his travel due to such a bond. Not that he would have accepted any other answer, for you knew him like the back of your hand.

Which means he knew that you knew leaving with no warning would upset him, especially out in the deadlands.

Joshua walks out into the open, starting to pace back and forth unknowingly. You have done this before and have turned up just fine. But the what ifs, the what ifs that fill his mind with dread, make him uneasy with the same questions. Does he go searching for you? Does he stay put? What would you do if he left with no sign? It is the same cycle over and over again.

“If you keep pacing like that, this stop will have been for not.”

Joshua whips his head around to see you standing a few feet away, smiling at him like you weren’t just gone for who knows how long. He takes a long, good look at you, examining to make sure nothing is out of place. But you looked just as you did when he passed out; clean and unscathed.

“I wouldn’t pace if you would just listen to me for once.” He grimaces.

All you did was smile at him, eyes turning into crescents as you walked towards him. “I apologize, Your Grace. I was out finding some herbs for your well-being, but I am sure you can assume how that went.”

“Well, my darling, this is the deadlands. One can assume that means everything is dead.” He feels his lip wanting to curve into a smirk, but he represses it. He can’t let you keep getting away with this: scaring him and shifting his mood back the minute he sees you. He wants to say more, but the second he starts to move his lips, he hears a chirp come from your satchel.

You laughed amusingly, from what Joshua can assume is his reaction to the noise. He watches you reach for the latch, opening it slowly. “If everything is dead, care to explain this?”

He watches the satchel move slightly, and then sees two black ears pop up. A moment later, he sees piercing green eyes, and not a moment too soon he sees a pink nose and whiskers. He is at a loss for words as he stares at a black cat. A bloody black cat.

“Isn’t he cute?” You exclaimed, removing the satchel from your body and setting it on the ground, revealing the cats full form. “I found him hurdled in a crevice off the outer cliff. I didn’t see any other cats, so I guess he is all alone.”

Joshua looks at the cat closely. “How do you know it is a boy?”

You smirked at him. “I can show you if you want.” You go to pick the cat up and immediately it clicks what you were about to do.

“No need!” Joshua rushes out, his face heating up from the embarrassment of his outburst, causing you to burst out laughing.

“You should see the look on your face!” You laughed, sitting down in the process and letting the cat crawl into your lap. “I was thinking of what we should name him. Lance short for Lancelot? Crow? Maybe something more common like Bernard?”

Joshua’s eyes go wide. “Don’t tell me we are keeping him.”

“Well, why not?” You shrugged. “He could be the best healer in the group, especially if I train him.”

“My love, he is a cat.” Joshua states the obvious. He doesn’t even know the first thing about taking care of a cat. Sure, he knew how to take care of a Chocobo and even a frost wolf, but a cat? That was out of his range.

“Cats can be wonderful companions, if you let them.” You smiled, slowly cradling the black ball of fur in your arms as you stood up. You walked over to him, holding the cat up by your face to give the most puppiest of eyes. “Come on, Joshua. Can we please take him with us? I’ll take care of him just like I take care of you. Besides, just you wait! I will make him the best healer you’ve ever seen!”

Joshua doesn’t want to give in, but the more he looks at you, the more his willpower crumbles. He hates how easily he folds for you, and as he continues to stare at you and the cat, he knows he has lost this battle. With a long sigh, Joshua nods in defeat. “Fine, but please, for the love of Greagor Herself, don’t run off again by yourself.”

In an instant, he feels your plush lips kiss his cheek. He watches as you buzzed with excitement, holding the cat close to you. “Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Joshua! You will not regret this!”

He is going to regret this.

It had been a week since Crow, the name you decided to give your furry friend, was found. Like you had promised, you’ve been very good at taking care of both him and Joshua. Joshua was impressed with your ability to multitask between two beings. However, what was starting to crawl over him like a green second skin was all the fault of the little feline.

Joshua admits that Crow is very well-behaved. He doesn’t run off anywhere he isn’t supposed to. He is relatively quiet, letting out a meow or a chirp if he is hungry or wants some attention. He doesn’t get upset being carried in the satchel you carry, quite the opposite really. Joshua has noticed that Crow is quite keen on keeping his head perched over the bag to watch the surroundings during travel. There is nothing to complain about, except for one major thing: how much he got your attention.

The first night, you had been curled up into Joshua’s side, per usual, with Crow settled at your feet. It wasn’t until he woke up the next morning that he noticed your warmth seemed further away and saw you lying flat on your back with Crow curled on top of your chest. Joshua remembers a glimmer of jealousy in his heart but set it aside quickly. It is just one night. This will not be common practice.

Until it did. It always started the same and ended the same. Joshua started to loathe the damn cat, and he felt silly for it. “It’s a bloody cat!” He thought. He should not feel such negative feelings towards it, but every time he pushes the jealousy out, it rolls back ten-fold.

Joshua is walking side by side with you, the two of you trailing the Crystal Road, getting closer to where the two of you need to be. Joshua is deep in thought, negative swirls of green dancing around his head, when he feels a small bump against his leg. He ignores it, thinking he got too close to your bag, when he feels it again.

He looks down to see Crow looking up at him, eyes wide and mouth curled. Joshua watches him bump his head against his leg, only to look back up at him with his big green eyes.

Joshua is stumped. Is he hungry? Can he feel the negative energy enclosing in his brain? Can cats do that?

“Um… dearest…” Joshua says softly, not wanting to disturb the peaceful walk.

“Hmm?”

“Crow wants something.”

Joshua and you stop in the middle of the road, and you spread the bag apart. “What’s up, little guy?”

You scratched his head, and Crow started to purr. You chuckled, looking at Joshua who was standing there feeling lost.

“You are so knowledgeable, yet so clueless.” You smirked. “He wants attention. He wants you to pet him.”

“Me?” Joshua asks, seriously questioning how that could be true. Crow hadn’t been craving his attention; it had been yours.

“He wants you to scratch his head. He loooooves that.” You drawled out. “Go on. Just like this.”

You scratched his head around his ears, demonstrating to Joshua how to proceed. He hesitantly lets his fingers run across the back of Crow’s head, just petting him at first to get a feel for how he will react. Crow pushes his head into Joshua’s fingers, which encourages him to start moving his fingers back and forth quickly.

Joshua couldn’t believe his luck. Crow was purring at the attention he was getting, and it made Joshua grow bolder. He starts to scratch down under Crow’s neck, making him lift his neck further for more room. In a way, this felt very therapeutic to him. It’s as if the twangs of jealousy that filled his head left within seconds, putting a smile on his face.

He hears a small chuckle, and he looks up to see you smiling behind your hand. He perks up, still scratching Crow in the process. “What’s so funny?”

“It just seems like the sun has decided to come back out.” You dropped your hand, letting it reach for his free one. “You seemed rather gloomy as of late. I’m just happy to see you smile genuinely."

“I apologize,” Joshua followed up with. “I have so much on my mind.” It wasn’t a lie, of course. He did have a lot on his mind, but he doesn’t have the courage to admit that the main thing getting to him was jealousy due to a damn cat.

“I know, but that’s why you have me. You know I’m always here for you.” You swayed, pulling him in a little closer.

Joshua hums and brings his hand to your face. With a gentle grasp, he pulls you in for a soft kiss, reminding himself that you are indeed here for him. He knows you wouldn’t put yourself in such a dangerous position if you didn’t feel strongly for him.

The kiss is interrupted by another head bump, causing Joshua to pull away. He hears you laugh and next thing he knows the satchel strap is over his shoulder, the cat in the bag right by his right leg.

“I’ll let you carry him for a while. He seems to want your affection.” You grin. He laughs softly and takes your right hand to press on the long, winding road with his right hand in the cat bag.

Joshua and you made camp, and for once he thought it best to stop for the night. It wouldn’t be long before the two, well three of you, reach the Crystal Belt, so some time to gather himself in preparation for his meeting with Dion sounded best.

Joshua was settling into the tent, waiting for you to come join him. He had started to help clean for an early start tomorrow, but you insisted he go ahead. While he usually would insist right back to keep his gentleman roots intact, he could feel the long day weighing on his eyelids and chose to let your stubbornness flourish for the night.

His eyes were starting to flutter shut, until he heard the soft patter of paws near him. He opens his eyes to see Crow staring at him, or at least what he can see of him. His black coat completely camouflages him into the shadows of the night, but his green eyes glimmer in the dark.

Joshua sits up on his elbows, hesitant to move. He watches Crow observe him, the cat's head tilting by the way the eyes become diagonal from one another. Petting Crow in a bag, where he is secure, is one thing. To engage with him where he can make any move he wishes is another. While Crow has been friendly, it has been when you were around. This is the first time he has been alone with the feline, and he doesn’t know how to act.

Crow had gotten noticeably closer and was now at the crevice of Joshua’s left arm. He stiffed when he felt Crow sniffing him, goosebumps rolling over his body in anticipation. Great Greagor, he is going to jump me. However, not only did that not happen, but the next thing Joshua sees is Crow let out a yawn, stretching his whole body in the process, before falling on his side with his head laying in between Joshua’s elbow. Small breaths can be heard as Crow starts to relax further, causing Joshua to relax with him. He lays back down, getting more on his side so he is in a comfortable position that allows room for Crow to stay undisturbed from his slumber. Carefully, he pulls Crow closer to him, making him snuggle more into his arm.

“This isn’t so bad.” Joshua thinks, a small smile forming on his lips. His mom never allowed Torgal to sleep with him as a child, her excuse being the wolf dander would deplete his immune system more than it already was. To have an animal so close to him is comforting. It makes him feel oddly safe, even when he feels safe in your company.

He hears the tent flaps open, and the moonlight shines into the tent. He sees your expression as you look at him and Crow, and his heart melts at how your eyes lit up. He watches you tie the flap so it is slightly ajar, and then watches you crawl in. You sit criss-crossed beside him, very obviously admiring the scene occurring.

“Well, isn’t this a sweet surprise?” You said smugly, arms crossed.

“Yeah,” Joshua lightly laughs. “I guess I can understand why you would want to sleep with him and not me.”

“Awe, was My Lord jealous of the little pussy cat?” You pouted jokingly, and all Joshua can do is groan. He knows it is silly, but he can’t deny it.

“I won’t deny my feelings, though rather immature.” He huffs lightly, looking down at the sleeping ball of fur. He moves his hand to stroke the black fur of Crow’s side, his mood lighting up even further. “This is strangely healing, however. I don’t blame you.”

“Well, you can now have a turn with him. He is a great sleepmate.” You moved to set up a side for yourself, but Joshua carefully reached for your arm causing you to turn to him quizzically.

“I have a proposition, being that you join us instead of sleeping alone tonight.”

The warmth in your eyes at his statement makes his heart leap, knowing your answer before it slips your lips. He watches you undress to the undergarments that lie beneath your outer clothes, and lifts the covers when you go to lie beside him. He intertwined his legs with yours, both of your bodies getting as close as possible without crushing Crow. His forehead touches yours, inhaling with an ease he hadn’t felt in a while.

“What is it?” You asked, concern in your tone.

“Nothing,” Joshua mumbles, his left arm cradling Crow to his chest and his right hand settling on your waist. “This is just nice.”

You both fall asleep to the soft hum of Crow’s breathing.

Joshua’s perception of Crow has changed gradually as you all traveled. When he feels his mood sour, it’s like Crow knows and works to get his attention, and suddenly Joshua feels 100 times better. Crow was therapeutic, in a way, so traveling with him wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be. If he was being honest with himself, he felt rather happy when Crow begged for his attention.

There had been a change of plans in the journey to Prince Dion’s camp. On the belt of the Crystal Road, Joshua had started to feel worse for wear. His coughing had grown rougher and more painful, more blood coming out of his lungs. His chest wound was growing bigger by the day. He knows he is running out of time, so he had insisted that the journey must continue. Once again, however, you did not listen. Which is why he is now laying in a bed at the Dalimil Inn.

“We really need to get a move on, dearest. We need to get to Dion.” He tries to sound healthy, but even he isn’t dumb enough to think he sounds convincing. He starts to move, wanting to sit up, before another round of coughing rushes out of his lungs.

“Yeah, and you struggling to stay up right is going to help us get there faster.” You snarked, still light hearted nonetheless.

Joshua wishes to retort, but he doesn’t have it in him. He falls back with a groan, his brain pounding and chest tight. He knew keeping Ultima locked away would be hard, but the agony that comes with it is more than he could have realized. Being naturally ill doesn’t provide any immunity to pain, and Joshua was learning the hard way.

You come into his vision, and like the angel you were, you pull the covers over him. Tucking him in like you were his baby, you pressed a kiss to his forehead, which Joshua relished in. He won’t admit it to you, but he has always loved being taken care of.

“I’m going to run out to the market and find some minerals and herbs for your medicine. I’ll also get you some food as you should eat something.” You twirled a piece of his hair, only to drop it to brush your fingertips against the baby hairs that meet his forehead. “Crow will be here to keep watch.”

Joshua turns his head slightly to see Crow sleeping in the desk chair beside the bed, curled up into the seat. He knew he had to be tired, and a weird sense of envy seeped into Joshua’s bones. He wishes he could sleep with such ease.

Fingertips graze his chin, rotating it until he meets your eyes again. The way you are looking at him makes his chest feel lighter, even with the chaos and muck that stirs within. Your skin on his soothes him, and he can’t help but to lean into your touch. His eyes flutter shut, and he hears you hum softly. “Try to get some rest. I shall return to you soon.”

Light pressure sets against his lips, lasting for a few seconds, before releasing. He listens to your steps, and continues to listen after the door shuts. The faintness of your steps disappear, but Joshua still hears them in his mind. The soft pitter-patter of your light feet tap away, and slowly pulls him into a deep sleep.

Even in the few moments before Joshua’s slumber ends, he can sense a difference within himself. He feels as if his chest is heavier than before, but not as it was before. The angry flourishes of pain have settled to a dull ache, something he isn’t accustomed to these days. There is a peacefulness that has taken homage, and it is the most calm he has felt in the last few days. The heaviness on his chest is comforting. It felt like the times he would wake up with your head on his chest, with deep breathing that vibrated his being.

In the early stages of being awake, he reaches for his chest expecting to feel your hair against his skin. His fingers brush against what he believes to be hair, until his brain reminds him that it isn’t coarse and surely doesn’t rise and fall. His eyes snap open, sleepy delirium resolved as he comes face to face with black fur. The light in the room had dimmed slightly, meaning it had been approximately two hours since his slumber. Sometime during the duration, Crow had taken it upon himself to rest on Joshua’s chest.

Crow was purring insistently loud, his eyes crescented as he rests with his body curled. Joshua couldn’t explain it, but the vibrations soothed the violent thumping that would make him stumble with each step. His whole body felt as if he had found an oasis; like he had discovered something that quenched his relief. Or more so, Crow had discovered how to help him.

Joshua scratched Crow’s head, getting behind the ears, making the black feline purr louder and lean into his hand. He could feel a lump in his throat, for somehow, a cat had come to his aid. A cat took one look at him and knew how to help him. Who knew such a remedy would treat him so diligently and work so well. He presumes Greagor knew what She was doing when you had come across the ball of fur; a healer with a healer cat.

Joshua was so immersed with Crow’s abilities, that the sound of the door opening and closing hadn’t caught his attention. It isn’t until he feels movement at the end of the bed that his head shoots up to see you with the biggest grin on your face.

“What did I tell you?”

“Regarding?” Joshua asks, confused as to why you are looking at him with such glee.

“I told you I’d make him a great healer!” You cheered enthusiastically. “Look at you! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look as comfortable as you do right now.”

“You’ve trained him well.” He continues to pet Crow, moving his fingers down to scratch under his neck. “However, I do believe you said he’d be the best healer I’d ever seen. I’ll admit I stand corrected, for he may even be a better healer than you.” He jests, knowing it’ll rile you up.

You gawked at him, “If he wasn’t lying on your chest right now, I’d make you take that back.”

“You can remove him if you’d like. I’d like to see what you’d do.” He draws out lewdly, loving how you are reacting to his quips.

“Whatever, you perv.” You laughed, moving to crawl beside him. You had gently wrapped an arm across him, right behind where Crow lays. Your head is now beside his and he can’t help himself as he leans in to kiss you. The two of you stay like that for a while, enjoying the tranquility of the moment before the three of you prepare to experience the rough world out there.

Him, his lady, and their cat.

#joshua rosfield x reader #joshua fluff #ffxvi x reader #joshua rosfield #ffxvi #final fantasy xvi #my fics #fluff

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whumpofalltime · 1 year

Text

friends, enemies, lurkers, we've made it to the

Whump Of All Time Finals!

What's the whumpiest whump of all time? Help us decide!

Find links and propaganda under the cut. Quarterfinalist and later match-ups are untagged, so your votes and reblogs matter! Make sure you click through to the main blog to find the run-off poll to crown third place, as well!

ROTK:

(spider attack, rescue)

"The Lord of The Rings, when Frodo gets bitten by a giant spider and left for dead by Sam at the end of The Two Towers, and then when Sam finds him in The Return of the King being held prisoner and whipped by an orc."

The Young Blood Chronicles (Save Rock and Roll's music videos, Fall Out Boy):

(link)

"Everyone gets bloodied, bruised, beaten up, tortured, rescued, limbs are amputated - it's brutal. Alone Together is particularly strong."

sorry for being late, but you want YBC propaganda? then you're getting YBC propaganda. I know you're a FOB fan, but I will be writing this for the benefit of those who don't know what YBC is, for better propaganda purposes! and yeah this is gonna be LONG. sorry.

So! The Youngblood Chronicles (shortened to YBC) is a series of 11 music videos made by the band Fall Out Boy, for their album Save Rock And Roll (you know this album, it's the one with My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark on it). The whole thing is quite short, less than fifty minutes long (even shorter if you don't count the uncut version's credits!!), and every single music video has some element of whump in it. This propaganda is gonna break down each individual music vid, and at i'll also talk a little bit about the irl context the album was written in, and why even THAT can be a little bit whumpy if you're insane like me!

(note: i'm going in the original release order over the uncut order, hence why i'm starting with MSKWYDITD instead of The Phoenix)

My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark: Arguably the least whump-y out of all of them, but man, seeing all of Fall Out Boy's discography and memorabilia be burnt while people are dancing around the destruction? Man, when you know the real life stuff (the reception the band had in 2009, leading to them to take a three year hiatus)... and at the end, you see four guys bound in the back of a van!! And that van is getting burnt!! Burn everything you love and burn the... ashes.

The Phoenix: NOW here's the first of MANY whump tastes you'll get. Patrick Stump, the singer/cutie of the band, gets kidnapped, tied to a chair, has his hand CHOPPED OFF and mailed to his bandmate/best friend Pete Wentz, then gets tied down and utterly tortured by women who are laughing at his misery the entire time, getting prodded and stabbed by tools for... well, you'll see. By the end of the video, Pete and the other two members of FOB (Joe Trohman and Andy Hurley) have been kidnapped by these mysterious women too, with Pete specifically getting kidnapped by the blonde woman he was in bed with when Patrick's hand got delivered to him. If you enjoy cute boys getting tied down, covered in blood, and writhing around like worms while getting tortured... well you'll enjoy all of YBC but specifically you'll enjoy this!! I did :D! The war is won, before it's begun, release the doves, surrender love...

Young Volcanoes: Good news, FOB has been reunited! Bad news, by the women who dismembered Patrick! And now all the band members are tied to chairs, hooked up to IVs full of god knows what types of drugs, and blindfolded (all except Patrick). They are then forced to drink, snort hard drugs, and are force fed Patrick's organs! Yep, all four of them are forced to eat their lead singer's guts, and are so fucking drugged up they don't even realize what's happening (and now you know what the women were doing to him in the last mv, and you even get a nice little shot of the hack job of stitching him back up)!! Patrick hallucinates everyone having fun, but of course, at the end, all of them are knocked out because of the drugs. Americana, exotica, do you wanna feel a little beautiful baby?

Alone Together: This is the song the OG propaganda mentioned, and for good reason. All four of them are shipped off into little personalized torture rooms, and, well, tortured! Pete is able to break out and even steals the hook from the girl who was torturing him, but little does he know that'll be his own undoing... also, in general, this song has some whumpy elements, specifically the line "my heart is like a stallion/they love it more when it's broke-in"... but notice how easy it is to hear "broke-in" as "broken"! At the end of the video, Pete is at least able to find Patrick (Joe and Andy have NOT been having a good time, either!! But sadly, they aren't found by Pete, but Pete DOES find Big Sean), and is even able to attach the hook to the stump (ha!) where his hand used to be. But something is clearly wrong with Patrick now. His eyes are yellow, and as the song ends, we hold on him, sneering and twitching. This is the road to ruin - and we're started at the end...

The Mighty Fall: First off if you say this is the worst song off of SRAR I will hunt you for sport. OKAY ANYWAYS, chronologically this comes after MSKWYDITD, and yeah, the four guys are the members of FOB. Pete is able to free himself with Patrick's new hook hand, and is able to get the other three out while Pete is hacking up a lung from the fire they just barely escaped. But they're not done getting their shit rocked yet. A gang of children show up (the leader being the kid Patrick waved at right before he was kidnapped back in the Phoenix MV), and proceed to separate them and beat the living shit out of them. The leader kid who's chasing Patrick plays something on a boombox... which triggers Patrick to go yellow-eyed again (from here on out i'll call it "going Youngblood" or "Youngblood self"). It was confirmed in the commentary track that ANY music would cause him to go Youngblood. And knowing Patrick IRL fucking loves to create/compose music... yeah! Take something he loves and turn it into something that drives him insane!! I'm normal!! And also the irl parallel you could draw to his solo career doing the same thing to him (on a less uh Dramatic level but you know)!!! Ouch!!!! Big Sean is able to save Patrick, but at the cost of his own life (and a killer rap verse... HELL YEAH I'M A DICK GIRL, ADDICTED TO YOU). Oh, how the mighty fall in love...

Just One Yesterday: The last vestiges of comfort you're gonna get for a WHILE. The four are separated, getting even more beaten up, Pete vomits up a snake, Andy gets his shit rocked by a homeless guy, Joe has to use white sheets as a makeshift tourniquet bc his leg got fucked up in The Mighty Fall MV, and Patrick is picked up by a kind stranger (hi Foxes! you have a very pretty voice! PLEASE KEEP YOUR HANDS ON THE STEERING WHEEL!). And finally, finally we get a hope spot. Fall Out Boy is reunited (the part where Andy just grabs onto Patrick's arm, in disbelief they're both alive... augh!!! AUGH!!!!), and for a moment, it seems they've been delivered to a hospital... before Foxes' eyes go completely black, looking at Patrick... and turns on the radio. She's able to trigger the Youngblood. And now Patrick is gone. The other three scramble into the hospital, Patrick not far behind, determined to kill them to stop the noise in his head. If Heaven's grief brings Hell's reign, then I'd trade all my tomorrows for just one yesterday...

Where Did The Party Go: Patrick, now fully consumed by the Youngblood brainwashing, is now stalking his bandmates in a hospital. Patrick is seeing visions of the hospital as an abandoned party, Andy has to painfully disinfect the wounds he's gotten, Pete is able to call for the police, and Joe... oh, poor Joe. He barricades himself into a room, but not well enough. Patrick finds him, and kills him, slitting his throat with the hook hand, showing no remorse at all... until Andy and Pete find them. The Youngblood wears off, and Patrick looks to what he's done, and is horrified at what he's done to his friend. And, bad news for him, the police are here, ready to arrest the murderer. All Andy and Pete can do is watch as tears roll down Patrick's eyes. And for the extra IRL context, this was the first song written for the album that made Pete and Patrick realize they had to get FOB back together... so lets match that with a music video where the member who helped get the band together in the first place dies. By the hands of the kid he found. Let's fade away together, one dream at a time...

Death Valley: Joe gets... uh, a little comfort? I mean, he thinks he's getting sent to heaven but goes to hell, buuuuut I think doing drugs in rock and roll hell with Tommy Lee is actually a pretty sweet deal, better than the deal the other three got! Pete and Andy are being interrogated while Patrick is in a jail cell. We find out that the cult that kidnapped them, Silence the Noise, is lead by Pete's girlfriend from WAAAAY back in the Phoenix MV, Courtney Love. And at the end of the MV... Patrick is bailed out of jail by Silence the Noise. They have him again. And this time, they're not gonna let him walk out until he's fully under their control. 'Cause tonight it's just fire alarms and losing you...

Rat a Tat: Silence the Noise has Patrick, and they utterly brainwash him, A Clockwork Orange style, with electroshock stimulation to keep him from looking away or closing his eyes, until there is nothing left. Patrick Stump does not exist anymore. Only the Youngblood, pliant under the control of Silence the Noise, tasked to destroy what he once loved; music. Andy dies at the hands of the cult, and now Pete has to protect a briefcase, the thing that got them into this mess, and keep it away from Silence the Noise, all while his best friend hunts him down. Are you ready for another bad poem?

Miss Missing You: THE WHUMPIEST OF THE WHUMP. What if we were best friends but you've been driven insane and I know the only way to stop you is to kill you and it was my fault you got into this mess and I was the one who gave you the weapon that will be my own undoing. What if we both died at the same time. What if we died, both of us failing the mission we had before us. What if that was a reference to one of their first music videos. What if this song was originally written for Patrick's solo album but he realized it was more of a Fall Out Boy song so it was scrapped until now. What if there's a legit argument to be made that half the lyrics for this song was written by Patrick. What if we were both boys. Grips walls, yeha i'm normal. If you don't watch ANY other music vid, watch Miss Missing You. Sometimes before it gets better, the darkness gets bigger. The person that you'd take a bullet for is behind the trigger.

Save Rock And Roll: And our final track gives us a final bit of comfort. Patrick is able to overcome the Youngblood, and gets into heaven, where all of FOB is finally, finally reunited. God (aka Elton John) gives them new instruments and brings them back to earth, so they can do what they love; play music together. Which just so happens to release people from the control of Silence the Noise! But, because we can't have nice things, a cult within Silence the Noise got a hold of the briefcase, and summoned a spirit that starts to kill everyone. FOB stands together, and blasts the evil spirit, the blood coming up to the gates of heaven and covering Elton John in it. And... that's how it ends. No true resolution. Just Elton John covered in blood, as the song fades out. Oh, no! Wherever I go, go! Trouble seems to follow! I only plugged in to save rock and roll!

UH. AGAIN I APOLOGIZE FOR THE LENGTH. but i really wanted to express just how much WHUMP they manage to fit into less than fifty minutes, all backed by an amazing album colored by the three years they were apart. colored by how they grew, colored by how bad the hiatus was for Patrick specifically, colored by how Confessions of a Pariah got Pete to reach out to help him, and this album came out of it, Fall Out Boy came back out of it, and now here we are, ten years later, with the title track being performed every night for their concert, with all the band singing the final lines together, and the line you are what you love, not who loves you hitting every single night.

SORRY. LISTEN TO FALL OUT BOY. thanks for letting me rant.

#final round #tournament poll

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mrsjobarnes · 2 years

Text

Bob did what?

A/N ~ Hey yall! I’m always so nervous to post because I don’t have anyone to proofread it. I also threw the last paragraph together. Lol Anyways enjoy

Like and comments welcome!

Please do not steal my work!

Bob x reader

Warnings - Fluff, Pregnancy, Injuries & Anxiety

Word count: 912

It was a regular day.

When you woke up this morning, you went straight to the kitchen to make Bob breakfast. 2 fried eggs, toast with raspberry jelly, with a cup of coffee to go. He walked in and wrapped his arm around you and kissed your cheek and then your 7-month belly. “Well don't you look gorgeous, sweetpea” he said as you broke into a blush. Even Though you have been married for 3 years he still has that effect on you. Right as you finished making his breakfast, the baby monitor went off. “I got it, honey,” Bob said, getting up.

“No honey, I got it. Eat your breakfast before it gets cold.” You waddle into Brooks’s room and turn off his fan then walk to the crib. “What's up, big man! You ready to go eat breakfast with dad!” you said picking him up. He was getting so big but so were you. Setting the 2 and a-half-year-old down you both walk/waddle hand in hand to the kitchen.

“Hey, buddy! How did you sleep last night” Bob asked, pulling Brooks into his arms.

“I had dweams about planes and puppies,” he said while rubbing his eyes, clearly not fully awake yet. You place a bowl of cheerios and fruit in front of him. You start to move back to the stove.

“That's a cool dream buddy,” he said, rubbing brook’s hair out of his face. “Hey whoa, whoa, sit down. I'll get you breakfast and your meds” he said springing up. He quickly moved around the kitchen. As you talked with Brooks about what you were going to do today, Bob put a plate full of toast and fruit in front of you along with prenatal meds. You lean up and kiss him. You were so grateful to have a wonderful husband. “Okay, I have to go now. The group wants to go out for drinks, but if you need to tap out let me know,” he said, kissing Brooks head.

You guys had a busy morning of cleaning and laundry, for a 2-year-old he was very helpful. Right as he was going down for his nap, your phone rang. You slowly get up to get it, except you don’t remember where it is but you hear it. “Hey buddy, let’s play a game called find mamma’s phone,” you said with a silly face. He giggled and took off after it as you slowly got up to chase after him. Once you get to him you see that you have 5 missed calls from Fanboy, 7 from Rooster, and 3 from maverick. Your stomach dropped, and your blood ran cold. You quickly called Rooster and as you listened to it ring you started rubbing your belly to calm down.

“Y/n thank god you called me back. I’m sending Jake to come to pick you up to bring you to the base. There was an accident during a training exercise today. Phoenix and Bob had to eject, it wasn’t a smooth landing. He broke his leg when he landed, they are setting it in surgery. I’ll keep you updated” he informed you. Once he was sure that you were okay he hung up. You start panicking and rushing around the house to get Brooks’s thing

“Brooks” you yelled “We need to go to the doctor on base to see daddy,” you said as calmly as possible. Not even 2 minutes later you hear the doorbell ring. You waddle as quickly as can be to the door. You are met with a calm Jake. You don’t know how these pilots do it.

“Hey Y/n breath for me,” he said, wrapping you in a hug. “Last thing I heard he was doing good,” he said, pulling back to look you in the eyes. You hear a loud crash and quickly turn around to be met with your son dressed up in his dinosaur costume with his doctor kit in his hand. You appreciate how caring your son was.

“I'm ready to help with daddy momma,” he said walking out to the car.

“Alrighty follow the little man” Jake laughed. You were a nervous mess the entire car ride. When you arrived on base you rushed, well more like waddled at a fast pace to his hospital room with Jake and Brooks hot on your trail. When you enter the room you are met with the sight of your husband's leg in a cast and a bashful smile.

“Hey Sweetpea” he said. You look at him and waddle over wrapping him in a hug. “Hey, hey, hey I’m okay.” He said pushing the hair out of your face. Planting a kiss on your temple. Brooks walks up to the bed and attempts to crawl up but fails. You bend over and pick him up so he can see Bob. He crawls into Bob's lap.

“Dadda, why is mommy crying?” he asked.

“Momma was just sad because Dadda got hurt”

“It’s otay momma, dad just a bobo” he said causing everyone in the room to chuckle. You give him a kiss on the head. They decide it is okay for bob to be discharged as long as one of the other pilots helps you with him. They all agree and set up a system on who is assigned to help. You were glad you had a support team and that baby Floyd wouldn’t make their entrance for another 10 weeks.

#bob x reader #bob floyd x reader #dad!bob #robert floyd x reader #robert bob floyd #top gun #top gun headcanons

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saintsenara · 3 months

Note

In Marauder era (or 1st Wizarding World era) fics, all the characters that we know from the actual books/movies (i.e., The Marauders + Lily, the Malfoys, Bellatrix, etc.), or just characters that are more known, are all put in Hogwarts together at the same time, and it confuses me.

They couldn’t have all been at school together, could they? And even if they were, most of them would have to be years ahead, no? It especially confuses me when Bellatrix is the one in school with them, but her and Narcissa are the only ones that are ever mentioned. Andromeda is literally not that much younger than Bella and older than Narcissa, so you would think that she would appear, yet she doesn’t. Why exactly are they always all bunched together? And what are their actual ages?

this is a bit of worldbuilding which i'm not fond of either, anon.

i get why it happens - hogwarts is a school and, therefore, requires a large cast of characters as fellow students, and since marauders-era writers don't have the advantage that lightning gen writers do of being able to lift these characters directly from the text, the few names we do know from canon of people who lived and died during the first war get used to fill in the gaps.

there are also - obviously - some inconsistencies in the text itself caused by jkr's functional innumeracy. if we take the date of birth given for bellatrix on the black family tree she drew in 2006 - 1951 - then she would graduate hogwarts in either 1969 or 1970, depending on when in the year her birthday is. but sirius says in goblet of fire that she was friends with snape at school.

i ignore sirius and go with the given date of birth because it works better for my worldbuilding - and i have andromeda born in 1953 [leaving hogwarts in 1971 or 1972] and narcissa born in 1955, as per the family tree, but in the autumn [therefore leaving hogwarts in 1974 - and married in 1975, allowing narcissa's wedding to be the last time sirius sees bellatrix, since, as he tells us in order of the phoenix, this took place when he was fifteen] - but i think authors can shift the sisters' birthdays later if they do want to have them overlap more with the marauders generation without it being too much of a problem.

lucius malfoy's date of birth can be worked out fairly easily from canon. in the autumn of 1995, he's forty-one - as we're told in order of the phoenix - which means he was born in 1954 [or - if he has a winter birthday - late 1953] and was at hogwarts between either 1965-1972 or 1966-1973 depending on when in the year his exact birthday is - if it's october 1953-august 1954, he's in the former cohort; if it's september 1954 [which is when the article in which his age is mentioned is published] then he's in the latter. we know he overlaps with the marauders cohort very briefly - since he's shown meeting snape in the prince's tale - but, since he's either a sixth- or seventh-year at the time, i find it unlikely that he paid james and sirius much attention, or that they paid him much attention in turn.

[lucius must - let's be real - go rather under the radar, since he's clearly able to recruit death eaters while at school - and immediately after leaving it - without being noticed.]

what i'm much less inclined to be flexible on is the fanon which has characters like dorcas meadowes, marlene mckinnon, emmeline vance, and so on all be at hogwarts with the marauders - which doesn't work for me for the very basic reason that the order of the phoenix is not an army of child soldiers.

the implication of canon is definitely that the four marauders and lily are an exception to the make-up of the rest of the order - likely for the sensible tactical reason that dumbledore had all the ministry infiltrators he needed, but didn't have people who would be able to provide information about voldemort's recruitment of younger death eaters, which the marauders were clearly able to do by virtue of having been at school with them all [and - in sirius' case - being related to two of them].

it's also clear in the text that dorcas meadowes [who is the only person in the first war other than james and lily we know was killed by voldemort himself] must have been an important political figure - otherwise the dark lord would have left her for one of his minions - and that james and lily don't know marlene mckinnon well enough for her to have been a school friend.

[if she was - as is the common fanon - sirius' teenage girlfriend, i would like to hope that lily's letter to him mentioning her death would devote a little more space to the event than it canonically does...]

what i love to see is the rest of the order - hardened aurors and civil servants who've been locked into the war with voldemort since the marauders started school - being a combination of faintly amused and supremely irritated by the group of cocky young bastards who've just turned up at their meetings, and who seem to think the whole "being a paramilitary" thing is a big laugh.

[especially because it's then so much easier to explain why everyone involved could believe that sirius was guilty...]

#asks answered #the marauders

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rose-pearls · 1 year

Text

You're losing me - Part 2

This is a part 2 to this fic! So happy that some of you liked it and I hope you enjoy reading this second part!

‘Hi leave a message after the beep, I’ll make sure to call you later!’

‘It’s Jake. I know you probably blocked my number or something but I-’, a sob can be heard on the other end of the line. ‘I just need to talk to you, please. I know I fucked up and I’m so sorry for what I did, you need to know that. You-you were in my life for just a few weeks and yet you flipped it upside down.’, the voice quivers for a moment and they release a deep sigh. ‘Every time I see kittens I think of you, every time I see a golden retriever I think of you, hell I even think of you when I see a jet taking off. I can’t get you out of my mind, it feels like I lost a part of me that night.’, shaky breaths are taken, and another sob can be heard. ‘I killed someone.’, the voice whispers barely audible. ‘Everyone was congratulating me, but I feel sick, I’m hiding in the storage closet hoping to stop seeing him appear in front of me. The only thing I can think about is when you were there for me that night and I guess I need you back with me, please call me.’, a long silence follows, shaky breaths taken before shaky words are whispered. ‘I wanted to tell you this in person but I-’

‘This message has reached his length limit. Please call the person back or end this call.’

You didn’t know how to feel, coming back to Top Gun after everything that happened but it wasn’t like you had a choice. Your Captain had quietly told you to take your things and join the secret mission, he had a somber look when telling you that, but you tried to ignore it.

The Hard Deck was still there two years later, and it seemed to still be as crowded as you looked from your car. Before you finally convinced yourself to enter the bar you saw a blue bronco stop next to yours and a man with a moustache getting out, walking towards the bar. You couldn’t help but snort at his Hawaiian shirt and moustache.

After a small pep talk you convinced yourself to get out and in the Hard Deck, who knew maybe he wasn’t there. You knew that you were kidding yourself, even Steph had been called back, they were apparently calling back the best or the best. That was the only information she had been able to get out of her dad.

The bar is loud, but you can’t hear it over your heartbeat, beating loudly in your ears and even though you take a look across the room you manage to not see your father who is looking like he has seen a ghost.

“Fire?!”, the callsign makes you look towards the pool table, and you see Phoenix in the distance looking at you with wide eyes and a bright smile.

“This must be an important mission if you’re here.”, she says and you smile in answer, bringing her into a hug.

“Good to see you too Nat.”, she smiles, and you turn around to find a group of pilots looking at you but there is one that get your attention even after two years.

Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin.

He looks good, even after two years he still manages to take your breath away and make butterflies fly in your stomach, but you push them down, remembering yourself of what happened. He looks slightly taken aback and is looking at you with sad green eyes, but you ignore them, looking away.

“So, does anyone have any information?”, you try to say without your voice shaking and by some small miracle you manage.

“Not more than you do.”, the man with the moustache tells you and you look at him curiously.

“Right, you probably haven’t some of the people here before.”, Phoenix says before starting to make a tour of the room.

“And that is Bob, my new WSO!”, she says, and you smile at the shy man, he smiles back, and you know that he is probably going to be quite the competition.

“I think we’ve met before?”, you can’t help but ask Bob and he nods after a moment.

“Deployment in Nebraska.”, you think about it before smiling at the memory.

“That’s right! Cain was something.”, you say trying not to grimace but Bob chuckles and nods in agreement.

“Glad to be away from that!”, before you can say anything else you hear the music stop suddenly and see Rooster at the piano.

“Does he do that often?”, you ask Phoenix, and she lets out a sigh.

“Unfortunately, yes, but he has the talent for it.”, she shrugs her shoulders before joining the rest, but you just shake your head in amusement and leave towards the patio outside.

Someone gets thrown outside and you can’t help but smile at Penny’s rules, that woman had always fascinated you. You hear footsteps behind you, and you assume it’s Steph that has finally arrived, but you turn around to see Jake. He looks unsure, it’s a far different look from the one he had in there a minute ago, looking so cocky and arrogant. He looks so much younger when he looks at you with those sad green eyes, shoulders hunched like he is trying to hide himself.

“Hangman.”, you say after a long silence of looking at each other, unable to say his name.

“Fire.”, there is a silence that follows before Jake takes a deep breath.

“You look good.”, he says, and you smile sadly at him.

“I’m good, better than last time we saw each other.”, you whisper but Jake seems to have heard it as he flinches slightly at the words.

“I was hoping we could talk?”, he asks so quietly that you nearly didn’t hear him, but you do and you feel your heart beating faster but the hurt that comes up takes over.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”, he nods, looking dejected at the floor.

“I – I just can’t do this again.”, you whisper, and he nods in answer, still looking at the floor his hands in his pockets.

“I understand.”, he croaks out and a pained smile appears, making your heart clench painfully.

He leaves and you try not to call him back, because as much as you tried to tell yourself you didn’t care anymore you still did.

Warlock is giving his speech and you try to listen, but you are too busy trying to fight the feelings that are coming back up at the sight of Jake in his flight suit, flashbacks of soft kisses and giggles in the corners of the hallway making you grip your pen tighter.

“Captain Pete Mitchell, callsign Maverick.”, this makes you look up, feeling like someone has thrown an ice bucket over you and you silently pray it’s a joke.

Rooster tenses up next to you and you look at him, he looks back at you and you start to think that you aren’t the only one who didn’t expect this.

Your supposed father arrives in front of the class and smiles at all of you, his smile faltering slightly when it comes to you and Rooster. Jake is looking at you with worried eyes, the only one next to Steph to know your lack of relationship with the captain or your genitor.

As he throws the manual into the bin you can’t help but jump slightly, and as he tells you to suit up you take a moment to collect yourself.

“Fire.”, Jake’s voice stops you into the hallway and you look at him questioningly.

“I- are you okay?”, he asks softly, looking around to make sure no one can hear you.

“Of course, I am, why wouldn’t I be.”, you ask, trying to act like you don’t know what he is talking about, but you know that he can see right through you.

“It’s a lot, just know that I’m here.”, he says, looking hesitant at the end and you try not to let the hope blossoming in your chest getting the best of you.

“I’ll be alright but thank you.”, you say after a moment and turn around, getting in the locker-room to get into your gear.

Rooster seems to be in a tense conversation with your father and you can’t help but quickly pass by them with curious eyes. You didn’t know what was happening there, but it seemed like Rooster was pissed at you father, maybe he was another one of his children that he didn’t reach out to. The thought makes you snort quietly but you put yourself back into the right headspace while looking at your aircraft.

The first two teams are a mess, your father making a quick job of sending them back to the tarmac. Jake leaves Phoenix and Bob hanging, and you can’t help but shake your head at his antics. You would never understand why he did this, trying to be an asshole when he was far from it in reality.

“Fire and Thunder your turn.”, Maverick says, and the rest wishes you good luck, passing Phoenix, Bob and Hangman on the tarmac still doing their pushups.

“Do you see him?”, Thunder asks you and you try to look at your radar, hoping to find something but nothing.

“Nope, the man is like a ghost.”, Thunder let’s out an irritated sigh and you look at her.

“It’s probably a trick, the only way we couldn’t see him on the radar is if he was below us or above us somewhere.”, you tell her, and she rolls her eyes.

“Well, I would prefer it if he didn’t make us waste our time with a trick and got to the dog fighting part.”, before you can respond an F-18 comes up between the two of you making you move.

“Holy shit!”, you hear Thunder say and Maverick chuckles in answer.

“Your wish is my command, Thunder.”, you have just the time to see Thunder’s determined gaze to know that it’s on.

The two of you try to escape him but the old man seems to still have some tricks up his sleeves.

“We need to find a way to get him off our back.”, she tells you and you nod in response, once again avoiding him by a second.

“Let’s do the cat and mouse game.”, she nods in answer before putting herself into a weak position, Maverick seems to fall for the trick and as he puts himself in position to finish her off you fly by blocking his lock and throwing him off just in time for Thunder to pull back and get behind him.

“Shit.”, you hear him whisper and you can’t help but chuckle as Thunder manages to get tone on him.

“Maverick down.”, you say through the comm, Thunder smirking at you before going back to the carrier.

The others are looking at you with equal looks of awe and horror at what you achieved. Maverick arrives a bit after you, looking frustrated.

“Good job Lieutenant, although that was a risky move. If it had been just a second later it could have been dangerous.”, Thunder smirks at him, confidence radiating off her and she just shrugs her shoulders.

“We have been doing this since the academy sir, we knew what we were doing.”, Maverick doesn’t seem pleased but lets the conversation slide. The rest leaves and you turn to do the same thing, but Maverick stops you.

“Could we talk?”, you nod after a moment, wondering what the hell he wanted to talk about.

“You are probably wondering why I asked to talk.”, he says, looking nervous and you nod in answer.

“I – it’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other and I was wondering if everything was good between us?”, this makes you snort in answer before looking at him like he was crazy.

“A long time? You stopped reaching out after my fifth birthday and now you are asking if everything is good?”, Maverick looks at the ground ashamed, but you shake your head in disbelief.

“I know, I wasn’t really a good father, and I don’t have an excuse for it, just that there was a lot going on and I had to take care of Bradley.”, you scoff in answer at his excuse.

“You weren’t a father at all. Look, I’m 25 years old now, I don’t need a father. Went my whole life without one, don’t need one now. So why don’t we go back to how it was and let all of this go?”, Maverick looks at you with guilt and sadness in his eyes.

“If that’s what you want.”, he whispers, looking dejected but you try to calm yourself down, knowing that you would say something you would regret.

“I will see you tomorrow then, sir.”, you leave the office and run into a hard chest, green eyes looking back at you, and you are unable to stop the frustrated sigh leaving your lips.

“Are you okay?”, he asks softly.

“I am fine! Alright, just leave me alone Jake, we aren’t together anymore so stop acting like you care.”, you tell him harshly and he flinches, but you leave, feeling the anger and frustration of the talk with your father. Not seeing the heartbroken pilot that you leave behind.

The days go by and every moment in training is rough, but you manage to get through it, Jake keeps his distance like you asked and it feels like a relief but at the same time it’s painful.

His outburst against Rooster makes you look at him in another light, but even as you try to be disgusted by him you can’t help but think he did it on purpose, to push Rooster off that perch.

The only thing Maverick manages to find as a solution is a day at the beach, Thunder grumbles that you all have other things to do but you just shrug your shoulders, thinking that maybe it would do you all some good.

Everyone is already there and as you arrive you see a shirtless Jake. Now you weren’t blind, and that man was sculpted like a Greek god. There was already some sweat on his chest and it made his skin glisten in the sun making feel lightheaded at the sight of it. You try to stop looking but Jake catches you looking, and a confident smirk appears.

The dog fighting football is a mess, but you haven’t had this much fun in years. Running behind each other and trying to make the others fall, while stealing the ball. At one point you think you are going to be doing a touchdown, but someone makes you stumble, and you fall backwards, just caught in time by a smirking Jake.

“Don’t worry, your savior is here.”, you are ready to say something sarcastic in return, but he just puts you back on your feet before taking the ball out of your hands and running away making you look with wide eyes.

“Seresin! You dick!”, everyone starts laughing and you hear Jake’s distinctive laugh, making you feel warm.

“Shouldn’t have gotten distracted.”, he whispers in your ears, and you feel yourself shiver in answer, the smell of his aftershave making your head spin.

The rest of the game is chaotic, and Jake doesn’t stop teasing you, trying to get a reaction out of you.

Frankly Thunder can’t blame you for dragging that cocky pilot to a secluded place and bringing him into a heated kiss. The adrenaline of the last days, the fact that he had been touching you all day long was making you go back in time, and you just needed him. Jake certainly didn’t complain as he immediately kissed back, just as passionately, his hands roaming over your whole body. You stay like that until the two of you have to come back for air and Jake is looking at you with eyes filled with lust and something like love.

“Fuck sweetheart, if I had known that this was the way to get you near me, I would’ve gotten my shirt of sooner.”, he says with a smirk and you are ready to tell him to fuck off before he starts kissing you down your neck, biting softly into the sensitive skin and you try to hold back your moan.

“Jake, we can’t do this here.”, you whisper and he groans, still dropping kisses everywhere he can, and you card your fingers through his hair, pulling on it to make him look at you.

You both look at each other for a moment, your breaths uneven and for a moment you feel unsure.

“Is this a good idea?”, you can’t help but whisper and Jake smiles at you softly.

“Probably not but god I can’t spend another moment without you.”, he tells you and you feel breathless at the words.

“We need to talk afterwards.”, he nods, this time his eyes serious and you nod slowly.

“Good. Now one more thing, I-I haven’t done the deed before.”, you say, grimacing as you tell him that, but Jake has the opposite reaction that thought he would have. His eyes roam over your body before taking your hips and pulling you fully against him, making you gasp.

“You don’t know how much this drives me crazy.”, he says before bringing you into a heated kiss.

“I’m going to make you feel so good sweetheart, so good you will never want anything with anyone else.”, you can only moan in response as he starts kissing your neck again and this time you let yourself completely go.

The sunlight is what wakes you up, strong arms around you and you feel a soft kiss on your shoulder.

“We have an hour until we have to be on base. Thought we could talk.”, Jake says softly, and you turn around to see him looking at you with a tender smile.

“Good thinking.”, you say softly but you don’t know what to say.

“I know last night wasn’t supposed to happen, or at least not in your mind.”, this makes you nod and Jake sighs.

“I’m sorry for everything I did two years ago. I was an idiot and although I can’t take back what I did I don’t think I would take it back.”, this makes you look at him curiously.

“Because otherwise I wouldn’t have gotten to know you like I did.”, the words are raw, honesty in his eyes and you feel breathless.

“Jake-”

“I know, alright, I know. You got hurt and you probably wouldn’t trust me again but I just – I don’t think I can live without you, and I don’t want to try to continue living without you any longer.”, he tells you and you take his hand in yours.

“I’m sorry that I didn’t show you then just how much you meant to me and I’m sorry I didn’t ran after you and fell on my knees to beg you for forgiveness.”, you can’t help but smile at his words.

“You know I thought that I hated you.”, Jake flinches at the words and you squeeze his hand.

“But I guess hating you was just easier then really thinking about how I was feeling. I realized a few months later that I didn’t regret us, even when it ended the way it did. We had some good times, didn’t we?”, Jake nods in answer tears in his eyes mirroring yours.

“I think that even through all of the hurt I never stopped loving you.”, you whisper, and Jake looks at you with wide eyes, before tears roll down his cheeks. You lift up your other hand to brush them away softly.

“I love you so much, you have no idea how much.”, he whispers, and an emotional smile appears at the words.

“I think I do.”, you whisper, brushing a strand of hair back and he closes his eyes, enjoying the touch.

He opens his eyes after a moment and just looks at you before putting his forehead against yours and taking you into his arms.

There are still things to talk about, and there is a far too dangerous mission ahead of you but as Jake holds you close in the early morning you feel more at home then you have been in years.

#top gun x reader #top gun imagine #top gun fanfiction #jake hangman seresin #jake hangman x you #jake hangman x reader #jake seresin x you #jake seresin x reader #jake seresin fanfiction #jake hangman fic #jake hangman imagine #jake hangman x y/n

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wordsofelie · 7 days

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Chapter 2

🌅Don’t you dare runaway (A Phoenix and Ashes Sequel)

Miya Osamu x f!reader

Summary: Miya Osamu thinks some things will never change— Atsumu will always be annoying; his Ma’s food will always be the best and you will always be his favourite sunrise.

Content Warnings: Timeskip Setting, Manga Spoilers, ex!Suna, Swearing, Mention of Blood & Childbirth

Words count: 3.8k

chapter 1 -

It’s late December, the leaves have left the branches and the last rays of sunlight shine timidly.

It’s late December and Atsumu thinks he might die from fratricide.

“I swear, ‘Samu, I’m sorry-”

“I told ya I needed ya today. For once in yer damn life, I ask for help, and ya can’t even do that," Osamu snaps, his jaw is tightening so much, he feels a tension forming from his neck to his forehead.

Atsumu cringes, on the other side of the call, he tries to lighten the atmosphere. “Stop cursin’, it ain’t that bad.”

“D’ya know how important this is for me?”

The younger twin starts walking around his restaurant in circles. It’s starting to get dark outside, Osamu should turn on the light, but his hands are too busy (holding the phone with his right; clenching his fist with his left).

A tornado of thoughts is invading his mind: how will he manage to get his stocks ready for the beginning of the year? He’s supposed to release the new recipe in two days, but how can he do that when he is out of rice? What if he can’t respect the orders his clients have made? Each question is coming faster than the one before.

“Listen I’m sorry, I really thought I could come but coach called us and with the winter holidays we won’t have a lot of time to practice and the Olympics Games are next year, it’s in Tokyo I really want to-“

“Please stop talkin’ about yer ass, yer just selfish- like ya’ve always been.”

Osamu’s voice is much calmer this time, more than calm, it’s cold. He has stopped walking, his thoughts have slowed down now, he just feels frustrated and angry.

“Selfish? Yer the one who doesn’t want to hire someone to help. That wouldn’t happened if ya were able to trust others but nah, Osamu-sama doesn’t want anyone but him to work in his prestigious restaurant.”

How he is supposed to rely on someone when his own brother cannot do him a favour on the busiest week of the year, the one that is supposed to make his business’ profits grow by two?

He opens his lips to bark back but a sudden wave of fatigue surges in him, “Okay, forget it. Happy new year ‘Tsumu.”

“Wait, let’s-“ Atsumu’s voice is cut short as Osamu hangs up.

The tension in the kitchen crackles like the freezing air outside.

Osamu lets himself fall on a stool in the corner of the room. He sighs heavily, desperate and lonely.

It all started earlier in the day when Kita called him. Osamu immediately felt panic in his former captain's voice and current rice supplier.

“Osamu, I’m deeply sorry, I was supposed to deliver yer order but my sister, she’s gone into labour, and it is not goin’ well. I thought I could stop by Osaka first but she’s strugglin’, she’s losin’ a lot of blood and-“

“Kita-san, it’s fine.” Osamu didn't really register the consequences of the situation at first, but he is not a monster, Kita’s sister seemed to be having a hard time, rice was the least of priorities right now.

“But I was supposed to deliver the bags this afternoon, I know how busy this time of the year is for ya. I’ll make sure to make a discount on this month’s order.”

Osamu smiled a little, “we’ll talk about that later. Take care of yer sister.”

The older man explained to his friend that with all his workers away for the New Year holidays, he had no one else to help him manage. The only remaining solution was then for Osamu to make the trip himself, Kita’s grandmother, too old to travel, stayed behind at the farm.

“I’ll inform her ya or yer brother is comin’, she’ll welcome ya. Please accept my deepest apologise.”

“Thank you, captain, I’ll call ‘Tsumu now, we’ll find a solution.”

He had then called Atsumu, who’d promised to help so that Osamu could stay in Osaka and the restaurant would be open all day tomorrow. But now, with evening falling and no sign of his brother, Osamu's temper is boiling over.

It is quiet, almost peaceful, in Onigiri Miya, still, he can feel a weight pressing down on him and stiffing his muscles. Osamu starts thinking about customers relying on him, the orders he was supposed to have prepared for the next day. He can’t even go to a supermarket since they’re all closed because of the holiday.

The situation is getting out of his hands and Osamu hates that.

The door creaks open. It’s you. Your breath fogs in the cold air as you step inside.

Osamu hears you call his name, once, twice, thrice before you finally catch sight of him.

You stand in the kitchen threshold with a bottle in your hands. He can’t see your fingers under your gloves, but the warmth of the oven makes your cheeks and nose redden a little bit.

“Hey, I wanted to bring you something. My mum made some yuzu juice, and I thought you might like it.” You set the bottle on the worktop; the sound of glass against the wooden surface makes an echo.

“Why is it so dark in here?” You turn on the light and with a teasing voice you tell him, “are you meditating or—"

You don’t finish your sentence; Osamu guesses you decipher the stormy look on his face. He lowers his cap a little as if that would hide his furrowed brows and lips pressed into a tight line. He doesn’t look like the calm, collected Osamu you know, and for a moment, you look like you’re unsure if it’s the right time to be here.

“You alright?” you ask, getting closer to him.

He exhales sharply, letting his hands fall on his thighs. “Not really,” he mutters and checks the time on his phone again. “Kita can’t get the rice to me ‘cause his sister’s gone into labour. Nobody can deliver it for me. Called ‘Tsumu for help, he said he will go but in the end he can’t. Of course, this happens today when I have eight orders to prepare, and a stall to get ready for the Christmas Market.” He clicks his tongue, it’s sharper than the sound of the glass.

You blink, taking in his words. “That’s rough,” you murmur. “But… I’m here now. What can I do to help?”

Osamu looks at you, his expression softening slightly at your offer. However, the weight of everything hasn’t lifted, and he’s unsure how to respond.

“I dunno,” he sighs. “I just need to get this rice, otherwise I’m screwed for the next few days.”

You pause, considering. “Well, how far is it to Kita’s farm?”

“It’s not the distance,” Osamu grumbles, “it’s the timing. The whole week’s been booked out, and with the rush, I can’t just go and leave the shop.”

You nod, leaning against the counter. “Alright, then if we leave now, we’ll come back during the night, and everything will be ready for tomorrow.”

Watching you talk makes his heart feel oddly light. You go to the back room to grab his jacket and hand him, you also put your navy scarf around his neck. You don’t let go of the scarf and bend towards him. The storm that is lying in his veins becomes a delicate summer breeze as soon as you lay eyes on him. Of course, he can rely on you, how could he have forgotten? The two of you have been each other rock and anchor for years. He’s helped you as much as you’ve helped him, always so gently. But what is crazy is that that gentleness of yours seems so effortless. At that moment, Osamu appears incredibly small and stupid compared to you.

“C’mon, let’s go.”

“Ya don’t have to help m-“

Your features harden and soften at the same time, it makes him feels safe and solid again. “Let me help you, please.” You simply answer.

Osamu’s knuckles are tight around the steering wheel, his phalanges even start hurting. His jaw remained clenched. He’s so worked up he barely notices the heavy silence between you two at first.

Out of the corner of his eye, he catches you looking outside the window, a quiet sigh escaping your lips.

A sense of guilt surges in him, you made the effort to come with him and he is not showing any sign of gratitude. So, he tries to engage the conversation—it’s usually so natural to talk with you in the car.

“So-hm- how was work today? Aren’t the guys too hard to handle? Did Bokuto force ya to do that TikTok trend again?”

Without looking at him, you reply, your voice soft but firm. “You don’t have to pretend, you know. Not with me.”

“I’m not pretendin’, I’m just confused because yer not talkin’. Ya usually like to talk when I drive.” Osamu finally mutters, trying to mask the irritation in his voice, though it’s still there, simmering just beneath the surface.

You chuckle a little and finally turn to him, “I’m fine with the silence too Osamu, as long as we are together, everything’s fine.”

That simple statement makes him swallow his next words. He knows you’re right, in joy and madness, in despair and excitement, you always accept him. He knows that he doesn’t need to put on a brave face around you. But the habit of keeping his emotions in check, especially when things go wrong, runs deep. He also wants to appear composed in front of you so that you know he can always protect you.

You shift in your seat, then reach for your phone and put on some music. You look back out at the passing landscape, your voice a little higher now. “The countryside’s beautiful this time of year, don’t you think? I’ve lived in Hyogo for so many years, but I’ve never really been out here. It’s different from where my family is from up north.”

Osamu listens, though he doesn’t respond immediately. He takes a quick glance at the quiet evening roads and large fields of matcha? Rice? Flowers? It’s too dark to know exactly what is grown here. Still, he wants to enjoy the world through your eyes. To be honest, even he who was born here, never really cared about the landscapes. When his grandmother would take him and his brother on a hike, he wouldn’t complain but he wouldn’t be amazed either. Getting on top of the mountain was fun (especially when he arrived before Atsumu) because it meant he could finally sit down and have a snack. But he hated it when his grandmother asked him to wait and look around. Osamu wanted to eat not stand in front of a still view. “Listen to the wind Osamu-kun, feel the sun on your face. Yer a part of this world too, never forget everything that ya see, everything that ya touch is connected to yer own story.”, his grandmother would tell him, and the boy pretended to understand what she said. Sometimes he would stay a little bit longer to look at the landscapes, what’s so special about them anyway? He would always wonder but even today he is still seeking for the right answer.

His grip on the wheel loosens and the tension in his muscles relieves. You must feel the boy relax by your side because you steal his cap and put it on your head even if he groans. It’s too big for you, “that’s because of my brain, yer not as smart as me.” Osamu concludes with his teasing tone.

“Whatever.” You pout. Cute, he thinks.

He feels a pleasant feeling in his cheeks as his lips form into a smile and almost forgets about the chaotic evening he had just spent.

“Shin-chan told ya were comin, please get inside, ya must be cold.”

Grandma Yumie opens the door to welcome you the second you get off the car. Osamu wonders if she had been waiting on the doorway.

You bow before offering her the bottle of yuzu juice your mother had made (at least, it was useful) and thank her again and again.

“I prepared some tea, it would warm ya up.”

You take a glance at Osamu, probably to ask for his approval. He wouldn’t lie, he wants to take the rice bags, put them in his car and leave as soon as possible. But Kita’s grandmother’s kindness mixed with the need to drink something hot (Decembers are brutal in this region), doesn’t make him think twice. So, he follows her.

Once Osamu passes the entrance and takes off his shoes, he is enveloped by the aroma of something cooking in the kitchen. It smells like meat and mushrooms and seafood; she’s probably making nabe soup, he guesses. His stomach starts to ramble and his mouth to water.

The living room is clean and organised, it almost seems like nobody lives here. At the same time, there’s this present warmth, one that feels lived in. Osamu also notices the small personal touches—the neatly arranged slippers by the door, the delicate vase of flowers on a low table, a stack of freshly folded blankets resting on a chair. It reminds him of home in a way, but quieter, calmer, like time slows down here.

The old lady leads both of you into the kitchen, and Osamu is immediately drawn to the pot simmering on the stove. The scent of nabe is stronger now and his stomach rumbles again, this time louder.

“Sit, sit,” Grandma Yumie insists, motioning to the small table by the window. The view outside is dark, the cold is seeping through the glass, but the heat from inside is stronger. You take a seat, giving Osamu a small smile, your eyes light up when Yumie brings over two steaming cups of tea.

Osamu sits across from you; his eyes start to hurt from the fatigue.

“Would ya like to eat a little bit? I’ll show ya the storage room after.”

“This is so kind of you,” you say, “Thank you for welcoming us.”

Grandma Yumie waves off your gratitude with a warm smile. “Shin-chan spoke very highly of ya both. And it’s no trouble at all. Plus, it’s too cold to send ya away without a proper meal.”

You chuckle lightly, and Osamu notices the way you always seem more at ease in these kinds of settings—around older people, in quieter, simpler environments. You’ve always had that calming effect on him, even when he’s stressed or overwhelmed, like now.

There’s a picture of Shinsuke and his siblings hanging in the kitchen. Yumie tells you the story about that day. Osamu doesn’t listen to her attentively, he simply looks at you.

You fit in this house. Maybe when you’ll get older you could live in a place like this, surrounded by pictures and flowers. You could have a big kitchen and on Sundays Osamu could cook you someth—wait.

Why would you live together?

Osamu almost chokes on his tea when he realises the implication of his thought, Yumie and you turn suddenly to him.

“Are you okay Osamu?” you put your hand on his forearm and the sudden touch makes him back up brutally.

It’s subtle but the man sees your brows furrow a little bit and when your eyes leave his, he immediately regrets his move.

Touch me again, anywhere, but please, touch me, his mind is begging him to say.

But you get up and come back with a glass of water that you hand to him.

You clear your throat and say, “Maybe we should go to the storage room now and eat later.”

“Of course.” Grandma Yumie gets up and the warmth of the house isn’t enough to make up the void your touch has left on his arm.

“Shit.” Osamu curses.

Of course, the gods are against him.

First Kita who can’t do the delivery, then Atsumu letting him down and now his car whose motor seems to be frozen by the frost.

Osamu hates himself for not controlling the fucking weather (it’s snowing, and hard), not controlling the fucking car (he should have listened when his dad taught him mechanics) and above everything else, for putting you and Kita’s grandmother in trouble.

“Let me go and ask our neighbour, maybe ya could use his car.”

“Oba-san.” You say softly, “you should go inside, you’ll catch a cold if you stay in the snow. Osamu and I will take care of it, I can go to his house and ask for help?” Osamu sees your lips shudder, and still, you smile at her.

“Yer such a precious young woman.”

She gives you the instructions (“It’s the first house on the left. Tell him ya come from the Kita’s farm and that yer car doesn’t seem to start. Shinsuke will help him with the harvest this year again.”)

You start running towards the house and Osamu calls your name, “it’s dangerous.” He groans, “I should be the one goin’ there.”

“Don’t worry Osamu-kun, she’s not made of porcelain.” Yumie says gently.

“What if she falls? This is all my problem. I should take care of it. Shit.”

Yumie tilts her head a little bit and looks at him, “there are things that ya can control and some that ya can’t. The kami-sama put obstacles on our road, but it is not for us to destroy or to overcome, it’s for us to walk along them.” She waits a few seconds before continuing, “it’s hard to accept those obstacles on our own. That is why we need each other. Yer friend, she cares a lot about ya, I can tell ya that she cares as much as ya do. Let her walk by your side, treat her as your equal. If ya choose the solitary path, ya’ll never move forward. Whereas she’ll find someone else who wants her by their side. And that person will be very lucky to have her.”

(For a second Osamu believes he is on top of the mountain with his late Grand-Mother.)

Osamu sighs heavily. He waits for her to leave and kicks the wheel in frustration. The force he puts in his leg makes him fall down on his back on the frozen grass.

He doesn’t even complain about the fall, nor he tries to stand up.

He just lies there.

The stars should have been shining bright tonight but instead they’re hidden by clouds.

Osamu just wanted things to be right. He wanted to please his customers, improve his recipes and have a better reputation. What if he loses his restaurant after that?

You’re being too dramatic, just like your brother, you would tell him.

But the thing his, he really wanted to show the world he could make it. Show ‘Tsumu he made the right choice, show his Ma’ and Pa’ they can be proud of their son even if he’s not a world-known athlete, show you he’s someone you can rely on (not like your dickhead ex).

But it’s over now.

“Get your ass off here.”

Your voice resonates into his ears like an order, you sound mad. You never sound mad.

He sits to take a look at your face. It’s hard to see in the dark, but you look as mad as you sound.

“We will have to leave tomorrow morning.” You tell him and the reality hits him in the guts, “It’s too dangerous to take the road now because more snow is coming. The motor needs to warm up so there’s no other choice but to wait. If your car is still like that tomorrow, then the neighbour will let us have his car. It’s a good thing everyone respects Kita here.”

You’re right, again, but that doesn’t help ease the boy’s frustration.

“What?” You ask even though it comes out more like an accusation than a question.

“I’m pissed off.” Osamu feels his ears warm up as he realises how childish he sounds.

“Well, that won’t change anything. Now come inside.”

“I want to stay here a little bit.”

You sigh in annoyance, “And you’ll get sick, and you’ll have to close the restaurant and this time, the only person to blame will be you.”

Osamu thought he would always be the one to look after you. Sometimes you seem so fragile, he wants to build a fort around you and constantly stand guard. He wants to hide you from all the people and horrors that this world has created.

What a fool.

You don’t need him.

Because you already look after yourself. And you do a pretty good job at it.

You’re so much stronger than he thinks.

So, he gets up and runs to catch up with you. You walk a little bit in silence and finally you say playfully, “stop frowning so much or you’ll get wrinkles.”

He rolls his eyes and can’t help but grin.

“What’s on your mind?” You decide to ask him anyway, even though the answer is pretty clear.

Or at least you thought it was.

“This was a shitty day. But I’m happy we shared that shit together.”

Then, “thank you,” he whispers before opening the door.

Osamu doesn’t want to hold back anymore so he smiles, genuinely, wholeheartedly. Perhaps, this way, he can convey what words can’t.

The features on your face soften and you don’t look mad anymore (even though he didn’t know why you were mad in the first place). It’s enough to make his heart at peace.

After helping Grandma Yumie wash the dishes and make the bed, you get ready to shower.

When Osamu comes out of the bathroom, you look surprised (which is weird because you’ve literally spent the day together, so why are you acting like you were not expecting him here?)

He runs his hand through his wet hair awkwardly and mumbles, “I-I took a bath, you can use the water. I hope it’s not too hot though.”

“That’s nice of you.” You clear your throat. His eyes fall on your neck as if instinct had drawn them here. You wear a purple kakeyu that once belonged to Kita’s sister. Purple looks good on you, Osamu thinks (but any colour would look good on you really).

The top of the cloth is loosening a little bit so if his eyes travel a little bit further down, he might see things he’ll regret (well, it’s not the sight he would regret but it’s the fact that he didn’t ask for your permission to do so. But if he were honest, he really wished he could see more. But that’s not the time nor the place.)

He suddenly starts searching for something to distract him, a frame, a stain on the wall, a chandelier. Anything could make it.

“Oba-san just told me Kita's sister has recovered. She had a baby girl, she's very healthy.” You break the silence.

“Well, that's a relief.”

“It is... hm-Have a good night.”

“Yeah, ya too.”

“My bedroom is in front of yours so if you don’t feel good or I don’t know… Well.. just knock.”

“I’ll knock. Sure. Thanks.”

He starts walking to his room and suddenly he is glad his back his facing you now because his face has turned red. Scarlet, even.

(And so is yours, but he’ll never know that.)

Grandma Yumie, who wanted to give you some tea before sleep, decides it’s no use anymore.

Maybe it’s better to leave those two alone, she whispers to herself.

author notes: when my boyfriend read that chapter he told me the beginning was very chaotic and i thought that i should change it but he said it was the point and that it was a good way of showing how frustrated osamu feels haha, idk what you think of that?

anyway that was very random, i hope you liked it :)

Elie

taglist: @wolffmaiden, @teyvatsunsets, @obibiwan

#osamu x reader #miya osamu x y/n #osamu x you #osamu x y/n #miya osamu x reader #osamu miya #miya osamu #osamu #haikyuu osamu #osamu fluff #osamu fic #haikyuu x reader #haikyuu #haikyuu fanfiction #haikyuu fluff #osamu hq #onigiri miya #osamu timeskip #haikyuu time skip

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marimayscarlett · 2 months

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If not for the bands message, I would 100% believe he was quitting either Rammstein or both the band and music. In fact, I think last year he was going to. No doubt about it. But the support and love stopped him. Made him rethink things. There are still people, a lot of people, who want to see and hear him. Like a Phoenix from the ashes - that's what I think the end of the poem implies

I also think he lost a lot of people. In music industry and personal life. People turned their backs on him long before any verdict was issued, and that made him lose hope. It would make anyone lose hope.

But truth prevails. And those who were genuinely loyal - stayed. And for those people alone, it is worth continuing... and I don't mean just music.

Hi 👋🏻

If Rammstein's thank you-message from two days ago hadn't been posted, I would be even more worried than I already am.

Nevertheless, I try to hold onto the fact that it is hardly likely that the band would publicly announce their continuation for all fans to see, and then their lead singer would announce his departure two days later.

Yet Till had to endure incredibly much last year. He was pilloried and prejudged from all sides, while at the same time, no one gave him the opportunity or allowed him to actively defend himself. His professional environment (the band, other Rammstein employees), as well as his private environment with family (there were even articles about Nele and his mother in the German press) and friends were dragged into it, then there was vandalism and death threats against him.

That one becomes hopeless and thinks about quitting (not only in a professional sense...) is not surprising. The poem reads very personally, as if he is not necessarily (only) referring to his musical career. If you approach the matter interpretively, you can also think that he has lost a lot privately (maybe friends who turned on him, other people in his life became frosty and distant...) and had to endure a lot. However he meant his poem, it seems to be an emotional/sad vent for the emotions and grief he still actively carries and now, with the tour over, perhaps feels more than during the busy and consuming tour life.

I think it is good that he makes it clear how close it hit him - a witch hunt was carried out against him to an incredible extent. Having to endure that leaves marks that do not fade quickly. Till is not a saint and has his quirks, but he certainly did not deserve this.

He is an artist, so he naturally expresses himself in a lyrical and cryptic way. We must be patient and wait to see if and what comes next. I really hope that he has found hope and confidence again. The matter is far from over; proceedings against a podcast are ongoing, and his lawyers have filed a lawsuit against Der Spiegel. That means it will accompany him for a while, whether he wants it to or not. I hope he has a network of loyal people around him who are good for him, and that he at least somewhat finds inner peace... and strength to carry on.

#my two cents #a bit of rambling #till lindemann #ask #Rammstein

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footprintsinthesxnd · 2 years

Text

The Happiest Man Alive

Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd x reader

Warnings: mentions of sex, unplanned pregnancy

Summary: how do you tell Bob after you find out your pregnant.

Sat on the floor in the bathroom on base your whole world had been turned upside down. Three small, white sticks sat in front of you on the counter all completely positive. The tiny, pink plus glaring back at you. You let out a strangled sob, covering your hand over your mouth to keep the sound from escaping. How were you going to tell Bob? You had been together for 2 years and you both knew you wanted children but not right now. The plan was to get a place together, get married then have children. That was your plan but now the future was looking a little different. You and Bob had always been very intimate. He may look all innocent but between the sheets, Bob was a wild man. He was a passionate lover and was besotted with you and you were with him. So for two people who were so in love why did it feel so hard to tell him?

…………………….…………………….………………………….

“I’m telling you guys they are so going to hook up,” Hangman remarked, pointing toward Rooster and Phoenix, who were talking near the bar. The pair were standing closer than normal and Phoenix was running her hand up Rooster's arm.

“What do you think Bob? You think they're gonna get it down.” He snorted, thrusting his hips at Bob. Bob looked flustered, cheeks becoming bright red as he stuttered an excuse and moved away from Hangman and through the crowd towards you. You had been talking to Penny and Mav when Bob rushed over to you and whispered in your ear before disappearing.

“Sorry guys, I’ll catch up with you later.” You waved them goodbye before making your way after Bob, to the storeroom at the back of the bar.

“Bob? Bob, where are you.” You called into the dark.

“I’m here love,” he pulled you towards him, wrapping his arms around you.

“Hey what’s wrong?” You asked.

“Just Hangman,” he mumbled into your shoulder. “He’s just being a dick.”

“Tell me when he isn’t,” you snorted. “You're gonna let Bagman ruin your evening.”

“No, I just. I hate how I get so flustered. I can’t help it. I’m so awkward.” He sighed, sliding his back down the wall and sitting on the floor.

Sighing, you knelt in front of your boyfriend. “You're not awkward Bob. You are the love of my life and I don’t care what Hangman says. I love you for who you are, which is perfect.” You caressed the side of his cheek and he shut his eyes enjoying your touch.

“I love you too.” He said, lifting his hand and tucking a strand of hair behind your ear. You shuffled forward, straddling the aviator underneath you and pulled him close, pressing your lips to his. He let out a surprised yelp before moving his lips in sync with yours, hand tangled in your hair. You slowly began to unbutton his shirt and he grabbed your hands stopping your movement.

“In here…?” he whispered.

“Why not.”

…………………….…………………….………………………….

Well, the rest was history. Penny found it less than amusing when she found the pair of you in the morning, naked bodies tangled together. To say that Bob was embarrassed was an understatement and his cheeks had been bright red the whole way home. You could believe you’d forgotten a condom. You had always been so careful and even though you were on the pill, you both had always been extra safe.

You sighed, wiping the tears from your cheeks, before standing up and stuffing the tests into your pocket. You needed to figure out a way to tell Bob, sooner rather than later.

…………………….…………………….………………………….

“Do you think (y/n) has been acting weird lately? She seems to have been spending a lot of time in the bathroom,” Rooster said, as he gathered his belongings from his locker. “Is she ok Bob?”

“Yeah, I think so. Although, she has been pretty quiet today and she’s been sick the last few days. She said it’s just a stomach bug but I’m not sure.” Bob sighed, rubbing his hands over his face. He’d been fretting about you since the weekend when you woke up and started throwing up your guts. By lunchtime, you had been fine but it happened the next day and the day after that. ‘What if you were sick?’ Bob thought to himself.

“You haven’t knocked her up have you Bob? Not really got a Baby On Board there have you?” Hangman jokes, trying to stifle a laugh as he looks at the fear on the young aviator's face.

“Hangman piss off. Leave him alone.” Rooster stood up, sauntering over to Hangman and pressing his chest against his.

“Alright, big man stand down. I’m only joking. I don’t think Bob has it in him anyway.” He laughed again and Coyote and Fanboy joined in. “Come on boys, let's leave them to it.” The other aviators left the locker room, leaving Rooster to deal with a terrified Bob.

“Oh god.” He groaned, “what if she is pregnant? i

It’s all my fault. How could I do this? But we always use protection so I don’t know how? This is a disaster. I don’t even know when we last…” Bob trailed off before he could finish what he was saying and went as white as a sheet.

“Oh god.”

“Bob. Hey buddy you wanna fill me in on this or… oh no he’s going. He’s gone.” Rooster trailed off as he watched Bob disappear around the corner before he could finish. Rooster sighed. He was happy for you guys if you were pregnant. He knew you’d be amazing parents and Bob doted on you.

…………………….…………………….………………………….

You were in the kitchen preparing dinner when Bob came hurtling through the door and startled you.

“Jesus Bob, you nearly gave me a heart attack.” You held your hand to your chest, feeling your heart beating against your rib cage. When you looked up at him you noticed the state he was in, hair dishevelled, his shirt untucked and his glasses halfway down his nose.

“Honey, you ok, you look a little frazzled?” You came around the counter towards him, concern evident on your face.

“Is it true?” He blurted out.

“Is what true?” You asked him, reaching over and pushing some of the hair back off his forehead.

“Are you…? Are you pregnant?” He asked, his bottom lip wobbling as he spoke, eyes darting from your face, down to your stomach and back. You were taken aback by this outburst. ‘How the hell did he know?’

“What? How did you find out? Did Phoenix…?”

“So it’s true, you are pregnant and instead of telling me you went behind my back and told Phoenix. It took Hangman joking about me getting you knocked up to figure it out. Are you kidding me (y/n)? I thought you trusted me enough to tell me you're carrying my child.” His hands waved wildly and you had never seen Bob so mad before. He paced up and down, ranting and the more he ranted the more tears sprung to your eyes. It all became too much and you broke down then.

“I’m sorry,” your shoulders shook uncontrollably as you let your tears fall freely.

“I’m sorry I messed everything up and… I’m sorry you don’t want this baby with me… and”

“Wait! What? What makes you think I don’t want this baby with you.” He turned to you then and noticed the state you were in. “Oh, love come here.” He pulled you into his arms as you wept, rubbing soothing circles on your back.

“(Y/n) look at me.” He spoke softly but in a tone that you knew he meant. Looking up, your tearful eyes met his soft ones.

“Oh love,” he brushed his thumb over your cheek, wiping away the stray tears.

“I'm so sorry I didn’t tell you. I was scared and I only found out a few days ago. Phoenix only knew because she was in the bathroom when I was sick and… I’m so sorry Bob.” You began to tear up again.

“Hey, hey, hey it’s ok. It’s ok. I get it. I was just a little hurt that I wasn’t the first to know but that’s ok. Hey, we’re gonna have a baby.” He was grinning at you now, a wild smile dominating his soft features.

You smiled back, wiping your eyes with your sleeve. “Yeah, we’re gonna have a baby.” You repeated giggling at the thought. You were going to have a baby with the love of your life.

“You have no idea how happy this makes me (y/n). God, I love you.” He pulled you into him and placed a delicate kiss on your lips before crouching down and pressing a soft kiss on your belly. His thumbs caressed your hips as he spoke.

“Hey, little one. I’m your daddy. I can’t wait to meet you. You have the best mum in the world.” You laughed at this and placed your hand on Bob's head, stroking his blonde locks.

“You have a pretty great dad to little one.”

Bob stood up to face you. “Thank you.” Was all he said before pulling you in for another kiss, more passionate than the last.

“For what.”

“For making me the happiest man alive,” laughing he said, “ I know this wasn’t part of the plan just yet but now their here I just can’t wait. I can’t wait to be a dad.” Several tears slipped down his cheeks, as you both pulled each other into a tight hug.

“We can do this (y/n), I know we can. I love you.” His hand came to rest on your non-existent bumb, “both of you.”

“We love you too.”

Tags: @callsign-phoenix thank you for supporting me through everything

@topguncortez @mayhem24-7forever @imjess-themess

#top gun maverick #robert floyd #robert bob floyd #bob floyd #bob floyd x reader #bob floyd x y/n #top gun bob #top gun fic #top gun fanfiction #top gun movie

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midnightsun-if · 1 year

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how would the ROs react if someone was making MC cry?

(I'm asking this for all the people who hate conflict and feel like crying when anyone yells at them i.e. me)

Koda: His first instinct is to figure out why someone would do such a thing to you— it seems completely implausible to him that someone would wish to make you sad. The much stronger instinct would win, however. He’d quickly take you into his arms, probably rumble out a growl if the other person tried to do something in response, and just take you away. Would try to cheer you up with your favorite activities once you get back to the dorm. He just wants to make you smile again.

Scarlett: That person would be lifted up against a wall, sharp nails digging painfully into their neck, before they’d be even aware of the danger headed straight for them. Scarlett’s eyes would be nearly black with her rage. She’d hold back from doing anything permanent, however, because she knows that you need her, and she wanted to get back to you as quickly as she was able, she wanted to give you all the attention that you deserved. So she’d simply threaten them, probably leave them with a few bruises, and head straight back towards you and carry you back to the dorm. Being the sweetest/softest bean in the world the entire time.

Cyrus/Cyra: Their eyes would flash red, anger quickly causing flames to lick at their fingers, before they stop before the person. They wouldn’t even have to say anything, their presence alone, the way in which they were looking at the person, would showcase how fucked said person is. No one messes with a phoenixes bond-mate and no one will ever make you cry, not if they could help it. They’d be sorely tempted to do something, but they refrain, years of training kicking in, and simply watch as the person scampers off. Only when they’re sure you’ll be safe, that there wouldn’t be anything more coming, they’d turn to you, eyes shimmering a gentle gold, and ask you what you wished of them.

Quinn: It would take everything Quinn has to not shift instantly at the sight of your tears, at the sadness that etched itself across your face. Their canines and claws might sharpen, however, and it’d be clear to the person that if they didn’t back the fuck off soon then they’d be dealing with Quinn’s wolf— and Quinn’s wolf might just tear them apart. Quinn would take you somewhere you could relax, where people wouldn’t come across you both, and they’d simply comfort you— potentially shifting so their wolf can do so too. They don’t want to see you cry, and they’ll always try their best to abate it.

Caden: A sudden chill would work its way through the area, silvery eyes, tinged with a ghostly shimmer, filled with nothing but ice as they stride towards you. They wouldn’t hesitate in wrapping their arms around you, nor would they hesitate in giving the person a peace of their mind, the calm way in which they do it completely unsettling, without any hint of their normal flustered quality. Powers, that lurk underneath their skin, would beg to come out but Caden would stomp down the possibility. You were more important, getting you somewhere safe and sound, everything else came second to that.

Sloane: They’d see your tears, see the asshole in front of you, probably would have faintly heard what had been said… The math adds up. They’d punch the asshole in the face instantly and would grab them by the back of their collar before roughly shoving them away from you. A snarl would be on their face, eyes flashing like crazy as their wolf wished to appear, but they’d simply settle on a warning growl, a deep rumble from within their chest, in making the person stay away. If you weren’t there, and they didn’t have to get back to you, they’d probably do more, but they had to put their focus on you— take you somewhere else. Maybe they’d find the person later…

Blake: Their easygoing smile would vanish instantly, violet eyes going dark instantly, and they’d be by your side within an instant. They would want nothing more than to lash out at the person, which they’d do at a later date, but they needed to focus on you— not anything else that could potentially get in the way of that. They’d take your face in their hands, make you see them and only them, and ask you where you wished to go. They’d go anywhere you wanted to go in that moment, do anything, as long as they didn’t have to see you cry anymore. They hated to see you cry. Seeing it now? It would only harden their resolve to deal with this issue later.

Reginald/Regina: They wouldn’t really know what to do to be honest. A supernatural individual is making you cry? Not necessarily someone they could take in a fight, which they’re well aware of. But, seeing the tear tracks on your face, the sadness that etches across it, makes them not care. They’d definitely get in the persons face, damn the consequences, and once they feel like they’ve been correctly chastised— R would take you away from the entire situation. Probably would start rambling on various activities you could together/they might have planned. Anything to keep your mind off what had happened.

#midnight sun #ro: blake herrera #asks #ro: koda kingston #ro: quinn grant #ro: r presley #ro: c aurelia #ro: caden randall #ro: sloane addams #ro: scarlett voltaire #scenario asks

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nebjamin · 3 months

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MAJOR APOLLO JUSTICE: ACE ATTORNEY SPOILERS

So, I didn’t like AJ:AA as much as I thought I would.

Keep in mind that my prior experience with Ace Attorney (AA) before this was the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Trilogy (1-3) and The Great Ace Attorney (TGAA) Chronicles, so I had very high standards. I’m a PC guy, so I just play the games when they get ported over. Also, I haven’t seen much discourse about this game, so I have no idea if my thoughts are a brand new hot take or the same stuff people have been saying for years. That said, here are my very long and drawn-out thoughts about Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney.

Apollo Justice is (not) doing fine.

Apollo Justice is a new defense attorney and the protagonist of this game, following up Phoenix Wright from the first three AA games. These are major shoes to fill, but moving to a new protagonist made sense - they essentially finished Phoenix’s story in the previous game in the series. Justice is a less experienced attorney than Wright, so of course he’d trip up a bit in court and occasionally fold under the tremendous pressure of prosecutor and air guitar extraordinaire Klavier Gavin (more on him later). However, I’m sure the writers could have handled this in a way that feels less frustrating to the player.

Most of the time, Justice appears helpless in the courtroom. He tries his best, but is ultimately forced into a corner by the prosecution. Ace Attorney cases are typically a constant back-and-forth between the defense and prosecution: the prosecution embarasses the defense, then the defense has a revelation and dominates the prosecution, then the prosecution dismantles the defense’s theory and forces them back into a corner, and the process repeats until a Not Guilty verdict is reached (with few exceptions). However, Justice tends to spend significantly more time crying in the corner than making a case for himself. Apollo certainly has his moments, but they felt far and few between. Half of Apollo’s gimmick is his “Chords of Steel,” or his incredibly loud voice. Even if he has nothing to say, let my man shout. His mentor is THE Phoenix Wright, after all - let Justice bluff a bit, even if it doesn’t always work out at first.

The other half of his gimmick is his bracelet, which lets him find minute details of a person’s body language, and use that discovery to pull the person into the shadow realm to question them and extract the truth. This is a really creative idea which breathed some new life into the gameplay of the four cases, but I do feel like it could have been executed significantly better. In order to find the details of a person’s body language, Justice’s vision excessively zooms in on a character, and the player is tasked with panning around with Justice’s super-powered eyes as the witness gives their testimony. When you’re that zoomed in, finding a slight twitch of a finger or a bit of moisture in a witness’ armpit can feel like finding a needle in a human haystack, especially when you have absolutely no idea what you’re looking for. It’s a great concept, but in execution, it proves to be more frustrating than enjoyable.

Given how helpless he is in the courtroom, I felt that Justice and his revelations don’t really drive the story as much as they should. More often, he just happens to be there in the courtroom as the story happens to him. This doesn’t change much as the game progresses either - he has some growth over the course of the story, but it isn’t really felt as the cases march onwards. Unfortunately, Justice never really grows the strength and mental fortitude to push the story and the mystery forward himself. Even when he does in Dual Destinies, it feels like borderline character assassination, but that’s a different game that deserves a different rant (coming soon?????). In AJ:AA, there’s another character who really pushes the story forward, constantly leaving Justice in the dust.

Klavier Gavin is ready to rock (a little too hard).

SPOILERS FOR ACE ATTORNEY 1 & 3 IN THIS SECTION

Klavier Gavin is this game’s new prosecutor, and he also has big shoes to fill - but for different reasons. Each Ace Attorney game up to this point has had different prosecutors facing off against the defense, and the standouts were undoubtedly Miles Edgeworth and Godot (my apologies to the Von Karma and Payne families). Edgeworth was Phoenix Wright’s first main prosecutor opponent, and he was formidable for many reasons - he was a very skilled prosecutor, he had much more experience in the courtroom than Wright, and he had never lost a case. Thus, when he experienced his first ever loss to novice defense attorney Phoenix Wright, he was horrified. He came back for revenge and lost again and again, until Wright defended him in court as the defendant against the legendary prosecutor Manfred Von Karma, causing him to re-evaluate. This made Edgeworth an incredibly complex and intriguing character, and a great opponent in the courtroom. Two games later, Godot served as the main prosecutor of AA3, and was also a hugely complex character due in large part to his past association with Mia Fey. Fey was Wright’s late mentor, and Godot’s complicated relationship with both Fey and Wright made him a very interesting opponent, especially in the last case of the game. I still can’t hear the words “the only time a lawyer can cry is when it’s all over” without tearing up just a little bit. These prosecutors all went to war against Wright in the courtroom, and were devastated when facing defeat. Not Klavier Gavin, though. He’s different.

As Justice got his first Not Guilty verdict against Gavin, Gavin simply stood and smiled. He wasn’t banging on his desk or breaking coffee cups like two other prosecutors I know - he just stood and smiled. This created an air of mystery around him - why isn’t he upset? Did he want to lose? What is this guy’s motivation? Although this left me feeling somewhat unsatisfied with the case’s conclusion, I moved on to the next case in the hopes that something would eventually be explained. But it wasn’t. Even as the game came to its conclusion, Klavier Gavin didn’t have a single major breakdown. It was as if every event of the game went exactly as he planned it. If that’s how Gavin’s actions were supposed to be interpreted, then it makes for a very unsatisfying conclusion. Apollo Justice was the protagonist, and yet no victory was truly his - he was just guided along the correct path by the prosecutor on the other side of the courtroom. Gavin would often give Justice hints or lead him into a line of reasoning that Justice would need to win the case, which makes me feel like this was what the writers were trying to do with his character. Yet, with an “antagonist” that predicts your every move and is always one step ahead, you need two things: an overarching goal and a defeat at the hands of the protagonist. In Gavin’s case, these two were in constant conflict.

Klavier Gavin’s main motivation throughout the game appeared to revolve around his older brother, Kristoph Gavin. Kristoph was referred to as “the devil” and was found to be the culprit of both the first and last cases of the game (more on both of those later), and I believe it’s safe to say he was the overall antagonist of the game. Klavier Gavin, being his brother, had complex feelings towards him in theory - he loved Kristoph as a brother, but hated him for who he was and what he’d done. This was also not executed well, as we (the players) were never really given a glimpse into what this relationship was - we were just told that it was there. The interactions between Klavier and Kristoph were very limited in number, and showed nothing more than the surface level of their relationship. Don’t get me wrong - I like it when details like that are just implied, and I don’t need every little thing spelled out for me. Still, I felt like their relationship was shown a little too much to be “just implied,” but not enough to be explored in any meaningful depth. When Kristoph was found guilty at the end of the last case, Klavier seemed happy, proudly declaring to his brother that “Kristoph… it’s over.” It appeared that this was what he wanted, this was his end goal, this was his motivation. He got it - he won. Yet, this made for a very unsatisfying conclusion, as Apollo Justice was the protagonist, and he needed to win too. He won each case, sure, but Klavier never lost. Klavier was always one step ahead of Justice, and he got what he wanted without much difficulty. The protagonist never truly won if we consider Justice to be the protagonist, but what if we consider Klavier to be the protagonist?

In order for Klavier to function as the protagonist, he would need one thing that he doesn’t show nearly enough of: character growth. The first time we see him, he’s already a successful prosecutor AND the lead guitarist, singer, and frontman of a ridiculously successful rock band NAMED AFTER HIM. There isn’t much further to go from there. He shows this success in the courtroom too: he appears cocky and confident, forcing Justice into corner after corner, with a charismatic smile that rarely leaves his face. His only point of weakness seems to be his brother. Supposedly, he’s always lived in the shadow of his brother, and this is his chance at redemption - but is it really? What part of headlining a rock band NAMED AFTER YOU is living in your brother’s shadow? What part of his long, successful career as a prosecutor is in his brother’s shadow? His confidence wavers a little as he faces his brother at the end of the story, but that is the only time he’s shown interacting with his brother. Ultimately, Klavier stares his brother down, watches as Justice corners Kristoph in a cross-examination, and smiles as his brother is taken back to jail for good. His demeanor never changes - he never seems any less cocky, and he always has the same exact smile. It’s as if the story doesn’t affect him. This is frankly frustrating to watch, seeing all his potential as a character go to waste. He has minimal character growth, and the little he has isn’t earned. Klavier is a bad antagonist and a bad protagonist, as if the writers had no idea what to do with him.

If you want my theory on the matter, I think the writers really wanted to create a character that people would like. They saw the people’s love of Edgeworth, of Franziska Von Karma (to some extent), and of Godot, and they wanted to replicate that feeling. In their attempts, though, they forgot what made those prosecutors so loveable. Yeah, they were quirky and charismatic little guys to some extent, but they were also powerful foes who proved to be mountains for Phoenix Wright to conquer. We hated them as enemies at first sight, but as we got to know them better, we came to love them as friendly rivals. Not only that, but they all grew as characters in meaningful ways. With Klavier, they tried to rush the process, and it didn’t work out. They wanted us to love Klavier from the start by making him cool and a bit quirky, but that was all on the surface level. We loved what laid beneath the surface of Wright’s relationships with Edgeworth, Franziska, and Godot - we loved the depth of their characters and of their stories. In order to give Klavier and his relationship with Apollo that kind of depth, they would have needed to build Klavier’s character up much more over time. However, that would mean that Klavier’s character couldn’t already be perfect from the start. The writers assumed that we loved the previous prosecutors because of how cool they were on the surface, but they missed everything beneath the surface level that was truly the foundation for our collective love for our foes of the past. Then again, that’s just my theory - I have no idea what was actually going on in the writer’s room at the time.

I did like Klavier Gavin as a character, I just didn’t love him, and I honestly think he’s my least favorite main prosecutor of the series only because of the high standards set by other prosecutors. Nothing will beat out my love for Godot and the TGAA prosecutors, and unfortunately Gavin didn’t even come close. In fact, my favorite case from the game is actually the only one he isn’t involved in.

Case 1: Turnabout Trump (lives up to its name).

I would like to clarify that the game and I are referring to the verb “trump,” which means “to get the better of” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary). I am not referring to the former president of the United States. This game was released in 2007, 9 years before the start of the presidency of Donald Trump. It was released 15 years after Trump played his prolific role in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, though. That seems important.

Nonetheless, I genuinely believe this is one of the greatest opening cases in an Ace Attorney game, right up there with AA3 and TGAA 1 & 2. It does a great job of introducing Apollo Justice as an attorney and putting the player into his shoes, while showing that his heart is in the right place but he still has room to grow. Unfortunately, he never wound up growing that much in this game, but that’s a problem to take up with the rest of this game’s cases. This case also functions as the player’s introduction to the overall mystery of AJ:AA, and Justice acts as your eyes into this new world of unsolved mysteries. This game takes place 7 years after the previous game in the series, and the old protagonist, Phoenix Wright, is very different from how we last saw him. AA3’s conclusion saw Wright win his hardest (and best-written) case yet as a successful attorney with a growing history of success, but AJ:AA opens with Wright as a disgraced, disbarred former attorney, working as a pianist that can’t even play the piano. He’s even the suspect of a murder in this opening case. Naturally, the player has to wonder what caused this, which sets them on track to uncover the mysteries that the rest of the game has in store for them. Apollo feels the same way, and thus your motivations align as player and protagonist. This helps the player better connect with the new protagonist, and Apollo Justice already feels at home as the new head of the Ace Attorney series (until Dual Destinies at least). Not only that, but the other new character introduced also proves to be fascinating and intricately connected to the mystery at hand.

This case also functions as the player’s introduction to Kristoph Gavin, a renowned defense attorney that appears to be friends with Wright, and Justice’s mentor. He walks the player through the tutorial, which is not only useful from a gameplay perspective, but also portrays him as a reliable character from a storytelling perspective. This seemingly tiny detail makes the player trust Kristoph more, just like Justice does, and thus puts the player further into Justice’s shoes. Mia Fey gave the same instructions to Phoenix Wright in the first Ace Attorney game and she was very trustworthy, so the player would subconsciously think of Kristoph the same way they thought of Fey, putting them on the same pedestal. Justice trusts Kristoph as his mentor, so once more the player feels better connected with the new protagonist. This isn’t the only way the game tricks the player into trusting Kristoph, though. Typically in the first case of an Ace Attorney game, there will be four or five major characters - the defense attorney, the prosecutor, the defendant, the witness that turns out to be the true culprit, and possibly a mentor or partner for the defense. Thus, when the witness (Ms. Olga Orly) takes the stand, the player would naturally assume that they’re the true culprit - it’s happened in opening cases in games prior, and it would proceed to happen again in future games. Kristoph tries to guide Justice (and the player by extension) to accuse Ms. Orly, which would naturally make sense to the player. They trust Kristoph and they’ve done this song and dance a few times by this point - it must be Orly. However, Wright leads Justice and the player in a different direction, with the knowledge that Orly isn’t the real killer. Instead, it’s actually Kristoph Gavin himself, in a massive betrayal and twist as the writers flip the opening case formula on its head. Wright takes the stand next to you as you prove your formerly trusted mentor’s guilt, sending him off to jail. The writers completely subverted the player’s expectations over the course of one short case.

Additionally, this perfectly clues Justice and the player into the mysteries of the game, without revealing too much. The player knows just enough to wonder, but not enough to have any answers. What happened to Wright? What’s with his pendant? What was Kristoph’s motive? What aren’t they telling us? All of this gets the player (or at least got me) genuinely interested and excited for the events to come, especially after this wonderfully-written case. I was worried that these cases wouldn’t be able to live up to the ridiculously high bar set by their predecessors, but this case proved that the writers were more than capable. At least, I thought it did. You’ve already seen the first two sections of this essay, so you know that this game did not live up to my expectations at all. In addition to the previous games, I blame this first case for setting the bar way too high for the rest of the game. Because of this case, I expected the rest of the game to have superb writing and direction to match this masterpiece of a case, but it didn’t. I felt that the rest of the game’s cases - 2 and 3 - were just okay at best. They certainly had their moments, but ultimately, they were just average. I don’t have much to say about them (although I’ll touch on them a bit in the “other things I want to rant about” section), but after all the mysteries introduced in the first case, there was a lot hinging on the grand finale: case 4. I was still extremely curious to find out the answers, but ultimately, the way they were delivered was nothing more than a letdown for me.

Case 4: The MASON System (has an error).

I have a LOT to complain about for the fourth and final case, so I’m splitting it up into two parts, like how it was in the game. I know I’m skipping over the first half of the case, but my main criticisms really lie in the case’s dramatic and disappointing conclusion. First, I’ll be talking about the portion taking place in the MASON System, which frankly just confused me and took me out of the experience. I can only suspend my disbelief so much, and this weird and unexplained segment pushed me over the top. I’m still not entirely clear on what the MASON System even is, but I’ll do my best to explain what I experienced inside it. As the player, you see what appears to be a loading screen, and then you’re shown a black background covered in moving green binary code, just like something a hacker from of a cheesy 90s movie would see as they hack into the mainframe (as you can see in the image above). In front and facing you is Phoenix Wright, who appears to be talking directly to you. He’s not talking to Justice anymore, because Justice isn’t here, wherever or whatever here is. Wright appears talking directly to you, the player. The player is later revealed to be seeing through the eyes of “Juror No. 6,” but I’ll get more into that in the next section since it isn’t revealed until the end of the case. It also doesn’t explain how the juror got immersed in the MASON System or what it even is, but I digress. Wright then tells you that you can use the system to jump through space and time in order to experience Wright’s memories and to find the “keys” (evidence) to unlocking the truth, which you’ll then use to find the real truth of the mystery.

If you got lost somewhere in that last paragraph, me too. The game doesn’t explain how the MASON System connects to anything else in the game (or in Ace Attorney canon for that matter), how it knows Wright’s memories so intimately that the user can fully re-experience them, and why Justice can only get that game-changing evidence after some random juror experiences Wright’s memories. As far as I’m aware, this is the only time something like this has been done in Ace Attorney, and for good reason: it completely breaks immersion. Even if Wright isn’t actually breaking the fourth wall, it certainly appears like he is, which is not something Ace Attorney has ever done in a serious manner before, outside telling a player to press a certain button in a tutorial. The presence of Juror No. 6 is used at the end of the case to show that it wasn’t actually a fourth wall break, but that was long after the player left the MASON System and long after my inversion was ruined. I can accept weird and barely explained concepts in Ace Attorney - in fact, I’ve come to expect it. However, these usually follow a set of established rules in the Ace Attorney universe, so the player stays immersed. There’s nothing realistic or sensical about Wright’s “Psyche-Locks,” the Fey family’s ability to summon spirits of the dead, or really anything in Spirit of Justice (I’ve only played the first case, don’t spoil it for me). However, it’s an established rule in the world of Ace Attorney that magic exists and certain people can wield it. Thus, despite not being at all realistic, it makes sense in the context of the world. The MASON System, however, does not. I still don’t really understand it, and honestly, my enjoyment of the game is heightened if I just forget about the system itself and just remember what happened inside of it.

Even if I didn’t like the MASON System as a concept, I have to give credit where credit’s due: I did enjoy experiencing Wright’s memories and slowly starting to piece together the truth of the incident that led to Wright getting disbarred and the apparent death of Thalassa Gramarye. There were two ongoing mysteries at that point - the case of Magnifi Gramarye’s death (and Wright’s disbarment) from 7 years ago, and the case of Drew Misham’s death in the present. These two appeared to be inseparable from each other, and the truth about both would have to come out together. In truth, I’m kind of a sucker for mysteries where the past and present collide, even if it’s on the verge of becoming an overused trope in the Ace Attorney series by this point. I love figuring out the truth behind a long-lost case of the past and using that to answer questions about the present, and the MASON System delivers that perfectly. I especially love the use of Psyche-Locks throughout, which are essentially visualizations of secrets that people hide. These appear when a person is hiding something from Wright, and by presenting evidence, you can crack open these “locks” until the truth is finally laid bare. In this section, you slowly pick away at Valant Gramarye’s Psyche-Locks as you explore and gain new evidence. You figure out the existence of a secret as you question Valant, explore somewhere or someone else until you have the right evidence to force the truth out of him, then come back and land another blow that gets you ever closer to the truths behind Magnifi’s death and the Thalassa incident. This allows the player to see how close they’re getting to the heart of the mystery, and is certainly much better than any use of Psyche-Locks in Dual Destinies, where you already have the evidence from the moment the locks are put on display. Then again, that’s another essay for another time. I may not like how the writers used the MASON System to link Wright’s past to Justice’s present, but that was a very satisfying part of the mystery to conquer - if you ignore the MASON System itself, that is. Now that the answers to the mystery are starting to make themselves apparent, all the writers had to do was to stick the landing and call it a day, but it felt more like a belly flop than anything.

Case 4: Turnabout Succession (was not a success).

SPOILERS FOR THE GREAT ACE ATTORNEY 1 IN THIS SECTION

Most of case 4 played out like the rest of the cases in this game: just okay. It wasn’t exceptional, but I don’t have any major problems with it either. My main issue was the way the case was concluded, with a strange turn of events that felt out-of-place and caused a generally unsatisfying conclusion that ultimately made the journey feel like a waste. To explain this, let me give some context about Phoenix Wright’s adventures before and during the events of this game. Despite having been disbarred for presenting forged evidence in court, he was still very involved with the legal system and creating change within it. Specifically, he wanted to incorporate a jurist system into the courts, meaning that the verdict would be decided by six jurors instead of just a judge. This trial would be the first in the country to use the jurist system, and would be a test of this new system. Additionally, it’s revealed at the end of the trial that the player takes the role of a juror, Juror No. 6. This is the same character that experienced the MASON System just prior. Given all this information, you might be wondering: Why does Phoenix Wright have the power to alter the trial system in such a drastic way? Why would the verdict of a “test run” of a new system decide whether the defendant, a 19-year-old girl, spends the rest of her life in jail? Why does the player, who plays the role of the defense attorney, also get to play the role of the juror who decides the verdict of the case? And to those questions, I have no answer, and neither does the game. The end of this last trial entirely revolves around this “jurist system” subplot, and yet it feels tacked-on and pointless in the grand scheme of the game’s story. Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t a bad concept - Kristoph Gavin’s breakdown at the hands of the jury showed a glimpse of everything this game could have been. Yet, it just felt improperly executed, as if the writers just forgot about it until the last moment and scribbled down a couple new plot points at the end to make it fit. Furthermore, the whole concept of a jurist system as it existed in AJ:AA just isn’t compatible with the Ace Attorney formula. The judge’s decision is an integral part of a trial, and the only reasonable way they could make it work would be something like the system in The Great Ace Attorney 1 & 2. In TGAA games, the jurors are right in front of the judge, and both the defense and prosecution can argue directly to them. Instead of maintaining the idea of an anonymous jury decision behind closed doors, Dual Destinies just pretended that the jurist system was never introduced, which was honestly a smart decision if they wanted to maintain the classic Ace Attorney formula.

At the very end of the case, the player takes control of Juror No. 6, and gets to make their vote to decide whether the defendant is guilty. The player, who has been arguing that the defendant isn’t guilty to the court for hours, gets the chance to decide whether or not the defendant is guilty. As you can probably tell, there is a correct answer. An Ace Attorney game with multiple endings is a cool idea in theory, but in practice, there’s really only one ending in AJ:AA. If you choose to declare the defendant “not guilty,” you finally catch the real killer and happy music plays as the credits roll. If, for whatever reason, you declare the defendant that you’ve been defending for multiple hours “guilty,” then you’re told that the defendant died in a hospital bed and you’re kicked back to the main menu. The credits don’t even roll if you decide to indict the defendant. The idea of choice is a very important one to this game’s story, yet the one real choice the player is given has a correct answer, and the game punishes you for answering incorrectly. Once again, this doesn’t feel thought-through at all - it was just tacked on at the end for seemingly no reason at all. Still, that doesn’t mean it’s a bad concept. For instance, what if it was used in a case like “The Adventure of the Runaway Room” (case 3) from The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures? That case was an incredibly interesting case for a number of reasons, including the fact that it was the protagonist’s first time acting as an attorney in a court with a jury. But more than that, it was interesting because of one ginormous detail of its beautifully unsatisfying and unsettling conclusion: it’s never made clear whether the defendant did or didn’t commit the crime. You get your “not guilty” verdict from the jury, but you never get a magnificent breakdown from the true culprit, and the defendant acts smug and suspicious as he’s given permission to walk free. In this case, there wasn’t a right or wrong answer, and neither the player nor the protagonist are ever given an answer as to whether or not they did the right thing. They just have to live in suspense and pray that they didn’t just set a murderer loose upon the world. If the final case of AJ:AA was structured more like this, it would make sense to have the player make the decision, since it easily could go either way. However, this isn’t at all similar to what the case actually was, leading to immense disappointment instead of the unease and intrigue it should have provided.

Even so, there was one thing this ending did right: the reveal of Juror No. 6’s identity. By this point, Thalassa Gramarye’s true identity has been revealed as not just the wife of Shadi Enigmar and daughter of Magnifi Gramarye, but also the mother of Apollo Justice as well as the mother of Phoenix Wright’s adopted daughter, Trucy Wright. The key to this realization laid in the bracelet she had on her wrist, which was identical to the one worn by Justice which gave him his powers. However, during his investigation, Phoenix Wright also learned that Thalssa had an unfortunate death in an accident years and years ago. When Juror No. 6’s perspective is shown as they look down on a screen with options for “guilty” and “not guilty,” a reflection is shown on the screen, vaguely showing the face of a prominent witness from “Turnabout Serenade” (case 3) by the name of Lamiroir. She always wore a hood and a mask over her face, which I assumed was just meant to make life easier for the animators. Still, it was instantly recognizable, even if it was just a faint silhouette. Additionally, her sleeve extended up her arm, showing that beautiful and recognizable pattern the player had seen numerous times behind the witness stand. Yet, as the player controls her arm and moves it to the “guilty” or “not guilty” buttons, her sleeve falls down, revealing a golden bracelet - identical to the one worn by Apollo Justice. Thalassa Gramarye is still very much alive, and she’s living life as Lamiroir. I was grinning ear to ear with my jaw on the floor as the answer to the game’s final (intentional) mystery was revealed - exactly how I should feel at the end of an Ace Attorney game. The reveal was subtle enough that I felt smart for figuring out what it meant, but obvious enough that it was near-impossible to miss. The game doesn’t outright tell you what it means (until a wrap-up scene right after), but instead takes a look at the puzzle of answers you’ve been building up throughout the story, and gives you the final piece. Because of this perfectly-written moment at the end, the game actually left a pretty good taste in my mouth, despite everything I just complained about. I may not have loved a lot about the ending of this case, but this one detail almost makes it all worth it. Almost.

Other things I want to rant about

SPOILERS FOR ACE ATTORNEY 1 & 5 IN THE FIRST PARAGRAPH

I’ve talked about all my main points of controversy about this game, but there’s still a bit I want to get off my chest about a few other topics. I don’t have as much to say about these as I did about my main topics, but this is a comprehensive essay on nearly all of my thoughts about Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, so why stop now? First, let’s talk a bit about the man in the picture above: Phoenix Wright. Honestly, I liked the way the writers treated him in this game. Introducing the former lawyer extraordinaire as a washed-up bum raises a lot of intrigue from the player, and seeing him in his natural habitat at the defense’s bench supporting Justice was a satisfying thing to see. To Justice, Wright serves as a mentor. Although he’s a very different character now, he still has the intelligence and the whimsy that Wright is known for. He’ll act mysterious when it comes to important topics and he’ll get serious when he needs to, but he’s also just telling dad jokes and reminiscing on his days of presenting his attorney’s badge to every person he saw. He’s an old, retired veteran of an attorney, and a hero for Justice to look up to. Yet, at the same time, he’s a weird and silly old dude with that same old silly sense of humor he’s always had. It would have been very easy to essentially pull a character assassination on Wright by putting him into this role, but the writers of AJ:AA walked the tightrope perfectly and gave the foundations for him to be a great mentor to Justice and possibly take on a role similar to that of Mia Fey for the rest of the series (with or without dying). I have mixed feelings about their decision to bring him back as an attorney in Dual Destinies instead of just entrusting Justice (and maybe Cykes) with the lawyering duties, but then again, that’s another essay for another time.

While we’re on the topic of characters, there’s one more I wanted to rant a bit about: Trucy Wright. As I mentioned in the last section, Trucy is the adopted daughter of Phoenix Wright, and plays a role as an assistant in this game similar to Maya Fey in past Ace Attorney games. (Which makes sense, since Trucy is Justice’s biological sister. Wait, as I’m typing this, I’m realizing: were they ever told that they were siblings? That’s their character dynamic, but Wright just says at the end of AJ:AA that he’ll tell them when the time is right. Was it still not time yet by the end of Dual Destinies? THEY DESERVE TO KNOW!) Trucy’s profession at age 15 is that of a magician, being the sole true heir to the legacy of the famous Gramarye family of magicians. I like her character and her role in the story overall, but I have one major complaint: why are the writers so obsessed with this 15-year-old girl’s panties? The first major magic trick of hers that’s shown is her “magic panties” trick, in which she can make things appear and disappear into her panties. Her panties essentially act as a pocket dimension, like Mary Poppins’ bag. For whatever reason, the writers KEEP COMING BACK to the same panty trick, OVER and OVER and OVER. It’s supposedly her most popular trick, and yet neither she, her adopted father, nor Justice ever question why an audience of grown adults is so keen on seeing this 15-year-old girl’s panties. In so much of anime and so many anime games, there’s that one episode or that one scene that you just can’t defend, and in this game (AND IN DUAL DESTINIES TOO) they just can’t let it go. As much as I love her character, this is the one sin I can’t overlook, no matter how much I want to.

There’s no way to talk about Ace Attorney without talking about the music. I don’t have any real analysis to make about the new tracks in AJ:AA, but I do want to say that I really like the new direction they took with the music in this new game. Justice is a new protagonist, so his music shouldn’t sound exactly the same as Wright’s, but it should still be recognizable enough to feel like a proper Ace Attorney game. The OST of AJ:AA does this near-perfectly. Even Justice’s “objection” theme goes by a different name: “A New Trial is in Session.” Justice is his own person and his own attorney, and this shows the new direction that the Ace Attorney franchise would be going in from here on out. This is another detail that was written out by the writers of Dual Destinies, for the better or worse, but the people behind AJ:AA had no way of knowing what the next game would do. Justice’s new tracks all have a uniquely “Apollo Justice” feeling to them, from the objection theme to the pursuit theme to the all-new “perceive” theme for Justice’s body language-reading abilities. Klavier’s theme feels perfectly cool and high-energy, and Kristoph’s theme feels like the exact opposite with a slow and methodical feel. Also, the various little easter eggs revolving around Klavier’s theme never failed to make me laugh, from hearing it in a live performance in case 3 to hearing a little pixelated version of his theme as his ringtone. And for the guitar’s serenade, well, I could probably write a whole paragraph about that. Actually-

Lamiroir was introduced in case 3 as a singer from the fictional Eastern European country of Borginia, and a very talented singer at that. We’d later learn that she’s actually Thalassa Gramarye after getting shot, losing her memories, and being presumed dead, but that’s neither here nor there. There may not have been enough space on a DS cartridge to fit high-quality human voices, but there was enough space to fit a midi file with a high-pitched part that represented the singing voice of Lamiroir. This track is one of my favorites of the entire OST. Towards the beginning of the case, you witness a joint performance between Lamiroir and Klavier Gavin, entitled “The Guitar’s Serenade.” You’ll be hearing this track again and again as you analyze the video for evidence over the course of the trial, and also because you just want to hear the song again, turn on your phone’s flashlight, and wave it back and forth over your head to the beat. Despite being such a small audio file without any actual human singing, it perfectly displays the soft, gentle, and beautiful nature of Lamiroir’s voice. The Ace Attorney games usually just have to say “trust me bro” after telling you what a witness’ voice sounds like, but this is the exception. Additionally, parts of the song are used in Lamiroir’s theme, giving it that same gentle, majestic, and elegant energy found in the song. This made it very easy to like Lamiroir as a character, which only added more magic to the reveal of her true identity at the end of the game and its story. I’m honestly not sure if I want her to return in a later game for more, or if I’d rather not hear a worse interpretation of her character that sours the memories of her character in this game. I guess all I can do is place my trust in the writers, no matter how hard of a task that may be.

Now, for a (not so) quick rapid-fire round: Payne was really funny in the first case as he completely lost control of the trial, which became a duel between Wright and Kristoph Gavin. I still see Kristoph and his devil-hand in my nightmares sometimes. Ema Skye’s return after Rise From the Ashes (bonus case from AA1) was really fun and cool to see, and I enjoyed the return of the forensic examination techniques. Seeing the Kitaki crime family after having played through the entire Yakuza franchise was really funny. The reveal that Patriarch Kitaki’s shades were actually just huge eyebrows covering tiny little baby eyes was absolutely hilarious. Wocky Kitaki is a baby version of Akira Nishikiyama if he was a furry and also straight (or maybe Alita’s betrayal is what drove him to loving men?). Trucy’s Mr. Hat magic trick is her best trick and I’m honestly appalled that it never showed up in Dual Destinies. Borginians speaking in wingdings is really funny, and I’d love to hear what that sounds like. Valant Gramarye is very evil but also really funny so I think he should be pardoned. Little Trucy in the flashback is really cute, and I love Klavier’s flashback outfit. Kristoph going super-saiyan in his breakdown is really funny and the animation is perfect. I love how everything new they did with Phoenix Wright was explained by just those seven years since disbarment, rather than adding even more things to his backstory (although I think it would be really funny if in a future Ace Attorney game, they just added a bunch of random details to Wright’s backstory then explained at the end of that game that none of it actually happened and the villain was just messing with their brains with magic) (hit me up Capcom I have ideas). I really loved the credits sequence with all the printed pictures. All in all, I feel like I didn’t love the parts of this game that really mattered, but the little unnecessary details were all perfect. Anyway, I think it’s time to wrap up this rant - it’s gone on for long enough.

The verdict on Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

Now that I’ve dogged on Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney for 27 paragraphs and over 7,000 words, I feel like it’s time to say that it’s not actually that bad. A rant this long can only come from a place of love, and I absolutely love the Ace Attorney series. I started playing the Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney Trilogy in late 2021, which was a pretty bleak time for me coming out of the pandemic. During the pandemic, video games were the only things that really kept me going, giving me something to look forward to day to day as all the days blended together into one blob. Because of this, the games I played at the time all hold a very special place in my heart: Persona, Halo, Devil May Cry, Yakuza, Ace Attorney, and so many more. Maybe my experiences with the games were altered by the conditions of my life as I played through them, but still, I know just how amazing Ace Attorney can be. That’s exactly why I felt so upset playing through this entry of the series - I know the writers can do so much better. The game wasn’t really that terrible as a video game and as a story, but when it has to live up to the brilliant standards set by the Ace Attorney franchise, it just falls flat on its face. I did really enjoy my time playing through this game and I did really enjoy all of the cases, but I just know that Apollo Justice and Klavier Gavin had the potential to be so much more interesting and to be written so much better. I’m not going to give the game a numerical rating or anything like that because that system has no room for subjectivity, but I would genuinely recommend the game to any Ace Attorney fan who finished the first trilogy (and maybe The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles) and is looking for more - in other words, anyone like me. I may not have loved this game as much as some other games in the series, but I do not regret one second I spent playing that game. If nothing else, it gave me this chance to reflect on myself, my thoughts, and my feelings about the series as a whole. I’ll always be grateful for that, and rest assured my love for the Ace Attorney franchise will not fade anytime soon.

I’d also like to briefly say that, if you read this far into the ramblings of an insane Ace Attorney fan, thank you. I wrote this to get my own thoughts and feelings off my chest, but if anyone else reads through these words and gets literally anything out of them, then this was all the more worthwhile. And if you’re a vehement Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney fan who’s foaming at the mouth with pure rage while hate-reading my rant, please tell me why. I don’t mean this as a joke or a diss, I genuinely believe that the ability to debate and argue about the things you’re passionate about is one of the greatest joys life has to offer. While I’d rather not have any death threats sent my way, I would still greatly appreciate the chance to keep talking and thinking and debating about this messy yet beautiful game in one of the best series of stories I’ve ever had the joy of experiencing.

And as a thank you for reading this far, I’d like to let you know that I’m a screenshot addict. I cannot stop myself from taking a ridiculous number of screenshots every time I play a game, and it’s killing my hard drive. I still have a lot of really funny shots that I wasn’t able to include as section titles, so without further ado, here are some…

FUNNY SCREENSHOTS!!!!!

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