#bc the jingle is ALWAYS stuck in my head

[therehavebeenstranger]

pathologically obsessed with cambridge paving stones

[kenobihater]

it's been less than a week since i learned of cerveza cristal and it has already made a monumental impact on my psyche. i've had the jingle stuck in my head for an hour now

[dustorange]

hey!!! could you share your fave dick grayson fics especially if they include bruce or even slade! you are probably my favorite dick grayson author I love your characterization so much I keep reading and rereading your fics all the time!!!!

THANK U!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! omg that is the biggest honor ily 💗💗💗💗

SOME FICS I RECOMMEND ARE OLD ENEMIES NEW DEBTS BY WILDSOFMARCH, catch a talon by the toe by wildsofmarch and cross my talon and hope to die by wildsofmarch……………wildsofmarch is a fav by default bc they write about my favorite concepts EVER (talon dick + slade) and like that alone is sufficient but then they r also ridiculously talented so here we r.

as 4 others hmmm i m always logged out of ao3 so my bookmarks r scarce + i never remember anything ever ever ever BUT SOME PPL I ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS TRUST TO DELIVER QUALITY dg r jinmukang (dick whump champion of all time) and glassofwater (EXCRUCIATING ANGST AND DICK CHARACTERIZATION and Bruce characterization and EVERYONE characterization) and then of course forcefully rec silverwhittlingknife’s whole entire corpus every work there is like a true embarrassment of riches brilliant clever sweet writing with gut punches and its all trueeeeee characterization

i also adore princessmariana’s dark Bruce fic series and her batfamily dragon au holds a super special place in my heart. must read

some other nonmentioned authors / indvl dg fics off the top of my head that can level u to the ground emotionally r:

TO BE HUMAN by newsical - nothing I say will do this justice. newsical is srsly generational literary talent & also her current wip could make me chew thru glass but To Be Human is dick and damian Perfectly

UNIVERSAL CONSTANT by cirth - AGONIZING it’s. its. its. SO dick + amnesia (a la ric grayson gunshot) BUT instead of ric he stays with the family and omg. u will rend ur clothes biblical style weeping.

THE COLOUR OF WATER by cirth - this will forever play on ur eyelids when u close ur eyes ♾️ beware

DRAG AND LIFT by cirth - baby jason finds baby dick without shoes as he escapes juvie a Foundational Dick And Jason Text 4 me

TO THE LEFT by newsical - omg newsical’s current wip I FORESHADOWED ITS INCLUSION in this list ITS AN AU WHERE DICK AND ROY oh you know 🫶 ARE on opposite sides of a kidnapping but soooo much more. exquisite world building, characterization, writing, evth srsly evth

THE QUIET SOUND by orphanaccount - excruciating young dick angst after bruce is shot !!!

IRON FIRE AND MIRROR GLASS by purplesoot - after Bruce gets his back broken he arranges a deal with 1 of the fair folk: dick. exquisite and very painful but ends beautifully. the author’s other dc work is a slade dick apprentice fic that’s equally masterful

THE JINGLE JANGLE MORNING by audreycritter - this fic is like the skeletonkey for Bruce and Dick its pure essence it is tapping into something truer than true

OF YOUR LIPS BEGONIA BLUE by streetlightskeletons - SLADE IS PAID TO WATCH A KIDNAPPED DICK. DICK IS DYING OF HYPOTHERMIA. SLADES FEELINGS R COMPLEX. HE……(grits teeth)…..CARES. GET UP GRAYSON. ft a wonderful Jason Todd cameo at the end. this fic has stuck w me for 5 yrs and i think about it very often and is as foundational + influential a slade characterization text touchstone for me as chris priests actual deathstroke comic run.

WOEFULLY INCOMPLETE LIST

[xiuhunsoo]

gaëlle and me losing our shit here over french versions of christmas songs is Multilingual peak culture and it’s so funny

[msookyspooky]

Idk if your requests are open but if they are I gotta know what those ghostface boys are like at Christmas time.

Absolutely! My commissions for short stories aren't open at the moment but headcanons? Always 💯

Stu:

He loves Christmas ALMOST as much as he loves Halloween.

Stu is just a homicidal version of Buddy the Elf this time of year.

Throws a huge rager Christmas party or makes his family X mas parties more fun. (He poured extra rum in the eggnog)

Would cut down a tree from the park or neighbors yard...They don't need it. As if they're aren't other trees. Who cares about the law???

He belts out Christmas songs all the time. Not the sappier ones but the catchy jingles? Oh God. All day, all night. You will have jingle bells, rudolf the rednose reindeer and jingle bell rock stuck in your head by December 10th. He took spanish class for one semester and swears he can sing Feliz Navidad perfectly (He cannot).

He annoys Billy SSOOOOOO MUUUCCHHH

"Up on the roof top-" "Stu, shut the fuck up!" "Click, click click! Take it away Billy!-" Billy glares at him as he points. "Go to hell and suck my dick. " *Smirks and just continues the song or reatarts it all over again*

If you love or learn to love the Holidays with Stu; he is smitten. Expect him to be extra enthusiastic and cuddly during this time of year. Every night it's hot chocolate near the fireplace if he has it his way.

If you get snow, constantly be prepared for snow to be thrown or dropped on you. If you get too mad, he'll just pick you up and throw you in a snow drift. Taunting you into having a snowball fight with him. Either do it willingly or he will irritate you into throwing one at him.

He can be sweet though. Warming your hands in his if they get cold or zipping you up in his jacket together.

Snowmen will have fake blood on them and eating a tinier snowman. Stu is on the nose and does not care.

He's good at ice skating or skiing from his parents taking him on expensive trips to lodges way up north. He is dragging you out to skate with him. Will he laugh if you fall? Yep. Will he tease you? Probably. Will he help teach you or at least help you up? Sure. You're just getting made fun of while he helps.

Gifts galore!....More receiving than giving but he definitely snags you one really thoughtful gift to hide under the tree and would shrug when you ask who it's from. He gives himself away by how much he grins when you open it.

He is definitely using the holiday as an excuse to dress as Santa and have you sit on his lap "Tell me what you want. But first, were you naughty or nice this year?😏" or he has a mysterious box in his lap you need to open 🍆🎁

THIS MAN HAS PUT HIS TONGUE ON A POLE AND WAS PANICKING WHILE BILLY LAUGHED HIS ASS OFF AND YOU HAD TO HELP HIM. YOU CANNOT CONVINCE ME HE HASN'T

Billy:

Billy HATES this time of year. The commercialism, the fake niceness and world peace, his lack of family (And probably family issues during this time of year his whole life bc...Let's face it; Mrs Loomis was a toxic mother who abandoned him and Hank felt like a neglectful father who didn't even keep track of him in the movie. The holidays are an awful time to him and he just hates the extroverted energy everywhere.)

If you love it, he tries to like certain aspects for you but it's not much.

"Come on, Billy! There's gotta be something." "Okay...I don't hate...The cold." "That's not Christmas, that's just winter!"

He secretly likes how cheerful you and Stu get but will never admit it. How your eyes light up at lights or decorations or how Stu seems to annoyingly stick around to 'bond' during this time of year.

You and Stu sing Mr.Grinch everytime Billy is a grouch about the Holidays. It earns glares, the bird or a snowball to the face.

He is NOT wearing a Christmas sweater; stop asking!

He begrudgingly takes a candy cane from you as you convince him to go look at Christmas lights. He actually doesn't mind the lights it's just not something he wanted to do. However, for you, he can at least look at some dumb lights.

He will ruin every movie but the Grinch...What? Was the Grinch wrong? Exactly. However, if you both keep singing that damn song he will show you how much of a 'Grinch' he can be and will burn your stupid Christmas decorations in the fireplace if Stu takes it too far for too long. He accepts comedies poking fun at Christmas but don't expect him to watch Rudolf or Frosty the Snowman with you.

You convince him to go to the holiday section of a store just for him to rearrange the outdoor reindeers to look like they're mating. Stu laughs hysterically as you scold him because Billy there are kids in here!

He isn't into giving or receiving gifts. He just watches everyone at the tree from the doorway. Ready to leave at any moment.

You get bummed out, thinking he really hated everything you got him. That maybe you trying to get him to enjoy Christmas was going too far. Only for him to pull you off to the side. In private to give you a gift. It's something small but meaningful. Don't make too big of a deal about it but he will secretly smirk to himself if you hug him and kiss him as a thank you.

Dress up in some sexy lingerie or a bow and lay under the tree as his 'gift' and he will tolerate the holiday a lot more. 🎀😏

If you aren't super into Christmas then you and him get along perfectly even if you find yourselves getting suckered into the spirit for each other without even realizing it.

Bonus:

Mickey:

Holiday. Movies. He qoutes them constantly, has you watch them everynight, knows every detail of a movie from facts about the actors to behind the scene leaks. You're going to be greeted with "Merry Christmas, ya filthy animal." Or some goofy qoute from National Lampoons Christmas Vacation every day.

He's got a list....No I'm serious, he has a list he whips out with a smirk that has everything he wants to do with you. (...Doing you under the mistletoe may or may not be on that list js. 🎄)

Probably volunteers somewhere and is renowned as charitable by others. (No, he has no sense of self sometimes. Sure, he's a murderer but he's not killing right now.)

Won't initiate the snowball fight but will finish it. Throw one at him and it is a warzone. You both are a grinning and giggling mess as he nails you with multiple snowballs from every angle. You didn't even know how he could aim that well but he does.

Parades around with you on his arm holiday shopping. It's one of his favorite things. (He's better at hiding it than Stu but not as good as Billy when he sneaks off to buy you something when you're busy smelling candles or waiting in line.)

Extra cheery this time of year. He just has a happy pip in his step and a grin on his face even more than usual.

Expect him to record everything you do. A camrecorder in your face when you do anything he finds cute

Probably goes to a ton of Christmas parties and drags you to them all as his date

He wears goofy Christmas sweaters the minute it's December 1st.

Will greet you with a Santa Claus hat on, practically naked under the mistletoe. If you laugh it's win to him and if you want to have some good ol fashioned adult fun then that's a win too.

[1kook]

dreamy

—pjm x (f) reader

summary; You try to not let it get to you, but Jimin is so cool and you want him to be your boyfriend so bad. warnings; ANGST lol, fwb, reader is very :(( rating; mature (18+) bc tiny smut lol  misc; small smut scene, a happy ending <3 wc; 2.5k

notes; i have to post on #JIMIN’s bday or else i cannot live with myself anyway here’s me trying to fit an entire novella plot line in less than 5k words clap for me except maybe don't bc its not proofread anyway hbd jimin <3

Jimin is a nice guy, but you doubt he’d make a nice boyfriend. He fucks you hard and fast, just as you like, but hardly goes out of his way to sprinkle in any other requests. He’s got a one track mind, doesn’t dwell too long on what you say or how you’re feeling. Doesn’t matter because he’s just supposed to be a fuck buddy, the hot guy you met at a party, so you don’t let it phase you. But, well. Jimin is dreamy.

Sometimes he holds your hand while he eats you out and it sends your thoughts into a frenzy, makes your heart pound a little too fast to brush it off as just arousal. He’s got this gorgeous smile, plush lips framing pearly teeth, and when he flashes it your way, it makes your knees weak. Tells you you’re pretty when he picks you up from class, always holds your hand on the way to his place for your routine fuck. Cute and nice like an angel, but just like an angel, he hardly gives a shit about anyone’s feelings but his own.

He laughs when you ask him to hang out that weekend.

“What, like a date?” he snorts, bare chest glistening from his post-fuck exertion. You're pressed against his side now, circling his pretty brown nipple with your finger. “That’s corny.”

You try to not let it get to you, but Jimin is so cool and you want him to be your boyfriend so bad. “Yeah, silly right,” you murmur, ear pressed to his heart. It’s calming and soothing, a slow thrum that contrasts with your own racing heart.

He’s not one for dates or for romantic things like that. But neither is he some player, a cheater, a two-timer. You can count the number of times he’s slept with someone who wasn’t you in your weird fuck buddy relationship, and all four of those had been when you first started sleeping together and only when you had been out of town. You’re no saint either, so you try to understand. He was just horny, liked getting his dick wet, and sometimes he couldn’t wait for you. Understandable, you tell yourself, but your heart hurts a little bit when he begins snoring without really answering your question.

See the thing is, you really like Jimin. It’s been a little over a year now since you’ve met, so you’ve had plenty of time to learn all about him. He doesn’t like pancakes for breakfast, prefers them for lunch actually, and laughs when you tell him that’s weird. He’s got this really dorky laugh, something between a bell and a whistle— it depends on the situation. Sometimes, Jimin likes when you play with his hair, and other times he doesn’t. He’s a sweet boy, you know he is, so why won’t he settle down?

You hate to attribute it to some past trauma, some “my girlfriend broke my heart when I was seventeen” mess, but the more time that passes you begin to believe it’s true. Jimin was a tough nut to crack, and the longer this drags on, the longer he ignores your feelings, you begin to doubt you will ever see them fulfilled.

Maybe you should end this now before it’s too late.

You don’t stay for breakfast the next morning, simply kiss him goodbye at the door like always. He’s older than you, about two years, so he doesn’t go to school anymore, just chills at home all weekend. “I’ll see you soon?” he grins, low-lidded eyes tracking the movement of your mouth as you bid him adieu. You never give him a solid response, figure a guy like Jimin will forget about you soon enough.

Then, suddenly, it’s been two weeks and he doesn’t reach out. Yeah it hurts, but it’s better than having confessed to him and losing him all at once. You’d rather this ending than the one where he terribly rejects you, breaks your heart into a million pieces, and throws you away. Still, it hurts.

Jimin was so cool. He was smart and confident, had a snappy sort of attitude that he liked to use now and then. He could be mean in bed, lick your cunt until you cried and call you a stupid girl when he wanted to. But that same tongue had snapped at a guy who was trying to pressure you into bed with him at a party. That first night you met, where you had sillily followed him home after his dashing intervention, you had thought it would be nothing more. Just a fling, just a fuck.

But then he was in your bed and in your head, twinkling eyes and cocky grin trailing after you everyday. He was so pretty and so suave, made you feel good even when he was being mean. But you suppose most cocky men like Jimin are like that. They know they don’t disappoint, even when they’re not really trying.

Jimin doesn’t call or text. You don’t see his car pull up outside your campus anymore. He’s gone and that’s that. You cry a little (see: a lot) and pretend you’re over him. You definitely don’t think about his soft laughter or his hands on your chest. Nope.

So that ends.

Or so you think.

Your friends say you’re mopey and sad, too down for someone who wasn’t even your boyfriend. It’s true, which sucks, but they honor your admittance by taking you out to a bar that night. It’s supposed to be chill and relaxing, just some drinks with the girls to soothe your aching heart. But the name of the bar reminds you of something, of someone you can’t reach anymore, and you don’t even know why. You’ve never been here before, never even knew this place existed. But everything about it brings you back to Jimin, like you’re in his space now, and you’re unsure why.

It reminds you of his laugh, his smile, to the point you swear you can hear it, right beside you, down the bar, to your left—

He waves.

There’s this look he used to give you every time he picked you up from your last class, this mix between adoration and lust that made your skin tingle with excitement. It’s not there now, in fact, it’s replaced with the complete opposite. It’s, like, the meanest look he can muster, something akin to a scowl. He smiles, but it’s so plastic-y and fake, it makes your head hurt. He’s so obviously unimpressed with you, probably because you ghosted him before he could ghost you. Maybe his pride is hurt and looking at you grosses him out. Maybe he just hates you.

Either way, eleven pm rolls around and you’re crying in the bathroom. Your friends are out on the floor having fun and singing karaoke. They think you’ve gone inside because you got your period, because that’s what you’ve told them. You don’t know how to explain that your ex who isn’t really your ex is out there looking at you like you’re a piece of gum stuck under his shoe. They’ve never even met Jimin. Why? Because he wasn’t your boyfriend. Who meets their friend’s fuck buddy? No one.

You sniffle, press a balled up tissue against your eyes in a feeble attempt to save your makeup. The bar isn’t that small, but neither is it huge. There’s only a few bathrooms in the back, and you’ve been hogging one of them for some time now. Someone knocks on the door, and you don’t even get the chance to ward them off before the crappy knob jingles and the door bursts open.

“Come on,” he grumbles, “you’re not the only one who’s gotta piss—“

He pauses, meets your eye through the mirror in surprise. “I’m sorry,” you blubber, hurriedly washing your hands in an effort to avoid his gaze. Jimin lingers at the door, which has long since fallen shut, and watches you with the eyes of a hawk. Your hands tremble and shake, fumble over the towel dispenser three times before you’re hastily making your escape. “Sorry,” you mutter again, head downcast as you move around him for the door.

Just as it cracks open, the music from outside filtering in, he slams it shut with a flat palm. You flinch, close in on yourself as he steps behind you. “What’re you doing here, doll?” he murmurs, deep yet careful. Tentative. “You don’t like bars.”

You know you don’t like bars. You didn’t know he knew that. “I’m with some friends,” you explain, jump when a hand touches your shoulder. “I— I’ll leave soon.”

A second attempt for the door is thwarted by Jimin. “Don’t,” he startles, breath heavy against your ear. “Don’t leave again…” he sighs, forehead against your shoulder. And then, quietly, “why did you leave me?”

Your heart syncs up with the music outside, thunders in your ears as you purse your lips. You don’t want to talk about it now, don’t want to confess to these emotions that drown you. Especially not when he’ll never understand nor will he ever care. It’s best to leave it as is, you convince yourself, slowly shrugging him off.

“We don’t want the same things,” you reply, eyes burning with the need to cry like a baby. But it’ll weaken your argument, make you look like the sentimental girl you know he won’t like. “It wouldn’t work anyway.”

The hand on your shoulder jerks you around, makes a gasp catch in your throat when he crowds you against the door. He’s got that same glare on from before, the one he had sent you across the bar earlier, and it makes your lower lip tremble when it’s this close. “You never asked me what I wanted,” he hisses.

It is then that you realize it isn't anger or disgust, but frustration that paints his features. It’s pure, unadulterated confusion and distress on his pretty face, furrowed brows and narrowed eyes pointed your way. You don’t know what it means, don’t know what he wants. “I,” you choke, weakly covering your face with your hand before he can see you crumble. “I just wanted you.”

Jimin deflates, steps closer until his body is pressed against yours, hands on your shoulders. “And you have me, doll,” he murmurs, bumps his nose against yours. “Always have.”

You shake your head, choke on a sob that bubbles up your throat. “No, not like that,” you stress, losing yourself in the emotions you spent so much time bottling up. “I wanted more.”

Jimin shushes you, guides your head into the crook of his neck where you paint his skin in dark mascara tears. “Is this about the date?” he sighs, patting your head gently.

“It’s more than just the date,” you cry, fists curling into the material of his shirt until it rumples beyond repair. He doesn’t understand.

Jimin nods, let’s you cry and sob until you’re feeling better and someone else is pounding at the door, yelling at you two to get a proper room. You don’t want a room, you only want his heart. 

He takes you home again, helps you out of your shoes at the door because you’re still sensitive and quiver like a leaf when you walk. His bedroom is familiar, smells like him and his detergent. You miss it so much, want to savor it once more. Something in your gut says this is the last time, this is just Jimin getting one last fuck out of you before he really abandons you.

So you cry when he sits down on the edge of the bed. He hasn’t even said anything, hasn’t even taken his socks off yet, but you’re already a mess.

And of course he’s there to catch you, tugs you between his legs to look up at you as if you’ve hung the stars in the sky. “Don’t cry,” he whispers, reaching up to brush away your tears. But it’s not your fault that he looks like that right before he’s going to break your heart.

He’s so cool, even when you’re falling apart in his hands. “You don’t want me,” you sniffle, let him guide you onto his lap. “You just want to fuck and that’s it.”

Jimin leans his forehead against yours, warm breath washing over your skin. “I never said that,” he murmurs. “We’ve been over this.”

You huff. “Well you never said you did either,” you snap, rubbing at your eyes.

You cry and cry some more, until your sobs subside and you’re left with the hiccups afterwards. Jimin maneuvers you beside him, lets your hair spill across the sheets as he lays you down. They smell just like him, make your head spin when he kisses your cheek softly. “I want you,” he confesses. “I want this.”

You shake your head vehemently. “No, you don’t,” you sniff, but you’re not so sure. It’s what you’ve been telling yourself for the longest. Hearing him say otherwise sounds weird, even if he’s saying what you want to hear. “You don’t.”

Jimin catches your hand in his, pins it to the mattress. “I want you to be mine,” he adds, swallows your cries of denial with his lips. He kisses softly, and for the first time, it feels like he’s paying attention to you. Not your body or your lust, but your heart. “Had me feeling like shit when you didn’t come back. Like I lost something big.”

You still cry when he kisses down your neck, over your chest. His hands pull your clothes off, carefully like you’re a present for him to unwrap. Those plush lips you love so much drown you in kisses, over your tummy and your mound, until they’re buried between your cunt. “You’re mine,” he husks out, hand entwined with yours.

His eyes are dark from down there, long lashes blinking up at you as he dips his tongue in the places you crave him most. It brings you to a shuddering end, has you whimpering his name into the empty air until your toes are curling and you’re coming against his mouth. Jimin has never shied away from you, and doesn’t know, sits up with a hazy look in his eyes as he wipes his face with the back of his hand.

Jimin wastes no time undressing, pushes off that sexy jacket until his lithe body is coming into view, thick thighs and lean abdomen. He slides right into you, holds your knees to your chest as he fucks you like never before. It’s slow and sensual, makes you shiver when he says your name in that low register of his. “Don’t leave again,” he whimpers, cock throbbing between your walls. He’s desperate today, ruts like you’ll slip right between his fingertips. It’s funny because you're the same way, clinging onto his shoulders until you’re practically glued together.

You come and so does Jimin. He pants against your ear, feels so warm and heavy on top of you. He doesn’t say much more that night, just plays with your hair. But he asks you on a date, mentions something about a carnival. “Yes,” you respond right away, because, well.

Jimin was dreamy. Maybe he’d be a good boyfriend.

Copyright © 2020, 1kook on tumblr. absolutely NO reposts allowed.

[mandareeboo]

SU Music Rankings

Bc I can and I wanna start some Disk Horse rip. These are all in order of preference, with explanations, etc. It’s a long bitch. That said, I’m not counting little short jingles or small joke songs like Little Butler. This is the meat and potatoes of SU music- just under 30 songs. I might do the rest if people like my takes lol.

I scored it mostly on three bases- how dear it was to my heart, how much/often I relisten to it, and also what it means to the plot. That said, little fun songs don’t automatically go farther down than big, plot-heavy songs either! It’s a strange little balance.

Special Note: I don’t dislike any of this music! I love SU and that includes its bumps and glitches. I just pick favorite children lol.

1.) Change

Was there ever a more Steven moment than when he wiped the blood off his face and kissed it into sparkles? I think not. 

If “Be Wherever You Are” is an ode to young Steven, then this is teen Steven’s. Talking about change, and how much and how little it can do. How he holds his arms up for Spinel to hug him, so trusting. How he seems able to just. Break into soft tears at will, and not to be manipulative- it’s just his kind nature. The warmth in his voice. Fuck yesssss.

2.) Change Your Mind

This song is only fifty five seconds and it’s EVERYTHING to me. It really felt like someone was speaking the words I’d always held deep inside of me, unsure of how to say. It feels like a goodbye to someone who never really loved me. 

As much as I enjoyed Future, if this was the finale of SU, I would’ve been perfectly okay with that.

3.) Drift Away

This song gave me legitimate shivers the first time I heard it, and it still haunts me to this day. Spinel stayed, and waited, and all she got was a transmission thousands of years later. Fuck.

4.) Here We Are In The Future

THE MOVIE IS SU AS ITS BEST AND I WON’T BE SWAYED ON IT. Steven being a teen who loves his weird family but is growing just a bit sarcastic to their drama. The adorable love he and Connie share. His slow realization that he will always be working, always have things to do, is both somber and real. The Crystal Gems won’t be safe with one epic battle. They’ll be safe with years of hard work and love. HIS LITTLE HANDSHAKE WITH AMETHYST.

This is a helluva bop and a great way to summarize the main character’s backstories.

5.) Let’s Only Think About Love

Did ya’ll know that Zach Callison killed his throat with that last note? He gave his all for this performance in a vocal range he no longer comfortably do and by god did it SHINE. The FLAIR. The FORESHADOWING. All of the Gems all being awkward about Rose and Steven trying to bring them to the present. Peridot having a mini-existential crisis in a cute yellow dress. I love Zach Callison’s normal singing voice but man is that a fucking bop. Nothing will ever beat it.

6.) Here Comes A Thought

This bad boy helped me out a LOT with some mental issues I was dealing with in high school. I was unmedicated, unsupervised, and full of anxiety. I’d have break downs when I tried to speak about certain things. I couldn’t function. This song inspired me. It helped me feel okay with my intrusive thoughts.

And the episode! -chef’s kiss-. Once again bringing up the morally gray area of training child soldiers. Connie expanding her social group. Steven’s trauma hauling ass in that second half. The ANIMATION. Stevonnie’s gorgeous singing voice. GOD yes.

7.) It’s Over Isn’t It?

Just barely squeaking above Stronger Than You, this ballad is everything gorgeous. The whole episode is. I think Mr. Greg stands in the top five of my episodes for the entire show. It even got nominated!

There’s just so much about this song that I love. The gentle melancholy of Pearl’s voice. How the crew had to redo the shots for this bit bc Deedee went so fucking hard. The hard cuts between Pearl, remembering the love of her life, and Steven, who has begun to feel like he took her away. I’d recommend this song to anyone, regardless of what they do or don’t know about SU, simply bc it tugs so many heartstrings of love, loss, and responsibility.

8.) Stronger Than You

Did you realize this episode aired SEVEN years ago? This bitch was what got me into SU! Hearing about Ruby and Sapphire made my little gay heart so happy inside, and then getting a whole song confirming that they were a couple, that their love powered the strongest Gem on the team? Aaaaaaaaa

To this DAY I get excited when I hear Estelle start singing. This song is timeless. This song will live in media history. God I fucking love this song.

9.) Other Friends

I’m not the biggest musical person, so I hadn’t heard of Sarah Stiles before her casting as Spinel, but JESUS CHRIST the lady went hard. She went SO fucking hard. Sarah Stiles started on 100 and somehow just kept CLIMBING. You can just hear the sheer manic energy building in her voice, the anger and resentment. 10/10 Sarah Stiles is a queen.

10.) Independent Together

This made the list entirely bc the crew was like “you’re gonna get a himbo ass Steven-Greg fusion singing with Opal while Garnet flies across the moon on Lion while floating” and I am forever thankful to them for it

11.) Who We Are

Bismuth deserved more songs. ‘Nuff said.

12.) Peace and Love (On the Planet Earth)

It Could’ve been Great is EASILY one of my favorite s2 episodes. I love the entire concept of this song. Of Steven making music to reflect how much Earth means to him and his family. Of him teaching Peridot some self-care. Also Peridot’s singing voice is really cute and squeaky. 

I know it’s silly, but I would’ve really enjoyed a flip around of this in Future! Like Peridot reminding Steven how much he loves music, that he needs to take time to relax for himself, maybe with a new verse or just a remix of the original song!

13.) Something Entirely New

I watched this episode as it aired, and I legitimately almost cried. I love Charlyne Yi’s voice so much ya’ll- her raspy, not perfect singing voice against Sapphire’s deep soothing lull is great.

And to have Ruby and Sapphire’s meeting be the way it was- for Ruby to bemoan Sapphire losing Homeworld, to being stuck with a single Ruby, while Sapphire is a noble who has always been taught everyone in her “caste” is vitally important (and has, in her own mind, taken that to mean every Gem, as she should) and how they come together and make each other happy. Good shit good shit.

14.) I’m Just a Comet

The fact that Greg’s music career never really blasted off pisses me off to this day bc Tom Scharpling’s voice is fucking BUTTER. Also the song really feels like a jab at his parents now that we know the kind of dynamic he had growing up. “This life in the stars if all I’ve ever known” is definitely him wiping away their existence after reminding them (and himself) the things they used to say about him.

15.) Do It For Her

This episode. This fucking episode. This episode got me permanently hooked on SU. I’d just binged season 1 and was kinda meh about it overall after the bop of Stronger Than You. “Oh,” I thought to myself, foolishly, “I’ll probably just casually watch this from time to time.”

Like three days later Sworn to the Sword aired and that was it. I was hooked! Pearl’s gentle training song turning darker and darker, Connie’s accompaniment from nervous to determined to fully into such a toxic mindset. The fact that SU had the BALLS to discuss the repercussions of training child soldiers, now and later. This episode was everything to me, STILL is everything to me.

Six years and well over 100 fanfics written later, I think it’s safe to say this show swallowed me whole and never let go.

16.) System/Boot.pearl_final(3)

I debated putting this on the list because it’s not anything crazy important, just a way to show things are Wrong, but I had to do it entirely bc Pearl is so damn SALTY.

Like telling us about the Gems makes sense, she felt like she was given a duty, but she went so damn petty. WHY is that Ruby alone. Gross. This Amethyst is a trash dump. Wtf are you people.

17.) Full Disclosure

This episode really feels like a turning point for SU. Before, the show had its dark moments- but now we’re in the thick of it, and it’s not going away. Full Disclosure felt like an rebuff to the idea of returning to any normal we’d established in season 1. Gems are actually a giant species now. Gems tried to kill us now. There’s this Yellow Diamond bitch who got namedropped. Something about a Cluster. 

The song itself is BALLER, with its ingenious use of Steven’s ringtone and photos as he tries to decide whether to clue in Connie on all this nonsense. Meanwhile we, the audience, already know damn well Connie about to yeet some common sense into him.

18.) What’s the Use of Feeling Blue?

I’mma admit it- I’m a Yellow Diamond stan. I’ve always loved her- her anger, her poise, her hardworking nature. I actively argued against the “Yellow Shattered Pink” theories back in the day. But, man, when this arc leaked? I got so overexcited I was too jittery to watch it for like two days. It’s easily my favorite arc of the series. The sheer alien nature of the zoo, the Famethyst, and absolutely Patti Lupone’s beautiful ballad. Goddamn. Yellow singing to Blue to try and help her regain her old status, the warble in her voice as she reminds Blue she misses Pink too, the movement of the bubbles as she talks about attack. It gives me shivers to this day. FUCK.

19.) Tower of Mistakes

This is, fun fact, that only SU song I have completely memorized. The story itself is kinda funny! See, we lost internet at my house for a solid 5 to 6 months when these episodes aired, so I only got a very brief window to view them all. But this was the first Amethyst song in a long while, and I didn’t want to forget it! So I keep replaying it in my head for ages. And that’s still definitely a thing.

Anyway will never not be sad that this entire song was about making it up to Garnet for Amethyst’s perceived slights with Sugilite (which was a two-way road), only for Garnet to pressure her into fusion later when pissed and never discuss it again bc Garnet probably never thought twice about it and Amethyst has the emotional openness of a clam that’s just been told its ugly. Helluva way to make someone feel like shit, G. Helluva way to bottle that shit, Ames.

20.) On the Run

I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times: Amethyst! Needed! More! Songs! 

The dichotomy between Steven’s play and Amethyst’s honest desire to run away from home is so well-done, especially when you consider a lot of Steven and Amethyst’s actions are playing together. The song is also near and dear to me simply bc it’s my favorite Amethyst episode to exist (well, maybe second to What’s Your Problem, but not by much). Moments like these are all the proof I need that they were right to fuse first.

21.) Be Wherever You Are

This tune really just feels like an ode to who Steven was as a kid. Trapped on an island with no way home, and he’s just happy to be with his friends. The stars are beautiful and not oppressive. Also that one animatic with Lars and the Off Colors playing in the Homeworld Kindergarten to this music was iconic and made this song get stuck in my head for a solid month.

22.) Familiar

I ADORE how the crew use bright neon colors to show how alien Homeworld can be. And Steven recognizing that the Diamonds treat him how the CGs used to, and how prepared he is to “fix” a broken family. It’s a soft, gentle tune about melancholy. Also the Pebbles are beautiful.

23.) Let Me Drive My Van Into Your Heart

Such a cute little love ballad, but every time I listen to it now I just imagine the heart attack Rose must’ve had at the line “And if we look out of place/Well, baby, that's okay/I'll drive us into outer space.” like there’s a Vietnam war flashback if I ever heard one

24.) What Can I Do?

I’m kind of neutral on this one? Rose and Greg both have great voices, but the song itself lacks many lyrics. I think it was definitely a good way to show Rose’s flaws in thinking.

Also, I’m shocked they managed cram that much vaguely sexual innuendo into two minutes, followed by how Not Hetereo that dance between Rose and Pearl was, and not get their asses chewed by it. You go guys.

25.) Cookie Cat

I love a lot of the vibes this song has. The lyrics are so damn prophetic, but they also sound like the kind of weird 90s commercials I grew up on. It’s been like two decades since I saw the Shirley Temple commercial but I’ll be damned if I don’t remember “Animals crackers in my soup! Monkey and rabbits loop-de-loop.”

26.) Giant Woman

I am. NOT the biggest fan of Steven’s original singing voice. I feel bad saying that, since it was just Zach Callison as a kid, but he never jived well with me for some reason. So I wouldn’t listen to this on the fly. 

The song itself is still really good though, with all sorts of fun animation of Amethyst and Pearl being bitchy to each other. It’s a bit sad in hindsight to see tiny Steven trying to get his moms to get along. Ahh, season 1.

27.) Strong in the Real Way

This song has SUCH a strong start. Pearl reflecting on Sugilite’s problems, but the show making sure to show us that Pearl’s lack of enthusiasm towards her also lends itself to jealousy as well as just general malaise. How much she cares about Steven, and wants him to grow up strong. 

And then Steven just kinda. Ruins it? I appreciate his enthusiasm for tryna bulk up but to take what was starting as such a rich, personal song and broadcasting it to random strangers just makes me a bit sad. Almost a bit angry on her behalf?

28.) That Distant Shore

I KNOW this is gonna create some discourse, but I’m just not the biggest Lapis stan. I love her voice. I love the visuals of the song. And I get why she felt afraid and needed to flee.

But Lapis never got to take responsibility for her own actions. And, in the end, the song feels hollow to me- because we all know she’ll never talk to anyone about it, know she’ll burst back in and destroy the barn, and no one will ever question it. I like Lapis a lot, but I feel like her arc never was fully finished. She never got help. She never learned to feel safe.

29.) Dear Old Dad

I’ve yet to meet a single human being who likes this episode tbh. There’s some great discussion about what kind of parent Greg is from it, and what kind of dynamic he has with the Gems that he felt he had to fake an injury to hang out with his son. Honestly the first half was fine and dandy. It’s just that then they Greg just went out of his way to drag Steven away from missions and such. It never jived well with his character before or after.

Also, is it just me, or does Zach himself sound like he hates the song as he sings it? There’s no passion or heart in his voice. It sounds like they told him to read off cue cards and he did. Tom Scharpling’s best attempts didn’t save this one for being a skipper. But the episode, unfortunately, isn’t, so it gets a spot on here.

[the-travelling-witch]

Whenever you're at the motor cycle shop Inui lets you pick the music. He's really hoping you sing along a little bc he loves watching you love the things you do. You also have the right to take over his desk/office however you want or need it's not like he's so often back there anyway so tell me, what do you do with that space? What do you keep there? What do you play while you watch your mans solve complex mechanical problems or perform routine service with expertise?

well, inui might be in luck because i will sing along if i’m comfortable that is (but around him i’m feeling so safe i’ll definitely bless his ears with my siren like voice); my fam has pointed out that i have a habit of singing, humming or whistling whatever song is stuck in my head apparently i also mimic ad jingles, ringtones, etc ㅠㅠ

my taste in music changes about as often as the date on the calendar, so we’re always in for a surprise when he gives me free reign over the speakers; is it gonna be 80s and 90s? 2000s party hits? musicals? kpop? just the charts? a completely random playlist i created? who knows? i don’t, he doesn’t, the customers don’t but it’s always good ♛

first of all, i’d obviously put up some framed pictures of us, maybe also some of him and his friends, and it never fails to make him smile when he does sit down once in a while >///<

then i’d organise some of his drawers: one or two filled with stationary -pens, notebooks, files, folders, sticky notes, you name it- and one filled with nail files/scissors, lotion and other stuff to take care of his hands because the nature of his work has him washing his hands often and it wears at his skin

a desk calendar or a desk mat with a calendar on it/underneath and a spare phone charger, pretty self-explanatory, next

i’d also keep a vase around because i’d want to surprise him with flowers every once in a while and they look really cute next to the pictures; remember the sticky notes? i’d use them most, just to leave loving, cheesy or stupid messages for him to find, sticking them to his monitor, the frames or a mug (yes, i’d bring some mugs mainly for myself because i need coffee) <3

for the office overall, i’d get some cute deco or some fake plants just to make the space a bit homelier and comfy but not a lot because it’s still an office

i’d definitely keep some spare blankets and pillows around though, 1) because i get cold easily and i can’t snuggle up to inui for warmth while he works and 2) so i can take a nap when i know i’m gonna be there for a while we stan a tired queen ✧.*

[haikyuuhoo]

Study “Dates”

Pairing: Sugawara x Reader

Summary: In which you attend a study date session with Suga.

Words: 2.0k

Warnings: None! Just fluff :)

A/N: It’s snowing here and I miss coffee shop study sessions so enjoy this fluff I wrote bc I want to go on a study date with Suga.

Your palm rested against your cheek as you gazed out the window, watching as snow fell and created a fluffy white blanket on the ground. The door to the coffee shop jingled, but you didn’t pay it any mind—it had become part of the soundtrack for your studying anyway.

“It doesn’t look like you’re getting much work done.”

You looked up as you heard the teasing voice call down to you and shake you out of your daydream. Sugawara set his bag down in the seat across from you. Snowflakes dusted the shoulders of his jacket, and you watched with a smile as some of them fluttered to the floor like their counterparts outside when he shrugged the layer off. He ran a hand through his hair to ruffle it and get the snow out of it too, and you couldn’t help the way your heart skipped a beat as you gazed at him.

“I was waiting for you,” you quipped back, a smirk tugging at the corners of your lips when you pulled your notebook from your bag.

He hummed, giving you a smile in return. His cheeks and nose were tinged pink from the cold. “I’m gonna get a drink. Do you want your usual?” he asked, jerking a thumb over his shoulder before beginning to remove his scarf and his gloves.

“Oh, sure, let me just get my wallet,” you murmured the last part, turning to your bag to search for it.

He shook his head and smiled wider. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll pay,” he assured you, and he left to go order your drinks before you could protest.

You watched him walk away, chewing on your lip and feeling your cheeks heat up.

It’s not a date, you reminded yourself, quickly busying yourself with getting out the assignment the two of you were supposed to be working on before he could catch you staring. We’re just studying.

A few minutes passed and a drink was set in front of you, tearing your attention away from your laptop.

“I’m sorry I was late,” he said softly before settling into his seat.

Your hands wrapped around the cup, relishing the warmth before you took a sip. “It’s fine, Suga, I wasn’t waiting very long,” you promised.

“Well I don’t like keeping you waiting,” he said softly, opening his bag and taking out his own materials. “I’m sure you’ve got more interesting things to do than study.”

You scoffed, turning your head away to look outside again. “Hardly,” you sighed. You wished that were true, but you were so busy between work and school this semester that you felt like you didn’t even have time to sleep. You wished you could be more like your roommate who tried urging you out to parties on numerous occasions, but you always declined, finding yourself cooped up in your room with your nose in a textbook more often than not.

He tilted his head, and his signature soft smile graced his face. “I doubt that,” he teased, “but I have to say I’m glad you’re here with me instead.”

You could feel the heat tingle in your cheeks and you turned to look at him again. “Well we do have to have this done by Monday,” you teased back with a grin. You liked this. Even if it wasn’t a date, the time you spent with Suga was always nice. It felt natural, easy, even if all you were doing was working on homework together.

“Then we should get going, huh?”

You nodded and took a deep breath before looking back at your laptop. “Yeah, we should.”

After he finished getting his things out and settling in, a comfortable silence fell between you two, broken only when either of you needed to ask for clarification on a topic or request a review of your section. The chatter of the other shop patrons coupled with the smell of coffee and the snow falling outside created a nice ambiance for the two of you to work in.

You looked up to ask him a question about something in the reading and found him already looking at you. Your words were lost in your throat and you felt your stomach do a flip when he didn’t look away.

“Hmm?” was all he said, urging you to ask whatever was on your mind.

“I-I—uh…” you sputtered, and he chuckled.

“You’re cute,” he mused before dropping his gaze back to his notes, leaving you with your mouth open in shock. You couldn’t place the tone, unsure of whether he meant it in his usual friendly teasing way or in the way you hoped he meant it.

You quickly ducked your head to go back to your reading, question long forgotten.

The two of you studied for a couple hours, and one of the workers brought by a plate of cookies once they noticed how long the two of you had been there. They set the plate between you and smiled, telling you they hoped you were having a good date, which sent both of you into nervous sputterings of “It-It’s not a date,” and “Oh, um, thank you, but we’re not—” to which they just chuckled and apologized, but not before glancing between the two of you and turning around with a knowing smile.

You adverted your gazes from each other, silently agreeing not to speak of the interaction. You both went back to your work, each with warm cheeks and the beginnings of butterflies fluttering their delicate wings in your stomachs.

You reached over to take a cookie off the plate with your gaze still focused on your laptop. And at the same time, however, Suga did too, and you both pulled your hands away when your fingertips brushed each other. “Sorry,” you whispered, wide-eyed gaze landing on his as he shook his head.

“Go ahead,” he breathed before clearing his throat and looking back at his work in an attempt to appear unphased.

“Thanks,” you murmured, retrieving a cookie from the plate and taking a small bite. You couldn’t shake the way your fingertips tingled as if his touch shocked your skin, and you bit the inside of your lip as you tried to refocus on your assignment.

When the two of you were finally packing up your things, signaling the end of another successful study session, Suga offered to walk you home.

“Are you sure?” you asked, tugging the strap of your bag over your shoulder. You knew he lived in the opposite direction, and you didn’t want him to go out of his way for you, especially not in this weather.

“Positive,” he said with a smile. He pulled his gloves on and then grabbed his bag, lifting the strap over his head before letting it settle on his shoulder. “I wouldn’t want you to walk by yourself with it snowing like this.”

You nodded, trying to fight the grin that was threatening to break out across your face. “Okay then. Let’s go.”

His smile widened and he walked to the door of the shop with you, holding it open for you as you exited. You walked side by side and he couldn’t help but notice the way you buried your hands deeper in your pockets, shoulders coming up in an attempt to shelter your ears from the cold. He unwrapped his scarf from around his neck and held it out to you. “Here.”

You looked up at him and your breath caught in your throat. “Are you sure?”

He laughed, starting to wrap the scarf around your neck himself. “Stop asking me that. I wouldn’t offer if I weren’t sure,” he said softly, and your heart skipped a beat at the sincerity in his tone.

“I just don’t want to be a bother,” you admitted, though you could already feel yourself warming up as he wrapped the scarf high on your neck so it nearly covered your ears.

“You could never be a bother to me,” he whispered, gazing down at you with an emotion you couldn’t quite place.

You pulled the scarf over your nose to hide your grin.

“Thank you, Suga.”

“Any time,” he hummed, and you could have sworn he took a step closer to you, able to feel his arm brushing yours even through all your layers.

“What did you mean when you said you didn’t have anything more interesting to do than study?” he asked after a while, looking down at you and smiling as he noticed the way snowflakes stuck to your eyelashes.

You shrugged your shoulders. “Exactly what it sounds like. It feels like all I’ve done this semester is work and study. I go to class and then I go to work and then I come home and study and go to bed,” you explained, inwardly cringing at how boring you sounded.

He laughed, and you looked up to see his head thrown back. “So what you’re saying is you really need to get out more.”

You pressed your lips together and looked away. “Don’t make fun of me, Suga,” you huffed.

“C’mon, you’re only in your twenties once,” he teased, nudging you with his elbow. “You can be all boring and stuffy when you’ve got a career.”

“I am not boring!” you protested.

“Tell that to your color-coordinated notes,” he teased with a grin, and you felt your ears heat up in embarrassment.

“I happen to like my notes, thank you very much. And it doesn’t make me boring, it makes me organized,” you said with a pout.

He hummed, keeping his gaze straight ahead with a smile lingering on his face. “Whatever you say.”

Once the two of you reached your home you turned to look at him. “Thanks for walking me home,” you said softly. “And thank you for letting me borrow this.” You reached up and began to remove his scarf from around your neck, but he placed a hand over yours to stop you.

“Keep it. You can wear it when we go back next week.”

Your eyebrows knitted together as you looked up at him in confusion. “But we don’t have anything assigned for next week yet.”

He shrugged and gave you a smile that caused warmth to bloom in your chest. “We might. And even if we don’t, we can still go back. On a real date this time,” he said softly.

Your eyes widened. “A real date?” you breathed.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled, nose scrunching up in a way that you found so incredibly cute. “A real date,” he affirmed. “If you’d like to, that is.”

“Yeah,” you said quickly, the breath puffing into a cloud between the two of you. “I’d really like that.”

“Great,” he breathed, and then he leaned down to press a kiss to your cheek. Sugawara was suddenly very glad for the way the cold caused his own cheeks to turn red, knowing that meant you couldn’t see the way he was blushing beneath it. He took a step backward, turning to head in the direction of his own home. “I promise I won’t be late next time!”

You couldn’t help the laugh that escaped you as you watched him step back out into the snow. “You’d better not be, or you’ll owe me another date to make up for it.”

He shoved his hands into his pockets, his usual soft smile turning into a smirk. “Don’t make promises like that or I might be late every time.”

You bit your lip and leaned back against your front door. “I’ll take what I can get as long as I get to see you.”

He shook his head, a beautiful laugh escaping his lips. “I’ll let you see me as much as you want.”

You hesitated, and as soon as you felt a bout of courage surge through your veins you acted on it before it could escape. You nodded your head toward the door. “How about you come inside then?”

He raised an eyebrow, eyes glinting with amusement. “I’d be glad to.”

You reached into your bag and retrieved your keys, unlocking the front door and pushing it open. You held your hand out to him with a smile. “C’mon then. I can’t go on a date with you if you freeze out there.”

He chuckled and stepped back up onto your patio, taking your hand and letting you lead him inside. “Well we wouldn’t want that.”

“No,” you laughed and kicked the door closed, “we wouldn’t.”

[taetaesbaebaepsae]

So hot take but I've never liked Dynamite it felt a bit overproduced and got stuck in my head in the way a commerical jingle does (pls don't yell at me it's just my opinion and I loved the visuals and performances just not a fan of the song) but Butter on the other hand, I find DELIGHTFUL.

It seems to have more personality and it's so catchy but not in an earworm way so I've been jamming to it.

I know it seems other than fanfic I don't post about BTS as much anymore and I wanted to say it's not bc I don't love and support the boys and always will, it's mostly because as a multifan and also an Army sometimes I find the kpop fandom...toxic for lack of a better word.

But in any case I'm still an Army, a Monbebe, an Atiny, and an Exo-L among other fandoms, despite possible toxicity from people!

❤️❤️❤️

[alilaro]

number 15 for the asks thingy?

15. Do you experience echolalia? If so, what are some of your favorite phrases to repeat?

Oh yeah, I get real bad echolalia. Usually its fine, but sometimes it becomes annoying because I have no control when it comes to stopping it.

I’m like a parrot around my family. I’ll just repeat shit over and over again and sometimes drive them nuts lmao. The ones I’m the worst with are 1). old commercial jingles, or 2) repeating funny lines in youtube clips.

The commercial one is weird bc I feel like I just have them stuck in my head 24/7, ready to go at any time. There’s phone jingles/commercials like:

“Oh Eight Hundred, sixty six, sixty six, thirty nine... Money Shop!”

“Rainbow Dash always dresses in style!”

“Pi-Pi-Pixel Chix, two story house! Now two rooms to play at night... Pillow Fight!”

“Baby Alive! A baby so real!”

“Who’s got the sweetest, neatest, littlest pet? Littlest Pet Shop and You!”

“This is me! This is what I wanna be! T. I. M. She’s just like me, she’s just like me!”

And I just repeat all of these all the time like a little freak. The other ones I do the most of are:

 “I think I’d be a wolf. I think so too. I’d be a wolf-lion hybrid mix... King of the Junjle– Junjle,” and,

“A dubious little creature getting up to mischief. This. is. no. good. ... AUUEGGH.”

the “Hello” meme

I also remember when I was a kid, I had an insane memory when it came to quoting films. And one time my family went on a 2hr roadtrip, and the entire way there I quoted the entire Shrek movie, back to back, never skipping a beat. I don't know why it was shrek, it wasn’t even my favorite movie, I just literally had the entire script in my head ready to go at any given point.

(To give you an idea of what this was like: its scarily identical to SungWon’s video where he can recite the entirety of Peter Pan. Like I could do the entire movie, and then restart all over again. Was cute the first time, second time my parents hated it lmaao)

Basically I was a autistic/adhd kid with zero self awareness and endless energy and I was a menace to society lmao

[museswithinx]

Mistletoe { Zeus for Valerie bc lol }

Send "Mistletoe" for our muses to get caught under mistletoe!!

As Christmas was fast approaching with a whole month of celebrations scheduled, Valerie was being roped into the event planning. More specifically, the decoration and set up. Astrid recruited the McKay's who recruited Maryan who then pulled her into the mix. So here she was, officially a townie now.

Even as Astrid went total boss mode on her shoving a box of lights and hanging decorations into her arms, she didn't mind it. She had always really loved Christmas time and it was better than worrying about the potential demonic energy she'd been carrying around now for years. That was something she did not need to stress about until she met with Quinn's demonologist. So she was grateful for the distraction.

Grabbing a ladder from the storage room, she set about hanging some lights while humming along to Jingle Bell Rock as it played in the background. As she finished off the colorful string of lights and tinsel above the main arch, she grabbed one of the mistletoe from the box to hang in the center. Satisfied, she started climbing back down to check her work and make sure Astrid didn't have reason to tear her a new one for being off center.

When Valerie reached the bottom again though, she realized she was no longer alone. She was greeted by a very smug, very pleased looking Olympian Himbo. Zeus had exactly zero shame in his game as he glanced upward at the mistletoe she had literally just pinned over head.

"You sneaky little bastard," she commented with a scoff as she placed a hand on her hip and gave him a look that was meant to be scolding. It didn't phase him. It never did. "Were you seriously just waiting in the wings for the opportunity to present itself?"

Apparently he was. She doubted he was here helping the rest of the troops. "Shameless. Absolutely shameless." He didn't deny that either as she sighs. It was her favorite holiday and she'd never backed down from the tradition before. That was the whole fun of mistletoe: You never quite knew who you'd get stuck under it with. Even in this case with a corporeal pain-in-the-ass where it was obviously calculated on his part.

"You get one kiss. Just one." She states firmly as she sets some rules. Lord knows, he needed them. "There will be no wandering hands, you keep those to youself or risk losing them. And if you try slipping some tongue, you're gonna find out just how mean my bite is. Understood?"

Valerie barely got so much as a nod from him before he eagerly dove in to catch her mouth with his. And it was... Something. She hadn't really expected to be affected by it much, Zeus didn't need an ego boost of any kind. That was some experience though and she felt her head go just a little foggy from it as she kissed back.

When she did manage to re-gather her senses, she pressed her palm against his chest and gave him a light shove back. "Alright. Down, boy." She said with a breath. Admittedly he was really good but she was not about to tell him that. His ego was insufferable enough.

"I have to get back to work, so you need to get lost or go make yourself useful." The latter was highly unlikely, he wasn't the working type. Former probably wouldn't happen either. Zeus did as he pleased. "Or at the very least, behave yourself. No married women."

[pressedinthepages]

Relief

Fandom: The Witcher

Pairing: Geralt/Eskel

Rating: T

Masterlist

a/n:  Reader Request: [Hiya! I’m not uh sure if your still taking requests or not and I’m not entirely sure if this is the place that I should be making a request? But uhm I had an idea that like Hurt +Comfort where Eskel is being held captive somewhere/ being hurt n stuff and like Geralt rescues his bf bc there really isn’t enough whump of Eskel and Geralt being the knight in shining armour we all know he is.or enough of Eskel being loved by his family ( also I just love the feels lmao) Take care! Dee xx] Ok first of all I am so sorry that this took so McFreakin' long to write. I just got a promotion at work recently (yay!) so my hours have doubled and there has been a bit of a...transition period that I've been stuck in (boo.) But! I really enjoyed writing this while I had a moment or two of peace, and I really hope you enjoy it :)

(There is a link on my page where you can be added to my taglist :D)

Warnings: language, canon-typical violence, nameless mage being a Grade A Dick

Eskel finds himself in a bit of a bind without a soul nearby to help. Or...so he thinks.

    Eskel liked to think that he was a smart man. He trained hard, keeping himself in a state to face any foe thrown at him. His bestiary was filled with notes and addendums written in his own hand, filling in the blanks with more detailed descriptions from his encounters. 

    But, Eskel was still human. And, just like any human, could be taken down by a swift bonk to the back of the head with a big stick. 

    And that’s precisely why Eskel found himself, hours later, kneeling on the floor of some ancient ruins with his hands bound behind his back. His armor had been stripped away, leaving him in his tunic and trousers. His muscles strained as he twisted and flexed his arms to no avail, and he heard a voice filter in from the far corner of the room. 

    “Ah, ah. I’m afraid that struggling won’t do you much good,” a man with a voice that nipped at the ends of Eskel’s nerves stepped into the light, “They’re dimeritium. Quite expensive.”

    Eskel sighed to himself. Dimeritium severely narrowed his options for escape. Signs were useless, and the man had seemingly trapped Eskel within an invisible barrier that would keep him within the confines of the magic. Eskel took a cursory glance at his surroundings. A small table rested in the corner from which the man had approached, and atop said table were his swords and potion pack. Why would he keep those out? Eskel wondered, No matter. Can’t very well force my way out, guess I’ll have to outsmart him. 

    He focused his senses, attempting to quell the sounds within the tiny room to listen for others. Eskel couldn’t hear a thing lingering outside of the area, so either this mage had some very silent friends, or was an idiot who decided to take on a Witcher alone. 

    Eskel would put his money firmly on the second. 

    His attention was swiftly brought back to the mage by a faint jingling as he moved closer to Eskel. Oh, for fu- he didn’t even bother hiding the key. 

    The mage crouched in front of Eskel, resting on the balls of his feet just outside of the invisible barrier and looking Eskel straight in the eyes. “I believe you will serve my purposes well, Witcher.”

    Eskel cocked his head to the side with a scrunch of his brow. “Just what are you hoping to get out of this? You’ve already taken all of my stuff, can’t possibly be holding me for ransom. Nobody out there would want me that badly, hmm. Maybe-”

    “Enough.” The mage was curt as he spun back to his table. “Your voice is truly grating on my ears, Witcher. Though I must say that it matches the rest of you quite well.”

    Eskel narrowed his eyes, having found a way to weasel into the mage’s brain. If he could just keep talking... “I have heard that before, my young niece once compared it to that of a dog’s bark.”

    The mage hummed, glancing over his shoulder at Eskel before resuming his pilfering through Eskel’s bags. He knew that there wasn’t really anything of import in there, shit except for maybe-

    “Sweet Gods, is this a Greater Chernobog Runestone?” The mage breathed, pulling the dark stone into the light.

    Eskel sighed and cleared his throat. “That, uh, is exactly correct. I just recently stumbled across it and wanted to add it to my silver sword, but if you wanted to maybe trade-”

    The mage barked out a laugh as he stowed the precious stone into his robes. “Or,” he shrugged with a smirk, “I could just take it.”

    Eskel nodded, “Or you could just take it. That’s fine. You know, I could show you how to craft runestones of your own-”

    “I think that’s quite enough of that.” Eskel whipped his head around to find Geralt dropping from the top of one of the crumbling columns. A few stray pebbles tumbled to the ground as Geralt stood to his full height and unsheathed his sword. 

    The mage smiled just a little too wide, stepping forward in Eskel’s direction. He could hear Geralt’s heart, a slow and steady thrum beating across the room into his own chest. The mage’s heart, on the other hand, matched the nervous breaths spilling from his lungs, shallow and shaky. 

    As Geralt came around to Eskel’s front he subtly raised a brow, are you alright?

    Eskel winked and shrugged, been worse.

    Geralt’s hand tightened on his sword. The blade glowed bright blue with runes and inscriptions that flashed with the flex of his wrist. “What did you want with him?”

    The mage’s gaze flicked back and forth between the two Witchers. Eskel knew that it wouldn’t be too much longer now, but Geralt sometimes could be, well...dramatic. 

    Geralt, right on cue, hummed low in his throat as he took in the quivering mage. “Well?” He asked, “We’re waiting.”

    The mage stammered and glanced back to Eskel’s swords on the table. He suddenly reached out towards them and the steel sword flew across the room. The hilt landed firmly into the mage’s outstretched palm and his fingers wrapped around it, and then his shoulder dropped as the immense weight of the sword knocked him off balance. 

    “Melitele’s tits, why is this so heavy?” The mage grit his teeth as he tried to swing the sword up and around to meet Geralt, but he was already three steps behind. Geralt stood before him and swung high as the mage screamed, quickly lopping his head off and letting the ruins fall silent once more. 

    Eskel sighed as he felt the containment of the invisible barrier dissipate into the air. Geralt knelt at the mage’s side, searching his pockets and untying the key. “Guess we’ll never know what he wanted with me.”

    Geralt grunted as he stood back up and walked around behind Eskel. His fingers were warm on Eskel’s wrists while he unlocked the shackles and let them clatter to the floor. Geralt held them there for a heartbeat longer, feeling the blood pumping under his freed skin. Eskel held his breath, more scared now that he’d open his eyes and Geralt would be gone than he had been throughout the entire ordeal with the mage. 

    “You were wrong,” Geralt finally rumbled, the vibrations singing through Eskel’s bones. 

Eskel looked over his shoulder, “About?”

“No one wanting you bad enough to come and find you.” Geralt wouldn’t look at him, he just kept his eyes on where his fingers still rested on Eskel’s wrists. Eskel moved his hands up and slowly intertwined their fingers and he felt more than heard the hitch in Geralt’s breath. 

“I’d cross the Continent a thousand times over for you,” Geralt whispered, only barely more than a shaky breath. Eskel closed his eyes and exhaled, letting his body sink back against Geralt’s chest. 

“You shouldn’t have to-”

“But I would. In a heartbeat. I...I’d even go through a portal if it meant finding you again.”

Eskel chuckled at the pained tone in Geralt’s voice, “Never thought I’d hear you say that, Wolf.”

Geralt leaned his head down so that his forehead pressed against the crown of Eskel’s head. He smelled of stale blood and the granite stone beneath them, and orange blossoms and cedar. Like home. 

“You deserve it. Always.”

Eskel moved slowly, turning so that he knelt facing Geralt with their hands still clasped together. “So do you. Thank you, Geralt. For everything.”

He lifted one of his hands to cup the sharp line of Geralt’s jaw. He could feel the couple of days’ worth of stubble scratch his palm and the shiny notch of a crescent scar on his chin. Eskel leaned forward first, close enough to hold their air between them between a single pinch of his fingers. Geralt met him halfway, his free hand finding Eskel’s hip and squeezing softly as their lips finally met. 

Geralt’s lips were chapped and warm between Eskel’s, and he tasted of the dust in the air and pine needles and sweet berries. Like home. 

Eskel slid his hand up and back into Geralt’s hair as he deepened the kiss. Geralt groaned into his mouth as their noses bumped against each other, his fingers tightening their hold on Eskel’s tunic. 

They could’ve stayed there for days, reacquainting themselves after too long apart. But they didn’t. They breathed each other in, their foreheads resting together and their eyes drinking in every inch that they can see. 

“You’re sure that you’re alright?” Geralt murmured, knowing well that they would need to leave before the fast-approaching nightfall.

Eskel nodded, taking one last deep breath of the two of them together. “I am now, Wolf. I am now.”

[yikesharringrove]

I have this sorta headcanon that Will has a crush on Billy (or Steve I suppose). Maybe he figures it out and try to let Will down gently because obviously he's both too old and too in love with someone else. ❤

So, I LOVE the idea of Will losing his SHIT over Billy when he comes to town, but like, Steve is hot, and lets be real, Will grew up watching him be King Steve, any little gay child who saw that would be like 👀

Also, one of my all time favorite fics features will having a crush on Billy and he asks him out but Billy thinks its just to like, hang out, so he’s like, I’ll invite Max too! (fic is Yourself or Someone Like You bc it’s like the Harringrove Bible) I’m gonna go with Will asking Steve out bc that’s a stupid big headcanon for me.

It took Will three weeks, six days, and nine hours to finally work up the courage to do it.

He was in his sophomore year at Hawkins High, had grown into his long limbs, and with Steve’s suggestion, had ditched the bowl cut for something a little more, flattering.

He had had a crush on Steve since he was eleven years old.

Steve was freshly sixteen when he coached Will’s baseball team, had a shiny new car and a bright smile and kind eyes and would cheer Will on and clap him on the shoulder when he did something good, would pull him aside and gently teach him how to right it when he made a mistake.

He figures he’s probably not the only queer in Hawkins who had their sexual awakening to Steve Harrington brushing the hair out of his eyes, but he was actually kinda friends with Steve, would hang out on weekends with him and Billy in their shitty little apartment in the city.

He had always kept his feelings on the back burner, had more pressing ones (a.k.a. the ones for Mike) but those were just a pipe dream, Steve had actually told him that he was bisexual, that he liked guys. Will had a shot.

“Would you, like, maybe want to go out sometime?” Steve looked at him slowly.

“You mean like a, like a date?” Will went red, but he nodded nonetheless, his heart pounding as those big eyes went soft. “I um, okay, I’m sorry but I just, I’m gonna have to say no thank you. I’m sorry, Will.”

“But you, you said you like guys.”

“And I do, but like, you’re not exactly age appropriate, and I’ve actually, I’ve got a boyfriend.” Will felt like he was gonna die. Like he was gonna melt right through the fucking floor and die. “It’s really, you’re a great kid, and you’re gonna be a really good boyfriend to someone but, Will, I’m twenty one, and you’re not even sixteen yet. Like, I think it’s actually illegal for us to date.”

“I’ll be sixteen next month.”

“But that’s beside the point. You’re in high school, and I’m like, considered an adult.”

“Who’s your boyfriend?” Will didn’t really register himself saying it, but once it was out there, he was burning to know.

“It’s Billy. I thought you, thought you knew.”

“I thought you were just roommates.”

“Will, this is a one bedroom. We’ve been dating since I was in high school.” Will’s mind raced.

“Shit. That actually clears a lot of stuff up.”

“Did you just think we were like, best pals or something.” Will shrugged as Steve stifled a laugh into his hand. “Yeah we’ve been like pretty serious together for like, three years now.”

Will was back to wanting the Earth to open up and swallow him whole.

“Look, Will. You’re a wonderful person, but I’m too old for you, too taken, too much of a douchebag. You deserve someone nice, who’s kind and loving. And you're going to find that, it’s just not me.” Will blew out a breath, leaning back in his chair.

“Have I just made things weird between us forever?” Steve chuckled, getting up to rummage through the fridge, sliding Will a beer, cracking one open for himself.

“Nah. I actually prefer for all my friends to have crushes on me. Makes me feel good.” Will glared at him. He winked. “For real though, no. It’s only weird if you make it weird. We’ll just have to find you someone, because trust me, you can do so much better than me.” Will rolled his eyes.

“But Billy can’t?”

“Oh no, Billy was probably a real sinner in his past life to get stuck with me being an idiot around him all the time. I think he was probably Jack the Ripper or something.”

“I don’t think you could ever be considered punishment.” Steve raised his eyebrow.

“Oh yeah? I literally have never thought out a single decision in my whole life, I’m the world’s clingiest little fucker, and I don’t know if you actually know this about me there, Will, but I’m actually a fucking douchebag. Like most of the time.”

“I mean, not really-”

“Yes, really. Billy’s just a freak that likes it when I get like that. Calls me a brat and-” He cut himself off, averting his eyes form Will. “Basically we’re both garbage and you deserve like, an actual good person, because you’re an actual good person.” Billy’s keys jingled in the lock, the door swinging open to reveal him, bags of groceries on his arms, Walkman headphones over his ears.

“Hey, Kid Byers.” Billy swept down to kiss Steve on the head, dumping the groceries and his headphones on the counter.

“Bill, apparently Will didn’t know we’re together.” Will’s face was red when Billy turned around to look at him, completely amused.

“What, so you thought every time I come home and kiss him on the fuckin’ head that was just us being totally straight friends?”

“I don’t know. I just didn’t really think about it.” Billy laughed at Will, Steve getting up to put away the groceries, pressing a beer into Billy’s hand and shooing him over to the table to sit with Will.

“To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?” Will didn’t really know what to say, didn’t want to get like, the shit beaten out of him for trying to hit on Steve.

“He just wanted to say hey. We’ve just been chatting about what a pure trash person I am.” Billy laughed, but nodded along.

“Steve is garbage. You know his feet are somehow always cold? And he’ll put ‘em all all over me every single night. He must be stopped.” Steve swatted at him with a dishrag.

Will doesn’t know how he never saw it, the way they act like they’ve known each other for eternity, the way they’re so obviously, so painfully in love.

“Yeah? Well Billy’s gross and never cleans out the sink after shaving.”

“And you’re a brat that’s just fucking asking to be-”

“Literally, there is a child present. Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” Billy just grinned, running his tongue along his bottom lip. “And see, Will. I told you we’re both terrible and deserve being stuck with each other.”

Will thought maybe being let down by the one person he thinks he;s ever been in love with would hurt more, but seeing these two make fun of each other, the way Billy presses a kiss to Steve’s neck when he moves behind him, the way Steve will look at him so softly, he realizes that Steve is happy, and that’s okay, because maybe one day he’ll be happy like that too, with someone who loves him like Billy does.

[seducemefanblog]

Snatched SamxMika

So uhh I had to take down my old tumblr (Seducemefreakk) bc of my mom. But I have decided to go behind her back and get on tumblr with a new email.

So I’m going to repost my old fanfiction :33

As I exited the cafe, I heard the jingling of the bells located above my head. At that moment I turned back to glance at the glass panes on the eatery’s door.  As I did I gave a small wave goodbye to Suzu. After my small farewell, I turned my gaze back towards the road, awaiting my Uber. I felt bad for leaving our outing early, but I wanted to see Sam. But I mean could you blame me? He’s been extremely busy with work lately.  Constantly working late into the night, most of the time in which I’m already asleep. We’ve barely seen each other. And today was like any other: him leaving for work bright and early. That meant that I was alone for the day. I figured tonight would be like any other work night for him recently. So instead of staying by myself all day, I made plans with Suzu. It had been a while since we had hung out anyways. 

Suzu and I met promptly at The Pink Lady Cafe at 7:00pm. We had been chatting, joking, laughing and basically having an all around good time until about 7:45. When suddenly something in my back pocket buzzed. I immediately recognized what the buzzing was coming from, and swiftly grabbed my phone from my back pocket. I unlocked it to a message from Sam “ Hey, doofus. I’ll be home early today. Hopefully…at about 7. Have you eaten? “ I slightly smiled not only because he always made sure my needs were met before his but also just from seeing his name pop up in my notifications. My mind began to trail off... “It’s crazy how much I love him. Come on, who am I kidding? I love him so much it almost hurts.” I thought. I continued to let my thoughts linger for just a moment longer before I quickly opened my messages and replied “ Sorry! I have… but feel free to get whatever, I'll try to be home soon. Love you <3” 

And that’s how the story of a very frightening night began: Me wanting to go home to my loving incubus, while waiting for my ride home during a typical chilly night. As I stood under the streetlights outside the Pink Lady Cafe my phone buzzed. I looked down to see a notification “Your uber has arrived.” I began to look around for a grey prius. I quickly spotted it, and made my way closer to the edge of the sidewalk in anticipation to get home. It speedily pulled up to me and I watched as the passenger window rolled down it’s window. As I peered in the car, I saw a man in his late 30’s , unshaven, and looked to be an all around slob. But before I could consciously think about his disheveled appearance, a skeptical voice spoke up “ Are you Mika?” I nodded and he motioned towards the backseats in his car, silently instructing me to go in the back seat. I obviously obliged. I pulled on the car door and quickly sat down and buckled up. 

During the ride, I kept noticing how he would glance at something in the rear view mirror. I just told myself he was looking at what was on the road behind us. But I quickly began to realize he wasn’t looking at the road, he was looking at me. Once I noticed this, I told myself that it's a little out of place but not something to be frightened about. Yet I remained cautious. I averted my eyes from the window to the driver's seat. As I did I really began to take in his looks. My gut began screaming that something was wrong. Yet, I tried to remain calm, I just kept telling myself I was overreacting. When my thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the lack of movement, the car had stopped. My eyes began to dart around my surroundings to figure out why. They immediately checked the traffic, no red lights, no stop signs, no pedestrians, there was no reason for us to be stopped. That’s when it went from just my gut screaming at me but also the alarms in my head. Then I heard a voice, and my eyes darted towards it. In less than a second I pinpointed where the voice was coming from. The driver's seat. I looked at the man sitting in the seat as he spoke “We’re out of gas... “ followed by a seemingly forced sigh. My foreboding feeling throughout my body was growing more intense by the second. Almost unbearable. I decided to get out of the car, if something were to happen I didn’t want to be stuck in such a small space with little room to defend myself. 

The driver followed suit, and leaned against his car about 8 inches away from me. I tried to brush it off as him just getting out to see what he could do. Though I did instinctively take a couple steps further away from him. He was leaning on the back seat’s window while I stood in front of the passenger window. I took a quick glance at him then took out my phone to text Sam. “Hey, it may take a bit longer. The uber ran out of gas. I should be home soon, hopefully.” While I was busy looking down at my phone, I failed to notice the driver sidle up beside me. As I looked up I flinched, clearly shocked to see him so close. But before I could shift my legs to move further down the car away from him: He gripped onto my raven hair and in just mere second covered my mouth. Preventing me from both getting away and screaming for help. He began to drag me forward towards an alleyway, I squirmed desperately trying to get away. I kicked and hit, which was returned by my hair being pulled harder towards the alley-way. I could feel the hot fearful tears run down my face. Everything was happening so fast I couldn’t even think. 

As we entered the alley-way he roughly pushed me onto the ground. Now towering over me. I looked up at him to see a wicked smile. A smile you’d see in a horror movie. He slowly began to walk towards me as I began to desperately crab crawl away. But was abruptly stopped by my back crashing into a big metal trash can. He was getting closer, my mind still racing with fear and panic. I couldn’t think straight. Instinctively my arms began to rummage around for things to defend myself. I didn’t find anything! I began to look harder for anything: metal, glass.. ANYTHING. It didn’t help that it was almost impossible to see through my blurred eyes and hard to feel with my trembling hands. As I was looking around frantically Sam popped into my mind. As he did sensible thoughts began to fester. Within seconds I heard myself call out “Aomaris!” 

Within a mere seconds the frantic air had changed into a serene state shortly followed by a bright light. I quickly covered my eyes with my shoulder, waiting for the light to disperse. As the light died, I looked up from my arms to see Sam and his shocked expression. I watched as his eyes darted around looking for me, and when he found me his eyes went gold for a mere second before turning back to their original emerald green hue. His gaze had only lasted a second before being interrupted by a scarily familiar voice “What the HELL?”

Sam immediately tracked down the voice to the man, now shaken to his core. But before Sam could let his rage take over the man had run. Sam stood in place for several seconds, internally fighting all of his instincts to go after the guy. Once he had made up his mind on what he should do, he had appeared in front of me within a millisecond. He immediately wrapped me in his arms, petting my hair in an effort to calm me. I laid my head on his chest tightly gripping the green shirt under his vest. I tried not to cry, but I couldn’t help it. He must have known because I heard him mumble in my ear “Shh...it’s okay. Let it out..” 

And I did, I broke down. I sobbed so hard my voice became hoarse and quivered so much you’d think that there was an earthquake. But Sam didn’t let up, just pulled me closer to his chest. My sounds were swallowed by his green t-shirt. I could feel his warmth despite the cold metal of his dog tag pressed against his cheek. I still don’t know how long we sat in that alley way. I do know that overtime my weeping had slowled, and he used that as an opportunity to get us home. Sam made the executive decision to go through a pentagram. I felt him take a smidget of energy from me. I didn’t fight it, why would I? I could feel myself slowly falling through the ground. I knew what he was doing, he didn’t have to say it. Within a second I felt myself now sitting on the stone steps located in front of my home. 

He slowly let go of his grip around me and gently took my hand in his before standing both of us. He had a grip on my waist making sure to keep me steady, since he was still unaware if I was injured. Though when he was sure I was secure on the ground he slowly let go. I watched as he felt around his pockets until he found his keys. I watched as he took them from the inside of his vest and used them to unlock our front door. As the door swung open he again gently gripped onto my hand, guiding me inside. 

As I passed through the door letting it swing shut naturally, I took in the familiar smell of my air refresher still plugged into the wall. Sam looked back at me, I could tell he was concerned, but he wasn’t going to show it. I looked up at him beginning to wonder what was going through his mind. Sam’s complicated to say the least. It’s hard for him to express himself, so usually I speak up first. And I did.  “Are you okay?” Sam looked deeper into my eyes, probably wondering if I was seriously asking him if HE was okay... I was correct. He quickly conveyed his feelings to me on the situation “ You’re asking me if I’m okay?” he responded sarcastically. I stood still waiting for him to continue on. “Seriously?” He scoffed. I stood there taken back by his tone. “He could have hurt you! Why’d you wait that long to summon me!? “ 

His voice was now significantly raised and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. I mean was he practically screaming it. He was mad, not at me but at himself. I knew that probably didn’t even notice his temper. “Sam..” I mumbled. Even in his self-loathing state he was still able to give me his undivided attention. He aimed his stare towards me. I used this as an opportunity to make him aware of the level of his voice. “Sam…” I began, while fidgeting with my hands. He still stared, waiting for me to finish. “Sam.. you’re kinda-sorta yelling…”

He looked down and pressed his two fingers against the bridge of his nose while simultaneously letting out a heavy sigh. I looked down to my fingers still fidgeting with them. But my gaze was soon steadily placed on him by the sound of his voice. “I...I d-didn’t mean to yell at you like that.. It’s just who knows what that DICK…” he took a moment to calm himself before continuing.  “ bag would’ve done to you.” He looked up at me then breathed heavily out his nose, as if he was letting off steam. I slowly made my towards him and gingerly wrapped my arms around his neck while gently pecking him on his lips in an effort to calm him down. 

He let out a content sigh and wrapped his arms around my waist. I could tell he wanted to say something, but he didn’t know how to say it. I lifted my head to look up to his emerald green irises. He returned the gesture and proceeded to look deeply in my eyes, as if they would help formulate the words he had trapped inside his head. 

He took a breath in signalling to me that he was going to speak.  His eyes lingered a bit longer before looking down to the floor as if in shame. Then he spoke... “ I’m sorry for yelling at you, I-I didn’t mean to… I just… “ He nuzzled his head on my shoulder shortly followed by a muffled voice. “ I just want to protect you..” I removed my arms from around his broad shoulders, and instead wrapped them around his form and placed my head on the crook of his neck. His arms wrapped around me tighter and I happily returned the gesture.

“Sam… you do protect me.” He lifted his head to look at me. “Do I?” I simply just stared back at him thinking out my words carefully before speaking “Sam, of course you protect me. Tonight could have been so much worse if it wasn’t for you. Mmm-kay, you hear me? You DO protect me, I have no doubt in that.” He sighed and removed his hands from my waist and instead took one of my hands. Which confused me. 

“Hm?” I shot him a curious look. “Come doofus it’s getting late, let’s get you to bed.” I glanced at the clock on the wall and then cocked my head at my incubus. “What? “ He said amused. I responded teasingly “Since when do you go to bed at 8:30?” He shrugged “Maybe I’m just tired.” I looked at him closer, trying to see if he was joking or if he was actually tired. As I inspected him I came to realize he probably was tired, and I suddenly felt bad for him having to use his energy to save me. But I quickly shut those thoughts out. 

“Long day? “ I replied empathetically. He simply nodded tiredly. I sighed contently then said “ Then let’s go to sleep, dork.” He dramatically rolled his eyes before chucking.  Still hand in hand he began to walk and I happily  complied to follow behind. As we reached my bedroom we both silently agreed to change before heading to bed. We both began to strip from our day clothes back to each other. I turned my head slightly to look over my shoulder.

As I did I found myself admiring a very muscly back. And at that moment I thought “damn he’s ripped” . And I mean ripped. At that moment he finished changing and turned back to look at me, and as he did I immediately turned my head away from him, I could feel the way my face had heated up from being caught. I hurried up and tried to get dressed to prevent myself from becoming a blushing mess. As I slipped my shirt on, I heard a snicker behind me- along with a familiar sound of ruffling sheets. As I was done getting dressed by then I turned around to further inspect the noise. 

I turned around to see Sam in bed, comfortable under the covers. He flashed me a goofy grin and motioned for me to join him. I quickly accepted his invitation. As I laid down next to him he put his arm and me. I eagerly laid my head on his chest, resting my hand in the same place. Soon enough his breathing slowed, signalling to me he had fallen asleep, and before I knew it I followed after.

[feistypaants-archived]

Between The Pipes [Chapter 6]

Rating: M Words: 2272 Pairing: Kristanna Summary: When a new owner takes over the Arendelle Ice Breakers, Kristoff isn’t sure about his future with the team. That is, until a PR nightmare throws the newest member of the media team, who also just so happens to be the daughter of the new owner, right into his arms. Kristoff and Anna can’t even stand the interviews they have to do together… how on earth are they going to fix this mess? Hockey!AU.

[Chapter Index]

Where To Read: [AO3]

Notes: not particularly happy with this one but ready to move on lol... i hope that their dislike of one another bc of a misunderstanding is fine. :^) i realized i never really plotted the why but here we go i hope it’s FINE........

Enjoy!

Anna was waiting patiently outside the locker room, scrolling mindlessly through her phone when Sven jogged towards her, out of breath and flushed. “Hey, Anna.”

She smirked and waved, tucking her phone back into her jacket pocket before he continued.

“So, something came up.” Coming to a stop in front of her, he took in a deep breath and stood up straight, his hands pushing against his lower back. “I can’t do lunch today.”

Disappointed but understanding, Anna set her mind on going home and practicing alone. He’s been more than accommodating, it’s only fair that she not be upset about him canceling once. “Oh, well —“

“But!” He interrupted, grinning. “Kristoff is going to help you instead.”

“What? Oh,” Anna held her hands up in front of her chest, shaking them back and forth. She was certain her eyes were practically popping out of her head. “Oh, we can just reschedule it’s really fine, it’s…”

And then from behind her, a low and smooth voice. “Tell me how you really feel.”

Her lips pressed together, cutting off her rambling words, and she turned slowly to look up at Kristoff, freshly showered and staring down at her with a cocked eyebrow, his still damp hair falling in his eyes. “Oh…” She stood straighter, coughing quietly before continuing. “Hello.”

“Hello.” He shuffled uncomfortably, eyes darting between Sven and Anna before he shoved off the wall he was leaning on, and gestured over his shoulder. “Should we go?”

Anna flushed, glancing back at Sven with panic in her eyes, frustration growing as he only offered a sheepish grin in reply. He turned back to Kristoff, standing straighter as her eyebrows furrowed together. “You really, really don’t have to do —“

“It’s fine.” He ran a hand over his hair, shaking it out as he turned on his heel to walk out the back exit. “I’m starving. And I hear you’re buying.”

Taken aback at his boldness, Anna was frozen for a moment before she could even think to follow him. “Oh. If I’m paying…” She turned back to Sven quickly, offering her best why-did-you-do-this-to-me grimace, and then hurried down the hallway behind the goalie. “I definitely have a limit.”

A satisfied smile pulled at her mouth as he set his jaw, seeming to be holding back a smirk of his own. She waved back at Sven as he excused himself, and she could swear she heard him singing some jingle, but it was just as likely she was imagining it. “Back to the pub?” She asked, finally catching up to his long strides. He only nodded in reply.

Until he said “we can take my car.”

Anna flushed, pointed over towards her vehicle on the other side of the lot, ready to insist on taking different cars, but realized he was paying her no mind anyway and quickly followed closely behind. It was a simple Ford pickup, deep blue with silver trimmings, and Anna found herself surprised that he didn’t have something more expensive. It was… really nice, actually, that he didn’t buy something extravagant. 

Not without effort, she managed to climb her way into the cab, and let out a huff of air as he chuckled, turning the engine over. 

“Men who lift their trucks are clearly compensating for something,” she mumbled, more to herself than anything as she reached up and over to buckle herself in. When she looked back up, his eyes were trained on her, a smirk pulling at his lips. “What?”

His gaze ran down her body, making her blush before he shrugged. “Nothing.” 

This was a bad idea. He was a bad idea. 

The truck started up with a low rumble, and Anna couldn’t help but keep her eyes locked on his profile. He was focused, but drove smoothly, the wheel sliding slick between his fingers as it spun back to place. She could see him working his jaw, as if he was trying to come up with something to say. It still startled her slightly when he finally spoke.

“So…” He coughed once, easing himself into it. “What brought you here?” He mumbled, glancing over at her once before returning his eyes to the road. 

Anna shouldn’t have been surprised, really, that that was all he could come up with. “... My father bought the team, and we all moved here.”

He coughed again, tense, but then shook his head with an uncomfortable laugh. “Right. I mean, you’re old enough to live on your own, right?”

Rolling her eyes, Anna slumped back against the door. “Not with a father like mine,” she muttered, her voice hardly above a whisper.

“What?”

“Nothing.” A sigh. “I do live on my own. Just wanted to stay close to family, I guess.”

Kristoff was clearly out of his element here, and she figured if he was giving it a shot, why couldn’t she? Anna had always prided herself on her ability to create small talk out of nothing. Sure, sometimes she probably just annoyed people into talking to her, but the end result was the same, right?

She tried a simple “are you from around here…?”

He stopped at a red light and squinted his eyes, trying to see the light through the high sun beaming through the windshield. “No.”

So he wasn’t trying that hard. Maybe something a little more engaging? “Why did you start playing hockey?”

His grip tightened on the wheel, and Anna bit at her lip as she watched him. It was almost as if he didn’t want her to know anything about him. As if he was dead-set on not revealing a single thing about himself. But then he let a soft, hardly audible answer slip out. “My dad played.”

Okay, they were getting somewhere now.

“It’s nice to have something in common with your parents, isn’t it?” She couldn’t relate, but that feeling was easy enough to fake. Just the opposite of how she really felt. 

“Yup.”

And that was it. No more revealing answers would come from Kristoff. But she figured they were close enough, that she would try again when they got settled. Worst case, she’d try again after he had a few drinks in him. 

When they finally got to the pub, they had sat in silence for a while. They ordered food and drinks, and sat across from one another, avoiding talking for as long as possible.

But Anna couldn’t take it anymore. “Okay, so…”

Kristoff’s brows shot up as he looked at her.

“We were going to go over penalties, today, and maybe a mock interview, so I could practice…?” 

He seemed bored, disinterested, straight up annoyed to have to be here. But he had agreed to it, and Anna was going to make him help her even if it took all night. 

Swallowing her own frustration, Anna bit at her bottom lip while trying to ignore the way his eyes dropped to her mouth and his Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. She was stupidly attracted to him, and it made her angry because he was a obviously a jerk . 

“... But instead, maybe you could tell me specifics about being a goalie?”

Kristoff let out a breath of a laugh and shrugged. “I don’t know. You stop pucks.” He leaned back, stretched his arm across the back of the empty chair that sat between them, and shrugged. “That’s pretty much it.” 

“Oh, come on. There’s clearly technique to it.” Anna was going to try , even if it killed her, to get him to have a conversation with her. 

“... You want me to tell you all the ins and outs of being a goalie?” Now he seemed annoyed, as if she was asking too much of him.

“No…” Anna swallowed and slumped into her chair, biting at the nail on her thumb. A heavy silence fell between them again. What was she supposed to do? He clearly didn’t want anything to do with her. But they drove over together, so it seemed she was stuck.

But then she recalled that she didn’t ask him to come. He agreed to it without her involvement at all. 

“Why did you even agree to this?” She wasn’t sure she wanted him to hear, and she could hear her voice dropping low as if to hide behind the noise in the restaurant.

But it still seemed to catch his attention. He sighed and cracked his neck before lifting one hand in the air, gesturing vaguely around them. “I promised Sven I’d try to be nice.”

Scoffing, Anna rolled her eyes and slid further down her seat. “You’re doing a great job.”

Kristoff rolled his eyes and leaned forward, laying his forearms on the table as his hands met in between them. “At least I’m here .”

“What good is that if you’re just going to ignore me and shut down any conversation?” Her voice was flat as she turned her attention to the other side of the pub, lifting the glass and tiny straw to her lips. She half expected him just to ignore her anyway, to continue on drinking his beer, pretending she hadn’t even spoken. But she could still feel his eyes burning into the side of her face.

Kristoff’s jaw was set as he stared her down, eyes narrowing. “Look, I just…” His hands moved to his lap, pressing down against his knees. “Why are you doing all of this?”

She continued to stare across the way, hoping to give him a taste of his own behavior. Why was she doing all of what ?

“You obviously don’t need to learn this stuff.”

That bothered her enough to make her turn back to face him. “Why do you say that?”

If he rolled his eyes one more time she thought they would stick there permanently. 

“You just…” he gestured vaguely at the entirety of her, and scoffed under his breath. “You clearly get whatever you want. And they obviously won’t fire you if you suck.”

She swallowed thickly, sitting up higher in her chair. Anna could feel heat radiating off of her face, but hoped with everything in her that he couldn’t see it. He really didn’t know anything, did he? He didn’t know her , but he was acting like he did.

“I just think it’s shit that you got this job because of your daddy .”

Anna stood, then, smiling. She felt how it contorted her features, felt how wild she must have looked, with the chair pushed out a foot behind her, eyes wide and grin pulling tight at her cheeks. “Well,” she sighed, reaching behind her to grab her wallet and pull out some cash, leaving what she hoped was enough plus a generous tip on the table. . “Look at the time. I have to go tell my father how the team is doing.”

Ah, yes, there was the panic she wanted to see. “Wait, I —“

“I’ll make sure he knows what a good help you’ve been, Kristoff.”

And then she left, bag clutched between her fingers. She wouldn’t cry. She definitely would not cry. Not when she tripped on the curb on her way out. Not when he didn’t follow her to apologize. Not even when she remembered that he drove them there, so she had to find a way back to the rink that wouldn’t humiliate her.

She was good at not crying. She was good at pretending she was okay.

—

Anna skipped the rink for a couple of days. She had called Gerda, asking if she wouldn’t mind if Anna took a long weekend. There wasn’t much for her to do until pre-season anyway at this point, and Gerda seemed to be content with what Anna had already picked up, so she allowed it, just this once , she emphasized. 

Sven had texted her, asking how lunch went. Assuming Kristoff had already told him about the disastrous attempt at bonding , Anna just sent back a shrugging emoji and left it at that. There was clearly no hope that Kristoff was ever going to be nice to her, and Anna was working on accepting that. She had always been used to being handed whatever she wanted, just like he said, but being disliked because of who her father was… that was a new one. 

At least, in her head it was. Usually if people didn’t like her, they pretended they did until she was out of earshot. Up until now, she had thought she was okay with that. 

In the end, Anna had almost felt bad for pretending she had any say in what her father did with the team, but the alarm that had rang through his eyes had been satisfying. Kristoff was wrong about her, there was no doubt in her mind. Maybe she had been handed a job, but she always took pride in her work, always made an effort to be the best she could be. If he gave her a chance , he would see it. If he spent half as much time paying attention as he did with his head up his ass, he’d be well aware that she was here, trying her best with what she was given.

She didn’t ask for this job. She would never ask to be given something she didn’t deserve.

Anna was going to put in the effort to make sure she did deserve this, in the end. She was going to prove that to everyone who ever thought she was just a spoiled girl.

She was going to prove it to her father.

To Kristoff.

To herself .

She deserved this job.

She was going to kick ass.