#blacked out and woke up with this in front of me hi. may my ten thousand unfinished older wips forgive me

[goldensunset]

everyone told me she was terrifying but they didn’t tell me she was so cool and nice

[thatsonemorbidcorvid]

A prominent women’s chess player has accused a fellow player of rape and sexual harassment as she warned a “toxic culture“ of misogyny and sexually predatory behaviour plagues the chess community.

Sabrina Chevannes, a women's international chess master, said she was raped at a chess tournament by another contestant.

The 36-year-old, who quit professional chess in January 2017, told The Independent the incident happened when she was black-out drunk as a teenager.

She added: “I woke up in the linen room of the hotel on a table. I was in so much pain. I didn’t quite understand what had happened.

“While playing chess I was in so much pain I could barely sit down. Him and his friends were high-fiving about it.”

Ms Chevannes, who won ten British chess titles, said sexual harassment, sexual assault or discrimination against women has taken place at every chess tournament she has ever attended.

She has endured racism from fellow chess players, with people often assuming she had cheated when she did well in tournaments, she added.

She told of an incident at a chess tournament when a man who was a chess master groped her.

“I was 11 years old,” she recalled. “I wanted to have a picture with him because he was famous in this world. He posed for the picture but did this thing where he put his hand down my back touching my butt. Then he turned around and winked at me.”

She encountered him again at another chess event when she was a teenager where he told her he had seen her on the front of a chess magazine, she added.

“He said ‘You are developing so well’. I said ‘I was at my best rating’, and he said ‘No, I don’t mean developing like that’,” Ms Chevannes recalled.

“He said he may need another copy of the magazine as he said he had worn his down with all the night time reading. He looked at me in a creepy, lecherous manner. When he met me when I was 18, he said ‘now you are legal in all countries’.”

The former player said she would actively avoid tournaments where he was playing. She noted he sexually propositioned her a few years ago - asking her to go back to his hotel room.

Ms Chevannes said: “He used very racist misogynistic language to my face.”

She told of another incident where a different chess player offered to let her sleep in his hotel room as she was tired from her flight but couldn’t check into her room until mid-afternoon.

“He wasn’t in the room when I was sleeping but I woke up to find one hand down my pants and one hand in my bra,” she added. “He did the same thing again when I was in the same house as him and lots of others in the chess community.”

Ms Chevannes, who now coaches chess, said she did not report any of the aforementioned incidents to the police at the time as others warned her she would not be believed.

But she explained social media posts she recently shared about her alleged experiences had been seen by the police who are now looking into her claims.

Female chess players have come forward in recent weeks to make allegations of sexual assault, violence and harassment from male players.

Earlier in the month, 14 of France's top female players wrote an open letter, “denouncing the sexist or sexual violence they have suffered” in the chess community, with over 100 women in chess signing the letter in the space of only five days.

Ms Chevannes described the chess community as an “insular world” with a rigid hierarchy where people are judged by their chess abilities and women are perpetually belittled.

“Women are seen as inferior, they genuinely believe men are superior to women in every way - including intellectually,” she added. “If you beat someone, it's described as you raped them.”

[theflirtmeister]

Give me that dad bod adam. Pretty please with a cherry on top

sorry if u wanted porn, instead u got adam reflecting on getting older and being a dad

It takes a good ten minutes before Adam gives up and balls up his skinny jeans, tossing them into the growing pile of clothes to donate. There’s no way in hell that he will ever get back into these, not with all the diets or pound-of-flesh-traps in the world. 

He is officially too old for skinny jeans.

God. When did this happen? It feels like he blinked one day as a scrawny twenty-something, and woke up in an adult body, with wrinkles and hair growing in weird places and a shoulder that hurts in the winter. Who is that man, with laughter lines and eye creases? When did he get here? Adam never thought he’d make it past thirty.

“How is the wardrobe decluttering going?” Lawrence asks from the doorway.

He looks as handsome as ever, with hair slightly grey, which drives Adam completely crazy. Adam doesn’t know how Lawrence’s patients cope, he’d be throwing himself across the room at Dr Gordon, cancer or no cancer.

“I don’t fit into any of my clothes,” Adam says despondently, “I’m going to turn up to the new house in just my underwear.”

Lawrence steps into the room and wraps his arms around Adam, pressing a kiss to his temples. “A very nice image, however.” He says. “I’ll have to buy you a whole new wardrobe.”

“My sugar daddy,” Adam says, batting his eyelashes at Lawrence. “Can I have a pony too?”

“Whatever you want,” Lawrence promises. “I’ll even get you a Malibu Barbie.”

Adam fake gasps in delight, and they both end up snorting with laughter. Adam wriggles out of Lawrence’s grasp to pick up another shirt from the pile and hold it up against himself. It’s black, with a picture of a cat skeleton licking an ice cream that he thinks he may have shoplifted from Hot Topic. He doesn’t even know why he still has it. 

“Too short?” Adam asks, not even bothering to try it on.

“Diana seems to have cultivated a wardrobe entirely of crop tops.” Lawrence says in the voice of a man who has seen his little girl grow up before his eyes. “She’s refusing to get rid of any of them.”

“Are you scarred for life?” Adam teases, throwing the shirt onto the donate pile.

“She wants her belly button pierced.” Lawrence blurts out, sounding horrified. “Alison didn’t even blink when Diana brought it up in front of us - an actual piercing Adam.”

“She has her ears pierced,” Adam shrugs. “And I remember someone enjoying my tongue piercing when I still had it.”

“That’s different, and you know it,” Lawrence says warningly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I don’t want her doing anything like that to her body before she’s eighteen.”

“Why are you such a square?” Adam says, nudging Lawrence’s good leg with his foot. “You’ll just make her rebel and go to some dodgy guy's basement to get it done.”

Lawrence shudders. “Is that how you got your piercings?”

“You going to judge me if I did?” Adam quirks his eyebrow.

“Yes.” Lawrence says firmly, and Adam rolls his eyes.

“You’re such a Dad.” He says, picking up another shirt to try on, this one a baby blue button-up from Target. He thinks he might have bought it for one of Lawrence’s award ceremonies - can definitely remember Lawrence tearing it off him in the cab ride home. 

“Not to burst your bubble,” Lawrence says, watching as Adam pulls off his shirt, exposing the curve of his stomach, the dark hair of his happy trail. Adam feels like he should put on a show, hum some strip-tease music. “But you are also a Dad too.”

“Step Dad.” Adam corrects, then pauses. “Fuck. I’m a stepdad.”

“A handsome one at that,” Lawrence says, not looking at Adam’s face. “Seducing all the parents at school pick up.”

Adam places his hands on his hips and studies Lawrence. Lawrence is tracking Adam’s body with his eyes, carving him up like a piece of meat. It makes the back of Adam’s neck go hot, that they’re still into each other, that they still make each other’s hearts and other organs flutter.

They’re probably going to be fucking in the nursing home, sneaking into each other’s rooms with their Zimmer frames. Diana’s going to have a nightmare on her hands, Adam thinks to himself smugly. Serves her right for all the crop tops and piercings. 

“Parents can’t keep their hands off me,” Adam says, tossing the blue shirt back onto the pile. “Especially this really hot guy, with blonde hair and a prosthetic foot.”

“Oh yeah?” Lawrence says, finally looking up at Adam. “Thinking about having an affair?”

“He has no idea what’s coming to him,” Adam smirks. He steps forward, and Lawrence spreads his legs so that Adam can fit neatly between them. “Think he can handle it?”

“He’s had some practice,” Lawrence says, hooking his thumbs into Adam’s underwear. “Spent most of his forties sleeping with the most gorgeous man in the world.”

“Is that right?” Adam runs his hands through Lawrence’s hair. “Sounds like a good time to me.”

Lawrence tugs Adam closer, pressing a kiss to his stomach. His mouth tickles, making Adam shiver, so Lawrence repeats the actions until Adam is squirming. He might be too old to ever get ID’d again, but he's not so old that he doesn’t turn into a mess when Lawrence touches him. 

“Beautiful,” Lawrence whispers against his skin. “I’m so lucky.”

“Such a fucking idiot,” Adam says fondly, ducking his head down to kiss Lawrence. “God I love you.”

He wants this, forever. He wants to be old with Lawrence, wants to see how life spills out for them. He wants to get fat with Lawrence on good food and wine, and spends hours in bed together, re-acquainting their bodies. He wants to organise their pain medication in one of those fancy boxes that have the days of the week on them, and be lectured by Lawrence when he forgets to take his tablets.

“I love you too,” Lawrence grins, and drags Adam down on top of him, both of them giggling like teenagers.

[mediocre-daydreams]

𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐚𝐬 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐲𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠

remus lupin x animagus!reader

𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚊𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚛𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝: 𝚠𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚜𝚝𝚛𝚊𝚢, 𝚒 𝚏𝚘𝚕𝚕𝚘𝚠

summary: remus craves your touch and he knows you’d do anything for him, which is why he refuses to be with you. your affection spark nasty rumors from the slytherins.

notes: angst, fluff, a few slut shaming comments (will be expanded upon in later chapters), tw//the slug club :/

w/c: 5.7k

ﾟ⋆☾*･ﾟ.・。.*゜✭・･ﾟ✫・⋆。.

as if you were a mythical thing, like you were a trophy or a champion ring; if there was one prize, i'd cheat to win.

you and the girls had nice, established saturday mornings. dorcas, the natural early bird, woke up at seven without fail. lily, the overachiever, followed at seven thirty. mary began to stir around eight, and lily and dorcas would shake you and marlene awake no later than eight thirty.

you’d get ready together—you and marlene were always sluggish and slow in the mornings—and head down for breakfast around nine twenty. you always had a coffee, marlene and dorcas shared a pot of chamomile, lily liked earl grey, and mary liked experimenting with flavors. (she was currently enjoying matcha.)

marlene and dorcas would most likely sneak off somewhere, leaving you, lily, and mary to entertain yourselves. if the day was nice, you’d kill a few hours by the black lake. if the weather was poor, you’d get a head start on homework or wander the common room. you liked your saturday routine.

today was very different.

“mr. lupin is not taking visitors at this time, thank you very much,” madam promfrey quipped, sounding not at all apologetic. “please return at…” she checked her wristwatch. “this evening. preferably tomorrow afternoon.”

james batted his eyelashes. “c’mon, madam pomfrey. we’re regulars! you can’t make an exception for your favorite patients?”

madam pomfrey narrowed her eyes at him. “yes, because treating reckless quidditch players after every match is my favorite passtime.” she sighed, turning her head to hide how her lips quirked upwards. “fine, you may have ten- twenty minutes. but i’m being very generous, and reserve the right to kick you out at any time. alright?”

you and the marauders nodded enthusiastically. madam pomfrey waved you over to a curtain-covered bed, where remus’ hoarse grumbles could be heard.

“lukewarm water… can’t even read… so behind on potions… complete fool…”

“moony!” peter exclaimed, whipping away the curtain and jumping into a starfish-like position in front of remus, who jumped.

“pe- wormtail?” he stammered. “prongs? padfoot? hopper?”

“gee, don’t look so happy to see us. you might overexert yourself,” you teased, taking a seat at the edge of the bed. you took his hand, which was cold and beginning to crack from dryness. you frowned, glancing over at madam pomfrey, who looked busy shuffling through loose parchment.

“how are you?” james whispered. “after… y’know.”

remus snorted. “y’don’t have to whisper. pomfrey knows.”

“ah, forgot about that.” james scratched his jaw. “my question still stands, though. how y’feeling?”

“as well as one can feel after breaking most of their bones and transforming into a class five monster, i suppose.” remus licked his chapped lips. his undereyes were dark—an unusual sight—and his voice raspy from all the howling he’d done last night. he didn’t seem tired in the sleepy way; rather, worn down. “i’m just sick of this stupid bed. i’m fine. i’ve done this my whole life. i hate being here while everyone treats me like porcelain; like they pity me. and it’s boring.”

sirius furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. “i don’t pity you, moony. in fact, i take great pleasure in kicking you when you’re already down. for example,” sirius cleared his throat dramatically, “let’s discuss last night, shall we?”

you glanced around the room. “muffliato,” you murmured. “yeah, we were right. i wouldn’t trust sirius with any secrets.”

sirius glared at you and returned to his story. “apparently, my kisses are not appreciated by a certain rabbit, but snot is fine? i see how it is.”

you looked at your feet. remus became defensive. “i do not have snot!”

james looked at sirius knowingly. “yes, you do. it was dripping out of your nose, mate. you fell asleep and i swear, there was a puddle of wet stuff underneath you. horrid, i tell you.” james pretended to shiver.

remus quickly changed the subject. “how’d you all leave in time?”

“peter,” you all chorused. you tilted your head towards the bashful boy. “again, peter’s the most responsible one when you’re not here. he bit us until we woke up and we snuck out before sunrise. you were already asleep then.”

“wait, so did you four get any sleep last night?”

james pursed his lips. “hopper did… and- and sirius power-napped?”

remus looked at you all disappointedly. peter jumped in. “in my defense, i was a rat surrounded by giants! excluding you, hopper. it’s not exactly easy to fall asleep knowing you could be accidentally trampled and killed!”

you pointed at peter in agreement. “see? see? nobody’s scared of you, moony. we’re scared of james’ nonexistent coordination.”

remus cracked a smile.

james was offended. “excuse me? you’re talking to the best chaser in gryffindor history, here! i’ve got a bloody plaque and everything!”

as peter and sirius laughed, you turned to remus and the two of you exchanged a quiet moment. “how are you, really?” you mouthed.

“‘m alright, i promise,” remus’ lips twitched before falling into a frown. he winced. it seemed as if the corners of his mouth were beginning to bleed.

you gasped. “merlin, you’re bleeding! let me get some salve or something, stay right there.”

remus chuckled. “i’m not going anywhere, don’t worry.”

you hurried over to madam pomfrey, practically sliding on the tiled floor in your frenzy. “madam pomfrey, do you have any salve? remus’ hands are all cracked and his lips are beginning to bleed,” you huffed.

madam pomfrey blinked at you and remained silent for a second, before shaking her head clear and digging through a messy medicine cabinet. she held up a small jar labelled “BALM” and placed it in your hand. “it’s my own recipe. very effective.”

you thanked her graciously, and as you rushed back to remus, you could feel her eyes on your back, almost like she was judging you.

“rem, you’re bleeding! did you not notice?” you gushed, unscrewing the “balm” and sticking two fingers into it, scoping out a generous amount of the thick paste and grabbing remus’ hand.

remus’ chest shook with laughter as he watched you fret over him with more care than he’d give to himself. you kneeled down beside him, laying his hand on top of his leg gently, so you could rub the salve into his broken skin.

“rem, i’m serious. why don’t-”

“no, i’m sirius,” sirius interjected, laughing at his own wit. peter chuckled weakly. james didn’t speak, too busy watching you and remus interact.

“-why don’t you take care of yourself more? look, your skin is all dry and cracked. do you have eczema?”

“what’s eczema?” james’ head perked up. “is it a disease? is it contagious?”

peter sighed. “no, it’s a skin condition. it’s when you have dry patches or rashes and no, james, it’s not contagious.”

james sighed in relief.

you and remus were still in your quiet bubble. “i dunno, hopper,” remus mumbled, his eyes fixed on your careful fingers as they moved across the palms of his hands in small swirls, like young, sprightly dancers across an old theater’s well-worn stage. “all the little stuff was kinda forgotten after… y’know. i got bitten. eczema was the least of my worries.” remus laughed dryly, coughing slightly from the effort.

“have you had water? remus, you’ve got to take better care of yourself,” you chided. there was a glass of water on the table beside him, and you adjusted the straw so remus could drink while lying down. remus waved your hand away, pushing himself up into a seated position, much to your disapproval. he looked you firmly in the eye as he took the straw out of the cup, and made a big show of drinking normally.

you bit back a smile at his stubbornness. remus smiled too, the corners of his mouth stretching and pulling too tightly. you placed your hands on remus’ cheeks, willing them into a loose position. going back for more balm, you rubbed your fingers together so the heat of your hands would melt the paste into something thin enough to spread.

“i- i’m going to touch your lips now, if that’s okay,” you breathed, suddenly hyperaware of your compromised position. you were eye level with his chest. “is this alright?” you murmured, sitting yourself on the edge of his bed once more and turning your torso in line with his. you were now eye level, so you could reach the skin on his face more easily.

“yeah, i- it’s okay,” remus dipped his head in affirmation, swallowing thickly. you watched, mesmerized, as his adam’s apple bobbed, and you had to tear your gaze away in favor of the salve on your hand.

“okay, just- um, sit still, please.” your finger was wobbly as it inched closer to remus’ face, and you prayed he wouldn’t notice. you found yourself leaning closer, your free hand coming up to cup his jaw; you felt the growing stubble scratch your palm. oh, how torturous it was to be so close to him, to run your fingers over the lips you’d desperately craved for three years, only to stop yourself from kissing him. he was hurt, and all you could think about was your unrealistic indulgences. you knew remus would never be so selfish.

remus had closed his eyes. you felt like you were taking advantage of him, in some way, by slowing down the movement of your fingers so you could take a couple more seconds to memorize his face. the cluster of freckles under his eyes, the little bump on his nose, the curve of his eyebrows that seemed to twitch with each of your touches, the scars across his cheek that you longed to touch and worship and love…

“okay! okay, i’m all done!” you blurted. you’d recoiled as soon as you found your thoughts drifting into dangerous territory. you smiled awkwardly at him. “sorry about that.” your face scrunched.

remus’ eyes seemed to bore into yours, like he knew what you were thinking. wordlessly, he smoothed out the anxious wrinkles on your face, a content calmness washing over his face as soon as he saw you untense. you prayed that he couldn’t feel your face burning up.

“you could give madam pomfrey a run for her money.” sirius broke the silence, making both you and remus jump.

peter glanced over his shoulder and found madam ponfrey deeply invested in her work. “it’s definitely been more than 20 minutes. y’reckon we should just stay until she kicks us out?”

“duh.” james rolled his eyes. “that way, evans won’t force me to do my homework.”

--

remus looked much better by monday. you would occasionally glance over at him, but only because you were worried about his dry skin. you’d convinced madam pomfrey to let you take the rest of the balm, and now you would force remus to apply it at least three times a day. he didn’t object, much to your surprise.

“can you drop it?” reamus threw an arm over his eyes as peter and james prattled on about the importance of stretching and peter’s father’s muggle pilates class that had done wonders for his flexibility. after seeing remus bedridden from a transformation, their concern and caring nature only multiplied.

“okay, but get this. muggles go to this person called a chiropractor, and they pay the chiropracter to break their bones!” james’ eyes were wide with wonder.

“no, james. they crack their bones,” peter corrected.

“i know! that’s wild, right? i think it could be good for you.” james patted remus on the shoulder. “if not, you should look into cupping therapy. it’s an asian practice; it’s worked for centuries! oh! oh! or, you could-”

remus groaned. “seriously, i’m fine. thanks, though.”

you sat on his bed beside him; the two of you preferred watching peter and james’ antics from a distance. you moved closer to remus, the mattress shifting under your weight.

“hey, i know you’re kind of sick of us worrying about you, but will you at least let me do the balm for you? it’s just that i-”

“yes, yes, please do.” remus interrupted. his eyes widened as if he hadn’t meant to say anything. “i mean, yes, that’s okay. i’m okay with that.”

you tried to hide your giddiness as you pulled the balm from the pocket of your robes (you’d taken to carrying it around wherever you went) and followed the routine you and remus had fallen into. he’d hold out his hand, you’d take it and apply the balm, and he’d squeeze your hand and you’d probably look up at him, all flustered, and he’d probably look down at you, all flustered, and you’d probably stay there for a moment before letting go of each others’ hands, all flustered.

you hated how much of an effect he had on you. you prided yourself on being collected and consistent and confident, but he seemed to shatter every one of your walls with just one look. and you hated yourself for never being able to stick around whenever he saw past one of your acts. when he’d ask you what was wrong, or if you were okay, or if you needed to talk, you’d always plaster this stupid smile on and brush him off.

but sometimes you weren’t okay. sometimes, your mind raced with thoughts of the war, and concerns about remus’ lycanthropy, and what would happen to him as not only a half-blood but a werewolf, and what would happen to you as a muggle born, and what would happen to the two of you if you ended up tog-

you didn’t want to burden remus with such things, so you didn’t. you didn’t want to burden anyone with such trivial worries, so you didn’t. that was something you liked about yourself: you cared about your friends enough to make sure they didn’t have to fall into your pits of distress because you never tied them down with anchors. you made sure that they could sail freely.

so there went the routine. you dropped remus’ hand and busied yourself with screwing the cap back on, and you could feel remus’ eyes on the crown of your head as you ducked down and tried to avoid his gaze.

“what’re you two up to now?” sirius leaned on the doorframe, taking in the scene before him. 

“you’re back!” you jumped from remus’ bed and ran towards sirius, enveloping him into a big hug. sirius laughed, reciprocating. he lifted you from the ground and swayed you back and forth enthusiastically, much to your glee.

“i’m back!” he boomed. “good godric, i think i’d rather kiss my mother than take another detention with binns.”

“you’re back,” remus grumbled, suddenly sullen. peter and sirius exchanged the same knowing look that they had been for weeks now.

peter waggled his eyebrows at sirius, and james, for once, caught on. james stifled a laugh. “i never noticed, but you and padfoot look really good together,” he commented nonchalantly.

“yeah?” sirius raised a brow. “d’you think so, dove?” he lowered you to the ground and looked down at you questioningly.

“erm, what?” you smiled thinly. “like, as a couple?”

“yeah,” peter agreed, “i could totally see it. you’re both… uh…” peter struggled to find traits that the two of you had in common. you and sirius more so balanced each other out rather than complimented each other.

“you’re both beautiful!” janes shouted. “suuuper handsome. real lookers, you two.”

remus turned away from james and peter’s terrible matchmaking and settled for shuffling his feet back and forth on the floor. he tried not to tap; you always knew something was up when he tapped. he wasn’t in the mood to be interrogated.

“thanks, james.” you squinted. “are you guys okay? you’re being really weird.”

“all good!” james fumbled. “i just got excited about… the two of you, s’all.”

“oh, i know! you’re both really stubborn,” peter blurted.

you looked at sirius, confused. sirius shrugged.

“alright, you’ve officially lost it. sirius and i?” you wrinkled your nose at him.

sirius laughed in agreement. “we’d never work. i’m too ravishingly gorgeous and effortlessly charismatic for hopper. she’d blind herself trying to admire my radiance, and we don’t want that, do we?”

“for your information, sirius, i’m way out of your league. resort to your flowery language if you must, but i don’t need to prove my worth. it speaks for itself,” you humphed, sticking your chin up theatrically. 

remus grinned, hiding it under his tilted face.

“alright, i’m officially done here. goodbye, marauders!” you called from over your shoulder as you scurried down the spiral staircase.

“goodbye marauder, singular!” james shouted after you.

peter looked at remus smugly. “y’good, moony? or is your skin acting up? should we apply some more balm for you?”

“yeah, y’look a little off, mate. s’everything alright?” james pitched in.

“i’m fine,” remus snapped. 

“are you sure? you seem… upset,” sirius probed, inching closer.

“i’m not upset!” remus insisted. “i’m completely fine, see?” he lifted his head up and it was comically obvious that he was upset. his eyebrows were pinched and his cheeks slightly flushed.

“okay, okay! you’re not upset. would you say that you’re… jealous?” sirius grinned.

“i don’t know what you mean.”

“oh c’mon,” james whined, throwing himself backwards onto remus’ bed. “we all know you like her.”

“i- i don’t know who you’re talking about,” remus stammered.

peter clicked his tongue. “has anyone told you you’re a shit liar, moony?”

“oh, sod off, would’ya?”

“moony’s jealous! moony’s jealous!” james and sirius cheered, watching as remus’ ears began to turn red. “oooo, you so like her,” james teased.

“i do not!”

sirius shook his finger at remus. “aha! so there is a her!”

“no! i mean, i just-”

“mate, she obviously likes you back. she’s confessed her love to you at least twice now. i dunno what you’re doing, but whatever it is, stop.” peter crossed his arms, disappointed at his friend.

remus tilted his head back and stared at the ceiling. “it doesn’t matter if she likes me back, i don’t want to be with her.”

“why?” james yelled, absolutely horrified.

“that makes no sense!” sirius gasped, baffled.

“you dimwit!” peter scoffed.

“because she’s… she’s her, and i’m me!” remus snarled, whipping his head around to face his three meddlesome friends. “don’t you understand? i’m- i’m going to spend the rest of my life trapped by this damn condition and she’s been through one transformation with me and- and do you see how much she’s been struggling? she’s not been sleeping or eating properly; she’s constantly chasing me and she won’t let me bloody help her. i just know she’d spend the rest of her life trying to fix me but i can’t be fixed and i won’t let her waste her life tied down by someone like me!”

the marauders were silent.

“what do you mean, ‘someone like you?’” sirius croaked.

remus exhaled shakily. “a monster, sirius. she deserves so much more than a monster.”

--

monday potions with the slytherins was surprisingly your favorite class. you were good at potions, and as long as you sat near the front, you wouldn’t have to deal with the nastier specimens. today was no exception. you and lily—the two of you were almost always partners—were all the way up front, and early as well.

there were still a few minutes until class started and slughorn had not yet arrived. you and lily were sifting through your satchels for quills and parchment while you chatted.

“so where were you last saturday?” lily smoothed out her parchment with concentration.

“uh, mo- remus had a cold, so i went to check on him,” you lied smoothly.

“oh, remus had a cold, now did he?” lily didn’t look at you, but you could hear the teasing in her voice.

“yes, remus had a cold. and being the considerate and polite friend that i am, i went to check on him,” you stated plainly.

lily hummed questioningly. “let’s say i believe you—in terms of the friend bit, i mean. why haven’t i seen you all weekend? surely, you haven’t been sleeping over in the hospital wing. and you don’t seem very sick to me.”

“i-” you coughed. “i’ve been… busy.”

it was a flimsy lie, and you both knew it. lily sighed, tutting at your secretive behavior. “alright then, whatever you say. now, i have to fill you in on-”

“look, there’s two of ‘em!” mulciber’s crass voice interrupted you and lily’s peaceful conversation.

you rolled your eyes, resigning yourself to lining up your quill and parchment so they were perfectly parallel.

“the prude and the slut!” somebody laughed, their identity lost underneath the layer of chittering students who began to flood into the classroom.

you looked over at lily, examining her reaction. her eyebrows, thin and straight, twitched noticably. you watched as she pursed her lips momentarily before pulling them into a strained smile. “like i was saying, i’ve got to fill you in on mary’s minstrations at lunch.”

you smiled warmly at her. lily wore her heart on her sleeve unabashedly, and you were always better at hiding your feelings. that’s why people flocked to you for comfort, you assumed.

“hello, lovely ladies!” sirius suavely sat behind you, resting his elbows on the desk and propping his head up. “what a beautiful morning it is, but not quite as beautiful as you two,” he flirted.

you pinched his cheek. “hey, gorgeous,” you purred, looking him up and down. “i could say the same to you.”

remus slid into the seat beside sirius, smiling stiffly at you and raising his hand in greeting.

“oh! hi, remus!” you were caught off guard and your voice was pitched higher than normal. you cleared your throat. “i mean, hi.”

remus looked around nervously. “yeah. hi.”

“GOOD MORNING!” slughorn boomed, somehow even more passionate than usual. there were a few murmurs of “good morning” and other halfhearted greetings, though slughorn wasn’t at all put off by the lack of enthusiasm.

“is it just me, or has he lost it?” you heard james whisper to peter from beside you. 

“has he ever had it?” peter rebuked, making you chuckle under your breath. lily looked over at you questioningly. you waved it off.

“as you all know, your o.w.l.s. are coming up, which is why the rest of our classes this year will be dedicated to content review.”

the class groaned.

“however!” slughorn beamed. “this year’s examinations will focus primarily on brewing and less on history, which means i will be making all essays worth a quarter less.

“instead, we will be focusing on more challenging in-class potions in partners. now, i understand that you’ve all been allowed to choose partners in the past; however, to ensure that your brewing capabilities are not dependent on a certain partner,” slughorn looked at avery and crouch in the back, “i will be randomly assigning different partners for each class.

“today, we will be brewing the wit-sharpening potion—godric knows some of you need it,” slughorn muttered, “and these will be the pairs:

“evans and pettigrew, potter and crouch…” james’ head fell to his hands in defeat.

“longbottom and mckinnon, y/n and snape…”

the four marauders and whipped their heads to you in mortification. lily saw their expressions and rolled her eyes. she patted your arm reassuringly. “aw, sev’s not so bad. he’s great at potions; you’ll be such a fantastic team!”

you smiled painfully at lily, nodding along. “yeah, i bet. thanks, lily.”

“…let’s get moving, folks! the group with the best potion will be exempt from the 3 page essay for homework.”

your eyes widened. you really wanted that exemption.

“severus!” you called out meekly. “hey, it’s good to see you… again.” the last time you’d seen snape was when he’d come looking for lily only to walk in on a conversation which mainly consisted of you airing out your distaste for the boy.

“do not call me severus.”

“a- alright then!” you tried your best to be optimistic. “shall i get the ingredients, or would you like to?”

“i’ll get them,” snape scowled. he dropped his voice to a bitter hiss.“i can’t deal with another incompetant muggle-born messing things up.”

you raised your eyebrows but remained silent. there was a time and place for picking fights, and it would do no good to sacrifice your potions grade over some carbon copy blood supremacist. plus, a bad grade would only fuel the misconception that muggle-borns were less capable.

snape returned, handling the ingredients like they were precious. “you can boil the water.” snape didn’t spare you a glance before beginning to cut up the ginger root. his cuts were slow and measuredd; snape sat back and examined his work smugly. when you glanced over at his handiwork, you scoffed. 

“it doesn’t matter how carefully you cut the ginger,” you sighed in disapproval, “if the pieces aren’t even.” you held up the two slices he’d cut, holding them in the air next to each other. “see, this one has a bump, which probably adds two or three grams. just because they’re the same length doesn’t mean they’re the same volume.”

snape narrowed his eyes at you. “do you really think i would’ve missed that? you’re not better than me. keep your little comments to yourself.”

you glared at him. “sure. why don’t you run and grab a scale, snape, and we’ll inspect your work.”

you were right: snape had cut the ginger pieces unevenly. you didn’t bother rubbing it in, knowing that just being proven wrong was a blow to his ego enough.

snape dropped the trimmed pieces into the cauldron and the two of you admired the nice green that the potion changed to. snape, who liked to remain emotionless, seemed to be surprised. you cheered internally. last class, slughorn had told snape his potion coloration was slightly dull. if it hadn’t been for your advice, this potion would’ve ended up the same way.

“armadillo bile,” you read off from the blackboard. “you can do that, if you want. i’ll prepare the scarab beetles.”

snape agreed, much to your surprise. you could hear snide comments from the back of the room emerge and snape’s willing compliance.

“taking orders from a mudblood, is he?”

“he’s such a humiliation.”

“dear salazar, bella would throw a fit if she was here.”

you paid them no mind. in fact, you found yourself enjoying the slytherins’ belittling of snape. they truly were gryffindor’s opposites; no loyalty to their follow housemates.

grinding the scarab beetles turned out to be an effective stress reliever. you fell into a comfortable rhythm with old mortar and pestle, almost missing the look remus flashed at you.

you caught his eye before he could look away, and remus mouthed, “how’s it going?”

you gave him an exaggerated look of distress in response. he covered his mouth, but you watched as his eyes turned into little crescent moons, indicating his laughter. you bit back a smile.

“quit whoring around with the half-blood,” snape spat. he eyed the powdered beetle shells disdainfully, and snatched the mortar from your hands. “merlin, you’re useless.”

you let snape sprinkle in the powder and from the corner of your eye, watched as he added more armadillo bile. you were reoccupied with watching the back of remus’ head as he bent over his steaming cauldron. remus waved a hand in front of his face to fan the steam from his eyes. his partner, mary, was giggling. their hands brushed as they both reached for more ginger root, and you found yourself tensing up.

“since you’re so particular about it, why don’t you cut up the rest of the ginger?” snape jeered, sliding the knife towards your side of the desk. you barely looked up before you began to cut. you could feel snape’s watchful gaze boring holes into your hands as he searched for any reason to ridicule you, but your hands were steady. you were confident in your potion-making abilities, and it showed.

“here,” you held out four nearly identical slices of ginger root to snape, and he picked them up from your palms delicately as if the slightest touch or brush over your skin would burn him like acid.

the potion turned a pale, buttery yellow. focused, deliberate clockwise spins of snape’s wand began to reveal a pigmented buttercup color. you tapped snape’s shoulder and he recoiled, but allowed you to take over the mixing. a couple more stirs and you were left with a rich ochre potion, which had reached a consistent temperature without much bubbling.

“this is wonderful; truly fantastic work!” slughorn commended, clapping his hands together. “you should be very proud of yourselves.” in your potion-brewing haze, you hadn’t realized that slughorn had already reviewed most of the class’ potions. james and barty crouch sat in front of a cauldron that seemed to be hissing, while frank and marlene high fived each other, satisfied with their average outcome.

“you may be dismissed! the two of you,” slughorn waved at you and snape, “please stay back. and miss evans, i’d like to speak to you as well. you’re not in trouble, don’t worry,” he chortled.

lily hurried to your side, taking your hand and squeezing it reassuringly. she seemed pleased to see snape and smiled at him kindly. snape nodded his head in response, his oily hair falling from where it’d been tucked behind his ear. he pushed it out of his face bashfully.

“as fifth year students, i’d like to invite you to what i call ‘the slug club.’ it’s named after me, see?” slughorn pointed at himself jovially. “i invite the most promising fifth, sixth, and seventh year students, and i’d like you all to attend. the three of you have demonstrated incredible ability in my classroom.

“now, i’m hosting the first slug club event of the year this sunday at eight in the spare room across from my office. it’s an important meeting; you’ll introduce yourselves and get to know each other. dinner will be served as well, so there’s no excuses! i expect to see you all there.” slughorn patted his belly happily and made his way back to his desk, excusing the three of you as he squeezed through the rows of tables.

lily was sprightly as she manuevered easily through the desks. you patted your satchel, making sure you’d packed everything up. snape, who was always in a rush to get out of the classroom, lingered.

you paid him no mind as you buttoned everything up and tightened your straps, slinging your bag over your shoulder. it clanked as it hit corners and sides of tables—fifth year textbooks were much thicker and heavier than the years before.

you could feel snape’s gloomy presence behind you, trailing along like the stubborn smell of smoke. he was going down the same row of tables you were, most likely to bother you. he was so close that you could feel his sticky breath on your neck; he smelled of salty sardines and wilted cabbage. you shuddered.

snape cleared his throat ostentatiously, and before you could move aside like any decent person would do, he shoved past you proudly. his bag, heavy laden with textbooks and other snape-y evil contraptions, hit your hip. the bag bounced off of your body and flapped open—he’d forgotten to fasten it—and out fell a small book. it thudded on the ground, but somehow, snape didn’t seem to notice. you didn’t think much of it; you weren’t inclined to chase him down and return it.

curious, you slipped it into your bag for further investigation.

the marauders were waiting for you outside the classroom. “what was that, thumper?” james slung an arm around your shoulder, leaning his body weight on you until your knees buckled. the two of you wobbled before james grabbed onto remus’ forearm and grounded himself.

“slughorn invited me to ‘the slug club. it’s for promising students,” you sneered mockingly. “please, what’s so promising about me? i’ve got a couple major felonies under my belt that i’ve yet to be prosecuted for?”

sirius laughed. “godric, i love you. where’ve you been all my life?”

“in the library, with remus.” you snuck a glance at the tall, brown haired boy to find him smiling down at you, eyes darting across your face.

“ugh, you two are so infuriating.” peter kicked his satchel, which had been lying on the ground, in annoyance.

“what?”

“why?”

“because,” peter droned, as if it was obvious, “you’re so perfect for each other. the two of you must be the smartest, stupidest blokes i’ve ever met.”

“that’s quite the oxymoron,” remus noted.

“see?” peter pointed. “proves my point!”

“i don’t understand why you haven’t just ki-”

lily saved you from a very awkward conversation. “y/n, babe!” she skipped towards you, elated. “you’re going to slughorn’s event, right? sev promised to be my date, and i think you should find someone too. it’ll be a blast!”

james sputtered. “sev? what the bloody hell is ‘sev?’” 

lily stared at him judgememntally. “…severus? sev, severus?”

sirius’ jaw dropped. “your date is snivellus?”

lily scowled. “how many times have i told you not to call him that? he’s not so bad—babe, tell them! he was nice during potions today, right?”

you stretched your lips into a thin, pained smile. “yeah, he was… civil.” you thought​​ that was a bit too generous.

“see?” lily sighed happily. “i don’t understand why you can’t give him a chance. he’s very nice once you get to know him, i promise.”

you nodded slowly, unconvinced. you looked at remus, who looked at james and sirius, who looked completely outraged.

“evans, please, don’t go with him. hey- hey! you could go with me! mcgonagall told me slughorn invited me too, during transfiguration. ditch snivellus, we’d have a much better time together,” james winked.

lily wrinkled her nose. “you’re rancid, potter.” she turned to you and her expression softened. “bye, y/n. see you later!”

“wait,” james paused, “you don’t have a date, right? will you be my date to slughorn’s… thing? pleaaaase, thumper?”

you grabbed james by the shoulders (which was admittedly a bit difficult, because he was much taller than you) and shook him. “no need to beg, prongs. i’m all yours.”

remus began tapping his foot.

taglist: check “about me” for more taglist info

@im-a-slut-for-fluff @bambamwolf87 @yourallihave @cowboibeepbeep @liszblog @springflwer07 @getawayfrommewerewolf @ilovehotdads69 @soumya-13 @emmaev @urgrandadsashes @girl-ln-green @vilentia @bibli0thecary @khayhuij @summer-noir

[nikkisixxsmissingpick]

Hi!!

Can you write about being Kirk’s gf maybe during AJFA era, they’re recording and she just had such a shit day, so she ends up going to the recording studio late at night, and James finds her and brings her to Kirk. She ends up confessing how she’s been feeling insecure and he comforts her? Just some good old fluff 🫶

Thank you 🙏

A/n:Hello! Ofc, this is such a cute concept! I'd like to remind you all that English isn't my first language, so that may be mistakes

Warnings: pet names(sweetheart), sexual implications by other people but nothing happens, swearing? And I think that's it, please tell me if there's anything more to point out

Everything has been going wrong today, from when you woke up and realized your walkman didn't had charged to now that all your groceries fell to the ground.

After you picked everything up and put it all in your car you got on the driver's seat and took a deep breath, resting your forehead on the steering wheel, tears started flooding your eyes but you wiped them very quickly when they rolled down your cheeks.

You thought maybe it would get better and as soon as the idea of starting the car appeared on your head someone tapped the glass of your window. You looked up to see a tall blonde man, realizing it's James you open the door and step outside.

"W-what are you doing here!?" You asked a bit startled at how suddenly he appeared.

"I mean, I was just passing by to get a pack of cigs and go back to the studio walking... And for a big coincidence I saw you and— are you okay?"

The tears go back to your eyes when you realize you hadn't called Kirk all day, all because you've been so immersed on how awful your day has been.

"no, I'm okay... Promise.... Want a ride to the studio?" You ask feigning a smile and pointing at the car with your head

James smiles at you sympathetically and gives a quick nod. You both get in the car and you turn on the radio, "N.I.B" by Black Sabbath plays on a low volume as you hum along the song.

After less than ten minutes you get to the studio, parking the car in front of it at the same time "mr.brownstone" by Guns N Roses finishes. You turn off the car and look at James, now more at peace knowing it might all get better when you get with the boys.

They are fun, you have to admit it, makes your day brighter

"here we are, might as well get going, right?"

James nods and you both get out the car and enter the studio. As you and the blonde get closer to the room you can hear the faint sound of someone arguing, you gulp audibly and take a deep breath again.

When the two of you get in the right room Kirk and Lars turn to look as Jason is absent on the scene

"well, look who the cat dragged in"

Kirk teases and walks to you, then he presses a kiss to your temple and you can hear both the other boys making gagging noises.

Kirk seems to notice the dry tears on your cheeks as he whispers a "you okay?" Next to you. You shake your head in a "more or less" kind of thing

"I'll be back"

Kirk announces and takes your hand on his, you can hear a "make sure to fuck quietly, we don't want to hear it" coming from Lars and a slap coming from what you assume is James hitting Lars, Kirk flips him off and starts guiding you down the hall and into a separated room.

"so? What happened, sweetheart? Bad day?"

he asks, sitting down with you on the couch and wrapping his arms around you. He rubs your back soothingly and tears start to fall again as you nod

"everything I've done today has been shit and I can't stand this anymore... I'm sorry I didn't call"

"no don't be sorry, the phone was off the hook anyway... Not because of you, because we didn't want any distractions and—"

You giggle a bit at his awkwardness, resting your head on his shoulder

"it's okay, I know it wasn't because of me... I would be surprised if James keept the phone on the hook"

He let's put a breathy laugh, holding you close to him, the moment is sweet, just resting next to each other

"thank you" You say lowly, Kirk looks at you with a raised eyebrow "for being here with me.... I love you"

Kirk's heart melts a little and he pecks your lips sweetly

"it's nothing... I love you too"

So this is kinda shit, just like readers day but you'll have to bate with it

[justsomerandomfanfic]

The Thief That Stole My Heart - Jasper Badun X GN Reader

Title: The Thief That Stole My Heart

Jasper Badun X GN Reader

Additional Characters: John, Cruella, Wink, and Artie (Mentioned)

Requested by @micheleamidalajedi!!

WC: 2,386

Warnings: Anxiety, nervousness, slight-embarrassment on both parts, Cruella is her own warnings, confession, and fluff

You quickly rushed down the long pebble driveway, your legs burning from all the walking you had to do to get to the Manor in the first place. Your day had started terribly. You woke up late, so you only had a little bit of time to get ready. You forgot your bag, so you had to get back into your apartment to get it. And you couldn't for the life of you get a taxi, so you had to walk all the way from your apartment to Hell Hall. Overall, you were having a terrible day, and you were hoping you wouldn't get fired on your first day. 

You met the amazing fashion designer, Cruella de Vil when you had been sketching at a small park. Somehow, by some miracle, the Cruella de Vil was in that very same park and had seen your work. And then, she offered you a job. You'd accepted immediately, and after the initial shock, and after she left, you almost screamed with joy. It was an odd experience, you never thought you would ever meet your fashion idol. 

So, here you were, out of breath, at the large double doors of the manor, and you were beyond nervous and hoped that you weren't late. Knocking on the door, you brushed your hair out of your face, and stood up straight. Brushing the nonexistent dust and grime from your outfit, the door opened. A man, whom you thought was possibly the butler or valet, gave you an odd look, probably because you were still slightly out of breath. 

"May I help you?" He then asked, and you nodded, giving the man a small sheepish smile.

"I'm Y/N L/N. I was recently hired by Miss de Vil as her designer assistant. I was told to meet her at eleven-thirty at Hell Hall." You explained quickly, before shrugging one shoulder, "Uh, I'm not late, am I?" He looked at you curiously again, but then shook his head slowly.

"No. You are ten minutes early," He said, looking down at his watch briefly before opening the door wider for you to enter. "Miss de Vil will see you now. I'll take you to her office."

"Um, thank you!" You replied, a tiny smile crossing your lips. "Um," You continued, clearing your throat, and entering the giant entranceway, "May I ask your name?"

"John." He answered simply, "Please, follow me."

You nodded, clutching your bag in front of you and following the man around the manor and up the lavish stairs. You couldn't stop staring at the beautiful masterpieces on the wall, and the elegant furniture in the hallways. Stopping at a door, John knocked on it, and your heart began to race when you heard Cruella say 'enter'. John opened the door for you and you gave him another small smile as a thank you before you entered the room. 

Cruella sat at her desk, writing or sketching something before she lifted her gaze, her brilliant eyes meeting yours. "Oh! Darling, you made it." She exclaimed, before gesturing for you to take a seat in a chair before her desk. 

You walked over, giving her a smile as you sat, "Yes, I'm sorry I'm a bit early." You laughed awkwardly as Cruella waved her black-gloved hand, dismissing your thoughts.

"Oh, never mind that. Better early than late. Now, let's get down to business." She spoke, clasping her hands together on her desk as she gave you a small smirk. "I'd like you to be my personal designer assistant. You'd help me with a few design choices, and run a few errands for me, nothing too strenuous. You may wear what you desire, just as long as it is professional. And you'll be working nine to five. And your break will be at twelve to one just like my other designers." Cruella finished, "Any questions?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow. 

You shook your head rapidly, feeling your mouth go dry as you fought to form words. "No, ma'am."

Cruella smiled slightly at your reaction, "Please, call me Cruella, darling. Now we can move on to more interesting topics. I know you live rather far from my workshop, so I have a... Proposition for you." You gulped, staying quiet as she continued, "You would start tomorrow, designing and making dresses with the rest of my team. You’ll meet Artie later, an absolute gem. And, I was thinking you could move in here.”

Your jaw dropped, 'Live... Here?" You asked, and Cruella nodded. "What about my apartment?" 

"Well," Cruella began, grabbing a few pieces of paper from her desk and handing them to you, "I already have spoken with a close friend of mine, and he will be able to hold a payment down on a house near Buckingham. So, once you are done working for me, you can move into this home." 

You looked at the paperwork in your hands, a few of the papers were written documents about your work plan, and the others were blueprints of the home, and the payment finalization. The home, from the pictures, was beautiful. You could imagine yourself living there, and being able to draw and paint all day. You looked up at Cruella, who watched you with a smirk on her red painted lips, "I don't want to intrude on anyone. And this is beyond kind but-" You said quietly, glancing around the room once again.

"My dear," She began, giving you a look, "This isn't some charity project. Instead of running back and forth from your apartment, you can stay here. I have the space. And, lastly, the home… Think of it as a gift.”

You felt like a fish out of water, as you looked up from the paperwork to Cruella, "That doesn’t really make any sense… But… Are... Are you sure?"

“Of course, darling!" Cruella exclaimed, "I don’t want you to have extra work."

You nodded slowly, looking to the side to think. It would be easier to live in the manor. Not having to walk back and forth, to and from everywhere you had to go. Plus, you would get to live in a Manor, that’s something not everyone has the chance to do. Looking back to Cruella, you smiled and nodded. “Alright.”

“Marvelous.” She clapped her hands together, standing up from her seat, she walked around her desk as you stood up. “Shall we find you a room?” She asked and you nodded.

Maybe, just maybe... You'd like it there...

~~~

Oh, who were you kidding? You loved it.

For the past couple of weeks, you drove with Cruella every weekday to work, running around London to bring her things she needed, giving her your opinion and input on certain designs she may have problems with. It was exciting, and you enjoyed helping her immensely. It was also very relaxing since Cruella didn't yell, or put you down, like your prior employers. Instead, she listened. Listened to you talk about your drawings and sketches, and cared about your opinions. Cruella even allowed you to design one of the outfits in her Summer Collection.

Sitting at your desk in your own small but special office, you sketched in your sketchbook. Humming to a song that was playing on the radio beside you, gently brushing your pencil across the page. Unconsciously sketching the man that you had your mind on. Your pencil softly shaded in his curly hair, before sketching the finishing touches of his eyes. At a soft knock at the door, your heart skipped a beat and you instantly smiled, looking up to see Jasper at your door, holding a brown paper bag. Jasper quietly entered, a small smile on his face.  

"Hello, Y/N.” He greeted you softly. You smiled brightly at him, and Jasper seemed to feel his smile grow slightly. Smiling back at you, Jasper closed the door behind him as he walked over to sit opposite you, placing the brown paper bag on the table in front of him. He glanced at your sketch of him, his stomach filling up with butterflies. "I see you missed me."

"Hi, Jasper," You sighed, before you quickly glanced at your drawing, shutting your sketchbook, "What's for lunch today?" You asked as Jasper opened the bag to reveal two sandwiches. 

Jasper sat the brown bag on the ground. "Sandwiches, for both of us." He replied and you nodded, sitting up in your chair, "I hope that's alright?" Jasper asked carefully, watching you curiously as he ate his sandwich.

You shrugged, "It doesn't matter to me." You said before taking a bite out of your sandwich. "It's delicious, though." You added, closing your eyes and humming contently as you chewed. Jasper watched you for a moment before continuing to eat his own meal. For the past couple of weeks, after you met Jasper, he'd come by to bring you and Cruella lunch. And most times he'd come by with tea or coffee. But, after a few weeks of that, Jasper would end up staying with you during lunch, eating his lunch with you. It was starting to become a routine. A wonderful routine you hoped would never end.

As you ate with Jasper in sweet silence, you thought back to when you first met him... 

~~~

As you walked down the stairs, Cruella had said John would take you home for the night, where you then could pack your belongings, and John would help with the rest. Waiting for John to return with your coat, you clasped your hands together as you rocked back and forth on the heels of your shoes. Looking around the very spacious room, when your attention landed on the scurrying Chihuahua, Wink. Waddling up to you, you bent down, and gently scooped up the dog, holding the small pup in your arms. As you softly pet the dog, you heard footsteps and glanced up, seeing a tall man awkwardly standing in the entryway.

You tilted your head slightly, finding the man in front of you rather handsome. Him, being tall, lean, with slight stubble. But most importantly... His piercing brown eyes... They were almost hypnotizing.

“Hi…” He spoke up for the first time, rubbing the nape of his neck.

“Hello…” You greeted softly, continuing to pet Wink. You had seen him around the manor for the past three days, but never had the time to say hello.

“So, I just wanted to introduce myself properly…" He spoke, stepping forward a bit. “My name is Jasper, it’s nice to meet you.” He spoke with a smile and you giggled.

“Well, my name is Y/N, it’s nice to meet you too.” You spoke, passing Wink to one side and reaching your hand out and the man took it with a soft shake.

Cruella then walked in with John, who was holding your coat, and greeted the two in the entryway. John handed you your coat after you gently placed Wink down. 

"All ready to go ma’am?” John asked and you nodded.

Turning back to Jasper, you smiled. “It was nice talking to you, Jasper.”

With a shy smile, Jasper nodded and walked backward, continuing the eye contact. “Uh yeah. It was nice talking to you too-.” He spoke, bumping into the wall behind him. Biting your bottom lip, you tried to hide your smile, as Jasper pointed behind him to the door, Jasper sputtered his words nervously. “Um, yeah. I’m just… I’m just gonna go.” He spoke before scurrying out the door into another room, Wink following close behind.

Gazing at the doorway where he had left, you quickly realized that John and Cruella were still there and were waiting for you. Turning around, you blushed heavily, brushing your hair away from your face, glancing from Cruella and to the ground. “Um, sorry. Shall we?”

Cruella smirked and nodded as John grabbed his hat.

The both of you then put on your coats and headed out the door. Hopping into the car, you looked down at your hands, nervously tangled together, again. Her mind was racing with embarrassment, and worry. Cruella watched you with a knowing gleam in her eyes, smirking.

~~~

Jasper watched you, curious about what you were thinking about. Your eyes were on your sketch, a small smile on your face. Jasper sighed, leaning his hand on his chin, gazing at you. "What are you thinking about?"

You looked up, blinking momentarily, realizing he was speaking to you. "Oh, um, nothing really." You responded softly, "Just when I met you." You smirked lightly as Jasper's eyes widened and he cleared his throat, turning his gaze away from you.

"Really?" He asked, trying to sound surprised. The way that you looked at him, made his stomach twist with excitement and nervousness.

You nodded, smiling brightly, "Yeah, I guess I just can't believe it's real, you know?" You asked, looking up at him. Your eyes were bright and happy, as you gazed at him.

Jasper felt his cheeks flush as he spoke, "Real, love?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Yeah." You answered softly, "And not just in my dreams... But right here and now..." You sighed, fiddling with the plastic wrapper of your now-eaten sandwich, "I am just so happy that I met you, Jas." You muttered as Jasper's blush deepened as he stared at you. Feeling himself get lost in your eyes once more, he chuckled and scratched the back of his neck.

"Y/N/N," He started, "I'm glad I met you too." A small smile crossed his lips, as he held the back of his neck, watching you. "I'm really glad." He whispered and you smiled, nodding your head. He chuckled softly. "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?" He asked, shifting slightly.

You hummed, tapping your fingers against your thigh. "No, why?"

He grinned and shifted again. "Well... I was hoping that maybe you and I could go to dinner. You know, when I watched you walk in the room for the first time, my heart went boom." Jasper admitted, glancing towards the window, avoiding meeting your gaze.

"Dinner?" You repeated, raising an eyebrow at Jasper. Jasper looked down, feeling slightly awkward, and slightly scared. "Like... Like a date?" You teased, nudging Jasper's hand playfully with yours.

"If you want it to." He murmured and you laughed softly, nodding your head.

"I would love to."

[gi-maeve-rose]

But Valeria wasn’t ready to go home and turn in quite yet. She stood at her door for at least a minute and a half before continuing down the hall to another unit. Her fist hammered drunkenly against the door as she leaned against the frame.

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

Friday, October 28th, 9:32PM

Valeria planted a solid kiss to Isabella’s temple before she handed her two backpacks; one full of schoolwork, the other with a change of clothes. Set for a sleepover with her best friend. “Call me if you need anything, okay?” she reminded. “There’s three-hundred dollars cash in your toiletries bag, two-hundred in the debit card. Keep your location on, m—“

“Make sure my phone is charged if I go out, don’t walk after dark, stick to the main roads if I have no choice,” Isabella finished for her sister, the instruction committed to memory. She pulled back from Valeria’s embrace, smiling up at her. “I know, Val.”

Thirteen going on thirty. It seemed like only yesterday that Valeria took Isabella home, just the two of them against the world. She didn’t know the first thing about raising a kid back then, but she gave it everything she had, gave Isabella everything she had. There were so many nights that Valeria stayed awake in bed, crying into her pillow because she didn’t know what the next day would bring. She was just a kid herself, thrown into adulthood. What did she know about taking care of a toddler?

Close to nothing, but when she woke up every morning and saw the sweet smile of that baby girl, her worries didn’t exist anymore. As long as Isabella was alive and smiling. She was Valeria’s entire world, and she would do anything to keep that world spinning. Smiling nostalgically, Valeria laid another kiss to her baby sister’s forehead. “Of course you do,” she agreed. “Have fun, okay? I’ll pick you up Monday.” She watched as Isabella scampered off across the sidewalk and up the stairs of the brownstone, waving her off until the door closed. She sighed, forcing herself to head back to the car.

Not a moment after just barely getting the car door open, a voice called her name. It struck her like a bullet in her lung. Breathing felt like fiberglass in her lungs, her blood like ice. Don’t turn around. But her body moved on its own, terror filled eyes catching smiling blue eyes, a sinister evil hidden in the depths. His smile was still just as charming and deadly. “Look at you,” Connor mused. “All grown up.”

Sick. She felt sick. Did he see Isabella? Did he see which building she went into? Was he following her? “I told you to leave me alone,” she growled, voice kept low to keep the wavering undetectable.

Connor chuckled, shaking his head and tilting his head. “Come on, Val. I just wanna chat. Can’t we do that?” He reached out to touch her arm.

On instinct, Valeria smacked his arm away. Rage replaced fear, jaw set tight. Her nails dug into her palm as her hand balled into a tight fist. She was sick of being afraid, sick of running and hiding. “Cut the shit, Davis,” she hissed, finally standing up to him. “We both know who you are, what you are. You may have been able to fool C.O.s and judges and God knows who else, but it’s public record what a disgusting piece of shit you are, and you and I both know that will never change.” The shock on Connor’s face was near priceless, spurring her on. “In case you didn’t know yet, I’m a cop, so I would think twice about fucking with me, if I were you. You’re already on parole. Do yourself a favor and stay far the fuck away from me. I won’t tell you twice.”

The facade fell. Surprise turned into a black look, the man Valeria once knew making a return, but this time without a mask. Connor was already made as a monster. There was no reason to continue to put on a front. He nodded slowly. “Fine,” he rumbled. “But I’m not letting this shit go, Valeria. You took ten years of my life away from me.” He stepped close, close enough to hear her heart hammer in her chest, her breaths shake with fear. “And I intend to return the favor.”

Valeria held her ground as best she could, but as Connor was walking away, everything felt like it was spinning. Her blood was ice cold in her veins, every organ in her body felt like they were dropping to the dirt. She was careful as she lowered herself down into the car, eyes squeezed shut, trying to rip herself awake from the nightmare. There was no way this was happening. He couldn’t really be that stupid, could he? Would he really risk—

Her phone rang and Valeria shrieked. God dammit… Anger and guilt introduced themselves into the mix of fear. It was one thing to always be alert, but now she was paranoid, every little thing setting her off. “Castillo,” she said, not even realizing that she’d answered her phone.

“Hey, it’s Sonny.” As if caller ID didn’t exist. “You still dropping off Bella?”

She let out a dry laugh. “You know she hates that nickname,” she scolded lightheartedly. “And I actually just dropped her off. I was about to head home.”

“Maybe you can head to the bar instead?” he suggested. “Just for a few drinks, for your birthday. I know it’s not until Monday, but we wanna do something nice for you.”

Speechless again, but in a better way than Connor left her. Even just on the phone with a partner, she felt safe. So tell him. Tell him what happened. “I don’t know. All that paperwork today, I kinda just wanna go home and unwind.”

Carisi groaned. “Come on, Val,” he begged. “One drink. You know your coworkers can be your friends too, right?”

Of course he was right again. That was starting to get annoying. As much as she didn’t want to celebrate her birthday, who was she to deny that for her friends? “Alright, fine. I’ll be there in twenty.” She hung up, dropping her phone back into her purse. Valeria knew the rational thing to do was to tell her coworkers, her boss. She knew better than to keep this quiet from the squad.

But did she really? The whole drive to the bar, she was watching herself in the mirror, rehearsing lines in her head if someone asked how she was doing. She even took extra time in the car until she believed it herself that she was okay. Deep breaths. Fix your hair. Smile. Valeria walked into the bar, head held high as she made her way toward the corner booth in the back. For the time being, she really did believe things were alright, seeing her squad waiting for her. “How did you guys even know my birthday was coming up?” she quipped, squeezing into the booth next to Sonny.

Sonny laughed, wrapping his arm around her in a side hug and sliding her a drink. “Hey, just be grateful we didn’t throw you a party.”

“It was two to two. Fin and Liv talked me and Carisi out of it,” Amanda explained, giving her lieutenant and sergeant a playful side glare. Though deep down, she was also a little grateful that she didn’t have to go through the hassle of wrangling everyone for a party.

Valeria hummed, downing the pint in one go. Probably not the best idea on an empty stomach, but she had the whole weekend to herself. She held confidence that she could let herself go for a bit, in good faith that Isabella was safe. Time for herself. Time to unwind.

•••••••••••••••

Saturday, October 29th, 12:00AM

She was definitely not the party girl she use to be, if she ever was one. Sure, she could drink any man under the table, but it was easier when she wasn’t surrounded by loud music and sports channels. But with the stress of Davis’s threat, Valeria was able to push past those minor grievances and drink probably way more than she should’ve. Olivia had driven her home, leaving her car at the bar. Already that felt like Valeria was losing control, so she insisted that she would be able to make it up to her apartment on her own. Win some, lose some.

But Valeria wasn’t ready to go home and turn in quite yet. She stood at her door for at least a minute and a half before continuing down the hall to another unit. Her fist hammered drunkenly against the door as she leaned against the frame.

Rafael was also more of a night owl. The cases he’d dealt with in court, the nightmares he’d seen. Hell, he wasn’t even defending those people, but just being within their vicinity took up a good portion of his mind enough to keep him up late. And how did he help it? By reviewing more cases. The man was a workaholic by nature. Even if there was nothing to work on, he’d find something. In the midst of doing so, he was pulled away from his file nest he’d made on his bed, pulling on a plain white T-shirt and his recently worn slacks as he head for the door. It wasn’t unusual for for anyone to call for him at late hours, but it was unusual when they were drunk. Rafael’s face was riddled with confusion when he opened the door to see Valeria held up by the doorframe. “Val? ¿Estás bien?”

She giggled, swaying against the wood. “Si, si. Muy bien,” she slurred. “Can I come in?” This was a very bad idea. The sober voice in the back of her mind was screaming it from the bottom of the bottle that she emptied. But that didn’t stop her from stumbling into Rafael’s apartment. It was almost exactly how she imagined. It was his office, just expanded into a livable state. “Do you ever leave work at the office?” she teased him about it.

Rafael huffed a laugh, closing the door. He hasn’t seen her this drunk before. It was slightly worrisome, but he was confident he knew her well enough to know how to keep things running smooth. He would still tread carefully, however. Valeria seemed… unstable. “Is that a complaint? As a guest?”

Valeria blew a raspberry, flopping down on his couch. “Please. It’s when I stop complaining about you that you need to be worried. Means I really don’t like you.”

“You really came here just to bully me,” Rafael laughed, heading to the kitchen to get her a glass of water.

“Aww, come on. You strike me as a guy that likes dominant women.” Jesus, she was really drunk. Her filter was completely disintegrated. “You weren’t at the bar tonight.”

His brows raised, momentarily confused as he set the water down on the coffee table. “Was I suppose to be?”

A tiny shrug. “Carisi wanted to get drinks for my birthday. The whole squad was there.” She grabbed the water, looking down into the clear glass. “I kinda expected you to be there.” She wanted him to be there. Valeria didn’t want much from anyone, much less men. A side effect from having her case being public record was the pitiful stares she got, a million and one offers to help her out. Some of them were thoughtful. Help with rent, a babysitter for Isabella, a home cooked meal every few nights. Other offers were just straight up insulting, offering to take Isabella to a home where she’d grow up with a mother and father. A ‘proper’ home, as they called it. Eventually she stopped listening to and taking any offers. She wanted to prove she could do it all on her own. She didn’t need anything, she didn’t want anything.

But she wanted Rafael there. The one she gave the worst attitude to, and Valeria wanted him around the most for her birthday. “Well… If it’s any consolation, I didn’t even know you were at the bar tonight. No one told me anything.” But that didn’t stop him from feeling guilty.

Valeria shook her head, sipping the water. “Pretty sure that’s my fault,” she admitted. “They probably think I still can’t stand you. I am pretty mean to you.”

“But it’s all in good fun,” he defended. “It’s not like we want to kill each other. Or at least I hope so.”

Valeria laughed. “Don’t worry, I can tolerate you enough to let you live.” She leaned into him, bumping shoulders. “And I like my squad, but… I don’t know. I appreciate them wanting to do something for me, but at the same time, I just…”

Her birthday was a sore spot. Rafael remembered the conversation well. It was the first time he saw a glimpse of her heart through the stone walls she’d built around it. He read the files on her case front to back, and all the personal notes were more or less the same. Valeria was strong, determined. He just worried how much she could take before she broke.

But that wasn’t his call to make. It was up to her to ask for help. His offer was always on the table. And for now, it seemed all she needed was a distraction. “I don’t suppose you dance, do you?” he asked suddenly to cut the silence.

Valeria blinked, confusion contorting her face more dramatically while she was drunk. “Dance?” she repeated in question. “First of all, that’s an offense that you ask me that, like I’m not from the island. Second…” Another pause, her eyes shutting for a moment as she tried to come up with a second point. She snorted a laugh, shaking her head. “I got nothing. Yeah, I dance.”

Rafael chuckled, leaving back to his room to grab his cell phone. Before he even came back, Como La Flor by Selena started playing, Valeria beaming and squealing and laughing excitedly as she pushed herself up off the couch. Rafael laughed again, catching her as she stumbled. “You sure you had enough to drink?” he poked fun, holding Valeria steady against him as he lead their dance. He truly didn’t mind, though. He’d rather her be drunk and smiling than any combination of sad or scared.

“I don’t care if it’s a cliché stereotype, Selena is a musical goddess.” Valeria hung off Barba, looking like those drunk bimbos she always made fun of at the bars. She sang along, music and alcohol in her veins.

She was just full of pleasant surprises. He couldn’t remember the last time he smiled like this. What made it better was knowing when she sobered up, he would be able to tease the ever loving shit out of her about it. “I don’t know. What about J-Lo?” he asked, laughing when she gasped.

“You can’t pin the two against each other like that!” she whined. “That’s not fair!” She shoved against his chest, stumbling backward with a yelp.

“Jesus Christ, be careful,” Rafael laughed, grabbing her around the waist to keep her from falling.

Before either of them knew it, Valeria’s lips were on his. Beer on her breath and scotch on his, mixing into a dangerously aphrodisiacal blend. Rafael forgot everything in that moment, Valeria’s touch lighting every nerve in his body on fire. Rafael’s hands gripped and clawed at her leather jacket, arms tight around her, pulling her closer against him as her own bunched his shirt in her grip, back arched and body pressed into him.

It was all only a matter of time before the tension between them blew up like this. Valeria felt it since the night in her own apartment, she just didn’t want to let herself realize it. But the second their tongues dance, the way Rafael held her body against the wall with his, it was over. She was undone, just as she tried to undo their clothes.

How she managed to get so deep under his skin so quick a was fucking phenomenon. It took years for him and Olivia to just be friends, yet only a few months later knowing Val and his hands were pushing up her bra, reaching into the back of her pants, hands full of breast and ass.

But of all the ways this came to fruition… “Valeria, wait,” he panted through kisses, forcing himself to stop. “Wait. Stop. We have to stop.” Rafael managed to pull back just enough, an arm around her waist and the other against the wall to keep them both steady and grounded, a regretful look in his eyes. “You’re drunk. We can’t.”

Well if that wasn’t sobering, nothing was. Rationality flooded back into her senses, haziness turning clear. Valeria felt herself growing hot with utter embarrassment. “Oh… Oh, my God, I’m— I’m so—“ And then came the sickness, and the last thing she was going to let happen was making a mess of vomit all over his hardwood floor. She pried herself away from Rafael, hands in her hair as she took deep, yet rapid breaths. “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking. I just— I didn’t—“

No. No, no, no. Valeria’s panic made him panic. “Valeria, just breathe, it’s okay.” He took a step toward her, hands out to her. “It’s okay, you didn’t do anything wrong, we just—“

“I’m so sorry, Rafa, I—“ What else could she say? Could she say anything that didn’t end up with her foot in her mouth or embarrassing herself even more? Shit… The contents of her stomach bubbled. She had to leave. Valeria bolted for the door, throwing it open and rushing out, back to her apartment. She just barely made it inside and to the bathroom.

Leaving Rafael in his own apartment, stunned, breathless, and… He sighed roughly, pushing his hands over his face and through his hair, trying to will away the strain in the front of his slacks, to no avail. Christ alive, this was already a whirlwind. Rationally, he knew the best course was to put distance between the two of them. Draw a line and make sure to never cross it. But he hadn’t felt like this about someone since… Shit, since Yelina. No name could make him smile just hearing it, no woman was ever on his mind the first thing in the morning and last thing at night like Yelina was.

Until Valeria. Her take-no-shit attitude, golden heart, determination, and confidence. It was a rare combination he saw in very few women, especially the ones who had been through so much. Or was either that or they gave up completely, let someone else take the reigns. But not Valeria. Every little thing to knock her down just gave her ammunition to stand back up again. Fuck… Fuck, she was near perfect. There was no way he would be able to keep himself away from her. He was in deep.

[sylphidine]

[NDU] Memory Retrieval

@rotgsecretsanta

A very merry happy everything to all those in the Nightmare Dork University fandom, and especially for the person who requested prompt#96 in the ROTG Stocking Stuffer event for 2022!

May the good ship Nightmare Galleon forever sail.

____________________

The Fall Ball was over.

Six solid weeks of weekend lacrosse scrimmages had come and gone, and Pitchiner was ready to spend the remaining Saturdays and Sundays of the semester sleeping in. 

Preferably curled up in full-bodied spoon fashion around a certain bony, snarky drama king who had a ridiculously poor circulatory system.

On the second Saturday of November, Pitchiner woke from yet another one of those dreams where he was stalked and mocked by a gigantic and ruthless galactic pirate who wore his face. Disoriented, he reached a hand out to pull Pitch closer to his body for reassurance, and encountered cold sheets and empty space where Pitch should be.

He clamped his lips shut before he could do anything as embarrassing as calling out for his roommate. As it was so often said, that way lay madness. Murphy’s law would almost definitely take over and triumph, in the form of Proto and his damned bat-sharp ears answering Pitchiner’s call instead.

So, as much as he did not want to be vertical this early, Pitchiner swung his legs over the side of the bed and scrounged through the rumpled piles of clothing on the floor for some boxers and a T-shirt. Dressed enough to satisfy decency standards if anyone rang the buzzer for their flat, he padded on bare feet down the hallway towards the living room.

And that’s where he found Pitch. 

The shorter man was seated on the couch, hunched over his laptop. A full steaming cup of black coffee and a plate of biscotti sat on the coffee table in front of him. When Pitchiner’s shadow fell over him, Pitch tilted his head upwards in acknowledgement, but kept staring at the screen, an expression somewhere between disbelief and desperation etched on his angular face.

“Whatcha up to, babe?” Pitchiner asked, trying to keep his tone light. The scene in front of him - the coffee, the biscotti, the taut focus on his bedmate’s face - had all the warning signs of Pitch launching himself into yet another bout of overworking, which could end up triggering another seizure incident. That was something Pitchiner would give an arm and a leg to avoid experiencing again.  Once was enough, thank you.

“Wracking my brains to figure out what approach to take with Professor Izzilee’s second-to-last assignment,” Pitch replied, finally turning his body to look Pitchiner fully in the eye. “I either need a time machine, or to create a non-existent childhood experience.”

“Come again?” Pitchiner flopped onto the couch next to Pitch, narrowly avoiding knocking the coffee table with his knees. Pitch looked daggers at him and snatched his mug out of harm’s way, taking a deep swig before answering. “This is for the ‘Nihil Noctem’ course I’m taking, and the assignment is to write about a Saturday morning cartoon that frightened me as a child.”

“That sounds cool!  What’s the problem?”

“The problem is that neither Piki nor I ever watched Saturday morning cartoons.”

Pitchiner blinked and shook his head. “Why does that not surprise me?” For that, he received a sharp poke in the ribs with Pitch’s bony elbow.

“I know what you’re thinking, that the offspring of rich people are too high and mighty and above it all to do something as plebeian as view cartoons. But it was more than that. Have I mentioned that my brother and I had a nanny until we were ten?”

“Uh huh.  Again, not a surprise.”

“Shut it. I’m trying to make a point. Nanny Phoebe was a lot more attuned to us as children than our parents were. She’s the one that noticed that Piki’s eyesight was weaker than mine, and she’s the one who picked up on the fact that certain smells would trigger my headaches, like carpet cleaning fluid and furniture polish. So she’s the one that kept us from watching television, not because she thought it was evil, but because she figured out, a lot earlier than most people did, what lights and sounds should be filtered for children with our particular circumstances.”

 “Huh.  That’s impressive on her end, but I’m still kind of sad that you missed out on so much good stuff.”

“Oh, you don’t have to be. Horseback riding, music, reading… those are nothing to sneeze at for childhood activities.”

“Yeah, but.” Pitchiner slung an arm around Pitch and pulled him roughly against his side as he said, “that means that I’m just going to have to fill in the gaps in your education, so that you don’t let Professor Izzilee down.”

Pitch made a grumbling noise as he practically fell into Pitchiner’s lap.  “And how do you propose to do that? Do you actually have a time machine hidden around here?”

“Nope.  But I am going to introduce you to something that scared the living shit out of ME as a kid, and I will BET that it will keep your attention even now.”

“Is all this… paraphernalia really necessary?” Pitch demanded crankily, two hours later.

“Absolutely necessary,” Pitchiner shot back. “I can’t recreate YOUR childhood, but I can recreate mine, and you can borrow it for your assignment.”

“Hmmmm. You may have a point. It’s not too hard for me to imagine myself young and powerless, especially in this ridiculous garb.”

“You look adorable, sweetcheeks. And Purradox and Tarminator are comfy, aren’t they?”

“Yes, yes.” Pitch grudgingly accepted the kiss Pitchiner planted on top of his head. 

They each wore a pair of footie pajamas that Pitchiner had found at the department store in town. They sat cross-legged on the floor with their backs leaning against the couch, a pug dog and a longhaired cat cuddled on their laps, a blanket fort canopied over their heads.  Pitchiner had a bowl of disgustingly sugar-laden cereal next to him that he ate with his fingers. Pitch couldn’t quite unbend that far to “get into the experience”, as Pitchiner put it, but he had to admit to himself that this was actually not too awful a way to spend time together. 

[Particularly since Proto had apparently left the flat while they were out shopping, and had left a note that he wouldn’t be back until tomorrow.  Small blessing, but Pitch would take one wherever he could.]

Pitchiner pointed the remote at their entertainment center, and the DVD started to play. An animated action sequence with an appropriately-synched soundtrack unfolded, fading into a title card that read “The Invisible Monster”, with the credited year given as 1965.

He observed Pitch’s reactions to what they were watching, rather than watching an episode he knew by heart. It pleased him to see how quickly Pitch immersed himself in the story, rather than the scoffing dismissal Pitchiner had expected. At one point Tarminator barked in response to a dog barking on screen, but other than a quick “ssshhh”, Pitch didn’t change his posture. 

Both animals left the room about halfway through the episode. Pitchiner grinned to himself. As a kid, he hadn’t known about infrasonics, but he wasn’t surprised that Purradox and Tarminator had noped out when the incidental music hit those low-frequency tones. 

To all appearances, Pitch was mesmerized by the manifestation of the invisible monster’s heavy footprints in the dirt, small smoking craters accompanied by crashing noises as the soundtrack cranked up the eerie mood. And then the scene came where the heroes poured paint over the creature so that it could be seen. 

Okay, this is make-or-break time, Pitchiner thought to himself. Either Pitch would dismiss the whole rest of the show as silly, or he would find it just as nerve-wracking as Pitchiner had when he first saw it all those years ago.

On the screen the heroes defeated the monster with the application of science, and returned to their ordinary lives.  The episode’s credits rolled, and the smaller man leaned against the larger man’s shoulder. Pitchiner didn’t know whether Pitch was even aware he’d done so, and decided to let it ride rather than mocking him.

After a few minutes Pitch finally spoke. “I think I must have actually seen this once upon a time, because I’ve had nightmares about an electrical phantom.”

“Really?” “Of course I can’t be sure. But I think so. I doubt I could have dreamed up that strange flowing, glitching movement without some inspiration.” 

“Told ya it would freak you out, if you could put yourself back in the mind of the kid you could have been.”

Pitch stretched his arms out and wriggled his backside against the couch, a movement that did happy things to Pitchiner’s insides, saying, “I think I’ve got a direction to go in now with this project. Thank you for showing me this.”  

“Need a hand getting off the floor?”

“I hate to admit it, but yes.”

“No sweat.” Pitchiner scrambled to his feet and scooped Pitch up into his arms in a bridal carry. Of course Pitch squawked a bit, but Pitchiner leaned his head down to shut him up with a sloppy kiss. When they both broke for air, Pitchiner said, “I think I’ve had enough kid stuff today. Wanna help me find MY one-eyed monster?”

“You. You’re insatiable." Pitch gave a long-suffering sigh. "Let’s go.”

[gracefulsunflower]

CONTRARY - FINN SHELBY X READER; PART 18

PUBLISHED: 03/06/2022

!!FIRST PART HERE!!

Part 1

MASTERLIST

READER'S POV

I woke up to the sound of someone retching. I shot up, and Finn was leaning over the bed, so I shuffled over to him and rubbed his back until he got it all out.

"Did you get any on the sheets?" I asked, and he shook his head, taking deep breaths.

"You stay here, I'll clean this and grab you some water," I told him, giving him a final pat on the back and walking off to the bathroom.

I grabbed our toothbrush cup from the bathroom and placed our toothbrushes on the sink, filled the cup up with water and took it back in to Finn.

He took the cup gratefully, cleaning his mouth and spitting it into the bin. I looked through the door and saw the sunlight filtering through my window.

I left our doors open so I could feel some breeze while sleeping. I had closed the curtains around Finn's bed before going to sleep, although I was sure he wouldn't wake up from the light.

"Want to go back to sleep for a bit?" I questioned softly, climbing back into bed with him.

"Yeah," He mumbled, eyes half closed as he snuggled into me.

I heard the phone ring, and cursed, clambering out of bed and walking down the hall.

I picked up the phone with an annoyed "Hello?"

"(Y/N). Arthur's body is going around town in a wagon. On today. Starts at ten o'clock; on the dot, go to Polly's and stand outside with her. Don't be late." Tommy instructed coldly, then hung up the phone.

I looked down at the phone in shock, setting the mouthpiece back down on the receiver and walking down the hall, looking through my clothes and finding a black dress. I set it on my bed and shut the door, not wanting the cat to put his fur all over it. I looked at the time. Seven o'clock. That gave us two and a half hours to get ready, allowing a half hour for travel, even though we wouldn't really need the full half hour to drive down to Watery Lane.

I lit the fire, and headed back down to Finn's room, and grabbed the bin. I cleaned it out in the bath, washing the contents down the drain, then disinfecting both the bath and the bin.

I then decided to have a quick shower, putting on my underclothes, as well as doing my routine of putting on cream and deodorant, then wrapping my robe around me before I wrapped my wet hair into a towel turban to keep it out of the way, and headed towards the phone, flipping through the phone book until I found the number for Charlie's Yard.

Finn had stayed with Charlie after everyone else moved away, so I was sure he would know what my husband liked eating most.

The operator patched me through, and to my surprise, Curly picked up with a 'Charlie Strong's Yard, Curly speaking, how may I help?'

"Hello? Curly, it's (Y/N)," I greeted, twirling the cord around my finger, "Erm, would you happen to know what Finn likes best for breakfast?"

"Oh, hello Miss (Y/N)! Yeah, Finn, he likes omelettes with bits of bacon, onion, tomato, and mushroom. He likes fried potato too." Curly replied cheerfully.

"Thank you Curly, you look after yourself today, alright?" I commanded lightly, shifting my weight from foot to foot.

"Yeah, I will," He responded, now somber, "I got to go get horse ready to take the wagon, bye."

"See you later," I said, then ended the call.

I walked over to the fridge, and found the bacon, mushrooms, and tomatoes, but didn't find any onion in the wooden crate. I found potatoes, thankfully.

I huffed, and looked down at the cat, who was laid in front of the fire, purring contentedly. I grabbed his cat food and put it down in his bowl, and realised that I'd have to get an onion from somewhere.

"For fucks sake," I grumbled as I slipped on my slippers, and exited the apartment, heading next door and knocking.

The door was opened by an old lady, Miss Bird. Finn told me that she was a spinster who killed her sweetheart and took his money. I didn't disbelieve him, she looked downright evil. He also said that she hid a revolver in her shawls. That I fully believed, without hesitation. Evil old hag.

"What do you want?" She snapped, eyeing me up and down.

"I need to borrow an onion, I'll give you one of ours when we go shopping next, honest," I informed her, and she tried to close the door on me, but I stopped her, swinging it wide open and looking at her with narrowed eyes.

"Listen, you fucking middle-class cow, my husband wants an omelette with onion in it for breakfast, and he's going to get it, so let me take an onion; by order of the Peaky Blinders, before I kill you and feed that annoying bird of yours to my cat." I hissed, making her totter over to the kitchen and grab an onion, speeding back and giving it to me.

"Thank you for your service!" I said cheerfully, then went back to my own apartment.

I took my hair out of my towel turban and placed the towel back in the bathroom, then headed out to the kitchen and peeled the potatoes, sliced them then put them in a small frying pan. I got started with the omelette, chopping everything up, mixing it in with the eggs, then tipped it into the big frying pan. I heard Finn come padding up the hallway and reached over, switching the kettle on, listening to it boil.

Finn came up and stood behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist and looking over my shoulder as I turned over the potato slices.

"Tommy said Arthur's funeral's on today at ten. If you go and grab your clothes I can iron them for you. I want us to be out of the house by nine-thirty, quarter to ten latest. We've got to go to Polly's and stand with her, Tommy's orders." I told the boy, and he hummed in acknowledgment.

I flipped the omelette successfully, and cheered.

"This for me?" Finn asked, his breath tickling my ear.

"Yeah. Want toast with it?" I asked, and he scrunched up his nose, shaking his head.

"I'll be full enough." He stated, and I nodded, putting the omelette on his plate, and placing it under the grill to keep warm, then cooking my own.

By the time I was done cooking my omelette, the potato slices were ready, and I plated everything up, made him and I our coffee and tea, then we sat at the table.

I looked up at the clock. Eight o'clock. That gave us an hour and a half to eat our breakfast, iron the clothes, for me to do my hair, and Finn to shower. The boy only took five minute showers, so we had plenty of time.

Finn tasted his coffee, and his eyebrows shot up.

"Is it not okay?" I asked as I cut my omelette up.

"It's fine — I didn't know you knew how I liked my coffee." He admitted, picking up a potato slice and popping it into his mouth.

"I've seen you make it enough times that I figured it out," I muttered, then started eating my own food.

We ate in a comfortable silence, listening to the crackling of the fire and the cat purring.

"I didn't think we had onion," Finn commented after he ate the last of his food, and I chuckled.

"We didn't. I bullied the bird for some." I admitted, making Finn laugh as I scooped up both of the plates, and took them to the sink.

"I'll grab my clothes and wash up the plates, you've already had a shower," Finn protested, getting up from his seat and heading over to the sink.

I walked to the end of the kitchen bench, and pushed on the planks softly, sending it swinging back towards me, revealing a small cupboard which held our washing machine, and a small shelf to sit detergent and other chemicals on. I grabbed the iron from on top of the machine, and the old, thick sheet we threw over the dining table so we could iron on it.

I grabbed the extension cord, throwing it over my arm, then shutting the cupboard. I laid the sheet out, placed the iron on it, filled it up with water, then plugged it into the extension, then plugged the extension in next to the kettle.

Finn brought his clothes out, and I lead the cat to my room, locking him in there after I grabbed my dress, just for the time I was ironing the clothes.

I ironed Finn's suit and coat first, then placed them on the hangers and walked them down to his room, then ironed my own dress and coat, getting dressed straight away, then packing away the iron, sheet, and extension cord.

I looked up at the clock. An hour left. I walked down the corridor and grabbed Finn's brush off of his dresser. I detangled my now dry hair, and pulled it down into a low bun. I headed into my own room, Finn Junior curled up and asleep on his bed, and grabbed a pair of good shoes out of the wardrobe, slipping them onto my stocking covered feet.

I looked up to see Finn exiting the bathroom, his towel sitting low on his waist as he entered his room, his curly hair still dripping wet.

I headed into the bathroom, and brushed my teeth. I saw Finn's toothbrush was still dry. I frowned. He'd be brushing his teeth before he left. I walked back into my room, putting my earrings on, and my ring. I shut my window, and locked it, then closed the curtains, sending the room into darkness. Finn exited his room, fully dressed and his hair done.

"You're brushing your teeth before you leave," I commanded the boy, stepping out into our hall.

"I don't have the energy to," Finn protested lightly as I fixed up his askew tie.

"Do you have the energy to stand?" I asked him, and he nodded, "Then that's all you need to do, I'll brush them for you."

We headed into the bathroom, and Finn sat on the edge of the tub, and I stood between his legs, brushing his teeth, making sure to get every spot.

"Done," I informed the boy, and he put a hand on my waist, leaned past me, and spat the contents in his mouth out into the sink.

I rinsed his toothbrush, and we headed out of our apartment, Finn locking the door behind us.

"You ready for today?" I asked as we walked along the balcony, then headed down the stairs.

"No. You gonna stay with me?" He replied, and I looked back at him as we headed towards his car.

"If I leave I'll drag you along with me," I echoed my words from last night, making him manage a smile.

•••

We stood side by side in the street as the caravan with Arthur inside rolled down the street, Curly and Charlie walking beside the horse pulling it. Finn interlaced his fingers with mine, and I gave his hand a squeeze, watching as people walked up and put flowers in the wagon.

I laid my head on Finn's arm, and suddenly felt guilty. I hadn't even thought about grabbing flowers this morning. I didn't even know where to get flowers around Artillery Square.

"Finn," I murmured after the wagon had passed us, catching his attention.

"What?" He mumbled, voice sounding croaky.

"Can we buy a box to put in our windowsill and grow flowers there? So we have stuff to put in the next wagon that rolls down the Lane?" I whispered, and he pulled me into his chest, hugging me tightly.

"Of course, we can buy the stuff after we leave here, and buy some flowers to burn with the wagon, yeah?" Finn replied gruffly as I put my arms around him, happy to stand in the street with him for as long as he needed.

§§§

I made a playlist on Spotify for this fic which is fun

Love y'all ❤️

- Sunflower x

NEXT PART

Part 19

[yelena-bellova]

Fault Line: Steve Rogers x F!Enhanced!Reader - Chapter Twelve

chapter eleven - Chapter Twelve: Future View - chapter thirteen

Series Masterlist

Plot: Y/n and Steve share a few quiet moments together while in Europe hunting HYDRA operatives.

Warnings: language, two suggestive moments, a shirtless Steve Rogers, fluff to the extreme...

Word Count: 4.0k

A/N: I love getting to explore the in between moments and create my own stories! Hope you enjoy this one :)

------------------

November 2014 // SIX MONTHS LATER

It was a cold, grey Slovenian morning when I woke up. The exact same weather we’d had the day before that, and the day before that…

I tried not to stir under the covers, Steve wasn’t a heavy sleeper, courtesy to his army training. With his arm wrapped around me, there was a decent chance I was going to wake him up. But I was restless already, staying in bed would do me no good. I accepted the risk and teleported myself out of bed, landing at the foot of it. Surprisingly, Steve didn’t show any sign of being near waking as he kept on snoring. I chuckled under my breath, taking smug satisfaction in the fact that I’d tired him out the night before…

I left the bedroom of our safe house and padded to the kitchen, sporting Steve’s t-shirt and my fuzzy socks. It had been six months since S.H.I.E.L.D had fallen and we’d spent five of them aiding Fury in Europe, mopping up HYDRA and trying to track down the scepter. We’d taken out a lot of smaller facilities, calling on Fury and Hill’s assistance when we needed more help knocking out the bigger ones. We hadn’t been as lucky with the scepter. I sighed disappointedly as I began to boil water, finding Strucker would have been easier if S.H.I.E.L.D was still in existence. Then again, he would have still been masquerading as S.H.I.E.L.D so my argument felt irrelevant. Either way, I missed the security of the organization.

I poured the heated water from the kettle into one of the two mugs in the cupboard and tore open the instant coffee packet. Appetizing? Not remotely. But all that mattered was that it got enough caffeine in me to handle the day. While mine and Steve’s night may have been enjoyable, the day hadn’t. We’d been planning and preparing our route to the Slovenian HYDRA facility. Since we didn’t have a picture of it, we’d be trekking there instead of me teleporting us. After I felt the full effect of S.H.I.E.L.D’s tech that could render me powerless, I had spent a lot of time training, building up more fighting skills and endurance. I wasn’t looking forward to a ten mile journey on foot, but at least I knew I could handle it.

The one thing I loved about our safe house was the front porch. The place was designed to look like a charming middle-of-nowhere shack inhabited by a family on and off throughout the year. There were rocking chairs on the porch and wildflowers that bloomed and died with the seasons, meaning no maintenance was needed. All in all, it was a perfect place to stay when on overseas mission.

I curled up in one of the chairs and sipped my gross black coffee as contently as I could. The beverage helped to warmed me against the early morning chill. I had clothes better suited for the weather, but I didn’t have any desire to slip out of Steve’s shirt. It enveloped me in his scent, bringing comfort even though I knew he was just through the front door.

While Steve and I had been working ourselves hard on our European Hydra Clean Up Tour 2015, we had still found time to be a couple. When we were home in D.C, we’d go for the usual dinners and date nights. We stayed in for movie nights a lot of the time but sometimes one of us would get an idea like mini golf or a play in our heads. It felt strange to do such normal things when our lives were anything other than normal, but I welcomed it regardless. We even considered going to Sam’s for a night of takeout pizza and poker a night out. I’d enjoyed getting to know Sam more, it was nice to have someone to tease Captain America about his secret love of gambling with.

Natasha had stayed right where I’d left her: in the wind. She’d pick up a burner phone every other month or so to let me know she was still alive and in turn to make sure Clint and I were okay. I’d call the archer directly after hanging up with Nat to let him know that his best friend was fine. All messages were passed in the code the three of us had developed years before for situations like the one were in. It was a strange, but effective, way to keep our connection alive.

When I was home, I’d visit Tony often. He’d given me a thorough lesson as to what my new suit could do, once he’d gotten the bloodstains out of it. It turned out, there were many more capabilities to it than I’d expected. Anytime I used my electricity or energy field powers while in it, the suit would absorb a small percentage of whichever element. That way if I ever got tired in the middle of a fight, I had a reserve that could be accessed by a hidden trigger on each of my wrists. It was getting hard to remember a time where Tony and I had been at odds, we’d integrated into each other’s lives so well once we stopped fighting. Steve and I would double date occasionally with Pepper and him at the Tower, our long suffering companions bonding over dealing with such reckless partners as Tony and I tried to argue back with full mouths of food or wine.

I snickered at the memory and sipped my coffee, hearing the sound of the front door opening beside me. Steve walked out carrying the matching mug in all his shirtless glory. The sight alone of Captain America bare chested and drinking coffee looked like a modern day pinup, an image that every woman in the country would pay to have as their phone’s lock screen. I let out a wolf whistle that made my boyfriend blush.

“Can we make it a rule that when we’re on missions,” I gestured to both our outfits, “This is the uniform while not on active duty.” “I could agree to that,” Steve chuckled as he settled into the rocker beside me, drinking in my appearance just as contently, “That’s my favorite shirt on you.” Even said flirtatiously, he managed to make it sound sweet. “That’s my favorite shirt on you,” I smirked, bringing my legs up to rest across his lap, “Did I wake you?” “No, I just woke up and saw you were gone. Wasn’t as nice without you there.”

Now it was my turn to blush. “There wasn’t much point in me trying to go back to sleep,” I said, looking out to the morning landscape. Steve knew how I was the day of a mission, I had a one track mind when there was a job to be done.

“There’s time for a nap, we don’t leave until sundown,” Steve said, trying to get me to concede to tiredness as he did every time. I raised an eyebrow at him, he smiled. “I know, I know…”

“There’ll be plenty of time to sleep when we’re home,” I said after swallowing my sip.

Steve’s smile went ghostly at the mention of home. I’d noticed that since S.H.I.E.L.D fell, he’d been missing New York more. In turn, I’d found myself thinking about it more than usual too.

“Maybe when we get back…” I ducked my eyes down to my mug, nervous about broaching the subject, “We could…look for a place in New York.”

I peeked out of my peripherals to discern Steve’s reaction, his growing smile serving as my answer. “Really?” “I mean, it would be nice to be back home,” I scrunched up my face, “We could go to Brooklyn.”

Steve stayed quiet, absorbing the proposition and making me more anxious by the second. “But i-if it’s too soon, it’s just an idea, y’know. We don’t have to-“ He patted my shin once, stopping me. “I think it’s a great idea,” he smiled. “Yeah?” “Yeah.”

I couldn’t stop myself from beaming at the reality of getting to live with Steve. We were still taking things as slow as we wanted, but after nearly two years of dating, it seemed we were both eager to take the next step. A small walkup in Brooklyn sounded like paradise. “It would be nice to have a little break,” Steve added. “What, chasing nazis around Europe isn’t relaxing?” I smirked.

“As fun as that is,” Steve rubbed my leg, “It’d be nice to have some time off. Get a place, fix it up…Waking up next to you every morning would be nice.”

My smile grew as Steve painted a picture of what our life could look like. I never considered myself a conventionalist, but the domesticity he described sounded like something I could settle into nicely.

“Keep talking, Rogers, and you might just convince me to have your kids.” “Do you ever…” Steve let his sentence trail off as if he was second guessing himself.

“What?” He shook his head, “Nothing…”

“No, finish the thought,” I gently nudged my foot against his arm.

He took a deep breath before venturing the question. “Do you ever think about that stuff? Having kids?” It was my turn to breathe deeply and go silent, I took a long sip of coffee to buy myself some time. I hadn’t not thought about children, but I hadn’t actively wished for them. My lifestyle had never allowed me to. Being on the run for so long on my own, working for S.H.I.E.L.D and becoming an Avenger didn’t leave any space for a normal life. I still didn’t fully understand how Clint managed to make it work. But I had never seen it in the cards for me.

“I’ve thought about it,” I finally answered, “But…I don’t know. I’m not sure I could be a mom.”

“What are you talking about?” Steve tilted his head.

I shrugged, “I just don’t know if I have what it takes. I think I love what we do too much, as taxing as it can be. It would be hard to give it up.” Steve hummed in reply, looking away out into the fields. I fought the urge to slip into his head and find out exactly what he was thinking, but I still maintained that boundary with him. I didn’t have to read his mind, I knew that my answer didn’t line up with what Steve wanted out of life.

“I’m guessing you feel differently,” I said, trying not to let my voice cave in on itself.

“I don’t know,” Steve shrugged, “When I came out of the ice, whatever picture I had for my life was thrown away. But meeting you got me thinking that maybe it wasn’t out of reach and I just…I don’t know. I guess I have thought about it.”

“I’m not ruling it out,” I was quick to make sure he understood me, “I just don’t see it happening in the near future.”

“Honey, you don’t need to prove anything to me,” Steve looked to me, “If that’s how you feel, that’s how you feel. It doesn’t change how I feel about us.”

We were wading in the type of waters where some unknown monster might jump out of nowhere and pull you down below the surface. Having never been in a relationship, I wasn’t sure how we were supposed to proceed. It was clear that Steve wanted kids, he wanted a future where he could settle down with his partner and do the whole white picket fence deal. But I was so deep in my work, so deep in my desire to change the world and wipe forces like HYDRA off the slate that it seemed entirely out of the question for…I didn’t even know how long. I wanted Steve, I wanted him for forever, but the pictures we both had of our futures needed to line up.

“You’re overthinking.” Steve’s voice broke me out of my thoughts, I looked over to see him smiling warmly at me. I inhaled slowly and tried not to laugh, “Give me a break. This is all new to me.” Steve squeezed my leg gently before reaching for my hand and bringing it to his temple, “Go ahead.”

I took a shaky breath and shut my eyes, slipping into Steve’s mind to see what he was thinking. I found the reassurance he’d tried to already giving me that I didn’t believe. I found an image of us with two blonde headed children, but also one of Steve and I curled up on a couch by ourselves. Regardless, we were together in both of his fantasies.

But the one of me in a white dress was surprising.

It was the most vivid of his thoughts, I was standing in a crisp, clean white gown with a bouquet of flowers. I was laughing at something, looking more radiant than I’d ever thought myself to be. I held out an arm and Steve, dressed in a handsome navy blue tuxedo, came to stand at my side. His grin was infectious as evidenced by my smile growing unbelievably big. There was a photographer capturing our joy, ending in Steve pulling me in for a deep kiss. Our happiness was pure, unencumbered by war or invasion or any disagreement, big or small.

I pulled out of Steve’s mind, taking my fingers off his face. What was I supposed to say to something like that? We’d never spoken of marriage, we’d only just agreed to move in together. Even with that knowledge, I couldn’t help but smile at the image of Steve and I, committed to spending the rest of our lives with one another. “You believe me now?” Steve asked.

“I do,” I replied, not missing the double meaning of my words, “But I’d make the shade of your tux one shade darker.” Steve’s jaw dropped, he hadn’t expected me to see any of it. It wasn’t like I could avoid something at the forefront of someone’s mind. “You saw…?” I nodded, biting my lip in an attempt to conceal my grin. Steve sighed and looked down at his mug, “You weren’t supposed to see that.” “Well then you shouldn’t have been thinking about it so loudly. Hey,” I reached over to take his hand, Steve reluctantly looked at me, “I want that too.”

A hopeful eyebrow quirked up, “Really?”

“Really,” I nodded, “How could I not want you for the rest of my life?”

“Okay,” Steve smiled before turning serious, “But just to be clear, this isn’t it.” “No,” I quickly agreed, shaking my head. “When I ask you to marry me, you’re not going to be able to see it coming,” Steve pointed a finger at me through the handle of his mug.

I held my hands up in mock surrender, “I will be thoroughly surprised.”

“Completely out of the blue,” Steve made a sweeping motion with his hand.

“No suspicions whatsoever.” We shared a shy laugh, the tension having dissipated entirely and replaced with hope. Hope that we could build a life together that suited us both. It was too soon to tell what it would look like, but as long as Steve and I were together, it was a life I wanted.

“I don’t tell you I love you nearly enough,” Steve said ghosting his fingers up and down my leg.

“You tell me every day,” I watched him, his touch giving me goosebumps. Steve shook his head, smiling so genuinely it nearly burned a hole through my heart, “It’s still not enough.”

Steve tugged my rocking chair as close to his as possible, holding out an arm as an invitation. I wrapped an arm around his neck and allowed him to hoist me onto his lap fully, he wrapped an arm around my middle and kissed me deeply. Even after almost two years, he still managed to give me butterflies any time we touched. It was times like these where I wished we could stay, where all our troubles were distant. It was enough to push me towards choosing a normal domestic life with him, to chase that peace.

I yelped in surprise as Steve stood up, carrying me with one arm as we walked back into the house. “We’ve got work to do,” I giggled against his lips.

“Yeah,” Steve agreed between kisses, “But we’ve got some time to kill.” Steve lowered me just enough to set my coffee cup on a surface before throwing me onto the bed. I burst into laughter and Steve joined in as he hung over me, our morning descending into more kisses and smiles we couldn’t contain…

—————————

“I’m in position,” I whispered into my comm.

“On my count,” Steve replied, a short silence breaking up his words, “Three…two…one.” Standing atop the dirty glass rooftop, I used my telekinesis to shatter the glass and I fell through. I quickly threw a force field around myself to shield myself from the inevitable attack. Steve used his shield to burst through the door he’d been standing outside of. The two of us were ready for a fight.

A fight with an empty room.

I withdrew my force field and took a look at my surroundings. I’d expected a dozen HYDRA agents or active experimentation going on. All there was were some rusted equipment and a large army of filing cabinets. Steve alertly walked past me and opened up one of the cabinets, sighing when he looked inside.

“Empty,” he said, slamming it shut.

I sighed defeatedly, running a hand over the top of my tight ponytail. “Fuck,” I mumbled, “You think they knew we were coming?”

Steve wandered the room, running a finger over an empty desk and coming up with a dust. “No, too thick to be new. They cleared out a while ago.”

“They must have heard through their network,” I kicked a rolling chair in frustration, “I really thought we had this one.” I leaned up against one of the cabinets and shut my eyes. Every time we busted into a HYDRA facility, I always had the expectation that we’d find the scepter. And every time we left without it, that hope grew bigger that the next one would be the one. Which meant that every time we walked away without it, I grew more and more faithless that we’d ever find it…it was a bad cycle to be stuck in.

“Hey,” Steve came to stand next to me, “One out of ten’s not bad, y’know. This is the first dead end we’ve hit.” “Not if you have a very specific goal,” I sighed, “We’re definitely losing in that regard. But I appreciate your blind optimism.”

Steve chuckled, pulling my head towards his and kissing the side of my forehead. “Let’s go pack,” he said warmly.

I wrapped my arms around him, mostly for comfort, and teleported us back to the safe house. Steve set his shield in the corner of the bedroom and removed his cowl while I went about gathering the few items that we’d left around the room. The sound of my phone ringing from my suitcase took me away from my task, but when I saw Tony’s name on the screen I was happy to stop.

“What’s up, Chrome Dome?”

“Has anyone ever told you how charming you are?” Tony replied dryly, “Really, just an electric sense of humor.” “Ha ha ha,” I laughed sarcastically, “What’s going on?”

“You’ve been more secretive than usual these past few months. Can I assume that has something to do with work?” I sat down on the edge of the bed, “You might say that.” “And judging from the 1AM wakeup call a few months ago and your water show in the Potomac, I’d bet it has something to do with getting rid of what’s left of HYDRA.” My heart stilled before I realized I was using a Stark phone, there was no way to trace the call. We could speak as freely as we needed to. “Thought you weren’t a gambling man anymore,” I smiled.

“Doesn’t mean you lose the skills.”

I rolled my eyes, “Yes, Tony, it involves HYDRA. Does this call have a purpose or are you just being nosier than usual?”

“Maybe it’s a little of both,” he replied, “Put Spangles on with you, I think you’re both gonna be interested in what I’m about to say.” There was no point in asking Tony why he thought Steve was with me, everybody knew that where one of us went, the other naturally went too. Steve walked out of the bathroom with our toiletries and furrowed a brow, pointing to the phone in my hand.

I placed the call on speaker, “He’s here, Tony.”

“Tony,” Steve snapped to attention, “Is everything alright?” “It’s about to be significantly more,” our friend teased, “So I think it’s unfair that you two have been having all the HYDRA hell raising fun and the rest of us are just sitting around twiddling our thumbs. What do you say we get the band back together?” Steve and I looked to one another, a grin was already starting to spread across my face.

“What made you think of that?” Steve asked. “Well, you two have spent the last five months cleaning up their mess. How much quicker could you get it done with four more pairs of hands?”

I shrugged, covering the mic and turning to Steve. “He’s got a point. Plus, he’s got more access to more tech.”

Steve bit his lip and thought it over, though the decision seemed to make itself. We could wipe out twice as many HYDRA hideouts if we split ourselves across the continents. Then there was the matter of getting to reunite the team… 

“Is everyone else on board?” I asked.

“I’m still working on tracking down Romanoff and Barton,” Tony said, sounding slightly distracted like he was doing just that as he spoke, “Thought you might be able to help out with that. But Banner and Thor are already here in New York. Our resident Norseman has developed a bit of a vested interest once I mentioned that his brother’s scepter was missing so I’ll let you explain that to him.” “I know where Clint is,” I quickly answered, “Nat’s gonna be harder to track down, but I can work on it.”

“Should I consider that your unofficial RSVP?”

I knew I didn’t have to consult Steve, but I still raised in eyebrow in his direction anyway. He was smiling already, giving me an affirmative nod.

“We’ll be there in a minute,” I answered, trying to temper the excitement in my voice, “And I mean that literally.”

“Saves me the money of sending out a jet,” he said, his speech was jumbled. Knowing him, he probably had some tool in his mouth, “Safe travels.” With that, the call dropped. I met Steve’s eyes and stopped trying to control my joy.

“We’re going home,” I beamed.

“We’re going home,” he smiled back.

We embraced and I sighed into his suit, not only were we going back to New York, but we were getting the team back as well. There was something about the seven of us being together that provided a different stability than when we were on our own. Now that we were all comfortable with one another, I imagined we’d work even better together.

“Ah,” I said, pulling back and scurrying to our suitcases, “Alright, I think we’ve got everything. I’ll throw the toiletries in there and then we’re good to- what?” Steve was standing where I’d left him, staring at me with a soft smile. “Nothing,” he shook his head, “I just like seeing you happy.” I ducked my head down at the attention, I still hadn’t gotten used to someone caring so much about me that just the sight of me happy settled their soul. “Well,” I tried to avoid the emotions bubbling up in me by switching gears, “I’m going to be very unhappy if you don’t grab your frisbee. There’s a snow storm closing in and I’d rather be somewhere that has heat.” Steve gave me a mock salute and a ‘yes, ma’am’ before placing his cowl back on and clipping his shield to his back. I hurriedly lugged the suitcases off the bed and handed him his. Taking one more look around the safe house, I grabbed Steve’s hand and visualized the main floor of Avengers Tower.

“We’re going home,” I whispered just before we disappeared.

------------------

Fault Line Taglist: @superbookishhufflepuff @narcissism-iskey @fangirl-swagg @oopsiedoopsie23 @justanothermagicalsara @luminousrecs @21st-century-daydreamer @im-a-slut-for-fluff

Steve Rogers Taglist: @x-judyjude-x @dindjarinsspouse @justreadingficsdontmindme

[niaswish]

For Want of Common Sense

Chapter 9 Summary:

A Quartering Duke, an SPX, and a monologue! Oh my!

Wato hates it.

Chapter 9: Wato Hojo knows when to run.

Wato knew the moment he woke up that something was wrong. One, the fact that he had woken up meant that he'd fallen asleep, more likely been knocked out somehow. Two, he was in the hangar with the black SPX blocking the path back to the basement of Snark. Handcuffed to the railing to be precise. And lastly, he had blood smeared over his jacket.

A blade through his stomach. Blood spilling on torn flesh.

Dead detectives strewn on the floor, his own body joining them.

Wato quickly blinked out of the Denouement, feeling his head burst in pain, as he stumbled to his feet, his free hand struggling to unbutton his jacket before the black SPX activated. Doleful's blood, one of the children that had scared the SP enough to program a SPX to hunt him down, was not something he wanted on him for long.

"Hello, hello! How are you all fairing tonight? Terrible? Me too." Wato froze as the Quartering Duke's voice came from a hidden speaker. "But do not worry, for I, your beloved Quartering Duke, have prepared some entertainment to distract you from your awful awful lives!"

Oh shit. This was absolutely not good. Wato finally managed to get his jacket open and mostly off, hampered only by his handcuffed hand. Swearing, he examined the cuffs, hoping he could figure out how to open them quickly.

"I've been livecasting this Quartering Corner for a few days now," Fucking bastard! "but sadly, this next installment will be our last.... Soon, I shall be back to normal dukehood." Like hell will Wato allow that to happen. He needed to focus! "For our momentous final episode, I'll discuss the talk of the town --- those obsessive stalkers of mine, the Detective Alliance! Hehehehe!"

The black SPX wasn't moving yet. Was it still fully deactivated?

Unlikely.

Wato started searching through his jacket for something he could use to pick the lock, pushing away his fear and anxiety into a place he hadn't used since he escaped from Morgue all those years ago.

"They're seen as heroes online, with folks touting them as defenders of justice... But who are they really? You're dying to know, eh, loyal viewers? Ehehehe! To put it simplyyy.... they're what shit shits out."

Yes! Wato grinned to himself as he pulled out a paperclip from his inner pocket. Within seconds, he had pushed it between the lock and cuffs, freeing himself. He paused for a moment to see if the Duke had noticed.

"Their criminal organization was formerly another, one sanctioned to investigate The Dayless Night. It may seem hypocritical, but their evil sickens me. Ten years ago, they kidnapped children for human experiments to artificially create exceptional detectives... such as the famed Ideal Detective!" 

No reaction from the Duke.

Wato drapped the blood-soaked jacket on the railing, taking a moment to pocket the cuffs, before actually examining his surroundings in more detail. The helipad lift control console was wrecked, torn wires sticking out of a gutted interior. The SPX was fully in front of the passage into Snark, making it impossible for anyone to move by it.

He had to make most of the time he had before it started moving, since it was quite possible that Doleful managed to reprogram the SPX. Grabbing a piece of the destroyed control panel, Wato ran to it.

"I, too, was subjected to the horrors of the Secret Police, the DA's precursor, and gained superhuman powers. Then, I waited a decade to exact revenge. When the opportunity finally came, Your Grace made meticulous plans to annihilate them all ~~ plans that were ruined by another victim of the Secret Police!" The sudden drop in the Duke's voice startled Wato back to his feet and away from the SPX, hoping that he'd cut the right thing.

"Why? Why did you interfere? Don't you hate them? Don't you want revenge?" The Duke demanded, "They took us because we were orphans, easy to make disappear without a trace. We already had a hard life yet they made it worse! They sent us in that death maze! Again and again and again and again and again and again!"

Wato moved towards the maze, ready to bolt if the SPX moved. He was fairly certain that it wouldn't be dangerous even if it did start up but he didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.

"How many did you see die? How many times did you fall asleep exhausted from crying and hearing only the cries of others? They don't deserve your protection or forgiveness, you know. The DA knew about what happened and didn't say anything. Did you know they never even bothered to file death certificates for the kids who died here? Even though they have lists of names, just there in their archives. They can't even be bothered to provide closure for anyone who might still be looking for an old friend or distant family member. Hehehe...."

He knew that. He'd spent hours in the basement archives while he searched for the sentry program information. He had seen the lists, many names sending him flashing back to his time in the maze.

He remembered Seika dying, even if it had not been the reality.

Wato knew that.

And he was angry.

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore. Ladies and gentlemen, during our next installment I shall be presenting you with the emotionally riveting and exceptionally damning evidence I've found in the DA's HQ! This is the moment where the heroes of justice become the foulest villains this world has ever known. Best. Entertainment. EVER. 'Mirite?"

Doleful's anger was understandable, something he could easily sympathize with. Yet that did not excuse his actions as the Quartering Duke.

Those were separate issues.

"To all the ladies and gentlemen of the alliance tuning in: if you hope to stop Your Grace, then I invite you to do so. Not that you'll be able to. Oh! And the first round of voting will soon start for who shall die first! The victim of the Special Police who is protecting the criminals ~~ or.... One of the Special Police responsible for conducting the human experiments that killed a lot of kids! This Duke will check back in to see your decision soon."

Wato froze for a moment at the Duke's declaration. He had figured that the others had been captured as well -how? How had they been knocked out? How long have they been out?- yet he'd thought that Doleful would focus his attention on him, not Workaholic.

He had been the one to interfere in his plans.

He had been the one that had revealed the truth about the Quartering Duke cases.

Wato had been the one that Doleful should be trying to actively kill.

Shit! He had to find Workaholic and fast!

=-=-=-

The Duke's voice returned some 15 minutes later, "Oh my, Your Grace has returned to quite a conundrum. An equal vote? This is a first ~ Hehehehehe. Whatever should this Duke do? Ladies and gentlemen, I propose to you a new poll with very simple and fun options ~ Kill them both? Or move on to another two Detectives that should die? Whatever shall happen ~"

Wato rolled his eyes. He seriously doubted that the vote had actually been tied. 

No.

Like all of the previous streams, the result was never shown to those watching. The Duke always intended for the people shown to die, so why risk the chance that their watchers voted for someone to survive?

The number of watchers was never shown and the voting results were always hidden. This way, the Quartering Duke controlled the narrative from start to finish.

And in this case, the Duke intended on killing them both. Most likely by having the black SPX hunt them down through the maze one by one. Not only would this allow him to kill them easily, but it would also give him all the time he needed to find what he wanted from the archives.

Wato didn't know whether the other SPXs had also been reactivated so he would assume so for now. At least Wato had a head start to find Workaholic before the black SPX started to move.

As he moved quickly down the passage, Wato tried to figure out where the others might be. Since the Duke wanted to make a show of their demise, it was likely that they were waking up in a similar situation as Wato had. There were several large rooms across the maze, where someone might have somewhat of a chance to put up a fight for the amusement of the Duke's followers.

In which case, he needed to get to those who wouldn't be able to fight back after he found Workaholic.

Gourmet, Renegade and Seika would likely be fine, probably having already slipped out of their cuffs.

Armor and Rowdy were strong enough to break such things with ease, so it made more sense that Doleful had sedated them for longer or used something else to tie them up.

Wato stopped for a moment as a thought crossed his mind. Up until now, he had been the only one showing any common sense. Now, whether Doleful had simply been acting about his lack of common sense was hard to determine but....

He was suicidal.

He wanted to die and projected that onto everyone around him.

He probably hadn't even considered using the wire-saw to tie Armor or Rowdy up, or hadn't had the time. Doleful wasn't that physically strong either, though that might be part of his disguise. Even if he was stronger than he appeared, moving anyone would be hard for him without some kind of mechanical help.

Wato couldn't remember seeing anything like that in Snark, but he might have missed it during his initial search of the building. Either Doleful had found one or he had used the SPXs to do so.

The second option was the most likely as it would also allow him to set things up for when he wanted to kill everyone.

Wato passed a hand over his face as he tried to predict where Doleful would have placed everyone. On their way back, they had passed about 4 of the connecting rooms but the maze had had many more. There were maps of the maze in Snark, Doleful would have used them to get everyone to a specific place.

Armo and Rowdy weren't the best at figuring out puzzles and more traditional forms of detective work, relying on their intuition and strengths to do the job. If he wanted to keep them from interfering with his executions, then locking them behind a puzzle lock would be more than enough. The only place he could think about that fit was the room that separated the first section of the maze from the rest. The room where he'd met up with the detectives after the fire.

And... Armor and Rowdy were reckless enough, and confident in their strength, that they could backtrack to the manor and force the door open despite the rubble on top of it.

Those two should be fine as long as Doleful's attention stayed on him.

Mystic was unlikely to be able to move, between the side effects of the batrachotoxin and whatever sedative they'd been given. And if Doleful separated him from Bookworm, and left a message threatening her life if he did escape, then he would stay where he had been placed. Considering his state, he was probably close by as Doleful wouldn't worry about him attempting to escape.

Techie might be in a similar situation if he didn't have easy access to his wheelchair or his mechanical friends. 

There was no doubt that Bookworm knew the theory behind picking a lock and many escape strategies used by professionals. The only question would be whether she could put that theory into practice. She was definitely stubborn enough to try until she couldn't anymore, of that Wato could be certain. Doleful wouldn't have put her close to where Mystic was, a precaution to prevent either of them from joining back up and causing trouble for him.

Posh was a toss up as to how she would react. Her pride would push her into escaping, if only to prove a point, yet she might not even know how to pick a lock, or get out of restraints. Doleful might have put her in the same area as Rowdy and Armor since she was unlikely to give him or the SPXs any trouble.

And then there was the issue of Senior and Downtown. Both were collaborators with the Quartering Duke but he doubted that would keep them safe. Especially when they had both been convinced to set up a double suicide while they helped the Duke get his revenge on the DA.

No. It was likely both of them were in as much danger as the rest of them.

Wato needed to hurry up and find them.

A/N: I had such a hard time writing this chapter. I rewrote it at least half-a-dozen times but hated every one of them. My original ending for this fic was going to be short and funny, literally Wato and Seika trapping Doleful by having him put blood on Wato in an attempt to kill him, only for it to backfire as it's used as evidence against him. Then Wato continually interrupting him when he starts trying to talk out of it. 

Yet, none of them wanted to go with it! This was the only version that they wanted to do.

[yunjinified]

Dream 1-The Game (Part 1)

A/N: This is the first dream in my series, all of the dreams in my series are dreams that I have had I have just touched them up a lot more and made them better to read. I hope you enjoy and can give me feedback on how to get better.

Word Count: 562 Part 1 | Part 2

When I woke up from the dream: I was just watching YouTube and then I came across this video. It was where someone was playing a game and they were told to look around but they didn’t and then they just died. Then I came across this livestream, where they were playing the game. They looked around and they saw these like silhouettes of humans that would come closer if you didn’t shoot them with this weird gun thing. And depending on how many you had killed, on the windows a picture just fell down like sand and then dissolved. So the person was not scared at all so they ended the live with like half the pictures and you can see how many pictures you got according to this map. And this was like placed in this three story house which was very large. The first floor was very scary and gray, the second floor was filled with bright plushies, and to get to the third floor you had to use a ladder but the person didn’t go up the ladder. And to start the game you have to sit at a computer that was just in the middle of the room you are in and then it tells you to look around and then you can get up and continue the game. Then I just randomly woke up in the dream and played the game and I was in my parents room for some reason and there was this desk like where the door was and then I started the game. And then I stopped because I was scared. Then I left the room and looked around. I kept on feeling there was something behind me so I went to the living room/ kitchen and I found my brother playing his game but I didn’t see him because I could only see part of the tv and my parents weren’t home. The dream just ended.

I was scrolling through my phone. Rain was pelting the windows, as if someone was attempting to break in. I really like this live streamer; they don't have a name or anything, but the game they always play looks like a lot of fun. Shadows are appearing from the walls, and if you don't catch them in time, who knows what may happen to you? Some claim that you vanish from the actual world. Others claim that the game is a fraud and that the streamer makes it appear extremely difficult while, in fact, it is quite simple. I'm not sure who to believe, but… I can't wait to get my hands on the game when it arrives in the mail.

2 days later

RING I dashed outdoors to see a hooded man holding a brown box. "Thank you!" I said as I stood at the door and handed the man a ten dollar bill. "I can't believe it's here at last!" I sat down on the bed and quickly opened the box as I mused to myself. There wasn't a CD inside as I had anticipated; instead, there was a small piece of paper with some numbers on it. “Huh? Why is there only a small piece of paper?” I had spent 20 dollars on a piece of paper, I flipped it over to see an instruction, ‘Place this number in the search bar of the website that you bought the game off of’. I was confused, yet for some reason I still did it. I had bought the game off amazon so I didn’t expect to see anything. “2…9…3…5…8…0…1…” I placed the numbers in the search bar and pressed enter, a black screen came up and I thought that my laptop was broken, until bright white writing came up on the screen, ‘use arrow keys to move, space for action’…“Well this should be fun”…

I started of in a dull living room that had an archway which led to the kitchen, for some reason I was sitting in the middle of the archway and I was sitting on a basic wooden chair and a small wooden table was in front of me, on the table there was a laptop, it stated how many shadows I had caught and what level I was on, it also showed a map to show how many pictures I had gotten. I was on level 0, which was supposedly an introduction round. I caught 0 out of 1 shadows. I got up from the chair and looked around like I was told to, I then proceeded with the game. I had a weird gun-like weapon in my hand. I was supposed to kill the shadow…but how? I looked at one of the windows, it had sand art on it, then it fell forward and onto the ground, I stepped back in shock, the sand disappeared. Congratulations! You have gotten one out of five hundred pictures!’ Five hundred, if I wanted to beat this game I had to find 500 pictures on windows.

In a trail of my thoughts I hadn’t realised that a shadow had started coming up the wall and going on the roof. I tried to shoot it with the gun, but the shadow lurched down off the wall and… “Kids! Dinner is ready!” My mum called for dinner, I should go.

[panamacitytrip11-02-2022]

Day 5 - 11.06.2022

Alright, this day is definitely going down as a highlight as well. We woke up early around 7:00 am and had the whole day in front of us. Surprised we woke up that early, we then realized that the clocks had set back so we gained an hour of sleep. What a perfect time to have this happen on vacation, when you just had a long day of activities. We enjoyed the usual coffee on the balcony and looked up things to do. That’s what I love about traveling with Leanna (and her fam); we were all just content enough with looking for things to do in the moment without planning anything ahead. Leanna found this awesome activity of a boat tour to a nearby island called “Shell Island” which included snorkeling and spotting dolphins. We all agreed this would be a fun activity and signed up along with Uncle Mike, who also wanted to come. I guess everyone else wanted to rest or had done something similar before. We had to get there around 11:30 to check in so after quickly writing an entry in this journal we all (including Mike) left for breakfast.

Just across the street in the hotel, Calypso, we ate at this small breakfast/donut shop called, “Emerald Hub,” which was okay. I ate a simple breakfast of eggs, hash browns and toast. We then headed out shortly after to head down… South? East? Maybe southeast, that sounds right… to St. Andrew’s park area where we were taking off on the Catamaran for our boat ride. The excursion was put on by the Island Time Sailing, for future reference. We were partially expecting to be the only ones on the boat or if not, with just a few others, but there were about twenty five people waiting on the red Adirondack chairs and brown benches. We left at around 12:00 pm and I felt immediately on vacation mode. After just about ten minutes or less before existing the marina, we spotted several adolescent dolphins! Apparently they like the area because there are a lot of fish and won’t go deeper into the ocean yet to mate. We were told we may not even see dolphins since it is breeding season so we were happy to see these young’ ins.

After we left the area we traveling outside of the marina and to Shell Island, about twenty minutes away. I’m going to be honest I was not paying attention to the history behind the island so all I know is that people frequent it often and something about “you’d be surprised to find that there aren’t that many shells on the island despite the name.” Which was weird because I did see a lot of shells while I was there. So we anchored not very far into the ocean but not very far into the shoreline either, so to get off the boat everyone had to wade in water about three feet deep. That was fine, as many people chose to put on snorkels and do that right outside the boat. We had about an hour and a half to do this so I was super eager to see some fish. While it definitely wasn’t Hawaii status, I did end up seeing fish and loved entering their spaces along the rocks and watching them. What was cool, too, was putting my phone in my dry bag and keeping the video rolling while I was snorkeling. I don’t know their names but I saw that same white/translucent fish as before, a black stripped fish with an orange fin, a million babies of some sort, and a dead crab on the ocean side.

After about an hour of exploring we thought it must be time to head back so we schlepped our way through the waters back to the boat. While we were waiting patiently, we got the joy of witnessing our drunk fellow cruise members trying to swim out to catch a literal pelican, which of course was not accomplished. It’s so funny when you are not drinking, like me this trip, watching how crazy and idiotic people become with alcohol. Makes me want to reconsider some things in my life.. after we left and make the twenty minute journey back home they got even worse. I heard something like “we need your numberrrrr” and then the captain swinging down from his podium to our side and expressing how much he disliked this. He literally had to run away to get them to spot hounding him! I would hate to be in his position. Happy to leave them but sad to leave the adventure, we then drove back to the condo to relax.

We showered, I journaled, and then we watched half an episode of “The Mole” before leaving downstairs to meet up with everyone. They all wanted to go to Shuckums so we crossed the street and were right there, ready to eat good seafood. The place got excellent reviews so I was really excited to try their shellfish and see how it compared to ours on the west coast. We walked in and it was very dive bar-like with dollars stapled to the ceiling and TVs everywhere. Leanna and I got these delicious virgin frozen cocktails, a mix between two drinks that I can’t remember the name of right now. Uncle Mike ordered raw oysters and I had two, one with horseradish and hot sauce and one without. They were really good, although I’m not a connoisseur enough to tell how they compared to west coast oysters. My main dish was ALSO oysters but deep fried and on a po’ boy. And oh boy, that was good (okay I don’t like myself for saying that).

After our meals we were close to doing karaoke but then got tired after eating, like always, so we headed back to Leanna’s fam’s place to watch the Chiefs game. I also brought Just One from our room and we ended up playing that for a while! I was so happy it was a hit with everyone. After about an hour or so we decided to call it quits and head back to our room. Pics below!

Ready for our Island Time adventure!

Dolphin!!

Me and Lele and shell island.

A fish! I mostly took video but here is one of the fish I was talking about.

Sunset outside my window and the street on the other side!

The dollars on the ceiling which made it feel like a dive bar and our frozen non-alcoholic cocktail.

Oyster!

~Tess~

[matteblacklips]

june updates i

Disclaimer: I would like to begin this email thread by saying if you didn’t want to receive emails from me you shouldn’t have given me your email to begin with.

Joke of the chain:

Hello all,

So much has happened in the last few weeks, I don't even know where to start, but the show must go on. The last time we spoke, it was the first week of May, and now, almost five weeks later, I am no longer unemployed, I'm not grieving over a breakup and I am suffering from the worst allergic reaction/sunburn known to man. I’m sorry but you already know I’m going to be the biggest whore Boston has ever seen. Run back hoevid-19. Being in my slut era is gonna be so fun because I always keep the roster at a good four and usually when I have a boyfriend or main hoe I cut off side joes 1-3. I’m prolly marrying #4 so gotta keep him on the back burner til we’re ready for him. 

I've been traveling like crazy the last couple weeks, and I started in the trashiest state known to man -- New Jersey. I went for a cousin's babyshower and immediately flew to Dallas afterwards for an interview. I got the job but more eventfully I thought the first man with green hair was Marcus Smart at the bar  like why would Marcus Smart be at a rooftop bar in Dallas during the playoffs? Boy Update: Alex is the worst influence — he had me text my ex (the one who I gave a concussion to while we were ~u know~ and the one that was a pathological liar). Fortunately for my mental health he wasn’t in DC this weekend or Alex would’ve had to explain to his parents that his sister decided to ditch family plans for mediocre dick and a summer of trauma. 

Pop culture Update: Celtics lost to the Warriors and I got absolutely blacked out drunk because of it. DC was so much fun and every time I visit I feel like I’m always blacked out and Alex is just enjoying the fact that I’m the drunkest person in the room. We got back from day drinking and I ended up taking a nap before dinner on the swing and then slept for literally nine hours cuddling with Pablo. I got to hang out with more of Alex’s friends this weekend and I thought you wouldn’t be able to beat Serena Bronk but honestly Dillion O’brien (yes that’s his name) might take the cake. I’m not exactly sure who he reminds me of but he’s probably top ten funniest people I’ve met. Aumiller made an appearance as well as a quick hello from Matt Rob. 

Memorial Day: Spent the weekend in Boston & it was out of this world. I had decided to celebrate my birthday that weekend with all of my favorite people, and it was probably one of the best weekends I'd had in a long time. Sevin, Kiersten and I reunited and had a hot girl weekend, and the lovely Catherine Ngyuen came out. We had gone to Mother Anna's and I appreciate the OG boys, Allen and Anthony, for fully planning the dinner cause if it were up to me, I would've cried because of how last minute the plans were. The girlies and boys, Mina and Thomas included, went to Bodega and I swear it was one of the best Bodega nights in a long time. The music is always amazing and the vibes are always immaculate. The day after, the girlies went to a rooftop pool in Fenway and it was so calm and chill, up until this lady called the front desk on us because some of the people we knew were ~chaotic~. Overall 10/10 weekend, would run it back in the future.

Birthday Pt.2: I ended up seeing my sneaky link but because so absolutely fucked up that I did not even get to third base. I woke up abs hungover and I could not function. He spent $120 on Ubers just to listen to me complain and a drunk make out. We call him ___ wonderbread cause he’s so boring but we have yet to speak since I went to dc and he went to Miami so I’ll give you an update on that afterwards.

Work: I absolutely love the job I have. It's exactly what I want salary-wise, and opportunity-wise. I had got the offer on my birthday and I had started almost two days afterwards but the job itself is so fulfilling. I’m learning so much and the fact that this job is a direct gateway to my future makes me feel so much more committed to it. Also 30 PTO days??? You're fucking kidding me right.

Birthday's to look out for: Sevin, June 25, Sonali, June 26, Ila, June 27

Availability this week: I’m available Thursday 6pm for a Cisco moment but other than that don’t talk to me at all. I’m working remote on Friday so I can be persuaded to do a little day drink moment but it’s Sevin’s birthday weekend so nothing crazy.

Best,

Shefali Patel

Keep in mind you would be responding to the chain so don’t blow my spot if you can help it. I would really appreciate keeping my dignity if I could.

What to expect: weekly to biweekly emails regarding things that matter to me including but not limited to bad jokes, an update on plans, current events, and my personal favorite new recipes and places to check out!

[soloorganaas]

I posted 6,898 times in 2022

That's 3,959 more posts than 2021!

525 posts created (8%)

6,373 posts reblogged (92%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@delicatefalice

@princsssleia

@purrvaire

@sweetpeasandlilies

@bedcorpse

I tagged 4,938 of my posts in 2022

Only 28% of my posts had no tags

#hp - 936 posts

#otp: i'm mental about you - 328 posts

#otp: i love you i know - 325 posts

#bobf - 237 posts

#ch: hope is like the sun - 218 posts

#ch: we choose who we really are - 199 posts

#obi wan kenobi - 168 posts

#star wars - 150 posts

#may the force be with queue - 140 posts

#wolfstar - 139 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#and then snape figuring out about remus because he’s nosey and vindictive and always looking for ways to weaponise people’s vulnerabilities

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Sirius Black is heavily coded as queer, especially in his relationship with Remus, which HP fandom has been discussing for two decades. But Sirius is also heavily coded as neurodivergent, specifically with bipolar disorder, and that’s just as essential to his character (and the awful treatment he gets from JKR) as his queerness

rest of the post here

282 notes - Posted May 8, 2022

#4

thinking about when remus first sees sirius’s mugshot in PoA. in the books and films he’s mangled and manic so the photo must have been taken long after he arrived at azkaban. remus has been haunted by and trying to forget sirius for 12 years but the only image he has of him is the person he knew and loved before azkaban - and maybe a terrible memory of him being dragged away there. then suddenly he’s faced with a sirius that’s unrecognisable, a sirius who looks like what everyone believes he is, a sirius that punches his gut and breaks his heart in equal measure because somewhere buried beneath the matted hair and manic eyes and screaming mouth is the face of a person he loved for ten years. the face that he saw laughing in front of the common room fire or gazing at him across the classroom or that he woke up next to smiling drowsily at him. now it’s the face of a mass murderer who betrayed not just their best friends but betrayed him. it’s two people who can’t both be real but are blurred together in a way that’s tormented remus for over a decade that he can no longer run away from because it’s quite literally staring him in the face

and he has to see that photo everywhere he goes for a year

345 notes - Posted September 2, 2022

#3

all I got from din not being able to handle the darksaber is that he clearly needs training from a local jedi

814 notes - Posted January 26, 2022

#2

never not gonna be mad about tales of the jedi being released whilst andor’s still on. never not gonna be mad about andor not getting the recognition it deserves. I basically could not use tumblr until I’d seen the new obi wan ep, but now I have to go searching for andor content. it’s literally one of the best pieces of star wars media ever made. it’s a risky difficult nuanced groundbreaking and truly essential for our time piece of media, not just for disney but across the fucking board right now. it is sheer talent from start to finish and it’s being looked over just the same way rogue one was and I am m a d

1,394 notes - Posted October 26, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

absolutely destroying me how leia I never get to go anywhere organa spent her childhood desperately trying to leave alderaan and see other planets and explore the galaxy until at some point she could never go home to alderaan and the other planets were all she had left

2,429 notes - Posted May 27, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[regalityandcoffee]

Flesh For Fantasy (18+) (Incubus Finn Bálor x Reader)

(I told y'all I'd write for other wrestlers eventually)

You awake from a restless sleep in your room to find you're not alone.

Warning: Dirty talk, praise kink. Also, uh, I've never written anything for Finn before so I have no clue if this is good or not.

Enjoy?

To put it simply, you were fucking exhausted. Your shift at work had kicked your ass more than usual. You had just wanted to feed your cat, take a shower, and go to sleep.

And you did.

The problem was you couldn't stay asleep. You found yourself waking up twice, once around one and again around three. It didn't really matter, since it was the next day which means it was your day off (unless you got called in). You could sleep all day if you wish.

Still, it was irritating. Even with your A/C on auto, you woke up sweating. All you had gone to bed in was a t-shirt and underwear and brought out your thinnest blanket for the night. Still, this sultry Florida night had you up, groggy and flustered. You sat up and tossed your blanket on the floor. Barely awake, you swore you heard hissing coming from somewhere on the floor.

"Sorry Sami," you grumbled, thinking you had dropped your blanket on your cat. You turned your pillow over and laid back down. Still, the hissing didn't stop.

"Sami?" you swung your legs off the bed and got up. Dropping down, you go to your knees to look under it. Streetlight showing through your room, you could see two small eyes staring back at you wildly from under the bed, the small creature on edge. "What's wrong, baby?"

"I don't think he likes me very much, dear. "

You jumped, quickly standing up. There was someone sitting at your desk behind you. They turned the light on. "My, you're even more breathtaking in the light. Those panties look cute on you, by the way. Really makes your arse just... wow."

Your breath hitched. You were too scared to turn around as you heard him get up and walk towards you on the soft carpet. Soon he was behind you, his breath on your neck. "Who-who are you?"

"Calm down, pet, you're shaking like a leaf. I mean you no harm," he whispered against your ear. His voice was soft but deep, and he spoke with a distinctively Irish accent. "Unless you want me to."

"Please. Please don't kill me-"

"Kill you?!" The stranger sounded genuinely surprised. You shrieked as he appeared in front of you. You now stood face to face with probably the most handsome man you had ever seen in your life. "Why would I kill you?"

He had short, brown hair shaved around the sides of his head and a short, thick beard on a face that looked chiseled by the gods themselves. Pale blue eyes with seemingly red pupils stared back at you as your eyes raked his body. Clothed in nothing but an open black leather jacket, and a pair of tight leather pants that left nothing to the imagination. He tilted his head, his beautiful lips parted and a long, red tongue slipped out to lick them. "I would never kill you y/n. My kind does not kill."

Whoever, whatever this man was, you had no reason to believe him. He broke into your house and your room. But words escaped you at the moment. You couldn't even force out another scream if you tried.

"I'll make this quick and simple. You may call me Finn. I'm an incubus, a demon who feeds on energy through sex. I passed you on the street tonight on your way home from work. I felt your energy from ten feet away, your spirit. You need release, don't you, lass? You can't go on with a knot in your stomach like that, stress can kill, you know. I want to offer you relief, a night free from stress. I'll take your negative energy and free you from it. But I need you to give me the word." He stared, waiting for a response. Almost like magic, you felt able to speak.

"Get out," you choked. "Please get out."

He nodded. " I'm a simple creature. I do not do anything to anyone without permission. Explicit permission. Still, if you need me, my card is on the desk. Whisper my name to it three times and I'll be back. Please don't leave me waiting long, y/n."

With that, he dissipated into a black mist. It soon cleared. You were left alone in your bedroom. Sami ran out from under the bed as you fell to your knees, his fur standing on end, tail straight up.

That couldn't have happened. This was a dream, it had to be. You jumped as the A/C groaned to life again, filling the room with a whirring noise. Sami padded to you, purring as he rubbed himself against you. Absentmindedly, you scratched his head. "It's okay baby, it was just a dream. It was-"

No.

It couldn't have been a dream. The lamp was still on. You hadn't turned it on. The orange tabby by your side couldn't have turned it on.

You stumbled to your feet and went to your desk. Sure enough, placed neatly in the middle was a business card. You picked it up in inspected it. Thin and plain white, except for a simple message written in red cursive on both sides:

Finn Bálor, Incubus. Well, that was blunt. You sat on the edge of your bed, still staring at the card. You were wide awake now. This was weird, even for you. You had heard stories and seen articles about people claiming to have encountered and danced with devils but always thought of them as click bait and nothing more.

But here you were, with a chance to fuck one.

How did any of this work? If you said yes would you go to hell, or would it be excused? Did you even believe in things like that? How could you be sure this wasn't a dream?

He also said he wouldn't hurt you, let alone kill you. He didn't even touch you. But if what he said was true and you weren't still sleeping, then he was a demon. Why should you listen to a demon? Why even entertain the thought? The sensible thing to do was to tear the card apart and burn any evidence of it.

Yes, that was the sensible thing to do. Instead, you sat the card back on the desk and grabbed your phone.

You had research to do.

----------

It had been a week since the incident with Finn Bálor, and the card he had given you still sat on your desk. You had tried getting rid of it, you really did. First, you threw it away, then it reappeared on the desk the next day. Then you tore it up and burned it, then it reappeared just like the first time. Garbage disposal, drowning it driving over it, burning it again. The only thing you hadn't tried yet was pouring salt on the card and then burning it, a tactic you had seen in many a TV show. You didn't know why you couldn't bring yourself to try the salt method. Maybe it was a fear it would actually disappear, but you kept telling yourself you were too scared you'd get burned.

Yeah, that was it. But other than that... you just couldn't get rid of it.

And while you couldn't get rid of the card, you also couldn't escape your thoughts of the demon. He haunted your every waking thought from then on. Eyes like opals, tan skin taut over hard, defined abs. Muscular thighs straining against tight leather. He was perfect. He was the definition of perfect. Every night after work you sat hunkered over your laptop doing as much research on the creature as you could.

And every night you laid in bed thinking of him. On top of you, in you. His tongue down your throat, his hands on your hips. Your thighs wrapped around his head as he ate you out. It was certainly an interesting offer. Especially because he was right: you were stressed. 24/7, if you were being honest. Between family problems, trying to find time for your friends, and your job you were starting to loathe, you were tired. It also didn't help you genuinely couldn't remember the last time you had sex. You wanted to. And ever since you encountered the demon, you found yourself playing with yourself more than usual, letting Sami wander around the house and closing your door to be alone.

Tonight you found yourself laying in bed on your stomach, your favorite toy pushing your panties aside as you imagined the demon between your legs, driving you mad. Tonight's fantasy found you on the floor with him inside you, face pushed into the carpet as that low voice of his voice coached you through it.

"Finn..."

"You're doing good for me, pretty thing. Such a pretty thing when you cum. You're gonna come for me, love? You're gonna sound so good when you do," he would pant as his hips pounded against you. All you would be able to do is moan as his hand intertwined with yours as you moaned his name.

"Finn, Finn..."

You were close, so close....

"Finn, Finn, Finn, Fi-"

And then you heard it. "My, took longer for you to decide than I expected. I see you already started without me. " someone laughed in the dark.

"Wh-wha-?"You lifted your head from your pillow to look for the source, vision cloudy at first. Standing next to your bed, leaning over with his hands in his pockets was the demon. He tilted his head, his red pupils glowing dim in the dark "Ain't you pretty, even in the dark."

You struggled to get up, rolling over and then sitting up quickly, legs dangling off the edge of the bed. Your toy slipped out of your hand and fell to the floor, landing on the carpet below. The high was dying down, quickly replaced by panic so strong you felt it in your ribcage. "What are you-"

"The card, dear. Don't you remember? Although it's weird you're not holding it, that's usually how people get me places. "He looks over at the desk, the card still sitting on it. "You must've been saying my name pre' loud to activate it from bed. That's cute. " He sat next to you, in the dark you could see bright white teeth as he grinned. "So, you've decided, pet? Gonna let me please you tonight?"

You just stared back at him, embarrassed, fearful, frustrated, and confused.

You shouldn't. There's no fucking way that you should. He was literally a demon. But if the stories were true, the relief he could bring you would be beyond euphoric. Especially since he interrupted you doing it on your own.

"I... you'll do as I ask?" You whispered.

"Of course, love. I'm here for you. You get the shag of your life, I get your negative energy. Issa win-win if you ask me."

You gulped. "I don't have condoms though."

"No need," he flicked his wrist and a box appeared in his hand. "I come prepared, sweetheart. Wanna put it on me?" He leaned back, his shoulder brushed against yours as he and spread his legs.

You looked away. "Uh-"

"Hey, are you a virgin? Nothing wrong with that, I'll go slow. Nothing wrong with taking it slow, pet, " He crooked his fingers in front of your face, motioning you to look at him. He sounded more sincere than any human you'd been with. With a shaking hand, you took the box and opened it up.

"I'm not a virgin, this is just weird. "

"Only if ya think about it too much. How do you want me? On the bed? on the floor? At your desk? I can do anything, love. "He was straight to the point. Very straight to the point. You appreciated that.

"The bed is fine. Can I- can I ride you?"

"Whatever you want. "

"Will you touch me while I ride you?"

"Touch you how?" Finn asked, curiosity in his voice.

"You know, tou- rub my..."

"Ah, c'mon now. Speak up. Big girl voice."

You paused, then leaned to whisper in his ears "Please, I didn't finish."

"Oh, I scared you that bad? Shit, I should of waited," he muttered. You watched the motion in the dark as he brought his hand through his short hair. The sound of it rustling made you want to feel it for yourself.

He got off the bed and stood in front of you, unzipping his pants. "Give me your hand, love."

Reached out for him in the dark, and he took your hand into one of his. It felt softer than you thought it would for a demon, but it felt hot. Your hand was moved and you jumped at the feeling of skin, expecting him to be wearing underwear. The pads of your fingers trailed across his hip bone, down until he brought your hand around his hardening, thick shaft. You almost pulled away the feeling of a vein pulsating against your palm.

"You think you can handle this? Don't forget I can shape-shift before or during it."

You moved your hand up and down it, suprised to hear a small groan slip from his lips. You would think an incubus had more control of himself than this to show how turned on he was. "No, this is perfect."

"Perfect? You think it's perfect?" His eyes widened in the dark. You swore his irises seemed to get brighter.

"Yeah?" You tilted your head. You leaned forward, still stroking him, taking your other hand and bringing it to his chest. You spread your legs a bit, your panties rubbing against your (unsatisfied) clit. "You have a nice body. Um, is that your natural form?"

"Technically no, but it's the one I'm in almost as often. It's the one I-" He shuddered as you rubbed one of his nipples. "-use the most."

"I like your voice, its very soothing."

"Pet, what are you doing?"

"Do people touch you back often, Finn?"

"I mean, yeah, not very often. I usually just let them jerk me around the way they need and I leave."

You pouted. "That doesn't sound very satisfying for you."

"Ain't about me, love. It's about the thrall, issa 'bout who-"

"You said I can do whatever, right? Can I give you head?"

"You want to give me head?" he asked in disbelief. Then he seemed to understand, letting out a low whistle. "You can't go feeling bad for creatures like me, pet. I get my rocks off, you don't need to think of me."

"Are you sure? I don't mind, I."

"Just take off your panties for me, love. Let me finish what you started." You let go of his dick and pulled your panties off, dropping them onto the floor. You were left in just your t-shirt, the same you were wearing the night you met. 

"What now?" 

"Want me to finger you? Or just play with your sweet little clit? What do you need tonight, huh?"

"Everything," you whispered. You watched the movement in the dark as he stripped himself of his jacket, then kicked off matching riding boots and slipped off his leather pants.

"Can you see me in the dark?"

"K-kind of."

"Wanna do it with the lights on or off?"

"On, please." you had to see him. You had to see what he looked like undressed. You heard as he walked across the carpet and turned your lamp on. 

"As you wish." Flick.

Good gods did he have an ass on him. You struggled to get a full picture, you wanted to take in every bit of him slowly, individually. From his muscular back right down to his thick thighs and lean calves. How could a creature of hell look so divine?

"So do I lay down, or do you want to ride me while sitting?" His voice broke you free of your trance. He turned to face you, staring intently, shaft at attention.

"Uh, laying down is fun. We can do that."

"Laying down is fun. You're a real card, aren't you pet?" Finn chuckled as he hopped into your bed, resting his head against your pillows. Why did he have such a nice smile? He was literally a demon. That shouldn't be allowed.

You climbed on top of him, straddling his lap. Picking up the box of condoms next to his thigh, opened it and took one out. "What happens if this tears?"

"Nothing. I can't knock you up or give you an STI or anything. All that would happen is I cum in you like a firehose." said Finn, nonchalantly. "Do you want me to fuck you raw, sweetheart?"

You shook your head and made quick work of putting the condom on him, dragging it down inch by inch. Tempting though it was,  something told you if he got the chance to fuck you the way you dreamt you'd get addicted to it. "Are- is this good?"

"That's fantastic. Now come on, pet. Let me take care of you."

You nodded. You placed your hands against his chest, and he grabbed your arms to help steady yourself as you hovered over him. You steadied your legs and lowered yourself, letting his cock sink into you slowly. You shut your eyes,  whimper escaped as it stretched and filled you. 

"There you go, pet. Fuck, your so wet already, huh?" Finn whispered. "You needed this, haven't you?"

You didn't want to lose a bit of this feeling, of him, but how on earth were you supposed to move or do anything with this inside of you?

"G-good girl, don't hurt yourself. You're doing good. Just wait a minute, get used to it." he let go of one of your arms, his hand making its way between the lips of your sex. Two fingers found your clit with ease and began to gently rub circles against it. 

"Finn," you gasped. 

"This feel good, y/n?"

"Yes, please don't stop. " You were begging already and he hadn't even moved in you yet. His fingers applied more pressure, your hips bucked against them, crying out as you felt his dick slide between your walls.

"Open your eyes, y/n."

You complied. He was so beautiful."Look at me, love, you want me to shapeshift? You need lube? I've got you. Don't hurt yourself trying to impress me."

"I can take it, I can take it, please just move, please," you couldn't take him just laying there. You need help, anything at this point would be good."

"I'm going to go slow, join me when you can, alright?" You were crying already as his fingers still moved against you, his other hand letting go of your arm to grip your hip. Slowly, his hips rocked into you. You felt his chest cave and your hands as his breath hitched. "Oh, you feel good, y/n. You're so good."

The motion against your fingers quickened, the pressure and speed grew to be too much. "Finn, I'm coming, I'm coming oh fuck-" You throbbed against his hand, panting. 

"I know pet. You're doing great. That's it. That's it, you're taking me so good," he bit his lip, hand moving from between your thighs to grip your other hip.

"Finn, please, Finn-"

"My name sounds so good coming out that pretty mouth. Ah, fuck. C'mon, bounce a little for me," he grunted as his hips rolled against you.

"I'm trying," you moved your hands from his chest to above his shoulders. They sunk into the mattress on either side of his head. "Oh, Ohhhh!" you moaned as you finally raised your hips, moving back and forth on his dick. His girth moved in and out, his paste quickened. Your begging soon turned incomprehensible as he hit your g-spot. And kept hitting it. 

"Such a cute little thing and now you're- look at me, y/n."

Your vision was growing foggy as your mouth hung open, nonsense dripping from your drooling tongue. The motion aside you matched perfectly with the friction against your jewel, you didn't know how much longer you could take it. You vaguely registered his blue eyes looking at you, expression unreadable through the haze of lust putting you over the edge. It hit you hard, up your spine, through your entire body. You quickly lost your strength, falling hard against his chest, still thrusting into you, just not as fast.'

"Fuck, oh fuck, y/n." His back arched for what felt like a decade, then he fell against the mattress, panting hard.

Still, inside of you, you laid in silence, hearing nothing but the sound of the A/C and your breathing. He pulled out, a hand raking through your hand, scratching at your scalp. "You alright, love?"

You were too exhausted to speak, all you could do was nod against him. You tried to move but found his arm around your waist pulling you close against him. Euphoria had seeped into your brain. You felt both light and heavy as stone.

"Hold on there, pet. I'm not done with you yet. You may be the first human in a long while to pique my interest." A kiss both cold as ice and hot as the fire was laid against your temple. 

"I don- I don't..." you were beyond confused as you buried your face in the crook of his neck. 

"I want more of you. I want more of you. Say yes. I need more of you. " His hand found yourself between your legs again, this time his fingers sliding into your soft and soaked entrance. "Give yourself to me, and I'll make sure you never feel an ounce of sorrow again."

"Wh- why-"

"You don't have to do anything. I'll let you calm down right now. But in five to ten minutes my head is gonna be between your legs, understand?"

You nodded, holding him close as his fingers moved inside you. Whatever kept him here. Whatever kept you feeling this good. You no longer care about the consequences.

"We'll be seeing a lot more of each other, y/n. A lot more of each other."