#but i think that when an environment in a gym is good it just means SO MUCH

[liesmyth]

re: prev post. I love the weight room at the gym but I must say I've only had positive experiences at gyms, and that's why I'm so enthusiastic about it. I know there are plenty of places out there that just plain suck in about a dozen different ways but EYE have been lucky enough to only experience Self-Involved Gym Bros who are literally only there to get a pump and will never look at my ass in the mirror because it's not as interesting as their bicep.

Like. For real. It's amazing. Serious talk: as someone who's experienced an unsettling amount of catcalling / creepy weirdos / groping on public transit / general patriarchy-induced uneasiness that you get sometimes just by existing in public as a woman with a body etc.... that stuff lingers. I've had years of my life where I was just very dissociated from my physical body and hated the idea of just being perceived because of how often I was loudly reminded that I was perceived mostly as a piece of meat. It's a distressingly common experience to various degrees. I like to think I'm pretty well adjusted these days but, like, it's a thing that happens.

And because of ALL OF THAT, I can't stress how refreshing it is to interact on a weekly basis with a bunch of aggressively cishet dudes who just. Don't give a fuck. I could be doing deadlifts in shorts shorts and a sports bra and they'd be like, oh I see you've been working on your hamstrings (this happened to me) It's a next level experience. I love bodybuilders who don't give a fuck about anything that's not their tree-trunk legs. Genuinely. Heaven

[reverie-starlight]

nia, you’ve inspired me to write this with that sleepover question you asked abt me n atsumu a while ago 🫶🏻🫶🏻 I live soley to bug him. it’s my favourite hobby. @luvring

gn!reader, no physical descriptions. fluff fluff fluff fluff fluff fluff fluff fluff fluff.

the faint humming of the television as it played whatever movie had been reduced to background noise is the only sound in your apartment’s tiny living room.

you’re laying on top of atsumu, who’s holding you so tightly against him to make sure you don’t roll off and hit the floor. it had been a lovely day together, going out for lunch and then spending the day at your place playing video games and watching movies. you had even attempted to cook dinner together (a task neither of you are particularly good at, but the simple Italian recipe you found seemed to work out well). you’ve been “sleeping” on his chest for the past half hour, but if you’re being honest, you’re slightly more awake than you’re pretending to be.

according to the clock on your wall, it’s 9:30. which means atsumu has to start heading home soon. it’s the time he set for himself and he’s always so good at keeping his schedule, but you don’t want him to go just yet.

…or at all.

you stay perfectly still on top of him without tensing up too much to avoid suspicion, hoping he’ll just forget and stay the night. with the way he’s gently rubbing one of his hands up and down the skin of your back, you almost fall asleep in his arms for real. but then you feel him slow to a stop.

he pulls his hand out from under your shirt, slowly, you assume it’s so he doesn’t ‘wake you up’, and sighs. you can just picture him checking his phone and realizing, so you do what any scheming partner would- you pretend to wrap your arms around him tighter and nuzzle into him in your sleep.

but atsumu’s observant. he knows you’re not actually sleeping (your breathing hadn’t quite evened out yet) but you are getting there, so he dares to disrupt the serene environment and kisses your forehead to soften the blow.

“baby,” he says, and you immediately shake your head in protest. “ya gotta move, sweetheart. it’s time for me to go.”

“noooo,” you whine, and he thinks it’s the cutest sound he’s ever heard.

he knows you don’t want him to leave just as much as he doesn’t want to leave either, but even though he hates the very idea of it, he has to be up early for practice and you live a bit further away than he’s willing to accommodate for on such short notice.

you nuzzle into his neck a bit more and he sighs again. “angel, please?”

you tilt your head up to look at him and he worries about the angle your neck is twisting at. he brings a hand up to cup the back of your head to keep you from moving it any more.

“‘tsum, please stay?”

turns out you were closer to falling asleep than he anticipated. your voice is so soft and clearly riddled with sleep that he almost caves.

but then he remembers last time this happened and how he had to wake up at 4:30 to make it back to his own apartment to shower, change and pack his gym bag.

and he shudders.

“lovebug, ya know I wish I could, but I really can’t this time. can ya let me up?”

you grumble a bit at the nickname, peering up to glare at him, and he thinks you’re really going to give in, but instead you just lock your legs tight around his.

of course you’re not making this easy for him. when do you ever?

“baby!” he can’t help but laugh, because he absolutely adores you for it.

“you can’t leave if you can’t move,” is what he thinks he hears muffled against his chest.

“that a challenge?”

you shrug and he just scoffs.

“cause if it is… I think we both know how quickly you’d be proven wrong.”

it’s true and you do in fact know it, but you’re just desperate enough to delude yourself into thinking you could keep him down with sheer determination alone.

so when you hold your ground and get defeated in milliseconds by him manhandling you and carrying you to your room, it’s a good thing you have a backup plan ready.

“okay, okay! you win, so your prize is taking me home with you for a sleepover at your place!”

he freezes just as he’s about to dump you on your bed (and presumably tuck you in so you don’t try and jump him on his way out like you have many times before).

atsumu wonders why he hadn’t thought of that as he breaks out into a wide grin. he curls you closer towards him and presses kisses all over your face and neck. “you and your beautiful brain! Oh I love ya so much,” and then he drops you onto the bed. “pack a bag, you’re comin’ over.”

ten minutes later, you’re out the door and no longer tired. it’s a struggle to lock your door when you’re still slung over his shoulder and trying not to laugh so loud that you wake up your neighbours, but like most other situations, he’s there to keep you steady.

“take your time babe, not like we’re in a rush,” he teases while swaying back and forth to make things harder.

you feel delirious, from love or being held upside down you’re not quite sure, but you giggle some more and smack his back. “‘atsumu, come on.”

he relents and soon enough you’re in his bed, playing with his hair. the roles seem to have reversed, because now he’s the sleepy one and you’re admiring the view.

you feel his breath tickle your neck and the goosebumps that follow. he nuzzles into you further and you can feel the movement of his lips when he says “we should have a forever sleepover.”

you turn into a puddle of goo. “yeah? you want to spend every night together?”

he nods and grumbles when you move your hand away from his hair. “wan’ ya with me every night. wanna come home to ya. and I wanna be the first thing ya see when you get home too.”

you coo at your sleepy golden retriever of a boyfriend and he hides his face against your shoulder. “you’re adorable when you’re tired, baby.”

“not as cute as you were earlier, that’s for sure.”

you smile and press a kiss to his scalp before forming a response for his unofficial proposal to move in together.

it’s not as though you haven’t thought about it. it’s constantly on your mind, especially since staying at his place has started to feel less like being a guest and more like an extension of your own home.

if he were to ask you properly, you would most definitely say yes, but since he’s half asleep and most likely doesn’t realize what he’s insinuating…

“we’ll talk about it more tomorrow after you get back from practice. sleep, angel, it’s late. I love you,” you whisper.

he nods a little and repeats the sentiment in a soft, slurred murmur before nodding off for the night.

you’re sure to hug him a little tighter as you drift off soon after and dream of him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

cheesy ending, but I’m feeling soft for him :( so can you really blame me??

tagging some more lovely people :3 @emmyrosee @dira333

[lily-fics-11]

I Can See You: Chapter 3 (Ellie Williams, TLOU)

I Can See You

Fic master post here

*Not beta read

Ellie Williams is a player, on and off the lacrosse field. You begin tutoring her so that she can get her grades up and stay on the team. You try to keep things professional, however, your affection is a great motivator. Ellie wouldn't be caught dead with you so you become her secret mission. 

Chapter 3

The more Ellie flirts with you, the more you see her with other girls, and you aren’t sure why. She gets jealous when other girls give you attention and starts to show that she wants you all to herself. 

Word count: 4.1k

CW: No use of y/n, profanities, a little bit of angst, sexual tension, *Ellie and reader are both 18*

You aren’t quite sure the cause, but there is a positive correlation between how much Ellie Williams flirts with you and how much she is getting with other girls.

You knew that Ellie has… engaged in many connections, even seen it here and there. But it just doesn’t make any sense. Maybe it’s just how much she is on your mind, but it feels like everywhere you look Ellie is with a different girl. Up against a locker, in the library before tutoring, and you even saw her worn out converse along with a pair of designer boots under a bathroom stall. 

The Monday after the game and private lacrosse lessons she is raring to go. She sits down with a mischievous look in her eyes. “We are finally on an even playing field, tutor girl.”

“Because I adequately played lacrosse in gym today?” You chuckle. 

“Yes, we are helping each other pass our classes,” she points out as if it’s completely obvious.

“True,” is the reply you give without thinking. You truly appreciate Ellie’s help. You don’t know that you could have done it without her. But in one class. You’ve put a lot of effort, more than you have with anyone else, into assisting her with four different classes. It is interesting stuff, but definitely not as fun as lacrosse is for her. It’s not a competition by any means, you signed up for this. There is just a bit of resentment. 

“Hey come on, I saved your GPA.” Ellie is playful, however there is a sliver of disappointment.

“It’s true,” you smile but she doesn’t look convinced. 

“I can’t deny that you are probably the only tutor in this school that can put up with all my bullshit. You are gay, and I’m me. But, I’m the only girl on the lacrosse team that you know.” Ellie seems pleased with herself, as if she just won an argument. 

“You aren’t the only girl on the lacrosse team that is gay, and I’m me.” You are impressed by how smooth that was. 

Ellie’s eyes widen in fear. Noted. “Please tell me it’s Robin.”

“She has a girlfriend,” you remind her and she looks frustrated. 

“Josie?” She tries with minimal hope.

“Ellie, she's a freshman!” You scoff at her. 

Ellie crosses her arms with narrow eyes. “So it must be Anderson.”

“I’ve only ever had a few conversations with her, but our parking spots are next to each other. I see the way she looks at me, and every once in a while she will give me a compliment. Abby’s never made a move though.”

“Well that’s lovely.” Ellie spats. 

“Are you jealous, Williams?” You tease, she is uncharacteristically peeved that another girl is giving you attention. 

Ellie forces a laugh. “Pft. No. Of course not. Anderson and I just don’t get along.”

“What did you do to her?” You ask, assuming Ellie’s air of superiority is frowned upon by her teammates. No matter how good she is, huge egos aren’t good in that kind of environment. 

Ellie slams her hands down and defends herself as if she is a criminal on trial. “I didn’t do anything! She started it!”

You let out a long breath in defeat. “Never mind, I don’t need to know.”

Ellie breaks eye contact and mumbles. “I wouldn’t want you to get involved with someone like that.”

Your lips curl into somewhat of a snarl. “So you care about my feelings? I thought I was just a girl to flirt with when no one is looking.”

Fear settles into her green eyes. “Of course not. How could I ignore our chemistry?” Ellie’s pun falters to near silence, she realized this is not the right time.

“Speaking of chemistry, I want to go over kinetic and potential energy first.” You are trying to forget that interaction happened. 

She nods. “I think I have a good understanding of energy.”

“That’s great Ellie. Why don't you tell me, in your own words, what kinetic and potential energy are. Thinking of it in your own words will help you remember it.”

“Well potential energy is what’s happening between us right now. The ‘will they, won’t they’. We make eye contact all the time because we are always looking at each other. You can’t pretend like you don’t want to kiss me. Looking at my lips when I talk, leaning in close to show me how to do things. Potential energy is everything we could be if we gave into our desire.

And kinetic energy? That’s what we felt when we kissed. Getting close to each other, loving it, craving it. We both knew it wasn’t necessary to play lacrosse like that, but we did it anyway. We long to have more of each other. Having you close felt like an atomic collision.”

Your face is burning hot and you struggle to find words when she’s giving you fuck me eyes. “I would like to remind you that this is supposed to be strictly business, although that is a pretty spot on analogy.”

Ellie is so cocky, so pleased with herself. It’s infuriatingly sexy. “When I take this test I’ll be thinking about you regardless, now I have a more appropriate reason to.”

“I'm like your academic muse.” You laugh nervously, wishing you hadn’t said that.  

Ellie’s eyes light up. “The most powerful optical 3D spectrograph for astrophysics known to man?”

She is such a fucking nerd and it makes you smile. Even temporarily forget all the bull shit. “It’s someone who inspires an artist.”

“Well I do like measuring the wavelength of the vibes you radiate.” She licks her lips waiting for your reaction. 

“That’s actually pretty good,” you chuckle. 

Ellie runs a hand through her hair.“The don’t call me the rizzler for nothing.”

You giggle at how ridiculous this girl secretly is. “I would say space nerd but whatever you have to tell yourself.”

“You can call me space nerd, as long as you don’t say it in front of anyone else. You should make it my contact name in your phone, in case someone sees your notifications.”

You roll your eyes and agree to it. You hate that sometimes she charms you to the point of forgetting about the reality of your situation. Gives you hope just to take it away.

“While I do that look at questions 5, 6, 7, and 8” you mumble. Ellie can tell you aren’t happy with her and doesn’t push her luck, doesn’t even ask any questions the rest of the period. 

However, she puts her hand on your arm to get your attention when you start to leave the library. “I have another home game tomorrow.”

You sigh. “That is going to take time away from studying.”

“Oh, I, uh, yeah,” she says, rubbing the back of her neck anxiously. 

You give her a half hearted smile. “Good luck though.”

Ellie senses that you are wary of her so she is blushing and hesitant. “The last game was the best season opener I’ve ever played. You should come to this one too, just in case you are my good luck charm.”

“I uh… I’m not sure if I can make it,” you tell her. Any hope she had falls off her face.

Seeing her like that tugs at your heart much more than you would like it to. “But I’ll do my best.” Her face lights back up and she hits you with a smolder that would give Flynn Rider a run for his money.

During lunch the next day you get some homework done so that you can go to Ellie’s game.

When you open your locker at the end of the day a piece of paper falls out. Unfolding the note it says “I hope you can fit me into your busy schedule -E”. Even if she hadn’t signed it you would have recognized her handwriting.

There had been a confusing math problem you got stuck on so you took a seat right before the team went onto the field. You sit alone, in the same spot as last time, so Ellie can easily see that you are there. For the sake of good luck, of course. 

Ellie looks up at you once she’s in position and smirks. She moves her hands on her stick to the weird way you had held it the other day, before quickly switching back. 

Abby Anderson looks good as usual, fighting for the ball when the whistle is blown, but Ellie’s words are in the back of your mind.

The team that they are playing today is much better than the last one. They keep control of the ball a lot more and have a faster goalie. After Ellie takes a few shots you notice that the goalie has a certain strategy. You don’t know lacrosse but you do know how to recognize a pattern. Ellie notices it too, and takes full advantage of it, scoring right away and repeating the move.

Ellie, and Abby, though not as much, lead the team to victory. Now that you are aware of it there are moments where you notice tension between them. 

You time your exit to cross paths with Ellie, so you can see her before you leave. Not that you would say anything to her with other people around. Unfortunately, her attention gets captured by one of the prettiest girls in school. The girl twirls her hair flirtatiously and puts her hand on Ellie’s arm. Most of the team is walking back to the locker while you walk to your car. You hear footsteps close to you and a somewhat familiar voice calls your name. 

Abby Anderson is walking next to you. 

“You plan on coming to every game this season?” She asks. 

“Oh, I don’t know. Probably just until the lacrosse unit is over in gym, I’ve been studying.”

“Well I look forward to seeing you in the stands. Maybe you will find a reason to keep coming.”

You give her a polite smile, unsure of what to do. 

“See ya around,” she says and then jogs to catch up to some of her teammates. 

Moments later you receive a text from Space Nerd🚀🤓: I’ll be keeping an eye on her

Ellie hard core flirts at your next tutoring session. It's weird, but so is she. 

One would think she hit the lottery when talking about how you were at her game. When she thanked you for coming she emphasized that it was her game. Assuring herself you were there for her and not Abby, though she didn’t actually say that. “I really think you are my good luck charm, looks like you are stuck coming to the rest of the games this season.”

“I wasn’t at the away game,” you remind her and she frowns. “Fine, every home game.”

“I really am responsible for the fate of the entire lacrosse team,” you chuckle. “I’ll try and get to all of your home games.”

Ellie’s jaw drops.“You will?”

“Yeah. You’ve been working hard. I’m proud of you. Besides, I'm not helping you get your grades up just to ruin it with your superstition.”

Working on her calculus is tedious, which only increases her impulse to create distractions.

“It’s getting hard to differentiate,” she tells you between problems.

“I know it’s hard, but you've already improved so much. I know you’ve got this.”

Ellie brushes a piece of hair off of her face. “Differentiate between whether or not you really want to keep things professional. You say you want to, but that look in your eyes tells me otherwise.”

You roll your eyes but Ellie is not easily deterred. “If we integrate ourselves, there is an array of possibilities. The limit goes to infinity.”

“The only reason I put up with your flirting is because it weirdly helps me know how much you’ve been paying attention.”

Ellie leans in closer and whispers “you can try and lie to me all you want, but you have a tell.”

You don’t back away from her, you match her energy, though the hair on the back of your neck stands up. “A tell? I don’t have a tell,” you scoff. “But if I did have one, what would it be?”

Ellie licks her lips and then looks at yours when she asks “what’s the fun in telling you?”

“Just remember that with great power comes great responsibility.”

Ellie looks like she’s about to jump out of her seat with that reference to her favorite superhero. “That makes me want to call you the Uncle Ben to my Spider Man, but that would make trying to kiss you really weird.”

As an athlete, Ellie does know how to get down to business. She had her chem test and got a B, but she has tests in all 3 of the other classes you are helping her with over the next week as well. She keeps herself in check, meaning minimal antics instead of as much as she can get away with.

You prepare her for all the essay topics she might get about The Great Gatsby, go over every single Spanish vocab word and conjugation as many times as possible, and practice the types of integrals she has the most trouble with. 

Ellie reports back that she feels like she did well. You check in with her Sunday night, she tells you she did good and then doesn’t answer when you ask about specifics. 

Humble is not a word to describe Ellie Williams, so you find it a little odd. That is until you get an email from the guidance counselor, informing you that Ellie has met the requirements she needed to. You have been assigned another student, a softball player that has been slacking this season. 

You immediately text Ellie: Why didn’t you just tell me you didn’t need tutoring anymore?

She responds immediately: I was hoping you wouldn’t find out and you would keep tutoring me

You shake your head in frustration and text her: Call me!

Seconds later your phone is ringing with a FaceTime call. 

Ellie is holding her phone at a weird angle, like a dad that doesn’t know how to use a phone properly. She looks guilty as hell.

“Hey tutor girl.” Her smile is forced, and her freckles are accompanied by a bright flush.

“Did you really think they weren’t going to tell me?” You ask her this with a small smile. Seeing her all frazzled is pretty adorable. Ellie is undoubtedly hot, but seeing her be cute melts your heart. 

Ellie bites her lip for a moment while she thinks.“I guess I didn’t really think that through. But would you be able to keep tutoring me?”

“Ellie you are very smart, all you needed to do was learn how to study and you’ve done that. Besides, they already gave me someone else to tutor.” Losing your time with Ellie was always inevitable. She no longer has a reason to see you, you aren't sure where all this is coming from.

Ellie’s nose scrunches and her eyebrows furrow. “I can’t believe that you would- that they would- who even is it?”

“Elise Knolls,” you tell her calmly. 

“She’s gay!” Ellie yells like she had said this girl is a murderer. 

“Uh yeah, why does that matter?” Ellie has never truly wanted you, she wanted to kiss her tutor. But maybe that’s not the case? 

A fire burns in her bright eyes. “Because- because you might start going out with- out to her softball games instead of my lacrosse games!” Is she really, you use this word with great haste, jealous?

You do your best to contain yourself. You want to laugh more than anything else, and tell her I told you so. “Ellie I will still try and come to as many of your games as I can.”

She looks like a little kid on Christmas. “For real?”

A smile that you don’t mind showing spreads across your face. “Yes. I promise.”

Ellie’s excitement starts to slide away after briefly living in the moment. “I still won’t actually see you. For tutoring. I think I still need it. I don’t want to lose… my momentum.”

“You have practice or a game after school everyday,” you remind her. 

“Well my team has the first practice some days, but the guys team does on the other days” she explains, much more serious than she usually is. 

You sigh. “I have my own work to get done.”

Ellie looks desperate at this point. “Well can we work together? I’ll only ask questions when I need to.” She is all but begging.

The idea is good, but only in theory. “You are prone to creating distractions.”

“I will tone it down.” Ellie promises. “I don’t want to lose this opportunity to spend time with you. So that you can help me with school, of course.”

This is something you really want to make work. You don’t want to lose Ellie either. She is the best pain in the ass you’ve ever had. “We can try it. If I can get as much work done as I need to, we will continue. If you can’t keep your dinosaur rants and space explanations to a minimum we won’t.”

Ellie is giddy to the point where she might giggle. “Tutor girl, you are the best, thank you. You won’t regret this.”

“If I do, we won't keep doing it,” you emphasize. 

“I promise. Thank you.” Her expression changes though. “I do have to ask, about this Elise girl, how do you feel about… tutoring her?” Ellie’s low voice and serious tone make your heart race. It’s hot as hell.

“I know her, don’t really know anything about her grades though. We’ve never really been in any classes together.” You explain. 

“Then how do you know her?” She continues to interrogate.

“We frequent some of the same social events.”

“Do you mean parties?” You nod. “You go to parties?” She is in genuine shock.

You roll your eyes but smile through it. “Yeah, there are parties besides the ones thrown by the 1%.”

Ellie switches back into detective mode. “So do you guys like, hang out at these parties?” You give her another nod. 

“When I say hang out, are you picking up what I’m putting down?” Her eyes are wide with anticipation.

Ellie is going to keep pushing until she gets the information she wants. She's nothing if not persistent. “We’ve hooked up…” her face contorts as if she ate something sour. You mumble “quite a few times.”

“Oh.” If her eyes weren’t already so green they would be now. The jealousy has taken over.

Not the best note to end this call on, but you really need to review topics for a tutoring session tomorrow. “How about you text me what your schedule looks like this week and we figure things out from there.”

“I can do that.”

“Bye Space Nerd.”

“Bye tutor girl.”

Monday morning when you get to your locker there is a rose tucked into one of the holes. Weird. Upon opening it you find a note that says ‘thank you again -E.”

Walking to your homeroom you overhear the girl that had been flirting with Ellie after her game the other day talking to one of her friends. 

“Ellie hardly even paid any attention to me on Saturday. I wanted to take her upstairs but she wasn’t interested. I didn’t see her go upstairs with any girls, I don’t know what her deal is.”

After school you meet Ellie in the library. She is there first, in the back corner, even though it is empty. 

There is something different about her today, but you can’t identify it immediately. Her hair is the same, she is wearing jeans, a flannel, and converse like she normally does. Looking past her physical appearance, there has been a change in her disposition. 

Ellie is confident as always, but lacks her typical cockiness. She already has her things ready to get started on her work, and is waiting for you with a smile. And not just a polite ‘thank you for doing this for me’ smile. More so an ‘enchanted by your presence’ smile. This may lead to cardiac arrest. 

Ellie takes a moment to look into your eyes, searching for something unbeknownst to you. “Tutor girl, I’m glad you could make it.”

“I told you I would be here,” you remind her teasingly. 

She picks up a pencil and starts fidgeting with it. “Yeah, but I’m still not sure why you agreed to this. I’m a headache, why would you deal with me more than you have to?”

“Well you are a pain in the ass,” a gorgeous one, you think to yourself. “But you’ve grown on me. And I didn’t want to stop seeing you… continue to do.”

“I will help you with your work if you ever need it. Not sure how, but I will do my best.” This offer makes you believe she is eager to please you.  This brings as much shock as it does a growing desire in the pit of your stomach. There are a lot of ways she could please you…

“Thank you space nerd, that’s very sweet.”

Ellie looks at you with starry eyes and as much as you want to live in that moment you know that you shouldn’t. “I have a lot of work to do, we should get started.” You were her tutor, you helped her do what she loves the most, playing lacrosse. This mild infatuation isn’t coming from anywhere but her appreciation for you. It’ll pass. You can’t forget that.

Ellie starts reading Lord of the Flies while you highlight and make notes in a textbook. 

You had started about 90 degrees, or pi/2 radians, away from each other around the circular table. However, when she asks her first question you notice that she is closer to you. You assume that is because it would be easier for you to see the quote she is referring to.

That is until you switch from reading to doing physics, and she is even closer than before. You side eye her and she just smiles innocently. 

It’s not long until her arm is brushing up against yours and she moves her knee so that it is leaning into your leg. 

You roll your eyes. “Can I help you?”

“No thank you,” she says, not even looking up from her book.

“Then what are you doing?”

“Just getting cozy.”

You put your pencil down. “I wouldn’t call this professional.”

Ellie’s naive facade is replaced by a smirk. “You said no distractions, you didn’t say anything about keeping it professional.”

“As long as you can keep getting your work done,” you warn her and she nods.

“One question though.” She leans over, chest pressing against your arm, to point to an equation on your paper.

“Did you write that E there for Ellie?” She looks at you with great suspense.

“This is distracting,” you chastise her.

“Fine. What does E stand for?” Ellie asks this with what seems to be genuine curiosity.

You are happy to explain since she isn’t doing it to push your buttons. “Well it’s the Greek letter epsilon, not E. Denotes permittivity.”

Ellie continues to look over everything on your paper. “What is permittivity?”

“The resistance to electric field formation.”

That earns a laugh. “Fun.”

“Extremely pleasurable.” At the word pleasurable her eyes wander over you, hungrily taking in every inch. She sees you looking back at her the same way and licks her lips before agreeing not to distract you anymore.

You get back to work but she doesn’t, you can see her watching you out of the corner of your eye. You choose to ignore this, you are no longer responsible for micromanaging her. You finish up your physics and ask Ellie when she needs to leave. She's got about 15 minutes.

“Well I don’t want to get started on anything new right now. Do you have any questions before we finish up?” You ask this expecting her to say no and be done. She hasn’t read anything since you last checked in.

“Yes,” she declares with a devilish smile. She leans in, and you feel her warm breath on your ear when she whispers “what would you do if I went to touch you now?”

Tags: @bready101, @st4r-b3rries, @tlou-bombshell, @stvrs13, @dinanellie, @everegretseverything, @mikellie, @lamolaine, @0pheli4, @soupycloud, @radioheadfan699, @callmelola111, @hysteriawillnotsuccumb, @normalthing111 

[mistyresolve]

Could you do a part 2 of "Takedown" with actual smut please? it was so good 💗

| Close Quarters

Word Count - 2.2k

Summary - It's Friday, which means you'll be busy later today helping out Ghost with his training. Only, you didn't expect to see him as early as 4 am. Nor did you expect him to leave you breathless and on the verge of begging for more.

Tags/Warnings - 18+ Smut, Dirty talk, Heavy petting, slight Voyeurism, Grinding, and Edging?

A/N - I could take him...just not in a fight

Takedown

Masterlist  ❤︎  Tag List Form 

It was 4 a.m. by the time you got to the training room; most of the lights still turned off for the night. Leaving only the front half of the room illuminated, the back half was visible but still shadowed. Which was fine, it was the reason you came here at this hour. There was never anyone else to worry about or share equipment with. It allowed you time to think. Focus. Work through the stresses of the week without interruptions. 

That was how your days normally started. 

Unless there was someone else lurking in the shadows of the gym. Like there was today. 

A large dark form was hanging from the pull-up bars, their ankles crossed over each other. Hammering out pull-ups like they were nothing. They hadn’t noticed you come in, their attention on their reflection in the mirror to monitor their form and technique. They were wearing a hoodie, large enough to conceal what muscle might be hiding beneath it. The hood up. 

You squinted at the reflection in the mirror to try and catch a glimpse of who it might be. Only their face was half covered. 

If the male wasn’t wearing shorts you might have just shrugged it off and started on your own workout. For if it weren’t for said shorts you would have missed the familiar tattoos on his right leg. A patchwork of art that descended past his sock and disappeared under his shorts. He explained some of them to you once. Your eyes fell to one in particular. A statue of a female body. Her wings outstretched behind her and curving around his thigh. Her strength was still perceptible despite her head and arms being missing, those pieces of her departed her during sometimes of the statue's lifetime. 

A hauntingly beautiful depiction of The Winged Victory of Samothrace. 

When you asked him to explain that tattoo, Simon shrugged and stated that he “simply liked it”.  

He lowered himself back to the ground, noiseless aside from the soft tap of his shoes hitting the floor. He rested his hands on his hips, his wide shoulders rising and falling as he caught his breath. 

You debated slipping out of the training room before he saw you. Turned in your direction before you could make up your mind. He was reaching for the towel hanging on the bench behind his when he froze. His eyes find yours in the dark. The was no shock or surprise in his expression. 

Then you realized you could see his expression. 

He was still wearing a mask, just not the one he normally wore. This one was an altitude mask. Designed to mimic the effects of high-altitude environments and restrict airflow to the user, forcing the lungs to work harder. Commonly used for conditioning. 

You tried it once. Nearly died. 

Simon was doing a better job at handling the effects of the mask than you did, but he was still heaving for breath. 

You raised a hand to him in “hello”, offering him a small smile. 

He pulled earbuds from his ears, the sound of his music audible from where you stood. Well, there’s the reason as to why he didn’t hear you come in.  

“What are you doing up?” his voice was muffled slightly from the mask. 

You dropped your gym bag on the floor next to a bench of your own, “Same reason as you, I suppose,” you took a seat, kicking off your slides, “You sleep well?” 

He shook his head as he made his way over to you, “Didn’t sleep at all. You?” He definitely looked tired, something you could see even in the dark. His accent always gets a little thicker when he is nearing his limit. His words slurred together, a verbal representation of what his thoughts felt like. 

As he neared, you could make out more of his face. He looked younger than you had imagined. Softer, even. He still looked like a battle-hardened male, with strong edges and chiselled features. Just…less pirate-esque. 

He was handsome. From what you could see.   

You had to force yourself to look away from him. This was the most of his face you’d seen and it felt like you were seeing him naked. It felt personal.    

“Just an early bird. Did you just get here?” you toed into your shoes, leaning down to tighten the laces. You felt flurry butterflies in your stomach when his own shoes came into your line of vision. His proximity had you reminding yourself to behave. You’d had boyfriends and lovers before, but none of them made your toes curl like Simon Riley did. None of them made you dizzy with a mere look your way.   

“Got here a little while ago,” it was strange to see him outside of the usual military garb. It was stranger that it was strange. You’ve been working with the 141 for almost a year now and don’t know any more about him now than you did when you met him. You understood his personality and the complexity of him. His mannerisms have also become familiar to you, but you didn’t know very much about his civilian life. Or his life before the army.

He leaned his shoulder into the wall next to you, his arms crossed over his chest, “What are you working on?”

“Just cardio today, I’m still a little sore from you throwing me around the other day,” that and later today you’d be back to helping him with his training, “How much longer do you plan on being here?” 

“Sick of me already?” 

“No. Not at all,” you breathed out a laugh and looked up at him from your seat. His eyes were heavy as he looked down at you. You didn’t allow yourself to decipher whether it was from exhaustion or something a little more carnal. He was close enough to you that if you slid off the bench and onto your knees you’d be at just the right height to—

“I’m meeting up with Price in an hour,” his rumbling voice snapped you out of your fantasy.

You stood up from the bench, turning to face him fully. He watched your every move with fervored intent, his gaze dragging down your body, “Why? What do you need?” he drawled. 

The air in the room turned heavy as the two of you exchanged desperate, wordless pleas. This wasn’t the first time you and him found yourselves in this situation. Both of you fighting the urge to devour the other. Neither was brave enough to take the first step. 

He had an hour…

You took a step closer, close enough that if you lifted a finger you’d touch him. He stilled attention wholly on you now. With chilled fingers you lifted the hem of his sweater, running them up his still sweat-covered skin. You could feel his muscles retract at your cold touch, but he leaned into this feeling rather than pull away. He hissed and his eyes squeezed shut, his expression wanton. You dragged your nails across his chest, and one of his hands shot out to grasp yours, “What do you need?” he asked again, this time his voice dripped with honey.

…You could work with an hour. 

“You,” you breathed, the hand he left free sliding down to his waistband. You stopped before going further, head tilting to the side. You weren’t going to go any further until he said it was okay. 

He began to nod his head, “Take what—”

The doors to the training room creaked open and entered a soldier. His head was down, bobbing to whatever music was playing in his earbuds. The room was too dark for him to see you two clearly back here, but panic still exploded in your chest. You jumped back from Ghost like his skin burned you, your gazes locked onto each other. His eyes were wide. Wild with excitement and shock. You had a feeling your expression matched his. 

The soldier walked into the bathroom, blissfully unaware of the two shadows at the back of the room. Who were mere moments away from heavy petting and grinding. 

Your mood deflated, but when you turned back to Ghost, his breaths were coming in fast. 

Oh. 

Oh. 

He had been eager for you to touch him. The heavy bulge outlining his shorts was evidence enough. You feared your blush was bright enough that it was glowing. 

“Ghost,” you started but he was already reaching for you, pulling you until you were flush with him. Where you could feel his hard length for yourself, feel it press into your abdomen. He made an experimental roll of his hips, searching for any time of friction.

“How quiet can you be?” he huffed, his hands sliding from your arm to your ass, lifting you to your tippy toes so your core was closer to his. 

You stifled your moan with a hand, which should have been answer enough, “Not very.” 

Then he was moving, “Grab your stuff,” he was already moving to grab yours when his phone rang. The noise was offensive, and he swore when he took it out of his pocket. He shot you an apologetic look before answering, “Captain,” the heat in between your legs studdered and annoyance took its place. You could see his own frustrations at the situation, and at whatever Price had to say, “Sounds like a shitshow.” 

You plopped back down on the bench, defeated. Price would be whisking Ghost away now. When Ghost turned around to you one more time, you saw your opportunity. You quickly lifted the front of your shirt, flashing him. 

First, there was shock, but it was quickly followed by a cheeky grin. Not that you could see it, but you could tell it was hiding beneath that mask. He reached out a hand, his fingers dancing across your exposed skin. You shuddered underneath him as he rubbed a thumb across your hardening nipple. You bit down on your lip to keep the moan from spilling from your mouth. 

“Yeah,” he spoke into the phone, but his eyes were on you, analyzing your every action and reaction to him. You arched into him, and he immediately understood. He rolled your nipple between his thumb and forefinger. Your hands dropped to between your legs, pressing your fingers into your weeping cunt through your pants. A wet spot already appearing. Your other hand covered his cock, using your whole hand to rub at him. 

He groaned but quickly covered it by clearing his throat, his brows knit together, “Understood,” he promptly hung up the phone. He jerked his chin at you, and ordered “Let me see.” 

You spread your legs apart, fingers still making slow circles. He grabbed at both your wrists, holding them away from both yours and his body. 

“You have no idea how bad I want you right now,” he growled.

“But you have to go,” you taunted. 

If Price called him at this time of day, it was probably urgent. Especially if they were going to meet in an hour anyway. 

He didn’t have to say anything for you to know you were right, “You’re not to touch yourself until we’re alone again.” 

He had every intention of finishing this off. He just needed to go deal with whatever Price was needing him for. And he wanted you to be desperate for it when it happened. He wanted you to be thinking about him all day. He wanted you to be a mess for him. 

“How long will that take?” you twisted your hips, bringing yourself to the edge of the seat, using it you grind yourself on. He yanked you up off the chair. He wasn’t going to allow you to have any sort of pleasure. 

“I’ll be back for the training this afternoon,” he maneuvered you both so you were standing in front of the mirror, your arms now pinned behind your back, shirt still hiked up. Your chest, fully exposed. He towered over you from behind, his presence remained domineering. You watched yourself in the mirror. The position was entirely submissive. Vulnerable. He had barely done anything and you already looked fucked out. 

He pulled your arms tighter so your back bowed, his free hand coming to cup a breast, squeezing hard, “Say it,” he ran his hand to your inner thigh, this thumb grazing your now throbbing pussy. 

“I won’t touch myself,” you were about to start begging him.  

“That’s a good girl,” he purred. 

The soldier from before walked back out of the bathroom having changed into his workout clothes. 

Ghost made no move to cover you back up. The soldier still had yet to notice you two at the back but your heart still hammered against your chest. Adrenaline flooded your bloodstream once more.  

Finally, he pulled down the front of your shirt for you before letting go of your wrists. You nearly collapsed to the floor, your knees threatening to betray you. He guided you back to the bench, “Get out of here before I change my mind and I end up being late.” 

Hand to Hand

A/N - I have every intention of making a third part to this. But I want to make this as immersive as possible so you guys are going to have to wait just like the reader 😈

Taglist - @thychuvaluswife ❤︎ @shuttlelauncher81 ❤︎ @lostinsideourminds ❤︎ @v1naco ❤︎  @konig-breedme ❤︎ @wolfyland07 ❤︎ @cumbersome-robes ❤︎ @adelaidai ❤︎ @ddioriez ❤︎ @johfaam0 ❤︎ @purplefishingline ❤︎ @dog55teeth​ ❤︎ @meaganjean ❤︎ @mymommmy​ ❤︎ @xheera ❤︎ @lockleywife ❤︎ @crunchlite ❤︎ @ryethebrokengae ❤︎ @mychrysanthemums  

[stardewvalleybut-i-draw]

Can u give me ur full thoughts on Alex? I feel like a lot of the shit he gets is unjustified. Yeah he says some sus things to the farmer (no matter what gender you are!) but that's only because he's horribly mislead. The man just doesn't know any better. I mean think about it. Abused and neglected, lacking good male role models, and he's got no friends in town except for maybe Haley and you know how she is. If she was told "you're probably not into sports" she'd say "ew no" because sports would get her all dirty.

I always saw him as just a loner-type guy who doesn't know how to talk to people. Spent too much time trying to develop his cringe ass macho man persona that he forgot to develop social skills. I don't think that makes him a bad person though. I could honestly talk for hours about how toxic masculinity is a monster that preys on young boys and eats them alive if they're not careful. But even with societal pressure being so intense, growth is possible. Alex is still a massive sweetie in my eyes. A big dumb doofus who loves his granny and wants to lift heavy things just to impress you.

I would love your thoughts though!!

#1 Alex fan anon ⚡️

Yeah. That's basically more or less my thoughts😅

It honestly depends on what you experience that can greatly color Alex's character

This might be one of my more controversial takes

(right next to being a Clint apologist💀)

but stick with me here-

If you grow up in a similar environment to most guys, you can understand why Alex is the way they are. It's not exactly easy to be soft or mindful when you have a harsh environment around you. Many guys end up coping with repressed thoughts and feelings in unique ways to soothe themselves. I think Alex's was sports. (Idk just a hunch) but it often leads to a lot of blind spots or misunderstandings of the world.

I've seen a lot of people like Alex and I've had a couple of friends in high school like that too! And I can tell you... yeah... it comes from SOMEWHERE, A lot of them ain't doing so great mentally.

Heck, I do that! Whenever I get uncomfortable with a situation or feelings I don't like, I make jokes to ease my brain. Releses a little serotonin ya know what I mean?

Not all coping mechanisms are bad tho, we kinda have our own form of bond and support that from the outside looks cold and uninviting but I promise you, we would die for our brothers. (plus the cold uninviting part is just a front)

"I know the homie told us to KYS over Roblox but he bought the group Freebirds during the gym session so it's all good!"/j

I can't say much from the other perspective but I would assume they would see Alex as a HUGE BIG RED flag and someone potentially dangerous or someone who brings back bad memories which is why he is dunked on so much. Even if they don't mean it, they have a higher chance of hurting people.

I don't think Alex is THAT type of character at all, I think he has good intentions but as you said "no social skills". I can see why others would interpret that way though.

It's funny that you mention how Alex doesn't have many female role models cuz... you have

Haley- Lazy and super not into dirt.

His mom- got sick and DIED.

Granny Evelyn- frail weak old woman who makes cookies and tends to flowers.

Those are not exactly SUPER GREAT examples of women who like sports.

Personally, I get why people say that playing a male farmer is better for Alex's story arc along with confronting George about the whole being gay thing but I think the female farmer has elements that I don't think are acknowledged much.

From my perspective anyway, I think a Fem farmer shows Alex a better example of women and what they can do VS grandma, dead mom, and Haley... along with learning boundaries and how better cope with repressed feelings and MAYBE-

-even address the fear of the farmer DYING of a sickness just like his mom or the intrusive thoughts of believing he'll end up like his father making him overprotective and paranoid about the farmers well being...

but you can ignore that...

Idk man, that's just the way I view it. You either like Alex or you don't :/

I ain't saying anyone's wrong to feel the way they do

[daisymbin]

will you play with me? (always, my love) - lee seokmin

word count: 2k

warnings: brief mention of bullying(?)

pairings: lee seokmin x afab reader

genre: playmates to friends, friends to lovers, lovers to ???? hahaha, fluff fluff fluff

a/n: this is a long one guys im sorry. of course, inspired by that song: Play With Me by Pagaehun & KKANBYEONGZ :)

*for this fic, lets just all pretend we are the same age as our beloved seokmin!! also, im basing the age and education level off of the korean education system!

requests open!

check out my masterlist!

when seokmin was 4 years old

''why are you guys picking on him?'' you said angrily with furrorwed eyebrows as you stomped over to the group of boys as fast as you could with your tiny feet. your tiny angry stomps coming closer to where your playmates (classmates?) were at. it had been playtime; free and easy. of course, there were your teachers to look after all of you kids, but the playground was so big! the teacher can't keep up with all kids, especially when a third of you were playing hide and seek.

''seokmin takes too long to find us! he's not very good at being IT, we don't want to play with him anymore!'' sunny, your classmate explained frustratedly with a pout, her arms folding over her small frame. ''you guys are so mean! doesn't that just mean that you guys are good at hiding? how can you blame seokminie!'' you defended your kindergarten classmate. this time, minseok, another classmate spoke up, ''he is just too slow! because of him, we are running out of playtime! we will have to go home soon and can't play anymore until tomorrow!'' how could they possibly blame him! you thought to yourself.

without bothering to say another word to your classmates, you held your small, delicate hand out to seokmin who was squatting sadly in the middle of all your other classmates while they surrounded him in a circle. ''come on, seokminie, if they don't want to play with you, it's okay! i'll play with you! is that okay? will you play with me seokminie?''

seokmin has heard tons of fairytales by age 4; some from kindergarten when the teachers were telling stories during recess, but also from mom and dad when they read him bedtime stories. so obviously, seokmin knows what love is. he knows how happily ever afters start and how they end because afterall, the teacher and his parents would never tell him things that are untrue, right? so, seokmin thinks to himself: she must be the one. because why else would you come to his rescue? that's how all fairytales start! and there must a reason why his cheeks are hot and his heart is beating so hard and fast. he thinks it could be because of the sun and the hot weather, but with him squating in the middle of 6 kids crowding around him in a circle while they are standing, he doubts its because of the sun and hot weather because he is in a well protected shade thanks to the kids.

seokmin held out his hand to reach for yours. he knows he should still be upset over what his classmates did but as soon as his hand touches yours, all the hurtful feelings and sad thoughts leaves his mind. suddenly, all he can think about is how safe your tiny hands feel and that you must be his knight in shining armour.

when seokmin was 15 years old

it was a change in environment for seokmin for sure, he was finally in high school with you, yes same school and same class. and right now, he is having his first gym class of the year. as soon as you were done with stretching, you hear your coach say ''alright, i want you guys to group yourselves in either a group of 3 or a pair and then we can start off with badminton .'' seokmin PANICS because today is only the second day of school and he is sad to admit that other than you, he hasn't made any new friends. he didn't seem to think it was important.

seokmin's eyes roamed around the basketball court hoping to find a partner only to realise he is the only one without a partner or a group. seokmin tried to discretly look over to you to see if you have a group or partner and guess what? you do. in fact, you're in a group of 3 and disappointment slowly washes over him as he turns back around. almost telepathically , your eyes started searching for seokmin and landed on the back of his head. you shoulders sag a little when you realise that seokmin doesn't have a paartner or a group. ''hey sorry you guys,'' you said to your 2 classmates, ''i think im going to join my friend over there.''

you quietly walked over to seokmin, almost in tippy toes. ''seokmin ah, can i join you?'' you asked with a soft smile. ''but what about your group?'' he questioned. ''they can play as a pair, dont worry about them!'' you answered. ''are you sure you wanna partner with me?'' seokmin's eyes turn to look down at his feet. ''yes i'm sure,'' your hand unconsciously reaches out for his. ''come on, play with me! badminton is about to start! let's go against my 2 friends!''

''i don't know y/n, im not very good at badminton.'' seakmin said as he lifts his other free hand to scratch the back of his neck. ''that's how it gets fun seokmin! by making clumsy mistakes! now come on, will you play with me?'' and seokmin simply answers with a nod; he doesn't trust himself now to answer you verbally. he is scared you'll hear how happy and relieved he is. he is afraid his trembling and stuttering voice will give away how he can feel his blood pumping through his veins and into his hammering heart; all because you are holding his hand.

when seokmin was 21 years old

''no, i do not want to go to that party.'' was what seokmin said 2 hours ago, and now? he's sitting on the living room couch watching you play beer pong with your friends. his stomach does a little flip when he sees your lips forming into a pout because you were failing horribly at the game. ''seokmin ah,'' you called out to him (more like shouting over the loud music and the swamp of people in the flat. ''come play beer pong with me!'' seokmin gets up from the couch and starts to walk towards you just as you manage to get a tennis ball into a red cup, seokmin watches your down that cup of beer. as soon as he reaches you, he lets out a deep audible sigh; not that anymore can hear him either. it is way too noisy in here.

he reaches for your empty cup and sets it aside. '' alright, that's enough for the night. you had a lot of pre-game drinks. you drank way too much tonight. it's late, let's get you back to your flat mhm?'' he pleaded with such soft eyes. you wonder if he knows just how in love you are with him. you could stare into his eyes and get lost in them forever if the universe allows. but you know thats not possible. ''can we go after we finish this game? pleeeeease? pretty pretty please? i keep losing and you're good at beer pong! play with me! wongil is joining minho so we can play 2 vs 2.''

''now why would i do that?''

''oh come on! minho and wongil only have 2 cups left, the game will end quickly! they're good at it.''

you watch seokmin and see his pondering over that. ''it'll be really quick i promise!'' seokmin then says: ''do i really have to?''

''will you play with me? please seokminieeeee.'' seokmin lets out a playfully dramatic sigh, pretending like he isn't happy that you asked him for help.

when seokmin is 23

around the corner of the street, leading to a big empty field right beside the mall, just so happens to be a carnival so the two of you decide to take a look around, maybe buy some snacks.

''seokmin look! they have a giant bouncy castle! can we please go?'' you asked, giving him the best puppy dog eyes you can. ''but what if you bounced too hard and land on a kid? that's not gonna be pretty.'' seokmin laughed.

''don't be dramatic, that wont happen!''

''you go ahead, sweetheart. im scared i'll hurt a kid accidentally.''

''we can play by ourselves at that corner,'' you pointed at the very back of the right corner where there is no one there. ''is that enough convincing? will you play with me? please please please'' you begged. ''of course, sweetheart.''

when seokmin was 27

tonight seokmin is taking you out on yet another date. except this time, seokmin tells you about how fancy the restauant is. he had told you that its a new place he's been wanting to try out but hasn't got the chance yet. the truth is, he's only telling you how fancy it is to try to hint at you that you should dress angelically; not that you don't but he thinks: just incase.

he simply just wants you to feel beautiful and worthy when he pops the question.

so here you are, sitting across seokmin at a fancy restaurant in your elegant pink silk dress. seokmin lays his hand across the table, you took the cue and do the same, hand finding his to intertwine your fingers and holding it softly.

''do you know i've been in love with you since we were 4?'' seokmin asks. you giggle in disbelief as you said ''oh really? and why is that? what made you fall in love with me when you were 4?'' you rolled your eyes playfully. ''because you asked me to play with you. you were so cool that day. you were my knight in shining armour!'' he laughs while thinking back to that day. we used to be such kids he thinks.

''babe, i dont think you even know what love is at age 4.'' now it was your turn to laugh. ''maybe not the way adults know love to be, but it was what i knew love to be when i was 4. like my favourite stuffed animal, my favourite toy truck. i loved you then the same way i loved the things i loved.'' he shrugged sheepishly.

''did you just compare me to your toys?'' you teased. ''god no, thats not what i meant.'' he lets go of your hand to rub his face and then comes back to hold your hand again. ''what i'm trying to say is that, that is my favourite thing about you.''

''what is?'' you questioned. ''you asking me to play with you. you always did throughout all these years. be it when we were 4, 15, 21, 23 and everywhere else inbetween,'' he pauses to take a sip of water and to catch his breath before he continues. ''and i realise...while you were asking me to play with you all these years, i've realised that looking back, i have not once asked you to play with me.''

seokmin lets go of your hand once again, but this time he is reaching into his pocket. you watch as he lifts a red velvet box up to the table. ''what i'm really trying to say is: i loved playing with you when we were 4, and i loved it more and more each and every time you ask me to play with you. i want to play fun, stupid and meaninglessly with you everyday for the rest of my life if you'd let me.''

seokmin gets up from his seat and goes by your side. you felt tears fall down your cheek, you're sure your nose is bright red as of now. ''y/n,'' he said as he opened the box as he knelt down in front of you.

''will you play with? will you play with me for the rest of your life?''

seokmin feels relief washing over him as he breaks into a smile when he hears you say ''always, my love.'' he takes your hand and slid the ring on. ''i love you, so so much.'' seokmin confesses. ''i love you too.''

[yuellii]

baby, we’re the new romantics !

𝐈𝐍 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 some born-rich, noisy man falls for a completely normal ( maybe struggling ) woman

feat. childe, referred to as ajax

wc. 2.7k

note. gn reader, modern au, references a scene from I Love Yoo, this is a little birthday fic for one of my very best friends in the whole wide world : @vivinens !!

To put it bluntly, it sucked working at McDonald’s.

Other than the fast-paced environment and the tough remarks from rude customers, what arguably sucked the most was that he worked in the building just across the street. Literally just a few steps and you’d be at risk of seeing him.

It wasn’t that you hated Ajax ( okay, maybe you did a little ); he was a fun way to wind down in-between classes sometimes at university because of his loud personality. And, he was attractive to stand next to, you’ll give him that in addition to being a very understanding friend. But seeing him in the workplace is quite possibly the last thing you could ever want to ask for.

What made matters even worse was during your desperate job search last month, when you got a recruitment offer at the place he worked at. You thought it’d be some small thing like where generic college students worked, not some big multi-million firm in this massive building with workers walking around in suits and pencil skirts galore. And of course, when you met with the mean recruiting lady named Rosalyne for your interview, it was impossible not to spot Ajax at the corner of your eyes with a goofy smile on his face.

And when Ms. Rosalyne went back to scold him after your interview, it was more than obvious you were only here because he pushed your application.

How embarrassing.

“You can try again!” he said to you in good spirits in the university courtyard one week after. The two of you were sitting together as the sun was setting on campus, having both finished all your classes for the day. “They’re opening another clerical position soon since our current one is leaving, apply then!” And to you, he was acting all completely normal in his normal young-adult way, meanwhile you were trying to erase the image of him in a suit from your head.

You sighed, “I don’t think the high-class life of business is for me yet, Ajax.”

The roll of your eyes caused him to visibly deflate. Just how obsessed was he with the idea of you getting hired? “But I want you to work with you so baddd…!” he groaned, dramatically shoving his hands onto his face.Then he leaned back forward, slumping until his forehead came down to rest on your shoulder. Such an attention-grabbing act of depression—you almost came to entertain the idea, too.

“I don’t even have office clothes,” you scoffed, bumping him off your shoulder.

He yelped from the force of your push for a moment before he grabbed your arm, pulling it so harshly with such a force that had you clashing right onto his chest ( Yeah, friends, or something like that ). And even as you began to punch on his chest in protest, he just hugged you tight and whined, “I can buy you some! You’ll fit right in—and I get to see you every day at school and at work!”

Seeing him every day sounded like hell, you were so sure this man was insane.

“You are not buying me office clothes!” you denied, still trying to push yourself away.

“I can totally afford it, though!” he pouted. After he relaxed his grip around your body, you still found it too tough to escape his weird embrace. That’s your karma for being friends with the guy who goes to the gym in-between classes, you suppose. And after more struggling to set yourself free, you eventually gave up as the sunset reduced to silence.

That was when he squeezed you tight once more for a last makeshift hug, then planted an ambiguously-friendly kiss on your cheek as he said, “Let’s go get dinner now? I’ll drive.”

“Yeah, sure. Can we get chicken nuggets?”

He lifted both of your bodies up to your feet, watching as you collected your things off the seat before he led you by the hand to his car. “Pff, you always want nuggets,” he teased. “But yeah, I’m down—there’s a McDonald’s right next to my work, let’s go there while I try to convince you to apply at my job!”

And now you work at said McDonald’s.

You didn’t tell him, of course. Only that you “finally got a job,” so that he could finally stop trying to get you hired at his stuffy building space.

It was pretty busy in the morning when people in office attire would come in for a quick, cheap coffee. Lunch and dinner time was also busy as expected—it was one of the things that made you happy to be a cashier and not one of the cooks or drive-through people.

And the best part about this was that you never saw the uptight Ms. Recruiter Rosalyne here, nor Ajax himself. You knew for a fact that Ajax only went to McDonald’s when it was with you, as he preferred other fast foods, so even if his work was just right there, you really didn’t have to worry about accidentally seeing him. If you did… Well, that would probably be really embarrassing, wouldn’t it?

It was one o’clock in the afternoon, lunch rush.

People were rude, your coworkers were irritable, customers were in a rush—horrible, really, but also a normal day for you. Just smile and put on that customer service voice and it will soon be over. Plus, you got free chicken nuggets for your own lunch break before this.

It was not until you felt your phone vibrate in the pocket of your jeans. Well. It was not that common to get a text like that. Your family should know you’re at work; your friends, too. Just one peak—only one, just while the customer in front of you is still holding up the line while he decides what to order. Propping your phone up behind the register, you open it to check your lockscreen.

orange fuckwad: heyyy you want some mcds nuggets?!?!? ;)

Holy shit. Absolutely not.

“Can I order the uhhh…” Oh good lord you have to turn off your phone now. “Can I order the uhhh McLobster?”

“Sorry sir, the McLobster was discontinued five years ago.” You were about to blow your brains out.

“No I swear I just ordered it last week?”

Your eyes kept shifting to the door. And there, finally, in all his glory making your heart absolutely drop in fear, was Ajax coming through the door. And for you, too—to buy you a box of chicken nuggets. In any other case, you’d find it endearing ( and it still was! ) but in this instance you really wanted to die right now.

The customer suddenly raised an eyebrow at you when you shifted your body to the side, trying to use his body as a shield from the eyes of your friend. There was a second cashier next to you—hopefully Ajax will line up on their line instead of yours. And hopefully, you could use this crusty McDonald’s hat to hide your face.

“Hey!” your coworker suddenly called out to you. You looked towards their empty cashier line with a glimmer of hope for good news. “I’m going on my lunch!” Your face dropped. “I’ll see you in 30, yeah?”

No! Not yeah! But you couldn’t do anything but plead with your facial expression as they left to the backroom, leaving Ajax with no choice but to join your line. If you could blow up this whole building right now, God, you would.

Five customers until him, four customers until him, three, two, one—

“Woah!” The surprise on his face felt insulting. Actually, you still used the hat to hide your face as best as you could. It was failing at hiding your identity from him as expected, but at least it helped you obscure the view of his… physique. Him, with his… um, his black slacks and white collared shirt that was just a little too tight on him, and his grey blazer that was thrown over his shoulder. One button at the top unfastened, almost as if he loosened it just to breathe during his lunch break.

And his hair, if you didn’t want to meet his eyes then you were honestly staring there. Whose hair was usually messy and tousled, now slicked perfectly for once with gel, all in a proper yet still very Ajax-way. The sides were in place, meanwhile strands over his eyes and at the top of his hair remained loose in that messy way that still characterized him. God, you might just die from embarrassment and awkwardness right now.

“This is where you work?” he asked, incredulously.

“Good afternoon, sir. What can I get for you today?” you smiled. Please, please just go with it.

He looked surprised at your voice, especially since it was so fabricated and one he had not heard before. You just hoped he wouldn’t be a dumb prick to you today, just this once. “Oh, um…” Please, please. “One ten-piece chicken nugget, please.” Thank God.

“Would you like a drink with that?”

“Yes, one large soda, if that’s okay?”

“Will that be all?”

“Uh.” He looked confused. You just stared at him. “Yeah… Yeah, I think so.”

Then he swiped his card, you directed him to the side, and he left the line. With a lingering gaze, of course. He looked like a lost ( and maybe even a little hurt ) puppy after his order, and as much as this made you feel sad for him, you were just glad to get through with him as a customer without any complications. He’ll definitely be bothering you after this, anyways.

He pretty much watched you the entire time he waited for his food, eyeing you with a look of concern that did not belong on his usual expression. But you ignored him for your own betterment—you’d really just rather get through this rush hour of customers. And when his order number was finally called, he held the small bag with nuggets and his large soda with confusion. Oh, right. That food was probably bought for you.

You sent him a look and a head tilt that notioned ‘Just eat it’, and surprisingly, he got it. Ajax, with his pristine proper suit and blazer over his shoulder, sat down at a dirty barstool and ate his ten-piece chicken nuggets. He was still watching you, though; he glanced at you every few seconds while he was chewing. Minutes that felt so long passed, and you just hoped his lunch break would end soon so he could get back to his building.

“Hello again!” You almost jumped in place when you found him in front of you again, having finished his nuggets.

“Ajax,” you grumbled, trying to speak quietly. There was another customer coming to line up behind him. “I can’t talk during my shift.”

“Oh!” He looked at you in innocent surprise for a second, definitely not as depressed as earlier. “No, I was just gonna order.”

You wanted to die. “Didn’t you already…” Clearing your throat, you remembered there was another customer lined up behind him. Thank heavens the lunch rush was over already. Time to put on the customer service voice for him again. “What can I get for you?”

“A box of ten-piece chicken nuggets, please!” he smiled. “And a large soda!”

If you didn’t feel like killing him before, well you certainly did now. And guess what, he ate this order, too! Was he doing this out of spite now? Ordering nuggets and then eating them right in front of you? Because honestly, it was making you less hungry and more confused, if anything. This was definitely not what you expected—but then again, you fully anticipated he’d hold up the line just to talk to you. But no, suddenly he was a McDonald’s nugget fan?

The moment you get out of here, you’re going to twist his ear. Time passes again where you purposely avoid his gaze. So, so much time. Either his lunch break was just incredibly long, or time was just going so slow because he was here. You bet it was the latter.

And then, once again, you find him at the front of your line.

“Hello!” he smiled. He looks happy just to see you. “Can I get a ten-piece box of chicken nuggets?”

“And a large soda with that?” you asked, almost with a sigh.

He looks uneasy, standing to the tips of his toes for a moment. “No,” he drags out with hesitance. “Side of large fries, actually.”

Ooo, how different! It’s the most entertainment you could wish for in a day. And when you shoo him to the side this time, he has the biggest smile on his face. How unusual—in this situation, at least. Then when his order comes, he actually turns to leave this time. He walked to the glass doors with an innocent grin and a large McDonald’s bag in his hand, happily waving to you goodbye. Finally.

“You never told me you work at the McDonald’s right by me!”

He was there waiting for you when you walked out of your shift, packed up, ready to go home, and definitely smelling like grease. “Well aren’t you out early…” you sighed at him. “It’s only three in the afternoon.”

“I asked if I could leave so I could come see you sooner,” he frowned. Endearing, once again. And your heart may have skipped just a bit when he lifted up the last brown bag he bought. “I saved these for you. They’re not warm anymore but there’s fries, a soda, and fifteen nuggets… I, uh, couldn’t finish the second order.”

You nearly laughed out. “Why in the world did you order so much anyways?”

“So I could see you again,” he pouted.

He was still wearing his office attire, top button unfastened once again and blazer under his arm once you took the fast food bad again. You might’ve just had nuggets during your lunch break, and this food may be cold and soggy by now, but the thought of him buying it for you made it the best meal in the world. And, it was also the fact he left his own shift early just to see you. He could be nice at times; so nice, it almost comforted the fact he made you want to die earlier.

“You embarrassed me,” you tiredly sighed. The both of you were walking together to his car—how he knew you were dropped off here was beyond you.

“Sorry!” he sheepishly smiled. “I really didn’t think I’d see you there…” Which was understandable, sure, but did he really have to order that many McNuggets just to see you at the cashier stand? “But now that I know you work right next to me…”

“Ajax, no.”

“Oh come on!” He pouted with a considerably loud whine while the both of you crossed the street to his building. You figured he was likely parked behind it, wherever the employee parking was. It still felt a little weird to be in your McDonald’s uniform walking next to a big business building. “I get to see you every lunch break—doesn’t that sound so fun?”

“No not really.”

He groaned even louder again, slumping his shoulders as if he was not dressed like he was going to an office party right now. But then, in some sort of comforting silence, he aligned his arm over your shoulders. It was cute, honestly—how he would still do this despite the fact you smelled like pure grease right now ( and the fact you were trying to ignore the feeling of his arm muscles that were practically bursting through his sleeves ).

He eyed you a few times during this silent walk, watching as you stuffed your face with nuggets and fries. Holy God this tasted so good for some reason…?! You totally deserved this after your shift of rude customers and embarrassing moments—then your good friend Ajax brings you nuggets and fries right after. How romantic.

And speaking of your ‘friend’, he pulled you closer against him, arm practically swallowing your entire being over your shoulders. Not that you were complaining, though; you found his weird obsession with being near you all the time just a little bit cute. And besides, he drove you places, and he bought you chicken nuggets.

Who could not love a man that buys you chicken nuggets?

[nockfell0]

Moira O’Deorain Relationship Headcanons

Alright, you know I had to write something for Miss Moira <3

These are all SFW, NSFW will be coming later on, I’m sure.

(Accepting requests!)

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁. Read below . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁ ⟡ ݁ . ⊹ ₊ ݁.

❥ Moira is a surprisingly gentle lover for how ruthless she is in the lab. She doesn’t have much time for anybody or anything… besides you.

❥ And because of that, she loves hard. She’s a very romantic woman; there’s no denying it. She will take her time with you, flirting, dates, spending time with you, etc. She is a very dedicated lover, and that’s one of her softest qualities.

❥ I can see her being the “opposites attract” type. Might be self projecting a bit here, but I can definitely see her type having traits contrasting her own. (Younger, short, quiet, perhaps a little chubby) it DEFINITELY feeds her dominant persona. But even if you’re not any of my headcanoned stereotypes, I promise she loves you just the same <3 don’t listen to me.

❥ She likes to spoil you; whether that be with attention or with gifts or nice dates. She likes to buy things for you, which is definitely a weakness of hers, but she loves to be the one to make you smile, and spoiling you… well, it fuels her ego a bit. She loves to take care of you.

❥ She loves it when you let her talk to you about all things science. You showing interest in her work is one of her favorite things. Moira loves how you can see the value and worth in her work, it’s like her way of getting validation from you.

❥ She’ll gladly explain the same theory over and over to you again, because that means that you want to understand it. She finds comfort in knowing you’re not just shaking your head going “mhm” the whole time. She loves when you seem to find value in what she does as geneticist. Although, don’t call her out on it ;)

❥ She can be surprisingly affectionate behind closed doors. You won’t get much PDA, or attention in the lab, but when you’re at home with her? She’ll always invite you to join her and get close. You broke her out of her shell, so now you must suffer the consequences.

❥ She’ll hold you in her lap and run her fingers through your hair, scratch up and down your back, hold your pretty face and tell you how adorable you look in her arms… It’s a side of her you never expected to see. She’s also a very good kisser… ;)

❥ Also… the poor woman is almost always sore from her long days bent over working on experiments. Massage her shoulders, rub her back, she will be yours. She likes your touch and your touch alone.

❥ She will also be a bit of a chatterbox on the rare occasions you see her outside of a work environment. She hasn’t particularly enjoyed conversing with someone else in years, nor has she felt comfortable enough to build such a personal relationship in a long time, so she… goes a little overboard with you. Sometimes she doesn’t know when to stop talking, but it’s in her own Moira way that you don’t mind. She has endless stories to tell and endless conversational topics. It’s almost out of character.

❥ She loves it when you think of her. A little gift here and there, such as her favorite treat or something with her favorite scent, she loves it all… invite her everywhere as well. Going on a walk? Ask her to join. Going to the gym? Ask her to join. Cooking? Ask her. She loves it when you want her to participate. Knowing that her presence is desired means everything. Even if she doesn’t want to leave the house, or is cooped up in the lab.

❥ You’ll find out a lot of her little quirks as well, such as how she likes to paint, or read novels in her spare time. Sometimes you’ll come home from a long day and they’ll be a warm dinner made and fresh bread on the counter.

❥ She’ll attempt to take interest in your hobbies as well, even if she thinks they’re… well, a bit odd. She never has been particularly interested in anything other people care about, but she’ll certainly try. She might even try to join you sometimes, even if it’s just to see the smile on your face. Who knows! You two might find something you have in common.

❥ Unfortunately, she is far from stable, and there are some rocky spots you’ll definitely hit, and they will not be pretty.

❥ Her science is her EVERYTHING. It will be hard to pull her out some nights, and even though she makes as much time for you as possible, sometimes it’ll never feel like enough. She will try to take off time for you as much as possible; she promises.

❥ Her need for control can sometimes be a bit too much on you. She doesn’t like to say sorry or admit she’s wrong. At the beginning of your relationship, she will rarely apologize, and will just need space when she gets upset. She hates being vulnerable, and she feels that way when she’s done something wrong.

❥ Her communication skills improve over time, but they’re never perfect. She has a tendency to lash out, then eventually she’ll give into her emotions and will finally allow herself to open up. It’s surprising over time how much she allows herself to cry in front of you. She has a lot of repressed feelings that she doesn’t like displaying. You two will figure it out together, though. She will do it. For you.

❥ Jealous isn’t the right word. Possessive is. She will be very controlling, which she’ll need lots of reassurance and patience to be told that you’re not going to get bored of her. She feels guilty about her struggles in the relationship, and wants to know you won’t give up on her. She won’t ask, but tell her that.

❥ Empathy can be hard sometimes, but she’s a good listener. She will let you talk and cry as much as you please, and even if she doesn’t have many words to say, she wants you to know she cares, even if her words can’t express it.

❥ I can see her being a big fan of parallel play style nights together too. Just sit with her in her lab on rough nights and be there, or play a game on your phone while she reads next to you in bed. Just be there. Sometimes she doesn’t want to talk. Neither do you.

❥ Either way, she loves you… and you love her. That’s all that matters.

[mazeinthemiroh]

me when i can’t sleep rn so i’m reading ur fics to pass the time 😭 could you do a skz reaction when their s/o has insomnia? i need that in my head :[ thank you!

stray kids reactions to their s/o having insomnia

genre: fluff, slight crack

word count: 0.9k

warnings: none

pls like and reblog if you enjoyed! feel free to request anything &lt;3

bangchan

we all know that bangchan has his fair share of insomnia too. so you are both going to be suffering together <3 no but for real, he understands the struggle and he's most understanding with it. so he knows, as much as he wants you to sleep so you can be healthy, it's not always that easy. so some nights you will stay up working with him, maybe at the studio. he will be working on his music while you'll be catching up with something to do with your work or studies. alternatively, you'll both be in his bed, cuddling each other and binge-watching some anime, before you eventually pass out in each other's arms.

lee know

"if you can't sleep, hug leebit." you find that this is your boyfriend's solution for everything, these days. leebit apparently has magical healing powers and can grant to wish of sleep to those who crave it. obviously, this is not the case. whether you are hugging your little plushie buddy, or you're cuddling into your actual boyfriend, none of that is of any use to you. you still can't sleep. lee know's only solution is to take advantage of the times you are awake to just talk to you, in a soft, gentle, soothing voice. you think this doesn't work at first, but after talking to him for a while, with you in his arms, suddenly your eyelids get heavier....

changbin

being a healthy, strapping young lad himself, he knows sleep is very important. he also values your health very much, almost as much as his own. after 5 minutes of research he realises that exercise during the day can improve someone's sleep schedule. being the gym bro that he is, he jumps at the opportunity and, one day, he drags you to the gym with him. you had no idea how this would help until you got back home after you had been to the gym and done other things after. when it started to get dark outside, your body relaxed easily into your boyfriend's arms as you drifted slowly to sleep.

hyunjin

well, hyunjin starts obsessing over different types of herbal teas you can drink to make you feel sleepy. he stays up all night with you, researching the benefits of chamomile tea, and if lavender or magnolia tea cures insomnia?? he's also into aromatherapy, so probably buys you an air purifier you love him for that. he also suggests yoga and meditation, even offering to start doing it with you with a cute little smile on your face. he loves jumping at the chance to help you in some way, and he values his precious baby :( he just wants you to be healthy and feel better in yourself, and he knows once you've finally found a way to get some sleep, it will do the world of good.

han

haha, you think you're going to get any sleep when han is your boyfriend? no chance! you both are staying up late at night talking about a lot of nonsense. and i mean this is every night. han's brain is so interesting and fun because he can jump from one subject to another, and his energy seems to give you energy. so he isn't exactly helping your insomnia. or at least, at first. you realise that talking to him for hours makes you feel much more relaxed. you have forgotten about your worries, the stress of the upcoming week, the negative feelings that have been bothering you that day. he makes you feel more content, and this happy feeling soon drifts you off into sleep-land.

felix

felix strives to make your sleeping environment as cosy and comfortable as possible. he buys you plushies (of course he gets you a bbokari first <3), really comfy pillows, a little night-light, etc... he will also recommend his favourite asmr channels, but you tend to stick to the asmr that he has actually done, which does seem to help a lot. this is for all when he's away and not physically with you. when he is with you, he will talk to you in a whispered tone, caressing your back and arms and making you as relaxed as possible.

seungmin

okay, so there are two go-to methods of his if you suffer from insomnia. first one being, he will read to you. sometimes if he has sleepless nights, he will listen to a podcast to drift off to sleep. so he knows that his voice might be able to calm you down and relax you enough to sleep. or, he will sing to you :( imagine his soft, gentle voice singing your favourite comfort songs to lull you to sleep. part of him thinks this isn't going to work until he sees you, curled up to his side, finally sleeping. and it's all thanks to his beautiful talent.

jeongin

one time, when you are laying beside him, struggling to get to sleep, he noticed you tossing and turning. so you decided to tell him about your insomnia. jeongin's initial reaction is to book you into sleep therapy or buy you some melatonin to help you. but he knows both of those things take time. so, for now, what he does do is carefully curate a perfect sleep playlist for you. whether it will help or not, he doesn't know. but he wants to at least try for you. and he is so happy when he sees his plan work.

[gatitties]

'Love' confession

Manager Miniseries

─Aoba Josai x fem!reader

─Summary: you were just trying to help and the team seems to be at the wrong time to hear something stupid

─Warnings: none

11 < 12 > 13

"I'm serious! (Nn) is in love with me."

"What makes you think that, shittikawa?"

The captain acted offended, no one on his team believed that their manager was secretly madly in love with him, they had never seen you express any kind of romantic interest in someone before.

"Who wouldn't fall in love with me?"

"Surely a lot of people..."

Kunimi whispered, vaguely wiping the sweat from his forehead, grabbing his gym bag, glancing sideways as Kindaichi finished changing.

"Besides, remember that she didn't even know you before entering the club."

"Matsukawa is right."

"Of course... but since I'm irresistible, it was inevitable that she fell in love with me."

Iwaizumi punch him again and he complained, insisting that you were crazy in love for him. He was so persistent that ended up convincing them to secretly spy on you, since today was Monday they wouldn't have trainning before lunch, so they would have that time to keep an eye on you.

You always tried to keep a low profile, you were always late, trying not to let anyone notice you enough, you didn't have many friends considered close, but at least you had some trust with your classmates. Since you were very carefree, you didn't mind helping someone who asked, that's why your classmates constantly ask you for some favors, of course they knew when would ask for these, because if you weren't in the mood or were too tired you would politely deny them. And that was exactly what you were doing right now; a favor to a classmate.

"(N) you say it as if it were easy."

"It is?"

You shrugged, stretching out your arms, letting out a yawn, lunchtime was always your nap time to catch up on the sleep you missed at night.

"Could you do it again?"

"Whatever..." you sighed to get into the role of a crazy lover, changing your expression to a more animated one as well as the tone of your voice to a softer one "Oikawa, I love you! would you go out with me?"

There were a few seconds of silence, the girl seemed to analyze the tone of voice, the expression and the gestures that you had made.

"It's just a silly confession of love, don't break your head too much about it."

"It still looks so easy! Surely when you are in front of him you will freeze."

The team who were listening to the conversation from behind the scenes went blank when they heard you two talk about confessing to Oikawa.

"Was that idiot right?"

"I don't believe that (N) is in love with you."

"Yeah, she doesn't deserve that shit."

"You all are so mean"

He complained but everyone fell silent when they saw how you left the classroom, they hid better to continue listening.

"What? I wouldn't freeze confessing."

"Then try to do it."

"What's the point of that? It's you who is in love."

"Aw come on, you can't deny that you like him a little, plus you can always say it was a joke or something… I don't even have the confidence to get close to him."

You sighed, rubbing the bridge of your nose, you didn't want to be the one to break her illusion, but if she needed you to do it first to give her courage, it wasn't a big deal for you.

The boys were totally speechless, of everyone who could fall in love with Oikawa, did it have to be you? They had grown fond of you and appreciated your small gestures even though you were carefree most of the time, and Oikawa's streak of breakups didn't leave him in a good light.

They wouldn't want a crush to spoil your team relationship because of the captain, even Oikawa was stunned, he had suspicions but this was beyond what he thought and he didn't know how to feel about it.

At lunchtime, minutes later when everyone was in the dining room, you arrived as usual later after a little nap, everyone tensed up when you sat down at the table, you seemed unaware of the environment, too focused on your food, only looked up when you finished eating. You narrowed your eyes to see how everyone was looking at you, then remembered that you had to 'confess', yes you had forgotten.

"Ah, Oikawa I have to tell you something." now the looks were more intense, but you paid attention to the fact that the girl from before was stunned to see how you said it casually as if you were greeting someone "I love you, would you go out with me?"

The team seemed to have died, almost as if their spirits flew above their bodies, before anyone could react, you raised your thumbs in the direction where your classmate.

"(Nn) I-I don't want to hurt your feelings, but I think we're not ready for a relationship, I'm not sure about my feelings right now..."

He dramatically placed one hand on his chest and the other on his forehead, blinking several times, you put on a flat face, erasing all false acting expression.

"Yeah... about that I don't really love you, it was only to teach her how she should confess, a silly dare too."

You pointed out to the second year girl that had asked the favor, that now she was a little embarrassed. When they listened to you, the spirits of the team returned to their bodies, relieved, it already sounded very strange that you were in love with Oikawa.

"So you don't like Oikawa?"

"But we heard-!"

"You should listen better or analyze the context of conversations and not spy on people in the first place."

Their souls came out of their bodies again, embarrassed because despite their attempts, they were caught red-handed, although you didn't care much, seeing their horrified faces at they thought that you liked their captain was incredible besides the complaints from Oikawa for being 'rejected' in a certain way.

[gucciwins]

a midnight kiss 

harry decides to make a move before the clock strikes midnight 

A/N: hi friends! nothing better to end and start the year with is a new story. something short and sweet for you all to enjoy. love you!!! catch me at midnight running around my house with my suitcase :D

Word count: 2182

+

Losing her friends minutes before the clock struck twelve had Y/N nervous. She was comfortable being alone, but only in an environment she enjoyed. She enjoyed the library, which had the best reading spot on the third floor down a back corner that allowed her to stay seated all day. There was also her brother’s tattoo shop, where she sat behind the counter greeting new customers, always excited when they showed off a new piercing or new tattoo. There were few places, and tonight she was feeling lost in the crowd of unknown strangers.

Y/N began to push through the crowd hoping to make it to the patio doors outside, happy to ring in new year’s alone, staring up at the moon than with drunk strangers. What Y/N didn’t realize was that someone had their eye on her all night, working up the courage to talk to her. He had seen her around, how she laughed at her friend's jokes and always searching for a hand to hold.

Seeing her head outside, he knew it was a moment he couldn’t miss out on. Harry wouldn’t want her ringing in the new year alone.

“Not cold?”

Y/N turns when she hears a voice fill the silence. She squints her eyes until he sets into the light, the moonlight bouncing off his face allowing her to get a good look at him.

It’s Harry.

She had seen him multiple times at the tattoo shop. She always gushed over his new pieces. Telling him which were her favorite tattoos he had but never offered more than a half smile.

“Harry?”

“Yeah, it’s just me.”

She remembers she never answered his question. “I like the cold.”

As Harry steps closers, he can see the goosebumps on her arms and begins to shrug off his coat and place it over Y/N without giving her a choice. “Just because you like it doesn’t mean you should endure it.”

Y/N tucks her head down, biting back a smile at Harry’s kindness. “Thank you.”

Harry looks at the sky and knows it will light up with fireworks in minutes. London never did shy away from a big display to ring in the new year.

“What’s your new year’s resolution?”

Y/N giggles, “didn’t take you for the type to have one of those, Harry.”

He shrugs, bumping his arm into hers, “when you really mean them, then I reckon you’ll do anything to make it happen.”

She takes a second to think it over and knows he’s right. There have been a few years since Y/N followed through with her resolution. When she was younger, she promised she wouldn’t curse anymore, and three days in, her brother changed her shampoo to pink hair dye, and she cursed at him like a sailor. There was also the year she swore she’d go to the gym consistently, promising to get a membership that was rubbish. Two years ago, her resolution was to connect more with herself and get into yoga. She learned new poses and meditation with each class, leaving with newfound confidence and friends. Last year, her resolution was to take on new adventures, leading her to Mexico for a research opportunity. A professor urged her to apply, and off she went. Y/N also visited Iceland over a long holiday, where she went on her first of many solo trips. Now, this year Y/N had an idea of what she wanted but was a bit bashful to share it with Harry, who had only ever spoken a handful of words with at most.

“Think mine’s rather silly then.”

Harry shakes his head, “don’t believe it.”

Y/N sighs, “will you tell me yours?”

“Promise.”

It’s good enough for Y/N.

“I want to get a tattoo,” she mumbles.

Y/N turns her head to see Harry’s reaction. He has a pout on his lips, and Y/N wishes she could kiss it away. Sue her. She has a crush on Harry. He visits the shop frequently; how could she forget him, there’s always a new tattoo being added to his left arm, and she wonders if there are more she doesn’t even know about.

“Your brother owns Sunflower Ink.” Harry states. “Why hasn’t he?”

She shakes her head, trying to find the words to explain to Harry why she’s never gotten a tattoo. “He’s drawn me endless sketches, and I love them. I want them on me forever.”

“Then why don’t you?”

Y/N feels her face flush, “because he won’t hold my hand.”

She waits for Harry to start laughing at her, but he doesn’t. He looks down at her pink nails and frowns. He reaches his hand slowly, testing to see if Y/N would stop him, but she doesn't. She is lost in a trance staring at the rings on Harry’s fingers, a silver robin, a lion head, and a pearled ring. The rings seem perfect for Harry, and she wonders if he takes them off each night, thinking about the beauty of each ring only to repeat the cycle tomorrow by slipping them on.

Harry’s warm hand reaches her cold and frowns at the contrast, but it doesn’t stop him. He slips his fingers between the cracks of hers. Y/N stares at where they now stand intertwined, and she smiles because she likes the feeling of his palm in hers.

“Like that?” Harry asks.

“Something like that,” she whispers, still lost in how quickly her body is beginning to warm up due to his added connection to her.

“I’d hold your hand.”

Y/N breaks her gaze from their intertwined hands to look up at him, his emerald eyes gleaming in the moonlight, and she knows he means it.

“You wouldn’t be embarrassed,” she asks.

He shakes his head, “not if I was making you feel safe.”

Y/N lets his offer sink, and she wants to say yes. She’s scared that if she accepts, he’ll say no or that tomorrow he’ll come into the shops and tell her he can’t sit with her while her brother pierces a needle into her skin.

She nods, “I’d need your number to let you know when my appointment is.”

Harry grins, showing her the dimples he’s always kept tucked away, “I can do that.”

“Now?”

He shakes his head, “is it okay if I hold your hand a little longer?”

Y/N is quick to nod her head, making Harry breathe out a laugh at her eagerness. They fall silent once more, no longer caring about the people they came with, too lost in their own world outside the party.

“What–do you want to share your resolution?” Y/N asks with hopeful eyes but knows if he says no, she will understand.

Harry shrugs, squeezing her hand twice before shifting his eyes away from her, “don’t know if it’s a resolution, more of a wish, really.”

Y/N doesn’t push him to share. She wonders what he could want. Harry seems like the guy to have it all. His eyes meet hers again, and she flashes him a comforting smile wanting him to know he’s safe with her.

He lets out a deep breath.

“I want to kiss you,” he confesses.

Y/N can’t hide her surprise. “Harry,” she breathes out.

He shakes his head, “I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable I—”

Harry shuts up when he feels Y/N place a hand on his chest. They’d never been this close. There was always a counter between them.

“I’ve never had a new year’s kiss,” she confesses, sliding her hand up to rest on the back of his neck. Harry gaining courage, slips one hand around her waist, pulling in closer, wanting no space between them.

“Can’t say I have either.” Harry knows it comes as a shock to Y/N, but he thought ringing in the new year with someone had to be special, and there’s no one more special than Y/N.

“You’d be willing to give that to me,” she asks, shocked.

Harry chuckles, “why do you sound surprised?”

Y/N shrugs. His eyes are full of curiosity. “Didn’t think you liked me.”

“Why would you say that, love?”

“Because when I tried to make conversation, you always rushed out the door.”

Harry sighs. He leans his head down to rest against hers. “Because you make me a nervous mess. You sit there in your cute jumpers complimenting my tattoos, telling me how pretty they look on me.”

Y/N smiles, feeling her cheeks heat up at the confession. “Well, you made me think I scared you off.”

“You’re the reason I keep coming back to Sunflower Ink,” he shares. “After my second appointment there, I realized you worked there, and I knew if I kept getting a new tattoo, I’d get you to compliment it after.”

She all but melts into Harry at his confession. She had no idea. He had a crush on her because Y/N felt the same way. All this time, Y/N was trying to grow her relationship with Harry. He'd rush out after leaving a big tip, knowing she got a small part of the tips because she made him nervous. Y/N didn’t think she had that kind of effect on anyone. Her brother told her she brought in customers, but she thought he was supposed to say that. Now Harry is telling her she’s the reason he goes back every time.

“You’ve never needed anyone to hold your hand,” she asks, overwhelmed with all the information Harry had shared.

“Only if you’re offering,” he replies with a cheeky grin.

“Me first,” she promises him.

“I can wait.”

Y/N stares at Harry, admiring his pretty face. When she first met him, he always liked to wear his hair in a bun, and one time he walked in with it down, a scrunchie in his hand, and Y/N thought she’d never recover. Then on Valentine’s Day, Harry walked in wearing a lavender knitted sweater with his hair cut. As Mitch quickly took Harry to his station that day, he spared her a look. She had to leave early for class, never having the chance to tell him how much she loved the new look or what new piece he was getting. She knew with a pretty face like Harry’s, he could pull off any look.

“What are you thinking about, love?”

Y/N bites back a smile at the term of endearment, “About a new year’s kiss.”

“Oh yeah,” Harry teases, “have anyone in mind?”

“Mhmm,” the smile on Harry’s face grows. “But if I were to let him be my new year’s kiss, I don’t know if that kiss would be enough?”

Harry tilts his head in confusion, “What do you mean?”

“See, I haven’t had a Valentine’s kiss or St. Patrick’s,” Harry is quick to catch on, and he’s grinning from ear to ear at what she’s proposing.

“I’ve never had a birthday kiss,” he adds.

She smiles, nodding, “when’s that?”

“February 1st.”

“That’s close. Think I’d be special enough to share that with you?”

“You’re the only one I want.”

“If I kiss you tonight, will you promise to give me your birthday kiss?”

Harry lets go of her hand, moving both to cup her face needing to be closer to her. He brings her close, their noses touching. “If you let me kiss you today, I’ll kiss you whenever you ask.”

“Is that a promise?”

“It is.”

Faintly, they can hear the countdown begin. Y/N knows what’s coming; she can feel her heart wanting to beat out of her chest, but she’s also calm because she’s excited for what the new year will bring for her.

“Three,” Harry whispers.

“Two,” she feels his breath mix with hers.

“One.”

Harry connects his lips with hers in a deep kiss. Y/N hears the fireworks going off around her, and every part of her feels like she’s exploding. He leads the kiss, and Y/N follows him, never wanting to part, loving the sweet taste of cherry on his lips.

She pulls back slowly, trying to catch her breath, opening her eyes to see Harry’s lip swollen, a cheshire grin on his face, and she knows that 2023 will be a year of kisses and tattoos.

“Happy New Year’s,” she whispers.

“Happy New Year’s, Y/N.”

Harry tucks a loose piece of hair behind her ear, “can I have another kiss?”

“You can have as many as you like,” she promises.

“Might have to keep you forever, it seems.”

Y/N laughs as she feels Harry slips his arms under her (his) coat to rest on her waist. “I wouldn’t mind at all, Harry.”

“Good. Now come here.”

Y/N grins, their mouths meeting once more, getting lost in the feeling of each other. There’s still so much to learn about one another, but Y/N knows she’s got all the time with Harry.

After all, she did promise him a birthday kiss.

[inexplicifics]

Oooh!

💖

Aiden/Lambert

Please!

Aiden has never actually gotten to run around in the woods before. He’s a city brat; none of his foster parents were ever interested in taking their gaggles of wards out into the wilderness, and the Cats certainly didn’t do field trips.

But living with Lambert provides all sorts of new experiences, including getting to wander about in the forest preserve which runs along behind the back border of Vesemir’s sprawling farm. According to the Wolfe pack, it’s a fairly tame preserve - maybe a couple of bobcats at worst - but it’s certainly wild enough for Aiden.

Lambert is leading the way, of course, looking just as at home here as he does in the gym, or on his motorcycle, or in the garden behind the townhouse. He’s alert and wary but not worried, and that means Aiden can relax and concentrate on just absorbing the sights and scents and sounds of this new environment.

Finally they reach a little hill; it’s not a bad hike, maybe five minutes of effort, and then they’re up high enough that they can see a fair little ways out over the forest. There’s a single tall tree with broad branches at the top - Aiden thinks it might be an oak, but he’s still working on plant identification - and Lambert spreads the blanket he’s been carrying out in a flattish mossy patch between two knobbly roots and flops down, pillowing his head on his crossed arms and looking like he ought to be on a magazine cover, or possibly starring in one of Aiden’s better dreams.

“Used to spend whole days out here, sometimes,” he says, beckoning Aiden to join him. “Did half my homework here, actually. Quieter than the house.”

“With all of you at home, yes, I would imagine so,” Aiden says, considering his options and then lying down on top of Lambert, grinning when Lambert grunts softly but doesn’t object.

And, well, it is quiet out here; the usual noise of the city is entirely absent, replaced by birdsong and squirrel chatter and a distant rat-a-tat Aiden thinks might be a woodpecker. Quiet and weirdly private for being out of doors. And Lambert does look like something out of a particularly good dream.

Aiden kisses his lover.

Lambert makes a surprised little sound and then his hands come up to cradle Aiden’s head and draw him closer, and their legs tangle together, and he deepens the kiss ravenously.

Aiden moans and tries to get closer - not really possible, not with both of them clothed, but still, he wants - and Lambert rumbles a low, hungry sound in response and rolls them halfway over, pinning Aiden against one of the tree’s roots and slinging a leg over both of Aiden’s to keep him there. Aiden attempts to writhe, not very successfully, and grabs at Lambert’s shoulders to try to pull him even closer, and makes undignified whimpering noises as Lambert kisses him deep and devouring and wonderful there among the tree’s dappled shadows.

They’re a little late to dinner, and Aiden has a hell of a time getting all the little bark fragments out of his hair, and it’s absolutely worth every bit of teasing, because he can reach up and touch the new hickey low on his throat, just barely covered by his shirt-collar, and replay every glorious moment of Lambert’s hungry kisses and the bright sharp green scent of the forest and the birds singing their little hearts out like they were feeling even a tiny fraction of Aiden’s own brilliant joy.

(Or here on AO3)

[perpetual-fandom-brainrot]

If They Had Cat Nekos In CoD

Hear me out. Hear me out. This isn't cringe I promise just walk with me here.

It'd be an exclusive procedure specifically meant for combat, meant to enhance humans past what they're supposed to be to make them better fighters

Cats wouldn't be the only animal, they'd just be one of the main test animals because of how common cats are and how much knowledge we have of their anatomy as compared to like a bat or something

Only a few hundred people would get the opportunity to participate in the initial test phase, not based on rank or anything, just a few hundred soldiers all from different ranks and bases being tested with prosthetic animal ears and synthetic nerves to see how well they'd communicate with the original human nervous system

I imagine with the cat ears they'd find a way to reroute your normal hearing network, therefore making your original ears worthless as far as hearing goes, but I don't know the science-ey medical part of how that might work

You'd be temporarily relocated to a more specialized base with better supplies and higher trained personnel so they could track your recovery and any issues that might arise with it (hence how you would end up with a transfer to TF 141)

Everyone would just be staring at you when Price escorts you off the helicopter and onto the base to meet the team, but out of curiosity and astonishment (they had time to cope with the confusion because they were told you'd be coming a few weeks prior, nothing more than need-to-know ofc)

So pretty much they only knew that they were getting a new temporary team member who underwent an experimental prosthetic procedure

So yeah they are actually kind of confused because the whole cat ears and cat tail part never got clearly disclosed

I feel like Soap and Gaz would be the first two to really start asking you questions about it, like y'all would be out for lunch one day while the rest of the team was on a mission or just during other down time or something and they'd wonder how it works, if you can still hear out of your human ears, etc.

You'd answer all of them with the sweetest little smile on your face because no one has ever been so intensely curious about you before

But then you'd start getting insecure because you worry they're ONLY curious about you because of the cat ears and not because they're curious about you

So you'd go to Price about it, who would say to just give it a few weeks to wear off and they'd start treating you like normal, they're just curious

Oh you also can't really go on missions yet because you're technically on medical leave, you just need to stay around environments you're used to as a means of preventing hysteria and all the good shit that could come with surgery backfire (I think, again idk the science medical part of how that would work, but I imagine it could be a big issue so I'm putting it in)

And when Ghost comes back one day and sees Soap trying to pet your ears something in him just fucking snaps and he tells the sergeant to meet with him privately

And you don't understand what's going on AT ALL you're just worried you got Soap in trouble

So you go to Ghost the next day while you know he's by himself in the gym (you also sneak in a workout while you have the chance because you feel like Ghost isn't personally invested in you enough to tattle) and try to pry him for answers

But he just does his normal Ghost thing and ignores anything he doesn't want to answer, and when he feels like answering you feel like he's staring your soul down inside fucking out

And then you finally pry enough that he's irritated enough to tell you to shut up, that the sergeant has no business trying to get so close to you like that because you're still recovering from an intense medical procedure and he doesn't want Soap to fuck it up

But you low-key feel like it's an excuse so you just say something like "ooooookay" in this really doubtful tone, and Ghost is like "is there a problem?"

And then you remember oh shit this guy is actually above me in the chain of command I should shut up before I get in actual trouble here so you're just like "No issues here Lieutenant" before going back to your workout

And it doesn't take long after that for the silence to start feeling deadly, like it's choking you and wringing you out little by little, so you leave

And Ghost practically ignores your existence after that if he doesn't have to acknowledge you for a mandatory reason

But Soap doesn't leave you alone because he's still curious about the cat ears (I imagine at this point the rest of TF 141 has had their initial amazement wear off, but Soap can just never quite wrap his head around it)

And the curiosity ends up having you and Soap as friends but like out of the corner of your eye you always see Ghost staring you the fuck down when you're in the same room together even if Soap isn't there, but when Soap is there it's terrible

And you try to ask Soap if he knows what's up one day when you know Ghost won't be around any time soon for some reason or other and Soap just shrugs and says "L.T's always tense. Always up to high doh 'bout something, never really lets himself relax."

But there's this little glint in Soap's eyes like he knows something that he can't quite tell you properly so you just nod and go with it

And then you eventually start going on missions with TF 141

On your first mission you're still kind of wobbly because you didn't get much time to train but you pull and push through

And on like your third mission you actually save Soap's life and you notice Ghost doesn't stare at you with as much hatred after that and you start trying to put pieces together like "okay so they're close"

And then in Las Almas when you meet Alejandro and Rudy they just blink at the cat ears and tail but don't really say anything else about it and you're like "okay they're chill I like them"

You're there when the air in the car freezes from Ghost's stare in the mirror at the mask comment, you're there when Soap has to go in and get interrogated, you're there when Graves betrays the team, and when the three of you end up on the run together Ghost and Soap realize exactly how useful the cat attributes you gained from the surgery are

Your TF 141 callsign is something cat-themed because pun opportunity (haven't decided exactly what)

But anyway after almost dying together and escaping the town and getting to the safehouse you realize how much closer Soap and Ghost seem to be because it's just right in front of you. Like even when you were in the town over comms (you didn't insert much aside from occasional location updates) you heard how unusually playful Ghost was with Soap when he usually despises jokes (he would cringe every time he had to call you by your callsign for the first few weeks and I will die on that headcanon hill)

So now that the three of you are finally alone you ask what the deal is and make it firm you won't let up until they give you the truth

And Ghost tries to say they don't have time for this but Soap stops him like "a nod's as guid as a wink to a blind horse" and Ghost just glares at him and doesn't have to say anything and Soap sighs and is like "hiding it isn't going to help us anymore, she knows L.T"

And that's how you find out Ghost and Soap are dating

You swear not to tell another soul and Ghost is just his usual violent self "Won't be a slow job if I find you tried" and Soap just elbows him

But the air is actually a lot lighter after that and the three of you actually manage to have some quick laughs together

And you're like actually so relieved that your Lieutenant doesn't hate you and that he was just being an overprotective bf

After you get back to base after that mission the three of you actually end up spending a lot more time together because Ghost and Soap like finally having a friend they can be open about their relationship with and not be scared to lose their jobs

Hey! If you read all the way through this, go check out Chapter 1

[volivolition]

Your tags in my notes give me life every time 🙏🙏thank you so much!

I would love to hear your thoughts on what might happen to Esprit post-RCM!! And yeah poor electrochem... I think it was meant for the little daily dopamine highs of life, the good food and new experiences and cute cats, but it's been hijacked by addiction into something best ignored :((

!! YESS omg of course, you make such good art AND writing i have gotta pay my respects!! hgkjh delighted to see your DE fanworks always :3 <33

!! HELL YES I WOULD LOVE TO SHARE, and its so cool to have that echem mention because it's a really good parallel: YES!! Electrochemistry is made to take care of general mesolimbic system reports and for lil everyday happy dopamine moments, little treats and smiles from kim hkjhg but it gets fucked up by addiction because HOLY SHIT life is AWFUL and DEPRESSING and surely drugs and alcohol will save us!! :')

AND SIMILARLY!! i think Esprit De Corps (literally Group Spirit or team spirit) is originally meant to be a skill of Community and Belonging, but gets fucked up by the RCM!! more under cut because this is LONG hgkjh

in my headcanons, Esprit is the youngest skill to form, but it wasn't as late as the RCM. Originally, I think that Esprit was made for the kinship Harry felt for the The Fifteenth Indotribe. Harry and seven other kids, running together as a group of friends causing trouble, this was Harry's first sense of belonging somewhere. Pretty low level and not as psychically linked, just happy to feel connected to people. When the indotribe eventually fell apart, Esprit was left fractured and dormant for a while as Harry drifted from having a sense of community. Esprit for real, at this point in time, Esprit is a ghost of a fury, low level and barely tangible.

(The thing holding them together was their attachment to the other skills, because at least they're still part of a group that way, even if Harry wasn't. Friends with Empathy, a part of the psyches, one of the 24 skills. If Esprit lacked those bonds with the other furies, its likely they would have faded entirely.)

Then Harry became a gym teacher, and Esprit returns as Esprit L'école (School Spirit :3) which helps him communicate with school staff, faculty and students. And Harry cares about this new community dearly. Deeply tender at heart, Harry loves the kids in his classes and finds camaraderie with his coworkers and wants the best for this school. Not just the best gym teacher, he's one of the best teachers in general. He puts his everything into this school, and Esprit L'école thrives in this new environment for several years.

Then they meet Dora, and shit gets fucked!! Dora convinces Harry to join the RCM, and Esprit fractures further. Unlike the Fifteenth Indotribe or the Grand Couron High School, this isn't something he finds community in. I mean, they think they do at first. The RCM is meant to help the community, right? Surely working here will bolster Esprit? But y'know how it goes, RCM culture is harsh and immoral and corrupted at its heart, for the scarce good they can do, there is so, so much bad for the community and god Esprit is hurting.

...but this is for Dora, and trying to put a bandage on a dying relationship, so Esprit De Corps forces it. Forces themselves to lean hard into the kinship with cops and to fit into police culture and conform to RCM standards, forces himself to be The Cop Skill. All of the skills at this point are going into overdrive as well, Volition tries to focus on hard work in hopes that it will pay off in the long run, Empathy tries to make himself smaller so he's not in the way, Echem is RUNNING OUT OF DOPAMINE and oh hey, this speed shit makes us a better cop, I'll take it!! dear god, the RCM is fucking over ALL THE SKILLS, everyone is struggling at this point.

And Dora leaves. Harry suffers, and so do the skills, and trying to distract from it, they just launch themselves HARDER into the RCM shit. nothing else to live for, to do, throw all reluctance to the wind, work yourself to the brink of death. 18 total years of service, 216 cases, above 90% of officers in the entire RCM, a Lieutenant Double-Yefreitor. Renowned and accomplished; this is not the community Esprit De Corps loves, but it is the one he's entrenched in, and nothing, not even amnesia, can detach him from this.

Until they quit.

honestly ive seen like! a few fics where harry quits the RCM, and always thought, "oh hey nice acab :] ...HEY WAIT WHAT'S ESPRIT DOING." so i made a fic, because a LOT of my fics are focused on the skills side of things. the humans are no longer my priority, i am a skills lover and my fucking god i gotta make my own food around here [gestures at several in-progress pasta bakes and cake batters and salad ingredients because EVERYTHING IS WIPS]

there was a first concept that was just like "DOES ESPRIT JUST DISAPPEAR???" which would have been TRAGIC and i could've made a whole cool thing about it but im alrEADY WORKING ON SEVERAL MULTI-CHAPTERS HKJHG and that's not how skills work in my canon <3

so my fic is a oneshot called "Who Are You, If Not..." because when you've made your whole life one thing and that thing gets taken away from you, who do you become? and its not very plot heavy, it's just a late-night conversation between the psyche skills.

here's a snippet from while i was working on the coding hkgjh

(since i write a lot of skills, i have this style where i put all skill actions in the [check] color and leave dialogue in white, which is a little restrictive to work with but i like how it turns out <33)

to lose a group you attached yourself to, even if they were bad for you, even if everything about it sucked. but you keep checking in, you keep instinctively going back because at least it was something. ough... i think it's scary for them, yknow? he's losing touch with what he based his existence around, and he knows its for the better, but it's... complicated hkjgh

ANYWAY THOSE ARE MY ESPRIT THOUGHTS HKJHG <33 thank you for reading if you did!! i LOVE the concept of esprit being more than just the cop skill, he's the skill of community to me!! hkjhg yay :]

[flytohurt]

Thrasher mag, March 2024 issue // buy it here! by Matt Pendry

article under the cut!

Skateboarding seems to be everywhere these days, including in the wrestling ring. But if somebody is going to hop over the ropes with a board, we're glad it's Darby Allin because he's not using skating as a gimmick - the dude rips! Despite putting his body through the ringer three-to-four nights a week wrestling, he's still out there getting broke off on his board - and loving every second of it. We caught up recently to talk about living in his vehicle, his guest model on Deathwish and jumping a car over his damn house. Check it.

What's going on, Darby? I'm on the way to the FA warehouse to hang out before we do this meet and greet at their store later today, and on top of that I'm getting ready to go to Mount Everest on Saturday. I got so much shit planned. I have to get hit by a car tomorrow and I have a joint sprain at the moment, so I'm trying to stay at 100 percent.

What do you mean you have to get hit by a car tomorrow? I have to get hit by this car for an AEW promo show tomorrow, then do an actual show in Inglewood and them jump on a red-eye flight to China to train for Mount Everest, so I got to make sure my body stays in one piece.

It sounds like you have a lot going on right now! Where are you originally from? I was born in Arizona, but I was only there for two months so from my brain's standpoint all I remember is Seattle.

Did you start skaing there? Yeah, I started skating in eighth grade.

Is that also around the time you started filming yourself with a tripod? Yeah, it would just rain all the time in Seattle, so when you got a sunny day you couldn't take it for granted - you had to go balls to the wall. That's pretty much when the inception of all my craziness started. You know, sitting at home all day thinking about skating while it was raining. By the time it was sunny it was time to rock and that's when I would get sent to the hospital.

I heard you broke your leg one time and had to push yourself home. That's when I was going to film school in Arizona. It was my first month there and I was trying to drop in on the ASU art museum structure. It's this huge drop in I'd seen in videos. I didn't have a filmer because I'm impatient and don't like to wait for people, so I set up a camera on a tripod and went for it. I flew into the concrete wall in the landing and broke my foot. At that time I had no money and the buses had stopped running, so I had to push myself on my board all the way home. It was a good ten miles; so gnarly. Then I was just sitting there sweating in a hot-ass apartment all summer with no AC and a broken foot.

Sounds like a long summer. I head you were homeless when you moved to Georgia to join the amateur wrestling circuit and make a name for yourself. How long did that last? I was living in my car in Georgia for about five months, pretty much because I didn't want to end up complacent or lazy. A lot of people sit on the couch all day every day, but when you're living in your car, in the middle of the Georgia summer, you get woken up pretty early. It was just a way to push myself out of my comfort zone because I think comfort zones are the death of most people. So, that's the big reason I wanted to be homeless in my car and it ended up working out.

It sounds like with that environment and mindset you were able to push yourself to where you are today. Yeah, absolutely. Everything I do in life is to get out my comfort zone. All the crazy stuff I do, whether I'm getting hit by a car, or jumping over my house, or trying to climb Mount Everest, or sleeping in my car, it helps me get out of my comfort zone and that's usually what chills me out.

Was cooking chicken in the bathroom of a gym on a George Foreman grill out of your comfort zone? Well, I used to park outside of an Anytime Fitness and go cook chicken in the bathroom. Everybody in the gym could smell that shit and would be like, What's going on?

You got to do what you got to do. I didn't have a kitchen or money to eat out so it saved me so much money.

Were you skating much during this time, or had your focus shifted to wrestling? I pretty much stopped skating for a solid year and a half. It was weird - I felt like in order to make it in wrestling I needed to dedicate my life to it and at a certain point I really felt something was missing and I couldn't pinpoint what it was. I was feeling this depression like something about my life was just not there anymore, and then the moment I picked up a skateboard again I was like, Oh shit, this is it, for sure. I never put it back down after that. I've been skating all the time now, even though I'm signed to this company and have to wrestle every week. It's like, You can't pay me enough to stop skating now. When I stopped skating for that year and a half I felt it. Mentally, I really felt it; it just sucked.

Does All Elite Wrestling ask you to take it easy on the skating? No, it sounds crazy but they trust me. I still skate so much. I'm not just doing rock to fakies either - I'm usually trying some crazy shit, so it's really hard to balance out the two worlds, especially when you have to perform every week and you have a passion for skateboarding. I don't think anybody truly understands how much I thread the needle on a weekly basis.

I heard when you first got signed to AEW, they couldn't guarantee you anything because they didn't know what was going to happen with the new company. The parallels are almost identical to many pro skater's careers in this aspect - style, personality, presentation and so much more go into both curating and carrying out a successful skateboarding or wrestling career. Being a few years into a professional wrestling career, do you think it's similar to being a professional skater? I think the overall difference is skateboarding is just more unpredictable. With wrestling, once you make it you're kind of set. I feel like being a pro skater would be a lot harder and there's no real guarantee for the future. Once you can't skate anymore you're kind of spit out of the system, but with wrestling there's more options with what you can do outside of it once your body gives out.

I'm saying the career path is what is so similar - where you go and live in your car with no money and push yourself into this life. Well, would you rather do that or would you rather play it safe? I worked at a 99 Cents store and the mental pain of working at a place like that versus risking your body every day is a no-brainer. I would rather risk my body any day.

Let's talk about the Gates of Hell slam you took a few days before doing a pay-per-view match in Arizona. I was filming this AEW intro video with Max Yoder at the Gates of Hell. Jaws was there, too. There's a big crack at the bottom that wasn't Bondo'd. I tried to no comply backside 360, hit the crack and flew into the wall at the bottom. I fell into this red anthill. I just laid there while they were eating me up. The first thing I thought was, Oh shit, I have to wrestle next week. So I went to Jaws' house and was like, Alright, if I piss blood I'll go to the hospital. If not, I'm good. I sat in the bathtub for like two hours and there was no blood, so all good. A few days later I show up limping for this big match and everybody was like, What happened? I told them I was training and hit my knee, because I have a wrestling ring at my house. I have such a drive to show skateboarding to the pro-wrestling world because they've never really seen it before, so that's why I wanted to skate the Gates of Hell, but I got annihilated.

In true akater fashion you just want to put it on the line! That's what it's all about. It seems like you want to represent skating in the right way and not as some lame gimmick to your persona. It's actually who you are and where you came from. Continuing to skate is certainly a risk because I feel like I have a high standard for how I want to skate. I don't want to just play it safe.

How did the guest board with Deathwish come about? It was my friend Steve Hernandez's idea, who works at Deathwish. He was trying to sell it to Reynolds and Ellington, but they were kind of on the fence. Once they saw some of my skating they were like, Yeah, he's actually a skater. Let's get it! Then we created the Darby Allin AEW Deathwish board. I was super grateful for that whole experience.

When you started making a little bread from AEW, was the backyard skatepark the first dream that was brought to life? Yeah! I got a roll in out of my kitchen window. We have like 14 acres of fucking chaos - there's dirt jumps, a skatepark, we're blowing up cars every weekend. It's just a representation of what I would have wanted when I was ten years old: a fantasy land mixed with Nitro Circus and skating.

Which brings me to the house jump - how did you get the idea for that? We were filming a pilot for my TV show Darby's Days Off and they asked me, What's something you want to do? I was looking at my yard and I said, Can't we just build a big-ass jump over the house? The next week there was a truck unloading dirt and building this massive jump and we even got mobile-home trailers. Travis Pastrana told me trailers are like a crash pad for cars. Earlier that week he also told me there was a good chance I'd break my back if I didn't land it right. Tony Khan, my boss at AEW, asked me if I could a stunt duble and I was like, No way. The moment I landed it, Tony was on FaceTime and I jumped out of the car and was like, I can make it Wednesday! He's always getting stressed out with my shenanigans.

I'm sure he was hyped once he saw how much publicity the video received. That's my whole goal with professional wrestling. I feel like a lot of wrestlers play it safe outside of the ring. To find a way to attract a new audience or fans you have to think outside the box.

You're certainly thinking way outside the box. You clipped the house but still came out alright. What were the stats? How far did you fly? It was a 96-foot jump over the house. It was insane and by far the gnarliest thing I've ever done.

Have any fans or fellow wrestlers ever given you shit about bringing a skateboard into the ring? No, not really. I feel like the best thing to do in wrestling is bring something from outside of wrestling into the ring. Nobody's ever been like, Yo, what the hell? Why do you have a skateboard?

Because they know you actually skate! That's the thing - if I didn't really skate and everyone saw me out there with it, they'd be like, All this is just same fake pro-wrestling shit. There's a lot of that going on already and I don't want to add to it.

It seems like after everything that you have been through you've made the best of the situation - you've got action figures in Target; your matches are televised across the world; I've literally seen you on billboards. You're a celebrity at this point! So, one last thing - I know you're a certified psycho, but are you serious about this Mount Everest thing? You're about to fly to China for a month. Are you actually training to climb it? Absolutely. When I say I'm going to do something, I do it. I just want to work for it. I want something to push towards again that's going to be extremely difficult. It's more of a spiritual quest. I have a lot of things I want to do in life, but Mount Everest kept calling me for whatever reason. I only have six months to train for it and my guides there tell me that's unheard of, but I feel like with everything I've put myself through in life I can 100 percent do it.

Are you going to take your board? Are you going to be the first person to get a clip on top of Everest? I don't even know if that's possible to bring up there. I'll have to ask them, but that would be epic.

Well, I can't wait to see what's next. Do you think we're going to get a full Darby part anytime in the near future? Yeah, it's a goal of mine. Once I get back from Everest I want to start filming.

I know it would be one for the books. Thanks for talking with us, Darby. You're truly one of a kind, my friend. Good luck on the mountain! We'll see how it all plays out. If this interview comes out before Everest, cool. If not and I die on the mountain, then yeah, I don't know...

You're a skater. You'll be all right. Yeah, I guess we'll put that to the test.

[thethirdromana]

Headcanons of how Deep Space Nine characters smell

Worf Starting off with an easy one. Canon says Worf has “an earthy, peaty aroma” with “a touch of lilacs”. I’m guessing Klingons also smell stronger than humans - not worse, but more. So it’s unpleasant for humans who aren’t used to it, but if they’re around Klingons a lot, they stop noticing it. And Jadzia finds it sexy. 

Bashir Pretty much every other bit of Bashir got genetically engineered, so I’m sure he’s got the gene that means your sweat doesn’t smell. If you get really close he just smells… pleasant. Unremarkable. 

Quark With that dress sense and those nails, I headcanon that Quark, and Ferengi males in general, are dripping in perfume. Something quite intense too, like the Ferengi equivalent of patchouli and vanilla. 

(Rom and Nog are lower-status, so they use less. You can smell the Grand Negus coming from 100m away). 

Jadzia Dax I just feel like Jadzia Dax is one of those people who goes to the gym, works out for ages, gets all sweaty, and then smells great. Not like Bashir, who barely smells at all. But she would smell good.

I will serve my sentence in horny jail as soon as this list is done. 

Ezri Dax I think fragrance is part of Ezri’s identity crisis, coming into Ops smelling of a different perfume every other day. But I think she would settle on something subtle and sweet, like jasmine. 

Sisko Oh you just know Sisko smells good. Sometimes it’s a refreshing shower scent (eucalyptus? Mint?), sometimes it’s from whatever he’s been cooking, sometimes it’s just him. But no one can resist taking a deep breath when Sisko gives them a hug. 

Kira At the risk of controversy, I think early-DS9 Kira was a bit whiffy. I doubt there was much time for personal hygiene in the resistance, and she went from loose, breathable clothing to whatever her uniform is made of, which is the opposite of that. But as she relaxed and got used to not fighting all the time, I think she would indulge in fragrances. And knowing how lush and green Bajor is, I bet they have some wonderful perfumes too. 

O’Brien O’Brien smells like this picture:

I know there’s not much call for engine grease or welding in the future. I know O’Brien’s work mostly involves fixing things that aren’t even dusty, let alone oily. But he still smells like that. Don’t ask me how. 

Keiko Keiko loves a delicate, floral scent. She smells like springtime. Sometimes she mixes perfumes herself. 

Odo Odo smells very little, since he doesn’t release that many Odo-modules into the environment. If you get very close, he smells of his environment, from microscopic bits of dust and Deep Space Nine carpet, and underneath that, a cool smell, like plastic. 

Garak I have to say that while I feel quite confident of some of my answers, I really struggle with how Garak smells. I think he does use a little bit of scent - not a huge amount - and it’s something warm like sandalwood. But I’m not sure. 

Weyoun Vorta smell pleasant but in an unidentifiable, disconcerting way. Not floral, or fruity, or musky, or animal-smelling, nor any other scent that a human can recognise, but on the verge of being familiar, so half of anyone’s concentration when speaking to Weyoun is caught up with wondering what the smell reminds them of.