#but now people care about what she thinks and it's so new to her

[seumyo]

KENJI SATO ✰ 10:43

“Working overtime really doesn’t suit you, Sato.” The teasing sentence made Kenji grunt in disapproval, slumping against his couch.

“Wow, I didn’t notice. Thank you for that valuable input, [Name],” he says, rolling his eyes at you. 

He can’t help the sarcastic reply. Kenji’s schedule was all over the place. His life has been all over the place ever since his return to his home country, Japan. And now he not only has to take care of himself—which, in his defense, was fairly simple when he just had to worry about himself—he has to worry about an infant Kaiju!

What a wonderful (not) icing on the cake.

“Ken is really appreciative that you made time to fulfill his request, or, shall I say, cry for help, [Name].” Mina’s familiar voice flurried from a distance, closing in to your right in a breeze. 

“Hey! It was not a cry for help—it’s more like a... Asking a friend for a favor,” Kenji says, trying to ease his brain with what’s coming out of his mouth (like it was on autopilot, scrambling to defend himself and the pride he had left).

“Uh huh. And the favor is? I don’t really think there’s anything I could do to her containment unit or any repairs that’re needed in this place.”

“I just need someone to watch over her.”

(“I just need someone to talk to” is a much fitting phrase.)

“Doesn’t Mina already do that?”

“There’s only so much a supercomputer like me can do to entertain a living being, [Name].”

On cue, Emi croons at the video of you singing on stage. A part time career of yours, because when you’re not developing new tech that boosts the economy, you might as well indulge in your hobbies. 

Kenji wouldn’t admit it, but he has a vinyl or two—or even a whole collection of them—that he considers as priceless as his one-of-a-kind sports car displayed in the basement.

“Would you look at that? She likes your singing.” 

He watches as you take a step closer to Emi, observing how she delightedly squealed at the soft melody being played on the holograms. This 20-foot-tall baby Kaiju reminded you of the time you took care of children at the daycare center.

“I just...” he sighs. You didn’t even notice that Kenji was already beside you, offering you a canned drink. 

“How do you do it? Juggle everything?” He murmurs. “You’re the busiest person I know. Working on your thesis, performing at various concerts, taking on charity work, and whatnot. Hell, if you could run for president, I’m sure I’ll be seeing you in the elections, too.”

A quiet laugh was returned. “It’s not easy, that’s for sure. But within time, you’ll learn just what you need and what you can handle.”

“Mm. Don’t you ever just want to run away from all the responsibilities people place on your shoulders? I can barely take care of this young lady,” he chuckles, though it doesn’t hold even the slightest ounce of humor to it.

“I wish, but then I’ll remember the kids who're so happy to see me whenever I drop by,” you say. “They may be a handful at times, but you’ll be surprised to know just how smart and caring they are. How they take in their surroundings and attempt to figure out who they are. We’re all what they have. The least we could do is give them our time and love all the same.”

Kenji lets your words sink in. Simple and touching. The kind that gets the gears in his head to start twisting.

“You really are a charm with your words; did you know that?”  

“Thanks; I try my best.”

The night continues with Kenji and Emi playing baseball on a simulated field with you by the shed, cheering on from a safe distance. Kenji doesn’t remember the last time he’s been this genuinely happy after his return to Japan. It’s a refreshing feeling that he wants to get used to again. To see the baby Kaiju successfully hit the ball with a swift swing after watching after him is a sight that tugs at one’s heartstrings.

Just like a proud father.

“Come on, girl! We gotta run the bases!”

And as the two celebrate their moment of triumph, the baby Kaiju stomps toward you and giggles happily as she hoists you in the air without much warning. You took it all in you not to shriek and absolutely lose all composure, but when you’re up in the air and are being held to a bear hug like some sort of teddy bear by a Kaiju that could probably crush your bones if not careful, it’s hard to not just scream for your life.

“Oh, ok—ok. Baby, put me down gently, please,” you chuckle nervously. 

“It appears that the little one sees you as her other mother,” Mina adds.

Kenji laughs at the sight, pulling out his phone to take a picture. This is definitely a memory he’d want to remember.

“This is not funny, Kenji. Tell her to put me down.”

“Aw, is Baby not listening to her Mommy?”

“Again, not funny. This is like an out-of-the-blue co-parenting a child with you. With you being my annoying ex-husband.”

“Specific, eh?”

“Shut!”

When you’re just about to leave for the night, Kenji suggests that you sleep over. There’s a lot of spare bedrooms in their manor, he reasons. He also doesn’t understand what came over him to offer, but he doesn’t take it back.

But it could be because he’s missed you. And he’s somewhat afraid that this may be the last time you see each other in a while due to your clashing schedules.

“You’re such a girl dad, Kenji,” you tease.

“Haha, good one,” he says, rolling his eyes at you. He took a couple of blankets from the closet and placed them on the bed.

“Just saying.”

“Whatever you say, Mommy.”

“Oh hush, Daddy.”

That ringed out a laugh from him. “Bleh, that sounds so embarrassing coming from you.”

You shrugged. “Hm? Don’t you think you’re embarrassing too?”

“I’m not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Are too. I will not be going back and forth like this with you anymore, Kenji Sato. Good night!”

Kenji can’t hide the smile that appears on his face. Yeah, he definitely missed this. 

Definitely missed you.

SEUMYO © 2024. PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, PLAGIARIZE, MODIFY OR TRANSLATE.

[mariasont]

Training Day - A.H

a/n: you all wanted more bimbo!assistant!reader and i'm a woman of the people so here we are

on a real note i love her and she is my queen

masterlist

pairings: aaron hotchner x bimbo!assistant!reader

summary: you don't understand why hotch is giving you training lessons, but apparently he thinks you need it

warnings: talking about men following her in public YUCK, hotch trying to train reader, reader not knowing what's going on, cuties being cute

wc: 0.8k

"I still don't really know why we're doing this."

You were grumbling more than was characteristic for you, with every part of your body, your arms, your legs, and even your ass, suffering from a dull ache--sadly, not the result of any enjoyable pastime. After being knocked over more times than you cared to count, Hotch extended his hand toward you. You gladly took it, letting him pull you to your feet.

Your fingers deftly pulled at your pink tracksuit top over the sliver of abdomen that that had been revealed in your less-than-graceful take down. Hotch had pointed out the impracticality of your outfit when you showed up, but you stood firm on the principle that if early training sessions were expected of you, then your attire would be non-negotiable.

"Because I want to be confident in your abilities to defend yourself." His arms folded over his chest as his gaze bore into you, challenging you to contradict him.

"I'm just here to look pretty and answer your phones, crime-fighting isn't in my job description. That's your thing, Mr."

You shuffled back to your original position anyway, hands coming up to shield your face as you mentally sorted through the steps, or at least tried to, struggling to recall the correct foot placement.

"Shoulder width apart."

It's like he could read your mind. You were not entirely convinced that he couldn't.

"Crime-fighting doesn't have to be your thing," Hotch stated, narrowing the gap between you, his hands firmly correcting your stance. You sometimes found an excuse to stand just so, hoping he would step in to manhandle you into place. "But being part of the BAU, even peripherally, means you're not immune to risks. I need to know you can handle yourself... for my piece of mind."

"Sir, is this like, your super-secret way of showing you care?"

Your lips twisted into a half-smile as his hands clasped your waist a little tighter than necessary: a warning that said you were playing with fire. His fingers then moved to direct yours, positioning them closer to your face, his knuckles lightly grazing across your cheek in the process.

"Eyes on me, stay focused."

"My eyes are always on you, sir," you say, your head canting to one side. 

He released a controlled breath, giving you a level look that signaling you were pushing it. Nevertheless, you flashed him a beaming smile and initiated the move he had been drilling into you. The tip of your elbow made contact with the soft of his stomach.

He issued a muted groan as he intercepted your arm, preventing it from digging further, and in a fluid motion he spun you around, pinning your backside to his front.

"That was perfect, right?" you squealed, your fist shooting up in victory.

The sudden jump caused his hands to shift from your arm, finding a new perch on your hips to steady your... enthusiastic bounce.

You whirled in his grasp, the proximity sending a faint hum through his chest. Clearing his throat, he managed. "Yes, uh, that was it."

Clutching his shirt, the fabric crumpled beneath your purple-tipped fingers, you giggled. "Just imagine someone trying to follow me to my car now. They wouldn't know what hit 'em!"

"Is that a common occurrence?" The lines of his face gathered into that customary look of concern, that characteristic frown of his making an appearance.

He gently disentangled your hands from his shirt, not letting go, but rather laying his atop of yours.

"Well, sometimes, but I usually just call Morgan, put him on speaker, and he starts talking about the FBI stuff," you explained, giving a light shrug that nudged the zipper of your jacket down just a smidge. "They take off after that."

He clenched his eyes shut, pausing momentarily before reopening it. One hand let go of yours to adjust the zipper back to its proper position.

"That makes my stomach hurt." And it did. "Don't hesitate to call me when that happens. I'll come get you."

Your smile stretched ear to ear, potent enough to make him feel lightheaded. "You know, with all these trainings, who needs to call for help?"

"How about we compromise, and you still call me, regardless?"

You pout your lips, shiny with clear gloss rather than your usual pink. "That sounds less like a compromise and more like a you thing, ya know?"

Hotch's laughter rumbled from his chest, a warm, breathy sound, as he let go of your hands, which he realized he had been holding far longer than appropriate, and guided you to the door.

"You don't appreciate the added precautions I'm willing to take for your safety?"

Dragging your sneaker on the floor, you plucked your bag from the wall as Hotch closed the door behind you. "Gee, when you say it like that..."

When you walked down the hall you seemed to be perfectly in step.

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[entertaining-two]

Upon yet another re watch, episode one really is wild because I feel like we all forgot how much of a little romantic dork Colin was for the first two seasons. Like this man was still the younger brother of his two older brothers, he was seen as immature, kiddish, and too young to really be a man.

His whole journey season 1 is setting up how he wants a romantic connection but is deceived for his naivety in this situation despite warning.

His journey season 2 is to try and become a man, having traveled, trying to gain purpose and prospects through investing and being a protector to the feathering tons he feels noble. Yet he still wonders what the point of it all is: ie, he’s missing the heart of his purpose which is to love someone undyingly.

Season 3 everyone is so shocked when he shows up, looking older, looking and acting confidence and suave and flirtatious something he NEVER was before. They are shocked and also not mocking him for his travels and he knows now not to even divulge his passion for it because he knows while his family loves him, they do not truly care for the inner workings of his mind. Leaving him still missing something. That something is a true partner.

I just feel like we all really truly forgot how Colin was never the one to be smooth, the one to know the exact thing to say and when, or even the confident hot one. The man spent hours talking about plants he saw traveling to his ex’s husband for gods sake like this man is not suave he is dorky and adorable. He had always been dorky younger brother of the two catches in the Bridgerton house. Forgotten amongst the diamond of the season, the viscount, and the flirtatious artist. Who was he? He had no clue.

He wandered and came back a new person hoping people would now accept him and clearly he feels it has worked because everyone praises him for it! So when his facade starts to crumble around Pen, and when she throws back at him that he has put on this mask of a person, and tells him she just wants the true man she loves, for once Colin is feeling seen for who he actually is. I think that is why he kisses her so aggressively after the “I love you!” Statement by the modiste. He’s seen, and loved. Now he just had to figure out how to accept the lady Whistledown stuff.

All I’m saying is people don’t get Colin and I will die on the hill that he deserves more praise. He’s far more complex than people give credit and I love his character.

[taylorman2274]

We Care About You (Epilogue)

A week after bonding with the Traveler, you log back into Genshin and find that a lot has changed since your last time playing.

Content Warning(s): N/A

Notes: SAGAU; GN!Reader;

Word Count: 1.6k

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

"Something is wrong..."

Wait. No. That's not the word you should be using.

"Something is different..."

These were the thoughts rummaging through your head as you stared at the door to Teyvat on your computer. Everything up to that point had gone smoothly compared to all the previous times you logged on.

This time, however, you noticed that the time it took the game to get ready was noticeably quicker than usual. Like really quickly. Like almost instantaneous.

Like you didn't even have time to check the notifications on your phone. It was as quick as someone snapping their fingers.

"Not that I'm complaining. All the better!" you happily exclaimed, clicking on the screen and opening the door to Teyvat.

Thinking that this loading screen would last around the same time as before, you looked away from the computer towards your phone with the intent of checking on any new notifications that may have popped up. However, the outdoor ambiance of Teyvat quickly traveled to your ears, signaling that the loading screen came and went just as quickly as the one from earlier.

"Again? How?" you questioned, turning your attention back towards your computer screen. "Why is my computer suddenly able t-"

.

..

...

"...What..."

You could immediately tell that you were in Mondstadt given that you were standing in front of the Barbados statue. But that doesn't make any sense. You logged off at Liyue the last time you played Genshin.

"...The..."

Additionally, the plaza looked much more lively than normal. You've never seen more than ten people occupy the area at one time. But this time, it looked like you were standing in the center of a heavily populated city. People were walking, running, praying, and making conversation. But to top it all off...

...They all looked so real that you almost forgot you were playing a video game.

"...Hell?..."

You moved the camera around to view as much of the plaza as you could, but you quickly came to realize something important.

"Wait... Where's my character?"

Given how much time you've spent playing Genshin, you feel a bit embarrassed that you didn't immediately notice the lack of a player character in the bottom center of your screen.

But now is not the time for such feelings! You've got questions to answer.

You tried looking for them in the crowd but found no sign of them. You turned to the left but yielded the same results. You turned to the left aga-.

"HIYA [Y/N]!!!"

"JESUS!!"

The sudden shout jump scares you so badly that you instinctively lurch backward in your chair. The cord from your headphones was pulled off your head from how far you flung your head back. The cord was also responsible for shifting your computer awry.

You quickly leaned forward and brought a hand to the computer to prevent it from falling off your desk. In doing so, you also got a glimpse of what was shown on your computer screen.

Paimon had both her hands over her mouth, suggesting that she was the one who shouted in your face. Her eyes were dilated, looking frantically all around her. The Traveler was frozen in place behind her, their right arm stretched out towards Paimon.

"Uhhhh, [Y/N]?" Paimon quietly spoke up. "Are you okay?"

Given how clearly you heard Paimon from your headphones on the floor, you figured that part of the reason why you got so scared was because of how loud Paimon was.

Grabbing your headphones, you adjusted the volume before putting them back on.

"I'm alright," you assured her. "I just wasn't expecting that."

Your assurance worked as Paimon began smiling again. "Good! Paimon was worried that she accidentally scared you away again."

You softly chuckled. "Given how much I've been through already, it would take a lot more than that to scare me away."

Paimon happily nodded before flying back over to the Traveler. "Hey, [Y/N]," The Traveler greeted. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

"It has." you agree. "What's going on?"

The Traveler's smile grew. "Straight to the point, I see. In that case, I'll let you in on what Paimon and I have been looking into for the past couple of days."

You leaned back in your chair and propped your elbows on the armrests. You guessed that this was going to take a while to explain.

"Remember what I told you before we sent you back to your world?"

You thought back to that moment.

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

"Do you mind doing a quick favor for me after we send you back to your world?" the Traveler asked.

You nodded. "Sure. What do you need me to do?"

"I need you to not come to Teyvat for a little while."

...

"...Huh?"

"I know it sounds weird but let me explain," the Traveler emphasized with a hand on their chest. "I'm planning on asking Albedo to see if he can strengthen the connection between our two worlds so that we don't have to communicate like this every time. Not only will it be easier, but I don't have to worry about anything going wrong with the summoning ritual."

You crossed your arms. "So why do I not need to log i-... excuse me, not come to Teyvat. That basically goes against the whole reason you summoned me here in the first place."

"I'm worried that any attempt to cross the gap will either damage or destroy the link we have so far. Additionally, Albedo works best when he's not distracted."

You shrugged your shoulders. "Fair enough. But when do you want me to come back?"

The Traveler switched to a thinking pose. "Give me a week at minimum. If nothing comes out of it, I'll summon you here again."

You nodded. "Okay, sounds good. Is that all?"

"That's all. Are you ready to head back now?"

You nodded again. Aether was quick to call Xiao's name and he arrived just a second later.

"Remember. One week from now." The Traveler reminded.

"I know, I know. I won't forget," you assured.

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

"So you got it to work?"

The Traveler nodded. "I did. You should be able to see a noticeable difference from your previous visit."

"So that's what's happening..." you spoke in awe. "Everything looks so much more lively now! I'm even surprised that the computer I'm using can handle all of this."

"...Computer?" Paimon asked, confused.

"Sorry. It's the name of the device I use to get to Teyvat," you explained.

"Oh, THAT'S what's it called!" Paimon exclaimed. "Interesting..."

You chuckled at her enthusiasm. "Yeah. I wish I could show you all how it works."

"Hopefully we'll be able to in the future," The Traveler butted in. "I'm happy with what we've accomplished so far, but I would be even happier if I could have you in Teyvat by my side constantly like Paimon."

You raised an eyebrow. "Doesn't Paimon literally disappear on the regular?"

"HEY! THAT'S NOT TRUE!"

... ... ...

"Oh wait..."

The Traveler laughed. "You know what I mean, [Y/N]."

"Hmph! You guys can make fun of Paimon all you want, but Paimon's been working on something as well!" She floated closer to you and pointed toward the top of your screen. "Go ahead and click on that button for Paimon, [Y/N]."

...

She was pointing at the wish button.

"You can see that?"

"Yep! Now Paimon's able to tell just what exactly you're doing at all times!"

Dear God, that sounds like a nightmare.

You clicked on the wish button. "You better not have done anyth-"

...

"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY PRIMOGEMS?????!!"

"Wait wait wait wait wait, don't panic!" Paimon frantically assured. "Having more is better right?"

...

...

...

"...[Y/N]?"

"Shut it, Paimon. I'm checking my bank account for any suspicious purchases."

"Paimon did not steal any money from you! Paimon has no way of accessing them anyway!"

"Then why do I have..."

...

"DOES THAT SAY INFINITY????"

The Traveler could only rub the back of their head in embarrassment as their commotion attracted the attention of the majority of people passing by. After all, it wasn't all too common for a Seelie and a fairy to be shouting at each other.

"I don't get it..." you muttered. "There aren't any signs of fraud in my bank account."

"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" Paimon argued. "You should be more grateful. Paimon went through a lot to get those."

You sighed. Truly, Paimon was as unpredictable as ever. "You're right. You're right. Sorry."

"Apology accepted!" Paimon smiled. "Now, using your infinite supply of primogems, make a few wishes on one of the banners."

...How does Paimon understand what all of this is?

Regardless, you went ahead and wished for a ten-pull on the Standard Banner. There wasn't anyone or anything you were really aiming to pull on the character and weapon banners.

The animation played out as usual, the star starting out as blue before slowly turning into gold.

"Oh sweet! Thanks Paimon!"

"Don't thank Paimon just yet! There's more where that came from~!"

The first wish flashed on the screen. "Jean! Finally, I got her!"

The second wish flashed on the screen. "Aquila Favonia?! Two golds back to back?! This is a moment in history! Take a picture!"

The third wish flashed on the screen...

...

...Another gold? That can't be right.

You're not one to judge your luck, but getting three gold items in a row sounds like a load of bull shit to you.

You pressed the skip button to see what the rest of the pulls looked like.

...

They were all gold.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!"

"I know right!" Paimon giggled excitedly. "Just wait until Paimon shows you the other banners!"

...

Paimon is going to get you banned by Hoyoverse, fan-fucking-tastic.

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

THE END

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Author's Notes: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, surprise?

I will be honest, I've had this idea in my head for a while. It honestly could be it's own one-shot if I wanted to, but I felt like it would fit better as an epilogue for my main series.

Thanks again for all who liked, reblogged, and/or commented on this little series. I appreciate each and every one of you!

More stories to come soon! ...Hopefully.

[jezabelle9299]

Caretaker S.R x fem!Reader

Reader is hired as a live-in caretaker for Diana. Describes when she accidentally flooded the apartment, but I kind of mess with canon and plot. Could kind of take place after prison other than that. Diana ships Reader and Spencer. Reader is a graduate student in an online program.

C-Ws: Diana slaps reader, descriptions of alzheimer's and schizophrenia, Spencer is not used to people trying to take care of him and thinks he'll scare away reader.

(I've worked in a memory care/assisted living facility, and have a few relatives with alzheimer's and schizophrenia. But this is based on my still somewhat limited experience. And I have no medical experience, mostly just hospitality and comfort based work)

You had finally gotten to the address the agency gave you, after waiting a short eternity in the Washington traffic. It was a live-in caretaker job of a woman with schizophrenia and alzheimer's, living also with her son who traveled often for work. Your contact at the agency said the son, Dr. Reid was very nice and was ok with your slightly more limited experience. You buzzed and after a little while the man you assumed to be Dr.Reid came to the door. 

“Hi, you must be Ms.Y/L/N from the agency, I’m so glad you’re here.” He looked both shocked and relieved, like he thought you wouldn’t actually show up. While you were trying not to notice (Or at least trying not to show) that you thought the doctor was particularly gorgeous. But he would not only functionally be your employer, but also a sort of roommate. Plus you really wanted this job, you were a little new to being a live in caretaker after working in assisted living facilities since high school. You were in a grad program now, one you were completing online that allowed you to have caretaking as your career. 

“I’m happy to be here! You must be Dr.Reid?” 

“I am, and this is my mother Diana Reid.” He gestured to the woman on the couch, who had yet to even look at you. I mean you were kind of invading her house, so you couldn’t blame her. But you were determined to make her like you, I mean this job is a huge opportunity, and as you were new to the city the live in position was a two-birds-one-stone situation.  

“Hi Ms. Reid, I’m Y/N, it’s lovely to meet you. Your son has told me so much about you.” You gave her a nervous wave as you walked in front of the couch, still attempting to give her space while being in her line of sight. 

“I’m sure he has. I don’t need a stranger hovering over me.” She then stormed into the adjoining room, shutting and locking the door behind her. Dr.Reid attempted to chase after her, finding the door locked from the inside and calling out to her. 

“Mom, please just meet her! You’ve chased off every other nurse from the agency!” he got no reply, and solemnly turned back towards you. He was exhausted, dark circles under his eyes and he looked utterly dejected. 

“I’m sorry to waste your time, I understand if you’d like to leave.”

“I’ll stay, unless you’d like me to leave.” confusion and hope clouded his expression, you weren’t giving up that easy.

“That was just a first meeting, I get that she doesn’t want me in her space, but she might warm up to me. Plus, one of the best ways for me to get to know her right now is through you.”

“Oh my god, thank you so much. Today is one of her worse days, she’s not usually like this I swear.” He looked elated at the fact you didn’t leave so you knew you were getting the job. He just needed the help too much, and you were determined to get this woman to like you. From what Dr.Reid had already told you over the phone, she seemed like a wonderful woman you’d actually really like to know. She just had to not hate you first. 

“It’s ok, just a bad day. I totally understand she’s upset. Why don’t you and I talk until she comes out?”

“Yes, here have a seat, and I’ll grab you some water.” He hurriedly cleared some books off the couch so you could sit, disappearing into the kitchen and returning with a glass of water a few moments later. While he was gone you pulled your work notebook and some pens out so you could take some notes. 

“Thank you Dr. Reid, that’s really sweet.”

“Of course, and you can call me Spencer.” 

“Alright, really quick just like my experience and such, I’m sure the agency told you most of it. I’m a little new to being a live-in caretaker, but I have experience at a couple assisted living facilities. I’ve taken care of a few family members with schizophrenia as well as alzheimers so I have experience with that as well. I’m a graduate student so I’ll work on some classwork during times when your mother is resting but it’s all online so it shouldn’t interfere with anything.”

He nodded along patiently as you basically read him your resume, and then responded in kind. “That all sounds great, I travel as part of my work so I may be gone for a few days to a week at a time, but it should never be for too long, and as this is a live-in position I’ll leave a card you can use for anything you or my mother need while I’m gone.” 

“That’s very kind, thank you. So, could you run me through a regular day for your mother? Just all of it, the activities she likes, medications, food times, all that good stuff so I can be prepared, and not change her routine too much.” You bounced back and grabbed a pen to start taking notes to help you remember all of the information. 

“Absolutely, yeah. Does this mean that you’ll take the job?” He looked so full of hope at the sentiment.

“If you’re offering, then yes I’d love to. I can start whenever you’re ready.” He lit up and pulled you into a hug you were not at all prepared for. He smelled really good, which was only made more noticeable by the sharp inhale you took in surprise of the gesture.

“Oh. Hi.” You couldn’t think of anything else to say during the hug to cut the tension you were feeling. He clearly took this as discomfort and pulled away. 

“Sorry, I jus- Thank you. That is amazing, thank you so much.”

“Of course, I really need to thank you for the opportunity. I look forward to getting to know your mom.”

You talked about different logistics, as well as him giving you a short tour of the house before you had to leave, before Diana would re-emerge. You started the next day, with Spencer there to start to ease the transition in the morning. After he left you and Diana, confident that she was having a good day, he headed for work. 

Diana did not have a good day after getting some rest after lunch. She needed to take one more medication, but when she woke up, she didn’t remember you. At least not as you the person her son hired to take care of you, she thought that you were using her son to get information on her. She thought you were there to manipulate the both of them, so when you offered her medication she wouldn’t take it. 

You did all you could do, you waited. And then after a short window had passed you gave her a drink with her medication in it, which after she drank, she realized it was the medication. She called you a fascist, and then unfortunately, slapped you. This wasn’t the first time a confused elderly person had gotten physical with you, so you attempted to keep your professionalism in tact. She ran to the bedroom, and you sat against the wall, reading to her from a collection of poetry Spencer said she loved. 

When you went to check on her and she was safely asleep, you continued cleaning the mess from the previous day. A small flood spread through the apartment, damaging several books and leaving towels littered around the room after Spencer had collapsed from exhaustion about the time you finished unpacking for the night. Spencer came home about the same time, to towels freshly in the wash, and you attempting to start repairing the books. You had a friend who was a librarian, and between a phone call with her and extensive research on the internet you’d made some progress. Books were spread out around you, in various states of drying and re-drying. You only noticed when you heard the door shut that he had come home, not hearing the key turn in the lock like you thought you would. 

“Hi.”

“Hi, uh-what are you doing?” He was carrying a leather satchel that he was now setting on his desk, and he shoved his hands in his pockets. His brow cocked in confusion as he looked at you.

“Oh, I noticed the books that got damaged, and your mother is still resting so I thought I’d get started on the drying process. I promise I asked my friend, she’s a librarian so that I wouldn’t make it worse.”

“Wow, that is really sweet, thank you Y/N. I really appreciate it.” He was walking closer to where you were sitting on the floor in the living room, carefully avoiding the spread-out books. 

“How’s mom doing? Did the rest of the day go alright?” He turned on the lamp by the couch, before moving a few of the books to sit. You had just started talking about his mother’s day, when his expression completely changed. He noticed the small mark on your face, and sprang off the couch, moving to the floor near you. 

“What happened?” You didn’t realize what he was talking about immediately, looking down to see if something was wrong you hadn’t noticed. When he gestured toward his own cheek, you remembered. 

“Oh yeah, Diana woke up from her nap after lunch and she got a little confused. She thought I was someone else, and that I was trying to get information about her. She slapped me, but it’s really no big deal. She just got confused is all. 

“No. No, that most certainly is a big deal.” He said it firmly, like there was no room for argument. But you jumped to yours, and his mothers, defense. 

“It’s really not. It’s common when alzheimers or dementia patients wake up not knowing where they are. She didn’t mean anything by it, I read to her, through the door, that poetry collection you mentioned yesterday. I think she liked it, and she felt better after she took her meds, she at least got some more rest.”

“That’s great- but I don’t want you to feel trapped here. If something isn’t alright, you can tell me, and I would understand if you wanted to leave.” You nodded to let him know you understood, and then followed it up with leaning back against the front of the couch and a small smile.

“You know if I didn’t know any better I’d think you were trying to get rid of me.” Your attempt to lighten the mood was not really helping. 

“No!-Believe me, that is not what I was saying. I really appreciate you helping my mom and I out, but I just want you to be here because you want to be.” 

“Well thank you, Spencer. But it’s really ok. It doesn’t even hurt, I promise.” You made a small cross-your-heart motion to convey the truth of your sentiment. 

Now, why don’t you help me with these books, while I switch out laundry.” you pat him on the shoulder as you walked by. The first time the two of you had touched since the hug he thought had made you uncomfortable. His sweater was soft under your skin, his shoulders firm. But you kept walking, you were on the clock after all.

When you walked back you started gathering the restored books to put back, and tried to get back to work related conversation, or at least tangentially related to work. “Alright, towels are in the dryer, and I’m sorry I can’t quite figure out what your system is for these books. Could you point me in the direction of where these go?” You gestured to the small stack in your arms, and he immediately got up. 

“It’s a combination of the dewey decimal system, and a little bit moved around based on sentimentality, I can put these away. Thank you again for helping me dry them. I know it’s not really in your job description.” Ok has no one helped this man? He is very over appreciative of the little things, and he looks like he’s scared you’ll run away any second. It’s sweet, but my god. 

“I like to be helpful, and there was also a little selfish motivation. I was curious about your taste in books. I mean you have so many, I had to be a little nosey.” You kind of attempted to add a flirtatious tone, but you were still hoping this crush would go away. This was a job, and it would be nice if you didn’t get overly attached to him. Although it was a little late for that. 

“I don’t know if i’d call it nosey, it’s nice that you’re curious. What did you think?” He was looking between you and the floor, while blushing. Maybe he liked you too. Wouldn’t that be nice. 

“I mean I’m no profiler, but I can take a guess.” He had told you about his job and what it entailed as it required him to be gone for long periods of time. So you kept the flirty undertone, somewhat under the guise of silliness, as you two moved closer together, whether consciously or otherwise. 

“I think you read A LOT. Like more than I probably could in a lifetime, and since I know you don’t exactly have excesses of freetime, you have incredible reading comprehension. Speed reader maybe? And some were in a few different languages, so maybe a linguistics major in college? Could be your doctorate. Also the style of the books is contributing to the apartment both functionally and as a decoration. They’re as much comfort objects as they are entertainment. So if I had to guess, you were a shy kid who read a lot.”

“Alright, not bad at all. Although my doctorates are in mathematics, engineering, and chemistry. The languages are easier because I have an eidetic memory. I am a speed reader, as our subconscious minds can process significantly more than our conscious minds.” There was one part consciously left out. He couldn’t have forgotten, he told you so himself. But you couldn’t resist, you wanted to know him. More than accomplishments and accolades.

“And the last part?” He looked upset, and you regretted asking it. It must have really bothered him, really been over the line.

“Yes, I was a big reader as a kid. I was a prodigy so making friends wasn’t easy, and I’m sure you noticed I’m kind of- well- odd.” odd? I mean interesting, or extraordinary sure, but odd wasn’t the word you’d use. It felt so…negative.

“I don’t think you’re odd. The prodigy aspect makes sense though, especially since I know you have 3 doctorates instead of the 1 I assumed you had. Also, if it makes you feel any better I’m kind of speaking from experience. I had more books than friends when I was little too.” You were sharing a small smile as you stood near the wooden shelves, until you heard the bedroom door open, and you stepped away from each other, gaining back the space you lost. 

“Hi Diana, did you sleep ok? Is there anything I can get you?” She gently shook her head, confused, but piecing it together as she woke up. 

“No, thank you. Spencer, who's your friend? Is she- is she your girlfriend?” She spoke in a hushed tone for the last part, like it was a fun secret between the 3 of you.” He looked like an embarrassed teenager, as he turned toward his mother. 

“No, mom. This is Y/N, she’s taking care of you, you guys spent the day together?” She started to understand, but kept giving Spencer a look like she didn’t quite believe him. 

After you cooked dinner, something Spencer also tried to convince you wasn’t necessary. Seems like he wasn’t used to being taken care of. You cleaned the kitchen, giving Spencer some time with his mom before you all resigned to bed. You didn’t cross paths again for a few days, with Spencer leaving before dawn for a case. 

When he returned a few days later, after many call and text updates on his mothers condition (that occasionally strayed to more personal topics of your life, but you wrote it off as him being polite)  he found you and his mom sitting on the couch, like the best of friends flipping through her scrapbook as she told you stories from Spencer's childhood. It was a good exercise to keep her mind sharp, as well as helping her feel more comfortable with you. 

“Hi Spencer, how was work?” He looked confused, and he was moving cautiously like he didn’t want to disturb the fleeting moment of happiness. His mother was happy, and the woman he had an ill-advised crush on were spending time together. In his home. It was perfect.

“It was good, it looks like you two had a good day?” His mother nodded her approval, and gestured for him to sit down.

“We did. Your mother read me some of her favorite books. And I didn’t know you could do magic! We were just looking through her wonderful scrapbook.” You directed the last part to Diana, wanting her to know how much you appreciated her trust. Spencer had the same embarrassed teenager look he did the previous day. 

“I’m glad you’re home Spencer, but it is late and I’m going to go get some rest.” His mother got up from the couch, and gave him a hug goodnight. Once she had disappeared back into the bedroom, you turned your attention back to Spencer. 

“There’s a plate for you in the fridge if you’re hungry by the way.” He still looked surprised, like he couldn’t believe you’d cook for him when he wasn’t even home. 

“Thank you, I have to finish a little bit more paperwork, but that sounds wonderful.” 

“It’s really no problem, I hope you like it. But before you start your paperwork, I’d like to request a magic trick.” He seemed perpetually confused. And he was. He couldn’t believe you, so happy, so sweet, and so kind. You wanted to see his dorky magic tricks and fix his books and talk to his mom. He knew you were being paid, but it wasn’t that much. Not enough for most people to go this far above and beyond. This was all you.

“You really want to see my magic?” 

“Yeah, I’ve never seen a magic trick in person, that’s really cool. And it’s a little easier to practice inside than the trapeze.” You both laughed, and his blush grew even deeper. He grabbed a set of cards from a prized spot on his bookshelf, part of the very small space not crowded with actual books.

He offered the cards, fanned out to you and asked you to pick one. You picked the ace of hearts. 

He pulled the 2 of diamonds, looking confident for maybe the first time since you met him. “Is this your card?” A part of you really wanted to lie. He looked so happy, but you blushed and muttered a quiet no. He tried again, looking confused as to how he got it wrong the first time. This time he pulled the 6 of clubs 

“Is this your card?” You shook your head and he flipped through the deck, cards still facing down. Looking through as if something was missing, his brow furrowing as he did. You could see the moment realization struck, it was as if a cartoon lightbulb appeared over his head.

He leaned toward you and your breath hitched. Once your faces were so close you could’ve leaned forward and made contact, he pulled the correct card from your hair. And when he held it up for you, he smiled when you lit up. 

“Is this your card?” He spoke a lot quieter now, and he moved the little bit of hair that had fallen into your face during the trick back over your shoulder. When you thought you’d explode if he stayed this close without moving any closer, he did. His stubble grazed your face as he connected your lips. His were a little bit chapped, but they still felt soft the way he moved them. He sighed when he pulled away and you were worried you did something wrong. 

“I shouldn’t have done that. I’m so-so sorry.” 

“Why? I mean I know why the situation isn’t ideal, but why are you sorry?”

“Because you are currently relying on me not only for employment but for a place to stay, and I shouldn’t have just put that pressure on you. I lost control, and I’m so sorry. I understand if I made you uncomfortable.” He sat back down on the couch, but this time you followed him. You really liked him, even though you’d only known him a couple of days. 

“You didn’t make me uncomfortable. I don’t feel pressured, and I didn’t kiss you back because I’m currently staying in your house. I kissed you back because I wanted to, I’ve been wanting to kiss you since you hugged me when I accepted the job.” He finally looked back at you, with those big brown puppy dog eyes, and you grabbed his hand. 

“Really? Are you sure you want that?” 

“Certain. Spencer, I really like you. And if you like me too, then we can talk about how that would work logistically. We could figure something out. If you don’t want that or don’t feel the same way, we can forget about this. We never have to talk about it again, and we can just keep it professional.”

“No!” He rushed out, his voice cracking a little. He cleared his throat, straightened his posture and started again. “I don’t want that, I do like you too. And I definitely want to figure this out.” You squeezed his hand and smiled. He liked you too. It felt so high school, but that made you want to either squeal with joy, or tackle him onto the couch. 

You settled on a cool neither, instead giving him a kiss on the nose as you got up from the couch. And he watched you, hesitantly letting your hand go, like he thought you said all that just to leave. 

“We are definitely having that conversation…tomorrow. You haven’t eaten and, cute as you may be, you look like you  haven’t slept in days. So we will finish this tomorrow, whenever you’re ready.” You pulled his plate from the fridge, placing it in the microwave so that he could eat something. He looked at you like you were the sun, the moon, and the stars. 

“You think I’m cute?” 

“Yes Dr. Hot stuff, I think you’re cute. I thought we just went over this?” He blushed even more at the doctor's comment. You looked at each other until the timer snapped you out of it. You set the plate on the table and wished him a goodnight, as you moved to the guest bedroom. You couldn’t sleep, you were so excited. But you wanted him to be in the best possible headspace, this was a big decision. 

When Spencer finished his dinner and his paperwork he moved to the master bedroom, still buzzing with excitement. When he closed the door his mother stirred. She spoke quietly, still half asleep. 

“Spencer, you really should take Y/N out. I think she has a little crush on you. And you deserve someone who can take care of you.” Then she drifted back to sleep, but Spencer was still beaming. 

[happypotato48]

Wandeee Goodday EP 8 Unhinged Tangant Thoughts

After a not so great ep we're now back again with the moronsexuals doctor and boxer. will they finally use their mouths to do the talking or will they keep using it for sexy funtimes? who know, but either way i'm down.

Good, now aplogize more there are like shit load of stuff that you need to make more clear.

Daddy issue in my bl, how original. hehe for real tho this is actually pretty interesting and i hope it will pay off soon.

I was literally eating Somtam when i was watching this scene. what a coinkydink.

Fuck me that looks so good. my Somtam was a leftover from this early morning so it was kinda meh. and those nam sausage looks nice ahhhhhh now i'm hungry again.

God these gym bros are so gays no wonder Yak and Dee's relationship has not leaks to the public yet (or it just an oversight in the writing.)

Branded trouple trio when gmmtv? WHEN!! cause if you going to keep doing this bullshit at least give us some polys.

I saw that hand slided Cher i saw it!! good job!

Oh hi papa Phadetseuk, i shall nickname you dad vader!

i'm with eyebrows a fancy ball, i'd nope out too.

Give this ace king a prince god damn it show! it what we want/need. i'm willing to sell my never going to exist first born for a chance to see this man be happy with a boyfriend who understand him.

the audacity and nerve of this man. god i wish he could come and ruin my life.

Ok nvm i stopped feeling sorry for her. she and dr. no is yes deserve each other.

"we have every species in fairy tale" is what they said in thai. so fursuits?? what ya'll are thinking it too.

these outfits made me want to waer modern traditional thai men wears cuase like some of them slap so hard. like this one:

So radiants. god i hate pretty people 😫why are they has to be so pretty!!

Ok so my delulu fanwank explanation for why Dee was so indecisive last ep is that he was too afraid to let the clock start with Yak cause with his trauma of losing both his parents he fear that if he let a new clock start by commiting to Yak someday that clock will ran out and stopped like his parents. anyways time and love and whatnot.

I can't explain the emotions i felt with Yei proposing with an invisible ring. it felt so right, cause yes marriage equality bill is passed but it also technically not a tangible thing that i can do until what october, november. so having an ring that does not exist yet but will soon be. feels perfect for what we queer thais are at right now.

this scene meant the world to me and from the bottom of my heart thank you, thank you to everyone that fighted for this. thank you for fighting for my future. someday i hope i could experience this too.

Anyway where am i? oh right being unhinged. ew gross lactasoy i hated you since i was a tiny baby. your black sesame flavored one is alright though.

god damn it, it's always the nice guy.

Oh you prince not so charming you sucked so hard. i love you.

Yes queen destroy that little bitch!

Meh, i can work with this ต้มจืด i just need some white pepper and fish sauce.

look i'm happy for him that he no longer care what other people thinks, but dude this move is 8 years too dang late.

Time and Love.

this ep felt like a fairy tale and although i still have some gripe about how everything from last ep was resolved too easily. and Yak and Dee dynamics still not 100% perfect for me. i can't say that this ep didn't made me swooned. and THAT PROPOSAL SCENEl! oh my god, i'm burting with joy and hope, what a perfect timing of a scene.

[mrs-k0zume]

~ 𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐂𝐊 || 𝐊.𝐊𝐎𝐙𝐔𝐌𝐄 ~

ʚ ═══･୨ ꕤ ୧･═══ ɞ

“lipstick looks so good on you anyways.”

mtf! kenma x fem! reader

trans kenma, reverse comfort, intended lowercase, pronouns change within the story, slight mention of sex

synopsis : when kenma thought it would be funny to make a video about messing around in your makeup, but who knew that lipstick looked so good on him ~

𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓 ~

kenma’s fingers held the tube of red lipstick as HE glided the smooth base over HIS lips. the red matte colored his lips a light shade of red, the color complementing the amber hue in his cat like eyes. his eyelashes fluttered with every blink from the mascara, and the eyeliner that he mastered with the first try made his eyes so much more beautiful and alluring that he looked like a walking siren.

kenma placed down your cherry colored lipstick and looked at himself in the mirror for a few seconds. he looked beautiful. he didn’t look handsome or manly. he just looked beautiful. kenma was born with feminine features and the makeup only complimented his femininity even more. kenma felt a wave of confidence wash over him the longer he stared into the mirror. it only left him curious to the point he wondered.

how would he look in one of your dresses? how would he look in a pair of your heels?

he just wanted a little something to complete the look because why not. kenma grabbed his phone to pause the recording so he can change his clothes. he reached in your shared closet and slid your black dress off of the hanger. the silk of the dress allowed him to slip the dress over his skin easily, fitting his figure perfectly. the pair of red bottom heels he bought for you as a gift, waited for him to slide his feet into. and again, the heels fit his feet perfectly. they were a little small but not too small, it was just enough for him to fit into.

kenma felt the best in himself than he ever could. he took a few steps back to look into the body mirror and stared in awe. at this point kenma forgot about the damn video. he had this strange feeling inside him that let him know that he was experiencing an astonishing moment right now and that he could no longer care about playing dress up for his ‘funny’ video he had planned. he was trying to figure something out. why he couldn’t stop staring at himself in the mirror.

it was because he loved it. this new sight of himself, he loved it. this was who he wanted to be but he never knew that until now. he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to even go by he. then he started to think about the what if’s. what if he went by she. what if he, a man, started dressing like a she, a woman. the thought overflowed him with a weird feeling of excitement, but also guilt. why was he feeling guilty if he felt happy? it was because he knew there were people out there who would see this as wrong. he’s a man. he should dress like a man. he shouldn’t be putting on makeup like a woman, he should go back to playing video games or working out because his best friend won’t stop bothering him to, like a man.

but that’s not what he wanted. no, that’s not what SHE wanted. it didn’t feel right for HER. but a thought went through her mind. what about what you wanted? what would you think of kenma, the man you fell in love with? you didn’t fall in love with a woman, you fell in love with a man. kenma could feel her eyes water from the tears that threatened to fall at the thought of you leaving her.

tears slid down her face as she looked up in the mirror once more. the eyeliner colored her tears black and stained her face as she looked at herself. she was scared. scared of losing you. kenma gave into how weak her knees felt and fell to the floor, never taking her eyes off of her reflection as she did so. “y/n…” she breathed out as her soft cries slipped out. kenma couldn’t stop looking at herself.

this is her. this is who she was.

~

cries could be heard from the room you shared with kenma as you were working up a batch of your homemade pudding for the both of you in the kitchen. the cries were so soft, nobody would know how you could hear them. yet you furrowed your eyebrows in worry as you placed down the spoon you were mixing with and slowly made your way to your room, the soft sobs getting only a tiny bit louder as you made your way to the room.

your hand turned the knob of the door as you pushed it open slowly. your heart broke at what you saw. your husband sitting on the floor, in your dress, mascara and eyeliner staining the color of his tears that colored his cheeks. “oh honey..” you wasted no time to go up to him and cup his face. you had no clue what kenma was doing in your dress, your heels, or why was he wearing makeup but you didn’t care. you just wanted to know what was going on since you’ve never seen kenma cry like this. or wear anything like this.

kenma sniffled and softly cried as she stared at the floor, too embarrassed to look into your worried eyes. “kenma tell me what’s going on.” all kenma could do was stay silent as she tried her best to avoid your gaze but the way your hands held her face made it hard to.

you suddenly had this feeling of what was going on after you connected the dots. kenma was wearing makeup, he was wearing a dress, and he was wearing your heels. but he was also crying, so it couldn’t have been a silly joke, nor was it a prank for a video because he wasn’t recording. he was just crying in your dress. and it all made sense to you. “kenma…do you want to be more like a…a woman?” kenma averted her gaze from the floor and to you as her eyes widened. her face was your answer. you hugged her head and ran your fingers through her soft but messy hair. “it’s okay my love.”

“lipstick looks so good on you anyways.”

kenma broke down as your lips met hers. she felt relief, she felt happiness, and she felt passion against your touch. this is exactly what she needed. you smiled against the kiss before you broke away to look at your wife. “you make a beautiful woman, my love.” you softly said caressing her cheeks. kenma smiled at you, her tear stained face still managing to break your heart. you couldn’t imagine what she could’ve been feeling in this sudden realization. “y/n…i love you” she said in an almost whisper, her breath tickling your lips as your faces were still really close. “i love you too. and if you’re really up to this then tomorrow, why don’t we go shopping? buy you some new clothes, some makeup, and maybe even some perfume?” kenma blushed as her head moved up and down to agree to your shopping spree tomorrow.

“…and…y/n i promise…” she squeezed your hand softly, her other hand holding onto your waist, and your hands never letting go of her face. “i won’t get any surgery…it’s just this, i promise.” you couldn’t help but chuckle a bit as you used one of your hands to let go of her face and tucked some hair behind her ear. “you know i don’t mind baby. even if you do get any kind of surgeries i wouldn’t mind. you’re still the same person that i fell in love with, regardless of this change. just please don’t do anything to your face if you do end up getting any kind of surgery done. you’re beautiful.” kenma’s lips formed a smile at what you said at the end and stared into your eyes for a moment before speaking. “plus i really see no point in getting bottom surgery…when two girls have sex doesn’t one girl end up using a strap anyways..?” you’re eyes widened at kenma’s question before you laughed a bit, pink dust spread across kenma’s face and ears.

“kenma…you’re funny. that’s kind of true i guess, but there are girls that don’t do that either.” you shook your head and laughed a little. kenma just looked away in embarrassment, his face fading into a slightly darker color. you saw her embarrassment and grabbed her face once more and kissed her lipstick stained lips, the lipstick smearing against yours this time as you shared a much deeper kiss before pulling away again. “kenma, i’ll love you no matter what.” you whipped more tears that fell down her face “i love you too baby…” you moved to whisper into her ear after kenma’s soft response. your breath tickling her as you spoke softly.

“now why don’t we go to bed? who knew you would look so sexy in a dress…and so pretty with lipstick.”

𝐄𝐍𝐃 ~

- word count : 1503

[couldsewyouastitchandsavenine]

Sunshine [Joel Miller]

this is my entry to Summer Loving Challenge by @pedgito. Thank you so much for creating it and letting me be part of it. You're a star! Or shall I say, sunshine??

pairing: no outbreak joel miller x f!reader

wordcount: 1.7K

warnings: reader is she/her, sexual content/mild sexual themes (implied only), mild language, mentions of violence, overall safe to read.

prompt: ROADTRIP #2

She smiles too much, he thinks. 

And Joel ain’t too fond of folks who smile all the damn time. Reckons they must be hiding something behind those shiny white teeth. 

Thing is, he ain't even sure how Tommy managed to rope him into this foolishness. He’d stopped by his brother’s place for a cold one and somehow left having agreed to ferry his obnoxiously cheerful sidekick across the state to some new job she landed in Joel’s neck of the woods. Must have been the quiet begging in Tommy’s eyes that did it, he supposes. Joel may be a surly son of a bitch, but he ain’t heartless.

So here he is, with the sun barely up and her sitting pretty beside him. Sneakers-clad feet up on the dash like she owns the place, skirt of that yellow sundress riding up her tights.

Tommy’s friend. The motormouth. The endless goddamn ray of sunshine that Joel just knows is gonna make his jaw ache from clenching before they even cross county lines.

“Mind if I turn this thing on?” she breaks the silence, stretching a little to fiddle with the radio dials. 

He fucking does. He’d rather drive in silence. But just shrugs instead.

Figures out it’s not worth the argument.

And as expected, her taste in music is as saccharine as the rest of her, all twangy guitars and lyrics about truck beds and tan lines. When she starts humming along off-key, he has to work very hard not to grind his teeth to dust. 

It's going to be a long drive.

Joel sighs and glances over at her. Shifts a bit in his seat and admits, albeit grudgingly, that she's easy on the eyes. Has been ever since he's known her.

But the problem is, she’s just so… much. Never still for a minute, fingers tapping, foot bouncing, mouth running a mile a minute. He can practically feel all that restless energy buzzing under her skin, setting his own nerves alight. Makes him wonder if she even knows she's doing it, all them little twitches and squirms. If she's got any idea how it gets him all riled up without even trying. Joel ain't sure quite what to do with her.

And sweet Jesus can she talk. About this, about that. Everything and not a damn thing. About the weather and politics. The heat and some harvest festivals she’s helping throw. A whole slew of crappy dates, some dog she’s thinking of adopting. The gossip about people Joel barely knows and could care less about. So, he tunes most of it out, just grunts now and then so she thinks he's listening.

But at some point, whether because he’s getting bored or because of the heat, Joel catches himself actually paying attention. Learns she's a teacher, spending her days trying to cram knowledge into the heads of a pack of rowdy kids. 

"It's thankless work," she laughs, "but I guess somebody's gotta do it."

Joel thinks it's pretty admirable, choosing a job like that. Lord knows he's had his share of crap gigs. Brings to mind those long, hot days pouring concrete under that merciless Texas sun. The way heat would shimmer up off the fresh pavement and make him feel like he's in some kind of fever dream.

“Look, I didn’t expect you’d want to give me a ride,” she pipes up after a bit. “I appreciate it.”

"Mm," he grunts, committing to nothing.

“I mean it, Miller. I was really close to sticking out my thumb and hitching.”

Joel's hands tighten on the wheel at the thought. "That's a good way to get yourself murdered."

She cuts her eyes over at him. "How do I know you're not some kind of murderer?"

He snorts. "Do I look like a murderer to you?"

"I don't know. What's a murderer look like?"

"Not like me."

"Hm. That's exactly what a murderer would say, I reckon."

He shakes his head, more than a little annoyed now.

This damn woman.

When they pull over for gas and to stretch their legs, Joel finds himself watching her as she arches her back like a cat in the sun, that sundress pulling taut across her chest; the skirt riding up even higher. Makes him look away real quick.

“I’m going inside to pay,” she chirps. “Want anything? Coke maybe? A three-day old sandwich?”

Joel peers at her. Mutters, “Nah, I’m good.”

“Suit yourself, Grumpy.”

Grumpy. 

It's hardly the worst thing he's been called, but it chafes at him for some reason. For a second, he wonders what it would be like to be someone different. Someone who said yes to Cokes and gas-station sandwiches. To yellow dresses and sunshine smiles.

"You ever think about how weird it is that we can just go anywhere these days?" She starts in again before he even gets back on the road.

He squints over at her. "How do you mean?"

"I don't know. Cars and planes and those talking maps on phones. World's gotten real small. Used to be folks who didn't stray more than a few miles from where they were born. And now here we are, two random people rolling down the road in the middle of Bumfuck, Nowhere. Just 'cause we felt like it."

Joel's not sure he'd say he felt like it, exactly. But he gets her point. "I guess," he allows. "Makes you wonder what it musta been like. Back then."

"Doesn't it? No AC, no snacks, no radio to bicker over." She grins at him, teasing. "Though I suppose you would've done just fine without that last one, huh?"

He huffs, but there’s no real annoyance behind it. “They wouldn’t need a radio with you doing all the talking. Probably would've driven the whole wagon train up the wall with your yammering."

“You mean, I would’ve livened things up?”

"Livened," he repeats, dry as dust, and she laughs. It's a good one, Joel thinks. Bright and uninhibited in a way he hasn't heard often in this life.

Suddenly gets the strangest urge to reach out and touch her. Trail his knuckles down the line of her throat, feel the vibration of it under his fingers.

Wraps his hands around the wheel instead, wondering where the hell that came from. If she notices his odd moment, she doesn't let on. Just keeps rambling on about dysentery and fording rivers and how she definitely would've been the first to die of cholera. Joel lets those honeyed tones wash over him and tries not to dwell on the tight, hot feeling in his chest.

By the time they pull up at the little house Tommy helped her get settled in, it's pitch black out. He can just make out her face in the glow of the dome light, those big eyes soft and serious for once as she gathers up her bags.

"Thanks again for the lift," she says, real quiet. "I know I'm not exactly your favourite person to be stuck with."

"Wasn't so bad," he admits, and it's almost not a lie. "Glad I could help."

She hesitates with her hand on the door handle, worrying that plump bottom lip with her teeth. "I'd invite you in for a beer but I know you probably want to get home."

He does. He should. But maybe it's that little waver in her voice, the uncertain set of her shoulders. Maybe it's knowing that the second she steps out of this truck, the strange little bubble they've been floating in is going to pop. Things will snap back to how they've always been, her grating on his last nerve from a nice safe distance and him avoiding her as best he can.

And maybe he's just not quite ready for that.

"Well..." he drawls, "I reckon I could come in for a cold one."

The smile she gives him could put the sun to shame, all dimples and crinkly eyes. Makes that tugging feeling in his chest pull so sharp it steals his breath. 

He follows her up the porch steps and into the cosy hallway, his chest tight and his palms clammy like some nervous teenager. As she putters in the kitchen, fetching beers and clinking glasses, he stands in her living room and looks around at the organised clutter, the artfully arranged photographs, the bunches of wildflowers stuck in mason jars.

The whole place is so absolutely, utterly her it makes something behind his ribs ache fiercely.

When she comes back with two frosty beers, pressing one into his hand, they just stand there for a minute. Look at each other with the heavy weight of something hanging in the air between them. She takes a pull off her bottle, throat working as she swallows and it's more than he can take. The urge to put his mouth right there, to lick the sharp tang of hops right off her skin.

“So…,” she murmurs softly as she places her beer on the counter behind her and looks back at him. Her eyelashes flutter, and her gaze latches on his mouth. It’s a split of a second but Joel decides that he’s had enough. 

He sets his own bottle down carefully. Cradles her face in his rough hands and leans in slow, so slow, until he can taste her shaky breath. She meets him halfway, arms winding around his neck as she opens up for him, soft and sweet as summer rain. He tips his head to kiss her deeper and she mewls into his mouth, hands flexing against his shoulders, and Joel is lost. 

It doesn’t take long before they are stumbling back to her bedroom, all tangled up in each other. When he rids himself of his shirt and hovers above her, she is smiling, her fingers moving slowly to graze the warm skin of his back, and it’s so good Joel feels drunk on it. 

Later, after, with her curled up asleep on his chest, Joel stares up at the lazy spin of the ceiling fan. Marvels at the strange turns a life can take. How somebody can get under your skin until one day you wake up and realise you forgot how to breathe without them.

He runs his fingers through the wild tangle of her hair, feels her sigh contentedly against him. Lets himself imagine, just for a minute, that this could be his life. That he could have something this soft, this sweet, and keep it.

Joel blows out a long breath.

Drops a kiss to the top of her head and lets his eyes slip closed.

Maybe there's something to be said for all that sunshine after all.

[guitarstringed-scars]

how to lose a guy in 10 days- t. oikawa

masterlist

day zero

you sit in the paper room, editing every last one of your pages for this weeks paper. your pages are filled with advice. “what to do if i caught my boyfriend cheating on me, and he doesn’t know i know?”, “how to make new friends in college?”, “what can i do if my best friend from back home is ghosting me?”. as you read over them, you feel a slight sense of pride about how many people you’ve helped with your advice. i mean, the reviews are glowing. you cant walk on campus without someone coming up to you and commending you on your column, but you also feel a slight sense of embarrassment.

you wish you were out like your roommate, koushi, writing about the actual news around the school, or your other roommate, tetsuro, covering sports events.

your thoughts are interrupted when your fourth and final roommate, yui michimiya, slams open the door to the room. she's crying, you notice quickly, due to her loud sobs. she quickly crosses the room to her designated seat next to you and throws herself into it as the other club members rush around her.

“whats wrong yui?” you ask, helping her unpack her computer from her bag.

“he dumped me!” she exclaims before her sobs grow louder. you shoot a look to hitoka as yui buries her head in your shoulder.

“what’d he say?” tetsuro asks, making himself comfortable in the seat next to her. that guy loves gossip so it’s no surprise he’s there as soon as he hears a snippet of it.

“he said it wasn’t working!” she burrows deeper into your shirt, you can feel her damp tears, and hopefully not snot, hit your shoulder.

“and what did you say?” keiji asks, not even looking up from his computer. you’ve all heard this story from yui plenty of times before.

“w-well, i dropped to my knees and begged him to stay! i said, honey-muffin, please you cant do this to me! please please please-”

you cut her off, as the other present club members sigh, most of them returning to their work, except for tetsuro.

“and you were dating for how long?” you ask.

“um…. about 2 and a half weeks.”

you stare at her, with a disappointed look.

“oh y/n i didn't even think i was ugly until i got to college and now i just keep getting back to back dumped because of it!”

“i don’t think its cause of your looks yui.” tetsuro answers, before turning back to his work.

“hes right, its defientely not because of your looks. and i mean this in the sweetest way, but i think it may be the way you act.” you look at her with a nervous grin.

she cocks her head at you, “what?”

“i mean, don’t you think maybe… just maybe its because of how clingy you might be? i mean especially after 2 weeks…” you trail off, careful not to upset your best friend.

surprisingly she answers cheerfully, “no, that cant be it!”

you let out yet another sigh before it hits you. maybe you could help out yui with an article.

“how bout this, i’ll write a column for you, to prove its not because of your looks.” you stand up and approach shimizu and keiji as they talk over their pages.

“hello bosses!” you greet, they don’t turn to you. “i was thinking of doing a how to, on how to lose a guy in 10 days. thoughts? it’ll help people know what NOT to do in a relationship!” you give them your cheesiest grin, and they dismiss you with a simple “sure, do that.”

with that lackluster approval, you head back to your seat, pulling out a notebook. in big letters at the top, HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS. below that, THE PLAN!

step one: find a guy

step two: get him interested

step three: be the worst

step four: he breaks up with me in less than 10 days

yui looks over your shoulder as you write. “well lets go find a guy tonight, we should do roommate party night anyway! i need to get over my breakup…”

you smile, “great plan!”

toru oikawa is standing in the middle of the bar, surronded by the rest of his volleyball team, give or take a few.

“i mean between oikawa and me, im defienitely easier to fall in love with.” atsumu miya protests.

“yeah right, i could make any girl fall in love with me.” toru retorts back

“you wanna bet on it?” daichi throws out.

“sure. lets add some stakes. i could make any girl fall in love with me in less than 10 days.” toru smirks after saying this. as he leans on the counter, he spots a girl from across the bar. shes beautiful, he thinks. “her. i’ll make her fall in love with me in less than 10 days.” he points her out in the crowd.

“her?” koutaro exclaims, “she’s wayyy too pretty for you!” the boys all burst out laughing.

toru simply rolls his eyes. “watch and see!” with that he waltz over to her. to you.

“toru oikawa.” he smiles, putting out his hand to be shaken.

“i know who you are, i’m y/n l/n” you smile, shaking his hand.

“oh really?” he says, leaning in closer to hear you, ears ringing from the loud music playing.

“yeah, you play volleyball.” you laugh, “thats where my knowledge of you ends though.”

toru laughs with you. “don’t worry, you can have the chance to learn more at any time.”

“was that a pickup line?” you quirk your eyebrow at him.

“possibly.”

“how bout you walk me home tonight, and then tomorrow you can start using those pick up lines?”

"works for me.”

a/n: first chapter woohooo!!! theres a lot of writing in this, but more smau in future chapters, just gotta get the basis down! also taglist will be in the replies because it is NOT working for some reason.

[annaesterella]

Heyo!! Here is part two of “Don't be Silly, I would never be a Wayne”

I'm sorry if is not good, I just like to write 😞😞

LET'S GOOO

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀. ☆

Mentions of: murderous thoughts, crimes (huahaha) Bat-family going crazy and spiraling into paranoia and Delulu

“Don't be silly, I would never be a Wayne.”

Well, here you are now.. finally, someone in your house, with people who want to chat with you! You can hangout with your family now.. finally home. No more school recitals than anyone but Alfred went to, and even then few times, but he wasn't that guilty. No more Father's Day presentations with an empty chair, no more jokes that fall on deaf ears, no more neglect for your feelings, no more chasing after crumbs. You would never crawl for crumbs again. You felt like you might cry, not with sadness but with joy, as you hugged the bearded man, and then he appeared... "Mr. Joie nocturne" Your uncle.. you ran towards him, hugging him as you smiled, being spun around in his arms, as your new family watched the scene unfold happily. Everyone happy, even if they weren't exactly the good guys, all that matters is that you have a happy family.. everyone happy except the Bats..

Once in the mansion, a spiral of anger surrounded them, especially the bat, who even though he was against violence, he couldn't shake that constant thought of ending that circus, fire. They took his daughter, she must have been so scared, but she accepted, after all, they were her mother's family, but he was going to save her at some point... she was as grown up, as beautiful as her mother.. is a shame things ended like that.. It's a shame he didn't find her sooner, he could have... no... he wouldn't have done anything... and that only made him burn with more hatred, blaming himself and the circus... him for losing his daughter, and the circus for finding her. But it would end soon... she would return home. Meanwhile, Dick was thinking about how everything unfolded, how they lost his little sister so easily to a half-assed circus, but still, he knew they had a percentage of blame... Still..Why them?? They didn't even see her until what? A few weeks? Hatred consumed him too, as he thought about how to end it, how to convince them that they were bad... BINGO he could blame them for stealing the belongings, she would believe it and loathe that circus, and then she would go back to the comfort of her stable home, with her father and her brothers, with Alfred, all happy, and the members of that stupid circus in jail... where they would die because some criminal killed them.. perfect.

Tim and Babs, after hearing the plan, started working on finding everything they could about the Circus, the others members of the family went to see by their selfs what they meant by "Circus" and like the others, they did feel a pang of anger for Y/N exchanging them for a circus family... but still, the guilt was also present, they had to make up for the lost time. Of course she would forgive them, she always wanted more time with them, it just wasn't given when she wanted it, but she would receive compensation for that lost time, of course. What idiots.

You were getting ready for another show, until you heard a knock on your dressing room door, thinking it was a member of the circus, you opened it smiling, while putting on your gloves. Just to see the bats, of course, like citizens, all entering their dressing room, thinking they had that right. You raised your eyebrows, finding it disrespectful, you frowned, but of course they didn't mind.

: — First of all.. excuse me? Second of all, what this means?

Damian, being sure you would understand, raised his hand and said loudly, without a care in the world, while pointing to the door

Damian: — Your "family" are responsible for the theft of last night's belongings

You frowned, and clenched your fists tightly, shaking, as you lowered your head. You took a deep breath as you looked at the dressing room door, then looked at them, who seemed to be waiting for your reaction.

: — Get out. Now. What were you expecting me to do? Believe you? I know them better than you guys do.. don't you dare call MY FAMILY thieves

You questioned, as you stamped your foot angrily, and soon heard the footsteps towards your dressing room. He looked at them, who stood up defensively.

Dick: — Bunny, they are criminals.. you need to come with us! They are not good people, leave this magic nonsense behind, it will not give you a future.

You felt the tears in your eyes, as he widened his eyes, trying to explain himself, you opened the door, frowning, as tears ran down your cheeks. It was like a portrait of your mother at that moment, then, your uncle was on the door, asking about the noise. You just stayed silent, before hugging him. Sobbing in your arms, as your new family gathered around, hugging you, making the bats uncomfortable... you never ran to their arms like that. That was just the beginning... they hadn't lost yet... but still, feeling defeated, they left the dressing room, leaving you destroyed as always...

That night's show was canceled, and that was enough for the guilt to consume them... they needed to get rid of that circus as quickly as possible. What I was feeling most at that moment was Dick, after all.. He was the one who made you cry, he despised your story, your biggest passion and indirectly your mother, but he would make it up to you. He would ask Bruce to buy a magical institute if necessary, then, Suddenly, a pop was heard from the circus, followed by a bright purple light. They ran inside, and now they saw the truth... those freaks weren't the main thieves, you were. Again the despair was in the Circus, once again you and your troupe of freaks were gone, leaving only the children with their belongings. They corrupted you, left you dirty with villainy, and you needed to be cleansed again.

Now, at the back of the circus, you and your family were laughing, while looking at the boxes with the belongings. But the joy was soon dashed when they saw the bats, quickly descending towards the house. You quickly started doing some magic tricks, the main one being your Winchester, pointed towards them. You saw the pity, the guilt, but mainly the anger in their eyes, you see it. You sent your family away, coming face to face with them, while pointing the gun directly at the bat. You, his daughter, the man who swore not to use weapons, abhorred the use of them, pointing one at him. He got closer and closer, while the circus disappeared behind him, but still, your family didn't leave you, they slowly appeared behind you.

: — Hello Batman.. finally discovered the truth or are you here to ask me to return "Home" again?

Batman: — Y/N, please.. they aren't your family, the Wayne's are!

Nightwing: — They turned you into a villain

*BANG* It echoed through the space, you just shot to his side, eyes flashing with anger as you felt your uncle's hand on your shoulder.

: — Don't be silly.. I would never be a Wayne!

You said while laughing, ready to shot again, playin with the gun, before turning it into one of those silly wands, pointing it at them.

: — I am a Joie nocturne, now, I know how you guys work, soo.. let's turn a blind eye to all this bullshit.. after all, we will be leaving Tomorrow.

Their eyes widened, as they clenched their fists, they sighed, and walked closer, soon you heard something behind you. No longer your uncle, or your family, but Alfred, sighing sadly, before hugging you and then feeling a needle in your neck.

Alfred: — I'm sorry Master Y/N..

You only heard your name being shouted, followed by sounds of fighting, before your eyes became completely heavy, and then, darkness embraced you. Maybe, like your mother, you would turn into a spell.. and vanish

[a-killer-obsession]

🔞 Minors DNI 🔞

A search for a rumored Vegapunk weapon leads the Kid Pirates to an unexpected new crewmate, with a bloodlust that rivals their own and an incredible power.

CW: Please check AO3 for all current warnings, but general warning for smut, slow burn, serious gore, and really dark themes. AFAB reader, she/her pronouns.

Masterlist || AO3 || Chapter 1

Chapter 35 - Dawn

There's always a reason to keep going, you just have to find it. Please heed the AO3 tags, dark themes ahead.

Word Count: ~3k

Taglist: @h0n3y-l3m0n05 @tremendoushorsepatrolgoth @iggy5055

Kid pulled at his hair as he paced, his red locks sticking up from how much he'd been yanking at them, the goggles that usually sat around his head now hanging around his neck. Heat and Wire watched him pace, not knowing what to say, but they felt the same troubles as he did. Nearby manic laughter rang out over the ship, accompanied by the sounds of wood cracking against wood.

“I don't know what to do anymore,” Kid nearly cried, “he's lost, I don't know how to help him. He won't eat, he won't sleep, he won't take his meds. He's still got her fucking blood on his hands. And I know she needs him, I know she does, but he won't fucking listen. It's like all he fucking cares about is the baby. But shes alive and needs him and he won't fucking listen to me”

“She's on the edge, I can see it in her eyes,” Heat sighed, “if we don't get him to see her soon, I'm afraid we'll lose her too. There's no way she's coming back to the ship after that if he won't even fucking look at her”

“He blames her for what happened,” Kid collapsed in a chair and held his head in his hands, “I told him it wasn't safe to have a kid on board, this is my fucking fault, it's my fucking dream that got their kid killed. He should be blaming me,” Kid slammed his fist against his chest to make his point.

“It's nobody's fault,” Wire added, “miscarriage is more common than people think, there's no way to say this wouldn't have just happened anyway.”

“Try telling him that,” Kid growled, “I don't know what to do anymore, short of locking him in the brig so he stops fucking shit up, there's nothing I can do”

Puru-puru-puru puru-puru-puru

The three of them looked at each other, confused, as the den-den mushi in the navigation room suddenly started to ring. Kid grumbled as he stood, grabbing the receiver probably a little too hard from the black and red snail. They were fucking busy who the fuck was calling this late, it was well past midnight at this point.

“The fuck you want?” Kid growled into the receiver.

“Eustass Kid?” A woman on the other voice asked nervously, the snail looking immensely uncomfortable.

“Yeah, what do you want?” He barked, “I ain't buying shit”

“This is Nurse Davina from the hospital on Beckton Island,” she squeaked, “we have you down as a next of kin for a Miss Val Yin?”

“Yeah, what happened?” Kid's voice turned to concern, there were very few reasons a hospital should be calling this late and none of them were good. “Is she okay?”

“Well you see sir, we just went to do her vitals, and her bed is empty,” she said anxiously, “our security cameras show her leaving the hospital in only her pyjamas about forty minutes ago”

“FORTY MINUTES AGO? WELL WHERE THE FUCK IS SHE?” Kid roared, making the snail cower. Heat and Wire were already on their feet, crowding around the snail with concern, trying to hear what it had to say.

“I'm sorry sir, we do not currently know,” she sighed, “the police are looking for her but this late at night nobody was out to see where she went. I'm so sorry sir, we're doing our best but according to protocol it was my duty to inform you. She left on her own accord but we are very worried about her current mental state”

“No fucking shit, dumb cunts, she just lost her fucking baby!” Kid yelled into the receiver, “Call off your useless dogs, we'll find her our damn selves”

He slammed the receiver down and turned back to the other two. Heat had already retrieved your vivre card and was tearing small pieces off.

“Don't wake anyone else, I don't want it getting out,” Kid sighed as he took a piece.

“It's windy out there so only look at the vivre when you have to,” Heat informed them as they headed out. Kid paused at Killer's door, wondering if he should tell him, but decided ultimately that it was a waste of time.

“What's your name?”

Your toes hung over the edge of the cliff, the deep breath you'd taken to prepare to jump suddenly released as you were spooked by the sudden presence of another. You turned and saw a ghost, blonde hair floating around her hollowed cheeks, clothes tattered and dirty, wobbling on her feet from exhaustion.

“Your name, sweetheart,” she asked again, taking a step forward. She cradled in her arms a small bundle, everything she had in the word, held safe and close to her chest.

“It's.. Yin,” you replied, your voice hoarse.

“Yin…” she stepped forward, standing beside you and peering down at the jagged rocks below. “I'm guessing you came here for the same reason as I did”

The bundle in her arms moved and let out a weak cry. “Hush, hush, we'll feel better soon,” she cooed.

Without thinking you grabbed her shirt and tore her away from the cliff edge, putting yourself between her and the water. “What the fuck are you doing?” You screamed.

“We're starving, we have nothing,” she explained, a tear falling from the sharp edge of her chin as she looked down at her weak baby. They couldn't have been more than a few months old. “My milk has gone dry, I have nowhere to go, nobody to turn to. Even selling my body isn't enough anymore, nobody wants to fuck a skeleton. She's so weak she can't even cry anymore. I can't watch her hurt, I can't watch my baby starve to death. So I'm going with her.”

She took a step forward and you grabbed the baby, making her scream as you fought her for it. You kicked her down as you won, and before she could get back up you lifted your shirt, yanking away the bindings over your chest and holding the baby to your breast. Emotional suffering be damned, you'd already killed one baby, you weren't going to watch another die. The baby didn't latch at first, too weak to register the breast, so you squeezed until a few drops fell on her lips, and she finally got the hint. You had no idea what you were doing, but thankfully the baby did, and she made small noises as she greedily suckled. You lowered yourself to the ground, sitting cross legged and rocking side to side as you watched the baby feed, tears rolling down your cheeks as you cooed to her.

“How?” the woman cried, “are you an angel?”

“No, I just…” you looked at her with weeping eyes, “I lost my baby a few days ago. I'm sure I can ask my captain to help you, we have plenty of gold, we can give you whatever you need. Just please don't… please don't hurt her”

“She's safe now, I can see that,” the woman smiled. “I'm so happy. You'll take care of her, won't you?”

“You're both going to be okay, I'll make sure of it,” you promised her.

“I know,” she smiled, then she took another step back. You hadn't even noticed she'd been backing up until it was too late, a tear rolling down her cheek as she smiled and let herself fall. You screamed and reached for her, but it was too late. The baby was none the wiser, still suckling from your breast, tucked safe against you as you looked over the edge of the cliff and saw her mother's battered body laying over the rocks, her limbs set in unnatural angles, the water lapping at her leaking blood. Her eyes were open and lifeless, but there was a smile on her face.

Without warning you were pulled away from the edge, strong arms wrapped around you and dragging you far from it.

“YIN, DON'T DO IT PLEASE,” Wire begged, kneeling in front of you, taking your head in his hands with a desperate expression on his face.

“She jumped, why did she do that?” You cried. He scanned your face, confusion written on his. “Her.. her baby, why did she do that? She was going to be okay! Wire!!! Why did she do that!!!” You were pulling at his shirt, making holes in the mesh with your nails as you yelled.

“Who?” He asked, and you pointed to the cliff. He stood cautiously and looked over the edge, seeing the body that lay lifeless at the bottom. The baby whined and wiggled under your shirt, seeking more milk. You lifted your shirt again, Wire looking away on instinct to respect your privacy till he realised what you were holding. You turned the baby and she latched to your other breast, letting out a sigh of relief as the pressure that had been building for days was finally released.

“Yin, why do you have a baby?” Wire asked nervously, kneeling in front of you.

“It was hers,” you sniffed, bridging on hyperventilation, “she said they were starving, they came here to jump. I couldn't just watch her kill her baby, so I took it, and before I knew what I was doing it was feeding. She smiled at me and jumped, Wire, she smiled, why did she do that? I told her we could help her!”

Heat and Kid appeared at the edge of the forest behind you, Wire looking at them with a defeated expression as they approached, letting out relieved breaths that he had you and you were alive. They had all been running the same direction, but Wire had the longest legs by far, so he had naturally gotten to you the quickest. Kid removed his coat as he approached and draped it over your shoulders, letting out an audible gasp as Wire stood and the light from the sunrise illuminated the bundle in your arms, still firmly latched to your breast. Kid looked to Wire for answers, and he nodded towards the cliff edge. He saw the body, and turned back to you with a scrupulous look, opening his mouth to say something before Wire stopped him.

“She didn't push her,” Wire sighed, “she was just trying to help but the woman jumped anyway”

Heat sat down beside you, wiping the tears from your face, helping you calm your breathing to a safe level. The anguish in your eyes was indescribable, but in that moment he thought maybe he saw a flicker of happiness too. The baby had fallen asleep in your arms, releasing your nipple, milk still dribbling from it, but for now she was sated. Kid made a little frustrated growl and dropped down next to you, looking at the contented baby as you pushed your shirt back down. “Does it have a dad or something?”

“She said they had nobody,” you explained, rocking back and forth a little to soothe the sleeping child, not that the milk drunk little lady needed it, it was more for your benefit. “Sounded like she's been roughing it on the street and selling herself, but she said her milk went dry. She said she didn't want to watch her baby slowly starve so she came here to end it quickly for both of them. I just… I don't understand why she still jumped, I told her we would help”

“If she said she had nobody, maybe she didn't think she could keep going either way,” Heat said softly. “But the better question is what were you doing here? You're supposed to be in the hospital”

“I couldn't stay there anymore with all those crying babies and happy families,” you sniffed, “I just… ran. I… couldn't do it anymore…”

“So fucking call us to pick you up, don't go and kill yourself!” Kid growled. You whimpered and he sighed, pulling you carefully into his lap, wrapping his coat firmly around you and the baby. The orange-pink sunrise made the red feathers look like fire engulfing you, but perhaps more in the way they would a phoenix as you found your new resolve.

“I'm keeping her,” you said sternly.

“I figured as much,” Kid admitted with a groan, “but what about Kil?”

“What about him?” You growled, “He only gave a shit about his baby, he couldn't care less about me or he would have had the fucking decently to at least look at me. He and I are over. We're done.”

“He'll get over it, he just needs time,” Kid pleaded, “he needs you”

“And where was he when I needed him?” You barked, climbing out of Kid's lap and standing tall. “Where was he when my insides were torn open, when I had to deliver my own dead baby, when Mohawk had to remove my womb so I wouldn't bleed to death, when Heat had to explain I'm barren? Where was he the last day I've spent in hospital, waiting for him to walk through the door, to hold me and kiss me and tell me he still loves me? Where was he Kid?”

“He's having an episode,” Kid stood and held his hands out to you, trying to get you to understand, “he's not well”

“Oh he's not well? Well shit, better drop everything!” You laughed sarcastically, “tell him to take his fucking meds, some of us have real problems that can't be fixed with a pill”

Kid growled a warning at you minimizing Killer's mental condition and you rolled your eyes at him, “Fuck off Kid, I don't give two shits how much furniture he breaks, he tore my fucking heart open again after he swore he would never hurt me again, after he swore he would be there for me. He shut me out, go crying to him. How many times does he have to hurt me before I'm allowed to feel angry in your books?”

You wobbled weakly on your legs and Heat scooped you up, not wanting to take any risks especially with the baby sleeping in your arms. He started to carry you away as Kid continued to shout at you.

“You've got another thing coming if you think I'm gonna support you or that baby on the ship!” He called, his fists balled tight. He was furious, and he never made smart choices when he was mad. “Stay on this fucking island for all I care! You're nothing but a worthless whore, nothing but a life ruiner! We were all perfectly happy before you came on board and fucked everything up!”

Heat stopped dead in his tracks and turned back to Kid, in a rare moment of rebellion from the usually loyal man. “She doesn't need you, or Killer, she has me,” he spat, “and I'll burn the whole fucking ship down before I let you touch her or her baby. You wanna get rid of her? You can say goodbye to me too then”

Kid's jaw was on the floor as Heat turned back to the small dirt trail that ran through the forest, and you sobbed in his arms as he carried you, stoic and silent the whole journey back to the ship. He placed you on your own bed first, packing a hurried duffle of whatever was left in your old room before you'd moved in with Killer, mostly things that hadn't fit you while you were pregnant. He slung the bag over his shoulder and carried you to his room to do the same, and without looking back he picked you up one last time and silently carried you down the gangplank. You caught sight of blond hair in the breeze as he carried you along the dock, Killer watching you from behind his mask, standing at the nose of the dinosaur skull. Heat paid him no mind, and you adjusted the blanket he'd wrapped you in, making sure Killer saw the baby on your chest and the cold anger on your face before Heat carried you away.

Nothing was open in the sleepy town as he walked through it, but he finally found a small inn and banged on the door. An annoyed innkeeper, woken from their sleep, looked at the three of you and sighed, he couldn't leave a woman and baby out on the street, not when the bright red sunrise signalled the oncoming storm. Red sky in morning, sailor's warning. Heat paid handsomely for the inconvenience, renting a crib from the owner, who thankfully had children of his own and was able to provide a few diapers and baby wipes to tide you through till the stores opened, even if they were a touch too big for the small baby.

While the crib was set up you unwrapped the baby, seeing for the first time just how poorly she looked, though her tummy was nice and round from the milk you'd provided. You did what you could to clean and redress her without stirring her from her deep sleep, placing her in the bare crib. You'd asked the innkeeper for blankets, but he assured you that babies were safer sleeping without, and had instead helped you swaddle the little one to keep her warm. There was a strange, awkward silence as he left, just you and Heat left in the room, sitting at the end of the bed side by side and staring at the sleeping baby, who you'd discovered upon unwrapping had a small tuft of blond hair.

“Why did you do that?” You asked softly.

“Do I need to say it?” He replied. You shook your head and took his hand. You knew why. Because he loved you, even though he still lacked the courage to say it out loud. His actions told you everything you needed to know.

“Do you think they'll leave?” You asked him.

“Nah,” he squeezed your hand, “logpose needed three days to reset. They'll cool down and beg us to come home, they care too much. And if they don't, fuck em, you're all I need”

You leaned your tired body against his side and let out a long sigh.

“Let's get you to bed, you must be exhausted,” he picked you up again and slid you under the covers before climbing in next to you. He held you gingerly, aware that you were still recovering and your breasts were tender. “No matter what, I'm here. For you, and the baby. If it's between Kid and you, I'm choosing you”

You sobbed at his reassurances, not once had Killer ever said he would choose you over Kid, in fact he'd always made it clear that Kid was his priority. Your heart swelled for Heat, whether it be genuine or saviour's complex you didn't care, you just knew you were finally falling for him. If only it'd happened months ago, if only you'd given yourself to him more fully, or if maybe he'd been trapped on the island with you. Things could have been so different. Your heart still felt like it was tearing apart, but under Heat's warm embrace you felt like in time it could melt back together.

“Does she have a name?” Heat asked when your crying finally calmed.

“Dawn,” you replied softly.

[NEXT CHAPTER] - link soon

[whomstress]

Boxer Au Bunnydoll fic

Part 1/Part 2

Once again this au belongs to @burrotello and nothing in this is canon unless stated otherwise by her!

In a Weeks Time

It’d been a week since Jax and Ragatha’s spar. Jax chuckled to himself, finally figuring out what he wanted but making her go through a couple days of agonizing wait for the 'horrible punishment' he had set up for her. He'd been dragging it out on purpose, just to watch her squirm. Y'know for funnizes. She should have known that promising 'anything' was a mistake. However, to be fair, he was pretty sure she was actually going slightly insane from his constant harassment that week. 

He was strangely obsessed with the way she’d literally shift in her spot when he’d move closer to her, eyes unmoving from hers, giving her a vexing grin. She was so stubborn and annoyed so easily, ready at any moment for a comeback to his jabs. Whether they were good or not was another thing. At least most of the time she wanted to, she had a habit of angrily ignoring his comments and puffing her cheeks until they were flush, trying not to look at him. There was something to how someone always so sickeningly sweet and kind, looking at him like she wanted to bash his teeth in, ignited a fire in him he had for no one else.

However, ignoring him was a new tactic that got old fast. If there was one thing Jax hated, it was being ignored. This little tatic had slowly started about 2 weeks ago. She wasn't always consistent, with him getting just enough under her skin to have her yelling his name by the end, like always. But then she really ampped it up. He’s not sure if she'd been doing that tai-chi and meditating mini-game she’s always suggesting for people to calm down, but for almost a week straight, the most she’d send was a second-long glare or a scoff without even looking at him.

Rude for one, but frankly unacceptable. No one ignored Jack Rabbit. Especially someone who was way below his league. She should be lucky he gives her attention at all! He’s not sure why this pissed him off so much, but watching her laugh and spar with everyone else—not that he wanted to spar with her anyway, while she’d barely give him the time of day—made his blood boil. She’s always going on about how the humans were a “team” and they only had each other to lean on, and he could come to her for anything. In fact, wasn't she the one to promise him with that damn "sweet as sugar' smile when he first realized he was stuck here, and she now ignores him? Call him a hypocrite, but he hated a liar. 

Well, he wasn’t going to let that slide. So he made her life hell until she literally ran away, and when he cornered her where she always went to hide, he finally got her to fight like he knew she could. And he was ready to fight until someone bled. He just didn’t think it would be him.

Lil Lady, his ass. Ladies did not talk or kick like they were trying to break a godamn tree in half. She was stronger than she let on, if the bruise the size of a baseball on the back of his head said anything. So though Jax enjoyed watching her jump in his presence, he wondered why, if she was so worried about what was coming, did she seem to be following him like a damn shadow? 

It wasn’t until today, when he was the last to join the characters in the gym, did it ever really matter to him. Ragatha was already there, probably the first one there, the goody-two-shoes. Started eyeing him like a damn hawk the second he started stretching before a training session. It was odd as hell, to say the least, but it’s not like he minded. He was used to being stared at. Just not by her. The strangest part is that it made him hyper-aware. Ai’s would swoon over him all the time from him just flexing, but this was Rags. What would a girl like her even be impressed with?

He had to backtrack in his own mind for that thought. ‘Oh God, not this shit again. What does that matter!? He did not now or ever care about what beat-em-up Barbie thought’ He decided to literally shake the thought off, yanking his head back and forth. But he bent his neck a little too far, pulling straight across the sore bruise and stitches, and let out a loud curse of pain when he felt a scab on the end pop open. It was that instant that everything clicked. She ran to him like he just got shot in the gut, nearly tripping on her way to get to him. She grabs his face carefully, but firm in her hands. “Jax! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Please tell me your alright.” She looks like she’s going to cry again, but her eyes are so genuine as she looks back at him after thoroughly assessing for any damage. So delcate with a warm touch, like he was made of porclien or some shit. 

He was frozen solid with his face in her hands as she looked for any signs of hurt. His brain has officially shortcircuited at this point. He really should knock her off or headbutt her like he said he would if she touched him again, but his brain is actually static at the moment. He's completely zoned out and locked in at the same time. She gives a light squeeze on one cheek; he knows she does this in a simple comforting gesture. She’d do it for anyone, but it still makes the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “Maybe you should rest today, yeah?”

In the simple sentence, everything comes back in an instant, and his features turn harsh enough for her to know she said something wrong. Well, at least in his eyes. So she let go of his face and stepped back. He stood up once again, towering over her, but she didn’t squirm this time, maybe because he actually looked angry that she had her guard up, ready to fight if she needed to. In a flash of thought, it made him realize that when she squirmed under him, it wasn’t because she was threatened by him. If he wasn't so pissed, he’d probably have an aneurysm trying to decode that thought. 

Why did she have to do stuff like this? He gets it; she feels it's her fault and all, but c'mon, no one was ever this nice to him. No way was she this damn caring. No one was. Everyone had a trick up their sleeve. He didn't need her babying him like his damn mom. Hell, his own mom didn’t care this much! Neither of his parents did, and it was for good reason, he told himself. He’s been fighting as long as he can remember. It’d been drilled into his brain that nothing was worth losing, especially to those below you. He always needed to win by any means necessary. His father made him finish his competition with a broken ankle when he was 10, and his ankle still can’t bend a certain way without spazzing. And you know what? He won his weight-class nationals the next year! Only idiots and weaklings didn’t believe the same. Which is why Ragatha had always angered him so much.

If you weren’t fighting to win, why fight at all? He did everything to keep his place, and he was proud, like he should be. Ragatha, on the other hand, purposely lost to keep her place. If she started trying right now, she could easily be top 20, and if she started from when she first got here, he wouldn’t doubt she’d be around top 10. She'd still have no shot against him, of course. Even when she worked out, it was on her legs. Something she wasn’t allowed to use outside of sparring or minigames. What was the point? She drove him insane just by being little miss empath. Her ‘I care more about others than myself’ act was nauseating, and worse of all, she had the gull to think he needed any of it.

“You think I’m that weak enough that a little cut will stop me from a fight? If you wanna be helpful, why don't you stand over there with your twin, punching bag?” Ragatha's face turned sour; she hated that nickname most of all, and he knew it from the way he saved it when he wanted to be really nasty. She thought she could make him look weak enough in a gym full of enemies. Yes, everyone who wanted his belt was his enemy. “I could rip out these stitches right now and still win the match.”

A gloved hand reached back, and her instincts flinched her body forward to stop him, worry in her eyes. But her glare returns harder at the sight of a scoff and a quick "pathetic." She should've known he wasn't really going to do it. He’d already been suspended from fights until now, and you can’t go into the ring with an open wound. He was just messing with her again, but over his own health was a new one. By now, everyone in the gym had stopped and looked at them. Pomni was looking worried and ready to jump in. Gangle and Zooble were on the edge of their seats, waiting for Ragatha to hit Jax again. When they found out she cracked his head open even by accident, they seemed genuinely upset not to see it happen live. 

Which was concerning on Ragatha’s side of things, but she wasn't giving a show today. She wasn’t playing anyone's game, especially Jax. “Listen, Dollface, if you wanna play nurse so badly, I know there’s a pretty little outfit for that in the prop closet.” Ragatha scoffed. Ah, yes, the casual sexism a classic for her from Jax. He never cared about anyone’s personal details, but when he wanted to piss someone off, she swore he had a list of insults ready to go from every conversion he'd had. He moved in again, obviously trying to taunt her into hitting him. “I know hard work is foreign to your little rookie brain, but you think I really got where I am by dumb luck?”

He was so ready to watch her lose it again, break down, and maybe even shed some tears. She was trying to keep an even face, but he could see the slight flush of embarrassment the more he talked. Red was a good color on her, and he’d have to find a snappy way of saying that if this last comment didn’t work. Jax watched her gitty; he was completely focused on her, ready for a swing or kick. He’d been itching for round two, and the last one was way too short.

Ragatha was furious. He’d been worrying/messing with her all week while she patiently waited for this stupid prize he ‘won.’ Now he was trying to embarrass her in front of everyone? No way. For once, this was ending the way she wanted! Ragatha had always wanted to say something to knock him down to size; she’d tried before but always fumbled her words or they were alone, which only ended in another snide remark. But the way he ended things left a perfect opening—a set-up she’d dream about.

Here goes nothing. Her face turns into her best condicending smile, and she watches him raise a puzzled eyebrow before she starts to laugh in his face and says, “Well duh, Jack Rabbit” she emphasizes his name with a pinch and shake of his cheek, “Everyone knows that! Dumb luck and cheating it’s practically in your playbook! How about you do us a favor and tell us something we don’t know?”

Did he hear right? There is no way that just came from Ragatha; can Zooble posses people now? Her laugh was one thing, but when it’s followed by Gangle and a booming Zooble, he is suddenly very aware of what she just did. He backs up and looks around the gym. Pomni is trying to hide her giggles, and even Kinger is present enough for once to have an amused smile. Jax suddenly feels hot and sweaty and catches his face in the gym mirror, flushed and embarrassed like a damn school girl. He tries to tell everyone to shut up, but when Zooble points out his blush, laughs start all over again.

He hasn’t laughed this badly in years, and he swore it’d never happen again. So why, of all people, was the fight club's biggest sweetheart making him look like a damn clown? He tried to quickly make up a comeback, but his words fell flat on his tongue. His eyes were scattered around the room. Who would he even say it to? Jeez, is this what he does to people? Is that why they're all laughing like they've been holding it for years? All of it just made him more angry, and he felt his thoughts slowly centering on the one person who started it, who was even able to do it when everyone else had at least tried and failed before.

Ragatha was completely unaware of Jax’s building focus; she was still giggling a little but started to feel bad at how everyone kind of ganged up on him. Yeah, he deserved it, but she didn’t think it’d go on this long, and Jax seemed like he was in real distress. She thought of calling out to them or him when he turned around to face her head. His eyes were so intense on her, and he was obviously trying to intimidate her, but his face betrayed his thoughts. She hadn’t gotten a really good look at him before this, and wow, it was something.

The flush covered most of his ears, his whole face, and a little down his neck. He was sweating big droplets, even though he didn’t work out, and though she could tell he was furious, his expression couldn’t hide his nervousness. He looks so self-conscious right now; it’s an expression she's never seen on him. She didn’t even think he could make it. Almost vulnerable. Despite a rabbit body being so human, He looked normal. For once, not pretending to be better than anyone but just as flawed as the rest of them. Able to get embarrassed and tongue-tied. For once, she felt a real connection to him as another person, even though she didn't want to. She had to admit that with his rabbit ears to the side and the blush covering his face, he actually looked kind of “cute.”

Even Ragatha knew her mistake the moment it came out of her mouth. It was less than a whisper, but she guessed those rabbit ears weren't just for show because his ears shot up, his eyes wide, and his whole body went rigid. He was suddenly standing way too close for her comfort, and she took a step back, squirming under his stare once again. His face turned into an unreadable expression, and she felt like she needed to apologize despite how uncomfortable she was, so she forced herself to take a breath and look into his eyes but couldn’t get any other words out than a soft “Jax-.” 

“THAT’S IT!” He yelled, throwing up his arms in outrage, making her jump at least half a foot in the air. He turned back around to the other characters. “F*#& ALL OF YOU! I’M OUT!” He said loud enough that it sounded like a mic was going off, “AND YOU!” Jax turns to point a finger in Ragatha’s face and says, "You're coming with me!”

Before Ragatha can even have the chance to refuse, he has her live up to her name by tossing her over his shoulder like a ragdoll, holding her legs from letting her escape as he quickly strides away. She starts screaming to put her down and beats her fist at his long back. Letting out an embarrassing yelp when this only makes him quickly drop her lower down his back before adjusting his grip on her legs again as she now has to grip on to his waist not to fall. The other characters are silent now, and they watch them get further away until they turn the corner. Pomni feels an ache in her dropped jaw and is about to ask if they should go after them before Zooble calls out, “50 bucks; he’s dead by the morning.” 

Gangle pitches in, “Pssh, please. You see that look on his face? 70 bucks they f#&(. ”

“Jesus, Gangle. That’s nasty. Unlike you, Ragatha is in class.” Zooble cringes. “You’re on.”

Suddenly Able pops out of thin air, like the sound of money summoning him from deep in the code of the fight club. He manifested directly in front of Pomni, making her trip back straight on her butt, and she's beginning to think that she is warming up to Caine the longer she's even around other Ai's. “Do I hear a bet? I know my player more than anyone else, and I can guarantee that he is upset enough to use this little deal of theirs to make all his problems hers and all of yours."

"Wait, hold on, how do you know that?" Pomni interrupts.

Able turns his card head around without his body and, in a more robotic voice than usual, says, "Oh dear, I know lots of things." An errie glare without a source light flashes across his card, "Lots of things..."

He quickly turns back to Zooble and Gangle and says, "ANYWAY, I don’t know much about human feelings. However, I do know Jax is horrible at them! Word of the wise, starlights, go for broke!”

Pomni stands there stunned, watching Zooble consider the point and Gangle curse out a censor for not thinking the same. Was this really happening? Where are they seriously gambling on their friends like this? “Guys betting on each other's everyday lives doesn’t seem ethical.”

The other characters look at each other and echo, “Welcome to the fight club.”

[joanvisitsrome]

stars between us ch.2 : h.c

Hey you guys!! here's chapter two! I'll do everything I can to have chapter three tomorrow. I'm looking to have 8-9 chapters total of this series. COMMENT on this post if you'd like to be added to this taglist.

Summary: You and Hazel spend the first night of the camping trip together

Contains: fluff, hand-holding, one-bed trope, teasing friends, slight angst, hazel talking about the pep rally, hazel talking abt toxic friends, awkward!hazel, nerd!reader

“So, that leaves you and Hazel,” Isabel had pointed out. 

You and Hazel look at each other and smile. Of course you two were fine with sharing a bed. You two got along well anyway. The two of you leave your things on the bed and then go outside to a nearby picnic table. It wasn’t too late in the day, as there was still light outside. The sky was only now just getting darker. The two of you begin to continue your conversation from the bus, picking up exactly where you left off.

“Okay,” you say, “enough about me. Where in the actual universe are you getting bombs?”

“Where else? You really think I’m going to like some deep, dark alleyway to find supplies? I usually just go to Home Depot and grab my supplies.”

“Really?” you ask surprisedly, raising an eyebrow.

“I’m not joking. I’ll take you one day if you’d like.”

“Wow Hazel, stringing your new friend into your bomb-making endeavors.” To this comment, Hazel giggles and plays with the rings on her fingers. She looked absolutely adorable doing this.

“I’d never let you get in trouble for it though,” Hazel adds quickly, “I don’t like throwing people under the bus.”

“Sure you don’t,” you quip teasingly, “If you don’t, then what was that with PJ during the last pep rally?”

“Now that’s a different story. PJ, umm, made me feel, unloved? The fight club has been a safe space for me during my mom’s midlife crisis. I guess when PJ kind of summed up for me that I had no friends, and, um, had a skank as a mom, I wanted to defend myself. Also, they said I was fighting PJ.”

“Well, you have me, so you have friends. And uh, I don’t know about the mom stuff, but she definitely didn’t raise a skank, so that must say something.” Hazel smiles, glad that you at least understood her. She holds your hands, which had been resting on the table.

“I’m really glad we’ve started getting to know each other. It’s nice to talk with someone who’s like me in some ways.”

“Yeah. Even though I’m friends with like Isabel and Brittany and those people, I feel like they don’t understand. Like half of those people don’t even read. Like, the school took away the books and they just don’t care.” Hazel looks at you as you continue rambling, a concentrated, attentive look in her eyes. She seems dazed almost.

“Hazel?”

“Yeah?” she says, shaking out of her daze.

“You good? It seemed like you phased out for a moment.”

“No, I’m just tired. I didn’t sleep well yesterday.” You look up at the sky, which has gone basically dark. 

“Should we go sleep?”

“Oh, we don’t have to. We can keep talking if you want.”

“No no, I’m tired too. Plus, we have a long day tomorrow doing the trash and stuff.”

“Okay! As long as you’re okay with it. I don’t want to force you to do something just because I am.”

“You’re not. Don’t worry about it, Haze.” You hold out your arm, and she links it in yours. The two of you laugh and talk your whole way back to the cabin. She sees PJ and Josie looking at her with teasing looks, lips puckered up. She quickly turns her head away to see you curled up on the corner of the bed, book in hand. It’s an astronomy book about constellations and the stories behind them.

Hazel looks at you as she climbs into bed.

“Whatcha reading?”

“Oh, just a book about the stories between different constellations.”

“OH! We didn’t get to look at the stars like we said.”

“Whatever. We’re both tired, and I’m sure we’ll have even more fun tomorrow doing so. I bet since we’ll spend the whole day together, we’re going to have a great time.”

“Don’t let me forget tomorrow. I’ll feel horrible if you don’t get to look at the stars at least once before the trip is over.”

“Don’t worry Haze, I won’t.” Hazel’s cheeks turn pink at the nickname, but she brushes it off and lies down. PJ and Josie ask everyone if it’s okay to turn off the lights, making you close your book and lie down as well. You assume that Brittany and Isabel are off with the other cheerleaders and that they’ll come back soon. You feel Hazel shudder when the lights turn off in the cabin.

“Hey, Haze, what’s wrong?” you whisper, turning to her under the covers.

“Nothing. Um, it’s just that I, um, kind of, always use a night light? I don’t like the pitch black.”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“I don’t know.” Hazel turns around to face you. Just then, your hands bump under the covers. You don’t know what overcomes you, but you decide to hold Hazel’s hand.

“Is that okay?” you ask. You hear Hazel’s breathing slow down to its relaxed pace.

“Yeah. Much better. Are YOU okay with that though?” she asks, concerned that maybe you would feel weird holding her hand.

“No, of course not. I want you to sleep well.” You two are facing each other in the bed, only barely able to see the traces of each other’s face.

“As long as you’re okay with it, I am too.”

“Goodnight Haze.” The two of you fall asleep facing each other, and holding hands, and wake up like that the next morning.

taglist: @at1nyzen

[vampire-exgirlfriend]

You guys, what the fuck is up with the increase in stealing and plagiarising in this fandom lately? When did that become a thing that was okay to do?

The first time I was flat out plagiarized was almost four years ago in a different fandom. A well known author in that fandom took the first paragraph of a short one shot, one of the first things I’d ever posted and that I was incredibly proud of, switched a few words, and then used it as the summary for their slightly longer fic. They then went on to steal the premise of my ficlet and just…make it longer. This was brought up in a discord server a friend of mine was in that I wasn’t and the general consensus was “who would believe you? You’re nobody.” So I kept my mouth shut and I deleted my fic because seeing it made me feel like shit. Something similar then happened to a friend of mine with the titles of her fics being stolen, flat out and word for word, for the same characters. And again it was “no one will believe you.”

We shut up. We stuck it out. And then when it kept happening, to us and to others, we left that fandom.

I was so, so excited when HotD aired. I was back in my ASOIAF phase that had never actually ended. It was a new opportunity to make friends with common interests and my writing improved so much because of how passionate about the canon material I was. I have made some of the most incredible friends, like life-long, stay up all night talking, come to my house or let’s hang out when you’re in my state/country kind of friends. It’s pretty amazing. But this fandom is a whole different beast than any other I’ve been involved with. I have no idea if it’s the general age of the fandom, or the lack of prior fandom experience, or what us old people call the “tiktokifcation of fandom.” But it’s different. And while that’s usually a good thing, there are so many times when this has been awful. There is a huge lack of accountability here. People are stealing things. And the weirdest part is, they don’t care! It is plagiarism to have someone else's story opened while you write yours so that you can tone match the other writer. It is plagiarism to take people’s well thought out ideas and then use them beat for beat. I get it, it’s fic, nothing is wholly original, we are going to see idea recycling! That’s just fandom. But to model your entire story off of someone else’s is heinous. And it’s wrong. And this literally just happened to a very good friend of mine. When she mentioned she was uncomfortable with it and had blocked the person who did this, someone she considered a level headed mutual (who has recently admitted to plagiarising someone else themselves, mind you) told her that she was just drama baiting and didn’t have the right to be upset. The same thing happened to me with a now deleted creator who told me that she dragged me in her discord server and that her friends (all big name creators would essentially “black list me” for saying anything).

It’s not dramatic to not be okay with your work being stolen! This is a normal fucking reaction. In trad publishing or academia, this shit gets you banned, expelled, etc. It can ruin your life.

I received a slew of anons recently asking for help with graphic making and editing. And I was so excited about them. That shit is fun for me. We chatted for a while, with them on anon, and that was that. Until I got an anon letting me know that the person I was talking with was someone who had stolen ideas and storylines from me and other creators. So I looked, I asked friends to look, and the consensus was “yeah, this is fucking plagiarism, and it’s weird.” All of the edit stuff she’d asked about was used on an edit that was a direct rip off of my own. But I elected to not make a thing of it, to ignore it, to wash my hands of it because of the weird fucking trend of calling out theivery being labeled as drama baiting. And I didn’t want that, not after I had genuinely made the mistake of thinking that someone had stolen an idea from me when they hadn’t (calm down, we’re really close friends now). This person deleted their old blog and so I thought it was over. And then yesterday I got a dm from this new blog I didn’t even know existed accusing me of sending them harassing anons.

A blog, who had stolen from me and at least four other people, who had reached out to me on anon for help and ideas, that at this point I didn’t even know existed anymore, said they knew I was sending hateful anons accusing them of theft. I wasn’t, of course, because I had no idea they even existed, and it made no sense that I would even know they’d created another blog. I only found out about their new blog when they dm’d me from it. But they had obviously done this to enough people that they were now getting called out on it.

You guys, we have to fucking stop acting like this. This fandom needs to stop stealing from each other and eating our own. And if someone brings up that they’ve had an idea stolen, we need to take them seriously instead of insinuating they’re only attempting to cause drama. Stop sending people unhinged anons because you feel like you’re guilty of lifting from another creator and just work on creating something original. Writing is hard. Giffing and making edits is fucking hard. And no, nothing will ever be 100% original, that’s just impossible at this point, but stop fucking taking things that aren’t yours and claming them as your own. Do better. Grow up.

[romanticatheartt]

I have a hot take and it might piss some people off specially the ones who believe Nesta didn't need a redemption arc (???) so please don't read this if you have this mindset

You saving your sister at death bed doesn't have redeeming quality. Because anyone in that room, specially Rhysand, would've jumped to help her without hesitation if they had the power. Nesta herself would've helped even if she hadn't finished her healing journey and was still distancing herself from everyone.

I'm not talking about how in those 12 days she didn't help the IC to find a solution, I'm talking about her seeing her baby sister at death bed. Because she didn't helped Feyre for 5 years and let her put herself in danger because Nesta knew she would survive. But the moment Tam/in took her, Nesta goes after her and searches for her. And this is exactly what happened, Nesta thinking IC would find a solution so she didn't even bother to offer a little help. Or even think about it...

In both situations the moment Nesta sees Feyre in absolute danger and is sure there's a huge chance that she might not make it alive, she makes a move to help/save her. I don't want one single person to come here and tell me it's not her job or responsibility- just shut it... don't embarrass yourself

You know what would've been redeeming?

The moment she realized Feyre might die during the labor, she should've started searching alongside the IC, she was literally working in a library at the time.

She should've talked to them and convinced them to let Feyre know of the danger.

She, talking with her sister, properly apologizing and try to bond with her and mend the bridge that's been broken between them.

Not sucking your trainer's d*ck the moment you find out. Not climbing down 10000 steps because you were so "angry" of the injustice you were facing and tell your sister she's about to die and made it about yourself. Because you wanted to show her that IC doesn't "respect" her as much as they don't respect you. And put her in danger in the process because you knew how the stress might hurt the baby but again you were thinking about your own hurts and pains.

I love Nesta and her book helped me to understand her so much better and realizing how similar we are and how much I share trauma with her. Not my trauma response tho.

I just hate the way sjm wrote her healing journey because she made it about herself lol. She projected her trauma and her experience during her process of healing and wrote it into Nesta's story and never cared how it might look at the end. Now Nesta saving Feyre, her blood sister, sounds more like a favor she gave and give *some* people the opportunity to make what Feyre did for her sisters a chore, a responsibility, something she enjoyed to do because she wanted to hurt herself. (and that's definitely not true) Don't even try to deny I've seen it many many times and I have proof.

And that's my problem with her book. I love that she made friends along the process and had her own found family, it led us to meet two beautiful characters. Her book gave us context of the reason behind some of her actions. We get to read how ashamed and hateful she is toward herself for neglecting Feyre. But the rest? No.

Sjm could've give us Nesta, fixing her relationship with the people around her and making new friendship with her found family at the same time but instead she wrote so many smut scene that has no purpose and doesn't help the plot moving. I'm throwing hot takes after hot takes jeez

In conclusion acosf didn't help people to forgive Nesta. Understand her? Yes. But forgiving her and give them the opportunity to considee her as their favorite character? No. I'm not talking about all but the majority, because as you see even now people can't seem to forgive her even tho they understand her much better.

To be honest acosf is one of the weakest book sjm has ever written and she hasn't wrote one single good book ever since... I wanted to make all these takes in different posts but fuck it, we ball<3

[aihoshiino]

Da Vinci Magazine Jan. 2024: A Q&A with Ai of B-Komachi!

In the January 2024 issue of Da Vinci magazine, there was an in-character interview with Ai as written by Aka Akasaka that you can read a translation of here! What I forgot to mention on that initial post is that there was also a little lightning round Q&A the original anon didn't translate at the time. Thankfully, they did post it and I just... completely forgot it existed until now. ;9 Shout out to past me who remembered to save it and kept me from having to dig thru the 4chan archives for it...

Unlike the original interview, this is my translation! So any goofs and gaffes are entirely on me lol. This is also totally spoiler safe, so you can read both this Q&A and the original interview no matter what point you are in the series.

Get to Know Ai Better! Q&A Session

Q. What motto do you live by?

A. I really like "Tomorrow is a new day." I'm one of those people who forgets all their worries after a good nights' sleep. (laughs)

Q. Tell us how you refresh yourself!

A. I like taking naps on my days off. I was saying earlier that I forget my worries once I've gotten some sleep but with this job, it can be hard to find the time to actually do it. Not just that, but lately I've been waking up in the night to take care of this and that, so when I do have the time to sleep, I really conk out.

Q. What is your routine on days off?

A. I wake up, prep some milk… oh, um - I like cornflakes so I always need milk for breakfast. Then I go for a nap (laughs). I know some of the other B-Komachi members like going to beauty salons or nail salons, but I don't do nails and I let my hair grow out so I'm usually just at home (laughs). I even cut my own bangs! I've been doing it for years so I'm pretty good at it. I've even cut other peoples' hair once or twice, though not anyone in B-Komachi.

Q. Your 20th birthday's coming up soon. What are you looking forward to doing once it arrives?

A. I want to try drinking alcohol. The president of my agency keeps saying, "I can't wait to have a drink with you!" He makes it sound like a lot of fun, so I'm curious to know what getting tipsy's like.

Q. What book left the biggest impression on you this year?

A. It's a manga, but I was moved to tears by "I'll Go With Sweet Today". The heroine is a girl who distrusts people and develops anorexia, becoming terrified of eating… I have a bit of that in me too, though not quite to the same extent she does, so I could really relate to her and her journey to recovery really moved me. If there's ever a live-action version, I'd love to play her!

Q: What would you like to do after the Dome concert?

A: I'd like to go on a trip or something. Where would be nice... Oh, I've heard of 'Mito Natto' before, so maybe Mito!

Q: What's something a fan said that made you happy?

A. You know, I didn't used to read any fan letters at all. But there was a time I was getting tired of being an idol and I was planning to quit, so the president made me sit down and read all the letters I'd gotten. That was the first time I'd ever realized just how much support I was getting and it made me go "in that case, I'll give them all my love and support in return!". I even wrote a song about it. So now I treasure all the letters and words I get from my fans. I actually got a gift from a fan recently, some 'star sand'. It was really beautiful and my real name "star" in it, it made me really happy. I've still got it displayed in my room.

Q: What is "true love" to you?

A. I guess if I had to sum it up, I'd say true love is being a genius who doesn't lie. I think maybe people lie to avoid lying. I'm not sure if that's a good answer and even I don't know if it makes sense, but it's just something I feel.

Q: Do you think you're a liar?

A: Hmm~~? That's a se~cret! (laughs)