#but the only one who shes been able to trust just got the shit beat out of him and is in no position to talk!!!!

[good-beanswrites]

If it's okay with you, could you write a drabble about the hypothetical aftermath of Amane getting attacked by Kotoko?

Welp thank you pal for making me absolutely insane with this request 👍 I ran through a few hypotheticals and realized I had to shift some things around since there were so many absolutely tragic outcomes. I worked something out but damn if it didn’t make me emotional to think about how uniquely rough Amane has it. Even making sure she's in a good place at the end, this got pretty serious, so warnings for child abuse and cult references. 

(So in canon, Kotoko goes in order and attacks Fuuta, but Kazui steps in. Then she attacks Mahiru while he’s distracted with his injuries. She’s about to attack Amane, but Mikoto gets in the way (my hc that he did it on purpose survives!). By the time they reach a draw, Kazui is back, and the two of them can prevent Kotoko from any further action against Amane. Sticking to this apparent system of three attacks and one rescue, I’m just shuffling around the injuries for this story. Fuuta’s attack went unnoticed, and he’s in the same state as canon Mahiru. Mikoto steps in before Kotoko can fight Mahiru, so Mappi’s the one who get out physically unscathed. While Mikoto checks on Mahiru, recovers himself, or discovers Fuuta, Kotoko is able to attack Amane next. Kazui comes to help, but not before she leaves Amane looking like canon Fuuta.)

Mahiru could practically feel her heart shatter into a million pieces when Amane finally cried in front of her. She hadn’t shed a single tear yesterday – it was the shock, Shidou said. Mahiru was skeptical. After all, she had been shocked, too, and cried plenty.

Amane woke as she came in with breakfast. She took a moment to survey herself, bandages peeking out from beneath her pajamas and an eyepatch securely over her right eye. As calmly as one might say “good morning,” she started to cry. Mahiru might have missed it, if Amane hadn’t wiped at her good eye with her sleeve.

“Oh, sweetheart…!” Mahiru rushed over to her. “It’s okay, I’m here.” She wanted nothing more than to wrap the girl in a secure embrace, but she remembered the mass of bandages that were around her chest. Shidou had mentioned broken ribs and bruises. It took everything in her not to cry along with Amane, at the thought.

“I can get you another ice pack, if you need. Or more medicine.” Her mind spun with ways to help with pain. Many of the first aid supplies had been used to keep Fuuta from the brink of death, but surely there were extras to spare for Amane. 

The girl just shook her head. 

She muttered, “I can’t… I…I’m going to be punished, I’m going to be punished…”

“No! You’re safe now.” Mahiru placed her hands gently on Amane’s arms. “Kotoko’s not coming back. We’re all watching over you. You’re safe. She’s not going to hurt you anymore.” 

“That’s not…” Amane pulled away. Her voice stayed level, despite hiccups interrupting her. A hand reached up to her eyepatch. “It’s this. It’s all of this. It’s sinful. I took it off last night, but he must have…” She started unwrapping it. “They’re going to punish me...” 

With a careful motion, Mahiru held it in place and took Amane’s hands into her own. She’d been picking up on the signs ever since they arrived here together, and a final wave of understanding washed over her. 

“I can’t let you do that.”

Amane’s expression twisted, though words came out far more frantic than fiery. “Let me go.” 

Mahiru didn’t. “I’m sorry. Amane, you need this treatment.”

“That is not your decision to make. That is not any human’s decision to make.”

Mahiru pressed her lips together. “I know. But I can’t watch as you… I can’t sit by again while someone…” She was careful not to apply any pressure, but she could no longer fight the urge to gather Amane up in her arms. “You don’t need to be afraid of those people, anymore.”

“I’m not afraid.” Amane hiccuped. “They love me, and I love them. I need to be good for them.”

“I love you, and I don’t want to see you in pain.”

“You just pity me because I’m young.”

“Why does your age matter? You are a lovely young woman – you are my friend – and I can’t bear to see you in pain.”

The two sat in silence for a moment. Mahiru doubted she would take that as an answer; Amane had refused to call any of the others her friend. At least she didn’t argue. In fact, it seemed she was leaning into the embrace a bit more. She sighed a shaky breath into Mahiru’s uniform.

“Listen, Amane. Can you do me a favor? I’m trying to be a good girl, too. To make up for something awful, I need to make sure you’re alright. Can you help me? Can we be good together?”

A long pause followed. Amane’s voice spoke up, ever so gently.

“I suppose I can consider it.” She added quickly, “for the sake of your redemption. Of course.”

“Of course.”

[angelbarelywrites]

♡ tommy gets jealous | oneshot

♡ fandom; Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003/2006)

♡ characters; Thomas Hewitt

♡ reader; gender neutral

♡cw; mentions of kidnapping and violence, don’t date people who want to slash you irl not a good foundation for a relationship

♡notes; I put on my big boy panties and wrote something other than a bulleted list!!

I just love a good “i trust you but i sure as fuck don’t trust anybody else” type jealously trope. Also some Tommy doing ASL!! We love a (selectively?) mute king.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

You were an oblivious person. Most of the time, anyways. You’d been totally shocked when Luda Mae didn’t let you leave the night you arrived at the Hewitt house, totally shocked when Charlie told you Thomas was obsessed with you, and more surprised still that Charlie had been right.

You weren’t stupid— you put two and two together that these folks were cannibals as soon as you saw the basement. You nearly talked Monty into letting you go, and you slipped your restraints a couple times before you were settled in. You’d done well in school and still could read a book in one sitting.

Maybe… socially inept was a better word, harsh as it sounded. It was only people that you had a such a hard time with. You trusted them, but you could almost never wrap your head around what they were thinking.

Like the customers that stayed too long . It happened a lot. Bikers and tourists and all sorts of folks would stop in when you were working in the convenience store, and usually more than once a day a man would stay leaned on the counter, chatting away until his buddies were about to leave him. Sometimes they’d be alone, and Luda would give you a break early and they’d go off looking all huffy.

It very rarely occurred to you that the men were trying to flirt. You didn’t think of yourself as someone that happened to- and treated all customers the same. Why would they think you wanted to bang em when all you did was smile? Being nice was part of your job.

Luda Mae payed no mind to the men or your conversations. If there’d been any cause for concern, she’d be able to quash it very easily. But she found it endearing, especially your confusion and apathy when they did get balls enough to be blunt . In her mind you were so devoted to Thomas that other men were just nuisances.

That’s why no one had mentioned it to Thomas. He rarely came up to help now that you were there to help Luda Mae, but today there was extra stock, and her joints had been aching from the weather. You were on register, Luda Mae relaxed in a rocker on the porch, and Tommy stalked the aisles and put out trinkets and canned food and all the other junk you sold. You were trying not to go distract him and stood leaned over the counter, doodling on some scrap paper between customers.

“Well hello darlin,” A man drawled, hands on his belt buckle. He was trying too hard to be a real Texan, but he wasn’t from up North like you. “You got any cigarettes back there?”

“Sure do! Let’s see… got Camels, Lucky Strike- I really like these ones, the Salems, they’re menthol-“

“You look too sweet to smoke. I’ll take the Camels,”

“Well, only do it on special occasions,” you shrugged, not paying much attention as Thomas stalked towards the front “Anything else?”

“Well. That depends.”

“On?”

“If you’re free or not tonight.”

You blinked, then furrowed your brow “You tryna ask me out?”

“Well I- oho shit!” The man laughed uncomfortably as he noticed Thomas right behind him “You scared me there big guy-“

He huffed and slunk behind the counter as the man nervously tried to get back on topic “Anyways… ahem…so about that date-?”

You huffed and out a hand on your hip “Well, depends?”

He perked up a bit “On what?”

“If you can beat my boyfriend in a fight.” On cue Thomas wrapped his arms around you from behind, growling as he hooked his chin on your head.

The man quickly turned tail and mumbled something about being out of practice, forgetting the cigarettes completely. You could feel Tommy relax and turned to let him pick you up and set you on the counter. Even then you weren’t eye to eye with the giant of a man…but it was closer, and you liked feeling tiny anyway.

“…hi baby.” You cooed and loosely wrapped your arms around his neck. He huffed and nuzzled you, as he often did as a form of reassurance. You giggled and pecked his mask “Annoying, right?”

He nodded and scowled, keeping his grip tight on your hips

“…what’s wrong?”

He hesitated but pulled back to sign ‘Mine. All mine. Right?’

You giggled again “Of course! All yours- always.”

He smiled softly- the sort of expression only you could coax out of him ‘Always’

[hotpinkstars]

WE NEED THE COMFORTT FOR THE BLIND READER FUN YOU CAN’T LEAVE US HANGING LIKE THIS?????? (can’t do angst no comfort 😔)

-> blinded mistakes - happy ending

synopsis -> your husband feels bad for the way he snapped the other day. how does he make it up to you?

a/n -> approximately 28 people have asked for a part 2. this is insane i have so many people to tag (who aren't anons, obviously) BUT THANKS FOR ALL THE LOVE ON MY OTHER ONE OMGGGGG!!!! i love u all sm

warnings -> crying, but that's kinda all lol. this ones mostly just fluff!

w/c -> 951

-> kamisato ayato

it’s been a few days since the argument. 

ayato had been given an extension due to his circumstances, and didn’t have to worry about the ruined papers due to the kindness from the city's higher-ups who assigned him such papers in the first place. a lot of them were salvageable, too.

once he finished them, he leaned back, smiling from the stress relief. he got up, grabbed a cup of tea from the kitchen, and realized something.

you weren’t in the main room, waiting for him to leave his office so you two could spend some time together.

he then thought back about the events that took place. his chest immediately fills with regret at the words spoken to you. coincidentally, ayaka walked into the room.

“ayaka, have you seen y/n?” he hurried to his sister, who simply sighed.

“they’ve been in their room. they’ve been beating themselves up about the incident, so now they’re afriad of moving incase they bother you more,” she brushed past him. “good luck making amends. they’re incredibly hurt.”

he nodded, processing the information. he pacewalked to your shared bedroom, where he opened the door to see your sleeping form. 

he sat next to you, stroking your hair until you woke up. when you felt a hand on top of your head, you flinched a little bit.

“who’s there?” you said in a soft voice, unwilling to cause more issues by lashing out or showing aggression. 

“ayato,” he took his hand off your head. “i’ve come to say i’m sorry.”

you got up and found the headboard, slowly resting yourself up on it. “why all of the sudden? i hope you understand that you really hurt me, ayato. i’ve been too scared to get up these last few days because of the way you made me feel. the only times i’ve gotten up were to go to the restroom, bathe, and eat, but thoma would bring me something here. i still think about the words you said and your gestures.”

he looked down, sighing. he didn’t realize how much of an effect his words and actions had on you, but now that he’s hearing it from you, it seems like two more tons added to his shoulders. “don’t worry about it. it was salvageable, and you hadn’t ruined anything.”

“i wish you told me that when it happened, ayato,” you started to tear up. “i forgive you, but i don’t want to hear that again. it made me feel like shit.”

he nodded, hugging you tight, letting you cry into his shoulder. you felt around his body to realize he was wearing his white and blue suit, the one he usually goes out to fight in. 

“i’m not ruining this suit, right…?” you brought your face off his shoulder, but he immediately shoved it back in the same spot, silently telling you the obvious answer. 

he was glad he was able to resolve things. he couldn’t imagine a life without you.

-> wriothesley

it’s been about a week since wriothesley has seen you. he figured you went out of the fortress, staying over at a hotel or with a friend, like navia or chlorinde. he pretty much figured it would be chlorinde, considering she hasn’t come down to the fortress or has tried to initiate contact with him since the incident. 

he figured he’d try knocking on both doors, starting with navia. once navia told him everything he needed to know; that you were with chlorinde, he rushed over to her place.

“what are you doing here?” she scoffs as she opened the door, leaning against the doorframe. “your wife told me everything. i hope to trust that you didn’t embarrass her in front of the people who work for the palais mermonia, especially monsieur neuvillette himself.”

he shook his head, rubbing at his temples. “just let me see her, would you? i want to apologize.”

she nodded, clearing the doorway, allowing him to rush into the spare bedroom. 

you knew he was the one coming towards your room, considering his footsteps were a lot heavier than anyone you’ve ever known. his were tough, threatening. 

“wriothesley! w-what are you-” you started, your heart beating a little faster.

“i want to apologize for the things i said. i didn’t have to completely redo all my papers, and neuvillette understood the situation, and i was able to get an extent.”

you shook your head. “so you embarrassed me then, huh? you told them everything? that your stupid blind wife who is not even near good enough for you ruined your work?” 

he was speechless. he didn’t know how to respond to that sentence, so he put his hands on your shoulders, asking for silent permission to take you into a hug. once you nodded, he embraced you tightly. 

“no, i didn’t tell them that. i told him it was just a spill, and that i was able to save some of the papers. neuvillette is a very understanding man, and this never happens. i never need new copies or need extents, so he was willing to do it this time. nothing about you came up in our conversation,” he swallowed a lump in his throat before going on. “and you’re not stupid. you’re also the perfect choice for me, not good enough my ass. no matter what i have to do to make you see that, just because you have a disability doesn’t mean you’re unworthy.”

you started to cry, letting the tears spill into his chest, creating a damp spot on his tie. 

“so you don’t hate me then?” you sniffed.

“no, not at all. i couldn’t bring myself to hate you for something as dumb as that.”

[colourstreakgryffin]

If we saw how Charlie and Alastor reacted to Rarity like!reader and Pinkie Pie like!reader,maybe a Fluttershy like!reader x Husk??

Idk I think they would be cute together

Haha. Awww, I can just imagine Husk carrying us away whilst we’re crying in fear over Charlie borrowing our little animal friends for the Hotel briefly! Needless to say, this is actually the cutest and one of my favourite MLP-Hazbin mix-couples/duos so far! And again, kinda short!

Husk- Glass Barfly

As I stated previously, Husk is a sweetheart of a lover and his patience is quite high so trust me. He can handle his precious timid helpless little girlfriend better than anybody else. Somebody who is so shy yet kind that she hides behind him for support, he is quite good

Of course, Husk can’t help but instinctively treat you like glass. The most beautiful glass figure he’s ever found. He knows what to do with you

Husk is emotionally intelligent and able to recognise problems very well. So, he can recognise your antisociality and your fear over coming off as a fool, for that, he’ll slowly and carefully push you into pushing your own boundaries for your own good

Husk is getting better and better with your animal friends. He isn’t perfect but he doesn’t ever harm them… well, not on purpose. He’s growing to handle how many they are and how often you carry around your hot-tempered bratty bunny, Devil

Husk finds you precious and he’d beat the shit out of Alastor with the bar itself to protect you. You’re a little fragile butterfly, a charming doll of kindness that loves her animals. It’s natural that he adores every fibre of your being. Others may get annoyed with your shyness, he doesn’t

You can fly like Husk and have wings like him. He is lazy and dislikes flying but he will fly to encourage you to use your wings more. They are soft and beautiful, you deserve to be able to rely on them. He wants you feel comfortable so he will make it that you are. Luckily, he always succeeds

Husk is quite proud everytime you stand up for yourself or you do something you’d never normally do without his push. You’re learning, you’re growing! He can’t help but feel his heart swell at it and he showers you with praise and pride as soon as he can

Husk is learning to be a good person whilst you’re learning to be more confident. You’re helping each other and for that, you’re both quite dedicated to each other. Husk is your armour but you’re his heart

Husk knows you like the functions of a roulette game. He knows when your patience has been pushed too far and when you’re willing to be firm, if not cruel and harsh, and when that happens. He doesn’t even try sway you, he steps back and waits for you to cool down before calming you even more

Husk is always covered in your animal friends. And always means always! He has birds, squirrels, bunnies, butterflies, all kinds of Hell animals following him about the Hotel and he knows that they like him as much as they like you

Husk enjoys snuggling you in bed after work hours. Wings perked overs yours and laid over your back. You’re warm, you’re safe and you’re covered in soft fur. Both you and him like this so every night. You hop into the bed you share with Husk and he hops on top of you

Husk is the only one who can and will hear you in your whole singing glory. You’re way too insecure to sing around anybody else and it took some time for you to be comfortable with him but now that you are, you feel confident and safe singing around him

Yep. Husk got you a cute ring with a pink butterfly-shaped gemstone in the middle. It’s, to you, a sign that he is your safe spot and always is your safe spot. The one you can not be so frightened of embarrassing yourself with, somebody you can lean on and feel supported with

Husk knows about your crippling fear of social situations and how easy it is to embarrass you so you two regularly just spend time together and not ever go out, not until you actually feel okay with it. But of course, you’ll always do stuff for him too. You both give and take from one another

If it is my choice, y’all are engaged

“Leitora, butterfly. Don’t worry, the little buds will be okay. Do you want to go back to our bedroom, we don’t have to watch anything Charlie does with ‘em”

[a-dauntless-daffodil]

Me: don't make Charlie's habit of twirling / spinning Vaggie into a THiNG it can just be CUTE with no other headcanons behind it-

also me: what if Vaggie always loved dancing but took being an exorcist very seriously bc of the whole "learned to trust people on the battlefield" thing so the only time she felt she had an excuse for dancing with a partner was when she called it "training" or "unarmed sparing" and goaded Lute into doing it with her (Lute being Adam's second and Vaggie one of his best girls) (what, is Lute scared of not being able to keep up with her-?)

Lute: "This, is stupid."

Vaggie: "It's just like sparring."

Lute: "Then why can't I use a sword."

Vaggie: "The point is learning to read your opponent's body and move with it. A weapon only gets in the way."

Lute: "Or maybe you know which on of us would win in a real fight."

Vaggie: "OR maybe it's nice to practice WITHOUT someone losing feathers over it."

Lute: "Only losers lose feathers. If they don't like it they should start WINNING."

Vaggie: "Just put your fucking hand on my waist and do a box step."

Lute: "A what? Put my hand- where!?"

Vaggie: "Forget it. We'll dance like we're in a damn period piece ballroom scene. You can at least survive spinning me, right?"

Lute: "SPIN you?"

Vaggie: "Just hold up your hand and-"

Lute: "We look dumb enough as is! I'm not making myself look SILLY just so you can do a stupid spin."

Vaggie: "Fine."

Lute: "You need to watch yourself. Exorcist are heaven's first line of defense- we are the divine blades guarding the pearly gates. We need to keep ourselves sharp, focused- If you slip even once-"

Vaggie: "I said fine! I get it! Alright? God let's just, let's just get this over with..."

And then she's in hell, a year or so after Lute grabbed her wrist and pulled her eye-first onto a sword instead of a dance,

and it turns out the princess of hell is an eager and willing dancer, even if she's maybe not the most graceful or easy to follow- but it's the kind of challenge Vaggie loves-

(and not the only thing Vaggie loves)

-especially when Charlie's the one who cleared out a space, put on a playlist, and waved her into the middle of the room so they could laugh and bow / curtsy before making tracks across the carpet-

all of this, even though Charlie's still rusty at dancing, never was into it other much other than as another way to flail around to a beat, and here she is now, seriously trying to remember or learn all the different steps Vaggie shows her

this time it's a waltz

Vaggie's been avoiding waltzes. And sure enough she finds herself spacing out in the middle of it, coming back to the excited sound of Charlie's voice

Charlie: "I think we're doing it!"

Vaggie: "...hm?"

Charlie: "The waltz! It's been ages but, this is about right, right?"

Vaggie: "Oh uh, yeah. You've got it. Told you you would."

Charlie: (laughing) "And I told YOU if we made it through this it'd be because you're so good at making ME look like a good dancer! Even when my hooves keep snagging on the carpet... Even when you're a million miles away."

Vaggie: "Shit. Sorry."

Charlie: "No it's fine! Good practice for me leading!" (leading them onto a new patch of floor) "So! A lot on your mind?"

Vaggie: "Just remembered something, is all."

Charlie: "Waltz related?"

Vaggie: "I wouldn't compare this with that."

Charlie: "Aww, shoot." (pouts) "Well give me a few months and I'll get there."

Vaggie: (chuckling) "Charlie, you're already WAY past the last dance partner I had."

Charlie: "Wow. That bad huh?"

Vaggie: "What'd I just say about you and dancing?"

Charlie: "That at least I'm not totally the absolute worst ever?"

Vaggie: "Yeah no. Try again."

Charlie: (grinning) "I'm better than they were."

Vaggie: "You sure are. Actually trying counts for a lot, honestly."

Charlie: "You make trying things a lot easier." (hoof catches) (stumbles) (vaggie steadies her) "Case in point!"

Vaggie: "We really gotta remember to roll up the carpet next time."

Charlie: "Orrrr you'll just have to go on catching me!"

Vaggie: "I'll do that with or without the carpet."

Charlie: "Right!" (face hot) "Er so, were they clumsy too? Lacking in the whole smooth moves department?" (blushes MORE)

Vaggie: "The moves were fine, the ego got in the way a bit."

Charlie: "Ego?"

Vaggie: (sighs) (rolls eye) "Apparently twirling me would've looked too silly."

Charlie: "Wh- Twirling you?"

Vaggie: "Spinning. Whatever. They cared about that a lot and- I know I know- it's a dumb thing to still be hung up on."

Charlie: "Well I'd be honored to look silly with you!"

Vaggie: (laughing) "Okay?"

Charlie: "Can I spin you?"

Vaggie: "You really don't have to."

Charlie: "So we can do it on three? One. Two-"

Vaggie: "Really it's- watch out, table at 3 O'clock-"

Charlie: "-Wheeeeee~!"

Vaggie: "WHOA- that-" (breathless) "Now THAT was a spin."

Charlie: "Eheheh. Whoops?"

Vaggie: "Oh no, no whoopsing your way out of this one, I'm gonna need to inflict some payback spinning of my own." (grins)

Charlie: "Uh I'm kinda tall for-"

Vaggie: "You ever been lifted?"

Charlie: "I mean when I was a kid sure, but I'm like a foot taller than-"

Vaggie: "On three. One."

Charlie: "-Vaggie you come up to maybe my shoulder-"

Vaggie: "Two."

Charlie: "-not that you can't do anything you set your mind to, obviously! I'm just not sure how-"

Vaggie: "Three."

Charlie: "Hwha- OH!" (gleeful) (laughing) "Ohhh my gosh-!"

Vaggie: (smug) "There's more than one way to twirl a girl across the floor."

Charlie: "Spinning WHILE lifting!?"

Vaggie: "Fun right?"

Charlie: "SO MUCH FUN! Can we do it again!?"

Vaggie: "Sure-"

Charlie: "Ooh ohh can I do it to you too? Can we take turns??"

Vaggie: "Not worried about looking silly, huh?"

Charlie: "No! Why would-" (stops)

Charlie: (stops their dance)

Charlie: "Vaggie, I.... I really don't know why anyone wouldn't want to be silly with you. Or how it could ever be more important than seeing you happy like this."

Vaggie: "...Not everyone's like you, sweetie."

Charlie: "Or maybe everyone just needs to actually see you for once."

Vaggie: "I'd rather just stick to you for now. If, that's okay?"

Charlie: "Always."

(dance resumes, much slower, much closer)

Charlie: "It's, it's okay to miss people too, you know. I know, I mean. How much that sucks. If you, want to talk about...?"

Vaggie: "No. Thanks."

Charlie: "You're missing them though, huh?"

Vaggie: "It's not that. It's just, weird how much things change."

Charlie: "Like dance partners."

Vaggie: "Like your reasons for dancing with them."

Charlie: "....Oh."

(do they kiss???) (i have no idea) (maybe Vaggie just relaxes and rests her head over Charlie's heart) (maybe Charlie tries her best not to think about how hard it's beating)

(maybe somewhere up in heaven, an exorcist with a sword does a box step while training, slips, and slices her target in half in fury when she realizes it)

maybe Vaggie always loved dancing but had to end up in hell before finally getting to dance the way she always wanted to

or maybe

it feels like Vaggie never danced at all, until she had Charlie to share it with

[nervoussagittarius]

20191009 I Like Her

matt sturniolo x reader

summary: y/n shows matt a song that explains the way he's been feeling

warnings: none just fluff

"matt, have you ever listened to mac demarco? " you ask as you lay on his bed. there's been a comfortable silence between the two of you as you search for new music and matt sits at his desk playing around with his computer settings.

somehow you had come across one of your old playlists that focused primarily on the album "2" by mac demarco.

while he was one of your favorite artists growing up, you never got the chance to listen to his newer music. matt looked at you for a second and held up a finger signaling that he'd answer you shortly, after he finished changing his desktop files around.

matt was trying to play it cool. he had been having these weird feelings towards you for the past couple days. he didn't know how they developed or what they meant. what he did know is that he didn't want to come off strong or seem overly interested in you even though his mind was screaming at him to say how he's been feeling.

truth be told, he didn't really know how he felt. he had only known you for a couple of months and you started coming around the house more because you were close with nick. though, as time went on you formed a bond with matt that was comfortable and safe. matt was always able to tell when he started liking a girl, but it was harder to find the words to explain how he felt about you.

matt felt the need to keep any relationship between you two strictly platonic. you were nick's friend first, and while he didn't think nick would care he didn't want to lose the trust that he had built with his brother. he vowed to himself that nothing romantic could happen between you two, but as days went on that thought flew further to the back of his head.

"mac demarco," matt asks, he looked at you again. "is he the one who sings salad days'"

"yeah and he has a lot of other good music, but i just found his newest album and there's one hundred and ninety nine songs on it"

you pressed shuffle on the album. it was intriguing that a majority of the songs just had numbers for titles,and no vocals to them, just melodys.

"this song is '20200821 cowboy shit' its different" you said as you both laughed listening to the lyrics.

"it's definitely something" matt replied still not taking his eyes off of you. he admired the way your eyes sparkled as you flicked through the songs. he noticed how your lips turned up in a twinge of a smile when you heard a lyric you liked. he loved moments with you like this. he could sit here with you forever.

"y/n" matt said as the next song started playing. he was nervous to ask the next question. he wanted to know if you could put a name to the emotions he was feeling. you had always been better with this kind of stuff. you knew how to communicate how you felt, and you were always an open book with him. "do you think it's possible for us to like each other as more than friends? i don't really know how to explain it but i've been having these thoughts recently and i cant tell if they're just plationic"

you stared at him in shock of what he was saying. you've had feelings for matt for a few weeks now, but you didn't want to make things weird by saying something.

the words to '20191009 i like her' played in the background as you two just looked at each other. you kept replaying matts question in your head to think of the best way to answer, while matt was focused intently on the lyrics to the song to try to distract himself from the tension that had begun to rise in his room.

i'd give the world to her

as long as my heart's still beating

as long as she's next to me

as long as this love still fleeting

because i like her

matt thought you looked beautiful even though it felt like he could see the wheels turning in your head as you tried to answer his question.

listening to the lyrics, he felt this thought clear, and he knew in this moment that he couldn't say his feeling were just friendly anymore. sensing this, you made your way over to him. he looked at you warily, almost expecting you to yell at him and tell him that that he was crazy.

there was another beat of silence. "i like you y/n, a lot. i would do anything for you. will you please give me a chance?"

without second thought, you cupped his face in your hands and kissed the boy that you had quickly come to like.

could it be make believe?

am i just walking through a dream?

haven't felt this way in

such a long time, i do believe

that i like her

an: i've never written anything like this before so please tell me if you liked it or if you think i should change something. i'm always open to receiving feedback. i really appreciate you guys being here and if i could give each of you a forehead kiss i would

[darkbluekies]

what would ocs do if mc got arrested for speeding after trying to escape

Warnings: threats, handcuffs, chains, humiliation?, manipulation, gaslightning?

Silas:

He’ll have a field day with this one. He won’t even be mad as he walks into the jail, on the contrary — he’ll laugh. With his hands in his pockets, you trapped in front of him and having bailed you out, he can’t do anything but mock you. He’ll get into your cell and run his hand through your hair in a demeaning way. He loves to see you shrink under his touch. 

“My poor little idiot, I think you dropped something when you ran away from me. What, you ask? Your fucking brain. How stupid can one be to get caught by the cops? I’ve bailed you out, now let’s go home, I’ll teach you yet another lesson of what happens when you try to run away from me since the last five didn’t seem to work.”

Dr Kry: 

He’ll be able to convince the police to let him handle you. You’re clearly not well. You don’t need to go to jail, you need to be taken to a medical facility … like his hospital. He loves that you’re trying to tell the police that it’s where you ran away from … it only makes you look more and more insane. As soon as you come back to the hospital, he’ll keep you cuffed to the hospital bed and remove all of his personal stuff from the room.

“Now, now, don’t be sad. I’m not mad, just worried. We both know you weren’t fit to drive a car. You should be happy that you’re under my protection or you’d end up in prison for both speeding and stealing my car. You’re quite the little criminal, aren’t you, my dear? Now I have to keep you chained like this so you won’t repeat it. You could really hurt yourself, you know?”

King Edmund: (there are no cars in his timeline, a horse will do)

When a frantic horse rose through the village, the royal knights captured it quite quickly. When they saw who was on the horse, they nearly fainted. They kept you in a clean room for the king to come get you. He’ll come twenty minutes later in a carriage, holding a chain in his hands. He’s furious, you can tell. 

“What were you thinking stealing my horse and riding away like that?! I had been thinking about taking you for a horse ride in the forest, but now I don’t think that’ll ever happen. It seems like you can’t act right and because of that, I need to chain you. I can’t trust you. Try to move with this heavy chain around your feet and you’ll find that you won’t get so far. How unfortunate … seems like you’ll be spending summer indoors. Come now, my darling. Let’s see you walk with those chains out to the carriage.”

Jerry: 

She’ll be laughing as she bails you out. She’ll laugh all the way back to your home and somehow, it frightens you. She never laughs when you run away … so what’s different this time? It tells you that whatever you’ve done, it’s worse than all the other times you’ve escaped her clutches. As soon as you’re behind closed doors, she collects herself and grabs a fistful of your hair. 

“You’re in such big trouble, baby. I’m honestly impressed that you managed to sneak out and steal my car keys without me noticing, but don’t think it’ll happen again. I’m going to put up cameras and I’ll be able to watch your cute ass as often as I’d like. Hah, try to beat that, you little shit.”

Hedwig:

You’ll be bailed out in no time and have Hedwig’s arms around your waist like a suffocating corset. She’ll shower your face in kisses before pulling you out to a car — not the one you’ve gotten caught in. Her chauffeur will drive the two of you back to her mansion in silence. Hedwig will lead you up to her room and sit you down on the bed. Before you have the time to think, she has placed something around your ankle. 

“What? Oh, that’s a tracker. Honey, please listen, please. I can’t have you running around like that. We’re meant to be together, I know it. I’m just protective over you. What if you would have gotten in a car accident? You could have- … you could have died. So this is just for safety measures. I’ve told all the staff to report to me if you leave my room and they’ll do their best to keep you at home. I honestly don’t know what I would do if the police wouldn’t have caught you. Seems like there’s a benefit of your reckless driving after all …”

[badass-queer-couples-battle]

Sword gays showdown, round 2 of bracket one

Propaganda:

For Zoro:

Literally training to be the greatest swordsman in the world. Has a special three swords technique (one blade in each hand plus one with the handle held in his teeth). I haven't read the manga or watched the anime but the live action adaptation gives me extremely gay vibes and based on the fandom things I've seen I'm not the only one

bro uses three swords. has one in his mouth. dont ask how the HELL he manages that. one day he will be the worlds greatest swordsman....after he beats the current greatest for both the titles of greatest swordsman and fruitiest swordsman. he's dramatic as FUUUCK like bro what the hell. has homoerotic fights with the local twink like everyday. directionally challenged, can and will get lost in a paper bag, doesnt know left from right...he probably cant read, too. hes too silly ngl

First of all, im in like episode 250 and so far he hasnt been shown attracted to any woman at all during the whole show so far, not even when one changed clothes in the same room as him and this is anime so you know there were other characters with bloody noses and shit. With that out of the way he wields three swords at once [two in his hands, one is his goddamn mouth dude. Its cool af trust me.] When he was little he made a promise to his best friend that he'd be the best swordsman in the world. Later she died in a tragic accident and left her sword which he still uses today. He also carries a cursed sword but he overpowers the curse with a combination of skill and sheer luck. He got stuck in a chimney. While his crewmates sail their ship he takes naps. He learned how to cut through metal by fighting a guy who could turn his body into metal blades. That's metal. He refuses to fight this liberal marine officer because she looks like his childhood best friend and its just understandably really awkward for him. He's autistic. He's a he/him bisexual lesbian. He's a gay man. He's ace/aro. He's whatever you want him to be babey!!

he has 3 swords, wields one in his mouth sometimes, his dream is to be the greatest swordsman in the world

three swords and big aroace-spec gay vibes

He not only has a sword he has *three* swords. He's absolutely gay there's no way to see this man as straight. Also one time he licked his sword for no reason and that was really funny to me so I had to mention it

Look, this man thinks about three things: Swords, His Captain, and Booze. He’s on a quest to be the worlds greatest swordsman. The Live action has a scene where he declares his undying, unwavering loyalty to his captain WHILE reaffirming his promise to be the worlds greatest swordsman. At this point His dream and his Captain are so intertwined it’s crazy. Man is so sword-y he’s got three of them. When one of his swords broke he carried its empty scabbard until he was able to give it a SWORD FUNERAL. He hears a sword is cursed and takes that as a challenge. He will literally tell his swords off for “bad behavior” when they “act up” due to being straight up cursed. He tests one by throwing it in the air and sticking his arm out to see if it is so blood thirsty and ill tempered that it will cut him. Even though he’s literally the first mate if you ask him what his role is he’s going to answer Swordsman.

He's dedicated his life to two things: becoming the greatest swordsman in the world and his captain, Luffy. 

He mastered the three sword style. Its his style. It would've been more swords but he could only fit one sword in each hand and one in his mouth. He wants to be the world's greatest swordsman, a deal he made with his childhood best frenemy (before she died falling down the stairs). He thought he was All That at the start and was almost completely decimated by the actual Worlds Greatest Swordsman. Now, after two years forced training with that guy, he's probably in the top tier no-doubt, and honestly could already be the best but we just don't know for sure yet. Also, did I mention: he's got the whole demon/devil imagery going on at times. And he has absolutely no sense of direction! plus is a total softie when it comes to Chopper and all the children who somehow gravitate towards him. And he loves naps!

One of the guy's main goals in life is to be the best sword fighter and he fights with three swords which I think is telling enough of his skill.

For Sayaka Miki:

my favourite scene is the one where Sayaka turns off all her pain receptors to battle the shadow witch, uncaring of the damage dealt to her body, because what is a body but a decaying vessel you must eventually abandon anyway? that was very depression of her <3 Also there’s that one time (in the rebellion movie) where Sayaka stabs herself on her own sword to release the witch that dwells within her. and then she immediately gets up to fight back to back with her girlfriend. that moment lives rent free in my head. Sayaka is so depression and I love her for it:)

SHES SO GAY ITS NOT EVEN FUNNY SHE FLIRTS W THE MAIN CHARACTER HER NARRATIVE FOIL IS ANOTHER GIRL W TBE OPPOSITE COLOR SCHEME THEYRE RED BLUE LESBIAN MOMENT YOU WANNA KNOW WHAT ELSE ??? SHE COMES TO THIS FALSE REALITY LITERALLY JUST TO SEE HER GIRLFRIEND ALIVE THEY LIVE TOGETHER AND THERES A WHOLE OUTRO SEQUENCE JUST W THE TWO OF THEM SHE STUDIED THE GAY BLADE I STG also she uses a sword 🗡️ love u sayaka

[ymechi]

A brainrot suddenly came over me when reading your latest fic about lynette. You know that Freminette banner is now out right? What if he was added to mix of envy along with Lynette being the first to feel their Grace’s warmth. And now, there’s suddenly another sibling from her that can feel the creator’s warmth.

Just a brainrot that occured to me when reading your fic. BTW your writings are amazing!! Don’t pressure yourself to writing

- 🕰️

first off i want to start by thanking you when i read this i was screaming on the inside, i was so happy! I must apologize for writing so late i haven't been in the mood and there was school work to do (i should be doing that right now hehe;;; ) BTW I SOMEHOW GOT FREMINET IN HIS BANNER! So this is a really happy coincidence

hmm for the different character reactions I think for Lynette she would be glad for Freminet that hopefully he can get out of his shell a little more but there would also be some part that is selfish of her that wants to keep her grace's attention on her? Though she would hope that Lyney would become an acolyte as well so all three of them can be complete

Lyney would also be happy for Freminet thinking the same as Lynette that he hopefully can get out of his shell, he does wish the best for Freminet but i also see him as being envious, both of his siblings now are acolytes and it's only him left behind, the same situation in the past where his sister got a vision first (( Poor Lyney i have shit luck with 5 stars it is unlikely he will ever come home to me :') ))

Also for Arlecchino the fact that HER kids are now acolytes she is just smug i can imagine but also a bit worried about the bad attention they can receive but i think she trusts them enough they can handle themselves, though there is a part of her that is bitter she can't be chosen by her grace, perhaps she is too jaded and cracked at the edges compared to her children who still has their future ahead of themselves

previous parts:

rant , lynette meeting the tsaritsa

In Fonntaine much recent gossip has been keeping the city folks chattering and even those living outside of it. The newspapers are eagerly typing about the recent happenings and editors hurrying to work before publishing the news. It seems that another child from *the* House of Hearth had become an acolyte much to the shock of the general citizenry.

The chosen one was none other than Freminet the diving prodigy. Once the divers heard of the news and others in the field knew about it cheers erupted in the taverns.

Said person in question was not seen there.

Rumors have it that a certain pink-haired reporter has been pestering the House of Hearth for days now to get a glimpse of the person but to no avail.

Said person was inside his room, the wooden walls sheltering him from the chatter of the outside world. There he sat in the bed seemingly calm on the outside but on the inside was a different matter. His heart was beating so fast and he knew the slight flush on his cheeks betrayed his fake calm visage.

In his lap he held a book, it was old and worn yet well taken care of. All children in Fontaine around his age have had this book and read it. Freminet remembers the first time he got his hand on the book. He held it softly in fear he might damage the beautiful cover, in awe at the drawings and tales inside of it.

The tales of the creator. While it was a religious text it was watered down with illustrations accompanying it so children would be able to read and understand its contents.

The "old father" was adamant that every child was acquainted with the religious text of the creator and made them read many books on the subject. As they aged this book became unnecessary for when he had to read the thicker and more complex books but Freminet was unable to let go of this book.

Even now he loved to read the tales of acolytes long gone before the time of the oldest archon. The golden swirls and hues of the elements that would surround the creator being depicted in the pictures captured younger Freminet.

Yet now the tales that seemed almost like fiction were becoming true. Now he was an acolyte. He did not know if it terrified him or delighted him.

Would he be able to measure up? Was he enough? Why was he chosen when there were more brilliant and capable people (a selfish part wanted to reject the notion of another being chosen).

Another part of him was delighted. His heart beat as he felt himself being enveloped by warm waters. This was their creator's blessing and he was chosen to get it. Perhaps it would all be fine after all, Freminet thought as the warmth enveloped him in a comforting embrace.

. . .

Lynette pov:

Lynette blew on the hot tea as she took a sip. Besides her Lyney was working on- or well rather trying to work on a new magic trick. Lynette knew her brother and she also knew what caused his frustration as of recently. Yet trying to cheer him up would only be hypocritical of her.

"Maybe you should take a break?"

Lyney did not answer but rather made a huff and continued to tinker on his project. Lynette sighed.

Ever since Freminet was called to the creator's side Lyney has been in a tense mood. He became too frustrated with small mistakes and spent longer time honing his skills. Lynette was worried he would over-exhaust himself.

What could she say though to ease his heart?

Who the creator chose and when was unpredictable, many scholars has tried to see a pattern, see a reason, or even a hint of a formula to no avail. The creator did not discriminate or favor any specific group on whom they summoned and Lynette was witness to that as a member of the fatui and a recent acolyte. There was at least some hope for her brother if she and Freminet were summoned.

A selfish part of her that she would never listen to or admit was how she wanted her grace's attention only on her.

For now, she would wait and see hopefully soon their grace would summon Lyney soon.

. . .

Arlecchino pov:

The fire in the office crackled warming the room and its lone occupant. The letter she received laid on the table as she looked out the snowy scenery outside the window.

It seems another one of her children has become an acolyte.

From the reflection of the window Alrecchino could see her face was donning a smug smirk. She turned around and went back to her desk, a congratulations was in order and she would need to inform the Tsaritsa as well. Arlecchino would need to be delicate when informing her Majesty unless she heard the news already. She would have to tell the pair to be careful it would not do to have an envious archon's gaze.

She tried to erase her own envy from her gaze as well but the reflection in the window said otherwise.

. . .

Extra Freminet birthday bonus:

A package had arrived on the mail addressed to the House of Hearth. At first there was nothing off with the package, many had taken to send Freminet a birthday present as congratulatory gift for becoming an acolyte and gaining his favour. Freminet ignored those, he had no reason to accept or reply those superficial gifts. That was until he saw the symbol and lettering on the package and he almost dropped it in panic.

Now all three siblings were staring at the package in serious contemplation. It was rectangular and had simple packaging it looked rather unassuming as it laid on the table where they put it.

There was one neat card that gave away its significance. The symbol usually associated with the creator was neatly stamped and ancient lettering was on the card. What added further proof to the fact was that both Freminet and Lynette could feel the power of the creator, although faint, imbued within the package.

"Do we wait for father?" Freminet quietly said.

"I think it is your choice Freminet, this is addressed to you," Lyney answered.

"I agree with Lyney on this one, the creator gave this to you for a reason."

Freminet thought about it and a large part of him wanted to take the package and open it another screamed at him to wait, what right did he have to open a gift from the creator.

The curious more selfish part won over and he took hold of the package. The siblings held their breath as Freminet carefully opened the present taking care not to tear the wrapping.

What he did not expect was an inconspicuous book that looked like a fairytale book.

Oh.

Freminet blushed.

Lynette looked at it curiously and Lyney who had an idea had a teasing smile on his face.

Freminet held the book carefully as if anything might damage the book. It would be the best to find a good chest to store it in.

.

.

.

Deep into the night he would trace the illustrations and memorize the words as the moonlight shone on him. The wrapping paper and card were safely tucked inside of his desk.

[bwabys-scenarios]

Reunited

Illumi x Reader x ??????

Part 14

part 13

part 15

“We want to see her.”

Kurapika and Leorio stood outside the infirmary, hands on their weapons. Illumi leaned against the doorway, a cellphone to his ear.

“No. You have no reason to be here, so scurry off before I lose patience.”

The two had been trying to visit (Name) every hour since the exam ended, with little luck. Every time they approached the infirmary, Illumi was there standing guard. It didn’t take a nen expert to tell his aura was one of a predator, ready to strike if provoked.

“We’re her friends. Just let us see that she’s o-“

A rustling sound from inside the infirmary causes all of the three men to turn their heads.

“Kurapika, Leorio? Is that you?”

(Name) was trying to get out of bed, her legs wobbly and her stance unsteady. Illumi rushed in, pushing her down gently and shushing her whines.

“Easy, you’re injured.”

She tried her best to push his hands away, crying out in pain. “Don’t touch me! Just leave me alone!”

Kurapika walked in the unguarded doorway, holding his hands up in surrender.

“It’s okay, (Name), we’re right here. Just relax, okay?”

His words seemed to reach her, and she slowly leaned back onto the bed. Illumi noticed this, pushing away his possessiveness and finally allowing the two to enter the room. (Name) had drifted back to sleep, looking much more peaceful knowing that her friends were by her side.

“… I have some business to attend to. I will allow you to stay by her side until then.”

Illumi left without another word, pulling his cellphone out again.

Leorio let out a relieved sigh as the fearsome man left, finally able to see (Name).

She was in worse shape than they had thought she’d be in, bruises blooming along her stomach and chest. Leorio pulled up her shirt to check her over, his usual perverted mind only thinking about making sure his friend was okay.

“He hurt her pretty bad, she’s got broken ribs and internal bruising.”

He glanced over at an X-ray that had been taken of her body, seeing 2 broken ribs. Kurapika gripped her sheets, his eyes a brilliant shade of red behind his contact lenses.

“That bastard thinks he can beat her to near death then take her away from her friends? It’s unacceptable. How can we trust that that monster won’t hurt her even more?”

He pushed her hair back to feel her forehead. “She has a fever.” Kurapika remarked, pulling his warmed hand back.

“Shit.” Leorio sprinted off, returning with a cool rag. He placed it on her hand and caressed her cheek, frowning at the tears stains.

“You heard him talking on the phone earlier, yeah?” Leorio asked. Kurapika nodded, pulling a chair to the side of (Name)’s bed and sitting next to her.

“He’s planning on taking her to his home. Said she… owes him a favor?” Kurapika rubbed his temple. “I don’t care what she owes him, he can’t just kidnap her.”

“I agree, but there’s not much we can do to stop him…”

The two watch as (Name) stirs, her hand shooting out to grab Kurapika’s.

“Please don’t leave me alone… hate being…” she relaxed slightly, squeezing his hand as she slowly drifted off to sleep again. “Alone…”

“The fever must be disorientating her.” Leorio remarked, watching her labored breaths. Kurapika sighed, keeping his hand in her’s.

“Don’t worry, (Name). We won’t leave.”

———————

When (Name) finally awoke, she was surrounded by people. It took her at least 30 seconds to recognize who was standing around her.

Three of her friends, Kurapika, Leorio, and Gon were sat in chairs around her bed, while Illumi sat in the corner of the infirmary, watching her silently. She could also see several of the examiners milling about, some excitedly rushing over when they saw she had woken up.

“(Name)!”

Gon jumped into her arms, hugging her so tightly she could hardly breathe. Leorio had to tug the boy away, reminding him of your broken ribs.

“You’re awake.”

Kurapika looked down at her with tired eyes, his hand in her’s. He squeezed gently, smiling. (Name) rubbed her eyes, groaning at the pain in her chest.

“How long have I been out?”

“About two days.”

“WHAT!?”

(Name) sprung forward, leaping out of bed only to fall into Illumi’s chest. He’s sprinted across the room just in time to catch her, his strong arms keeping her in place. She glanced at her surroundings, becoming more panicked by the second.

“Where’s Killua?”

A silence fell over the room. (Name) looked between her three friends then back to Illumi. He stared down at her with a neutral expression, his hand on her hip.

“Illumi. Where is he?”

The tall man sighed, sitting her down and kneeling in front of her.

“He went back to our estate on Kukuoo Mountain.”

Gon stood, anger apparent across his face. “Tell her the entire story.”

Illumi glanced at him for just a moment, weighing his options. “He killed one of the applicants.”

(Name) blinked, starting up at him.

“Why?”

Illumi couldn’t answer her. He instead lifted her into his arms, holding onto her with a gentle yet firm touch.

“Doesn’t matter, you’re coming with me.”

His words were absolute in his mind, but (Name) struggled in his grasp.

“No!”

He tilted his head, squeezing her leg just enough to get her to stay still.

“What do you mean, ‘no’?”

She bit her lip and looked away from him, seeing the angered faces of her friends. “I’m not going anywhere with you! Not after you said all those horrible things to Killua.”

Oh, this was fascinating. For a moment he though she may not want to go with him because of the injuries he’d given her, but she hadn’t thought of herself. She’d thought of his brother.

“(Name), you have no idea what you’re taking about. Killua is the son of assassins, as am I. We don’t fraternize with the common folk, it only gets us and them hurt.”

He thought over his own words as he watched her eyes slowly drift to meet his.

“Then what do you want from me?”

Illumi raised an eyebrow. “Have you forgotten already? Silly girl, you still owe me a favor.”

She gave him a confused look. She remembered him helping her train when she still knew him as Gittarackur, but…

“You said if I told you who the people in the photo were, you’d train me.”

He put a finger to her lips, tutting softly. “You couldn’t complete the task, my dear. I asked for the identity of the two in the photo, and you could only name yourself.”

She groaned, a hand slapping against her forehead. “Seriously?” she let out an annoyed sigh, a pout pulling at her lips.

“What kind of favor do you have in mind?”

Kurapika stood, stepping towards the two. “(Name), you can’t seriously think you owe this man anything. Whatever he did for you isn’t worth being in debt to an assassin.”

Illumi regarded him with cold stare, his dark eyes boring holes into the blond haired boy. “It’s really none of your business, boy. (Name) owes me a favor and she is honorable enough to pay it back. Right?”

He glanced back down at (Name), who’s eyes were locked on his injured arm. He’d forgotten that Gon had broken it the previous day.

“… you’re hurt.”

Her worried voice made him wince. The pure kindness in her (e/c) eyes was enough to make the most stoic man swoon, and Illumi could barely hold himself back from pulling her into a kiss.

“You can thank him for that.”

He pointed to Gon, who was glaring at the black haired man. “And I’ll do it again if you don’t let her go.”

The two had a stare off before (Name) groaned. “Let me down, Illumi. I’ll do whatever you need to return the favor.”

(Name) ignored the numerous complaints from her friends, focusing on standing once Illumi had set her down.

“The favor I need is simple.”

Illumi kept a hand on her waist, a sign of his possessive nature. This didn’t go unnoticed by her two older friends.

“Just tell me already.” (Name) responded with a sigh, rubbing her temple. She was still tired, and could feel a headache coming on.

“All I ask is that you come with me to my home and let me train you. Once your training is complete, you may leave.”

(Name) raised an eyebrow. “Is that all?”

Illumi laughed, shaking his head. “No, though I will train you and ask for nothing in return, your favor is still to be determined. After all, you currently have so little skill that a favor from you would mean nothing to me.”

(Name) folded her arms over her chest. “Uh-huh. And what will my training consist of?”

Illumi glanced at the examiners in the room, who’s eyes told him he needed to keep quiet. “I’ll have to tell you that later.”

She nodded. “I’ll go with you.”

A smile pulls at Illumi’s lips, his aura relaxing ever so slightly.

“But…”

He frowned. “But?”

“I have a few conditions.”

Illumi sighed, sitting down in a chair beside her bed. She sat as well, Kurapika, Leorio, and Gon joining her on her bed.

“Alright. What are your conditions.”

(Name) cleared her throat. “First, you cannot force me to do anything that makes me uncomfortable, and that includes killing someone.”

Leorio nodded. ‘That condition would also cover him trying to do anything strange against her will.’ He thought, watching (Name) intently.

She watched to see if Illumi’s expression would change or if he would protest, but he didn’t.

“Anything else?”

(Name) nodded. “I won’t let you keep me away from my friends and family. I want to be able to visit or talk to them whenever I please.”

“Fine. Any other conditions?”

“Yes, one more.”

(Name) glanced at her friends, biting her cheek. “I’m meeting up with a close friend September 1st. My training will have to be done by then.”

Illumi shrugged. “Your training won’t take nearly that long. Okay, I agree to your conditions. With that being said…”

He stood, pulling out his cellphone once more. “I have to make a few more arrangements before we leave. Go ahead and tell your friends goodbye, and go to orientation.”

He left without another word. Once he was out of their line of sight, the three boys surrounded her. Kurapika leaned down to whisper into her ear, his hair tickling her cheek.

“(Name), did you say September 1st?”

His tone was unreadable, but by the look on his face she could tell this was important to him.

“Yes.”

“Did Hisoka tell you that, by chance?”

(Name)’s eyes widened, looking up at him in shock. “He… he did. He said my friend would be in York New September 1st.”

Kurapika mulled over this for a moment. “Well… I’ll be there September 1st as well. Let’s… meet up.”

“Of course!”

(Name) exchanged her number with the three, smiling and laughing. “I’ve never had so many boys ask for my number at once, I’m flattered!” She joked.

The boys all leave soon after, saying they had a plane to catch. “Hopefully we’ll see you at the Zoldyck Estate. Be safe, (Name).”

With that, she is left alone with the examiners.

“Hello, Miss (Name).”

Chairman Netero approached her bed, holding a black folder. “Here is your Hunter License.”

She took the folder and opened it tenderly, her jaw dropping open. It was a rather simple thing, looking almost like a credit card. Her name was printed on the front neatly, showing that it was indeed hers.

“Because of your current state, we will do a short orientation here. Make sure to listen carefully.

——————

(Name) sighed in relief as the orientation ended, stretching her tired limbs. She looked down at her phone, unlocking the screen to see three new messages from unknown numbers.

‘Hello, this is Kurapika. We are leaving the city soon, currently in the airport. Please be safe and don’t be afraid to call if you are in need.’

‘Yo, it’s Leorio! Can you put a heart next to my contact? Thanks!!’

‘When orientation is over, call me.’

(Name) giggled at her friends messages, adding them to her contacts. Kurapika’s contact was now Pretty Boy🫶, and Leorio’s was Silly <3.

“Hmm, wonder who this message is from.”

She followed the instruction from the third message, the line only ringing twice before a familiar voice answered.

“Ah, just in time. I just finished arranging our ride. I’ll be there to pick you up in just a moment.”

Illumi’s voice rang out of her phone, causing (Name) to frown.

“How did you get my number?”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want the answer to, (Name).”

Click.

“Did he… did he hang up on me?”

(Name) huffed, throwing her phone into her bag. Another notification sounded through the fabric, but she ignored it.

Illumi was in the room quicker than she thought he would be, holding a small shopping bag.

“Here, I bought you a new outfit to wear to my estate. Get changed and we can go.”

He left, standing just outside the door. She could hear him audibly tapping his foot, so (Name) didn’t waste any time getting dressed.

The outfit was a simple knee length white dress, with tights and a purple cardigan to keep her warm. She looked herself over in the mirror with a smile.

(Name) didn’t want to think about how he knew her exact size, instead walking out of the infirmary slowly as to not aggravate her injuries.

Illumi’s eyes softened ever so slightly when they fell on her figure. His hands reaches out to fix her cardigan, smoothing out the fabric.

“You look nice.”

She blushed lightly, shying away from his touch. “Thank you, Illumi.”

The walk through the Hunter Exam Hotel was peaceful, besides the examiners watching Illumi with a mix of interest and caution. (Name) caught Menchi staring at her with pursed lips, as if she wanted to tell her something.

When they finally reached the parking lot, (Name) was shocked to see a limousine waiting for them. Illumi offered his arm her, which she took gratefully.

“Master Illumi, and Miss (Name), I will be your driver today.”

A plain looking older man opened the door, and closed it once (Name) had stepped in. Illumi slid in from the other side, his eye on (Name) the entire time.

“Once we reach the city we’ll stop to eat dinner. I heard you haven’t had anything today.”

(Name) nodded, clutching her painfully empty stomach.

“There are a few refreshments to tide you over until then.”

He handed her a fun sized bag of (fav chips) and a (fav soda). She accepted them gingerly, thanking him.

He watched her sip on the soda and munch of the chips intently, so intently that it freaked her out. “You didn’t do anything to this did you?”

Illumi tilted his head. “(Name), if I wanted to drug you I would just shove whatever I wanted into your mouth or injected you. Don’t worry and enjoy the ride.”

She shivered at the nonchalant way he’d just described drugging her and finished her snack. He took her trash and tossed it into a bin, watching as she settled into the soft leather seats.

“Tired?”

(Name) nodded, a hand slipping down to her chest, then stomach. “I’m aching all over, and being in a moving car-I mean limousine doesn’t help.”

He hummed, absentmindedly reaching out to caress her bruised stomach. She tensed immediately, giving him a confused stare.

“I’ll have the butlers prepare some pain killers and a bubbled bath for you when we arrive home. Until then, try to relax. Tensing up will only aggravate your wounds.”

‘I’m tensing up because your caressing my stomach like I’m pregnant…’ she thought, hoping her stare would deter him. It didn’t, he continued to gently rub her until the limousine came to a stop.

“Master Illumi, we have arrived.”

————

The restaurant was huge, bigger than any restaurant (Name) had seen before. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, lighting up the otherwise dark interior.

(Name) reached out and held onto Illumi’s sleeve, huddling closer to him. He talked to a waiter, who quickly seated them.

“Master Illumi, what a pleasure to have you here! We’ll bring out some drinks soon. Is champagne alright?”

Illumi glances (Name) who shakes her head. “I’ll take some sweet tea, thank you.”

“Champagne is fine with me.”

The waiter scurries off to fulfill the orders. (Name) scans the menu, her jaw dropping by the second. There wasn’t a single item she’d be able to afford!

“Don’t worry about being able to pay, I’ve got it. This restaurant is run by our family.”

(Name) placed menu down to see illumi staring at her again, his cheek in his hand. “Have you decided what you want?”

“Uh, yeah, I’ll just have the (steak/salad/grilled chicken/salmon) and some pasta.”

He nodded, raising a hand for just a moment before a waiter appeared. “Are you ready to order, Master Illumi?”

“Yes, the lady will have ____, and I will have one of everything.”

(Name) raised an eyebrow at this, watching as the waiter wrote down their order and left. “One of everything?”

“I do a lot of moving, need extra food for energy.”

(Name) eyes scanned down his body, stopping at his arms. They were thin, but obviously extremely muscular. He was able to carry her effortlessly as well. Oh wait, his arm…

“Illumi, is your arm feeling okay?”

The man peered down at the worried girl, who bit her lip anxiously. He raised his arm, the area where Gon had squeezed a blotchy red.

“Ah, I mean it hurts but it will be fine. I’ll have a physician look at it once we’re home.”

(Name) took his injured arm gently, her fingers tracing over the reddened skin. “I’m sorry you’re in pain, Illumi. I wish I could help.”

Illumi couldn’t help but use his other hand to caress her cheek, his eyes softening. He couldn’t find the right words to say to her. She didn’t flinch at his touch this time, but didn’t lean into it either. Instead her eyes were on his hurt arm.

A shift in her aura caused Illumi to pause. It was being controlled again, concentrated around his arm.

Although not much a change was shown, the redness of his skin began to fade enough for Illumi to notice. He could see sweat beading down her face, eyes concentrated on his arm.

“(Name).”

Her concentration was broken, and her aura relaxed. She looked up at him with a questioning look. “Yes?”

Although not much had changed, his pain was gone. (Name) didn’t seem to know what she was doing, her need for him to be in less pain having been so strong she’d been able to focus her nen into one point to heal him.

Illumi leaned forward and placed a kiss on the back of her hand, her face heating up significantly at this action.

“You’re an extraordinary girl.”

“Ehem.”

The two turned to see a sister carrying their food, two trailing behind with the rest of Illumi’s orders. The first entrees were set in front of them, with fresh drinks placed onto the table.

“Please enjoy.”

—————

(Name) could barely contain her sighs of content as she dug in, not caring about anyone watching her. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she was. During the exam she’d eaten, but not enough to really fill her, so she’d been running on half empty the entire exam.

Illumi ate as well, periodically glancing up and asking how she was enjoying it.

“Ish really good!!”

He would smile, then go back to eating yet another entree. By the time they had both finished, nearly an hour had passed. (Name) leaned back, her eyes drifting closed as the waiter returned.

“Would the couple like any desserts?”

(Name) shot up, her cheeks red. “Couple, we’re n-“

“Yes, a piece of chocolate cake for the lady.”

(Name) glared daggers at Illumi, a pout forming on her lips. The waiter didn’t seem to notice, once again leaving to get their order.

She folded her arms. “Why did you not correct him?”

Illumi shrugged. “It’s best not to accept or deny being in a relationship when you’re someone like me. Gossip spreads fast, and the best way to stop it is to be indifferent. If we both started denying it, they’d assume we were trying to keep it a secret.”

(Name) nodded. “Oh, okay, that’s understandable. So do you bring girls to restaurants often?”

He laughs, leaning his cheek against his hand. “No, never. You’re the only girl that wasn’t family I’ve ever taken out on a…”

He stopped mid sentence. “On a date?” (Name) replied in a teasing voice.

He rolled his eyes. “No, I’d say this is more of… a business outing.”

“Okay, let’s talk business then. What is my training going to be?”

Illumi pinched her cheek. “All in due time, (Name).”

——————

(Name) stabbed a fork into her cake, taking the first bite and smiling. “Oh wow, this is amazing! Illumi, you have to try it!”

She offered her plate to him, having set her fork down on it. “You can use your f-“

He ignored her, instead picking up her fork and taking a piece of cake to his lips. He placed it into his mouth, nodding. “It is good, if a bit too sweet for my taste.”

(Name) stands, covering her face with her hand. “I-I have to use the restroom.”

With that she ran off, leaving her cake behind. Illumi watched her go, the fork still in his mouth. He ran his tongue along the prongs, tasting the faint flavor of her chapstick.

———————

(Name) closed the stall, sitting on the toilet with her head in her hands. ‘Does he know that that was an indirect kiss? Ahh…’

She groaned, before feeling a vibration in her side. She reached down and pulled out her phone.

Grumpy Pants: Heard you took exam. You pass?

Grumpy Pants: Hello?

The first message had been sent three hours ago. (Name) quickly responded, typing fast.

Strawberries: Yes, I passed! I’m sorry I didn’t respond sooner, I was kinda… kidnapped? Lol

She sent the message, giggling to herself. His reply was quick.

Grumpy Pants: Where are you? Have they hurt you? Is it man that Hisoka told me about? Do I need to get you?

(Name) smacked her forehead. She’d forgotten he didn’t have a sense of humor in these things.

Strawberries: No, I’m fine. I just owe him a favor. The only time he hurt me was during the exam, and I can’t really be upset about that.

Grumpy Pants: I’m upset about that. Very.

She held her phone to her chest. It felt nice to have him worry about her, but she also felt guilty.

Strawberries: I’ll share my location with you at all times, and I’ll send pictures to show I’m okay everyday, does that make you feel less anxious?

He took a moment to respond.

Grumpy Pants: … a little. Still angry you took exam without telling me.

She rolled her eyes, typing back a quick reply.

Strawberries: If I did tell you, you would have stopped me. Listen, I gotta go, we’re at a restaurant right now. I’ll call you when I’m alone. Looove youuu~

She giggled at her last statement, knowing it would piss him off. Every time she said soft things, he’d get red and storm off.

Grumpy Pants: … be careful. Stupid girl.

With that, she left the stall and washed her hands. (Name) splashed some water on her face, sighing. “All right, let’s get back out there.”

————

The so-called grumpy pants folds his arms, his phone resting on the desk in front of him. He thinks back to her message, a pang in his heart.

“Stupid girl. Says that so easy.”

He slides his phone open again, rereading her messages over and over again, scrolling up further to see the random pictures of her day to day life, even a few of them together.

“Just 8 months… see you then.”

He places his phone down again, standing up and exiting the room. He closes the door, a puddle of blood leaking out through the bottom.

TAGLIST

@tsukilover11 @mercyboluthecrazychicken

If you’d like to be tagged in future updates, please comment a ❤️

[thecampjuicebox]

What if Gale and Tav (romantically involved or interested in each other) got into an argument over if or not he should use the orb to destroy the elder brain and it leads to this exchange:

Gale: If I must use the orb to keep this world safe, then so be it; I'll die to keep you safe.

Tav: *no longer able to keep their tears hidden* I don't want someone who will die for me! *clutches Gale to themself as if afraid that he'll disappear if they let go* I want someone who will live for me. Please...

I've been itching for some more Mr. Dekarios content eeeeeeee this is gonna hurt so GOOD

Someone To Live For

Pairing: Gale x Tav(gn)

Rating: 18+, Minors DNI

POV: 3rd Person

Warnings: Angst, talk of death, lots of crying, fluff, game spoilers

Dinner around the fire was awfully quiet that night. The only sounds that broke the somber silence being the crackle of flames against wood, soft chewing, and silverware clinking against dented silver plates. The troubling news thrust upon the group just a few hours prior weighed heavy on each companion's heart, especially Gale's. His mentor and trusted friend, Elminster, paid an unexpected visit to camp. Told Gale of an opportunity to earn Mystra's forgiveness. His words were soft, almost a whisper. "I'm here on behalf of Mystra. The message and the charge I bring you are hers." Tav could feel the guilt bubble up in Elminster's voice in that moment. A sadness they'd never felt before. This had to be bad. "You know where you went wrong, Gale. I trust you've told your fellow traveler here the nature of your ills." Gale shifted in an uneasy manner, tossing his weight from one foot to the other nervously. "I.. Can't say that so far I've volunteered the entire truth."

Tav's stomach sank. Little beads of sweat bubbled up on their forehead and in their eyebrows, threatening to drip into their already burning eyes. "What's going on here?" Tav questioned meekly, their fingers and bottom lip trembling. "Gale?" No response. Just a lowering of Elminster's eyes. "You two have much to discuss after I have taken my leave." He paused his words with a heavy sigh before continuing on. "In short, Gale - through his own doing - has become a living explosive that could wipe from this world this very gathering, and much more besides. For his folly, Mystra forsook him, but now she has decreed he is to be given a chance of redemption." Another small sigh. Tav's eyes shifted from the ancient wizard to Gale, curiosity sizzling in the back of their throat. Gale had briefly explained his dealings with Mystra. Talked of the Netherese orb nestled in his chest, just beside his ever beating heart, and how it needed to consume magic to remain sated. Gale's eyes locked onto Elminster with surprise.

"Mystra would consider.. Forgiveness?" His tone wavered as he leaned toward Elminster, eyebrows raising. The wizard closed his eyes for a moment and spoke softly "She would consider what she considers to be forgiveness. Mystra is aware of the misadventures that have befallen you both. She knows of your strife with the Absolute." Tav couldn't hold back any longer. So many questions buzzed around in their skull like an angry bee's nest. "If the goddess is aware of our situation, why are we facing these threats alone?" The ancient wizard nodded at Tav's question and placed a kind hand on their shoulder. "The very purpose of my presence - in a roundabout sort of way. You must know that the Absolute is more dangerous than you can possibly conceive." An irritated Tav crossed their arms over their chest and huffed. "Yeah, no shit." Gale reaches out to slap their shoulder with the back of his hand and they shot him a look sharp as daggers. It's his fault they were in this mess in the first place. It's his fault Tav feels like they, themselves, could explode at any moment.

Elminster continued, his voice lowering once more. "That is why I have come here to charge you, Gale, with its destruction. it is Mystra's belief that only you can." More questions filled the space behind Tav's eyes. The tadpole wriggled in irritation at mention of the Absolute and Tav winced. "Gale alone? How so?" A question Tav would grow to regret. Gale's lids lowered and his gaze dropped to the ground for a moment, lifting back up to meet Elminster. "The orb.." he muttered. "Precisely." Elminster turned to Tav, eyebrows knitting together at their obvious disdain for the current conversation. One hand lifted to stroke the end of his wiry beard before turning back to Gale. "Mystra has granted me the power to stop the clock, as it were, on the orb's rush to overpower you. Instead, you will be able to unleash it's lethal combustion at will." Fear rose in Tav's chest, their heart thumping at what felt like a dangerous pace. A hand flew out to find Gale's.

"You must find the Heart of the Absolute, whatever that may be, and use yourself as the catalyst that will burn it from this world." Tears stung in Tav's eyes and they wiped them with the back of their right hand, the other still clutching Gale's tightly. In a burst of confidence, Tav raised their voice at the ancient wizard, spittle spraying involuntarily from their lips. "That's monstrous! You're tasking him to kill himself!" Gale sighed quietly and gave Tav's hand a gentle squeeze. "He's not.. But it seems that Mystra is." His face twisted into a scowl, jaw clenching and unclenching between breaths. Tav wanted to cry in that very instant. To scream, grab Elminster by the shoulders and shake the gold from his pockets and the brain in his skull. How could he say such words so plainly? Surely it pained him as much as it pained Tav. Not to mention Gale.. Poor, sweet Gale.

Elminster's eyes fell to the ground and his arms came up to embrace his own torso, holding that position for a moment before reaching for Gale's free hand. He took it in his, squeezing it in a way a father would squeeze the hand of his son with reassurance. "It brings me no pleasure saying this, my friend, but such is Mystra's will. Yours must be the sacrifice that will undo the Absolute. And for your sacrifice, you will be redeemed - such is Mystra's promise." He shakes his head slowly. "With that, I have said my sorry piece, and need only to bestow unto thee the charm I was bid." Tav took a step back from the two wizards, fingers fumbling with each other to keep themselves busy as they watched. Elminster's hand raised into the air, a flurry of purple weave fluttering from his fingertips as he spoke the words "My'Nahastra Mystra'Ryl. E'Deelion Thras'Anas'Tthra." Gale winced as the orb marking on his chest glowed and sizzled, his head turning to the side and eyes squeezing shut at the strange sensations.

"It is done. Both charge and charm have been committed into your care." The ancient wizard's words directed at Tav now, his finger pointing toward Gale as he spoke. "To you, I commit into care Gale himself. I count on you to shepherd him well on this strangest of journeys." Through tears, Tav simply nodded. They wiped their eyes with their sleeve and turned to leave the scene before they lost their composure completely, boots shuffling against the dirt and stone of the campsite. Still, Elminster spoke. His words a bit louder to make sure Tav could still hear him, even though they were almost out of sight now. "Like moons make swell and wane the nescient seas, so too the sky-strewn gods obtain the tidal fates of mortal days. And yet - a notion born in lonely hours - come ebb, come flow, come all that is beyond the breadth of our dominion: be a moon unto yourself. Even the waves of fate can break upon the shores of will. Farewell, my friend." With a puff of dark smoke, Elminster disappeared into the afternoon air as quickly as he had arrived. Gale sighed and palmed his eyes for a moment to clear the threat of tears, mumbling quietly to himself. "Farewell, Elminster. I'm glad she chose you."

Tav sat themselves on a nearby rock, hands covering their now wet eyes. They sobbed and cursed into the air, tears hot like lava streaming down their warm cheeks. How could Gale agree to such a disastrous fate? They despised Mystra for such a request. Why Gale even sought forgiveness from the baneful goddess in the first place, Tav couldn't understand. Why beg for any attention from the wretch, especially after all she'd put him through? Cast him out, stripped him of his position of her chosen, and now had the audacity to preposition him to blow himself up for her forgiveness. Bile burned in the back of their throat at the mere thought. There must be another way. A gentle hand rested on Tav's shoulder and they gasped in surprise, quickly wiping the remaining tears from their cheeks before looking up at the figure in front of them. Gale stood there, lips curved into a frown. "I'm sorry.."

...

Weeks passed now, Tav and Gale growing closer and closer each day they traveled together. The immanent threat of the orb still lingers in the back of Tav's mind. How they'll stop Gale from needing to use it in any circumstance. The shadow curse poses a new threat to their wellbeing now, and with each step closer to Moonrise, Tav can feel the impending doom grow near. With a deep sigh, they settle into their newly acquired spot in Gale's tent, legs outstretched and crossed in a relaxed position after such a long day. Gale sits to their right, nose deep in a tome he'd picked up at the Last Light Inn. An interesting read about the history and making of honey mead. Tav rests their tired head against his shoulder, eyelids fluttering as a toe-curling yawn forces its way in and out of their lungs. Gentle fingers tap a random rhythm against Tav's thigh and Gale sets his book down to encircle his lover in his arms tightly, his nose buried into the soft locks of hair. He inhales deeply. Their scent invades his nose and he exhales happily.

"Has your plan.. Changed at all?" Tav mumbles, eyes opening now to watch as Gale shifts uncomfortably in his seat. Their question perplexes him. "My plan?" he asks, adjusting their position so Tav is sat on his lap now. Sweet fingers brush a strand of deep brown hair from Gale's eyes. "To use the Orb, my love." Tav sighs. A twisting feeling in their gut tells them they may already have their answer as Gale scrunches his nose and tightens his grip on Tav's hips. Near bruising fingers knead at the flesh there and Tav places their hands on his stubbly cheeks, forcing him to look them in the eyes. "Gale.. Answer me." The wizard blinks at his lover for a moment, catching his bottom lip between his teeth. He can't speak. Can't muster the courage to tell them the truth that he does, in fact, intend to continue with the plan to use the orb. With a frown, Tav presses their forehead to Gale's, bottom lip quivering. "Please tell me it isn't true.. Please.." their voice cracks as tears threaten their eyes.

"I can't lie to you." Gale finally speaks. Large hands rub soothing circles at the small of Tav's back. A hint of anger bites at Tav's thoughts, evolving into pure rage in a matter of seconds. They yank away from Gale, standing and quickly storming out of the tent and into the cold night air. Gale blinks slowly at the sudden change of attitude and shuffles to his own feet. "Tav, come back. Let's talk about this." he calls, shoving the tent flaps open and squinting his eyes into the darkness. The air is bitterly cold. A heavy shiver rattles Gale's spine as he steps out and toward their trembling partner. Tav stands in front of the pile of smoldering wood in the middle of the circle of tents, arms crossed, head resting against their own shoulder as they mull over their words. They roll their tongue behind their teeth and turn to the wizard, face red. "Talk about what, Gale? Talk about your willingness to just.. To just.. Explode?!" Gale is taken aback by the venom in their voice and he raises an eyebrow, throwing his hands up into the air in frustration.

"You wanna talk about your willingness to leave me?" Tav's voice breaks and Gale's heart goes along with it. The metaphorical steam billowing from his ears and nostrils settles and he reaches for Tav's body, Tav swatting reluctantly as his hands as the take short steps away from him. "Tav, please.." he begs. His own resolve falters as Tav continues to back away from him into the dark. The heavy scent of burning wood and smoke assaults his nostrils as he feels around in the dark for Tav's figure, stumbling over a log and toppling into a rigid body with a thud. The air falls still as they stand for a moment, waiting for each other to speak. Finally Gale breaks and he reaches for Tav's cold fingers, intertwining them with his. He gives them a gentle tug toward his warm body, encircling them in the tightest embrace he can muster. "Speak to me..". he mumbles into their pointed ear, breath steaming in the frigid air.

"You're going to do it, aren't you?" Tav asks again as they nuzzle their face into Gale's chest, the velvet of his robe comforting and soft against their cheeks. A hand reaches up to smooth down Tav's messy hair as Gale ponders his next words carefully. Sure his true intentions would fall on deaf ears right now. He's in love with Tav. He'd do anything to keep them safe. To make sure they make it out of this alive. His heart thumps in his chest, blood near boiling with anxiety as he places his hands on Tav's shoulders and tugs them away from him, forcing eye contact. "You know that.. I love you, right?' Tav's stomach drops. They nod slowly, eyebrows knitting together tightly as their bottom lip quivers. "Of course I do.." Oh gods, here it comes. Heat rises in their throat and they swallow the lump harshly. Gale inhales deeply through his nose as he prepares his words, tugging Tav close to him again to avoid having to look them in the eye. He can't bear to watch them cry.

"If I must use the orb to keep this world safe, then so be it; I'll die to protect you." The damn breaks, tears cascading down Tav's cheeks in an uncontrollable stream of salty waterfalls. Their grip on Gale tightens now, fingers grasping at the back of his robes as if he'd vanish in their arms in that very instant. Their voice cracks and trembles through their sobs, heart skipping in their chest. "I don't want someone who will die for me!" their voice raises to a strained yell. Fists raise from around Gale's waist and to his chest, pounding weakly against it with saddened rage. Gale's eyes fall closed, a tear of his own trickling down his cheek and into his beard. His hands snap up to grasp at Tav's wrists swiftly stopping their, albeit weak, assault on his ribs. Their eyes meet his and they finally fall apart, knees buckling beneath them as they force out their next words. "I want someone who will live for me.."

Gale kneels down, face nuzzling lovingly into Tav's stomach, his hands resting on either side of their thighs. With a heavy sigh, Tav tangles their fingers in the wizard's hair, sniffling and blinking tears away from their long lashes. Gentle fingers rub soothing circles into where they lie and Gale speaks softly, voice partially muffled by the way his forehead rests on Tav's pelvis now.

"I'd die and live a thousand times if it meant eternity by your side."

[pinkrifle]

Hello ml!<3 i was wondering if you could do yandere team stan and craig x reader platonic please! Like they see reader as a little sister!^^

hi lovely! i do not take SP requests anymore buttttf this seems really easy, so i should be able to do this !

saying this rn i’m so sorry if this is short #_# <\3 i’m sorry if i missed a character or two aswell!

only team stan right now as i can’t really think of much to do for team craig, sorry once more! D:

Stan Marsh -

a little careful not to bring you around his friends too much.. especially cartman AND COVERS UR EARS EVERYTIME ONE OF THEM SAYS A DIRTY JOKE LOL (no matter how old you are!1!1!)

would 100% go off on anyone who tries to mess with you (and Kyle would probably join him too) , ya don’t F with family, folks!

trades his lunch or snacks at lunch to give them to you!! loves seeing the look on your face when you get a snack size pack of skittles. Even if it’s super small your face always lightens up and he just laughs and feels very proud of himself after

he makes sure shelly isn’t too mean to you, let’s her rip on him instead if she gets a little aggressive with you (she wouldn’t really go that far dw <3)

Eric Cartman -

GETS YOU IN TROUBLE ALL THE TIMMEEEE

(don’t worry he always does something in return after. begrudgingly and hesitantly.) (he just feels bad)

brings you on all of his little dangerous adventures but makes sure you stay safe all the time,, if you get hurt EVER he’s SOOO dramatic. begging for a hospital!

if any of his friends (aka rest of team stan) dare to say anything to you (they don’t cuz they don’t care) he will 100% be dramatic ALLO OVER AGAIN, threatens to beat up his friends (he can’t rlly) and is nice to you for the rest of the day!!

steals cute stuff from other classmates and brings them to you, steals snacks from people and brings them to you!! probably stole some snacks from stan that he planned to give to his own little sibling

Kenny McCormick -

tones down his dirty jokes when with you, and also does not let you around his friends LMAO

loves hanging out with you, karen, and kevin! at first he was really hesitant on stuart and carol having you (like with karen) but loved you so much after your born!!

protects u FOR LIFE. is basically also your guardian angel when he’s in his mysterion costume! when your in the foster home thing(?) he’s visiting you like crazy and bringing you treats aswell. makes sure you never get beaten up in the basement by the parents

loves whenever you show him something you like. Anime? cartoons? etc? your not cringe to him at all! he likes weird shit too, trust. Watches and plays everything you show him <3

a video game MASTER! having any trouble with a boss fight? he’s got it. Cant find an item? he already has it and is gonna trade it to you!!

Kyle Broflovski -

takes care of you and Ike RELIGIOUSLY. love you two both to death!

plays dolls/action digs with you even if your in middle school or whatever (in the event he’s in HS or whatever) , he doesn’t want his little siblings to ever grow up! brings a tear to his eye.

every Hanukkah he makes sure you get the best presents and NEVER lets your presents break, always has them in pristine condition ! hates seeing you sad , it affects him more than he’d like to admit.. he also gives you his hat to wear when your a little down!

bakes and cooks with you, he’s pretty okay at cooking but if your bad it’s no problem! he’s willing to teach you the 3 dishes he knows how to make LMAO. If your better than him at cooking? EVEN BETTER, teach him! but he’ll be a little embarassed to learn stuff from his little sibling

having trouble with homework? he’s on it! he won’t let you cheat on anything, but he’ll help you and guide you to the right answer.

Never let’s people talk shit about you or make fun of you, he will fr fight his friends if they dare to do that.

heya! thanks for requesting, i haven’t been really willing to write lately but this got me off my booty!!! i really should open my tf2 and scp foundation reqs.

sorry again i couldn’t do team craig! i hope these were good enough, feel free to request this again some time if i’m ever active again! <3

[rosemariad]

Supernatural season 14

Oh boy!

So Alt-Michael has taken over Dean’s body and absconded to parts unknown - what an unprecedented plot twist who could’ve possibly seen this coming, certainly not Dean, the one guy who doesn’t trust angels and has a history of being short-sighted & making shitty deals.

Since this is season 14, and there’s only 1 more season after this, I presume Dean will never grow out of these bad qualities 🤦🏾‍♀️, so…moving on.

Check you out Sam, leading your new band of hunters, like some sort of Hunters Incorporated©️. I’m glad Sam gets to spend more time with his mom, but he won’t let her take care of him 😔😭

Was it me or did that Michael & Anael scene feel like Jensen x Danneel role play 🤣 - at least when he caressed her face. Like really bro? I don’t think the scene would’ve played out that way if the actors weren’t actual husband and wife 🤣

Shoutout to Supernatural for keeping Mark Pellegrino employed lol 😂😂 cuz I don’t see Why the fuck he’s still around if the devil is supposedly dead - wasn’t Mark P. also doing 13 reasons why around this time?? Anywho, Nick, luci’s longtime vessel, isn’t dead???? What does Nick have that jimmy novak didn’t (or literally any other angel vessel for that matter) — plot convenience? That must be it 🤣🤣🤣

Cas honey, why are you letting these demons beat you up? Cuz Dean is gone on your watch? cuz im sorry there’s no way im believing Cas was weaker than all them demons. That’s also plot convenience IDGAF!

After yet another demon-hunter showdown, Mary and Bobby are spotted sharing a beer & flirting…I wish John were around to see this AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!

Oh Jack, poor guy feels worthless for having no power. He should’ve been like ‘Castiel what’s it like being worthless?’ since that was Castiel’s arc for a minute too, which again fuck Supernatural for. Cas had like 1 badass moment last season when he fried Donatello’s brains but that’s it. Meanwhile Nick totally called Cas out, bringing up Jimmy again and driving that guilt straight into Castiel.

Alt-Michael is recruiting?? Brief Dean cameo in 14x02, you give him like 2 lines, wow 😒. Even Sam got more screen time in 5x22 swan song…but Dean suddenly comes back at the end of the episode???? Nah, bullshit!

Also lol karma for Dean in 14x02 when Jack is like, ‘Dean doesn’t matter’, Michael has to be stopped. Ahahahahahahaha. He was the so called pragmatist when it came to Jack, now it’s Jack’s turn. Castiel’s face when jack said it tho…

Dean got stabbed by AU Kaia? What?? Oh look yet another instance of Dean running away from his problems and pain and being a dick to Kaia (though she's technically a different person) again! Good for you tho AU Kaia for giving Dean a taste of his own medicine and telling him off.

Bobby leave Sam alone, I’m here for his captain my captain era. The lovable giant is doing his best!

So some necromancer gets away from Jack & Dean but we’re not gonna see her again, right??? There’s just a little over 30 episodes left in the show at this point. They probably didn’t know that at the time though.

Shoutout to the devil for basically condemning his child to die from a lack of grace :/ while Cas was able to survive (cuz plot convenience most likely) Jack as a nephilim was unable to do so. Gabe’s spare angel grace couldn’t help (I wonder if he were still alive in canon, if it would’ve made a difference. Oh well).

So this is where Cas made the deal with the empty (yes I know about it, how doesn’t everyone that shit went viral the very night it originally aired amidst the infamous nail-biting 2020 election week), tumblr is still serving the memes to this day.

Cas doesn’t want the Winchesters to know cuz Dean 😭 idc, if I was Jack I would NOT keep that secret. Dean would know IMMEDIATELY.

I think more angels died, but heaven hasn’t fallen yet…right? They keep coming back to that. Hm…

Nick’s arc is…bleh. Pretty sure in his desperation he just brought Luci back from the empty…welp. I guess when you’re an archangel who was predestined by God to fight in a fateful epic battle against your big bro, you just get certain perks in the afterlife 😒

Sam doesn’t want Alt-Charlie to go when its like bro! She. Is. Not. Charlie!!! For fuck sake guys SMH, let her live her fucking life! God forbid she want to run away to fucking safety and not die bloody like her counterpart 🤬

Bobby and Mary run off to a cabin for weeks on end 😏😂 to recuperate, sure Mary 🤣

Garth is back! Working as a spy for the Winchesters, oh dear Lord no. I know he makes it to season 15 but maaaan I don't like this….

The nerve of Dean to challenge Alt-Kaia to either hand over the weapon or kill her. What if she just killed him? Also, can't they just replicate the weapon for their own uses? All they would need to do is ensure they're using the same materials Kaia did when she forged the weapon in her own world.

How many hits to the head is Sam supposed to fuckin' take? I feel like it's happened more in this season alone than the entire show so far? He should probably be dead at this point 🤣

Jack got taken, oh no! why didn't Michael kill him? To take him as a ward? Seriously? Whatever.

And it turns out the past episode was a long con to get Dean right where Alt-Michael wanted him. I know there was a catch to him letting Dean go in 14x02.

So Alt-Michael chose to trap Dean in…contentment? With Pamela Barnes? And they weren't even a couple, just friends. She called him out on something.

Why not have him be with a real girlfriend of his, like Lisa or even Cassie? I’m supposed to believe Dean's dream is an unsuccessful bar living out his days with a platonic lady friend??? Really??? Bullshit!

John returns for the final time to go back to 2003? Okay. His hair is cut and grayish. Lol so I’m gonna see that as John gained some weight (from food/drink or muscle training idc) and dyes his hair black but the root are grey and come out every so often 🤣 but yay JDM I wish you had been in more episodes! Oh well.

So no one’s gonna talk about:

a) Adam’s existence

b) Bobby X Mary or how Bobby essentially replaced john as the father/husband by getting involved with Mary AND being a surrogate father to Sam & Dean (with a clear preference to Dean but whatever)

I’d care more about Sam & John’s convo if we had more time with them together on screen. But it was nice to see them squash their beef.

Dean & John’s convo was faaaar too brief. But insightful to their relationship. John wanted dean to have a family, echoing his wishes for his eldest in season 1 in his convo w/ Sam.

But Dean was like I have a family 🥺 my emotions!

Back to the Michael bullshit – a fight with a gorgon fucked up his containment so he literally broke out of Dean's body and killed all the hunters who were conveniently at the bunker when they brought an unconscious Dean back there. Even poor unfortunate Maggie. For a second I thought Mary would be there since Maggie mentioned she was on her way back but no, he ended up possessing Rowena.

Then they bring the old angel torture device of disabling our heroes' ability to breathe, like in the season 5 premiere, making them blind (that's new) and making them hurt.

Jack gets his chance to take Michael down, and takes his grace??????

Oh Sam bby, it's not your fault. Those people were doomed no matter what. TBH I'm surprised they lasted this long. But cuz he's a Winchester and he was raised by Dean & they've rubbed off each other too much at this point (nobromo), he decides to focus on yet another case even when Dean himself isn't willing since big bro has pointed out they have done 3 cases back to back. They're not the young men they used to be lol.

Cas goes with Sam to a milkshake town and given his legendary levels of awkwardness he's immediately seen and called out for his inherent queerness by the townsfolk (in all senses of the word).

Aw Sam wants to stay, ofc he does. This town is simple and peaceful. He could use some of that. Too bad this place is making people's heads explode.

This is why we can't have nice things.

Ah subtle there Supernatural, making Jack, a Nephilim who's the offspring of the devil himself choose between angel and devil food cake 🤣 Dean why would you put him in that position?

Cas why you gotta be snitching on Sam to your boy bestie like that 🤣 – typical boyfriend tomfoolery

Oftentimes since Jack started in this show, he's felt like an intern and 14x16 is one of those times. They don't wanna bring jack along so they think to leave him alone doing chores. Good Lord.

Oh honey Sam you didn't have to tell the sheriff you're not FBI, just stick to the monster stuff. He knows what's up.

And Jack sweetie pie you don't need to impress those kids. He should be hanging out with kids his own age. Just Jack with a bunch of babies 🤣. So cute! My headcanon is that he can actually talk to them. At least then it wouldn't have ended with a stabbing. Thankfully he cleaned up his mess, even though the local kids are terrified of him. It’s a shame he doesn’t have friends. If only he was allowed to have Claire in his life.

They finally resolved the Nick storyline (I hope) by killing him off via Jack but Mary is not happy. She’s concerned. She’s been concerned about him the whole frickin episode since he sassed her as they tried setting up a game night with Dean.

It’s like these people keep forgetting what Jack is capable of.

He didn’t have to relish the kill though. On the other hand, it felt like Mary’s concern was a bit much — if it were me I would’ve kept my mouth shut as to not upset a powerful fledging being into killing me by accident.

So Mary dies…again.

This is also why we can’t have nice things. I know Dean’s never gonna let this shit go. Sure Cas has fucked up a bunch, but killing a direct blood relative of Dean’s…nope. That’s unforgivable. I know they’re not gonna let Dean kill off a kid but I know he’s NEVER ever gonna forget Jack’s role in Mary’s (second) demise.

Why couldn’t you leave the boy alone Mary?!?!?!!?!

The boys show up, did they not circle back to pick up their mother? Seriously? Goodness Lord. So depressing watching the brothers just assuming their mommy’s coming back 😭

Cas (cuz of course this shit went tits up while Daddy was away) calls Dean to get caught up on what happened the last episode and is concerned that the Winchesters left their mom alone with Jack. Then why did you leave him Cas? You could’ve taken him with you. Like it would’ve been better if one of the brothers was alone with Jack? Badasses they may be, but they would’ve ended up just like Mary let’s be honest. The only difference would’ve been whichever brother got got would’ve come back. Mary will not be getting that special treatment…

Jack is tripping out since he murdered his foster G-maw - ends up flying all over the world (so his soul is definitely gone? But if it were gone, would he even care about killing Mary? everyone’s trying to track him down IDK why he doesn’t just destroy the phone he has. We get flashes of Mary & Jack’s time together and technically I believe she spent the most time with him (at least in season 13)

They’re still giving Mark P work on this show making him the manifestation of Jack’s subconscious cuz the kill is driving Jack insane 😭🥺 He’s reacting so much like a little boy who knows he fucked up it that makes this so much sadder 😭 Jack’s being driven mad with grief.

Oh fuck they’re going to where she died. Oh fuck.

WTF is wrong with these people! He’s a fucking boy! A super power nuke of a boy, but still a fucking boy! Like the Winchesters never made a mistake! What about the nurse who got killed in 4x22 by Sam? All the people Dean slaughtered under the MoC, as a demon! That’s just off the top of my head! No but cuz they’re the fucking protagonists 😡🤬

Samuel Winchester you know manipulating this child Is 5 different kinds of fucked up!

Jack why did you call it an accident! Did you not want to use the words murder? Destroyed? Obliterated?

Dean you piece of shit, why are you lying to this boy!!!!!! You know Jack’s desperate to make peace with you, and you lead him to a grave he’s never supposed to escape?! Poor thing Jack was sooo scared!

Sam, the regret is gonna eat you alive! Sam, for fucks sake, SPEAK THE FUCK UP! You clearly got shit you wanna say, fucking say it!

Dean you’re surprised Jack’s going along with it?! Of course he’s gonna go along with it, he wants to please you, you shady, manipulative BASTARD!

That’s right Castiel stand up for Jack since nobody else is willing to!

Oh boy, the celestial boy is freaking out. Claustrophobia was kicking in, this shit ain’t gonna end well. It’s a dark day when a psychological manifestation of Satan is making sense more than everyone else.

I’m not surprised Jack got out though. That box was made for an archangel and he isn’t that. He’s a nephilim, technically a different entity, right? now, the Winchesters have a pissed off mega-powerful creature on their hands. Great job team 🤣

that’s right Jack, give them a piece of your fucking mind! Fuck ‘em up queen.

Oh shit! I’ve watched this part a dozen times on YouTube, the part where jack makes the whole world tell the truth no matter what! Donald trump is canonically Crowley’s bitch! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

All hail the stapler queen! Iconic!

And God reveals Himself, what grand timing! He says He came for Cas’s prayer (but Cas prayed to Him in season 6 too, no?) but then He states the real reason for His arrival — Jack.

Meanwhile Jack went to see his real G-maw, not a good plan Jackie boy. She’s put 2+2 together that her daughter Kelly is NOT ok and now Jack has to confess the truth. (Where’s the dad? Was the actor unavailable or dead at this point?)

Sam was outed to love Celine Dion (I love her two Sammy it’s ok, her songs are AMAZING! My favorite is it’s all coming back to me now, I crush that shit in karaoke.) Dean follows a mommy blog 🤣 of course he does, probably cuz he identifies with her more & loves that her life is so full of shit (like I said, he identifies with her).

God don’t sanction lying, the real God would never do such a thing. Isn’t it like the 6th commandment, thou shall not lie? Like dude, the fuck?!

And no, writing means telling stories that are often made up but it’s not meant to deceive anybody. But Hollywood on the other hand…yeesh.

Dean breaking Chuck’s guitar 🤣

Chuck saying ‘DON’T!’ Having Dean shook 🤣

Why are you asking them how things are, like you don’t know?! You’re omnipotent!

They canonically made the British queen a lizard? Damn. These old Americans (the writers) are dicks!

Finally Sam is speaking up! Thank God!

Dean stop blaming people, Jesus, it was an accident (Jack you phrased it sooooo poorly though)! shout out to Sam for taking it this so well cuz he’s been through too much this season alone. He lost a whole fucking army, then his mom after he got to know her this time! And the concussions! So many concussions.

Angry Cas is sooooo fucking hot 🥵 when he slammed that truck with his fist 😏

Awww the first thing he does when he sees Jack is hugs him. Jack needed that so bad!

The biggest travesty is we never got to see the SquirrelVerse!

When Sam asks if God is watching them — Sam do you even know what omnipotent means?!

It’s just like I said in season 11. God doesn’t owe anyone anything. But everyone owes Him everything. He gave everyone the freedom to choose, for better or worse. But this iteration of who God is seems to watch what people and creatures decide to do with their lives. He made the weapon to see who among Sam, Dean or Cas would take it and strike Jack down.

So ultimately when Dean tracks Jack down and Jack throws Cas into a tombstone and Sam is running dramatically to stop it, Dean ultimately decides not to kill Jack. But why though? He kept talking shit about how Jack needed to be dealt with, but when the moment comes, he won’t do it?! I mean I’m glad but it doesn’t really make sense?!

Was it the puppy eyes? Did Sam teach Jack that trick? But Jack closed his eyes at the last second???

Oh Dean, you’re such a fucking softie. That’s on you God. You made him softer than Mr. Pillsberry.

If anything, Dean is the step daddy. Cas is Daddy. And then there’s Uncle Sam 🤣

Sam is many things, but stupid is never one of them. Naïve maybe, trusting, desperate. But not stupid. And not crazy, this time 🤣

I will say what makes this story compelling is the fact that the Winchesters find themselves locked in a cycle of violence at the hands of their Creator, and they’re refusing to commit further acts of violence in effort to stop it all and rebel against their cruel, dispassionate maker. But they have no means to back it up…today.

Not the Burger King catchphrase🤣🤣🤣

Not Jack being…smote?

Not Dean being yeeted into another tombstone?

Sam, why did you think that was gonna work on God? He made the weapon. You really think He’d make something that could kill Himself? Nah bruh.

So we’ve approached the ending of the penultimate season. 20 more episodes to go! Ah!!!! I’m excited but also not since the ending is what I know (mildly).

Side note - Sam & Dean still don’t know about Castiel’s bargain with the Empty (kinda seems pointless since God killed Jack anyway…Cas basically fucked himself for nothing 🤦🏾‍♀️ [I know how it ends but yeah still])

It’s not about the destination though, it’s the journey (I keep telling myself that).

God said fuck y’all. Shouldn’t’ve poked the bear…now these poor innocent people gonna die like sheep to the slaughter. Y’all got a lot of cleaning up to do and with so little people to help you.

So did God undo all the killings the Winchesters did? Cuz damn….that’s 10+ years of work undone. In 1 moment.

They’re not getting out of the cycle anytime soon.

[matthewtkachuk]

promise this won't change a thing - josh anderson

When Josh finds out you've never been satisfied, he sets out to change that...and maybe the nature of your entire friendship

pairing: josh anderson x reader

warnings: light angst, smut smut smut

word count: 6.7k

a/n: here she is! @luvsherleafs i'm so so sorry this is a little late, but i hope you enjoy nonetheless <3 thank u to @antoineroussel for running this whole exchange shindig and for editing as always love u boo. this honestly started as an inappropriate day dream at work and somehow became nearly seven thousand words.......don't ask

It’s a stupid game of Never Have I Ever; cheap wine, some girl friends and a group of rambunctious men who happen to play hockey that sets everything in motion. Among them is Josh—your sweet, best friend since birth Josh—who is currently looking at you with horrified eyes as your drink remains at your side while the feminine presenting half of the table drinks on.

“Never?” he asks incredulously, his eyes ever so slightly glassy and his cheeks and nose tinged pink a sign of his own experiences. 

“That’s why it’s called ‘Never Have I Ever’, Joshua,” you roll your eyes, but your bravado is a façade. The truth is, it’s an almost embarrassing thing to admit no guy has ever been able to get you off.

“Not even Bradley?” someone else asks and all you can do is shrug. 

“He wasn’t half as good as he thought he was.”

“I could help with that if you want.” Joel’s barely got the sentence out before he’s being smacked by your best friend. 

Josh doesn’t need to come to your rescue. You’re a grown adult—even if your choice in sexual partners hasn’t always been the greatest. He does a second time though—then a third and a fourth time and on and—redirecting the game in a manner that has Joel so shit faced by the end of the night, you’re wondering if you should be putting him to bed in Josh’s guest bedroom instead of yourself.

You don’t give up the room, but you still don’t relax until you’ve received fifty thumbs up emojis and a shirtless pic of Joel in his own bed which might have been another invite if his eyes weren’t half-closed. It makes you laugh at least.

The relaxation doesn’t last as Josh decides to clear the air that you’ve been pretending isn’t thick with tension with an apology. “I’m sorry about tonight.”

“It’s alright,” you say, though it really isn’t. Busying yourself with tidying up empty beer cans, you move into the living room while he follows. “It’s just embarrassing.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Isn’t it?”

There’s a beat of silence, and then two, and then an entire minute passes by in what feels like an eternity as you can sense Josh’s gaze heavy on your back.

“Do you trust me?” he asks. 

Your reply is immediate, no hesitation in your tone, “Yes.” You pause then, some of that aforementioned apprehension seeping into your words, “Why?”

He doesn’t say anything in return, just quietly crosses to where you have your back turned to him. A calloused hand curls around your hip, fingertips sliding under the hem of your top. The other plays with the waistband of your jeans before popping the button and slowly sneaking inside. His movements are slow, unhurried, as if he’s waiting for you to jump away or freak out or yell. 

You don’t; your only reaction is the tensing of your body.

“Relax,” he hums, fingertips dancing over the lace of your underwear. If you weren’t wet before, you’re soaked now—a consequence of the low timber of his voice and the press of him into your back and the slight pressure of his hand between your thighs. 

A whimper of his name passes your lips but you don’t speak any further. He takes it as an invitation to continue, rubbing at your clit through your underwear. You need something to hold onto, one hand gripping at his forearm and the other flying back wildly until you’ve tangled your fingers in the curls peeking out from underneath his hat. 

“You said you think it’s your fault. I don’t think it is,” he speaks casually—cooly, calmly. As if he didn’t have his hand down your pants and his dick pressed to your ass. As if two decades of friendship didn’t hang delicately in the minimal space between your bodies. “Will you let me make you feel good?”

And you’d be lying if the flashes that run through your mind in quick succession weren’t tempting, or if you said you’d never wondered what it would be like to be with him, or if you claimed to never have fantasized about his thick fingers or strong body. 

It’s just… He’s Josh. And you’re you. And you and Josh don’t do this. He features in all the best pictures and memories from your childhood, and he’s the one you come to when you need guidance making a big life decision and you’re the one he tells about the pressures of the league and how hard it was to leave Columbus but how he doesn’t regret a thing. 

Josh keeps your world spinning and you his, and are you really willing to lose all that for a bit of pleasure? 

You say his name again, but with more intention this time. It’s riddled with doubt and worry and anxiety and you don’t have to say a single syllable more—he hears you. 

“I know,” he answers back, calm and sure and pressed to the skin of your neck before he’s kissing and sucking and biting, all the while his fingers never cease their movements against you. 

“This won’t change anything?” you have to say, have to ask. As intoxicating as his cologne is and the feel of him against you and the press of his fingers, you’d stop it in an instant if it meant you’d lose any other piece of him. 

“Not a thing,” he promises with conviction. “Just wan’ be a good friend and get you off.”

You hesitate for a second—full of that fear and doubt until…

“Okay.”

Your nose scrunches in confusion as he slides his hand out of your jeans, wiping your own wetness against the skin of your stomach. But then that very hand is turning your head so that his lips can meet yours. It’s probably sweeter than the moment calls for, but you fall into it just the same. 

It feels like something much deeper than just two friends getting off, something more serious, something with the potential to be devastating. You push it all down in favor of pulling him closer, letting him walk you to his bedroom. 

Your shirt is the first thing to go, awkwardly fumbling because neither of you want to break the kiss. Jeans are next, Josh’s thumb ghosting over the indent left by the button for a brief second before hooking into the side of your underwear until they lay at your feet too. 

The kiss doesn’t break as he lays you down among the cool silk of his sheets. It doesn’t escape your notice that he’s still fully clothed, but you don’t get the chance to say anything when he makes his way down your body. You’re interrupted by the little noises of pleasure you make as he caresses and kisses every inch of your body from your chin down to your waist. 

“Relax,” he says again, pulling the hand you hadn’t even realized you were clenching the sheets with into his own as his other arm rests against your pelvis.

Maybe it hasn’t always been your fault.

-

The next morning is awkward. Without the haze of liquor and lust, you’re just two best friends who woke up naked together. There’s tension and stumbling and a hesitancy that had never existed before. 

It feels like a big mistake that the two of you tiptoe around for a week after. You’re not ignoring him. Not exactly. Not when he’s not exactly blowing up your phone either. 

But Josh is your best friend and Montreal is a big, lonely city that only reinforces how much you miss him even though he’s just on the other side of downtown. 

Brunch is a peace offering he can’t resist, not when you’re playing dirty and promising to make him french toast and sausage from the butcher shop in Little Italy you both like so much. 

He lets himself in with the key you gave him, door shutting noisily behind him before you can hear the sound of him kicking off his boots and jacket. It doesn’t take long for him to appear in your kitchen, sheepish smile and light blush on his cheeks. “Hey.”

“Hey yourself,” you reply, cringing a little on the inside at how flirty it sounds. 

“Smells good,” he offers, coming up behind you to peek over your shoulder. The press of his body is firm and warm and reminds you of how good it felt to lay beneath him on cool sheets. 

“It’s almost ready if you want to grab some plates? There’s juice in the fridge or, well, you know where the coffee is.”

“Sure.”

It’s normal, sort of. If you just ignore the way he can’t stop staring at you. Or, how jumpy you are every time he so much as brushes against your side in the tiny kitchen. The stilted conversation across the table is also abnormal. 

Other than that, though. Totally business as usual. 

The goodbye hug by the door could even be described as ‘nice, if a bit lingering’.

You were right, it hadn’t changed anything. Not permanently, at least.

-

After brunch, you see Josh a handful of times, each meeting slightly less awkward than the last until a string of away games seems to reignite your friendship. It’s not quite the same as before—how could it be, now that you know the way his moan sounds in your ear—but there’s enough of a literal distance that you can communicate without thinking about it all. 

When Josh is back in Montreal, you settle back into an almost familiar routine while trying to navigate the complicated memories you have revolving around your best friend naked. It’s weird, but he’s your best friend and several of his teammates now make up part of the small inner circle of your friends.

You go out for drinks and hang out at each other’s apartments and the apartments and homes of various other hockey players throughout the city. 

When you’re feeling down, it’s still Josh you can call on. Josh who invites you over with the promise of a random documentary on Netflix and noodle bowls from the restaurant down the road. 

There’s still a little tension between your shoulders as you let yourself in and hang your coat by the door. It lingers as you find him sitting on the couch with takeout containers on the coffee table, gesturing for you to take a seat beside him. 

That tension doesn’t quite dissipate as you polish off your food, fighting Josh off as he tries to swipe one of your spring rolls, and watching two episodes. If he notices, he doesn’t say anything, just pulls you into his side and wraps an arm around your shoulders. 

Being this close reminds you of that night—the feeling of his body on yours, the relief that there wasn’t something wrong with you.

“Dessert?” Josh asks a little while longer, causing you to nearly snap your neck with how hard your head pivots toward him. Does he mean...? “I have that ice cream you like,” he adds. 

Relaxing a little, you nod and pull yourself from his embrace and his couch. You collect the empty drink glasses and take out containers and make your way into the kitchen to deal with it all while he searches the freezer. 

He doesn’t really make it that far, though, body hesitating and stuttering in a manner that has you looking up from where you’re putting away the clean dishes. “You don’t have to do that.”

“If I don’t, you’ll let them sit here all weekend and that’ll drive me nuts,” you joke, the normalcy of the moment letting your guard down almost completely. 

“Let me help,” he offers, sliding up behind you to assist in reaching the higher cabinet door. After putting it away and closing it back up, he doesn’t move away. You can feel every hard line of his body, can smell the scent of his cologne, but you don’t move either. 

The seconds hang between your bodies until he presses a kiss to the junction of your neck and shoulder. 

Several things happen at once then. You spin around and grab desperately at his shoulders as he slides his hands under your thighs and lifts you up on the counter. There’s no hesitation, and the tension that formerly lived here has been replaced by an entirely different kind of tension that has you wanting to rip off his clothes. 

Your lungs struggle to pull in enough air in the brief pauses where his mouth leaves yours, but you don’t care, pulling him closer and closer and closer. 

Until you remember who you are, what you’re doing and who you’re with. You push back against his chest weakly, curling your fingers into the fabric of his shirt first before pushing once more a little more forcefully. 

“Wait, wait, wait,” you pant, breathing heavily as he does the same. 

“Don’t wanna,” he responds, going back in to trail his lips down your cheek. 

“Josh,” you say more forcefully and he pauses, looking up at you through his long lashes. “We should talk about this.”

“Probably,” he shrugs, sinking his teeth into your collarbone, making you jolt slightly, body pressing that little bit more against him.

You push once more against his shoulders. “So let’s talk.”

He kisses your neck once more, before flipping his snapback around so that the bill faces the back and dropping to his knees before you all the while pulling off the clothes covering your lower half. 

Swallowing hard, you continue to press the issue. “We’re not talking...”

Josh smirks at you once before pulling your legs around his head and pressing his face to the warmth between them. “No, we’re not.”

He shouldn’t have bothered with the hat at all, since your fingers promptly knock it off his head entirely in order to pull the strands of his hair between them.

The next morning is less awkward. You wake up slowly, body sore and satisfied as you regain consciousness. The weight of Josh is warm and comforting around you, arm slung low around your waist and chest pressed to your back. As much as you’d like to slip back into sleep, the room is too bright and you’re too awake. 

That doesn’t mean you can’t lie in comfort for a minute or ten in the morning quiet. 

The quiet doesn’t last long as Josh waking up minutes later turns into a soft and slow morning quickie that ends with Josh rolling off of you, chest heaving. 

“You wanted to talk?”

Frankly, you’re having trouble breathing, but you know that fucking your best friend is a dangerous game, only made worse by not communicating clearly. 

Somehow you manage to roll on your side so that you can look at Josh as you speak. “Ground rules. We need ground rules.” His resulting nod has you continuing. “You’re still my best friend. This is just two friends getting off together, lord knows I haven’t been having a lot of luck in that department. And this can’t. Change. Anything.” 

You’ve punctuated the last sentence—the words a reminder of your first encounter more than anything—with pokes to his chest. His hand covers yours to save him from more violence and then he uses the grip to pull you on top of him this time. 

“Okay,” he seals the deal with a kiss that has you forgetting your own name and every thought of why this might be a disaster.

Every morning after that—not every morning, but the ones where you do wake up tangled with each other—is less awkward again. There’s an ease that comes with fucking Josh, something you attribute to your long friendship. It’s not a hardship to add orgasms into the mix, getting what you can and what you deserve when the rest of Montreal is still disappointing you while he’s away.

-

You’re genuinely worried you won’t make it out of tonight alive and with your secret situationship with your best friend still a secret. 

It starts with a steamy snapchat from Josh—literally steamy, what with the haze of his bathroom and his bare chest with water dripping down it indicating he’d just taken a hot shower. There’s a towel loosely slung along his hips, but your pulse races with the implication of what lies beneath. You respond with a nonchalant picture of your own shower, a teasing message along the lines of wishing he were here. 

You should know better than to open his response so quickly, but you’re a glutton and blessed with another shirtless pic and the words that read more like a command—show me

Never really one to follow directions, he finds himself opening a picture of you from the neck up. 

lower is his response. 

Ever a tease, you send one more of your legs to your feet. His response is an eye roll emoji which has you laughing.

hey, some weirdo would probably pay good money for my feet pics. should have stayed the night and maybe you could have joined me in the shower.

You don’t wait for a response, the time at the top left corner of your phone reminding you that the clock is ticking and you don’t want to be late to the party at Joel’s  house. 

Going through the motions, you wash your hair and your body, letting the conditioner sit for that extra moment while you stand with your back under the water. 

If you were a proper lady, you might feel shame in the haste with which your hand slides down your body as you imagine Josh in the shower with you on your knees, or how quickly you find release picturing his head between your thighs, or maybe even the way his name leaves your lips as you do so. You’re not, and so you don’t, cheeky enough to send him one last snap with bright eyes telling him exactly what he missed. 

His response goes unopened as you slip into a sundress and dry your hair, flitting about your vanity and wanting to look good but not like you put in a ton of effort. 

Vehicles line the street when you arrive, and so you find a spot near Josh and walk in like you own the place. A few Habs offer you halfhearted greetings until you find Josh and Joel standing in the kitchen. 

Sliding your arms around Joel, you grin up at him, “Hey Eddy.”

His eyes flicker over to where Josh’s cherub smile has dropped into a grimace before his own smile widens. “My favorite girl!“ he announces loudly, just this side of tipsy with a bud light in his hands. 

“You say that to all the girls,” you laugh, squeezing once and then dancing out of his hold. The temperature of the room seems to increase a couple degrees as you slide over to Josh, slipping under his arm and stealing a sip of his beer. “Hey Josh.”

He doesn’t verbally reply, just sets down his beer and manhandles you until he can wrap his arms around you in a proper hug. It’s comforting and warm and you can’t help slipping into it a little more. “Hey,” he says finally, pressing a quick kiss to your temple and then letting go. 

Joel’s never really been that good at subtlety, but even he knows when it’s time to slip away, leaving you and Josh to work through… whatever it is you need to work through. A few more beers and he probably would have joked about the sexual tension. 

“Did you not like my snapchat?” you ask innocently, not stepping back from his space although his arms now rest limply at his sides. One hand comes up to rest on his chest and the other reaches around him, skimming his side as you go, until you've got his discarded beer between your lips again. 

Your eyes widen when he tilts it back a little bit, causing the cool liquid to fall more quickly than you had anticipated, before he pulls it back and downs the rest himself. “You know I did.”

“Good, it was just for you.” Your tone is low and the implications of it all run through his mind, images of you begging for more, telling him you were his and only his, quickly spinning into the vestiges of domesticity that he shuts down quickly. While he’s battling an internal war, you step back from his space, intending on grabbing a drink of your own but you don’t get far. 

His hand grabs your wrists and tugs until he’s able to press your back into the counter and rest his hands on your hips. There’s a moment of hesitation, a moment heavier than the occasion calls for but then it’s gone as he lays a bruising kiss against your lips. It doesn’t take long for it to turn dirty, a flex of his hips and a love bite on your lips and you’re gripping his neck while his tongue explores your mouth. 

And then there’s movement in the next room, followed by loud chattering that only gets closer and Josh is stepping back himself. He twists away to grab a couple beers, tossing you one and then walking out of the kitchen. 

Your face is warm and your chest is rising heavily with breaths that just don’t fill your lungs. Pressing the cool bottle to your neck for a second, you shake out your shoulders and follow the source of the sounds in the other room. 

All night you can’t keep your eyes off Josh. From him pushing up his sleeves to expose his forearms to the way he pulls off his hat to run a finger through his hair, you’re mesmerized. You’d blame it on the alcohol, but you were still nursing that first beer that had grown warm. 

His laughter warms your chest like his large body warms your bed and you ache for the press of his fingertips against your waist like he grips the neck of the beer bottle. 

It doesn’t help that it feels like Josh is toying with you—murmuring your name as he passes by where you’re seated on the couch talking to one of the rookies, squeezing at your ass while everyone’s attention is across the room, pressing the entire length of his body to your back under the guise of ‘just passing through.’ And then the texts detailing everything he wants to do to you later, culminating in a recreation of your little shower scene in the morning. 

Near midnight you can’t take it anymore, sending him a heated look and inclining your head, hoping he can take the hint for what it is. 

He doesn’t make you wait long in the bathroom of his teammate’s house, slipping inside only two minutes later (not that you counted). 

“What—” he starts to ask, cut off by the force of you nearly throwing yourself at him and attaching your lips to his.

The shock doesn’t last long—mere seconds before he’s responding with enthusiasm and hauling you up until you rest on the bathroom counter with his thick thighs between your own. 

Pulling back slightly, but still hovering over you in a way that has your pulse racing, he smirks. “What’s all this for?”

Narrowing your eyes at him, you curl your fingers through the overgrown hair at the base of his neck and tug. “Been teasing me all night Josh.”

“Teasing? I don’t know what you’re talking about.” As he feigns innocence, he lets his calloused fingertips run up your bare thighs, pushing your dress higher and higher up and stepping even closer. 

You feel a pulse between your thighs where your lower halves are pressed together, and you’d be ashamed of how quickly your body has reacted to his if he wasn’t half hard and rocking against you himself. 

Tugging again, you make him look into your eyes instead of your body. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Joshua.” 

He doesn’t deny it again, just shrugs and slides his hands beneath your underwear to grab a handful of your ass. “‘M not sorry.”

“I don’t want you to be sorry,” you tell him empathetically, before crawling your lips up his jaw. “I want you to touch me.”

“I am touching you.” He flexes his fingers to prove his point. You give him a look that clearly indicates he knows what you’re talking about. Josh kisses you once, much more sweetly than the moment calls for, and then he slides his hands out of the back of your underwear only to cup the front of you through the very same fabric. His pointer and middle finger press against you and he opens his mouth. “This what you wanted?”

“Don’t tease me,” you pant before he can say anything further.

His ever present smirk only widens as he slowly, torturously, rubs his fingertips against you. The motion has your head falling back and a pleading groan to escape your lips.

“But it’s so much fun.” His admission is complete with him taking a step back from you entirely—your body far too cold without his looming presence. “Don’t you think?” He murmurs your name and pushes his sleeves up his arms like he’d done earlier in the night. Your eyes track the movement, your tongue coming out to wet your bottom lip. 

Realizing you've all but fallen into his trap, your eyes narrow again and you pull the skirt of your dress down and prepare to hop off the counter. “If you’re not going to fuck me, I’ll go home and do it myself.” 

Josh reacts quickly then—almost like he can’t help himself—dropping to his knees, flipping your skirt back up and dragging your underwear down your legs. He maintains eye contact as he tucks the garment into the back pocket of his jeans and then leans down to press a light kiss to your clit. 

The action sends a jolt of energy down your spine, and you curse yourself for how quickly you turn to putty above him. The heel of one foot digs into the strong muscle of his upper back and both your hands tangle in his hair. Josh is enthusiastic, impatient even as he drags the fullness of his tongue against you. Part of him wants to make a stupid comment about you submitting to him so willingly, but he doesn’t take the chance that you might push him off and make good on your threat. 

You’re a whining, whimpering mess in no time. Every sound is like music to Josh’s ears, spurring him on and on as he eats you out with vigor. It’s when he slides two thick fingers into your warmth that you let out a moan that could get you both caught. 

He slows the motions of his tongue, but continues the slow thrusting of his fingers, looking up at you where you’re absolutely wrecked by his ministrations. “Gotta be quiet baby, don’t want them all to hear us. Unless you wanna get caught, want someone to walk in and catch us, catch you taking me so well?”

The thought isn’t entirely off putting but you shake your head empathetically. “Don’t want anyone else. Just you.”

The words go straight to his cock first, but then his traitorous heart takes hold of the sound and tries to infer meaning where there is none. You want him. Maybe as badly as he wants you.

There are decades of history as to why a romantic entanglement with you would be a bad idea - real, tangible, palpable reasons and yet he’s got two fingers buried in you and is that not just as bad?

You interrupt his thoughts with a tug of his hair, eyes wide and chest heaving. “Don’t have time. Want you to fuck me.” 

And Josh’s mind might be up in the clouds but his body is planted firmly in this room and so he rises from his knees and uses the strength of his forearms to spin you around until your front is pressed to the porcelain. The position is meant to separate him from his thoughts, to depersonalize the moment a touch, but he can’t keep his eyes off you. From the first moment he enters your body until the last, his eyes track your every facial expression, his heart hammering in his chest for reasons far beyond just the physical exertion of fucking you from behind in Joel’s guest bath. 

Watching as your gaze glazes over and your body relaxes back against his in your post orgasm haze, he follows you, grip flexing against your hips and face burying in your neck. A lot of thoughts fly through his mind, dangerous ones full of promise and potential heartbreak, and so he settles for a few chaste kisses to the smooth skin of your neck. 

The two of you clean up in silence and then Josh is reaching for the door. You stop him, manicured fingernails curling around his wrist until he turns to look at you. 

“You wanna get outta here?” you ask, eyes glinting with the promise of more mind blowing sex. And he really shouldn’t—should really take this time to reflect, take some breathing room and figure out exactly what he wants. But he doesn’t really need to. 

Because what he really wants is you and all that you’re willing to give. 

Taking your face in his hands he kisses you fully, stopping only to murmur out an ‘okay.’

“How did you know there were condoms in the drawer?” you ask as the two of you sneak out of Joel’s apartment. 

“Do you really want to know?” Josh’s teasing tone falls a little flat, but you don’t notice, far too caught up in the inherent ick behind his words. “There’s some in the kitchen island too.” 

“Gross,” you say, but you laugh too, all the way to Josh’s car. You don’t stop laughing until he’s tossing you onto your bed and covering your body with his. 

-

Days, weeks, a month passes in much the same way—you and Josh navigating and balancing both the friends and benefits in friends with benefits. It’s a fine line to walk, and one you end up stumbling over and under as time passes. Sometimes it’s like the flip of a switch. An innocent evening watching the latest binge-worthy drop on Netflix ends with you on your back. Post-sex pillow talk becomes a discussion on carpooling home for the short Habs Christmas break, and whether you would be baking sugar cookies like you do every year. 

It’s blissful and it’s passionate and it’s exciting, but it’s also all just casual. 

You’re under no illusions here, Josh is just your best friend. Your best friend who you regularly and often fuck, but just your best friend nonetheless. This isn’t some shitty made for TV romcom, it’s real life.

Hooking up with Josh doesn’t prevent you from seeing other people. You go on dates set up by friends and with men you meet on dating apps, and, yes, sometimes those dates go well enough that you end up back at theirs or they end up at yours at the end of the night. 

Both you and the other people you hook up with pretend that you don’t see Josh’s face in their eyes before your own eyelids shut.

Mid-December the Habs find themselves in the midst of a losing streak they can’t quite snap out of for longer than a game at a time. Just like his team, Josh is not playing his best—far too deep into his own mind, making stupid mistakes that end up costing leads and even resulting in losses. 

You do your best to make him feel better, just as any friend would. When he’s on the road it’s late night calls, good luck and you’ll get ‘em next time text messages, baking him those sugar cookies he loves so much and leaving a tin of them in his apartment for him to come home to. 

And when he’s at home...

“Do you wanna talk about it?” you ask as you swing the door open to reveal an anxious looking Josh. His hair is wet and his game day suit is disheveled, but he’s as handsome as ever. 

“No.”

Your stomach swoops at his gruff tone of voice. “Josh—”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it,” he speaks through gritted teeth. And, well, he doesn’t have to tell you more than twice. 

You want to reach for him, want to hold him and reassure him that everything is going to be okay. But that’s not who you are and that’s now what you do, at least not right now. Not with him looking at you like he wants to devour you. And so you wait for him to make the first move, standing in your own vulnerability while he tries to mask his. 

He doesn’t make you wait long, two long strides and he has his hands in your hair and his tongue in your mouth.  

It’s not soft and sweet, it’s all-encompassing. Josh has taken over all of your senses in a bruising, searing kiss. 

You want to wrap yourself around him like a vine, pull him closer and closer until you’re not sure where he ends and you begin. He clearly wants that too, gripping and pulling and leading you backwards toward your bedroom and then your bed.

For as heavy as Josh’s grip is on your body, his gaze is tenfold. There’s something deeper swimming in the murky depths of his blue eyes that makes your heart hammer. 

He’s marking up your throat when your phone starts vibrating on the bedside table. You ignore it in favor of arching your back to get even closer, but whoever’s trying to get ahold of you clearly isn’t getting the message as it continues to ring and ring.

“Do you need to get that?” Josh asks, looking up at you.

“No, it’s just some dude,” you reply, sliding a hand through the hair at the base of his neck and attempting to use it for leverage. Ordinarily the action would be enough to have him bending to your will without so much as a protest. “Not important at all.”

Not this time, though. This time he freezes.

“I’m not seeing other people,” he says, body hovering over yours on your bed. 

You falter then, only a little as you reply. “I am. What? We’re just doing the friends with benefits thing. We never had the exclusive talk.”

It would be comical the speed with which he pulls himself from you and your bed. He doesn’t even look at you as he gathers some of his discarded clothes throughout the room and then exits your bedroom.

“What are you so mad about?” you ask, following him through your apartment after throwing on your robe. “You’re seriously telling me you haven’t been picking up on the road?”

“I haven’t been with anyone else since we started hooking up.”

“Oh.”

“Oh? That’s all you have to say is oh?” He’s angry, but he’s not yelling and that’s almost worse you think. Yelling you could handle, but the quiet fury has your stomach twisting, almost as if he was saying ‘I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.’ 

“Josh—”

“I can’t be here right now,” he grits out, slamming the door and leaving you in the quiet of your apartment all alone.

You’re confused and worried. Worried that two decades of friendship just walked out your door. Worried, because Josh had just left into the cool air without a coat. Worried that despite your mutual promises and assurances that this wouldn’t change a thing, everything had just changed. 

The front door taunts and teases you as you just stand there staring at it, willing Josh to return through it and give you the explanation you deserve.

He doesn’t reappear, and so you will your legs to move and take you away from the confusing scene. Except every inch of your apartment screams Josh now, even if you had made it your home long before Josh’s trade found him in the same city as you. The fluffy blanket on the couch that you bought with your first roommate only makes you think of Josh with that very blanket pooled around his waist. His discarded coat on the chair looks like it was always meant to lie there. 

The kitchen is no better—the cramped counter layout only reminds you of how Josh’s cool, granite countertop felt beneath your bare ass as Josh descended onto his knees in front of you. 

Josh has always been important to you, and the orgasms he’s given you—that none of the guys you’ve slept with when he isn’t around have been able to even come close to—aren’t even in the top ten reasons why.

He’s good and kind and loving in a way you’ve never experienced before. 

The knock on your door is somehow completely expected and yet a total surprise. Maybe it’s the time between the slamming of your door and the subsequent knock—not even a full forty five minutes had passed. Maybe it’s the feelings you’ve come to terms with. Maybe it’s the pounding of your heart. 

Regardless, you slip into a cool exterior mask as you open the door and attempt to casually lean against the frame. “What do you want?”

His responding “I’m sorry” is sincere enough for you to let him in, but not sincere enough for that mask to drop. “You’re right. I don’t have a right to be upset.”

“No you don’t.”

He sighs then, “I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. It was just such a shit game—”

“Bullshit,” you interrupt. “What?” He looks flabbergasted, like he hadn’t expected you to speak at all. “No, I played a shit game and—”

“No I know you played like shit,” you interrupt again, arms crossed over your chest. “You turned over the puck and your shitty cross check resulted in a goal. I’m saying it’s bullshit that it was the game that made you so upset you slammed my front door on your way out.”

“If you’re such a fuckin’ know-it-all, if it wasn’t the game, then what was it?” He’s challenging you in a way, you think. The hard set of his face and the furrow of his brow are a dead give away. 

There’s a few ways this can go. You can let him pretend like it was a shitty game that had him so pissy—maybe you talk it out a little, maybe you fuck it out a little, but it’ll be like a shitty dollar store bandaid over a bullet hole. Eventually it’s gonna bleed through. 

You can put an end to all of it—the tension, the hooking up, all of it—and go back to being best friends who at one time had a thing together. It’ll hurt like hell, but you’ll get over it eventually. Until he settles down with some girl who looks kinda like you in the right light. It’s a safe option, if cowardly.

Or...

“You’re pissed because you’re in love with me.” He opens his mouth to interrupt, maybe to say you’re wrong, maybe to say you’re right but you shake your head vehemently and he promptly closes it. “Well guess what, Joshua. I’m pissed because I’m in love with you too.”

“How long?”

“What?” You stumble over the question, you don’t know the truth well enough to answer without some thought. Maybe the question will buy you some time.

It doesn’t. Josh is quick to clarify, “How long have you loved me too?

“Not as long as you, I don’t think,” you say, slowly, tentatively. “But longer than I even realized. Does it matter?”

He looks like he’s considering it, before he shakes his head and steps closer. “No, not really.”

And then he’s kissing you. The same way he’s been kissing you and yet somehow it’s completely different. It’s not lust, it’s love. It’s not rushed, it’s tender. 

You and Josh should have known better. It was always going to change everything.

[theninerealmsbakery]

Getting arrested with the Mortal Kombat Krew: Earthrealm Edition

Johnny Cage: I would LOVE to be arrested with Johnny. Probably did something pretty funny to get arrested. (like spray painting dicks onto a billboard of his own movie.) I feel like he's been arrested before and knows the drill. Just chats all time, probably signs autographs for the police officers, will 100% have my back, no matter what. 9/10 it's probably a good time.

Kung Lao: Suddenly 'forgets' how to speak english. Will cooperate, but begrudgingly. Doesn't trust cops (good boy) and will Just Not Talk to them. Of course he was arrested, he is wearing a Blade Hat in public. 6/10 He is probably the reason i got arrested but at least it's fun to watch him barely cooperate.

Jax: Lets face it, the only reason he got arrested is because he let the police arrest him. His cyber arms make him very intimidating and the cops don't fuck around with him. 9/10 I feel like he would totally have my back in the detainment cell.

Liu Kang: Sweet child has No Idea what's going on. He was just beating people up in the street??? Like he is supposed to??? Why are people angry at him??????? When explained to him, he is distraught and feels like he has brought shame to the Wu Shi Academy and to Raiden. (It's not that deep sweetie) 4/10 He is absolutely no help in this situation - he won't help me, i have to help him.

Kenshi: This man said "Fuck the Cops" with his whole chest. He is going to be a brat the whole time, he is talking back to the officers at every opportunity. He will also constantly emphasise his blindness and try to use it to take the blame off himself. (Even though we all know he is more dangerous than the average fully sighted person) 3/10 He is definitely making the situation worse than it already is.

Sonya: Holy shit, what happened for Sonya to get arrested???? If i get arrested with Sonya, something has gone terribly terribly wrong. She straight up fights the police. She is fighting fire with fire, it's terrifying. I am 100% asking to be moved to a different cell so i don't accidentally catch her hands. 1/10 the arrest is terrible and the cell stay is even worse. The one plus side is she might be able to spring us out if she pulls on military background.

Stryker - The poor bastard who has to arrest these idiots.

[elsfairy]

YOUTH ⋯ ♡ᵎ (Remember, this is just my interpretation of Sevika as a teenager. Nothing here is 100% true. I'm just making this up, okay? bare with me as I have nothing to go on. The only part that is true, as I've heard is about her dad. Thank you to everyone who helped me and gave me ideas, i would have lost it tbh)

✯ She's definitely that teen who is causing trouble for the sake of making trouble. Who hasn't been a troublemaker in their life?

✯ From a young age, she's had the 'look at me the wrong way & I'll beat you' look. That stone, cold stare that makes anyone tremble.

✯ A very big child when it came to all her favorite snacks. Especially muffins. She's a gushy being when she's got her chocolate chip muffins. Don't steal them from her though, she's breaking a hand.

✯ Has a small social circle. Just because she was able to do shit herself, she's only allowed a few people to be around her.

✯ Acts like those friends are annoying and piss her off, but would do anything to make sure they are protected. She cared. Even if she showed nothing.

✯ Ran her mouth, constantly.

✯ "Shut the fuck up, I don't care if you're over 50 years old, shut the fuck up already"

✯ Her relationship with her father isn't the best. It's all over the place so she doesn't really comment on it when someone asks. Not that they would dare. Whereas, her mother was completely different. She actually took time to be with her.

✯ Has been smoking for most of her teenage life. Mainly as a stress reliever. If she's not, then she's getting caught up in mischief to take her mind off what was called home.

✯ She's had her fair share of girlfriends. Some don't exactly stay longer than intended but she's had them nonetheless.

✯ "Sevika, this has been the 5th girl to leave your room in the past week"

✯ "What can I say? I'm irresistible"

✯ Her humor has always been so dry. For a long time, she doesn't really find anything amusing or funny. She was like a blank canvas. Not sure what she was doing.

✯ The Brothel was a place she always found herself whenever she was either angry or just flat-out bored. We don't question her life choices.

✯ "Going to the Brothel isn't going to fix what happened⎯"

✯ "We don't talk about her alright? You never bring her up. I for sure didn't give you the right to"

✯ If Sevika hated one thing, it would be the mere mention of her ex. She did not like thinking about it, let alone talking about it. It was her business and hers only.

✯ Growing up with brothers, gave her the advantage. She was able to work out with them whenever they would have the time. Just to have something she could protect herself with.

✯ Was always, somehow the class pet. That was when she attended, of course, half the time she was skipping whatever class she has. Still managed to keep up with her school work, not sure how.

✯ "Gonna get yourself into more shit if you keep it up, Sev"

✯ "Don't fuckin call me that. You left, you don't get to call me that anymore. You stopped being my sister years ago"

✯ She has always been let down by people who were supposed to care about her. Her first real love broke her heart for still unknown reasons. Her own father didn't really specify why he was always angry at her. Her own sister ran out on her. How was she supposed to trust anyone?

✯ Sevika was always sneaking around, leaving her home at weird times of the night. Either to fuck around with her friends, or get into random fights. Sadly, that was how she coped.

✯ But, if there was something she actually found comfort in, it would be to be on her own. Although she hated thinking about everything wrong in her life, she felt at ease when she was alone. She always felt alone as it was anyway.

✯ "You look really funny when your hair sticks out like that"

✯ "Ha ha, shut the fuck up. Leave my hair alone"

✯ She loved her.

✯ She would always wonder where her life went wrong when she was alone. Once, she felt happy. She actually felt like nothing could break her. Maybe she broke in the wrong ways. Sometimes, she just missed being able to tell the good from the bad.

✯ Getting into fights became a common thing for her. One day she would leave the house completely fine, then come home hours later covered in bruises and cuts. A part of her just did not care.

✯ Sad as it was, Sevika doesn't even remember the last time someone said they were proud of her. She got good grades... sometimes, but she would have wanted to hear it at least once again.

✯ She's definitely trying to start a fight with someone if they are getting too close to her or her friends. She didn't do well with new people, at all.

✯ A childish habit she had and still has, but she would always find herself randomly excited walking past the shops, especially the ones with the cakes in the window.

✯ Worked a shitty job at some crappy place just to be able to buy something she wanted. Or something she's had her eye on for a while. Money was alright, but it got her out the house.

✯ Would tense whenever someone would randomly walk behind her, or brush her shoulder as they tried to walk around her. She wasn't sure why she hated touch, she just did.

✯ Is constantly thinking of ways to leave or run away.

This is a mess... my fault guys <3. tbh, idk how to feel about this but if you like it, I can do another part. I missed a lot but, you would be here for hours reading.