#confident there would be rpf about those two

[multifandomlandfill]

If L read explicit Kira x L rpf in front of Light, Light would be caught way sooner because he'd murder L (with his hands if he had to) on the spot. Memories or not it wouldn't matter.

[kleine-joost]

After Midnight 18+ MDNI

Joost Klein x AFAB Reader

'Cause everything good happens after midnight.

WARNINGS: THIS IS RPF! IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, MOVE ON! drinking, smoking, piv sex, umm yeah

You didn’t go clubbing very often. It just wasn’t really your scene, only when you were begged to tag along by friends on special occasions would you make the effort to get all dolled up and wear one of the three dresses you owned that could pass at club appropriate.

And all of these nights would start out the same, a nightmare. With music too loud, people surrounding you that were too sweaty and apparently had no regard for personal space. But you always obliged in your own personal hell for your friends. 

You laughed while you watched your group drunkenly scream the lyrics to The Spice Girls’ Wannabe from your spot against the wall near the dancefloor. They were coaxing you to join them, but you were overly aware of your presence in the club, and you worried about the stares you would get. You knew it was silly, and arguably conceited, to think you would be watched, but you were right.

~

Joost watched you as you walked in, and when you ordered your first drink–a gin and soda with a splash of lemonade–and then your second. He stood not far from you, waiting for you to finish that glass so he could offer to buy you a third, before anyone else could get the chance. It was like everything stopped when he first saw you, the universe slowed as his eyes scanned your face, your body, and your hands which were shaking with anxiety. He was sure you hadn’t even looked at him yet, if you did he somehow missed it. Maybe this was just one of those moments when the universe dangles an opportunity in your face, only to take it away so it would only exist in some alternate timeline. Like that movie with Gwyneth Paltrow, only hopefully much happier.

~

You were beginning to feel a buzz that upped your confidence at around halfway through your second drink. When the DJ played Gimme Gimme Gimme by ABBA you couldn’t help but take the hand of one of your friends as you were dragged into the circle they had all formed in your corner of the floor. Your feet and shins ached as the song finished, and your face was flushed from all the excited jumping you did–which was pretty much the only dance move you could do in the crowded club. With adrenaline, you burst into a fit of laughter while trying to catch your breath and downed the last few fingers of your drink. The lights in the building were beginning to blur, you leant into the comfort of it, and the warmth in your chest from the gin.

~

Joost was sure this was just about as close as he could get to love without coming across as a total creep. Your smile was so infectious, he couldn’t hear your laugh over the loud music but he was sure it was just as beautiful as the rest of you. His heart felt like it was going into palpitations, he needed a cigarette to calm down.

~

Your energy was slowly depleting after your brief exertion. You needed a moment to yourself, you told your friends you were going for a smoke–not a regular vice for you but when you drank, the two went one after the other for you. You really didn’t want to have to go and buy a packet of cigs, you never liked to commit to infirmities. You were praying you’d find someone kind enough to lend you a smoke just this once. 

The air was cold in the small courtyard, you were surprised you couldn’t see your breath when you let out a long sigh at the heat immediately escaping your body. There were only a few other people outside; a couple in the midst of an argument (from what you could gather she apparently looked at another guy the wrong way and her boyfriend was not happy about it) and a guy, about your age, scrolling on his phone while he smoked. You saw under his heavy jacket he was wearing a white t-shirt that read ‘I ❤️ ABBA’. It made you chuckle just a bit to yourself, you wondered if he went as wild as you did not ten minutes beforehand. The angry couple’s screams were getting louder and louder, so you figured he was your best bet.

“Hi, I’m sorry to bother you…” He looked up from his phone when you spoke, there was a look you could almost read as surprise in his eyes. Some of the bluest eyes you think you’d ever seen, but maybe it was just the lighting out there. “Could I bum a smoke from you?”

You gave your best kicked puppy smile, well the best you could with the buzz that was now sitting in the base of your neck.

He nodded ardently, and opened the pack in his hand and held it out to you. You took one and placed it between your lips, he was quick to leap off the brick retaining wall he was leaning on to light the cigarette.

Nothing beat that first drag on a night out. You closed your eyes as you felt your bones get lighter. Exhaling, you muttered a ‘thanks’ to the blond stranger.

“No problem,” he smiled. 

You stayed standing near him, trying to ignore the argument which was now unravelling into an incident that happened last New Years. You saw the kind stranger’s eyes dart from his phone to you every so often, and back to his phone when he realised you’d caught him. You were sure it was the alcohol that was giving you the confidence. 

Eventually the lovebirds took their quarrel back inside, leaving you and the stranger in its wake. You both let out a laugh once you were alone, something about that awkwardness had bonded the two of you. Like the groups of strangers who get stuck in elevators, you imagine.

Through the giggles, you didn’t notice yourself moving closer to him and placing a gentle hand on his arm. You weren’t sure if he noticed either, at least until you both calmed down enough to breathe again.

You quickly pondered the options, and that newfound confidence decided to pitch in again. You kept your hand on his arm, leaning against the wall next to him.

“I-I’m Joost,” he stuttered out after a moment.

When you introduced yourself, he repeated your name. Though not to you, more like he was trying out how it sounded in his mouth. It must’ve been good, he hung his arm over your shoulders and brought you closer. 

A few people emerged from the dark room for a smoke, and you utilised your new closeness, now more so whispering (well, a loud whisper) in each other's ears while you finished your cigarette.

You asked him about his shirt, he laughed and told you he had no shame in loving Abba. And he asked if you were with friends, and when you said yes he told you he was as well.

Part of you didn’t want to leave his side, you felt so comfortable with him so quickly. But when you heard the start of Americano by Lady Gaga, a bolt of excitement ran through your bones. You frantically stubbed out the rest of your cigarette and grabbed Joost’s hand, pulling him with you to your group of friends who had gotten increasingly messier in the time it took you to smoke. Each of them eyed Joost as you pulled him against your body to dance.

~

He was nervous, at the very least. At the most, his heart was beating out of his chest and he could barely keep control of his limbs. He could smell your perfume as you moved around him, it was like nothing he’d ever experienced before.

He placed two soft hands on your hips, swaying with you as you both got lost in the music. That was the routine for the next few songs that played.

~

In lulls, he was introduced to each of your friends, with an explanation of how you had met. One of his hands stayed permanently on the small of your back as you went to the bar to order another drink–which he insisted on paying for. Joost’s friends approached you as you waited for the bartender to make your drink and he was more than happy to introduce you to them all. The feeling of him proudly introducing you, and telling them all about you made you giddy. They were all friendly, and happy to try to embarrass Joost as much as possible by telling you stories from when he was a dumb teenager.

A lively conversation eventually started in the group, and you were missing a lot of the context of the inside jokes being quipped. You could see your friends on the other side of the room, from the looks of it, none of them were far off being ready to leave. You decided to cut your losses and peel off of Joost’s hand and make your way back.

As soon as you took a step away from him, Joost immediately resigned from the conversation and looked at you, worried.

“Where are you going?” He whispered in your ear while you were still just in reach of him.

“I’m going back to my friends,” you answered. “Keep talking, though, have fun!”

He gave you a look that you couldn’t quite read. Maybe confusion? Hurt? Sadness, even? Without another thought he interrupted the story that his friend, Lyon, was telling.

“See you guys later, alright?” He grabbed your hand and said quick goodbyes to all his friends, each of them telling you it was great to meet you.

Only when he was walking you back to our group of friends did you manage to tell him, “you didn’t have to come with me, you could’ve kept talking.”

He hummed in response. “I talk to them all the time, I’d rather be with you.”

You couldn’t hide your smile, you hadn’t ever met someone so sweet. You eyed your friends beginning to all walk with limps, which was the universal symbol for ‘these shoes are making my feet hurt and I need to go home right now’.

 “I think we’ll be heading off soon if you want to come with us?” You asked, you knew it was forward but the third drink you’d just downed made it difficult to care.

“Like to your place?” He asked in a gentle voice you could barely hear over the music–if not for the fact that his face was buried deep in your shoulder as you both swayed to the music with his arm over your shoulder.

“Or yours. If you want.” You smiled at him. His eyes softened, and his smile got wider. You felt a burning in your body that could only be read as anticipation of what the rest of the night had in store. 

He nodded, nervously. “Yeah, I-I’d like that.”

You liked the idea that you made him nervous. It somehow made you more and more confident the more you saw his face blush when you caught him looking at you, and his indecisive hands placed on your back, your hips, and in yours. Something about him made you want to trust him. Like when he helped all your friends find their purses and phones and whatever else they didn’t want to leave in the club before you all departed, and helped each of you down the steps of the entrance of the old concrete building. He even gave you his jacket when he felt you shiver on the walk to the Avondwinkel down the street, you tried to protest but he was adamant. It smelt like cigarette smoke mixed with some kind of musky cologne, it was comforting. 

The inside of the small convenience store was just as packed as the club, full of people buying every snack and drink they could think of. The shop owner was being a good sport about it though, he had some techno pop song you were vaguely familiar with playing over the shop’s speakers and he was talking to every person who approached his counter, asking about their night and making sure they were all okay.

Throughout it all, Joost barely left your side; when you were paying for your packet of gummy worms and bottle of Pepsi, as your group sat on the curb outside for some fresh air, when you called the Uber to your apartment, and in the car on the way there.

In the backseat you tried to focus on anything other than his hand resting heavy on your thigh for fear that you would commit a felony in pouncing on him right there and begging him to have his way with you. It was quite busy on the roads, surprisingly, so it took much longer than expected to get to your little apartment building with its rickety lift that you didn’t dare use, always opting for the stairs. 

Your buzz had died down, mostly, now you were just feeling tired. You rested your head on Joost’s shoulder, feeling that flutter inside you that was becoming all too familiar when he laid his head on top of yours. You both were silent, letting the driver continue his phone conversation in a language you couldn’t understand and listening to the faint radio playing some late night discussion show. It all felt so comfortable, like you’d known each other forever and this was just another night. You wondered if it was a fluke or if this was something truly special.

Joost rested his hand on your thigh. It could’ve just been an innocent gesture, but you knew not when you turned your head to be able to look at his face. A grin, but with no eye contact. 

Two can play at this game, you thought. You placed your hand on top of his and slid it ever so slightly up the bare skin of your thigh. You heard him try to stifle a gasp, you were winning.

At the next set of lights, he lifted his head and placed a soft kiss on your cheek. You got a tingle through your skin, he was painstakingly close to your lips. His face didn’t move, just apart from yours. All you would need to do is–

Before you could finish your thought, he had leant forward and pressed his lips to yours. You froze for a second with the shock of processing what was happening, but quickly shuffled to a more comfortable position for your neck. 

The kiss quickly deepened, you opened your lips to let his tongue explore your mouth. You shuffled as close as you could to each other, until there was absolutely no room in between you both and your seatbelts were threatening suffocation.

Joost made you feel lightheaded, you weren’t sure why–or how. It was a blur from the car to your apartment. 

Your skin was burning under his touch as he held onto you while you struggled with the sticky lock on your door. Like floodgates, your door opened and the two of you poured into your tiny home. 

He kissed you again once you closed the door. This one was…much more tender, like you both suddenly had the realisation that all this lead-up was heading somewhere and it wasn’t just something you could fantasise about later when you were alone and horny. His jacket–which you were still wearing–got pushed off your shoulders and abandoned on the floor while he left wet, hungry kisses across your neck, your shoulder, just at the hem of your low-cut shirt.

A haze came over you as you looked over his body, arms littered with tattoos and chest hair that was just a shade or so darker than the hair on his head. You had the most primal urge to just devour him.

It was a blur, you both hurried to your bedroom in a rush of clothes being torn off your burning, sweating bodies. Your hands began to explore every inch of each other as you made yourself comfortable on your double-sized bed, all that you could fit in the small room.

He hovered over you, holding himself up with one hand next to your head, kissing a gentle line from your lips to your cheek and to your ear.

“Please, Liefje…” He whispered, his warm breath made all the blood rush to your ear–you were sure it had reddened. “Please let me fuck you.”

You practically melted at that. He was still wearing his boxers, you were sure if they had come off in the flurry of clothes he wouldn’t have had to ask. Your hand inched its way closer to his waistband, gently running your fingers over his abdomen. You watched him with unwavering confidence as he shivered at your touch. It only spurred you on further.

Your fingers drifted below the waistband. You slowly, agonisingly ran your hand down the length of his cock. He was already half-hard, though you could barely talk–you’d been feeling that burning ache in your pussy since the car. You could feel his slick precum, making your torture even more excruciating for him.

You watched Joost’s face. His thick-framed glasses had been discarded on your nightstand so you could properly look into his eyes, see his furrowed brows. He let out a small, guttural moan as you ran your hand over his tip. You could feel him growing harder and harder in your hand.

You kissed him again, and whispered to him. “You ready now?”

He nodded urgently, so you released him from your grasp. Part of him felt the excitement of what was next, but he also painfully missed your touch.

“Do you have any rubbers?” He asked.

You shook your head. You didn’t do this sort of thing very often, you just didn’t have the need for them.

“I have one in my wallet.” He sprung up from his spot on your bed and stumbled out of the room to retrieve his pants that were left in the hallway. 

You didn’t have to wait long for him to return, metallic wrapper in hand.

“Wishful thinking or are you just very confident?” You asked, a smirk across your face.

He scoffed as he flopped back next to you. “Just well prepared, Liefje.”

Joost quickly discarded his boxers and rolled the condom on. Finally, as the tip of his cock rubbed against the slick of your core, you let out a rasping moan that only dragged on as he slowly slid into.

He was bigger than you were used to, but the pressure was sort of comforting, in a way. He waited a moment to let you adjust, your breathing deepened as he placed two soft kisses on your cheeks. You were burning for him. You gave him the green light to start moving.

He started slowly, easing you both into it. But when he heard the soft mewls coming from you with each thrust, he couldn’t help but thrust faster and faster.

Soon the room was a cacophony of both your moans and the sound of skin on skin. Joost’s face was buried in the crook of your neck, you felt every sticky breath he let out as a sheen of sweat collected on your bodies.

He could have been fucking you for hours, you wouldn’t know–each thrust, each slam into you felt like an eternity. You could feel your core begin to tighten, on instinct you reached to your clit, gently massaging it. 

You heard Joost tut at you when he saw what you were doing. He grabbed your wrist and halted your movement. “Let me, Baby.”

It felt like electricity coursing through your veins with Joost’s fingers rubbing your clit and his thrusts hitting deeper and deeper. You were so close to the edge.

“Mmmh… don’t… stop…” You managed to stutter out between moans.

You could tell Joost was close as well. You both carried on, closer and closer…

A rush of cold and warmth and everything in between ran over you as you came. You released an almost primal moan as your body froze in its tracks. 

Joost was still slowly thrusting, panting into your neck, his skin growing red from the exertion.

“Keep going,” you mumbled into his ear. “Come for me…please.”

It took only a few more small pumps for a low groan to erupt from his throat, emptying into the condom. You let him breathe for a moment, before placing a gentle hand on the back of his neck and directing him to face you. He had a couple droplets of now-cold sweat on the bridge of his nose, you wiped them off with your other hand, smiling when he let out a light giggle. You simply weren’t expecting a noise like that out of the man who was still inside you.

“You’re incredible, Liefje,” he sighed.You place a gentle kiss on his lips. “And you’re perfect.”

[febuwhump]

febuwhump 2024 survey results

has it been six months since febuwhump? yes. yes it has. nevertheless, here's the cold hard data (analysis) of the survey from febuwhump 2024: feb five.

firstly, this year was our most popular yet! with 1417 works in the official collection across 329 fandoms, we made (and shared) 103 fics more than 2023, and 770 more than my first year running febuwhump in 2021! this isnt even including all the art and fics posted to tumblr, or wasn't shared during the event, which would put our total so much higher!

the prompt list had 4000+ notes and i received 115 responses to the survey.

there were 62 people in the hall of fame, up from 51 in 2023.

the blog hit 2,683 followers, up from 1,946 at the end of the 2023 event.

across two independant check, based on the average word count of 2,000 words per fic in the 2024 collection, and aware of the multi-chapter fics (some of which were finished after the event), it is estimated that 2.8 million words were written for febuwhump 2024. which is just. fucking insane.

now, onto the survey results!

firstly: in what way did you participate in Febuwhump this year?

with extra write-ins not pictured, fanfiction was the overwhelming winner with 92 responses (82.6%), followed by original fiction (22.6%) and artwork (11.3%). interesting to me personally is the 4 responses who wrote poetry and the not-pictured 1 response who created web-weaving! which is very cool and i would like to see it.

fandoms

according to the survey:

the most popular fandoms written for were the star wars universe and legend of zelda universe (8/115 responses)

21 responses included original fiction

the majority of responses also referenced more than one fandom, meaning less people stuck to a single fandom or topic the entire time.

according to the collection:

21 anime/manga fandoms were represented

51 books/literature fandoms were represented, 12 being specific star wars subseries

24 RPF fandoms were represented, including bands and minecraft servers

the most popular fandoms written about in the collection were:

star wars (all media types) - 253 works

star wars: the bad batch - 80 works

torchwood - 66 works

original work - 56 works

my hero academia - 54 works

why and how

next, there were a lot of really lovely responses about why participants took part in febuwhump, a few favourite and repeated responses being that it seemed fun, they'd done it before and so wanted to do it again, and they liked to write about their favourite characters suffering. also, multiple people have been doing it for three of the four years i've been running it (of five total), and several were encouraged by friends!

the majority of participants discovered febuwhump through tumblr, the admin's tumblr, ao3 fics and discord servers. a handful said there's apparently a google doc floating around that houses a whump event calendar. i would be interested in seeing that if anyone's got it.

did you participate in Febuwhump 2020, 21, 22 or 23?

the majorty of respondants were new comers to febuwhump at 66.1% "no" to 33.9% "yes". the majority of comparisons to previous years referenced a noticably bigger community, more interaction on the blog, and the admin being more "confident" (oh, you guys), however several noted that the prompts felt more repetitive or samey this year than they did previously.

are you a Febuwhump completionist or participant?

a fairly even split, 51.3% of participants didn't finish compared to the 48.7% who did. however, only 88.1% of those completionists submitted to the hall of fame.

for those who didn't complete, the most common amount of prompts completed was 2 (13.6%), 3 (11.9%) and 12 or 6 (6.8%).

the most common place to share prompt fills was tumblr (74.8%), ao3 (72.2%), or choosing not to share at all (7%). several write-in responses said that they were planning to share in the future but hadn't yet. and while 76.4% of people submitted to the ao3 collection, those who didn't claimed it to be because the fics weren't ready to be shared on time, they weren't following the rules so didn't add to the collection, an inability to find the collection on ao3 (i swear i'm working on it) or shyness/fear.

what went well/even better if:

the only actual criticsm of the event received was that the blog was posting in a "spam"-like way, to the point that the participant almost unfollowed (and another suggested a reblog tag so it could be ignored easier if people didn't want to see the works throughout the month).

several comments asked for a later deadline for submission to the collection/hall of fame, which is going under advisement, but the current position is that by doing so, it makes the event a different event. there are no stakes to actually create once a day if, at the end of it, you actually get 2 weeks of extra time.

another couple mentioned there being too many dialogue prompts and vague prompts. this will be considered during the next voting period and prompt collation - potentially, if i allowed less dialogue prompts into the final 100 vote, less would make it through to the official 28, however the voting itself is out of my hands (unless voter fraud occurs once again).

the main suggestion for improvement (8 times out of 44 suggestions) was for an additional mod to help with reblogging more. (which imo flies in the face of the "spamming" from earlier, but there is surely a middle ground). this is likely to not happen, because i like running the event alone, despite the major burnout i receive every single year without fail. but thanks for your concern lol.

on discord:

31.3% of participants were in the discord server (which, this year, ignored the first year's 100 user cap and had 172 total users).

43.6% of people who didn't join the server did so because they hadn't heard of it, while the majority didn't join because they were either shy (the minorty) or don't use/like discord (the vast majority). i don't know if tumblr still does groupchats and if that would be a viable alternative, or if there is another forum/chat location that would work better (or to have in tandem), but i am open to suggestions.

of the people who were in the channel, most (33.3%) used it "rarely", followed by "most days" (25%) and "for half the month" (22.2%)

febuwhump 2025

the majority of responses wanted next year's colour scheme to either be red or green, but shout out to everyone who wanted orange, the person who said "children's hospital" and the other person who gave me this specific hex code: #4BEC13

which is vile, but also another vote for green.

finally, here are my favourite suggestions for febuwhump 2025's colloquial name. previously, we have endured febuwhump 2: electric boogaloo, febuwhump 3: tokyo drift, fourbuwhump and feb five.

febuwhump 6 suggestions:

fe6uwhump (which, i'll be honest, is a real contender)

"I don't know"

febuwhump 666

febuwhump: revenge of the sixth

"I don't know, sorry"

"febuwhump sex and make all the prompts kinky"

"??? i have been thinking about this for 10 mins"

febuwhump 6(9)

feBEEwhump

"i am bad at this"

"could not care less"

febuwhump feb five 2: electric boogaloo

apparently, i accidently made this a mandatory question and that made some of you mad :(

and that's the wrap up survey, six months late! any questions/queries/want to see some of that cold hard data? send me an ask. i'll actually respond to it i swear! (probably!)

[rattkachuk]

Hello! Hope you are having a good day.

So I have a question for you, just ignore when you don't feel like answering.

I came to Mattdrai via the enemies/rivals to lovers tag and then got sucked into hockey. I really like the fanon take on Leon, fav character, fanon Matthew was fine but way too woobified and infantilized in so many fics. So my surprise when I started to watch games, interviews etc. Public Matthew is so confident, so loving, awesome family to back him up, especially Brady, hot as hell, sexy way of playing hockey, amazing public persona. Loved and respected by his team, beyond hockey.

Then Leon. His only trait seems to be that he's pissy which I can appreciate but it seems that he's just a downright mean, arrogant guy with a superiority complex (see that interview when he puts Silovs down.) I don't find him stoic at all but he's just seems boring and bland and yeah, pissy. It doesn't seem like he has fun or likes his team a lot or is liked by them (Connor aside and his skills aside.) His friendship with Connor seems the only endearing or likeable thing. He even looks good in a bland way and his hockey is while it's so skillful it's not hot and also I wonder why his dirty plays aren't called out more often.

So what do I miss? Where does great fanon Leon come from? Why is he written mostly so superior to Matthew and where comes the "his team likes Leon so much but Matthew is an outcast in his own team come from?) It's so far from what I gather from old and new interviews or games and I have watched a lot, also German interviews. I really would like to like Leon, shipping them had been more fun when I didn't find his public self so jarring. What do I not see what everyone else seems to get?

Sorry for the long ask! Have a great day and thank you

first off thank you for such a thought out ask! i don't get to dive into things like this a lot outside of writing fic and it got my brain gears going.

to get right into the bulk of this ask: i get what you are saying about leon. that can be the way he comes off for sure, and look everything i'm gonna say? i'm talking out of my ass here. i don't claim to know anything about him as a person besides what's publicly presented, and i don't have much right to theorize about why he is the way that he is, but i'd be lying if i said i didn't think about it. how would i write rpf otherwise, right 💀

i think he cares a lot. and i think sometimes he gets so wrapped up in things, how things should be, how he should be performing, etc, and when it doesn't go a certain way he gets frustrated and snarky (eg, pissy comments and such). but i don't see that being bad necessarily, especially when it's seems to come from such a team oriented state of mind. which, i dont think he dislikes his team at all? i think if anything, he has a sort of blind faith in his team, and that's the only context i could see a 'superiority complex' making sense in. and yah maybe a little misplaced at times, but ultimately i think it comes from believing so fully in his team and not seeing that come to fruition. he really does not seem to care about his individual performance much at all, so how self obsessed can he be? when i think about leon i just see someone that is ultimately very passionate and committed to the game he plays. i'm also curious to know where you get the vibe that his team doesn't like him? simply because i never got that impression from any of the other oilers, they all seem like they're obsessed with him.

beyond hockey, i see a caring, sweet, kindhearted individual. anytime i see a picture or vid of him interacting with bowie, or even the things his girlfriend posts about him, the comments he leaves for people on ig, and yah of course in the way he talks/acts around connor, i see fragments of someone soooo different than the little two minute post game interviews (which, can we judge any hockey player on those? i think they all hate them dfkjgsd). it's not always something i actively go digging for or have examples of the top of my head, but i do see it, and it definitely goes into creating the version of leon that i have in my mind.

hey, and, he's a silly guy!!! please, i know the reputation is pissy and humourless, ESPECIALLY in fic, but that man is so funny. so many random offhanded comments that make me pause and then laugh. a different sense of humour but it's so there. i love the sandcastle vid from the asg last year and feel like it's a good example of that, all sunburnt and happy. also hey, big man in tune with his fear of the ocean? love that. that little vid of him dancing on the ice earlier this season, those halloween photos where he's dressed as a monkey, every time he talks to a kid. hell, seeing him in warmups and watching the way he takes time to interact fans?? loveee watching warmups but i'd never had a player actually acknowledge my existence before leon!

also i really enjoy his personality on the ice, i like the rat behaviour and the sassy comments that he makes to other players/refs, i like the bitch moves, and i like his hockey too. i think his game is dependable and like you said skillful, and while maybe not the most creative, the sureness and the technical aspect it is hot to me. so my thoughts on everything are probably skewed in that regard.

anyways this was just a whole lot of rambling about why i find him interesting, endearing even, but i understand the perception you have. i don't like some players that other people love, just cause i cant see what they see. and honestly that's sometimes just the way it is! if you don't like leon, maybe u just don't like him and thats fine.

disclaimer that i have only been on hockeyblr for a couple years, and really didn't spare many thoughts for leon til the beginning of the 22/23 season. truthfully i'm hardly the person to ask about leon imo, but of course i have thoughts anyways! if someone else with more knowledge reads my bit of rambling here, please feel free to chime in and add your voice to this!

and side note, ofc, i have to touch on this bc who would i be if i'm not one to talk about matthew; in the way of m.tkachuk, i think that in the early days of mattdrai it was maybe a fair take away during his time with the flames (minus the woobifying). even though he was loved so much here and had some fucking times, and i think the team was mostly good to him (player wise if not regarding management, that is), i see such a stark difference now that he's on the panthers. he seems much happier and more confident, and obviously he's clicking with the cats on another level, and i do see a shift in how he's been portrayed in fics since tbh.

[outofmydepthatapublicbeach]

hi babyy could you write julien x reader based on once more to see you by mitski?

jj chats: okay so i didn't know this song until now and now i am completely in love with it. anon: are you okay?? this song is so good but so heartbreaking!! also this is major angst and in my opinion very sad.

warnings: RPF, use of y/n, secret relationship, reader feels the relationship cannot continue for some reason (its not specified so you can think of whatever you want, not out yet, don't want the public to know), pet names used (baby, sweetheart), reader and julien cry, sad ending.

feedback is encouraged and i'd love to get some just please be kind!!!

“In the rearview mirror, I saw the setting sun on your neck, And felt the taste of you bubble up inside me”

Months of hidden truths, of abhorrence towards those who permitted you two from being together. Months of hiding behind tinted windows and keeping traces of your love away from anyone. Julien and you were getting so damn tired. You started to fight about it, about the hiding. You were two grown people, why couldn’t you just be happy together? Sitting in the driver's seat, Julien was facing a lake. One of your many secluded spots, this one in particular held precious moments. Julien glanced at the rearview mirror, watching as you paced back and forth. The sky cast a golden hue onto your face, making your eyes look as if they were glowing.

As Julien watched your movements she felt warmer and lighter. She knew she couldn’t live without you. She shook her head, she couldn’t stand seeing you so upset. She opened the car door and stepped out, advancing towards you.

“But with everybody watching us, our every move”

“Julien, please. Get back in the car,” you pleaded. Hands reaching towards your head, running quick fingers through your hair, and then holding onto your neck in an attempt to soothe yourself.

“No,” Julien retorted. “I won’t get back in the car (Y/N).”

“But-”

“But nothing! I am not going to let you leave me!” Julien boomed. The early evening air was chilly, which added to both of your stress.

“We do have reputations, we keep it secret, won't let them have it”

Your eyes started to tear up as you stared at your lover, “Julien we can’t,” you stammered. “What would people say?”

Julien took another step towards you, her eyes full of worry. She thought of anything that could ease you. “I know that it is hard, keeping us a secret. But if the only other alternative is losing you then it doesn’t matter to me. I’ll be with you any way you want.”

Her words caused your heart to ache, “I want to be with you. I just don’t want them to know yet, I'm not ready.” Your teary eyes overflooded and your cheeks were now red, you choked out “I want to keep what happens between us. That won’t ever work. They’ll find out somehow, they always do.” 

“So come inside and be with me, alone with me, alone, with me alone”

Julien hesitated, worried if she took a step close that you might run and never come back. “Not with us. I promise baby, I will protect you.” 

You shook your head, turning away from her. Your arms snaking up your torso, holding yourself together like tape. 

“Just come back to me, I’ll make everything okay.” Julien gulped.

“If you would let me give you pinky promise kisses, then I wouldn't have to scream your name, atop of every roof in the city of my heart”

Julien, with a newfound confidence, walked right up to you and held you close to her body. “My heart yearns for you, baby I need you. I would do anything for you.”

“Julien we can’t-”

“Let me promise you this sweetheart, that we’ll be okay, alright?” Julien lets go to spin you around, making you face her straight on, her hand gently wrapped around your wrists, holding you still. “I love you so much. My heart beats a language only you can understand, it's locked by a key only you possess. I love you so much it hurts baby.” Julien pauses, searching your eyes for something that she doesn’t find. “You own my heart (Y/N), let me prove that to you. Please, baby.” Julien, how always to stoic one between the two of you, was now a mess of tears. Her own eyes reddened and tears fell from her chocolate brown irises. 

You gain enough momentum to leave Julien’s grasp. As much as you want to stay, some malevolent force pulls you from her arms. “I’m so sorry. I can’t. I can’t do this anymore Julien. I can’t.” 

“Please baby, please don’t,” Julien whimpers, trying to reach for you.��

You pull away from her fast, your legs moving you to your car at record speed. As you get further away you start to hear the dreadful noise of Julien’s sobs. 

“If I could see you, once more to see you”

Julien felt as if a bomb had gone off in her chest, decimating her heart, and shredding her lungs. The air doesn’t feel right around her, the sky too cheery. 

You weren’t doing much better, once in your car you broke down. You punched the steering wheel, tears streaming down your face in a constant flow.

The end of a prologue that should have been the epilogue. The beginning of something that should have lasted to the end. Now it was just a precursor to the future sequences of events that both of you dreaded more than your worst fears.

Neither of you wanted to lose each other, yet that is what you both got.

[moonlitgraffiti]

S o. As few people are probably aware, over a year ago, I made a joke post that Joseph Pulitzer and Theodore Roosevelt are bitter exes in Livesies and that I would not be elaborating.

... As many fandom things tend to go, it is Definitely not a joke anymore. As such, I will now be elaborating as I did not all those months ago. For those of y'all willing to at the very least entertain it, strap in.

A l r i g h t so for everyone coming along for the ride, let us begin at the basics: the canon we are given to start with. Early in act I, we see even m e n t i o n of Roosevelt gets under Pulitzer's skin; he gets loud, he gets angry, he has to rein himself in. He will find any means he can to criticize and does not shy away from it.

Roosevelt does not come up again until late, l a t e game, where he shows up unannounced in Pulitzer's office. And it's where things start getting very interesting.

Pulitzer tries to be professional with him, tries to address him in a proper manner, calling him "Governor", trying to lay out his case before him from the start. But Roosevelt doesn't display much interest in this propriety. When he first lays eyes on him, he calls him "Joseph", and nothing more. Medda gets her full name, and he does not address anyone else. It's familiarity, and also some slight disrespect on Roosevelt's behalf. But it's also t e a s i n g, he smiles, he seems to enjoy watching him squirm. Not to mention the comfort in Pulitzer's personal space.

(Now kiss.)

He waves his power in Pulitzer's face, all the while refusing to call him anything other than "Joseph", despite Pulitzer trying to iron out the interaction into anything vaguely professional.

We also have the "hard heart, soft head" exchange.

Theodore where are you l o o k i n g??

After Jack manages to get a deal from Pulitzer and these two are standing up on the platform together, they continue to antagonize each other. But Pulitzer seems to be sliding into Roosevelt's game: he calls him "Teddy", a name which Roosevelt's real life counterpart despised. He moves to push his cane into Pulitzer's chest, and when Jack interrupts them, they both turn to give him this look:

I'm sorry, was he interrupting something?

Foreplay?

Sadly, here is where our canonical events end. However, now we jump into the richness of the relationship.

In the events we see in Newsies, I see this pair as bitter exes. As it so happens, based on the timeline of reality, Pulitzer and Roosevelt were in New York City at the exact same time for a while, immediately after Roosevelt's wife died. (I feel it important to note here that while I draw from real events, this is not to be intended as RPF. This is for the characters Newsies, specifically Livesies, has made of them both and only these characters. The real Pulitzer and Roosevelt led vastly different lives and neither were even present for the strike at all. So Newsies is fudging it, and so will I.)

At any rate, Roosevelt would have been young and vulnerable and emotional during this time. He and Pulitzer catch each other's eye, and after an age begin a tentative love affair. But Pulitzer can't bring himself to be open and honest with his emotions, especially not in a way that a vulnerable Roosevelt would so desperately need, and is too blinded by his own ego to see that he is causing problems.

Feeling ignored and twice brokenhearted, Roosevelt takes off to the Dakotas after the end of the legislative session without telling Pulitzer. This leaves Joseph confused and hurting, bitter and angry, and never wanting to see him ever again.

Years pass, and Roosevelt's fame grows. Pulitzer grows more and more bitter, thinking about the abandonment he's convinced himself was his reality. Until they meet again. Roosevelt as governor to confront him as a titan.

And so brings us to canon day. When your skinny, fiery, weak voiced lover crashes back into your life and he is big, loud, confident, and sexier than he's ever been.

I'm not asking you to ship it, but I'm asking you to at least consider how it can be compelling. Rekindling a love affair that ended so badly when both parties are older, wiser, and much better equipped. For those of you that want to see Pulitzer suffer, he will! That personal growth to force him out of his closed off emotional constipation, to make him confront that he isn't alone and doesn't have to be. And to slowly trust each other again.

[bright-and-burning]

thank you k @mecachrome i LOVE to yap and i love to see other ppl yapping!!! f1 tag game time!!!

Who is your favorite driver?: lando's grip on my brain should be studied in a lab tbh

Do you have other favorite drivers?: i am fond of many many drivers... oscar obviously is #2 to me. just the tiniest bit below lando, sorry oscar <3 and then there's a medium sized gap to anyone else but i am extremely fond of the williams guys. and i am studying alpine and aston martin like bugs. and i have a lot of blorbo-in-laws that i feel very fond of...

Who is your least favorite driver?: it depends on the day whether i even dislike anyone or not. today i feel neutral and up about everyone!! sometimes i distinctly do Not feel neutral... (usually during races)

Do you pull for drivers or do you like teams as well?: i am very driver oriented but obviously my like . internal ideas about drivers are heavily influenced by who their teammate is/what team they're on. and since i've been into f1 the driver lineups have. not changed. so in my head the teams n the driver pairings are pretty immutable (obviously that will Change djfldsakjfa)

If you like teams, what team do you pull for?: i am so deeply attached to the orange bitches 😔 i just watched the season 6 mclaren dts episode and when claire williams went “the likelihood of a team being able to turn around their performance to any kind of significant degree during a season? i can’t tell you how difficult it is. it’s pretty much unheard of” i just smiled SOOOO evil. sooooo evil. i believe in andrea stella's hot nerd vibes bless that man

How long have you been into F1?: since uhhhh approximately one week after qatar 2023. made this account right around cota 2023

What got you into F1?: twitter algorithm put some tweets about the shitshow that was qatar on my timeline (literally one of them was just. a little of names and like . blank threw up. blank was hospitalized. blank couldnt get off the ground.) and i was like:

(why is that picture SOOO large) and also i had been admiring the f1 web weaves for a while bc i would look at the 'web weave' tag and half of them would be f1 and i was like wow. these guys have a collective shit ton of daddy issues. fascinating... tbf!!! i have always been sports brain lol. just never quite rpf sports brained? so the stars aligned for this fr (recommended tweets, f1 web weaves, and me being unemployed, geographically isolated from all my friends, and severely depressed)

Do you enjoy Fanfic/RPF?: yes . i am constantly cooking . everyone here is soooo smart and cool and the writing is genuinely so incredible. and 8104 specifically has just like. a really dope bunch of ppl ive become friends with that i am constantly like. wow i cant believe these ppl want to talk to me!!! (k you are included in that <3)

How do you view new fans?: by looking in the mirror... djfladsj jk. i am a new fan! i am not a ""dts fan"" (have literally watched two episodes Ever and one of them was today) but none of it matters and i don't really find those kind of lines to be helpful. i have disagreed with ""dts fans"" and i have disagreed w ppl who started watching before i was born and i'd do it all again (this probably says more abt how opinionated i am than anything else)

If you could take over as team principal for any team, who would it be and why?: personally i am delusionally confident enough to believe i could run that bitch like the MARINES. at the very least i would not be running my mouth like toto lol. vibes wise idk if i could do it at Any Team (like. imagine mercedes being run by a punchy american woman. LMFAO. imagine FERRARI) (i'd say mclaren for papaya reasons but a) andrea stella i could never replace you and b) i think i would set zak brown's fuckin sports car on fire day 1.) but based on location only alpine!!

Are your friends and family into F1 as well?: uhhhh no. my dad went to exactly one motorsports event when he was like my age maybe a year or two younger and saw a really horrific deadly crash so that ended any family interest. my friends are mega sports ppl but they're into like. american popular sports. and running. i do have a tifosi coworker and a couple friends from high school who are into it but that's it

Are you open to talking to other fans/making friends?: yes!!!!! i am so horrifically extroverted i love to chat i love to make friends!!! i am in so many ppl's dms on the Daily just sayin shit to the point where im like maybe i should cool it. lol.

tagginggggg @monacotrophywife @freeuselandonorris @liamlawsonlesbian andddd @red-flagging if you want !!!! this was fun n i love hearing how ppl got into f1 bc i feel like i might've taken an odd route

[celestialsister0918]

Fic Writing Review 2023

Thanks for tagging me, @gammacousin!

Rules: Feel free to show whatever stats you have. Only want to show Ao3 stats? Rock on. Want to include some quantitative info instead of stats? Please do this. Want to change how yours is presented? Absolutely do that. Would rather eat glass than do this? Please don’t eat glass but don’t feel like you have to do this either. (Copied and pasted)

Words and Fics

Word Count:

142,081

Fic Count:

6 started. 5 completed

Most Productive Month: February by far, thanks to Kinkuary!

Top Five by Hits

The One He Needs Right Now: Jim Gordon's Kinkuary: 5941

What I'm Thinking About (Sirius x Ginny): 3600

A Window Not Missed (Bruce x Nat): 2107

A Window Closed (Bruce x Nat): 1101

In the Sepulcher by the Sea (Sirius x Severus): 684

Top Five by Kudos

A Window Not Missed (Bruce x Nat): 96

What I'm Thinking About (Sirius x Ginny): 61

A Window Closed (Bruce x Nat): 47

In the Sepulcher by the Sea (Sirius x Severus): 32

The One He Needs Right Now: Jim Gordon's Kinkuary: 24

Fandom events:

Two @trulymadlydeeplyfest fests! 1 in February and 1 in October. Both Harry Potter. I'm so bad at knowing where all the fests are so those are my only two.

Upcoming Plans:

To Complete:

Finish "A Window Closed" (Bruce x Nat)

Start "A Window Opened" (Bruce x Nat)

Start "A Special Election" (Jim Gordon x NEW OC) - I have one chapter written and some dialogue prompts for chapter 2. I'm soooo excited for this one.

Other Ideas:

Continue one-off Sirius and other Gary Oldman character one-shots on Tumblr.

Write a Jackson Lamb piece

Maybe write a Kate Bishop x Yelena Belova one-shot if the mood strikes

Write another Gary Oldman RPF (many dialogue prompts already written). Here's my first Gary RPF if interested... it was set during the Dracula filming. The new one will be set after his divorce from Alex but before Gisele.

Reflection

I took a couple long breaks from writing this year. After finishing "Submissioner Gordon" in December of 2022, I was at a pretty bad low from lack of interaction with that fic. My heart has NEVER been in something as much as it was that fic, so to have so many hits and so little interaction made me think everyone hated it. Yet I continued the story with the Kinkuary prompts, where I wrote a short fic every day for 28 days. Again, I feel like it bombed.

At the same time, I made what I thought would be my last hurrah in the Harry Potter fandom, and it didn't do so great either. I was in a BAD spot comparing myself to other writers, so I took a long hiatus.

During that break, I started watching the entire MCU with my son, start to finish. My brain grabbed onto Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff and would NOT let go. So in May, I began publishing the "Never Say Never" series, where I try to fix their story.

The feedback from the Marvel fandom and Brutasha readers/writers really warmed my heart and got me back in the groove. I am forever thankful to them, because it truly restored my confidence in writing.

I will always be thankful for my Wizarding World series and the Submissioner Gordon/Daddy Issues universe, and my brain loves to revisit those stories and characters. It's just bittersweet because it never really found its audience. However the feedback I got from my foray into the MCU fandom has built my confidence enough that I am able to write in HP and Dark Knight without really worrying what others think. I am just doing it for me and my love for the characters. I know my writing isn't bad--- it's just not a lot of people's cup of tea.

I also want to give a shoutout to the small but steadfast Gary Oldman fandom I have found on Tumblr and Instagram. They've become very dear to my heart, and I love that we can share random thirst posts together when so many others just don't get it.

If anyone is reading this, please share your 2023 stats and reflections as well! I love writers supporting writers. Happy 2024 to you all!

[davidshawnsown]

USA BASEBALL RPF (MODERN SETTING) 2 - Campaigns in the Ukraine (Chapter 4a)

(AN: It has been a grueling two weeks in March of '23 that the baseball fans around the world enjoyed the World Baseball Classic and I and millions of Team USA fans enjoyed their country's silver medal run in the Classic led by Mark DeRosa, an alumnus of the WBC team of 2009. This chapter, which is dedicated to them, newly promoted Yankees rookie infielder Anthony Volpe and retired 2021 Olympian Ryan Lavanway, will see DeRo slowly being introduced with the rest of his team and the staff gradually, as well as getting to know more of the USA's team players in this AU while others are being introduced. Baseball Canada's teams will soon be featured.)

CAMP LASORDA COMPLEX

CARY, NORTH CAROLINA

THURSDAY, JANUARY 14, 2022

1150H EST

Slowly, the 78th Brigade is making the jump to active service status.

Originally, Druw Jones's platoon was to be a part of B Company of the 1st Battalion. But Captain Frazier's intervention in the planning led to it being under A Company supervision, alongside the platoon led by 1LT Story which would be designated the 7th platoon.

At least now A Company has a total of 9 platoons - the HQ platoon, 8 rifle and 1 heavy weapons, B Company with 8 (with 7 rifle platoons and 1 heavy weapons). These would be the organizational setup of the two companies moving forward.

In addition, the brigade commander also ordered that the rehabilitation and modernization of the M8 AGS system, ongoing since 2021 in response to similar efforts by the Venezuelan Army, be fasttracked to help form a light tank company of the armored battalion alongside plans for a platoon-sized storage removal of both the M41 Walker Bulldog and M555 Sheridan for modernization - pending the outcome of the Army's Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle search between BAE Systems and General Dynamics. Regardless of result, both major defense companies have been able to begin modernization of under storage obsolete Army equipment and weapons systems beginning in 2018 when the 20th Corps, 60th Mobilization Command, began inducting units carrying traditions from former formations under the 60th's overall supervision in years past. BAE Systems, which purchased United Defense in 2005 - the makers of the M8 system during its days as part of FMC Corporation - is, per the brigade commander's letter to Army leadership, is already modernizing the type while General Dynamics Land Systems, which in 2003 absolved elements of GM Defense, whose Cadiliac Division was the one that produced both light tanks, this week offered their Griffin MPF 105 mm tank guns to both systems for the modernization plan replacing the old guns and the brigade accepted that offer as well. The M8 will be used in some of the platoons of said company with M41s and M555s in the rest. Once the results come out, a second light tank company will be slated for activation once mass production begins using the winning system and its personnel are assigned there from a number of Army armored battalions. In addition the brigade was informed of a plan to begin building up IFVs and APCs using these older tank chassis that began last year after seeing the Russian produced BMPT Terminator and the work of the Israeli defense industries to produce such systems, as well as provide some Bradleys and Strykers with the M40 anti-materiel recoil rifle.

But how about C Company?

This morning, BG Alvarez phoned MG Hopkins, the command XO, regarding that matter, stating that it would be 6 all-female rifle platoons, the HQ platoon, also all-female in its compostion, and heavy weapons platoon, the latter manned by both men and women. One of the assigned personnel to the women's training companies assigned to the 78th in peacetime, LTC Tamara Holmes, she says, has just arrived in Durham and will be travelling to Camp Lasorda to begin the process of recalling all those who came to Cary to train for their service to the nation. She is confident the ladies will do their best this time around.

"When will she arrive here?" the major general asked.

"Tomorrow," Veronica responded. She told the major general that she's already setting up new her home in Durham for her family before beginning to work in Camp Lasorda.

"I'm certain she will be ready for that. BTW MAJ Alex Oglesby will be coming today to prepare the C Company barracks for the arrival of the women contingents."

"Noted, ma'am, we will be ready."

"Thank you major general."

One more thing was made before the call, the major general had been talking with the 78th BCT command leadership regarding any news of the brigade. They were informed by the 2nd Battalion command in Raleigh that given the brigade's mobilization they wish to granted a 5th rifle company, K Company, to complement the pre-existing formations. The request was granted. The increase to 5 rifle, 1 weapons and 1 cannon company each was for the battalion to be at pace as well with what the 1st Battalion has been doing.

The night before, CPT Jake Arrieta and 1LT Dexter Fowler, the commander and XO of B Company, 1st Battalion, had been informed that the commander of the 2018 collegiate mobilization force will call them that morning. He is retired brigadier general Paul Mainieri, commandant of the 2nd cadet regiment in LSU as part of its cadet and student brigade and a mentor of 1LT Bregman, who studied under him while in the university. And indeed he called them to inform them that members of the 2018 mobilization platoon from the colleges will be arriving in Cary beginning tomorrow, and he is set to be preparing to come to Cary by the week to join the 78th Brigade as an advisor to the command and once more as the commanding officer of that unit that will be placed as part of that company as its 2nd platoon, expecting Jake and Dexter to be ready to take care of these boys who will be soon part of Baker Company. The brigade XO, COL Campbell, gave the two copies of the 2018 27-man mobilization platoon roster and the personnel files of the boys who were a part of it and its staff - sans 2LT Vaughn who's now with A Company - which were as follows:

MAJ Godwin

MAJ Perez

CPT Hager, press officer

CPT Hendry

1LT Packard, platoon commander

1LT Langeliers, platoon second in command

2LT Pallante

2LT Doxakis

2LT Shewmake

2LT Stott (1st Battalion, 82nd Philadelphia, newly commissioned from OCS from being a Staff Sergeant)

CWO2 Burniston

MSGT Hicks, battalion HQ representative from the sergeant major’s office

SSGT Bean

SSGT Wilson

SSGT Rutschman (1st Battalion, 82nd Baltimore)

SGT Stinson

SGT Caracci

SGT Cabrera

SGT Burns

SGT Meyer (1st Battalion, 93th Miami)

CPL Thompson

CPL Watson

CPL Jung

CPL Brnovich

CPL Yovan

CPL Agnos

CPL Feole

PFC Pallante

PFC Hess

PFC Fletcher

Just as the copies were being read, 1LT Bregman from A Company arrived, joined by 1LT Adam Frazier from 1st Battalion 77th Seattle. Formerly under 1st Battalion of the 82nd Pittsburgh, he too was a graduate of the brigade's collegiate and high schools programs. He was one of the officers in which CPT Frazier served in his final 169th Corps posting in 2021 before moving back to his home state.

"Alex!" CPT Arrieta said. The four all saluted.

"So is that true, my former commanding officer in Baton Rouge is coming back to Cary?"

"Yes," the captain said. The reason, he says, is that BG Campbell had notified the command leadership regarding the need to mobilize the 2018 national collegiate platoon, which he served before as a Colonel, to active service. As indicated, those who got into civilian life after college and did not continue with their military careers are, given as part of the training platoons for mobilization service, to be called up to wear their military uniform and prepare for the duty they trained for as they return to Cary. He will bring the 2018 mobilization staff there to Cary as well so that B Company will be ready to stand up for activation.

"And his staff are coming tomorrow as well?"

"Affirmative, lieutenant."

"I'm sure his boys are ready to be mentored by your crew, Captain Jake."

"We're ready to take them under the company," CPT Arrieta answered. "These lads, a few of them now with the 169th Corps, will finally apply all the training they learned here."

"That's right, captain," added Dexter. "I'm sure 1LT Andrew Vaughn would love to see his mentor return here, he trained under his wing in '18."

Jake replied, "Yeah, lieutenant Fowler. I met that lieutenant before a few times."

Adam added "1st Lieutenant Adam Frazier reporting, gentlemen. From first battlion of the 77th Seattle, nicknamed Mariners. But we're an Army infantry regiment specializing in urban warfare and coastal defense. given the nature of where we're stationed."

"Pleasure to see you here back in Cary", Jake replied.

Dexter said, "Glad you're back where you started."

1LT Dexter Fowler, a veteran of the 2008 national mobilization platoons that had a great tour of China and South Korea, did not let up the memories of the hard summer with Jake and the rest. As the contingent company XO, the native of Atlanta was tasked with being Jake's assistant and helped the contingent, armed with the M2 Bradley IFV after many years utlizing the venerable M113 (the first contingent to use that was in 2003) to achieve great results in the joint training with the PLA and the ROK Armed Forces, alongside those of other armed services. By that time, he was with the 93rd Colorado and that September, he was finally granted transfer to the 1st Battalion, and served thus on a number of regiments. Before he got recalled, he was last serving with the 1st Battalion of the 61st Los Angeles, an air assault formation based out of Anaheim, under A Company commander CPT Mike Trout, an alumnus of the 78th Brigade's training program.

His commanding officer, Captain Jake Arrieta, USAR, had been also a part of the 2008 contingent and was his superior. By the time he had been serving, he was a part of one of the battalions of the 82nd Baltimore, then based in Bowie. Two years later, the 2LT had been selected as part of the 1st Battalion, by now under then regimental colonel Showalter. Since then he served with a few other regiments - this time with the 76th Infantry Division, his last assignment being in San Diego. He and 1LT Fowler were reunited again in 2015, as during that time the two were serving in the same battalion - this time around in the barracks the 1st Battalion 72nd North Chicago Infantry under the 76th. But before that service tour in Beijing, China, the captain from Farmington, Missouri, who later grew up in Plano, Texas, had served in the 2006 collegiate contingent as a direct entry 2LT from the OCS and on deputation as part of the Texas Christian University student brigade, together with a few others who now served in the 169th Corps and were from many of the top unis in the country. One of his contingent squad leaders: the native from Toms River, and now A Company commander of the 1st Battalion 78th IBCT, Captain Todd Frazier, then in Rutgers that time and then a direct entry sergeant given his leadership skills alongside then corporal Brandon Crawford, now an officer in the same unit. His fellow NCO Sergeant Casey Weathers in B Company, part of the 2008 contingent, was a young PFC then. 1LT David Price was their platoon commander, with 2LT Preston Clark the platoon XO then.

These two leading officers of B Company now had a big task in their hands, as they prepared to begin the road to the activation of their unit. Sharing in anticipation of the moment is SFC Matt LaPorta, formerly of the regiment based in Cleveland and is today the new company first sergeant. He was first sergeant of the 2008 contingent and thus when he got recalled back to Cary, even as he's advanced in age after a decade since he left the Army Reserve early, he felt ready to wear the uniform again.

Matt added, "Jake, Dex, we just are not letting ourselves be ready for these new additions, right?"

CPT Jake replied, "I'm sure we all are."

"Same for me sergeant," added 1LT Dexter.

As they talked, Major Oglesby arrived.

"Morning gentlemen," she greeted.

"Morning, major, ma'am," responded the B Company commander. She stated that she arrived there to begin the process of activating C Company that week.

"Glad you're here," said 1LT Bregman. "It's a pleasure to be back for you. So you're helping to reactivate C Company?"

The major answered, "Affirmative, sir."

Just immediately, the battalion leadership arrived led by LTC Darren Fenster.

"Major Oglesby, ma'am," said Darren, "welcome back to Camp Lasorda. I'm glad you are here to assist in reactivating C Company to active service from its cadre status."

"Indeed I'm here. Not just for the duty I've been asked, but also to help those female personnel who are preparing to join the company as well as in the ranks of the brigade's other units."

"I'm sure you will be a big help to that effort, major."

"I'm ready just for that goal, to help women be ready to serve in this storied formation, sir," the major replied.

MAJ Sogard asked, "So are the others coming to help prepare C Company and recall all those of the women's mobilization units - all platoons - to Camp Lasorda?"

"Yes, major, they will be coming."

"I'm sure they are," added 1LT Bregman.

"And major," said the battalion XO, "46th Command is looking for a man who would be leading the 2023 mobilization unit. They are looking for someone who has become a leader in his own right."

Alex replied, "The ladies who will arrive here this week are eagerly waiting, and so are you guys, hoping the major general can find his man."

Just as they were talking, the battalion CSM, SGM Ronai, gave the battalion leadership printed copies of a email sent by LTC Jack Leggett, regarding the 2019 national high schools training team he led. He recommended that the expanded contingent - including those of the preliminary ranks of the eventual mobilization platoon of high schoolers, be under B Company, with those of the pre-mobilization company that year placed under F Company. The email ends with his best wishes for the boys and for the B Company leadership, and with another attached note from the commander of the 2nd high schools mobilization unit for 2019, COL Eric Kibler. His group high schoolers that did not make the cut would be recommended to join F Company or join G Company of the 2nd Battalion - an unprecedented move to have the 1st company of the Raleigh-based 2nd Battalion be made up to those alumni of the high school training programs, with plans to convert just two of the companies with the rest made up of active servicemen and reservists. No emails from the 2021 high schools training contingent staff have been sent, for now.

CAMP LASORDA TRAINING RANGE

Cary, North Carolina

1155H

That same morning, just as Major Oglesby was being welcomed to the camp and conversing with battalion leaders, A Company had earlier started the usual daily training regimen. All platoons so far activated and company leadership were taking part in a simulation of the hills warfare operations, the kind that US forces had been doing in Afghanistan for years, but this time in the Ukrainian context, given that they have been since the activation day training for fighting in the country's topographic scenarios in support of Ukrainian forces. Joining them would be elements of the forward support company attached from the brigade's service support battalion, soon slated to be a regiment. While the plains would be open ground for mechanized warfare the brigade has been training for urban warfare in the cities and in residential suburbs. The hill warfare training would suit their joint coordination in the future with Ukrainians in the Donets and Azov Uplands in the east, as well as in the capital and its suburbs, which are urban with a hilly landscape, as well as in the river valleys in the country's north and northeast.

Cary's valleys and hills are a good place for the company to begin their training for the Ukrainian hills, given the town's topography. And the M2 and its variants provide thus the armored capabilities needed to fight in the hills and hillside roads as a good IFV platform. Before, when the 78th had been training in Tucson in Arizona, they were wearing desert pattern uniforms, which proved to be a blessing in disguise - the brigade would be deployed to Iraq for a few years. The brigade's former barracks and complex in Trenton was were the 39th Regimental Combat Team - by then the 39th Infantry Brigade - was rebadged the 78th and that's when it spent its first years under its current name.

Thru the cold North Carolina morning, A Company have had been practicing mounted and dismounted operations on the M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle and the self-propelled mortars on M113 chassis. This week, they were joined by gunners that began training with the now newly activated cannon company under 1st Battalion using the M101 howitzer. 2 platoons are to be armed using that system with 3 being raised to use the German-made Heckler & Koch M635 light guns, which would be not just for ceremonial duties but would also be fire support infantry guns for the 21st century. Joining them were an Avenger section by the anti-air defense missile battalion, mounted on Humvee chassis, to provide mobile air defense cover.

This time SGT Kelenic is with 3rd Squad, serving under Sergeant Jamie Westbrook. The young sergeant had been an alumnus of the brigade's training program and upon his return, having now served with the 1st Battalion of the 77th Seattle, he felt even more confident to apply all that he learned, this time as a rifleman plus optional NLAW launcher/grenadier. SPC Gavin Casas is with the 1st squad alongside his older brother, and also, SSGT AJ Cole, who arrived in Cary that night, is with 2nd squad serving under SSGT Anthony Carter, a veteran who served as the training NCO for a number of Mexican Army and Dominican Army reserve battalions to train them for a variety of missions at home and abroad for years before being called up in 2021 to Cary to form part of the Tokyo contingent. And 1LT Story is already with 1LT Austin's 1st platoon on secondment before his own platoon can be stood up, alongside that platoon under 1LT Brandon Crawford.

"ABLE COMPANY, DISMOUNT!"

The signal from CPT Todd Frazier echoes from his radio and all the officers then follow his lead, calling for the men to dismount from the M2 as right now they are practicing dismounting from their vehicles at the halt and taking positions in the field. The captain had just ceded command of the vehicle section to the designated leader, 1LT Eric Thames, with SFC Liberatore as the senior NCO in charge that time. With everyone dismounted, the order is then given to move in column, with company command and 1st platoon as the vanguard and the remainder the main force, man and vehicle moving as one unit. The drill today is on hills warfare - capturing highland enemy positions and ambushing the enemy on higher terrain, and involves some live fire training on the Bradley's weapons systems.

"Move!" echoes loud as the officers order their men to get moving as they halt to practice firing on enemy targets using the M4, while the Bradley gunners perfect the use of the IFV's weapons systems. Mortar fire can be heard given that the weapons company's self-propelled mortars on the M113 chassis, as well as the usual towed mortar systems, have been training for mortar firing operations given that the brigade command has opted to expand the brigade's directly reporting mortar battery to battalion size.

While the drill is going on a few of the battalion staff officers are present watching, knowing that LTC Fenster has given the go-ahead for A Company to begin its training while the other companies are awaiting activation. These include Majors Scott Brosius and Eillot Avent, who are already observing the drills from a Bradley Command Vehicle. Watching on the screens, they are observing how the company's personnel have applied all that they have learned during their training days in the town since the activation so far as the 1st Battalion slowly gets itself mobilized.

"Look at what the company's been doing," BG Whitfield said. He's there as the delegate of the brigade command to observe the training manuevers.

"Have they been doing quite enough to be ready for what will happen?"

"Yes general," MAJ Brosius responded. "I'm sure of it."

Major Eillot Avent added, "So am I, sir. These men have been training hard for their Ukrainian deployment and are beginning to adapt to where they will be assigned if and when they will be stationed there via Poland."

Retired BG Willie Randolph, who yesterday had a simple retirement ceremony to mark the end of his active service with the 169th Corps after many decades, was watching at the same time from a distance, alongside 1SGT Greg Maddux, in another Bradley CV alongside CPT Donnelly, the battalion quartermaster. The captain asked Willie, "Will your advice do matter for these men?"

"I'm sure they will, and I'll be ready to suit up again when that happens, one more time. I know the risks having served with some of our national contingents before, captain."

"Same for me," added Greg. "It's been long since I last wore Army uniform and the patches of the 78th Brigade."

The brigadier general had been comissioned from OCS in 1975 when he was with the 3rd NY by then Colonel Billy Martin on transfer from the 82nd Pittsburgh. He was one of the late Captain Thurman Munson's adjutants in the 1970s, ending up serving with other regiments of the 169th Corps. For much of the 1990s and 2000s he was a field officer serving as staff advisor to 2 commandants of the 3rd NY and in 2005, upon promotion to colonel, was granted his first command - commanding officer of the 62nd New York Light Infantry. In 2008, he was promoted brigadier general serving as adjutant general for the Milwaukee and Baltimore garrisons before moving to the Army Reserve. It was in 2017 when upon the urging of COL Jim Leyland, commanding officer of the 2017 national contingent unit, the veteran suited up once more to serve an advisory role as second in command to MG Joe Torre, the overall commander in charge of the formation. It was that experience that prepared him for one final work before retirement - preparing the framework for mobilizing the 78th Brigade for the future operations they will ever do.

When asked by CPT Donnelly how the logistical work is also preparing the battalion the captain stated to the veteran general that they are also working to help the battalion be properly equipped for the Eastern European and Ukrainian deployment the brigade will be doing in weeks. They are also properly preparing enough equipment for the combat support formations, as well as any transports needed and supplies for the medical needs.

BG Randolph replied, "Captain, I'm speaking from experience. When I was in New York I did my best to help my battalion quartermaster fulfill his duties. Most supplies were carried to the barracks and wherever we did exercises by those M809s. Now there's those HEMTT trucks and FMTVs! You think this brigade will have enough of these?"

"Yes it will have more than enough in its inventory."

"Same for me and the guys in Atlanta during my day", 1SGT Maddux added.

By that time MAJ Sogard was outside a M577 tracked command vehicle alongside 1T Plouffe and Sergeant Major Gerald Perry watching as while using his binoculars, the battalion XO had seen Todd, Tulo and the other officers beginning to a mass vanguard charge of the company leadership and the 1st and 2nd Platoons with guns firing and the M2 Bradleys firing their guns on the move providing covering fire as the M101s and M636s fire at designated targets simulating enemy defenses, mortar fire in between. Watching with them was one member of the 83rd Philadelphia, SSG Kyle Schwarber, who arrived that morning.

"Is that First Lieutenant Alvarez charging with the national flag?"

"It is major."

"That man again, I'm sure he loves this country so much," the major said. "And who's with him charging?"

The sergeant major responded that those were members of company leadership, while 1SGT Anthony Gose had just disembarked on his M113 to join them and defend the ensign.

"Is that the man I first saw in Miami while I was with the 69th Washington?" asked the staff sergeant.

"It's that man, staff sergeant," replied SGM Perry.

"I know that man well."

Staff Sergeant Schwarber, a native of Middletown in Ohio, was an student in Indiana who served in its student regiment before he got his recruitment papers from the 72nd North Chicago. Personnel of that regiment had seen his abilities in battle as well as in military discipline and thus he joined that outfit in 2015, getting into the 1st Battalion a year later. It was one of many regiments he would be serving, by the time he got called up to respond to the email of Major General Reagins for what would be the 2023 mobilization contingent of the brigade, he was already with the 1st Battalion of the 83rd Philadelphia's A Company under COL Thomson, its commander (as BG Joe Girardi was appointed then part of Philadelphia Garrison command in 2021 after being a part of that regiment since 2019) after spending a year with the 1st Boston. He has informed them that his company's CO and a fellow graduate of the 78th Brigade's training program, 1LT Bryce Harper, had called him via cellphone that he too has responded to the call to be in Cary and will be there via Raleigh to get his training reps ready. Joining him that morning is another of those who responded to the email, 1LT Jacob Tyler Realmuto from that same company and a platoon commander in that unit.

After many minutes, and with the objectives secured, A Company ended their training for the day and Captain Frazier phoned his battalion CO via walkie talkie of the end of that drill informing him that the objectives have been fulfilled.

"Well done Captain, I'm sure the men under your command will be ready to engage in future real life operations," replied LTC Fenster.

Todd replied, "Indeed this will be one of many we're doing especially as more platoons begin to be inducted into Able Company in weeks. We'll be training harder in combined arms operations with the other components of the brigade. And also, Colonel, we've got a new arrival who also responded to MG Reagins' early appeal for volunteers for the 78th. Remember that one I met in Chicago in 2015?"

"Yes, captain Frazier. That's Staff Sergeant Kyle Schwarber. Last year he got his transfer papers to the 83rd Philadelphia and now he just arrived here to begin his training with the platoon under 1LT Trevor Story."

"That's the man I was talking about, sir."

"Indeed, captain, he will be a great addition to lieutenant Story's unit."

"Who's with him today colonel Fenster?"

"1st lieutenant JT Realmuto. From the same company as Kyle's, also got the email from MG Reagins. He joined the staff sergeant today so that they would be acquainted with each other and the battalion staff as they would be joining 1st Battalion."

"That lad from Del City? I know him, having met a couple of times."

"That's right, Todd. Now go and meet these two."

Todd then called up the company XO, CPT Troy Tulowitzki, 1LT Story and 1SGT Gose, informing them of the new arrivals to Cary. As A Company rested after that long morning to get ready for lunch the group of company leadership soon approached were the two were alongside representatives from battalion headquarters and from the brigade.

As it turned out B Company was also observing but from battalion's camp with a few new returnees in SFC Jeremy Cummings, the 1st platoon sergeant, 1LT Louis Marson, 1st platoon commander, and SSG Blaine Neal. All of them were of the 2008 mobilization contingent and they arrived in Cary this morning awaiting the rest of their comrades, and CPT Jake had just texted LTC Fenster regarding the three, he was told.

And soon 1LT Pike and SSGT Holiday were both joining with the group of CPT Frazier as well.

"First lieutenant JT Realmuto sir, reporting for duty. From the 83rd Philadelphia's 1st Battalion" the 30-year old officer saluted, acknowledging his superiors.

"Staff Sergeant Schwarber, sir."

"Welcome you two to Cary and Camp Lasorda. Were you two accompanied by members of the 1st Battalion staff?" Captain Frazier asked.

"Yes sir, LTC Young called us when we arrived here," JT responded. "And thus a new members of the battalion staff fetched us so that we can be able to talk to Lieutenant Colonel Fenster, sir."

Todd replied, "You two made the right choice. I will make sure Major General Reagins knows you two have responded to the call. And by the way are there anyone with you two here?"

"Only three who came here with us when we came," Kyle answered. He added that these were from the 2017 contingent and that their commanding officer, retired colonel Leyland, had emailed them regarding 1LT's orders that their contingent be mobilized given the Ukrainian situation as of late.

@joeybosa-aaronjudge @lightninging @homerofthebraves @dilangleywritesfanfic @auroralightsthesky @alekmanoah @ilovetheyankees @darkorderaf @highwaytothedangerzone502 @zackcollins

[littlefreya]

Vanilla Milkshake

Summer: Henry and a long time friend hangout at their usual spot when things turn chaotic because of an innocent misunderstanding...

Prompted by:  

 Oooh Freyaaaa I just *need* some scene featuring Henry and ofc drinking milkshake. 

Pairing: Henry Cavill x Unamed OFC (no description of ethnicity or body type).

Word count: 1.7K

Warnings: RPF, major fluff, friends to lovers, sexual innuendo, mild seduction, sex talk, an unwanted boner, Henry being a boomer, Henry having a meltdown. 

*No permission is given for reposting my work, copying it, ideas or parts it and claiming it as your own.*

A/N: So, first thing first, thanks @agniavateira for quickly beta’ing my work! And of course thanks @the-soot-sprite for bouncing ideas with me and being an emotional support. Decided to go with friends for lovers because I live for that stuff. Also, I am aware that “Milkshake” can be interpreted in several ways but for the sake of the story I went with that particular reference. Divider by the lovely @firefly-graphics

Please comment and reblog if you enjoyed.  🖤

Title: Vanilla Milkshake

“I swear, this diner looks like Barbie had an orgasm all over the place.” A whimsical grin sliced between Henry’s marble cheeks. Eyeing the pastel-esque surroundings, he huffed scornfully and adjusted the cap over his nest of unruly curls. 

“Remind me again why we always meet here, young lady?”

Staring at the beastly man who barely managed to squeeze into the plastic-pink faux leather booth, she couldn’t help but chuckle. Henry carried himself with something that was both eloquent yet unmistakably feral, reminding her of a burly forest creature. Sturdy tree trunks stood for limbs, torso, and shoulders—the widths of icy mountains and a blanket of thick fur coated the entirety of his body, deeming him a dangerous bear. 

No wonder he preferred himself clean-shaven. The sharpened edge of a razor kept him a cut away from becoming ‘Henry the Barbarian’. 

Seeing him surrounded by pastel and sparkly fairy dust brought far more joy than she could ever imagine. The utter look of contempt gleamed on the surface of his shifty eyes. 

Oh, by God, how much he hated glitter!

“And what would you know about Barbie’s orgasms?” she teased with a crooked eyebrow and a comical suspicious glare. 

Readjusting his cap over the messy mane of chocolate curls, Henry offered a terrible wink and shrugged, “a gentleman never tells.”

Her fingers rapped on her thigh while she contemplated whether to allow this naughty joke slide, but then the urge to provoke him was far too great. After briefly chewing on the inside of her cheek, she broke into a wicked grin.

“Is that… like a role play you have with the missus? She’s Barbie, and you’re G.I.Joe? Because I kinda don’t want to hear about it, but then I kinda do.”

Henry’s smile gradually faded along with the playful glee in his eyes, his melancholic gaze dropping to the sparkly table. He slumped into a heavy sigh, “If by missus, you mean ‘Miss Hand’, then no… not really.”

Dumbfounded, she frowned at Henry with confusion when then it struck her; a sense of incredible embarrassment drained the blood from her head to her gut.

“Oh…”

“Yep.” Henry blurted and grabbed the menu, pretending to be incredibly interested in the kids’ meal options. 

Just in time to rescue them from a prolonged awkward silence, the waitress arrived with their order, serving Henry a hot cup of double espresso while she received a tall glass of a luscious vanilla milkshake. 

“Enjoy your drinks, guys!” the waitress smiled sweetly and kept her eyes glued to Henry as she walked away. But the gloss of the waitress’ flirtatious excitement was lost on him; drenched with greed, Henry’s blue sapphires were fixated on the generous scoops of ice cream and the dark chocolate swirls that decorated his companion’s dessert. 

“Henry, my eyes are up here!” she provoked and grabbed the straw between two fingers while throwing an amused glance at his simple cup of coffee. Henry followed her gaze and scoffed before raising the cup to his mouth and blowing to cool his drink.

The way his lips pursed together and his finger stroked the ceramic surface did not escape her observation. A sudden tingle swam down the length of her spine once it resonated in her mind that kind, charming, and beastly Henry was now single. Here they were, long time buddies, but now sitting together felt less comfortable than before. Her limbs felt like pins and needles while staring directly at his eyes was as risky as staring at the sun.  

“Cheers,” Henry mumbled and took a sip from his cup. 

Almost jolting in her seat, she stiffened and then grabbed her straw.

“Cheers.”

Giggles came from the other side of the diner. Among the retro gumball machines and rounded plastic bar stools, the waitress and a colleague leaned against the counter and stared at Henry, who turned his head for a brief moment and tipped his head.

Their giggles turned even louder.

She frowned. 

“So, have you been single for a while?” she heard herself asking with a rather urgent tone. Right away, a look of contrition crept on her face as she regretted her verbal onslaught and lack of sensitivity. 

Henry directed his gaze back to her and watched as she slowly sipped from the milkshake and then suckled the cream off her mouth. 

Absentmindedly, he licked his lips. “Since May. How about you, weren’t you with…?”

“No, ended, dodged a bullet.” she spat and pumped the straw up and down the thick beverage. “My milkshake brings all the boys… except it doesn't.” she sighed.

Henry frowned and shook his head with confusion. “What? You never told me you make your own milkshake. How come I never had some?” 

Her face abruptly froze, her eyes rounded with surprise before she snorted so loudly the waitresses stopped their whispering.

“Umm… Hen?” she called out, trying to hold herself from bursting into chuckles as her friend accidentally asked for a very sexual favour, “you honestly don’t know what ‘milkshake’ is slang for...?”

“Uh…”

“Omg, you’re such a boomer.” 

“No, I was born in ‘83! I’m a millennial. But please, indulge me.” he begged and crossed his arms together.

Clearing her throat loudly, she did her best to fight the wicked grin that stretched on her already painful cheeks and wrapped her fist around the straw. “So you know... how… certain male bodily fluids are sometimes white and creamy...? And when you perform a certain motion it’s like you’re shaking it…?”

Henry blinked and became silent. An unbidden rush of blood pooled at his groin as he watched her thumb graze over the tip of the straw and her fist pumping it into the smooth liquid in a slow, gentle motion. Wickedness glazed her eyes, but he tried to dismiss it as nothing but their usual playful banter; yet his adam’s apple bobbed up and down while his shoulder tensed at the oddly arousing sight of her performing a sinful act on a milkshake. 

There was an unmistakable stir in his cock and for once, he was thankful for narrow spaces as it hid his predicament.

Leaning forward, she opened her mouth and swirled her tongue around the straw. She went deliberately slow, making him watch while she playfully licked and suckled the tip until finally wrapping her lips around it and taking a generous sip.

Henry gawked utterly smitten, unaware that his jaw was nearly at the floor.

And to make things worse, she moaned—not too loud—but definitely enough to make his shaft harden more.

She wasn’t sure what stirred this whimsical boost of confidence, only that seeing the large, handsome man pale at her provocations made her feel like the most powerful woman on earth. She also gathered she’d regret it forever and a day once they’ll part ways, but it was too late for that now.

Gingerly she pulled back, though not before allowing a single drop of cream to trickle down the corner of her lips.

“Oops,” she smirked casually, wiping the cream with her fingertip and sucking it clean. 

“Please stop…” 

It was then when she noticed that Henry’s playful mien was all but gone. Far from amused, he glowered with a clenched jaw. “If you’re going to keep doing that, I’ll have to leave,” he stated matter-of-factly. 

A rush of panic made her freeze in her spot, the same needles that pricked her skin were now setting jolts of electric bursts. “I’m so sorry, I crossed the line,” she said and covered her mouth with shame, “did I offend you? Do you want me to leave?”

“What? No, no, not at all.” Henry’s voice softened right away, and he reached a hand in the air, as if trying to stop her from leaving. The last thing he wanted now is for her to think he is angry with her. If anything, he wished they could spend more time together, not because of his obvious arousal, but because for the first time in a long while, he was having fun.

Still, she looked at him so utterly distraught.  

“Then…?” 

Henry scanned the diner as if trying to make sure no one was staring or taking any photo and then shifted in his seat uncomfortably. His eyes altered between his spread thighs and her several times, trying to signal toward his… trouble.

“Oh...” she gaped. 

An odd sense of pride began to permeate her chest, battling over the burning embarrassment that flamed up her neck and cheeks. At this point, she wasn’t sure what she was supposed to feel, only that it was definitely the most awkward hangout they had to date. 

Problem was, she never knew when to shut up. 

“Is little Henry hungry?”

Hearing those words, his brows dropped to an irritated sulk. “There is nothing little about it.”

“Ha! Prove it!”

It was as if the entire diner and perhaps the world fell into silence. Had the clatter of the dishes being washed in the back kitchen not rung their ears, she would have thought she grew suddenly deaf. 

“I didn’t mean it… sorry, I’ll stop,” she mumbled slowly and pressed her fingers to her mouth while shaking her head at her stupid behaviour. That was it, this was to be the last afternoon she would ever hang out with Henry and right now, she couldn’t even bring herself to look at him.

Henry chewed onto the inside of his cheeks, trying to stop the words that came faster than his thoughts.

“You didn’t?... Because I’ll definitely be up for proving...”

She blinked at his words and tilted her head, hoping that he won’t notice the wild tremors that shook her limbs, “What was that?” 

“I... yes? No?...I… fuck!” 

Henry lowered his head and slapped his palms across his face, rubbing back and forth with an utter meltdown while mumbling, “Forgive me,” a couple of times. He couldn’t care less of what the waitresses or whoever was watching would think of him; all he cared about was to make her feel comfortable around him again and maybe… even make her like him?

“Henry?”

Soft and warm her voice called to him, slowly pulling him from his anguish like a sailor being rescued from a sunken ship. His blue sapphires shone, an ocean of confusion and anxiety still pooling within while he peered back at her face that was now smiling at him a mixture of comfort and exhilaration. 

“Would you like some of my milkshake?”

[machine-gun-casie]

tavern music

synopsis: corpse hears tavern music coming from your room (gn!reader)

warnings: rpf, reader gets cheated on, kind of unrequited feelings, mostly hurt/comfort and physical affection tho (what im trying to say is that this is mostly self indulgent)

wc: 1.7k

a/n: havent written in a while but i found this in my arsenal, fixed it up a bit and viola. original plans for this was definitely something longer that would end with them being together but im not up for writing rn. been feeling really shitty lately and ive been needing something like this in my life. hope u guys like it ♡

He couldn’t hear it at first. His headset was on and everyone was being so loud on the discord call. When he started the stream, he really thought it was gonna be a long one. But he’s only two hours in and he’s ready to get the hell off because something was definitely wrong.

“Corpse?” His name being spoken finally broke him out of his trance, he only hummed in response. “You’ve been really quiet. Are you sure you’re up for another game?”

“Actually,” he starts as he closes a few tabs, “I think I’ve gotta go. Today was fun, though. Thanks for having me guys.”

After a chorus of ‘goodbye’s and ‘see you later’s, Corpse disconnected from the discord call. “Thank you guys for being here,” he addressed the chat, “sorry I’m ending so early today. I promise I’ll make it up to you next time. Take care of yourselves. Later.”

After hanging up his headset and getting out of the chair he’s been sitting in for far too long, Corpse made the short trek to your room. 

You had only been roommates for less than four months, but Corpse could confidently say that you have become one of his closest friends. Getting a roommate was the last resort that he never wanted to actually resort to. But alas, medical bills were piling up and youtube and music don’t make half as much money as people think they do. So cutting rent in half was the best plan he could come up with. He did have an extra guest room that no one ever stayed in. Of course having someone move into his personal space was terrifying to him. He didn’t just want to post an ad on craigslist or something. So he asked a couple trusted friends to ask a couple trusted friends… And that’s when you came in.

You were the trusted friend of a trusted friend of a trusted friend. When you met, you didn’t make a comment about his voice. Your face sure as hell showed your surprise but you didn’t say anything. To Corpse, this meant one of two things. You either knew who he was but didn’t want to freak him out, or you didn’t know about his online persona and were just genuinely shocked by his voice. It only took a few minutes of knowing you to know that it was the latter. Thank god. You were like anyone your age with social media. You had a few accounts, followed a few people, but mostly used it to stay in contact with friends. 

It only took you guys a week to realize you had way too much in common. After many a late night when he wasn’t streaming, and many an early morning when he was just done streaming, you two became inseparable. Nothing could keep you apart.

Except for one thing.

You had a boyfriend.

There was nothing wrong with your boyfriend, per se. Just the fact that he was your boyfriend and Corpse was not. 

Yeah, Corpse definitely had feelings for you. 

But right now, feelings didn’t matter when he could hear tavern music coming from your room.

He knocked lightly and pushed the door open slowly. “y/n? Can I come in?”

No response came, just sniffles and sobs. The lack of refusal on your part gave him the courage he needed to open the door wider and step into your room. He had only been in your room a couple of times since you had moved in. But he had never been in a room that gave off the feeling of a person so well.

You were curled up on your bed, facing your open laptop screen and the tavern music coming from its speakers. With every sob shaking your chest, Corpse felt his heart break. “y/n,” he murmured softly, “what’s wrong?”

“It’s not working.” Came your reply, heavy with tears. “You said it would make you feel like you're going on an adventure but I still feel like crap.”

“What happened?” Corpse asked as he sat down on your bed, facing you. You slowly sat up and crossed your legs at your ankles in front of you.

“He-” You sighed heavily. “He cheated on me.”

“What?”

“He cheated on me -has been cheating on me- with my best friend. My little brother found out.” You groaned and dramatically dropped your head onto Corpse’s thigh. His hand immediately came in contact with your cheek as he brushed a few stray tears away.

There was rarely any physical contact between you and Corpse. Sometimes you’d give him a high five, sometimes he’d give you fist bump. And there was that one time you came up behind him at the grocery store and hugged his arm to your chest. You immediately whispered something along the lines of ‘creep won’t leave me alone’ followed by a loud ‘hey babe!’

Corpse could barely admit to himself how much he liked that.

But this? This felt good. Corpse’s large warm hand on your face somehow made you want to cry more but in a good way. The tenderness with which he held your face made your heart squeeze as it remembered moments like this with your boyf- ex boyfriend. But then it remembered your brother’s words.

“Hey, what’s up?” You spoke as you answered his call. Your brother wasn’t much of a caller, so it made you worry. 

“Hey, where are you right now?”

“I’m home, why?”

“y/n… There’s something I gotta tell you.” He sighed and you could clearly hear the guilt.

“Did you break my DS!” It was your first thought as you had given it to him the last time you had seen him. “Dude! I’ve had that since I was seven!”

“No no, I called about something else.” He cut you off mid-whine. “But also I did lose the pen.” You huffed out a sigh of frustration but stayed silent so he could tell you what he wanted to tell you. “I saw your boyfriend at the park today.”

You furrowed your eyebrows. “And?” How did this warrant a phone call? 

“He was with Bob.” 

When you had met your best friend, your brother was only a toddler. He had decided that her name was Bob, so it stuck. You always called her Bob, she was saved as Bob in your phone, your whole family called her Bob. But you still didn't understand. Why was he calling you to tell you that your boyfriend and your best friend were at the park? 

“Why are you calling me about this? You know that they’re friends, right?” You let out a chuckle, albeit still pretty confused. “They’re allowed to hang out without me.” 

“They weren’t hanging out.” You could hear your brother push out a strained sigh. What wasn’t he telling you? “They were making out on the swing set. As in, both of them on one swing. And I double checked, it was definitely them. I-I told mom and she said not to tell you, but I couldn’t not tell you when I’m the one who saw it!”

You couldn’t bring yourself to say a word.

“I’m sorry, y/n.”

There was no lying to yourself, you had doubts about your best friend and your boyfriend. But you constantly brushed it off. He wouldn’t hurt you like that. Hell, she couldn’t hurt like that. Not after everything you had been through together. 

But you had seen his call log by accident one time, he called her more than he did you. She face-timed him one time to ask his opinion about a dress she was going to buy while you were in the changing room. She had done a handful of things since your relationship with your boyfriend started that made you uneasy. If this was their first kiss, which was something you doubted, then they’ve both been emotionally attached to the other for far too long.

All those tender intimate moments, all those dates, throughout everything, he wasn’t faithful. Not emotionally, at least. None of those moments that you cherished meant anything to you anymore. He had played you. With none other than your best friend since middle school. You didn’t know who to be more mad at.

The thoughts of betrayal from someone who you considered a sister and the hurt of being cheated on made you nauseated.

So when the large warm hand on your face stroked your cheek again, you didn’t mind it. This was Corpse. Not your cheating boyfriend. Not your lying best friend. Corpse. And you knew that he would never hurt you.

“He’s been cheating on me for a while I think.” You mumbled against his sweatpants. “Maybe a couple months. I don’t know.” 

Corpse furrowed his brows in thought. You had told him you were going to visit your boyfriend for your one year anniversary next week. “Weren’t you go-”

“Yeah.”

“And Bob’s been your friend since-”

“Yeah.” Your chin wobbled as you answered. You brought your arms up around Corpse’s thigh and hugged it. It was a strange position, but you didn’t care. He was so warm and nice and hugging him properly required more movement on your end than you were willing to do.

“Oh, sweetheart.” Corpse sighed and reached out to untangle your arms from his leg. He gently pulled you across the few inches of bed between you and sat you in his lap. You wrapped your arms around his neck and your legs around his waist, immediately sobbing into his shoulder. “Do you want me to turn off the music?” You shook your head no against him and he chuckled before he solemnly sighed. “When did you find out?” 

“When I came home.”

“But you came home hours ago. Have you been in here this whole time?” You nodded. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You were streaming, didn’t wanna interrupt.” You shrugged.

“y/n,” he sighed disappointedly, “you’re my best friend. I can end a stream if you need me.”

“Okay.” Your voice, broken and weak and tired, made him feel so guilty. You had been crying your heart out for over two hours just down the hall from where he was.

He gently grabbed you by your hips and tried to push you away, but you only held on tighter and whimpered. “I just wanna get you some water.”

“I don’t want water.”

“Then what do you want?”

“You.” You whispered. “Please stay.” 

Fuck. How could he say no to that?

So he stayed.

[preblematic]

Okay, so, this might make no sense, but I’m going to say it. Something that just clicks for me re: RPF, and that I thought was common practice but am coming to realize isn’t, is that they’re still characters, first and foremost. A person who is at celebrity status is putting on a performance, always. You’re not their friend; you’re not their confidant, and they are a character. The person who leaves the stage and the person who you’re there to see are two different people.

And maybe it’s more digestible when you think about stage names (Patrick von Stump vs Patrick Martin Stumph, Lady Gaga vs Stefani Germanotta, etc.), but these are characters. When an actor does an interview they are at work; when a band goes on stage they are at work; they are playing a part; they are performing, for you.

When I, for instance, write MCR fic, I am not trying to portray them as who I think they actually are, because that would be boring. They’re just dudes. Gerard Way is just a dude who likes comic books and struggled with addiction, but Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance is (in my writing) dramatic, scheming, a junkie, too open for his own good, too quick to trust people he loves. He is an exaggeration of personhood, and I would never overlap those two. Those are two different people.

I think that when people don’t get this, when it doesn’t click, that’s when you get absolute braindeads with dogshit takes. Doing like asking artists about their ship, asking destiel questions to the actors (While they’re at work. You don’t go up to a barista in front of their manager and say, “I just know you spit in assholes’ drinks back there. You should admit it; it’s okay, you can tell me), and being COMPLETELY inappropriate towards celebrities in ways like tagging them in ship posts and art and pressuring them to come out.

I don’t write about real things. I don’t write about real people. I write about the character that they’ve chosen to present to the world, and I think a lot more people need to think like that.

[ramp-it-up]

Fresh Squeeze  Ch. 10

Pairing: Daveed Diggs x OFC Linden Marshall (You)

Set in 2023, post-pandemic

Warnings: This chapter is chock full of nuts, hehe. Minors DNI, 18 + ONLY, RPF, Cursing, implied drug use (marijuana), Anthony Ramos, Fluff,  Angst, denial, lots of Plot. SMUT,  2.5 graphic sex scenes,(very) soft Dom! Daveed, oral (m-f recieving) shower sex, very light bondage, Truth or Dare, unprotected sex (wrap it when you tap it folks), hair braiding.

Word Count: 7.2 K 

Plot: It’s Linden’s birthday weekend and she is falling for Daveed. She is starting to freak out and I am trying to get them off the island, but I love words and I needed these words today, y’all.

Smut under the cut.

Previous Chapter

The ride home was hot as hell, you and Daveed making out like teenagers in the back of the Uber.

You were on his lap, grinding on him and edging yourself the entire way back to the beach house. He just sat back and watched, the only clue that he was affected being his slightly open mouth. Both of your crotches were soaked by the time you got out of the car.

When the car stopped, you got out and ran into the house.  But as the cold air conditioning hit you, you sobered a bit and stopped Daveed in the great room as he tried to pull you toward your room. The doubts were creeping in.  

What were you doing?

But you weren’t prepared for a full stop.

“Let’s go to your room instead.”  

The look in your eyes told Daveed that you were spooked and he knew this was about control, but he was confident he would wear you down, wear you out, whatever it took.

“Cool with me.” 

Daveed smiled and grabbed your ass and tapped your thigh so you’d jump. He held you like that and walked you into his room.

He put you down inside the door and then left you to go to the bathroom. You heard the shower start.

“My room. My rules. Strip. We’re getting in the shower.”

You hesitated just a second, but when Daveed’s dick popped out of his pants, you took your shorts off and then flung your red top on the bed, making your way as he backed into the bathroom.  

You were focused on his bobbing and weaving member, and you remembered how you hadn’t gotten a chance to taste it yet.

He stopped outside of the shower and motioned with his finger. 

“Turn around.  Hands on the counter.” 

You obeyed, turned and placed your hands on the vanity, watching as Daveed kneeled behind you and as he grabbed your ass, rubbed it then, pulled your thighs apart and watched his see drip out of you.

He sat back and stroked his dick to the sight for about a minute as you squirmed above him, then peeked back at what he was doing. When you saw his thick dick in his hand you moaned and turned away again, your pussy fluttering and giving him a show.

He leaned over, kissed your ass, and then stood up.

“Lets go.”

He led you into the shower, pushing you against the wall and putting his hands all over you, smoothing the water into your skin and rubbing it in like lotion, using his fingers to clean between your legs while he stuck his tongue down your throat and pinched and rolled your right nipple.

It was like he was trying to envelop you and you had to catch your breath when he did.  He was unrelenting in his attempt to possess you.

“Daveed…”

“Shhhh.”  

He put his hand over your mouth as he slipped three fingers inside you and used his thumb to rub your clit.  He watched your face almost lovingly as you came to the brink of another orgasm.  And when he felt you begin to pound, he stopped, backed up a little and sank to his knees again.

He lifted your thigh and put it over his shoulder, finally about to show you exactly how he could take you apart and put you back together.

“I’ve been waiting to taste you for so long.”  

You smiled down at him while you ran your hands through his hair.

“Me too.”

He grinned up at you, adorable and dangerous.  

“Later.”

Then, he looked at your pussy and got serious.  

“Hello, my lovely.”  

His hot breath mixed with your own natural wetness made you weak, and when his tongue met your clitoris, your knee gave way, but Daveed supported you with his hand as he swiped up and down between your lips, swirling at your clit and plunging into your hole.

You were already sensitive, so when he added his fingers to the mix, it took no time at all to get you to cum while his lips were firmly attached to your clit, sucking and making you see stars.

When you opened your eyes again, he was standing, triumphant, watching your face.  He cupped your chin and rubbed your lips.

“You okay?”  

He looked and sounded so tender.

‘Yeah,” you smiled at him. “I’m great.

“We need those safe words, Lindy.  Have you thought about it?  What’s your word when you’re good, ready for what I have to give you?”

You smirked at him.

“Isabela.”

Daveed grinned back. Seemed fitting.

“And when you are at your limits?”

“New York.”  

Daveed frowned at that for a minute, because it seemed symbolic of something else.  But it was your choice.

“Alright, and right now, your word is…?”  

He wanted to be absolutely sure.

“Isabela, all the way. Sir.”

Daveed was incrementally changing from the soft, sweet man who was smitten with you to someone harder.

“Good Girl.”  You shivered.

“Now, I don’t expect you to have to safeword tonight, but down the road…” He looked at you, “If that’s what you want, you might need to.”

The thought made you giddy, and you nodded.

He grabbed you by your neck and pushed you into the wall again.

“Words, use your fucking words, Linden.” 

His voice was menacing in your ear as his other hand ruthlessly flicked your nipple.

“Yes, sir.”

He huffed and kissed your neck below your ear. Then, he grabbed his chain, which was still around your neck, and pulled you upright again.

“That’s what I love to hear. Now, kneel for me.  Show me exactly how much of a good girl you can be.”

You obeyed immediately, the hot spray of water at your back.  The tile floor was hard against your knees, but you thought he knew that.

You looked demurely up at his dick as you knelt, knowing not to make eye contact as he sat down on the shower seat.

He took hold of your wet nipples and pinched them hard.

“Damn, I need to get you those clamps.  You would look amazing in them.”

“Yes, Sir.”

You were still staring at his cock. He kept twisting your nipples.

“You want it? You talked big game the night of the premier party.  Time to show out.” He leaned back and pushed his dick toward your face. 

“Go on.”

You smiled a little and reached for it, only barely able to close your hand around it and with two hands on it, you did not cover its length.

The moisture of the shower allowed you to slide and jerk him, twisting lightly up and down and running your thumb over his tiny slit when you reached the top.

Although you both were already soaking wet, you spit on it and kept your mouth open above it, allowing your saliva to drip down from your lips.

“Shit, you nasty Lindy. That’s that shit I love.” 

Daveed’s voice rumbled in your ears. You lowered your mouth and lapped up the thick moisture at his tip, his salty precum taste invading your senses. 

You continued to jerk him as your mouth descended, and you sat up, trying to take him all.  You couldn’t with just your mouth, but you continued to relax your throat and continued to rise from your knees until your nose was in the wet, curly hair at his base, and you were standing, bent in two, your ass in the air as you deep throated him.

Daveed put his hand on your head and held you there, cursing and moaning praises.

“THAT’s my fucking good girl. Fuck.  That mouth girl. That throat.”  

You coughed around him as you tried to breathe and he let you go.

He sagged back against the shower wall and looked up at you.

“You’re trying to turn me out.”

You grinned and got on your knees again. “Yes, Sir.” 

And you started going to town, opening your mouth and guiding him inside, deep throating, and bobbing, bringing him to the brink in no time.

You looked up at him as you felt his balls tighten and he released down your throat, trying not to sound like a little bitch.

When you sat back and licked your lips, Daveed closed his eyes and composed himself.

When he opened them, you were washing yourself, and he was eye level with your hand going between your own legs as you rotated and showed him the view from the front and the back.

Your smile was too cocky.

He stood up and turned off the water.

“Out. Now.”  He was trying to be hard, but damn, you were making him hard again.

He got out and handed you a towel and wrapped one around his waist as you exited the bathroom.

You stood in front of the bed, waiting.

“Such a good girl.  So outwardly obedient.  But I see right through you Linden.”

You looked up at him innocently. Daveed chuckled.

“Oh I know.”  He spied your red bandeau top on the bed. 

“Present your wrists.”  You held your hands out to him, while he grabbed your top and tied your wrists up in the red material.

“Sit down.”  You sat and looked up at him.  “What’s your word.”

“Isabela, Sir.”  He smoothed your wet hair.  

“Good girl.”

Daveed reached for the towel around you and pulled it away from your body.  He didn’t need to remove the towel for you to see that he was ready again.  But when he did, his dick was magnificent and the skin on it shined.

He grabbed your bound wrists and watched as your breasts rose as he raised them over your head and then pushed you down to the bed.

“Keep them there. Don’t move them. Or you will be punished.”

Even though you wanted to see what that was like, you nodded and said, “Yes, Sir.”

“That’s right. Be a good girl for me while I’m between your legs.”

The moan in your throat signaled to him that you were ready for him again.

His long form got between your thighs and he rested his head on your stomach as his large hand rubbed the skin up and down your body. Then, he raised up on his hands as he leaned down and started licking and sucking your skin from your nipples to your neck.

Daveed moaned and praised you telling you how good you tasted, so much so that you didn’t care that he was marking you up. And when he positioned the head of his hard cock at your entrance, you were more than ready.

You opened your legs wider and lifted them around his back as he pushed inside you, arms trembling to not bring them down around him.

“Gooooooood Girl. Fuck you feel so good.”  

Daveed buried his face in your neck as stroked, and you could feel him deep in your guts. You tried to hold your moans in until he told you, “Let me hear you, fuck I wanna hear you sing for me Lindy.” 

He was panting in your ear as he kept speeding up, hitting that spot staccato over and over.

And fuck all, you didn’t care if your friends were back yet, you screamed for him when Daveed worked you up to that crescendo, trembling and coming around him, gushing all over his cock.

“Good…. Girl…. Ohhhhh. Shit. Linden.”  

Daveed released your wrists and he was still trembling as you held him in your arms.  You rubbed his back.

You lay there for a good five minutes. Each totally ruined, but not admitting if to the other for different reasons.

Finally, Daveed got up and went to the bathroom.  You stretched as you heard water running and smiled as he came back into the room with a wet washcloth.

He tenderly cleaned you up and you then lay down beside you.

“What are you thinking Lindy?” Daveed was staring up at the ceiling.

You looked over at the clock. 2:40 am. 

You were thinking lots of things, but what you said was, “I’m thinking, I’m still at Isabela.” 

You looked over at Daveed’s gorgeous grin.

----

A couple of rounds later, and you were finally spent.  You lay there and turned away from Daveed, getting snuggly under the covers.

“I’m going to take a nap, and I’ll be out of your hair in a few.”  You were on your way to dream land before you finished.

Daveed smiled and pulled you closer to him, becoming the big spoon to your little.

“Of course. No worries.” 

Daveed drifted to sleep, confident that you would be more rational in the morning.

------

You awoke to sunlight in your eyes from Daveed’s view of the ocean. It was about 7 am according to the digital clock on the bedside table.

You’d stared at the view and smiled as you remembered the day before. Then you turned your head and saw Daveed sleeping. Something weird happened and you had to catch your breath.

Shit. The feels were coming for you. It took you almost five minutes to ease out the bed so he wouldn't wake up. Once you were out, you stopped to make sure he was still asleep.

You breathed a sigh of relief that you only heard his steady breathing and occasional snores. You weren't prepared to say good morning to Daveed. You needed to process last night.

You looked on the floor for your clothes and saw the trail to the bed: shorts closest to the door, and panties on the floor at the edge of the bed where Daveed had pulled them off. 

You shivered at the memory and then got down on your hands and knees and collected both garments, stopping at the edge of the bed for your panties.  

Your top was under the pillow that Daveed was resting on, and you sat back on your haunches to figure out if you could get it. It was placed so that you couldn’t possibly retrieve it without waking him up.  

You took a few seconds to watch him sleep before you decided that was creepy and not what you were on. So, you pushed down the urge to kiss his delectable lips and started crawling backwards toward the door.  

You saw his black t-shirt from last night beside you, grabbed that and stopped to put it on. His clothes were turning out to be so clutch on this trip.

You slowly stood up and checked again to make sure he was still in dreamland, turning the knob so as not to make a sound.  Now to make it back to your room without anyone seeing you.

You creeped out into the great room, not seeing anyone and breathing a sigh of relief.  You stopped in the kitchen to get a drink of water, confident that you wouldn’t get caught. You got a glass and some water out of the fridge and stood at the sink to drink it, thinking of last night. 

Your eyes got big when Rafael walked in the front door and came straight for the kitchen.

“Sup." 

Rafa nodded in your direction as you froze in place. He came around the island behind you to the fridge and cabinets and got some milk and cereal. He looked to be fully dressed from the night before. He just got in.

You raised your eyebrow at him, finished drinking and put the glass down as he just went about the business of making a bowl of Cap'n Crunch.

"Hey, knucklehead. You want a bowl?"

You looked at him like he was crazy.

"Yeah, I'm talking to you. You want a bowl of cereal?"

Rafael was holding out a bowl to you, waving it impatiently because you wouldn't take it.

You took it and made the cereal, giving him a side eye.

"Why are you calling me a knucklehead?"

Rafa sat down beside you and grinned. 

"Because I see that you are trying to run from a relationship with Diggs, despite the fact y’all are perfect for each other...."

You interrupted him, panicked at his words.

"It's not like that. It’s not a relationship. We're not a thing. We're just... not perfect for each other. Nothing happened last night. We’re just friends."

It was Rafa’s turn to side eye.

"Oh, nothing happened?" He gave you another side eye. "Not to be rude, but where’d those hickeys come from?”

You grabbed at your neck. Fuck!

Rafael just grinned at you.

You couldn't help but laugh at Rafa’s read.

------

Daveed woke up to the sound of talking and laughter outside his room.  He looked over to see you gone and realized that yours was one of the voices he’d heard outside.

He lay in bed for a few minutes and stretched, listening to the tones of the conversation that he could hear over the waves.  Daveed recognized Rafa’s voice and began to wonder why you were out there instead of in bed with him.

He pulled on some sweats and headed out of his room. He found you, wearing his shirt, sitting at his kitchen island and eating cereal with Rafa. You were cracking up.

Rafael looked up at him, torn away from his banter with you.

"Morning Diggs."

Daveed just looked at him.

"I was just telling Lindy that when she's done with you, she should get with me, cause I’m like the better B side...."

You laughed. Daveed didn't.

Rafa could tell that he wasn't feeling it.

"Chill bro. I'm just joking. I'd never do that.  The code."  

Daveed continued to look at you and Rafa could feel the chill in the room.

"And he wasn't even talking about anything like that. Besides, I don't like him like that." 

You didn’t know why you were trying to convince Daveed. You didn’t need to explain yourself to him. Did you?

Rafael put his hand over his heart, injured. Then, he asked a question, trying to help the situation.

"But who DO you like like that?" 

He raised his eyebrow and nodded toward Daveed.

You looked at Rafael like he was crazy. 

"ANNNYYYYYWAYYYYY..." You gave Rafa the evil eye.

"Because I told Rafael that THIS," indicating you and Daveed,  "is not a thing. That I'm not looking for a thing. No things. Nothing is going on."

Daveed and Rafael gave each other a look, and all was understood. The tension was as thick as molasses.

"Well, I might just have to call adult protective services, cause somebody tore my friend’s arms and back up last night, ha ha ha….” Rafa’s laughed trailed off.

You nervously glanced at Daveed’s bare chest and torso, willing your eyes not to sweep down his body while Rafael put his hand up to high five Daveed, who left him hanging, and who was still staring at you.

Rafael cleared his throat. This was serious.  He tried to be rational, but still light.

"Ok. Over/under.  How long before this 'nothing' becomes  SOMEthing?"

"6 Months."

"Never!"

You and Daveed spoke at the same time. And you were still staring each other down.

"Like I said. Knuckleheads.  Y'all are perfect for each other."

You put your spoon down and nodded toward Daveed’s room. 

“Let’s talk, Daveed.”

“Cool.” 

You could tell he was keeping it together in front of Rafa. You’d had it with Daveed’s indignance.

“Use your words!” 

You both ignored Rafa as you went back in Daveed’s room.

As soon as the door closed, Daveed moved closer to you. You stood your ground, ever the fighter.

"Why did you say that to Rafa about us being a thing in 6 months?" You were beginning to feel as if this weekend was a huge mistake.

"Why did you think we were never going to be together again after last night? How could you just leave without saying goodbye, good morning, or even good luck?" 

Daveed couldn't believe you, but he felt like a child right now begging for attention.  Chasing you was exhausting. 

"Daveed. Last night is done. And we’re still here together for the weekend. We would talk again.  Don’t tell me you want more? It will just be more sex. We’re both not really ready for a relationship. Yesterday was full of sexual tension and last night took care of it.”

You raised your chin, determined. Daveed could not bully you into a relationship.

He crossed his arms. You noticed the marks you’d left on them. You flushed to think of the details of the night before. It was very nice, but as much as you wanted it, it couldn’t happen again the same way.

"Ok then, leave my room. Now." 

Daveed was just as determined. You could not just will these feelings away because they were inconvenient. And he could tell that you were responding to him, so he was calling your bluff.

"I will!" 

You didn’t move. You just stared up into Daveed’s brown eyes, becoming moist all over again. Shit.

"Go!" 

Daveed fought to control a smirk through his deepening voice.  Blood was pulsing toward his groin, and his heart rate was increasing. He was doomed. You both were.

You narrowed your eyes, realizing what he was doing. He was standing in front of you and you refused to go around him.

“Move!”

"Bye!" Daveed walked to the door and held it open. He looked out and saw that no one was in the vicinity of his bedroom door. "Peace. Have a nice life, I'm going back to bed."

As you neared him, Daveed quipped, "And give me my damn shirt back."

You were red hot mad.

"Take your fucking shirt! Asshole!"

You pulled it up over her head, taking the shirt off even though you didn't have anything on underneath.  You threw it at him.

Daveed caught it, threw it down on the floor, closed the door and grabbed you, kissing your mouth and moving to your neck, biting along the way.  You attacked him back, grabbing at his sweatpants as he tore your shorts open and pulled them down.

You smacked you on your ass hard, making you even wetter than the second before, stooped down and threw you over his shoulder as he took you back to the bed.

He threw you down, and you lay there, panting, looking up at him as if you wanted to commit violence.  So he asked you what kind.

“Do you want to fight, or fuck, Lindy?”

You gave him a devious half-grin, and you opened your legs, lay back and started massaging your breasts and pulling on your nipples. 

“Fuck me Daveed, before I do it myself.”  

You moved your hand, out two fingers in your mouth and moistened them with your tongue, and reached for your clit, managing to circle it a couple of times while rolling your nipple with the other hand before Daveed grabbed your hand and flung it away as he lined up to your cunt.  

Now his long fingers were rubbing your clit exactly how you liked it, only taking a day to learn your body. Your head lolled back, anticipating his entrance, but he slapped your clit and your head perked up.

“What did I tell you last night?  Watch this shit Linden. You really trying to run away from this?”  

You opened your mouth and panted as you watched him slowly breach you, your body eagerly accepting him and stretching around his girth.  It took a few seconds for him to bottom out, but when he did, he met your cervix.

You chirped as he made contact with that spot deep inside you and met his eyes as he gazed at your face. The morning sunlight added another dimension to the way you looked as he made you fall apart.

He pulled back out and you looked back down, witnessing your cream covering his cock. 

“Damn, that’s gorgeous. I don’t care what you say, your shit is made for me.”

And then he grabbed your neck and pinned you back on the bed, and you smiled as he expertly applied pressure to the sides of your neck. He increased the speed incrementally until he was steadily stroking into you.

“Harder. Faster.”

He squeezed your neck and responded, his hips stuttering a little at your request.

“Remember you don’t run this shit, Linden.”  

He almost gave in as he saw your slack look as his cock swelled within you.  You moaned and arched your back.

“Please. Sir. Harder. Faster. Just four strokes and I’ll cum immediately.” 

You knew he wouldn’t be able to hold for four strokes; the challenge was the trick.

“Fuck!” 

Daveed grunted and tried to hold back. He knew he wouldn’t be able to hold to just four strokes either. Just imagining pounding you good four times and then trying to stop had him leaking inside you and his face contorted.

The evidence of what your words were doing to him got you closer, and your body responded. When Daveed saw your eyes begin to roll back in your head, he decided to give you what you wanted.

“Okay, okay. I can do that. Here you go.”  

Daveed released your neck and grabbed your thighs, pulling them toward him and then pushing them back for better purchase. He was done for when you started to count.

“One…..two… holy fuck…. Th-threeeee…. F-f-f-four….” 

Your voice and the straight sensation of your pussy futtering around him had him pounding you well beyond the requested amount.

“Gotdamn!”

“Ohhhhhhhhh!”  

You both came, one after the other.  You both didn’t know who came first because the sensations were so intense and close together. 

Daveed rolled off of you and leaned on his pillow.

You both lay in bed, looking up at the ceiling, and listening to the waves. After you both came down, the feeling was awkward.

You spoke first, still staring at the texturized paint above you.

“So….”

Daveed cleared his throat, not looking at you either.

“Yeah…”  He sat up, and grabbed the sheet, sitting up against the headboard and staring at the waves.

You covered yourself up as well, and finally faced him, your head on your hand.

“I just need to think, Daveed. Like I said yesterday, I could fall for you. But I really don’t want to be hurt again.”  

Daveed looked down at you. The way you looked up at him.  Those eyes.

“But what if I’ve already….” he stopped himself. All good things come to those who wait, he thought.  He rubbed his face.

“Shit Lindy, you’re right.”  Then he smiled, looking cool and confident, using his acting skill despite the turmoil going on inside him.

“Listen LIndy. I don’t want to stress you. And I don’t want to pressure you either. But I want you. I don’t want just a friends with benefits situation. I want more.  Because I think I-.”

You interrupted him.

“Daveed, I’m not closing the door completely, but I came because I want to have a fun, stress free birthday weekend.” You lowered your eyes. 

“I know you want me. And… I want you too. Last night, just now… If I let myself, I would be sprung.”

Daveed grinned, almost blinding you.

“Then let go. I’ll accommodate your addiction.” 

He spread his arms and the sheet drifted below his v-cut and you almost...

But you just laughed and shook your head. 

“We’d stay in here all weekend.” 

You met his eyes boldly, which was a mistake.  You looked away, things pounding on you that didn’t need to be again right now. 

“I think I need to go drink some water instead.” 

Daveed’s eyes swept down your body. He grunted.

“Yeah, you probably do need to do that. As many times as you…”

“Alright Diggs!” 

You raised your voice a little so he would stop talking. He was laughing at you. And himself. He wanted to barricade you in here with him. But he needed to chill.

“If you want me, if you want more, can you hold on with me a little longer? I’m not trying to waste your time. Just a little more time and space.”  You smiled at him hopefully.

He would do anything for you. He grabbed your hand, thumb stroking the soft skin on the back.

“Yes Linden, I’ll hold on. Because this conversation is not over.” 

And he brought your hand up to his lips, leaving a fire brand on your palm. You opened your mouth and silenced your moan.

“Listen, I’m not trying to run away, but I better get out of here before…”

Daveed lowered your hand gently back to the bed.

“I get it. You’re free to go. Have a good morning, friend.” 

He laughed and grinned at you as you stood up and gathered your clothes.  He shifted to watch you.

“Daveed!” 

You exclaimed, somehow feeling shy. Holding your shorts to your body.

“What? Darlin, I‘ve seen everything you’ve got. And this might be the last time I get to see it, so…”  

He continued to boldly look at you, like he was memorizing a script.

The words he said caused you to pause.  

“Is that what you want?  That if I don’t want a relationship, you don’t want sex?”

Daveed sighed. 

“As much as my dick would hate me if that was what my brain decided, I’d have to say so, Lindy.  Because now my heart’s involved.”

He finally stopped staring at you and looked out to the sea again.

“Good to know.” 

You couldn’t describe the feeling in your chest as you pulled on your shorts, and then reached under his pillow to grab your top, leaving his shirt on the floor.

“Can I… just…” 

You were pulling on your top, and he shifted, a smile playing on his lips. You smacked his shoulder and he gave you a stern look. You smiled back at him and then kissed the spot you’d hit. You didn’t see Daveed close his eyes and take a deep breath.

“So I’ll see you later?” 

Why were you so fucking uncertain about everything?

“See you later Lindy.” 

Daveed was looking out at the sea again, giving you nothing. You were in turmoil as you left his room, the short walk of shame made easier by the fact that no one was in the great room. 

----

You went back to your room with two bottles of water and showered. Then, you drank and fell into bed, physically and emotionally exhausted.

When you were back up around 11, everyone was milling around eating, talking, laughing, joking and no one paid much attention to you when you entered the room.

Not Rafa, who knew some of what was going on, which was so dope of him, and not even Daveed.

Daveed not paying attention to you made you feel some kinda way, even though you knew he was giving you space.

You checked Daveed out of the corner of your eyes as you joked around with Ant about the concert and noticed that D’s hair was in a not too attractive looking fro.

You let Craig tell you about the guy he hooked up with last night as you watched Daveed and Rafa talk.

----

Daveed and Rafael were talking about the events of the morning.

“.... I could tell that girl is spooked.” Rafa glanced at you over Diggs’ shoulder.  

“We know she’s been hurt, but she is skittish man. But you two would be so good together.”

Daveed nodded and drank his juice. “How does she look?”

Rafa chuckled and shook his head. You were wearing a white bikini top and white sweatpants. That fit well in the right places.

“You’re screwed. She looks fucking amazing.”

Daveed smiled, hopeless.

“Yeah, she’s been cut deep. But she is the most exhausting thing I’ve done since college, man.” He shook his head. “I’m might be done chasing her.”

“Riiiight. Well, here she comes, homie.”

Daveed’s eyes bugged out before he composed himself.  Rafa’s poker face was set.

“Good morning Linden Marie. How are you?”

You grinned at Rafa.  “I’m great Rafael Santiago.” Then, you turned to Daveed.

“What’s up with your hair?”

“Well, this sounds like a sensitive subject.” Everyone was moving out toward the pool, and Rafa went to join them.  “I’ll leave you to it.”

Daveed laughed and then looked back at you.

“You throwing shots now?”  

Daveed looked at you, close to the way he did before last night, but with a hidden something extra.

You laughed back.  “No, it just looks like….”

“Like I forgot to pack my shampoo and conditioner.”  He tried to run his hand through it, unsuccessfully.  “I had to use Rafa’s and it dried out my hair.”

You looked at him sympathetically. 

He looked back, insecure now. “No biggie, I’ll just throw it in a puff.”  He hated pulling his hair back after months of doing it for Hamilton. The grimace on his face told you what you needed to know.

“Meet me on the couch in five minutes. My products are always in my carry on. I learned that lesson a long time ago. I’ll braid your hair for you.”

Daveed looked uncertain. “You know how to braid hair?”

Something in your eyes got him when you answered his question. 

“I had a brother. Who idolized Allen Iverson.” You sighed wistfully.  

“So yeah, I know how to braid hair.” 

You reached up, “Can I?” 

Daveed whispered his assent. “Yeah.”

You fingered his hair, as if you hadn’t memorized how it felt when he was between your legs last night. 

“Your curls are like Dell’s were.”  You looked him in the eyes. “Straighbacks?”

“That would be...Dope.”

“Cool. Be right back.”  Daveed watched you retreat into your room.

------

Five minutes later, Daveed was sitting on the floor in front of the couch in the living room, watching everyone else out on deck while A Love Supreme played on the sound system.  D had cued it up while he waited.

Between your legs felt like home, the roar of the ocean coupled with Coltrain relaxed him so much that he was nodding off before he knew what was happening.  When his head hit your thigh, he jolted awake and said, “Sorry.

You chuckled and responded.  “It’s okay Diggs,” I know you’re exhausted.  You were up all night.”

You grinned. He could tell.  

“Go ahead and use me as a pillow.  No biggie.”

Daveed grinned out toward the waves. He loved the smile in your voice. Then he turned and started lightly punching your thigh. But not enough to hurt. 

“The fuck are you doing!!!???” You popped him on the shoulder with the comb.

“Ow!” He rubbed his shoulder. You’re going to get enough of hitting me little girl.” 

The tone of his voice gave you a thrill, but you were cool.  

“You said to treat you like my pillow.”

“You’re taking my hospitality too far.  I meant if you needed to lay your head on my leg it was okay.”

“Alright I’ll chill.”

He took out his phone and opened notes.  You knew that he knew you could see it. 

“Oh my God. You really still have that list?”

“Yeah.”

8. Into spanking.  Me.  

You started rolling laughing.

“I’m done.”

Daveed laughed along and enjoyed the playful banter between you.  

Yeah. This could be great relationship he thought.

“Ok, Ok.  I’m done..”

You started to part his hair again and then stopped and rubbed your leg, just a little heated.  

“You’re gonna leave marks… I mean, more marks.”

Daveed sat up a little straighter thinking about that.  He’d love to keep you marked up good. Let everyone in the world know…. 

When he cleared his throat, you realized what you’d said and sneaked a peek at him. His eyes were closed, tongue running across his bottom lip.

Then he cleared his throat again and looked up at you.  Those huge eyes truly apologetic. 

“Sorry.” 

The timbre of his voice and the nearness of him was almost too much.  

“You want to stop?”

You tried not to gulp. Don’t ever stop, you thought.  

But you said, “Boy, your hair is halfway braided.”

“What? You saying I can’t rock it?” The smile.

You sucked your teeth and firmly turned his head back around toward the glass doors. He could rock anything, even a paper bag.

“I’m not going to let you go out like that.  I’M not going out like that. This is my handiwork.”

You shared a laugh and fell back into silence.  Each in your own thoughts which were probably very similar.

“Man, the surf sounds dope.  I need to work this sound into a track…”  

Daveed leaned his head over, to hear the roar better.  He appreciated the hum of approval from your throat.

------

Before he knew it, you were done.

“There you go! All done.”

Daveed did not move to get up quickly.  Instead he sat there and said, “Thank you Linden.” 

He looked over to see the goosebumps on your thigh.  You were just as affected by him as he was of you.  Suddenly he was rock hard and ready to finally have your taste on his lips again.

“You’re welcome, D.” 

Your voice was soft and husky.  He knew what you needed. Daveed turned his head to the left and kissed your kneecap. 

He could see it shake a little bit, as he raised his right arm to capture your left leg and kissed it again as he shifted around to turn to face you.  He was on his knees before you, watching you watch him as he licked a stripe up your thigh with his tongue, bringing him closer to your center.

You shivered your legs closer, then softly moaned as he held eye contact with you and then released them open.  He could feel the humid warmth from between your legs as he sucked hickeys into the sensitive skin near your crotch.

Daveed looked up at you and as you nodded, he pulled your shorts to the side revealing the prettiest lips he remembered seeing, dewey and glistening with your excitement. 

He whimpered a little bit, and dove in for the prize, wanting nothing more than to hear you come undone by his tongue. You tasted like…. Air?

-----

Someone was shaking his shoulder. 

“Daveed. Daveed! We’re done.” You were laughing at him. What the fuck?

“Wake up Diggs. I’m done with your hair.” 

Your giggly voice was making him alert.  

I can’t believe I was about to have a wet dream. Am I 14 or 41,  Daveed thought.  He could not move and let you see his condition.

“Move Daveeed. I need to stand up.”

He pretended to be more asleep than he actually was. 

“Hand me that pillow there, I’m going to stretch out. And that throw.”

“On the floor?” You asked, as he nodded and stretched out, facing away from you. 

“Why not?”  he, asked.

“I don’t know. But if you like it, I love it.”  

You threw the throw and one of the decorator pillows that were on the couch to him.  As you went to the deck doors and stretched, looking out at the coast. Then you took your sweats off, revealing a glorious thong bottom to your bikini. 

“I’m going to get some sun.

“Thank you for doing my hair Linden.”

You turned and dazzled him with a smile.

“No problem, Daveed. Get some rest.” 

He watched as you closed the door and went outside. 

It was just Saturday. Your birthday was Sunday and you weren’t leaving until Monday.  

He would get no rest while you were on this island with him.

----

The crew played pool and different games throughout the night. And drinking from the various bottles they bought in town. You were having a ball. 

You and Daveed were circling each other, not wanting to break the vibe of fun with their friends.

“It’s late.” It was 2 am and you were tired. From the tension.

"One last game.  Let's play Truth or Dare.”  Everybody groaned. 

“How old are we Rafael?”  

Ant stood up and swayed on his feet, hands clenched in front of him as if he was going to fight. He was lit.

“You, Sir, are apparently 13 years old.” 

Rafa looked around, challenging you.  

“What?  Grown folks can’t handle it?”

"Okay, okay," said Daveed. “But let’s take a break, and get some water and food to sober up a bit. 10 minutes.” 

Everyone agreed. You went to your room to pee and came out to see Daveed, Rafa, and Jasmine huddled up in the kitchen as you grabbed something to drink. You didn’t think anything of it.

“House rules. Players must perform the dare they are given, or truthfully answer the question asked. You can’t change your minds about choosing ‘truth’ or ‘dare.’ The spare bedroom is in play. Rafa pointed to the door closest to the living room.

“Okay, Anthony, as the youngest, you are the questioner.  Choose someone for truth or dare.”

Anthony looked around at everyone’s face.  

"Alright.  The first person I'm going to ask is… you, Rafa. Verdad o reto?”

Rafa shook his head and said, "Verdad."

“Bueno." 

Anthony bent his head to his fingers, trying to think of a good one.

“Ooooh! I got it!  Have you ever been involved in a threesome or orgy?”

Jasmine pushed Anthony’s  head.

“The fuck is wrong with you,” but she turned to Rafa with her eyebrow raised.

Rafa blanched, and then looked up and to the left.

“Whatttttt?” Jasmine’s mouth was open and you were wide eyed.  

Anthony was rolling laughing and when Linden looked over at Daveed, who was sipping his drink and looking away.

“Yes. Okay, next question.” Rafael tried to hurry the game along.

“WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT!!!” Jasmine jumped up with her arms out, yelling.

Ant was right there with her.  “When, where, how… and WHO????”

“He told his truth, let’s move on.”  

Daveed was trying to change the subject. Now Lindy was staring at him and he was avoiding his eyes.  Oh, she would find out.

“OH. HELL!”  Anthony was jumping up and down on the couch.  “You GOTTA tell me later Bro…”

Rafa’s poker face was king.  “Everybody calm down. We ready?”

“Ok, Jasmine. Truth or Dare.”

Jazzy looked around. She knew the deal with this crew.

“Dare!”

“Seven minutes in heaven…”

Anthony didn’t even let him finish.

"That's easy.  C'mere baby." 

Anthony extended his hand to Jasmine. Who laughed, stood up and took his hand and went into the guest bedroom with him.

“That’s just lazy, Rafa.”

Cash shrugged.  “Jas may or may not have bribed me.”  He took a joint out of his pocket.

Daveed chuckled and leaned over to you.  

"So, what are you thinking?  Truth? or Dare?"

You didn’t answer, just stared at the door to the guest bedroom.

The door opened and Jasmine came out followed by Anthony with his curls messed up and silly grin on his face.  He gave Rafael dap.  

“Thanks, bro. Jasmine remained standing and winked at Anthony.  She blew him a kiss.  

“Daveed.”

He sat up.  Jasmine asked, ”Truth or Dare?”

Daveed looked at you, and so did everyone else.

Suddenly, you knew this was a set up. And that whatever he chose would involve you. 

So what would it be? Truth? Or Dare?

 ----

So which do you think Lindy wants Daveed to choose? Truth or Dare?  Let me know by commenting, liking, reblogging.  Also let me know if you want to be on the tag list.

Next Chapter

 Tag List: @braidedchallah @theatrenerd86 @sebastianabucknettastan @imatyoursurrvicesurr @riiyy @lonelydance @jbrizzywrites @delaber @honeysucklechocolatedrippin @janthonystan @anh1020 @einfachniemand @sillyteecup  @ohsoverykeri @theselilwonders  @biafbunny @summerofsnowflakes @honeysucklechocolatedrippin @wreakhavoconmacroissantdiggs @elocinnicole 

[dangertoozmanykids101]

In honor of my beloved @joyfullymassivewhispers asking me these interesting questions, I thought I would do the same with some of my favorite writers. So, darling @dangertoozmanykids101 could I trouble you to answer questions #6, #11, and #9?

The Happy Fic Writer Ask Game

1. What part of the writing process is the most enjoyable?

2. Talk about a favorite comment you received.

3. Have you received any bookmark notes? Which is your favorite and why?

4. Which comment has had the most impact on your writing?

5. Have you had a writer you admire comment on your fic? What was that like?

6. Describe what you do and your feelings after posting a chapter. (For example: When do you usually post a fic/chapter update? How do you celebrate a posting? Are you the type to refresh constantly?, etc.)

7. What do you love most about being a fic writer for your fandom?

8. Talk about any friends/connections you've made as a fic writer.

9. What inspired you to write your first fic?

10. Why do you continue writing fics?

11. Who is your favorite character(s) to write about and why?

12. What is your favorite theme/subject matter/trope/ship to write about? Why?

13. Describe your writing style. If you were to participate in an anonymous fic writers guessing game (like The Masked Author), what writing habits do you have that would be a dead giveaway that it's you?

14. Share a snippet.

Oh my Beloved @caffiend-queen !! For you, I shall answer this!!!

Not that I wouldn't answer for others as well, but my ratio of follow-through versus half-finished sitting in my drafts is a bit lopsided toward the latter.

But for you my dearest @caffiend-queen

**** TODAY **** I shall finish an answer to an ask and actually post it!! WOOHOO!!!

#6. Describe what you do and your feelings after posting a chapter.

So I have a very difficult time finishing anything. I have so many half started and almost done fics just begging for that final polish. Unfortunately they just sit there. *sigh.

BUT WHEN I DO POST.....

I am on top of the world and can't resist telling everyone that "I did it!!" including a household of people who couldn't care less. They're no fun at all.

Validation and praise is so ADDICTIVE! Ever since the first time you, @caffiend-queen , said you thought I was funny — I've been hooked ever since!

Did anyone see it? Did anyone see it? I'll be honest. If one or two friends read and comment, then my heart is filled up to the brim. Everything comes up roses!

#11. Who is your favorite character(s) to write about and why?

Initially I wrote a few Fassbender fics - RPF or AU. I was obsessed with the idea of him in scrubs as a nurse. Nurse!Fassbender - can't you see it? (Haven't posted anything of those yet.) I was head over heels for him at the time.

Then I started seeing Hiddleston in a zillion different AU, as well as a couple RPF. I couldn't get enough reading and couldn't stop writing down thought after thought after thought. Laing and Sharpe talk VERY loudly in my brain.

@redfoxwritesstuff , @alexakeyloveloki, @devikafernando, @bambamwolf87, @nildespirandum as well as you @caffiend-queen listened to hours and hours of me throwing ideas around. Thank you sooo much!

@thewidowlaufeyson-blog truly boosted my confidence. I'll never forget how much fun we had knee deep in a humid murky southern AU story. Again never finished, but a huge part of my heart.

Loki has always intimidated me. But I've been pushing myself since I started hanging out with Loki's Library on Discord. They've been an excellent inspiration and so supportive, especially @latent-thoughts who showed me how exciting it is to write WITH someone and @boredbrooder, my partner in crime more often than not.

Recently I can't get enough of Sebastian Stan's characters. I've lost interest in RPF, and just choose one of his incarnations to star in the AU flavor of that day. Omg. TRULY can't get enough of him!!

I have a couple Chris Evans incarnations. But nowhere near ready to post.

#9. What inspired you to write your first fic?

I'm a voracious reader, especially with fanfiction. I can't get enough! I came for the smut and stayed for the amazing writers here. Such talent!!! And so welcoming and fun to talk to; to spitball and brainstorm with: to joke and laugh together; and share our dreams and nightmares completely free of judgement.

I started writing because I wanted to play too! I wanted to give back. I wanted to share my insane crazy wild ideas with these amazing people I met here.

I WANT TO PLAY TOO!

@mooncat163 taught me how to do a read-more break on the phone app. First time ever that it worked!!!! BLESS YOU!!!

[shesmore-shoebill]

have been thinking about your courtmangela fic and if you ever decide to make a sequel i will wait for it with open arms 🫶 or honestly i just want to know what do You think would a sequel be/what do you would happen after the fic

Oh holy shit, thank you SO MUCH that's so flattering 😭😭😭😭😭😭 <3 <3

I actually didn't have any concrete plans around a sequel for that fic! (link here for anyone who maybe didnt see it, since i ended up porting it to ao3 as well)

Largely bc it felt like it ended in a solid place for everyone- on the same page, confident that feelings were being returned, and ready to jump into something bigger. :)

DISCLAIMER, as always, this is all EXTREMELY fictional and made up, rpf, not about the real people.

That said, if i were to think about it:

Most fun part of the answer: Well. The immediate sequel to that is Courtney and Amanda figure out a way to get some of the stuff for the video/retrieve it from their closets/etc, and. well. Lets just say. Some things from Angela's imagination suddenly become very, very, very real.

Shayne and Chanse were closest to the two parties in this AU, and are both thrilled about the development overall but do Not Want To Hear Any Of Those Details, Please, Spare Me. My mental backstory for that:

Chanse is over the moon about getting to finally openly tease Angela about her feelings now that everyone is open about them being reciprocated. Like he knew, made fun of Angela ONCE, watched her turn multiple colors, then saw Amanda and Courtney ACTUALLY flirting with her and went. Oh. HM. Maybe he spoke to then directly in a "are you playing with my friends feelings" kind of way.

Shayne is just relieved that finally everyone is on the same page because he was TRYING to tell Courtney and Amanda that hey this weird pseudo flirting with Angela without TALKING to her is maybe gonna give her the wrong message??? Surely there are better ways to let her know how you both feel??? (He was right, but it all worked out in the end). So scenes with them finding out/getting an I told you so is an option.

To make it into a meatier fic: Ins and outs of relationship negotiation and navigation! They do explicitly agree to explore something between the three of them, and the expected and relevant growing pains that come from that. There's a fun element where- yes, Courtney and Amanda got together first, and maybe Angela feels a little strange about that at points, until its made very clear that while Amanda and Courtney had some.... things happen during filming, it only went from intense flirting/etc to actual feelings + relationship when their mutual feelings about Angela came into the open. Angela is a key part of the relationship, even if the way it started maybe had her feeling a little out of the loop/at a slight power disadvantage. So lead into that emotional tangle + its resolution would be fun.

Other fun potential things include: Relationship slowly being revealed to the rest of the office. your classic people keep finding them in compromising positions in different combinations all over the office.

In general, the dynamic would be fun+always a little competitive, I think. The flirting from Courtney and Amanda towards Angela is still overt- maybe even more obvious now that things are in the open! But Angela ideally feels confident enough to flirt back as well. Angela Amanda competitiveness and closeness is cranked up EVEN higher. Angela and Courtney are the kind of overwhelmingly affectionate that you'd expect. Amanda and Courtney were always in sync but its to new levels, with bits and flirting and everything ping ponging back and forth. Fave default configuration is Angela physically pressed between Amanda and Courtney as they escalate a bit with increasing innuendo, all of them close.

Again- unsure if I'd write it per se since I'm not as confident in my ability to capture Courtney/Amanda's voice in my fics. But hope this was fun to read anyway :) thank you so much for your ask, its really nice to hear <3

[artemiseamoon]

hiii i´d love to request anything you´d like to write based off Taylor Swift´s Ivy with any of Pedro´s characters or he himself. Thank you!

Hey Anon 💜, so miss metal / 80s/ 90s/alternative over here (me) doesn’t listen to / know anything about TS. But, I just looked up the song lyrics and went from there. I chose a character for you since I don’t write RPF. Strict rule on this blog. Enjoy 🦋

Spring 

Marcus Pike x F reader

Words: 718  | Credits:  to GIF owners  | Warnings: Angst and fluff , life post a  heartbreak

You came here to bury things, to let things go. The past, old memories, him.

Eight months ago today you buried a box full of keepsakes, it was the last of him. 

Your tears must have fed the soil from how much you cried that day, finally tearing his roots from your heart. Back then, this was a sad place, a place you vowed never to return.

But now, here you stand under the warm Spring sun as light pink flowers spring up from the very spot you left your pain. Moved, you feel tears in the corner of your eyes. The Earth took the heaviness from your heart and turned it into something beautiful, something vibrant.

Before you know it, you find yourself sitting on the ground, your journal in your lap as your hand moves across the light brown pages. The pen tattooing this very moment into the paper, immortalizing it.

Eight months ago, a war raged inside of you. A war he started and left you scarred and broken on the battlefield, he left you to pick up the pieces alone.

You thought it would take years to remember how to breathe. But before you knew it, you were breathing again, you saw the fine patterns of the leaves on the trees and remembered to dream with less fear.

All those little steps, every one of them worth their weight in gold as everything becomes clearer in this moment. You’ll be okay, the wounds on your heart will heal.

For the first time in a long time you feel possibility.

As a tear rolls down your cheek, you gently brush it away. Before you can lift your pen again, a concerned voice comes from behind you.

“Excuse me, are you okay? I saw you crying and I…”

You look over your shoulder, finding a handsome man in a suit. He stands a respectful distance away and raises his hand innocently, “I’ll leave you alone, I just wanted to make sure you didn’t need help.”

You nod and close the book in your lap before looking back at him again, “It’s okay. I’m...I’ll be okay. They were happy tears this time. Happy with a little sadness.”

He smiles warmly at you. “Good, well, I hope you find a reason to smile today. I hope your day gets brighter.”

You turn on the ground to get a better look at him. His brown eyes are sweet, compassionate.

A moment passes. You quickly stand to your feet and notice the book tucked under his arm. You squint to read the spine, It’s one of your favorite poets. When you tell him, that smile you’re quickly falling for returns.

“This is my third time reading it. My work gets intense. A book in the park when I can is necessary.”

You shove your hands in your pockets and give him a once over. “So, what's the deal with the suit? Business guy?”

“No, special agent - “ you make a face and he chuckles, “not that kind. Art department.”

You grin so wide you feel silly, “ I’m an artist! Well, not professionally but, at home. I write, sometimes I draw.”

“Give yourself more credit, you are an artist.”

You smile again and realize it feels a little weird, you actually can’t recall the last time you smiled before today.

“Hey, I have to get back but, it was nice to meet you. I counted two smiles, not bad.”

“You too.” You wave to him and watch as he turns around to walk away. After two steps, he quickly turns back around.

“I’m Marcus.”

“Now when I put this in my journal I have a name,” you smirk and feel a little bit like your old self again.

Before the really cute FBI agent leaves, you give him your name. He confidently asks you to lunch tomorrow, you say yes without hestaiton.  

Once you’re left alone again, you can’t help but stare in awe at the patch of flowers. This was a place of death, a place of pain and heartbreak. Now, just like the Spring, it offered new life and a sense of hope.

More Marcus

More from this round of requests

Tag list (to be added, ask below or via ask)

Permanent @readsalot73 @phoenixhalliwell @douhaveabountyhunterspecial @roxypeanut @laketaj24 @lovinglokiforever @nerdypinupcrystal @tephi101 @wigwitch @gallowsjoker @autumnleaves1991-blog @jedi-Mando @ladylothlorien @lilangeldevil006 @rosiefridayrogersunday @idreamofboobear @lv7867

Pedro Pascal: @agirllovespancakes @cinewhore @promiscuoussatan @thegreenkid @absurdthirst @marydjarin @ladytrashbird @mandilflorian @over300books @seasonschange-butpeopledont @hayley-the-comet @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @fandomfic-galore @viktorialukowski @a-dork-in-black @sarahjkl82-blog @pascalisthepunkest @agentwhiskeypussyindulgence @lilangeldevil006 @mrschiltonscat @wondergal2001

Marcus Pike: @iamburdened @cinewhore

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