#i should just leave them be for a few days but i like seeing how they change every day

[purple-obsidian]

Would you write for AK Jason? I like him mean. Like him and you are arguing and he gets all pissed off and makes you cry but it ends in angry sex.

say it back (18+, ak jason todd x fem reader) wc 5.5k

⭓ this post contains sexually explicit content and dark themes. it is not suitable for minors. please consider the tags and consume at your own discretion. not an example of a healthy relationship. jason might be kinda ooc here, but hey. it's fanfiction.

"You need to drop your fucking attitude." Jason hisses at you.

"Me? My attitude? I'm just trying to have a conversation, Jason, you're the one acting like-"

"Like what? Hm?" He stalks closer to you, and you take a step back reflexively.

"You're angry." You state simply, staring up at him with sadness in your eyes. "You're angry with me. Still. Aren't you?"

Jason's eyes pierce into your own, searching them for something as he takes a deep breath to calm himself. It takes several tense moments before he finally mutters, "Maybe I am."

"What more do you want from me, Jason? I'm sorry, I'm so sorry that I didn't come looking for you. I didn't know. Bruce told me you were-" Jason growls, and corners you against the wall until your back is pressed up against it.

"Don't fucking talk about him! Don't say his name, I'm sick of thinking about him!"

"Then what do you want me to do? I mourned you, Jason, I grieved for you. I didn't just forget about you. I could never." Tears begin to well up in your eyes. The guilt you feel for what your boyfriend went through is crushing. It haunts you every day. Every time you look at him and see that 'J' carved into his cheek, your self-hatred grows even deeper.

"There's nothing you can do now. What's done is done." His warm breath fans over your face. His eyes are narrowed, staring you down like you're the one who locked him up and tortured him.

"Why am I here, huh? Why do you keep me around if you refuse to forgive me?" You ask him, your voice quivering from grief and exasperation.

"Would you shut the fuck up?" He groans and slams his fist against the brick wall, just inches from your head. Your eyes widen when he does, a jolt of fear running through you, making the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. Jason's never hit you, but ever since he came back, you don't know what to expect from his behavior. He's erratic. Hurting. But at the same time, even more focused and calculating than ever. Its a terrifying combination, honestly.

He looks so much different now. Even though you're both still young, his features are harsher, his face hardened and scarred. You still see traces of the boy you fell in love with. It isn't always obvious, but you catch brief glimpses of the old him here and there. Its enough to keep you around, to remind yourself of how much you love him. Seeing him hurt like this and isolating himself is devastating.

"I don't know if I'm capable of forgiving you." He says between labored breaths. His eyes are dark, filled with a pain he refuses to share. "You left me in there to rot. The things he did to me, the things he made me do-"

"Jay." Your voice breaks, warm tears trailing down your cheeks. "Please, baby, I'm sorry. I failed you. I know I did." You reach out tentatively to caress his cheek, avoiding the scar. "I want to be here for you. I want to help you. But I feel like me being here is making things worse.”

Maybe you’re imagining it, but you catch a flicker of something in his expression. A crack in the hard mask he’s been wearing. “What are you saying?”

“If you hate me so much, maybe I should leave.” You struggle to get the words out. You hate yourself for even suggesting it. But the past few weeks with Jason have been tumultuous at best, and you’re not sure that your presence is actually helping him. If anything, you feel like you trigger him just by existing.

“Leave?” He asks, his face contorting in pain and anger. “You’re going to leave me? Really?”

“Only if that’s- I mean, I don’t know, Jason! I don’t know!” Unable to hold it in anymore, a heavy sob shakes your body, and you look away in shame. He’s still got you pinned against the wall, his arms caging you in and keeping you from turning away. “I just want you to be happy. I don’t think I’m capable of giving you happiness anymore. You won’t talk to me. All you do is yell. I want to be here for you, more than anything. But you won’t let me in. Maybe you’ll be better off without me.” Your voice is hushed and thick with emotion. You don’t want to leave him, now that he’s finally back. You were over the moon when you realized who was behind the Arkham knights mask.

Your best friend. Your lover, back from the dead.

But he hasn’t been the same. And you can’t blame him. He doesn’t go into detail about what happened, but you can see the evidence of his torture on his body. Not that he’s let you get too close.

He referred to you as ‘his girl’ in front of his militia. And now, after Gotham has recovered from the events surrounding his return, his hired men know that you’re to be protected at all costs. But other than a brief kiss upon your initial reunion, Jason hasn’t touched you. Yet he’s kept you close, physically, insisting you stay with him in his hideout. You quit your job, moved out of your apartment, left behind your old life as a law-abiding citizen to devote yourself to him and his cause. But your loyalty has been rewarded with him being emotionally closed-off and bitter towards you. It has you questioning where the two of you stand, and if he even wants you here.

“You’re wrong.” His voice is still harsh as he lowers his head to try and meet your eyes. He's close enough that you're able to smell his scent, a mix between his body wash and his natural musk. It draws you in, but you don't dare lean into him, in fear of fueling his annoyance towards you.

"Then why are you so mean to me?" You hate how weak you sound. You wish you were stronger, but being Jason's emotional punching bag has taken it's toll on you.

"I..." Some of his anger seems to fade, but his eyes are still swimming with turmoil. "I can be nicer."

"That isn't an answer."

Jason swallows hard, and removes his forearms from the wall so he's no longer caging you in. His jaw is clenched as he keeps staring at you and thinking about how to respond.

"I don't know." He finally says. "All I know is that I don't want you to go."

You slip to the side so you're no longer sandwiched between him and the wall, and take a step backwards to distance yourself. "I can't handle much more of this, Jason. It's too much. I can't stand fighting like this. It hurts me."

The look on your face has Jason's pulse quickening. "I'll be nicer." He says again.

"Jas-"

"I mean it." He reaches for your hand, and you need to consciously keep yourself from flinching away. "Just please, don't go."

Your heart aches at his plea. You don't want to leave, of course you'd rather be here. But you're not quite naïve enough to believe him when he say's he'll be nicer. You look down at where your hands are entwined, eyeing the thin silvery scars that litter his hand and wrist. Your mind briefly wanders, wondering what nightmare gave him those. Too thin to be from rope burn. Maybe zip ties. A few more tears pool in your eyes and blur your vision at the mental image of him being restrained in such an inhuman way.

"If you really want me, I'll stay." You whisper,

His eyes light up, but the relief doesn't touch the frown that's seemingly permanently etched onto his strong features. "Come here."

You don't fight the gentle tug on your hand. You let Jason hug you close to him, his heart still beating fast in his chest. You feel the steady rhythm against your cheek when he pulls you close and holds you against him. He's still angry, you can sense it radiating off of him in waves. But he's making a pointed effort to stay calm, which is an improvement.

"I don’t hate you. I love you. You know that, right?" He asks. You get a odd, fluttery feeling in your stomach. Not the same as the feeling you got the first time he told you he loved you. It’s a weird, perverted ghost of the feeling, one that makes the ache in your chest even worse.

You don't want to answer him. What would you even say? That you love him too? He already knows that, surely. And he laughed at you last time you told him. In front of several of his men. It was humiliating, and you've avoided saying it ever since.

"Hm? You know that, right?" He tightens his hold on you, his strong arms encouraging you to answer.

"Yeah. I know." You mumble back.

Jason looks down at you, and pulls away far enough to look you in the eyes again. What you would give to know what's going on in his head. It’s like a whirlwind of emotions are playing across his face.

You don't expect him to lean in and capture your lips in a sudden kiss. You freeze for a beat before you kiss him back, not quite relaxing against him, but letting yourself move with him. Still, it feels off. Almost like you're kissing a stranger. He isn't familiar anymore, which only encourages the tears to keep falling hot and slow down your cheeks.

As your tongues dance together, Jason begins to explore your body, warm hands running up and down your back. You wouldn't describe his touch as gentle, but he moves slowly and deliberately, finally resting on your ass and kneading your fat with his strong hands.

Is this his idea of 'being nicer'? You wonder to yourself. But you don't stop him. He's the only man you've ever loved, and when you thought he was dead, you missed his touch more than anything. Craved it. And you still do, even though you're more wary of him now. If you were thinking clearly, you'd probably stop his hand from sneaking down the front of your pants, and tell him that you should both take a breather and calm down. But he's left you so desperate for any speck of affection that you can't bring yourself to turn him away.

His hands are warm against your skin, but goosebumps still prickle your skin from the contact. He slips his hand in your underwear, not bothering to take his time. The sudden feeling of his rough fingers against your labia has you whimpering into his mouth. Jason rubs firm circles over your neglected clit as he breaks the kiss. "Yeah, you know?" He says back in a mocking tone. "Your body knows. She missed me, didn't she?"

The way he calls your cunt 'she' leaves a weird taste in your mouth. You pretend not to notice. "Of course I missed you." You say back to him. You grip his forearm gently and caress his skin with your thumb, feeling his muscles move and flex as he pleasures you, while your other arm grips his shoulder to steady your body. It's hard to relax with all the pent up tension you have inside. But you focus on his fingers, and how good it feels to be touched by your boyfriend again after so long.

"How quick did you move on. Hm?" His deep voice almost sounds like it's rumbling as asks. "How many people have you fucked since I disappeared?"

His question feels like a daggar to your heart. Maybe he really doesn't know, doesn't understand how hard his 'death' hit you. You haven't spoken about it much to him, since he obviously suffered much worse than you did while you were apart. It would feel insensitive to open up about the deep depression you fell into, one that your friends and even Dick tried and failed to help you out of. It was all you could do to even finish high school and get a job. You didn't see anyone else. You barely hung out with anyone. All you did was work and sleep. It was like the joy was sucked from your life the day you lost him.

But Jason doesn't know this. He mistakes your silence for shame, and he uses his other hand to cup your chin and force you to look at him as his fingers slowly warm you up. "What's wrong? Lost count?" The bitterness and mistrust are second nature to him now, after enduring Jokers sick mind games.

"No one... I promise." You lip trembles as the pleasurable sensations build between your legs. You grow wetter under his touch, even though your heart is heavy with grief.

"S'that right?" Jason lets out a dark chuckle and removes his hands from you abruptly. "Take your clothes off."

You can feel your heartbeat in your ears. You hesitate, looking from him to his bed along the opposite wall. Jason brings his fingers to his mouth, and to your horror, he sucks them clean, tasting your arousal without breaking eye contact.

"Do you want this?" He asks, growing annoyed at how you're freezing up.

"Do I want, what?" You say back a little too quickly.

Jason's nostrils flare as he lets out an irritated sigh. "Me. Do you want me to fuck you?"

Your mouth hangs open for a beat before you stammer out a hurried "Yes."

“You sure about that? Doll?” He cocks his head at you and studies your face carefully. The old nickname brings back memories, memories you’re sure are far too sweet in comparison to what’s about to happen.

But it doesn’t stop you from nodding at him all the same. You want him, there’s no denying that. Even if he isn’t the same boy you fell in love with, he’s still Jason. Your Jason.

Breathing heavily, Jason leans down to you so you're face to face once again. "Then take. Your fucking. Clothes. Off. Before I rip them off of you."

You glare at him through teary eyes, not appreciating the threat. But you’re not going to pass up the opportunity for intimacy. Hardening your gaze to match his, you hurridly remove your clothing piece by piece, folding the garments and setting them down neatly on the table beside you.

Jason surprisingly keeps his eyes on yours. Even as you reveal more of your body to him, his focus is on your face, not faltering.

When you step out of your underwear and set them on top of the pile, you finally say “You next.”

A dark chuckle departs Jason’s scarred lips before he replies, “Yeah, I don’t think so.”

Confused, you give him a quizzical look as he stomps over to his bed and kicks off his boots. They land beside him with a thud, making you jump a little.

“Get the fuck over here.”

Jason’s voice echoes across the studio apartment ominously. It’s pissing you off, how he’s still being so brash after just promising to be nicer to you. You shiver and run your hand up and down your arm while you walk over to join him, the cool air against your bare skin making you feel even more vulnerable. It’s clear to you that he’s enjoying this. Sitting on the edge of his bed, still almost fully clothed, finally letting himself drink in the sight of your naked body as you approach him.

“You’ve changed.” He comments after a few moments of tense silence. And he isn’t wrong. You’ve matured in the time he was gone, you’re a bit taller, your hair is longer, looking less like a teenager and more like a woman. But the changes in your body are subtle compared to his. Jason is at least 6 inches taller than what you remember. He’s put on a lot of muscle, and his features are sharper. Harsher, even. His face is different. Even ignoring the scars, there’s a new depth to him that’s hard to pinpoint.

You wonder how much of his transformation is due to just growing up, like you, and how much of it is from the trauma he experienced. Surely, being malnourished and tortured as a teenager would stunt a persons growth. But the man in front of you is anything but stunted. He’s massive. Again, your mind wonders about the details of his absence, about how long he took to recover from his torture before returning as the Arkham Knight.

“You just gunna stand there and gawk at me, or are you going to help me out?”

“Sorry.” You mutter hastily, embarrassed to be caught zoning out. You focus on him again, and realize he has his pants unzipped and his cock in his hand, stroking it with lust-clouded eyes. It takes a good deal of effort to hide the shock on your face from the sight as heat rushes between your legs. Your cheeks turn red, and you place your hand on his knee to steady yourself before you kneel in front of him. “You’ve changed too.”

Jasons pupils dilate when you place your hand over his own, taking over for him and stroking him lightly. He is already hard as a rock, his veins bulging under your touch.

“Way to state the obvious.” He leans back casually and uses his hands to prop himself up against the bed. Using both of your hands now, you jerk him off carefully, hoping he doesn’t notice the trembling in your fingers. “That’s it… shiiit, spit on it, baby, can you do that for me?”

With nervous excitement you obey his request, gathering some saliva with your tongue and letting it drip from your mouth down onto his shaft. His cock is feverish to the touch. The groan that rumbles in his chest as you spread your spit over him triggers emotions you haven't felt in a long time.

“Fuck yes, nice and sloppy for me, shit.”

You want to tug his pants down his legs to give yourself better access, but your instincts are telling you it’s a bad idea. Even as you became more aroused from his reactions, you still maintain a strong sense of unease, like he could snap at you without a moments notice.

When you peer up at his face, his eyes are closed, and some of the anger and tension he was holding onto is less apparent now. It gives you a spark of excitement, pride, even, that you’re finally able to provide him some peace.

His expression gives you enough confidence to lean your head down and take him in your mouth. You start with a soft kiss against his tip, then you swirl your tongue around it slowly, trying to gauge his reaction.

“M’not in the mood for teasing, doll.” Jason groans. “Better take a deep breath.”

That is all the warning he gives you before his hand grips the back of your head and pushes your mouth down onto him. You gag a little at the sudden intrusion before you remember to relax your throat to allow him fully in.

Another deep moan fills your ears when Jason feels you gag around him. Your eyes water as your nose brushes against the dark hair at the base of his cock. He’s definitely bigger than the last time you two did this. Or perhaps you’re just out of practice. Whatever the reason, you struggle to suck him off properly. After a few seconds of deep-throating him, pull your mouth away to cough and catch your breath.

“I didn’t tell you to stop.” He growls. "That felt good."

“You’re being a jerk.” You sputter out between coughs. “You said you’d be nicer to me.”

“This is me being nice.” He argues, bringing his hand to his cock to stroke himself again now that you've abandoned your effort. “You don’t want to suck me off? Fine. Get on the bed.”

“It’s not that I-“

“Get on the fucking bed.”

He stands up, and you’re momentarily scared he’s going to drag you. But his grip on your arm isn’t harsh, just a firm guide as he helps you onto the cheap mattress. You lay on your back and settle against the bedding, but Jason promptly flips you over, helping you onto your hands and knees.

You the mattress creek as he positions himself behind you. A quick look over your shoulder results in him gripping your hair and pushing your face into his pillows. "Stay just like that." He warns.

"Seriously? What, y-you're not going to let me look at you? Or kiss you?"

"Do you want me to fuck you or not?" The irritation returning to his gravely voice.

You close your eyes and try to stop your tears. You exhale a deep, steadying breath before you reply, "Yes, Jay, of course I do."

"Then quit complaining." The mattress shifts again as Jason moves behind you, his still clothed legs pressed against your rear. His left hand rests firmly on your waist, and a second later you feel him rub the tip of his cock against your clit. He drags himself up to the entrance of your cunt slowly, them back down again. He languidly repeats this back and fourth several times while he mutters under his breath "Shit... look at you, doll, touched your pussy for 5 seconds and you're already soaked for me." Jason smacks his shaft against your cunt a few times, your body visibly tensing when you feel the tip press against your asshole. "Relax," Jason scoffs, "I know you don't like that shit. You couldn't handle me in there before, there's no way you could take me there now."

Jason's weight shifts forward, pressing his hips into you. It only takes a moment for him to find the give and sheath the tip of his engorged length inside of your cunt. Green eyes stare in awe as he watches himself slowly disappear inside of you, pausing halfway, savoring how warm and wet you feel. He curses when your inner muscles clench and relax in little spasms as you try and accommodate him. "So fucking tight, goddammit, doll, shit, shiiit... feels so good when you do that."

Your eyes roll back at how badly you've missed the feeling him inside of you. This part, this feels familiar. This doesn't feel like a stranger. Your heart fills with relief, a sense of comfort washing over you and helping you to relax.

Jason pushes even further inside when your inner walls lax around his girth. A soft hiss escapes your teeth when his crown kisses your cervix. It's too bad that you miss the grin on his face as he takes in your reaction.

"You really haven't been with anyone else, have you? Tssk." Jason slaps your ass and watches the slight recoil in awe. "I can tell. You held out. You know what that tells me?" His large hands plant themselves on either side of you against the bed. Jason leans down, shifting his weight onto you and forcing you down into the mattress, prone-bone, fully bottoming out inside your tight cunt.

A whimper falls from your throat at the sting of how he stretches you. It creates an ache deep inside of you, deep enough that only he could reach.

"Tells me you knew I was still around. You're a liar."

"W-what?" That sense of ease and comfort is gone just as quick as it came.

Jason says your name in disapproval, "We both know you're loyal to a fault. That's why you're here. That's why you put up with my shit." His clothed chest presses against the soft skin of your back as his hips begin a slow rolling motion, thrusting into you while he brings his lips to your ear, brushing against your earring. "Me dying is the only way you could ever move on from me. But I did die. And you didn't move on. Which means you knew. You knew I was alive. Which is why you didn't betray me, even when Dick was practically throwing himself at you."

His pace increases as he speaks. His words are tainted with an bitter smugness, which makes your stomach churn.

"Jason, Jay, baby, that doesn't make any sense. I really t-thought you were gone-hmmpht!" Jason gives a sharper thrust which interrupts your explanation.

"Then why didn't you move on?" He's asks in a tense whisper.

"I couldn't!" You cry out in exasperation.

"Exactly".

His hips are rolling faster against you now, only pulling out an inch or so before thrusting back in, too greedy to pull out any further. He stays deep and buries himself as far as possible inside your neglected cunt. The friction feels divine, even if the rough cotton of his t-shirt is rubbing against your back instead of his bare chest. You long for skin to skin. The closeness is something you crave, but Jason, for whatever reason, decides to deprive you of it, even though he's balls deep in your guts.

"Fuck off!" You spit out between your shallow pants and moans. "You're being a jerk!"

"Yeah?" His voice strains as his pace picks up even more. The mattress is squeaking softly and bumping up against the wall with each rut of his hips. "I'm a jerk? You think I'm a jerk?"

You moan in frustration and pound your fist against the mattress. It's difficult for you to find the right words to say when his cock is hitting all the right spots inside you. You've dreamt of this, being forced to live with the longing inside of you for a partner you thought you'd never see again. It's everything you've been craving, to be one with him again. But he's souring the intimacy with his smartass mouth.

"I don't wanna fight, Jay." You mutter in response to him. Jason's hand cradles the back of your head and pushes it further into the pillows. You're almost ashamed at how it turns you on, being crushed and handled roughly by him like this.

"Ha, don't believe that for a second." A warm hand snakes down the side of your body and slips around your hips so he has access to your clit. He's still pistoning deep into you, now nipping and biting at your neck as his fingers work your sensitive nub, sandwiched between your body and the mattress. The added stimulation makes you squeeze your thighs together. "C'mon, too late to be shy, doll. Open up f’me." His voice is a gruff rumble in you ear. It sends a chill down you spine and makes your toes curl, clenching around him to alleviate the pool of tension building in your core.

You should have better self control. You should rise above, be better than his antics. But your mind is reeling and trying to reconcile how good he’s making you feel with how irritated you are. So without much thought, you quip back, “Says the man who won't even take his shirt off when he fucks."

“The fuck did you just say?” Jason pinches your clit between his fingers, earning a sharp yelp from you that’s muffled against his pillows. His pace doesn’t falter, but his body tenses as the anger finds him again.

The sting lingers, and you push your thighs together even more, effectively squeezing him out of you somewhat unintentionally.

“No, none of that now, you’re going to let me in.”

A deep inhale blesses your lungs when Jason pushes himself up off of you, leaning back and grabbing your hips to force you on your hands and knees once more. You grip the sheets and steady yourself, unprepared for the harsh smack that stings your ass cheek.

“Ouch!” You whimper, taking a chance to look back at him again. Your lips part to voice your protest, but Jason chooses this moment to impale your body back onto him and fill up your dripping cunt in a single jolt. You swallow the cry that threatens to leave your lips. You feel so full, your eyes flutter when he starts his pace up again, the sound of wet skin smacking against wet skin filling the apartment. He’s going faster now, his fingers almost painful on your hips as the uses your body for release.

“Look at how wet you are, doll, shit.” Jason’s eyes are heavy with desire as the line between lust and anger starts to dissolve. “You know what I think?” He asks through gritted teeth.

You’re hardly in a state to answer him. The friction of his arousal pounding in and out of you, the weight of his heavy balls slapping against your clit, the sound of him straining and losing control, its making it difficult to focus on much else. As your arousal builds, your brain slows down, unable to comprehend anything other than your boyfriends cock filling you to the brim.

“I think you like when I’m mean. Look at how soaked you are right now, dripping onto my bed like a greedy slut.”

A low, depraved moan vibrates in your throat, only further proving his point.

“Ha, that’s right. Fucking… fucking knew it, god- fuck, taking me so good, so fucking good.” Jason moans your name, repeating it as he senses his release getting closer. His fingers dig deeper into the flesh of your hips, hard enough that you’re sure you’ll have bruises tomorrow.

“Fucking love this, I… I… dammit, I love you, doll. I love you so much.” Jason's filter is gone. He’s lost in the feeling of your soft pussy squeezing him, the wet sounds of your sex bringing him to the brink.

Each hard thrust of his hips has your body recoiling. Your chest falls down to the bed, hands gripping the pillow for dear life as the vigilante relentlessly pounds into you.

“I said... I love you, bitch.” His voice actually wavers slightly at the repeated admission, his emotions peaking and threatening to spill out.

You try to respond to him, you really do. But Jason fucks the air right out of your lungs, moving at a bruising pace, ramming himself so deep in your body that your vision is blurry and nothing even close to a real word has a chance at leaving your lips. You're breathless and cock drunk as he abuses that soft spot inside of you, building up your pleasure to an unbearable level. You're close. And so is he. You tremble and pant as your orgasm hits you hard, a warm fuzzy sensation radiating between your legs where your bodies meet, more of your slick splattering Jason's thighs in droplets from how hard he's fucking you. The sensation of your pussy convulsing around his hard length is the final push he needs.

You attempt to muffle the fragmented scream that falls from your mouth at his last few brutal thrusts. Jason curses, his breath catching as his balls tighten and release his load into you, mixing with your own fluids to create a sticky mess that oozes out around his cock. His hips finally slow, giving a few more gentle pumps as he rides his high. His labored breathing is accompanied by more curses and soft groans. You stay still, reeling from your own release, your mind still fuzzy and not thinking clearly.

Jason leans forward, putting his weight one hand while the other reaches for your flushed face, reaching around to grip your chin firmly. Following his lead, you let him turn your head to finally look back at him. The anger is still there. You're not sure if it will ever go away. But there is a vulnerability in his eyes that wasn't there before. He's still inside of you, hunched over your body, flushed face only inches from yours.

"Say it back."

Your eyes widen at how broken he sounds. It takes a few seconds before you can get your mouth to move, but as soon as you've gathered yourself you respond, you say "I love you, Jason" with as much tenderness as you can muster.

He nods, eyes narrowing, before finally sitting up and removing himself from you. "Good." He mumbles, moving until he's sitting on the edge of the bed and sighing. "Remember that next time you threaten to leave."

"It... it wasn't a threat." You explain, but you're so breathless and fucked-out that you're not sure if he hears you. Relaxing onto the bed, you lay on your side to look at him with worry. The emotions inside of you are tumultuous, confusing you even further as you try and decide if this was progress or not.

"I keep you around because you belong here. With me." Jason stands up, avoiding your anxious gaze and keeping his back to you. "Don't fucking forget it." His feat thud against the floor as he walks over to the bathroom, disappearing and closing the door behind him with a slam.

⭓ masterlist ⭓

please don’t steal my work. don't upload it to another site, use it to train ai, or claim it as your own.

[luvvixu]

mind over matter pt. 4

synopsis: witness how your marriage was bound to fall apart with you on the front seat and your husband gojo had missed the show—now, he gotta figure out the story on his own.

content: arrange marriage au, angst, husband!gojo, mean!gojo, mention of blood, strong languages, some unsettling scenarios, emotional trauma, read at your own risk

a/n: ok, im such a bad author now huhu, i always broke my promises about updating the new chapter :((( should've just wrote in advance but i'm afraid i don't have that enough free time oqsjjanswjaj anyways, here's the anticipated chapter!! THANK YOU FOR Y'ALL PATIENCE <3 MWUHEHEHHEEHHE

previous / masterlist / next

the next day comes and you've got yourself some visitors. megumi, yuuji, nobara, maki, and inumaki was in your room and they were all seated around you as you talk.

panda and your two third years were not around at the moment because this is a non-sorcerer hospital and people would freak out to see a big ‘talking’ panda. during your two third years, they were out of town and were on a mission but they still text you to get well and even send you some fresh flowers.

“wait, i still can't believe that he's your husband.” nobara couldn't explain his shock at the revelation. out of all, she didn't think that her goofy teacher was someone's husband.

you chuckled at her reactions as you turned your gaze on megumi, who's still his mouth hanging. “megumi, i thought you're getting a hint?” you tease the boy. although it was true, you actually thought he already had an idea because you've known him for almost his entire life and even once lived with you as a kid.

“no…” was only his answer.

“so, gojo-sensei was the one you're talking about when you said that he was a busy man. most of his job requires being out of town. but he never fails to shower you with love and he is making sure that you two would still communicate despite his busy schedule?” your eyes widened when yuuji literally just said what you had said from before, word-by-word!

“i—i supposed he is.” everyone in the room sweat dropped at your answer.

what do you mean you supposed?!

“y/n-sensei, is it okay if we ask your baby?” maki chooses the gentlest approach because she heard that post-pregnancy can make the mother quite crikey, sensitive, and is prone to depression. but to her relief, you respond to her warmly.

“oh, the baby is being treated since they're premature. i really can't wait to meet them once i get better. but right now, shoko was the only one who had seen my baby.” you smiled softly at the thought of your baby.

“gojo-sensei still hadn't seen the baby?” maki’s eyes went wide.

you nodded. “yeah, he said we should go together so i must heal quickly for that to happen.”

the door suddenly opened and it revealed your husband with food in his hand. you smiled at the packages not because you're hungry, but because you had finally persuaded satoru to go out and leave you even for just a few minutes.

how did you do it? well, you just give him an earful after what he did yesterday night and he's like;

“i don't know how you did it but you should've just gone to the convenience store or the hospital canteen just for an oatmeal and eggs. and look, i'm not upset over the fact that you just had the ‘very easy to get’ food delivered on this doorstep. what concerns me is you seem not to trust me very well to handle myself— well in fact i've been doing it since i was a kid and blah, blah, blah, blah…” it was your turn to yap but a little longer than he did. you even probably bought up some of his minor mistakes like not taking out the trash on random sunday night.

and he was like, “i'm sorry. i won’t do it again ( •̯́ ^ •̯̀)”

“y'all done backstabbing me?” satoru teasingly smiled at you all.

“oh, we're just getting started. so why don't you take a seat and hear us out?” you patted the empty space of your bed beside you.

satoru playfully huffed and gave the foods to his students and let them distribute it themselves. sitting beside you, he gave you the separate plastic with food and helped you feed yourself. the two of you had your moment with you telling satoru to just let you be and stop feeding you like a kid, but satoru was like nuh uh—and it goes on and on.

meanwhile, the students watch you two with surprise in their eyes. they still couldn't digest the fact that you two had managed to hide your marriage for like five years or so. and out of all spouses out there, they couldn't believe their eyes that you married a guy that is a total opposite of you.

“i still cannot really believe that you're married and have a baddie wife.” nobara almost never tears her gaze towards you two.

“yeah, much more is that they look so in love!” yuuji agrees to what nobara said as his words made you two stop bickering instantly.

like a cold water being poured, you two were suddenly experiencing a reality check that this so-called in love was very far from the two of you actually is. coughing slightly to hide his awkwardness and nervousness, he just let himself chuckle. while you? you're an expert at this, you maintain a smiley expression and wordlessly (and also forcefully) agrees to what the boy said.

“oh my, do we?” putting a hand on your cheek, you smiled with your eyes closed. your act looks so legit but satoru has seen this multiple side—he knew this facade was all fake.

maki suddenly puts herself into attention by calling your name. “anyway y/n-sensei, i've noticed you two don't have a ring—” before she could even finish her sentence, you already beat her to it.

“that's because the two of us, mostly him, are constantly fighting curses and both involve using our hands when we use our techniques. it would be risky to wear it and we're scared that we might get it lost or damaged.” you explain meticulously.

you watch the students agree to your explanation, while satoru is looking at you with meaning. you stared back at him too, hoping that he would get your telepathic message.

“alright guys, your y/n-sensei needs to rest now. we'll just see you guys soon or you can all just drop by tomorrow after your training.” satoru called everyone's attention by clapping his hands then started to playfully shoo the students.

you watch them pack their things and wave you a happy goodbye, in which you return their enthusiasm as well. when they all left, you let out a sigh and started to gently lie your body on the bed. satoru, who was done cleaning just now, sit at the end of your bed and carefully massage your legs.

“did you have fun with them?” you just lazily hum at his question and proceed to rest your eyes.

“i…i'm surprised you managed to convince them about our marriage.” satoru continued quietly.

opening one of your eyes and looking at him, you said, “of course, i've been doing it to a lot of people for the past five years.”

that alone made him shut up.

satoru looked down to his hands, which were still busy massaging your legs. you've noticed that his eyes were casted down and his behavior was somewhat familiar to you, he's feeling something that is related to guilt and regret.

clicking your tongue, you're in no mood to deal with his behavior today. so to find a solution to this problem, you just put yourself to sleep and let all of this just go on without a single care.

it has been two days and you're getting better day by day. today was probably the bestest day so far because you're about to finally see your own baby!

“calm down, mama. do you want your stitches to open again?” shoko holds your knees to stop it from shaking anxiously as you were currently sitting just right outside the neonatal intensive care unit (nicu) where your baby was.

you understand that the doctors need to prepare the room first before you all come in, but you wished that they speed it up.

“but sho, i'm finally seeing my baby!” you squeal at your friend who just ruffles your hair and tells you to be patient—in which you definitely can't.

meanwhile, satoru, who was standing beside you while you and shoko were sitting together, has been eyeing you since this whole waiting. he understands that you're excited about seeing the baby because he is too, he is excited. but he couldn't help but to feel a sensation that you would rather share your excitement with others than him.

he knows that he sounds ridiculous and undeserving to say that in the first place after what he did to put you through, but he still couldn't help it and he wouldn't even dare to say it to you.

the door of the nicu just opened and it revealed the doctor who was wearing protective gear to keep bacterias and viruses from entering the room and harm the baby. before he lets you all in, he first instructs you all to change the same gear as him and then proceeds to give you all some explanation in which you actively listen and take notes.

and after that, he finally lets you go inside.

the moment your eyes traveled on a crib, you saw your child laying down there with some breathing apparatus that is connected to their little body. you could feel your eyes swell with hot tears as you inch yourself towards the bundle of joy who's their crib was also protected with glass and only small holes on both sides were there.

satoru and shoko watched you with pure warmth at your sight—it was a nice scene of mother's love. finally, a tear escapes your eyes the moment you get a whole view of your child.

“isn't he pretty?” shoko said beside you, someone who you didn't notice had come near you.

you gasp, “he? m-my baby is a boy?” your cries go even harder, but it was just pure happiness. you couldn't bring yourself to tear your gaze away from your child even though he looks fragile for being premature but you love him dearly.

“can i touch him?” you look at the doctor who assisted you earlier without caring that you might look like a crying mess. you're far more thrilled to be with your child than to be pretty at this moment.

the doctor smiled at you and he agreed. he pointed out the small hole on the side, telling you to stick your hands out to feel your baby. you do what he said with your shaky hands, and when your fingertips touch his warm skin—you feel like you could die from the burst of euphoria.

“my b-baby, my baby is n-now here!” you really can't hold your emotions back as you keep on passing your fingers through your baby's arm until it reaches his closed hands where you slightly and gently open it for him to grab index finger. and when he does, your smile becomes even wider.

“hi baby~ this is me, your mommy. it's so nice to finally see you.” you whispered softly, hoping that despite the glass, he could hear your words.

this is the bestest day of your life. your baby was here and that's all you need.

the scene continues to unfold with you still getting emotional and shoko was just watching you with a smile on her face. while satoru, the father of the child, the husband of the mother, was a little distant but he could still see the baby. he was all quiet and couldn't bring himself to utter a word but he's not speechless.

his eyes behind those glasses were trailed on the child, but most of his gazes were on you. satoru watches you become all smiley—this is probably the happiest smile he had seen on your lips for the past years of your marriage.

and he would absolutely never forgive himself if he breaks it—but he already did.

shoko notices his odd behavior and promptly leaves your side for a while (but you're busy having a baby talk with your baby to notice her leaving) to go talk to him.

“what? you're just gonna stand there and watch y/n?” yup. still the same as before, hostile towards the man. satoru let out a sigh and didn't give her attention. instead, he walked towards y/n and just focused on his family.

“you’re so tiny!” you continue to cooed at your son who keeps on moving slightly which is a good sign that your son is responsive and fighting. you also noticed that satoru was now right beside you and is looking at your son too with adoration tinted in his eyes.

“i don't think i could let myself be away from him anymore.” you said. your cheeks were now hurting from constant smiling but you don't mind.

satoru only looks at you briefly because his attention was now on his son, fully. “hello, it was nice finally meeting you.” his eyes trailed on his own flesh and blood with the most care of all.

on the other hand, you're not dumb to not notice that satoru was acting hesitant towards this scene and you knew what his reason was. you think that satoru thinks that he was undeserving to be here, and you're correct about his assumption.

but as a woman who grew up with an experience of being inside a shattered family, you absolutely would not want that to happen to your own child. and as much as you would also like to satoru be away at least for now because you're still that sensitive about what he had said during those conversations in the clinic and hallway, you respect his role as a father.

you'd give him a chance to prove his worth as a father to your child, but he's far worse to have a chance to prove his worth as a husband to you. if he messes this up real bad and without any proper explanation, this will be all over—satoru would no longer have you and your child as his own family.

“stick your hand on his hole, that way you could feel him.” you guided his hand towards the hole that you had said before and watched his hands turn shakey as he reached for the baby.

once satoru had finally experienced a skin-to-skin touch with his baby, he wanted to cry so badly but he didn't allow himself to, at least not yet. he felt like this was one of the best moments in his existence.

satoru would like to punch himself for questioning the baby for his plans as he seemingly thinks it would affect him. but just when he look and touch his baby, all of his recollection about the mixed emotions he felt when the baby is on the board has suddenly vanished and it was replaced with gratefulness and adoration for both of you.

it was like a full 360 degrees turn was done after the early birth of his first born. plus, he had seen you be ever so happy that you are with him. and deep inside him, satoru deniably hopes that this kid, this child, can at least help him save this marriage that was destined to fail and doomed.

because he now finally realizes that you're slowly wrapping him around your tiny fingers.

your tears had made him be a better person, your recent experience had made him behave. it almost cost you and your baby's wife just for him to realize the importance of your five years of marriage, and he's planning to tell you that soon.

“have you finally decided what name we should give him?” shoko asked you and she didn't fail to see your eyes sparkle at the mention of name.

ah yes, baby names.

that was something that a mother and father should decide together because it comes very crucial because the name that your baby will get is a symbol of you two's relationship. but the thing is, you and your husband hadn't talked about a single thing or just anything related to this matter.

that's probably why you're still embarrassed whenever you think about nanami accidentally seeing you open a website into one of the school's computers about unique baby names with its meaning.

you're four months pregnant at that time and you're spending your free time in a teacher's lounge. you're very invested in your mini research to the point that you didn't notice an old friend peeking at your screen. you actually only notice his presence when you're about to stretch but accidentally bump his torso, and to your surprise, he was there.

and then the rest becomes a story and history. nanami helped you pick baby names for both genders or even unisex until you came out with…

“kazuki. let's name him that.” a soft smile was decorated on your lips as you watched satoru, who's looking at you, plays with the hands of your son.

“kazuki…that's a nice name, y/n.” satoru said happily. however, you can see his disappointment behind those words and you know why. you didn't even invite him to search for your baby's name because why would you?

“does it have any special meaning?” shoko asked you.

you nodded and said, “of course, kazuki means hope of peace—and i really need that.”

taglists: @mistymuii @kalopsia-flaneur @sherryuki-callmeyuki @aish777 @tttttttf @slyhersophia @rirk-ke @labelt-san @shinruo @testrella @sad-darksoul @kurookinnie @mountvesuvu @chwesuh-imnida @cole-silas @elernity @maddie-jayne @yozora7154 @kawaiivillainess98 @forourpoets @aishies-stuff @numblytemporary @souyasplushie @catarinemirandax @aerithsthingss @h1gh4ru @ssetsuka @jskodn @khoiyyu @the2ndl @vebbiewuzhere @kouyoumarryme @dreamyescapesfromreality @local-mr-frog @haesify @blkmystery @bleppt @leavem3al0n3 @arminloverlol @megumisthirdog @shirabane @sheismaryy @tragicgirl444 @vampsins @miizuzu @kurobo @anxious-chick @p1nkliquor @mshitachin @chxrv @lolsasuke @username23345 @netyxms @lvstru @roscpctals99 @buttermilktea11 @berenevenstarzetaestelar @jiupark @hotsauce247 @veryverysadauthor @skepticalleo @opentheyoor01 @slowlyshycomputer @babybarbs12 @thickemadame @yaninnaacu @foggypostshark

[part 5 will be just there right around the corner — ©luvvixu2024]

[leilanihours]

# SATIVA

pairing: nika x volleyball player/gf! reader

word count: 1382

warnings: pure filth, smut w no plot (MDNI), head + fingering (nika receiving), scissoring

summary: after watching nika play your favorite sport at the beach, you had to get a taste of her (maybe a little more than a taste...).

from lani: so...dk what's happening w my espresso fic but here's this bc this song is so sexy just like nika

NIKA STARED DOWN at you, long fingers desperately pulling at your hair and pushing your face into her dripping cunt.

"holy shit, baby," she moans, "yeah eat my pussy just like that, fuck."

the two of you were currently hidden away in the one of the bedrooms of your private boat - one that was shared with the rest of the team.

you insisted they all came with you to your hometown in southern california, insisting that the weather would be perfect for a small vacation.

you had all taken the day to hang out at the beach, planning to swim, chill, and have fun together.

when some fans invited the group to join them in a game of beach volleyball, you were all down. both teams fought for you, as it was apparent that you were the best out of everyone there.

you insisted that you would simply sit out for the first few games, wanting to scope out the competition. but you got distracted.

well, even more distracted. the whole day, nika was teasing you. she was wearing a particularly revealing bikini that "happened" to be in your favorite color - but she knew it would drive you crazy.

her fleeting touches scattered throughout the day kept your mind running wild. the way her soft golden skin looked in the broad daylight made you want to explore her body like there was no tomorrow.

and as soon as you observed your girlfriend playing your sport, you caved. you had occasionally taught her a few volleyball tricks over your time being together, and her teaching you basketball.

but seeing her actually apply what you taught her made you feel something uncontrollable. the grace of her dives, the force of her spikes, everything.

a few quick excuses and one extremely needy pull to the boat later, you pushed her onto the edge of your shared bed and demanded that you had your way with her.

you moan into her cunt at her words as you eagerly insert two fingers into her. the moan she lets out at this could've made you come right there. 

you were already soaking wet from the sight of nika in a bikini playing your favorite sport, but the sounds falling from her pink lips added to your own pleasure.

you momentarily remove your mouth from her pussy as your fingers continue to pound in and out of her.

"you looked so fucking sexy today, i don't think you understand," you pant.

your other hand that was gripping nika's thigh travels up to her chest, hungrily pulling down her bikini top to grasp at her tits.

"tell me," she moans, eyes closed in immense pleasure.

"tell you what, babe? use your words."

"tell me, shit- how sexy i was."

"what? you want me to talk- mmph- about how badly i wanted to bend you over the bar and fuck you in front of our friends?"

"fuck yes," she groans, "keep talking to me like that."

"why should i? acting like a slut all day in public, wearing this tiny ass bikini just to get my attention. you knew i would like this, didn't you?"

she nods wordlessly, the feeling of your fingers destroying her pussy and pinching her nipple overpowering her ability to talk.

"i knew it," you smirk from between her legs before retracting both of your hands from her body only to push her to the head of the bed.

you take a second to observe her vulnerable position under the sun beaming down from the skylight - chest heaving, nipples hardened, pussy gleaming, cheeks flushed. she looked like a piece of art.

with a lick of your lips, you shed your own bikini, leaving both of you naked on the bed. despite being in broad daylight, on a boat where your friends could see this at any given moment, the only thing you cared about was the girl underneath you.

locking your lips in a searing kiss, you feel nika grind her pussy up against your thigh, desperate for the feeling of your skin on hers. you smirk into the kiss at her neediness, essentially feeling empowered by it.

she whines into the kiss as you continue to allow her to please herself. with one hand next to her head and one pulling her leg to urge her against you, an idea pops into your head.

"i'm gonna try something okay? let me know if you wanna stop," you say softly against her lips, dominant tone disappearing for a split second, and only a split second.

after making sure your girlfriend was comfortable, you sit back on your knees while she stayed laying down, wondering what you would do.

you swing one of your legs over nika's and rest your hands on her bent knee. after a few adjustments, the two of you gasp when your clits brush against each other. it was the first time you had tried this position with nika, but god it felt good.

the contact sent a shock of pleasure throughout both of your bodies, causing a string of moans and curses to fall from each of you.

"oh fuckk," you moan with your head thrown back.

nika's hands grasp at the curve of your waist, squeezing and encouraging you to move faster against her. her mouth is agape as she breathes heavy from the pressure building up in her stomach.

"please, y/n, please," she begs, not exactly knowing what she was asking, just that she needed you.

"you like that? huh? fuck- you like how my pussy's rubbing against yours?" you tease her as you flip your hair to one side of your shoulders and reach down to play with her tits.

"fuck yes," she moans, "feels so fucking good, baby."

"i knew you would like this the second i felt you tryna get off on my thigh," you breathe out, "such a dirty slut for me."

"just for you, y/n- oh shit-" her sentence gets lost in her throat when she feels your clit brush up against the entrance of her cunt.

"mmm, fuck, baby," you groan, "you like it when i ride you like this?"

"yes, oh my god," she manages to get out through her seemingly endless song of moans, "y'look so fucking sexy."

"yeah?"

"yeah- oh-" she's cut off once again when you tweak her nipples harshly.

"god you're so fucking wet," you say, hips moving eagerly against nika's cunt, "who made you this wet?"

"shit- you did, baby."

"fuck yeah i did."

"y/n, i'm gonna-"

"hold on babe, i'm almost there, can you wait for me?" you practically whine, your demanding demeanor from earlier falling apart.

"please- i can't-"

"yes you can, i know you can."

after a few more seconds of harshly grinding your aching pussy into nika's, both of you are coming undone, leaking onto each other with satisfied moans.

you continue to slowly rock your hips against hers, wanting to chase the high as you both come down.

"holy shit," she says, out of breath.

"holy shit is right," you smile as you get off of her and lay next to her. both of you are sweating despite the cold air flowing from the boat's vents, "you okay?"

"how is that even a question right now, y/n?" she laughs, "that was the best sex we've ever had and you're asking if i'm okay?"

"just making sure, love," you say as you place a sweet kiss on her temple. her head is now resting on your chest as the both of you cool down from the previously heated moments. there's a beat of silence before nika speaks up.

"were you really about to fuck me out there?"

"hell yes," you say, looking down at her, "i mean, the way your ass looked whenever you dove for the ball or when your tits were pushed together when you bumped- my god."

"you're so horny," she laughs with a light smack to your bare stomach.

"i know you're not complaining, though," you smirk.

"never said i was, baby."

"good," you say, "now i got another reason to love volleyball."

"shut up, y/n," she giggles before you both drift asleep, entangled underneath the comforter and in each other's comforting embrace.

[songsbygumi]

`✦ ˑ ִֶ 𓂃⊹ ELEVATOR ENCOUNTERS - NANAMI KENTO

Finance major Nanami x art major reader has been on my mind for a while. If you have any thoughts on this concept or want to share anything else, please feel free to do so!

Nanami holds the elevator door for you, raising an eyebrow as he presses the open button, watching you make your way over.  Your hair is disheveled, and you're dressed in an outfit hardly suitable for this type of office—jeans and a band tee.

"Thank you," you say, attempting to steady your breath and offering him a grateful smile. "I couldn't afford to be late again."

He remains silent, merely humming in acknowledgment, waiting for you to press another floor button. Instead, you take a sip from your coffee thermos before continuing.

"I haven't seen you before," you say, taking another sip and pausing for a moment. "Are you here for the finance internship?" He only nods in reply.

Nanami isn't one for small talk, especially not with people he's just met in an elevator. He prefers to keep to himself, offering little more than nods and occasional hums as you ramble on about the work team and your bosses, even though you only met him a few seconds ago and don't even know his name.

In just two minutes, you've managed to inform Nanami that you've been interning here since last year, as part of the design team. It makes sense to him; your easygoing, bubbly demeanor, coupled with your chattiness, fit the bill. As the elevator doors finally open, you give him a small wave and a smile (you have a pretty smile, he notes), along with a quick "Good luck with the interview."

Nanami lands the internship. The following Monday, he shows up bright and early for his first day. The office is practically deserted when he arrives, and it's not until an hour later that you finally show up. He watches as you step out of the elevator, a yawn escaping your mouth, and you rub your eyes while sipping what he assumes is coffee.

You catch his gaze over the partition separating his cubicle from the others and offer him a tired smile. Nanami blushes a little but smiles back, unable to tear his gaze away as you head to the marketing area.

The next time he sees you, you're seated in a corner of the school cafeteria, surrounded by a colorful array of watercolors spread out on your table. Your food sits forgotten in a corner as you concentrate deeply on the canvas laid out in front of you.

"Like her?" Geto inquires, placing his food on the table and settling beside Nanami. "She's nice," he responds, observing you as you bite the corner of your brush in concentration.

"You know her?" Nanami asks, surprised.

"Yeah, she tutored Gojo last semester," Geto explains, nodding towards you. Nanami raises an eyebrow at Geto, pointing out the obvious contradiction—how could you tutor him when all three of them were finance students? "She tutored him on academic writing," Geto clarifies, "She's in an art major you should talk to her."

“Who are we talking to?” Gojo asks, taking a seat at the table. Nanami huffs and leaves.

songsbymegumi, please do not plagiarize, repost, translate to other sites, or recommend my content outside of Tumblr.

note.-I'm not familiar with the education system in the USA, so I did my best to research majors and subjects.

[cbrownjc]

Some spoiler thoughts for episode 2x05

I haven't done a rewatch yet, so these are just some initial thoughts on the episode (spoilers):

Daniel was so not let go after those 3 days. Bank on it.

Daniel already said it -- the drug den thing was a fabrication of his memories being rewritten. But, more to it, Louis' memories of that time were also rewritten. Between that as well as his extensive burn? Who knows what Louis even remembers of the 1970s either.

Neither Louis nor Daniel remember a damn thing of what happened during what would be the Devil's Minion period! (Particually because who knows how long it took Louis to even heal. With those types of burns, I'm going to say a few years at least.)

The show left things extremely open-ended for both Daniel and Louis' characters at the end of the flashbacks which can be filled with whatever the show writers might have ideas about that time period over how many whatever seasons. They haven't locked themselves into one single thing going forward leaving it open-ended that way.

Yeah, even if they want Louis and Daniel to have had sex sometime later. Because again, they both don't remember anything. 😏

But Armand -- Armand does. He remembers all of it. And oh you dear, f-ed up gremlin, I really did think you might not have been responsible for Daniel's memories, but now I'm starting to wonder . . . .

Louis, in 1973, doing what he does in Merrick. Because it was remembering Claudia -- how she manipulated him -- that sent him running into the sun. And even though he tried -- and failed -- to do it in 1973, he's going to fully remember it in the present day too IMO and, this time, he'll succeed at doing it.

Because yes, in Merrick, Louis actually succeeds in killing himself. It's only because of how vampire blood works, and a lot of it being poured over Louis' body, that he is revived. And I really think we are headed toward a "rule of three" wrt this. I think Armand clocked Louis was close to killing himself sometime directly after Paris because of maybe almost really trying so, and that is why Armand put a veil up over Louis' mind.

Because even back in 1973 it's clear that Louis actually didn't remember the bit about Claudia until he drank Daniel's drugged-up blood! Between that and Arman directly saying "She didn't love you!" (which yes, was a line taken directly from toward the end of the IWTV book that Armand says to Louis about Claudia), whatever cloud Louis was actually under in 1973 lifted for a bit . . . enough for him to run out into that sun and almost succeeded -- which I feel we'll learn/see was actually his second attempt.

His third (and final) attempt will be in the finale. And that time will be the one that succeeds. (And then he'll be resurrected/reborn).

"Am I going to be on suicide watch for the next 1000 years?" Yeah, Armand, it looks very well that you are -- will be.

I loved Luke as young Daniel! And I feel very sure we're going to see more of him. He and Jacob had such a bouncy chemistry.

And oh, the scenes between him and Assad as Armand -- so creepy and sinister! Just what it should be at this point in time between Daniel and Armand, at the beginning of things. They even had Daniel held prisoner in the house for three days, the same length of time he was held in the cage in the books. But everything Armand did to Daniel here was so much more unnerving, particularly the chair thing.

So . . . Armand really didn't know the Talamasca was watching then? Hmm, okay show but I'm side-eyeing that one. Because really, he should have IMO.

Though I did notice that Daniel strategically didn't show Louis the pictures of him and Armand taking Daniel out of the house. Which I still don't think makes any freakin' sense, them doing it the way they did, even with Louis being hurt like that. I supposed Louis wanted to make sure Armand didn't hurt Daniel still, but . . . .

And oh, Armand. I can see any and all attempts to defend you wrt what is coming have really slipped away much after this. I know why you are doing all of this, I get it I do, but . . . *sigh*

You should have told Louis that Lestat was saying, "I love you." But you are still so scared of being alone . . . this is all going to bite you back next season Armand. So, so much.

Would I say it's my most favorite episode of the show ever so far? Not yet. But I known it's the one of Season 2 that I'm going to rewatch over and over the most so far. Yes, I love it for the beginning of Devil's Minion that it gave us, of course. But I love that it also really started to show the friendship and trust that Rolin Jones kept saying last season was between Louis and Daniel. Louis and Daniel just being friends is something I never expected going into the show and has become such a favorite dynamic of mine too.

So yeah, it was a wonderful episode. I do think it was hyped up a bit too much in the "most disturbing thing I've ever seen" department because I actually did not find it to be all that disturbing in the horror department. But as far as character development and dynamic building goes it was stellar and revealed some great things, so I can ignore my little nitpicks.

[mopopshop]

i need angst w emily pls anything 🙏

Tension (Emily Engstler x OC)

summary: emily keeps running into her past flings and gabi gets jealous, kinda toxic but they love each other at the end of the day

i love this one a lot so i hope y’all enjoy!!!

You really only enjoy parties when you're with Emily, but you don't get to indulge in those too often since she's usually at practice. 

 But tonight, the plan is just fun, and when Emily asks if you want to go out to a party, you can't help how stupidly excited you get. You dress in a denim mini skirt and a black crop top. Your makeup is done as usual, topped off with a glossy lip.

You almost don't make it out of the house because Emily can't keep her hands to herself, but alas, you do, enjoying the free drinks and music when you arrive.

You've been there for about an hour when you leave Emily in the hallway momentarily to grab another drink. 

You return minutes later, a little giddy, "Just the way you like, drink up" you insist, holding your red solo cup to Emily who shakes her head uninterested.

 "Eh, not tonight. Ion really feel like it"

"Just a taste, Em. I could have a future in bartending." You say taking a sip of her drink to show how good it tastes. Instead of drinking from the cup, she pulls you in by your waist and kisses your lips, sucking on your bottom lip, 

"Hmm yeah that's kinda good."

You chuckle and roll your eyes at her antics, putting her drink on a random table and sip on your own as you stay cozy in her arms. "I think they should pay me to mix drinks for people instead of giving people that crappy jungle juice."

"Yeah? You tryna get into business?"

"Mhmm. Don't you think I'll make a fortune?"

"I mean you're mad sexy and selling good drinks. I don't see why not."

"Maybe we can go into business together, party favors all wrapped in one." Before Emily can tell you you're tripping, a girl strides up to you both.

 “Emily."

She turns to the girl she doesn't recognize, "Hi..?” 

"It's Leslie. From a few years back," she explains.

"Ohhh shit. Hi," she says, dropping her arm from you to lean in to hug Leslie. "Thought you and your family moved?"

"We did. I was just back visiting some friends for the weekend. It's good to see you."

"You too. This is my girl, Gabi," she introduces, and you shyly wave.

"I'm Leslie. Nice to meet you. Emily and I were cool back in the day.” she explains then turns back to Emily “We should catch up while I'm here," she grins.

"Yeah uh.. I'm a little busy but we can see."

"Sweet, see you then," she says. "Nice to meet you, Gabi."

When she walks off, you get a flashback from a party you went to about a month back.

Emily was with the team that night, so you weren't around her like you usually would be. After giving her a few minutes of space you go searching. 

Finding her in a hallway where she and some girl are talking. They're both posted up against the wall like they've been talking for a while. And it's not that you're immediately jealous. You're merely curious. Your girlfriend isn't much of a talker, especially to strangers, so you're wondering who she is and why she seems so comfortable chatting with the stranger. You walk down the hall, and Emily catches your eye before you make it to them. She shoots you a smile and wraps an arm around you when you reach her.

"You having a good time?" she asks.

You nod and look over to the girl, Emily noticed and introduces her "This is Jen. We used to chill back in the day. This is my girlfriend, Gabi," she introduces.

Jenny smiles and nods, "Nice to meet you. You're lucky, Em has always been such a good person."

Your eyes twitch at the use of ‘Em’ but you smile and look up at your girlfriend, "I know. How did you guys meet?"

"Um, through a friend of a friend really. We used to hang a lot after parties. We were just reckless horny teenagers, you know how it is," Jenny says.

It finally dawns on you that this is one of Emily's previous hookups. You don't say that you, in fact, 'don't know how it is,' but remain polite nonetheless, "Yeah, of course. It was nice meeting you."

"You too. Good seeing you, Em! You look good."

You narrow your gaze at that ending comment, and as if Emily can read your mind, she reassures you.

“Baby, chill. She didn’t mean it like that”

"I didn't even say anything, Emily," you say defensively.

"Yeah, but I know my girl. You're real expressive and don't need to speak for me to know what you're thinking. Just know you’re the only girl I want, m’kay?"

So by the time it happens again, you already know their history before Emily explains anything, but you ask anyway.

"Who was that?" you ask.

She shrugs and sniffs, "Old friend."

"From school?"

"Mhmm," she says, looking down the hall. Seemingly avoiding everywhere but your eyes. 

"Why can't you look at me?" You ask because Emily finds it incredibly hard not to tell you the truth when you're staring at her. She can tell you've been reaching your limit lately with people approaching her, and she just doesn't want to send you over the edge. 

"I am looking at you," she chuckles, turning back to look at you and pecking your lips. You narrow your gaze up at her.

 "Why are you being awkward?"

"I didn’t mean to. Sorry." she says then quickly goes back to no eye contact. 

"Did something happen with you two?" you ask, grabbing her chin and turning it to look at you. "Hmm?"

"Um, I mean, we weren't like together or anything like that. Just hooked up a couple times," she admits. You nod, hands caressing the back of her head.

"That was forever ago," she's quick to explain. "Like she said, five or six years."

"Can I ask you something? And I want you to be honest," you say, moving from her head to your her hand and interlocking with hers.

"Alright."

"How many people have you been with before me?"

"Uh— like sexually..?" she questions and you nod in confirmation.

"Um, I don't really know to be honest."

Your brows shoot up, "What do you mean you don't know? Em, Is the number that high?"

"Why does it matter? It's just you now."

"I'm just curious. Is it over 5? 10?" you ask.

"Over 20?" you question then flinch when she doesn't reply, "Wow, Emily," you say, sipping your drink in disbelief.

 "Don't be upset, baby" she says, squeezing your waist.

"I'm not upset, it's just weird. It'd be nice to go to these parties and not run into every girl you've fucked. That's all," you say, seething through your teeth, walking off towards the kitchen to refill your drink.

"It's a small town, Gabbs. We're gonna run into some people."

You whip your head to her, " ‘Some people’ doesn’t mean be with nearly half of the girls our age in D.C"

"I was young. Like stupidly young, doing shit I wasn't supposed to. I grew out of that, chilled out for a while now and all that was before you anyway. Why you tripping?"

"I just don't like it. I'm your girlfriend, I don't like people you've been with coming up to us like you're still friends. It's weird, Em. And if you weren't my first and there were girls I've been with coming up to us every week, I know you would feel the same way."

"I get it, Gabi. I'm sorry. What you want me to do though?"

You shrug because realistically there's nothing you can do in this situation. You're upset and feel awkward and uncomfortable. Are the past girls looking up at you, wondering why Emily chose you? Were they wishing Emily was single so they can have a repeat of their nights with her? Why are they even so comfortable coming up to her to say hi? How did it end? Were any of them repeats? Your mind is just spiraling.

She takes your hand as she leads you out of the house and you both settle on the porch. "Ask me what you wanna ask. I can tell you're overthinking it and there ain't nothing to overthink," she says.

"I don't know, Em," you sigh, running your fingers through your hair.

"Just talk then. Say what's on your mind."

"I feel uncomfortable whenever someone comes up to us. I keep wondering why they're so comfortable coming up to you. Before you introduce me, are they trying to hook up again? Or how did y'all leave things? Were y’all friends with benefits, more? Or— I don't know. It's just really weird for me. I know I have no reason to be upset, like you've been with a lot of people, fine, but meeting them and— I don't know. I don't want to feel like I'm fighting to keep you interested in me. That's how I feel when we run into these girls."

Emily steps closer to you and wraps her arms around your waist, sensing your doubt. "Thank you for telling me. Would you like me to answer your questions?"

You nod.

"I've had a couple of friends with benefits. Leslie and Chelsea, the ones who were trying to make a move, were two of 'em. It's rare that I end things badly with someone; we just stop hooking up, so there's no bad blood, which is maybe why they come say hi. Never had anything more with any of them. You know you're my first girlfriend. There ain't no reason you gotta feel like you're competing with someone else. I'd put a ring on it if you let me."

You're still pouty and needing some affirmation, so you hold your left hand out. She chuckles, picking up your hand up and kissing it. "Gotta find your ring first."

"I'm sorry for being jealous. It's just really hard sometimes, Emily. I just wanna enjoy my nights with you without that or not worry when I don't come that they're gonna try something."

"They can try all they want. I'm not interested,

Gabbs. It ain't ever gonna be like that with nobody else. I'm in this with you for life; you're all I want. Come on now, you know that."

"I know, I do know that," you insist. "I trust you, Em. I really do. I just—it's just gonna take me a minute." You lean in to give her a chaste kiss. "Also, you still didn't tell me your number."

"Why you so curious?" She asks, stroking your chin. "I really don't keep track."

"What if, at the time, you caught an STI? How would you tell everyone you've slept with?"

Emily should be used to your random questions by now, but she doesn't know if she'll ever be. "I don't know, G. Come on, I don't wanna talk about this."

"Okay, okay," you say like you're about to drop it and then ask, "Just tell me like what is it around. 20, 40, 50?"

"Gabi," she chuckles. "I don't know, maybe around 20, 25."

You nod, processing the information. A brief moment of silence passes between you. "I'm not jealous, but I can't believe you even knew 25 people you wanted to sleep with."

"I mean, there wasn't really a bar to meet or nothing. I was just horny and puberty was ruining my shit. It's all I could think about at the time, so I was sleeping with whoever wanted to”

"Did you.. like use— any type of protection" you push.

"Baby," she sighs. "Why you interrogating me now?"

"What? You're sleeping with me now. I should know," you defend, looking up at her.

"And we got tested before we even started sleeping together, so that don't even matter."

"So I'm guessing that's a no," you conclude.

"Only with some I was sleeping with regularly. And they didn't crossover, so it was only unprotected sex with one person at a time. I wasn't that dense."

"Okay. Everything we've done, have you done it all before, or was any of it your first time?"

"A lot of it was my first time, Gabi. I'm telling you, that shit before was transactional on both ends. It was in and out, so all of this with you was still new for me. But even if it wasn't, I'm with you, G. So it's gonna be special for me no matter what."

"You good with the questions?" she asks when you don't ask a follow-up question.

"I think you're really in love with me, Em," you smile down in between you.

"I am."

"I know," you smile, wrapping your arms around her neck, your gaze shifting up to her. "I love you and I trust you. It's just strange sometimes, but I know you'll always choose me."

"Damn right."

"So when are you proposing?"

"It ain't gonna be a surprise if I tell you, G."

"But maybe like next year? Next two?" you try to gauge. Emily chuckles and kisses you. "Ain't telling you shit, baby, so you might as well stop asking."

"Okay, but like you'll tell me if I need to wear something nice the day of, right?" you mutter against her lips.

Emily ignores your insistent questioning, picks you up, and deepens the kiss, and that does the trick in shutting you up and getting your mind off it, at least for tonight.

———

[onepiece-asl-lover]

So you're up for requesting? Cuz it would be cute if Child Sabo and Luffy try to help Ace confessing his love towards reader (Salute from Mexico)

Hello! I would love to do this so here we go!(Also Salute from America)

All three boys sat near a pile of bushes as they watch a girl-Y/N picking around for flowers.

"Okay Ace so why did you bring us here for?" Sabo whispered as he looked at Ace.

"Alright..I need your guys help for me to confess to Y/N"" Ace said his entire face red.

"Okay." Sabo and Luffy said blankly.

"Why the hell are you so calm! Was it really that easy to know!" Ace whisper shout.

"Ya" Luffy and Sabo replied.

Ace sighed as he rubbed his temple as he looked back at them.

"Fine, does any of you guys have any ideas?"

"I think, I'll write some down and we can make a list of ideas" Sabo said as he grabbed a notepad from his pocket.

"Maybe you can give her meat!" Luffy chuckled as both Ace and Sabo slapped their face as Luffy idiotness.

"Not everything can work with meat Luffy" Ace turned as Luffy mumbled wanting some meat.

"Okay I have some ideas, you can give her flowers, compliment her, make her something, helping her with daily tasks, or just confess"

"Hm. Well I guess compliment will work this time, how do I do that?"

"Just say "you have beautiful eyes."

"Great idea Sabo!" Ace snaps as he dusts himself off as he walks over to you.

Ace puts his hands on his hips and he has a flushed angry face.

"I have beautiful eyes!" Ace shouts as you both look at eachother.

Question marks appear above your head as you tilt your head trying to understand what he's getting.

"..yes?" You respond as you slightly smile as you continue picking flowers.

Behind the bush

"Dang that didn't work did it" Luffy spoke up.

"This bitc-" Sabo says as he face palms himself.

A few days later

"Ace, I ran out of ideas none of them worked, it always leave both of you confused I guess your fate" Sabo sighs.

"Ya Ace! You're just not good!" Luffy laughed as he was quickly covered in lumps by Ace.

"Nobody asked you Luffy....anyways what do we do now, I'm not stopping until I've finaly confesssed."

"You know you could just directly confess?" Sabo suggested.

"No!..it just going to be embarrassing" Ace mumbled.

"We should ask Makino for advice!" Luffy exclaimed.

"Not a bad idea" Ace and Sabo say in usion.

At Makino place

"You need helping to confess to somebody?" Makino asked as she looked at the three boys in front of her.

"Ya" the three boys say together.

"Who are you confessing to and who's confessing?" Makino asks.

"Y/N and Ace wants to confess" Sabo and Luffy say as they point at Ace.

"Alright so have you tried complementing her?" Makino asks.

"Ya"

After a long line of asking "if they have done this"

"Wow so you did do everything. Hmm how about you try just having a quite and calm time moment"

All three boys look at eachother as they raise their eyebrows as they look back up at the lady.

"We haven't tried that yet" Sabo speaks up.

"Let's do it!" Luffy shouts as they all run back to setup there plans.

In there treehouse

"Okay Ace just breath and talk about what you like and when it feels good, ask. Alright?" Sabo rehearsed.

"Ya ya I know" Ace says as he dusts himself off and cleans himself up and fixing his hair.

"Alright let's rehearse" Sabo said as he puts a girl like voice.

"Hello Ace do you need somthing?"

"Uh-uh I-er"

"No Ace it will never work if you do that" Luffy jumps in.

"Sigh okay let's do it again. This is going to be a long while until we finish." Sabo says as he puts on a girl like voice.

....

After hours and hours of rehearsing Ace finally gets it. At the moment the three are watching from afar as they see you sit ontop of a rock braiding your hair in boredom.

"Okay there she is, just walk up calmly and quietly and make the scene calm alright?"

"I know I got it" Ace says as he begins to walk over to you.

Sabo quickly grabbed his arm as he pulled him back.

"Hey Sabo why did you grab me?!" Ace whispered shouted but when he saw Sabo put a finger up and point at you. Ace went silent seeing a boy walk up to you.

This wasn't really happening, it wasn't possible! Since when was there a boy in love with you? And how long had he been in love with you?? Had you ever spoken to each other? Was he your friend?? I mean, you lived in the village of Foosha, but you always spent time on Mount Corvo with them, he thought that your only friends were himself, Sabo and Luffy...

The figures of two children facing each other not far away, ontop of a big rock. There was no doubt about it, it was you and that boy.

Ace watched you two, gritting his teeth. That little boy was holding a letter and he was reading it to you. Wait... No, that wasn't just a letter...

"HE WROTE HER A LOVE LETTER?!" the three exclaimed in chorus under their breath.

Ace felt jealousy grow in his body more and more when he saw the way that little boy was reciting the words of love he dedicated to you. You on the other hand, looked at him with flushed cheeks.

Ace almost had the instinct to punch himself. Stupid, why hadn't he thought of this before?? Why hadn't he had the courage to tell you before?!

"A-And so i'd like to ask you i-if..."The three pricked up their ears as they heard the words of the boy who was stuttering from shyness.

"I-If... If you want to be my girlfriend?"

"WHAAAT?!" Ace, Sabo and Luffy wanted to scream, but they miraculously managed to keep their voices low.

For a few moments silence fell. Until you flashed a smile at the boy.

"Oh no! Is she going to say yes to him??" Luffy whispered in panic.

You squeezed your hands shyly.

"I-" you murmured.

Until...

"DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!!"The boy let out a cry of terror when you saw Ace's body pop out of a bush and run at full speed towards you and your eyes widened.

"Ace?!"

Ace positioned himself in front of you and crossed his arms over his chest.

Ace returned the look with a murderous one and in his mind he cursed himself for not having brought his pipe with him, to be able to threaten him better.

"W-Who are you??" the boy asked, looking at him fearfully.

"Get lost, loser" he said in an icy tone.

The little boy let out a squeak and ran away with tears in his eyes, taking his love letter with him.

"Ace, what are you doing here?!" you asked, more shocked than angry at his intrusion.

Ace turned to look at you, taking a step towards you.

"Would you have said yes?" he asked you back.

You tilted your head and furrowed your eyebrows in confusion.

"Psst Ace!" Luffy whispered shouted as Ace looked back, Sabo giving him a very pretty flower.

Luffy and Sabo give him a thumbs up and backing away to give the two space.

"H-Here. These are for you..." Ace murmured, then handed you the flower.

Your eyes widened, surprised by his loving gesture.

"Thank you" you smiled as you see Ace shuffle around.

He nodded and you gently took them from his hands, immediately feeling the delicate scent of tge flower invade your nostrils.

Ace fidgeted as he looked for your reaction. He mumbled words you didn't understand his cheek a bright red.

"And ya..me..makino-.help..I" (bro speaking gibberish at this point.

Smack~

Ace fell silent when he felt your soft lips rest on his freckled cheek for a few seconds and when he quickly turned to look at you, he saw you smiling shyly, hidden behind the flower petals.

"I-I really like them, Ace. Thank you"

Ace felt like his heart wanted to jump out of his chest.

"And anyway..." you continued then, clutching the flowers to your chest. "I wouldn't have said yes to him. B-Because... Because i already like someone else..."

Ace's hands began to sweat, as did his forehead and it felt like his stomach was flipping with emotion. He had never felt this way before.

"O-Oi, that someone..." he swallowed nervously. "T-That someone isn't Sabo or Luffy... Is it?"

You shaked your head as your cheeks become the same shade of his as you whispered.

"No. Its you" you blushed as you covered your face with petals.

You took his hand and Ace's eyes widened, then he squeezed it, making your fingers intertwine.

Behind him, Luffy and Sabo opened their eyes wide and then high-fived each other with satisfied smiles.

"Hey Y/n" he murmured looking at you.

“Do you want to come with me to explore the forest?”

You nodded without hesitation, closing your eyes.

"Sure Ace"

...

Behind them the two boys chuckled as they made some jokes.

"It wasnt the way I imagined but it worked" Sabo says as he sits down with Luffy sitting down next to him.

"So are Y/N and Ace married now?" Luffy asked tilting his head.

"No they are to young and that's not how you get married Luffy." Sabo replied.

"Ah makes sense" Luffy said.

"Young love" Sabo sighs as he layed back smiling Luffy joined.

"Never say that you sound like an old women." Luffy said as both boys laughed.

I loved this so much! But some of this is inspiration from an writer I knew long ago. I love writing for the young ASL TRIO they are the best!

Also I challenge you if you read this far to send an request! (I sound like a youtuber) Also know no smut! And only one piece pls.

[yannaryartside]

THE NEW 'MENU" IS GONNA BE HELL FOR SYD

I have been reading Sous Chef: 24 Hours on the Line –by Michael Gibney because I wanted to understand more about Sydney's future responsibilities. I know next to nothing about the cooking industry, and this show particularly doesn't want to waste time explaining the context to the untrained eye (which is fair, we are here for the drama).

Man, this book was so awesome. It is literally like experiencing a The Bear episode in book format. It takes you through the whole routine, explaining who does what, the expectations, skillsets, and the emotional burden of each position. The protagonist is, of course, the sous chef, and what I have read made me feel scared for Sydney next season. So, every fact I display here is because the book presented it as the expected.

THE BEAR'S CASE

Now, a clarification: As I understand, the CDC supervises the whole kitchen, which is Syd's official title. But Carmy will technically still act as CDC since most executives don't move a finger; they are supposed to be there only to ensure rules and quality standards are followed.

The CDC is the person in the kitchen that everyone answers "yes chef/Oui chef too. The one that calls the orders and keeps everyone in line. The one who has the final say about what goes out of the kitchen. Under them, there is the sous, making sure all the operations are in order.

So you will technically have two CDCs; just one of them will have the final say, and you will have Tina as the sous. But that puts Sydney in a position to act both as CDC and a Sous, so I am using the book to guide what we may expect her to endure. This as a report made last minute with only two sources (pretty good, but still only two). Now, lets begin.

A very inexperienced staff: The author created a fictional restaurant based on his experiences, merging people he has met over the years to give you an idea of the most common in the industry. But it made something very clear to me: the staff of the bear, especially the line cooks, do not possess the training to operate at the level that Carmy is requesting. They better send them to culinary school before officially opening. I don't know why (I actually blame Carmy for this), but they haven't prioritized hiring certified staff since the beginning. They should have never had an opening day without knowing their staff and, if they were as green as Syd described them, sent their asses to culinary school right away. The fact they only bothered to send Tina and Ebra is baffling. And even when training is essential, experience is what can make the difference in unprecedented scenarios, and everything that Carmy is asking is pretty unprecedented by definition.

With the menu changing every day, Sydney's job as a cook herself and as the captain of many cooks is going to be darm near impossible.

Actually, in the book, there were two sous chefs, one for opening and one for closing. Even if you delegate the administrative task normally reserved for the morning sous chef to someone like Natalie (managing schedules and callouts, checking deliveries, and inspecting the state of the food before opening), it would still leave a lot of things on Sydney's plate. I am gonna be quoting this article:

"Few are the kitchens I’ve worked or sta’aged in where the Sous Chef wasn’t doing all the work that the general public thinks the Chef is doing.  And don’t get me wrong, such is the natural progression of things and not without good reason.  But more often than not, while the Chef is the General, with his/her name on the line, the Sous Chef is the lieutenant, seeing to it that the work gets done in the trenches".

During service, the chef (CDC) plates the dishes in the pass, but before that, the sous has to check the food the line cook brings; they need to be aware of how the executive chef likes a particular dish, the consistency, temperature, and other culinary details. Again, Carmy will act as CDC here and Syd as sous. Even though I didn't see them do this in f&f, it will likely be necessary for the future. Carmy changing the recipes constantly is gonna make it virtually impossible for Sydney to keep up, with their particular preparation, and since they are gonna be the final portal after the food gets to be presented to the client, it could cause a lot of friction between them.

Not only that, the sous chef normally leads the preparation of the specials (since in most restaurants, the ordinary menu has been established, only the specials can change every day) For both sous chefs in the book, leading prep consumed most of their time before opening, since, again, the executive has already trained them in how he prefers certain parts of the recipe. Again, in the Bear's circumstances, this will probably also be Sydney's job.

Replacing staff. The book even includes a scenario when a line cook fails, and the sous has to cover that station. Sydney is kind of destined to experience this, too, considering how unreliable their staff could be. If that happens, Carmy will be alone at the pass, checking every element before plating, which will obviously cause a delay.

Tina is the sous, and it will be interesting to see how she manages that; she definitely doesn't have the experience, and these expectations are definitely no industry standard. It hurts me that Sydney may suggest hiring another sous to work next to her or another cook who actually has experience operating in the industry to level up her workload. That is where I think Luca's role will be next season, if he goes to work for them. He probably has the skill set to do it. There is no point in having two people manage desserts.

Evidently, with a menu changing every day, it also means that Carmy has to make Syd come early every day to explain this recipe to her and make sure she can lead the rest of the kitchen in making them. Most of their dynamic is gonna rely on how much Syd can actually fulfill Carmy's expectations; she came here to work for him, running away from psycho chefs, and yet Carmy's expectations are going to be the most reckless the industry has ever seen.

The closing sous has to prepare everything for the next day long after the executive and the other sous are gone, revising the mistakes that were made, and preventing the ones they could make tomorrow.

Regardless of the title and responsibilities that may go on Sydney for being the only other experienced chef in the kitchen, we are talking about a 15-hour day. And I know it can be expected in this industry, but the layout for having two sous made plenty of sense. I don't know if Carmy will take part of the workload. I hope that is the case.

But yeah, the line "so you can push me, and I can push you" is taking a new connotation in my mind. What Carmy is creating doesn't make any logistical sense, with an untrained/inexperienced staff and with a sous chef that he trusts and cares about, but he is basically asking to perform to a level that defeats reason.

It is not even the level that made him "the bear" in his years as the best CDC in the world. Because even if Carmy's past executive was abusive and cruel, their expectations had to obey certain logistic logic that Carmy was completely abandoning. Carmy is not gonna be abusive, but all of this is a whole orchestra he is creating for self-punishment because even he won't be able to keep up with it, he may push everyone away because there is nobody who can. All of this is his version of self-harming. And Sydney and everyone he loves will witness, it until he asks for help.

Edit: I had to make a correction, explaining Carmy's and Syd's will technically both do the job of CDCs. Again, please do let me know more about that or feel free to correct me.

[thedeviltohisangel]

For A Fortnight There We Were: What About Your Quiet Treason?

a/n: some more early days of ev/cal. featuring a little vacation for them with her friends, some miscommunication and some feelings being brought to light. also once again features evelyn's friendship with the tellers because i am obsessed with them and think the four of them could get into so much trouble together. as always, i continue to insert her into the modern day whenever something pops up but please feel free to send blurb requests for them as well! so much of their future and the angst i have kept a secret and i am so proud of myself. love you all!

She knew looking in her DMs or Twitter mentions was never going to end well. They were a sordid place of opinions and accusations and no matter how much positivity was sprinkled in, it was so hard to see. After pictures of her lounging on the deck of a yacht in the Amalfi Coast with a lanky man with brown curls kissing her neck were publicized a few days ago, she hadn’t been able to look away.

They were flooded with screenshots of Callum’s Raya profile, allegedly still active, and more private DMs of WhatsApp conversations that showed the cell phone number Evelyn had saved in her own contact for him. Her melancholia was threatening to swallow her whole as she curled up on her side on the boat’s salon.

“Hey! You were taking awhile so I-” Kelleigh paused as a barely repressed sob shook Evelyn’s shoulders. “Babe, oh no, what’s wrong? What happened?” Kelleigh dropped next to her on the couch and hugged her as best she could, her cheek resting on her arm.

“It’s easier if I just show you.” Ev sat up and handed Kelleigh her phone, her knees drawn into her chest as her friend’s eyes skimmed the screen.

“All this could be old, Ev. It might not mean anything.”

“The messages are dated from a few weeks ago while I was in Toronto.” The words of them seemed innocuous. Pleasantries and laughing emojis and memes. It was irrational but it felt like something special about their blossoming relationship was being taken away. Like him sending photos of Golo or his morning tea to these girls meant they meant as much or as little to him as Evelyn. “I’m so fucking stupid for falling for it.” Her forehead hit her kneecaps as she tried to hide her shame.

“We don’t know what exactly we are looking at yet,” her friend cooed, “this could all be one big misunderstanding.” 

“It’s my fault. I should have never let myself get attached. I should have known better to wait until everything with Logan was finalized.” The universe was punishing her for being happy. For falling in love with someone else while she was still married. 

“Cal is fucking crazy about you. Your heart and your gut know that and know how you feel.”

“He hasn’t even asked if we are exclusive. Doesn’t call me his girlfriend.” Kelleigh sighed and reached to grab Evelyn’s hand. She knew Callum was confused and conflicted. Last night, after their group dinner and hours of dancing, Evelyn and a few others tucked themselves into bed but Cal had stayed up for one last cigarette. Kelleigh had stayed up with him to pick the brain of the man one of her best friends was falling in love with.

“Evelyn is like a sister to me and Miles,” Kelleigh started, “I watched the way her marriage ate her away. And somehow her divorce feels even worse. If you aren’t going to be there for her for the long haul, you should go now before it’s too late.” It was obvious with the way Evelyn looked at him. The way she blushed and giggled at his every word and every touch. The way she had held his hand like a vice at the club and fed him bites of her dessert at dinner. All of the friends who knew her before Logan saw that version of her finally seeping back into her bones. Callum was most certainly the cause of it but if he was going to fly her high and leave her to crash to earth on her own, she needed to know now.

“I am living the happiest days of my life with her. Being with her like this makes me feel like I am exactly where I’m meant to be.” God, he straight up fucking loved her. But that was too complicated to introduce. “But I don’t know how to navigate shit with her and her ex.” None of it was normal, all of it was new. Were they dating? Were they supposed to start calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend?

“She’s just as confused as you, I promise. Do you want something real with her? Something with labels and commitment? Even if it means putting up with Logan and his bullshit?” Kelleigh felt like she was hyping up the man in front of her. Trying to spark that passion in his chest to fight for Evelyn tooth and nail the way she deserved. 

“I do. I want that. But not at the expense of her peace and stability.” Logan was incensed with every blurry photo or DailyMail tabloid story that came out about them and Ev took the brunt of it. If his presence in her life was adding fuel to that fire, maybe his departure was as necessary as it was tragic.

Kelleigh scoffed, “Just another fucking way he’s trying to control her.” Callum snuffed out his cigarette and moved to stand in front of her.

“You know her best. If I just straight up ask her to dive in with me, ask her to commit to this feeling between us and put a label on it and run off into the sunset with me, will she do it or am I just scaring her away?” 

She had told him that Evelyn would in a heartbeat. Wanted to tell him she thinks her friend really loved him. Was maybe getting some semblance of hope back for her future. But now, looking at the screenshots her friend was showing on her phone, maybe she shouldn’t have been so encouraging. 

“Ev? Evvie?” The deep, British voice belonging to the male in question reached their ears, Callum standing on the deck of the boat toweling off as he looked around for her. “Hey, there you are.” All their friends that had been splashing around the Mediterranean waters were climbing back onto the yacht to get ready for dinner. The last thing Evelyn wanted was to cause a scene or have her personal emotions on such public display. 

“Here I am.” She stood in the hopes she could run off in the name of getting ready to avoid him but he was over to her side in two steps and bending down to kiss her. Both her hands on his chest served to stop him but the way she turned her face so his lips barely kissed the side of her head served to freeze his heart. “Gonna go get changed for dinner.” Her back was to him in an instant and he stayed exactly where he was as she disappeared down the spiral staircase to the cabin they were sharing. The same cabin where they had fallen asleep in each other’s arms every night and woken each other up with kisses and caresses. The same cabin where he had made love to her over and over again with the softest and gentlest of touches. A tenderness only a lover could possess. 

“Did I miss something?” he heard the first whisper. 

“I thought they were good.” Went the second whisper. 

“If you could even call them a they,” was the final straw before he was following after her. He tried the doorknob to the room but it was locked and his heart started pounding in his chest. 

“Ev? Please let me in.” His forehead dropped to the door and he swears he heard the sounds of a sob. Her sob. The sobbing of the woman he loved. “Whatever I did, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. Please let me in so I can fix it.” Clearly he had upset her. Clearly something had happened in between waking up naked and twined together and playing with each other’s fingers and now, refusing his kisses and locking a door between them. Her feet padded closer and he stood up straighter. There was sniffling. She was definitely crying. 

“There’s nothing for you to fix, Callum. I expected too much from you. I’m used to being let down by my own expectations and I should have known better.” His brows furrowed together and panic began to set in. 

“No, you…you deserve the world, Evelyn. You’re right. I haven’t been doing my best in giving that to you. Haven’t been as open and honest with you as I should have.” She wanted to laugh. Of course even now he was saying the right thing. Promising her he would change if she would just give him another chance. Promising he could and would do better at being the partner she deserved in this life.

“You’re seeing other girls.” It was unfair and she knew it. Nothing between them was defined and she had only asked that he not sleep with anyone else if he was going to sleep with her. There had been no conversation about dating other girls. Evelyn had been afraid to make it so real.

“What?” He didn’t try to stop the incredulity from seeping into his voice. “What…Where…Who is saying that?” She finally opened the door and he was greeted with ruddy cheeks and damp eyes.

“All day I’ve been getting screenshots of you on dating apps and of conversations you’re having with them and I’m sick to my stomach thinking about it.” Evelyn felt used. Felt dirty. Felt like every accusation she had defended him against was for nothing. That maybe she should have heeded their warnings. 

“I didn’t delete the profile because it felt like signing you up for something you weren’t ready for. Like if I took this too seriously then I’d be pushing you away.” There was no use in lying about it. The profile was his but he hadn’t been using it. To be honest, he thought she’d be more freaked out by him deleting it because that would signal his view of their relationship as serious.. A conversation they hadn’t had yet and he was hesitant to bring up. “And yes. A couple of them I gave my number to. Texted and flirted and whatever else it is people are sending you. I’m not going to pretend it didn’t happen, Ev.” She turned and walked deeper into the cabin, Callum following and closing the door behind him for privacy. She landed in the chair of her vanity with a heavy sigh and looked at him like she could see his soul. 

“Are you sleeping with other girls?” His face contorted in disgust. 

“No. Absolutely not.” The one aspect of their relationship that they had defined. That under no circumstances would they have sex with someone else while they were having sex with each other. As if either of them had even looked at someone since their night in Chelsea months ago. He ran his hand through his hair with frustration. “Fuck, Evelyn, I’m trapped between wanting to dive head first into this thing with you and acting like it’s just some casual fun between friends.” He was at such a loss. Keep his options open so he looked like he didn’t care and could put the pieces together if she dropped him. Worship her on his knees until she offered him some kind of idea of the future. 

“Well,” her voice sounded hoarse to her own ears, “I’ve come to a decision about that this afternoon.” Callum braced himself for the impact. Figured she had been in here working on ways to let him down easy. Break his heart in two rather than millions. 

“You don’t got to say it, Ev. I’ll pack my bag while you’re at dinner. Be out of your hair before you get back.” The towel was tossed into the corner of the room with a hint of anger as he felt tears well behind his eyes. The woman he loved, slipping from his grasp. He had agonized over every word and action to try and prevent this from happening. Had accepted the complications that came from being with her while she was still legally married. Still going through her divorce in the public eye. Even though it was ending, it had all been worth it for these months they had shared together. He just wished it could have been forever. 

“That is the last thing I would ever want.” She stood and walked towards him, her forehead resting between his shoulder blades. “I never want to be without you, Callum, that’s what I decided this afternoon. That it all hurt so bad because of that fact.” Her arms wrapped around his torso and he tangled their fingers together, bringing the back of her hand to his lips. 

“I don’t ever want to be without you either,” he whispered. He twisted in her embrace so they were chest to chest. Her eyes captured his own, strong and sure in their conviction that she was doing the right thing. 

“I’m falling in love with you,” she revealed. “I need you to know I’m not scared. I’m ready for this to be a real relationship. I’m ready for the labels and the commitment. Ready to be with you in every way that I possibly can.” The thought of him being someone else’s, in any capacity, had scared her to her core. She had never felt so possessive over someone or something. Never felt like she owed it to herself to try so much. 

“Say that again,” he hummed against her lips. He urged her backwards until the back of her knees hit the bed.

“Which part?” she asked breathlessly as her back hit the mattress and he landed on top of her. 

“The part about falling in love with me,” kisses draped across her jawline, “or maybe how you are ready to commit to me,” down her throat, “actually, I also liked the part where you want to be with me in every way possible.” So badly did he want to lose himself in kisses along her chest and throat and all the inches of her skin that were exposed by her skimpy bathing suit. But this moment felt like he should look her in the eyes. Memorize how they looked back at him and held someone on the precipice of falling in love.

“I’m falling in love with you,” she smiled and traced her thumb along the lines of the smile that was spreading across his face. “I’m ready for commitment with you. I want to be with you in every way possible.” Callum laughed, a full throated and powerful laugh, ducking his face into the crook of her neck. Evelyn’s own pure happiness bubbled out of her in a laugh as she hooked her legs around him and held him against her tightly. 

“Am I supposed to call you my girlfriend now?” he asked as he lifted his head. 

“And you can be my boyfriend, just as if we are back in school.” His nose knocked against hers twice before his lips landed on hers. 

“I know it wasn’t easy for you to say those things, Ev. I want you to know they mean everything to me. Being with you means everything to me.” He knew that the road ahead of them wasn’t going to be easy either. That it was marred with traps hiding in the shadows, maybe some even in plain sight, but at the end of it was something so golden and pristine it would have to be worth it. 

“No more pretending,” she whispered. No more walking separately into a restaurant. No more distancing themselves at night clubs. No more solo trips to the grocery store or posting photos without him in it or hiding the evidence he had spent the night with her. 

“God, I’m going to kiss you so fucking much at dinner tonight.”

And he did.

And she felt loved.

She was.

[morganski-19]

Chills Right to the Marrow Part 15

part 1, prev part

note: yeah, this one's going to hurt

Dustin takes a few days before returning to the hospital again. Not because he fully wants to. His mom has been too busy to drive him and Steve’s not really available either. Between work and a period of really bad migraines, Dustin hasn’t wanted to bother him. Which is new to him, but they both could use the break.

This time off has actually helped him some. He’s focusing a bit more on school. Getting assignments done on time and paying more attention in his classes. He’s been able to sleep a little better. Can almost get through the night without waking up in a cold sweat.

It’s been better. So Dustin decides to go visit Eddie again.

Steve’s walking next to him, now up to visiting Eddie. Finally, over whatever was keeping him from even thinking of going into the hospital room unless he needed to. Dustin’s glad, it’s been helping him.

There’s a nurse asking Eddie some questions when they enter. And he’s responding. With words. Not just grunts or blinks. But actual words. Dusitn almost can’t believe it.

“What year is it?” the nurse asks.

Eddie takes a deep breath. “Nineteen,” another breath, “eighty-six.” His voice is scratchy and dry.

“Great,” she marks something on her chart.

Dustin takes his seat next to Wayne, looking hopeful.

“What day of the week is it?”

Eddie closes his eyes, as if he’s trying to pull the memories from his mind. He shakes his head. Looking tired and agitated. The nurse marks another thing on her chart.

Dustin looks to Wayne, the joy in his face falling when he sees the anguish in Wayne’s eyes. There’s something more to this. Something’s wrong.

“Can you tell me what happened right before you came in here, Eddie?”

Dustin freezes and sees Steve tense out of the corner of his eye. Both of them looking to Eddie to see what he says. Knowing that he can’t say what happened. Knowing that he technically could. The NDA waiting for him is left unsigned.

Eddie huffs out a breath, struggling to inhale another one. Starting to peel off the bandages around his IV’s. Struggling, trying to sit up.

“Ed,” Wayne leans forward, trying to reason with him. “We talked about this yesterday. You can’t take those things off. They’re keepin’ you alive, son.”

Yesterday. This isn’t the first time. Eddie’s been more awake for at least a day and no one told him.

Dustin glances at Steve, seeing a mix of emotions on his face. Pain, worry, fear. A deep, rich sadness. Like he knows the words Eddie is going to say next. Knows how terrible they are.

“Fuck you,” Eddie exhales. The look in his eyes both blank and full of anger. He continues to pick at the bandage, succeeding in getting it off.

Wayne grabs Eddie’s wrist, pulling it away from his IV. “I know you don’t mean that.”

“Fuck,” breathe, “you.” The anger doesn’t leave Eddie’s face. Terrifying in how much is translated with how little is expressed. The tiredness holding his muscles back from properly emoting. Yet perfectly getting the point across.

Steve leans down to whisper in Dustin’s ear. “Maybe we should leave. Come back later.”

Eddie’s head lifts when he finally registers Steve and Dustin’s presence. A new flicker of something comes to his face. Just to melt off again. Back to the resting ghost that’s taken over.

“Out,” he snaps. Pushing his arm into the air and pointing at Steve. “Out.”

“I think it’s best you both leave,” the nurse interjects. Trying to hold the IV in Eddie’s arm as he continues to pull.

Normally, Dusitn would protest. Say that he needs to be here. That it would make things better. But it’s only a matter of time until the anger turns on him. He’s not sure he could take that.

Wayne has to pry Eddie’s hand away from the IV again, holding it close to the bar. Just like another cuff. Eddie’s using all of his strength to try and wrench it away. But he’s weak. Falls into the pillows breathless. Exhausted.

Tears start to form in his eyes as his face scrunches up. A soundless sob releasing from his throat. He tries to fight the nurse while she’s reapplying the bandage around his IV. Finally giving up.

Eddie opens his eyes again, finally looking at Dustin. Taking one more giant breath before saying the first thing to him since he died. Tears painting down his face. Pain indented in his eyes.

“Leave,” he whispers. Pleads.

Dustin stands and leaves the room, only making a few steps before his own sob breaks free. There was no look of recognition in Eddie’s eyes. No spark when he saw Dustin. Nothing to give him any solace that Eddie knew who he was. Knew what Dustin meant to him. Knew what happened in those last moments. As Eddie’s body crumbled in Dustin arms.

He remembered none of it. But it remembered him.

Steve pulls Dustin away from the hallway. Wraps his arms around him, holding the pieces as they fall. As the hope Dustin foolishly held shatters. He thought waking up meant Eddie was getting better.

He now sees how wrong that idea was.

They sit silently next to each other in the waiting room. Dustin’s tears drying on his cheeks. Steve not knowing what to say, so just not saying anything at all. It’s deafening.

Wayne finds them after some time. Sits across from them. Silent, until he clears his throat. “I’m sorry you had to see that.”

Dustin wants to respond. Ask what happened in the days he wasn’t here. But his mouth can’t seem to open for the words to form.

“Eddie,” Wayne continues. “Eddie’s goin’ through a bit of amnesia after fully waking up. It’s making him angry, and he’s fightin’ just because of the pain. It’s nothing against you.”

Dustin wasn’t in the room when Will was possessed by the Mind Flayer. He’s only heard the stories from Mike. How Will didn’t remember him that much. Could barely remember his own mom. How the monster took the memories and hid them away. Smothered them. Sequestered Will in his own mind.

Eddie wasn’t controlled by the Mind Flayer. Or anything from the Upside Down. Dustin had given El a picture of Eddie and asked her to see if he was the only one in there. That there was nothing lingering in the depths of his mind that would take him away.

It apparently didn’t need monsters to do that. Sometimes life did that for them.

“Do they know when, if, the amnesia will go away?” Steve asks. Dustin still speechless.

Wayne shakes his head, fighting the mist in his eyes. “Could be days, could be weeks. Won’t know until he’s more conscious. He’s still in and out of sleep, probably won’t be up again till tomorrow.”

Tomorrow. Dustin can only hope that Eddie remembers him tomorrow.

tag list, let me know if you want to be added or removed: @the-they-who-nerded, @insteviewetrust, @croatoan-like-its-hot, @jettestar,

@tinyplanet95, @steddie-as-they-go, @slv-333, @littlecelestialmoth, @thatonebadideapanda,

@fandomsanddeath, @marismorar, @wonderland-girl143-blog, @glass-bottle03, @gutterflower77,

@here4thetrama, @goodolefashionedloverboi, @jaytriesstuff, @cryptid-system, @manda-panda-monium,

@resident-gay-bitch, @anaibis, @xxsutherlandxx, @forevermineliv, @mugloversonly,

@gregre369, @n0-1-important, @different-tale-student, @spectrum-spectre, @tartarusknight,

@devondespresso, @swimmingbirdrunningrock, @cheertain, @anti-ozzie, @autumncrocusandladybug,

@greeniebean911, @cr0w-culture, @stillfullofshit, @connected-dots, @daisynotquake,

@morgannotlefay, @a-little-unsteddie, @dolphincliffs, @maskofmirrors, @me-and-my-sloth,

[lex-the-flex]

Wearing a New Dress in Front of Luke

Oh boy…

The moment you and Luke landed on Naboo for a mission, the two of you were treated like royalty (👀) the second you both departed the X-Wing. While you were here for work within the Palace walls, Leia insisted that the two of you deserve a break. No matter how lavish it would potentially become.

So, upon entering the Theed Royal Palace, the loyal members and staff practically tore Luke away from you. And you from him. Confusion quickly erupted between the two of you, but your Force Bond remained the same; distant and weak. You and Luke were here to strengthen the Bond, by being here in his Mother’s birthplace, your friend was eager to try anything new.

Being escorted through the marble hallways, your jaw remains on the floor the entire time until you are brought to your room with a wading pool and silk bedding. It was unlike anything you’ve ever seen.

Sleep didn’t come as easily as you hoped. You constantly tossed and turned beneath the plush bedding and Luke’s heart filled with a different kind of heaviness at your restless night.

In the morning, you were greeted by one of the handmaids, Winter, who had the most beautiful silver hair. After a solid hour of being bathed, brushed, and adorned with lavender and lily oil, were you finally ready to conquer the new day. Trekking through the grand intricate hallways, your fingers tug at the strings of your shawl, protecting you from the early morning chill.

Wandering around, the cool air blows in the Palace, allowing the light green fabric flow gracefully. Rounding the corner to head outside, when you suddenly bump into something – or rather; someone.

Adjusting their hands around your shoulders, a gasp escapes your lips in surprise. 

“I– I’m so sorry! I wasn’t watching where I was going!” You exclaim. 

“That’s alright. I got lost too, Y/N. You’re not the only one.” The stranger replies. 

Realizing that you bumped into Luke, makes your face grow red, and you playfully punch him in the arm. 

“Oh you –! I swear, you’re such a tease, Luke Skywalker!” You joke. 

Following him through the archway to a balcony leading outside, Luke stops by a nearby table in the shade decorated with bowls of fruit and various drinks. Enjoying the multiple pieces of fruit, you pop a few grapes in your mouth, relishing in the brief sour sensation. 

“What sounds better to you? Water or …honeydew wine?” Luke asks, picking up the wine bottle in confusion. 

“Have you ever had wine before?” You ask, leaning closer. 

Reading the label, Luke shifts the olive green colored bottle in the sunlight, allowing the two of you to see the clear liquid inside. 

“Only once. It was long before we met. I had it back on my uncle’s farm when I turned eighteen. I only had one full glass and I slept right through a new season.” Luke chuckles. 

Snickering, your shoulder touches Luke’s as he protects you from the harsh rising rays of sunlight, letting you stay in the shade. 

“Did Leia do this? I know she wants us to have a break, but I don’t think we should drink that. I’ve never liked wine, anyway.” You explain, reaching for more fruit. 

“Well then, there’s our answer.” Luke retaliates and sets the bottle down. 

Eventually making your way down to the beach, Luke offers to take your shoes, but you decide to leave them at the stone steps. Untying the shawl around your shoulders, you carefully fold the knitted fabric, and place it on top of your shoes. Stretching in the sunlight, the endless warmth feels wonderful on your exposed back and shoulders. 

The complex design accompanied with the thin straps feels different, yet wonderful. Like the dress was your own article of armor. The green fabric blew in the breeze, making Luke stop and gaze at every part of you. There was no denying it: the dress looked absolutely gorgeous on you. It complimented the best parts of your figure, and Luke just didn’t know what to do. 

He briefly clears his throat and turns away to study the waves, giving you some respected privacy. Fighting the heat rising to his cheeks, he folds his hands behind his back. 

“What’s wrong, Skywalker? You’ve never seen someone in a dress before?” You tease. 

Walking to him, the pebbles roll against the soles of your feet as Luke bobs on the balls of his heels. 

“No, I’ve never seen someone in a dress like that. Much less someone as beautiful as you.” Luke admits. 

Avoiding eye contact, Luke’s heartbeat begins to rise in his chest whilst you stand before him. Even beneath his dark robes, he was a shaking mess. Luke always secretly dreamed of seeing you in a dress, no matter the circumstance. But being here next to the ocean with him, things just felt different. Everything felt right.

Offering your hands to him, Luke guides his hands on top of yours, lacing his fingers with your own. Finally looking you in the eye, his bright blue orbs bounce with your e/c eyes. Remaining here in this moment, you can feel your Force Bond growing stronger, and Luke can finally feel what you’re feeling. Sharing a series of laughs together, the visions of your futures as individuals in the vast Galaxy; as Jedi were clear. Nothing was faded or blurry, it was all possible. Quickly embracing Luke, the movement of your body pressing against his didn’t bother him. Wrapping his arms around you, the new and inspiring duties as Jedi refused to creep up on your shoulders, as the neverending sound of the waves made everything bliss.

luke skywalker taglist ~

@dreamliners

@midnightepiphany

@maybeimart

@nonbinary-tatooine

@kaleidoscope1967eyes

@dailydragon08

@sonofthedunes

@wicked0clouds

@tearsleftforari

@thereallchristine

@partofmejustwantstosleep

@xxx-aurora-swirls

@remusstefon

@annoyinglythoughtfuldestiny

@0paperairplane0

@kethamine

@pantaeudaimonia

@acupnoodle

@flawroses

@xplore-the-unknwn

@tatooineknights

@myevilmouse

@edwxrdkenway

@gabbasblog

@garagesesh

@bsxcrxts

@maybe-if-youd-listen

[xsommeee]

Chuuya pov at double black reunion after 4 years.

“Where is Akutagawa?” Chuuya asks, looking around.

An eerie silence takes over the jolly group. Their calm smiles falter. An instant sense of worry rushes through his mind. Emo boy shouldn’t be a sour subject unless he’s become a traitor. 

This is a sort of environment where people will blab shit they think he can’t handle, he remembers the same expression on Mori’s grim face while he said Dazai’s benn sighted two years ago and then offered him a ticket to Paris with an incredibly long mission planned. It was a horrible meeting and he left Japan right after.

“S-senpai’s interrogating a member of the armed detective agency.” 

Chuuya blinks, what in the world is the armed detective agency? A detective agency with people walking around with machine guns in their hands? As amusing as that may seem, it’s one of the few organisations with a special ability permit. That much Chuuya remembers from having read. 

A foreboding feeling ensnares him, he can hear the drums of war burst in his ears like in the period Japanese movie he watched a few days ago in the flight, it’s because of that bastard.

“I’ll go see him” Chuuya picks up his hanging coat from the chair, he’ll see him, his legs start moving on their own he could be jumping out of the window. Murderous intent is ebbing out of him and he can feel the power this anger begets.

A gentle hand halts him. He looks at Ane-san, “You” -are playing into his hands? Are being an idiot? Shouldn’t go? Fucking kill him when you see him? Not act reckless?

“Should take your hat and call the driver.” 

His eyebrows furrow, he was being rude and Ane-san just– “I apologise for my bad manners.” He parrots a phrase he learnt to use very often while training under Kouyou when he was a junior.

She just nods her head slightly while placing the hat on his head, mouthing a go. An unsaid don’t come back miserable falls into his ears. He leaves. 

His lips burn with a desire to have a cigarette puckered between them, but he belatedly realises that Hirotsu borrowed his pack and still has it. 

The old fags tryin’ to make him quit smoking for a very long time. A hypocrite given his love for cigars. 

Chuuya’s too hurried, even if he’s trying to not be. So he doesn't ask anyone for a light.

He reaches the port mafia’s maze-like dungeons, skidding here and there to finally see a furious Akutagawa smashing the small iron door shut.

“Chuuya-san?” Akutagawa says when their eyes meet. Blinking as if in disbelief. 

The kid's fist is glaringly red against his pale, almost albinic complexion. Dazai deserves this albeit more. He beat and kicked a helpless orphan into a horrible messed up killing machine. Akutagawa has every right to extract revenge Mafia style. 

Somepart of Chuuya, however enraged and disgusted by the bandaged jerkface, still wants him to be okay -not hurt too gravely per say. It is his competitive side, the one that seeks a fair fight against his lifelong rival. 

“Welcome back home, I was told you would be joining in the evening. What purpose brings you here?”  

Chuuya shrugs, pressing skip on the question. 

“Is Dazai locked up in here?” His finger points towards the door with a slight tremor. The name, he hasn't spoken that name in years.

Akutagawa scowls murmuring a slight hum. 

“How? Why?” Chuuya asks. The fucker’s too meticulous. He’d never do anything unwillingly even while sleeping. 

“We have received a hefty bounty on a weretiger. Dazai got sloppy and got caught in the process.” Akutagawa replied. 

Chuuya’s in a daze, Dazai protecting people? Akutagawa reads his astonished expression. 

“The weretiger is a member of the armed detective agency.”

Right, Dazai is a member of the armed detective agency. 

He doesn't know anything about this agency. He'd been not home for such a long time, avoiding it at times when he could visit back. A foreigner to all soil on Earth. An Earth that crumbles under him, pulls on his command but doesn't accept him. 

“Give me a quick debrief.” He orders his subordinate. 

Long agonising minutes later he’s lowering his head to stand trot down the narrow fleet of stairs. 

He looks up to see Dazai chained to a wall in this dimly lit basement. 

Dazai's changed. He’s wearing a beige coat and a bolo tie and he is missing a patch of bandages that used to hide a part of his face. 

It's the first time he's looking at both of Dazai’s eyes, captivating him with the brightness they hold.

“You being chained here is like a painting worth a million dollars.”

It's not that much, they aren't that bright at all, in fact they are dim but they aren't hollow like they used to be on most days. 

He'd seen only one eye gleam at him with brightness and it was only at the moment Dazai had joked or lied to him. 

He feels his throat constrict, irritates at how shaken his resolve of killing Dazai has become already. 

Dazai curses under his breath, an overly dramatic horrified expression plastered on his face. 

“Still as short as ever I see and hiding a bald patch under this hideous hat are we 

Chuuya~”

Yeah he's regained the sentiment, this is it Chuuya Nakahara would grant a suicidal maniac his life’s wish today. Strangulation would be the attributed reason in the post mortem report. 

“And you are still obsessed with suicide. It will make the happiest man on earth to strangle you.” 

“Yes but you see Chuuya my goal has changed, I now seek a beautiful women to commit double suicide with.”

He clicks his knuckles. There's a lot of things he needs to ask. He’s just waiting till he gets those answers. 

“You can fool Akutagawa but you can not fool me. I was your partner after all.” The word partner leaves a bitter aftertaste on his tongue and he instantly feels the urge to smoke rise. He grits his teeth with an attempt to quash it. 

[clovermae]

Taking Chances

🍀 Pairing: Sugawara Koushi x gender-neutral!Reader

🍀 Genre: Fluff

🍀 Word Count: 911

🍀 A/N: Posted on AO3 here! And inspired by this TikTok! Takes place during the training camp arc! Enjoy! 💚

“Come on Suga, you’re the last one up here. Let’s go eat,” you call out from halfway up the hill, a towel in one hand and a chilled bottle of water in the other.

“‘m tired, Y/N,” he huffs, chest heaving up and down as he tries to steady his ragged breathing.

“And that’s exactly why you need to eat. Let’s go.” A few moments pass, and Suga shows no signs of moving. You sigh and trudge to the top of the hill. A slope like this is nothing under normal circumstances, but with the hot sun beaming on your skin in this blistering summer heat, you find yourself struggling to reach your destination.

“Wow,” you pant, “You all are amazing, being able to run up this hill all day today.”

“You don’t have to rub it in,” Suga mumbles, tilting his head just enough to flash a pout in your direction. You chuckle and approach his exhausted figure, crouching to pass over the towel and water. “Thank you.” A single bead of water trickles down the side of his mouth as he gulps down the cool liquid.

With a hefty sigh, his eyes focus on the drifting clouds— some fluffy, some wispy, all glowing in front of the setting sun.

“Lay with me Y/N.”

“Huh?”

“Here.” He pats the empty patch of grass next to him, a tranquil expression on his face. Until his lips twist into a smirk, and his suddenly playful eyes rest upon your tense figure. “What did you think I meant?”

“N-nothing.” It never ceases to amaze you— the way Suga is able to fluster you in one swift motion. You feel a familiar warmth spread through your body. Whether it’s from the weather or his actions is beyond you.

The warm grass tickles your tense figure as you stretch out next to him. Despite the many thoughts swarming in your mind, the atmosphere is comfortable. The assaulting sun begins its descent, leaving an orange glow in its wake. The song of the cicadas is replaced by the soft chirping of crickets. The blistering heat is ushered away by a cool wind. The chatter from the camp fades as they all retreat to the dining hall.

All that remains is you and Suga.

Your heart flutters at the thought, and you cast a glance to see any indication of how he may be feeling. His breathing finally steadies out, eyes closed, seemingly taking in the nice weather. You don’t miss the furrow in his brow, his tight grasp on both the towel and the grass, and the way his lips are pulled into a thin line.

“Gah, I’m so frustrated!” he groans into the air, shattering the quiet settled between the two of you. “I always hit Asahi whenever his bad vibes come out, but sometimes they’re hard to ignore.” You hum to let him know you’re listening. “The Spring Tournament. It’s our last chance to make it to Nationals. We can’t just rely on the first years. I need to get stronger.”

“You’ll get there Suga. You have to be patient.”

“I hope so.” His eyes flutter open again with a wisp of worry laced in them. His empty hand fists the grass in between you. “But what if I don’t? What if all this effort is for nothing and we remain nothing but fallen crows?”

This is the first time Suga has been honest with his feelings. Your heart swells with joy knowing he trusts you enough to be this vulnerable.

How should you respond to this situation, you think to yourself. You consider hitting him as he does Asahi. You also consider offering simple, comforting words. And then your mind drifts elsewhere, causing your heart rate to spike once more.

This chance will never come again. There’s no waiting for the perfect moment. You have to create it.

With a trembling hand, you slide your fingers across the seemingly infinite space until your fingertips brush against his. You hear a gasp fall from his lips as your fingers graze the mountain of his thumb until it settles on the back of his hand. You can’t bring yourself to see his reaction, fearing the worse. Your nervous gaze darts to the trees facing the opposite direction of him.

All the words you wished to say before are gone in the blink of an eye. The thoughts in your brain are far too incoherent— too scrambled— and everything seems to fade, save for the warmth beneath your palm. But even that is swallowed up by the regret encasing your quivering and retreating body.

At this moment you want to run away.

A faint chuckle rings in the air. You finally have the courage to glimpse at Suga, who grins in your direction. His hand flips underneath yours, gingerly tangling your fingers together.

“Thank you, Y/N.”

With those words, the storm surrounding you both has disappeared, leaving behind a rainbow of happiness in its wake. The smile on your face matches his and you both settle into the cozy silence between you two.

“We should probably go soon shouldn’t we?”

“I’d like to stay here just a little longer, if that’s okay with you.”

“Yeah. I’d like that.” With your eyes locked and hands joined, neither of you have the will nor desire to pull away, basking in the sweet aftermath of the risk you took.

Taking chances isn’t so scary after all.

[damiansgoodgirll]

Hey girl, I absolutely love your writing style so I was wondering if you could write about reader dating LA knight but them having a huge age difference (like he’s 41 and reader’s in her twenty’s) and people finding out about reader’s age and not being okay with their relationship but LA being so in love with her that he would go against his own fans to protect her from negative comments

first time writing for him!

la knight x reader + rhea x reader (platonic)

‼️a little angst (please tell me you get the reference from the title lol)

coal digger

“they hate me…” you said throwing yourself on the hotel bed.

“who?” your best friend rhea asked you.

“the fans, the people, everyone!”

“no one hates you” she laughed at your dramatic reaction.

“the comments they are leaving under our post together aren’t nice. the comments they are leaving under my post are mean and terrible! it’s clear that they hate me!” you said. rhea knew what you were referring about.

you and la knight started dating just a few months ago but the sparkle between you two was evident. you worked backstage as one of the social media managers and you loved your job at wwe, especially when you had to tour with the wrestlers to film and take pictures for the socials.

that’s how you two met. you were asked to take a video and you immediately connected. he was fun and charismatic, you were fun and charismatic. he was hot, you were hot. he was kind and you were kind.

rhea said that he was your soulmate and you almost believed her.

five months later, you two confirmed publicly your relationship. your colleague were happy for you two, saying that you found each others. his fans, on other hand, didn’t like you at all.

they thought you were there just for fame and money and that you didn’t really love him. they couldn’t be more wrong but you knew there was no arguing with the fans.

plus, your age difference wasn’t making it easy for you to be more likeable to his fans.

he was 41.

you were 25.

most of the nice comments were about how “gorgeous of a daughter he had” or “he found his sugar baby”, the worst comments were when they called you a “goal digger looking for fame” or just simply a “slut”.

“those aren’t his fans. his fans probably don’t even care about who he’s dating. those are just girls who are jealous because you two are dating and they’re not…you shouldn’t listen to those people y/n” rhea tried to comfort you.

“i know i shouldn’t but it’s not really nice when they’re calling me a slut just because i fell in love…” you were hurt and rhea realised that too but before she could talk, your boyfriend entered the room, sign that he just finished training for his upcoming match.

“hello ladies” he smiled at the both of you. rhea smiled back but you were too lost in your thoughts to acknowledge him.

“i’ll leave you two alone” rhea smiled before going somewhere else.

“what’s on your mind pretty girl?” he said sitting next to you on the bed.

“your fans hate me…”

“no they don’t” he replied back.

“but they do…and”

“and it’s bothering you…” he finished the sentence and you nodded.

“the don’t like me. they don’t like us together and i get it, maybe they are jealous, i would be jealous too if someone else was dating you” you said making him laugh “but it’s the lack of respect that i cannot stand. you don’t like me? just say it nicely please because i can’t stand seeing more comments of me being called a slut just because i love you and we are together…”

“wait what?” he asked a little shocked.

“what?”

“they called you a slut? are you serious?” you nodded at his question “this is not right at all, i’m so sorry love you have to go through this every single day…i had no idea of the mean comments they were leaving under your posts…they should definitely stop”

“they don’t want us together because of me. if i was your age probably no one would have said anything…but i’m 25 and they keep calling me a gold digger and”

“coal digger” he said making you chuckle.

“not the right time for the modern family reference” you laughed again.

“i know i just wanted to see your pretty smile” he smiled back at you “listen to me…i love you” he said sitting closer to you and opening his arms to let you lay your head on his chest “i love you so much y/n that words can’t even describe it…you are everything to me. i know comments get on your head but you shouldn’t let them okay? i love you for being you and that will never change.” he softly kissed your head and you smiled into his chest.

“thank you…”

“you don’t have to thank me love” he smiled back.

he knew his words would have helped you but he wanted his fans to understand that he was feeling for you was real.

so he took his phone out. took a cute selfie of you laying on his chest with your eyes closed and a big smile on his face.

i’m the luckiest man alive. i love this woman with all my heart, some of you probably won’t even understand but i don’t care. respect my girl and our relationship, thank you.

and then he posted it.

you saw his with your eyes little opened and you smiled. you loved how protective he was and you loved him for that.

[studentinpursuitofclouds]

Could I possibly request a headcannon for the RDV Bachelors/Bachelorettes finding out the farmer that they’ve been dating for a while is a werewolf that’s been hiding it since they came to the valley?

To be honest, dear anon, I spent about 10 minutes trying to figure out what RDV was. Did you mean SDV (vanilla bachelors/ettes) or RSV (Ridgeside Village, the sdv mod)? So I decided to make vanilla candidates, hope I'm not wrong (if I am, feel free to ask again!). Thank you, and have a lovely day 💕

_________________________________________

SDV bachelors/ettes discover that their s/o!Farmer is a werewolf

SDV bachelors:

Shane:

Shane was in complete shock at what he saw, but his defence mechanism kicked in and outwardly he remained calm.

"Heh, so that's why you smelled like wet dog all the time." Now it was Farmer's turn to be surprised.

Not only is his lover not surprised (as they seem to be) at all, but he's also calling them names!

"???? And you always smelled like beer!" "Touché..."

Well, unravelling the truth went a lot easier than Farmer had anticipated.

The chicken man naturally had a ton of questions and a pattern-breaking experience from realising the existence of werewolves, but he endured it relatively calmly.

"Horror? Have you ever walked into a Joja Mart warehouse with their 'super' products? That's the real horror."

Sam:

Farmer: *Literally transforms into werewolf form in front of their boyfriend Sam*

Sam's mind: "A giant doggo, heck yeah!"

Is there anyone sane in this town who would react to the Farmer with horror?

Don't get me wrong, Sam was actually surprised and jumped up on the spot from Farmer.

But apparently the human desire to pet absolutely everything was stronger than the instinct for self-preservation. Sam was no different.

Especially since his partner wasn't crazy in wolf form. It was still the same kind and lovely Farmer.

Only now as a big doggo!

"So fluffy!" "Sam, I'm a monster." "You're still the same Farmer, only cooler. And fluffier!"

Heh... Well, better that than disgust.

Elliott:

After witnessing Farmer's transformation, Elliott's face was as pale as death. "Merciful Yoba..."

Frightened and not knowing what to do, he took a couple of steps back and pressed himself against the nearest wall.

"Has my end come? Will I really meet death from my beloved Farmer who has taken the form of a beast? Will I be torn into a thousand pieces by their razor-sharp claws?"

"Elliott, I'm actually sane, and I'm not going to tear you apart."

What a relief! His beloved Farmer is still a Farmer!

"And how did you know what I was thinking? Are werewolves really capable of reading the minds of mere humans?" "Nah, you just said it all out loud."

Oh, well... that's was awkward.

Give the writer a week and he'll get used to Farmer, no problem.

Sebastian:

Who would have thought that a man could feel fear and awe at the same time. Sebastian didn't think so, not until Farmer revealed the truth about their origins.

Sebby's whole body screams that he should run and hide. But in his head he thinks it's the coolest thing he's ever seen in his life. If he told Abigail or Sam, they wouldn't believe him.

And as he stood there thinking, Farmer leaned over to Sebby and looked at him with their wolf eyes.

Strangely, Sebastian didn't see any rage. Still the same Farmer he'd known for a long time.

And the fur on their muzzle is so nice. Soft... What's he talking about? Ah, yeah, a werewolf...

Sebastian's verdict: Farmer is cool, not a monster, he won't leave them and he'll keep the secret.

Harvey:

Right, Harvey's come to visit a Farmer, the time is perfect...

*Transforms into a werewolf* There, now Farmer will explain- *Harvey fainted* *Sigh...* Farmer reckoned the doctor would stay conscious longer.

Well, Harvey's awake again, now- *Harvey fainted again* Not again... Harvey, c'mon!

It took a few hours and a lot of sedation (wine) before they could explain everything to their beloved spouse.

Despite the not-so-good start, Harvey took the news quite well. Well, as normal as possible.

And life got back on track. Although there were a couple of awkward moments:

"I'm gonna eat you~" *Harvey startled* "Not literally! I was just flirting with you!"

Alex:

After Farmer's transformation, Alex's "fight or flight" response was immediately triggered.

Our athlete chose to fight. And immediately punched Farmer in their sensitive wolf nose. It hurt....

"Ouch! Why?!" "And who the heck turns into a monster without warning beforehand?!" "....."

You can't argue with Alex's words, Farmer, so this is your mistake.

Basically, Alex asked only a few questions that interested him: whether the Farmer would bite him, whether they would chew the furniture in their werewolf form, whether their would mark the territory...

"For Yoba's sake, Alex, I'm a werewolf, not a dumb puppy!" "Just checking, you know."

Don't worry, these two will be fine.

SDV bachelorettes:

Abigail:

Farmer: *took their beast form in front of Abigail* "Abby, I know you're scared, but listen to me please-" "Would."

......

"....Abby, what the actual fuck?"

As you can see, Abigail has no problem with her lover being a werewolf.

On the contrary, in her eyes, Farmer is the coolest person on the entire planet! A real werewolf! That's brutal!

"Do you know other werewolves? Are you a member of a pack? Oh, oh, you've fought vampires, haven't you?!"

Help.

But Farmer is glad that the amethyst lover didn't turn on them after they uncovered the truth.

So basically, her attitude won't change.

Well, maybe a liiiittle bit.... ("Can I scratch your fluffy ear? Pretty please?" "Abby!").

Penny:

Farmer must give Penny credit: their dear girlfriend was able to stay conscious for a full ten seconds before fainting from horror after what she had seen.

They thought she'd only last five seconds.

Good thing Farmer had prepared earlier and caught the young teacher before she hit the floor.

The conversation was very, very long.

And yet, Penny didn't turn her back on them. Even as a werewolf, it's still the same Farmer. Just a little more fur everywhere, no big deal.

She feels protected with them (she did before Farmer confessed, but even more so now) and, most importantly, just as loved.

But it's a pain to clean the fur off her blouse all the time....

Emily:

Emily began whispering a prayer to keep herself safe from... wait, Farmer!?

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner. I was afraid you'd reject me-" Before Farmer could finish speaking, Emily rushed over to them and hugged them as hard as she could.

They told everything and the blue-haired girl had convinced them that she loved them and would not leave them.

They both also discussed some details so that there wouldn't be any surprises later, like not being able to return to human form during the full moon, or fur all over the house.

"Fur?" "Well, yeah, we moult about twice a year."

After saying that, they'll have a bunch of fancy clothes made from their own wool that Emily embroidered for them. She's a handy girl, what can I say.

Maru:

Terrified, Maru threw the first thing she could find at Farmer. The first thing that came to hand was a spanner.

Ouch! That hurts!

"...Farmer?" "Well, who else!? Ouch..."

Actually, after Farmer's whining, Maru completely forgot about the fear and approached them to check if she had hurt them badly.

"There'll definitely be a bump, but it's no big deal. We werewolves can survive more than that."

Werewolves... The young inventor's mind boggles... A real transformation before her eyes, that's... It's phenomenal!

She has so many questions for Farmer! Oh, wait a second... She completely forgot to ask about their feelings. "Are you alright, dear?"

Don't let Farmer worry: she'll keep their secret and not abandon them.

Leah:

"Holy shi-" Leah got into a fighting stance and held the sculpting tools in her hands. A self-defence tool of sorts, but it was sharp, so it would do.

Fortunately, the tools weren't needed.

"Leah, darling, put this back please." "Prove you're a Farmer I know." *Sigh* "I punched your ex when we had a picnic in the woods and then we went somewhere more secluded to..." "Okay, okay, I believe you."

Farmer told her everything: about the werewolves, how long they'd been hiding it, etc.

"Why didn't you tell earlier?" "Well, at the very least, because I was just expecting a reaction like yours." "Hmm, fair enough."

Well, werewolf, so what? The artist doesn't bother with it.

Especially after Farmer had scared her ex, Kel, in their wolf form when Kel came to the Valley again with another attempt to get Leah back. Bye, loser!

Haley:

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!" It's a wonder how the glass of the windows didn't crack from such a high-pitched sound, because you can see that Haley is trying.

Really, her goal isn't to break the glass of the windows, but to scare away the huge wolf-like man.

"Haley, it's me..." "Aaaaaaaaaaah!" This goes on like this for about five minutes.

Luckily for Farmer, their eloquence was enough to finally calm their girlfriend down and explain that they're still the same Farmer and won't hurt her.

"Ewww, your fur is now on my new skirt..." Heh, if she's complaining a little, she's not afraid anymore. Progress.

Though it's a little hard for her to get used to, Haley has concluded that it's still the same Farmer she loves.

And to be frank already - she loves their cuddles in werewolf form - will even tolerate fur everywhere.

[ancientschampionau]

RealAgeAu Drabble - The Roots

I have been gone for a few days but i wanted to really mess with this tiny concept!

First Drabble (with special thanks to @spotaus For giving the first prompt) Prev Drabble Next Drabble

Technically timeline wise this is at the same ish time as the next drabble in the timeline, On the Other side. But we will just do this like this for now :D

As always, we have no beta and no edits. :D Also slight warning, I will be changing up the POVs in the drabble itself a bit. don't worry about it.

*---------------*

Nightmare looks around the corner and notices that all four are still asleep. That is good. Perfect even!

It isn't that he dislikes being with them. The oposite in matter of fact. it feels... Safe protected home calming nice. Many things but overal just nice.

It still confuses him sometimes. That they just... care. After everything. Even with them knowing just who he is.

It also does mean that Nightmare feels bad about leaving while they are asleep.

It is just that he isn't going to get another chance like this. They are very close to DreamTale and with how much magic Nightmare has in him now thanks to the many meals and sleeping a lot, he thinks he could make it all the way to DreamTale and back before being completely out of magic to use.

Which means he has his chance to do a small personal ritual he hasn't had the chance to do in a while.

It is something stupid. And Nightmare knows he should stop it.

It is just... After everything in Dreamtale happened. The deal with what he had caused and done, having been the cause of both his brother and mother dying... He had just made two graves.

He had been the point of returning there once in a while to maintain both graves and leave fresh flowers.

Nightmare just. Never stopped doing it. After seeing Dream again... He just kept doing it still. Something about the grave still showing that he still ended up losing Dream...

Or something like that.

He doesn't quite know anymore but it helps.

Nightmare manages to get to the garden of the small house they had claimed and takes a deep breath. He hadn't needed to make these jumps in a while and he had to be sure he aimed in the right direction. Just. Easy.

He holds up both hands and feels his magic start to flow out. A small sizzle as a small portal starts to take shape. His breathing gets heavier and heavier. He didn't think it would be this hard... why is it so much harder than before-

Two arms lock around him and he is lifted up. Nightmare's breath escapes in one go and he wiggles before stopping. Nightmare knows these arms by now and knows it is Killer before he even speaks.

"What you doing out here tiny boss?" a chuckle and nuzzle to the side of his skull "I thought we were passed this whole you trying to run away from us." Killer turns him aorund and Nightmare can now see the large pout on his face.

Nightmare looks to the side and wiggles but cant get free, he never can escape their hold. Instead he just crosses his arms and mutters "Just wanted to do something real quick."

Killer hums before Nightmare is pulled much closer and he is flush up agianst Killer. Killer hums much more contently before turning back to the house "So what did you want to do tiny boss? aside from using a lot of your just recovered magic that is."

Why does he feel bad? Why does he feel guilty? He wasn't doing anything bad?? Wait why is that how he thinks about it?

Nightmare tries to think it through but comes up blank. It doesn't help that being near Killer, or any of them really, calms him very quickly. He isn't used to this.

They get back to the house and Nightmare sees three more worried faces and feels worse. They had been sleeping... They shouldn't have noticed or been bothered by him not being there... How did they even notice? He... isn't used to people noticing stuff about him.

They sit him down and Nightmare considers his options... If he wants to use this one chance... maybe if he explains they will just let him do his thing for a bit?

Ngihtmare looks to the side and finds himself muttering "I just wanted to do a thing... it is honestly boring and would have been quick."

----

Horror doesn't like this place. It is the place that holds so much trauma for Nightmare. Where they thought that hurting and torturing a babybones was a good idea.

But Nightmare rarely asks them for anything anymore. And even before he became his true form he rarely asked anything for himself. If he wanted something he could just get it or do it. Now he doesn't have much of a choice and Horror knows this. They all know this.

And well, they are trying to get Nightmare to ask them when he wants things. So when he expressed he wanted something? of course they are gonna make it work.

Even if they have to come here.

Killer stands with his hands on his hips as he looks around the grey coloured forest "Wow! Lots of nothing..."

Cross sends him a glare and hisses "Killer."

Horror agrees, Killer could try to be a bit more sensitive. Normally none of them mind his brass and bolt nature but well.. They are here to visit two graves. Two graves that a six year old made to memorise his family which he thought he had killed.

This is not the time for Killer to be... well Killer.

Killer huffs and looks at Nightmare "Can you believe them?"

Nightmare shrugs but holds the two small bouquet of flowers close. "I didn't really... leave a lot..."

See? That is why they needed to try and be a bit more tactful. Killer luckily seems to notice as he rubs his neck as Cross shoots him a knowing look.

Dust remains by Nightmare's side as he looks around "A hill right?"

Nightmare seems to look all of them over before nodding "Yeah." He points into a random direction "It is that way." and he starts leading the way.

It is strange. The whole world is grey and colourless. Not the white space that Cross had had when his world was destroyed. but just, greyscale. Hell even Cross looks colourful compared to this place.

Cross frowns and takes a few quick steps to now walk on Nightmare's other side "was it always coloured like this?"

Nightmare shakes his skull and thinks for a bit. "I think... if i remember it right... the grey colour started to happen as soon as they cut mother down."

Horror almost wants to sigh in relieve. He keeps it in but this is good. It is something to help stop the guilt. At least that is what Horror is assuming why the graves are still there. guilt. But Horror won't assume.

They leave the forest and see a hill with further in the distance a village. They walk up the hill and find a cut down tree stump and two old and small graves.

Nightmare stands by them for a moment before glancing back at them with a suspicious look "No commentary?"

Horror gets it. They can be assholes.

Killer grins and leans closer "I can do one... but i doubt it adds anything." he pets the small skull before pointedly talking towards the side of the hill to overlook the forest, he pulls Cross allong with him.

Dust remains near Nightmare as a silent shadow and Horror leaves them to have room. Keeping an eye on their small charge as he looks around. Horror has no doubt that this used to be a beautiful place. some of the plants he sees may be grey now but he recognises them for eatable wild flowers.

He can see Nightmare slowly near the graves. He sits on his knees by the two and starts with cleaning both graves. Making sure no dirt or dust is on it and everything is still secure. Afterwards he removes old and, by now, dead flowers. He takes care that those aren't near the graves before returning and leaving new fresh flowers. They had picked up both colourful bouquets from another universe along the way.

At the end he just sits by the two graves as he touches the stone.

Killer and Cross had returned back to them at this point and Killer nudges Cross. Cross shoots him a questionable look before Killer just motiones over his shoulder back at the village before nodding at Nightmare. Horror cna see Cross just stare in utter confusion at Killer before Killer pulls him closer and whispers something to him.

Cross looks back before nodding as he walks over to Dust and whispers some stuff to him. Dust looks thoughtful before nodding as well.

Cross slowly walks over to Nightmare and speaks "Hey..." Nightmare looks up and tilts his skull. Cross smiles "If you want we can go into the village for a bit."

Nightmare frowns "Why would I?"

Cross looks a bit sheepish but Dust picks up "The book was general about what happened. But we figured that those people may have taken stuff or kept things that were yours from you."

Cross nods and grins "We are here now anyway. we can get it back."

Nightmare looks at the village and thinks it over before nodding "okay." he stands up and dusts his pants off of the dirt. Cross ends up softly nudging him towards the side and Dust easily takes his hand before the three walk off.

Horror shoots Killer a look "Why?"

Killer grins as he walks over to the stump "don't worry about it. Want to go with them?"

Horror continues to watch Killer before shaking his skull "I am fine being here."

Killer shrugs and turns to the stump. Staring at the dead tree.

"You wasted your chance."

Horror frowns as he just watches Killer. Killer meanwhile keeps looking at the dead tree.

Killer continues as if he is talking to an actual person "You were given a fucking miracle. We read your story you know. Know that you were only aiming for one child. Instead of being overjoyed and happy that you got two you took him for granted."

Horror sees the edges around Killer's soul waver away from their soul shape but it returns to the soul shape easily.

Killer doesn't stop speaking "You were suposed to be his mother and you failed your job. You never actually cared about him did you? Well." he glares down "You are not getting him back. Ever. He isn't yours anymore."

Horror frowns and studies Killer. No... Killer still doesn't know about the soul adoption, that Horror is sure about. Which means this all? Just Killer.

Killer holds his chin high as he stares down at the stump "I don't know what exactly is happening. But seeing as it is related to the apples it is related to you. So I am telling you now. Even if for some reason you return. Even if you are alive again. You are not getting Nightmare back. He is ours, not yours. You will never find him. You will never get the chance to hurt him."

Horror hears it in his voice. Killer, the one who hates promises more than any of them. Who had lost so much of his freedom and free will because of broken promises. Just made a promise, not even a promise. but a vow.

Horror can't say he is that surprised. After all. After everything in Horrortale and all the pressure from making sure his brother has food and is taken care of. Horror had thought he never wanted to take on a new responsibility ever again. And yet, here he was with a willing soul adoption writen into his very soul.

He also knows the other two aren't doing much better. Dust who hadn't wanted to emotionally or personally connect with anyone ever again. After having killed everyone he cared about he didn't want those relationships anymore. Yet he was the first to take this leap. Commit to Nightmare, and ironically to them all.

Cross who hadn't wanted to take any kind of oath or lifelong promise or mission after his past with the guard and XGaster. He didn't want to tie himself down. Give his all to something or some goal that just hurt him. And while it took him a while he still is devoted to this.

Horror knows they are all powerless against this. It happened but at least this time it was their choice. He thinks it is good, this way they all really knows what it means to do this. To commit to this and all it entails.

A crack of thunder and the three are suddenly on the hill with them again.

horror turns but freezes. Dust is holding a shaking Nightmare close as Cross is already cutting into the fabric of reality with his knife.

Killer and him share a look and are with the other three before they even have to say what happened. They can get an explanation later, for now they need to go.

----

They are back in the house they had been hidding in and Nightmare finally feels himself relax a tiny bit.

Thought that may also be becuase Dust is still holding him and the other's soul is steady and even. It makes his own franctic soul calm down.

Killer looks at them "Do we need to pack up and go?" he is already halfway to the bags.

Cross has closed the portal and watches as the universe patches itself fully closed again, not leaving a single mark, there is a reason Nightmare had worked so hard to get Cross XChara's knife. Aside from the fact that Cross liked fighting with it. It is a very powerful and amazing tool.

Cross sighs in relieve "We should still be good." he turns to the others and starts explaining right away "Nightmare saw Dream."

Killer curses loudly as he kciks the couch. Horror frowns and looks at him "did he see you?"

Nightmare pushes clsoer to Dust but nods.

Killer curses again but Horror frowns "Did he realise it was you?"

Nightmare thinks bakc to Dream staring at him. Awe and surprise clear on his face. The wishfullness had been obvious. The way he had moved towards him, a smile on his face that Ngihtmare hadn't seen since they were both small. Then again, the name he had called him had made it clear who he saw...

Nightmare shrugs.

Horror tilts his skull "Is that yes?"

Nightmare shakes his skull and mutters "yes and no..."

Horror nods as Killer frowns at him "both? How both?"

Nightmare shrugs again but Dust just nudges him gently with his skull nad Nightmare sighs as he quietly explains "I think he knew i was well me... but didn't know i was me me..." he toys with the fabric of the red scarf, Dust lets him. He searches for the right words "He called me Nighty.. and well he hasn't done that since before the apples. Since he still-" Since he still loved him. Nightmare doens't say it out loud but Dust must have figured out something as the hold around his tightens.

Nightmare pushes his face further into the scarf "He will probably think it means something bad... That is what everyone always said my appearance was... and he thinks I am an adult still so... yeah..." His mind is spinning but his soul is calm. in sync of Dust's. calm and slow pulses and beats. It honeslty makes him sleepy.

Dust nuzzles his skull and speaks "Well, He will not find anything and will have to learn to not just listen to rumours. As for even if he had caught you before you got to me, we would get you back." the certainty makes Nightmare pause.

Ngihtmare trries to shoot Dust a look but Dust just keeps rubbing his back and keeping him against him.

Cross nods "obviously. Just a matter of time before we would figure out where you were..." more thoughful "Next time we will have to scuot the universe first. We just didn't today because we figured no one would know about it. Srory for that. Next time you want to visit the graves we will make sure no one will interrupt. okay?"

Nightmare nods as he pushes closer to Dust.

He doesn't even understand why he still wants to visit those graves. Dream isn't even dead!

Even if... even if Dream doesn't...

Those graves shouldn't matter but Ngihtmare still wants to make sure btoh are fine. Maybe it is now just a symbol for the dead relationship between him and Dream. It just gives him a place where he can focus his grief and mourn for the family he lost.

The hand hasn't stopped petting his back and Nightmare feels himself finally fully relax.

At least he really isn't alone... His four are here now and they are still here after the close calls and learning about the graves.

It would be nice to not be alone anymore.

Nightmare lets the calming of his soul lure him to fall asleep. Knowing he is safe and cared for now.

*---------------*

So is anyone surprised i couldn't keep it short? I am not. I know myself. I have a problem and it is this whole AU that has my heart in a choke hold.

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