#i still have no way to explain that weird 3 way heel turn at the end tho

[splattermouth]

you know a lot of people coming back to pla and reanalyzing volos character pick up on the very obvious ‘every time i was met with tragedy and hardship, I wondered why Arceus would allow this to happen.’ line (not quite his wording but you get the gist), but i feel like i see a lot of people then glossing over the line almost right after about him using his passion for history and mythology specifically to understand the universe and the world he lives and and his position in it. (and also him mentioning i Believe in the red chain portion of the plot w adaman and irida, about wanting to know where he’s headed in life. i Know he said this, and i Believe it was at the red chain part but i am so due for a replay by this point my memory is foggy)

which just makes me kind of sad bc it feels like such a vital part of his character. but so many (understandably ofc) focus on the melancholic aspect of his character, but not so much the innately curious and thoughtful and introspective volo. like so many write him w a pessimistic ‘fuck this world’ kind of outlook rather than a ‘what could i possibly do to change things’ outlook.

(and again, to headcanon, and ive said this before, but this just further makes it look to me as if subjugating arceus and resetting to world was never intended to be his Big Plan until the final hour, in the midst of what was likely some kind of bad mental breakdown. just feels to me as if his actual goals are way way less Becoming God of the New World and much more ‘why do things happen the way they do’ and ‘i want to know where im supposed to fit in that puzzle, i want to know more about myself’)

[celiastjamesoscar]

Wildest Dreams

Pairings: Sam Carpenter x fem!reader

Summary: you are helplessly head over heels for Sam, even though she despises you. But your relationship with her changes when you get in a lightly physical altercation with her.

Warnings: light sweating, reader accidentally walks in on Sam changing, small violence

My Masterlist

AN: if you have the time, I highly recommend reading ‘The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo’ and watching ‘Carol’ <3

Word count: 6.3K

For the first time in what seemed a millennium, you finally had the house to yourself. Anika was out with Mindy for a date, and your other roommate, Luke, was doing god knows what, probably out fornicating with one of his many boyfriends, but you didn’t care. You only cared about relaxing on the couch and rewatching your comfort show, Game of Thrones.

You grabbed your phone and a bowl of popcorn and went to the couch. You curled up with the blanket hanging over the back of the sofa as you turned on your show.

Tarantula: you up? ;)

The ‘ding’ from the text pulled you away from the tv, and you smiled when you read the text from your best friend, Tara. The two of you had met on campus in the library and instantly became friends. You two bonded over your love for books and shared a passion for horror movies, even though your opinions drastically differ.

Sam lover: maybe, it depends on who’s asking

Tarantula: you’re best friend in the entire world?? Who else?

Sam lover: mhmmm, okay. What are we doing?

Tarantula: movie night, obviously

Sam lover: sure, I’ll be over in ten

Tarantula: just a heads up, you’ll have to come in through my window

You raised your eyebrows at Tara’s message, ‘Why would I have to do that? I’ve been over before,’ you thought to yourself.

Sam lover: why?

Tarantula: because Sam is watching a movie in the living room, and we are hanging out in my room

Sam lover: fuck, okay. why does she still hate me?

Tarantula: I don’t know, but don’t make any noise when you come over. Sam can’t know and don’t try and hit on her if you see her

To say that you and Sam were acquaintances would be an understatement; Sam despised you, while the woman completely enchanted you. Sam was so tall and handsome as hell. She’s bad for you, but she does it so well; you could see the end as it begins. You admired her strength, both physically and mentally, and you loved the way she cared so much about her sister. And that was also your downfall; Sam believed that you were no good for Tara, as every time Tara did something stupid, you were always at the scene of the crime. Of course, Sam didn’t know that you were always there because you tried your best to stop Tara out of respect for Sam (and a shitty attempt at winning her heart), but she never listened when you tried to explain yourself.

You scoffed at your best friend’s words. She knew of your infatuation with Sam and loved to tease you about it. At first, however, she thought it was a bit weird as you were her best friend and thought you were using her to get close to Sam, but after she saw you turn down an invite to go with Sam and Mindy to the movies just to stay at home and play Mario Kart with her, she knew that you were the real deal.

Tara found it a bit sad, though, because every time you would talk to Sam, you would either get silence, a death stare, or a one-word reply, but she would rather die than tell you that she felt pity for your shitty attempts to talk to her sister.

Sam lover: I will not be held responsible for my actions when I am around a beautiful woman with big brown eyes

Tarantula: yeah, yeah, whatever. just get over here soon and climb in through my window; I’ll leave it open

Sam lover: sounds good. I’m omw

With that, you shut your phone off, grabbed your backpack and put a spare change of clothes along with a cable to charge your phone in it, and went towards Tara’s apartment. You enjoyed walking by yourself as it allowed you to be with your thoughts, and you couldn’t help it when you started to think of Sam. The gravitational pull you felt towards the older woman was something you couldn’t explain even if you had to; you just knew that you couldn’t deny the attraction you felt. You longed to get lost in those dark eyes and don’t even get started on those muscular arms; to you, Sam was perfect, and you would count all the stars in the sky if you could call her yours for a moment.

When you reached the street Tara lived on, you sent Tara a quick message asking her which side her window would be on, and she responded with ‘the one that’s close to creepy ass alley,’ which was all of New York in your eyes.

Sam lover: that’s all of NY, Tarantula

Tarantula: It’s across from the McDonald’s, five stories up. And stop calling me ‘Tarantula.’ It’s offensive.

You laughed at your friend’s reply before sending back a quick ‘huh uh.’ You walked around the apartment until you saw the McDonald’s and then the creepy ass alleyway and looked up five stories. And true to her word, Tara had her window open for you. You climbed onto the fire escape and slowly made your way to Tara’s window before sending her a quick text telling her you were here, only you didn’t see the message she sent back telling you you weren’t at her window.

When you pushed Tara’s window the rest of the way and climbed halfway in, you nearly died; Sam was standing in a towel with her back facing you as she grabbed some clothes from her dresser. When she dropped her towel, your heart exploded, and it felt like you were in your wildest dream. You admired her perfect curves, and then the leg that you had in Sam’s room gave out, causing you to fall into Sam’s room with a loud thud.

Sam turned around with a shocked expression before she quickly turned back to her dresser and grabbed a knife. You could not seem to pry your eyes away from Sam’s chest, and you swore you could feel drool fall down your chin. You were too busy trying to engrave Sam’s naked figure into your brain that you didn’t feel the blade fly into your left thigh.

“Sam, I am so sorry,” you said as you tried to stand up on your legs, but one gave out and screamed in pain. The only thing on your mind was Sam’s breasts that you swore looked like the softest pillows ever.

“What the fuck is going-Oh my god! What happened to your leg?” Tara exclaimed after bursting into the room, disregarding her sister, who finally covered herself with a towel. At the mention of something wrong with your leg, you finally felt the sharp pain shoot through your entire leg as you stared at the blade in your thigh.

“You’re weird friend just broke into my room and stared at me while I was changing!” Sam stated as she grabbed her clothes and stormed off to the bathroom, clearly not caring about your wound. Tara quickly ran to your side and knelt beside you, “I am so sorry about this, Y/N. I didn’t know that she also had her window open.”

You shrugged off Tara’s comment as you tried to move, but the pain was too much. You watched as your crimson-red blood steeped onto the room’s flooring and stained your clothing. “Come on, we have to get you to a hospital,” Tara stated, pulling you up to the floor and leaning your weight onto her. By the time Tara had entered the living room and to the door, Sam was dressed and had her phone and keys in hand. “I’ll take you to the hospital; let’s go,” Sam stated as she moved Tara off you and took her place. It was pitiful how your face heated up when you felt Sam pull your left arm over her shoulders and hold it while her right arm was wrapped around your waist, allowing you to lean your weight onto her.

When you reached Sam’s car, Tara opened up the back row door and helped Sam lay you down on the seats before she got into the passenger door. “Do not die in my car, Y/N. I don’t need you to haunt my car,” Sam dryly stated as she closed the door and got in the driver’s side. You don’t remember much of the car ride to the hospital; the only thing on your mind was seeing Sam naked, and no matter how hard you tried, you would never be about to erase that beautiful image from your mind.

One moment you were daydreaming about the beautiful goddess that had just stabbed you, and then the next, you were in a hospital bed with stitches in your thigh. For the life of you, you couldn’t recall what had happened, just that you saw Sam naked, and then she stabbed you. You saw yourself, in hindsight, tangled up with her all night in your wildest dreams. Someday when your mind leaves you, you bet that the memory of Sam will follow you around.

“Oh, thank god, I thought I was going to have to murder Sam,” Tara said as she moved from the chair in the corner of the room and approached your bed. She sat on the edge of the bed and gently grabbed your hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “What happened? The last thing I remember was being in the back of Sam’s car,” you recalled as you looked around the room and saw Sam, who was standing creepily in the doorway with her arms crossed.

“You passed out on the drive here. You should have seen Sam, though; she was terrified you had actually died,” Tara said with a small laugh as she remembered her sister’s frantic attempts to make sure you were still alive, and she also wanted to let you know that Sam slightly cared about you.

Sam scoffed at her sister’s words as she uncrossed her arms and walked toward you. “I was worried you were going to ruin my seats and then haunt my car,” Sam stated coldly, but her eyes betrayed her icy stature. You could see the way her eyes darted across your body, subtly checking to see if you were actually okay, and how she had her hands shoved into the pockets on her bomber jacket, slightly ashamed that she had hurt you.

Within the first encounters you had with Sam, you noticed how she always hid her hands when she was ashamed of something, and right now, all you wanted to do was reach out and comfort the woman. “Eh, I’m fine,” you shrugged briefly.

You talked to Tara while Sam stood around the room, looking out of place as she watched you with her sister. When the doctor came in, she gave you painkillers and told you could leave in the morning. “Could one of us stay here with her?” Sam asked the doctor worriedly when she was close to the door. “The hospital rules say we can’t allow non-family members to stay overnight, but I’ll let you stay with your girlfriend,” the doctor replied with a smile as she looked between you and Sam, clearly reading into some tension in the air.

Sam didn’t even have time to deny the doctor’s words before she left the room and shut the door, so Sam turned around with a scoff and was met with your drugged-out smile and Tara’s knowing one. “Well, Sammy, I will leave you here with your ‘girlfriend,’” Tara joked as she stood from the bed and grabbed her things.

“No. Tara, there is no way you are leaving here this late at night,” Sam replied as she followed her sister to the doorway. “Well, I’m certainly not staying here; I hate hospitals. And besides, Mindy is here to pick me up,” Tara replied with a smile.

She hated to admit it, but Sam was at a crossroads. She didn’t want Tara to stay here after the last time her sister was left alone in a hospital, and she also didn’t want you to stay here alone. She worried about you for Tara’s sake and definitely not because she felt terrible for being the reason you were here.

With a defeated sigh, Sam nodded and spoke, “Alright. Just let me walk you out.”

You watched the two sisters open the door and smiled when Sam stopped and looked back at you, “Don’t do anything stupid until I get back.”

“Okay, girlfriend,” you replied with a dopey smile, clearly enjoying the effects of the painkillers.

When Sam returned, she said nothing as she brought two chairs together and made herself an awkward bed. “You know, you can join me,” you suggested as you scooted over to the side, allowing Sam some room if she chose to sleep with you.

“Yeah, that’s not happening,” Sam replied as she got out a blanket and a pillow from the wardrobe and got comfortable on the chairs.

“Why not? I’ve already seen you naked.”

Sam rolled her eyes and laid her head on the pillow, and covered up with the blanket, “Do not mention that ever again.”

“Okay. I want to let you know you have a beautiful body, Sam. Your boobs are perfect! I mean, my god, the things I would do-”

“Please stop talking,” Sam interrupted you as she tried her best to fight off the fluttering feeling in her stomach at your words. She knew the painkillers were talking, but she couldn’t help but believe there was some truth to your comments. “Goodnight, Y/N,” Sam said after a few awkward moments of silence.

“Goodnight, girlfriend,” you teased as you got as comfortable as you could you a hospital bed before sleep consumed you.

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

In the morning, you were discharged from the hospital but had to walk around with crutches for a while. And to put it short, you hated it. Yes, having to walk around with them constantly clanking every time you walked got annoying, and how your armpits ached at the end of each day. But the worst part was that you couldn’t impress Sam with them.

Naturally, you were angry at Sam for throwing a knife in your leg, but you also shouldn’t have been staring at her while she was changing.

“Who even changes with their window open anyways?” Mindy asked one night while over at Tara’s apartment for dinner. You and Mindy had been invited over for a girl dinner with the Carpenters as you four sat around the dining table. The table had a dish of lasagna along with a salad bowl prepared, and you could not wait to eat the delicious food Sam had prepared.

“My room was hot, and I was letting in fresh air; I didn’t think someone would try and break in,” Sam stated as she made herself a bowl of salad with her lasagna.

“I did not break in. Tara invited me over and told me to go through her open window,” you said once you finished a bite of your food, “so technically, it’s her fault.”

Tara scoffed at your words while throwing a crouton at you, earning herself a scolding look from Sam. “Do not try and blame this on me; I texted you and told you that wasn’t my room, but you didn’t see it,” Tara replied.

“Why did you even tell her to climb through your window?” Sam asked with a puzzled look.

“Because, Sam, you would have told her to leave or probably stabbed her, but you already did that,” Tara dryly said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Sam rolled her eyes at her sister's statement before focusing on her food.

“I was lightly stabbed, so it’s not that big of a deal,” you said.

“You were still stabbed, Y/N,” Tara replied annoyedly. She knew that you were weirdly happy about Sam stabbing you, but she tried her best to ignore it.

“Lightly stabbed.”

Mindy chuckled while looking at you, “Whatever. I still can’t believe she threw a knife at you; me personally, I would not let that slide.”

“It’s whatever; I didn’t even notice it until Tara came barging into the room,” you said while looking at Sam, who picked her food with her fork and refused to meet your gaze.

Mindy just laughed at your response before returning her attention to her food. The rest of dinner was filled with laughs and idle conversations, but you couldn’t help but notice how Sam didn’t participate in any of the conversations. You had tried to get her engaged, but she would either respond with a nod, a laugh, or a single word.

Sam felt bad for reacting the way she did, and she wanted to apologize to you, but she didn’t know how without bringing up the fact you slightly deserved it. So, when dinner was finished, and the rest of the group moved into the living room to watch a movie, Sam pulled you aside.

“What’s up?” You asked with a smile as you leaned on a crutch. It had been a couple of weeks since you were discharged from the hospital, so now you only walked around with one crutch.

That smile you gave her, Sam couldn’t find the correct words to describe it. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, and she wanted to kiss it off your lips. “Just so you know, you’re insufferable and intolerable. And I hate you.”

“Oh, okay,” you said with that same smile, fully knowing Sam was lying. Sam, on the other hand, desperately needed to get away from you, or she might do something she would regret. “Is there anything else you need?” You asked.

With a sigh, Sam asked, “Yes, actually. What are some books I could read? I’ve been trying to get into reading because of Tara, and I wanted to discuss them with her, and I need to have a few books under my belt before I do that.”

Your smile grew ten times bigger at Sam’s question, and the older woman wanted to murder you for it. “I have been waiting for ages for you to ask me that. I actually have a copy of my favorite book with me if you want to give it a try?” You asked as you made your way over to your backpack.

Sam followed behind you and watched as you moved around your sleeping clothes and pulled out a weathered book. It had different colored sticky notes hanging from the pages, and the edges around the book looked like they had their share of bumps and drops.

Sam grabbed the book and read the cover with a scoff. “Look, Y/N; I’m not reading a book about a woman who had seven different husbands. That’s just absurd,” the Latina said with a dry tone.

“No,” you replied as you placed your hand on Sam’s wrist, holding the book, “trust me, Sam. Just try it; it’s not what you think it is.”

“Alright, fine. If this book is better than it sounds,” Sam said as she looked around the room with a huff, “I guess I’ll treat you with respect or something.”

Sam didn’t even have time to react before she felt the hand on her wrist pull away and pinch her cheek. “I know you’ll love it,” you said with a cheeky grin as Sam slapped your hand away from her face. “Do not ever do that again,” she warned as she pointed a finger in your face.

“Yes, ma’am,” you responded with a salute before walking back toward the living room, “is there anything else you need?”

‘I want to take you on a date and then put your head on a stick,’ Sam wanted to say but said, “I’ll let you know what I think of it.”

You gave Sam a soft smile as you returned to the living room. Sam didn’t know what she was feeling toward you, but she eventually sauntered off to her room after realizing she cared about you more than friends do.

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

“Come on, Tara; The Babadook is easily one of the worst horror movies ever made!” You exclaimed with your hands as you stared down at the more petite girl. You had finally gotten your stitches out and were no longer walking around with a crutch, so that meant a celebration night over at the Carpenter’s apartment.

“No, it’s not! You just hate it so much because it scares you!” Tara retorted as she hit the leg closest to her, which happened to be the one Sam lightly stabbed.

You moved your legs up onto the loveseat you were sitting on after she hit you, “Yeah, and also because it scares me so much! And don’t hit me, you little shit.” Tara scoffed at your words and stood up and grabbed one of her shoes, and was getting ready to launch it at you when the door to the apartment opened. She quickly dropped the shoe and stood facing the door with her hands clasped behind her back and an innocent smile, as if she wasn’t just getting ready to throw a shoe as hard as she could at your face. “What’s going on?” Sam asked when she saw Tara standing with a creepy smile and your shocked expression.

“Tara was-”

“I was getting up to order some pizza!” Tara interrupted you and sent you a death glare when Sam turned her back to hang up her purse. Sam turned around and looked between you two and ignored the shoe she saw by Tara’s feet; whatever her sister was getting ready to do to you, you probably deserved it.

“Okay,” Sam replied as she exaggerated the word before walking to her room, but not before sending you a glare. “Nice to see you, Sam!” you said with a smile while Sam huffed before slamming her door. “You are such a charmer,” Tara joked as she shoved your legs off the couch so she could sit next to you.

You scoffed at Tara’s words while you reached for the remote and pushed Tara off you when she tried to take it from you. “No! Down girl, down!” You said when you finally pushed Tara off of you. She scoffed as you turned on the tv before leaning back on the couch and putting her feet in your lap. You pulled her feet more into your lap and let your hand rest on her leg while you looked for something to watch. Naturally, Tara made it hard for you to pick something out because she refused to watch anything you wanted to spite you, but eventually, you settled on watching ‘Carol.’ You loved this movie more than anything, even though you cried every time you watched it.

For some unknown reason, Tara pulled her feet from your lap and left the couch roughly ten minutes into the movie. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she walked toward her room with her phone in hand. “Do you want me to pause it for you?” You asked as you reached for the remote but stopped when Tara told you not to wait up on her. You missed the devilish smirk she wore on her lips as she disappeared into her room.

You continued to watch the movie by yourself when you heard a door open up. “Finally! I was starting to think that you were leaving me here to hang out with Sam,” you said with a smile as you paused the movie and finally turned around to face Tara, but your smile faded once you saw Sam. “Oh, I’m sorry; I thought you were Tara,” you said with an embarrassed tone as your eyes refused to meet Sam’s piercing gaze.

The older woman huffed at your words before she went to the couch and sat at the opposite end while unlocking her phone, trying to keep as much space as possible between you two. “Tara texted me and told me that she felt sick and she didn’t want you to leave because it’s late at night and doesn’t want anything to happen to you, so she wants me to keep you company,” Sam read aloud her text messages between her and Tara before she closed her phone and set it on the coffee table in front of you guys.

“You don’t have to; I’m fine staying in here by myself,” you said with a polite smile while looking at Sam. The woman turned her head and looked at you before giving you the fakest smile you have ever seen while she lied through her teeth, “That’s alright, I’m good to stay in here with you.” The tension was so thick you could practically taste it on your tongue, but you held your breath and muttered a quiet ‘okay’ as you restarted the movie.

It’s not that she hated being around you after the incident; the only thing she wanted to do was kiss you and call you hers, but she was afraid you wouldn’t feel the same. Especially after she lightly stabbed you.

“Wait, why are you restarting it?” Sam questioned as she looked between you and the tv.

“Because you missed the opening scene, which is arguably one of the best scenes in the movie, and you also need to watch it to understand the ending better,” you reasoned with an honest smile while your gentle eyes danced across Sam’s face.

She didn’t know why, but after listening to your explanation of why the opening scene was essential and listening to your voice that was full of only love and admiration for this movie, Sam decided that she would actually pay attention to it, rather than send you hateful glances every once in a while.

So when the tv finally stopped the introduction, and it was Carol and Therese sitting together at a dinner table in a fancy restaurant, Sam picked up on the tension-riddled scene and couldn’t help but glance over at you. She noticed how your eyebrows furrowed, and your eyes danced between Carol and Therese as if you were getting ready to jump through the tv and become a part of the movie. Her eyes finally drifted down to your lips, and she noticed how your tongue was barely sticking out between your lips as you studied the screen, as if there was going to be something small in the background, and if you blinked, you would miss it.

“Are you even watching?” You questioned when you felt eyes burning into the side of your skull, but your own eyes never left the screen.

Sam awkwardly cleared her throat before speaking, “Sorry; you just seem really invested in this movie, and I thought it was funny.” You felt heat creep up the back of your neck at Sam’s words but shook it off as her being cautious of you. “It’s a great film, Sam. I think you’ll like it,” you replied with a gentle smile as you pried your eyes away from the screen to look at Sam before returning your attention to the tv.

When you said that she might like it, Sam took her eyes away from you and actually paid attention to the movie. When the sex scene came up, the air in the room became tense, as if both of you were holding your breath and holding back from one another. Sam tried her best to fight back the blush she felt, and she looked to you for help. You had your mouth agape, no matter how often you watched this scene, you were always enchanted by it, and you whispered, “I wish that were me.” Even though she tried to, Sam couldn’t come up with a retort for your comment; she also wishes she could do that with Cate Blanchett, but she also wishes that was her with you.

Sam then turned her attention back to the screen and had to fight any urges that she might have been feeling toward you. Her eyes never left the screen until the very end; only when she had to blink back the eyes that threatened to escape as she looked up at the ceiling. When the end credits rolled, you cleared your throat, tension still left over from the sex scene, “So, what did you think of it?”

“It was certainly something. It was a lot better than I expected, just based on your taste in things,” Sam joked as she subtly wiped the tears away in her eyes. You chuckled at her words, ‘if you only you knew,’ you thought as she stared at her with hearty eyes.

You quickly snapped out of your daze when you noticed Sam shuffling uncomfortably on the couch, “Well, I’m glad you enjoyed it. And just so you know,” you said as you stood up from the couch, “I have an exceptional taste in things.”

Sam laughed at your words before standing up, “I highly doubt that.” You smiled at the older woman before making your way to Tara’s room; you had plans to murder the little shit for leaving you alone with Sam. “Goodnight, Sam,” you said with a smile as you opened Tara’s door slightly. Sam gave you a genuine smile as she went to her room, “Goodnight, Y/N.”

This was the first time you had had a direct conversation with Sam since she pulled you aside and asked for a book recommendation, and you wished you could have more conversations with the woman. She was smarter than she gave herself credit for, and the way she expressed herself through body language while talking was something you found attractive, to put it lightly.

When you entered Tara’s room, you saw the girl lying toward the foot of her bed with her laptop open, and you could faintly hear Toni Collette giving her ‘I am your mother’ speech. “So, how did it go with Samantha?” Tara questioned with a smug grin as you sat on the bed with your back propped against the headboard. You threw your legs up onto the bed and dug the heel of your right foot into Tara’s back, causing the girl to let out a small yelp before shoving your leg off of her and scolding you.

“Whatever, you deserved it,” you said as you crossed your ankles and left them next to Tara, who was still facing the foot of the bed. “And for your information, it was fine. She didn’t try and kill me again,” you joked.

“A win is a win,” Tara replied as she moved to sit next to you and put the laptop on your lap while she cuddled up next to you. You put your arm around her waist and placed a platonic kiss on her head right when Sam walked in.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I can come back later,” Sam said as she looked down at the floor and turned her back to you two, embarrassed that she had just walked in on an intimate moment between you and her sister and ignored the pain she felt in her heart. “No, it’s okay, Sam,” Tara said while pulling away from you and silently encouraging you to go after Sam even though she was still in the doorway.

“I thought you were sick?” Sam asked with her back still facing you two. “Yeah, I can’t explain that one without unveiling my grand scheme of things plan,” Tara said while getting up from her bed and turning Sam to face her, “I’m serious, Sam. Nothing is going on between me and Y/N.”

Sam looked away from her sister and saw you sitting on Tara’s bed, smiling as you sent her a small wave. The woman scoffed at your actions before returning to her room.

Once Sam was gone, Tara closed the door, walked over to you, and hit you in the stomach. “The fuck was that, Y/N?” She whisper-shouted at you, “I basically admitted to having a plan of forcing you and Sam together, and you fucking wave at her?”

“I didn’t know what you wanted me to do!” You defended.

Tara sighed at your statement; she had laid the groundwork, and then just like clockwork, the dominos were supposed to cascade in a line because she’s a mastermind, but your dumbass messed it up. “Go talk to Sam. Right. Now. Or so help me God, I will violently murder you to death,” Tara commanded as she pulled you from her bed and pushed you toward the door. “And do not come back until you have talked to her,” and with that, Tara shut the door in your face and locked it.

You sighed before walking toward the living room. You thought about sleeping on the couch, but you knew Tara would probably draw a penis on your face while you slept, so you sucked in a deep breath before walking toward Sam’s door.

Sam heard a gentle knock of three intervals at her door, pulling her away from her note. “Just a minute,” she said as she finished her writing and slipped it into a preselected page in the book.

“What’s up?” She asked once when she opened her door and saw you.

“I just wanted to ask you about the book,” you replied with a smile that Sam wanted to kiss off your lips.

Instead of doing what she desired, she left her door open while grabbing the book and handed it back to you. “This is the saddest book I have ever read. Who would come up with such a thing?”

You chuckled at her words and accepted the book, “I know. I take it; you finished it?”

“Barely. But I finished it in one sitting,” Sam said while staring into your love-struck eyes. Sam swore she could feel herself getting lost in them, and she never wanted to leave your eyes.

“So, what did you think of it?” You asked.

“It was alright. Some pages were hard to read because of the tear-stained pages.”

You lightly laughed at Sam’s words, and the older woman felt her heart might explode if she heard that soft laugh again. “Yeah, I’m sorry about that. This book really gets to me, you know?” You said while your eyes quickly glanced down at Sam’s lips, wondering if they tasted as good as they looked.

Sam cleared her throat, and you knew you had been busted. “So, I guess I’ll have to treat you with respect now,” she admitted through a tightened jaw.

“Or whatever,” you said with a smile, hoping Sam picked up the double meaning, and she did.

“Yeah, or whatever.”

“Just so you know, nothing is going on between me and Tara,” you clarified after a few seconds, and you set the book down on the couch behind you.

Sam knew that there wasn’t anything between you and her sister, but hearing those words leave your lips gave Sam a feeling of comfort she didn’t know she needed. “I know, Y/N.”

“Okay. I just wanted to clarify that before I did this,” Sam didn’t even have time to react before she felt your hands grip her neck and pull her into a passionate kiss. The way your lips felt like they had been made for her lips amazed Sam, and she finally felt her heart explode when she matched your intensity.

Your lips danced together as Sam deepened the kiss and pulled you by your waist closer to her. You felt her tongue push past your lips, and an involuntary moan slipped out, causing Sam to laugh against your lips. When you felt Sam’s hands drift toward the bottom of your shirt, you lifted your arms, and Sam got halfway into taking it off before you two heard a voice behind you, “Goddamnit, Y/N! I told you to apologize, not swap spit with her!”

You pulled away from Sam and turned to face Tara, who smiled knowingly. “Sorry,” you mumbled while fixing your shirt.

An awkward beat of silence passed while Tara looked between you and her sister with a sly smirk on her lips before she finally said, “I’ll leave you two to it,” and walked away.

“I’m sorry about that,” Sam said once Tara was gone. You turned to look at Sam, and you smiled at her swollen lips and blown pupils. You said nothing as you placed a final kiss on Sam’s lips that the older woman happily reciprocated.

“I should probably leave,” you mumbled against Sam’s lips, and she kissed you once more before pulling away. “Don’t forget your book,” Sam said while grabbing it for you.

“Thank you,” you replied with a tint of blush on your cheeks. Sam walked you to the door with her hand on the lower of your back, and you only wanted to run back into her room and throw Sam on her bed, but you doubted Tara would appreciate that.

When you reached the door, you placed a chaste kiss on Sam’s lips before opening up the door. “I’ll see you around?” You asked, afraid that this was a one-time thing.

Sam leaned against the doorframe, and she couldn’t contain the smile that pulled at her cheeks. “Of course, Y/N.”

You smiled at her and began walking down the hallway when Sam called out, “It's me and you, true blue.”

You placed a kiss on your pointer and middle finger before holding them toward Sam with a smile on your face. The woman laughed at your action and pretended to catch the fake kiss and her fist to her heart.

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

At home, you fall onto your couch and struggled to get your shoes off. Once they were off, you relaxed and pulled out the book and started reading it. When you ran your fingers over the pages, a small note fell out from the middle of the book and you moved to that page.

In the center of the page was a headline from Sub Rosa titled, ‘Evelyn Hugo and Celia St. James Slumber Parties,’ and you couldn’t help but laugh at the page.

When you opened up the note, written in the most beautiful penmanship said,

‘Want to go grab a milkshake with me sometime? I doubt we’ll find a place as good as Schwab’s, but we can try. We can also have ‘slumber parties’ of our own when Tara is away. ;)

All my love,

Samantha

Sam’

[moonystoes]

Safe Dance - Elisa De Almeida x international!reader

summary: this pretty much explains it all lol.

Warning: Sexual assault, old man being a creep, mentions of alcohol, not well written, slowww burn like it's pissing me off too im sorry, elisa being our protective queen.

a/n: i'm bringing this up again, i just started writing, especially fics as long as this (the last one -and the first- had only 500 words). So feedback and help is needed!! also sorry i got a little bored and wrote too many useless things lol.

w/c: 5.218k

You knew you needed to celebrate your high GPA after graduating from your bachelor degree at some point. But you've been putting it off, feeling like it's too much effort and energy for your introverted self. It's no secret French people are distant towards foreigners, it's been something known worldwide (which is ironic since a big part of their population are people of color coming from different countries from Africa and Asia). But you ignored all the toxic things you heard about France when you unexpectedly got a scholarship into the University of Paris.

Now, four years later, you are still alone. You have made friends in some projects, but right when the project is over, your friendship ends as well. Your mom has messaged you a long paragraph on how proud she is of you, but the loneliness is still wearing you down. You knew you probably looked silly walking down the street, wearing a short V-neck dress with high heels obviously to party, but there is a permanent frown on your face.

When you looked up from your phone, you didn't even need to look for the club. You can feel the music vibrate the ground and there is a huge line at the entrance. You turned off your phone and waited in line, wanting to just drink all day and celebrate by then. You checked on your friend (an international student like you) who promised that she'll be here, but your message was left on delivered for 2 hours. 

After 15 minutes of scrolling through your Instagram and 3 missed calls to Liz, it was your turn to show the security your ID. His dark eye bags showed you that he was too exhausted to care, so he took less than a second to glance at your card before returning it to you, and opening the door for you in a frustrated way.

You walked in awkwardly, couples grinding and dancing around you, you felt disgusted - and secretly jealous. The club was dark and had red LED lights, it was filled with large posters of icons and models from the 70s, and of course the playboy magazines of women wearing lingerie. It looked good enough for you to settle down on the bar stool and immediately order a light drink. 

While you were sitting there to decide whether you should dance or wait for Liz (you were honestly frustrated at her for ditching you with no explanation), the bartender passed a large drink towards you. You glanced at him with a confused look, “oh sorry, I didn't order this.”

“Yeah I know, it's the man there.” He pointed to the table on your left, to an older man with thin white hair. Your jaw dropped when you looked at him, realizing that he caught you staring.

“Umm… that old man?” You tried your hardest to whisper over the thudding music, trying not to let the creep that is sitting just 2 meters away from you hear what you said. The bartender nodded and walked away to the other side of the bar, making you sigh in annoyance that he didn't bother to even help you out. You slowly pushed the light pink drink away from you, it smelled strong which showed his true intentions, getting you drunk.

You pulled out your phone and texted Liz a quick message, “Liz a man is being weird where are you ☹️☹️?” You scrolled through your gallery to pretend you are doing something and distract yourself from the man on your left, until you are tapped on the shoulder. You froze, quickly turning off your phone as you took a deep breath, pretending that you didn't feel it.

“May I know why you didn't accept the drink, it was really expensive.” you flinched when you felt his breath hit your neck, no way this is happening today. Where the fuck is Liz? You turned around slowly, trying to act calm and collected, “sorry, I didn't want to drink today, I'm just here for someone.”

“I don't see anyone here,” he mockingly glanced around the bar to see the ‘person’ you were waiting for. “I saw you drink just a few minutes ago.”

You closed your eyes for a second and took a deep breath. You glanced at his striking blue eyes and felt your hands starting to shake, you looked away back to the drink he ordered for you and grasped it, taking a small sip just to taste what it is. You knew you were fucked, Liz isn't here and she's probably not going to come, the bartender couldn't give a shit, and this man won't leave you alone. Why was he at a bar on a Wednesday night? Doesn't he have some office job to do tomorrow or is he too old that he's retired now.

The drink tasted sour and tangy, but had a strawberry flavor. The burning of your throat made you cough and your eyes shutting close, it was definitely alcoholic, very alcoholic. You rested the drink on the table and faked-smiled and awkwardly nodded, but your smile disappeared when his hand clutched your arm and pulled you forward, “why don't you dance with me, huh? Wearing this dress for nothing must be a shame.” 

You panicked and took a quick scan of your surroundings to see who could help. On the bar table to your left, there were other older men, possibly friends of the weirdo that's now bruising your arm. On the large leather sofas that were placed on the other corner, there was a couple?...a throple? A man was sitting comfortably on it as he crossed his legs on the mini table in front of him, two girls were sprawled over him, one playing with his hair and the other playing with his shirt while she chugs from a beer can…yeah they will be too busy to help.

You took a quick turn to the VIP entrance, seeing a short girl with a Gucci bag waiting to be let in… rich spoiled people are too busy to look around. You swore you never cared about religion until then, when the man tugged you to his chest, your eyes slowly closing as you were holding your tears praying to God to let you out of this misery.

You felt his hands being placed on your hips, as he forcefully tugged your back towards his groin. He pushed you to the crowded area so people can't see your discomfort in your face. 

But before he does more than this, a large hand tugged you away from the man, making the man behind you exhale loudly. “Anna! I'm sorry for making you wait, hey let's go…umm do you know him?” you've never heard such a soft yet deep voice like this. Before you even had the chance to look at who grabbed you, her right arm tugged you into her chest, trying to hide you from the stranger. “No, I don't.” You whispered, afraid of making the situation even bigger.

“Seriously? you were waiting for this…” His angry voice and arm pointing at the both of you made you anxiously stare at him. He looked at the woman hugging you up and down with disgust before muttering a ‘nevermind’ and stomping off.

You shakingly held tightly into her, staring at the spot the man was at. “Are you okay?” She let out a soft whisper from above your head. You were shaken at the whole encounter, blocking off what she said until you felt soft taps on your shoulder, making you look up at her.

This was the first opportunity you had to actually see who saved you from this, and she was gorgeous. She had sunglasses placed on the collar of her dress shirt with two of the buttons opened. Why was she even wearing a dress shirt at a club? When you looked up to her face (because she's 5 '9 and the first thing you saw was her tan skin), her hair was short, swooped to the side. Her cheekbones were sharp and her eyes were furrowed worriedly. You quickly separated from her and took two steps away.

“Hey, it's okay.” She took a step forward, opening her hands around her face to show you she doesn't want to hurt you, “are you waiting for someone?”

You looked away from her eyes, the smell of alcohol and sweat is making it difficult for you to think straight -literally. You looked at your phone, finding a new notification, “oh thank God she responded!” You relaxed, until you pressed on it.

“Hey baby!! It's your favorite uncle 😉, just saw your post about graduating. Congratulations! I miss you so much. Maybe one day we can all reunite when you graduate your masters 💪keep working hard!”

You inhaled deeply, turning off your phone and throwing it in your mini purse. You looked at the woman, she looked at you with raised brows waiting for an explanation for your reaction. You rested your hand on your forehead and frustratedly groaned out, “no she fucking ignored my messages.”

Her face turned sour as she looked behind you, probably to the place where the old men were sitting, giving you the chance to look at her face once again. You blushed at her clenched sharp jaw, slight pink cheeks, and the soft lips. When you looked back at her eyes, she was already looking at you.

You internally wanted to kill yourself for looking at her lips, because she definitely caught that. You looked away to her arms, doing everything in your power to not look at her face again. But then you realized glancing at her arms will make the situation even worse. Her arms were athletic and the sleeves were tight around her biceps. How is she this hot?

“You can stay with me, my friends are here.” She softly grasped your hand, pulling you away from the crowded dance floor. “It's fine, I'll just go home.”

“No, come on! It's a secluded area, no one will bother us.” She encouraged you, her hand still in yours. You looked down at your heels, you felt like shit. This whole time at the bar was for you and Liz to celebrate your day and you end up being a charity case for a hot woman. You don't even know why you chose the club, you hated partying anyways. You bit into your lip, one single line going through your head:

I deserve to celebrate my achievements no matter with who. I'm the one who worked hard for this, I need this.

“Okay just… Please don't do this because you feel bad for what happened.” her eyes softened, intertwining your fingers with hers and whispering a soft ‘never’. You felt embarrassed as she was dragging you around the bar to the place her friends are staying at, you didn't want to see anyone’s face so you just looked down at your intertwined hands and hoped you won't collide with anyone. Your hand looked small compared to her large ones as she held into you, feeling her rough skin tightly around yours.

When you realized she stopped, you looked up to where she took you. “Oh no… I'm not going there,” You frowned at her, “VIP? I heard it's expensive here.” You felt guilty that she might spend money on a spot for you, but you were curious on how she makes enough money to be here.

“Don't worry, my work has paid for the night here, I didn’t spend a euro on me or anyone.” She smiled at you, finding it cute how you were worried about her money. She let go of your hand and opened the door slowly, signaling her hand to follow her.

You stood still for a few seconds, feeling exhausted and tired. And unfortunately, you felt gross. You looked down at your dress, remembering what the old man said. It was your favorite, it may not look fancy but you've loved it and waited for a moment to wear it, now you can't even glance at it without feeling down. You glanced at the woman, she had already taken a few steps until she realized you weren't following her, “Do you want to go home? I can order you an Uber?”

This was your chance to actually get to know someone, you've been alone all this time in Paris and Liz was an American student. The woman in front of you seemed like the first French woman that actually tried to befriend you, and she's attractive. Her face softened as she took a few steps towards you again, understanding your silence. “My name is Elisa, what's yours?”

“Y/n.” You didn't know what to do after this so you reached out your hand to handshake her, internally cringing from how awkward you are…no wonder why your love life is as low as your mood today. She giggled and grasped your hand, shaking it aggressively. You looked at her with a confused face and she just winked quickly, “so… y/n why are you here at the club on a Wednesday night?”

“I just graduated so I wanted to celebrate.” You were staring at your held hands, feeling awkward when looking at anyone's eyes, especially élisa's. But when you felt her hand immediately let go of yours and wipe it off with her dress pants, you looked at her face slightly hurt. Her eyes are slightly widened, which made you realize why she let go of your hand, “bachelor degree in physical therapy.”

“Ohh! That's so nice. You know at my job we need a lot of physiotherapists, I like them.” Her body physically relaxed, making you laugh at her panic. The poor woman thought you were some high school student, but you didn't blame her, you never made it clear when you spoke about it.

“Cool… what do you work as?” You asked, a smile appearing in your face. You didn't realize that by a small comment, Elise made your feelings better just as she planned. She let out an open smile when she noticed yours, feeling proud of herself for making you feel better.

“Guess.” 

Your smile wiped off your face, “no please I don't like doing this game just say it.”

She laughed, “I'll give you a hint, I wear number 5.”

It took a moment for you to answer because you froze when you heard her laugh, making a stupid grin plaster into your face, “...football?” You dragged the word as you questioned, worried it might be wrong. She nodded with a proud smile.

“Wow, that's so cool I do watch football!... not the women, I don't know where to watch…sorry.”

She laughed, stepping closer and resting her left arm around your shoulder, encouraging you to walk through the dark maroon hallway with her. “It's okay, we're used to it.”

When you looked up from this angle, your attraction worsened. Her side profile was perfect. It took a moment for you to recover from it, “ehm…some girls in my class wanted to be football physios so they could work with Szoboszlai.” You muttered, obviously not knowing what to say. You didn't know if you should wrap your right hand around her waist or just keep it awkwardly limping between the both of you.

She glanced at you and laughed, “and you? Is that what you wanted?”. You looked away, deciding to focus on the dark walnut wood corridor in front of you instead of her eyes. “I don't really like men.”

“Ha! Me too.” Her left arm tapped your shoulder to the beat of the music. Elisa was glad that you weren't into men; she felt like it's finally her time where she can get attention from a woman that isn't a fangirl. She pulled you inside a room, filled with people singing and jumping around.

You felt sick all over again, not knowing Elisa had this many friends. You remembered her speaking about her work paying for this, are all of these people her teammates? The room was built almost like a sunken living room, the leather couches were placed into the ground around the walls with stairs in the side, and two small tables placed in two opposite corners that were filled with drinks and purses. Elisa felt your body turn rigid, she leaned in close to your ear and whispered gently, “They're all nice, I promise.” You turned to look at her, you didn't understand why but you felt at ease around her, maybe because of what she did earlier, but you took a deep breath and calmed down.

She pointed at an empty seat next to a blonde woman, “hey Jackie, this is y/n, she's a physiotherapy graduate.” Jackie turned to look at you and elisa, she smiled brightly and raised her hand to signal you to sit with her. You let out a tight-lipped smile and approached the table to sit. You noticed Jackie looking at your attire and glancing at Elisa with a confused look, but before she said a thing, Elisa interrupted her by saying she needed to go to the bathroom.

Well shit, now you have to do this alone. You stared at Elisa as she was walking out, secretly checking her out and also praying that she’ll come back soon. “Umm… do you work here?”

You turned to look at Jackie, “oh, no. I'm just here to party.”

“Ohh…I thought you were one of the dancers offered here.” She looked at her whiskey and took a sip, clearly not seeing the shock in your face.

You froze as you gave her a confused glance, “oh. You thought I was a stripper?” You glanced down at your dress… It's a short dress, yes, but a dancer? You had no disrespect for them, just felt a little confused. Does Elisa call dancers for a lap dance? Is this where she went to?

“Oh not your dress! It's just that Elisa never spoke about bringing someone here so I assumed. Also, you're really pretty.” She gave you a wink with her compliment.

You gave her a soft smile with a shy ‘thanks’. “Elisa isn't really into those things, that’s why I was kind of confused.” She nudged your arm when you glanced at the exit again, realizing that you were waiting for Elisa. After hearing what Jackie said, you relaxed into your seat and looked at your surroundings.

Everyone seemed drunk except one, her thick black hair was tied in a high ponytail, too engrossed with her phone to really notice anyone. The other players were dancing, some were singing loudly to some song by Aya, an icon in french music from what you noticed in the past four years living here. “May I ask how you know elisa?” Jackie asked.

“Oh we just met here so…” you shrugged, you didn't feel like telling anyone what actually happened. Jackie nodded, taking her purse into her lap and pulling things out, trying to find something in it. After a while of scrolling on tiktok and looking at the girls partying, Elisa came back in, immediately settling down next to you. You looked at her with a smile, glad that she's back, but your smile was wiped off when you saw her frustrated and sweaty state. When she noticed the worry in your eyes she leaned in closer to you, “Do you like this club?”

You were caught off guard from this question and nodded slowly, “good because I want you to come back here,” You were confused, obviously you'll never come here. It doesn't matter how nice and fancy this place is, after that weirdo, you'll never step foot here. “I kicked him out, he's banned from coming here again.”

“Wa- wait what?” You gasped, looking at the door she came back from, expecting to see him standing there. But he wasn't, and even from the small glass window on the door, you can see that his spot is now empty, as well as his friends’.

“I want you to feel safe celebrating your achievements, I know today has probably been shit.” You bit your lip, turning to look at Jackie playing with her now found camera. You couldn't look at Elisa's eyes or else you would cry. You felt her hand softly caress your shoulder, bringing your body closer to hers. “Thank you, I mean… I don't even know what else to say.”

She gave you a gentle smile and turned to look at her teammates singing karaoke now. “No problem, now do you want to sing and dance with them? Or just sit here?”

“I'll just sit here, you can have fun with them.”

She looked back at you, deciding to lean back into the coach and find a comfortable position. “I play for Paris Saint Germain.”

“What! No way…I feel like shit for not watching you play.” You gasped, psg is the biggest team in France. And that's probably because they are loaded with money and can afford the top players, but you wondered how powerful the women's team is.

She laughed, quickly shaking her head, “don't feel that way! I just wanted to tell you. We just got qualified for the quarterfinals of the champions league that's why they're all drunk and shit.” She tilted her head towards a player dancing on the table. You bit your lip trying not to laugh at the poor woman, but when you heard Elisa's cackle, you let out a little laugh.

“Quarterfinals to the champions league… that's great! That's so cool, honestly, you should go and dance with them!” You pushed her towards the women, but she didn't even budge. She winked at you when she saw you try to move her and held your arm down, “Are you actually trying to push me or are you playing around?”

You knew she was joking, she can tell your struggling face when you tried to push her. You glanced at the way she grabbed your forearm, feeling the blush coming around your cheeks. Her muscles tensed beneath her fitted black shirt, elisa has been trying to subtly send you hints without panicking too much. But she knew she needed to do something even more, so she let her hand slowly go from your forearm to your hand, intertwining your fingers with hers. A shy smile broke out in both of your faces, looking up to see her already smiling at you. “Okay…maybe I do want to dance a little.”

You bite your lip and give her a soft nod, indicating that you wanted to dance with her. She grinned brightly and stood up from the couch, delicately pulling you with her. You felt content for the first time, you're finally going to dance and party like how you wanted before you came here in the first place. Elisa pulled you into her body, looking at your eyes to see if you're okay with her wrapping her arms around your waist. You felt speechless so you just nodded and dragged your hands from her forearms all the way to her shoulders, blushing at the feeling of her rough muscles.

Because you were busy trying to mask your flustered state, you didn't notice the panic Elisa was in. Her tightly wrapped hands were shaking and it seemed like she couldn't even glance at your face for three seconds without finding something else to look at. The girls had stopped singing karaoke now, the speaker playing some french afrobeats. “I forgot to tell you, I'm shit at dancing. I was planning on getting too drunk to care.” You admitted with a laugh, elisa tightened her hands around your waist, making your chest flush with hers. “Oh wait until you see me dance.” 

“You do realize this song isn’t for slow dancing?” You loved the feeling of her body against yours, but the idea of slow dancing to afrobeats in front of people is confusing you. “Shhh don’t ruin the moment now.” she joked, turning her head around the room, she looked back at you and said, “They’re all too drunk to care.”

You looked around the room, and fortunately she was right. The girls were all dancing, separated into multiple groups and only focusing on them. Even the sober one had stood up and was dancing with the rest. You rested your head on her shoulder, feeling like it doesn’t matter at this point what happens between you. Elisa will probably forget about you, and date an instagram model like every football player does -well… that’s what the male players do at least.

“You tired?” her velvety voice soothed you as she leaned her head on yours. You closed your eyes and hummed in response, not feeling like moving your body. You tried to excuse the exhaustion as the sickness from the old man, but throughout the semester, you have been sleeping 4 hours and only working and studying. And today has been the day you can finally rest.

Elisa moved her hands from your waist to wrap them around your shoulders instead. As much as she was worried about the possible rejection from you, she felt great about you being okay with her physical touches and wanted to enjoy the chance. She can feel your beating heart from the thin dress you’re wearing against her sternum. Elisa’s long fingers were playing with the hem of the dress from your neck, her body slowly rocking as if she’s putting a baby to sleep.

“Thank you,” You whispered, opening your eyes just to see her jaw. “For today. I may not seem happy, but I am really grateful for this, I’m happy.”

“Do you want to go home?”

You stayed silent for a few seconds, before letting out a short breathy laugh, “Is it obvious I don’t like to party?” You didn’t want to offend her, especially after what she did.

“I can call an uber for you, or I can drive you home if you don’t feel safe.” You almost wanted to cry at how thoughtful she is, but you knew you needed some alone time after all of this. Also, the thought of parting ways with Elisa and her completely forgetting about you is eating you alive.

“Thank you, but I’ll feel very guilty if I take you away from the party you should be celebrating.” You let go of the tight embrace you were in, looking at her eyes to let her know how much you meant it. She sighed and nodded with a small hidden frown in her face. Elisa felt like a child attached to a toy, she was worried to let you go and never find you again. Now that she kicked the assaulters out, she hoped you’d come to the club more often.

“Okay, I’ll walk you out.” She held your hand and walked you out of the VIP entrance. The smell of sweat and alcohol hit you in the face, the club is even busier now since it was around 10 at night. Elisa pulled you to her body, putting her arm around your shoulder protectively in case someone does a thing to you. Once you reached the closest exit, she pushed the heavy door and let you go out.

“Ehm… Can I have your phone number?” Elisa suddenly blurted, she wasn’t ready to say goodbye, so she said the lamest thing she thought, “Just to make sure you went home safe…you never know what can happen.”

When Elisa asked that question, your heart started beating faster, your worry about losing her is now out of your head, feeling glad that she wanted to contact you. But after her explanation, you sighed in disappointment, she’s probably not interested in you, she wants to know if you went home safe only.

“Yeah, okay.” You opened your hand, waiting for her to hand you her phone. She pulled out her phone from her front pocket, and passed it to you quickly. Her palms were sweaty from anxiousness, and she hoped her sweat wasn’t all over the phone. She knew she fucked up, she could’ve told you the truth but instead she acted like some sick teenager, and it made her even more annoyed with herself when she saw the excitement in your face disappear like fog. She wanted you to know she’s interested in you. You typed your phone number quickly, before giving it back to her with a tight smile.

“Bye-Bye,” You stepped back, still facing her. “Again, thank you for today.” You gave her a small wave, and then turned and walked your way back home. She was invading your thoughts, her face, her smile, her deep yet delicate voice, her body, and the fact that she’s a professional player that can get anyone she wants.

Once you reached home, you looked at your phone notifications, there were none. 0 from Liz, and 0 from Elisa. You cussed yourself, why would she even bother to text you? She is the hottest woman you’ve ever seen, you probably look like charity work next to her exes. You boiled water for instant noodles, feeling too low to even worry about making dinner. After eating the soggy cheap noodles, you turned on the bathtub faucet and added some oils to calm you down and distract you from Elisa. You contemplated on searching up her name and see what google says about her, but you forced yourself to not even look up a picture of her. She clearly doesn’t care about you, why would you care about her?

After the 30 minute depressing bath, you plopped into the bed, not bothering to put the blanket over you. You suddenly heard a notification ding from your phone. Closing your eyes tightly, you swore that if it's Liz you'll run to her house barefoot to yell at her. When you heard another ding, you opened your eyes slowly and reached out for your bedside table.

[Unknown number]

I'm sorry

I was acting like a kid around u I wanted to ask you out but I got too shy

Can I take you to dinner one day?

You bit into your lip harshly, trying so hard to suppress your blush. You thought about it for a second, you weren't mad because she couldn't ask you out in front of you. You couldn't do it either, and you were also flattered to the thought of her being too shy in front of you. It felt as though she was the confident one there. It didn't matter anyways, what mattered is that you wanted to be hers. And if this date is the first step, you'll take it.

[You]

Okay

Only if I can go and watch you play on the quarterfinals

[Elisa ⚽️]

Really??

YES OF COURSE

Only with my jersey 😉

You turned off your phone and banged your head into the pillow, grabbing your phone again to send her a quick message.

[You]

Of course

I'm going to sleep rn

Good night 💞

[Elisa ⚽️]

Good night 😴

You turned off your phone and closed your eyes, immediately sleeping from the exhaustion of the day.

[Elisa⚽️]

The dress looked perfect on you.

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Cause of Action 3

Warnings: dark elements, noncon, age gap, other dark elements. Proceed with caution.

Note: thank you for waiting! Please let me know what you think as it helps me a lot with ideas and I love interacting with you all.

Part of The Club AU

Mr. Barber –Andy– pulls into a spot along a street you recognise. You won’t voice why you find it familiar, that’s probably better left unsaid. Your nightlife is hardly relevant to a law office.

You get out and wait as he pays the parking pass kiosk and puts the slip in his windshield. He looks at his watch again. His apparent anxiety is adding to your own. You walk with him up the pavement and hesitate as he turns to cross. Oh, it can’t be.

You look up at the club’s marquee and repress any twitch of guilt. Of course you’d been there before, a couple times with friends, but you’re really not big on the scene. Still, you wonder what he would think.

It’s early. Door’s have yet to open but it doesn’t hinder him from walking along the brick front of the building and knocking on the double doors. You chew your lip. Your brain isn’t processing this properly. You have no idea what’s going on.

Andy looks at you and gives a rocky chuckle as he rubs the back of his neck, “client is a friend of the owner.”

“Ah,” you give a short nod.

“Not really our typical meeting place but he’s hard to pin down,” Andy explains, “we shouldn’t be long.”

The door opens and you’re greeted by a man with an imperious curl to his lips. Sleek black hair  combed back so the spiraled ends cluster behind his ears. Andy gives a tilt of his head.

“Uh, Laufeyson,” he points at him unsure, “I’m here for Hansen?”

“Ah, yes,” the man, Laufeyson lets out a long exhale, “I should charge him rent with how often he frequents. Come.”

He steps back and Andy catches the door, holding it for you until you precede him inside. The dark-haired man considers you with an air of discernment. You squirm as you glance around. This place looks a lot different with the lights on.

“Oh, this is my intern,” Andy supplies, “showing her the reins.”

“Hi,” you greet and offer your name. The man doesn’t acknowledge you.

“This is Loki, he owns the place.”

“Doors in an hour,” Laufeyson intones dismissively as he turns on his heel, “I’m certain you’ll find your way.”

Andy sniffs but says nothing. It isn’t until Loki is halfway up the stairs that he even moves. Andy shifts into motion, gesturing you into the main room of the club. He halts and looks around before pointing out another staircase; that one twisting and metal.

“I think it’s just up there,” he says as he continues forward and you scurry to keep up.

“So, uh, what kind of case exactly is this for?” You wonder as he stops at the bottom of the stairs and again waits for you to go first.

“Standard lawsuit. Employment contract breach. Hopefully, we can keep it to a deposition.”

“Mmm,” you hum thoughtfully, “is this the employee?”

“Employer,” Andy tuts, “burden of proof really isn’t on us, so there’s that.”

“Right,” you don’t head down the hall until Andy directs you onward to the door with a golden snake on it, “if he’s doing business here…”

You let the thought drift. It’s not really your place to say.

“You’re not wrong,” Andy says, “I’ve heard wild stories about this place.” He reaches past you and taps on the door with his knuckles, “an ex of mine, she apparently came here, liked to hook up with strange men…”

“Oh?” You blink but add no comment.

“Meanwhile, when I was married, my wife accused me of coming to places like this while I was working overtime to pay the mortgage,” he scoffs, “well, I guess that’s not important. Sorry. Just… this is weird.”

“A little,” you agree as his vocalisation of the fact eases the tension.

The door opens and you’re met by a man with a rather bristly accoutrement across his lip. You almost snort at the mustache but think better of it. It wouldn’t do well to mock this man’s fashion sense. He is a client after all and despite the venue, this is still a professional meeting.

“Barber,” the man greets as he leers down at you, giving a wink, “you brought some fun?”

“Hansen,” Andy growls back, a silty tone that makes you shiver, “my intern. Play nice.”

“Ah, I’m always nice,” he smooths a hand over his hair before offering it, “how are you, sunshine? Lloyd.”

“Um,” you reluctantly shake his hand and give your name, “I’m fine.”

“Fine, well, let’s fix that, come in,” he backs up and turns, strutting away in his tight white pants and shimmery satin shirt. He isn’t really dressed for business. “Barber, you hound, you finally got me. You better make it fast.”

He grabs a bottle and pops the top, “you know, I have a long night ahead of me.”

“I told you I had noon free–”

“Noon? I was still waking the snake–”

“Hey, cut it out,” Andy warns.

“Sorry, sorry,” Lloyd looks at you with a smirk, “she looks old enough–”

“She’s not here for that. So let’s get to it. I need the records of employment. What you sent me is a cocktail napkin and a snapchat conversation. That’s not gonna cut it.”

“Oh really? Like I said, it wasn’t really a contract. Not in the way she’s saying. Bimbo,” he scoffs as he pours a shot, then another, “it’s simple, there is no case.”

“If there wasn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

Lloyd nears and offers one of the glasses. Andy sighs and stretches an arm in front of you to block the other man, “what are you doing?”

“You got this sweet little piece working late. I’m just tryna make it worth her time. You seem like the stingy type,” Lloyd sneers, “one shot won’t hurt.”

“She’s on the clock.”

Lloyd’s brows rise and he snorts. He doesn’t say whatever thought dimples in his cheek.

“Loosen up, you want some? I can get some scotch up here, old man.”

“I drove.”

“Uber,” Lloyd insists, “don’t be a fucking cock block.”

He elbows past Andy and presents you the shot, “there ya go, sweet heart. The good stuff. Top shelf. Whatever he pays you isn’t enough to get you a single ounce.”

You stare at the shot, then Andy. You know you shouldn’t and you really don’t want to drink. You tend to stick to a single drink on your nights out and dilute it with as much water as you can get.

“Um, thanks, but–”

“But nothing. Don’t let the geezer get you down.” He holds the shot almost in your face, “take it, sweet pea. Trust me, you’ll thank me.”

Andy nudges you gently, “it’s fine,” he grumbles under his breath as he takes out his phone, “I’m not leaving until I have something, Hansen.”

“You know what, I’ll give you better than hard evidence, something even harder,” Lloyd snickers as you take the shot but make no move to drink.

Andy backs off, rubbing his cheek as he turns his back to you. He’s angry. You can tell. You’re starting to wonder why he even brought you if he knew this man was like this. Maybe it’s good to get a taste of the difficult ones.

“Cheers, baby,” Lloyd clinks his shot glass against yours, “bottoms up.”

[junglemax]

Friend tell me about Jack and his character arc! I remember very lil apart from how I need to rip him apart like a mango

aw man my brain is fried as fuck but i will try

the character arc to me goes from jungle boy -> jungle boy jack perry -> hollywood jack perry -> scapegoat jack perry which. to some ppl the first two are one in the same but to me they’re not??

like jungle boy has NO knowledge of city life. only jungle life. boy doesn’t even speak much at first. he’s still very reliant on others helping him through life. very positive, and I believe lost a lot bc others would cheat and take advantage of his kindness

when he finally adds his real name to things, it shows that he’s fully acclimated to normal society. no longer does he need help from others. he can live in society like a normal person. still kind, but way more wary of all the bad shit that can happen. he’s trying to hold onto the good parts, though

then we get his hollywood phase when he turns heel. basically hes lost hope in everyone due to increasing frustrations of never being good enough, pushing his faults onto others, and is very insecurity based. he’s basically a weird mix of mjf and christian cage

and ofc we get scapegoat jack perry, reborn in japan, more wise of people who have faulted him. though it’s interesting that he trusted people after all that, especially the bucks. he is not immune to being lied to + gaslit i guess, because one day that friendship w the bucks is all gonna go to shit and i think they’ll be the ones causing it.

this probably isn’t fully what you wanted so here’s a 3 hour video explaining jungle boy’s story by @tacodemuerte

[gonegirlaccount]

Bruce x popular!m!Reader where both Bruce and the reader are popular and well liked people in school, very good friends, and head over heels for each other. Some stuff I would like to add to my request is that the reader also plays baseball/plays basketball.

Go crazy! :3

AHH THIS IS ADORABLE AND I WANNA WRITE THIS OFCOURSE !! :33 and btw (Y/N) has a sister in this

Baseball Boys! (Popular!M!reader X Bruce Yamada)

(Y/N) and Bruce have been friends for awhile now ever since they both first saw each other on the same baseball team. Bruce liked how supportive (Y/N) was with all of his teammates so, why not be friends? But lately, it started turning into something more for him. Every glance he gave him made his heart throb, every time his body grazed his, even it was just a slight touch, his breath would hitch in his throat and every-time he smiled at him, his face would heat up. He knew what it was, but he was going to deny it. After all, how did (Y/N) feel?

He was looking forward to the next practice and he was really anxious to practice with him and to see him again. His heart skipped a beat when he saw (Y/N)walk in and he just couldn't take my eyes off you. He wanted to go up to him and talk to him but, He was too shy to say anything and instead, just smiled at him. The black-haired boy’s smile widened when (Y/N) smiled back at him with a little wave. He then looked away. He wasn’t usually shy or anything when he was around the (H/C)-colored boy when they were younger, so why now? God, his feelings made him look like such a fool.

The day after, Bruce couldn't stop smiling. He still felt his breath hitch in his chest as thoughts of being next to him made his heart pound. He had been so nervous of what to say the day before that he just didn't say anything at all, except for the small waves they exchanged. He wanted to tell him so bad, but his fear of rejection and losing their friendship was too much. He wouldn't tell him, at least not anytime soon. He hoped his feelings would just go away eventually.

————

It’s been a few weeks since he finally accepted he was Inlove with (Y/N) but that still didn’t stop him from blushing and stammering. Bruce found out that his sister and (Y/N)’s sister have found out about his feelings somehow. “Cmon..tell him you like him!” Amy said, poking her brother’s arm while (Y/N)’s sister poked the other. “Yeah! (Y/N) likes you too so you better tell him or else it’ll be too late and he’ll forget about it.” She says and Bruce freezes. He liked him back? “Yeah he does, do you like not see the way my brother looks at you?” His sister scoffs, he must’ve said that aloud. Then the doorbell rang. Shoot, he forgot (Y/N) was coming to pick up his sister from his house. Bruce was about to flee the living room and run off to his room but his sister held his arm down. “Tell himm! We’ll run off after so you can talk.” Amy explains and Bruce sighs, knowing he can’t get out of this.

But then Amy let go and Bruce took that as his chance to flee but as he went to leave, there was (Y/N), a bright smile on his face. His (E/C)-colored eyes met Bruce’s hazel ones. Amy and (Y/N)’s sister ran off to Amy’s room, giggling loudly as they hid behind the door. Bruce took a deep breath. “Amy told me you wanted to talk. So..what’s up?” (y/n) said, scratching his head. “ilikeyou(y/n).” Bruce rushed out in one breath, which made (Y/N) tilt his head in confusion. “What? Can you like say that again, but slower and more clearer..I couldn’t hear you properly, heh.” He chuckles softly.

“(Y/N), I like you. In like a uh…in a crush way.” Bruce explains, feeling his face beat up as he averted his gaze away from (Y/N). The (h/c) boy blushed and seemed a little surprise. “I like you Bruce, in like a crush way too!” (y/n) says with no hesitation, causing Bruce to bring his eyes back onto (y/n) who seemed a bit closer than he did before. “You..you do?” Bruce asked, pinching himself slightly make sure he wasn’t just having a weird dream.

“Yeah! I figured you uh did too but I wasn’t really sure…but you just confirmed it for me!” (Y/n) spoke with a cheerful tone. “This means we’re boyfriends now, right?” He said softly and hugged Bruce, giving the black-haired boy a peck on the cheek. “Uh yea…yeah, it does (Y/n).” Bruce mutters and hugs him back. He could feel his face heat up again. Bruce could also see Amy and (y/n)’s sister high five each other and give Bruce a thumbs up.

“Wanna icecream and go roller skating at that new rink opening up? It can be like a date!” (Y/n) asked with a smile stretched on his face as he let go of Bruce and moved back.

Jeez, is (y/n) gonna make his heart skip a beat and make him look like a fool no matter what?

[lolitastories]

GHOST

Javier Pena X Reader

Chapter 10

On my way my mind was blank. As Javier spoke I only nodded and smiled. “We are working with the CIA, those son of b-”

“Great you’re here” The ambassador stopped as she was walking across from us. “In my office” I nod. “And you” She points at Javier. “Leave her alone and go find Murphy” I chuckle. I turned the opposite direction and headed into her office.

“Everything you need is on my desk” I look over and a file is there. “Hopefully I don’t get the need to do a personal call again” I laugh a bit, grabbing hold of the file. “You will arrive at the office and from there on recieve instructions from Luna” I nod knowing the obvious spill. “And everytime per the agreement I have to say.” I stood up ready to leave after the obvious second spill. “If you wish to terminate your agreement, you have 2 days to turn in a letter of resignation” I nod.

“Thank you ambassador Noonan” I shake her head.

“You know I could have a spot for you here in the Escobar case. All you have to do is ask” Hell no.

“Is it your spot?” Noonan chuckles, shaking her head.

“I would give it up in a second if I had that option” She sat on her chair pulling it forward. “Of course you have the power to do that” It was my turn to laugh.

“I think I will stick to my job” Another few shared words and a goodbye. I walked out of her office. I turned the corner and found myself infront of my office.

“Y/n?” I turn around and see my old assistant. “How are you?” With a big smile she jumps on me, giving me a hug. “It's been what? Almost 3 months?”

“Yeah, something like that. How have you been?” I always had a hard time focusing when the conversation didn’t interest me one bit. Nora was great but I had only known her for 2 short weeks and although it was spent hearing her talk all day, that didn’t make us close.

“Great! Are you back to work? Why did you disappear all of a sudden? The ambassador said you had to travel back to the states but it sounded too weird considering you had just arrived” I chuckled alongside her. My eyes searched the place trying to think of some way to get out of the conversation.

“When duty calls you have to go” She nods with an even bigger smile.

“So how long are you staying now?”

“Yeah I also would like to know” I jumped a bit, turning around to find Murphy there with a cup of coffee in hand.

“Nora,” I say with a smile. “I need to have a word with agent Murphy alone, we will catch up later”

“Ok” She said cheerfully and turned her heel to walk away. I took this time to grab Murphy's empty hand and pull him to my office. I go around my desk and throw the file on the table. “Why didn’t you tell me?” My emotions didn’t pop up until I saw his face. Murphy's questionable look gave me the go ahead to explain what he obviously forgot. I open the file to the page and move it closer to him to see. “You showed me the picture and you let me assume she was dead” I pointed at the information. Active. When I finish a job I get sent back with paperwork of course. It will tell every detail of the person I was sent out to look for and in my recent search she was finalized as active. She was still alive and in the captor's hands.

“I knew that if you found out you would want to go in search of her and with Escobar look-”

“That wasn’t you call!” I pointed at him slamming my hands on my desk. “I get that you are worried about me and I thank you for helping me these days but you had no right to intervene in my work”

“Oh like you did in mine?!”

“That was different! I didn’t run around behind Escobar or keep information from you”

“I was just trying to keep you safe” Frustrated, I threw his cup to the wall. I didn’t want to be ungrateful because he helped me but it wasn’t his decision to make.

“I am not going to apologise” I say more quietly. “I thank you for lending a hand but not telling me about her was the wrong decision since it was up to you at all” I gather my things and close up the file.

“Where are you going, you can’t go out there-” I turned around coming so close to his face I could see the surprise in his eyes.

“Thank you Murphy” I opened the door, putting some distance on us. “Hope to work with you again. Tell Connie she has been good and I’ll miss her” I shut the door leaving him standing alone in my office. I know what he was thinking. That I was going to pursue the case again but he was wrong. I grab the file tighter, setting the course in my mind. I had a destination and it wasn’t one I could take on foot. Each step I took I couldn’t help but think of the girl's parents. How I have to go back and let them know I haven’t brought her back with me. How I put a hold on her search. I couldn’t let that happen, right?

And that is how I spent my time back in my hometown, Mexico. I got on the plane Noonan had scheduled me for. I did what the protocol is and went straight to the office but I didn’t settle. The first couple of days were talking on the phone with a trusted agent. Told him every detail of the case and with the help of the ambassador, he went out to capture and rescue the girl. It took him a couple of weeks but as I turned in the folder I let my shoulder rest knowing that was the end of that. “As soon as I can I will see you back in the states”

“I think I am going to take a break from the states” I sat down in my apartment's kitchen chair. “Place my focus on helping more people, maybe even-”

“What you need to do is relax. Take a vacation”

“You really did take to heart helping people at the bar didn’t you Diego?” Marcus. He survived and I didn’t feel relieved until I got the news 2 days after arriving in Mexico.

“Am serious” He groans

“As am I. I don’t need a vacation, I need to work”

“Whatever you say. I will contact you if anything happens” I mumble an ok before hanging up. Maybe I should take a vacation, I think I need some piece of what is the closest to being a home. I can’t remember the last time I visited Monterrey. I left after studying criminology and psychology. Moved and started in Quantico but later was transferred to the DEA. In the span of almost a decade I have been on the move, never once looked back. This is not a sad thing. I never dreamed of staying there forever, but now was certainly the time to go back.

Chapter 11

[skaruresonic]

How Sonic 3 Can Fix Shadow the Hedgehog | The Nerd Stash

oh boy!

They brought him back for Heroes and Battle, which released almost simultaneously.

Not sure if I'd call the United Federations the US government, but that's neither here nor there.

Well, at least they've got the basic details right. tfw the bar is so low you're like "kudos" when they relay game information accurately

I feel like I'm missing something because I'm not sure what "Chaos Energy" engine is referring to. The Biolizard got hooked to some kind of life support machine, yes, but does it actually have a name?

Also, if Battle is to be believed, Gerald was researching the Emeralds sometime before Project Shadow, or perhaps in its early stages. The Emerald research was kind of an overarching thread tying all of his research together. It's the only commonality linking Shadow, Black Doom, Emerl, the Biolizard, and the Eclipse Cannon.

Gerald says the colony was shut down under the premise that there had been an accident, implicating an element of subterfuge to the GUN raid.

A line from Doom's Eye in ShTH furthermore suggests foul play with the presence of a traitor aboard the ARK. However, the author of this article tends to discount ShTH on the basis that its Shadow portrayal is bad, so. :L

Cart before horse. The above passage implies Gerald somehow built the Eclipse Cannon before being imprisoned, when in actuality Shadow tells Eggman the opposite. The Cannon was secretly constructed aboard the ARK as one of multiple "weapons of mass destruction" being developed there.

"Darkness and anger are not all the things that make Shadow the character he is." - Coulda fooled me, the way fandom's been treating him lately.

Aaaaand here comes the Sega-bashing.

Also, with no disrespect intended, I somewhat press X to doubt that Pat Casey fully understands Shadow's character in SA2 if he's saying Shadow "will not be moved by words of friendship or compassion," considering it's famously Amy's words which remind him of his real promise to Maria (and I know people still cry bullshit at that, but nevertheless, it is the critical factor in his heel-face turn), and Rouge's words which nudged him along that path to a lesser extent.

Muh Begeta Shadow! Muh mandates!

I... am not entirely sure I would frame Shadow's actions in SA2 as "selfish" so much as deeply misguided.

Eggman's actions are selfish, yes, in that he's using Shadow and the Cannon to "dominate the world and build a legacy of [his] own," but I'm not sure how trying to fulfill what you believe to be your dead friend's wish is inherently selfish?

Also, mandatory nitpick but the Eclipse Cannon was neutralized when Knuckles called on the Master Emerald to stop the Chaos Emeralds. Shadow "sacrificed" himself to stop the Finalhazard, which Chaos Controlled out to the Cannon's barrel and fused with it with the intent to crash the colony into Earth.

(rolls eyes) You haven't explained how Shadow's previous traits were retconned or forgotten. You just recapped the end of SA2 and said Sega's pushing for muh Vegetable Shadow.

Yeah, your bias is showing. Because you think Shadow's quintessential character is confined to SA2 and other games don't count. You haven't said a lick about Heroes or Battle, let alone ShTH, '06, Rivals, or Forces.

Never mind how nonsensical it is to pine for Shadow to return to his SA2 characterization considering that Shadow is all about moving on, not being fixed in the past. And his SA2 self, as you've clearly outlined, was essentially brainwashed. He was never supposed to be that kind of person to begin with.

This is Sonic demanding Eggman go back to being brain-damaged Mr. Tinker levels of "but why aren't you the way I want you to be, though :c"

You'd rather he go back to the way he was when he was at his most vulnerable, and it's all just smoke and mirrors, dude.

No wonder people have been indulging this weird desire to inflict all manner of trauma on Shadow via his backstory lately; it's the only way they can get their hyper-idealized version of SA2!Shadow back.

God forbid he actually does stuff to move his own life forward like a character with agency, instead of being stuck in a phase of his life where terrible things are being done to him, like a passive trauma receptacle.

"Make Shadow great again," that's a new one. Fuck off with your Japanese shit about moving on with your life, SoJ, here in 'murica we repeat our characters' backstories until they become meaningless

[cheesemonky]

the queen's society

an overview of the universe of mark, david and all their other friends

head's up, this is a very chaotic story line and the amount of illegal activity that these guys discuss and do is unholy 😭

don't blame me, this is all with my friends' input, and this was created a long while back!!

⋆˚⭒｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡ ⋆⭒˚｡⭒˚⋆

CHARACTERS :

DAVID:

he is (not so secretly) in love with his best friend

may or may not have a tiny weenie alchohol addiction

does drugs. and by drugs, i mean caffeine. which he gets from an old lady with dementia. and the caffeine in question is kopiko

dropped out of high school in year 11 because "the IB course is way too hard broski" (tbf it WAS difficult)

used to work at a club... not as a bartender...

met almost all his friends in some sort of sexual encounter. 'almost all' being the key words.

swears on his life that he once lived with 8 other people (he didnt, it was one night, and they were all drunk)

shares an apartment with mark, but mark pays the entire rent. like, david payed the first time, then mark moved in and paid for everything after that, including bills

is 25 but only just started uni because mark says he needs a proper job

MARK:

david is his best friend and love interest

aced high school and actually has his life together

rich ass surgeon but had a side job as a bartender for a while

he says he's only living with david because of david's tendencies, but there's definitely an ulterior motive...

his ex-girlfriend is his therapist, so there's tension there

has this weird thing where he gets kidnapped like, every other day, but somehow makes it out???

prefers wine to beer and makes that one 'ew' face when he sees david's cans and bottles laid all over the floor (which is all the time)

adding onto that, has to give constant reminders to get david to clean them out of the tv room, kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, etc. but they're never gone

KAMERON:

gets mistaken for a woman and has to explain that he wears thigh highs and heels solely because they're comfortable ("tf you mean 'heels are comfy'?")

went to high school with mark and david yet still can't handle either of them

no one knows what he does for work, but he's got a pretty good house and a decent car

closeted gay (the closet is made of glass)

visits david every other week to drink, game and get high

the only friend in the group that has never had any sort of romantic relationship

also pretty smart cos he likes to code

STANLEY

rascist asf and no one knows why he's still in the friend group

he's schizophrenic and insists his name is Andleeb (he has names for everyone else as well)

met mark at a convenience store after he tried to rob the cashier, and mark later bailed him out of jail

is dating his drug dealer (actual drugs this time)

finished high school but dropped out of uni

used to be a car mechanic but got fired after a multitude of cars broke down and the company was sued

pretty sporty, major cricket fan

CLYDE

makes and sells meth to most of his friends

tells people that his name is walter white

met david at a brothel an unholy place

went to school with harriet and jim

was never actually part of the main friend group, he was always just... there ig

he and david dated for a while but turns out he only needed david's basement for meth making so they broke up

is dating his client

CHARACTERS THAT AREN'T THAT INTERESTING BUT ARE IMPORTANT TO THE STORY:

Harriett

Jim

Greg

Rebecca

Elizabeth

Rashmi

@hanjiquokkaaa @jinnie-ret <3

[jimmycarterghostland]

Vengeful by VE Schwab Book Review

I made a post about how I felt about Vengeful a few years ago, on a deleted Tumblr account of mine. Which meant that review is now gone, so I'll have to make a new one. The book isn't fresh in my mind anymore, considering I haven't read it in a couple years. But a lot of the stuff I hated about it is still in my head.

This won't be a positive review. I hated this book. So don't read the following if you feel differently about Vengeful than I do. Spoilers ahead.

VENGEFUL REVIEW

1 The main reason why I hated Vengeful is that VE Schwab turned Victor Vale into a villain. He was killing innocent people in this book, like what Eli was doing in Vicious. How can I root for a murderer of innocents? It didn't help that Victor was selfishly killing them, too. He wasn't killing people for a good cause, like certain anti-villains in other fiction. Victor was murdering his fellow EOs just because he wanted to stop dying(he kept dying but coming back to life). I couldn't root for him anymore. The appeal of Victor in Vicious was that he wasn't a good or bad guy. Completely gray. In that book, he did things selfishly and didn't try saving the people Eli was murdering, and Victor used other EOs for his own goals and didn't help them after he didn't need them anymore. Like the situation with Barry. He used him, but didn't bother to make Sydney resurrect him when he did what he wanted him to do. Yet Victor had Pet the Dog moments, such as when he took in Sydney(he didn't even know she was useful back then) and adopted the dog Dol. This made Victor someone you could root for. Vengeful ruined his character by turning him into a selfish serial killer.

2 Victor insulted Dominic after he got fatally wounded for him. Victor was never unnecessarily cruel. Dom saved his life, and what did Victor do in return? Insult him. And I liked Dom. He was one of the only morally good characters in this book.

3 Marcella. Where do I even begin with her? She was annoyingly awful. I hated her as a character. And the constant mentions of her high heels drove me insane. She was a two-dimensional, arrogant villain with no substance or redeeming qualities. And her chapters were just badly written in general. The sexual activity in her narrations read like a terrible smut fanfic story or something. Cringe is the best word for it. She was interesting at first, but went on to become horribly frustrating. Useless character, ultimately.

4 June. Useless character with an explaining background and an unexplained, weird attraction to Sydney. June is another useless character this book didn't need. There was no reason to care about her. She was too mysterious.

5 Too many characters. Too many time jumps. Vicious was easy to follow and had a small cast. Here, there are so many jarring time jumps and too many POV characters. Reading Vengeful was a clunky mess.

6 Sydney killed Eli, when it should have been Victor who killed him. Thematically, it would've worked better if Victor killed Eli instead. They were each other's monsters, and Eli killed Victor first. It would've been fitting if Victor had ultimately killed Eli. It would have been a satisfying full circle ending to Eli's character arc. Plus, they were each other's biggest enemy. Victor needed to kill Eli, plot-wise and reader satisfaction-wise. Clearly, Schwab wanted to subvert expectations. But sometimes the most predictable ending is also the one that works the best thematically. This is a big reason why Victor needed to kill Eli. Unfortunately, Sydney kills him, who had less of a personal reason to hate him than Victor did. Subverted expectations aren't always a good thing. In this case, it ruined what could have been a better way for Eli to die.

7 Too many convenient things happening. Like that mad scientist guy who conveniently took away Eli's self-healing power around the same time as his fight with Victor. Sigh.

8 I actually liked reading Eli's chapters more than I did anyone else's, which is a bad thing, because it clearly showed I had nobody to root for and had to love the villain's POV to stay interested. I could tolerate Eli here, since he wasn't going on a killing spree of innocent people in this book. I practically forgot how easy it was to hate him.

9 Victor and Eli's conflict wasn't the main focus. This really sucked. The first book was all about Vic and Eli's cat-and-mouse style chase, and it was intriguing. This sequel has too many unnecessary characters I didn't care about. IDGAF about Marcella, June, etc. This book should have been all about Victor and Eli and everyone who was involved in the first book, not June and Marcella. They were extremely weak additions to the cast. They bloated this book. I was so bored whenever the focus was on them, especially after Marcella got her revenge on her husband.

10 Sydney and Mitch were too unimportant in this. Sydney spent the whole book pondering on whether to bring her dead, evil sister back or not. And Mitch was just there. Sydney and Mitch had noticeably more importance in the first book than in this one. I didn't like that. Also, I hated Vic being a serial killer in this book, and Sydney and Mitch supporting him anyway made me hate them, too.

11 The book was a mess, simply put. There were too many unnecessary things and unnecessary characters. I would have preferred for a sequel where Eli was put in a special prison(like he was in this book) and having Victor still on the outside, trying to figure out a way to kill him, becoming a mad scientist type figure or something. I would've rather had that than the Vengeful we got.

12 Vicious benefited from having a small cast. Sure, it was a simple revenge story(kinda), but it worked. Vengeful is too big in scope, unnecessarily so. Too many unneeded characters, conveniences, etc. I'm not sure what Schwab was trying to do here, but I think she doesn't do large-scope stories well. She isn't George RR Martin. She seems to do great with more low-key stuff, with a small cast of characters and a more simple story. I would have loved to see a sequel to Vicious that was more like that, because what I got, Vengeful, didn't satisfy me at all.

13 I can't even say what I did like about the book. Really, I can't remember. All I know is how much I despised it. It was like someone made a bad sequel fanfic to Vicious into an official sequel. That's the best way to describe this book.

14 How it should have been written: Just the opposite of how it was actually written. A smaller scope story that keeps the original cast of characters and no extra main ones. The following is what the cast should have been: Victor, Eli, Sydney, Mitch, Stell, Dominic. No turning Victor evil. That was the main reason why I hated Vengeful. I couldn't root for Vic anymore, or Sydney, or Mitch. The other reasons were pretty major too, though.

15 The book was still somewhat entertaining, which is why I can't rate it one star. But all of the bad writing prevents me from liking it.

Rating: Two out of five stars

[talyns-fanfics]

Locked Out of Heaven

Kingdom Hearts 3

Vanitas x Princess of Heart!reader

Part II of Anywhere

Never had much faith in love or miracles. Never wanna put my heart on the line. But swimmin' in your water's something spiritual. I'm born again every time you spend the night…

Other characters: Ventus, Sora, Aqua, Ienzo, Goofy, Queen Minnie

Set during the events of Kingdom Hearts 3: Sora, Aqua, and Ventus search for Vanitas’ princess.

The group had left the Land of Departure, formerly Castle Oblivion. They were now all in the Gummi Ship. “We might need to pick up someone.” Ventus says to Sora. “She can help us against Vanitas.” The group was confused. “What are you saying, Ven?” Aqua asks.

Ventus turns to Sora. “You know how I’ve been sleeping in your heart this whole time?” He asks Sora. “Still kinda weird, but yeah.” Sora replies. “Vanitas has been doing the same. He found a heart pure of light and he’s been healing in it this whole time.”

Ventus explains, before getting cut of by Sora. “A Princess of Heart? But, there’s only seven. There can’t be an eighth.” He takes a second, watching Ventus pull something out of his pocket. “Can there?” Ventus hands him a drawing.

“I’ve had dreams of her since me and Vanitas split.” Ventus explains. “I didn’t know what they meant until he told me about her.” Sora took the drawing. It was a girl, around Kairi’s age, in a red dress. Her (color) hair was pulled up into an elegant bun with a black tiara proudly on her head. Ventus’ drawing clearly depicted who they need to look for.

Sora takes out his phone and takes a picture of the drawing, sending it to Ienzo back at Radiant Garden. He sends a text saying “Do you know this girl?” He puts his phone back in his pocket before handing the drawing back to Ventus. “Do you know where she might live?” Sora asks, getting a head shake from Ventus in return.

After a while, Sora was getting a call from Ienzo. Everyone gathers around Sora’s seat, looking over as he answers the phone. “We were able to find out who the girl in the picture is. We also found out where she’s hiding.” Ienzo says on the screen, making Ventus sigh in relief.

“Where is she?” Sora asks him. “She’s currently in a new world we have no record of you going. We’ve found the only known entrance to said world at Disney Castle.” A picture of a white vase with a painting of a countryside appeared on the screen.

“That’s the Queen’s favorite vase.” Goofy pointed out. “We’ve already notified the queen about it. She’s already given the go ahead to use it to find The Princess.” “Thanks, Ienzo.” Sora replies. “We’ll be on our way.” The two hang up.

————————————————————————

The Gummi Ship had arrived at Disney Castle, but only Ventus and Sora left the ship. The two meet up with Queen Minnie in the library. She was holding the vase they needed. “We’re very sorry, Your Majesty.” Sora says as they met up. “It’s really nothing too big.” Minnie reassures the boys, setting the vase on the ground. Sora raises his keyblade, opening a gateway into the world.

————————————————————————

Sora and Ventus arrive in an entirely different world, the countryside that was shown in the design of the vase. They clothes had changed color to white and accents of light red. Ventus looks around, in awe of the place as the two searched for The Princess.

After a while of searching, they find a girl in a short white dress. Her (color) hair was tied up in a braid and she was wearing red high heels. She was trying to climb up a tree. What really caught Sora and Ventus off guard was the small, (favorite color) Flood Unversed near the bottom of the tree, watching her climb.

The two reacted, pulling out their Keyblades, running towards the Flood. The small Unversed didn’t fight, but let out a tiny whimper of fear, backing up until it was against the tree as the two continued running towards it. Before a keyblade was able to hit it, the girl jumps down from the tree, separating Sora and Ventus from the shaking Flood.

Her being down from the tree and looking at them gave them a better look at her. Bangs covered part of her face and her (color) eyes had subtle hints of yellow. “Don’t hurt him!” She was clearly protective of the tiny creature. “That’s an Unversed!” Ventus tries to convince her. “It was created by a monster, so it’s a monster, too!”

“Vanitas isn’t a monster.” The girl feels a tear slide down her cheek. She summons a keyblade. “Furthest thing from. And I won’t let you hurt one of his creatures.” That took both Sora and Vanitas off guard. Someone was defending Vanitas, of all people. The two surrendered, lowering their Keyblades.

Ventus pulls out the drawing from his pocket, handing it to her. She looks over it as he talks. “We’re looking for a Princess of Heart. Could you possibly be her?” He asks. She hands the drawing back. “The name’s (Y/N). Why do you need me, if you don’t mind me asking?” Sora takes a step closer to her.

“You have a connection to Vanitas, right?” He gets a nod in return. “He’s part of the Real Organization XIII. We might need to get him out and you’re possibly the only person who can make sure there’s enough of him to bring back.

She turns to the Unversed, who had calmed down significantly. She gently beckons it over. The group watches as the Flood climbs up her dress to rest on her shoulder. “Count me in.” She tells them.

————————————————————————

At the Keyblade Graveyard, Vanitas had the upper hand against Sora and Ventus. He raises his keyblade, ready to quickly finish the fight. He was stopped by the clanging metal of another keyblade stopping him. He looks at the wielder, remembering her.

————————————————————————

Vanitas opens his eyes, landing on another station. He looks over, seeing a little girl, her back facing him. She was dressed in a light red ball gown and a black tiara adorned her head. “This place... I've been here. So warm...” Vanitas says aloud, walking towards the girl. She turns around, facing him. Her (color) hair swaying to the side. Her eyes were bright (eye color), full of light and hope.

“I remember now. This is your heart.” Vanitas was right next to the girl, who reaches a hand to him. He kneels down to her level, gently taking her hand. She smiles softly at him.

————————————————————————

She was a little older, around his physical age, but it was that little girl that saved him long ago. The princess who healed his heart.

Vanitas drops his keyblade. “Light? Is it really you?” She softly smiles, dropping her keyblade. “Hey, Dark.” Vanitas pulls off his helmet before pulling (Y/N) into a hug. As the two hugged, Vanitas’ heart fully heals.

“I told you, my light is meant for you to hold onto something.” She whispers, quiet enough so only Vanitas hears her. He softly cries, feeling all the pain go away.

Can I just stay here? Spend the rest of my days here? 'Cause you make me feel like I've been locked out of heaven for too long…

[aria-ashryver]

heyoooo it's ur friendly local biohazard, just having a quick health check in under the cut!

(don't listen to my lies when i say "quick", it's never quick haha)

look at me being all worried about being late to see my doctor when he's away on vacation anyway and I had to chat with a different oncologist lol

So! I haven't really done any ✨Kicking Caesar's Kneecaps✨ chats in a while, so this is me just checking in!

So far my chemo journey has gone

3 months of weekly chemotherapy and hormone antibody treatments

1 month off (bc of peripheral neuropathy damage)

restarting the chemo regime at a 25% lower dose, with the expectation that I'll be needing an additional 3 months (today would mark one month since I restarted!)

BUT HEYYYY guess who has two thumbs that don't work anymore and an increased sensitivity to peripheral neuropathy!!!

(dark humour is dark?)

ok, it's not quite that bad yet. Yet being the operative word unfortunately.

For those who don't know, chemotherapy can effect the peripheral nerves in your body -- for some people, this means damage to nerves in the hands/feet/wrists/arms that can sometimes be permanent.

Not everyone gets nerve damage, and some get it worse than others.

I just so happen to be one of those lucky chumps with sensitive nerves!! While the month long break from chemo certainly helped reduce the intensity, the nerve damage in my hands is definitely spreading again.

What was initially just a bit of numbness/tingliness in the tip of my right thumb has since progressed into;

constant numbness/tingling sensations in my right thumb down to the heel of my thumb

static sensations across both palms and all of my fingers (which fortunately comes and goes)

occasional shooting nerve pain up my right arm, all the way from palm to armpit

extreme nerve sensitivity when I bend both of my wrists

tendon pain in both hands if i overexert myself

which is all kinds of not fun! And also goes a ways to explain why it's so damn hard for me to write at the moment! lol.

The doctors have therefore made a decision to pause my chemo for another two weeks, which is good in the sense that they are hopeful the break will halt some of the progressing nerve damage, but also lowkey infuriating because I would really like to get off this goddamn ride, you know?

Depending on how things go, my treatment plan might need to be changed again, so that I am getting less chemotherapy every week over a long period of weeks

which, like... 😑🙃🙃🙃🙃

...i just wanna be done with this, you know??

in happier news, all the other symptoms are calming down a little bit -- I haven't needed any anti-nausea meds in a few weeks, I'm not getting as many nosebleeds, the muscle pain and spasms seem to have stopped, I'm a little less fatigued -- there's still a whole host of shit going wrong, don't get me wrong, chemo still absolutely SUCKS ASS, but I'm really grateful that I've been able to get a decent nights sleep for the first time in months this past week 🥰💖

I also needed to get some urgent scans last week (I had some weird symptoms I'd never seen before and they were worried about potential fluid retention in my heart -- heart damage is the other big-concerning-possibly-permanent-damage thing chemo can bring about), but as it turns out, my body was just being a little bitch and my heart scans look good!!

i guess the tl;dr of this whole thing is just chemo blows and my hands are broken, but my heart isn't which is great, my sprit isn't, which is also great, and overall I'm feeling a hell of a lot better this week, despite being annoyed at the fact that I might have to do chemo for longer than i expected

here, have a sign I happened across on my walk to get a blood test yesterday. fitting, no?

if you are here reading this, i'm wishing you light and joy and love 🌻

[tamerajedwards]

DEALING WITH SEVERE ANXIETY and PTSD-My own story! And yes! Creative people are more likely to suffer from this-

T.Edwards

An interesting fact! Out of control anxiety can cause acid reflux. I should have put this together long ago. My acid reflux’s started in 2008 when I was in a stressful marriage that led to divorce. I never dealt fully with a lot of my issues from my past including that marriage. As I carried it forward it affected my health. The anxiety, which I refused to treat with medication and counseling at the time then turned into weight gain, stress and acid reflux. Fast forward 14 years, I have taken off 40 pounds, started counseling and I’m on day 3 with anxiety medication. I pray I can really turn my life around.

I keep a journal everyday which includes thoughts, foods and meds. Maybe it’s a bit OCD but I’m a girl who wants answers. Here’s something interesting. I was afraid to take anxiety medication because of possible side affects. I don’t like to feel uncomfortable not even for a second. Depression medication can do that too. It’s like taking off in an airplane ✈️. It can take a few weeks before reaching cruising altitude. On the way UP you can feel restless, twitchy, and creepy crawly sensations in your body that you may just want to take the meds and throw them in the garbage which is exactly what I did a few years back. I’m still not willing to try an antidepressant again. Millions of people are on them and I believe God gave us medications for a reason. So by all means I am supportive of this.

So here’s an interesting observation I made. Three nights ago I took my first anxiety pill and didn’t feel much, just a little sleepy and dizzy (which are side effects) then on night two I felt concerned- two hours after taking the pill I started feeling very noticeable creepy crawling sensations in my face and scalp. I reached up to rub my head and face to make it go away. I can be a side effect of several medications. It made me uncomfortable! It made me miserable and upset that the thing I’m trying to get away from —->ANXIETY was the one thing taking this medication was giving me back! I did happen to take note that I was watching a movie called “13 Lives”. This is the movie about 13 soccer players and their coach trapped in a cave in Thailand for over 2 weeks during monsoon season. Rescuers had to dive into the cave and it took over 3 hours to reach them, then they had to sedate them to bring them out which took another 3 hours under the water in tight spaces just to bring them out. I guess I was more tense than I realized. Although I love movies like this, they aren’t good for me.

So on night three I took the anxiety pill expecting the weird sensations to return, but this time they didn’t. So at this point in time what I can conclude is that the movie gave me anxiety and the ants crawling on my face and scalp sensation. This means that circumstances such as this can overstimulate your parasympathetic nervous system. I had actually put myself in the cave with those boys and tried to figure out how I might get out if that was me. My imagination is so strong. It always has been. I’m a hugely creative person. My greatest strength in life is also my Achilles heel. Isn’t that how life goes?

Psychotherapist Diana Pitaru explained that anxiety is often felt by creative people even if the symptoms vary from one person to another. It's not uncommon to learn that creative people like artists, singers, actors, and writers struggle with mental health issues such as anxiety.Feb 28, 2022

Many people turn to recreational drugs, alcohol, sex, gambling, and many other elements that are only bandaids that only mask dealing with problems head on. I am not immune to this either. Maybe that’s why you hear of so many Hollywood people crashing and burning, or going to rehab or worse yet, dying. We each must deal with this on our own. We certainly don’t need to hear people saying, “Just get over it! Why are you feeling that way? Just stop feeling anxious.” We did not order this. It’s not like we want depression and anxiety to take over our bodies. Sometimes it happens with no reason at all. What we do need is supportive people in our lives. Not ones who abandon us in the middle of a panic attack or health issue. Surround yourselves with supportive people and get rid of unsupportive people. They aren’t ready to understand until it happens to them.

The one thing I want you all to take from my blog is that NO ONE, and I mean NO ONE should ever be ashamed or shamed for having Depression, anxiety, Bi Polar, Autism, PTSD, OCD, or any other condition. You should feel love and support from everyone around you. It’s just like having any other physical illness in your body. There is no shame.

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. May you all find peace, health, and happiness in your life!

[cupcakesandtv]

Five to Seven Years Early or Two Weeks Late part 7

Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 on ao3

I know this has taken forever and it might be hard to believe but the entire abortion argument was actually in draft 3 when the Supreme Court decided people who can get pregnant don't need to have access to safe and easy ways to unpregnant themselves. It just so happens that I could give it another pass and make it more scathing to take out some of my stress over...well...everything. Anyway, enjoy!

14 weeks

Devi walked out of her sociology class slower than usual. Her leg cramped up during class and then she had a sharp pain in her hip joint. Pregnancy did weird things to a person’s body. But other than those minor issues, she was actually feeling much better than she had in weeks. All the bruising from the car accident was healed and she didn’t flinch when she heard an ambulance siren. 

“Excuse me!” a girl from her class was waving her over to the building exit. “Devi?”

The girl was definitely a freshman. That’s what Devi got for putting off some of these useless filler classes until her senior year. She got stuck in class with a lot of kids. 

“Hi, uh,” she racked her brain to try to remember the girl’s name but came up empty. “Hey you.” 

“Do you mind sharing  your notes from class on Monday? I slept late and since I shared mine with you a couple weeks ago when you were skipping…” The girl trailed off and looked at Devi expectantly. 

“I wasn’t skipping,” Devi answered, offended by the implication. “I was in the hospital.” 

“Right,” the girl said, nodding as if they were sharing a little secret. 

“No, I was literally in the hospital. Someone wrecked my car. It was awful. I panicked because-” The girl, oh, Kelsey, her name was Kelsey, she looked at Devi unphased and Devi gave up trying to explain. “Yeah, I’ll email you my notes from Monday.” 

“Thanks!” Kelsey kept walking with her to the parking lot and Devi tried to think of something kind to say. Anything. Just to make this less awkward. 

“Damn,” Kelsey let out, slow, like she was in a trance. “Who is that? I’ve never seen him around.” 

Devi looked up to see Paxton leaning on the hood of the Jeep waiting for her. She smiled and he smiled back. 

“Ma’am, I’ve been hanging out on campus this morning and I think I’m ready to state with finality, through my extensive, peer reviewed research, that you are the hottest woman at Princeton.” 

Kelsey put her hand on her chest like she might faint. Did she think he was talking to her?

“You saw the pool, your research is an incredibly small sample size,” Devi said, shaking her head and handing Paxton her book bag. “This feels a little like high school right now. I’m having some dejavu.” Paxton leaned down and kissed her on the lips. “High school was a good time for me. Especially when this girl I loved agreed to date me.” 

“I don’t remember it happening like that,” Devi countered, rolling her eyes. 

“Oh my god, that’s your boyfriend,” Kelsey exclaimed. 

Paxton didn’t miss a beat, he turned to Kelsey, smiled and waved. “Her husband, actually. I am married to the hottest woman at Princeton.” 

Devi felt her face warm but then Kelsey turned up her nose. 

“That’s so sad. You could do so much better,” she said before turning on her heel. 

Devi shook her head and reached for the door handle. She wanted to get in the car and leave and never come back to the class she shared with that bitch, Kelsey. But Paxton shouted after Kelsey. 

“Hey!” When Kelsey turned back to him he put on his fake smile and Devi worried what he was about to do. “What’s your name?”

“Me? I’m Kelsey,” she said, her voice had a flirty lilt that Devi didn’t care for. 

“Kelsey?” Paxton asked, fake smile still intact. 

“Yes?”

“Fuck off,” he said, his fake smile falling. He glared hard when she flipped him off and turned around to go. 

“How am I supposed to sit next to that girl in class now?” Devi asked, exasperated but grateful. “Move across the room?” Paxton offered before he shut her door. Devi appreciated the way he stood up for her but this also felt like high school, someone suggesting the two of them didn’t belong together. She didn’t like feeling less than because of some freshman but it did sting. 

When Paxton got into the Jeep he turned and kissed her. Deeper this time. One hand tangling in her hair, the other holding her cheek. His hand lingered on her chin as he pulled back. That felt a little like high school, too. “You’re beautiful and I love you and if anything, you’re getting hotter, while I definitely peaked in high school.”

She gave him a soft smile and felt her heart tug at the way he was looking at her. “You did not peak in high school.” “You won’t be saying that when I lose my hair.” He laughed and put the Jeep in drive. “Will you still love me when I lose my hair?”

Devi thought for a moment and then shook her head. “No, because I’m shallower than you are. But by then we’ll be staying together for the kids so I’ll be stuck.” 

Paxton laughed again, louder this time. “Oh good, I’m safe then.” 

—

As they headed to the airport security line, Devi turned to Paxton suddenly. “Did you remember to go to Sephora and get the travel size stuff?” She took her shoes off and put them in a bin as he lifted the one suitcase they were sharing for the trip onto the conveyor belt. 

“Yes,” he answered, taking his own shoes off. 

“Aw, your boyfriend went to Sephora for you?” one of the TSA agents asked Devi, hearts in her eyes. 

“He’s my husband and he went for himself. He’s the one with the seven step skincare routine,” Devi said, shaking her head. The agent, a middle aged woman with red hair, laughed. 

Paxton gestured for Devi to go ahead and walk through the metal detector then turned to the agent. “She only has a three step skincare routine. But she’s getting hotter with age. I’m only going to get worse so the least I can do is moisturize and use a couple serums, ya know?” 

Devi stepped into the scanner and lifted her arms. 

“Wait!” Paxton stopped them. “Is this safe for pregnant people?”

The red headed TSA agent looked at him like he was crazy. “Of course it is.”

“He’s just panicked because I was in a car accident a few weeks ago and we had a little scare with the baby so now he’s like this.” Devi gestured to him. He looked so anxious. “He’s overprotective to a fault.”

The agent looked at Paxton, then over at their bag going through the X-ray machine, then at Devi. She noticeably glanced at Devi’s barely showing belly (especially with the chunky sweater she was wearing) and then looked over Devi��s shoulder at Paxton. 

“Alright, but you, Mr. Skincare, have to walk through the scanner.” She tipped her head to direct Devi to walk through the other archway that was the less invasive metal detector. 

Paxton sighed, relieved, and eagerly walked through the scanner. Devi grabbed her shoes out of the bin on the other side of the machine and thanked the woman. 

“I’d say he’s a keeper but you look exasperated so you do whatever makes you happy, sweetie. Keep him, toss him, follow your bliss.” 

Devi laughed. “About an hour ago a college freshman said he could do better than me so thank you.”

“God, what do 18 year olds know? And did they not see you? You’re gorgeous, sweetie, he's right, you’re only getting better.” The woman was so sincere, Devi felt tears well in her eyes. “I remember with my second baby I always felt so ugly but I look back at pictures and I was beautiful, just didn’t feel it on account of feeling like I’d swallowed a basketball and oh my god, I had the worst acne! Worse during pregnancy than when I was a teenager! But you just forget that feeling. You’re making a person and that’s hard work. That freshman can take a long walk off a short pier.”

Devi felt tears fall down her cheek. She wiped quickly at her face to try and hide it but the agent smiled again. “You’re gonna be okay. Mr. Skincare, go get this woman some french fries before you get on that plane.” Paxton nodded as he finished putting his shoes back on. He took the suitcase and put his arm around Devi and guided her out. “It’s not pregnancy hormones,” Devi squeaked out, trying to get herself under control. 

“I know, you just cry a lot,” Paxton said. 

--

Thankfully, Devi wanted to catch up on The Bachelorette while they were in the air and Paxton was thrilled to do it. The chances of her crying during The Bachelorette were low. (But never zero so he was a little concerned it could still happen.) To Paxton, the second trimester was less puking and more outbursts of tears. Plus this very small pudge on Devi’s stomach. It was cute. And surreal. 

“Hurry up!” Trent shouted from across the terminal, waving his arms. “Your flight was delayed ten minutes in the air and now we’re gonna be late!” 

In general, Trent was not worried about being punctual to anything, ever, so Paxton knew something was up. When he got in the passenger seat of Trent’s car he barely had time to buckle his seatbelt before Trent was pulling out and speeding towards the airport exit. 

“What the hell, Trent?” Devi asked before even Paxton could. “It’s just dinner with Eleanor. She doesn’t care if we’re a few minutes late.” 

“Did she text you?” Trent looked back at Devi in the backseat before averting his eyes to the front so he could drive. “Is she already there?”

“I’ll text her right now but I swear she’s gonna be chill with us being late.” Devi threw Paxton a look and he nodded. 

Paxton waited for Trent to say something, anything to explain this behavior but it took a solid minute before Trent started talking. 

“I haven’t seen Eleanor in two weeks,” Trent blurted out, equal parts annoyed and concerned. 

“In two weeks?” Paxton and Devi both asked shocked. 

“Yes. Do you see why I’m trying to get there?”

“She’s alive. I texted her like, all yesterday. But she didn’t say that she hadn’t seen you in two weeks.” Devi looked worried now. 

“She missed Eggs and Edibles?” Paxton asked. “Twice?”

Eggs and Edibles was the name that Eleanor made up for her and Trent’s typical Sunday brunch hangout. It started back in high school when he would bring her a breakfast sandwich when she had rehearsal before the school play but they kept it up as their thing since then. Whether they were or weren’t dating. Everyone knew that Trent and Eleanor hung out on Sunday, midmorning. And got high. 

“Yes,” Trent muttered.

Paxton wanted to ask follow up questions but he couldn’t think of one that wouldn’t hurt Trent’s delicate feelings. (He was very sensitive. Always had been. He was the king of dishing it and not being able to take it.) 

Devi handled it though. “Did you piss her off? Or is she just seeing someone new?” “I hope I pissed her off,” Trent said, glancing at Paxton and shaking his head. 

When they made it to the restaurant, Eleanor was indeed inside already but she didn’t mind that they were late. She was having a brightly colored drink and laughing at...the dude sitting next to her at the table. “Hi!” Eleanor jumped up to hug Devi and Paxton and stopped right before Trent and sat down before even looking at him. “This is Todd.” She gestured to him like she was Vanna White. Todd offered his hand to shake. 

“Phew. Meeting the best friends,” Todd said, taking Paxton’s hand, then Devi’s. “That’s more important than the parents, right?” He reached out to Trent and Eleanor looked at him finally, demanding with her eyes that Trent behave and just shake the guy’s hand. Trent did so and Eleanor gave him a tight smile. 

“I think you can take it down a few notches, Todd,” Devi said, sitting down in the chair across from him while Paxton sat across from Eleanor. “This is a Chili’s.” 

Paxton stifled a laugh behind a cough and picked up the menu. Trent sat on the end of the table stiffly. 

“So, how are you feeling, Devi?” Eleanor asked and then turned to Todd. “She’s pregnant. She found out at Christmas and then Paxton went back to Jersey with her and they got married a couple weeks ago out of nowhere. I mean, it’s not out of nowhere, you two have been an off and on thing forever.” Eleanor finished her rambling and turned back to Devi to signal she could answer the question now but Todd laughed. 

“Man, I would be freaking the fuck out if I accidentally knocked somebody up.” He nodded at Paxton and Trent as if they should agree with him but Paxton bristled. 

“We’re happy about this, thanks,” he said.  

“Yeah, if they’d wanted to get her an abortion, they would have done that, like Eleanor got last year.” Trent said it so casually and then was looking around for the server. “I need a beer, stat,” he muttered. 

Todd looked at Eleanor surprised though. “You had an abortion?”

“Yeah,” she said with a shrug. She kicked Paxton under the table, hitting his shin. Paxton assumed she was aiming for Trent so he kept his yelp of pain as quiet as he could but he definitely made a face. Paxton cleared his throat and looked at Devi who was trying not to laugh. 

“I don’t believe in abortion,” Todd crowed proudly like a goddamn Republican pastor who believed in conversion therapy. 

Trent, Eleanor, Paxton, and Devi all stared at Todd in horrified shock. 

“You just said you’d be freaking the fuck out if you got someone accidentally pregnant,” Trent jumped in first. 

“I had a great reason to have an abortion, Todd, I didn’t want to be pregnant,” Eleanor said. 

“What the fuck, dude?” Paxton managed while he felt Devi quietly seethe next to him. 

“Hi, welcome to Chili’s, can I get you some drinks and apps to start?” their server, a girl in a sunshine yellow shirt with hoop earrings and a full face of makeup, interrupted. 

They gave their drink orders and by the time she left, the tension had dissipated mostly, but Devi was still tense next to him. He put his hand on her knee and squeezed, giving her a smile. 

“Did you find out if your role on the CSI reboot is gonna stay in the episode?” Devi asked Eleanor. He could see her jaw was tense but when Eleanor answered excitedly in the positive, Devi seemed to exhale. 

“Yes!” Eleanor shifted into her bubbly, vibrant self again. Buzzing with excitement. “I am going to be on TV next week as Dead Girl Number 1! Wanna see some pics from the set?” She was already pulling out her phone to show them. “Yeah, we wanna see pics from the set!” Devi said with more than necessary excitement, until Paxton noticed Todd rolled his eyes. 

“It’s not even a named character,” Todd threw to Trent…as if that wasn’t the worst possible thing he could do. 

Trent’s hands balled into fists and he took a breath, ready to defend Eleanor but Devi cut in, “Dead Girl Number 1 is huge!”

Todd snorted but Eleanor perked up. 

“Did your flashback scene make it in the episode, too?” she asked. 

Eleanor clasped her hands and smiled wide. “Obviously, there’s no way to know for sure until it airs, but one of the PAs said I had two scenes in so hopefully it’s the dead body reveal and the flashback. Dead Girl Number 2, a role I’ve played many times before, was completely cut. Not even a sheet pull back on her, poor thing. It’s rough out there.” 

“You were the best Dead Girl Number 2 in that episode of Law and Order . Totally hot.” Trent glared at Todd. 

The server came back with drinks and spinach dip and the conversation halted for a minute. Eleanor dipped her straw in and out of her water cup since she’d finished her bright drink from the bar. 

“Do you guys know if it’s a boy or a girl yet?” Eleanor asked.

“We could know,” Devi answered with a look at Paxton. He rolled his eyes. 

“I’m not saying we should wait until the baby is born, I’m just saying we should examine why knowing the baby’s gender assigned at birth is so important?” Paxton took a pull of the IPA he’d ordered and then waved at Trent. “Trent’s cousin, Arrow, is nonbinary, maybe that’s what our kid will be. Why should we limit things to pink and blue?”

Devi blew a raspberry at him. “I don’t even like pink or blue! I think yellow and green are bomb colors for a baby! And if you think me, of all people, would treat a girl or a boy differently based on nonsensical standards of performative gender, I continue to be offended by the assumption.” 

“Why not just wait a little longer? What does it hurt?”

Devi’s face softened and she turned back to the others. “This is actually because he wants a girl and doesn’t want to think he’s wrong. I think it’s a boy and all this talk of patriarchy and sexism in parenting is more about his 50/50 chance he’s wrong and I’m right.” 

Trent nodded, a knowing smile on his face. Todd’s face was screwed up in disgust. 

“Biology says otherwise,” Todd said as if he’d won the non existent argument. 

“What biology classes are-” Devi started but Eleanor cut her off. “Oh my god, shut up, you’re embarrassing me.” 

“You’re cute when you’re angry,” Todd said, leaning in to kiss her but she pulled back. Paxton saw Trent clench his fist like he was saying “yes!” to himself. 

“So you guys are going back to Jersey on Monday?” Eleanor pretended not to notice Todd’s irritation at being shut down. 

“Yeah, I’m not looking forward to going back to my intro to art class with Kelsey, the freshman who Paxton bullied earlier today.” Devi was trying to joke but Paxton knew she was hurt by what her younger classmate said. 

“Maybe she’ll drop the class out of embarrassment,” Paxton said.

“If my guy bullied some girl, she probably deserved it,” Trent said as though he too noticed Devi’s joke frosted unease. 

“She said I could do better,” Paxton explained. “Better than Devi? The girl I’ve been lowkey in love with since I was 16?”

“You’ve never been lowkey about it,” Eleanor laughed. “Devi’s boy crazy levels have always been off the chart though. She was ping ponging from one crush to the next back then.” 

“Was not!” Devi put a hand on her chest, over exaggerating.

“Sounds like you were kind of slutty,” Todd muttered but everyone at the table heard. 

Paxton felt like the wind had been knocked out of him. His skin was hot and he could have flipped the table they were all sitting at if Devi hadn’t acted quicker, knocking her water over so it spilled all over Todd. 

There was a time when she was younger when she would have punched poor Todd for his bad taste and rude comments. Her temper was barely restrained back then. So he marveled at how she’d learned to use her temper as a slick weapon, a sniper rifle, that could be silenced and she could claim ignorance. 

“I’m so sorry,” she deadpanned as Todd jumped up, water all over his lap. Eleanor stood up too, but she handed Todd the cloth napkin her silverware was wrapped in and the fork and spoon and steak knife clattered to the floor, causing Todd to jump again. 

“I think you should go home,” Eleanor said firmly. “And probably lose my number.” 

His face was dour as he wiped at his pants, as if that would dry the water all over him. “You’re a bitch.” 

Paxton stood up now, knowing he’d need to hold Trent back but before he could reach for him, Todd spoke again, “And a terrible actress.” 

And before Paxton could do anything, Trent was swinging. His first swing missed, Todd showed a shocking amount of awareness to duck as Trent swung and then pushed Trent back. People screamed and shouted and Paxton moved around Devi to try and break up the two men wrestling on the floor. He could make out Eleanor screaming Trent’s name. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought he heard Devi say to a bystander, “The guy had it coming.” 

—

Devi pushed open the door for Eleanor. The cool air of Sherman Oaks’ “winter” evaporated any sweat Devi felt on her face immediately. 

“I can’t believe I let that guy tie me up during sex, I could have been murdered!” Eleanor shouldn’t have said it so loud. 

They approached Paxton and Trent, Trent with an ice pack to his cheek and Paxton doing some little game with his feet and the curb. Devi and Eleanor stayed behind after Paxton broke up the fight to pay the bill and beg the Chili’s manager not to call the cops. The manager recognized Eleanor from a local car dealership ad and took pity on them when she explained how bad of a date the whole event turned into. 

“You let that guy tie you up?” Trent whined. “What the hell, E?”

“Look, it’s not that you’re supremely skilled or anything, it’s just that you know how to give me la petite mort!” 

“And other people have not been able to make you cum in French?”

Eleanor blushed and Devi knew she should be embarrassed to hear this conversation but she was enjoying it thoroughly. She loved drama when she wasn’t the center of it. 

“They tie me up and it usually gets the job done but-”

Devi saw Paxton cringe and then his eyes turned to hers, pleading to get out of the area but she shook her head. 

“But I get it done without any mildly kinky shit,” Trent said, lowering the ice pack and giving Eleanor what were definitely bedroom eyes. 

“Yes, but that’s just because we’ve been having sex for years. You were my first, for fuck’s sake. It’s not like…an accomplishment. It’s just something you know how to do!” Eleanor waved her arms big but Trent mirrored her movement so he could pull her arms down to her sides. He dropped the ice and held her hands, looking at her with what Devi knew for sure was love. He’d been looking at Eleanor like that since high school and at this moment she was a little jealous at how easy it was for them. They dated steadily through, no break ups. No back and forths like she and Paxton did in school. No ping ponging from crush to crush for Trent or Eleanor. 

Of course, what did she have to be jealous of, now? She could just enjoy this little scene unfolding, watching her friends come back to each other. Devi looked over at Paxton and smiled, wide, her tongue hitting her teeth. He smiled back and Devi felt weak in the knees.

[gaysimpsstuff]

BNHA Characters + Their Biggest Kinks

PT 2 Here

PT 3 Here

Genre: smut, obviously

Warnings: NSFW themes, hard kinks, BDSM kinks, lots and lots and weird kinks

Other: felt horny, wrote this

NSFW Taglist: @smolchildfangirl @combat-wombatus @mandalorian-baby-bird @waffleareniceandfluffy

Characters: Hawks, Bakugou, Dabi, Shigaraki

Keigo Takami/ Hawks-

Authority Kink- mans has spent his entire life being bossed around, he needs you to submit to him completely and without question. Call him ‘sir’ and he’ll melt. When he’s in this mood, there’s no room for brattyness. Just bend over and let sir take his stress out on you.

Wing Kink- Pretty self-explanatory. The underside of a bird’s wings are very sensitive, and get them horny in no time. Same thing with his back, one when you were cuddling, you were playing with his wings and massaging his back, and you noticed he had his face hidden and he was breathing kind of heavily. It was an embarrassing situation to explain...

Breeding- This one comes more into play during Nesting Season, he just has you pinned down and just keeps going and going and going, trying to fill you up with his babies even if you want get pregnant. You’ll always be his little breeding slut. Even better if you have a bird or lizard quirk and you lay eggs (infertile usually). Even with a male reader he’d want to ‘breed.’

Pegging- He likes to bottom sometimes, so that he can whine and cry and beg and be a good boy for his y/n. Expect him to come home from work feeling more tired than stressed. Total pillow princess. He needs you to fuck him into the mattress so hard that he’s only flying tomorrow.

Praise/body Worship- This goes both ways. You’re his everything, and he wants to make sure you’re aware of how much he appreciates you, but he’s so insecurities that he needs it in return. Soft, teasing touches, whispered I love yous, doing so wells, my pretty baby, go a long way for this man.

Dirty Talk- he wants you to know just what he’s going to do to you, how he’s going to fill you up so good, make you need him and his cock, make you cry for him to keep going, beg for his cum. Even when he’s on bottom, he’s babbling and whining. You can’t get this man to shut the fuck up. It can get annoying at times.

Bath/shower sex- this plays more into his bird instincts. Bathing/ cleaning oneself usually gets birds horny. They usually preen prior to mating season so look out for that. There’s just something about ducking you in his bathtub (jacuzzi) that gets him going like nothing else.

Katsuki Bakugou/ Dynamight-

Switch- this man will present as a top, but he has absolutely nothing against getting manhandled and having the life fucked out of him. Just so long as he can do the same to you. Fuck him rough and good and then take his revenge tomorrow.

Rigger- after all he’s been through, he does not wanna be tied up at all. But he has no problem with handcuffing you or wrapping your pretty body up in Shibari and watching you struggle against them. Will totally tease you the whole time.

Gags- You’re still talking? You need to shut the fuck up. Or else you’ve got something keeping your mouth shut. Tape, underwear in mouth, his hand or fingers, or an actual gag. Loves your muffled sounds when he asks you a question. “Want me to keep going? You gotta say so. Aw I didn’t hear anything so I guess you want me to stop...”

Dirty Talk- Just like Hawks, he can’t keep his mouth shut. But this one is spilling the dirtiest filth you’ll ever hear. Plays into a minor corruption kink. Wants you to repeat it all back to him. On the flip side, gets so flustered when you talk dirty to him. Whining about how you’re a pervert, but just ignore him, he’s hard as shit right now.

Dacryphilia- All those years of Deku crying and you think he wouldn’t have a crying kink? Thinks your tears are so beautiful, might even lick them off your face. “Aww, look at you~ crying for my fuckin cock.” Don’t be weirded out if he licks them off your face. He also cries during sex, though. It’s just too fucking good and he hasn’t had a good cry in a while. Tease him about it and he’ll hide his face, but praise him for it and he’ll cry even harder.

Praise- This man shouts enough degradations outside the bedroom, he wants sex to be different from everything else. Gets a little embarrassed first time he praises you, but if you look at him with those shy eyes and a quivering lip, he’s just gonna keep loading it on. He also wants to be praised, both out of insecurities and superiority. When he’s bottoming just repeat how amazing he’s doing, how no one else is as pretty as him. When he’s on top, he still needs you to be praising him. Tell him how good his cock feels, how he’s gonna make you cum, how no one else fucks you as good as him.

Impact Play- mostly spanking. Uses his quirk. He loves it when your skin forms a light burn in the shape of his hand. Spanks you even if his handprints don’t show up on your skin. He needs it to, just keep smacking his stomach and thighs with a paddle until he’s sobbing.

Touya Todoroki/ Dabi-

Degradation/ Brat Taming- Starting off with the roughness with this guy. These two go hand in hand for Dabi, you need to know where you belong. Underneath him, begging and crying for his cock, his mercy, anything. You need to understand your only purpose is to service him, moan for him, and be his little personal cumdump.

Hard Dom- he won’t go easy on you, no matter what, you’re not getting it sweet or easy. It’s always going to be rough, fast, and difficult. Just try and complain.

Size kink- We all know this man is hung like a donkey, too big to handle. Loves it when you’re trying to suck him off and can’t even get down halfway. Even better when he’s pushing in, and can’t get further than six inches in. Just laughs at how “your cute little hole can’t take my fat cock can it, baby?”

Sadism- Pretty obvious, he likes hurting you. Knives? He’s got plenty. Fire? More relunctant but sure. Impact play? Yes sir. Loves seeing you cry and you babble about how much it hurts. His favorite thing is to write his name on your back with light burns that usually fade in a week or so. Always takes care of your injuries afterwords.

Bondage- Can’t have his little baby trying to touch themself can he? Can’t have his darling trying to escape from him, can he? No no, you’re better off tied to the bed, taking everything he gives you like a good little slut.

Sensory Deprivation- He wants you waiting, dreading maybe, anticipating, his next moves. You don’t know where he’ll touch you, what he’s saying, and you can’t do anything to stop it.

Corruption- He has a thing for people who seem innocent, and he wants to corrupt that innocence. To everyone else, you’re naive, doe-eyed, and probably can’t do anything for yourself. He’s going to change all of that. Bonus points if you’re actually fully capable and he morphs into a co-dependant mess. This man is all Yandere nothing else.

Teasing/ edging- Loves working you up to the grand finale, then pushing you back to the first scene. You’ll never forget his laughter as you beg him for your orgasms. You’ll be lucky if he lets you cum at all. He’ll humiliate the fuck out of you for your pitiful begging.

Tomura Shigaraki/ Symbol of Terror

Mommy/Daddy/Renny (Renny is the gender neutral term for Mommy/Daddy)- This man will call you whatever you want, but this is his go-to nickname for you. You’re taking care of him in and out of the bedroom, at least until he matures.

Switch- Up until he matures, your on top of him the whole time. Loves it when you’re in control, but after certain events in the manga and anime, he starts to gain an apprentice for being on top, although being so unused to it, he has a lot less kinks for being on top than on bottom.

Pegging- self-explanatory. He was always afraid of disintegrating his dick, and anal stimulation meant most of his fingers were pointed away from his body while only two or three were touching his skin. Safer. Now he’s got a huge appreciation for anal play, anytime you see him naked, he probably has a butt plug in.

Pet-Play- he’s your dumb little puppy, okay? Treat him like a bitchy little animal and he’ll do whatever you want. Feel free and drag him around on a leash or feed him food out of a bowl on the ground.

Feet- he doesn’t know why, but your feet are such a fucking turn on. Whether you’re wearing combat boots with spikes, fancy heels with a flower on them, or normal tennis shoes. Socks, thigh-highs and tights? Man is already begging. Just step on him and give him a foot job already! He’s begging, come on!

Water sports- kind of gross, skip this one if it’s gross for you (it is for me but for some reason I’m writing about it) but it’s something he appreciates more as a top than a bottom. Controlling when you go to the bathroom, giving you so many drinks, watching you squirm, begging and crying for him to let you relieve yourself, only to piss yourself. And when you do that, he’s on his knees in front of you, drinking it. Loves how embarrassed you get. Says “anything you make is always gonna be the best” while licking his lips.

CNC- something he enjoys as a top or a bottom. Skip this one if it’s weird or wrong to you, or a trigger. Always pre-planned with a safe word and everything, but he always pretends it’s real. Something about you or him not having a choice, being forced to take whatever the other gives them, begging for it all to stop but being betrayed by your body, it all just drives him crazy.

S&M- Doesnt care of he’s the S or M. He just loves pain. Crying when you spank or slap him, watching you scream as he cuts his name onto you.

[lottiebagleywritesobx]

Girls like you

THE POOL

JJ Maybank wasn't really sure why the Y/L/N family had hired him to clean out their pool when summer started. They seemed to like him around the hotel when they went for meals but he wasn't exactly qualified, he wasn't complaining though, they tip well and it couldn't be that hard.

His only problem was Y/N.

They never got on well. She was friends with Kie in her kook year, who even went as far as to dub her 'the only kook who doesn't make me want to gauge my eyes out', so she knew the pogues from around although they'd grown apart the girls shared no bad blood and always stopped to catch up when they saw each other around.

He was in the middle of raking the leaves from the large pool when he saw her. She was crossing the garden from the large mansion, clad in a bikini with sunglasses perched on the end of her nose. JJ hates how good she looks, her curves perfectly on display and a confident aura around her.

She's got headphones in, he notices as she saunters closer.

"Hi princess," He smirks, watching as she rolls her eyes

"I'm not your princess. How long are you gonna be?" She questions, settling onto one of the sun loungers next to the pool

"An hour or so," JJ states

"Well, could you do it quietly I'm hungover and I wanna just relax," She states, slipping the second headphone back into her ear before he can reply.

He cleans, unaware of her watching him from behind the glasses as she sips on her bottle of cold water. She would never tell anyone but watching him work, his muscles tensing and untensing under his vest shirt, a light sweat from the hot summer day on his skin, she couldn't help herself from thinking he looked good.

He would definitely admit to John B that he thought she looked fit. Her breasts spilling out of her bikini top a little and the barely there thong bottom's high cut making her legs look excruciatingly long. He'd probably make some crude jokes about hate sex being way more fun. He wouldn't admit though, to finding something very comforting about her presence, and finding the way she hummed along to whatever she was listening too adorable.

It's a further 40 minutes, JJ is trying to work out how to get the pool vaccuum to turn on, when her phone rings loudly.

"Hey Sare," Her voice speaks. JJ figures quickly it's Sarah Cameron, the pair are practically inseparable and the whole island knows it.

He half listens to her side of the conversation, more out of boredom than interest.

"No, babes, I love you and all but I really don't wanna. The last million times I've seen Rafe he's been so weird and creepy and I don't wanna be alone with him,"

JJ doesn't know why the comment angers him so much. Why does he even care if Rafe is clearly trying to pull her? It's none of his business. Yet, he can feel his blood boiling at the thought.

"No Sar, if I go and you have to stay with me then you can't go and be with Topper,"

She's silent for a few minutes before sighing "Fine. Fine, I'll come. See you in a minute. Bring me some shorts, I'm in the garden and can't be arsed to go upstairs and find some. You owe me forever,"

JJ wants to scream. Wants to tell her she shouldn't go if she feels uncomfortable around Kelce. He wishes Kie were here, maybe she could talk her into staying where she felt safe.  Maybe she would be able to explain why JJ even gives a shit.

"Maybank," She states, he looks up, trying to act like he hasn't been listening. "I'm going out. You'll be the only one here," She informs

"Okay," He nods.

"My keys are on the kitchen counter, lock up when you're done and I'll just grab them from you at the hotel,"

"All right," He agrees

"When will you be there?" She questions, looking at him like he's an idiot. He groans internally, obviously she needed to know that.

"Tomorrow, 2 until closing,"

'"I'll swing by around 4," She informs. He nods, trying not to stare at her as she lets her hair down from the ponytail it had been in, shaking it out. A car honks outside and she turns, walking up the garden towards the side gates, turning a few metres away,

"Oh, there's an envelope on the kitchen counter with your tip in," She adds

"Thanks. Goodbye princess," He smiles,

"Still not your princess," she shouts back, turning and disappearing round the corner.

THE CAR

JJ felt a lot more in his element when her dad had called him asking if he could fix her car. He hadn't specified it was his eldest daughters, and JJ knew the family owned 7 cards despite only 3 of them even being able to drive.

JJ recognised it though, a white convertible porsche, he'd seen her driving it around before. Wether she was blasting music with the roof down singing with Sarah, picking up a take out from the wreck, driving around in the middle of the night, she'd even given Kie a lift to the Chateau before. He realised that he always seemed to notice her presence.

He was working in the family's garage, the bonnet popped open and grease all over him. It was an easy fix, if a little fiddly.

He jumped out of his skin when the door burst open.  He is immediately taken aback by how good she looks. Clad in a tight black skirt that is ridiculously short, heels and a tight black V neck top with a lace trim around the neck. Her hair falls in bouncy curls around her shoulders and her makeup looks perfect. He would have sworn on everything he'd never seen anyone look so beautiful.

"You're a boy," The girl states.

"Good job noticing that one princess," JJ smirks, she rolls her eyes.

"I have a date and Sarah is being so unhelpful, can you help me pick a top?" She questions, he gulps, nodding.

"Okay, so this is option 1,"

"It looks good,"

"Right. But is it sexy? Do you look at me and think I wanna slam her against a wall and rail her?"

His eyes widen a little, that's one way of putting it he decides.

"Look, I'm your families help, I shouldn't be answering that,"

"Like I care Maybank," She groans, exasperated.

"Okay fine, I look at you in that and I think I wanna rip your clothes off,"

"Okay good. Option 2," She starts. JJ is shocked when she pulls her top off in front of him, without even turning around. He turns around, although not without taking a mental picture of her boobs being pushed up in a red lace bra. "Who knew you were a prude?"

"Just respecting you princess," He comments

"You've seen me in a bikini, what's the difference?" She questions, he stays silent having no quick comment to respond with. "I'm dressed," She states

He turns back around, she looks good, a forest green top made of satin.

"The first one is sexy, that one is cute,"

"Thanks JJ, oh, and hey, thanks for fixing my car,"

"Uh. Yeah, anytime,"

THE SUMMER HOUSE

JJ was happy to paint the summer house. He claimed to his friends it was just because they way over paid and tipped big. In reality it was because for three days straight he would get to catch glimpses of her. And he did.

He saw her when she swam in her pool.

He saw her when she played in the garden with her little sister.

He saw her when she cloud gazed with Sarah Cameron.

The best times he got to see her though, were when she would bring him stuff. Every so often she'd knock on the open door to the summer house, sometimes with water, sometimes with snacks, a few times even with a beer. A couple of times she stopped and made small talk, one time she even smeared paint on his cheek and giggled as he chased her through the garden.

He enters the kitchen, used to how the family worked now. An envelope of money waiting on the kitchen counter, they always seemed to be coming and going so it was easier.

He was shocked to see her in the kitchen, she's scrolling on her phone sipping on what looks to be an iced coffee

"Oh, hey JJ," She smiles

"Hey, I'm done," he informs, she nods, watching as he picks up the envelope "So, I'll be seeing you around,"

"Did you want a lift?" She questions, he looks at her slightly confused "I just noticed your bike wasn't here and it's kinda late to be walking back. It's a long walk,"

"You really don't have to princess,"

"Honestly, it's fine," she assures, jumping up and grabbing her keys before heading towards the garage.

She wasn't sure when she stopped hating JJ Maybank, wasn't sure when she started noticing little things like the blue in his eyes and which snapback he was wearing and how tired he looked. She wasn't sure when the sight of his bike in the driveway started giving her butterflies.

"So where is your bike?" She questions, the roof of the car is down and the wind blowing through her hair as she pulls out of the private estate her home is on.

"Didn't have enough fuel to get to yours and back," He shrugs

"Why didn't you just-" She cuts herself off "Shit, I'm so sorry. That was insanely rude, I wasn't even thinking and-" He chuckles, watching as she splutters and blushes

"It's okay. Life is different on the cut I can understand how a kook princess wouldn't get it," He shrugs, she nods, still not sure what to say.

"Y'know my life isn't perfect," She comments, he scoffs, unable to help himself. "I'm not kidding. It's privileged as fuck, I know that, but it's not perfect,"

"Go on then princess, what's so shit?" He doesn't mean for it to sound so harsh, he's genuinely curious

"My parents, they have basically planned my entire life, down to where I'll go to college, what sorority I'll be in, where I'll work my summer internship, who I'll marry, where I'll get married, which big kook house I'll live in,  at what age I'll have to give up my career, which has been decided for me by them, to start trying for babies. It's 24 by the way so in 8 years. My whole life is decided and I don't want it. I wanna go on a trip around the world and surf and travel and explore. I wanna fall in love and get my heartbroken again and again until I find the right guy. I wanna live in a New York apartment and I wanna see the world. I don't wanna marry Rafe Cameron just cause our mothers are friends. I mean he's literally scary and harasses me and acts like even though I'm 16 I shouldn't have a choice cause one day he'll father my kids. And no one gets it, none of my friends, not even my best friend. The only person who ever understood why it was so shit was Kie and then she left, she left and lives her life and it's fun and exciting and anything could happen. I don't hate her for it but it fucking sucks that she left me miserable. I'll be miserable living my planned out life and then I'll die. Yeah, I have money and that's fucking great, but my life is far from perfect,"

JJ sits in a stunned silence. He's not really sure what to say. Their problems were very different but hers were just as shitty. He feels like he's seeing her in a whole new light.

"Sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I don't tell people that and we barely no each other," She mutters, not wanting to look at him

"Where would you go first?" His question surprised her

"On my fictitious surf trip?" She questions, he nods "Europe, Spain I think,"

They sit in silence the rest of the way, it's not awkward though, both of them feel comforted by each other presence. He gives her instructions to the chateau.

"We are probably gonna drink some beers and smoke. You wanna stay? You could crash here and drive home in the morning," JJ offers

"I can't. My family are having dinner at the hotel. Thanks though," She smiles gently

"Yeah. Uh, I hope it's not too shit. Thanks for the ride princess,"

He climbs out of the car, his friends who sit on the porch immediately calling out to him, they're all laughing and teasing him about his lift home and when he looks back he almost thinks he sees a look of longing in her eyes before she's reversing out of the chateau.

THE BOAT

"Can you fix it?" She questions. JJ Maybank has never seen her look nervous before.

It was only 6:30 AM when she'd started banging on the door to the Chateau, tears in her eyes and panic on her face hoping JJ would be here. John B had pulled the door open, half asleep and groaning a little at the bright sunlight. He'd let her into the small home and disappeared to wake JJ up. John B opted not to put too much thought into the way the minute her name was said JJ leaped out of bed and shoved into the living area, the way his hands cupped her cheeks to see if she was okay, the way he was calling her princess as he tried to calm down her hiccuping tears.

"I can fix it," He confirms. They're standing on the deck of her families boat "It's an easy fix princess, okay? don't even worry," He speaks in a comforting tone

"Thank you JJ,"

"No worries. It'll take me a while, you got anywhere to be?"

"No. Well yes, a breakfast thing with the Cameron's but it's at my house and I can't exactly show up without the boat so,"

"So you're hiding out here all day?" JJ questions

"Well, I don't wanna intrude. I can go and hang out at the beach,"

"Don't talk nonsense, you can hang here. C'mon, I need to be down the bottom with the engine, you can sit and entertain me,"

She watches intently as he works, now that he's not working at her house he hasn't bothered with a shirt, instead just wearing shorts and his infamous red baseball cap. He glances at her occasionally, her makeup streaky from crying and wearing a short white dress.

"So, wanna tell me what happened?" He questions

"Not really," She admits, he nods and she sighs before beginning to explain"Rafe wanted to go boating late and then it all went wrong and then we got the boat to the nearest dock, hence why we are in the middle of nowhere, and he said he was going to call someone to get a lift and it was rainy so I was waiting in here.  It had been a while so I went outside to check on him and he was gone. I didn't know what to do. Dad would kill me for breaking the boat, do I just kinda figured I'd walk to yours and hopefully you would no how to fix it. Then I realised I have no clue where you live so I walked to John B's and hoped for the best,"

"He just left you in the middle of nowhere alone?" JJ doesn't know why he's so mad, they were hardly even friends

"Yeah. He texted me to let me know it was cause he's already in shit with his dad and didn't wanna go down for breaking my family's boat," She shrugs, JJ wants to go and find Rafe Cameron and beat his skull in.

"Look, a girl like you deserves someone who would treat them a million times better than that,"

"I always thought you hated me," She admits

"So did I, until this summer I kinda did," He shrugs

"What changed?" She asks, the question is so vulnerable he can't help himself from looking at her

"You aren't what I thought you'd be," He admits, she nods slowly

"How should a girl like me be treated?" She questions

"Like they're the only thing on earth," He's not really sure why he's so openly telling her how he feels but it feels too late now

"Is that how you'd treat me Maybank?"

"Girls like you don't date boys like me," He shrugs, turning quickly back to what he's doing, not wanting her to recognise the disappointment on his face.

THE PARTY

It was no secret her family hosted a big formal party on the 10th of July every year, her parents wedding anniversary. JJ had waited the party the last 2 years and this summer was no different, he'd even managed to get John B and Pope a job too.

His heart had stopped when he saw her, her dress was the exact shade of blue as the sky and flowed beautifully down to her feet, her hair curled with the front pinned back, her makeup beautiful. She looked like an angel approaching him and god why did she have to look so perfect.

"Hey JJ," She smiles, grabbing a glass of champagne from the tray he's holding "Could you do me a favour?"

"Of course," He agrees, expecting some job that needed doing for the party

"If you see Rafe and I'm on my own..." She trails off "I'm trying to avoid him, after the other day,"

It's three hours into the party when JJ grabs her hand, pulling her along behind him and away from Rafe who is clearly trying to catch her alone. He pulls her into a small cupboard slamming the door closed behind him and locking it.

"What was that about?"

"Rafe," He shrugs, he didn't outwardly say he'd been watching her all night to make sure he could look out for her. He also didn't say he would have been watching her all night even if she hadn't asked him too.

"JJ, you know how your coming over next week to fix that one  door that you can't open from inside the cupboard?" She question

"Yeah," He states, peering out of the key hole to see if Rafe is still looking for her

"Well, this is the cupboard,"

"Shit!" He shouts, pulling away from the door to face her. "Shit, it's your parents wedding anniversary and I got you locked in the cupboard,"

"It's alright," She shrugs "They hate each other most the time anyway,"

"Call someone to let you out,"

"Where on this dress did you think there was pockets, you call someone,"

"My phone is in the twinkie,"

"The what?"

"John B's car," JJ sighs. "Fuck princess, I'm so sorry," He groans

"It's fine. Sarah will come looking for me eventually," She shrugs. He nods, watching as she sits down on the ground, patting the space next to her.

He obliges, sitting next to her, knees touching in the tight space.

"You look nice tonight, I like the shirt and tie," She compliments, he can feel himself blush and is glad the cupboard is dark enough she probably can't see it.

"Y'know what you said on the boat the other day?" She questions, he immediately knows what she's referring too "About how girls like me don't date boys like you,"

"Yeah," He confirms

"Why is that?" She questions quietly

"I couldn't make you happy princess. Your parents would hate me. I couldn't take you on the fancy dates you're used to. You wouldn't be happy,"

"My parents love you, they think you're resourceful and hard working. I hate the stuffy dates figure 8 boys take me on," She informs, he laughs a little at that. "Besides, you already make me happy. I'm just saying Maybank, if you don't wanna date me just say it, don't try and put it on me,"

JJ isn't really sure how to react. How to explain he desperately wanted to date her, wanted her to be his girl and wanted to shower her in love and adoration. He isn't sure how to tell her that by inadvertently telling him she wanted to date him she had made him the happiest man on earth. He's not really great with words and it all feels too hard to say.

So, instead, he turns slightly, taking her face in his hands and pulling her to him, his lips crashing against hers and somehow she knows everything he wanted to say.