#it finally got me out of the funk I’ve been in for a week

[littler0b1n]

My boys…

[luffyvace]

MORE LUFFY RELATIONSHIP HEADCANONS

Yeahhh!!! Luffy hcs we’re what my first ever hcs were about! Look how far I’ve come! I love Luffy and I’m so proud of myself! enjoy these Luffy hcs lovely readers <3

Bathing together is SUPER FUN

and messy

you have lots (too many) bubbles

and yes bath toys

even stuff that’s not supposed to be in the bath-

like sticks-

let him tell it they’re swords

he personally doesn’t bathe bc he doesn’t care

even if its mandatory seeing as though no one wants to smell all that funk 😀

so he canonly bathes once a week right??

with you !! He can bathe at any time!

why? Cuz it’s funn 😆😆

you turn it into a game! an adventure!

so now he looks forward to bath time ;3

luffy splashes water everywhere

I wouldn’t be surprised if the ceiling is drenched with that dude’s strength 😂🤦‍♀️

it takes you FOREVER to clean up

but you know what takes even longer?? GETTING HIM OUT THE BATH

”AWWW but we were having sooo much FUUUUN (NAAAAAME)”

actually it did take a long time til you found a cheat code 😋

tell him sanji’s making food!!

ez way to get him out 😎

The final boss tho??

is getting him to help out with cleaning the mess up

especially after you told him there’s food around🧍‍♀️

Now bro’s DEFINITELY not listening 🙉

unless you use another cheat code (saying you’ll tell sanji not to give him any meat til he helps clean up)

your not getting any help buddy..

he’s already gone by the time you get him out the bath 🤷‍♀️

but again! If you use cheat code no.2 you can get him to help :)

which leads me to…!

Cleaning together !!

which turns into a game too :P

well, more like a competition-

Because that’s the only way you’ll keep him from getting bored and complaining instead of actually cleaning

even with meat on the line 🤭

‘it’s just so boriiiiiiiing ☹️‘

- according to luffy

so yes! You propose a competition!

and whoever cleans the fastest wins the prize of…….you guessed it! MEAT!

now he’s up like a whirlwind, swiping up all the soap with a towel and water with tissue 😏

you probably don’t even have to do anything anymore 😜

he may have won the battle but you won the war

eating together can also sometimes be a competition

now you can win by playing it smart like Uta

or just agree so he can leave you to eat, without actually trying

but if it’s not a competition…it’s certainly a war..

and I mean the dangerous one every straw hat goes through each time sanji calls in for food..

Luffy stealing your food!!!

😦😦

no but seriously, not even you, Luffy’s s/o gets the benefit of the doubt⁉️

it’s every man for himself in the dining room 😂😂

if your intelligent, depending on if your more like Robin or Nami you’ll either be unbothered about his antics or super annoyed

with being unbothered you’ll have a lot more peace of mind

and luffy will probably get away with more of his tomfoolery because you put up with him 😆👍

however with a s/o more like nami who gets annoyed easily, yeah he’s not getting away with any of that

thankfully for her, nami has less to stress over now (you take 50% it’s a requirement)

If your more carefree like luffy

i can guarantee you’ve got on like every straw hats nerves at least once

oddly enough I have a feeling you haven’t been able to bother brook just yet

dude’s 90 he got bigger problems..

but yes you terrorize everyone (even outside the straw hats) whether it’s intentional or not

if your strong it’s a relief for luffy not to have to worry about you and he’ll send you to defeat some guys, protect the ship or protect one of your weaker Nakama

he highly believes in you and your capabilities likes he believes in Zoro 👍

he also doesn’t have to worry about strong attacks hurting you as badly or if you go off on your own/get lost or separated or smth

especially as his s/o

if your weak he probably worries about you a little bit more but all the straw hats can handle themselves to some sort of extent

and he knows for sure you won’t go down without a fight!

and that you can at least hold over until he gets there

then he’ll beat the crap outta those guys!

he always tells someone strong to go with you to fights or what might be dangerous

if he doesn’t have to be somewhere for some reason, he’ll go himself!

he just wants to know your safe :)

Luffy loves you because your you! and he really just appreciates that fact in itself.

he looks past physical appearances completely and goes straight for personality

and even then he doesn’t judge that!

point is, no matter what type of anything you are, Luffy loves you because he just does.

he gets a funny feeling in his stomach and he gets extra excited!

Luffy loves you.

He simply does.

and there’s no explaining why.

These were short but sweet<3

to which i hope you enjoyed them💗

[myokk]

I’ve been having a rough couple of weeks (nothing bad!! just general stress…general depression…the usual…you know😔🙏) but even though I haven’t been drawing as much, I’ve been trying my hardest to respond to all the messages & comments etc here…you all are so sweet & I love talking to you🥹💓😙😙

1) the sunrise this morning!!!! It’s been the nastiest June ever…cloud and rain every single day so to finally have a nice day after a week of rain makes me so happy!! 💓💓

2) the flowers I got a few days ago🥹🥹🥹

3) all I wanted to do when I woke up today was listen to Led Zeppelin on repeat and lay in bed in a depression funk😆😆 but I dragged myself out of bed & drew Robert Plant at the beach instead💓💓💓 tbh I think the sun helps a lot with my mood!!

4) I forced my friend to come over and we played Pax Renaissance (literally the most obtuse, bizarre board game of all time but I’m obsessed with it🙏🙏)(I lost every game bahahahahahahaha)

5) I did a bit of makeup today after a week of nothing💓

[hunting4fluff]

Spider Bite

A fanfic requested by @dropyoursocksandgrabyourcrocss, the first out of 2 promises! Sorry for the inactivity, I recently started college and it's completely wiped the floor with me. Anyways, enjoy!

Fluff fic, 1,328 words Lee!Reader Ler!Miguel O'Hara CWs: none Finally, a day of reprieve. 

You had been working hard all week to ensure the increasing anomalies in base were kept at bay and to say it was tiring would be a gross understatement. It had been alarm after rift after alarm, the blaring practically burned into your eardrums by now. You’d be lucky if you didn’t get tinnitus. 

What does anyone do after a long, thankless week of being on call? Why, treat themself of course!

You had just entered the bustling cafeteria with countless spider-people swishing on webs and standing in lines to get their fill when you noticed a slight shift out the corner of your eye. Your spider senses weren’t tingling, but people were definitely moving out of the way which only made the shift in the air more unsettling. Whipping your head to stare at the commotion head on, you can’t help but smile at the situation. It was just Miguel.

People knew when he was in one of his bad moods- usually he would be trying to make small talk with certain groups, grab someone’s attention when he had a small comment about their work, but never really driving people away or chatting much. Today he looked absolutely foul, glaring off into the void as he grabbed a to-go box with a burger and slinking off to his office once again. It was always a good idea to leave him be when he was in one of these funks, but the look on his face stuck around long enough in your mind to make you want to check in on him.

You grabbed a to-go box for yourself and opened a portal, bouncing down onto the platform of Miguel’s ‘office’. 

“What.” He grumbled out, hearing the soft thud and careful padding of your feet as you approached him. He saved his sharper tone for people he was less fond of, for now he just sounded tired.

“You’re in a fun mood today.” You point out, the playful smile evident in your voice as you hoist yourself up to sit on an empty spot on his desk. He spared you a glance and huffed, popping a fry into his mouth. “Aren’t you off work? Why are you still here?” He was avoiding the not-quite-question, so you of course answer then ask again.

“I wanted a meal and hopefully a conversation. What’s wrong?”

Miguel looked over at you before shaking his head with a defeated smile and rolling his eyes.

“Dios mío, you’re persistent.” He snorted, eating another fry. “Nothing, I just have one of those- what are the kids calling it? ‘RBF’s?”

You rolled your eyes at that, smiling as Miguel chuckled to himself.

“Yeah something like that.” You comment. Maybe he wasn’t in as bad of a mood as you thought.

“But since you’re here,” Miguel looked back at you, placing his food down in front of him and spinning his chair to face you. “I don’t think we officially completed your onboarding.” You blinked in surprise, quirking a brow. “Miguel, I’ve been here for three months.” You reminded him slowly, staring at him as if he had just lost his mind.

“Yes, I know that, but we skipped over a few details in your ‘canon events’ folder that I didn’t notice until a few hours ago. Lyla finally got to that part of the scan. Nada.”

Right. Of course, that made sense. You nodded your head and looked at him, waiting to continue. “Won’t take long. So, do you remember what kind of spider bit you?” He started, swiping up a screen and pulling up footage of your first canon event. The video was clearly inconclusive of the spider, the origin of it being unknown and making it harder to trace back to a definitive source.  You remembered the spider crawled under your shirt and bit your side, leaving a nasty mark the first night before you had actually gotten your powers- but you had no clue what it looked like.

“I… dunno. It’s been a while and I crushed that poor guy when I was bitten.” You shook your head. 

“Where?” It was an odd sounding question coming from Miguel, but his brain had worked faster than his words when it came spilling out. “Usually spider-people are bitten on the back of their hand, smacking it off for those who crush it. I would have been visible falling off your hand, but I can’t see it anywhere.“ He explained.

“Oh! Uh, somewhere on my side, like right here…” You gestured vaguely to where you remembered the spider biting- well, you remembered which side at least. Your left one.

“Alright… not super helpful…” He mumbled in thought, only for you to yelp in protest as he grabbed your side and held some sort of tool near it.

“Hey!” 

“Hold still, I just need a quick scan.” He ordered. Still you squirmed. It tickled. Miguel shook his head and grabbed your side again, this time earning a short giggle. He stopped in his tracks and looked up at you, processing what had just happened as you stared back at him tensely. You only had about two seconds to even stare before he had sat down his tool and scooped you up into his arms with a playful grin.

“Ticklish, are we?” He teased, one hand scribbling lightly up and down your side with the edges of his nails. The movement earned only more squirming from you as well as fresh peals of giggles as you kicked and wriggled in his grasp. His fingers skittered up to your ribs, gently tweaking the bottommost one before crawling up to lightly poke just below your underarm and crawl down again and it left you howling with laughter.

“M-miguel!” You cried out, squirming harder in your ticklish frenzy and almost managing to writhe free before he shifted his arm to wrap around your waist and start tickling your side. You doubled over with laughter, kicking out in front of you and pushing at his arm all the while his other hand came up to gently scribble at the side of your neck.

“You know, normally I wouldn’t be so childish, but I’ve been needing a little pick me up this week.” Miguel teased. You bunched up your shoulders, peals of giggles pouring out of you just as his touch began to slow down. He let you rest as you slumped in his grip, residual giggles bubbling out as you caught your breath.

“I’m a little surprised you weren’t laughing this hard as that spider crawled to your side.” He pointed out, emphasizing his point by poking two fingers into your side a couple times and sending a jolt through you.

“Ehehe- quit it!” You whined at his teasing, your cheeks growing flush as you squirmed again. Miguel chuckled, shaking his head. “Ah, what? Quit this?” He began gently pinching your side up and down, pulling fresh laughter from you as you nodded your head.

“Yes- yehes! Quit thahat!” You managed to squeak out. His fingers remained pinched on your side but had stilled for the moment, but for some reason that was worse. The anticipation left you shaking and giggling, waiting for when he would start up again.

“Quit that…?” He prompted, his voice dripping with amusement as you awaited whatever fate become you.

“Please!” You spat out and Miguel relented, patting your side and finally releasing you.

“Certainly.” He snickered. You turned around and rubbed your sides, only to be greeted by Miguel’s grinning face- you can’t remember the last time he looked this happy, or even the last time he smiled. He put his hands up in faux surrender, shaking his head.

“I’m done, I swear.” He assured, and you relaxed a bit. “Let’s just finish our lunch.” He offered, sitting back down and picking up his to-go box in a gesture of good faith. Your food was still warm and it tasted delightful.

[sniperjade]

Professor of the Year

For the next few weeks, Regulus continued to avoid Remus, so it took him a while to realise that Remus was avoiding him.

Breakfasts, lunches and dinners were all occasions where their interaction was tempered by other people. Remus had attended and made small talk when addressed but when the meal was over, he disappeared. He had only noticed Remus was also absent because after lunch one day, he had been held up by Draco with questions about their next lesson with Buckbeak. When the conversation had finished and he finally looked up to find Remus, obviously to figure out which exit to escape from, he was gone.

He had thought it was strange at the time but didn’t think anything more of it until a week later when he got caught by Harry in a corridor, and Remus swept passed to collect Harry without so much as a second glance. The opportunity to show him his new Patronus was now apparently gone. Regulus hated to admit it, but he secretly lived for Remus’s quiet determination to get his attention and without it he felt a trifle bereft.

Instead, he sulked as he listened to Severus and Lily go on about whatever magical phenomenon, they were exploring that particular week. They really were in tune intellectually in a way that he had no motivation to participate in. They both seemed to live for work whereas he much preferred to work so that he could live. His meagre income was currently spent on alcohol and books to while away his free hours. He much preferred the comfort of a quiet nook with a good view and a novel to the latest treatise on potions.

He felt lost, lonely and without purpose.

By the time the start of February had rolled around, he was well and truly in a funk. Lily had tried her best to bring him out of it with kind words and offers for him to join her and Severus in whatever they were doing, but none of it really helped. He just ended up sitting with a book on the periphery of wherever they were, listening with half an ear.

“These class results are very impressive Lily,” Snape drawled. “You might actually have a chance at winning the bonus this year.”

Regulus jerked his head up. “Bonus?”

Severus treated him to a surprised look as though he had completely forgotten he was there. “The Professor with the highest average class marks in the year gets a five hundred galleon bonus.”

Lily placed a hand on Severus’s arm giving him a proud smile. “Sev has gotten the bonus for that last five years running.”

Regulus raised an eyebrow at Severus. “I wonder how much of that is due to your policy of only allowing students with Outstanding grades to take your OWL and NEWT level classes.”

Severus raised his nose in the air before replying snarkily, “Potions is a dangerous class, and it is not safe to have students who do not earn their keep.”

“Right,” Regulus commented, “It has absolutely nothing to do with the money.”

Severus began to bristle as Lily lay back down and crossed her hands behind her head. “It doesn’t matter. I’m taking out the crown this year, just you watch.”

Severus scoffed. “You can try.”

For the first time in months, a glimmer of hope ignited in Regulus’s stomach. If he got this bonus, he would finally have enough money to have his dark mark removed. He could be free. Free from the man who destroyed his life in every way possible. Free from the reminder of what he’d done and who he’d betrayed. Free from the pain that ached every waking moment.

He wanted it more than anything.

Tapping his wand against the side of his head he asked, “When exactly is this bonus assessed and rewarded?”

Severus gave him a knowing look. “June, once the final exams are completed.”

Regulus stood closing his book with a snap full of drive for the first time in years. “If you’ll please excuse me.”

He moved toward the door only for Lily to call out. “Don’t expect me to make this easy on you Reggie! I’ve been working toward this all year!”

He paused at the door to look back at her. “I would never have expected otherwise."

Read the rest on Ao3

[peacereturnedtothevalley]

Palisade 54+55 //

Okay so I avoided 54 because of general finale dread but I finally got to it right before 55 dropped. I think I was on the bresset high after 52 but the clem Ws and August going Wake in 53 left me with more potential dread. Anyways

54 the rolls were sooo ahhhh. Brnine’s “goodbye” is so funny but them deciding to leave the blue channel is a lot… it feels like character development but is it? Thisbe voice is the blue channel your home? I guess they finally acknowledged losing Valence and wanting them to be proud of them so it was time. My real question is did Brnine leave the Valence and Gur tapes also…

Brnine avoiding Cas’alear is accurate to them but I want to see them facing cas, I wonder if they can get more of that in [redacted]

Oh Cori oh Coriiii… the benefit of waiting until 55 was out to listen to 54 for a week is I didn’t have to dread what might happen to her the whole time. But also Jesus Christ. They got out of palisade via PRESENT?? Via a contract bound GALLICA? AND CORI FUCKING KILLS HER. hell yeah but also AAAAAA and now Elle was compelled by Arbitrage to leave Cori to do something else and Cori is chasing her while herself being hunted by present. This is all dire but I’m so fucking hype about the situation actually LMAO. [all of this happens to cori] me: i hope she eventually quits chain smoking it’s not good for her health…

I’m v happy with the fact that the epilogues are so events focused rather than broad structural things bc I think it could have gone wayyyy worse with the latter. Brnine leaving with jesset but not gucci and gucci sending letters back and forth with clementine is so funny and awful. Gucci girl it doesn’t matter if you don’t mean it. It feels like August isn’t going to be in [redacted] but I kinda want him to be I think he needs to get out of this funk. Great job Leap thank you. Cori has been discussed but again oh my god. And good for Levi also. There definitely wasn’t enough time to get really into him but I also think he was kind of a perfect foil to the half a decade old millenium break and also battle hardened Cori. Now that I’m thinking about it he kind of reminds me of Benjamin at the end of spring. Young bright-eyed kid with eyes unclouded by the past and a clear leader into the future

Oops forgot clem but I love that crystal palace gives he so much power but might be the object that causes her final demise bc damn you’re cursed with the knowledge you won’t get what you want foreverrrr

Okay time to discuss [redacted] aka another sortie aka this year of ours 2 aka the funniest thing they could have done. I’ve been doing a joke funny to only me which is tell people I finished episode 55 of palisade, implying it is an episode in the long line of episodes and not the end. Hahaha

Another sortie to do the big Motion battle is. So funny to me and so perfect a plan I’m in awe of it. I think everyone was feeling some fatigue with the length questlandia (me included) and I’m so happy this is happening. One more chance to bring the crew together AND importantly Eclectic is back!! Sort of!!!! Slightly smaller recolored eclectic I love you I hope Keith is playing you for the big thing. At one point they said Murch is staying in palisade because eclectic is there and in retrospect it’s like they were planning this the whole timeeee

One more note they said brnine and thisbe are distant now and I believe that but I also believe they will never be fully apart even if it takes years they will find each other again in my imo. Thanks

[kasienda]

Rena Rouge: Secret Keeper - Ch 1: Prologue

Chapters: 1 | 2

Read on Ao3

Chapter 1: Prologue

Chat grinned in satisfaction as his cataclysm turned the bracelet to dust, revealing a butterfly crackling with dark violet bolts of energy. Ladybug’s yoyo wasted not a second before she captured it, released it, and sent out her healing energy to the city. 

Chat turned to her and Rena both with a grin and offered his fist. His smile faded when neither of them reciprocated.

Rena Rouge’s amber eyes flashed in anger. “You ruined the plan!” 

“Uh… but we got the akuma,” he countered, his brows furrowed under his mask in confusion. 

“Yes! That’s the problem! We were going to appear to lose to that akuma and then follow it back to Shadowmoth, but now we can’t! Who knows how long it will be before there’s another akuma with the right abilities for our plan to work.” 

“I’m sorry,” he said. “I didn’t realize there was a plan.”

Ladybug put a hand on his shoulder. “It’s okay, Chaton. This isn’t your fault. You didn’t know. It’s mine. Rena is just upset because we spent weeks on this. We had just finalized the plan a few days ago. I was going to tell you about it at our next patrol, but this opportunity presented itself much faster than we thought. But it is okay ,” she insisted, pinning her glare on a grumbling Rena Rouge. “I’m confident we didn’t tip our hand. We’ll be able to try again.”

But Adrien couldn’t be reassured by her words. Ladybug knew everyone’s identity except his own, and she couldn’t communicate with him in his civilian life. This wasn’t the first time that fact had caused problems. And Adrien knew it wouldn’t be the last. 

And he wasn’t an idiot. Rena had abducted Adrien from a battle. Rena arrived to fight Style Queen with two miraculouses without Ladybug ever showing up. 

Rena and Ladybug both knew who the other was. 

And even as his heart was breaking and his eyes were burning, he couldn’t help but smile. Ladybug and Rena Rouge made quite the powerful and effective duo. 

For whatever reason, despite his best efforts, Chat Noir hadn’t been able to support Ladybug in the way that she needed. But clearly, Rena Rouge could. Since she had joined the team on a more permanent basis - maybe even slightly before that - Ladybug had come out of her funk. She was more confident, somehow even better at kicking butt, and she was…

...happier. 

And he couldn’t help the relief that Ladybug had found the support that she needed.

But the hurt within him that she had never been able to completely trust him tore him to pieces. 

“Can I talk to you alone for a moment?” He was proud of how steady the words came out. 

Ladybug smiled brightly at him. “Of course!” 

They go off. 

“I’m sorry about Rena,” she started.

He waved it away. “This isn’t about Rena. Or well, not directly.” 

She considered him. Her shoulders slumped. 

“It’s become clear to me that I’ve become a liability for you.” 

She looked so startled. “What are you talking about?” 

“I ruined the plan because I didn’t know what it was.” 

She looked away. “That was my fault more than yours. You didn’t know what the plan was.” 

“Yes, well…” he trailed off, uncertain what to say. They had already had the identity talk more times than he could count and it never did any good. 

“I can tell you about the plan now. And then next time, I’ll just give you a signal and you’ll know.” 

“And what about the next plan?” 

“What do you mean?” 

“There will always be something new, something that you won’t be able to tell me because you can’t find me, because you don’t know who I am.” 

“Chat, I thought we’d talked about this already.” 

“We have! But nothing’s changed. And I can’t stand the thought of putting you in danger. So…” he hesitated. Was he really going to do this? There might be no coming back. He probably should go home and at least talk it over with Plagg. But then he shook his head. Nothing would change. Plagg would convince him things weren’t that bad, and Adrien would believe him. 

And then at some point, because she didn’t know who he was, or he didn’t know some fundamental piece of information he would screw up. 

And Ladybug or Paris would pay the price. 

“I would like to put in my two week’s notice.” 

Her eyes shot to his, wide with shock. “W-what?! You can’t quit! You’re my partner!”

He looked away - out at the city. “Maybe that was true once, but it isn’t anymore.” 

She thankfully didn’t argue. But her shoulders shook as tears flooded her eyes. He didn’t reach out to comfort her. Surely, Rena would be able to do that. 

“But you love being Chat Noir,” she whispered. 

He nodded in agreement, but didn’t speak. He didn’t want to think about how much more restrictive his life would be without the miraculous, but he couldn’t keep doing this.

He couldn’t keep putting her in danger in his ignorance.

“Please don’t leave me,” she begged. 

His eyes squeezed shut against her pleas. There had been a time when he would have done anything she asked.

“This is better for you,” he whispered. 

“Why do you get to decide what is best for me?!” she demanded, her voice hot with rage, her fingers clenched into fists on her lap. 

He turned to her with tears in his eyes. “I don’t see another way. As long as you are adamant that we can’t know each other’s identities, I’m only going to get in the way.” He glanced over the city’s skyline. “I’m not trying to pressure you. This is not an ultimatum.” 

“There’s nothing I can do to change your mind?” she sobbed, desperate.

The question made him want to scream. He had already established what she needed to do. Trust him. 

“No.” He suddenly knew that he couldn’t actually give her two weeks. His resolve would waiver. He rose to his feet and stepped behind her. “Plagg, claws in.” He wasn’t worried about her turning around. Part of him even hoped that she would.

He placed the ring beside her.  She didn’t immediately take it up. 

“Good-bye, Ladybug,” he whispered. 

“Chaton!” she screamed, but she still didn’t turn around. 

She continued to sit, her back hunched, her shoulders trembling. He longed to comfort her, but he knew he was the only one that couldn’t. 

“Yes?” 

“Will I ever see you again?” she cried. 

“I don’t know. I hope so.” 

He walked away from her, looking back only once. Her shoulders shook like an earthquake and her head had fallen down into her hands, but she didn’t cry out again. And she didn’t turn around. 

It wasn’t until he made it back to his room that the numbness faded and his emotions caught up to him. The second the door clicked shut behind him, he crumpled to the floor and cried, not sure how he would ever be okay again, but still absolutely certain that he had done the best thing possible. 

Why couldn’t Ladybug have trusted him? 

What had he done wrong? 

…

[yellowkitkieran]

Slow Down (Kieran Tierney)

Masterlist

Word Count: 1.8k

Summary: Kieran has been stressed lately, so you take it upon yourself to help him relax. Requested by @masonsreece​

For the past few months, you have watched Kieran deteriorate. The confident, happy man you loved has morphed into someone bitter and snappy. Your Kieran isn't Kieran anymore, but some sort of pale imitation of the man you fell in love with. 

Kieran's lack of playtime weighs heavy on his shoulders. When you're promised to be Arsenal's next captain, how could it not? Being sidelined for someone who is arguably not as good in some areas as himself has knocked his confidence both on and off the pitch. Unfortunately for you, that means Kieran is irritable and cranky when he comes home from training, regardless of how good the session may have been. Today is no different; he's only been gone two hours but the front door slams shut, his keys thud to the wood table in the foyer, shoes flung at the wall instead of being placed on the rack. 

You wait in the kitchen, a little smile on your face even as your heart breaks. You've put effort into your appearance, nothing over the top but making sure you look ready to go out and throwing on one of his favorite outfits. You're determined to pull Kieran out of this funk if it's the last thing you do.

"Welcome home Key," you say, bouncing on your toes as he rounds the corner. You crank up your smile, trying your best to stay positive when Kieran turns his dulled brown eyes up at you. 

"Hi," he mumbles, voice flat and lifeless. He looks you up and down, giving no indication as to how he feels about your carefully selected clothes. "Are you going out? I can order takeout then I guess. Thanks for letting me know."

You try to not let his words sting, aware that he's struggling and doesn't mean to take it out on you. "Actually, correction- we are going out, not just me. I laid an outfit on our bed for you, could you go change baby? It'll be fun!"

Kieran sighs and drags a hand over his stubbled jaw. Normally Kieran likes a clean, close shave but lately he's been letting his facial hair grow for a week or so between shaves. That was your final straw. Because while you personally love the rugged, tough look on him, you know he hates it. He used to complain about how itchy and weird it felt to let it grow, so the fact that it isn't bothering him now like it used to is, quite frankly, somewhat terrifying. 

"I don't wanna go out, love. Thanks for trying though. I'm gonna shower and head to bed." 

Kieran goes to leave, but your hand darts out to grab his wrist. You tug on his arm until finally Kieran gives in, sighing as he turns his body to stand toe to toe with you. He stares at a spot over your shoulder, unable to find the strength to look you in the eye. 

"Sweetheart, it's only two in the afternoon," you say softly. You expected him to resist, but you hadn't expected him to appear quite so put out about the idea of spending time with you. You'd hoped for a smile or at least a momentary glint in his eye, not this. 

"I'm tired," is all Kieran offers in explanation, as if that's all you'll require to let him go. Luckily you're stubborn as a bull; it'll take loads more resistance to put you off your plans. 

"Key," you murmur, "could you please change for me baby? I've got an easy, fun afternoon planned for us." You place your hand on his jaw, thumb stroking over his stubble. "We haven't had a date night in over a month. Could you please do this for me?" 

When Kieran's eyes flash to yours for a split second, you consider it a win. You tip your head slightly, fingers drumming lightly on his cheek. "I guess so… I really do need a shower first though, I didn't do that this morning."

"That's fine, I'll help you." You'll do whatever you can to make this easier on him. You miss his smile, so you have no problem stripping down and ruining your hair to join him in the shower.

Helping Kieran wash up doesn't include anything inherently sexual and yet it's astonishingly more intimate. Kieran bows his head for you to massage shampoo into his scalp, cleaning his short hair and enjoying the familiar scent of his soap. You wash his body with gentle hands, taking your time to ensure he feels truly clean because you know he's not been looking after himself the way he should. You stand up once you've finished rinsing off his calves and Kieran's hand lands on your side for a moment, squeezing your hip in a gesture of thanks. 

Progress, no matter how small, is something to smile about. So you do, your lips curled softly as you dry your boyfriend's body with a fluffy black towel and help him get dressed in a pair of simple track pants and a black tshirt. Once he's set in front of the mirror brushing his teeth, you look after yourself, dressing and quickly styling your damp hair whilst Kieran does his own. While he doesn't do much with it, the fact that he puts in any effort at all is a step in the right direction. 

You smile when he looks at you in the mirror. "Looking beautiful as always Key," you say as you finish up your hair. "I don't think I tell you often enough how pretty you are."

"Not as pretty as you," Kieran murmurs, pushing his hand across the white marble vanity top to touch the side of your hand. It's a gesture that tells you he appreciates what you're doing, even if he can't find the words to say it out loud. 

"Come on, I'll drive." You flip your hand up, palm to the ceiling in an open invitation. You're half surprised when Kieran accepts, his rough hand sliding into yours like the missing piece of your puzzle. Instantly you know that you'll get through this rocky patch together, with the man you love at your side. All Kieran needs is a little reminder that he isn't alone. 

**********

"A… spa? But I thought we were having a date day." Confusion dances in Kieran's eyes, which you suppose is an improvement over the nothingness that has been lingering in them for weeks. At least this is something. 

"Mhm! I've gotten massages booked for us babe, and before you point out that you can get them at training for free… Yes, that is technically true, but you can't get a couples massage! So come on, we're getting facials too. Trust me, you'll love it."

"I guess, if you say so…" 

Kieran stuffs his hands in his pockets, trailing after you as you head towards check in. You're given warm white robes and directed to a changing room with lockers to store your clothes. You separate and change into the robe, grabbing a pair of slippers off the rack in the room and sliding them on. Kieran is waiting on one of the sofas when you come out, a glass of lemon water in his hand that he sips at. 

"Hey handsome," you murmur, sitting close to him and leaning your head on his shoulder for a brief moment. "How's your spa experience so far? I love these robes, I always say I'm gonna steal one for our house. Aren't they soft?" 

"They are pretty nice. Guess it could be worse here… it smells good at least."

"It's herbal stuff- wait till you smell the green tea mask we're getting, I always wanna eat it!" Kieran's facade cracks to allow a small smile through. Your stomach flips at the return of your favorite of his features. "It doesn't taste good though, don't ask how I know."

Kieran's smile grows, finally showing teeth as he huffs out a bare bones laugh. If you keep this up, you might have your Kieran back by the end of the afternoon- maybe you'll even get a cuddle when you get home. 

Your name is called and you grab Kieran's hand, following your masseuse to a private room. Two beds are set about a foot apart, allowing the pair of you to talk if you want. 

The woman who led you in- Marie is what her nametag says- clasps her hands in front of her chest. "I'll give you a few minutes to get situated. I'll knock before we come in." 

"Perfect, thank you!" You wait for her to leave before you drop your robe to slide under the white sheet, laying face down on your table. Kieran watches you carefully, clearly out of his element. 

"You don't need to totally strip down and get naked. You can keep your boxers on if you want." 

"Okay," Kieran says, reluctantly tugging on the belt keeping his robe in place. Sensing his discomfort, you turn your head away so he doesn't feel like you're watching him. If you had it your way you wouldn't take your eyes off of him, but the entire point of today is to help Kieran relax. 

"It's warm," Kieran notes once he's situated under the sheet with his arms pillowed under his head. You can't help yourself, letting your gaze wander over the curve of his bicep and across the planes of his face. Sometimes you have to stop and smell the roses, and now feels like one of those times. 

You thought you might be jealous if another woman touched Kieran, but watching his eyes close in obvious bliss when his masseuse begins working at his shoulders is well worth it. Kieran's soft sigh comes as his body visibly relaxes, taught muscles going loose as the built up stress drains from his figure. After a few minutes, you stretch your hand out to lay a hand on his arm, needing to connect with him. 

Kieran cracks an eye open, "Maybe you were right. This is amazing." 

"Mmhhmm. When are you gonna learn that I'm always right?" 

Kieran laughs, which morphs into a groan when his masseuse hits the right spot with the flat of her palm. "Fucking hell- oi sorry lass, it slipped… sweetheart this is the best idea you've had in ages, maybe forever. I already feel loads better."

Your grin outshines the sun when Kieran brings your hand to his lips and kisses your knuckles. A soft smile remains stuck on his lips as his eyes close and he fully gives in to the lavender oils and comforting music playing low overhead. His soft snores come moments later, and you share an amused look with his masseuse. 

"You can finish even though he's asleep, he clearly needs it. I'll pay for extra time for the room- I'm not gonna wake him up for a while." 

[captainsophiestark]

Pub Trivia Dynasty

Kol Mikaelson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for Fictober 2022!

Fandom: The Vampire Diaries/The Originals

Prompt: “It’s my name on the line!”

Summary: Y/N and their best friend, Erica, have an impressive win-streak going at their local bar's pub trivia night. Unfortunately, Erica's out of town this week, which means Y/N needs a new partner. Thankfully, a vampire boyfriend should be a pretty good substitute. Right?

Word Count: 2,809

Category: Angst, Fluff, Humor

A/N: There's kind of a weird amount of hate directed at the Medici family (of Renaissance-era Italy) in this fic. I know nothing about them, so if the shade is undeserved, then my bad. It was for the sake of comedy and the plot.

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Are you sure you can't make it?"

"Yeah, there's no way I can get out of this trip. My company's already paid for it, and they're counting on me to go. I'm sorry, Y/N."

I sighed, trying not to sound too disappointed. "That's okay, I get it. Have a good trip, and I'll do my best to hold down the fort while you're gone."

"I've got complete faith in you. Just don't get any ideas about permanently replacing me with whoever you get as a stand-in this week, okay?"

"I'd never dream of it. I'll see you when you get back."

"See you then."

I hung up the phone, staring dejectedly at the now-blank screen. My best friend, Erica, was going out of town for a business trip, which wouldn't have been a problem a month ago, but was a very big problem now.

For fun and on a whim, we'd joined a Thursday night Pub Trivia competition at one of our favorite bars in New Orleans, since it was something we'd both enjoyed in college together. We'd absolutely cleaned up on our first night competing, winning by a landslide and scoring some free food and drinks vouchers, and we'd been completely hooked ever since.

We'd attended every week for the past four weeks, and we'd won every single time. Everyone else was starting to get a little annoyed with us, but we didn't care. We were building a dynasty and having the time of our lives doing it.

But now, I needed to find a replacement that could hold their own as my partner for tomorrow night's trivia. I had a four-time win streak that I wanted desperately to extend to five, but I couldn't think of anybody that would be able to do well as Erica.

"Y/N? Hello, are you there love?"

I snapped out of my funk to see Kol, my boyfriend of the last year, looking concerned and waving a hand in front of my face. I sighed.

"Yeah. Hi Kol."

"Darling, what's wrong?" he asked, taking a seat next to me and draping an arm across my shoulders. "Is there someone I need to kill?"

I rolled my eyes. "No. And I've never answered yes to that question, either."

"I know. I keep waiting for the day..."

"Mhmm. Erica's out of town for the week for a business trip, which means I'm stuck without my partner for trivia tomorrow," I said. Kol frowned and leaned back, holding his arms wide as he faced me.

"Well, I'm happy to tell you there's an easy solution to your problem." I raised an eyebrow at him, so he continued. "Right here! Me! I'll be your partner tomorrow."

"I don't know Kol..." I said, trying not to show just how much I did not like that idea. "You know I love you, but... trivia's not really your thing."

"Well, no, but spending time with you is. And hanging out in a bar is definitely something I can do, so... looks like you've got a new partner for tomorrow night!"

I huffed, really not too excited about the idea. But, I also couldn't think of anybody that would be a better option, except maybe Elijah, and I already knew he had stuff going on with Hayley tomorrow night.

"Alright," I finally said, giving in to the inevitable. "You can be my trivia partner, for one night and one night only."

Kol punched the air, then looked at me with a ridiculous grin.

"Darling, you won't regret this."

****************

"Look at them," said Kol, barely holding in a laugh as he spoke. I scowled as I stared down at our whiteboard, trying to think as Kol did literally anything but pay attention. "They're so invested. They're arguing to the point I think they might get in a fight, all about which one of them might have the correct answers. You humans are so strange."

I grit my teeth, holding in a retort as I tried to come up with the right answer. Erica was always the one who took the history questions, since that subject was not my strong suit, and while Kol could've carried some of the weight he'd chosen to people-watch instead of helping me.

Now, we were almost to the last round of the night, and the score was unnervingly close. I was only in the lead by a few points, and if I got this question wrong, I might very well lose the lead altogether.

"And... that's time! Let's see what you all wrote!" called the person running trivia as I frantically scribbled down the first thing I could. I flipped my board and tried not to huck it across the room when I saw my answer didn't match anyone else's.

I frowned as the MC added up all the scores from each of the correct answers. I'd officially lost the lead to a team of guys who'd been trying to take down me and Erica since our second consecutive title, and their cheers and high-fives made me see red.

I couldn't lose.

"Alright, with that, let's take a short break in case anyone needs to pee or get refills, and then we'll get started with our final round in ten minutes!" called the MC cheerily. Everyone stood and stretched, or went to go do something with their time, but I didn't move an inch.

"Well, this has been fun, but I can't say I'm not happy it's almost over," said Kol, stretching and staring around the bar with a grin. "I just don't see the appeal of trying to take a test in a bar while you could be doing just about anything else."

Kol turned to me, clearly looking to share the joke, but I just stared back with fury coursing through my veins. The smile on his face faltered, turning into a look of concern.

"Y/N? What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? What's wrong? Are you seriously asking me that right now Kol!" I hissed, keeping my voice low to avoid throwing a scene. With his vampire hearing, I knew he got every word even if I didn't yell.

"I don't understand-"

"No! You don't! Clearly!" I paused, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath before continuing. "This is important to me. You know this is important to me. And instead of helping me and at least trying to enjoy yourself, you're being a dick and making fun of the whole thing!"

Kol opened his mouth to speak, but I held up a hand to cut him off. I wasn't done with my piece yet.

"Kol, this might seem stupid to you, but the reputation I've built in this competition with Erica matters to me. It's my name on the line! And you don't have to like it, but dammit, if you really don't even want to try to enjoy this for my sake, then just go home. I'd rather lose by myself than with my boyfriend next to me, laughing at something I genuinely enjoy."

Kol gaped at me, clearly at a loss for words. I stared at him for a few seconds, then sighed and turned away. I needed another drink, especially if this last round ended up going the same way as the ones before it.

As I walked back to my table from the bar, the two guys who were now in the lead waved at me, confident grins on their faces.

"Hey, looks like you might finally lose your crown tonight!" one called, gesturing to the scoreboard. I grinned back at him, mustering a lot more confidence than I actually felt.

"In your dreams. I'm just trying to keep you coming back for more in the weeks to come. Don't want you both giving up after getting blown out of the water four weeks in a row, right?"

They laughed and waved me off, throwing a few more taunts my way as I went. I couldn't help a small smile at the interaction; our semi-friendly trash talk was one of my favorite parts of the night, although I had to admit, I'd probably enjoy it a little less if they beat me tonight.

When I got back to my table, I honestly wasn't expecting Kol to be there. To my surprise though, he was, sitting with the whiteboard in his lap and the marker in his hand.

"I'm sorry," he said, jumping in before I could ask what he was doing. "I convinced you to let me come, and then I just made fun of everything all night. I know this is important to you, and I'm sorry I didn't treat it that way. Let me make it up to you?"

I smiled at him, gently setting my drink on the table before moving over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He smiled back at me as I pulled away, relief in his eyes.

"Make it up to me by helping me crush those fuckers over there," I said, nodding my head towards the two guys who'd officially become my archnemeses. Kol grinned at me.

"If I'd realized just how bloodthirsty you were for trivia, I would've gotten on board sooner."

****************

"Alright, final question of the night..." started the MC, drawing out the tension in the room. Kol and I had made one hell of a comeback with the last nine questions, and it had only taken a round or two of being competitive to a slightly insane degree to get Kol completely on board with trivia. Now, he was acting just like one of us dumb humans he'd been laughing at earlier.

Despite our combined success, the competition between us and our rivals still came down to this question. Whoever got it right would win the game.

"What..." started the MC, taking his time in answering the question to create the most suspense possible. I clenched the whiteboard marker tight in my first, and Kol was just as tense next to me. "...is the name of the man who ruled Florence in the second half of the fifteenth century? He was a poet, and a known supporter of such great names as Botticelli, da Vinci, and Michelangelo."

I swore and threw my head back, lamenting our inevitable defeat. I had no idea who that could be, because history was Erica's specialty, and I had forgotten most things I'd learned in history throughout my education as soon as the test was over.

"Give that to me," Kol ordered, taking the whiteboard and marker out of my hands. I frowned at him, confused, but he had a determined look on his face as he scribbled out a name.

"Kol... do you seriously know the answer to this?"

"Yes," he huffed. "Lorenzo de Medici was a self-important prick, and I wouldn't normally support modern humans remembering him, but we are not losing this damn thing, so it's worth it."

I laughed in disbelief, a smile slowly spreading to my face all the same.

"Wow. You are incredible. And also so old."

Kol shot me a teasing glare, then held the whiteboard to his chest protectively. He stared at the MC with incredible intensity, and honestly I was about two seconds away from grabbing the collar of his jacket and making out with him.

Before I could, however, the MC spoke again. He asked for a drumroll, then told us all to turn our whiteboards around. Kol flipped ours with force, a triumphant grin on his face, and when I looked at the whiteboard of our competitors I found the name "Cosimo de Medici" written there.

"Kol...?" I asked, looking to him and then nodding in the direction of our competition. He just scoffed.

"Wrong. Cosimo died well before Michaleangelo was born. Absolute prats."

"The guys over there or the Medicis?"

"Both."

I couldn't hold back a laugh as the MC finished checking all of our answers, then made a note on his score sheet. The whole bar waited for him to announce the winner with bated breath. I reached out to take Kol's hand and tried to keep from having a heart attack.

"Alright, and the correct answer to the question is... Lorenzo de Medici!" yelled the MC. I let up a cheer and jumped in the air, Kol joining me in the celebration. "And that means Y/N and Kol are the winners tonight! The undefeated streak continues, although it was a close one tonight! We'll see if next week anyone can take them down!"

I heard some cheers and grumbles from the crowd around us, but I ignored them all as I turned to Kol. This time, I didn't hold back, and I grabbed the lapels of his jacket to pull him to me tightly. He wrapped his arms around my waist and lifted me off the ground as I kissed him, hard.

"We won," he breathed as we finally broke apart, his forehead still resting on mine as he held me close. "And it felt amazing."

"Damn right it did," I replied. "You did great, too. Thank you for giving pub trivia a chance."

"Of course. I'm just sorry I didn't do it sooner." We locked eyes then, and Kol gave me a crooked grin. "We would've blown those fools out of the water by a much better margin."

I smiled, happiness bursting in my chest as I kissed him again. Still, we were in the middle of a bar, so I didn't let it go on for too long. We pulled apart, and a few minutes later, we received our prize for winning: vouchers for free food and drinks.

"So, do you want to stay and use these tonight, or next week?" asked Kol, holding up the pieces of paper. I grimaced. "What?"

"Well, about that... uh... damn, I didn't think this was going to be so hard." I paused to take a deep breath, trying not to feel too guilty as Kol raised an eyebrow at me. "It's just... Erica's gonna be back next week."

"So?"

"So I'll be doing trivia with her." Kol's mouth dropped open in outrage, and I quickly put my hand on his arm as I tried to placate him. "I'm sorry! But it's been our thing since we were in college, and now that we're finally both in the same city again, I can't just ditch her-"

"Even for the love of your life?" Kol demanded.

"Even for the love of my life... I'm sorry baby!"

Kol scoffed and shrugged me off. He crossed his arms and looked across the bar, feigning nonchalance.

"Fine then. I guess I'll just have to come back with a new teammate next week, too, and take you and Erica down."

"Kol, come on," I said. "Don't be ridiculous. You didn't even want to do trivia until, like, twenty minutes ago!"

"No," he conceded, turning back to me with a truly evil grin. "But it ended up being fun. And I've realized just how much I love seeing you absolutely ruthless. What better way to see that again than challenging your reign?"

"Kol-" I stopped short, trying to think of something to say that would knock some sense into him. "Who the hell do you think you're going to be able to talk into doing this anyway, besides me?"

"Elijah," he said simply. My eyes went wide at the idea. Elijah would kill at trivia. "He's always wanting to do more family bonding nonsense, so if I frame it like that, he'll be here in a heartbeat."

I swore and turned, trying to think through some kind of training plan for Erica and I to get ready for our new challengers, but my planning was interrupted by Kol hugging me tight from behind. He kissed me on the cheek, and I could feel the smile on his face even though I couldn't see it.

"Relax, Darling. A little competition will be good for you. It'll help keep you from getting complacent." I huffed in annoyance, but Kol just chuckled. "Now come on. We just won against all the odds. I think that calls for a little celebration, don't you?"

I sighed, then turned as Kol loosened his grip on me and gave him a smile.

"Yeah, it does," I agreed. Kol and I shared a smile as he passed me one of the vouchers for a free drink, and I started heading for the bar as I continued. "Besides, you need to celebrate while you still can. Because, you know. This is the last win you're getting at this bar."

I glanced over my shoulder to find Kol grinning at me like a devil, and I felt a thrill go through me at the sight.

"Oh my love, you have no idea what you've just started."

[thisaintascenereviews]

Falling In Reverse - Popular Monster

You clicked on this review thinking you’d get a blasphemous review of the new Falling In Reverse album, huh? I hate to say “gotcha,” but I’m gonna be real here — there’s not much to say about Popular Monster. It’s bad, don’t get me wrong, but it’s nothing of an album. It’s the type of bad you think it’ll be, whether it’s Ronnie Radke sounding whinier than he ever has, his white guy rapping being utterly awful, his lyrics basically amounting to “you can’t say that anymore” for 40 minutes, or how bland and uninspired the instrumentation sounds, but what fun is tearing that apart limb from limb? Maybe a decade ago, when I was younger and it was more fun to hate things, but now that I’m older, where’s the fun in it?

You and I both know this album sucks, let alone which ways it’ll suck, so why bother with it? I’m all for talking shit about bad music, especially when it deserves it, but this is just boring. There’s nothing I can’t say that a lot of other people already have, so let’s talk about something better instead. For every Falling In Reverse, there are two way better bands and artists that deserve your time and attention. Instead of talking about this piece of shit album, I wanted to subvert expectations and talk about a few albums I found recently that are way better, specifically three. I’ll be writing full reviews of these albums, but for the time being, I wanted to highlight a few recently released debut albums from unknown / underground artists that are way better than this pile of trash.

First up is the debut album from Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge, entitled Wine On Venus. This record is from 18-year-old guitarist and songwriter Grace Bowers. A guitar prodigy who just played at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, this record is also produced by one of the guys from the band Brothers Osborne, but its sound is rooted in 60s and 70s blues-rock, soul, funk, and hard-rock. It’s a solid ride across a literal hodge podge of styles, and she rides that wave well. She doesn’t provide vocals, only guitar, but at the same time, the vocalist is utterly killer. This album isn’t anything unique, per se, but from a young guitar player that’s only getting started? This is pretty absolutely impressive and worth a listen if you love any kind of classic rock.

Next up is the debut album from rock / post-hardcore band Nova Charisma, entitled Metropolitan. This duo is made up of the vocalist of Hail The Sun and one of the key members and songwriters of Eidola and Royal Coda, and they’ve been relatively quiet since 2020, but they’re back with an unexpectedly great debut album. This record is a lot catchier and more melodic than either project(s) from these guys, which is a welcomed change, because I’m sick of a lot of “Swancore” these days, where it all just sounds the same, but this album is unique enough to really stick out. They have elements of post-hardcore, progressive-rock, pop-rock, alternative-rock, and even some funkier bass work that wouldn’t sound out of place in the 1970s. There’s something on each song to really capture your attention, but this is a great debut that took a few too many years to make.

Finally, I wanted to highlight an album that I found a few weeks back, but I’ve been waiting to really sink my teeth into it. That’s the debut album from Chicago rock / new wave / post-punk band Brigette Calls Me Baby, entitled The Future Is Our Way Out. Like with the other two albums, I plan on reviewing these in more depth, but this album randomly came across my radar a couple weeks back, and I was absolutely blown away. These guys take 1950s rockabilly and mix it with 1980s new wave and post-punk, as well as a dash of modern indie-rock. This is one of the most unique albums I’ve heard in a long time, but it sounds so seamless. It’s got such a timeless feel to it, but it sounds huge, melodramatic, and larger than life. Their vocalist, who is a big part of why this thing works so well, has a voice that sounds like it came out of the 1950s, but he sounds like Elvis and Morrissey at the same time. This record is one of a handful I find every year that just blows me away, and this is no exception.

[pleasantlycrazyworld]

Hiiii can I please request a body positivity fic with Eddie where he cheers up the reader bc she’s insecure about her body? I’ve been in a funk recently and would love some comforting eddie

Ummm of course!!!

You didn’t specify what body type you had so I didn’t do a specific type. But if you want me to do another type of writing like this for skinny or plus size just lmk!

As a plus-size woman myself, I completely understand funks like that and I really hope it ends soon for you beautiful <3

Eddie Munson x gn!reader

Eddie loved your body. You….not so much. Growing up you’ve just been different and you’ve been learning to love yourself for those differences but lately, it’s just been a bunch of dark days and it seemed like there isn’t a light ahead anytime soon.

Now you knew that there will be light. There will be a morning when you change into your outfit and it looks great the first time, and there will be a morning when your hair looks great without having to do much to it. It just feels like that morning isn’t going to appear anytime soon.

You knew that talking to Eddie about this…this funk that you’ve been in would help you. Eddie would reassure you that you’re beautiful and amazing and he would show you how much he loved you and your body but for some reason this time you can’t bring yourself to do it. Maybe because it was more intense, maybe it was because it’s not the first time you needed reassurance, whatever it was it was eating at you and you couldn’t stand it. You wanted to talk to Eddie but every time you see him all you can see is how perfect he is. He has a beautiful body, amazing eyes, those cool tattoos, and… god he’s just a god himself.

Unbeknownst to you Eddie already figured out that you weren’t feeling good about yourself. He could tell that his lovebug wasn’t feeling pretty and at first, he was going to wait until you came to him to talk about it but weeks have gone by and you haven’t come to him and he can tell that the funk hasn’t left yet. He needed to approach you about this, he knew it was a sensitive subject for you but he just can’t understand how you cannot see yourself as the most beautiful thing in the world when that's what he sees you as.

Eddie knew that you weren’t going to come over to the trailer when you weren’t feeling your best so he drove over to your place instead. Knocking on the door he hears a groan and a muffled ‘coming’. When the door opens and he finally gets to see you his heart stops for a moment. “My god you are so beautiful” Eddie's shoulders drop and his eyes widen as they go up and down your figure. Your eyes squint “What are you talking about? I’m in dirty pajamas that aren’t even mine? I have no makeup on and my hair is filthy and..” Eddie leans in and kisses you to make you stop talking. Slowly walking into the house, the kiss never stops as Eddie closes the door with his foot. Breaking away to breathe Eddie looks you in your eyes. “Don’t you ever say those things about my lovebug ever again, you are breathtaking no matter what state you are in. I love you and find you so unbelievably beautiful when you first wake up when you are dressed up, when you are looking homeless, or when you haven’t showered. You will always be beautiful in my eyes. I know that things have been hard lately and you should know to come to me when you aren't feeling good, that means physically, emotionally, or mentally good babe you got that?” You, at a loss for words just breathlessly nod. You knew Eddie thought you were pretty but he never was like this before. Seeing your eyes fill with tears, Eddie pulls you into his arms and just holds you while you cry.

Pulling away from his chest you kiss him on the cheek and thank him for his sweet words. “You don’t have to thank me babe just doing my job.” Eddie winks at you and pulls you to the couch to hold you for the rest of the night.

If you enjoyed please consider liking, reblogging, and commenting.

Requests are open and I try to write them asap.

[theforgottenmcrmy]

checking in/growing strong update

hi to anyone and everyone reading this 👋🏻 I’ve been MIA for a while as I was taking a bit of a break from tumblr and writing (largely in part to self-imposed mental stuff).

i’m wanting to get back in the grind though, especially with growing strong. I’ve got about half the chapter left to edit, and I think it’ll be a 2-3 part segment when it’s all said and done with. some spoilers for it include-

Harwin and Ms. Tyrell finally discussing Alicent’s letter

A bit of sleuthing from the strong-tyrell boys

war planning/the black council meeting

If you’ve stuck around this long, I thank you immensely for your patience with me as I work out and through my mental funk. I hope I can deliver content that is worth the wait, but I understand if not.

Regardless, I hope everyone has a great remainder of the weekend and upcoming week🖤🖤🖤

[callmemana]

For @thesluttyarchivist ‘s 100 follower celebration 💛

The Broken House

Gender neutral reader x Robert Floyd

Angst list prompt : “I hate the way things are right now.”

Word count : 1167

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The rain poured down like a waterfall as they ran out of the house wearing an old college T-shirt and sweatpants only towards their car, two suitcases feeling heavy in their arms as they threw them in the back in a half hazard way. That was the last straw, as the car door slammed shut, tears began to flow. They couldn’t take it anymore, being gone for months on end with no before-mentioned return date. Dating someone in the military was supposed to be hard, they knew what they signed up for on that first date with Robert, but they didn’t read the fine print as it seems. So, like a scared coward, they ran. They ran while he was on a carrier ship, heading towards another dangerous mission.

After three years of being together, you would think that they would be used to it and not as scared as they are now, but fear like this never fades out. They had gone to their parents’ house first, until they could afford Their own apartment nearby. It took a while, but they finally managed to do it. It had been months after the breakup that they had seen him again, longer hair and a five o’clock shadow on his usually clean, baby face, and wearing a Navy issued hoodie and grey sweatpants. Of course it just had to be at the store of all places that they saw each other again, it was like one of those cheesy rom com Hallmark movies. They tried to sneak past the beginning of the aisle without being seen, but as luck would have it, they ran into a different familiar aviator.

“Y/N, what a surprise. I didn’t mean to run into you,” they kept their head towards the ground out of embarrassment, they couldn’t even face her “Nice to see you too, Phoenix.” “At least it would be if you could look at me. He’s not the same without you, you know. He’s been in a funk ever since you left.” “I-I just couldn't take being alone in that big house by myself anymore, I felt like I was going crazy,” Y/N said as they lifted their head, with glassy eyes. “Well, now Bob feels that way,” “He couldn’t get new housing?” Phoenix sighed, “He still thinks you’ll come back, he couldn’t forgive himself if he got a new house when so many memories were made in it.” The guilt felt heavy in their stomach as the information was brought to light, he was feeling the same as you did in that house all by your lonesome. How could you do that to him? “He should just move on, start anew.” “He can’t, not without you. He doesn’t come out with the squad anymore, just sits in his house waiting for you to come back.”

Phoenix put her hand on their shoulder in worry. “He needs to realize that I’m not coming back. I left for a reason, and I’ve made my choice. Was it a bad choice, yes, but I made it and now I got to lie in the bed I made.” “If it was a bad choice, then why not try to make things better? Its hurt both of you and I don’t think I can take seeing either of you like this anymore.” Phoenix gave their shoulder a light squeeze. “What’s done is done, Phoenix. How could I face him when I can’t even talk to you without the guilt of what I’ve done eat at me?” they shifted their eyes back to the cheap, fake tiled flooring of the store. “Bob and you need to talk Y/N. He didn’t get closure; you did the day you left. I got to go, Bob will be looking for me soon. It was nice to see you again, we miss you.” Phoenix gave a short hug before going in the opposite direction to where Bob was, they stayed frozen in the spot for a couple of seconds before finally deciding to finish their shopping trip. Maybe Phoenix is right, we should talk. After that thought, they shook their head, how could they face him, look into those baby blues, and say why they left. It would kill him to hear the truth. It killed them when they left.

It was a couple of weeks later when they finally ran into each other again, this time at the gas station. They were on the opposite sides of the same pump; they caught the shine of his glasses when the sun passed through. Now, rushing to finish before he could recognize them, dropped their card on the ground, more on the other side than their own. “Excuse me, you’ve dropped this.” Their eyes connect, and it seems like no time has passed as they take the card from Bob’s hand. “O-Oh, um well, here you go, I’ll let you be,” he wiped his hands on his pants nervously. “T-Thanks,” they stutter out. As they turn to leave, but before they can open the driver’s side door, Bob speaks again, “I hate the way things are right now, I’m not myself and I hate it so much.”

“Bob,” he cuts them off before they can finish, “I just need to understand why, why you left so suddenly and then went radio silent. Was it me? Did I do something to upset you?” The guilt was back and weighed heavily on you as you heard the confusion and sadness in his voice. “No, Bob, never. You never did anything to upset me, I just couldn't be in that house without you while you were gone for so long. It killed me, and I know that the internet and mail are slow when you’re on a ship in the middle of the ocean, but I couldn’t handle not seeing you, or your handwriting, hearing your voice, for months. It was like you were a dream, and when I woke up, you disappeared from my memory, and I only remembered some fuzzy details of it.”

“I’m sorry you felt that way, if we could go back, I’d try to be better at writing or video chatting. It killed me too, you know. The not being able to see, touch, or hear, you. It was like torture, darlin’ and I never want to feel that way again.” He came closer to gently grab Their hands, but they pulled away slowly. “I don’t either, but I can’t Bob. I just can’t go back to where we were in the relationship,” “So, we start over. As if we just met.” “O-Ok, I guess that can work.” “Hello, my name is Robert, but most people call me Bob.” “Hi Robert, my name is Y/N” “Would you like to maybe go out on a date with me, Y/N?” heat rose from their cheeks at the question just like it did the first time he asked, three years ago, “I would love to go on a date with you Robert.”

[whentherewerebicycles]

i got two really nice emails from faculty on the hiring committee this morning (the hiring manager just told them that i’d accepted) which made me so happy. aaaaaaaa i think i’m starting to finally transition out of the residual stress/anxiety stage behind and fully into the giddy happy butterflies stage. i feel like i could burst into tears of joy!! and i am gently hushing both my ‘there MUST be some catch’ and my ‘if a good thing happens, a BAD THING must be about to happen to balance it!’ inner voices, because sometimes a thing can just be good. i worked really hard and i got a really good outcome and i feel really grateful/happy/fortunate.

i’ve been thinking about that anxious ruminating a lot over the past few days, just trying to notice it as it’s happening. i feel like i’ve always had an tendency towards rumination but i do think it’s gotten markedly worse over the past nine months. as you might have gathered lol i’ve been pretty lowkey (and sometimes highkey) miserable and despairing about work, and i know i tend to get more depressed/anxious when i don’t have a clear sense of purpose or meaning in my life. i also think the social isolation of being fully remote in a job where i don’t have any work friends and in a new city where i don’t have an extended social circle has kinda fucked with my baseline mood. i’ve written a lot over the past nine months about not feeling like myself, and i think that’s just like, partly feeling like i’d lost my professional identity, but also partly just noticing that i feel a lot more fretful and discontent and prone to extended funks than i usually do. but i DO think it’s situational and i DO believe that i can/will bounce back to a self that feels more familiar once i change the big and small things in my environment that are fueling my unhappiness.

here are some things that are going to be REALLY good for me.

it’s going to be REALLY good for me to pursue values-aligned work that energizes and excites me. blah blah your work shouldn’t be your hobby or whatever but work kind of IS one of my hobbies and when i’m in a job i really love i spend every day thinking I CAN’T BELIEVE THEY PAY ME TO DO STUFF I WOULD JUST DO FOR FUN

it’s going to be REALLY good for me to get up, get ready right away, and go into campus most or all days a week. give me ROUTINE. give me a WORKPLACE that is separate from my home place. give me CAMPUS TIME!!!!!

it’s going to be REALLY good for me to talk to multiple people every single day. i need lots of alone time but i also NEED meaningful facetime with people and this job has just been brutal on that front

it’s going to be REALLY good (on a related note) for me to work with students again. i love working with students. it is so meaningful and good and energizing for me to work with students. i have missed it so so much.

it’s going to be REALLY good for me to be in a role that pushes me out of my comfort zone and forces me to stretch a bit. i haven’t even been coasting in this job... i’ve been totally stagnant. no growth, no challenge, no opportunities to stretch or learn. i’m gonna LEARN NEW THINGS again!!!!!!! i’m gonna feel so so so so so so so so so so much better!

it’s going to be REALLY good for me to have to budget! haha this seems silly and counterintuitive but honestly i think that making too much money is kind of bad for me! it makes it easier for me to live wastefully and be more thoughtless in my my choices/spending habits. i also feel like it was just so important to me to not get so used to being at this income level that i could never take a step back if i wanted to/needed to. i want to have enough money to live comfortably and to be able to afford thoughtfully chosen indulgences. but i don’t want to make obscene amounts of money for doing the most pointless work ever to the point where money is no object for me. idk dude! i want to value the money i make because i value the work did to earn it. and i want to value and appreciate the opportunity to make thoughtful choices about how/where to spend it.

it’s going to be REALLY good for me to be out of this job. god! i hope that three months from now my relationship with my lead seems like a weird disturbing fever dream i had lol. i cannot fucking WAIT to be out from under this woman’s thumb. and i can’t wait to apply everything i learned to NOT being like her in any of my managing roles in the future. phew!!!

[heartblobs]

Hello everyone! So Milbourne is officially over! Thank you so much to everyone who has read, liked, reblogged, left comments, etc.! It had meant so much to me that even one person saw my dumb lil pixel people and liked it. ♡

So, what’s next? 

Well, I’ve been sick the past few days (pretty sure I have the flu), but for the past few weeks I had been in a weird “funk;” without getting into detail, a few months ago an important person in my life passed away. I revived this blog to initially help distract my mind from it all in hopes to deal with the grief in a better way. Grief is weird, it can be so overwhelming at times with no warning at all. I didn’t have any motivation to do anything other than get up and go to work. I was finally feeling better this past week (maybe the infant update helped lol) and then boom, I got sick. But I’m overall feeling a lot better mentally! I am finally seeing a therapist, and I’m sure that is also helping.

Anyway, long story short, I’ll be taking a small break from posting! I have to relink all of the posts that I just let my queue run, update a few blog things (wink wink), and get my queue refilled with the Decades Challenge posts! I have already started playing and am currently at the year 1897. I wanted to wait until the infant update came out to continue, and even then I need historical infant cc so they don’t stand out so much! Gosh, what a relief it is to not have to scale down toddlers anymore for baby pictures!

So, in the meantime I will be updating my blog, and most likely reblogging things again. Thank you all, again, for taking the time to read Milbourne and even reading this long post! I hope you are all taking care of yourselves. Love and light, my friends ♡

[justheretobreakthings]

So a few weeks ago while grocery shopping, I came upon a shelf full of puffcorn. I could not believe my eyes. Puffcorn was my favorite snack as a kid; it has the absolute most satisfying texture in the universe. But I haven’t had puffcorn in well over a decade because the grocery store in my hometown stopped selling them. I never saw them at any other stores either. I assumed they had been discontinued.

Of course I bought a bag, but I left it sitting on my kitchen counter for ages. Because I had been riding high from the moment I saw the puffcorn at the grocery store and was so excited to dig in. But that scared me enough to stop me from actually eating it. I was worried that I had hyped it up too much in my mind, and it wasn’t actually as good as I remembered it being. Or worse, that the recipe had changed in the decade and a half since I last had it and now it was ruined.

Every night for the past few weeks I’ve looked at that puffcorn bag on the counter and been tempted to open it, but I didn’t because I knew how big of a disappointment it could potentially be. And I know, logically, that that’s a pretty absurd fear. Not enjoying puffcorn is an incredibly tiny problem in the grand scheme of things.

But, I dunno. As of late I’ve dealt with so much and so many varied forms of disappointment, lots memories or nostalgic stuff that I’ve held onto for a long time becoming soured or ruined or things being just plain not as fun as they used to be. Maybe I’m just tired of that, and with this unopened bag of puffcorn, I had control over this positive memory, and I could make the choice to just not even give it the chance of letting me down.

Well, with having recently hit an especially low point several days ago, I’m trying to pull myself out of my funk as best I can, and I guess part of that is admitting that I’ve kind of been self-destructive lately in terms of, like, refusing to engage with things out of fear but then not filling that space with anything else so there’s just a whole bunch of holes. So, starting small, I finally addressed the puffcorn bag. Somehow this evening I finally got up the nerve to open it and taste it.

The good news: puffcorn is, in fact, just as good as I remember.

The bad news: I ate the entire bag and threw up.

There is no moral to this story.