#it was totally within the deadline and everything but i missed it and did not draw her a cameo ahhhh i can't believe i did that

[watmels]

Shiratorizawa’s Spy - Fanfic Masterlist

A compilation (with previews) of the fanfics made for Shiratorizawa’s Spy.

Click the links to read the whole thing!

📖 Fanfics ━━━━

1. bound for ruin by writertanisha (ao3), ~4.3k words

2. wannabe (are you for real) by mostlyharmless (mezzaniine)​​ (ao3), ~5k words

3. harmony by windypuddle​ (ao3), ~2.5k words

4. #selfcare by windypuddle (ao3), ~1.1k words

5. Can You Keep A Secret? by Catharsis_13 (ao3), ~800 words

6. Another secret by Ka_gey_amas___milk (wattpad)

7. 1, 2 by artic_honey (IG)

8. Losing Game by Kaykoo (ao3), ~3.1k words

9. I Know Your Secret by Bokkunn (ao3), ~2.3k words

Broken/removed links:

Post by shio.draws (IG)

Story by DragosteaDinTei (wattpad)

💖 Conclusion ━━━━

I absolutely loveee reading fanfics based on Shiratorizawa’s Spy. If you make one, please let me know and I’d be happy to share it too!  😊

[imabeautifulbutterfly]

Hi Mimi!!!! I can't believe I'm only seeing your fic Song Roulette now!!! If this is past your deadline you can totally disregard this, but I was wondering if you could do Return to Love by Andrea Boccelli with Hunter? I hope I'm within the rules? I couldn't find them (I'm tired so observation skills are low atm XD) if not I can submit a different one within the rules!

Can't wait to see what you do!!!! As always, your work is amazing 🥰

Hello my lovely @dragonrider9905!

Thank you for your lovely request: Return to Love by Andrea Boccelli

Love this song and him. Such a fantastic request. I hope you like my interpretation of it.

Love oo

Return to Love

Warnings: Longing, confession, gift giving, fear, apprehension, hugs, kisses, I think that's it if I miss anything please let me know.

Italics - flashback

Main Master List   | Star Wars Jukebox Roulette |   AO3 Link

Hunter stood at the entrance of your village, it had been years since he set foot on your home planet. However, now that things had calmed down, Tantiss was no longer a worry. Hemlock was dead and gone. The Empire was no longer looking for Omega. Everything was peaceful. 

As he sat by the village tree, and he finally felt peace for the first time in his life, his mind kept going back to you. 

The way your smile always used to light up your face. 

The way your eyes would always look at him with so much love. 

The way your nose would scrunch up when you laughed. 

All those little moments, all those little quirks that he memorized, and had safely tucked away in his heart. Kept all those precious moments with you to himself, untainted and pure. 

Of course, he still remembered the day he left the village, the day the Separatists were chased off your planet. 

His brothers said their goodbye first, thanking you for allowing you to let them use your home as a base for them. 

You couldn’t help laughing at Wrecker’s wide eyes as you gave him Lula, it’d been a hobby of yours to make toys for the children of the village, and when you saw how much he kept looking at the kids with their toys. Well you couldn’t help but make one for him too.

You had asked Hunter in secret what colours Wrecker would’ve liked, and you were so happy that he loved it, as much as he did. 

Tech and Crosshair also were given presents, Crosshair you gifted him a stack of toothpicks, a habit he developed while being in your home. With Tech, you gave him the new strap for his goggles, it was a special leather that was guaranteed to never wear away. 

Hunter just stood off to the side as he watched how you doted on each of his brothers, his heart swelling with each moment. He couldn’t stop smiling when it finally was just the two of you. 

“We are very grateful for everything you did for us.”

“It was nothing, Hunter,” you looked into his eyes, smiling as the wind blew through his hair, it was getting in his eyes. You reached up and tucked his hair behind his ear. “I’m going to miss you.”

“So am I”

You held out a red fabric to him, “A little something to remember me by.”

“I can’t forget you regardless.”

“Either way” you smiled as he opened up the red fabric, looking at the necklace in his hand it was a simple ingot necklace. His eyes focused on the design, “It’s the symbol of our village. It’s not much … I’m sure you probably won’t wear it…”

“I love it.” Your eyes focused on each other, as Hunter reached up and put the necklace over his head and tucked it into his body suit. “I’ll wear it always.” He used the red fabric and tied it around his head keeping his hair out of his face.

“If you … any of you ever need a place to call home … my door is always open.” You reached out and held his hand, “Please stay safe.”

Hunter nodded, he wanted to say more, wanted to do so much more than offer a simple squeeze to your fingers. He longed to press his lips against yours. “If I come back, it won’t be for a long time.”

“Whenever you do come back …” you took a deep breath, as you offered one last smile, “my … my door is always open.” You wanted to say how he had your heart so it didn’t matter how long it would take, you wouldn’t forget him. You’d remember all those moments you two shared.

Hunter steeled himself as he stood in front of your house, your necklace nestled against his chest. His fist raised ready to knock, when he took a moment to steal himself. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He knocked, not backing away. It felt as though hours had ticked by as he stood there, when it’d really only been a few seconds. 

You wiped your hands clean, as you answered the door, “Sorry, my hands were …” your sentence vanished from your lips as your eyes focused on Hunter’s face. 

Your heart started pounding as he stood there, your eyes slowly roving over him, making sure he wasn’t injured, before your eyes went back to his own.

“Hunter…”

The fear and trepidation he’d been feeling from the moment he decided to come to you melted away. 

“Hi mesh’la”

You didn’t hesitate a second, throwing your arms around his neck as you pulled him closer, burrowing your face into his neck. He didn’t hold back wrapping his arms around you, burying his face in your hair, remembering your scent from so long ago. You still smelt like home. And now that he held you, you felt like home. 

Neither of you said anything as you both stood there holding on to each other. 

After you’ve had your fill, you pulled back, fighting back tears as you looked at him, “I’ve missed you.”

Hunter fought back his own tears, as his hand gently stroked your cheek, “I missed you, too. I’m sorry I’m late.”

“You’re not late. You’re never late.” You held his cheeks in your hand, smiling as he leaned in closer. You didn’t hesitate, as you closed the distance pressing your lips against his. 

Hunter pulled back after holding you in his arms, deepening the kiss like he’d been wanting to do for the past several years, “How do you feel about moving?”

“If it means being with you, I can go anywhere.”

“Ever heard of Pabu?”

Main Master List   | Star Wars Jukebox Roulette |   AO3 Link

Tag list:

@liadamerondjarin @badbatch-simp24

@spicymcnuggies@lady-ren

@firstofficerwiggles @darkangel4121

@discofern @kavecika

@monako-jinn-stories @ladykatakuri

@avathebestx

@theroguesully @furyhellfire66

@carodealmeida

@ciramaris @sprout-fics

@twinkofthedink @dindjarin-mandalorian

@ulchabhangorm

@littlemisspascal @tortor-mcgee

@vodika-vibes @clonethirstingisreal

@crosshair-is-the-superior-clone @totallyunidentified

@griffedeloup @leotatombs

@leotawrites

[rising-volteccers]

*slides over a few coins* Do you have any Friede angst

-shoves the coins into my pocket- Yeah sure I gotcha. Have this that's totally not me self projecting based on HZ018.

Series: Pokemon Horizons

Characters: Professor Friede

--

“What, you're quitting? Why? You're one of the best here!”

“Hey man, I heard you were quitting. You think that's the right call?”

“While I don't really get why you're quitting, I wish you luck for your future endeavors Friede.”

Future endeavors? To be completely honest, Friede didn't have anything lined up. He gave easy answers and pleasant smiles to anyone that asked, slipping out lies as easy as breathing. Gave replies that appeased their hidden curiosity because one of the best researchers in the company quit such a good paying job? Surely it was for something bigger and grander.

All Friede knew was that had he stayed at his job any longer, he'd break.

He didn't know when it started to become wrong. Wasn't this what he wanted to become? Friede recalled a distant memory of his younger years when life felt a lot simpler. Heading to Professor Oak’s laboratory to get his first starter, being one of many children that day who discovered the wonders of Pokemon. Listening in on the Professor’s explanation sowed the seeds that'd later bloom into a burning want to become like his childhood hero.

Friede poured his all into that dream. Regardless of how he struggled with schoolwork, in making friends and getting good grades, he never gave up. Miss Lucca and her kind encouragement further pushed him to make it a reality. He wanted to be the student that proudly told his favorite teacher of his successes.

Friede worked hard for many years, pouring blood, sweat and tears into his education. From earning his bachelor's degree all the way to a PhD, he never gave up even during his lowest lows. It would be all worth it at the end, he told himself.

And he believed it initially. When he got hired to work at a relatively large company, Friede couldn't be happier. At last he could put his knowledge into practice!

(Where did it go wrong?)

He observed Pokemon, taking note of their behavior and analyzed it.

(When did it go wrong?)

Crunched the numbers inside a lab, hunched over his desk and typing away at the computer to store data.

(How did it go wrong?)

Repeating this process with each new project. Pulling all nighters to meet deadlines.

(Why did it go wrong?)

Finding himself becoming less motivated to do research work but forced himself because it was his job. It was what he spent many years achieving.

(What went wrong?)

This was what he wanted to do right? Friede wanted to become a professor so he could learn everything there was about Pokemon? Wasn't this job giving him that opportunity? To study Pokemon and analyze all that data within a lab with its sterilized walls and cold equipment and blank excel sheets and–

(Was… was he wrong? All this time was he…)

Friede had to quit. If he stayed any longer, forced himself to do work that chipped away at his genuine passion for research, he feared losing a fundamental piece of himself to… this. Whatever this was.

(This was burnout. This was discovering that he invested years of his life into something that might not be worth it).

They held a little farewell party for him, wishing him luck over a few rounds of drinks. Friede only drank enough to not be questioned. He didn't want to get drunk, despite how appealing it is to just forget about this for even a little while. Last thing he wanted for his lips to become loose, spilling things he kept hidden.

After that, Friede just… didn't do anything. His internal body clock still kicked him awake for his usual shift, often taking a few seconds to realise that he didn't have work to go to anymore. Instead of making the most out of his day, Friede simply laid back down, staring at the ceiling until he remembered to feed Charizard.

Friede didn't consider what he wanted to do beyond achieving his goal. He thought this was what he'd be doing for the rest of his life. What a foolish notion. Couldn't even last a year before he quit.

As much as he wanted to lie in bed all day, that too got old after a week or so. Friede opted to head out for his usual grocery shop with Charizard. His partner didn't feel like flying, so they simply walked to the market. Not like he could force a Fire-type whose flames were dulled. Like Pokemon like Trainer, huh?

At least during that trip, he came across Ludlow. An unexpected friend he made during his studying years. If he wanted to get away for awhile, away from all the books and expectations and looming deadlines, Friede could go to Ludlow. They'd go out to sea from Porto Marinada to fish all day, and he'd return with a clearer head, as if the sea had cleansed away the gunk weighing him down.

Friede didn't have to say anything. Ludlow took one look at him (with his disheveled hair, unkempt close and dead eyes) before inviting him out to a fishing trip.

A part of him didn't want to. He simply wanted to return back to his apartment and stare at the ceiling, fear of an unknown future paralyzing him. But this was Ludlow, a kind man who didn't have an obligation to spend time with him yet he chose to.

Friede took him up on that offer. Getting fresh air while the pair fished all day made him feel the most alive since he quit. Ludlow continued to invite him on fishing trips, trying his best to have him be more adventurous.

He often declined, giving non committal answers that Ludlow thankfully never pushed. Why should he put effort into something that'd likely not be worth it? Once was enough.

(Deep down, Friede knew those were simply excuses. He simply feared developing a passion that'd fizzle out and die when he realised it wasn't actually for him).

This went on for weeks until one day, Friede received a call from Miss Lucca. She wanted to meet up, and he respected her enough to clean up some before they met at the Treasure Eatery. It was somewhat bittersweet to see her again; she clearly had a future to look forward to, what with her having a child to raise.

Friede kept his answers vague to the somewhat probing questions. Miss Lucca always had the uncanny ability to see him through all the layers he put up. She had something to show him tomorrow, requiring him to wake up pretty early.

He accepted considering he had nothing better to do. What Friede ended up seeing was a Pikachu. He couldn't help but feel disappointed; he knew all that was documented about the species. Why did she want him to see this one in particular?

When Friede saw this small creature soar as high as the clouds, a spark lit up in his heart. For the first time in a long while, he felt excitement.

He missed this feeling, the surge of passion thought lost. Friede grasped onto it with all his might and was rewarded to a sight that showed him there were new horizons for him to explore. He just needed to take the first step again.

Friede did it once.

He could do it again.

[littlespoonevan]

i could buy that more if (1) helena didn't have that line about chris making these decisions as a 13 y/o, (2) ramon didn't compare his mistakes w eddie w this overwhelmingly different situation, and (3) they showed any proof of the diaz parents entertaining a different option. w those first two points, eddie makes a v reasonable point about how the 13 y/o should not be making huge decisions in the heat of the moment that basically amount to running away bc he's mad. and NO ONE backs him up despite that being the most logical thing anyone says the entire episode. helena responds w that line about autonomy (like she ever would have let eddie even entertain the possibility of leaving home at that age. please.) which imo came across as critical of eddie's parenting skills. and ramon starts projecting his decades of fucking up w eddie onto eddie's v v different relationship and situation w chris. tbh both of those lines speak to repeating the same pattern of the diaz parents trying to fix their mistakes w eddie via chris. the only grace i am giving in this situation is to ramon bc he is the only diaz parent that's had actual development; nothing to do w helena has been addressed, so i don't think anything she did in 7x10 is meant to demonstrate growth tbh. w the third point, the diaz parents just show up at eddie's house w no prior warning when they could have called or texted or made contact somehow at any point. they never even try to come up w an alternative to taking chris across state lines indefinitely (given helena's line about replacing anything chris doesn't bring) - they don't offer to stay in california for a bit, they don't try to set something up w pepa so that chris could stay w her instead, they ignore buck as an option completely, they don't say "if you come w us you have to talk to your dad about it" or make any comment about chris missing his friends or having to change schools etc., they don't even give a hard deadline for when chris will be coming home! everything about their presence in this episode was strikingly similar to the way they acted when they came to la for shannon's funeral - they ambushed eddie w a major decision when he's emotionally vulnerable in the wake of a traumatic event. in that s2 scene they also tried to appear sympathetic and understanding at first before dropping a major decision they were pressuring eddie into making on his lap; they end up pushing eddie into this decision within 48 hours of the kim bomb dropping. i also think it's worth noting that there's a p clear parallel between henren unjustly losing a child due to outside interference and the way eddie loses chris. and chris leaving w the diaz parents is certainly framed more like mara leaving w the social workers than mara reappearing w madney.

if that's how you interpret it, anon, that's totally fair. there are many, many people that agree with you. again, i'm not arguing about if it was the right decision or not. it's certainly not the direction i would've taken it and i think the story should've had time to breathe so nothing happened in the heat of the moment but also. no story this season has had time to breathe. tim has ran that line in multiple interviews about how if they're happy there's no story etc etc (which i so strongly disagree with askjdfh) and i think that was the approach he took here too. i also agree that it's supposed to parallel henren losing mara

literally my only point is that i don't think eddie's parents had bad intentions in what they were trying to do. it's okay if you think they did.

[rark-journey]

Realistic Approach to Discovery

Throughout my life I've been living at a fast pace I thought I set up for myself. Pushing myself to keep working, to reach the next best thing. I've only recently learned to praise myself along the way. It certainly is a major character development, but the thing about always looking up to a bigger goal and higher mountain peak is that I tend to lose sight of -as Miley Cyrus once said- The Climb.

That gnawing occupational disease of always yearning for something greater, is just a branch of  deeper rooted fear of measuring life's worth only based on outcomes.

In the midst of a busy week, I went to talk to a friend. Formally, it would be called a therapy session, but circumstances were too casual and laid back. It was more like a master Oogway and Po moment. Even as I waited for the session to start, I was busy and lost in my own head planning for the next project. Not a bad thing, I love planning ahead and being organized to an extent just to get a clear idea of what I want out of that experience.

I think it was a good development for me to reach out the second I realized I was stuck in an old cycle of obsession. I thought it was ambition, that I used to hate so much because I was only thinking in dicothomy -a pathogmonic sign of unresolved trauma by the way- The more I listen to my friend's experiences, the more I get to thinking. Yeah, this is not about ambition or lack thereof. To this day I haven't determined how much thought I'd like to put into ambition and goals honestly. For now, that part doesn't cause concern nor discomfort in my life.

Then, what is this obsession? It didn't hit me until I was on my way home after the session.

I never thought I'd be a person who cares about praises or acknowledgement from others. I thought I've always known how to do that for myself. But that's exactly it. I was conditioned to only praise myself when I achieve something. I didn't know how to appreciate my own efforts, which is funny because I'm always ay the front line of appreciating others throughout their own processes. I just never realized I don't do it for myself.

I've read Camus's Sisyphus plenty of times before and I still missed the point of why we must imagine Sisyphus happy.

Naturally, knowing this 'failure' I became hard on myself and tried to re-read the essay. However, I quickly got very distressed because I have a deadline to catch up with and I just couldn't make time to read. I meditated, sort my thoughts out, and finish my daily target. Later that night, or more like dawn where everything is quiet and the sky is so dark much like my thoughts. I did what needed to be done and console myself, I ask myself the question

How do you really feel about how far you've come?

I didn't like my answer that night, so I told myself, you would rather chew sand than criticize your friend whose going through a lot like yourself right now, but you have no hesitation in putting yourself down. How does that make you feel?

Not the best way to end a night, because I had a weird weird dream afterwards.

However the next day I felt lighter after recognizing which part of myself I have to work on. Then I had to do overtime for the rest of the week so I couldn't really get myself into that headspace of total reflection, or else I would've just knock myself down to the ground from the lack of sleep. Another thing I have to learn to do.

Wasn't until my team and I finally finished the work that I suddenly got the discovery. This part of myself, that's very critical is kind of like my own personal prosecutor and I haven't accepted her as part of me. That's why it's hard, that's why I keep on battling myself.

Self reflection and wanting to do better is an omen of a mature ego. However, my self image is still going through puberty. Naturally, they would always fight and that will continously cause an identity crisis within me. It makes perfect sense for a human to always want to do better and grow from their experiences, but it's unfortunate that sometimes we're not the kindest to ourselves. Sometimes, you're not used to the gentle treatment that should've came along with criticism.

I didn't want to dwell too much on where this trait came from, which part of my past that I identify with that I still have trouble with integrating to this day. I got a rough idea of why and how and even when, but I don't want to refine the past, since you can't really do much for what's passed. The rough edges in the present that came from it can still be smooth out, so that's what I have to enjoy doing for now.

I have learned, previously, to accept the highs and the lows from pushing a rock up a mountain over and over again. I've learned not to lose myself along the way. Now, I've discovered that I also should praise myself along the way, even though it's going to be a repetitive cycle of achievements, failures, and all the things in between.

So, I guess, just like studying for the board exam. The more you know and learn, will only bring more questions and new foreign things to learn. The more you discover about yourself and your life, then there's always more rough edges to work on and refine; but that's really not all that is.

The discovery and refinement process itself, it should be precious to me and I have to learn to praise myself for doing it.

*all writings are cross-posted on Medium @made.savitra

[omniswords]

lukanette for kiss #1

1.  Small kisses littered across the other’s face.

leave me a pairing and a number and i’ll write you a kiss! [CLOSED FOR NOW]

i think we can all agree that we could do with some good old-fashioned luka(nette) sugar right about now, yeah? enjoy!! <3

“Okay,” Luka says. “Talk to me.”

He must really mean it, because he’s actually stopped playing to listen to Marinette, even though she hasn’t said anything. He’s patient with her, has been in all three years they’ve been dating. (Three and a half, she reminds herself.) If there’s something she needs to say, he’ll spend all the time in the world waiting for it—even waiting for her to realize she needs to say something at all. “What do you mean?” she asks, hardly looking up from her work.

“You’ve got the wrinkle,” is all he says.

Marinette rolls her eyes. “I do not.”

“I can see your face right now, babe.” Luka sets his guitar aside, moving from the couch—their couch— in favor of the spare swivel chair at her desk. “You only get that look when you’re unhappy about something and think it’s better to bottle it up instead.”

Marinette scrunches up her lips, pretending to look more focused than she actually is. “How do you know I’m not just unhappy about how this dress is coming out?”

She can practically feel how his gaze flickers to the dress form in front of her. The wide-brim straw hat, decorated with a plain white ribbon, that’s supposed to bring this whole summer ensemble together. “Because you’re never really unhappy with your work,” he says, rolling his chair closer to her stool. “Even if you think it sucks, you’re always sort of happy that you made it anyway.”

“That’s just being an artist,” Marinette argues weakly around the stick pins in her mouth. “You get the same way about your music.”

“What are you thinking about?”

It’s hard to say anything to that besides what she’s actually thinking, especially when he starts to rub her shoulders in an attempt to coax her away from her work. She knows she’s done for when he thumbs at the baby hairs at the back of her neck, kisses the top of her head, eases the pins out of her mouth one by one. “Do you think I’m boring?” she blurts out.

Luka’s in the middle of taking down her hair from its messy I’m-on-a-deadline bun by then, but he stops. His fingers still thread through the locks like they're looking for something to do while he mulls over what he wants to say next. She’s always appreciated that about him, the fact that he always thinks before he speaks, but now the silence is anxiety-inducing. Maybe almost as much as it is when he calmly says, “Did… I do something to make you feel that way?”

“No! No, I just… I guess I was just… thinking. About it.” She slumps forward in her seat a bit, and Luka’s hands are back on her instantly, soothing the words out with every knot he works. “Just how it feels like… you know when you go out and you see new couples being all… couple-y?”

She can almost hear the smile in Luka’s voice. “I’m familiar with it, yeah.”

“Were…” Marinette trails off, holding her breath and pushing it out through her teeth while he targets a finicky crick in her neck. Maybe she’s been more of a workaholic than she thought. “Were we ever… like that, when we started dating? Showing each other off and being so public about it? It just… it feels like so long ago.”

She’s still got her thimble on—porcelain with a polka dot design she painted herself—and she toys with it like she needs something to do, too, while Luka takes care of her and pieces together just what it is she’s trying to say. “Nah,” he murmurs, not rejecting or judgmental, just matter-of-fact. “I don’t think we were ever like that. But I also don’t think we ever really needed to be like that.” He pauses. “Unless you wanted to be, and I just totally whiffed on that the whole time—”

Quickly, Marinette shakes her head. “No, no, I was just thinking about it recently.” Her body seems to relax almost entirely in his grip, and for a moment she nearly forgets just what she has to do to make this dress work. “I guess I… was thinking about how I used to think about love. How I felt like I always had to be nervous all the time around whoever I liked because that meant I really felt something. Or like whatever relationship I was in had to be exciting, and emotional, like a rollercoaster all the time, because I thought… life was always better if it kept you on your toes.”

Luka hums in thought. “How’d that work out for you?”

She laughs, quiet, sheepish. “I guess it didn’t. Except for the part where it led me to you.”

“Yeah, I kinda like that part.” He kisses the top of her head again, thumbs finding a home at her shoulder blades. “Do you want me to tell you what I think? Or do you have more to say?”

Marinette closes her eyes. “Go ahead.”

Sometimes she feels as though, when Luka touches her, cares for her with those hands of his, he’s playing her the way he might play his guitar. As though, when he speaks to her, he’s singing. He’s told her before, that music somehow makes its way into just about everything he does—especially when it comes to her. It happens even now, as he pauses only to press his lips to her hand.

“I think,” he says, “that we’ve always been kinda comfortable with each other, and that maybe that’s a good thing. Being comfortable… well, it makes for a good relationship in the long run.” There he goes again, playing the strings in her shoulders, the chimes in her hair. “But I also don’t think it’s so bad to want a little extra excitement every so often. Life’s gonna keep us on our toes anyway, so why not make it for the better? Maybe we deserve that.” He rests his chin atop her head. “Maybe we deserve to fall in love with each other all over again.”

Marinette will never understand why he thinks he’s not so good with words when he can so easily take her own and make such sense of them. She swivels around in her seat, unable to help the smile that erupts across her face. “Have I ever told you how much I love you?”

Luka grins right back. “You’ve told me,” he teases. “But I won’t complain about hearing it some more.’’ He cradles her face then, littering soft kisses all over her forehead, her cheeks, the tip of her nose, as though he’s dead-set on doing it until he makes her giggle. And once he does, and chuckles along with her, he leaves one last lingering one on her lips, pulling away far too soon for her liking. “C’mon. Let’s get ready.”

“Mm?” She blinks slowly, coming back to herself. “For what?”

“Date night.” His fingers trace her hairline, catch delicately on the curve of her jaw. “We haven’t had one in a while, huh?”

Her brow furrows. “We didn’t plan a date night.”

Luka’s still smiling. “I know.”

Within seconds, that dopey grin of hers is back with a vengeance, and she doesn’t even try to fight the warmth or the onslaught of butterflies that fills her stomach. She doesn’t want to. She wants Luka to see what he still does to her.

“That’s my girl,” he tells her with one more kiss. “Let’s go fall in love all over again, huh?”

Marinette already misses the feeling of those comfortable, musical hands on her face once he gets to his feet. And she might be hallucinating from the leftover dregs of stress, but she thinks she might see the outline of a little box in the back pocket of his jeans.

[goldenworldsabound]

Alright so...don’t reblog this, but...

what happened?

Last month, tumblr terminated my account without any warning or explanation. I submitted a ticket, pinged on it a bunch, no response. I made a temp account a week later. It got terminated (I have my suspicions as to why) within 24 hours. I made another ticket. Then I gave up. Finally, today, tumblr support emailed back and said they’d restored the account and here I am! Everything is as it was (minus the 200+ queue posts which are gone forever I assume).

Some house keeping

Fic will be posted on ao3 from now on, and linked to from tumblr. if you want to get the fic directly, I encourage you to subscribe to my account! AO3 feels like a place where my writing is typically more well received, and I’ve really enjoyed leaning into that. But you’ll still see it here, though you will have to go to AO3 to read it. If you have a problem with AO3, we likely have different values and I’d encourage us to go our separate ways.

changes?

I need to limit the time I spend on here so I will not see everything people post unfortunately. The compulsiveness that led me to spend hours scrolling is super bad and I don’t really wanna continue to do that. As always you’re welcome to tag me in things, though if you do that I assume you will also interact with my content - it is a two way street, and if you don’t treat it as such, then you’re just trying to get attention from me and I’m here for friendship not whatever that is, thanks.

I had totally come to terms with this account being gone and had found my way to fill the void. It’s back now and I couldn’t be happier, but I did learn a lot of the ways that being here was actually not always good for me. In general I need to be more aggressive in protecting my well being and less afraid of what folks will think.

more general updates

I’ve been in deadline hell with work for the last...I dunno...since December probably? it’s coming to an end hopefully soon. But it’s my project, and it’s gone badly, and it’s really stressful. I was also recently triggered by something (not using the word lightly here) and so my emotional bandwidth is super low right now. Happy? Crying. Sad? Crying. Angry? Crying. Given any sort of news either good or bad? Crying. It is just super tough right now and I hope you can all understand that I need to take care of myself, which sometimes might be unfollowing folks because I follow so. Many. People. It might also be not responding to DMs or asks or what have you, and it might be saving your fic off to read later or accidentially scrolling past your art without realizing. So please be kind to me (and to everyone really, we’re all going through it) and forgive me for missing things.

[brokutosan]

Title. Oikawa Toruu Is Not A Genius, But He Is A Jackass

Pairings. Oikawa Toruu x Fem!Reader

Summary. In which Oikawa doesn’t always tell his girlfriend things. She finds out anyways.

Warnings. Contains manga spoliers! Oikawa’s inferiority complex is mentioned a lot, as well as his anxieties over it. The title and the summary are misleading, sorry. This is a fluffy imagine (sort of).

“Honey, I’m home!” Oikawa Toruu calls out to a silent apartment. Also, it’s three in the morning, but he’s Oikawa Toruu and Oikawa Toruu could care less if he’s bothering the whole building, so long as he could finally take her in his embrace again (he’s up for a treat when she does wake up though, and not the one he’s expecting).

Oikawa takes note of the subtle changes from when he was last here. For instance, the old hand-me-down couch they got from his mom is replaced by a new, clean, and sleek black couch. There’s also some new additions of little knick knacks here and there, but it still felt like home to him. Kicking off his worn out sneakers by the door, not even bothering to check if it knocked over some of her things, Oikawa heads straight to the bedroom, where he’s welcomed by her sleeping form.

She’s dressed in one of his old Seijoh shirt along with white shorts and her arms are clinging onto a pillow. Oikawa gushes at the sight before snapping a quick picture and taking slow, careful, steps towards the bed.

“If you were gonna sneak around you shouldn’t have announced to the whole fucking neighborhood you were home.” She snorts with her eyes still closed. Oikawa stops dead in his tracks like a deer caught in headlights and remains frozen as if not moving would erase his presence all together.

“Hmph!” Oikawa lets out as his face catches a pillow that was chucked at him by his still sleeping girlfriend. “Nice throw babe. Ever thought of a career switch? I can see you making it big in softball.”

“Stop dicking around and just come here.” She mumbles. Oikawa smiles at the adorable sound of her sleep-induced voice. “As you wish my darling.” He says before throwing all his weight onto her sleeping form.

“Toruu, you jackass!” Oikawa lets out a boisterous laugh at her feeble attempts of freeing herself from his arms. The more she wiggles the tighter his hold gets, before she gives in to his embrace.

“I missed you so much.” Oikawa mumbles into her hair once they’ve settled in. He flips them over so they’re now laying side by side, with one arm slung over her form rubbing soothing circles on her back and the other placed under her head.

“Sorry I couldn’t pick you up from the airport. My boss wouldn’t push back the deadline.” Oikawa shakes his head ‘no’ and mumbles out, “It’s fine. This makes up for it.”

“Good, cus you’ll feel my wrath tomorrow morning.” Oikawa gulps down, knowing she’s totally serious.

-

Oikawa wakes up after the first good night’s sleep he’s had in a few months to an empty bed. He catches a whiff of miso soup which leads him into the kitchen, to a sight he’s been missing after all those years in Argentina.

Hunched over the stove is his girlfriend, clad in an oversized t-shirt while mixing something in the pot. The sight makes him smile, before her voice snaps him out of his daydream. “Oi, don’t just stand there, go set the table.” He salutes and scoops up two bowls of rice and places them down on the table alongside various side dishes.

Y/N sets down the pot she was stirring on the stove, letting Oikawa catch another whiff of her familiar cooking. “Thank you for the meal.” He says with a huge smile on his face. Y/N sits down across from him on table, where she then proceeds to stare him down.

The sight reminds Oikawa of his mom, who’s an expert at chastising him with looks alone. She bites down on a spoonful of rice, not once breaking eye contact with him. Oikawa racks his head for anything that he could’ve done wrong to deserve this mental beating. Their anniversary? No, it’s coming up in two months. Her birthday? Like Oikawa could ever forget. Then -

“Mind telling me why exactly you’re here on a vacation?” Oikawa feels the hairs at the back of his neck shoot up. Of course he couldn’t. If she found out he got sent home from over exerting himself again, she’ll rip his head off.

“I mean, there’s no anniversaries coming up, no birthday, and I doubt you’re here willingly where your team ain’t.” She lists off the facts with her fingers. Oikawa can feel the storm coming, this was only the calm before it.

“If you wanted to hide the fact that you’ve gone and practiced yourself ‘til you collapsed, maybe don’t have me listed as your emergency contact!” There it is. The ‘wrath’ she had mentioned the night before. “I mean seriously, Toruu! Did Hajime not tear your ass apart in highschool enough for practicing too hard?! You want me to do it too?! I’m scarier than that beefy bastard!” Yes, yes she is. Oikawa silently tells himself.

He clears the table of anything she could use against him as a weapon. Her chopsticks, fork, and empty mug, to name a few things.

“Oops?” Oikawa flinches as her palms make contact with the table. “Oops?!” She screeches. Oikawa gulps down a spoonful of miso soup, trying his best to avoid her gaze. He’s expecting more yelling, but is met with a soft look and a teary girlfriend over miso soup and rice. Fuck. He’d prefer the yelling girlfriend.

“Did you know how useless I felt when your coach called me saying you were bedridden for a week because you just didn’t know when to stop?” She lets out a deep breathe and continues, “Like what the fuck was I supposed to do from across the world? Fucking pray you weren’t out there dying? You didn’t even have the decency to call and let me know!”

Despite her larger than life personality that Oikawa has grown to love over the years, the sight of his girlfriend looking so small makes his heart burst from guilt. He fucked up. That much he could admit. His tendency to push higher and relentlessly practice until he felt his lungs begging for a break was always something that worried her, especially now that she’s not exactly within reach to stop him from pushing himself too hard.

“Toruu, I support your dream one hundred percent, even if it’s taking you thousands of miles away from me, but please,” The anger laced in her voice is replaced with desperation, making Oikawa want to reach out and hold her close, “take care of yourself too. If not for yourself, then do it for me.”

He doesn’t know whether it’s the fact that someone cares about him so much to the point it brings her to tears, or the fact that she is in tears, but he feels himself trembling from the burst of affection. Oikawa doesn’t have the best track record of handling his insecurities well, but knowing that that makes her sad makes him want to do better.

Oikawa crosses over the table and gently places her head on his chest, rubbing soothing circles on her back. Though she’s still a bit shaky from yelling and crying, Y/N eventually calms herself down to sniffles and tiny whimpers.

“I’m sorry.” Oikawa decides to speak first.

“I wasn’t looking for an apology.”

“But I’m sorry either way.” He lets his body fall into her embrace, noting this as another thing he’s missed since moving to Argentina. “For not taking care of myself. For not letting you know I collapsed. For always worrying you, but never stopping to check in on you.”

“And I’m sure this’ll happen again in the future,” he earns a light smack on his chest for that, “but I’ll just say sorry for that too.”

“And,” Oikawa mumbles, his face burrowed deep into the crook of her heck, “thank you, for looking out for me even though I don’t deserve it. You can’t understand how much I appreciate knowing you’re there for me, even if it’s not always physical.”

Y/N feels herself relaxing in his embrace, arms finally wrapping themselves around his waist. Her eyes are slightly watery as she looks up and says, “Promise you won’t hide these kinds of things from me anymore?”

Oikawa opens his mouth to respond, but is interrupted,

“And I don’t just mean when you pass out. I mean like if it ever gets hard living alone in Argentina. If you miss home, if you think you’re working too hard and need a break, I want to know everything, Toruu.”

Oikawa simply hums in response, placing a kiss on her forehead. “I promise.”

-

A little while later, after they’ve both calmed down and are cuddling on the couch watching some old movie, Oikawa perks up, suddenly remembering something.

“I brought you a gift, by the way.” He skips off into the bedroom, unzipping one of his many suitcases. (He packed four, plus his carry ons. He’s only staying for two weeks). Y/N is visibly nervous at the fact that this ‘gift’ has a whole suitcase designated for it. Turns out she had a good reason to be.

“What the fuck am I looking at.”

“It’s me!” Oikawa exlaims, one hand forming a peace sign brought up to his face, and the other holding up a horrendous life sized body pillow complete with his face and team uniform. Y/N could only blink, wishing to Christen her eyes from the terrible sight. Or maybe turn back time to before she even saw it. After a long moment of silence, in which Oikawa did not move an inch from his previous position, Y/N finally gathers enough sanity to say,

“Alright, get the fuck out of my house.”

Oikawa decides to dig his own grave by cheekily calling out, “Oh come on babe! Think of it as a coping mechanism for when you’re missing your totally awesome boyfriend-”

A throw pillow makes it’s way to Oikawa’s face. They’re called throw pillows for a reason, because now Oikawa’s forehead is red, tears brimming in his eyes from the loud smack! that met his face hard. But apparently not hard enough seeing as how he still manages to let out a, “nice throw,” over teary eyes and two thumbs up. Y/N thinks her boyfriend might be an idiot.

A/N. Very very very short, I know. I haven’t been writing as much bc I don’t have inspiration for anything??? But I’ll get back into it soon. For now, thank you for reading!! I AM working on the two requests I got, but those might take some time!! Sorry for the wait lol. - chuu

[just-anka]

I realised I haven’t really regularly posted here since like... I don’t even know, September? It’s been a while, anyway. A lot happened, and I now feel like actually writing a post for the first time in a while, so here goes haha. The first bullet point is entirely work waffle so feel free to skip. Apologies in advance for the fact that this post will probably reach novel length by the time I’m done. 

• I took a week off in late September before Ben started his new job so we could go to the mountains for a bit, and it was a much-needed little break from work. And pretty much right after I got back, work got completely mental - nothing bad as such, just one thing after the other, loads of deadlines, so many important things. First I was finishing up data for a paper (first authorship was being debated which is partially why I threw myself into the job so much, but it looks like it’ll be the PhD student before me’s now, which is how it should be tbh, it’s much more hers than it is mine), then the date for my first committee meeting was set and I suddenly had only two weeks to prepare (did not think it was going to be that short notice, whoops, had a very stressful two weeks but all went well - for us, this meeting means presenting our research plan and preliminary data to a committee of four professors so they can give you input, it’s not suuuper formal but still pretty stressful), then I had to write the report for that (I love writing so that one was okay), then there was suddenly a lot to do for a really important cooperation with a company (big money responsibility which stressed me the fuck out), and then, just as I thought I was pretty much done for the year, I realised I needed my lab book up to date for my end of year meeting with my PI (which wouldn’t be such a big deal, except I didn’t have a lab book at the time. Never got around to starting one. So nine months of lab book were written within another very stressful week). Whew. Even writing this out makes me feel like that was a lot haha. 

• After the end of year discussion, I really was done for the year - I officially worked until the 23rd but there was not that much actual work happening, and with the pressure off after months, I properly crashed for a few days. Ben left for England on the weekend after to see his family for christmas etc, and I spent most of that weekend sleeping and doing very little. It was needed. Then my mum came to visit me for the holidays and we had four really lovely days together, also involving a lot of chilling (the only actual thing we did was that magical winter hike that I posted some pictures of the other day). 

• And now I’m skiing! I was planning to go to England as well for NYE to see Ben’s family, but with the corona situation escalating again lately I decided it was too risky for just a few days. So I made a last-minute plan to go skiing by myself instead, because all that involves is a 2 hour train journey. I’m actually staying in a hotel too, which I’ve never done by myself before, I’m usually a dorm in a hostel type of person, but well. Covid has changed a lot of things :D trying to stay safe and away from people, which is of course not entirely possible in a ski resort, but it’s going okay. The skiing itself is great, it’s really nice having some time to go at my own pace and a few days in a row. Today was day 4 and I’ve really found my groove again (more on that later). There’s not much snow though so not many off-pisteing opportunities :/ I’m staying until Monday and then it’s back to work on Wednesday. 

• Speaking of skiing, we’ve got season passes this year, my first season and Ben’s second. We’ve just been doing on the weekends so far - since the 21st of November I just realised while looking back in my calendar! That’s one hell of an early season start haha. We did just one day three weekends and then one full weekend right before Ben left. The first few days were bloody hard. For context, I learned to ski before I learned to walk and loved it as a child, then stopped for a few years because I felt like I wasn’t progressing anymore and was getting bored with it, basically. Then last January I went to France with Ben and his skiing friends and got introduced to freeriding and the idea of ski touring, and now I’m back to loving it haha. I’d ideally like to not have to resort ski anymore at one point (meaning touring) because I know it’s terrible from an environmental standpoint but... idk. It’s currently my only option, and I love it a lot, so I guess it feels okay? Anyway, since I learned to ski so early, it’s the one sport that I’ve always been pretty good at and like, never get scared, at least not on piste. Until this year. The first three individual days were just all kind of horrible, the conditions weren’t ideal with very hard surface and tons of ice and pretty busy slopes, and only steep terrain open as well (Engelberg, our “home” resort - we have a season pass that encompasses a bunch of resorts so we’re not limited to one - is literally dead flat beginner’s slopes, which weren’t open in the beginning, or red runs that should be black and black lol). Pairing loads of ice with my old skis which barely have an edge anymore was... not ideal. I was so scared constantly and it made me like I lost all my ability etc etc. But yeah, turns out I just needed a few days and some easier conditions to get back into it, and now ice and steep stuff and everything is fine again. Who would’ve thought. (a sensible person, probably). 

• But then, the full weekend we skied in December was awesome! Saturday already felt much better and then it snowed a bunch over night and Sunday we spent all day powder skiing, basically. I learned SO much and just had an absolute ball! Definitely one of the best days skiing I’ve had, and one of the best days recently in general. 

• Plus that whole weekend was just lovely, car camping in a campsite full of huge campervans was pretty fun :D I love the looks we get when people see the car and clearly wonder where we sleep. And we’ve got our setup perfected for winter now so both the nights were toasty. Friday night we had dinner in “bed” watching a movie, and Saturday night we sat in the little kitchen (the campsite has it open for everyone, but everyone else there has a camper, so it doesn’t seem to be used much) drinking tea and playing cards and ahh. Camping in the mountains. My ideal life eh? (though the weekend before this wonderful one, we got snowed in because it dumped over a metre over night completely unexpectedly and that was stressful as hell, but I think that’s a story for another day, if ever, I’m kind of trying to forget that day :’D) 

• Yesterday I also finally took the plunge and ordered new skis. Been debating for ages which ones to get but I’ve finally decided and I’m now very excited! 

• Ok this post so far reads as “work and skiing” which is pretty much what November and December were and probably what January is going to be too haha. Ben and I want to ski another week together end of January as well, and there’s some big exciting work things coming up as well. 

• Even though I have to admit, now that I’m on a break, I’ve spent a lot of time dreading work and questioning my career choices and all of that lark... sigh. I love my job most of the time, but I kind of hate having a job? If that makes sense? Sometimes (okay a lot of the time) I just wish I had more time for other things that I care about. But I also now I’m lucky to have that job, especially this year, and lucky to have a job I don’t hate, and get to do a lot of fun stuff on the side, even if it often means little sleep and downtime. 

• Speaking of things I care about, I was on a proper roll with writing for a few days before and after Christmas. It’s ebbed off again a bit, but it was still pretty cool, and my totally-useless-all-cheese-project is now 33,000+ words long and like, half-way there story wise. Had a lot of fun with that. 

• Lastly, Ben is still in England, and he’s coming back next Sunday, and I can’t wait! I miss him so much when we’re not together it’s actually silly. Although it’s less stressful this time than the last few times because... we live together, his work just offered him an unlimited contract from January, and I’m stuck here for another 2-3 years, so it looks like we’ll actually get to be in the same place for now. Which is all I wished for last year, and I’m so damn grateful - that stability really is the best thing 2020 has brought for me. And, as he said, even though we were apart for the start of the new year, it will hopefully bring more time together than any previous year ♡

• Okay I think this is long enough now, if you actually made it until here you’re a hero and I will try and post a bit more regularly again now to avoid this size of mind dump :’D I hope you all got into the new year alright, it feels very strange to me that it’s 2021 because I actually slept through midnight on new year’s for the first time since I was tiny haha but I’m sure a lot of people feel the same way! 

[bexterbex]

A Soul to Mend His Own | Ch. 3

A Kylo Ren x Modern! Reader in a soulmate au with some canon divergence. —————————————SLOWBURN————————————–

He is already the Supreme leader, searching the universe to find you, his Empress. Your name on his wrist has been the only constant in his life, while you have doubts about his existence and his acceptance of you. He isn’t in the database and why did the name Kylo Ren cover Ben Solo?

Originally posted on my Ao3 Crystallclover. If you missed Chapter 1, Click Here

Chapter 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Chapter 3: Of Speculation and Anticipation

Summary: “In fifteen minutes we will hear from the Prime Minister with more information about the First Order and what we as citizens are expected to do. Please stay tuned to CBC News for updates.” And “Tonight at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time First Order Supreme Leader Ren will address the public for the second time.”

_______________________________________________________________________

You arrive home and park in your building’s ramp. You see Carter pulling into the guest parking zone. You wait for them.

“Want to order something for lunch,” asked Carter.

“Sure, does curry sound alright,” you asked. Carter nodded and you both headed into your building.

You both took the stairs up to your floor and you unlocked your door. Both of you took off your shoes and you pulled out your phone to do your usual curry order

“So this thing with the First Order. What do you think? How many people are out there,” Asked Carter.

“I don’t know what to think. This all feels like some weird Sci-Fi movie. Why is this the first time we have been contacted by some sort of ‘alien’ race? This is just weird,” you responded. You pulled out your laptop and set it up on your small kitchen table. You set up a live feed to the CBC News broadcast and plugged your laptop in.

“What if they are really peaceful and don’t mean any harm. You heard that man, the Supreme Leader I think that’s what he’s called, as long as we follow orders we should be fine,” responded Carter.

Suddenly you both get a text in your group chat from Hayden asking, ‘What’s up with this alien invasion thing 👽? Spooky 👻’

“Should we invite him over,” asked Carter.

“Yeah, let’s see if I can add to the lunch order,” you responded while Carter texted Hayden back.

“Damn it, it won’t let me. Let me check if I have any salad or anything to go with it,” you told Carter.

“Why don’t I text Hayden that if he plans on coming over now he needs to bring something,” asked Carter.

You nodded with approval. Although Carter texted Hayden separately he is always the type to respond in the group chat. ‘Coolio, I’ll pick up some drinks and chips and hummus 😂’

“Why he does that I’ll never understand,” you stated. Carter nodded in agreement.

The live stream on your laptop flashed so you unmuted it.

Live from Ottawa

“In fifteen minutes we will hear from the Prime Minister with more information about the First Order and what we as citizens are expected to do. Please stay tuned to CBC News for updates,” said the blond anchorwoman. You turned down the volume on your laptop to a background noise level.

“Dang. Hopefully, he has more information as to who they are. I have been checking the government website all day and no one really has anything. Their Supreme Leader is a total mystery,” said Carter.

You both then went to minding your phones. You scrolled through twitter. Everyone was talking about #alieninvasiondc and #firstorder. No one had any real news, just speculation from what you could see. Ironically the #raidarea51 tag was trending again talking about how this is what the U.S. government was hiding.

There was a knock on your door. You went to open it. The delivery person was there with your food. You paid him and he went on his way. Almost immediately after you shut the door there was another knock. Hayden this time with the drinks and chips and hummus.

He walks in without taking off his shoes and said, “aliens man who would have thunk.”

“Take off your damn shoes I don’t know how time I have to tell you,” you scolded Hayden who made his way back to the door.

“Ok jeez it’s not like your apartment is huge. It won’t take long to clean it,” Hayden responded.

Carter just rolled their eyes at the two of you. Hayden was the more relaxed, and slobby of the three of you. You were more type A, where everything had a place and you like things just so. He was definitely the extrovert of the group, someone who could have a 3-hour long conversation with a bartender about their life. Meanwhile, you were more of an introvert. Carter was the perfect balance for you two. Ever the optimist but an ambivert none the less.

Hayden loved conspiracy theories. Always talking about a new one here or there. He was the least adult out of the three of you. You had your habits and the way you liked things. Being a minimalist you liked the things you liked the way you liked them. You needed to be efficient and precise in order to survive your home and work life.

“My apartment may be small, but if it bothers you why is it that we always end up here, hmm?” You responded sarcastically.

Hayden just shrugged and went about preparing himself a plate of curry, rice hummus and chips while grabbing a cider from the six-pack he brought.

“I don’t know if you heard but the Prime Minister will be speaking in a few minutes, hopefully with more information on this First Order stuff,” said Carter trying to distract you two from your usual petty disagreements.

Carter was the glue to your friendship. The rock to keep you three together. Despite Hayden’s extroversion, there were still some prejudices against the unmatched. He could easily find someone to go home with after a night at the bars but had a hard time making lasting friendships until he found Carter.

“Cool, love seeing my man Trudeau,” said Hayden.

Just now your laptop screen flashed with the news report. You turned up the volume.

Live from Ottawa

The Prime Minister started to speak, “as you all know yesterday there was a visit to Earth by a then-unknown group who we now know to be the First Order. Earlier this morning the U.S. President spoke to everyone on behalf of the United Nations. I myself and many others are in agreement that the First Order have come here in peace. I ask everyone in Canada to act peacefully and follow all instructions that you may receive from the government or the First Order.

You will be able to register at all public government offices like the housing department, the post office, the motor vehicle registration office, the social insurance number office, the immigration office and more. In the upper parts of provinces and in major cities there will be temporary registration stations. Please check the government website canada.ca to find any more places to register.

We ask that all citizens of Earth remain calm and proceed to be registered. Earlier the President said that citizens may be reassigned to duties within the First Order. This will only happen with your consent and only to positions, the First Order may need. You also may have the choice to temporarily be reassigned to help with registration.

The First Order will also be removing all standard currency and will be shifting all current wealth into the galaxy’s credit system or galactic credit. No citizen will lose any portion of their wealth and all physical currency will be able to be exchanged at any bank, credit union, or any government office and all digital currency or any currency currently kept at a bank or credit union will be converted automatically. This will happen 3 days after the trade deadline. By the end of the month, Earth will join the galactic trade economy and will be able to set up trade with any planet within the First Order rule.

Tonight at 7 PM Eastern Standard Time First Order Supreme Leader Ren will address the public for the second time. It is important that all citizens tune into the news and all employers are mandated to allow all employees the opportunity to watch or listen to Supreme Leader Ren’s speech. Thank you.”

All three of you sat stunned looking at the laptop. Carter was the first to speak.

“Is he human, Supreme Leader Ren I mean? You saw that helmet thing I wonder what's under there” asked Carter.

“I don’t know maybe he’s got like a tentacle face like Davey Jones did from that Pirates of the Caribbean movie. What do you think Y/N,” asked Hayden.

“You both say the videos of last night’s landing right? There was a ginger man with them, maybe they are human, but there is probably some sort of mix within their ranks. You’ve both seen Star Trek and other Sci-Fi movies. There is a possibility all of the First Order with helmets are some other species. Maybe they brought that ginger man to calm us all down so we don’t have an alien vs predator thing,” you said.

Both Carter and Hayden seemed to nod in agreement. For a little bit, you all went about eating your food.

“Hey, this might be one of my crazy theories but what if your guys’ matches are some weird alien species,” said Hayden. “Like think how cool that would be!”

“I will love whoever or whatever they are. The universe thought it was important enough to put their name on my wrist so that is all I care about,” said Carter continuing to eat.

You just simply looked down at the names on your wrist. You secretly hoped that Kylo/Ben wasn’t going to be disgusted at you being human.

[welllpthisishappening]

Welllp These Are Books: the June 2021 Edition

I have read a lot of books this month. That should be stated upfront. Just an absolute metric ton of books. Some real good, some not-so good, some inadvertently hysterical. Also, I made that BINGO board. Because, like, you ever have a total crisis of writing-confidence and ignore that potential freakout and the tendency of your coworkers to miss deadlines by reading every free Amazon sports romance you can find? And several full YA series? In one month? No? My experiences are not universal, I understand. Anyway, there’s thoughts and opinions and spoilers under the cut. Everyone read the Once Upon a Con series, I’m begging you.

READ THIS SERIES! PLEASE! EVERY BOOK WAS SO CUTE! EVERYONE IN EVERY BOOK WAS SO CUTE! THE FANDOM STUFF DID NOT GIVE ME SECOND-HAND EMBARRASSMENT!

Geekerella by Ashley Poston Part romance, part love letter to nerd culture, and all totally adorbs, Geekerella is a fairy tale for anyone who believes in the magic of fandom. Geek girl Elle Wittimer lives and breathes Starfield, the classic sci-fi series she grew up watching with her late father. So when she sees a cosplay contest for a new Starfield movie, she has to enter. The prize? An invitation to the ExcelsiCon Cosplay Ball, and a meet-and-greet with the actor slated to play Federation Prince Carmindor in the reboot. With savings from her gig at the Magic Pumpkin food truck (and her dad’s old costume), Elle’s determined to win…unless her stepsisters get there first. Teen actor Darien Freeman used to live for cons—before he was famous. Now they’re nothing but autographs and awkward meet-and-greets. Playing Carmindor is all he’s ever wanted, but the Starfield fandom has written him off as just another dumb heartthrob. As ExcelsiCon draws near, Darien feels more and more like a fake—until he meets a girl who shows him otherwise. 

The Princess and the Fangirl by Ashley Poston Imogen Lovelace is an ordinary fangirl on an impossible mission: to save her favorite Starfield character, Princess Amara, from being killed off. On the other hand, the actress who plays Amara wouldn’t mind being axed. Jessica Stone doesn’t even like being part of the Starfield franchise—and she’s desperate to leave the intense scrutiny of fandom behind. Though Imogen and Jess have nothing in common, they do look strangely similar to one another—and a case of mistaken identity at ExcelsiCon sets off a chain of events that will change both of their lives. When the script for the Starfield sequel leaks, with all signs pointing to Jess, she and Imogen must trade places to find the person responsible. The deal: Imogen will play Jess at her signings and panels, and Jess will help Imogen’s best friend run their booth. But as these “princesses” race to find the script leaker—in each other’s shoes—they’re up against more than they bargained for. From the darker side of fandom to unexpected crushes, Imogen and Jess must find a way to rescue themselves from their own expectations...and redefine what it means to live happily ever after. 

Bookish and the Beast by Ashley Poston In this third book of the Once Upon a Con series, Rosie Thorne is feeling stuck—on her college application essays, in her small town, and on that mysterious General Sond cosplayer she met at ExcelsiCon. Most of all, she’s stuck in her grief over her mother’s death. Her only solace was her late mother’s library of rare Starfield novels, but even that disappeared when they sold it to pay off hospital bills. On the other hand, Vance Reigns has been Hollywood royalty for as long as he can remember—with all the privilege and scrutiny that entails. When a tabloid scandal catches up to him, he’s forced to hide out somewhere the paparazzi would never expect to find him: Small Town USA. At least there’s a library in the house. Too bad he doesn’t read. When Vance’s and Rosie’s paths collide, sparks do not fly. But as they begrudgingly get to know each other, their careful masks come off—and they may just find that there’s more risk in shutting each other out than in opening their hearts.

— I cannot possibly overstate what an absolute delight this series was. Cute and sweet and adorable. Like rot your teeth sweet with romances that my high-school self would have swooned over. (I would have been so in love with Darien Freeman as a 16 year old, it’s not even funny. Also, I would have been obsessed with Starfield.) Let’s be honest, my current self swooned quite a lot. Reading these books genuinely felt like a love letter to fandom. To the good and bad and trashy parts of it, and it made my heart swell thinking about these fictional kids and the community they found and how much they learned and then they FELL IN LOVE and, like, not to sound like an after-school special, but: THE REP IN THESE BOOKS?!?? HOLY S H I T. So good. So goddamn good. And not, like, shoved to the side. Like, Jess falls in love with a girl. And it gets its swoon-worthy moment as much as anyone else. Plus, bi-librarian dad who wears suspenders??? Sign. Me. Up. Twisting the fairy tales into the stories also worked really well in my opinion. Honestly my only gripe was that Darien found a cell phone number in the white pages, but, like, everything else was a joy. Please read these books. I promise they will make you smile.

IN WHICH I CAN NEVER TURN DOWN A BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge Betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom, Nyx has always known that her fate was to marry him, kill him, and free her people from his tyranny. But on her seventeenth birthday when she moves into his castle high on the kingdom's mountaintop, nothing is what she expected—particularly her charming and beguiling new husband. Nyx knows she must save her homeland at all costs, yet she can't resist the pull of her sworn enemy—who's gotten in her way by stealing her heart.

— Yo. YO. Everyone in this book was horrible! And it was wonderful! I figured out the twist approximately point two seconds after the potential for a twist was possibly introduced and it did not diminish my enjoyment of this book for one second. I am such a sucker for any Beauty and the Beast AU, but this was way different than anything I’d read before and Nyx was a blood-thirsty terror and I loved her. The magic and the world building was fascinating in that I really did not expect Greek gods and goddess, but it was also a welcome turn in a weird, huh, that’s interesting sort of way. And the banter was a-plus, top tier. Even when they were snarking at each other. Especially when they were snarking at each other. (Still a pretty quick turn from enemies to lovers, but I’m willing to overlook that based almost solely on the snark.) Plus, the castle was fascinating. And there were more twists aside from the main twist, none of which I figured out. All of which I gasped over. The end was like—chef’s kiss, fantastic. I would like a novel-length sequel to tell me how everything worked out.

...BUT THE LITTLE RED RIDING HOOD ONE WASN’T AS GOOD

Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless—straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in a vain effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her hunt for the legendary sword that might save their world. Together, they navigate the opulent world of the courtly elite, where beauty and power reign and no one can be trusted. And as the two become unexpected allies, they discover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic . . . and a love that may be their undoing. Within a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

— As much as I loved Cruel Beauty, I was like ehhhh on this one. Which is part Little Red Riding Hood (although that seems like a stretch, honestly) and part The Girl With No Hands, which is a fairy tale I have literally never heard of before. Rachelle was just—sorta whiny? Which, y’know, she was cursed and had fucked up her entire life, so fair, but also...annoying. I kept reading mostly to try and understand what the FUCK was going on with the magic. I like to consider myself a relatively intelligent person who can understand most YA novels, but this one was tough to keep track of. Like, sure, the imagery of the Dark Forest was cool, but also what is a Gladspring? I’m still not sure I know. Also, this kind of dragged in some places. Lots of patrolling the palace (whining about life) and not enough magic-fighting or establishing any sort of relationship between Rachelle and Armand. Which just sort of happened? Amidst, approximately, twenty-four different twists that were admittedly cool, but also felt like they came out of nowhere. Everything that happened in Cruel Beauty made sense. Most of what happened here felt like it was shoehorned in for shock value.

YOU WANT MORAL AMBIGUITY? BOY HAVE I GOT MORAL AMBIGUITY FOR YOU. IN GODDAMN SPADES.

The Firebird Series by Claudia Gray Marguerite Caine's physicist parents are known for their groundbreaking achievements. Their most astonishing invention, called the Firebird, allows users to jump into multiple universes—and promises to revolutionize science forever. But then Marguerite's father is murdered, and the killer—her parent's handsome, enigmatic assistant Paul— escapes into another dimension before the law can touch him.Marguerite refuses to let the man who destroyed her family go free. So she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of herself. But she also meets alternate versions of the people she knows—including Paul, whose life entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt—as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more sinister than she expected.

— Guys. GUYS. These books, oh my G O D. Little known fact about me, but I am trash for cross-dimensional soulmates. The concept of “we’ll find each other anywhere” is one of my favorites, so I was so psyched about these books. And for awhile that’s what I thought I was going to get out of them. But. BUT! What I actually got was something, not totally different, but not entirely great, either. The problem here was that when anyone used one of the Firebird devices to jump dimensions they TOOK OVER THE BODY THEY JUMPED INTO. So, like, that consciousness got shoved to the side while whatever prime!person just took over. Living that body’s life. In a different dimension. And that’s kinda fucked up, right??? Brings in all sorts of questions about consent and morality and let me tell you, guys, this YA series DID NOT ADDRESS A SINGLE ONE OF THEM. Which is also super fucked up!! So, like, Marguerite is just bouncing around dimensions taking over people’s bodies and lives and leaving this, frankly, trail of destruction in her wake. And as if that wasn’t enough!!! In the second book Paul’s soul gets, like, split and she’s got to round up the pieces through dimensions, meeting all sorts of Pauls who are occasionally kind of shit people and he eventually just, like, CANNOT COPE. Seriously, I could not stop reading these. Partially for the moral ambiguity. Partially because I could not figure out why Paul loved Marguerite. Also, capitalism was the ultimate villain. AS IT SHOULD BE, REALLY.

CREEPY FAE WERE KIND OF CREEPY AND THAT’S NOT BAD, BUT LIKE MAYBE THIS WASN’T A GOOD BOOK?

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson Isobel is an artistic prodigy with a dangerous set of clients: the sinister fair folk, immortal creatures who cannot bake bread or put a pen to paper without crumbling to dust. They crave human Craft with a terrible thirst, and Isobel’s paintings are highly prized. But when she receives her first royal patron—Rook, the autumn prince—she makes a terrible mistake. She paints mortal sorrow in his eyes—a weakness that could cost him his life. Furious, Rook spirits her away to his kingdom to stand trial for her crime. But something is seriously wrong in his world, and they are attacked from every side. With Isobel and Rook depending on each other for survival, their alliance blossoms into trust, then love—and that love violates the fair folks’ ruthless laws. Now both of their lives are forfeit, unless Isobel can use her skill as an artist to fight the fairy courts. Because secretly, her Craft represents a threat the fair folk have never faced in all the millennia of their unchanging lives: for the first time, her portraits have the power to make them feel.

— I’ve seen this book mentioned a lot. As good. And it wasn’t not good, but Isobel was pretty goddamn annoying and kind of dumb and a little self-important and I was mostly here for the creepy fae. That was fun. More fae should have antlers and stuff. Everything in this story happened ridiculously fast. I couldn’t believe it was over when it was over.

THE PROSE WAS VERY PRETTY. I’M NOT SURE WHY THE DRAGON HAD TO BE SUCH A MONUMENTAL DICK.

Uprooted  by Naomi Novik Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood. The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose.

— Let me just say first off, that this should have been two books. Everything happened so quickly, I swear I got whiplash. That being said, as a heroine, I liked Agnieszka a lot. She was understandably freaked by everything that happened, but once she kind of settled, she didn’t take The Dragon’s shit and that was good because The Dragon was kind of shitty. This is why it should have been two books. Because everything The Dragon did felt like it needed some kind of explanation. Or at least some sort of reasoning for why he was such a monumental bastard. Which is why I was a little confused that Agnieszka was in love with him? He was such a dick, honestly. The last third or so of this book was the best because Novik really does know how to write action and the magic itself was pretty fascinating. (I wish it went into more depth, but I think I’m spoiled by fic and that’s not actually how the publishing world works.) Kasia might have been the most interesting person in this story. Girl went through it and just became a total badass. I loved her.

MARAUDER FEELINGS! MARAUDER FEELINGS! SO! MANY! MARAUDER! FEELINGS!

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

— RICHARD GANSEY, MY BELOVED. What a dweeb. A self-sacrificing, sorta sad dweeb. When he wrapped his jacket around Blue, my heart exploded. I think I spent the last fifteen or so chapters with disconcertingly wide eyes and possibly my hand over my mouth. Still not entirely sure why a Welsh king was in Virginia, but I loved it. Was real glad he was there. As promised by that one book rec list I read months ago, the Marauders vibes of these books were off the charts. It was a weird story with lots of weird things and I hope Mr. Grey gets to be happy one day and that Ronan and Adam make out some more eventually. I think they’ll both feel a lot better if they do. Like, about the world as a whole. Has anyone read the Ronan spinoff series? Should I read the Ronan spinoff series?

OK, THIS WASN’T THAT BAD, ACTUALLY

To Love Jason Thorn by Ella Maise Jason Thorn... My brother's childhood friend. Oh, how stupidly in love with that boy I was. He was the first boy that made me blush, my first official crush. Sounds beautiful so far, right? That excitement that bubbles up inside you, those famous butterflies you feel for the very first time--he was the reason for them all. But, you only get to live in that fairytale world until they crush your hopes and dreams and then stomp on your heart for good measure. And boy did he crush my little heart into pieces. After the stomping part he became the boy I did my best to stay away from--and let me tell you, it was pretty hard to do when he slept in the room right across from mine. When tragedy struck his family and they moved away, I was ready to forget he ever existed. Now he is a movie star, the one who makes women of all ages go into a screaming frenzy, the one who makes everyone swoon with that dimpled smile of his. Do you think that's dreamy? I certainly don't think so. How about me coming face to face with him? Nope still not dreamy. Not when I can't even manage to look him in the eye. Me? I'm Olive, a new writer. Actually, I'm THE writer of the book that inspired the movie he is about to star in on the big screen. As of late, I am also referred to as the oh-so-very-lucky girl who is about to become the wife of Jason Thorn. Maybe you're thinking yet again that this is all so dreamy? Nope, nothing dreamy going on here. Not even close.

— Ignoring the fact that this was almost blatant self-insert, this was a mostly good, occasionally trashy book with brother’s best friend and the one who got away tropes. Which, as we know, are my life’s blood. (Plus, surprise, fake marriage that isn’t really fake?!? Ok. OK!) My only eeek moment was when Olive got super drunk and wanted Jason to like—consummate the marriage and he was like, No Olive, you’re drunk. And then they ended up doing everything except having full-on sex, which felt a little creep and a lot sketch and then it was never mentioned again. Also, Olive needs to find some better friends, God.

EMERSON COD VOICE: HE’S STAAAAAALKING YOU

Marriage For One by Ella Maise Jack and I, we did everything backward. The day he lured me into his office-which was also the first day we met-he proposed. You'd think a guy who looked like him-a bit cold maybe, but still striking and very unattainable-would only ask the love of his life to marry him, right? You'd think he must be madly in love. Nope. It was me he asked. A complete stranger who had never even heard of him. A stranger who had been dumped by her fiancé only weeks before. You'd think I'd laugh in his face, call him insane-and a few other names-then walk away as quickly as possible. Well…I did all those things except the walking away part. It took him only minutes to talk me into a business deal…erm, I mean marriage, and only days for us to officially tie the knot. Happiest day of my life. Magical. Pop the champagne… Not. It was the worst day. Jack Hawthorne was nothing like what I'd imagined for myself. I blamed him for my lapse in judgment. I blamed his eyes, the ocean blue eyes that looked straight into mine unapologetically, and that frown on his face I had no idea I would become so fascinated with in time. It wasn't long after he said I was the biggest mistake of his life that things started to change. No, he still didn't talk much, but anyone can string a few words together. His actions spoke the loudest to me. And day after day my heart started to get a mind of its own.

— Ok, ok, ok, so I enjoyed the Jason Thorn book, right? Was, like, how bad could this other book be? And it wasn’t bad, but it was patently ridiculous. Let me explain what happened. Not entirely sorry for the spoilers. Jack the lawyer sees that Rose is only going to get the space for her coffee shop from her uncle’s will if she marries someone. She WAS engaged, but the guy split. For reasons no one can understand, especially Rose. She’s sad. She’s spent so much money on espresso machines! Enter Jack the lawyer who one random afternoon is like: HEY ROSE, YOU’RE MOSTLY A STRANGER, BUT I ALSO NEED TO GET MARRIED FOR REASONS I’LL ONLY SORTA EXPLAIN, LETS DO THAT. So they do???? And Jack the lawyer continues to be kinda weird and a little shady, but Rose has got the coffee shop and things are going well. Until! She’s got a leaky brain!!! That’s not a joke. Not a typo. Out of goddamn LEFT FIELD, Rose has got some horrible medical condition, so thank God she got married because Jack the lawyer’s got great health insurance. (this is ROMANTIC) and she’s got to have an operation and he stays with her and sleeps in the hospital chair and her coffee shop is somehow still going strong??? On Madison Avenue??? What sit-down coffee shop on Madison Avenue do you guys know that would succeed? None because it’s not downtown. I digress. Anyway, Rose makes a miraculous recovery, she and Jack the lawyer are now almost in love? At least having a shit ton of sex. They’re mostly happily married. Until, part two! The ex-fiance shows up and is like JACK THE LAWYER PAID ME TO BREAK UP WITH YOU. To which Rose is understandably flabbergasted. She confronts Jack the lawyer who fesses that he’s been seriously crushing on her since they met at her uncle’s Christmas party. She doesn’t remember this. He does. BECAUSE HE’S A STALKER. So, he knew about the will stipulation with marriage BACK THEN, which is why he used FIRM RESOURCES to investigate the ex-fiance and found out he was a con man, using Rose with plans to basically steal all her money. This infuriated Jack the lawyer because he thought Rose deserved better and then proceeded to basically con her himself, just in a different way. With marriage! He told her he needed to get married to show he was a family man to make partner. THAT WAS A LIE. He didn’t need it at all. He just—wanted to marry her??? To help her??? What a psycho. She leaves. He continues to lurk outside the coffee shop. They make up. No one mentions the stalking. The end.

I KEEP GIVING HELENA SECOND CHANCES AND SHE KEEPS...NOT DESERVING THEM

All In Series by Helena Hunting Sometimes I need an escape from the demands, the puck bunnies, and the notoriety that come with being an NHL team captain. I just want to be a normal guy for a few weeks. So when I leave Chicago for some peace and quiet, the last thing I expect is for a gorgeous woman to literally fall into my lap on a flight to Alaska. Even better, she has absolutely no idea who I am.Lainey is the perfect escape from my life. My plan for seclusion becomes a monthlong sex fest punctuated with domestic bliss. But it ends just as abruptly as it began. When I’m called away on a family emergency, I realize too late that I have no way to contact Lainey.A year later, a chance encounter throws Lainey and me together again. But I still have a lie hanging over my head, and Lainey’s keeping secrets of her own. With more than lust at stake, the truth may be our game changer.

— Last year I read a hockey romance by Helena Hunting that was very cute and traditionally published and she’s got a bunch more free Amazon books that, for some reason, I keep downloading and reading and they continue to be absolutely ridiculous. That first one was a not-so-secret accidental pregnancy (as previously discussed ONE TIME without a condom mention and bam pregnant) but the second one with Rook’s sister was actually pretty cute. I’m not sure why they all called him Rook. Almost all these series have at least one book with someone recovering from an injury and they inevitably fall in love with their physical therapist. So, that one was pretty ok. None of these, however, were quite as entertaining as (wait for it) QUEENIE AND KINGSTON. WHOSE FRIENDS AND TEAMMATES ALL CALL HIM KING. QUEENIE. AND. KING. Gag. I read it anyway. At least 99% of that decision was based solely on the fact that the story started just after King found out his sister was actually his mom. How am I supposed to stop reading THAT?!? I ask you. Highlights of Queenie and King’s romance included: him calling his mom/sister MOMSTER, Queenie being secretly married this whole time, WITHOUT KNOWING IT, his strawberry allergy that flared up because she’d had a strawberry milkshake and then GAVE HIM A BLOWJOB, her dad finding out they were dating because he was the GM of the team and saw that his starting goalie was having a MASSIVE allergic reaction, Queenie’s eventual ex-husband getting engaged to someone who previously tried to self-inseminate to trap Rook into a relationship (I am not making this up, I swear) and then when he found out that his fiancee’s kid wasn’t actually his, he got into a massive fight and earned a 20-game suspension. THAT’S A QUARTER OF AN NHL SEASON. Tom Wilson got fined five thousand dollars for practically killing Artemi Panarin on the ice! I did not read the last book in this series because it was MORE ACCIDENTAL PREGNANCY and because it was Queenie’s dad and King’s mom and that meant they’d share a sibling. Which is where I draw the line, guys.

THERE WERE SEVEN BOOKS IN THIS SERIES! EVERY SINGLE ONE HAD TO HAVE A SCENE WHERE THE DUDE UNDERSTOOD THAT PERIODS WERE A THING???? LIKE THAT WAS IMPRESSIVE SOMEHOW?!?!

Hot Jocks Series by Kendall Ryan I've never been so stupid in my entire life. My teammate's incredibly sweet and gorgeous younger sister should have been off-limits, but my hockey stick didn't get that memo. After our team won the championship, and plenty of alcohol, our flirting turned physical and I took her to bed. Shame sent her running the next morning from our catastrophic mistake. She thinks I don't remember that night—but every detail is burned into my brain so deeply, I’ll never forget. The feel of her in my arms, the soft whimpers of pleasure I coaxed from her perfect lips…And now I’ve spent three months trying to get her out of my head. Which has been futile, because I’m starting to understand she’s the only girl I’ll ever want. I have one shot to show her I can be exactly what she needs, but Elise won’t be easily convinced. That’s okay, because I’m good under pressure, and this time, I’m playing for keeps.

—I read all of these. All. Of. Them. They were exceptionally quick reads. Every single one had a copious amount of sex in it and a very weird, apparently required scene, where the dude had to be like I’M NOT SQUICKED OUT BY PERIODS AM I NOT THE ULTIMATE EXAMPLE OF MASCULINITY?? My favorite one was Grant and Ana’s, though, because it was so goddamn absurd I cannot believe someone wrote it. Basic gist was that Ana was dating someone on Grant’s team (he’s the captain, natch) but the guy was a dick and abusive and so one night Ana decides to leave, but she needs someone to help her and WHO DOES SHE TURN TO??? That’s right, reclusive captain Grant. Who’s spent the last few years watching his teammates marry-up and start families and he’s so jealous, but he can’t say anything because he’s a stoic MAN™. So he takes Ana and her dog (of course she’s got a dog) back to his super swanky bachelor pad and she just sort of...stays there? Video of the boyfriend accosting her at her job gets leaked and the boyfriend gets sent to the AHL which is not really how it would work, but fine. Naturally, Grant and Ana hook up. It’s emotional. Vaguely romantic. There’s no GODDAMN CONDOM. So, she gets pregnant. But, of course. Except! She doesn’t know if it’s dick boyfriend’s or Grant’s. Because he’s the male lead in a free sports romance on Amazon, Grant is the MOST understanding. He wants to help Ana. He would like to continue having sex with Ana. This is ready-made happily ever after. Only Ana’s like...eh?? She doesn’t want it to look like she bounced from one hockey player to the next, but also she sorta did and she kept telling Grant she just wanted to be friends, only to have sex, like, three chapters later. Then she just moved out! Just moved out. Seven months pregnant. Moving out. With her dog. Of course, this is a free sports romance on Amazon, so eventually she moved back in with Grant. Once she realized independence wasn’t all it was cracked up to be. And because he left practice to be there when she had the baby. Oh! And she got a DNA test after. To see whose kid it was. Grant ripped that ‘ish up. Just ripped it up. Which is cool, I guess. But, like, you didn’t want to double check? What if that kid has to go to the hospital? Did she put Grant’s name on the birth certificate? What are his parental rights?? Anyway, they’re all set to live HEA when....THE DICK BOYFRIEND DIES. Straight up. No explanation. Nothing. Just Grant tells Ana he’s dead, she’s like, oh wow that’s sad, they send some flowers to the funeral and that’s THAT. I assume this was to close any potential plot holes on the father of this baby, but it was hysterical and I cannot stop thinking about it. Strangely enough, the one where the couple made a secret sex tape in college and then got back together because it got released may have been the healthiest relationship in this series.

[thranduilsperkybutt]

It feels like it has been so long since I’ve hosted a challenge, so I figured what better time than now? Commemorating all of you, and as a sort-of thank you for all the continuous support you have sent my way. Each message, each comment, each reblog or tag, they all mean the world to me. So, thank you, darlings, from the bottom of my heart.

For this challenge, I’ve decided to compile some of my favorite fic tropes and AU’s, for your writing pleasure. I hope you find something that strikes your fancy, because each one of these has a place dear in my heart. I’m such a huge fan of cliché, sappy (or smutty) fanfics, and I thoroughly believe that you can never have too much of each of these tropes!

Below the cut are the rules & prompts, and I hope you’ll think about joining! Thank you again, darling. I hope you continue enjoying my blog & writing. 😘

- Meg ₓₒₓₒ♡

Meg’s 11k Follower Challlenge

Rules

You aren’t required to be following me to join, but I’d love if you did!

Anything to your heart’s desire can be written~ Fluff, angst, smut, and everything in-between are welcome here!

Pick from one of the fandoms on my Fandoms List, and any character from that fandom.

You must write a reader-insert! No names, just the “reader” character (and whatever endearments or pronouns you so choose to include).

Pick your trope or AU! Yes, you can pick more than one, if you want! Feel free to mix & match!

If you want to join the challenge, shoot me a message through my ask box! Include the tropes or AU’s you would like, so I can organize you in a list to keep up with you for later, when I post the masterlist! You don’t have to tell me the characters or fandoms you want to write for, but I’d love to know, ‘cause I’m curious! Don’t forget to reblog this post!

When you share your amazing writing with the rest of the world, please include the fandom/character above your fic, as well as any associated warnings you think may apply. If it’s over 500 words, please include a keep reading cut!

Make sure to tag me in it (@thranduilsperkybutt), mention your chosen trope/AU, and that it’s for this challenge!

Tag your fic with #thranduilsperkybutt and #megs11kchallenge

If you don’t see a ❤︎like❤︎ from my main (megmeg-chan) within 24 hours of you posting the fic, shoot me a link! I may have missed it, despite trying not to! I want to read each and every one of these fics, and share them here, as well as on my main! I’ll  be making a masterlist of all the fics at the end of the challenge, to further promote your wonderful writing!

The deadline for the challenge is the first of August (this year of 2020, obviously), but if you wind up needing longer than those three months, please don’t hesitate to let me know! I’m totally lenient (a pushover, really) and I just want us all to have fun with it!

Tropes

The Oh my god, they were roommates! trope

The And there was only one bed! trope

The arranged marriage trope

The pretend couple, fake dating trope

The friends with benefits trope

The sex pollen, sex magic, fuck or die trope

The bet trope

The found family trope

The we have to kiss right now or they’ll notice we’re not supposed to be here trope

The secret relationship trope

The I saw this in a book/magazine and want to try it trope

The overprotective trope

The accidental love confession trope

The mutual pining trope

The off-limits love trope

The love triangle trope (or, multiple love interests)

The post-fight, nursing back to health trope

The matchmaking friends trope

The truth serum, truth potion trope

And finally, a topical trope:  The quarantine trope

Alternate Universes

College AU // Professor AU

Mermaid AU

Ballerina AU

Coffee Shop/Bookstore/Bakery/Florist AU

Boxing AU

BDSM AU

Vampire AU

Alpha/Beta/Omegaverse AU

Historical AU

Noir Detective AU

Soulmates AU

Dark!character AU

Sex worker AU

Fairytale AU

Mob AU // Mafia AU

Cops & Robbers AU

Sugar daddy AU

Cowboy AU

Virgin AU

Pirate AU

[sad-af1121]

A Nuisance (One-shot)

Summary: Everyone has their bad days and unfortunately yours was a mixture of exhaustion and being sick. Steve and Bucky made it their goal to make your day a little better by spoiling you the best they can but how could they help when every ounce of physical love annoyed you? | Marvel AU | Pairings: Stucky x Reader Word Count: 2.4k Warnings: language, some angst? (idk if you count a pouty steve as angst but sure) fluff, comedy and cute-ness overload

A/N:  i’m sorry in advance if it seems rushed but i really did try to make it comedic and cute. It’s been a rough two weeks and i really wanted to get this done before the deadline for @babylevines writing challenge! Congrats on the 4k follower's babe! I hope you enjoy :3 Prompt: “Touch me with your cold feet one more time and see what happens.” | Thanking @isaxhorror for giving this a look through!  Feedback is welcomed 💜

“They didn’t have any fresh lemons at the store so I got generic lemon juice,” Bucky informed Steve, shutting the front door of their shared apartment. He set the grocery bags on the kitchen island before pulling the contents out from the bags. 

Steve turned away from the stove, his eyes scanning the counter. “Buck, why are there so many ice cream flavors? I asked you to get what Y/N likes.” 

Bucky sighed, “I didn’t get one flavor of ice cream because I figured if I got the ones she likes, she can pick based off her mood when she gets back home.” He shrugged and walked to the fridge. Steve hummed to Bucky’s remark since he did have a point. 

You were called in to work in the early hours of the day, the sun wasn’t even shining through the dull grey-blue skies yet and on top of that, you were fighting a small cold. If it wasn’t for your stubbornness and your passion to work, Steve and Bucky wouldn’t have let you leave, let alone leave the bed. They constantly checked on you, knowing you were going to end up very cranky and exhausted for the rest of the day. After they both came back home from work, they decided to pamper you for the night. 

The house chores and dinner would be done by the time you got home. All you would have to do was rest and enjoy the evening and the following weekend with your boys. However, they were hoping that their plan would work and brighten up your mood, but that would be something they’d have to wait and see. 

“Buck-”

“She’s parking the car,” Bucky smirked, looking up from his phone screen. “I’ve been texting Babygirl all day. Chill dude, worst-case scenario, she throws a pillow at you for treating her like some fragile pup.” 

“Ha, ha. Shut up,” Steve swallowed, throwing a kitchen towel over his shoulder. He was only this way when you weren’t feeling your best. If the world came crumbling down, Steve would make sure to be your shield, protecting you from any harm because you meant everything to him. Both you and Bucky kept the flame of life burning in his chest. 

The sound of keys jingling and the doorknob turning caught both of Bucky and Steve’s attention as they prepared themselves for you. Door swinging open, you trudged into your apartment, shutting the door behind you before slumping against the hard flat surface. 

Nose slightly discolored with droopy eyelids, you sniffled, sighing in what sounded like a tinge of satisfaction, “I’m hoooome!” You strained, voice raspy and heavy due to your sinus acting up again. Steve involuntarily pouted, his heart aching to see the sight of you so sick and tired. Bucky clenched his jaw and took a deep breath, steadying himself from the anger that was bubbling from within. He craved nothing more than to call your bosses and tell them a thing or two about a proper workplace and how to respectfully treat employees who were under the weather. 

Who else calls someone in to work and put others in jeopardy for getting them sick? It’s diabolical. 

Giggling at yourself, you move away from the door and set your things to the side, stepping into the kitchen, “What’s all this?” Eyes roaming across the stove then to the dining table, you saw dinner had been made and set for you. The corners of your lips twitched into a lopsided smirk as you looked up at Steve. 

“You didn’t have to do all this, baby. We could have ordered take out. I know how hard work can be on you two,” you turned and looked at Bucky who was already standing behind you with a smirk to mirror yours. 

“We wanted to do this for you, doll. You work so hard too, ‘n hell, if we want to spoil you, we will. Periodt.” 

You squeezed your eyes shut, cringing. “I get your trying to stay hip and modern but PLEASE don’t say that word around me again,” you chuckled as did the boys. 

Both Bucky and Steve began to walk toward you and your gut knew they wanted a kiss, but you stopped them the minute they got close, placing a hand on their chests. “I’m sick remember? I don’t think you guys want to get close to me.”

“We’ll be fine. We’re super-”

“Yeah, yeah, super soldiers but I’m not risking it, Steve. Once I’m feeling better, I’ll repay you guys in so many kisses that you’ll be sick of me. But as of right now, I don’t want to be touched,” you sighed, looking between Bucky and Steve. 

Bucky nodded and looked at Steve who seemed to be having a hard time dealing with your mood. You saw how his jaw clenched, his heart feeling the slight sting from how forward you were with your emotions and it wasn’t like Steve was against it. He needed to adjust. There was no doubt that Steve didn’t respect your wishes and so he stepped away, clearing his throat before busying himself in washing the dishes from cooking. You swallowed thickly, a small pout forming along your lips. 

“Hey, America’s ass.”

Steve turned and you blew him a kiss, hoping it would warm his heart and silently tell him you loved him. When he smiled back, a twinkle forming in his eyes, you knew he was okay. The feelings of content and relief washing over you. It was Bucky’s turn now and you did the same, blowing a kiss, then giggling right after. 

His lips bloomed into a toothy grin, his eyes sparkling with admiration and bashfulness. You found this incredibly adorable and you couldn’t help but ruffle his hair. After that, you headed to the bedroom to change into your pj’s. 

Once you disappeared into your room, Steve stepped away from the kitchen and joined Bucky on the couch who was playing a game on his phone. 

“Don’t mess with Y/N, okay? I think she’d find your annoyance anything but cute today. You saw how she’s acting. Wouldn’t want to ruin her night if you two end up arguing,” Steve warned with a sigh, reminding his lover. On your usual days, you’d find Bucky’s teasing hilarious and downright appealing. However, when you suffered through a rough day like today, for example, you and Bucky would get into a banter that neither parties like to endure. It wasn’t severely serious or anything of that sort and always ended up in kisses and hugs but Steve wanted to avoid that at all costs. 

Maybe he was treating you like a small puppy dog after all. 

***

“Ugh, baby. You’re the fucking beeeest,” you groaned into your food, your eyes practically rolling inside your head. Your taste buds pranced with happiness, the flavors bringing waves of satisfaction and desire for more. The heat from your supper opened your pores and sinus which allowed some of your tasting senses to come alive. 

Steve grinned brightly, looking over at Bucky who chuckled at the blonde for his victory smile. “Had to make my girl happy.”

“You mean our girl, jerk,” Bucky corrected, playfully glaring into Steve’s eyes whilst ripping a piece of baguette with his teeth, chomping on the bread. Steve’s face twisted with disgust and you barked out a laugh, your cheeks warming to how possessive they were getting over you. 

“Okay, okay, chillax dudes. I don’t want any bloodshed over dinner. Y’all can wait till after I’m done,” you snorted as Bucky threw a piece of bread at you. You threw one in return which started a mini food war. 

“No. Nooope,” Steve got up from the table and opted to eat on the kitchen island. “Totally unnecessary,” he whispered under his breath and it became unfortunate for him because you and Bucky ended up throwing food at him instead.

After dinner, the three of you decided to watch a movie since it was a Friday and none of you had to wake up early the next day. Bucky was picking out a movie, trying to connect his phone to the TV since he found a site that posted movies online without having to leave the comfort of your home and going to the movie theatre. 

You quietly sat on the couch with a blanket wrapped around your body, waiting for Bucky. Technology wasn’t his thing but you gave him some room to try before you helped. It was the only way he was going to learn and you loved when he figured it out himself, his charming yet victorious smile blossoming across his face when he succeeded.

Steve had filled three bowls of popcorn since everyone ate theirs differently. Bucky didn’t like too much butter but you did and Steve was just in the middle with added caramel popcorn in the mix so it wasn’t unusual when you guys had your own popcorn rather than share it. He strolled into the living room, setting the bowls on the coffee table before deciding to take a seat next to you. 

In Steve’s mind, he thought since dinner was successful and you seemed to be in a better mood, you wouldn't mind if he cuddled, missing the warmth of your body and the touch he just craved so often. It relaxed his every sense, any contact sending an electrifying current throughout his body and sparking something in his heart. You felt like home and being touch-starved by you today wasn’t sitting so nicely with Steve. 

Throwing his arm over your shoulder, Steve adjusted himself on the couch before feeling his arm being lifted off your shoulders and into his lap. 

“Steve, c’ mon babe. I’m really not in the mood. I’m sorry,” you huffed, a tinge of annoyance lacing your words. “I warned you earlier about getting yourself sick.” You scooted away from him, hoping your soft eyes would make up for it but Steve just growled, getting up and fetching his sketchbook from the shelf by the television. 

Not only did he sit away from you but he ignored your attention, frustration weighing on his shoulders. He flipped through the pages of his book in search for a clean page to draw his emotions on and you mentally kicked yourself in the ass because you pushed Steve’s limit. 

Huffing in remorse, you snuggled against your blanket, cozying up with the soft material that smelled of lavender. Bucky had finally gotten the movie to play, rushed to the couch and decided to sit with you since Steve was sulking on the other couch. 

About 45 minutes into the movie, Bucky had his legs spread out, his head resting on the armrest while his body laid straight, his feet almost touching you. Lost in the plot of the film, you hadn’t noticed he pushed his sockless, icy cold feet under your blanket, the warmth wrapping itself around them. It brought a sort of relief that he wanted more warmth. More from you. 

So that was when he touched his feet against your heated thighs, his toes digging in and out of your skin as if he was trying to massage you like a cat would knead a pillow. Instantly, you withdrew a breath, your senses coming into reality. The cold shook you like a bolt of lightning, your nerves screaming for an escape. You allow a few minutes to go by, assuming he’d halt his actions. But the longer you waited, the more he thought it was an invitation to continue. 

The only solution you knew at the time was to take deep steady breaths, ignoring the fact that his freezing cold feet were touching your hot skin which brought a shiver throughout your body. You already had the chills due to your sickness and Bucky wasn’t making things any better for you now. What was up with your boyfriends today?

“Holy shit,” Bucky laughed at the television, pulling his legs back. You nipped your lips in happiness, doing a small victory dance in your head. Just as you’re getting comfortable again, Bucky placed his feet back in its previous position, causing you to huff out loud. 

“Touch me with your cold feet one more time, and see what happens.” 

Both Bucky and Steve whipped their heads towards you, their brows knitting together in confusion. You stare back at them, widening your eyes then signaling down with your eyes to show them the issue. 

Inhaling deeply, Bucky paused the movie, “Jesus, really? You could’ve just asked me baby before threatening me.”

Those words alone brought a lump of guilt in your throat. You were very snappy today and it wasn’t like you to get this annoyed. 

“Fuck, sorry,” you pouted. “I think I should just get to bed and leave you guys alone. I promise to be better tomorrow,” you whined quietly, your eyes darting between the two. 

Bucky silently gnawed on his lower lip before turning his attention to Steve and winking at the old soul. Steve himself was utterly confused but he knew that mischievous smirk in Bucky’s eyes which gave him everything he needed to know. 

As you were ready to leave the couch, Bucky leaped towards you, trapping your body underneath his as he playfully growled against your neck and jaw. You had no time to react differently, only the sounds of laughter breaking past your lips. Then came his fingers digging in your sides, the familiar zaps of delight coursing through your nerves. Tickling made your body turn into putty because once someone started, it was harder for you to escape their hold than it was to take it all in and not laugh. 

Steve took this time to record a video of the events unfolding in front of his eyes, using a filter that made voices very high pitched. It was one of his favorites when he made videos and he couldn’t get over the fact it made people sound like they were on helium. 

“Steve! St-stop recording and save m-meee!” you exclaimed, trying to catch your breath.

Your shrieks of bliss and neediness were enough for Steve to toss his book to the side and pull Bucky off your body, throwing the brunette to the ground with a loud thud. 

“What the fuck, Steve!” 

“Save it punk. Meet us in the room,” he breathed out a chuckle, sweeping you off the couch and carrying you to your bedroom. You buried your face into his chest in attempts to hide the growing smile that ached your cheeks even more. But you knew he already saw it and now he was going to make sure he gets all the kisses and cuddles he wants. 

Even if that meant getting sick because Steve and Bucky would risk everything for you. 

__________

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[queerbutstillhere]

12. We dated back in highschool then you moved away but now you're back in town.

(for @legitpumpkin an AU in which the Kent's and Wayne's live in the same neighborhood of whatever town you'd like to pick.)

"Hey, did you hear the news?"

Jon looked up, eyebrows knitted together, his tongue was poking out of his mouth from his hyper concentration.

"What?" He asked absently, looking away from his brother back to his laptop, returning to reading his article.

Kon said something about Tim and someone coming back.

"Cool," Jon responded in that same absent tone.

"Jon, you literally did not hear a word I just said did you?"

Jon just shook his head, quickly deleting and rewriting a section.

"Leave him alone, Kon, he has deadlines to meet," Chris inputted from where he was laying on the sofa beside Jon, at an awkward angle so his feet weren't on the younger man.

"Fine. Pardon me for trying to tell him that his former lover is back in town."

"What?" Jon asked, interest mildly peaked now.

"Damian's back home for the summer."

The rapid click-clacking of Jon's keys completely stopped, and he blinked at Kon.

"And Tim says he's thinking about moving back to the States completely."

"Oh-" Jon breathed out.

"You should go talk to him," Chris suggested, pushing at his knee.

"Yeah.... God it's been what, five, six years?"

"Six. Five, since you guys broke up."

Jon hummed, returning to clicking away at his computer.

"Are you still in love with him?" Chris asked, looking at his phone.

"I don't know? It's been five years, Chris, I haven't seen him except maybe in passing once or twice. We don't really talk except occasionally commenting on each other's social media posts."

"Who?"

They all looked up when Lois walked in.

"Damian. He's back home," Kon supplied.

"Oh! Yes. Bruce just invited us over for dinner, actually."

"He what?" All three boys exclaimed at once.

"Yup! At six, which means you three need to be showered and wearing nice clothes!"

"Oh yes, how dare we show up to our childhood best friends house in our jorts and tanktops."

"Kon, we all know Dick would absolutely destroy you for wearing jorts," Chris said with a snort. "I'll go take first shower since busy body over here is still working."

"Look! Once I get this article turned in, I'm officially on break, but this is a pretty big story so I need to make sure it's perfect before I send it to the editors," Jon defended himself to empty air, as Kon and Chris had both already left.

He sighed and returned to typing.

An hour later, everyone was clean and dressed and they all took the short walk down the block to the Wayne's house together. The Wayne residence was the largest, and loudest building in the neighborhood. There were always people coming and going, and always children around, despite the fact that none of Bruce's kids had their own families yet. They could hear yelling inside before they even got to the front door, and Jon smiled at the fond memories that hit him. Clark stepped up and knocked on the door, and within a minute, the door was yanked open by Dick Grayson.

"Hey guys!" He exclaimed with a bright grin, immediately hugging Clark, and then Lois, and then all three of the boys.

"Hello, Dick."

"Come on in! Dad and Alfie are just finishing dinner, I think the others got kicked into the living room at some point, they were being too noisy."

"Aren't they always?" Jon asked with a smile, his writers mind already crafting out how he would report on this evening.

"Hey, now, Jonno," Dick said with a laugh, having to reach up to ruffle Jon's hair. "Man I miss when you were only this tall."

He held a hand down by his waist, shaking his head at the 6"2" man and tsking.

"Anyway! Come on!"

"I'm gonna pop into the kitchen," Lois said, and disappeared. Clark hesitated before following.

The boys just followed Dick deeper into the house where yelling and barking was coming from the family room. They entered and discovered Cassandra and Jason wrestling on the floor. Tim and Damian sat on the furniture, and Ace running around barking in dismay.

"Guys!" Dick protested, crossing his arms.

Cass let go of Jason, who rolled to his feet, sticking his tongue out at her. She immediately blew a raspberry before flipping up.

"Kon!" Tim exclaimed, jumping out of his seat and running to hug his friend.

Jon however, had made eye contact with Damian. And hot. Damn. Jon met Damian when he was 10. He had seen Damian grow up, had personally witnessed the awkward teen years where Damian had been growing into his own body and face. Hell he had dated Damian through the tail end of it. He knew Damian was an attractive person - look at his parents, it was the only logical thing to happen - but he had some how gotten hotter???

Damian would be around twenty-six by now, he was tall, maybe not as tall as Jon, but he couldn't quite be certain from this distance. His face was angular and defined, not quite the sharp features of his father, but more delicate and feminine like Talia. Everything about him screamed neatness, from his trimmed eyebrows, and clean shaven face, to his carefully styled hair and clothing. His hair was a different style the Jon last remembered seeing, shaved short on the sides and longer in the back, styled in a quiff. He was wearing black jeans and a button down, and Jon could see a gold necklace hanging around his throat. His beautiful, full lips curled into a soft smile as he scanned over Jon, before lazily pushing up to his feet. Oh yeah, Jon was definitely still taller.

"Hello, Jonathan," he said with a sweet smile, walking over.

His legs were still long and lanky, and he still walked with an insane amount of grace, a habit he had picked up from when he used to do ballet.

"Hi," Jon breathed out, finding himself completely awestruck.

Damian walked right up to him, hugging him gently. Jon immediately hugged him back, noting that he smelled like vanilla and citrus, but not in a bad way.

"It's good to see you," Damian said softly. His accent had thickened significantly in the past few years, and damn that was hot too.

"Yeah, oh my God, it's been forever." Jon pulled back to look at Damian again, his hand lingering on his arm.

Damian smiled up at him, his green eyes flicking over Jon's face. "Five years, really. Not forever."

"Okay, no, but it is a long time. Where all have you been at?" Jon asked, letting Damian push him out of the room where their siblings were talking loudly.

"I've been all over. Finished my schooling in Switzerland, and then spent sometime traveling around Europe. Then I've been in the Middle East with mother for the past few years. I enjoyed the traveling, but I think I'm ready to be back home."

"Wow. You'll have to tell me all about it!" Jon said, eyes wide with amazement.

Damian chuckled, nodding. "I'm sure we'll have time. You're a journalist now, no?"

"Yeah! Just hit my one year mark with the company I work for right now," Jon said with a proud grin.

"That's good, do you enjoy it?"

"Oh yeah, it always keeps me on my toes. I very rarely get bored with it."

"Okay! Dinner is ready!"

Jon jolted with the suddenness of Bruce's yell. Damian chuckled, looking past Jon at Bruce who was waving them over.

Dinner was nice and loud and noisy and Jon was hit with this painful realization of "Holy Shit Maybe I Am Still In Love With Damian" and he desperately needed to tell his brothers this development, but he didn't know how to do it slyly. So he just sat there in gay turmoil for a whole hour of a dinner. Then, while the others were heading to the living room, Damian snagged his hand and pulled him to the front door, clipping a leash on Ace and then walking outside. Jon followed silently, curious what was going on.

"Do you remember when we used to just go on walks around the neighborhood?"

"I remember sneaking over to your house a couple times in the middle of the night just to go on those walks," Jon answered, watching Ace sniff a bush. "And I remember getting my ass whooped the week my mom found out."

"And yet you kept doing it all through highschool," Damian said with an amused glance towards him.

"What do you expect. I was young, dumb and in love."

Damian chuckled, glancing down the road before crossing it.

"So, fill me in on what you've been up too since I left for Switzerland."

"Oh. Nothing wild, finished college, got my major in journalism, and minor in psychology. Got my job the same month as graduation, moved out in August, and I've just kinda been focusing on work since."

Damian hummed. "You always have been a bit of a busybody."

"Hey!"

Damian just grinned and gently nudged Jon.

"So, shall I just ask the awkward question?"

"What awkward question."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Oh!" Jon felt his cheeks heat up and then he shrugged. "No, not right now. I dated a few guys in college, but not anyone for a while."

Damian hummed and nodded.

"Uh. What about you?"

"No. With all the traveling, and living in the Middle East..."

Jon nodded in understanding, pausing as Ace darted in front of him. Without thinking he took the leash from Damian and let Ace smell the along the other side of the sidewalk.

"So what are you going to be doing, now that you're back? Working for your dad?"

"No, probably not. I'm going to resume my modeling career, and I'll be working as a environmental ambassador, just little things like that."

"Oh, cool."

Damian hummed, putting his hands in his pockets. They crossed the street and started to head back home.

"So we're totally gonna start hanging out then, right?"

"Well of course, you're one of my best friends," Damian said with a smile.

"Even though I'm your ex?"

"Jon, dating you was some of the best years of my life."

"Oh," Jon said softly, feeling his face heat up.

Damian chuckled and shook his head, smiling at Jon fondly.

Oh yeah, Jon still had feelings for Damian.

Send me a prompt!

[myhockeyworld87]

Nervous Regrets - Tyler Seguin - Part 20

Word Count: 3714

POV: Reader

Warnings:  Maybe language, not entirely sure, and smut

Notes: Sorry these updates are taking me longer than normal. It’s been a crazy schedule the last few months. I hope to be more consistent after the holidays. I’m working on the proposal chapter now. Can’t wait to share it with you all. Peace, Love and Hugs!

The week that Tyler was gone, could only be described as a week from hell. If you weren’t working late, you were rushing out of work to let the dogs out before heading over to one of the other wives and girlfriends house to watch the game. The only way you made it through the week, was telling yourself you would spend the weekend on the couch, just you and the pups. That was until Friday afternoon and the Stars Foundation called asking for your help with a children’s hospital fundraiser. There was no way you could say no; nor did you want to, but there went your relaxing weekend with the dogs. Then to top that off, your boss stuck you with an unrealistic deadline of Monday, for a project that would normally take at least a week.

 By the time Sunday night rolled around, you were exhausted. So much so, that when Tyler finally facetimed you; you barely had the energy to answer. You were drowning in a mountain of papers when you answered. “Hey babe. How are things in Boston?”

 “Much better than they are in Dallas. Baby, I love you; but you look worn-out. Are you feeling ok?”

 “I’m just tired that’s all. It’s been a really long week between work and Stars stuff.” You shifted some papers around looking for the one you needed. “And I’ll be up half the night trying to finish this project for work.”

 “Have you eaten today?”

 “Ummm yeah, I grabbed a sandwich a while ago.” He didn’t need to know that, that was around one in the afternoon and it was now ten at night. You hated to admit it, but you were in over your head at the moment, and all you wanted was to curl up to the guy that was on the other end of the phone. “I miss you.”

 “I miss you too (Y/N), but I really feel like you’re not taking care of yourself at the moment. Why don’t you set that project aside and get some sleep.” It was a statement more than a question and he was right. Over the last several days you’d totally neglected yourself and the baby over work and other commitments. If you didn’t start putting yourself first, the baby could suffer and you would never forgive yourself.

 “You’re right.” You picked up the phone, walked out of the office and into the kitchen. “I am going to bed, as soon as I eat something and talk to you for a bit.” You rummaged through the fridge and found a half-eaten salad from Saturday, and pulled it out. “I’m actually surprised you’re not out with some of your old friends tonight.”

 “Nah, I’d rather spend time with you. Which seems to be the smart choice since someone is not taking care of herself while I’m gone.”

 You took a bite before answering. “I guess I thought I could handle the whole back to work, wags and being pregnant thing; but I think I’m failing. I really have to give so much credit to all those working mom’s out there. I don’t know how they do it.” You grabbed another forkful.

 “Yeah, it’s a tough job, but you know you have options right babe?”

 “I know and trust me; I’ve been considering it a lot this week.” It had been in the back of your mind all week, and you were going to talk to Tyler when he came home. But seeing as how he brought it up there was no time like the present. “I have made one decision about that; and I’m definitely not going back to work after the baby is born.”

 “Really babe?” The smile on his face told you exactly how he felt.

 “Yes, really. I knew you’d approve of that decision but I didn’t think you’d be this happy over it.”

 He tried to drop his level excitement, but it couldn’t be contained. He was literally beaming at you. “I can’t lie hun; I like having you home with me and knowing that, that’s going to happen has literally made my night. So how do I convince you to just quit now?”

 You shook your head at him. “After this week it wouldn’t take much.” You were half teasing, but there was a part of you that just wanted to give all your attention to the family that you were building; and you were having trouble concentrating on that with work at the moment.

 “Well I did think about that.” You raised a questioning eyebrow at him. “Hear me out before you say anything.” He had piqued your curiosity, so of course you gave him your full attention. “So you know I have Seguin’s Stars with the suite at home games and everything?” You nodded yes. “Well I’ve been approached about doing some more charity work, but I need someone to coordinate it all. Who better to do this than you? I mean you could weed through the ones you think I wouldn’t like or would; then do all the preliminary work to help get it up and running. Of course, I’d pay you, so you’d still have your own money. What do you think?”

 “Umm…I kind of don’t know what to say. You’ve obviously thought a bit about this.” And here you thought you were ahead of the game knowing you wanted to stay home after the baby was born.

 “Yeah babe, I kind of did. It’s not a secret that I want you to stay home with me. I’ve always wanted that, even before you were pregnant. But I knew how important your job was to you, so I never said anything.” He shrugged his shoulders at you through the phone. “Right now, though you don’t seem happy with it, so why not be home with me every day.”

 “Can I think about it?” It was the easiest answer to give; for what Tyler had just offered was something you really needed to consider.

 “Of course babe.” You finished up the salad, then threw the dishes in the dishwasher. “So, how are the dogs?”

 Turning the camera, you showed all three surrounding you waiting for a treat. “They’re great, though they miss you too.” You reached in the treat jar, while the camera was on them and grabbed them each one; then turned the camera back on yourself so Tyler didn’t see you giving them a snack. “Come on boys, let’s go outside one more time for the night.” You walked them over to the door and let them out.  “They’re still adjusting to the house a bit.”

 “Oh no, what did Gerry do?”

 “Why do you assume it was Gerry?”

“Because it’s always Gerry.”

 You laughed. “You’re right it always is him; and it was again. He shit on the kitchen floor the other day.”

 “He what?”

 “It wasn’t that bad. I know it sounds bad. I really just think he was marking his territory or something like that. It was a couple days ago and he hasn’t done it since.” You’d cleaned the mess up and hollered at him, but only a little. He looked so sad you couldn’t really be too harsh on him.

 “He hasn’t had an accident in the house, since he was a puppy.”

 “Well, there’s a lot going on right now. It’s a new house. I’m gone most of the day. You’re off on a road trip. I just think he needed some attention. And don’t yell at him, I already did. He’s been fine since.” Tyler was frowning at you, which was totally unnecessary; considering you’d handled the situation.

 “I guess it could be worse, he could’ve tore up the whole backyard again.”

 “See there’s always a bright side to everything.” You chuckled softly at Tyler, then let the dogs in and turned on the alarm. “Come on guys, bedtime.”

 “Mmmm I like bedtime.” He wiggled his eyebrows at you. “Can I join?”

 “Of course, though I wish you were really here.” You missed his arms around you, cuddling you all night. The way he smelled, as you lay next to him. There were so many things, and though falling asleep with him on the phone was nice; it wasn’t the same as having him in bed with you.

 “Me too baby.” He yawned. The time was an hour ahead of you; so it was well past midnight in Boston. He pulled off his shirt revealing his tattoos, and you longed to run your fingers over them. Tyler laid down on the pillow in the hotel, then covered up with the duvet. You did the same, only you were surrounded by dogs and about fifteen hundred miles away from him. “I love you (Y/N).”

 “I love you too Ty.” For some reason you weren’t ready to sleep, even though your body was telling you differently. Though when Tyler shut his eyes you did the same. It couldn’t have been ten minutes later and you heard him softly snoring through the phone. Part of you wanted to hang up, but then there was the part that thought maybe his gentle breaths would lull you to sleep. Your mind started to wander, thinking of the proposal Tyler had talked about earlier. Over the last couple of weeks you’d been home with Tyler and it had really helped forge the bond that was broken between the two of you. All the small things started to add up, how he took care of you during the accident, how he always made sure you ate something, the way he would talk to the baby all the time. Since the two of you had gotten back together, there was really only that short time in the beginning that you’d been working. It had been fine then, but now; you just liked being with him all the time, taking care of him as much as he took care of you. Would it really make that much of a difference if you decided to quit your job a couple months earlier than you anticipated?

  Mentally, you started making a pro and con list; and threw all the above mentioned into that pro part. What you didn’t like about it, was that you’d be basically living off of Tyler, but then weren’t you going to do that once the baby was born? So was that technically a con? Missing all the people at work was definitely a drawback, but then you could always visit them. Again, you weren’t sure what side that went on. The only real downfall, was that you’d worked so hard within the company for the position you had now, and you’d be giving all that up. Opening your eyes, you saw Tyler on the phone, still sleeping; seemingly unaffected by your internal dilemma. He looked so peaceful, and there was a small smile on his lips. If he was here you’d have no choice but to kiss him. Just staring at him, you knew your decision. He, the baby and the dogs were your future. You would find more fulfillment with them, then you ever would in some job. It was crystal clear in that moment, that you’d be writing your resignation at some point tomorrow, more than likely after you finished your project. You couldn’t leave without completing the work you’d already started.

 Now that your mind was made up, it was as if exhaustion took over and sleep was calling your name. You glanced one more time at Tyler’s sleeping form, then shut the phone off; noticing that if you fell asleep immediately you’d get a good solid six hours sleep before your alarm went off. Once you closed your eyes you fell fast asleep, dreaming of your family with Tyler. It felt like you only slept a few minutes before the alarm was going off at six in the morning. You got up, finished up the project you were working on and headed off to one of your final days of work.

 Walking through your office door, you past your assistant who was on the phone already. It wouldn’t be the same not seeing her every day, but you were sure that your friendship would remain intact. It wasn’t long before you were presenting your project to your boss. Everything was done perfectly down to the last detail and he was extremely happy with your work. You asked if the two of you could talk before the end of the day; it would give you time to draft up a quick resignation letter.

 It was around four in the afternoon when he finally had a spare moment for you. The conversation wasn’t exactly as you pictured. He threw in your face that you were giving up your career for a man; which in your eyes wasn’t the case. So the accusation fell flat with you. What didn’t set well, was when he mentioned how much time the company invested in you.  You knew this wouldn’t be easy, but hadn’t anticipated him making you feel this guilty. In the end, he asked you to pack your things up; even though you offered to give two weeks’ notice. Making your way back to your office, you grabbed your personal items and threw them in your work bag. It was hard saying goodbye to Andrea, your assistant; and you both shed a few tears, telling each other that you’d get together soon. With one last look at the place and people that you at times called family; you walked out the door to concentrate on your new life with Tyler and the baby.

 In your two phone calls with Tyler, both before and after the game; you never mentioned that you quit your job. You thought you’d surprise him tomorrow when he came home. It would’ve been easy to just stay in bed the next morning, but you wanted to keep up a routine somewhat. So you got out of bed early in order to get in a quick yoga session. Then to be completely counterproductive, you found yourself in the kitchen whipping up a batch of cookies. The baby was craving them, or so you told yourself; but you knew that Tyler would eat half of the batch, so you didn’t feel that bad. You were just finishing wiping up the counter, when you heard the garage door open.

 It didn’t take long before you heard him with the pups. “Hi boys!” Down went the bag. You could announce that you were home, but why ruin the surprise. “I missed you guys too. Did mom bake last night? It smells so good in here.” It was hard to hold back the bubble of laughter that was bursting to get out. “Alright, alright, settle down. You guys want a treat.” Oh and he made it seem like you were the soft one all the time sneaking them a snack. “Come on, let’s go.” His footsteps sound on the hardwood as he made his way down the hall towards the kitchen. He rounded the corner, not paying attention at all until the last minute. “Jesus!” He shrieked like a little girl and you laughed hysterically. “You scared the fucking shit out of me.”

 Once you got your laughter under control, you said. “Yeah, I noticed. Do you scream like that on the ice? Cause hun, you sound like a teenage girl.”

 He grabbed you around the waist, and it was your turn to screech. “Ha ha. Who’s yelling now?” He brought his lips to yours, in a kiss that wasn’t the least bit funny. You melted into him, savoring the taste of his lips. All too soon, he pulled away though, and you could almost feel the pout forming on your face. “Not that I’m complaining, but what are you doing home right now?”

 “Oh well, that’s an interesting story.” Slipping out of his arms, you grabbed the plate of cookies you left out for him.

 “Are these chocolate with peanut butter chips?”

 “Yes…umm the baby wanted them.” He cocked his head to the side, and looked at you questioningly. “Fine, I wanted them.” Turning quickly, you walked away with the plate before he could snatch one. “And with your attitude, you’re not getting any.”

 He snuck up behind you, and wrapped his arms around your waist. He was so hard to resist when he was like this; and to top it off he was wearing one of your favorite suits. “Aww, come on, babe. You know they’re one of my favorites.” His right hand, let go of you and tried to pluck a cookie from the plate; but you skillfully kept them out of reach. He scrunched up his nose, before saying, “Please baby.”

 “Well since you asked nicely.” Taking one, you held it up to his mouth, which was perched on your shoulder. He gobbled up half the cookie in one bite.

 “Oh my god! These are delicious.” His garbled speech could barely be made out as he continued to inhale the treat. “So back to why you’re home, and baking me these yummy cookies. Can I have another one?”

 You just laughed at him, and handed over another. “Well…umm…I sort of quit.”

 He let go of you fully, only so that he could look you in the face. “Are you serious?” When you nodded your head yes, he took the plate of cookies and put them on the counter; before picking you up in the air and spinning you around. “You don’t know how happy this makes me.”

 He still hadn’t put you down. “I think I have an idea.”

 “I get you all to myself for the next eleven days.” He was wearing a mischievous grin as he slid you slowly down his body. “And I think I have an idea on how we should celebrate.” His mouth crushed yours in a searing kisses that made you weak in the knees. He hadn’t let your feet touch the ground yet, and the kiss made it seem as if you were floating on air. God you’d missed him.

Hands entwined around his neck, you pulled slightly back, before mumbling. “Bedroom…now.”

 Pecking your lips, he responded. “Why, when we haven’t christened the kitchen yet?” He lifted you onto the island, next to the plate of cookies; his mouth never leaving yours as he set you down. You pushed his suit coat off his shoulders and it lay on the ground completely forgotten, as you unbuttoned his shirt. His skin felt warm, as your hands roamed over his chest. He nibbled on your neck and you threw your head back relishing the feel of his lips on you. This road trip had been too long and you craved his touch. You leaned back, bracing yourself against the cool marble; while he continued his assault on your body. “Lift your hips baby.” The low trill of his voice, caused goosebumps all along your skin. There was nothing to do but obey the command he’d given. He slid both your leggings and your panties off in one fell swoosh, to join his shirt and coat. Grabbing your hips, he glided you closer to the edge.  Then with one hand, he undid his belt and pants; while his other ran up and down your slit. “God babe, I love how wet you get.” You let out a moan, which sounded foreign even to your own ears. Two of his fingers slid easily inside you, and as he made a come here motion with them; he almost sent you spiraling into bliss, but you wanted more, needed him.

 “Ty, please fuck me.”

 “Did you miss me baby?’ He had his cock in his hand, stroking it up and down. You bit your lip in anticipation, as you nodded your head. Spreading your wetness all over your pussy, he said. “I missed you more babe.” With that he thrust himself fully into you, both of you screaming out the others name. He felt incredible, and you wrapped your legs around him as he started to thrust in and out of you. It wouldn’t be long for either of you to cum, you were both so primed for each other. His hands were on your hips as he pumped into you harder with each push. “I’m so close (Y/N).” He panted out. You reached between the two of you, finding your clit and pressing it just how you liked. With a few deep thrusts, Tyler grunted and spilled his seed into you. It sent you over the edge and too were cumming with him. Heavy breathing filled the kitchen as the two of you gasped for air, coming down from your high. He tucked your head into his shoulder, then lifted you completely off the counter and carrying you over to the couch; where you both could lay down. You grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around the two of you. He arranged you, so that he was laying mostly on the couch, but could still lay his head on you. Once you were both comfortable, Tyler said. “I missed you so much baby.”

 “I missed you too Ty.”

 He looked up at you, all serious, from his spot on your chest. “I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to the baby.” He gave you a devilish grin.

 “Oh excuse me!” you said in mock defense. “By all means don’t let me interrupt.”

 He leaned up and gave you a quick peck. “I missed you too, but now I need to have a chat with this one.” He laid back down on your chest looking down at your tummy. “Hi baby, it’s daddy. I’m finally home, and missed you and mommy. Did she tell you, she’s going to stay home and be with us every day now? You’re going to love it so much, cause you have the best mommy in the world. You’ll find that out soon, but not too soon. So keep being good in there for her. I love you little one.” He then kissed your stomach; and it made you melt. After hearing that little conversation you definitely knew you’d made the right decision to stay at home for your family.

[studentville-struggles]

Lockdown Luck

Part 2!

A short Draco drabble I thought up in the shower during these strange quarantine days. I’ve got some cute plans for part 3, sorry part 2 is so late!

Pairing: Draco x reader Words: 1,250 Summary: Experiencing the muggle world was what you had planned post Hogwarts, a pandemic was not on the cards, nor what you discovered during it

Masterlist / Part 1

You sat in your living room for hours, catching up on the seven years you had missed. Draco was less spoilt brat come desperate for parental approval and more his own person now, oh, and he was a healer now.  

It turns out, with the whole pandemic thing going on, some healers from St Mungos were volunteering to come into the muggle health industry and help out in hospitals – Draco being one of them. So not only did you now apparently have a fiancé, you also had a roommate. Wonderful.  

Draco had a small tendency to not think things through properly, you’d seen it a few times in school. You had also met enough children of your parent's friends to make the assumption that they probably all had the same tendencies.  

Call it one of the less helpful Slytherin traits; we all tend to get what we what for the majority, no matter what.

You didn’t mind putting Draco up really. Especially if he was volunteering at a hospital, and he had said he picked this one so that he might be able to be near you and make an effort to be with you before the wedding. You just wished he would’ve had a bit more tact in asking. It was in one way, annoying and obnoxious, and in another, totally sweet and heart-warming.

Within the next few days, the two of you apparated to and from Dracos flat to grab everything he might have needed at your flat, given he would be working now. You had asked him over dinner one night how he felt about working in a muggle hospital, given you knew his parents were pretty strong on the anti-muggle front. To your surprise, he had mentioned that a lot of healers were now being trained in muggle medicine to help in emergencies given the increased frequency that they were finding novel diseases. You were impressed, this was a change to the snarky, rude, confused boy you knew at Hogwarts. Or at least the Draco you remembered the most.

The more time you were spending with Draco, the more you were seeing, and remembering, the softness in him. You know you’d seen it in the past, when you were a lot younger, even a few sweet moments at school, but not for a long time really. It was unnerving at first, so stark in contrast to what you remembered everyone saying about him, what you remembered mostly, but it soon became lovely, warm and, in a way, safe.  

It was worrying to you just how quickly you were used to having Draco around, even more so with how much you were quite liking having him around. How could you trust someone so quickly, no matter how long you knew him before.  

Though the Draco from your memory still reared his head on occasion. Though each time he snapped or talked down to you he would always take himself for a short walk and come back with flowers or wine or sunset picture and apologise for his outburst. You were unnerved at first, worried this was a slippery slope to emotional abuse. However, it did not take long, mearly the second outburst, to see the grief and exhaustion in his face, eyes darkened with sadness. He was a work in progress, desperately trying to unlearn the terrible traits he developed younger in an attempt to gain his fathers praise. It made your heart break for him.

However, you were nearing closer and closer to your three week deadline and somehow you had to plan a wedding?! Were you going to do a small ceremony now and then do a bigger one with friends and a bigger party later? You knew your muggle friends from university would be quite offended if they found out you got married and didn’t bother to even tell them you were engaged. You had to meet the deadline, for your parents had made a contract – which they still hadn’t mentioned might you add -  though nothing incredible can be planned, bought and organised in that time.  

So. Much. Stress.  

The greatest surprise of having Draco back in your life; he planned and booked a fitting for you in Madam Malkins for your wedding dress and his suit. A very welcome surprise as you truly did not know where to start. Whilst Madam Malkins was more than a little surprised at your speedy turnaround time, she didn’t seem to be surprised at the pairing before her.

As you stood there with Madam Malkins draping fabric around you, stood as still as you could on that little pedestal, Draco chatted away. Keeping your mind off the ache in your legs, making you laugh, Draco was being a truly wonderful person to be around. Even if this marriage didn’t produce ‘love’ you knew you could at least see a strong friendship building.

---

The down side of being thrown into an engagement and co-living situation was that you, at any moment, were going to have him walk in frame while you were on a video call, and you hadn’t fully prepared an explanation to your office mates as to why you now had a man living in your flat with you. You managed for almost a week and a half to keep things unwraps; Draco being on shift at the hospital at times when you had meetings planned.  

That was, until Draco’s shift was sent home early, a team member having tested positive for the illness. This meant he was housebound for two days until his test results came back. You knew there was no chance you were going to make it without a slip up. You were only too right.  

“Is that a boy”

“uhhhh yeah?”

“You live alone though?”

“Uhh, not anymore.”

“Who’s that?”

“It’s a long story...”

A group meeting really wasn’t the place to start discussing your newly revealed arranged marriage so you were really hoping the point would be dropped; and it was for a bit. Until the social check-in call.

Informing people you work with that you were now getting married to a dude you went to school with went down interestingly. With Draco being home, it was clear some of the girls were playing their questions as innocent on the surface but with the underlying ‘do you need help’ clear for you to read into.

You were now two weeks into your three-week deadline; you were down to planning the final few bits for what you were calling your initial ceremony. Assuming this was a marriage that wasn’t immediately going to go to shit, you were hoping to have a proper party. Or maybe you’d still have one even if it all went to shit; celebrate the beginning of the end.  

Having eventually chewed your parents out for getting you a husband and not mentioning it for several bloody years, your mother offered to do a small amount of catering for an initial wedding reception.

Cake and snacks; sorted.  

All you really needed was a venue. You know, a place to actually get married. Draco had mentioned his family had a lot of land near the manor as an offhand comment and as the days passed you were starting to think it was his was of asking to get married at his home.  

They say communication is key, but how do you build consistent communication in three weeks? This certainly was an exceptional time; what was in the water.

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