#it’s super messy and I just wanted something quick but didn’t add everything I planned for the design

[kitsuna21]

Forgive me for I have sinned 😔

Yep I thought I was immune to the urge I was so very very wrong

Bonus under the cut

[cali-holland]

Sweet as Sugar- Tom Holland One Shot

Pairing: Tom Holland X Reader

Prompt: Tom’s on a strict diet to bulk up, meaning he can’t have sweets… but you keep baking too many desserts for just you and your housemate, so you decide to share with him, your neighbor.

Word Count: 3100

Warnings: low key body positivity issues on tom’s end i mean tom’s on a bulking diet so idk, does that count?? , mentions of sex, maybe swearing

Masterlist   Tom Holland Masterlist

*Gif is not mine*

A/N: i got an ask yesterday that kinda pushed me into completing this fic, so here it is :) enjoy me actually finishing something for once

~~~

“Why do we have baby food in the fridge?” Harry asked, holding up a suspicious looking bottle of yellow slosh.

“That’s my lunch.” Tom grumbled as he came into the kitchen, taking the bottle from his brother. Harry just shrugged and moved along to get his own lunch out, which was leftover nachos from last night.

“Ah, it’s that time of year again.” Harrison laughed when he noticed Tom’s scrunched up nose, trying to drink his protein shake without having it touch his tongue.

“Oh yeah,” Harry chuckled, “You have to bulk up.”

“The rest of the diet is fine. I can handle the cut back on sweets and carbs, but this shit?” Tom held up the yellow drink in his hands, “I hate it.”

“You have fun with that while we enjoy these.” His brother teasingly held up the nachos that Tom desperately wanted to eat, but he knew couldn’t. Instead, he took a drink out of his shake, physically restraining himself from gagging on the flavor. It wasn’t like he could add anything to it to make it taste better; his trainer had a very strict meal plan for him for the next several weeks, and that was accompanied by a very strict exercise routine. He just had to suck it up— literally.

Meanwhile, you let out a sigh as you stood in your kitchen, looking at the two dozen cupcakes you just made. Of course your cousin would cancel her baby shower that you were catering with desserts after you made said desserts. You only had one housemate, and there was no way that the two of you could eat all of them before they go stale.

“Oh no, are they the wrong color?” Your roommate asked, stepping into the kitchen once she saw the frustrated look on your face.

“I just spent hours making these vanilla cupcakes and now the shower’s been canceled. I don’t know what to do with all these cupcakes now.” You explained as you leaned on the counter, eyeing the now unnecessary cupcakes.

“Too many cupcakes— I never thought we’d have that problem.” She laughed. “Why don’t you give them to Tom?”

“Our neighbor?” You looked at her with raised eyebrows.

“I mean, unless you’re into another guy living in that house, but as I recall, Tom’s the only one you can’t talk to.” She said as she picked up a cupcake for herself, “Whoever you give them to, save us a few. I love your baking.”

“There’s no way I’m doing that.” You shook your head at her.

“Come on, this is the perfect excuse to talk to him.” She encouraged you through a mouthful of blue vanilla cupcake.

“No, I can’t just give him cupcakes randomly.”

“Sure you can! The way to a guy’s heart is through his stomach.” She teased. “Look at the guys that live in that house; they can definitely eat two dozen cupcakes before they go stale. You know I’m right.”

“I hate you sometimes.” You grumbled, taking off your apron and putting the cupcakes into your carrier, specially designed for keeping them stable for traveling.

As your housemate continued to eat her cupcake in pure bliss, you made your way to the house next door with your cupcakes in hand. You felt like it was a stupid idea, but you couldn’t let the cupcakes go to waste. With a small sigh, you knocked on your neighbor’s door, hoping that anyone would answer it besides- well, besides Tom, but by the time you thought that, he already had the door open.

The moment you looked into his chocolate brown eyes, you froze, completely blanking on the reason why you’re there. It wasn’t the “you’re a celebrity” shock; it was the “you’re my super attractive neighbor and you’re really nice and you work out in front of your house sometimes and it kills me” shock. Luckily, he was kind enough to save you from furthering your own embarrassment.

“Are those cupcakes?” He asked curiously as he looked down at the container in your hands.

“Oh, um, yeah,” You answered. “I made these cupcakes for my cousin’s baby shower and it got canceled, so now I have 20 cupcakes, and I thought maybe you’d like them? You don’t have to, if you don’t want to, and I realize now that this is incredibly weird and random, but I swear I haven’t poisoned them or anything.”

Tom laughed, nodding his head, “Poisoned or not, I’ll take them. I’m sure they’re fantastic anyway.”

“Thank you.” You handed him the container, and he immediately opened it up, reaching for one. You saw the smile drop from his face as he slowly retracted his hand.

“Sorry, I-“ He paused, clearing his throat. “I’m about to have lunch so I shouldn’t spoil it. I’ll definitely have one later though.” And just like that, the smile was back on his face.

“No worries.” You smiled.

“Well, thank you, Y/N.” Tom smiled, and you felt your heart flutter. You didn’t know he knew your name; you hadn’t spoken in the three months you lived next door to him (unless you count his football landing in your backyard and you throwing it back over the fence for him).

Without another word, you turned around and darted back into the safety of your house. Tom stayed on his doorstep, watching your retreating figure in confusion. As he stepped back inside his house, he let out a sigh, looking down at the cupcakes in his hands.

“Who was that?” Harry asked through a mouthful of nachos.

“Y/N from next door.” Tom replied, trying his best to hide the small blush on his cheeks at the thought of the random encounter.

“The cute one that doesn’t talk to you?” Harrison inquired, and Tom was quick to send him a glare.

“She gave us cupcakes.” He put the container on the counter as a way to wordlessly let his housemates have at them.

“Marry her.” Harry stated, nachos abandoned for a sweet cupcake. Harrison barely even chewed the first one, making his way to a second.

“It’s just cupcakes.” Tom tried to play it off.

“Uhuh, just cupcakes.” His younger brother nudged him teasingly.

“Stop pouting and go back to your protein shake.” Harrison joked. Grumbling incoherently, Tom did just that— he went back to his protein shake and continued the art of keeping the disgusting taste from touching his tongue.

A few days later, the cupcakes were cleared from the container, eaten and enjoyed by everyone except for Tom (even Tessa got some because Paddy dropped crumbs on the floor when they came over). With your cleaned container in hand, Tom made his way over to your house next door. He nervously smoothed out his t-shirt one last time before knocking on your door.

“Coming!” He heard you call from inside. A couple moments later, you opened up the door in surprise.

“Oh, Tom.” You said quietly, feeling insecure as you looked down at your messy apron.

“Are you baking more food?” He asked, his signature smile on his face.

“Technically not right now. I’m filling eclairs.” You replied, and his eyes went wide in surprise.

“Wow, you really know your way around the kitchen.” Tom admired, making your cheeks heat up.

“Do you- do you mind helping me for a minute? I’m having issues piping.” You sheepishly admitted. You fully expected him to say no, come up with some half-ass excuse about how he was busy, but then he surprised you with a nod.

“Of course, I’ll help.”

You stepped aside and let him inside. Leading him back into the kitchen, you asked, “How’d you like the cupcakes?”

“Oh, they were great. Really good, thank you.” He didn’t hesitate to compliment the sweet that he’d never tasted. Considering how much his friends and family loved your cupcakes though, he could only assume they were the best. He thought maybe you caught his lie, but then you just got straight to work at your eclair-covered counter. Tom set the container aside on an empty counter and quickly washed his hands.

“They keep losing their shape as I pipe them, so can you just hold them upside?” You asked, holding up a bare eclair. Tom held it as instructed and you got your piping bag together. He watched as you concentrated on filling the treat, your eyebrows furrowed together and your teeth sinking into your teeth a little. He felt his stomach begin to grumble from the intoxicating smell of your kitchen. It seemed like you had everything he couldn’t eat, just out on your counter.

“Are you hungry?” You spoke up, a few eclairs later when Tom’s stomach groaned loudly.

“Oh, no, I’m fine.” He insisted. Looking at the eclairs on the counter, he knew you’d offer him one without a second thought, and he wasn’t sure how much longer he could fight off the urge to break his stupid diet.

He continued to focus on you as you focused on the eclairs. With all but a few pastries filled, you grabbed another empty one. You let out a frustrated huff as your piping bag struggled to cooperate with the pastry.

“Get in there.” You grumbled, annoyed at the difficult eclair.

“Too tight?” Tom asked.

“No, it’s just-“ You trailed off as you finally got it to work. You smiled proudly, happy that it was finally working right.

“Am I about to walk in on kitchen sex or can I come in?” You heard your housemate jokingly call out from the hallway. While you froze up in embarrassment, Tom shook with laughter. She walked into the kitchen with a smirk on her face, sending you a very obvious wink that Tom completely saw.

“You’re the worst.” You muttered, moving on to the next eclair.

“So you two just, uh, filling eclairs?” Your housemate asked, grabbing one of the filled pastries and taking a bite out of it.

“Yes, it’s a very important two person job.” Tom chuckled, and she nodded.

“Y/N, how the fuck are you so good at this?” She turned to you, taking another bite of her food. “Oh my god, Tom, you have to try these eclairs.”

“I’m good, don’t want to eat Y/N’s food.” He answered, but his stomach betrayed him with another growl.

“You seem really hungry. Are you sure you don’t want any?” You inquired, and Tom shook his head politely.

“It’s okay, really.”

“Do you want to take some home? For you and your housemates? I’ve made too many again.” You offered, making him laugh.

“You have that problem a lot, don’t you?” He teased. You playfully rolled your eyes at him as you finished the last eclair. Grabbing the container from the other counter, you began to reload it with eclairs.

“Here you go.” You smiled, holding it out to Tom.

“Thank you. I should probably get going.” He trailed off a little, sounding a bit disappointed.

“Let me know how they are.” You bid him one last farewell before he left.

When he returned home a whole minute later, he set the container full of fresh eclairs on the kitchen counter and immediately went in search for his scheduled snack, which was simply just an apple, but, compared to the eclairs he just helped make, an apple never seemed so disappointing.

“More free dessert?” Harry asked, eyes lighting up when he spotted the familiar container.

“They’re eclairs today.” Tom replied.

“On a scale of one to ten, how much does this suck?” He teased, taking a massive bite from the eclair. Tom glared at his brother before leaving the room to enjoy his apple in an eclair (and Harry) free zone.

This all became a routine between you and Tom. He’d bring you back your container after a few days and you’d fill it up (or switch it out) with more freshly made treats. Tom had to just sit back and watch everyone around him enjoy your pies, brownies, cookies, tarts, even croissants. You even made a cake and he had to bring it to a family birthday party. The more time he spent with you though, the more he found himself really liking you— but there was also the catch that the more time he spent with you, the more he struggled to maintain his diet. He almost snuck a cookie when no one was around but then he remembered the last time he broke his diet and shuddered at the thought of it.

One day, a few weeks later, Tom heard the familiar sound of your special knock on his front door. Confused because you’d given him fudge just yesterday, he opened the door.

“I got locked out.” You said as soon as he opened the door. As if you didn’t feel awkward enough around him before, now you’re really asking him for a big favor. “If it’s not overstepping, could I stay here? My housemate should be back in a bit and she has her key.”

“Come on in.” Tom stepped aside for you to come into his house. You had never actually been inside it before, and it seemed to be just as homey as yours, but with a tad more frat boy mess in it, complete with video games stashed on the shelves of the entertainment center and random beer bottles in the house.

“Sorry, I’ve been meaning to clean up.” He apologized, rushing to grab the empty bottles to recycle them. You just laughed in response, still taking in the home, “Do you want water or anything?”

“Water would be great, thank you.” You replied. You followed Tom into the kitchen and leaned against the counter as you waited for your water. “I’m thinking of making these cookie bar things. Are any of you allergic to nuts?”

“No food allergies here.” Tom answered with a laugh, passing you the cup filled with water. You spotted the half eaten block of fudge on his counter and smiled.

“How’s the fudge?” You asked before taking a sip of your water.

“It’s the best. Truly the best I’ve ever had.” He stated definitively.

And it happened to be at that moment that Harry came into the room, scouting for more fudge. As he picked up a piece, he realized that you and Tom were in the room, “Thank you, Y/N, for all of the food.”

“It’s no problem. I enjoy sharing it.” You smiled kindly at him.

“Too bad you can’t have any.” He teased his older brother before shoving the large piece of fudge into his mouth. As Harry left the room, Tom went red in embarrassment.

“Best fudge you’ve ever had, huh?” You asked, crossing your arms defensively.

“It’s not that I don’t like fudge— I love fudge—“

“But you don’t like mine?” You weren’t sure why you were so upset over it, but maybe it was the fact that you thought he truly enjoyed your desserts. “Did you eat any of it?”

“No.” Tom answered honestly, defeat present on his face as he hung his head in shame.

“Then why did you lie about it?” You stated, unwavering in the hurt look in your features.

Tom mumbled something, and you furrowed your eyebrows at him, unable to understand a word he said. A little bit louder, he spoke up again, “I’m on a bulking diet and I can’t have sugar, but you were really happy giving me things and— and it gave me a good excuse to actually talk to you.”

With a sheepish smile on his face, he finally looked up at you. You paused, processing his words before finding your own voice, “You wanted to talk to me?”

“Yeah, I’m kinda really into you.” He said. “I was going to ask you out on a date, but, uh, I can understand if you don’t—”

“I’d love to.” You cut him off quickly, not giving yourself the chance to think about your response. Tom’s eyes lit up, hopefully.

“Really?”

“Really.” You nodded. Before you could say anything further, your phone began to ring and you looked down; it was your housemate, meaning she was home now and could let you in. “I should get going.”

“Does tomorrow work? I could pick you up at 7?” Tom offered, and you smiled as the two of you made your way to his front door.

“7 sounds great. I’ll see you then.” You said, stepping out onto his porch. “Thank you, again.”

“Anytime.” He answered with a grin. Knowing he’d watch you as you walked home, you had to maintain yourself from skipping a little in happiness.

Even with your big date tomorrow though, you still barely slept, spending all night searching through fitness sites for new recipes. That night, right as the clock struck 7, you heard a knock on your door. Eagerly, you grabbed a new container full of your latest bake and opened your door.

“Before we leave, can you try this?” You asked, handing Tom the container. He looked at the appetizing bars questioningly. 

“Is this a test? I can’t have—” Tom started, but you cut him off, shaking your head.

“They’re not sweets. They’re protein bars.” You explained. “I found a recipe last night. It’s peanut butter and rice protein.”

“You made me protein bars?” His voice almost broke as he looked at you in disbelief.

“Well, yeah, I feel bad for giving you so many things you couldn’t eat, so I wanted to do something for you.” You could barely get your words out before he was unceremoniously stuffing a protein bar in his mouth. He knew he had a routine that he was supposed to follow but, hey, at least this was filled with protein.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been dying to try your baking, and these are so good.” Tom sighed in relief with a clear mouth.

“So I’ll keep that recipe then.” You laughed. You stepped out of your house and closed the door behind you.

“I should drop these off. One moment.” He jogged back over to his house and threw the door open.

“These are mine! No eating them!” He shouted to his nosy housemates, putting the container of protein bars on the side table.

“Marry her!” Harry and Harrison both called back out to him as he shut the door. With a twinge of embarrassment from you hearing their words, Tom turned back to you.

“Ready?”

~~~

Tag List: @viagracex​ @theamazingtomholland​  @harrisonosterfieldhazmyheart​ @joyleenl​ @t-o-m-holland​ @lonikje​ @sleepybesson​  @sunkisseddreamer​ @hollandsamor @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh​ @gorrillaglue13 @petersoftboyparker @musicalkeys

Tom Tag List:@quaksonhehe​ @tomkindholland

[princecharmingmendes]

Heart by Heart | Chapter I | Raul Mendes

                                           *secret agent AU*

Y/N and Raul have been friends ever since they could remember. And falling in love with your best friend can be pretty tricky and messy 99% of the times, add that to the fact they're constantly risking their lives side by side on the field since they're both secret agents, and the best team that's ever existed. Perfect recipe for disaster.

Helloo, this is the first chapter of this series and I'm super excited about it. Please read the warnings on this one, if you don't feel comfortable with the contents listed on the "warnings" section, please read something else, there are a lot of other works on my masterlist and on the "fic rec" hashtag on my blog. I plan on posting a chapter weekly, which means new chapter every Thursday (and maybe a sneak peak every monday). Please give me some feedback and I hope you guys like it as much as I did. I'll stop rambling now, byee. Happy Reading!

                                                     masterpost | next chapter

*Word Count: 3.4K+;

*Warnings:  cursing, descriptions of violence, blood, injuries, hostage situation and a whole lot of teasing. Please don’t read it if any of this subjects make you uncomfortable, feel free to check my masterlist for other writings. 

*Posted: July 1st, 2021.

                                                     -*-

Raul Mendes was a pain in the ass. Y/N loves him way too much for her own good, but he was a pain in the nonetheless. 

He was the only person she knew who could be in a possible life-or-death situation and still make fun of her through their communicators. And sure, that made the whole thing lighter and less scary, and sure, he was the best agent she’s ever met, but damn did he get on her nerves. And Raul always knew how to get her frustrated or squirming, he enjoyed it more than he was willing to admit. Sure, they’ve been friends for a long time and she should be used to him, but it never got easier. The fact he had a killer smile, the looks of a legit greek god and had this whole tough guy exterior, but secretly had a soft spot for her did not make her case any less complicated.

Y/N and Raul knew each other ever since they’re basically born. Their parents met when they worked together at a company of secret agents, it was only a small corporation back then, and they were known as the best agents at the time. After they retired from field missions and eventually desk jobs, they became only advisers and emergency contacts. But despite that, they kept their friendship going though all the years and that’s how Y/N was introduced to the triplets. They’re always together, doing everything with each other and protecting themselves. And of course she loved Peter and Shawn with her whole heart, they’re like family to her, but Raul was different. Y/N wished it wasn’t, but there are certain things in life you can’t exactly control. Like falling in love with your best friend.

And it’s not like she stood a chance, to be honest. Regardless of his looks, he treated her like she hung the moon and stars on the sky. Sure, he was a tough guy, who rode motorcycles and wore leather jackets, and wouldn’t admit alive that he cried while watching Lion King. But he took care of her when she was upset or having a bad period, he would take her driving around town at midnight on random occasions just because he knew it would make her feel better, and would always be so mindful of everything involving her. And yeah, he teased her endlessly, but it was part of it and in reality, Y/N didn’t mind it that much. 

So when they started growing older and decided to follow their parents career, it only made sense they trained their asses off and got the job together. The company their parents worked for grew a lot, a team that was originally formed by 15 agents turned into a massive business, with over 100 employees, doing various functions. Shawn was picked for a more diplomatic field, always in meetings with important people and traveling around the world. Peter became a tech engineer, developing the coolest gadgets and weapons imaginable, something out of Totally Spies! Raul was clearly a field agent, an expert on body combat and weapons, best out of the four when it came to their physical test. And Y/N was the one who guided the operations, the hacker and responsible for strategies, also for the tech part and best sniper out of the three of them. 

That made her and Raul an unbeatable team and the best duo ever. Their chemistry on the field was recognized by their bosses on the first week, basically glueing them together for every future mission and it worked. For the company. But it only dug her little crush deeper on Y/N’s heart. And obviously no one knew it. She was a spy for fucks sake, she knew how to lie and she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. Raul didn’t date, working on this field made  everyone’s love life a bit harder than it was already, and he never seemed interested enough in anyone with the same career to have a long lasting relationship with. That didn’t mean there where a lot of people interested, which made Y/N’s heart twist in her chest. 

“Sweetheart, you still with me?” Raul’s voice came through her earpiece bringing her back to reality.

“Of course I am, you idiot, I take this job really seriously” Y/N replied rolling her eyes as if she didn’t just daydreamed a bit. 

“Oh sorry, doll, didn’t mean to insult you hard working” he chuckled “but could you please check in the corridor number 6, half the team is heading down there right now”

“Sure” she quickly typed on her computer changing cameras really quickly, perks of being Peter’s best friend is that she could usually take extra stuff and the newest gadgets on the market “It’s clear and, by the way, you look pathetic with this glasses”

Raul laughed clearly amused, throwing his middle finger up in the air in the direction of the security camera he found “Oh really? Tell that to Peter, he’s the one who created them” 

“Technically their still a prototype, so make sure to let him know”

Raul scoffed playfully as he climbed another set of stairs, the man and woman with him following without questioning, used to his ways of leading “Of course, I’m sure he’ll like to hear your fashion critiques to his million dollar glasses”

“I’ll write it down, now careful, you’re approaching the level where they’re at”

“Sure, mom, I’m always careful” he said in a hushed tone signaling to his teammates to keep quiet and try to find the possible security team they left to watch the hostage.

“Shut up” Y/N said trying to hold back the smile from stretching her lips, already letting the airway team know to be ready to pick them up as they approached their target. 

They’re currently in the middle of a mission where they needed to recover another agent who got caught up in an ambush two weeks ago, and now they’re being kept as a hostage. Raul’s leading a team to retrieve the agent as quickly and as silently as they could, two with him and three other on the opposite side to meet halfway. All that while Y/N’s on the under construction building across the street seated among her gear, gun in hand following their every step and guiding them through the camera system and the big windows that other building had. It’s not the worst mission they’ve ever been, no apparent violence or blood bath, just a simple rescue mission, but they still felt a little jittery and always worried about each other’s lives. And through the years, they noticed that their copying mechanism to make this less stressful (at least a tiny bit) was through light banter and jokes. That somehow brought a bit of normality to their very non ordinary job. 

Y/N did her best to keep them hidden while they crashed into the building as quietly as possible, trying go unnoticeable since they didn’t have enough munition or people on the tactic team. It would also prevent them from moving the target around or opening fire. And despite the fact Raul kept on trying to joke around and that she’s been doing this for at least four years, the fact that they’re working with a less experienced and fresh out of the academy crew made her a little jittery. Not that she didn’t trust Raul to command everything and boss everyone around if things got messy, she just didn’t want him to get in the middle of a crossfire again. 

He had the terrible habit of playing the hero in the most inconvenient times, like when they were little and a guy twice his size, with three friends mocked her pigtails. He didn’t stand a chance, but he went after them anyway. They ended up having to run as fast as they could so they wouldn’t end up with a black eye or something. And that was nothing compared to the stupid shit he could do on field. And Y/N couldn’t be more pissed whenever he came home with more bruises then he should just to play Superman or something. Sure, that was admirable and the fact that he put everyone on his team on his top priority was definitely something fantastic for a captain, but not for Y/N’s heart. 

And for that reason, she was always extra careful, but when he had a newbie joining him on the field, Y/N tripled the attention to avoid putting the kid in danger, and, consequently her best friend. 

Raul was quick to take down two man on their level without raising much alarm, grabbing their munition, dragging the unconscious bodies away from where they’d be easily seen and moving forward to another set of stairs. He was a very skillful agent, with great physical development and worked great under pressure, with quick thinking and a natural leader. So it didn’t shock her when he was able to do that as if it was the most natural thing in the planet. While Raul was more of a passionate person, Y/N was more rational, was analyzing every possibility and coming up with creative solution, she was also really cold on work (she just had one exception) and was a quick thinker, great person to rely on. It’s almost as if the complimented each other and that’s why it worked. That’s why when she tells him to shoot, he does without thinking, or to jump, he wouldn’t blink before doing it head first. 

And that’s why they’re able to reach the hostage without much trouble. 

“Told you to chill out, I knew we could make it” he murmured through their coms and she giggled, shaking her head incredulously.

“You should watch the entrances while your teammates take care of the hostage”

“That’s why I have you, sweetheart” he said with his infamous smirk stretching his annoyingly pink lips.

Y/N shook her head when she felt her face warming up a bit, stupid boy “Well, actually I’m pretty busy calling for our ride, so watch your own back this time, you’re a big boy, I’m sure you can do it”

Raul scoffed but did as she say either way “fine, are we clear?”

“On your floor yes, climb three more levels and meet me on this side of the street, don’t stall champ, they’re going to notice there’s something wrong with the cameras and their man who aren’t responding, so be quick”

Raul chuckled as he helped balance the hostage on Roman’s arms and signaling them to climb the stairs again “Yes, ma’am, anything to keep you from frowning and scolding my ass”

Y/N rolled her eyes smiling, sighing in relief that half of their mission was done and it went as smoothly as it could have been “Great, now get your ass out of there now, Raul” 

The tactic team started moving to the floor they’d have access to jump, and everything was going too smoothly to be true, not even a minor inconvenience. And that was not normal, at all. That’s when Y/N started getting worried. 

Everything was great until Seth, from loosing a lot of blood and being severely dehydrated, started loosing his conscious, making Roman’s job a lot more complicated and making everyone move slower. And while that was happening, Y/N saw when one of the guys saw his partners laying limply on the corner of a hallway and finally the pieces clicked. Luckily she was able to caught it quickly enough to be able to mess up their coms, so instead of a dozen men, they’d have to deal with two. She was also quick to let Raul know, so he jumped into action, telling everyone to rush and grabbing Seth’s right side, basically carrying him alongside Roman up the stairwell. 

But as they’re almost reaching the door, Raul heard footsteps rather close, rushing Roman up the rest of the way, warning he’d be right behind him, that he was only to be a bit far back so he could hold whoever was coming. 

He ran downstairs, quickly blocking the door to the staircase with a fire extinguisher, running all the way upstairs to reach his teammates and jump to go home. But as he had just reached the door, his colleagues waiting for him with their gear (and also his) ready to cross to the other building, he felt the barrel of a gun touching the back of his head. Raul raised his hands in surrender, his teammates staring at him with horror in their eyes as they aimed their guns to whoever was behind him, but he knew they couldn’t do much before he got shot. He also knew they’re too young, apart from Roman and Cara, who were both holding Seth up, they weren’t experienced enough to do something like that. But before the person could pull the trigger, they grunted in pain and Raul felt the barrel slipping away. 

He turned around to watch the guy on his back in the floor, clutching to his left ribs, a little pool of blood already forming underneath him and gun long forgotten. Raul looked around to see if it was anyone from this guy’s side or anyone on the stairs, only to be met with silence and a single security camera with the green dot on, meaning Y/N was still in their system. He shook his head in disbelief, dragging the whining man outside of the room, quacking his gun down the stairs and managing to lock the door so they could escape safely. 

“Still with me, baby?” Y/N’s voice teased mimicking the way he said it earlier. 

Raul shook his head with a smirk on his lips, before moving to where his teammates stood still a bit shocked with all that happened in front of them “Wouldn’t dream of leaving you, sweetheart”

“Alright boys, the helicopters are coming for us, meet you all on the roof in three” Y/N said through the coms for the whole team, quickly shifting to a line only the captain, Raul, could hear “and if you dare be late just to make a big entrance or another dramatic scheme you can think about, I swear to God I’ll leave you behind”

“You wouldn’t dare”

“Try me” Y/N sing sang picking up her stuff and quickly shoving them down in her backpack, gathering the rest in her hands before turning around to climb to the rooftop. 

As she climbed the last set of stairs, Y/N saw their helicopters approaching as the seven agents she was waiting for used a special gun to shoot a line to her building, before locking them in place before zip-lining their way to meet her. She helped Seth, the agent that was kept hostage climb up the little wall since he was in a pretty bad shape, throwing his arm across her shoulders and basically dragging him to where they thrown the stair to climb up to the helicopter with the medical team waiting for him. Cara and Roman climbed first since they’re going to report what they saw and assist Seth as best as they could. Roman grabbed him and the rope stair, shouting to pull them up so he could be taken care of. 

Raul was the last one to arrive, as always staying behind to insure everyone got there safely and no one would try to kill them or anything. He graciously climbed the all as if it was nothing, pulling the gun from the string and cutting it so no one could follow them up there that quickly. Raul told everyone to climb onto the helicopter and they’re quick to follow his order, only one person stubbornly waiting for him, as always. He held back the relieved smile from stretching across his features, noticing how warm and relaxed he felt only by seeing Y/N standing besides the hope ladder. She looked worried, a frown on her beautiful face and Raul wanted to smooth his fingers over it as if it would ease all of her troubles away.

She nodded as soon as he was close enough, Raul being quick to pick up the heavy backpack she was carrying and leaving the rest to her “Are you okay?”

“What? Of course, Why do you ask?” he knew why she was asking, hell, his heartbeat was still a bit too fast to be normal, and yeah, partially was because he was standing in front of Y/N, but on the other hand he almost got killed. She only arched her brow at him and he sighed in defeat “Of course I am, doll, you know me, I’m always okay” 

“That’s what’s scares me the most” she said with a sad chuckle and started climbing the rope ladder to the helicopter and Raul was quick to follow behind.

“Dude, that was insane, I can’t believe you didn’t miss or accidentally shot Raul from across the street!” the youngest guy from the mission shouted as soon as they reached them on the vehicle, Raul closing the door behind them. 

Y/N only giggled in response “yeah, a bit crazy, isn’t it?”

“That’s because she’s the best, Tommy, but she won’t believe it” Raul said as he sat on one of the vacant seats, waiting for her to join him. 

“Oh shut it” she said unable to stop the smile from forming.

They kept on talking about the mission for a while, Tommy and the other two kids who recently joined still high from the adrenaline, but Y/N couldn’t be more worn out and Raul was quick to catch it. He leaned closer to her and she automatically laid her head on his shoulder, a movement that was almost mechanic to both of them. He gently grabbed her hand that was placed on her knee and interlaced their fingers together, letting her play with his hand to pass the time. 

Y/N sighed and mumbled after a while, when most of the kids were too distracted to pay attention “Are you really okay? Don’t say that you’re always fine, I mean it”

Raul had mastered the art of the poker face. He could easily be having the worst time of his life, but he would never let it showcase always with a quick sarcastic remark and an easy smirk on his lips, ready to flirt with anyone to distract them from the real problem. Raul was not the best when dealing with feelings and emotions, always thought it was easier to push them away, but Y/N saw right through him. She always did, ever since they were little. After that, he never tried to hide it again from her, always being as honest as he could with her about how he was, and obviously it didn’t always work, but she understood and respected it. It’s not like he needed to say anything for her to know. 

But at the same time, she didn’t know that he would always be fine, as long as she was safe and right next to him, the rest didn’t matter. 

“I promise you I’m fine, you saved my beautiful ass and we’re going home, I’d say we’re fantastic” he said after a while, pressing a long kiss to the back of their laced hands. 

That seemed to be enough to convince Y/N, since she huffed through her nose and let out a tiny giggle, before leaning closer to him and Raul took it as a sign to drape his arm over her shoulder pulling her closer to his chest “your beautiful ass is really annoying, you know that, right?”

“Oh, I do, but you love it anyway” he said with a giggle, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head, as she just showed him her middle finger, making him laugh even more. 

Yeah, he was definitely fine. For now. 

                                                     -*-

*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.

*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes.

*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!

*Hope you guys enjoyed it!

*xoxo

-🌙

[drewstarkeys]

The three times Toni almost kisses you and the one time that she actually does.

Summary: 3+1

Warnings: Language, mentions of throwing up (the scene where they all get sick is included.)

Word Count: 4.5k 

Pairing: Toni Shalifoe x Reader

A/N: sorry this is kind of messy but I was feeling super inspired to write for Toni because she’s my baby and I haven’t seen much for her yet so I wanted to hopefully give you guys some good Toni content :)

The first time Toni almost kissed you was too soon.

It was the second night on the island and a new round of Never Have I ever revealed some of the group’s biggest secrets such as your own. You had confessed to never kissing a member of your preferred sex but had drank to kissing boys. Your simple confession had Toni’s head spinning as she tried to make sure there was no other explanation for your answers that night.

You had walked off soon after your confession and the look that Shelby gave you- making you feel as if you were no longer welcome. Something about the cliffs on the far end of the island were calling you to go to them and watch the stars.

What you didn’t know was that Toni had quietly followed you towards the end of the island. She wanted to get to know you better in general, but right now she just wanted to make sure that you were okay. She had picked up the hesitancy in your confession when the words left your mouth and added onto Shelby’s mention of you praying afterwards- well that was a recipe for disaster.

As soon as you had reached one of the shorter cliffs that overlooked the ocean, you sat down and faced the sea in hopes that it would calm your spinning head. It was 2020, how could anyone not be supportive of loving whoever you wanted to love? You were out to your parents and while they hadn’t loved the idea of you loving women, they did support you and tell you that they just wanted you to be happy. That was similar to pretty much everyone else’s reactions to you coming out- supportive even if they didn’t understand. So when Shelby reacted in a different way, you didn’t know how to sit around and just take her words.

Your head had gotten so caught up in your thoughts that you didn’t realize someone had walked up to you until they were sitting down next to you. “Hey, uh- I know what Shelby said was tough, I mean fuck, it wasn’t okay at all but I just wanted to see if you were okay? “ Toni asked, her head cocked to the side as she stared at you, trying to gage how you were feeling.

A sniffle left you before words could and you mentally cursed yourself for seeming so weak, you weren’t big on crying in front of strangers, even in this crazy situation. “I’m fine,” you said, pausing as if you were going to add something else but you decided against it, closing your mouth quickly.

The girl next to you wasn’t so convinced, “You’re not. I’m pretty sure anyone who has ever had a crush on someone of the same gender isn’t okay after that comment, we’ve dealt with enough bullshit about it and we shouldn’t have to worry about it right now. The fear of being judged should be last on our list of worries, yet here we are, you know?”

“Is that why you’re here... making sure I’m okay?” You asked, finally looking over to her. It was an odd question given the fact that you knew the answer but you couldn’t help yourself as the words spilled out of you.

Toni nodded, no words being necessary to her answer. She was still looking at you as if she was scared that you would break down in front of her. “wait hold on,” she mumbled, scooting herself closer to you, “you have like a branch or something in your hair.” She whispered as her hand came up to your hair and worked on pulling the small twig out.

You froze at her closeness, suddenly feeling like you wanted her a lot closer than that but unable to form those words or even fully understand those feelings. “Thank you,” you said, your heart racing against your words.

Toni sat close to you for a second, her eyes falling down to your lips but before anything else happened, she pushed herself back and stood up, extending a hand out to you. She had gone cold almost instantly. “We should get back- they’ll be worried about us.”

You nodded, grabbing her hand and standing up next to her before releasing her hand just as quick. You couldn’t quite place a name on it yet but you felt something for her, you just didn’t know if it was simply because she had been nice to you or if there was something more there.

The next time she almost kissed you was four days later.

The shelter building contest was growing intense even though it had just started. A fight between Shelby and Toni had already broken out which unfortunately for Toni, ended with Martha choosing Shelby’s side.

A part of you was telling yourself to go after her and help her collect wood to calm her down because of how close the two of you had grown over the past few days, but a bigger piece of you was telling you to stay put, Toni needed to cool off on her own.

“Alright so- how can I help?” You asked, looking over to Shelby who had already started making space near a cliff. You hadn’t fully forgiven her for telling you that you needed to pray but you were currently stuck on an island with her- holding grudges wouldn’t do shit for you.

Shelby looked at you with a smile, “Martha is going to build while we cut the wood we already have, do you wanna help Martha? I think Nora can help me just fine.” She suggested, looking over at Martha who was currently dragging over some of the chopped wood.

You nodded, walking off towards Martha, not wanting to interact with Shelby any longer. “Hey,” you said with a smile as you helped her balance a piece of wood against another piece.

“Hi, y/n!” She said back, a light heartedness to her tone that you wished you could still carry with you but your hope for leaving the island had dropped after the first two days. “Do you think we can win this? I really want those Takis,” she added as she walked over to grab another piece of wood.

“Hopefully.” You answered, continuing to help Martha as the other girls were cutting wood.

Time passed quickly under the hot sun as you let your mind drift back to the second night on the island, wondering if Martha had heard about what happened. Even worse, you couldn’t help but look back for Toni after each new piece of wood was added to the hut.

You felt your heart jump when you finally turned back to see Toni walking towards the group with a stack of wood tucked under her arm. You watched as she put down the branches and began to talk with the girls- from the look of it, she wasn’t happy with what they were telling her.

“So I just straight-up wasted my time? Whose fucking idea was this? Was it yours?” She asked, her glare being focused onto Shelby as you finally walked up to the rest of the group with Martha, hoping to do some damage control.

“We all decided this as a team, can you please just go with it?” Martha asked, hoping to pull her best friend back under control before there was another outburst.

Toni shrugged and turned away from the group, walking off without another word. “Maybe I should go off after her, you know- it was my plan and everything that we switched to.” Shelby spoke up as she watched Toni walk away, “i feel like someone should talk to her.”

You looked at Shelby in shock, sure she was the resident optimist here, but she couldn’t possibly go after the person she just annoyed, you would never have the guts to do that. “You really think it should be you? I mean come on Shelby, you’ve done enough to piss her off.” You fought back, trying to keep your tone even.

“Y/N is right, Shelby, I think that you should go, y/n. Well, either you or Martha, both of you seem to have a calming effect on her when she’s ticked off.” Nora spoke up, looking between you and Martha with pleading eyes.

Martha stayed quiet and looked to the ground, she felt worse for Shelby than she did for Toni at the moment and it was showing. “It should be y/n, Toni and I haven't been getting along great lately.” She answered with sad eyes. You could tell that the strain on their friendship was affecting both of them negatively.

You nodded, pulling Martha in for a hug and sending a smile to the other girls, “I’ll be back soon. If I’m not, well I either fell in a ditch or a shark ate me,” you teased, earning a small laugh from Shelby,

You could still hear them talking about the hut and their plans as you walked away but your mind was too focused on finding your friend. You felt almost silly for coming after her as she had just done the same for you a few nights ago, but you knew that someone should go talk to her. The sound of waves filled your ears and you chose to focus on that instead, trying to calm your nerves so you wouldn’t stress before going to see her.

It had been about five minutes and you still had no sight of Toni which worried you a little bit, sure she had a head start, but you would’ve hoped that she had found somewhere to just sit and pout, rather than continuing her trek of madness around the island.  “Toni, you out here?” You called out as you walked around one of the corners of the island, smiling when you finally saw the figure of a girl sitting on one of the rocks.

You made your way up to her without another word before stopping right in front of her so that Toni would have to look at you. “You okay?” You asked her, studying her frame. She was curled into herself and anyone would be able to feel the anger radiating off of her.

“I’m fine. Just annoyed, that’s all.” She answered and you frowned, you could hear the hurt in her voice despite the clear efforts she was making to hide it. Before you could question her, she spoke again, “don’t you find it weird how we keep coming after each other when we barely know each other? I don’t mind it but normally people don’t care enough to try and talk me down, well except Marty.”

You moved to sit down on the rock next to hers and looked at your feet as you tried to find the right words for the situation. “Yeah, it’s like a good weird- or at least I like the weird. It’s um, well it’s cool.” You stumbled out, mentally cursing yourself over your awkwardness.

“Can I ask you something?” Toni asked you, pulling her knees up to her chest as she spoke.

“Alway- yeah of course you can.” You answered, still trying your hardest to not trip over your own words.”

Toni smiled to herself, “uh- why do you seem so nervous whenever you’re around me?” She asked, a smile still playing across her lips. She fucking knew. She could tell that this wasn’t just friendship for you.

You blushed, trying to figure out how to explain it without completely exposing yourself to her right now. “I uh- I think you’re pretty.” You rushed out, not meeting her eyes as you spoke.

She laughed but you could tell it wasn’t meant to be rude or to shoot you down in any way, it was almost like she was laughing from shock. “That was cute, you know that?” She asked, remaining calm through the whole thing.

You got up off of the rock, “right. Well, uh, I’m gonna go help with the contest and everything. I’ll see you over there, alright?” You said, leaning forward and kissing her on the cheek, something that shocked you as much as it seemed to shock Toni.

One of her hands grabbed your face before you could fully pull away and she looked at you in the same way she had looked at you the other night, like she was about to kiss you. But just like that first night, you were left disappointed as she pulled you in for a hug instead of kissing you, “I’ll see you around.” She answered, her face buried in your neck, “thank you by the way, for checking on me.”

The third time Toni almost kissed you, her life had just been in danger.

The shellfish feast had turned out to be a fucking disaster filled with nearly everyone on the island throwing up. Only you and Shelby hadn’t eaten them, Shelby being allergic and you were simply too picky to eat them.

Unfortunately for you, that meant you had to hold back everyone’s hair as they threw up, the sight and smells of which almost added you to the list of those emptying their stomach contents. “This is fucking brutal,” you had mentioned to Shelby as you both ran towards Leah who had tripped over a log and landed down into the sand, the girl was basically delusional.

“Tell me about it,” she answered, “I can get Leah if you wanna go check on Marty and Toni, they’re in the worst shape right now.” Shelby added, looking over to the two girls who were laying down in the shade, barely moving.

You nodded at her words, running over to the two of them so you could assess the situation. Martha was still busy throwing up but she was at least upright while Toni could barely stay on her side to throw up. You looked up to the sky as if an answer would suddenly pop up when Dot came running over to you and the girls.

“Okay so these two are in really bad shape, huh?” She questioned and you nodded, trying to avoid the spots that they had thrown up onto. “Alright well, Leah is getting the med bag, if I go get two waters can you help me try and get them to drink some? They need it even if they can’t keep it down.” She suggested, not letting you disagree before she walked over to the supplies stash.

You sat down near Toni and grabbed her by her shoulders, pulling her up so her back was pressed against you. She groaned at the sudden movement but was too exhausted to truly fight you on what you were doing. You waited for Dot to come back anxiously, hoping that Toni wouldn’t manage to throw up in the short period of time when Dot was away from you.

Dot’s return was quick as she handed you a water can and walked over to Martha, taking care of her and holding her hair back in case Marty needed to throw up. You looked back to the girl in front of you and you tipped her head up, lightly pulling on her chin to get her to open her mouth. “No-” she said, “I can’t.” She added, trying to push your hands away from you.

“I don’t care right now, drink the water.” You said, pulling the can up to her lips again. She tried to turn her head but you were quicker than her, managing to keep her mouth pressed to the lid of the can before pouring some of the liquid down her throat. Immediately after she swallowed the water, she was leaning to the side and emptying her stomach once again, crying out in pain due to how much she had already thrown up.

You held back her hair as she flopped over the side of your leg, her cheek resting on it as she stared down into the sand in front of her. You wanted to help more, but until the medicine bag was here, you couldn’t do anything. So, you were essentially stuck there, hoping that she would be okay despite the grave circumstances that she was currently facing.

“If I make it out of this alive-” Toni started to speak but was cut off by her stomach lurching.

You felt your heart drop at her words, “you’re making it out of this alive. Don’t start with that,” you said, pulling a piece of her hair away from her face. “But seriously, Toni, don’t talk right now, you need strength,” you added, feeling horrible for the girl.

“So you don’t want me to tell you that I want to kiss you?” She asked, turning to look up at you for a second before resting her head back against your thigh, deciding that sitting up was a bad idea.

You tried to think up a coherent response to that but between your worry for her health and your growing crush on her, you couldn’t quite think of the right thing to say. Instead you just bit your lip as you tried to conceal a smile and ran your free hand across her back, trying to provide some comfort to Toni as she was clearly still feeling like hell.

“We got the pills!” A voice yelled and you turned to see Shelby running up to meet you and Dot, “here’s the bag.” The blonde said, handing it over to Dot who would know what to do. You could feel your anxiety building as Dot only managed to pull one pill out of the bag, frantically looking for the other one yet becoming unsuccessful in doing so.

You didn’t know how or when it happened, but Toni was being pulled away from you and flipped onto her back as Shelby forced Toni to swallow the only pill that they had. Your head had been too fuzzy to clearly remember the exact details of what happened, feeling your consciousness become a struggle.

“Hey, y/n, calm down, she’s going to be okay. Just take deep breaths,” you heard a voice from next to you say. You turned to face Dot and you pulled her in, hugging her tightly as you let yourself finally cry over the stressful situation. “It’s okay,” she whispered, “you did so good today, you can relax now.” She added, stroking your bag as you clung to your friend intensely.

You hadn’t even realized you lost consciousness until you were waking up to a dark sky and the sound of your friends talking a few feet away. You sat up slowly, feeling all of the previous events coming back to you, “Toni,” you mumbled, rubbing your eyes as you scanned the group near the fire for Toni’s face.

“Hey, hey, I’m right here.” A voice spoke up and your head snapped towards the voice, your eyes landing on Toni who was sitting a few feet away from you. “I’m okay,” she said before anything else, “but um, thank you- for you know, helping me not choke on my own vomit.” She said, a humorless laugh falling past her lips.

You reached forward and pulled her in for a hug, almost crying again at the fact that she was okay, that you wouldn;t have to bury another body. “Thank God,” you breathed out, resting your chin on her shoulder.

“Don’t get all religious on me,” she teased, earning a small laugh from you. She pulled away from you but stayed close, her eyes scanning you to check on you. “So about what I said earlier,” she said, her hand coming up to touch the back of her neck. “I’m sorry for just like outwardly expressing to everyone that I uh, wanted to kiss you,” she said, her voice low as she looked over to the group of your friends. “I meant it- it was just bad timing.”

You nodded, a smile forming across your lips at her words, “I mean I wanna kiss you too.” You whispered, feeling the nervousness erupt in your stomach. The silence after your confession was deafening, it was like neither of you quite knew how to make a move with all of your friends only ten feet away, but you both wanted something, anything to happen.

Before either of you could do anything else, screams were heard across the beach and the two of you jumped up, running for the other girls to see what had happened. As the two of you approached the group, you realized what happened and your feelings of euphoria from just moments ago came crashing down, Martha had collapsed.

“Holy fuck,” you whispered as everyone ran for the girl, trying to pick her up and make sure that she was okay.

“There might be some more meds out there, maybe even the ones that she needs.” Leah announced, causing you to immediately get up off your feet and look over at her.

“Leah, we’re gonna go find them. Let’s go,” you said, grabbing the girls hand and the flashlight that had been left on the ground before heading towards the woods.

The one time Toni kisses you, she’s certain you’ll kiss her back.

You’re awake way before you want to be up, considering that the sun hasn’t even come up yet. Your mind is telling you to go back to bed but you ignore it and stand up instead, walking to the edge of the water and staring out at the open ocean in front of you. You were truly alone out here and rescue seemed like it would never come. It was a sad feeling to be so cut off from everyone else with no chance to live out the rest of your life, but something about dying here seemed peaceful. So, if this was the way you went out, you would just have to be okay with it.

The waves were barely hitting your feet, even as you sat down at the edge of the water and stared out. You hated the feeling of knowing that the one thing you used to love most in the world had suddenly become the one thing that would keep you from living till an old age. You used to swim around and pretend you were a mermaid and that the corners in the public swimming pool were underwater caves with mysteries far beyond your own imagination.

“Any reason you’re up before the sun?” Toni asked, snapping you out of your thoughts as you turned around to face her. “Before you ask, yes you kinda woke me up but it’s not a big deal so don’t apologize.” She added, sitting down next to you.

You laughed and looked down at the sand beneath you at her comment, “I feel bad, I didn’t mean to wake anyone up. I just- I wanted to watch the sunrise.” You answered her, your thumb running over a shell you had pulled out of the sand.

She moved herself closer to you until your shoulders were touching and you gratefully accepted the body heat that she was giving off, considering the sun hadn’t warmed up the island yet. “Sorry, I didn’t even ask if you wanted to just relax alone before coming over to sit, I should’ve.”

You shook your head side to side in disagreement and leaned in closer to her, “it’s fine, really. I had to get out of my own head anyways, my thoughts weren’t too fun before you came over here.” You answered, not fully wanting to explain the lack of hope you had for the future.

“Yeah, I don’t think any of us have been too positive lately with our outlooks on life and this island in general. Sure it’s great for an escape from real world problems but then again- we’re literally on the verge of death here” She agreed, her hands finding their way into the sand and running it through her fingers, something she tended to do no matter what the situation.

Before she could say anything else, you gasped and pointed at the sky, the sun was just beginning to rise, allowing a small amount of light to fill the scenery in front of you. “The sun is officially awake,” you said, hugging your knees into your body as an attempt to stay warm.

Toni yawned, nodding her head at your words. “Finally, huh? Was my company not good enough for you?” She teased, her shoulder bumping into yours gently as she spoke.

You rolled your eyes playfully at her words, “right cause the sun is such great company and you’re not. But then again, maybe the sun would actually kiss me after telling me that it wants to kiss me.” You said, your words coming out a lot stronger than you had expected, considering you tended to get nervous around girls.

Toni scoffed at your words, feigning hurt as she looked over to you, “are you saying I haven’t lived up to my words? That hurts y/n,” she continued the joke, reaching up and brushing a stray piece of hair from your face, the sun lighting up the softness in her eyes as she stared at you. “But I mean, if you want me to fix that, I can,” she added, her voice barely coming out above a whisper. A slight breeze ran across the island as you nodded, too afraid of your own voice to hold steady while you gave her an answer. “I need you to say it,” she begged, her hand still resting on your face.

“Yes,” you whispered, your eyes flicking down to her lips as you spoke.

A shaky breath left Toni’s mouth as she leaned in towards you, using her hand on your face to pull you closer to her. As soon as the two of you were close enough, her eyes slowly shut as she closed the distance and pressed her lips to yours. You could feel yourself fighting a smile as you kissed her back, your hands sliding up to hold her face in your hands. As cheesy as it sounded, it felt so right to be with her like this and you felt like you could finally let down your guard.

She pulled away first, looking up at you shyly, all of her confidence from before was gone as if she was hoping that you were feeling the same way you did. “That was so worth waiting,” she said quickly, the nerves still evident in her voice but to you, it was adorable.

“Yeah, it really was,” you agreed, grabbing her hand and interlocking your fingers with her, just wanting to feel her touch. You turned to look at the sky for a minute and smiled at all the different colors that were slowly beginning to paint the sky, “I uh feel like this is probably the right time to tell you that I really like you.” You added, a blush once again evident on your cheeks.

The girl smiled, a bright smile forming on her face, still watching you as she spoke, “I really like you too,” Toni said, her hand squeezing yours as she rested her cheek against your shoulder so that she could also stare out at the pink and orange sky.

[cherrycokedup]

This will get messy, I’m sure

Chapter one

Word count [6044]

Tags: lotsa blood talk, spiting? Miley is super aggressive, guns, knives, a whole death game, swearing, repeated words, chase scenes, mentions of murder, it’s the logic route, reference to forced love (maple) blacking out from pain, forced kissing

I think that’s everything but please let me know if other tags need to be added. English is my second language so please be gentle when pointing out mistakes!

Summary: Maple, Miley and Safalin decide to break everyone out of the death game. Except it’s a bit more dangerous than they hoped.

The plan was in motion.

Miley felt like she was going insane. But she gripped the key as she marched down the hall. Heels click, click, clicking on the floor.

Shit was about to go down. That’s how every good story starts, isn’t it?

Maple was right beside her. Such a tall girl, 6”8. Eyes orange with frazzled anxiety.

God they could just turn back. They should turn back. Let this run their course.

Miley slammed the door to the classroom shut.

No going back now.

Without waiting a moment, she took on her heel and chucked it at the camera in the classroom.

She counted.

Good. It’s all of them.

Miley locked the door.

“Shin, key. Give it.” Her heart was racing. This was a bad idea. It was a bad idea. She watched him sputter, trying to deny it was there. Gripping his scarf. Everyone else was yelling in confusion. And anger. Miley was responsible for two deaths after all. Her head was in a blur and she could barely comprehend what was being said.

Keiji was covering Sara’s ears as the name Joe started to be tossed around. Everyone was giving her a nasty glare to add on.

“Shin. Give me the fucking key. Unless you all want to die at Meister’s hands. Then you’re free to do so.” The words died down. Meister was a new name to them- as far as Miley knew.

Shin still didn’t hand it over.

Sweat made strands of Miley’s hair cling to her face. God she probably looked deranged. But, there wasn’t time to spare. She dashed over and took the scarf from his neck, before ripping the necklace off. She handed back the scarf, as Shin started to yell again. Sputters and curses.

“Hush.”

Miley glared, letting out a sigh.

“Good. Now show me your neck” She twirled the key between her gloved fingers, hoping he wouldn’t protest again. And just to her luck, he didn’t! Thank fucking god. She snapped the key in, turned and watched the metal collar clatter to the floor. It worked. Good.

“How did you know that would work? How did you know I had it-“ Shin asked, rubbing his now free neck as cold air rushed over it. The rest of the group was speechless as well. It must have been a shocking thing, to see the things that had been controlling their life for the past week, fall away as if it was nothing.

Miley didn’t answer questions, just shrugging. She really didn’t see why she should.

“Alright. Sara, get your ass over here” Miley had that tight feeling in her throat. At any time this plan could be busted. “Better yet form a line behind Sara”

Miley tuned out people talking and asking questions. She didn’t have time to explain anything. Every word was just. It didn’t matter.

Maple stood next to the door, somehow still looking gorgeous despite the situation. A bright smile, hands folded behind her back. The still amber-orange anxiety color swirling. Now was not the time to be gushing over the obstructor.

Miley went through, making sure everyone had the collars off. If everything was going right, Saf should have the exit planned out. Miley went to the door to unlock it.

Wait no.

Miley went and grabbed the heel she had used to smash the camera and put it back on. She straightened up and started to tie her hair back, sighing again.

“Mai?”

“Oh- yes?” The sweet baker perked up at the sound of their name being spoken, tilting their head. Hair fell into her face, as she giggled, brushing it back. The thrill of sudden possible freedom must have made her a bit giggly.

“May I have that knife? Yes, the one you’re hiding in your weird little glove cuff thing.” Miley turned around, smiling. Having step one complete- it felt intoxicating. Her head was dizzy and light and she couldn’t keep from grinning.

“Knife-?” Mai feigned her innocence, blinking.

“Yes, the knife. Don’t make this hard please.”

It took a moment, Mai looking conflicted as she glanced at Q-Taro. But the knife was placed into Miley’s hand, to which she slashed her long curls off. It was such a sharp knife, it didn’t take a struggle at all.

It felt so freeing, remembering the reason she had grown it out in the first place. How her lover had run his hands through her short hair, kissing her forehead. He had asked if she ever thought about growing it out. How much he liked girls with long hair.

She had grown it out very long to be fair. When straightened, it went down to her knees when Miley spent the time straightening it out. It fell just to her mid thigh when Miley let it just be curly.

The knife clattered on the floor, and then Miley unlocked the door and opened it, giving a slight bow.

“Well, guess it’s curtains closed for this game-.”

Sara, of course, started to lead the group to the door, always trying to take the position of a leader, before Keiji grabbed her shoulder, making her stop in her tracks.

Like a puppet and the puppeteer.

“Not to sound distrustful- haha- but you know exactly why I don’t feel exactly esatic ‘bout the group of us running off with you” His voice had that drip of sarcasm, he looked up, hand on his neck.

“Fine then. Don’t trust me, and fucking rot here.” Her temper started to boil up, still feeling the cold of her own collar against her neck. “Just get over it for a moment. I killed that stupid old man- or that ditzy boy, sure that’s true. You know the floormasters have collars. Take a brain cell or two to think about it.” Miley didn’t have time to argue her innocence. They had to fucking go now.

Fine. If they wanted to stay, they could be Miley’s guest. Miley left the room, Maple following behind. If they followed, great. If they didn’t, it would almost certainly be death for them. Recollared and right back to playing.

But, to her surprise she heard footsteps follow behind. A quick glance back showed the group following.

Ranmaru was holding onto Sara’s arm, and Anzu was happily chittering away with Reko, Hinako was trailing behind Keiji, Kurumada and Shin not so secretly holding hands. Q-taro was carrying Gin, as Mai and Hayasaka whispered. That looked to be everyone at least.

They got to the fourth floor, Miley starting to think this would all go smoothly. Maple had reached out to hold Miley’s hand, rubbing comforting circles into it. This plan could still very well end in their deaths. Something Miley had killed to avoid.

“Oh, Maple and Miley. My pretty girls.”

God fucking dammit Midori. He stood in front of them, a huge grin. Hands at his side, tilting his head. They had prepared for this, Maple already taking off in the other direction and motioning for the others to follow. So then it was just Miley and Midori, standing alone

“Don’t make this hard” Miley muttered under her breath, standing up straighter as Midori approached. He hummed, putting a finger under her chin

“Are you trying to ruin my game Emi?” His voice dropped in honey sweet manipulation, sugar water with a pink tint, that made you want to drink up every word he said.

“Keep my name out of your mouth.” Miley grabbed his wrist, taking his hand away from her, keeping eye contact. But, He had somehow managed to get a hand behind her head, and grab a fistful of her shorn hair. She refused to cry out in pain, biting her tongue.

“And you cut your hair short. It was always so pretty long” He continued to hum, gripping her hair tighter “Awww you used to love when I called you that.”

Miley kicked at his leg, making his grip faulted as she pushed him away. He laid on a floor with a smile, standing back up “if it’s a fight you want-“

Pain bloomed in Miley jaw, as it registered that he had punched her. And so she punched back. Midori gripped her around the waist, dipping her low. Like this was some sick dance. Each one hoping to kill the other. She slammed his against a wall, getting a whine out of him. To which he twisted her arm behind her back, and Miley swore she heard something crack.

She elbowed him, feeling satisfied at the gasp her let out, kicking his legs again. Miley could keep hitting and hitting. But the problem was, most of him was plastic. Most of Miley’s punched just left her hand scraped.

They fought for a long while, Miley getting more battered but the minute. Looking like she had been thrown in a mixing bowl. There was a cut above her eye that was gushing blood, and her muscles burned from it all. Her lip was bleeding, and biting her lip only left blood to put out.

Midori dipped her one final time, pressing his lips to her own. She must have tasted like sweat and metal. She bit his lip and he pulled away with a grin, her blood dripping from his lips.

And suddenly she felt it crack. Some bones but she couldn’t tell what.

And that’s when the lights started to flash red, the alarm system screeching. Which meant the group had gotten out of the death game area.

He laughed, dropping her to the floor, pain reverting through her fragile body. She coughed more of her own blood into the ground, trying to stand up. Hurt him more.

“This whole thing has been fun, but I have some sheep to gather.” And he departed, but not before spitting her own blood right back into her face.

“Gross.” Miley thought, wiping it away.

Her chocolate decorated corset made it hard to breathe, vision starting to blur. The effects of the fight were really starting to get to her. Oh god everything felt like it was on fire. Was she going to pass out? Be found and then killed for causing all this chaos? Was it worth it?

Her head was in a blur, as she pushed herself off the floor, leaning against the wall. She still had things to do. She couldn’t let this plan get ruined.

Miley pulled off her gloves, starting to tear at the buttons on her corset. Her mother had always kissed her hands and said they were the one of a lady. Her mother- had Asu-naro already sent someone to kill her? What about her sister and brother. The twins. Just turning 13 next week, her mother had adopted them.

Had Miley made everything worse? In her false haze of wanting to play the hero, had she gotten the ones she cared about most killed?

Miley felt herself sliding down the wall, no matter how much she tried to keep walking. Midori was a strong man, and a fight like that- honestly it was going to be deadly.

And just like that, Miley blacked out, falling into a crumpled mess on the floor.

_

Maple had to turn away from Miley as Midori approached, leading the group away from the danger. Her heart felt like it was cut up, racing through the hall. Well- it was.

Miley had clumsy cut open her chest, and cut wires, and connected new ones. Maple wasn’t in love with Midori, but it still felt hurtful betraying him.

clack clack clack.

Her heels were comforting. It was a constant noise. It was easy to tune out the chatter of the group she was leading to safety. Safety. Maple had never known anything outside of these floors. Miley had her memorize the map.

But once they were out of the secret door, it was whole new territory for the girl. It was a scary concept, running into what could very well be a death trap.

clack clack clack

Focus on the clacking. Keep yourself calm. Panicking won’t do any good. She couldn’t disappoint Miley. She had worked so hard on this plan, a plan to try and reverse all of the pain they had caused. Some redemption arc.

Maple rushed into the elevators, making sure everyone got on.

Back to the fifth floor. Maple had to pick something up now that Miley wasn’t with them. Backup plans were good. Plans are good. Safe. She dashed into the room with the Shin AI who watched Maple take a spare ID card out of the vent. The name reading “Emiri Harai”

Maple thought that was a pretty name. But it was back to the mad dash, once again rushing into the elevators. And skittering out, counting to make sure everyone was accounted for.

Keiji kept trying to say something. Maple told him to save all questions for the outside.

The outside was such a wonderful concept, an endless world. Miley had told her all about it. It seemed wonderful.

Maple kept pressing the ID card into the dirt walls. Press press press.

It was somewhere around here, it had to be. Maple started to hear the whispers that maybe the poor dummy had been fried.

The door opened, just like Miley said it would. Maple pushed everyone in, squealing. She could hardly wait!

Safalin was standing in that long winding hallway of stairs, and Maple gave her the nod that said Miley was caught up with Midori.

Safalin threw off her heeled boots, and socks. It would be easier to run without heels and socks could make you slip. And she was running back inside the very place the group had just escaped.

Maple counted the doors.

clack clack clack had turned into a clop clop clop. Just focus on that.

Door number and sounds. Focus on that and everything would be okay. She felt her wires turn into knots, feeling fizzing water boil under her skin.She shivered, hugging her arms.

Death seemed to hang closer by the minute, spinning around her head, the rope tightening around her neck.

There it was. The final door. Open it, and the death game was ruined. Don’t and surely some other workers would come and dismantle Maple, recollar the others.

The door creaked as Maple pushed it open, grabbing onto Sara’s hand. Sara grabbed onto Ranmaru’s and so on, a chain. Qtaro at the end, still holding Gin.

“ah…are you all ready?” Maple turned to look at them, being met with a chorus of agreements, thumbs up.

“Just bout ready as any of us can be!” Q-taro said, grinning. Such a hopeful smile- had he really learned to trust people?

Well. It makes sense that they would trust Maple much more than Miley.

“Meow! I’ve been ready forever!” Gin waved, his pawed glove bonking Q-taro in the face who chuckled.

The had to go well, for the kids at least.

“There’s no going back now. You’ve gotten us this far.” Sara nodded, looking at Ranmaru then Keiji. Keiji just shrugged, with his usual lazy smile, distrustful as usual.

Maple pulled them into the empty hall. The air was cool, and had that fresh office smell, their footsteps making a muffled bomp bomp bomp. It was almost deadly silent, no one even daring to breathe. Maple felt the sweat from Sara’s palm. She wondered what it was like to sweat. But she wouldn’t know.

bomp bomp bomp.

bomp bomp bomp.

bomp bomp bomp.

bomp bomp bomp.

bomp bomp bomp.

bomp bomp bomp.

bomp bomp bomp.

bomp bomp bomp.

bomp bomp bomp.

bomp bomp bomp.

a door creaked open, someone stepping into the hall. They looked up from their paper, locking eyes with Maple. Eyes widened from both parties as everyone realized what just occurred. The man dashed past them, no doubt going to set off the alarm.

Maple started running, hearing everyone starting to breathe heavily behind her. They went through the door the man came from, running through the office area.

Oh goodness the noise. Everyone was shouting. And trying to pull the group apart. Maple kept her iron grip on Sara, and she just had to hope everyone was doing the same. Maple saw lights start to flash red.

God dammit.

She slid into the hallway, tile slipping against her shoes. She was knocking things over with her size, potted plants and printers crashing.

Clomp, click, bomp, clack.

As Maple dragged them through halls, and into different rooms, the floor pattern changed. Finally, Maple swung everyone into an empty room, and locked the door shut. Through the slats, Maple watched people run by. Most of them had weapons of the gun variety. But knives were also strewn in.

Turn around and count. Everyone was still there. Miley knew this was going to happen. Maple knew there was a plan. But it was just- god all of this was nerve wracking.

Get them out one by one. Or two by two

If Maple could at least do that, it would be okay.

She looked around the room, hearing everyone whisper to each other. Such a close knit group, forced together by a rope of death that tightened almost every moment. Keiji was going over something with Sara and Ranmaru. Anzu was listening in. Kurumada was lifting Shin up so they both could look out the door slats better.

Dammit this was stressful, Miley had warned her it would be. But actually seeing everyone. How much they were trying not to panic. The hope that they could go home was painted on their faces. But Now they were trapped in a room that no one had noticed them in yet.

Maple tried to remember the plan that Miley had told her, the plan for when they were found.

Get them out. Youngest to oldest.

Maple gently picked Gin out of Q-taro’s arms.

“Be gentle with him, will ya?” Worry shone in his tone, looking out of place now he wasn’t protecting the little boy

“Don’t worry woof! I’ll protect PancakeHead!” He smiled, eyes scrunching up. So brave. Maple just nodded, giving her best smile.

PakecakeHead

Maple liked that. It made her sound like some superhero

And she slipped out the door. The hallways had emptied, everyone assuming they headed for the lobby, the one with the biggest exit. Only sound was them and the alarm bells.

Maple pressed a finger to Gin’s mask, a silent way to ask him not to speak.

It wasn’t far from there, just down the staircase and into the old storage room

Finally, there was the door. Well- the back door. It was old and walked up, but as per the plan, Safalin had uncovered it beforehand. Maple opened the door to the back alley, looking around for a place to hide Gin. She set him down, a heavy sign leaving her lips.

“Stay out of sight”

“Okay meow!”

Could she trust him? Never mind that. No time for doubt. He was 12, he could handle himself.

It wasn’t long till Maple got back to the room. And she quickly explained the route. Because going one by one was a bit dangerous, and would take quite a while. And luckily everyone was already paired up. Which just made everything just absolutely much more convenient for Maple.

And Maple could take Hayasaka, since Gin was already gone.

And then they all went out.

And by some miracle, everyone met up in that alleyway safe and sound.

Everyone was clearly ecstatic. Taking deep breaths of the fresh air. Sara let her hair down to let the faint wind blow through. The bitter cold air bit at her cheeks, turning them red. Everyone was talking so excitedly, And quickly. It was nice to see everyone so happy.

She didn’t have the heart to remind the dummies about their battery.

_

footsteps pattered heavy, the only thing being heard- wait no. An alarm. That was also there.

Her chest shook with a cough, sticky blood spattering across her chest. It was warm, making her feel all the more sick. Everything honestly hurt, she felt like she had been dragged back from death.

Safalin held Miley closer, running through the hall, trying to just get out of the building. She couldn’t give a shit about the plan right now.

She had found Miley on the ground, her breathing rattling. When Safalin picked her up, she accidentally left out an audible gasp. It was just plain obvious with the way her side so easily squashed into Safalin, that whatever fight she had gotten into, something happened to her ribs. Broken, or something.

Running so hard against the tile with bare feet stung, each breath bringing a sharp pain. Safalin wasn’t exactly in shape. So she just felt almost like she was just going to wither away.

She felt almost pathetic in that way. She was just running. Not hurt at all. And Miley was on the brink of death.

Unfortunately, the sudden bang and loud ringing pain in her ear was absolutely to change that real quick. She felt blood ooze onto her shoulder, staining the white dress. It felt like the world was thrown off balance. The pain would kick in later.

clearly the security system had kicked in.

She didn’t have much of a chance to pause and figure out what happened. All she had was running. Keep running.

Adrenaline doused her, numbing most everything.

Blood on the cheek, dripping down her sides, caking to her leg. A slight burn was there, but Safalin chose to ignore it.

Rocks in the dirt dug into her feet, as she pressed her ID card quickly to the dirt and safely letting herself collapse in the hall of stairs.

Safalin wheezed in heavy breaths of air, pain starting to melt in.

Gunshots weren’t exactly pleasant. Burning filled her, spreading out and covering her, like a very thick unpleasant blanket.

The actual bullets hadn’t hurt at all. It felt like she had been flicked, or maybe a small marble had been thrown at her. But god the pain was fucking overwhelming.

She dropped the still unconscious Miley, letting herself just lay in all the hurt. It was like a flood, her throat aching. She wanted to cry. To scream and sob. But it was honestly just like she was waiting for death. Was she waiting for something to just come and brush all the pain away, and to lead her away into whatever afterlife was real.

But she never was. The pain started to dull, like when you sit in a boiling bath for too long. You know that it hurts, but it’s enough that you just can’t bring yourself to care.

Safalin sat up, forcing in a breath of air. The attacks must have been much more mild, likely just wanting to docile Miley and Safalin, forcing them back into place. Unlike how Miley was convinced if the slightest thing went wrong with this plan they’d be killed.

Speaking of Miley. When Safalin sat up, Miley was just gone. There was of course a blood trail. God- it really was a lot of blood. It was enough to make anyone sick. But being a nurse- Safalin really didn’t mind. She stood up, ignoring the new burning.

She stumbled down the stairs, wincing as she accidentally dragged her toe. Yes. Just survived all of that, and whining at a stubbed toe. The door the blood lead to was the third floor. She wondered what business Miley had there.

The Ranger AI was safely tucked into her pocket after all.

So of course she had to find her. Miley was likely just delirious with pain, walking around with no goal in mind. Safalin should go and find her, and make sure the woman didn’t do anything reckless.

The lobby was familiar to Safalin. In that nice calming way. The classic smell of the lobby was like a pat on the back, soft carpet making her just want to lay down. It had that old movie theater scent now that she took a moment to think about it. Vacuums, melted popcorn butter, sticky candy.

That was probably why it was so pleasant.

But the blood dripping into the carpet and clumping wasn’t very comforting. She followed the already set out path, as unsettling as it was to be searching for blood. The lights were shut off, since the floor wasn’t in use. The path went into the long hallway. Safalin took care not to look in the room of lies, Alice’s death was still too much to bear.

And soon enough, Safalin ended up in the main game room again.

It was a painful memory, clicking the button to trigger poor little Kanna’s death. It wasn’t something Safalin had ever wanted to do. Hence their plan that had been formed in break rooms, text messages and over late night calls.

Miley was bent over Kanna, brushing away the flowers. Flowers were just everywhere in the room. Pretty but heart wrenching.

Kanna looked so delicate, completely drained pale skin, a grey undertone. Her lips were a lovely shade of bruised purple. And of course bruises still covered her. Flowers and vines stretching under your skin weren’t very gentle.

Miley had a caring look on her face, a fond smile. It was almost like a child looking over her kid.

“Miley- come on we still have to meet everyone outside” Safalin tried to pled with the woman, sighing softly in regret as they were only met with Miley shushing her.

She was probably just delusional at the moment. The pain getting to her head.

“Shush Saf. She’s breathing”

Huh? No- well, maybe?

The flowers were meant to be a slow death. The flowers use your very life to fuel themselves, draining you, while also keeping you alive. A slow battle that ended in death.

She supposed it was possible that it was a slow enough death that hours later Kanna could still be alive. After all, the main game wasn’t all that long ago.

The group had been rushed off to the next floor afterwards after all, and then Miley came along and..

yes. It was entirely possible

Miley stood there a moment longer, legs shaking before picking up the girl. She petted Kanna’s hair. It was a bittersweet sight. Safalin knew Miley had a daughter that was Kanna’s age, but had died young.

Well at least that’s just what Safalin had to assume.

Miley rocked back and forth, humming softly, as she walked to the door. How Miley was able to seem so regal even with a limp and practically doused in blood, it was a mystery.

“Well come along Saf. We can’t keep the dear participants waiting, can we?”

Maybe there was something about almost dying that filled you with a calm elegance. However Safalin was the opposite, starting to sob. She always had tears running, that was never unusual.

She hugged her arms, and wailed, taking in large shaky breaths. “Mu-m-Mil-Miley! Luh-Look at yooooou!” Every word was chopped up to the hyperventilating, every breath being accompanied by a rather annoying wheezing noise. She had every right to start breaking down. The facility was in lockdown, everyone was on lookout for them, just hours before she had watched someone she saw as a son die at the hands of his father. It was all rather overwhelming.

Safalin had never been a rule breaker in the first place. She had happily gone along with what she was told, as long as she wouldn’t get in trouble. She was the delight to have in class, the girl who was called out as the example. She was nothing like Miley, who could curse people out, get into fights and yell. She had no problem bending the rules for her own enjoyment.

The only rules Miley hadn’t been able to bend was ASU-NARO’S so was that one of the reasons Miley had been happy to make this plan? Her longing to have everything go her way?

Safalin didn’t dare let herself fall to her knees, knowing she wouldn’t be able to bring herself to stand up again. The pain everywhere was almost too much, the constant warm burning. Being shot felt nothing like she thought it would feel like.

“Pfft- I know I look like hot shit, take a look at yourself!” Miley burst out into laughter, an almost cruel smile on her face. “You knew the danger we were putting ourselves into. Cry all you want but we can’t wait her forever. I’m sure Meister and Sou are already looking for us.”

Miley stood by the door, bouncing Kanna on her hip. It got a chuckle out of Safalin, soft sobs still racking her chest. “You know she isn’t a baby right? Kanna’s 14.”

The brunette scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Oh shush. She’s light enough to be one.” She stepped back out of the room, leaving Safalin to follow.

It was still quiet, as they left the second floor back at the staircase, walking down in silence. The calm was more stressful, considering any noise would mean someone else was here. And that could not be good. But it never occurred.

They went back into the hallway, trying to ignore the loud alarms.

“Miley- what if something happened to the van?”

“Then we find a new one.”

Her words were curt. She was tired, annoyed and in a lot of pain. She had wished all of this had gone smoothly, and of course she wished she didn’t want to wail in pain. Quite honestly, her head was still throbbing from when Kai had hit her with the frying pan.

The van was obviously so theyw could drive away. It wasn’t like they could all just return home, ASU-NARO knew where everyone lived. They would have to dissemble the company before they could go home for certain.

But it would be better than being trapped in a death game. Hopefully. That brought up a second question for Miley. She still had to sort out a way to actually expose ASU-NARO

The dummies would obviously be proof and they would have everyone’s testimonies. But they could just be seen as nut jobs. But Miley could worry about that later. Right now, their only plan was on how to get out. And she could follow that.

It was a very straight forward route, the same Maple and the others took.

And that’s where they meet back up, opening the door and feeling the sweet cold night air. The city smelled like most cities do, but it was perfect.

Miley smiled to herself, before unfortunately her brief moment was ruined by Shin very rudely starting to yell

“Jesus you’re sick. You had to bring her? For what? To taunt us-? For god’s sake you don’t need to bring a corpse!” His hands flew, as he paced back at forth, anger radiating from him.

Sara looked away, the gulit still heavy on voting for the young girl. There were other whispers and glares.

Miley wasn’t one to feel ashamed of gossip. “Can it. Your precious little sister is still breathing. “ She huffed, adjusting to the girl. She looked better now, color coming back to her cheeks. But until they could get somewhere where they would fully disconnect all of the plant like things, Kanna wouldn’t be able to wake. “Huh?” Shin paused, standing still as he stepped closer.

“She’s alright- well mostly. You can see for yourself if you like” no one could miss the motherly tone in her voice, as she held Kanna more like a baby, showing her to the rest of them, who all looked as if it was their first time meeting a baby at a family gathering.

Kanna honestly just mostly looked asleep. Her cheeks were flushed, and you could see her chest shakily rise and fall. She was alive and that was for certain.

“Well- we better get running before they realize we’re out” Ranmaru commented, his hand up in the air.

“But where?” Anzu asked, as she bounced from foot to foot. Whether she was excited or anxious, Miley couldn’t tell.

Miley hummed, brushing hair out of Kanna’s face “Why, to Miss Sara’s house of course. Considering what I know, that will be the last place they’ll think we head”

They didn’t run. They should have, but all of them were exhausted. So they just ended up walking through the streets looking like a freak show.

Maple held Miley’s free hand, and Safalin hung back near the the end, talking to Q-Taro and Mai. Considering that all of this had happened in just about an hour and a half, they had grown to have at least a small amount of trust.

The drug of being free had to have everyone in a good mood, willing to be nice. However being exhausted was also still there.

Through the city and into the housing area, chatter rose and fell. Of course everyone was excited but as Miley glanced at her cracked phone, the time read 4:25 am. Time was really off balance for the participants.

Sara’s street.

Sara smiled, going to the front of the group looking around. She looked so weary, her school uniform wrinkled, and at some point she had lost her blazer, and left her tie untied just letting it rest on her shoulders. Her hair was tangled even if she had let it down just a while ago.

She looked much less tired now that she couldn’t remember Joe. Miley would have to fix that soon.

“Miley?” Sara looked back at her, playing with the longer part of her bangs. Miley personally thought it was a neat hair cut- ridiculous and looked like a hack job. But it looked neat.

“Yes Sara?”

Sara paused, thinking over her words “Thank you. I never thought you would ever do something like that- but you did. Really, we all owe you our lives.”

Miley ended up chuckling, opening her mouth to say something that was now doubt cocky as all hell. Before Maple, who knew her well, elbowed her. Miley sucked in a sharp breath of pain, before forcing a smile “Of course Sara. It’s the least I can do after all we’ve put you through” That much was true. It was truly the least they could do.

Sara went up to her door, and turned the knob. Her eyes widened when it opened with ease. The hall was empty, but she could hear people talking in the living room. She invited everyone inside the house, the pile of shoes was- very large. Sara looked so at place in home, her smile unshakable. She looked hesitant, so Sara looked back to Miley. She knew that obviously she had a plan. Miley nodded.

Sara opened the door to the living room, running in

“Mama-! I’m home! Dad-!”

Miley watched from the doorway as Sara ran in, how her mother turned to look behind her, a face of joy melting on her face. Ryoko was also on that couch, jumping up to go hug her best friend

“Sara- oh my goodness, my baby- my girl. Are you hurt? What happened?” She pulled her into a hug, kissing her daughter’s face all over. “Thank goodness, you’re safe- I didn’t know what to do, you never came home and when I woke up you and your father were there- there’s been people missing all over the city. Jou’s missing too, and Kugie.” Her mother was in a ramble, looking to make sure there wasn’t a scratch on Sara. It was a nice thing to see. Ryoko hugging Sara from behind as Mrs.Chidouin fussed. To see Sara where she should have been all along. Finally, she noticed the rest of them standing in the hall, letting out a gasp

“That’s-“ she must have recognized them all from the news. Miley didn’t know what to do. Keiji stepped in, holding out his hand

“Shinogi Keiji. Dectective. We’ve all been with Sara this past week.”

Miley didn’t know if anything more was said. She had sat down on the bench in the hall, still holding Kanna close.

Miley finally let her eyes rest, and sleep overtook her.

[ryuichirou]

I really love the way you draw anatomy - you are literally perfect. Would you mind one day if you make a simple tutorial on how to draw anatomy, particularly hands and just keeping things in proportion. Sorry if this sounds like a demanding ask - u can definitely decline or not answer no offence taken x

First of all, thank you so much! <3 I’m so happy to hear that you think my anatomy looks good. I’m not sure if I can teach you anything, but I’ll try! And sorry it took me so long to reply.

I wouldn’t call this a tutorial, more like an outline of what I usually do (maybe with some tips here and there). Hope it’s at least a little bit helpful 🙏

I’ll start with how I draw the hands. Well, as you’ve probably seen on my previous post about this topic, I used to have a hard time with hands because I didn’t understand the logic behind them + my only reference was my own small and blobby hands. Practice helps a lot, but imo mostly because as you draw more hands, it becomes easier for you to break them into simpler shapes (this is important!) and imagine them in 3d in your head or as you draw.

When I draw hands, I start with a rough sketch. Basically I just draw a fingerless block first. It’s a bit illegible right now, but bear with me.

After this I add fingers. Once again, they’re all broken into shapes: a finger is just 3 short tubes connected to the block we just drew. Sometimes some parts of the “tubes” aren’t visible because of the perspective of the hand, sometimes you can clearly see all of them. As I already said, it’s all about learning how to imagine these things in 3d.

Since my sketch is so rough, I tried to make the shapes more clear here. I hope it makes sense.

After the sketch is done, I basically just… draw hands. Remember that this is skin and meat, there are going to be folds (??? Idk if this is the correct word) and stuff. And nails, oh nails… I scream when I remember the times when I used not to draw them lol They help to convey the perspective and the angle of the fingers, so for me it’s better to have them than not. I’m not drawing them the exact correct way, though, but still.

And once again, it took me a long time to start drawing hands more or less properly, and I still fix them all the time. For example, a thumb of the first one on the left is too short. In fact, I’d make all the thumbs bigger…  

So yeah, something among the lines. It’s not perfect, but this is the basic idea of how it works, at least for me.

About proportions… Well, I’m one of those artists who like to make 1000000 sketches before I move on to the inking phase, it’s just more comfortable to me. This way, I give myself more control of the pose and proportions and have a lot of time to adjust and fix whatever feels off to me. Many good artists don’t do that because they don’t really need it.

First, I make a very quick sketch just to grab the “feel” of the pose I’m going for, plus it helps with the overall composition of the drawing. It isn’t detailed at all, so it takes about 5-10 minutes to draw, even less if I’m confident about what I want and don’t try to find the pose that would work the best. At this stage I try to keep the proportions in mind, but I don’t think about them too much.

When I’m more or less satisfied with the basic idea, I draw my first sketch. At this stage I’m err building the body. There are a lot of ways to do that, I’m drawing something similar to a mannequin that is made out of meat. Oh no, that sounded horrible…

As you can see, this time I pay more attention to proportions and sketch all parts of the body properly. I make sure that both arms are the same length, both legs are the same length, that the shoulders are on the same level, stuff like that. At this stage I don’t think about the character, just about the body: I’m trying to make it make sense lol

Also you might’ve noticed, but I changed the position of the arms on this sketch because my initial idea didn’t really work (I tried to sit in the same pose and it was uncomfortable lol)

And then I draw yet another sketch. Sometimes this can be the last stage and I ditch the inking altogether and just colour this sketch instead, but more often than not it looks too messy and I have to make another sketch… (This is also where Katsu usually tells me to chill because we were planning to draw something simple and quick and I’m already making it complicated lol)

Here I’m adding more details, like face, hair, clothing, anything else that I need to sketch before inking/colouring. After this sketch is done, I look at it again and see if anything looks off. If it does, I try to fix it, adjust it, sketch it again, whatever works and whatever makes my sketch less stiff and more proportional.  It doesn’t have to be super realistic proportions-wise though.

Things that I pay attention to when I check the proportions on my drawings:

Shoulders: they should be the same size (although the perspective can create a distortion, but this is a whole other can of worms) + ideally they should be able to fit two heads in them length-wise.

Arms: I check if they’re the correct length (the hand part should start ~at the crotch level). If the arm on the drawing is bent, I try to visualize how it’d look like if they were straightened up. If it’s difficult to imagine, I just sketch it.

Oh, and the size of hands. I always check if they’re the correct size by comparing them to a face of the character: they should be about the same size (of course some people have larger hands and some of them have smaller hands).

Legs: same with arms, I try to make sure they are not too long and not too short. Also, when drawing arms or legs, you can draw this thing. The shoulder/hip and the hand/foot have the same distance from the elbow/knee. This… sounds confusing, I hope it at least looks understandable lol

There are a lot of ways to check if everything is correct: sometimes I just put my fingers on the screen to check if all of the lengths make sense lol and sometimes I draw these lil lines to check if the lengths of the parts that are supposed to be the same match.

If your drawing looks off, just create another layer and sketch the body (the meaty mannequin thingie) over it again. It might help you see some obvious mistakes if there are any. Some people might say it’s too much work, I call this practice lol

There are instances when I redraw some parts of the body completely. There are situations when it’s easier to do it all over again than to fix the existing sketch.

Another thing that I do is flip the image as I draw. Not very often though, you need not to get used to the flipped version of your drawing, it should be somewhat new to your eyes, this way your mistakes will be more visible to you. At least I think so…

It also helps to pay attention to details as much as you can, they make a huge difference. I still have a lot to learn about how the abs work, but like a year ago I knew nothing about them aside from “err I think there are 6 or 8 of them?? And they start below the boobs” (my boobs were also more square). After I started drawing them more often and learning how they actually work, my drawings changed accordingly. I think the right one is at least slightly better haha

So yeah, this is more or less my process. It isn’t necessary to draw 10203100 sketches and to go through all these stages, but I personally feel much more comfortable doing that because this way I can be sure that I would’ve noticed if there was a major fuckup somewhere.

To be honest, if we’re talking proportions, this image is literally the only thing you need to know.

Just keep in mind how many heads are in the human body length, how many heads can fit inside one’s torso, etc. Compare body parts to each other accordingly. Just make a habit out of checking if the proportions on your drawings are correct: make a shoulder bigger, make sure that the legs are the same size. It might be too much at first, but it’ll literally become a subconscious thing very soon, and you won’t have to actively think about all of this every time you draw. I google this image from time to time just to make sure that I’m fixing everything correctly lol

You don’t have to be exact with these proportions, but they still need to have some logic behind them. Like here, if we look at Osomatsu, who is clearly very stylized, we can still see that his body is proportionate. His shoulders are too small for his head, and his body surely doesn’t have 8 heads in its length, but he still doesn’t fall apart because there is logic behind his stylization: his arms are still long enough for him to put his hands in his pockets; they aren’t too long or too short. Hope that makes sense…

Sorry for the long read. Once again, I hope it was somewhat helpful or at least interesting. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask!

Although I’m still learning myself of course, so there are things that I probably don’t know or forgot to mention…

[crash-cinematic-universe]

Skeleton Party

pairing: Peter Maximoff/witch!reader

summary/request:  Heyo! Just saw Ur recent post and was wondering what was happening with the super powerful witch so that saves singlehandedly Xavier's School and Peter works at it and she's badass and then sees Peter and runs to him and is like omg r U ok bby? And everyone's like how do you have such a powerful so and can she be super famous and is like a really popular super hero and everything? Thanks! Love ya! ♥️♥️♥️ - @oxbunnehxo 

warnings: a lot of dying

notes: its done. it has a dumb fucking ending but i think it’s kinda funny so uh that’s that. 

taglist: @creator-appreciator​ @simonsbluee

           Usually, having Peter appear in your classroom was lovely, because he usually came with a smile on his face and open arms. This time was different, though. Peter’s smile was replaced by a worried frown, his eyes darting around and his voice low. He’s panicking, a rare sight in Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters. His hair is messy and his hands are shaking.

          “Peter? Are you alright?” You ask, concern lacing your words. He is absolutely not alright-- you can tell the moment he begins speaking. 

          “Uh, someone is c-coming,” His voice is rushed and uneven and he sounds as if he’s going to cry.

          “Who?” You’re quick to grab his forearms in order to calm him down. He seems settled but still panicked.

          “The, uh,” He stutters. “The entire U.S. military.” The silence that consumed the room was deafening, the cold claws of shock holding your mouth shut. Hundreds of questions raced through your head at once, but one stuck out in specific.

          “Why?” Your breath gets heavier and your heart rate increases as your mind races through thousands of thoughts. Peter can only shake his head as he sits on your desk.

          “Because this just happens to be one of the largest, most condensed mutant hotspots in America-- the government isn’t exactly thrilled by our existence.” He chuckles dryly, obviously trying to calm his nerves. It doesn’t work. 

          “We’re gonna be okay, right? I mean, I’m sure Charles, Logan, Hank and Erik will handle this.” You’re not sure whether you're trying to convince Peter or yourself with your words. Peter’s eyes refuse to meet yours. “Right, Peter?”

          “Uhm, actually…” He trails off. “Charles and Hank left last night for some big conference in LA, Logan has been MIA for the past week and Erik left me in charge of the mansion until he gets back from his revenge mission.” Your heart practically stops and your stomach drops to your feet. Dread fills your body as you process the information you were just gifted.

          “So… you’re in charge of an entire mansion full of mutant children… that’s about to be attacked by the entire U.S. military.” You state flatly. Peter nods, panicked tears brimming his eyes.

          “I don’t know what to do.” He whispered. You managed to toughen up, formulating a plan in your head.

          “It’s okay, uhm, we’re gonna be okay. Just-- uh-- get Ororo and round up all the kids. Tell Jean and Scott to try and help the younger kids. I’ll scope out the attackers and see what I can do.” Peter nods, a gust of wind blowing your hair back as Peter runs out of the room. He quickly returns, though, and hugs you tightly.

          “Thank you,” He’s gone as quickly as he arrived, speeding down the hallway. You wipe your palms on your jeans, a nervous sweat coating your hands. Stress is pumping through your veins as you sprint through the hallways to the highest balcony you can find. On the horizon you can see a large mass of people, two tanks on the flank of the group. Toughen up. You need to toughen up. They need you-- everyone needs you. You huff before whipping around and making your way to the common room. Peter is beside you within seconds, the panic in his eyes swirling around like waves in a storm. 

          “Ok, Jean and Scott are with the kids in the library, Ororo and Kurt are on their way-- how are our odds?” As much as you wanted to, you couldn’t exactly tell Peter that it wasn’t looking good.

          “Uh, they’ve been better,” You laughed uncomfortably. He grabbed your hand before speaking.

          “I guess we’ll just have to, uh, do our best,” You fought the urge to point out the fact that ‘our best’ probably won’t be enough. “What’s the worst that could happen?”

__

          Okay, yeah, this is definitely the worst-case scenario. The few X-Men present at the scene were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer force of their attackers. It was a quick overtaking, a few mutation-suppressing blasts sent most of your defense flying. It was chaotic and stressful and you soon found yourself reaching a limit. Someone grabbed you from behind, their arms looping under yours before they pulled you backwards. You screamed and kicked your legs, but it was no use. 

          One glance in the eyes of the young children watching you get dragged away ignited something inside of you. Your fists clenched, a bright green glow appearing in the palms of your hands. A white-hot rage pumped through your veins, a feeling that you didn’t recognize gripping your bones as a blast of energy exploded out of you. 

          For a moment, everything was still. The grip on your arms loosened before disappearing completely, a thud sounding behind you. Horrified, you turned around and gazed upon the sea of skeletons you created. The blast seemingly stripped each soldier of their… body. The skin, the muscle, the organs-- they were all gone. Disintegrated. You didn’t really care, though, you just spin around to check on your peers. Thankfully, they were all left unscathed. 

          “Hey, uh, are you okay?” Storm looks at you with a vague, scared gaze. She nods slowly. 

          “I’m fine, how did you…?” She trails off. Peter is by your side within seconds, an amused tone in his voice.

          “How the fuck did you do that?” Peter gushed. “Could you always do that? Like, you can just dissolve people? That’s cool as hell!” 

          “Woah, Peter, slow down,” You laugh. The mood changed quickly, the image of the hundreds of corpses behind you fading away. It was gruesome. “I, uh, I think I could always do that. I guess I just needed the correct circumstances to trigger it.” You didn’t turn around to face the consequences of your actions, you just basked in the benefits. 

          “We need to clean up the bodies,” Storm adds. You nod slowly. 

          “Yeah, uh, they’re probably going to send more people because of all this,” The reality of the situation sets in slowly. “We’re not safe here anymore. I-- I ruined it, didn’t I? I made it all worse, didn’t I? I did! I’m just proving their point that mutants are violent monsters,” 

          “Hey, we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Peter reassures. “Sure, yeah, we’re kinda royally fucked, but you did what you needed to do. They attacked us first, ya know,”

          “I guess you’re right…” You sighed. Peter smiled before turning you around.

          “Now, we have some corpses to collect!”

[madsraa]

hey! i can't get over how incredible your background perspectives are! i'm aware of drawing different guidelines for 1 point, 2 point, 3 point perspectives, but how do you get your art to look so naturalistic when doing so (especially for environmental art)? would you mind walking us through your process?

Hello! And thank you :) I’m surprised you asked about perspective because that’s something I’m constantly working on. Planning a painting’s perspective is always a struggle for me but I do have some tips that might help!

Here are the big things for me:

- Feel it out! Most of the time I just kind of wing the perspective which is terrible advice haha. But!! I think artistic license is helpful when working with perspective because then it comes down to what looks good - not what’s technically right. I start pieces with tiny, loose sketches that are usually never accurate when it comes to perspective. But I think that things like composition/shape arrangement are much more important than perfect perspective. And in my experience I think that if you stick too close to the rules of perspective, things might start to feel a bit stiff. That also kind of reminds me of the saying “don’t sweat the small stuff”. If something feels right, people will probably never take the time to actually check if it’s accurate! I should also mention that getting to a point where you can “feel it out” comes from knowing a bit of perspective rules and practicing from life/reference. Another thing worth mentioning is that you’ll probably be more confident about feeling out the perspective after you’ve built up your mental library - certain things will come to you naturally.

-  Use lots of reference!! This one is pretty simple - you can’t draw what you don’t know. It can be difficult to imagine the idea you have in your head without using reference and if you try to cut corners by not using them, you’ll probably make more problems for yourself later. And there’s nothing worse than having to make changes to the perspective after you’ve started painting!

-  Try setting up a grid on the ground plane. I think technically this point is the most helpful one for me when it comes to planning perspective that feels natural. In past pieces, I would roughly draw one in but these days, I’ve been taking more time to properly set up my perspective which really helps in the long run. I start with my horizon line, find my vanishing points, and then draw a grid using those points. I’ll have an example below! And for landscapes that aren’t a flat plane, I find it really helpful to draw lines over the surface. There’s also an example of that below! But in general I think having at least some marking/design on the floor to indicate a ground plane/form helps immensely instead of trying to arrange objects on an empty plane.

-  Along with feeling it out - flip the canvas if you can! And if you’re drawing traditionally, look at it with a mirror. Once you flip your drawing, you might find that a part of it feels weird that you didn’t notice originally. 

-  You can also create a tiny mock-up from objects around your house. Anything that you can physically manipulate and then take pictures of is a big help! 

And here’s a quick breakdown of two pieces in the sketch stage!

This one was pretty much felt out. The main sketch is suuuuper messy but I went with it since I liked the movement/energy. I had a couple of reference photos to go off of but didn’t end up using them as much - they were more for the general feel. This was a case where I had the movement and composition of the piece determine the perspective. I remember moving the horizon line around a lot but wanted it a bit higher so I could paint more of the ground. And I wanted the hills to go back and forth like they were woven, leading your eye down to the castle. The grid thing I mentioned before could also be applied to the hills here - warping the lines over each hill could give you a better idea of how they actually blend into each other/sit in the environment. And again just having those lines makes it much easier to place things like trees/figures/etc.

This one wasn’t too bad since it’s a level ground plane with normal 2 point perspective. I started with a very rough sketch which had the horizon line with that in place, I could then mark the two vanishing points and make a grid based on that. Then I started to add in everything on the ground and worked my way up from there. So before I even started drawing the wall of the temple in perspective, I wanted to make sure the grid on my ground plane was in place. The ground plane is great because it really gives you a feel for where everything should sit even as it recedes to the horizon line. And it’s super easy to make changes/move things around because all of the information you need to know where to place things like pillars or rocks is there!

I also want to add that even though I say I find the horizon line, vanishing points, and then draw a grid - it’s not always as simple as that and I rarely figure out what I want in one go. I’m really indecisive and it can take me a bit to nail the perspective I had in my head. So that’s why I start with a bunch of tiny sketches before I spend more time on a clean sketch and make sure to try out a couple combinations of horizon line heights along with different vanishing point placements. 

There’s also a helpful set of images by Thomas Romain on perspective. I always think about the last set of images where he draws the floorpan of a room, then transforms that into perspective and starts drawing based on his flat floorplan. Something like this is probably best for interiors/rooms which have more structure - but I’m sure you could also get it to work for environments with a more natural/hilly terrain.

And in addition to that, Matt Laskowski put out some great videos on perspective.

And just a little last note: I think there’s a ton to learn just looking at a bunch of different environments! I feel like no one really talks about it, but you can absorb a lot and add to your mental library just by taking time to look a little closer at the world around you. And that’s all without ever drawing! Usually when I’m not doing anything and am sitting for a while, I’ll look at wherever I am and ask “how would I draw this space?”. I’ll run through where the horizon line would be, how I’d draw a grid on the floor, how certain objects are distorted from perspective. And sometimes when I don’t feel like drawing or doing a study, I’ll look at photos and really try to understand and internalize what I’m looking at. So it’s great when you need a bit of a break!

And please take this all with a grain of salt since I’m no expert on perspective! But I hope that answered your question! If not, feel free to send another ask if there’s something more specific you were wondering about.

[sometimes-i-write-4-you]

seceret’s out - Javier Williams X reader

a\n: i’m honored to be the first one to post a fic for this show. love it so much. request if you want, please, cause my head is empty from ideas.

I sat in my desk at biology class. 3 days have passed since the new kid arrived, Javier Williams. He has those beautiful brown eyes, and his hair is always perfectly messy. His lips are probably super soft. Well, that's at least what I've gathered from staring at him for 85% percent of the class. It's the only class I have with him, but I see him all the time – in the hallway, mostly, and he's always being kind and I just wish I had the courage to talk to him.

"(y\n), would you please tell us about the cell?" Gabriela cuts off my wondering. "the cell has multiple parts. The mitochondria, which is the powerhouse of the cell-" I start, but she sighs and once again cutting me off. "(y\n), we're past that. We learned about the cell a week ago, you should start focusing again instead of daydreaming" Gabriela says, and the class laugh. "I'm sorry, can any of you explain to me how hearts function? No? that's what I thought" Gabriela adds, and the laughter stops.

I sneak a look at Javier, and he catches my glance and smile. I panic and turn my gaze back to the notebook Infront of me. Shit.

"hey, (y\n)" I hear Gerry whisper, "you know, if Willie boy is what's distracting you, I can help you get his attention" he says. I choose to ignore him, but it seems like it's what he wanted. "oh, don't ignore me baby" he said, and I hear the smile in his voice, "hey, if we'll fuck, I bet he'll talk to you" Gerry kept going. It wasn't the first time he suggested it, even though I was the quite type and never bothered him.  "Can I go the bathroom?" I ask, and the teacher approves. I pick my bag up to take with me. "I'm sorry, you can't leave with your bag. Take what you need and hurry up" Gabriela says, and so I take my water bottle and a small box I put in my pocket without anyone noticing.

I closed the bathroom door behind me and took a pill out of the box, trying to stabilize my breath. I hate Gerry so much, and I hate this stupid class, and I hate—

"(y\n)?" someone asks, "it's me, Sophia". I swallow the pill along with some water and flush the toilet. "hey" I say, opening the door and wiping away the tears that managed to escape on my way to the bathroom. "you know, Gerry is kind of an asshole, you should just ignore him" she says, leaning on the counter as I wash my hands. "why-" "what was he whispering? I noticed he was bothering you, but I can't read lips" she keeps talking. "just… suggested to fuck me" I say as I dry my hands with some toilet paper.

"for real?" she asks, turning to face me. I nod. "that's… you should stick with me, I'll walk you to class, and I'll ask Javi to walk you to your next one, I have a double class" she says, and my heart skips a beat at the mentioning of his name. "uh, thanks" I smile at her, and we walk together. The bell rings, and I realize my things are still in the biology classroom, so I ask Sophia to walk me there.

"(y\n), just who I was looking for" a handsome guy says. He hands me the bag, "I put everything there. I'm sorry Gerry is a dick to you, he's just… a dick". I thank him, slowly recognizing the boy as Raul, the rich kid whose father is a corrupt politician or something along these lines. I refused to watch the secret reveal video's, it's not my business, but I heard people talk.

I arrive to my class, and Sophia leaves to go to her's. time passes, and I don't think it could've gone slower. After this period ends, I get to have one on one time with no other than Javier Williams. Will I be able to form a sentence? Highly doubt it, but oh well, I'm not wasting this opportunity.

The bell rings, finally, and at the door I see Javier already waiting. "hi, (y\n), right?" he asks. I nod. "yeah, that's me" I smile. "Sophie told me Gerry is harassing you. Don't worry, I won't let him touch you" he says, smiling. "thank you, Javier" I say. His smile is even cuter from up close. "so, how's biology?" he asks. "well, boring" I say, and he laughs, "how are you enjoying our national school so far?" I ask, highlighting the "national", since the faculty is making such a big deal over that.

"well, it's nice. Met some cool people, met some… less cool people" he says. I laugh, "yeah, it's a weird time to get here, I promise we don't usually reveal secrets on school assemblies and Instagram pages" I say. I was surprised at how easy it was, talking to him. I was so sure I would forget every word I know, but I didn't. "which one surprised you the most? I mean, you know these people, for me it's the first thing I learned about them" he says.

"well, I actually hadn't watch any of the videos. I kinda heard things, but I try to ignore it. It's not my secret to know" I say, and he nods. "that's actually… kinda cool. That you respect them, and their privacy" he says. "you think I'm lame, right?" I laugh. "no, no. no, this is really… I admire that. That's being a good person" he insists, smiling at me. Our eyes lock for a moment, but a high-pitched voice is ruining the moment.

"oh, Javier, are you really hanging put with her now? Poor girl" some girl laughs. I look at her, confused, and he's just as confused. "what, you haven't seen it? All your secrets just revealed a new, juicy, secret" she smiles. Javier takes out his phone as we walk, and a video play.

It's my picture, it's my words. The song in the background, I wrote it yesterday and sent it to my friend, how did the hacker get that?

"oh, he is so pretty

But he will never notice me"

It's my voice, and the other photos, that's my diary.

Shit. I run to class before Javier understand who I'm singing for.

"and when I want to try,

I just end-up being too shy"

Crap, crap. People are looking at me. "I love your song; do you think you'll release an album? You can call it 'Javier Williams, please notice me!' " some guy laughs. This is not happening. The hacker was quiet, I thought he was only after the stupid popular kid, why would he reveal my secret? What's his goal?

After the class is over, I sneak to the bathroom to take another pill. It's supposed to calm down my anxiety, but it's affects fade quick. I leave the bathroom, and Javier is leaning on the wall in front pf the door.

"hey" he smiles at me and pushes himself off the wall. He gets closer and closer. "your song is really good; I didn't know you sing. Your voice is-" "please, stop, Javier. I don't want you to pity me" I sigh, cutting him off. He follows me to my next period. "I don't pity you; I just want to talk. You seem cool, and I'd love to get to know you" he says, catching up to me fast. "why?" I ask, "because the whole school knows I like you?" I stop and look him right in the eyes. Those gorgeous, gorgeous brown eyes. "no. because you are nice, and honest, and you have a beautiful voice" he says. I sigh, "don't pity me, Javier" I insist, and walk away.

A few days pass. A video of Javier and Sophia was sent to everyone in school, including me. It was followed by a "sorry to disappoint you" message, but I think it was exclusive for me. I haven't talked to Javier since… well, the second and last time we ever talked. I exchanged some words with Sophia, but that's it. I was sitting with my friends at lunch, but it got unbearable faster than… I don't know, a cringe compilation full of 13-year-old kids making sex jokes and do fortnight dances. Every second person tried to comfort me over the video, and I escaped to the bathroom for 2 things: quiet, and a pill. I wonder why the hacker chose to reveal the crush, isn't my anxiety a more dramatic secret? Whatever, I don't want to think about it.

I leave the bathroom just in time to start walking to my next class, Biology. "hey" a voice says. It belonged to a particular pretty boy. "what do you want, Javier?" I sigh and stop by my locker to get my biology book. "just… Sophia and I, it's not… we're not together. I wanted you to know that, cause, you know-" because I have a thing for you? Yeah, thanks, Javier" I sigh. He sighs. "can you stop avoiding me? I'm just trying to be nice to you. I know it wasn't ideal, the way I found out, but even before that, I wanted to talk to you. When Sophie asked me to walk you to class, I was actually happy to, and not as a favor for her, but at the chance to talk to the quiet, beautiful girl who I always catch looking at me but never dares to talk to me" he says as we walk to class together. Everybody's looking at us. "Javier, you are such a player" Gerry smiles, looking at the two of us as we enter the class. "it was just a kiss" Javier hisses at him. "if it was just a kiss, kiss her" Gerry offers, pointing at me with his stupid butt chin. "no" I say, "that's-".

"oh, come on, (y\n), I'm helping you out, don't you want to kiss his 'probably super soft lips' and run your hands through his 'perfectly messy hair' " Gerry teases, quoting my diary. I blush and start planning a way to escape this room. The door is right behind me. Who's gonna stop me? However, Javier is not taking any it.

He takes my hand and pull me back to his side. "may i?" he asks. "i-" I want to answer. Turns out I was right; his lips are super soft. He pulls away and smiles at me. "were my lips super soft?" he asks, biting his lips. "uh, i-" "I use Chapstick" he smiles. I laugh.

Gerry starts to clap, and his friends aw. Oh, right, he was bullied into kissing me. His hand still holds mine, and he drags me to my seat and take the open spot next to me. "I really enjoyed talking to you, you know. I swear, I'm not saying that out of pity. Do you think I'll kiss you out of pity?" he asks. "I don't know, I don't know… you" I reply as I put my things on my desk. Biology book, biology notebook, pens…

"would you like to?" he asks. I look at him confused. "would you like to get to know me? Maybe over some… I don't know coffee?" he smiles at me. I nod. "sure, yeah. Coffee's great" I smile back.

[clansayeed]

Hey Jack! I wanted to know what your thoughts are on Rheya. Was she really a villain to you? Were her motives justifiable? Was she a good villain? Did you think she deserved to have a redemption arc in chapter 16? What could have been written to make her have a better character story? Any thoughts at all about Rheya!

FOREWARNING: Anon... I accidentally wrote you a 2500 word essay. I shit you not this thing is 2,528 words long. So... I don’t know whether to say you’re welcome or I’m sorry. Just letting you know in advance.

ADD-ON POST-POSTING: I’m fully aware this is an app game. A three book series written with sexying vampires in mind. Where the medium is limited both size and content-wise, where you can’t go into much detail because they can only have so many panels in a chapter, etc. Still thinking what I think though. And if you get paid to create content professionally the least you can do for your own paycheck is go back and double-check your work.

Actually this ask came at a good time since I have to work on some character motivations for her for my series... and I always break down the in-canon versions before working on my own. So anon, let’s talk... are you a mind reader?

Kidding! mostly

So. Rheya.

I actually just finished my first replay of book 2 and at the moment I’ve only ever played book 3 the once. I played it as it was releasing so there were some memory gaps in some places and needed-refreshers in others. But on a whole I have similar thoughts about Rheya as I do Xenocrates, and you can find those thoughts here.

Overall she was a solid setup, good design and potential, and PB pretty much wasted her execution.

I wanna start with a genuine question to the fandom since I’ve never actually been able to ask this... but y’all like... totally saw the Bloodkeeper being related to her coming, right? Like I was so convinced of it that when it was revealed in some big dramatic point at the end I was like “yeah... they told us this...?” and it turns out they fuckin didn’t??? Like I could not understand the people who were like super into her sprite like yes she looks good but here I was thinking she was our ancestor from the get-go so I was... confused to say the least.

Not gonna lie when they started pushing in snippets of Rheya’s past trauma in book 2 (things like her yelling “you know what they did to me/took from me” which is paraphrased but you know what I mean) I really hoped they weren’t gonna do what they did. So of course they did it.

But I wish they’d like... just given her the kid. Just give her Iola and leave the weird suddenly random husband out of it. At this point we know Gaius has an unhealthy idolatry for her, we know Xenocrates adored her in his own way in his youth... but we know fuckall about Demetrius up to and including his existence until literally book 3. Sloppy, IMO. They took something not being mentioned and used it to put in a plot device when the omission should have been strategical.

TBH I thought the whole “you know what they did to me” was gonna get hella dark RE: Rheya and King Kaelisus’ obsession with her. That’s as far as I’ll go there.

But you have a Priestess, a known Priestess, who was definitely faithful enough not to stray even when she thought she was walking to her own death. It’s pretty easy to assume (as I did ngl) that she would be completely devoted to Phampira, including romantically/sexually. It would have been a good setup to explain why she never gave Gaius the goods if anything.

And there’s nothing wrong with having said Priestess have her own family while still being devoted. I just wish PB would have used some fucking forethought and hinted at that earlier on than they did. Because they didn’t hint. They dropped this random fisherman-something husband on us and told us she cared enough about his opinion to make him part of her advisory board but not... to like... mention him in any of her conversations in any of the flashbacks... including those in which he would have been alive.

On that note the whole timeline there is really messy, they obviously threw him and Iola in later on after some things were established/couldn’t be taken back. I’ve studied this shit extensively and it’s really muddled exactly how long Rheya ruled, when shit went down with her family, how much time had passed when Xenocrates staked her, etc.

I would have loved for Iola’s father not to have been there. Give me a strong woman, a strong single mother, who would burn the world for the loss of her daughter. Doesn’t matter who did the deed, Iola was hers and the Sons/Order took that from her and the world would have to pay the price.

If I had been given that I would end all of my complaints right here. I would, genuinely. Because then her descent into madness, her paranoia, her megalomania would all have been explained. And they still technically are but -- maybe it’s just me -- there’s something about her having to factor in Demetrius that just... takes me out of it. IDK.

I didn’t mind the guy... though him being a talking tree of doom was a little much for me... though by that point I had accepted the plot was off the goddamn rails and just kept nodding and going with it. But his presence made the story okay when his absence could have made the story impactful and powerful and emotional. That’s just my thoughts. Which you asked for. You did this.

No takesies-backsies.

Was she a villain? Hells to the yes.

It’s a classic case of obtaining ultimate power and abusing it; of crossing the line between justice and vengeance. Not that she wasn’t justified in her freak-out over the death of her family. But everything after up to and including her fatal feeding schedule was totally unnecessary. For a villain, yes necessary. 

For a vampire goddess who could have easily used Gaius’ influence over the vampires of the modern world to form a cult following around herself with an open dialogue about her big ass appetite and probably would have ended up with swaths of willing adorers ready to lend their blood to her cause thus eliminating the need for secrecy and subsequent feeling of betrayal...

You tell me.

I feel like she was definitely more than a little hyped up though. Not even going into my whole-ass issue with the entire Unchained plot and thus the first like 4-5 chapters of book 3, she was hyped up in myth and kind of a let down in person. She could FLY. Walk in the SUN. Heal the DYING. She’s vampire JESUS.

*ADDED IN LATER: She took out THE ENTIRE ORDER OF THE DAWN, WHO HAVE RAVAGED THE VAMPIRE POPULATION FOR LITERALLY 3000 YEARS since they were around in her time after all IN LIKE A THREE-MOVE COMBO BREAK. ALL THIS SHIT THEY HYPED WITH THE ORDER and their entire ERADICATION isn’t even an ON-SCREEN THING. Unless you pay.

Dude if they had kept Xenocrates and the Order and used the two of them against each other; the Order’s long-standing influence on the modern world versus the new world Rheya wanted to create with the human populations not knowing the history behind their hatred, where like the first half of the book is Rheya and MC and gang taking out the Order and Xenocrates only to find out in the middle point that she’s been doing it for selfish reasons and they were on the wrong team the whole time and THEN Rheya becomes the big bad... I would have enjoyed the shit out of that.

Anyway. “She’s vampire JESUS...” and her big evil plan is to... suck face on national television? IDK. It didn’t play the mood right for me. I can see from a writer’s perspective how they kind of played out all of their options and went with a quick and easy solution... but it didn’t work for me. That’s a no from me dawg.

Do I think she deserved a redemption arc? I don’t think anybody deserved a god damn redemption arc, unless they are done with extreme care and attention to detail before/during/after said arc they go horribly, and overall tend to be the plot device pick of lazy writers.

And I take nothing back. No like I think I might have gone into how much I fucking hated Gaius’ “reDEmPtiON aRc” before or at least I have somewhere and to someone. Probably Sofia... no most definitely Sofia. But anyway. They spend TWO GOD DAMN BOOKS hyping Gaius as this ultimately irredeemable bad guy. 

OMG I was literally playing the book 2 finale and got a quote hold on... HERE. Adrian literally says about Gaius in 2.16 “It’s like there’s no humanity left.” And that’s just one actual example of the tons of times they make him out to be devoted to Rheya of his own volition, the ultimate example of the line between believing in something and being blinded to everything by it, etc. Like a huge chunk of Kamilah’s and Adrian’s arcs RE: Gaius are about how he was definitely a monster, he turns the people around him into monsters, and while they have worked their asses off to be good and right their wrongs he has not, will not, and would not ever do such a thing.

Then suddenly he’s brainwashed, tried to turn Rheya down and was made into a loony toon because of it, and everything he made MC’s loved ones do that they blamed themselves for but needed to blame him for is suddenly Rheya’s fault and now we should blame her for.

Mmmmmkay sweetie. I’m good, thanks.

But really -- that was the last straw for me when it came to both Gaius and Rheya. There’s a difference between giving the villain something they see as a just cause (ex. Rheya avenging her family) and giving the villain a cop-out that absolves them of guilt (ex. Gaius and... everything about him). Like yes I know MC didn’t have to forgive him, I know Kamilah didn’t really forgive him, but it’s pretty fuckin obvious from how it was put out into the world story that the writers were trying to lean you towards blaming Rheya and letting Gaius off the hook.

I mean... making him save Lula for real when Rheya saved her for fake earlier on in the book, using Lula as a stand-in metaphor for her own child daughter that she finds out she was the cause of her death for, etc? That symbolism is so transparent I could put it in the asset database.

And I’ll only briefly touch on this since I could write a whole other essay on the matter RE: PB and their fucking constant repetition of this, but “let’s give both bad guys similar moral quandaries but suddenly reveal it was a consent issue and the woman is wholly to blame and now gets the man’s crimes piled on with her own” is super common in fiction and hella. fucking. sexist.

But that isn’t to say all of this is necessarily bad.

When done right, everything I’ve complained about above can be a part of a really good story. What “done right” means is different for everyone, everyone has a different example and different thoughts on it. These are mine. I think the better term would be done well. It was not done WELL.

But given things like PB’s weird obsession with redeeming the attractive (apparently) bad guy, PB’s history with narrowing a woman down to one trait or part of her (ex. Rheya’s power corruption centered around her role as a wife and mother and not... a super all powerful vampire goddess...), their obvious lack of attention to detail and overall lack of vision when it comes to the big picture* and more, I personally don’t think they knew what the fuck they wanted by book 3 and were already well into transitioning into whatever adultery-obsessed lingerie shenanery they’re fixated on now; so much so that it’s almost a disservice to the writing done in earlier book 1 and a decent chunk of book 2 when calling it a whole series.

*I keep bringing this up only because it means I can back up stuff like this with real examples of theirs: these guys did not write the plot of this series as a cohesive story. I get that, as a writer writing a big series myself I get the fuck out of that. But you have to solidify some things early on in the development process in order to avoid writing yourself into a hole or, like with this, having to result in trope-y plot devices that work in theory but on paper don’t give the story the full-circle fulfillment it deserves. 

Their timelines are out of whack, they contradict themselves in quite a few places, constantly wishy-washy their own lore, and definitely didn’t go back and double check if they’d said something already... and that’s not including where they focused on the details of one unimportant thing and left another more important thing to just be “and this is the way it is moving on.”

I literally have no way/idea how to summarize any of this bullshittery going on in this ask. Did I like Rheya? The character personality, design, and overall idea as this big ass badass power/hungry goddess demanding fealty was pretty cool. Did I like Rheya when they narrowed her story down to her grief over her family (which, again, is valid, but just seemed really disjointed and rushed when compared to everything else they had given about her/shown of her by the beginning of book 3)? Not... as much.

I think they wanted her to seem like she could be redeemed. I mean FFS in the “big battle” she literally just stands there and lets you do the thing. 3000 years imprisoned and however many centuries before that spent taking the power that she was denied all because some bad dudes in masks killed the mortal husband and daughter you would have eventually lost to old age anyway...? And she just stands there??? 

Even knowing she was really behind Iola’s death they could have stuck with the “madness consumed” plotline and had her be like well... what’s done is done back to taking over now thank you.

But sometimes a bad guy just has to be a bad guy. Rourke from ES, mister capitalism -- can’t remember them trying to redeem him. If they had I don’t think I would have liked it so much. Who else... UGH. Thomas in NB. Crazy zombie man wants all monsters dead because one killed his family (can we stop using dead families for grief porn please and thanks...) another example of a useless villain. Hence why I removed him from my NB rewrite don’t even get me going...

What’s his face in TCATF! Luther! You join up with him and he still tries to kill you in the end! Now that was fucking classic. Hex, who suddenly is forgiven for the literal enslavement of a race of people and the thoughtless murder of a civilization that didn’t agree with her.. and all because she was ‘like a mother’ to the kid genius? Not so much.

I could go on and on and go search out tons of examples but in the end the one thing you can say PB does well is that they stay consistent in their ideas of redemption, of who deserves it and who isn’t, and just how far they’re willing to stretch the fucking story to forgive a character if 1. the sprite is hot or 2. the sprite had a little sprite family somewhere in there.

legit just talk to me about bb/nb

[majorshiraharu]

Always there for you - Martez Sisters Fic

Celebration of Star Wars POC 

------------------------------------- Summary: After not being able to spend much time with each other lately the Martez sisters decide to cook food together and cut each others hair, happy to be spending time together and enjoying things they did as kids. -------------------------------------

"Trace?!" Rafa called out, walking through the hanger of their shop, "Trace, where are you?" 

"Right here why?" Trace replied walking out from behind a ship she was repairing, accidentally scaring her sister, "Ahhh! Trace why'd you do that?" "Do what?"  "Scare me like that." "I didn't mean too, -- but it was funny." Rafa pretended like she was bothered by her sisters joking - but after a moment laughed along with her, pulling her in for a side hug as she rubbed her hand through Trace's hair. "Hey," Trace grumbled trying to escape her sisters grasp. "Your hair is gettin' messy sister."  "So is yours!" Rafa runs her hand over her own head feeling how much her hair had grown in, no longer the nice smooth shave it had just a few weeks ago. "We can cut each other's hair again, it's always so much fun to do and it's been a while since we've gotten a chance," Trace said as her expression changed now looking sadder, Rafa had been away a lot more lately doing odd jobs and out trying to find business for their mechanic shop. Thanks to her efforts the shop had a steady stream of work, almost too much for Trace to keep up with despite her plentiful energy and enthusiasm for her work. "I would love too," Rafa replied placing a reassuring hand on her sister's shoulder, "Let's go home, Trace, we can cook some food and cut our hair."  "Sounds like a plan!" Rafa slides her arm across Trace's shoulder pulling her close as they walked home. ------- Rafa took off her coat hanging it off the back of her chair as she walked over to the kitchen counter. Pulling out some ingredients and setting them to the side of the stove, Trace brings over a pan handing it to her sister. "Why don't you go clean up and change out of that umm work clothes and I'll get started on the cooking."  "Awww but helping you is fun." "Well then be quick, I’ll just prep the stuff."  "Got it, I'll be back in a flash!" Trace said running off to the refresher. Rafa cuts up veggies setting them aside on a plate to add in later, as the rice cooks in the pot, -- not long after Trace runs back into the kitchen in her comfy clothes ready to help. 

"The rice is almost finished, throw in the veggies," Rafa said pointing at the plate at the back of the counter. Trace grabs the plate throwing the veggies into the cooking rice after gently mixing it, - once it finishes cooking they throw it all into the pan adding seasoning and some leftovers, this was something their mother always did when they were younger, the food was similar but always tasted special. They fill their bowls and sit down, catching up with each other, talking about the shop, their parents, and how they were doing. It was important to Rafa to always know how her sister felt, hoping that despite being the only family she had left that she knew that they would always be there for each other. After the sisters finished their food, taking extra time to indulge and enjoy the flavorful meal, they get up, cleaning off their dishes, and putting away the extra food for the next day. "So can we cut each other's hair now?!" Trace asked with a wide smile and bright eyes.  "Yes," Rafa replied walking to the refresher, finding the clippers and a towel, "You first Trace." Trace grabs a small stool and sits down watching in the mirror as her sister started to cut her hair, making sure to leave the lovely curls in the center, - she leans down intently looking over each area brushing at it with her hand before standing up straight again, "All done, how's it look?" "I love it, you always do such a great job, thank you!" She replied giving her sister a big hug, "Now it's your turn!" Taking the clippers from her sister as Rafa sat down pulling the towel across her shoulders and combing her section of hair to one side, "Now remember Trace don't cut that part," she said pointing at the section.  "Aw I did that once, it was an accident, I promised it wouldn't happen again," Trace mumbled making her sister laugh. "I know I know, but as your sister, I'm required to tease you about it."  "Very funny, but being bald did suit you though." "Trace!"  "I won't! I promise." "Thank you." Trace bends down slightly to get a better angle, turning on the clippers and carefully moving them around Rafa's head, shaving off the one side completely before moving on to the back of the head. She lifts up the sectioned part of hair, making sure to avoid it as she shaved under it, to just the length Rafa liked. Happy with her work she stands up, turning off the clippers and putting them to the side before leaning back down to loop her arms around her sister, "So what do you think?" "Another wonderful cut Trace, thank you, and thank you for not shaving it off." Both of the sisters laughed helping each other clean up the hair, sweeping up the floor, and putting everything back in its place. "I'm going to go pick out a film for us to watch tonight, it's been a while since we've gotten to do that." "Trace, you have to work tomorrow and so do I, it's already pretty late, we should get ready and go to sleep."  "Pleeeeease, Rafa, please I'll do your chores for a week, I just want to relax and watch a film like we use too." "Okay, but make sure it's not a super long one, I'll get ready while you pick one out."

"Yes!" Trace shouted jumping in the air before running off to find a film. -- Rafa sits down on the bed scooting back to lean against the wall as Trace turned on the film, the holoscreen lights up the otherwise dimly lit room as Trace crawls onto the bed. Grabbing some covers and pillows from the corner to put behind their backs, throwing the cover over her and her sister as they got ready to watch the film. Not even halfway through the movie Trace fell asleep, her head falling onto Rafa's shoulder, -- "Sleep well Trace," Rafa whispered leaning her head against her sisters’ as she too fell asleep, the sound of the movie fading as she dosed off. She missed days like this, they didn't happen often anymore but she treasured every moment of it.

[talesfromgringolandia]

Sloppy Joe on a Shit Day

Just a bit of comfort writing I did yesterday, it was really fun. Hope you enjoy.

______________________________________________________________

Al stepped out of the hallway and closed the door behind him. It had been a stressful day. His boss had yelled at him, and his girlfriend had dumped him, and his lunch had seemed half spoiled. How the heck was he supposed to feel after a day like that? Happy?

What a miserable day.

Al slumped into his chair and turned on the TV. His apartment, as usual, was immaculate. Al was very careful to keep everything as organized as possible. He wasn't always that way. Used to be, he would leave everything scattered around the room on the floor. He usually remembered where to find things. Like every unorganized TV stereotype had said, he had had a system. But once he entered college, he quickly realized such a "system" wasn't enough. So he organized himself. Dedicated himself to the task of staying organized. To the point of obsession.

Now he was as organized as you could possibly be. And he was still having a shit day.

Al flipped through the channels, searching for something worth watching. The Simpsons, Animal Planet, CNN... what the heck. He turned off the TV and tossed the remote on the coffee table.

Al didn't usually slump. Usually he sat up straight, kept his form perfect. It kept his mind focused, as well as left a lasting impression on people around him. People attracted like people, and Al had surrounded himself with people just like himself - straight, tight, disciplined, organized. Those friends had taken him far in life. It had taken a while, but they had learned to trust each other. They confided in one another, helped each other out when they were feeling down.

Al didn't want to talk with his friends right now. He was feeling really shit, and felt like if he called someone, he would just rub that shit off onto them, and then there would be two people feeling really shit.

How does one not feel shit?

Well, Al thought. Have I eaten yet?

Yeah, I had lunch.

Ah, Al pointed out. You had lunch at one o'clock in the afternoon. It is now five o'clock in the afternoon.

Yeah, so? said that weird voice that always resisted all his attempts to solve his problems.

It means, Al continued, that you need food.

Al sighed. The chair was comfortable, and he didn't want to get up. But he was also feeling miserable, so he sent a quick prayer to God to give him the strength to get up off the comfortable chair, and then got up off the comfortable chair.

He smiled. He felt better already.

Al walked to the kitchen and opened the pantry. Then he closed the pantry and opened the fridge. Then he closed the fridge and began rummaging through the all the kitchen cabinets. After a few moments of fruitless rummaging, he stood in the middle of the kitchen and put his hands in his pockets.

No food, he thought miserably. Only ingredients.

Al sighed. Time to get to work. With new eyes, he opened the fridge.

What have we got here? Ground meat, ham, cheese. Lettuce, tomatoes, gluten free bread. That stuff was so dry, but normal bread made it difficult for him to focus. So he settled for the dry gluten free, and anyways, bread wasn't suitable for dinner. Unless he used it for a sloppy joe, in which case...

Al closed the fridge and opened the pantry. Bingo. Two jars of tomato sauce.

"Ferb," Al muttered as he placed the jars on the counter and opened the fridge again. "I know what we're going to do today."

Tying an apron around his waist, Al set about preparing to make the meat sauce. Tomato sauce, ground beef, uh, that's about it actually. Well, what spices? Garlic, salt and pepper were must haves. Throw in some basil and cilantro for good measure. There you go - a good meat sauce.

Now time to make the actual meat sauce. Planning is always easier. Luckily, in the case of sloppy joes, the task isn't that much more difficult than the planning. Al began heating up a pan, and after a few minutes, dumped the ground beef inside. Just gotta sauté this for a bit, and then we add the onion and-

Onion. Shit.

Al abandoned the frying pan and grabbed a cutting board. He opened a drawer, snatched an onion, and ran to the counter without shutting the drawer. Cut the onion in half, then take one half, hold it on the board with his fingers, and v-e-r-y c-a-r-e-f-u-l-y, cut the onion into thin slices. Then he turned it 90 degrees and cut it into slices again, resulting in a nicely diced onion. Well, nicely might be an exaggeration. But the onion bits were vaguely the same size and that was close enough for Al, so he dumped those into the beef he had been neglecting for five minutes.

Al resumed stirring the beef and added in the rest of the spices. Salt, pepper, basil, garlic, cilantro, and what the hell, how about some red pepper as well. Al was feeling a little spicy today.

Finally, he poured in the tomato sauce, enjoying the satisfying hiss it made for him. Al continued stirring the sauce. He enjoyed its rich smell, and turned off the stove. It seemed about ready.

Al grabbed his cold, gluten-free bread and placed a few slices on a plate. Time for dinner. He didn't take off his apron. They were called sloppy joes for a reason.

Taking a spoon, Al tried to maneuver the sauce onto the bread without spilling any. Unsuccessfully. The counter was soon covered in dots and splotches of meat sauce. But most of it, luckily, was relocated onto his gluten free bread slices.

Al sighed as he observed his handiwork. After a few seconds, he was suddenly hit by a wave of shock. The counter was covered in meat sauce! The cutting board was still on the counter, with half an onion and some leftover onion bits on it! The tomato sauce jar was still on the counter! Not to mention all the spices and ingredients he had left out! What a mess! His kitchen hadn't looked like the since... since...

Al couldn't remember the last day he had made a mess in the kitchen.

That made him take a moment to reconsider the sight before him.

Al began to laugh. It started as little chuckling, then grew and erupted into the hideous cackling of a super villain. What a joy it was to make a mess! He had forgotten after being uptight for so long.

Al left the kitchen, then came back with his phone and snapped a picture of his mess, then a selfie in front of it. He posted the pictures onto Facebook with the caption: "So long since I made a mess! I forgot how fun it was."

Al took his masterpiece of a meal to the dining room to enjoy. As sat down, he heard his phone ding, and ignored it. As he was about to take a bite, his phone dinged again. Al put the sloppy joe back onto the plate, unbitten, and waited. Sure enough, his phone dinged again, and again.

He stood up and walked to the kitchen. Facebook was in the front notifications - people were replying to his post. That was fast. Al put in his password and looked at the responses.

What a great meal! I didn't know you could cook!

That looks delicious. Have a nice meal, Al!

Wish I was there - looks great! didn't know you enjoyed that kind of meal - its so messy!

Then there was one that was just a smiley face with hearts for eyes.

Al smiled. He recognized every one of those names. It was nice to hear from them. Some of them were people he hadn't heard from in a while. The wonders of the internet.

Al put his phone on Do Not Disturb and settled back down to enjoy his meal. As he finally took a bite out of the sloppy joe, a glob fell off and landed on his apron. Al grinned. It was called a sloppy joe for a reason.

taglist: @thelaughingstag

[darlinvandijk]

Hickey Prank

Concept: another prank on ruel but instead of pregnancy it’s the hickey prank since I love the idea of pranking him and making him freak out before being all cute with him. Like usual dm me or whatnot for a request. Also don’t worry I’ll be doing a pt. 2 for him doing the prank as revenge (Sorry that this is so long lmao, do y’all like long imagines? Or should I shorten them in the future) Hope you enjoy :)

“What’s going on whores? Y’all requested I do another prank on Rueloff, so I decided that the pregnancy prank wasn’t enough, it’s time to up the game. And you know what that means... HICKEY TIME” I screech at my camera sitting in front of me with a giant smile.

I continue my intro and what I’m going to do, before introducing Coco as my professional makeup artist for the fake hickey, both of us laughing since we know it’s going to be a good video. We joke around and film while she starts applying the eyeshadows on my neck.

“Honestly I’m so good at this, like I could be a professional. Ruel could never leave a hickey as good as me, like fuck real ones, we only rocking fakes ones from here on out bitches” Coco cheers as I laugh. Trust her to be the only person to ever say something like that, but I mean she is the best Van Dijk for a reason.

“Wait am I doing one, or like one that’s more noticeable than the others with a few scattered around? Like I guess my question is what does my brother do so we can do something he’d know wasn’t his” she questions, fake gagging as she thinks about Ruel giving me a hickey. I instantly burst out laughing, knowing she’s gonna hate what I’m about to say.

“Okay welllll you see he doesn’t usually leave any on my neck because of paps and fans trying to take pics, so he’ll know they aren’t his if they’re above my collarbones” I laugh out, covering my face at my confession, feeling it heat up under my hands. Coco chokes on air at my statement, not wanting to know what her little brother does in his free time with me.

“Wow I definitely did not want to know that but I’ll do one more noticeable one with a few light ones scattered around” she mumbles, continuing on with her makeup application on me, as I turn off the camera, deciding to just start filming again once it’s time. I put on one of my Spotify playlists, both of us just singing along and talking about how we think he’s going to react. I start to fiddle with my promise ring as my hands start to sweat, before deciding to just take it off and set it on the nightstand, making a mental note to put it back on before we start the prank.

“Honestly like I’m really not sure about what he’s going to do, like he’s so unpredictable. The fans never see it but he can get pretty angry sometimes when it has to do with people he loves.” Coco muses while setting the makeup and making sure it looks like it’s my skin and not super fake, knowing he’ll really stare at it to see if he’s just losing his mind. I ponder over what she says, genuinely unsure of what his reaction will be since it’s basically me tricking him into thinking I’m cheating.

“Yeah, I definitely get what you mean. I’m not sure if he’s going to be really sad and hurt or if he’s going to be really hurt but fucking pissed with me” she hums in agreement, knowing that there’s no way to be sure of his reaction, but just hope that he doesn’t lose it completely.

“Well no matter what I’m here, so as soon as shit goes too far , I’ll come down to make my appearance to confirm that it’s a prank since he will still be worked up a little even after you show him it comes off with water” she says, confirming our plan for when we tell him it’s just a prank. We both go around the house setting up the cameras, so that we can get footage in any of the rooms we may go into, during what we assume is going to be him pacing through the rooms completely pissed with me.

“Okay guys, we’re back and ready for this prank! Ruel texted me saying he’s on his way back from the studio, I picked up Coco today so he will have no clue anyone’s here but me since her car is at her apartment” I say to the main camera in our bedroom, placing it so that it gets a full view of the room if we come in here.

“Get ready bitches because it’s show time” Coco smirks at the camera. We both leave the room and I take her into the music room, where Ruel has his instruments and music sheets everywhere. I tell her to just hang in here while everything happens so that she can still hear it all, but will be out of sight. We both highfive and I leave the room to head downstairs to the living room, nervous for what’s about to happen. As I settle on the couch and pull a blanket on me, I hear the jingle of keys as the front door opens, before hearing footsteps head to where I am.

“Hey baby, sorry I got back a little late today. Do anything fun while I was gone?” Ruel mumbles, placing a kiss to the side of my head, before sitting next to me and taking off his shoes to carelessly toss them next to the coffee table. I lean my head onto his chest as he wraps his arm around my shoulders, throwing a quick smirk to the camera hidden in here.

“Nope, saw Coco earlier and had lunch with her, that was why I was really slow at texting you back earlier” I explain looking up at him as he nods his head and listens to my explanation. He grabs my hand and starts playing with my fingers, before taking another close look.

“Where’s your promise ring? You literally never take it off” he questions, completely throwing me off since I forgot I had taken it off when my hands started to get sweaty, but realizing it adds more to the whole hickey thing.

“Huh I must’ve taken it off when cooking this morning and just never put it back on, I’ll put it on once we head upstairs later” I answer, trying to act as calm as possible as he stared me straight in the eyes with an unwavering look.

“You never take it off? Why are you starting to now?” He decides to question me further, making me try my hardest to hold back a laugh, knowing he’s falling right into my plan. I give him a soft smile and kiss his cheek before cuddling into him even more, feeling his arms tighten around me.

“I think because it was a little messy I didn’t want to get anything on it, so I just slipped it off and placed it upstairs” I said trying to convince him, seeing him give me an unconvinced look from the corner of my eyes. I turn to look at him before deciding it’s time to get everything in motion for the big freakout.

“I missed you today” I whisper out, my chin on his chest as I look up into his green eyes, smiling at the soft love filled look he gives me. He leans down and presses his lips to mine, before lifting me up and placing me across the couch, one hand rests on my hip while the other rests on the side of my neck as he hovers over me. I try to keep everything as pg as possible, not wanting to have to cut anything out of the video since this is the buildup to everything. He’s resting between my legs as he starts to kiss around my jaw before slowly making his way down to my neck on one side, before moving to the other side that holds the hickey.

“what the fuck?” He whispers, completely freezing all movement as he stares at my neck. I turn my head to slightly cover it, giving him my most innocent look. I rest my hand on his cheek as he stares at me with complete shock on his face. He pushes away from me and stands up turning on all the lights he can in the living room, since I had it all a little dim so he wouldn’t see right away.

“Stand up.” He slightly snaps out, looking at me with an emotionless face. I hesitantly stand, keeping my hair over my neck and my chin pointed a little lower than usual. He rolls his eyes, before firmly but carefully grabbing my head and lifting it up, completely causing my neck to be exposed.

“Ruel what’re you doing? Stop it” I mumble out, pushing his hands away from my neck as he tilts my head to the side. He watches me with a look of pure betrayal, causing me to freeze up for a second at the pain he was feeling. He lets out a scoff and rolls his eyes, pacing around for a couple of seconds before turning back to me.

“Are you fucking cheating on me? Who the fuck did that?” He hisses out, eyes going from their beautiful green, to almost black. I give him a fake nervous glance, wringing my hands out in front of me before fake stuttering a reply to him.

“R-ruel you did that? They’re from last night” I say trying to reason with him as I reach for his hands, feeling him rip them away from my grip. He gives me a look of complete horror, that I’d dare try to pin this on him.

“We both know damn well I didn’t do that, I never leave them where they’re visible. Especially not fucking more than one. I can’t believe you’d do this to me” he spits out with so much pain that I start to debate whether or not to stop the prank already. Before I can tell him the truth he takes off upstairs towards our bedroom, causing me to run up after him to see what he’s going to do. He throws open the closet and starts grabbing clothes, throwing them onto the bed. In complete panic I jump onto him and stop him from grabbing more clothes.

“Wait Ruel baby stop, calm down for a second please.” I plead, trying to get him to stop so I can tell him it was just a prank and that I would never cheat on him. I guess he decided to take the angry and hurt route rather than the sad one. He shakes me off of him and tosses me onto the bed so that I land in the pile of clothes. He starts throwing his hands in the air in an exasperated manner, trying to figure out what to say.

“Don’t fucking call me baby, I’m not your baby anymore. You cheated on me, after everything we’ve ever promised to each other, you went and fucking cheated. Who was he? Since obviously he can do more for you than I can” he venomously hisses out, with hurt clear in his eyes, the beautiful green eyes that are starting to get misty with unshed tears.

“Ruel I didn’t cheat on you, give me a second to explain, please I love you and I promise it’s not what you think.” I try to reason with him grabbing his hand and pulling him to sit on the bed next to me. He pulls away from me but remains seated, running his hands down his face.

“Theres no explaining. I can see your neck, I know what it is... you never loved me” he chokes out, a single tear falling down his face. I reach out to wipe it away, knowing nows the time to stop this prank, it’s gone farther than I wanted. I never wanted it to go this way, I truly didn’t think it’d go this way or I wouldn’t have done it.

“I love you. You know I love you and that I’d never cheat on you. No other guy compares to you. Bubs it’s just a prank, I promise it’s just a prank.” I whisper to him, watching his head whip towards me with a glare. He stands up and starts pacing around, making me anxious on his reply.

“It looks real. I don’t fucking believe you. Your ring was off, you weren’t replying earlier, Coco never made a post of you together, and the hickey didn’t come off at all and when I rubbed it. Why’re you lying to me!” He shouts out, completely hurt to believe me, veins in his neck slightly popping out from his distress.

“Ruel follow me.” I mumble out, walking to the bathroom as he follows me, still in view of the camera frame. He stands against the bathroom door as I wet a wash cloth and hand it to him. He holds it and stares at me incredulously.

“I’m not touching you nor am I going to wipe your neck. We should just breakup now to get it over with” he deadpans, still too angry to believe me. I honestly can’t blame him, Coco did an amazing job making them realistic and smudge proof. I feel my heart sting at him wanting to break up, but I just roll my eyes before grabbing his hand and using it to drag the washcloth down my neck. He stands there in silence, moving my hand from his so that he can wiping at my neck, watching as the shades of red and purple slowly wash away. He sets the cloth on the counter before standing across from me and just staring at me, not saying a word.

“Are you going to breakup with me?” I mumble out, terrified at what this prank could have done. I need him, I should have known that this prank was too risky, especially when it comes to someone who puts their all into a relationship. Someone who’s biggest fear is getting cheated on or left behind. He drags his hands through his hair, giving me a slight glare before reaching out and tugging me into his arms.

“I want to kill you right now for doing this, where is she? I know Coco was a part of this prank since she used to make fake bruises to get out of pe in school.” He mutters into my neck, holding me tighter than ever. We both hear shuffling and turn our heads to see Coco standing there with a sheepish smile on her face, also not expecting this to have been the outcome.

“Hello dearest brother of mine, I love you” she says with a big grin, watching as he glares at her and walks into the bedroom. He picks up my ring on his nightstand and beckons me over to him, making Coco and I listen and walk to him. He grabs my hand and slides the ring back on, pulling me in and kissing the top of my head. I pull away and grab the camera, setting it up in front of the bed, as we sit down, ruel sitting in the middle of us.

“Well you guys that did not go as planned, or maybe it did? Like the point was to get a reaction, but I personally think it was a little too far. I hope you enjoy this wild ass prank video and you better like it, you guys almost cost me my whole ass relationship” I groan out to the camera, leaning my body against Ruels.

“You guys are all assholes, I honestly was about to have a heart attack. Not gonna lie I was about to go through your phone and find the guy so I could beat his ass, I’ve never been more angry than I was today” he states with a chuckle causing Coco and I to instantly lighten up, realizing that Ruel was fine now that he saw it was just a prank. I was truly scared this was going to affect our actual relationship.

“Honestly we didn’t think it’d go this far, it was supposed to be a simple prank, but as you can tell shit blew up” Coco states as all of us laugh and agree, knowing it was never the intention for this to all happen when we made the video, no one was supposed to actually get hurt.

“well guys that’s the end of this video and I love you all, don’t forget to leave a thumbs up and subscribe, also comment down below what you want to see next, but please spare my poor baby next time” I laugh out as Ruel nods his head vigorously, before giving me a kiss on the cheek. We all wave to the camera before shutting it off. Coco goes downstairs to shut the other ones off, before coming up to give us hugs and say goodbye, claiming this prank made her too tired to stay and hangout.

Ruel pulls me back on the bed with him, having me lean against the headboard as he lays with his chest against my back. I intertwine our fingers and rest them against his stomach, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. He turns his head and kisses my arm before tilting his head to look at me.

“I love you so much, I know you could never cheat on me, but seeing that made me so mad that I honestly couldn’t rationalize anything, like it looked so real” he says, with a small frown, upset with himself that he could even believe for a second that I’d cheat on him. I smile at him and give him a soft kiss, before pulling away to kiss his forehead.

“I can’t blame you, they looked real as fuck. Honestly it’s not your fault, I didn’t know what I’d do if I was in your place, like honestly I’d lose my shit. I’m sorry if it went too far bub” I mumble back, giving him a soft look, feeling terrible that he was in so much distress because of a prank. He laughs and presses his lips to mine, giving me a slow but love filled kiss, before pulling back to give me a smirk as I lay underneath him completely breathless. His smirk never fades as he reaches a hand up and caresses my cheek, before dragging it down to lightly tug on my bottom lip with his thumb.

“Don’t worry, it wasn’t too far. I think you did a perfect prank, but beware love, you’ve started a war. Trust me, karma is a bitch and she’s going to bite you in the ass soon” he smirks, causing me to roll my eyes at his dramatics.

I mean what’s the worst he can do?

[gothamstreetcat]

Please share your thoughts based of the bingo cards below because I wanna know 👀

i am absolutely going to be talking about all things controversial below the cut: ᵖˡᵉᵃˢᵉ ᵈᵒⁿ'ᵗ ʳᵉᵃᵈ ᶦᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ᵃʳᵉ ᵃ ᶠᵃⁿ ᵒᶠ ᵇᵃʳᵇᵃʳᵃ ᵃⁿᵈ ᵗᵃᵇᶦᵗʰᵃ 

season one

there isn't much I think is super controversial in season one, but I will definitely be talking about selina, the batcat kiss, and the overall season itself

on selina i have to say i was a little nervous before the show aired. it’s silly but also understandable for me because i always find myself getting nervous whenever someone new takes on a character I love. but honestly, i think camren is the best selina kyle we could have asked for. there is just always something about each catwoman/selina kyle i didn’t like, but with camren i think we get the most true and genuine portrayal because gotham shows her childhood—a obviously important part to selina’s character. it’s a side of her we never get to see much of in the comics or in films, and i just find it a very important part to her character. 

sometimes I think people are too drawn into making selina something more (holy tim burton, batman! she’s got cat powers!). and I hate to throw tim  under the bus with this, but over time the whole cat powers thing really pissed me off because part of what I loved about selina was how she was a regular person. she didn’t need cat powers to be great or special. it also kinda makes me sad when people compare cam’s selina so much to pfeiffer’s because a. camren is her own selina and shouldn’t be put under that kind of pressure and b. I really can’t see someone as tough as camren’s selina becoming some old man’s assistant with “corndogs” as a (cat)chprase(?) 

i know it’s silly, but another thing about cam’s selina is how much i just love her. i just grew up wanting to be her and be like her. i wanted to be hardened by city streets and i know it’s dumb but i don’t think i have to explain why i feel such a strong way about her. we all have our favorite characters. **more of this hot mess in the tags

moving into the batcat kiss i was initially really uncomfortable and disappointed with it. david and cam were young at the time, therefore, so were bruce and selina, and i just honestly feel like it was too soon. however, i know in an interview they talked about it and were okay with it—cam saying how she was able to separate herself from the character—so I have grown to be more tolerant of it (is it dumb to say i was a little embarrassed for them because that’s how i would feel if it was me?) i am also not innocent because i did make a gifset of the kiss but it was also paired with selina asking for bruce’s consent, and i only made it because i liked the parallels (queue a young me making gifs on makeagif.com) Now, I will highly advocate for that gifset because to me it really shows how much selina went to get bruce’s ‘okay’ before she kissed him. i feel as though we are always advocating so much when it comes to a woman’s consent but never when it is a man’s and both are equally as important but we’ll get into that later in this post. 

another thing i want to add, is how i’d like to believe i have some idea as to why they did the kiss in the first place. i want to believe it had something to do with the trauma of the day, or the fact that bruce is a boy who showed selina genuine kindness when she is clearly someone who has gone without. god forbid it only to be seen as ‘cute’ but perhaps, because selina wanted to know what it felt like to be touched in that sort of way. by someone like Bruce (who was innocent and had never been kissed) maybe it was some sort of way to thank him or a parting gift, to which i’m sure people would say that’s wrong but i feel with selina’s background it makes sense. as if it was a way for bruce to remember her by. now, i personally wouldn’t know what any of that feels like so maybe that throws all my credibility out the window but these are just my ideas.

the season overall i hold onto dear, i know we all have our favorites and this isn’t controversial, but you can’t beat the first. sometimes, i do feel like shows lose their way and loose that little spark when they first got started. and to be honest, i did feel that a little with gotham. not only that (and i’ve said this before so i’m sorry if i’m a broken record) but with gotham it gaves us these characters we are so used to seeing a certain way. the show took these seeming monsters and turned them human and we as watchers related to them. edward nygma was a nerd working at the gcpd. oswald was a guy holding an umbrella, turned dishwasher who then became the king of gotham. poison ivy was just a kid. everything was so new and fresh and exciting. so yeah, i think that’s a wrap on season one

season two

the only thing i am really going to talk about from this season was ‘babitha.’ again, i am sorry for anyone who follows me, is reading this and is a fan of them but in all seriousness: their relationship was toxic as hell. first off, i really didn’t like barbara nor tabitha before hand. barbara always felt whiny and needy while tabitha was played like some ditzy woman for her brother. together they were highly annoying, and i almost hate say that because independently tabitha was a really strong character. i still didn’t like her but i see and appreciate her without her brother. 

going into that i really think there where times barbara dragged her down. times where barbara was unstable, power-hungry and it just seemed like tabitha was not enough unless she had more. barbara also didn’t seem to like the idea that butch had a special place in tabitha’s heart (and then later killed him). i mean this is a funny way, but barbara can come off like that kid who was never told ‘no’ in her life.

not to mention when tabitha died and barbara went and fucked jim for the sake it of, i guess. i know everyone grieves differently and holy batgirl, batman! but it doesn’t seem right.

i wish i had more to say on them with better examples, but i honestly have way more to say regarding the sirens so i’m gonna let you read that instead.

honorable mentions include: bridgit pike deserving better because that girl could never catch a break. and the true ending of herself and karen jennings meeting, falling in love, and leaving gotham together. it honestly makes me sad i made up this ship and it feels like i’m the only one keeping it afloat. 

season three

again, i have my issues regarding the siren’s team up, so i was unhappy when they decided to make tabitha galavan selina’s mentor. i personally would not want to pair someone as vulnerable as selina with someone who physically and mentally abused her, but okay gotham. so that is where my ted grant comment came in, i assume you’ve read the comics and know that ted was one of the few who originally trained selina before becoming catwoman. therefore, i was disappointed they didn’t use him as i find him a better canidate for a mentor but also such an important person in her story. he would have been a great addition to the show. 

of course my first honorable mention must go to the batman returns scene because you’re only hip if piggy-back off of tim burton. as i mentioned above i don’t like how much cam’s selina is compared to pfieffer’s. i don’t understand why they had to re-create something i already think is over hyped when gotham is already a great show on it’s own, it would have been redeeming if they had not done the ‘cat power’ thing in season five but thankfully they didn’t really use it.it really pisses me off how much they really tried to make that scene frame for frame. 

my second honorable mention is going to be given to selina not knowing five was bruce because of his scars & alfred and maria respectively. i could talk a lot about why i love maria and alfred--i understand why people don’t like her and they’re right to do so, however, i do think they are right for one another. they both have jaded pasts, and yeah, the show was teasing love-interests for alfred a here and there but how can you not be happy for him when he saw selina’s mom? i think people should be redeemed and i honestly think maria was at least changed by her time at wayne manor and if you want i wrote a fic about alfred and maria but it’s totally bad writing wise so don’t read it. also. i’m sorry it’s dirty and i couldn’t go through with it. it’s kinda bad

as for selina and five i think there is something imamate about selina knowing bruce’s scars (not gonna lie,i was honestly going to talk about this but i’m too tired and don’t think i have anything meaningful to have)

season four

this is probably going to be the hardest season for me to talk about. and the only two things i’m going to cover are the toxic manipulation and abuse between the sirens team-up, as well as the sexual abuse bruce endured.

on the sirens i just wanna say i hopefully plan in the future to make a master-post involving this trio. i want to be as clear as possible and include the episodes but in case i don’t i’m just going to try my best. keep in mind i made this post regarding this topic a long time ago if you want the quick version. if you do check it out it’s been a while since i read it so it is probably messy and ugly. i also want to point out i’m going to try and talk about how much of the adults in selina’s life failed her. barbara and tabitha hit this mark pretty hard since at least barbara was there in the beginning stages of her life, and the trio themselves were made to appear as some sort of strong power-house.

i get on a surface level why fans like the barabra/tabitha + selina team-up (because girl power i guess), but i honestly can’t get over the abuse selina endured to even get to the point of being in a group. much of their relationship seemed more about tabitha and barbara loving to have her rather then love her, period. there were times during their involvement that it was clear selina was not an equal, and times where being with them made selina weaker (speaking about when she called upon them for help in that one episode where she was trapped, yet you’re telling me this is the same girl who took out that guy’s eyes from season one?) several times, selina appeared to be talked down to and treated as though she couldn’t handle tasks, yet has been homeless her whole life and has broken in and out of prison. 

the interaction between barbara and selina from season one haunts me a great deal for the way barbara spoke to selina and was objectifying her. i made a long-post/ask about it here which i encourage you to look at. this is particularly hard for me to talk about for the simple fact of selina being a child of the streets and barbara speaking to her like she’s trying to pimp her out *for lack of a better way of saying it* i just don’t think this is something an adult should be saying to selina because the truth is that barabara is the adult and should do better. her and tabitha even dressed her up for that club commercial (in which selina was clearly unhappy) and had her running a club full of underage kids developing a drinking problem and one very small boy being taken advantage of. 

people hate it when alfred slapped selina but when tabitha punched selina unconscious and kidnaped her for barbara it’s no big deal

and the episode “to our deaths and beyond” hits deepest and is a clean sign of manipulation when they both tricked selina into bringing bruce so they could mutilate him for his blood. even when he was crying and panicking barbara help him down and tabitha held selina back from helping him. 

here is a gifset about the scene and *lex i’m sorry for using your set if you happen to see this (but please don’t see this because i don’t wanna make anyone feel bad and i just want to speak freely about what i believe) 

again, not treating selina with respect, and when she straight told them she would have not brought bruce BECAUSE HE IS HER FRIEND, tabitha got defense and questioned her loyalty. first off, you are an adult and should know how to act better. she knew selina wouldn’t have brought bruce otherwise because they knew what they were doing was wrong. they knew how much bruce meant to selina and for them to try to guilt her is awful in itself. tricking and manipulating bruce is awful. mutilating him is awful. and holding selina back from helping her friend after you lied to her is awful--this is honestly one of the most sickening things for me to watch *not to mention why you would not want selina to be friends with bruce when he’s clearly a great guy* (but the gifset is pretty no question. shout-out to lex for being so talented)

in addition to this, the entire selina getting shot storyline is right up there too. i understand the writer’s didn’t have enough time to flesh everything out but it wasn’t even mentioned once that barbara and tabitha went to visit her. i believe tabitha might have mentioned it but it was only to get revenge over jeremiah, but they never visited her or checked on her, and she tried to kill herself and still nothing. 

now, i’m not trying to be all biased for bruce wayne because he was there for her every singe day and never left her side. nor would i ever mention that idea of bruce physically helping selina care for her own body when she couldn’t. how he got her that medicine to heal her pain and held her while she screamed that she wanted to die. all the while doing everything he could to help her not feel that way again.

you can say a lot of things about bruce wayne. people love to talk shit about him. but at the end of the day you can never say he was a bad friend, because he was the best. and you can’t say that for barbara and tabitha (not only to add how all the abuse was never brought up nor apologized for)

now, onto something that i am a big advocate for and particularly boils my blood. bruce’s alcohol problem and constant physical abuse by the adults in the show. 

i am mainly speaking about ivy (peyton list) however, while reading a reddit thread someone said that grace’s actress as twenty-one years of age, also kissing david (who i believe was sixteen at the time). someone else, also said that it wasn’t really illegal but i honestly do not care. if the roles were reversed and it was a young girl vs an older man, people would be in outrage and i don’t think that should change be it david.

the scene with peyton particularly bothers me because she is substantially older, and while you could argue it might not be david based off how the scene was shot, i highly doubt it. it’s wrong no matter how you slice it and it particularly bothers me because the abuse surrounding men/boys is taken so lightly. i’m not trying to put presidency over female abuse, as i believe both are equal in how awful they are, but there is evidence behind males being mocked. something that is at a higher volume, and it makes me wonder the number of rapes that go unreported or those who can’t talk about it because they won’t be believed. i’ve already seen it but i would be lying if i said i wasn’t worried for david to be conditioned to think what happened to him was fun or cool.

on top of all the kissing in the club scene followed by waking up in bed with the two girls--i would not hesitate to think he was taken advantage of in some way. i also can’t even think of his drinking days and not think of all the people who potentially abused him.

i obviously can’t speak for david and perhaps i’m grasping at straws but this is something that bother me and no one talks about enough.

season five

nothing to add here except while i did miss cam in the final and it wasn’t complete without here, i very much respect her for her choice to walk away. i think it shows a high level of intelligence and integrity (something i wish i had). and i most admire her for passing on the torch when she felt she wasn’t ready, which i think speaks volumes of her and her character. again, selina one selina will always be my favorite so i love the idea of my favorite staying a young girl before she was ready. i don’t think the show was ready. and as much as i would have loved for her to have a cameo like david did, it isn’t here or there and she said she favorite scene was on the staircase. so as far as i’m concerned, that’s the best place to leave on (even though that wasn’t the last scene but we’re ignoring that)

i hope this wasn’t too wordy or long!

[netflixbingger]

Scientific Theories

Steve Harrington x Henderson! Reader

Summary: A lot of things can happen in one night, add alcohol in that mix and the possibilities expand. With emotions and longing stares, Y/N Henderson finds herself in the passenger seat of a car that belongs to none other than Steve Harrington.

Word Count: 2224

Notes: Hey, quickly batched up this short fic, I got an idea and I kind of ran with it! I might make it into a short series following through the events of Season 2 and 3! Let me know what you think!

“I can't believe you dragged me into this.” 

A frown was set upon your face as you dramatically slammed the door to your best friend’s car. You heard him mumble a curse in your direction and your head immediately snapped towards his. He stared amused in your state; an angry face, hair all puffed up with spray and a jumpsuit identical to your favorite character Ellen Ripley. Sending a glare his way, you crossed your arms and waited for his response. But just as he was about to reply, you interrupted him moving your hands in dramatic flares, “I swear to god Johnathan, don't even. Okay?”

He took a step back with an amused smirk on his face, throwing his hands up in defense and sarcasm, “I wasn't going to say anything. But nice costume”. Shaking your head you couldn't help but smile as you threw an attempted punch or two.

   “You said it was a Halloween party. And unlike you, I’m trying to fit in.”, you yelled, referencing to your dressed up high school peers who were seen through the windows of the house dancing with the blasted music. “Besides, you can't make fun of me. Don't forget I’m doing YOU the favor here.”

“Ah, yes. Because you had so many other plans you could have attended tonight.”

Flipping him off you turned around and made your way towards the loud music. You heard yells of sorries coming from behind you, but you choose to ignore them as you found your way further into the house, and soon you were searching for a familiar face. After a few minutes of meaningless hellos, you finally spotted the head of hair you’ve become so immersed with. Steve Harrington. 

It was no lie to say you two had a long and complicated relationship. Just last year you hated the guy, wanted to beat the shit out of his perfect face. And, so, you did. But, you had your reasons. He was being a douche and picking on Johnathan, and you had enough of it. Strings of curses were exchanged, bickering back and forth and staring each other down in the halls; it was easy to tell you two hated each other. But then everything changed, he changed. After the whole ordeal with the Demogorgon and him helping you fight, you two decided to put your past behind. He and Nancy finally became a couple, and with Johnathan, you all became a little group. You and Steve still bickered back and forth, always arguing about the tiny stuff. But even with all of that, your hatred towards the boy quickly turned into a crush. And you fell, you fell hard. 

Your thoughts were interrupted with a yell in your direction, “Henderson?!” 

The very boy you were searching for, taking his glasses off with a grin, motioned you to join him. Pushing past the dozens of drunk teenagers grinding against each other, you finally made it to Steve.

   “My, my, my, Henderson. Is that really you?”

“Oh shut it.” you playfully push his arm and shyly look down to the ground. After a few seconds of silence, you look up, making eye contact with the boy. 

“You driving tonight?” he asked while taking a gulp of beer before tilting the bottle your way with eyebrows raised.

“Nah, Johnathan drove” you shrug your shoulders before grabbing the bottle and taking a sip

“Shit, Johnathan is here too? I must be dreaming.”

“Is it that weird of me to be at a party?” you jokingly asked with your hands fiddling the bottle like a middle schooler, bouncing on the balls of your feet. You saw him release a breathless chuckle before opening his mouth to reply. But before the words came out you felt a pair of two boney arms make their way around you. “Y/N! You made it!”

You were immediately able to smell the alcohol coming off the girl before you even got the chance to turn around. Plastering a smile on your face, you returned the hug and said your greetings. You listened as she blabbered on about the night, basically drooling with drunkness. 

“Nance”, Steve said before reaching out and gently pulling the drunk Nancy off of you, “let’s leave annoying Henderson to me, okay?”

You laughed at his comment and stepped towards his direction before he was dragged away with Nancy, making their way towards the dance floor. Now alone, you watched as Steve and Nancy danced together, pure joy dripping from Steve’s toothy smile. Your heart broke as you admired the couple, hoping for one day to be in Nancy’s spot. Turning around you grabbed another drink as you made your way further into the party, just hoping to forget the boy. 

Trying to num the loneliness feeling, you drowned yourself with everyone else. A few too many drinks in and you were talking away, laughing at your own jokes. You moved from person to person, hoping to eventually bump into Steve again. You were in mid-conversation with some senior named Tod, when from the corner of your eye, you spotted Steve. You expected Nancy to be clinging to his arms or a fleet of girls following him. But you were surprised to see him alone and with an expression of anger and sadness written upon his face. You motioned for Tod to stop talking and muttered an apology as you followed the mop of hair storm out of the house. By the time you made it out of the home, all you could see was his back turned, seeming to struggle with his car door. Silently approaching, your mind went through the endless scenarios of what could have happened to upset him. With your drunk and unstable mind, you weren't paying attention to your surroundings and with a twist of your ankle you fell off of the curb, smacking the ground with a loud “fuck.”

Grabbing the attention of the boy, he turned around and ran to your help. You were able to see the disappointment in his eyes as he brought you to your feet, keeping one hand on your waist for stability, “not you too”. 

You giggled at his saddened expression, poking him on the nose, hoping to turn his frown around. But seeming to just annoy him you sent out a puff of air, rolling your eyes. You wanted to know what was bugging him, what was making those once cheerful eyes glisten with tears. You didn't like seeing him like this, so serious and in pain. You two were always quick to notice these things, and you always did stupid shit to distract each other. Whenever you seemed upset, Steve would always take your books or poke your sides. While you always went for the bop of the nose, it was easy to say that it had no effect on him right now, so you decided to take one from his book. Sending him a drunken smile, you slid your hands to his stomach and attempted to tickle. Expecting him to crack a smile or laugh along, you were left embarrassed as he was quick to back away telling you to fuck off.

  “wh, why such a Debbie-downer Steve? I’m having fun, like super fun. And you are like killing that fun. Why are you so sad. You know, I was talking to Tod about how there are like alternate universes and shit. He totally didn't believe me, but anyway. Like, what if in another dimension you weren't so sad? Because I saw you frown from across the room. Not that I was watching you or anything, because of stalker alert. But anyway. I saw you frown, and I was like, hey, I can change that.” 

Backing away from his confused stare, you threw your hands up in the air, “And, and, and you know what. You are killing that. I’m trying like super duper hard here and you like aren't giving in. I could be eating nachos right now, but instead, I’m here talking to you trying to cheer you up. oh shit, I really want nachos. I’m, I’m, I think I’m going to go home and eat some nachos.”

You wave a messy goodbye in his direction and aimlessly walk away. Five steps in and you felt a pair of arms wrap themselves around you, semi-carrying you to the car. You closed your eyes and smiled at the warmth. “Hm, I like that” you mumbled, giggling to yourself. “Where are we going?”

“I’m driving you home, you are clearly not in the right mind to be alone right now. And I won't be able to sleep tonight unless I know your home alive.”

“Aw, Stevey has a soft side” you snorted, “but it’s okay, Jon was gonna drive me home.”

“Seeing how he is driving Nancy home, I don't think that's an option anymore”, he frowned as he helped you into the car, fastening your seat buckle. 

“But he said, he, he lied to me?” you frowned, upset that Johnathan would so willingly ditch you for Nancy. Ha, Nancy. Why Nancy. What was so special about Nancy that always made you second, to everyone. Sure, she is a pretty girl. But what else? Your mind tried to find something bad to say about her, but you were left clueless. She had the brains and the beauty. She was basically perfect, what guy in their right mind wouldn't fall in love with her.

“Yeah yeah, people say a lot of things they don't mean”, he looked away for a moment, silently running through the events of the night. Letting out of huff, he ran his fingers through his hair, trying to hold back the tears. Wiping them away, he turned back to you, “Woah, hey, no frowns for you. Okay? That's my thing, you are supposed to be cheering me up, remember?”

Happy with the sudden attention you seemed to forget about the girl, and you smiled at Harrington giving him a thumbs up. Content with your response, he chuckled and closed your door, making his way over to the driver's seat, buckling in and starting the engine. As he began to drive towards your house, you blabbered on about the scientific theories that drove your mind insane sometimes. You referenced several sci-fi films and even made some awful attempts at puns. But for some reason, even with the weird, far fetched topic, you somehow made Steve smile. Whether it was the pure passion driven into each sentence, the goofy smile that spread across your face, or the light giggles at your own punny jokes; you distracted him. 

It wasn't until you got into your driveway when you finally had shut up. Realizing it all had come to an end and tomorrow everything would go back to normal, you almost didn't want to leave the car. You didn't want to go back to being the bickering almost-friends, watching him fall deeply in love with Nancy every further minute into their relationship. You wanted to continue driving, continue blabbering on about shit that didn't matter, you wanted to stop comparing yourself to the perfect girl that had him wrapped around her finger. 

As he helped you out of the car, walking you towards your front door you couldn't help but unhide the sorrowing face that matched your thoughts. He was quick to notice the silence and sad eyes, “What's going on in that mind of yours?”. 

“Nancy.” you were quick to respond. Almost too quick.

You heard him clear his throat, pain hiding beneath his voice, “What, what about her?”

“I don't know, she’s pretty. Like, really really pretty. And I’m” you gestured to yourself. Messy hair, worn off mascara, and the baggy jumpsuit that hung off your frame. 

“Hey. Stop that. Okay? yeah, Nancy is pretty. But, you know, you’re pretty too”

Looking down at your feet, you kicked a pebble close to your toes, “You mean that?”

“Of course I do you, idiot.”, he chuckled, gently grabbing your chin upwards, “Hey, Y/N. You said something earlier about an alternate dimension, with me being happy? I think that's a possibility. Somewhere, some other me made a different choice. Cause, you know, if I could do it all over again, I think I would. ”

“What?” 

He shook his head as if it were erasing his last words, taking a step away and reaching towards the door, he gently knocked on it. 

“Just, know that you are a pretty awesome person, and any guy would be lucky to have you. Even in your drunken-nerdy glory”, he laughed shrugging his shoulders before knocking on the door again. Waiting for a response, you two stared at each other. Neither moving a muscle, but as heavy footsteps were heard from within, Steve sent you a sad smile before backing away towards his car. As you heard the clicks of the knob turning, you turned to then face a very angry Dustin, “Jesus Y/N, what the fuck. Do you know what time it is?”

You smiled at his annoyance and pushed your way in. Turning around to say your goodbye to Steve, you were left with only the sound of an engine driving away. Closing your eyes, you tried to take it all in; every stare, every touch, every word, before your drunken mind erased it all. 

[katrinawritesthings]

jonghyun/jinki; the super succ; nc-17

so like. Like. jonghyun succing dicc to make jinx jealous

“Oh, hey,” Taemin says to Jinki, who is leaning against the hallway wall opposite the door, arms crossed, frowning at Jonghyun over Taemin’s shoulder. Jonghyun wiggles his fingers at him in a dainty little wave. “Your— Jonghyun’s —” Taemin points at Jonghyun over his shoulder with his thumb. “His mouth’s real good,” he says.

When Taemin comes onto Jonghyun’s tongue, Jonghyun can't help the wide smile that his lips curve up into as he continues quickly jerking him off. Taemin’s jizz is always one of Jonghyun’s favorite tastes, despite all of Key’s grumbling about what a nasty gremlin his boyfriend is. Jonghyun gathers together everything that Taemin gives him, swishes it around his mouth once or twice, and then swallows, just to make it extra obvious that he's been out sucking dick tonight. Then, to be nice, he suckles on the head of Taemin’s dick, laps up the sides, cleans him all up, and ends with a gentle kissy to the very tip of his ween. 

“Thanks,” Taemin murmurs at him. Jonghyun smiles back mischievously as he tucks Taemin’s ween back into his pants and zips him up neatly. 

“Thank you,” he says. Standing up, he brushes Taemin’s bangs out of his face and leans in for a quick smoochie.  Taemin deepens the kiss, holding his chin with a gentle thumb and licking slowly into his mouth, groaning softly at the taste of himself. Jonghyun lets him, but only for a little bit before he pulls back and covers his mouth protectively. “Don't steal all of the flavor away, I need it for later,” he says. Taemin lifts lazy brows at him. 

“What do you need — oh,” he grins. “Trying to make Jinki jealous again, huh?” he asks. “The cummy mouth really gets him, doesn't it.” He looks amused more than anything as he shakes his head. Jonghyun smiles back with his brattiest little wiggle. He knows that Taemin doesn't get their whole push-and-pull aesthetic, but he appreciates that Taemin helps him out with it anyway.

“Well, I wanted to suck dick tonight anyway, but him getting jealous is a bonus I won't complain about,” he says. Taemin rolls his eyes as he pushes his own fingers through  Jonghyun’s hair to fix it for him.

“I'll be sure to tell him how nice your mouth is if I see him tonight,“ he promises. Jonghyun leans up to press a kissy to his cheek. He's always just so nice and helpful. Taemin runs his fingers through his hair again, messing up what Jonghyun fixed for him, and then feels up the bedroom door behind him for the doorknob. He opens it to the party going on in the rest of the house, then turns and starts to walk out.

Before he even passes the threshold, he stops in his tracks with a startled little noise. Jonghyun bumps into his back and then peeps over his shoulder to see what the holdup is. When he finds it, a wide grin spreads across his face.

“Oh, hey,” Taemin says to Jinki, who is leaning against the hallway wall opposite the door, arms crossed, frowning at Jonghyun over Taemin’s shoulder. Jonghyun wiggles his fingers at him in a dainty little wave. “Your— Jonghyun’s —” Taemin points at Jonghyun over his shoulder with his thumb. “His mouth’s real good,” he says.

“Is it?” Jinki says. He settles those dark eyes on Taemin, a look that would intimidate anyone but Taemin, as evidenced by the way Taemin shrugs and grins and steps out to pull on one of Jinki’s sleeveless hoodie strings to make them even. 

“Yeah,” Taemin says. “You look real hot tonight, Jinki,” he adds. That at least Jinki smiles at; it's hard not to smile when Taemin says things. Jinki uncrosses his arms and touches Taemin’s shoulder in a friendly way.

“Thanks,” he says. Then he reaches around to pap Taemin’s butt. “Now shoo,” he says, his eyes flicking back to Jonghyun. Taemin gives him an okay symbol, turns to softly pinch Jonghyun’s cheek, and then leaves, making his way back down the hallway to the living room where the majority of the party is going on.

Alone now, Jonghyun laces his hands innocently behind his back and smiles pretty at Jinki. Jinki frowns back at him, expression hard, staying silent. Since he's obviously not going to start this himself, Jonghyun steps forward, lifting his hands so he can rest them on his shoulders and kiss his mouth. 

Before his hand even touches Jinki’s shoulder, Jinki grabs his wrist, yanks him forward, and turns him to slam him hard against the wall. Jonghyun pops a boner before Jinki even finishes grabbing his other wrist and pinning both to the wall on either side of his head. He smiles up into Jinki’s glare, reveling in the way Jinki steps forward to crowd him up against the wall with his body. He always feels so extra big and strong and overwhelming like this.

“You know what's funny?” Jinki asks him softly. “Minho told me the exact same thing about your mouth earlier.”

“Yeah?” Jonghyun asks. What a fucking bro. Minho usually never mentions it to Jinki for him. He must be feeling nice tonight. Jonghyun will have to give him another blowjob sometime as a thank you.

“And Yunho,” Jinki says. “And Sungmin, and Luna, and Jungmo, and Sunny.” With each name that he lists off, Jonghyun feels himself giggling more and more as he remembers each one. He really has been busy tonight. He hadn't realized that he’d gotten around that well until Jinki laid it all out for him. Jinki says two more names that he doesn't even hear over his own laughter — and then, suddenly, he lifts both of Jonghyun’s hands over his head, pinning them together with one hand so he can grab Jonghyun’s face with the other, fingertips pressing hard into his cheeks. Jonghyun quiets down quickly to let him speak. if there's one punishment he doesn't like, it's the silent treatment that he gets whenever he doesn't let Jinki speak.

“You can't get enough, can you?” Jinki hisses at him. “Were you going to blow the entire party if I didn't find you before that?” he asks. Jonghyun shrugs as best he can with his arms over his head.

“If I felt like it, probably,” he says simply. He came out here to get some nut tonight and that was his whole plan for the entire party. Jinki scoffs, tightens his grip on Jonghyun’s wrists. With his other hand, he slips his thumb down to run over Jonghyun’s lips, and then to push inside, push his mouth open. He presses the pad of his thumb against Jonghyun’s tongue, pushes it back as far as it'll go, and clucks his tongue when Jonghyun doesn't even gag. 

“If you're so eager to be used, then maybe I should just take you out there on your knees so you can beg everyone to fuck your greedy little mouth,” he says. “Maybe I'll start a line for you — maybe I'll start three…” he keeps talking, detailing out something absolutely filthy and wonderful that Jonghyun would absolutely love to listen to and almost nut from just hearing, but as he trembles in Jinki’s hold and looks between his left and right eyes, he notices something in between them and loses focus.

It's a few little strands of his hair, falling down from his suave little flip — no, not falling. Jonghyun pulled them down earlier, in the bathroom, when they were getting ready to come to this party. He did it four times, just to annoy Jinki, and Jinki had given up on trying to fix it the way he likes. And now, hours later, he’s still left them there, cute and messy and entirely too soft and adorable for Jonghyun’s heart to handle. Suddenly he needs to do something very urgently.

“Ooh, Onew, wait,” he says quickly, bouncing up and down on his toes. Jinki pauses, not annoyed at being interrupted but curious as to what Jonghyun is using their public safe words for. 

He leans away to give Jonghyun space; Jonghyun wiggles one wrist insistently under his grip. When Jinki lets go and takes his hands away, Jonghyun quickly reaches forward to grab his hand again with his and lace their fingers together gently. He covers the back of Jinki’s hand with his other hand so he can hold it from both directions and then smiles pleasantly back at him. 

“Okay, continue,” he chirps happily. Jinki looks at him blankly for a moment, and then smiles and chuckles and looks down and shakes his head. 

“You're so cute,” he says when he looks up. Jonghyun beams with pride. He's aware. “Anyway,” Jinki says then. He presses one of his thighs in between Jonghyun’s legs, hard enough to make Jonghyun hiss and his eyelids flutter. “We're not leaving this party until you finish showing everyone just how perfect your pretty little mouth is,” he says. Jonghyun practically vibrates in excitement.