#just going hmm over here because this is something i can't figure out yet but is constantly nagging at me

[pochapal]

battler i regret to inform you that the reason your grandfather is obsessed with this is because he's probably a raging fascist

[samandcolbyownme]

Summary: anon request - "can you do a zach one where he like exposes him and readers secret relationship and she just goes with it , like " you weren't so quiet last night " and she just has her jaw dropped and says something back and it ends with smut" 

Warnings: this one shot will contain reader having sexual daydreams during the podcast, those dreams will include, oral (m rec), unprotected sex, the rest will contain Zach's usual banter and fluffiness

Word count: 2.1 k | not edited 

Also - I know it might get confusing, but the italics are what happened the night before, but in the form as if it's happening right now, like you're replaying the night in your mind. Hope that made sense, enjoy! 

╔═══━━━─── • ───━━━═══╗

"You want to know what I think is crazy?" Zach asks as his fingers drag up and down your arm. 

"Hmm?" You hum quietly as you keep your head on his chest. You feel him laugh slightly, "That no one has figured us out yet." 

You laugh, moving your head to look up at him, "Well now you just jinxed the hell out of that." 

He shrugs, a smirk on his face, "I mean I like us being a secret and all, but it's so hard for me to not say certain things when you're on the pod with us." 

You nod, "Yeah, I know what you mean." You smirk, "So what, is that your way of telling me you're going to out us at tomorrow's show?" 

He raises his brows, "I'm full of surprises babe. Guess you're going to have to wait and see." 

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

The next day, you're sitting on the red bench, headphones on and you're getting ready to do the show, but your mind just isn't there. 

Instead it's elsewhere. 

Specifically, replaying the time spent with Zach the previous night. 

The way you felt coming back from the restaurant, you needed him, his hands resting on your hips as you unlock your door made you crave him. 

When you finally got the door open, it was like the energy that craved one another clashed, As soon as you push the door open, he spun you around, lips on yours as he backs you into your apartment. 

"Hey." A hand is woven in front of you, "Earth to y/n." 

You look over at Tara and blink as you take your headphones off, "Yeah, hi. I'm here." 

"Where the fuck did you go. You were like-" she mimics how you were staring, "Zoned out." 

You laugh, "Sorry. I'm tired. I was up all night." Zach and Jared walk onto the set, "Oooh. Up all night doing what?" Zach teases and you roll your eyes, "I was coming up with a list of places that've already been to for Sam and Colby." 

Zach sits down and raises his brows, "Wow that was very specific." Zach sighs, placing his headphones on and you can't help but laugh. 

Friends around friends, lovers when it's just you two. 

You lean back, placing your headphones back on and Tara speaks up, "So I have to ask, how does it feel being better than two of the most liked ghost hunters in the world?" 

You laugh slightly, "What do you mean?" 

"I know you do paranormal investigation stuff too, and just the fact that Sam and Colby are coming to you for stuff.. I don't know that just.." Tara laughs and you tilt your head, "Are you just saying that to make a jab at them?" 

She nods and lean in to your mic, "Well then it feels pretty damn good." 

"Alright, alright. Anymore and we'll be scraping your brain off the walls from your head swelling to the point of exploding." Zach tries not to laugh and you shrug, "Hey, I take it when I can." 

You give him a quick and subtle wink then quickly change the subject, "Cat got Zach's tongue so I'll just go ahead and do the intro for him." You laugh, "What's up guys, we're here with Tara, Alyssa, me, Jared and oh, I guess Zach is here too." 

Zach just stares at you and you can't help but laugh. 

"Okay, but I love the fact that she announced Tara and me first." Alyssa laughs and you point to her. Tara nods, "Yeah, I'm going to have to say that we need to all vote to make y/n the person who announces the show." 

"Like a pre-recorded track because there are days she isn't here." Alyssa points out and you nod, "I agree. All in favor." You raise your hand and instantly say, "Three versus two. Girls win." 

"Youre ridiculous. Who invited you here anyway?" Zach rolls his eyes and you furrow your brows, "Um, you?" 

"Can you just like, zip it." Zach motions at his mouth and you smirk, "Make me. Take my headphones away." 

Zach tries not to laugh, "I mean, I can. But you might moan a little." 

"Oh my god. No. No. No." you close your eyes and look away from him, but in secret, you'd be on your knees in seconds for him. 

Zach places his hands on your shoulders, urging you to your knees. You drop down, complying to his every silent request. 

You stare up at him as he shrugs his black jean jacket off, eyes locked on yours as his jaw is slightly slack from your hand sliding over his throbbing cock that's being held back by his jeans. 

"I don't think.. you should say that to our guests?" Jared says with a nervous laugh, "I'm actually surprised you haven't gotten sued yet." 

"Please." Zach shrugs, nodding to you, "She won't sue me." 

Tara points to you, "I think you should just for his reaction. 

You laugh, "Thinking about it." 

You weren't thinking about that at all, Zach undoes his belt, followed by his jeans. The quick sound of the zipper going down causes your skin to perk up with goosebumps, caused by excitement. 

You rise up from your calves, licking your lips as you work fast to free him from his boxers. 

Zach speaking pulls you back into reality, "So now that we're past that embarrassing ensemble.." 

Zach trails off and so does your mind, You loved hearing Zach's little moans and groans as you held his cock with your lips and tongue. 

The way his fingers gentle drug over your head, slowly pulling your hair as his pleasure grew larger, "Fuck." 

Zach didn't really swear in general, so when he did, and it was because of you. It was even fucking hotter. 

You blink, snapping back into reality. 

"So I thought we could talk about something serious today." Zach says and Jared laughs, "Oh no. Someone's getting fired." 

"Yeah it's you." Zach says, pretending to be serious and Jared laughs, "I'd love to see you try, I'll just tell you no and you'll listen." 

You laugh and nod, "No that's so true." 

"Yeah whatever." Zach rolls his eyes, "No I have an exciting announcement." 

Your heart thumps and your head snaps towards him slightly. 

His eyes move to you and he smiles a little bit, "So, I have some news that may shock a lot of people, but I think everyone should know this, from me." 

"What's the fuck is happening?" Tara asks and Zach sighs, speaking quickly, "We're going to be doing a live dropouts show." 

You let out a breath and keep your stare on him, "Wow, Zach. That's great." 

"Better be, because they want all of us who are here right now." Zach gives a thumbs up, "What a relief it was to get that off my chest." 

You laugh slightly as your eyes trail down his neck to his necklace that's lying comfortably on his chest. 

Your back slams onto the bed, Zach's lips kissing over any skin they can reach. You let out a moan as he sucks a hicky into the skin over your hip. 

He kisses up over your boobs and up your neck. He leans up and you feel his cock slip between the folds of your pussy. 

The shiny necklace dangling from his neck as you feel him slide into you fully. You find it so hot when it swings back and forth with each thrust.

"Hey, I can't lie." Jared laughs and Tara cuts him off with a yell, "Say it!" 

You look over, at Tara, laughing as she keeps pointing to jared. You look over at Zach and he gives you a look that would make your legs go weak if you were standing. 

It wasn't a weird look. It was him just staring at you, knowing why you keep zoning out, and he was just making it worse. 

"I liked y/n's intro." Jared sighs and you look over at Jared with a clap, "Thank you." 

"You definitely thought it was better than Zach's intro, right?" Alyssa asks and Jared laughs, "I'm not answering that." 

You yelling with excitement, "Fuck yeah! Because you know that girls are just better than boys!" You motion between you, Tara and Alyssa. 

"Whoa, whoa!" Zach says waving his hand out in front of him a few times, "Settle down. Settle down, I'm getting flashbacks." 

"War flashbacks." Jared snorts and Tara asks with a laugh, "Flashbacks of what?!" 

You look at Zach, laughing and he shakes his head while furrowing his brows, "I don't know what you're laughing about because these flashbacks are of how loud you were being last night." 

It all happened so fast you blank, "What the fuck." 

"What did he just say?" Jared asks, mouth dropped with surprise. 

"Oh yeah, okay." Tara rolls her eyes and as you're still staring at Zach, he tilts his head slightly, giving his brows a quick flick. 

He outted you at tomorrow's show. 

Might as well roll with it. 

"You gonna tell them or you want me to, princess?" Zach smirks and you shrug, letting out a dramatic sigh, "Whatever helps you sleep at night." 

"Oh, you know exactly what helps me sleep at night." Zach winks as you look at him and you shake your head, looking down to rest it in your hand. 

"I can't tell if they're joking." Alyssa laughs and Tara cuts in, "Yeahhh, I mean, okay. I've actually been extremely suspicions about these two for weeks now."

"Oh please tell us what made you think that, Tara." Jared leans in, super invested into the conversation. 

You look up and look from Tara to Zach and he shrugs, "Hit me." He nods to Tara and she smirks, looking between you and Zach, "Well for starters, he stares at her every time she looks away." 

"I like looking at the back of her head. It makes it so I don't have anything mean to say." Zach shrugs and you  just laugh. 

"What else you got, Tara?" Jared encourages and Tara laughs, "Another thing is, they'll stop answering me at both at the same time. Like I'll be texting both of them and then all of a sudden.. radio silence." 

"I have a very strict bed time, Tara." You and Zach both say, just adding fuel to the fire and you just laugh, knowing that you're caught. 

"See!" Tara tells pointing, "See!" 

"Well.. if you don't know you do now." Zach laughs and Jared eggs him on, "Know what? Zach. Care to enlighten us with a perfect confirmation?" 

"What's my lawyer?" Zach yells looking around as he raises his hand. 

"So isn't true? You and.." Alyssa points from you to Zach and you laugh, nodding your head slowly. 

"Wow." Jared says, "I honestly did not expect this is come out onto the podcast today." 

Zach reaches for his water and takes a sip, "Listen, we played dumb, but we knew what we were doing." Zach scoffs, "Alright. You can't tell me that you weren't fooled."

"I knew my suspicions were there for a reason." Tara laughs, "How long?" 

"Two months." You laugh and they don't believe you.  Zach nods, "No she's serious.  It was after the episode with Jake and Johnnie." 

"Oh shit, yeah I guess that was two months ago." Tara nods, "I'm just like.. having a holy fuck moment." 

"Yeah." Zach laughs, "She came to see if I was as rich as I bragged that I was, and I must have passed inspection because she didn't go home that night." 

"Oh my god." You laugh, "That's not.." you shake your head and Jared laughs, "I just.. that really does shock me, like.. y/n. Why him?" 

You shrug, smiling as you look over at Zach. He glances at you and smirks, "What can I say? I'm full of surprises."

.·:*¨ ✘ ¨*:·.

Thank you for reading! Let me know how you liked it. Love you all! Thank you so much for reading! 

Likes and reblogs are majorly appreciated!

[bedoballoons]

I’m back

I’m not sure if you write wlw or nblw/gnlw or anything like that but hear me out

anyway I was thinking, imagine the (fem! Or gn!) mechanic reader (yes my genshin self insert is a mechanic and I’m delulu) with lyney or Furina, or any other characters you wanna add if you want (idk how this works). Where the characters keep breaking things on purpose just so that the reader can come over and fix it and so they get to see reader. The reader catches on and teases the character. (You can make it lead to nfsw or not if you want ;) )

also I’ll give myself an emoji so here’s mine

-💫

I do any forms of relationships as long as they aren't incest or pedophilia! I absolutely love this idea!! I think it's super cute so I hope you don't mind but I decided to make it fluffy!! Enjoy and thank you for requesting <3

P.s Can I call you the starstruck anon?

─⊰⁠⊹ฺ🍂𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕙𝕚𝕟 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕔𝕒𝕟𝕠𝕟𝕤⊰⁠⊹ฺ🍂

{༻~Just one more thing before you go~༺}

CW: Super sweet fluff! Reader works as a mechanic and the characters keep calling them up to fix things so they can spend time with them!

(Includes: Lyney, Navia, and Furina!)

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

𑁍༄Lyney:

Lyney kneeled down beside you, trying his best not to get in your way as you worked on the latest broken thing in his home...he just couldn't help it. Whenever he was near you it was like his heart decided to do its own performance, beating faster and skipping whenever your eyes landed on him...because of this sometimes the simple machinery he used in his home...would mysteriously end up not working, "So how goes the fixing hmm? My apologies for having to call you out here again, usually I'd just have Freminet take a look but he's currently busy"

"Seems to me like someone's intentionally sabotaging your heater...they even left the screwdriver inside of it." You turned to him with a sly smirk playing on your features, holding the screwdriver up to him so he could read Freminets name from it. The blush that followed was so adorable you couldn't help but tease him a little, "If you wanted me to spend time with you Lyney, you could have just asked~"

𑁍༄Navia:

"I truly cannot thank you enough for coming to my rescue again. It seems every time you leave the Spina di Rosula has yet another problem to fix...of course it's not particularly a bad thing because I enjoy your company immensely." The beautiful blonde chuckled nervously, trying to get ahold of herself before she ended up confessing her feelings to you, she was honestly shocked she hadn't yet..

"I'm always here whenever you need me Navia, it's definitely not a bad thing for me. I get to hang out with a goregous woman and get VIP treatment from the Spina."

"You're always welcome to anything here at-...I'm sorry did you just call me goregous?"

"Well...I figured since you're always bringing me here to fix things you've clearly sabotaged, it's only fair a make a little advancement myself.~"

The poor girl's face heated up, you'd figured it out? How long had you known?! "I- oh my..."

𑁍༄Furina:

"I truthfully have no idea how anyone expects a archon to live under such conditions, every time I go to use something it's no longer working. If I didn't have you'd I'd surely have left this place for something better by now." Furina talked away while you worked, trying to act as normally abnormal as ever...even though inside her emotions were on a rampage. If only you knew she wanted so desperately to play the part of your lover more than any other role, she'd even sabotaged her own residence so she could see you more often.

"I actually believe I've found a solution to keep things from breaking...if the archon so wished to hear it."

She went dead silent, unable to fathom how you could possibly stop anything in her house from breaking, "The archon wishes to, even someone with my divinity can't even think how a simple human could make something no longer able to break, I'd love to see what maniac idea you've come up with."

"Its actually very easy, all I have to do is ask if you'd like to go out sometime. Then we could spend time together without you needing to break things~"

"I-i what on earth are you talking about? I wouldn't break something just to spend time with someone, I am a archon with a busy life. I don't have the time for such nons-"

"Lady Furina..."

"Yes?"

"You left your glove in the pipe."

"..."

"May I take you out on a date?"

"...yes you may..."

♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡♡

ଘ(੭*ˊᵕˋ)੭* ੈ♡‧₊˚~Have a nice day~*⁠.⁠✧

[anonymous-dentist]

Bagi's first day at work consists of paperwork, more paperwork, and even more paperwork. She spills her tea all over her papers (oh, nooooo, how horrible...) and has to redo them all. She refuses a fresh cup of tea from one of the other detectives, a tall man with a terrible mustache that she thinks might be into her.

Unfortunately for him, she's already taken.

Just after noon, she checks her phone. No new messages. Great.

She turns her phone off and stares at her lockscreen for just a second too long before getting back to work on her forms.

Today, since it's her first day at the station, she's filling out the HR paperwork that the HR manager didn't get to during their meeting. Nothing too important, just...

'Next of kin:' is the next spot on the form. Bagi stares at it for a long, long while. Her parents are in Brazil. She and Tina aren't married yet. Empanada is a little girl. And her brother is-

"Oh, not you again," the uniform cop at the front desk groans. "I already told you, man, I can't do anything about the ice cream man until he actually does something."

Bagi halfway turns in her seat to see who the uniform is talking to, and she's briefly taken aback because wow. Who the fuck are these guys supposed to be?

There are two men standing in front of the front desk. One, tall, looks normal enough. Bagi can smell the wolf on him from where she is across the room, but she isn't too worried. He doesn't seem the violent type; he looks more confused than anything.

The other man looks like he's going to strangle the uniform. His clothes are wrinkled and his hair is a mess and his eyes are bloodshot. He's looking down at the uniform like he's about to tear the poor guy apart, and, what, over an ice cream man?

He smells of blood. Another daywalker, probably. What are the odds?

"Okay," he slowly says, clearly frustrated, "first off, it has done something. But we aren't here about that."

The other man chimes in with a much more welcoming expression: "Hi! He's right. We're here for the files on the deaths of those dead guys. Uh..."

He looks at the daywalker for help.

The daywalker supplies, "I'm the private detective."

Hmm.

"I know," the uniform flatly says. "I wish you weren't. Hold on, let me get them for you."

He stands and leaves for the filing room, leaving the two men alone at the front.

Bagi turns back to her papers, but she keeps listening in. Just in case. (The daywalker is giving her weird vibes, okay?)

"Do you really think this has something to do with Mariana?" the wolf quietly asks. "I mean... he isn't dead."

"Not yet," the daywalker replies, just as quiet. "If we can figure out how Dan and Luzu died, then we might be able to save Mariana and- and we'll be able to stop the killer."

He was going to say someone else. That stammer was not uncertainty.

The dead men's names ring a bell. Bagi remembers hearing about the case when she and Tina were still moving into the city. No updates on it in months, not since this Luzu guy's body was found, but this must be the private detective the police department has brought in to help.

For some reason.

Bagi really doesn't get it; how incompetent are the actual detectives in this city? (Not so incompetent now that they've hired her, but still!)

It is kind of alarming that the daywalker seems to think that the killer has kidnapped two people, but Bagi doubts they're actually being held hostage. They're probably dead, unfortunately, because this case is as cold and dead as she is. Nobody's found the bodies yet, that's all.

The wolf huffs out a breath of laughter through his nose.

"You know," he says, still quiet, "when we first met, I didn't think I'd be solving crimes with you."

"Oh? What did you think we'd be doing?"

It's teasing. Suddenly, Bagi thinks of Tina, and her chest hurts with yearning. Tina...

"Oh, you know," the wolf hums. "Hiking, camping... chilling..."

"What, we don't chill?"

"We could chill more, that's all I'm saying."

The daywalker laughs. "Fine, fine! We'll chill after this!"

"No, after this, we're going to the party."

"Yeah, for, like, ten minutes. We have work to do."

"Work isn't chilling!"

"But it's fun work!"

"What the fuck? This is a murder!"

"He might not be dead!"

Bagi rolls her eyes. Boys...

She stares down at her paper.

'Next of kin:'

"Cellbit, here you go," the uniform says as he comes back out from the file room. "Please don't come back when I'm on duty."

"Fuck you, man," the wolf sniffs. "Come on, gatinho."

They leave, still bickering, but Bagi isn't really paying attention anymore. Not really. Not at all.

Cellbit, huh? What a coincidence. Same name as her brother.

Wherever he is.

-

Or: A Breaking Dawn Interlude.

[chaifootsteps]

Armchair Psychology Anon here (not a real Psych just seeing patterns)

I uh... hmm.

So Lilith/Eve is the true villian, wanting to destroy the relationship of Charlie and Lucifer?

Of course it is. (If true).

And her liking these tweets of Luci x Lilith lately makes a whole lot more sense. The fans are most likely not going to take this well if this leak is true. Also, it makes sense that her trading card crops out her face, gives her no last name, and makes her look sinister as hell. She also still has not yet had her VA revealed and no real good look at her.

I just... it's interesting as well that Alastor is secretly sent to protect Charlie. (Male character, too, of course. And seeing someone say he's also a father figure now makes sense as well.) I always liked the idea that he was secretly going to turn on the Hotel and Charlie (or just leaves) and be an obvious hidden antagonist. And it's interesting that Charlie DOES end up forgiving her. Viv mentioned spending time with her mom over the holiday, so it's clear that perhaps that they do have some sort of civil relationship at the very least.

And of course, the Root of Evil is a woman.

Chai, I say this as nicely as possible, especially after carefully analyzing and seeing the complaints of HB as a whole, and that recent interview with Brandon asking about how women are written, and about Ghostfuckers (whilst also knowing about the leaks of it). Also likes silly tweets about being depressed, and most of her main cast of Helluva consists of depressed characters. Especially Stolas (who is also rich, and Vuv defends like crazy (He's her self insert/her father rolled into one character). That one is not too hard to see. Most people are depressed these days (myself included).

Vivienne needs therapy.

She needs it if she hasn't already been getting it.

I understand that writing out trauma is therapeutic. I have author friends who do it. I do it myself. But I also see my own therapist every week.

She clearly hates women. She loves her own father and incorporates loving father/daughter relationships into her own work and clearly does not let anything get in the way of that.

That's why the main character is allowed to be woman. Because it's Viv and the relationship with her own father. Charlie is also bi... which Viv is apparently too.

Something else I've noticed is older bad dads.

Which is ironic because God punishes Lucifer (his son) and Luci wants to be good for Charlie.

I think it's quite possible that maybe her grandfather was not as kind to her father, as her father is to her. See Crimson to Moxxie (it can be assumed Moxxie wants children and would be a loving father). See Paimon to Stolas, and Cash to Blitzo.

But then, going down the line of the newer fathers being better to their daughters. Stolas tries with Octavia (doesn't try very well), Blitz REALLY tries with Loona, Millie's dad seems to have a healthy relationship with her. Perhaps her father has shared with her that his relationship with his dad wasn't great and that he wanted to be a better father to her and her sisters. And whatever her mother did to her/her father...yikes.

Her latest IG post also does mention being depressed about "plans changing" and that food from her dad helps.

I just... wow. Viv can be so easily read. She really doesn't leave anything hidden. And she can't stop herself from writing out her truth.

And that's not going to go over with the fans or public at all, I'm sure of it.

It is also interesting to have a male voicing Katie Killjoy. Hmm. Not that I have a problem with men voicing women, but when it comes to Viv... I don't have a good feeling about it. I've also noticed Brandon seeming a bit miserable in his IG posts and his HH ones don't seem very excited either.

I think his declining views on his own channel other than the 2 HB ones say a lot. Especially when he's clearly trying to placate Viv by saying he's "one of the worst writers of HB".

Chai... oof. I don't know what else to say. We'll just see what comes next.

Thank you for all of this, Armchair Psychology Anon. Your writeups are always fascinating to read, in a haunting sort of way.

I don't know what's going on in Viv's personal life and family history, but all this is pointing to something that demands a really good therapist. Viv being an awful person doesn't negate that.

[1heartfanfics]

Tarlos (9-1-1 lonestar) Sickfic

First fic for Carlos and T.K. so let me know what you think. I just think that they're so adorable I knew I had to write for them.

TW: depictions of vomit

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When Carlos woke up he knew something was wrong. It took him a moment to wake up enough to figure out what it was though. He felt awful. As soon as he opened his eyes his head pounded, giving him vertigo. His stomach turned as the room did the same. He pushed himself up to sit against their headboard with shaking arms. With his eyes closed tightly against the spinning, he felt blindly to his left until his hand landed on T.K.'s back.

"T.K." he said quietly. Normally he would never want to wake T.K. up, especially after just coming off of a 24 hour shift, but he just felt so sick. He needed him.

"T.K.?" he said again, a little louder this time, pushing gently on his shoulder.

"Hmm, what?" T.K. mumbled sleepily, rolling over toward Carlos. "Carlos, what's wrong?" he asked, once he saw his boyfriend sitting up in bed, looking... unwell.

"I don't feel well," Carlos said softly, afraid something else would come out of his mouth if he raised his voice any. His stomach felt sour, like it was filled with acid, and the saliva flooding his mouth tasted about like it too.

"Yeah I can tell, you don't look so good babe," T.K. said, sitting up and pressing the back of his hand to Carlos's cheek, then his forehead. "You've definitely got a fever, you're pretty warm," he added.

Carlos relaxed a little at his touch, but his stomach still churned. A wave of nausea washed over him, but he wasn't sure he could move on his own even if he wanted to though.

"You gonna throw up?" T.K. asked, somehow able to read him without him saying another word. Carlos nodded. "You think you can make it to the bathroom?" T.K. asked, placing a hand on Carlos's arm. Carlos nodded again.

"Alright, let's go then. I've got you," T.K. moved to slide off the bed on Carlos's side, then grabbed him carefully by the elbow to help him up. He stumbled as soon as he was upright, but T.K.'s strong arm was around his waist supporting him immediately. He let himself be led to the bathroom, keeping his eyes shut until he felt T.K. lowering him down to the floor.

Carlos kneeled down in front of the toilet, leaning over the bowl in anticipation. T.K. crouched down behind his boyfriend, placing a hand on the center of his back while they waited.

A few minutes went by and nothing happened, so T.K. sat down, leaning back against the bathtub. He grabbed Carlos's waist to pull him down to sit with him but he resisted.

"Babe why don't you sit for a little bit? It doesn't seem like your body's ready yet," he said, rubbing a hand up and down his spine comfortingly.

"Can't." Carlos shook his head. He was still leaning over the bowl, his mouth open and his eyes unfocused. He had never felt so nauseous in his life. His mouth kept filling with bitter tasting saliva, which he spit into the bowl. A few times he actually gagged but nothing came up. He wished he could just throw up already so he could stop feeling this miserable.

"Okay, I'm right here," T.K. said softly.

After a few more minutes, Carlos did sit back on his heels, but only because his knees were starting to hurt.

"You want a towel or something under your knees?" T.K. asked, always able to read Carlos and anticipate what he needed.

Carlos nodded minutely. He felt the warm hand leave his back as T.K. got up and walked to their hall closet.

"Here, lift up for a second," T.K. said softly, kneeling back down beside Carlos. It took everything Carlos had just to lean back enough to lift his knees off the floor. T.K. quickly slid the towel under his knees, which was a relief when he put them back down.

T.K. moved back to his spot behind Carlos, trailing his fingers up and down his back, occasionally tracing circles or patterns. Carlos tried to focus on the comforting motions, but he still felt so nauseous he could hardly think about anything else.

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to bed to wait this out baby?" T.K. asked after a few more minutes passed.

Carlos shook his head. He couldn't explain it, but although the bed would be more comfortable, he just felt too sick. He had to stay here. "You can go," he mumbled, realizing that T.K. must be exhausted. He hadn't gotten much sleep after his shift before being woken up.

"No, no it's okay. We'll stay here for as long as you need, babe" T.K. said, giving Carlos's shoulder a squeeze before resuming the back rub.

Just as Carlos was about to give up himself, his stomach suddenly lurched. He hardly had time to think before his stomach contents came pouring out of his mouth into the bowl. He rocked forward even more, bringing a hand up to grip the side of the toilet as his body contracted with another wave. His stomach clenched again, this time only bringing up bile and spit which burned his throat on the way up.

His stomach ached with the force of the contractions that continued to wreck his stomach, even though nothing was coming up anymore. He couldn't stop. He coughed, tears welling in his eyes from the exertion.

"Easy babe, take it easy, you're done. You're all done, just try to breathe," T.K. soothing voice materialized behind him. Carlos had almost forgotten he was there. He tried to focus on T.K.'s voice and the warmth from his hand resting on his back as he forced a deep breath in, and out.

He let himself collapse over the toilet, his head falling to rest on his arm which was draped over the seat. He was exhausted and he felt absolutely disgusting. His stomach still hurt.

T.K. kept rubbing his back, letting Carlos catch his breath for a few minutes before he asked, "You think you're ready to go back to bed?"

Carlos shook his head, an involuntary groan escaping his lips.

"Still feeling nauseous?" T.K. asked sadly.

"Mmhmm," Carlos hummed, unable to conjure any actual words.

"Okay, I'm just gonna go grab your pillow and a blanket then so you can at least lay down," T.K. said. He stood up, bending down to give Carlos a kiss on the forehead before he left the bathroom again. He returned a moment later, sitting down against the side of the bathtub with his legs crossed and set the pillow down in his lap.

"Come here baby," T.K. said, pulling Carlos's limp body away from the toilet and maneuvering him to lay down on their rug with his head in T.K.'s lap with a blanket draped over him. "Just try to relax for a while okay?" T.K. said, running his fingers through Carlos's messy hair. That always calmed him down.

Unfortunately, Carlos only had about 15 minutes of reprieve laying in T.K.'s lap before he lurched back over the toilet to be sick again.

"Aw baby," T.K. sighed, feeling awful watching his boyfriend be so sick. Thankfully this round didn't last as long, since he didn't have anything left to bring up anyway. After a few moments of dry heaving over the bowl he was finally able to breathe again.

"Fuck-" he breathed out, spitting into the bowl. His stomach ached from clenching so hard and his legs trembled from holding him up, hunched over.

"You're okay love, I've got you," T.K. said from behind him. T.K. gently pulled Carlos back with a hand on his hip, moving him to sit in between T.K.'s legs and lean back against his chest. Carlos leaned his head back against his boyfriend's shoulder, taking slow deep breaths to make sure his stomach was going to stay in place for now.

"That's it, just breathe," T.K. encouraged, taking some slow deep breaths of his own for Carlos to model after.

"Let's go back to bed," T.K. said after Carlos seemed to have settled finally. "I'll bring the trash can in case you feel sick again later," he added, knowing Carlos might still be hesitant to leave the bathroom.

"Okay," Carlos agreed. He was exhausted.

T.K. slid out from behind Carlos and stood up, then leaned down to offer him both hands. Carlos took them, feeling like his limbs were made out of jello, and let T.K. pull him to his feet. T.K. led him back to bed by his waist, and helped him climb under the covers.

T.K. turned to head back into the bathroom and grab some stuff, but Carlos grabbed his wrist. "Hey," he said, turning back around, "what's wrong?" he asked. Carlos looked like he was about to cry.

"Where are you going?" Carlos asked shakily.

"I'm just gonna go grab your pillow and stuff, I'll be right back, okay?" T.K. said, reaching up to brush Carlos's curls out of his eyes. Carlos looked hesitant, but nodded and let go of his wrist.

T.K. gave him a soft smile before heading back to the bathroom. He quickly grabbed the pillow and blanket from the floor, as well as the trash can and towel, just in case. He set up the trash can on top of the towel on the floor next to Carlos's side of the bed, then helped him get situated with his pillow and draped the blanket over their comforter.

"You think you could drink a little bit of water if I brought you some?" T.K. asked.

Carlos immediately shook his head. That was what he expected, but he still sighed.

"What about one sip? I don't want you to get dehydrated," T.K. tried to bargain with him. "You need to take some medicine anyway," he added.

"I'll just throw it up," Carlos shook his head again.

"Well then at least you'd have something to throw up," T.K. reasoned. Carlos hesitated, but didn't say anything. "Just one sip okay? I'm gonna go get it," T.K. said, figuring that the absence of a no was the closest he was going to get to a yes. He walked out to their kitchen to grab a glass of water and two ibuprofen for the fever.

"Here, all you gotta do is take one sip to take the meds and then you can go back to sleep," T.K. said, holding both out to Carlos.

Carlos chewed on his lip like he always did when he was nervous. T.K. didn't blame him. He was sure that he wouldn't want to put anything in his stomach if the roles were reversed either. But his paramedic brain knew that he needed water and medicine.

After a moment of hesitation, Carlos accepted the pills, popping them into his mouth before grabbing the glass and taking a very small sip. He really would've liked for him to drink a little more, but he didn't want to push it, so T.K. took the glass back and set it on the nightstand before crawling into bed next to Carlos.

He scooted up behind Carlos as they both laid down, pulling Carlos toward him slowly until his back rested against T.K.'s chest. He slid one arm under his head and draped the other over his waist, holding him close.

"Wake me up again if you need me okay?" T.K. whispered.

Carlos hummed in reply, snuggling back closer against his boyfriend. He almost always wanted to be the big spoon, but right now he was so grateful to have T.K.'s arms wrapped around him.

To be continued...

[pralinesims]

Hi! I was a first-time anon who had asked about the movie theater story you were working on a little while back (I never got to respond but I always like making people happy, and I'm glad I motivated you to continue it bc I love it so much).

But anyways, I wanted to ask this because I was genuinely curious: if each of your OCs had a Letterboxd, what would be their four favorite movies? Some might be bigger movie buffs than others, probably, but for the ones who are obsessed with them, is there a way they would organize their favorites, or do they just go with vibes?

HIYA and welcome back aaaa ;_; MWAH thank you so much!

Emilio: is totally into action movies, especially loves stuff where he can identify with the main hero. Laughs tears when watching movies like Hangover or other bromance comedy typa shit.

Vale: Give him anything sci-fi, horror or thriller and he'll be happy. For example I feel like he'd be obsessed with The Thing. Also probably enjoys stuff like Mad Max.

Luca: MAJOR MOVIE BUFF ALERT. Enjoys watching indie movies, even if they're a total slog. Also loves the classics from the golden age of Hollywood and things like comic adaptions, think of Batman and such. He'd probably be a very active Letterboxd user. I truly feel like he'd watch every movie out there.

Sharon: Hmm I don't really see her watching much movies. I'd figure she'd rather be into documentary typa things.

Aaron: I think he'd watch stuff like The Matrix, The Godfather, and similar movies which are rather hard hitting? Enjoys a good plot twist. Also The Lord of the Rings and such, he'd love adaptions of his fav books. Genres wouldn't matter much to him I feel like, but he'd DEFINITELY cringe at romcoms.

Gina: Something she can cry her heart out to. I'd figure she'd love dramas. Titanic and other tearjerker kinda stuff. And anything Ghibli!!! I'd believe she'd like the animated kinda type of movies a tad more.

Devyn: Hmm, I feel like he'd be a Fight Club and American Psycho typa guy. Prolly always rewatching critically well acclaimed classics. But also does not say no to sillier movies, and sings along to musicals.

Kaia: She's that kinda girl that probably almost exclusively watches horror movies. Has built up a heavy tolerance over years, so nothing is really shocking to her anymore. Yet she still can't be assed to watch another type of movie for once.

Maggie: Regularly watches the most disgusting, goriest splatter movies you can find, and laughs out loud when people die. Besides these, she's totally into sillier, lighthearted movies, like romcoms or stuff like Mean Girls.

// some whining from me + extra explanation under the cut:

...and to be frank, but THIS is one bigger aspect I kinda struggle with assigning to my OC's, only rarely I directly know which movie fits, bc I simply don't know enough ones. I do know what THEY like. Just no very specific examples. But generally, I am able to assign their preferred genres or type of movie. But really like. oh man. forgive me. I am the absolute WORST person to ask when it comes to movies because I very rarely watch some?

So here have my vague answers bc with this theme, I legit have to base it just around my general feel for it, cause my movie knowledge barely is developed lmao. Nor do I know anything about Letterboxd, but I might update some answers once I remember specific movies I felt like were right assigning to? But so far please have these ones ok!

[be-ready-when-i-say-go]

Okay okay hear me out, male reader who has Eddie's initials (EM) tattooed on his v line or hip bone and the Hellfire Club sees it when he leans over the table to point at the board, and for the longest time they think he's got a girlfriend named Emma or something similar because of the tattoo until one day while Eddie's casually got his arm slung over reader's shoulders, reader just shyly asks for a kiss.

Hellfire freaks because "reader is cheating on his girlfriend" and only like, Lucas, Dustin, Gareth and Will connect the dots that 'EM' are Eddie's initials and Eddie is glad to show off the fact that Eddie is his boy. Meanwhile the rest of Hellfire that hasn't connected the dots are like, "......what-?"

(IM SO SORRY IF THIS IS TOO MUCH-)

I switched this up just a little. Dustin's the one sort of clueless.

Requests have resumed. You can submit yours here!

Currently writing for Eddie Munson. I write for a variety of reader inserts (male, female, gender neutral, readers of color too).

The more details you had to your request, the better it is for me. EX: “What about some fluff for Eddie after he’s had a long day?”

Feel free to look through my masterlist here!

Eddie Munson x Male Reader. 

______________________

Dustin notices it first. Not that he really wants to notice it. It's just you and him happen to have the same physical education block. Changing is an unfortunate side effect of the course and in the midst of it, Dustin spots the lines that could nearly be faded into your skin, mistaken as dye or lint that's clinging to your body all of out accident. But if it weren't for the fact that Dustin had to approach you--desperately needing to borrow some deodorant, he would've known it was there.

"Hey, this is embarassing," Dustin starts from behind you.

You turn to him, pulling the t-shirt you'd been wearing when you got to school down over your head. "What's embarrassing, Henderson?" You don't really move to finish pulling your arms through the holes just yet.

"Do you have spare deodorant? Totally spaced when Mom asked me earlier this week."

YOu nod. "But, uh, no need to give the stick back." And it's in the turn, that Dustin nods, ducking his head for a moment in shame that he catches the black on your skin.

It's tiny and in cursive. Dustin nearly doesn't catch what the letter are, e.m. Before Dustin can fully form the thought to ask you who is e.m. he's catching the white and red container as it arches in the air. Dustin's not fond Old Spice, but it'll do. It's new too. He notices when he pulls the top off.

"Thanks," he calls over his shoulder, heading back to the locker his stuff is in.

Dustin is sure it wouldn't even come back up. That is until one day at the end of Hellfire, Dustin hangs back needing to catch a ride with Eddie back home. You help clean up and when you stretch up to get one of the Hellfire boxes up onto the shelf in the drama room--a box that Eddie always kept tucked away for safety and he had him by two inches so you'd been given the responsiblilty--Dustin notices the faint letters again.

That night, Dustin radios to the party. "Code red, we have a code red."

He repeats the code. When the line fills with static for more than a minute. "I repeat, we have a code red."

"The world literally better be ending again," Lucas huffs into the receiver.

Mike answers just a moment later, "I agree. What's going on Dustin?"

"Who do we know with the initials E.M?" Dustin asks.

"Why?" Lucas returns.

"Just focus, Lucas. Who do we know with those initials?"

"Eddie?" Mike offers. "His last name is Munson."

"Can't be him," Dustin scoffs. "What's Elizabeth's last name? The one with the braces? She asked me to to tutor her one year in middle school."

"McCall," Lucas answers.

"Hmm, not his type," Dustin deduces. You didn't seem to go exclusively for nerdy but Dustin figures you'd go for someone cooler. The spend half an hour going through everyone they know. Only a few make the list: Emma Marshall--a senior, like you, was more punk, asked everyone to call her Em; Evelyn Malcom, a junior who you had geography with, she didn't really have a distinct clique but she was nice enough; and Esther MacDonald, a senior who always had a spot in the school play.

"We should watch their movements," Dustin commands. It would be the only way to figure out who you were dating.

"You still haven't told us why?" Mike counters. "Why do we care?"

"They're initials are E.M." Dustin launches into the explanation about the tattoo--he thinks what's what it is. Though it's faint.

"E.M. could literally be anyone. Who's to say it isn't a relative who like died or something?"

Dustin ponders it for a moment but dismisses it on the face that you never talked about anyone in your family dying. Perhaps there were things that people just didn't talk about. Dustin knows he doesn't talk about his dad much. But still--it would have to be someone important. Who would be more important than a girlfriend?

But the guy ultimately cave and agree to help Dustin keep tabs on you. The Monday they return to school each of them as their person--Dustin has Emma, Lucas has Evelyn, Mike has Esther.

The only thing that Dustin notices on Monday is that when Emma hands over notes. You give a quick smile, saluting her as you return to your desk. You never look at her again in class. Before getting into the cafeteria Lucas reports that you walked right past Evelyn with a glance. Mike has nothing on you and Esther, but his hopes aren't high.

"Are we missing something obvious?" Dustin ponders. He just briefly catches the smirks on Lucas and Mike's face. He watches their eyeline and turns to the cafeteria doors. He can spot you, slipping into your seat next to Eddie at the table but nothing out of the ordinary as Eddie gives you a side hug. He leans in and Dustin thinks he's just whispering something to you.

You laugh and shrug out of his one arm sling. You swat his chest and then the rest of the group falls into conversation.

"What?" Dustin asks. He turns back to Lucas and Mike. They shake their heads. But it's clear they're going to share.

Friday when the group falls into the drama room, Dustin's begged the entire week for Lucas and Mike to share what they know. They don't budge. Refuse to with snickers of laughter the entire time. Dustin's trailing behind them, huffy and screeching just their refusal. He's annoyed. Why wouldn't they share what they knew? Besides all the data they'd collected clearly indicated that you and none of the girls were together.

But em is etched into your hip.

"Henderson, I'm not dealing with the attitude already," Eddie huffs out, not looking up from behind the DM shield.

"Lucas and Mike are being asses," Dustin returns. He doesn't want to over explain but at the least he needs someone to understand that he's not the one being unreasonable.

"When aren't those two little shits not asses?" Eddie quips with a grin. Lucas and Mike both protest, pulling out their character sheets as they do so.

"It's not our fault Dustin is oblivious," Lucas snorts.

You step next to Eddie, arm slinging around his shoulder. "We haven't even started, save the sass for the campaign."

"It'll cost two kisses," Eddie huffs out. You snort, bending down just a little, pecking his lips twice and then his cheek once. "Insurance?" Eddie asks.

"You bet your ass," you snort.

"You! It's you!" Dustin shouts, finger wagging at Eddie. "You're e.m."

Eddie's brows furrow. "I mean, yeah, those are initials."

Dustin singles you out with his digit. His eyes are wide and a little bit of spit flies out of his mouth as he speaks. "The tattoo! It's for Eddie?"

"The tattoo?" you question.

Dustin storms over, muttering under his breath that of course it would be so obvious and of course Lucas and Mike wouldn't say anything. Dustin lifts the hem of your shirt, finger tapping on the faint ink on your hip. "E. M."

Eddie had done an attempt of a stick and poke. It was fading and the lines were dropping a little. "Oh," you laugh. "Yeah. Eddie's a fucking comedian when he's drunk."

"That shit is professional and you know it, sweets," Eddie grins up at you.

"Wait--" Gareth's voice interrupts. "Dustin, you are making a whole scene because Eddie and him are dating?"

"I had to figure out who the initials for," Dustin recounts the story of the deodorant and Jeff snorts at the conclusion. He launches himself into the retelling of Lucas and Mike brainstorming girls, collecting the data via the interactions and the inevitable conclusion. "It is not funny. It was important."

Jeff holds up his hands. "I didn't know either until right now, but I mean, Henderson, you could've asked."

"Also, Henderson, you gonna let my shirt go or what?" you ask.

"Shit, sorry," Dustin releases the cotton and steps over to his seat. "I can't believe nearly everyone else knew but me."

"Because we use our eyes," Mike returns, leaning onto the tables to close some of the distances as the sarcasm drips from his tone.

Dustin flips him off in return, mimicking his words in a higher and more nasally voice. Eddie reaches down to rub his palm over the cap on Dustin's head. "It's alright, kid. Everyone has their moments. Now, if we can, there's monsters to slay."

"Monsters," Dustin recalls. You perch yourself in a seat behind Eddie, occasionally voicing NPC's and rolling for them. You took a step back once you started dating Eddie knowing that it might be unfair even though Eddie was strict to not talk campaign stuff to you.

You can't help but shake your head when you glance over to Dustin--he's already shouting about the room shaking due to an earthquake his seemingly deep need to figure out the person solved. At least he's a kid that cares, in the end--as deeply and thoroughly as he did.

[henrikvanderhussy]

Okay, we've gotta talk about The Silent Spy. I didn't remember much about it before replaying, and you never really see anyone calling it their favorite game, so I knew it wasn't going to be great, but I was still disappointed.

Similar to The Shattered Medallion, which I talked about here, I do think there's a GOOD game in there somewhere, but it's bogged down in some really messy structural problems.

Those problems are also very similar to MED's problems, which makes sense since MED was the next release after SPY. Just like in MED, the character interactions were all over the fucking place. I felt like I had the same conversation with each character about 12 times. Asking Moria "What was the Colony operation?" I dunno Nancy, maybe you could have figured it out from the newspaper article, the archives database, the info from every other character, or the papers at the cabin. And it feels like this is something that would have been relevant way earlier in the game.

But then at the same time, there are these bizarre jumps where it seems like you've missed conversations. We're asking Ewan if we should trust Alec when we've never even talked to Ewan about Alec before and there's no reason they should know each other.

Speaking of feeling like I missed stuff, the poem was the worst. "I need the full color copy of my mom's Jabberwocky poem" Girl, what Jabberwocky poem?? Apparently it was in Nancy's luggage, but the luggage gets stolen immediately when you start the game and we have no idea what's inside of it. She briefly says something to Alec about a poem, but that was after Nancy already noted she needed it to solve a puzzle.

Also similar to MED, there was such a weird manufactured sense of urgency. I was soooo very frustrated by the tests set by Revenant. I got the first call and thought "hmm, not sure what choice I want to make. I'll poke around at some other things first and then decide if I want to follow their instructions or not." Then all of a sudden I get a call saying that I've failed their test.

How was I supposed to know there was a time limit? What was the time limit based on anyway? Was it a literal amount of real-world time? Did I trigger another plot point in the game that ended the window? Hell if I know

The result is that you're left feeling like things could end or change at any moment and you have to do them quickly, but also simultaneously feeling as if it doesn't matter since obviously the game will continue anyway if you miss anything time-sensitive.

A weird combo of both stressed and 'eh fuck it'. Thanks I hate it.

This post is getting longer than I planned, but here's the thing, I actually think these problems could have been addressed with a really simple fix: Let Nancy sleep.

If the call from Revenant says "you have until midnight to give us what we want," then the player knows that if they want to follow the instructions, they need to do it before sending Nancy to bed.

If all of that weirdness in character conversations was because I was talking to characters and doing things out of the intended order, then structure the game so that certain things need to happen before you can go to bed ("I can't sleep yet, I have to xyz!"). Then make it so other actions can't happen until the next day. VOILA, problem solved.

You still want the structure to be somewhat loose to allow the player to explore, and so not everything should be confined to specific days, but it would allow linearity in the things that do need to be linear.

Nancy has a hotel room! There's already a bed and everything! It would have been simple to put in a sleep mechanic, just like in so many of the other games.

Look, I'm not a game designer, so I'm definitely speaking more confidently than I have any right to, but I just feel like the problems in The Silent Spy are fixable! And I really wish they had been fixed!

[thatcheesyler]

Literacy Lessons

Summary: After the huge success of his new chocolate factory, Wonka finds himself struggling to create accurate price tags since he still can't read or write numbers yet. Luckily, Noodle is willing to teach him everything he needs to know...but, our beloved chocolatier is having issues focusing, he just can't stop thinking of new sweets to make!

A/N: This is a sfw Wonka tickle fic, if you do not like it, please dni. Enjoy! <3

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The overwhelming smell of rainbow fizzy belts and salted caramel flooded Noodle's senses as she waltzed into the factory's main hall, pen and clipboard in-hand. Her temporary 'student' was currently perched on one of the giant marshmallows that bordered the chocolate river, sketching new designs for sweet wrappers that he could use to help advertise his confectionery.

"Willy! I'm here! Sorry I was late, my mum needed me to clean a few plates before I left." Noodle explained, approaching his hunched over figure and sitting herself down on an enlarged gumdrop while adding to her speech, "Are you ready for your lesson?"

To which the enthusiastic chocolatier looked up from his drawing with a signature smile and gave an approving nod, setting his sketches to the side for now.

"Of course! Y'know, I was actually thinking we could start with a funny number, like 123,456! Imagine if I managed to read that perfectly.." Wonka commented, the sparkle in his eyes never faltering, even as Noodle sighed and shook her head with a 'seriously?' look, the corners of her lips curling upwards despite herself. She then wrote down the number '1' on her clipboard, turning it around and showing him what she had written.

"Okay Willy, what is this number?" She questioned with a patient expression, watching as her friend studied the simple few lines of ink with a slightly tilted head and squinted eyes. "Hmm, is iiit...seven?" He answered with half confidence. Well, technically a '1' does kind of look like a '7', but unfortunately that wasn't correct. The little girl shook her head once more, jotting down a little '7' at the bottom of the page as a reminder of the differences between both of those numbers.

"Incorrect. Would you like to try again? Or move on to the next number?" She inquired with a tiny smile, as sad as it was that he couldn't read or write numbers, it was also quite the entertainment for his younger friend. But the man in question wasn't really listening to her, instead continuing to draw small details on the wrapper sketch next to him, adding little polka dots to it. To which Noodle frowned, now feeling slightly hurt because of his oblivious ignorance. "Willy?..Willy! You need to focus, please!" She exclaimed with a tinge of frustration laced into her tone, this lesson wasn't going to get anywhere with his constant doodling.

The abrupt raise in tone snapped Mr. Wonka out of his creative trance, and he allowed a sheepish grin to play at his lips.

"Sorry Noodle, you're right, I should pay attention." He answered, now providing his almost full attention to her literature session, with the occasional glance towards his sketches. Unfortunately this continued on for a while, Noodle would be struggling to keep her patience as she presented the differences and slightly different ways of writing each number, and Willy would just be doodling away every five minutes. Now, Noodle wasn't really known to be an even-tempered person, it was now the fourth time that he had completely disregarded her teaching, and she did not care for it.

Oh, and he also somehow gained the audacity to interrupt her, saying something like, "Hey Noodle, do you think polka dots or stripes would suit me more?" and boy would it make her blood boil. She didn't want to be mad at him, he was just energetic, but she couldn't contain her annoyance for any longer.

"Willy." The young girl announced firmly. "You have ten freaking seconds to run." R.I.P Willy Wonka, he didn't even have a clue what she was mad about. But the look on her face was hard to miss, the suddenness of it making him instinctively scramble up from his seat and bolt towards the nearest candy tree, clambering up onto a high sturdy branch. Noodle followed close behind, not quite as skilled at climbing, but managing to pull herself up onto a different branch near his, keeping one hand on the tree trunk for support.

The young man felt a bit fearful now, he couldn't tell why she was angry, but her determination made him question things, a few nervous chuckles bubbling from his throat.

"I have a feeling that I did something wrong...I don't want you to be mad, but could you please tell me why you are?.." Wonka inquired, losing his balance for a few seconds as a hand suddenly swiped at his torso. "Because you kept ignoring me when I tried to teach you numbers, and you blatantly interrupted me multiple times!..Look, I don't want to be frustrated like this, but you have dug your own grave by now." Noodle responded quite loudly, continuing her attempts at reaching out to grab his maroon coloured coat.

This got a little "oh." out of her older friend as he realised his mistakes, now feeling more guilty than scared. The fear was very much still there though, because he was actively backing away towards the end of his branch while she progressively inched closer at the same time.

And then...snap!

Willy had put so much of his weight onto the branch, that the narrow piece he was standing on broke off, and the poor chocolatier went plummeting down to the sugary grass below, landing on his back a little harshly. "Oh- ffffferrero rocher that hurt..oww." He croaked out, not moving for a few seconds as the pain slowly but surely subsided. A concerned gasp was audible from the girl, and she clumsily weaved back through the stripy maze of branches below her, racing over to him as soon as her shoes touched the ground.

"Willy! Willy are you okay?!" She exclaimed worriedly, kneeling down beside him with a now concerned expression as the chocolate-maker inhaled through gritted teeth, disoriented for a moment. But as he came to his wits and regained his senses (sum1 pls get the ref), he couldn't help the remorseful frown that spread as he remembered that she was probably still annoyed with him. "Yeah, I'll be fine..I'm sorry Noodle, I wasn't taking your feelings into consideration and I just ended up making you upset. I'm sorry, again."

With such a heartfelt apology, how could she stay angry? Well, she still wanted revenge for his accidental ignorance, plus he was sad now. "..I forgive you...but, I still want to make up for all that lost time trying to teach you."

A wry smirk built up as she cracked her knuckles, bending her fingers into makeshift claws and wiggling them simultaneously at him, presenting him with an obvious hint as to what she meant by that. In response to the 'threat', Wonka tensed up and a couple fearful chuckles slipped through his newfound wobbly grin, immediately attempting to roll away from the deviant young tickle monster beside him. Sadly, he didn't get very far before Noodle had yanked him back by the arm and plunged 4 fingers (and a thumb) into his briefly exposed abdomen.

To which, of course, a loud squeak that bordered on a screech elicited from her friend as he instantly curled in on himself, giggling like a madman. "ACK! Nohohoodlehe, stahahahapp-! Ihihit tihihicklehes hehehe!" The chocolatier cried throughout his bouts of high pitched laughter, gently swatting at her hand even though he had no intentions of fighting back.

"Well duh, of course it does, silly Willy! Say, why didn't you tell me you were capable of such adorable giggles? (Not a ship.) It's like you've transformed into a little boy!" Noodle teased, allowing a few content chuckles of her own to drift out while she continued to scribble her fingers all over Willy's clothed stomach. An unmistakable blush tinted his cheeks at her words, causing his arms to confuse themselves, half of him wanting to cover his face in shame and the other trying to protect his sensitive midsection.

"Nohohoooo! No tehehahasihing, yohohu're beheing mehehehan!!" He squeaked, his legs uselessly writhing and kicking simultaneously as his friend spidered her nails briefly over his ribs before gliding back town to his tummy. "Mean?! Why I never! I am simply distracting you from the way you hurt yourself earlier! Hmph, and here I thought you never jumped to conclusions." Noodle complained, feigning offense and taking the opportunity to lightly squeeze both his sides as a small 'punishment' for calling her mean. Which, of course, elicited a lovely squeal from our adorable little man, a constant battle in his limbs on whether he should defend his oh so ticklish body or just give up entirely (personally I'm rooting for the latter 🤭).

"Eek! I'm sahaharry fohor assuhuhumihing, buhuhut ihit's stihihill mehehean!" With that one final smidge of effort he had left, he forced himself onto his stomach, pushing Noodle's hands safely out of the way during the process so that she didn't get hurt. Practically gluing his arms to the sides of his torso, a cocky little smile tugged the corners of his mouth upwards as he looked to the girl at his side. "Hah! Try and tickle me now, Apple Stroodle!"

But with his arms clamped down, Noodle still had access to his entire back, and she fought back a shit-eating grin of her own as her nails proceeded to skitter gently along the thin fabric on his back. Sadly, only a few titters formed in result, and slight disappointment washed over the cheeky spark in her eyes.

"Sorry Nohoodle, buhut my back just ihisn't that sensitihive." Willy pointed out quite smugly, basically not even reacting to her efforts and shrugging. But that very same shrug gave her an idea, her skillful hands trailing up towards the back of his neck, but then stopping abrubtly at his shoulder blades. As if testing the waters, one finger scratched gently in the dip between one shoulder blade and the backside of his ribcage. Oops, looks like a certain someone was telling porkies, a short girly scream erupted from the chocolatier and now it was all over for him.

"Hah, liar." Noodle chuckled gleefully, experimenting just how far she could take this by tracing patterns with both index fingers along the inner edge of his shoulder blades and gauging his every reaction. "NONONONONO NOODLE PLEHEHEHAHASE! NAHAHAT THEHEHERREEE!! I PROHOMIHISE I'LL PAHAHAY ATTEHENTIOHON TOHOHO YOUR LEHESSON, PLEHEHEASE STAHAHAHAPP!!"

His back arched involuntarily and both hands flew out to cover the sensitive spot from Noodle's devious behaviour, helpless cackles pouring from his upturned mouth as he struggled fruitlessly. Luckily, while the young girl thrived on her disobedient attitude, she reluctantly complied to his desperate pleas, her tickle attack demoting down to a few feathery brushes along the skin on the back of his neck. "Say you're sorry and I'll stop completely."

Frantic laughter fizzling into a jumbled up giggle fit, Wonka mashed together an apology that sounded mostly like tickle-drunk gibberish. "Ihihihi..I'm reheheally ssohorryhyhy, it wohon't happehehehen agahahain..." Good enough, right? Well, thankfully Noodle thought so, fully letting up and giving a few reassuring pats on the back to her older friend. Just as expected, he devoted his undivided attention towards her next attempt at teaching him numbers, and well, he did pretty okay in the end.

-------------------------------------------------

Wow, I have not managed to complete a fanfic in forEVER, I honestly feel good about this one, unlike some others. Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed this sappy story and have a wonderful day/night! <33

[wormlette]

Your fic "a good dog" lives rent free in my brain and I'm so glad bc the characterization and the introspection and LAIOS SERVICING CHILCHUCK just make me go feral, can't wait to read what comes next ❤️

(and the noises I made while reading "fervent, writhing" could only be heard by shrimps).

PS: Y'all at the chilaios council are tempting me so hard to create a Chilaios sideblog bc all your brains are so HUGE

OK FIRST OF ALL sorry for hanging onto this ask for so long, I have been cradling it in my hands like a good luck charm while I write ❤️ I appreciate you so much. ALSO "noises that could only be heard by shrimps" is part of my lexicon now lmao.

I've been trying to get a good dog arranged into some sort of satisfying narrative -- I don't know how obvious it is, but even when I was writing more regularly, I still mostly only ever wrote drabble type things that are unconnected. Writing an actual story is my bane in life, but I've been very inspired to try because of all of you.

Here is a good dog snippet I'm particularly proud of!! It's a flashback!!!

“If I can ask…” Laios held up a finger, like a kid raising their hand. Chil raised a brow, and he and Falin watched curiously to see what would come next.

“…why did I upset you?”

Chilchuck sighed and ran his hand through his hair, messing it up further. He resisted the urge to grab it and tug. This guy really needed that said?

“Okay, but I want you to think for a minute, first. Have you ever seen a party lead by a half-foot, Laios? Have you ever even heard of one?”

Laios looked at the ceiling, hmm-ing. “…I guess not?”

“Right. That’s because the things a party leader needs, half-foots don’t have. That’s what people think. Long-legs think anyone who can’t fight can’t be in charge.” He shrugged. “They don’t say it, but it’s like that.”

Laios frowned and started to open his mouth. Chil waved his hand to cut him off. “The way people perceive you is everything in an adventurer’s party. ‘S just how it is.”

The siblings stayed silent. Were they twins? He realized he didn’t know. He’d been a bit incurious about them as well, truthfully. Assuming he’d work for them a little while before they parted ways, probably from pissing each other off. That hadn’t happened yet, so…

“Well. And that's exactly why YOU-“ he swung his empty mug at Laios - “have got to start taking this more seriously! This exact kind of thing is what I’m talking about!” They let him rant on. Having both of their attention on him was not a new feeling, but he ignored it. “The reactions people will have to you are exactly what a leader needs to be aware of! You can’t just say whatever you want!” He was ranting. “You’ll damage their trust in you if you’re careless. Think about how they’ll think, Laios.” It was so obvious, but Laios’ eyes were alight. Had nobody ever had talks like this with him? “And if you can’t figure *that* out, then at least listen to the people around you.” They were listening like he was bestowing crucial information on them. Chilchuck suddenly felt like laughing. There was something funny about these two overgrown dummies, so eerily at home in the dungeon but so in need of caretaking outside of that. They’d followed him around like puppies on errands across town to the bank and the slums, and now they were hanging on his every word. Eventually, he paused, raising his mug and drinking deeply until only foam was left. A warm feeling was in his gut.

“So it’s ok if I ask you, next time?” Laios looked at him with glimmering eyes. “If it’s an imposition, we could renegotiate…”

The idea of Laios renegotiating was laughable enough to make Chilchuck reach for the pitcher, but Laios beat him to it and leaned over to give him a refill. Ha! Maybe he wasn’t completely helpless. He was thinking now, wanting not to offend, wanting to be helpful. This was the kind of thing a party leader needed to practice, so it suddenly seemed very appropriate to reinforce him. “Yes! Like that! Good boy!”

If not for his keen senses, he would’ve never noticed. As it was, most of the time Chilchuck convinced himself he’d imagined it. The look in Laios’ eyes, in that instant, was feral.

[try-set-me-on-fire]

hiii can i ask about doesn’t know they’ve been injured or go through me?

- @buckactuallys

Go through me I might do a hostage situation with Eddie and Maddie? Like they're just getting coffee or something, might not even have gone here together it's just coincidence, and the robbers or whatever are trying to mess with her and Eddie's like you're gonna have to go through me but then they just both end up locked in the back room. Eddie's like well that was stupid. don't tell your brother I did that he'd be pissed at me. I mean I absolutely would step in front of danger for you Maddie but this is like a trolley problem personally designed to ruin Buck's whole life. Let's pretend this never happened. Fuck I never even got my coffee.

Doesn't know they're injured is what this snippet is from! Summary for the whole fic under the cut in case you don't want spoilers for whenever I get around to writing the whole thing

Buck and Maddie go to IKEA and Buck is dreamily lost in thought about recently becoming boyfriends with Eddie and is dodging her questions because no one knows they're together yet. On the way back they get run off the road and the car rolls and ends up on its side and Buck has to get her and Jee out safely and quickly because the engine's smoking and could catch fire any minute. They all get out fine (rip to Maddie's new strandmon chair 😔) and are shaken up but mostly cleared when they're transported to the hospital (not by the 118 but the gang comes running when they hear what happened). Buck kind of prioritized Jee and Maddie to the doctors but really he wasn't feeling bad, figured he'd be a little bruised tomorrow. But then when everybody goes to the diner across the street from the hospital for Yay Everyone's Alright dinner Buck's like. Mm. Hmm. Huh. I think something might not be right. Goes down like a sack of bricks, vaguely aware of Eddie all panicked and calling him pet names. I miiiiight swap perspectives for just one scene because I like the image of Buck being rolled off to surgery and Eddie looking lost and saying "but we had a date." Anyway Buck wakes up, turns out he has some minor internal tear somewhere that was getting worse because he was walking around doing stuff instead of laying down and letting doctors check him over. Eddie is there, Buck is sorry he's going to miss their date. Eddie's like...... Wait right here (Buck: literally can't go anywhere) and comes back with kind of wilted flowers, one of those plastic battery operated candles and two cups of red jello. They can have their date right here!

[buckybarneswannabe]

Fic for @griminker

Steve and Bucky slow dance and it end up in an argument revealing feelings from

Years past .

—————————————————————————————————————

Are you still listening to the same song?” Bucky asked Steve walking into his room. Hearing the farmiliar hum of frank Sinatra fill the room . Steve chuckled, his gaze remaining fixed on the skyline of Brooklyn through the window.

"You still remember that?" he replied, amusement lacing his voice.

Turning away from the view, he faced Bucky with a nostalgic smile. "Old habits die hard, I guess."

“Why only 40s music though” Bucky asks, “You know more music has been created since then.”

Steve chuckled again, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I know, I know," he said, "but there's something about the 40s music...it's like comfort food. Reminds me of home, before all this."

He shrugged with a lopsided grin. "Plus, have you heard some of the modern songs? They're... interesting”

“I think it’s good” Bucky remarks, shrugging.

Steve's eyebrows shot up in mock surprise.

"You do, huh?" he said, leaning against the windowsill. "Bucky Barnes, man out of time, likes modern music. Times have truly changed."

He smirked. "You going to try to get me to listen to some then?"

“If ya want” Bucky said with a smile.

Steve let out a dramatic sigh, feigning reluctance.

"Alright, lay it on me then," he said, gesturing for Bucky to start. He crossed his arms again, a playful challenge in his eyes. "Let's see if you can convert me to the ways of modern music."

“Not converting you just showing you” Bucky says siting next to Steve and opening his phone that stark had given him, he was still figuring out how to use it but Natasha had helped him make his way around Spotify.

Steve watched as Bucky opened his phone, the glow of the screen casting a faint light on his face. He had to admit, he was a bit intrigued. He nodded for Bucky to continue.

"Alright, show me what you've got, Buck," he said, turning his full attention to the phone.

“I’ll start you out easy, you know Lana del Rey?” Buck asks.

Steve shook his head, his expression a mix of curiosity and slight skepticism. "Lana... del Ray?" he repeated, the name foreign on his lips. "Can't say I've heard of her. Go on, play something."

“Okay pic a song, do you want ‘Margret’ or ‘chemtrails over country clubs?” Bucky replies.

"Hmm... Let's go with 'Chemtrails over Country Clubs,'" Steve replied, his curiosity piqued. He leaned back against the wall, ready to listen.

As the music began, Steve's attention fixated on the soft melody that filled the room. It was definitely different from the 40s tunes he was used to but something about the singer reminded him of Sinatra. but there was something captivating about it. The beat was slow, mellow, and almost dreamlike. The lyrics were poetic, and the singer's voice was sultry yet soothing.

“What do you think? I chose her cause she sounds old timey in this song i guess” Bucky says to Steve.

Steve nodded, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Yeah, I can see what you mean," he said. "She's got that old-Hollywood vibe about her. It's different, but it's... nice."

He was genuinely enjoying the music. It felt like a bridge between the past and the present, something familiar yet new. He looked at Bucky, a smirk tugging at his lips.

"Alright, maybe you're onto something here."

“It’s slow dance music. You know” Bucky says nudging Steve.

Steve chuckled, shaking his head in playful disbelief. "Slow dance music, huh?"

He considered Bucky's words for a moment before feigning a look of horror. "You're not about to ask me to dance, are you?" he asked, trying to keep a straight face.

“No..” Bucky says quietly because honestly, he was going to ask. It’s not like it would be a crazy ask they used to dance in the cold air of their old apartment to kitty kaling and Judy garland. For gods sake, Bucky even taught Steve how to dance because he couldn’t get a single girl at the bar to give him a chance.

Steve noticed the way Bucky's voice trailed off, the hint of hesitation. He saw the flicker of something in Bucky's eyes that he recognized all too well.

"You sure?" Steve asked, pushing off the wall to face Bucky. There was a gentle knowing smile on his face, a smile that said he understood more than he was letting on.

"Because I might be persuaded to dance for old times' sake," he added, his tone lighter than it should be for the sudden intimacy in the room.

Bucky stared at Steve for a moment, surprise clear in his eyes. It was like Steve had read his mind. But instead of backing down, Bucky's gaze turned just as determined.

"Yeah," he said, more sure of himself now. "I'm sure."

Steve chuckled at his friend's stubbornness. He pushed off the window sill and extended a hand to Bucky. "Alright, then, old buddy," he said, his voice warm. "Just try not to step on my toes."

Bucky took Steve's hand, and for a moment, they were just frozen like that, the two friends and war veterans, holding each other's hands like teenagers ready to dance. Despite everything they had endured, this moment felt oddly simple and comforting.

Steve gently pulled Bucky closer, guiding him to the empty part of the room. "Remember those old dances we used to do in our apartment?" he asked as he placed a hand on Bucky's waist.

Steve didn’t miss the slight hitch in Bucky’s breath or the way his body went rigid. He could feel the tension in Bucky’s muscles, the way his chest kept still under Steve’s hand.

Steve didn’t say anything, just waited for Bucky to relax into the dance. He began swaying slowly, his movements smooth and controlled, guiding Bucky into the rhythm.

“Relax,” he murmured, his voice low enough for only Bucky to hear. “It’s just a dance, Buck.”

“Yeah, yeah. I know” whispered Bucky in response.

Steve could still feel the tension in Bucky’s body, but he could also feel him trying to relax. They continued dancing in silence for a few moments, letting the music fill the space between them.

“You know, it kind of makes me laugh,” Steve said, pulling back a bit to look into Bucky’s eyes. “Back then, you used to tell me I didn’t know how to dance. Didn’t have any rhythm you used to say.”

“You didn’t have any” Bucky smirked as he replied.

Steve chuckled at Bucky's blunt response. "Well, maybe not then," he admitted. "But I've learned a thing or two since then."

He gave Bucky a sly smile, his grip on Bucky's hips tightening just a bit. “I can at least manage a slow dance without stepping on my partner’s feet.”

“Partner” Bucky murmurs.

Steve chuckled, sensing the jest in Bucky's tone. "Yeah, partner," he said, his gaze holding Bucky's. "Is that such a funny thought to you?"

He continued the slow, steady rhythm of the dance, keeping Bucky close. The conversation was light, casual, but there was something under the surface that Steve couldn't ignore. The tension in the air felt palpable, and he knew Bucky felt it too.

Suddenly ‘One’ by Metallica starts playing ruining the moment.

Steve looked a bit taken aback as the slow song ended abruptly and a heavy metal track blared through the room, shattering the tranquility of the dance. He pulled back a bit from Bucky, turning his head slightly to look in the direction of the phone.

"What in the—" he murmured, looking back at Bucky with a puzzled expression.

Bucky chuckled at Steve's reaction his own amusement clear on his face. "Stark must have put that on my playlist," he said, reaching for his phone and turning down the volume just a bit.

Steve looked at Bucky with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "You listen to this kind of music now?" he asked, still a bit bewildered by the sudden shift in sound.

“Sometimes” Bucky replied.

Steve chuckled at Bucky's response, his gaze raking over Bucky's body, noticing the way the other man visibly shivered at the sudden absence of his touch.

"You cold?" he asked, his voice gruff with a hint of amusement. He stepped a bit closer, his hands finding their way back to Bucky's waist.

“Stop.” Bucky suddenly.

Steve raised an eyebrow at Bucky's abrupt response, a slight frown line appearing on his forehead.

"Stop what?" he asked, his hands still resting on Bucky's hips, refusing to let go just yet.

“Don’t do this don’t hold me like that, don’t act like it the same as it was.” Bucky says frantically remembering how dancing before use to always lead to a kiss or something of the sort,and Steve clearly didn’t see Bucky in that way anymore so why go through the pain of false hope.

Steve's grip on Bucky's waist tightened slightly, his expression darkening a shade as he absorbed Bucky's words.

"What are you talking about, Buck...?" he asked, his voice a low rumble. "Act like what is the same as what was? I'm just dancing with a friend."

“Exactly, you are just dancing with your friend, so let go of me” Bucky says sharply.

The words stung a little, but Steve tried to keep his expression neutral. He held onto Bucky for a moment longer, as if debating with himself, before finally relenting and releasing his grip.

He took a step back, creating a small space between them. "Alright, fine," he said, his voice gruff, but there was a hint of hurt beneath it that he couldn’t completely hide. The distance between them felt cold and sudden, a stark contrast to the warmth and comfort that had been between them moments ago.

Steve ran a hand through his hair, his eyes avoiding Bucky’s for a moment, before he spoke. “You know, Bucky, sometimes I don’t understand you at all.”

Steve watched as Bucky grabbed his phone and started searching for another song. The atmosphere in the room had shifted, the easy camaraderie replaced by a certain tension, a distance that neither of them seemed to know how to bridge.

He leaned back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, and waited for the next song to start, his mind still trying to make sense of Bucky’s sudden shift in mood.

As Bucky put the phone down and the new song started playing, Steve listened to the music for a moment. It was a different track, softer than the one before, but there was something melancholic in its lyrics that felt fitting for the mood.

He looked back at Bucky, trying to ignore the pang in his chest at the thought that maybe Bucky was right, maybe it wasn’t the same anymore.

“So, you like this song?” he asked, the words coming out sounding more indifferent than he intended.

“Mhm” Bucky mumbed Steve could tell Bucky wasn't in a talkative mood. The answer had been curt, almost dismissive. It stung, but Steve tried his best to push the feeling aside.

He shifted against the wall, his gaze fixed on Bucky, the dim light from the window casting shadows on his face. “Can I ask you something?” he said after a moment.

“What”

Steve hesitated for a second, not sure if he should ask. But the question was burning in his mind, and he couldn’t hold it back.

“Are we... alright, Buck?" he asked, his voice soft, almost tentative. “Because sometimes I feel like you... like you’re slipping away, somewhere where I can’t reach you. And I... I don’t understand why.”

Steve’s eyes bore into Bucky’s, his gaze intense and earnest. “Do… do you even like having me around anymore?” he asked, his voice surprisingly soft, almost vulnerable.

Bucky was caught off guard by the question. Steve's voice was not its usual firm, confident self but tender and vulnerable in a way Bucky hadn’t heard in ages. He swallowed, feeling his throat constricting suddenly.

A thousand thoughts and feelings raced through his mind, memories of their shared past, the pain and suffering they had endured, the fights, the joy, the sorrow. It all came crashing back, and it suddenly felt like too much to bear.

He looked down, avoiding Steve’s eyes, his voice quiet when he spoke. “Of course I do.”

Steve's shoulders sagged in relief at Bucky’s response, his breath releasing in a shaky exhale, almost like he had been holding it for too long. He took a step closer, his hand almost automatically reaching out to touch Bucky’s arm, but he stopped himself midway.

His eyes searched Bucky’s face, his expression a mix of confusion and hurt. “Then why do you keep pushing me away?” he asked, the question quiet, pleading.

Bucky could feel the sincerity in Steve's tone, the helplessness, desperation. It was like a punch in the gut.

He didn’t know how to answer that question, didn’t want to answer. Because the truth was... He wanted Steve close, always had, always would. But it was hard, so hard, to allow himself that vulnerability, especially because they had never discussed what they were now, they clearly wherent the same.

Bucky swallowed, running a hand through his hair, his voice low and hoarse. “It's just... complicated, Stevie.”

Steve felt his heart clench at Bucky’s words. “Complicated?” he repeated, his voice thick with barely contained emotion. “We fought side by side, Bucky. We’ve been through hell together. And you’re telling me it’s complicated?”

He stepped closer, his gaze fixated on Bucky’s face. “What is so complicated that you can’t even... even let me hold you when we dance?”

“No steve its not, we’re not”

Steve furrowed his brow, confusion and hurt clear in his eyes. “What do you mean, ‘we’re not’?” he asked, his voice low.

He took another step forward, standing just inches away from Bucky now. He could smell the familiar scent of Bucky’s shampoo, could feel the heat radiating off his body.

“Buck, I... I miss you,” he said, his voice little more than a whisper. “I miss my best friend. Why can’t we just… be like we were?”

“Because we are so different now” Bucky replies.

Steve let out a shaky exhale, his eyes searching Bucky’s face, trying to find any trace of the man he used to know.

“We’ve changed, sure,” he said, his voice gruff. “I know I’m not the same guy you first met, and neither are you. But… But we’re still us, Buck.”

He took another tentative step forward, his hand twitching with the need to reach out to Bucky, to touch him, to bring him closer. “Aren’t we?”

“No” Bucky replies softly.

Steve’s heart wrenched at the bluntness of Bucky’s response.

“No?” he repeated, his voice hoarse, “How can you say that? After everything we’ve been through?"

His hands clenched into fists by his sides, the knuckles turning white with the effort to hold himself back. He wanted to yell, to shake Bucky, to make him understand. But he managed to keep his voice steady, even if it threatened to crack with every word.

Bucky took in a breath “We aren’t us anymore….you don’t, before when we danced. God - Steve you don’t even look at me the same”

Steve froze, his eyes widening as Bucky’s words sunk in. He could feel a lump forming in his throat, his heart clenching in his chest.

“What… what do you mean?” he managed to croak out, his voice weak. “Of… of course I look at you the same way. I… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t do this” Bucky pleaded

Steve could see the pain in Bucky’s eyes, hear the plea in his voice, and it broke his heart. But he couldn’t pretend like everything was fine, couldn’t act like he didn’t understand.

He closed the distance between them, so close now he could count the specks in Bucky’s eyes, could feel the heat of his breath on his skin.

“Buck…” he murmured, his voice a low, agonized rumble. “Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?”

“Steve” was all Bucky managed in response.

It was just one word, his name, but the way Bucky said it sent a chill down Steve’s spine.

He wanted to close his eyes, to look away, but he couldn’t. He was trapped, caught in Bucky’s gaze like in a whirlpool, spirally down into a dark unknown.

“Buck…” he tried again, his voice pleading this time, “Please… please don’t do this. Don’t push me away, not again.”

You dont love me anymore” Bucky said with a joyless smile.

Steve's heart plummeted at Bucky's words, shock and pain washing over him like a cold wave.

“What?” he breathed, the syllable barely loud enough to qualify as a word. “No, no, Buck, that’s not true. Of course I…”

He stopped mid-sentence, his words catching in his throat. He swallowed hard, trying to find his voice again, the next words ripping like shards of glass from his mouth. “Why… why would you say that?”

“You know why. Steve you can’t look me in the eye half the time” Bucky replied,his voice breaking

Steve’s heart twisted in his chest, guilt and shame washing over him like a tidal wave. He knew it was true, but having Bucky call him out on it was like a blow to the gut.

He looked into Bucky’s eyes, seeing the pain and disappointment there.

“I…” he began, but the words got stuck in his throat. He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes falling to the floor, unable to hold Bucky’s gaze.

Steve felt his heart shatter into a million pieces. He wanted to tell Bucky how much he still loved him, wanted to hold him, to kiss him, to never let him go.

But he was frozen to the spot, the words caught in his throat, the guilt and fear and shame of everything that had happened, of everything he had lost weighing heavily on his shoulders.

"I…" he managed to force out, his voice strangled, "I never stopped loving you, Buck. Never. You know that, right?"

Bucky just looked back at him, pain etched into the lines on his face. “Do I?” he asked quietly. “Because it doesn’t feel like it.”

Steve felt his heart ache at Bucky’s words, the hurt in his voice like a knife stabbing into his chest. He wanted to explain, to tell him everything that was going on in his head, the fears and doubts that haunted him, but the words wouldn’t come.

Silent tears fall from Bucky cheek as he mumbles “sure as hell dont feel like ya love me.”

Steve felt like he was suffocating, his chest tight with pain and helplessness. He watched as the tears rolled down Bucky's face, unable to move, to speak, to stop any of this from happening.

“I do,” he finally managed to force out, his voice thick with emotion. “I do love you, Buck. I always have. I always will.”

The words felt hollow even to his own ears. He knew they weren't enough, but they were all he had. Steve reached out, his hand trembling slightly, and gently brushed away a tear from Bucky's cheek. His fingers lingered on Bucky's skin, feeling the warmth, the softness, his touch desperate and tender at once.

"Please, Buck," he whispered, the plea ripping from his throat, "Just... just don't give up on me. Don't give up on us."

The words hung heavy in the air, filling the small space between them. Steve's heart was racing, his breath shallow, as he waited for Bucky to respond. The silence was unbearable, the seconds stretching into eternities as he watched Bucky's face, searching for any flicker of hope.

Bucky's eyes were still on him, tears still glittering in the corners, his expression a mix of pain and indecision.

“Steve”

Steve swallowed again, his throat dry as sandpaper. He was hanging on by a thread, waiting, hoping, begging internally for Bucky to just say something, anything.

He reached out again, his fingers gently touching Bucky's chin, tilting his face up so he would look at him. "Please," he murmured, his voice ragged, "say something…"

“Tell me that you still love me.” Bucky pleas.

Steve felt a wave of raw emotion wash over him, tears prickling in the corners of his eyes. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what he was about to say.

"I do," he said, his voice firm now, strong, his eyes locking with Bucky's. "I do still love you, Buck. I'll always love you. You're my... my one constant. The best thing that's ever happened to me."

“Kay” Bucky responds.

Steve's brows furrowed slightly in confusion at Bucky's reply. It wasn't the response he had expected. It wasn't a rejection, but it didn't feel like a acceptance either.

He searched Bucky's face, trying to find a hint of what he was thinking or feeling, but his expression was guarded, unreadable. Steve took a step closer, his hand still resting on Bucky's chin, his eyes locked on Bucky's.

“Just ‘kay’?” he asked, a wry note of humor to his voice, masking his insecurity.

Bucky nodded, his gaze not wavering from Steve's. There was a silent tension in the air, an electric current passing between them. Steve's heart was pounding in his chest, his fingers still gently cupping Bucky's chin, his thumb gently caressing the stubble on his cheeks.

“So,” he said after a moment, his voice low, “that’s it, huh? ‘Kay’ is all I get after baring my soul to you?”

“Yeah.”

Steve felt his heart sink at Bucky's nonchalant response. After everything he had confessed, after baring his soul, this was all he got? Just a casual 'yeah'?

He let his hand drop from Bucky's chin, his fingers balling into a fist at his side. He took a step back, putting space between them, a flicker of hurt and anger in his eyes.

“That's it?” he repeated, his voice firmer now, the tone challenging, “That's all you have to say to me?”

“Steve?”

The single word, his name, hung in the air like a curse. Steve felt his frustration boil over, the whirlwind of emotions he had felt since Bucky first started talking to him now threatening to consume him entirely.

He took a step closer, his voice tight, his body tense. “Don't 'Steve' me,” he said, his hands clenched into fists by his sides. “Don't just ‘yeah’ me. I need more than that, Buck. I need... I need you to talk to me, damnit.”

Steve froze, his heart skipping a beat. He hadn't expected that response, and for a moment he just stood there, staring at Bucky in disbelief.

"What?" he breathed, his voice barely above a whisper. "You... you want me to... kiss you...?"

A million thoughts raced through his mind, a mixture of shock, hope, and trepidation. But before he could say anything else, his body seemed to act on its own, his hands reaching out to pull Bucky closer to him.

Their bodies collided, Steve's hands gripping Bucky's hips, pulling him flush against him. Bucky's hands found their place on Steve's shoulders, his fingers digging into the fabric of Steve's shirt, pulling him closer, closer, until there was no space left between them.

Steve's heart was hammering in his chest, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. He looked into Bucky's eyes, searching for any sign of doubt or hesitation, but all he saw was a mirrored desperation, a need that matched his own.

Steve leaned in, his lips hovering just above Bucky's, his breath mingling with Bucky's in the small space between them. He could feel the heat radiating off Bucky's body, could feel the racing of Bucky's heart against his own.

He lifted a trembling hand, gently brushing back a strand of Bucky's hair, his touch tender and reverent. And then, slowly, deliberately, he pressed his lips to Bucky's. The kiss was soft at first, gentle, almost tentative. Steve's lips moved against Bucky's slowly, carefully, as if he was afraid he might break, that this might all crumble away if he wasn't careful.

Bucky's hands gripped Steve's shoulders tightly, his fingers digging into the fabric of Steve's shirt, pulling him closer still. He parted his lips under Steve's, a soft, needy sound escaping him, the sound like a dam breaking.

Steve broke the kiss, pulling back just enough so he could look at Bucky, his eyes roaming over Bucky's face, taking in the sight of him, flushed, panting, his lips red and swollen. It was a sight that would be forever etched into his memory.

He leaned in, resting his forehead against Bucky's, his breath hot on Bucky's skin. "This is what you needed?” he whispered, his voice hoarse and ragged.

“I just need you to love me” Bucky whispers back. “ ya wanna dance”

Steve felt his lips twitch into a smile at Bucky's sudden change of topic. “Dance? You’re asking me to dance?” he teased lightly.

He moved, pulling Bucky so he was standing in the middle of the room, a fair distance from any furniture or other hazards.

“Sure,” he said, taking Bucky's hand in his. “I’d love to dance with you, Buck.”

[veilkeeper]

Astarion: Here's my little treat with their cheeks all flushed. You will come to my bed tonight, won't you? Roz: Very presumptuous. I'm undecided what I'll do tonight yet. Astarion: Ah, you need a bit of enticing, let me see. How about this one: All these accolades from the Tieflings are nothing compared to the sound of my name, cried from your lips. Roz: So many honeyed words, as usual. Astarion: Not half as sweet as when I tasted you. Hmm, let me give it another go: Every part of your perfect body whispers temptation - it's as if the Gods made you just to ruin me. Roz: And what else...? Astarion: I can go on all night with the flattery, but is that really all you want? How about if I said these little words... Everyone's favourite... I love you. Roz: Having fun, are you? Astarion: I am, it's hard not to with you. Now, as much as I relish standing around and saying all my favourite lines at you, I'd much rather we got to experience each others' full portfolio of talents once again.

trying to figure out how i feel about this scene. on one hand, the dialogue is obviously very fun on its own, but astarion is laying it on as thick as ever so it's still not real, though it does seem a little... overcompensating? especially since he's fully admitting he's using lines and pushing waaaay too far into the infamous I love you.

and it's not just because roz is playing hard to get: even if you pick the "you don't have to ask twice" line he has a whole thing about how he can hardly focus, he's so consumed by thoughts of their night together. he's laying it on thick no matter what branch of the conversation you pick.

something's going on, and i have a theory.

here's an alt dialogue:

Astarion: I love you. Roz: A little soon to say that, don't you think? Astarion: Well, it can be true, if only for tonight.

and then when you go to bed, he says:

Astarion: I hoped you would come. I have missed you. And now you're all mine, and I'm all yours. Until morning at least.

and here's what im thinking. if this were 100% him manipulating roz, he wouldn't keep emphasizing that it's just for tonight. but if it were 100% real, i don't think he'd be so over the top with his flirtations.

so i think its that he wants it to be real. i think his feelings are starting to get more complicated than just "here's a person i don't care about that i can manipulate", but he still feels his position is precarious enough that he 'needs' to have something with them that he can control. so i think he wants to pretend, if only for a night, that it is real - but he can't even do that. he has to keep tacking on caveats and assurances that it isn't. like drawing a line in the sand, not just for roz but for himself, too: he can pretend for tonight, but then he has to go back to the simplicity of detachment after.

because he admits when he confesses later that he's never done this before! he doesn't know how to be in a real relationship, he doesn't know what that looks like or what that feels like, and i think he wants it but he's afraid of it. and in this scene we're getting a fascinating mélange of that fear and desire mixing with his lack of foresight; he has a plan, so he's going to stick with it, even if it's probably a terrible idea with the way the tides are turning.

[bropunzeling]

For writing game, “and they were roommates!” (Hard mode: something other than Zegras-Drysdale or USNTDP or juniors etc guys who definitely were or reasonably could’ve been roommates at some point!)

ok setting aside that i did write another matty beniers/shane wright PURELY on the strength of shane being like oh yeah we're roommates (god i cannot wait for next season. can we fast forward), now i gotta think about who would be good fodder. the OBVIOUS answer 2 me is brady and timmy because of them (plus josh norris) living in mark stone's house (and timmy paying none rent).

i think they are ripe for a fic where like, hmm. oh ok the brain is whirring. fic where while they never got up to anything while being roommates in mark stone's house, but timmy had a deeply enormous, you could see it from space crush on brady. but also there was no way he was going to spit that out any time soon (risk it all? absolutely not. he wants brady to just KNOW timmy wants him to kiss him on the mouth and also fuck him until he cries). and brady had a girlfriend! there was no point. timmy is gonna get over himself.

smash cut to like, 5 ish years later. they are older. hmmm Reasons to get them back into living together. timmy's condo requires major home repairs. brady's latest relationship has evaporated on him and he lives in a place too big for one person. it is easy peasy to be like, yeah, timmy, come stay here while your plumbing gets fixed.

the thing is, they are still equally annoying roommates as they were five years ago. brady leaves his clothes everywhere. timmy eats everything he can see in the fridge and doesn't buy groceries to replace it. brady plays his music too loud. timmy leaves his clothes everywhere. but also -- it's not horrible? it's honestly pretty nice. brady likes having someone to come home with, and timmy also likes it -- living by himself got pretty lonely -- and it's comforting, and honestly brady's music isn't that bad, and timmy is getting better about ordering groceries. and they spend a lot of nights sitting on the couch, timmy's toes digging into brady's thigh, talking about how maybe, maybe this season is the season they turn things around, maybe, maybe this season will be good, and brady's hand rests on timmy's ankle, and when he looks at timmy he looks so fucking fond, like he's glad timmy's there to hear all of his worries, and the thing is timmy's glad to be there to hear all of brady's worries, and timmy wonders if brady can feel how hard his heart is beating from the thumb he's resting by the nub of timmy's ankle, and --

so maybe timmy hasn't gotten over himself yet. but he still can't say anything. things are good. brady isn't into him. there is no point. he'll figure out how to be less in love with brady sometime soon.

won't he?

[hicomsstuff]

The Hot dealer (part two)

Summary: as Chris leaves my house in the morning, I begged him to stay just a little bit longer but something gladly happens (read part one to understand this part two)

Warnings: smut, swearing, sex, pet names (good girl, ma/mama etc)

"Hey darling I should leave now.." Chris says whispering in my ear "stay a bit longer?, please Chris." "Alright then, what are you even doing today?" "Well I'm not 100% sure just yet but I know that I'm going to have a shower now" "okay I'll just find a movie to watch and order food or something" I nod my head and grab some fresh clothes and a towel

A couple minutes into my shower, Chris comes knocking on the door "you nearly done in there, I got your favourite treat!" "What is it?" I ask "weed, duhh" I quickly turn off the shower and get changed, I start to open the door and I see Chris just standing there "well come on we don't have all day" "we?" I ask "yep" Chris says while setting up the weed for me

"Here you go", Chris hands me the weed, finally. 5 minutes into being high and talking, Chris says "you know...I like someone" "who is it??" "I'm not saying you'll have to figure out yourself" I wonder who it could be then I think for a moment what if it's me? It's probably not though..

"Well when will you tell me who it is?", I ask Chris "never. I won't say until you find out who it is" I roll my eyes at him "oi you can't be rolling your eyes at me since you begged me to do it for you last night.." "ugh, shut up Chris!!"

As the day goes on it's getting pretty late "well I probably have to go home now so bye I'll see you tomorrow afternoon?" Chris says while smiling at me "oh..do you think maybe you could stay over again I know it's a lot to ask for but I just hate it when I'm alone" I ask him with tears in my eyes

"Hey what's wrong??" He sits down next to me and pulls me into him "I just..I don't know" "everything will be okay, I'll stay over again, my love" I never really heard Chris comfort me before and it's kinda odd he will call me "darling" or "my love" all the time but he never actually confesses any feelings for me

I finally figured out what's wrong...I'm the one falling in love with my dealer. "I can never tell him this" I quietly mumble to myself "I'm just gonna go to lay down" I softly say "alright, wanna cuddle baby?" "Yes please, Chris" I mumbled as my head is curled up against his chest as well as his arms around me comforting me

A few minutes later, I sit up and start to wake Chris up "hmm, what is it?" "I uh..I think I might have feelings for you..", Chris is wide awake now "actually?, how long for?" "Maybe a couple months.., I wasn't going to tell you but I couldn't keep this secret in any longer" "I'm so glad you told me, because you're the person I'm in love with, darling"

As Chris and I finish our conversation we head back to bed to talk more about it tomorrow, *ring* as my alarm goes off I start to get ready for the day, since it's a Friday I don't have work for the rest of the week so I just get into a hoodie and some leggings

"Hey, my love" Chris says while walking up behind me trying to kiss me, of course I kiss him back and he sits down on the couch next to me "so..should we talk about last night?

"Yeah of course we can" "alright, well firstly, I'm in love with you y/n...I think you have the most wonderful personality and you're absolutely so gorgeous and kind to everyone. Will you be my girlfriend?"

Before I answer him I just kiss him harshly "well I'll take that as a yes" Chris wishpers in my ear. I nod my head "I'm so glad you said that, baby. Yes I will be your girlfriend"

"Good. Because you're mine now" I don't know if I should feel nervous or excited, Chris picks me up and takes me to the bedroom

"You trust me?" "Yes I do..why?" "Well you're about to see why" he takes my pants off with no hesitation, he doesn't say what hes going to do with me but I'm sure I know what he's gonna do

He takes my lace underwear off and goes to take my shirt off, but surprisingly he sees me with no bra on "no bra huh? Must have been waiting for me to touch you" I nod my head

He also takes his clothes off, both of us bare naked in bed while kissing non-stop, Chris goes down to my pussy and sees how wet I already am

"Soo wet for me?" "Yes Chris I am, but I need more...please touch me" chris looks at me with a smirk on his face "beg for it." "Please Chris, fuck me till I cum, I beg.", he smiles at me

As his head goes down to my clit he starts to lick it "fuckkk, don't stop" "I won't baby, I promise" "I really want to put my dick in you, sweetheart" "then do it." "Bet" as Chris puts his cock in me, I moan loudly begging for more

He starts to push down on my stomach to see how deep he is, I can't breathe properly because of how much pleasure I'm getting with him pressing down on me as well as is hard dick in me

"Gosh, you feel so fucking good. I can't get enough of you", I moan out as a response back to him, he pulls out as he feels me cumming "love my dick don't you?" "I fucking love it, Chris" I say while he goes down to my pussy to clean me up

Later on, he gets me changed back into my clothes and he puts his clothes back on as well "you okay ma?" "I'm more than okay, baby" me and him lay down on the bed together while cuddling