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holdmytesseract · 11 months

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So, there's this song that I've been listening to non-stop.

Kind of an oldie...with Robbie Williams. LoL.

I imagine a scenario in my head of Reader and Loki who were once in a relationship and had a falling out (because of whatever reason - maybe of his insecurities). But he sees that the Reader is fine after the break up (she isn't really, she just acts like it) and it bothers him that they moved on so quickly.

But he tries to get her back because he really does love her 😍. I thought this would be so cute.

Resurrected Love

Loki Laufeyson x fem!Reader

Summary: What once had been undying love between you and Loki, had seemingly turned into dust. After the breakup, the god just isn't himself anymore; barely coping with losing the love of his life. Unlike you. You seem to be just fine; having moved on quickly. Or was it just an illusion? Nevertheless, Loki decides to try to get you back. Will he be successful?

Warnings: sadness and heartbreak, thirst? angst, swear words? suggestive smut, fighting/shouting, fluuuff - tell me if I forgot something!

Word Count: 4,5k

a/n: Ahhh first of all, I'd like to apologise... Sorry @mochie85 that this took me SO long... 🥺 Thank you again for making me the incredible Baby Fever mood board! 🥰 I hope you like this little present I got in return! ☺️💝

Tagging: (In the comments!)

Masterlist °☆• Loki Masterlist

The blaring sound of the alarm clock ripped the sleeping god out of his peaceful slumber. Groaning, Loki moved his hands from underneath his pillow and instead buried his head underneath said pillow. Bare, muscular arms pressed down on the soft, fluffy cushion; trying to drown out the noise. In vain.

A deep, husky grumble left his sore throat, before he reached out blindly to shut off the alarm. Tossing and turning in the bed, he came to lay on his back; big palms running over his face and rubbing his tired eyes. A few rays of sunshine peeked through the emerald green silk curtains; illuminating his small, cosy bedroom. Loki sighed and stretched; causing the light duvet to expose his bare torso. His gaze was directed towards the ceiling; idle and aimless. The god could still feel the tiredness and exhaustion in his bones. Not his physical, though. His mental exhaustion. It just wasn't the same since you were gone. Since you packed your bags and walked out of his apartment. Out of his life. He could sleep for hours and yet he didn't find rest. His bed was so small, but without you he was afraid to get lost in it.

Not even five minutes later, his alarm clock told him again to stand up - and he had no other choice but to give in. Shutting it off, he sat up in bed and rolled out of the comfortable confines. Sighing, he pulled the curtains to let the first rays of sunshine into his bedroom, before he slumped to the bathroom. Dressed in nothing but black briefs, Loki came to stand in front of the mirror of his cabinet, hanging above the sink. He couldn't help but to look at himself. Look at the picture of misery he had become. Dark rings were underneath his eyes. His hair was tousled and resembled more a bird's nest, than a glorious, untamed mane of a god. Fingertips grazed his cheeks and chin; feeling the black, scratchy stubble which had grown so wildly. He had let himself go since you were gone - and he knew it. But it had been pointless. Sure, eye circles, messed up hair and a wild beard was nothing a bit of seidr couldn't fix, but... It couldn't fix his broken heart, so what was the point in using it?

Nevertheless, the god was forced to regain his 'good looks'. There was a very important meeting today. A meeting he couldn't skip like the last ones. Thor would bite his head off, if he wasn't going to appear. After all, this meeting was about his future... With another deep sigh, Loki went to work. He took a shower first; cleaning his ethereal body and godly locks. After that, he shaved; getting rid of his beard. Once his skin was as smooth as it could get and clean shaven, he got dressed; slipped in one of his finest suits. Loki absolutely wasn't in the mood to leave his apartment - but he had to. And so, the god closed the door behind himself, already regretting it.

Absent-minded Loki walked through the white, plain hallways of the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters; on his way to meeting room number 204. He wasn't paying attention to his surroundings, and so it came how it had to come. The god ran into somebody. His hard, strong chest collided with a way smaller, softer body. "Norns," Loki cursed under his breath, "Apologies. I don't know what-" but stopped dead in his sentence, when he registered who he ran into. "Y/N..." Your name fell from his lips so easily, and yet it felt like he was committing a crime.

You were standing in front of him, like frozen to the ground. It was the first time he was seeing you since the breakup almost a month ago. Sure, he hadn't left his apartment in that time, but he had heard from his brother that you had been away a few weeks on vacation - and it seemed like it did you really good. Of course couldn't the god help himself but to ran his eyes over your body. You wore your familiar shield uniform. The one he had ripped off your body countless times. Your Y/H/C hair was loose; framed your face beautifully. Unlike Loki's face, yours looked well-rested and refreshed. No bags or dark circles underneath your eyes. All in all, you looked recovered and yes, happy. Not in the slightest hurt or broken - like him. His eyes travelled upwards. Loki knew he was on a self-destructive path, but what was he supposed to do? His heart was screaming at him; yelling from the top of his lungs to give into it. Oh how much he loved you. Still. And then it happened. His deep blue eyes collided with your Y/E/C ones - and suddenly he felt like drowning; the world burning to ashes right in front of him. It brought back everything. All the memories. Good ones and bad ones. And all the pain.

"Lokiii!" You yelped, as he wrapped both his strong arms around your thighs and lifted you off the chair; hindering you from decorating the Christmas tree with another bauble. "Let me down!" Smiling, the god shook his head and tightened his grip a bit - only to let you know that he had you. To show you that he would let nothing happen to you. "Not until you finally speak your mind, darling." "W-What do you meeeeean?" You shrieked up, as Loki carried you away from the safety of the chair. "Tell me, if we can finally call ourselves a couple." You blinked down at the handsome god, who threw you that smouldering look which turned your knees into jelly. "I-I, uh..." He smiled again, winking. "Come on, darling." You couldn't help but giggle; shaking your head. "Lokes... We didn't even have our first kiss!" "Oh, that can be changed in a heartbeat," he purred and let you down quickly. Before you could even catch up to what was going on, his perfectly shaped lips danced with yours.

"L-Loki, p-please, I-" You moaned helplessly; writhing on the sheets beneath him. "Shhh, my goddess," he shushed you immediately; interrupting you. "Don't speak. Just feel," Loki panted; nipping at the inside of your thighs, before hypnotising blue eyes meet yours; pupils blown wide with lust. The god wore a smouldering, yet dangerous smile. A predator looking at his prey. You were completely at his mercy - and you loved every second of it.

Your hand found its way into your lover's hair; finger winding through those long raven curls. You gently tugged; nudging him on to finally do something. "Please..." You whispered; breathless. The hairs on the back of your neck raised up, when Loki gave you another smouldering smile, before he lowered his head. Your breath hitched; a chill ran down your spine at the anticipation. You knew what was to come - but you'd be never prepared for it.

"Darling, please." Loki's voice was unstable, pleading; on the verge of breaking - filled with pain and regret. Tears shimmered in his eyes. Tears of despair. Not hope. He felt like the ground fell out from underneath his feet. He was losing his grip; felt like falling into an abyss of darkness - blindly.

You shook your head, as you threw the last item of clothing in your suitcase. "No, Loki. No. Don't 'darling' me. Please don't make this even more difficult as it is." The god watched you helplessly; running a hand through his hair. "If it is so difficult for you, then why don't you just stay?" He sounded so sad. So... desperate. You swallowed hard; jaw clenching in order to suppress your own tears, before you turned to face your now ex-boyfriend. You looked him straight into the eyes, but with the seconds ticking by in silence, you avoided your gaze again - unable to stand the hurt, wounded look in his blue orbs. "Because I can't, Loki. I just can't. Don't you see? I cannot do this any longer." Now it was Loki who swallowed. "I-I understand that, lov- Y/N, but please... Give us another chance. Let us keep fighting for this love!" You snorted out a bitter laugh at his words; "Fighting, he says..." shaking your head. "I already fought so hard and long for this! For us! But apparently you were too blind to see." Your nerves were on edge; stressed out by the past weeks. "I tried and tried and tried to get through to you, but all you ever did was shut me out!" Loki wanted to answer something; opened his mouth to speak, but you immediately cut him off.

"Don't you dare pull the 'I don't understand you' card now! Because it isn't true! I do understand you! I always did! This was never our problem!" You were almost shouting by now; all the bottled-up emotions exploding within you. "You know what the problem is, Loki, huh?! You know what?!" His chiselled jaw flexed. You could tell that he was losing it as well. "Tell me, Y/N! Tell me!" He shouted; gesturing around wildly. "Scream it to me, if you have to!"

You took a few dangerous steps closer, before whispering: "Your damn insecurities." Loki gasped; almost stumbling backwards. This hit hard. Bore a knife straight through his heart - and yet he knew, that it was true. And the realisation of it made him even more angry. On himself. His hands clenched into fists; desperately trying to keep his cool. Unsuccessful.

An almost maniacal laugh escaped his lips. "Oh, I am the problem now?!" "Yes! Because you never managed to let your damn guard down around me! We've been together for over almost two years and you still don't trust me enough to just let me in! I know that your childhood and past was not easy and quite dramatic, but you can't just hide yourself away from the rest of the world for eternity!" You snapped; taking deep breaths and let the accusing words you just spat at Loki sink in. Loki said nothing; just stared at you. "Because if you do, it's going to eat you up inside someday..." You added in a way quieter voice; almost whispering. Then you returned to the bed, in order to zip the suitcase shut.

Behind you, Loki sunk to his knees; the harsh truth and reality finally hitting him full force. He knew. He had always known, and yet he couldn't bring himself to open up. He tried to fight his demons a million times, but he always lost the fight. He should've tried harder - better, because now... Now it was too late. He had lost you - because of his insecurities. Tears streamed down his face, as he started one last attempt to stop you from walking out of his life. "Y/N, p-please, please... I am so sorry, I am so sorry. Please... I-I can't lose you. If you leave m-me now... I-I'll drown a-and sink."

You swallowed hard; tried to fight against the desperate screams of your heart to stay. You had never seen him so... lost and vulnerable before. It tore at your heartstrings. But you had to do this now. There was no going back. "I'm sorry, Loki, but like I said... I can't. I can't keep fighting against the walls you have built up around you." With those words, you walked past him, "Goodbye, Loki." and out of his bedroom - out of his life. It broke him and his heart. He was nothing more than a wreck after that day.

Loki swallowed hard at the vivid memories, playing out in his head. He had to fight hard to not lose it completely in front of you and to not break down and cry. As for you, you seemed to be completely fine. "Loki." You said in a regal voice, giving him a nod - as if you didn't have a whole lot of history together. As if you never had told each other all of your secrets and wishes. As if you never had shared the deepest bond possible between human beings - mentally and physically. You greeted him like you were nothing more like acquaintances. It hurt Loki; bothered him, how quickly you had moved on. So, he tried to hide his emotions and not letting show how much of a wreck he was.

"What..." His voice cracked, so he cleared his throat quickly. "What brings you here?" The god asked; gesturing blindly towards the meeting room. "I, um, I was assigned to overwatch the meeting." Loki's eyes widened at your words, so you quickly added: "Believe me, I don't like it, too, but it is how it is." Don't like it too? Loki asked himself. Norns, he could've screamed from the top of his lungs how happy he was about this. Just to be able to see you without an excuse for a longer amount of time was like heaven for him. He wanted to answer something, but was interrupted by the arrival of Nick Fury, some of the Avengers and a few other S.H.I.E.L.D agents. "Loki, Y/N," the man with the eyepatch greeted you, before he opened the white, wooden door for everyone to get inside. "Let's get over with this, Laufeyson." Loki swallowed hard, then nodded obediently and stepped inside the big, barren room.

Throughout the whole process, Loki couldn't focus. His thoughts were circulating around you. It was all he could think about. He was so absent-minded; he didn't even listen to the others talking. Only the voice of Fury caused the god to snap out of his trance like state. "Well... It seems everybody has the same opinion..." The man with the black coat started, before he turned to face Loki directly, who sat at the very top of the table. "S.H.I.E.L.D and the United States of America allowing you to stay - as long as you're going to play by the rules." Loki swallowed and nodded - still not entirely present in his mind. "You improved; did a great job as an Avenger. Keep it up, Laufeyson."

Fury's words were the last ones of the meeting. Most agents scrambled to get out of the room; having other duties to tend to. Most of the Avengers clapped Loki on the shoulder or gave him a short nod of approval - and you? You were watching him from the sidelines. Seeing him again after almost a month had caused your feelings to run wild again. They were so quiet and chilled during and after your holiday, and now? Just one look was enough to set everything on fire again; storms battling within you. You wanted to scream, you wanted to cry - but most of all, you wanted to run. That's what you did. You fled from the meeting room; unable to be in his presence a second longer. When Loki settled his look on the chair you sat in, it was empty. Scanning the room for you wasn't fruitful as well. He sighed. You had left already, of course. Why shouldn't you? It had been nothing more than a job for you. Nevertheless, it was another small cut into Loki's already bruised and battered heart.

From that day, where once again his fate had been decided, he started to see you more often. Probably because he left his apartment more often as well now. He started to find hope again and decided to not just give up on you. Loki had made that mistake once - and he'd never let it happen again. He wasn't just giving up. Oh no... Now he was really going to fight for you, because one thing was certain... He still loved you with all his heart and he wanted you back. For good this time.

Over the next days and week, Loki repeatedly placed little cards, gifts or flowers in front of your office in the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. It was an easy task for him to sneak incognito inside the big building. Nobody knew and nobody recognised him. At first, you were quite confused and surprised...

You hurried to your office; messily rearranging the weapons belt around your waist on the way. You were late. Ten minutes already. Your alarm clock just decided to take a vacay today and not wake you up. "Morning, guys. Good morning." You hastily greeted everybody on your way. Once you reached your destination, you almost stumbled over the little bouquet of flowers, laying in front of the door. Y/F/F (Your favourite flowers) - your favourites. Frowning and a bit surprised, you picked the flowers up; admiring them. There was no card or such. Just the flowers. "Uh, Rob?" You asked your fellow agent, who was just passing by your office. His office was directly across yours. "Oh, hi, Y/N. Good morning." "Morning. Uh, do you know who left those flowers for me?" The man shrugged his shoulders. "Unfortunately, not, no. Sorry." "Okay..." Still frowning, you took the flowers in your office. Of course you didn't notice the craftsman, who worked on the water dispenser right beside your door. He watched you disappear inside the room with oceanic blue eyes, smiling.

That was only the start. Every day, you'd find different things on your door step. Your favourite chocolates and other sweets. Cards with little poems written on them and quotes out of books. And more flowers. Every day, you went to work with an even brighter smile, knowing that a small present was waiting for you.

You picked up the little box and opened it; finding a bottle of your favourite perfume inside. A chuckle sounded from across your office. "I think you have a secret admirer, Y/N," stated Rob, gesturing to the little present with a grin. Your cheeks reddened; nodding. "I, uh, think so too." You felt really flattered, but... Were you ready for something new? For another man after Loki? Could you imagine another man in your life who wasn't the handsome, mischievous god? You swallowed hard; staring down at the little vial in your hands. No. No you couldn't.

"Do you know who it is?" Asked Rob further, but you just shrugged your shoulders. "No, I... I have no idea. Most likely one of the other agents." Rob nodded, "Think so, too." but frowned. "You don't look really happy about it." Once more you shrugged your shoulders; sighing. "I am. I mean, it's really sweet and thoughtful, but..." "But?" Your colleague looked at you expectantly, but you didn't answer at first. And suddenly Rob had a guess. "Loki... You are still not over him, right?" Defeated, you nodded. "I never was and I think I'll never be. It seems like every decision I make, every path I choose to walk on... Everything leads me back to him. I can't forget him..." Rob looked at you compassionate. "Sounds to me like Loki is the love of your life..." You swallowed hard, in order to suppress the upcoming tears. "He is. I realise that now. Too late, perhaps..." "Do you still love him?" Rob questioned you further, "Y-Yes. I do." and placed a hand on your shoulder. "Then you should tell him." "I-I don't know, I... Excuse me." You fled into your office, closing the door behind yourself. All the suppressed feelings coming back at you; crashing down on you like warm summer rain. It was overwhelming. But could you do it? Could you go back to him?

Unbeknownst to you, Loki had heard everything. Dressed up as an electrician on his daily undercover mission. His heart beat violently against his ribcage; yearning and crying out for you. It broke him to see you so broken - but it also made him unbelievably happy, because he knew now, that you were struggling just as much as he was. That you had worn a mask all the time and just pretended to be perfectly fine. It was the sign for him to finally make his move and get you back. Back into his arms, where you belonged.

It was Saturday evening, when Loki put the plan he made into action. He showered; then dressed up in your favourite suit of his. It was a black one. Black shoes, black trousers and black shirt. He rolled up the sleeves and left a few buttons undone - just how you liked. He applied a bit of the cologne you enjoyed to smell on him so much; and left his untamed raven curls hang loosely over his shoulders. Loki looked at himself in the full-length mirror; eyes travelling down his body. Perfect, he thought; smiling. Grabbing the bouquet of red roses on his dining table, he left his apartment and went straight to yours. To his luck, you lived in the Avengers tower as well. Benefit of being Ms. Romanoff's best friend.

Taking a deep breath, the god knocked gently on your door. The answer he received was a frustrated sigh. "Naaat, I told you I'm not in the mood tonight to go-" You had literally ripped the door open - and were now standing open-mouthed, with a bathrobe and tousled hair in front of your ex-boyfriend. You swallowed. There he stood… Your drop-dead gorgeous ex-boyfriend. "L-Loki?" You stammered out; clearly not expecting something like that to happen. The god smiled at you. "Hello, darling. Apologies for the disturbance, but... I'd like to talk to you. May I come in?" Blinking and still in some kind of shock, you nodded. Stepping aside, you let him inside. "For you," he said, once you closed the door and turned to face him. He held the flowers to you; still smiling. "U-Um, t-thank you." You hesitatingly - almost shyly took the flowers from his hands. A chill was running down your spine, when his warm, big hands grazed yours. A touch you haven't felt in weeks - months, and immediately noticed you missed a lot.

Taking a deep breath, you placed them on the little shelf beside the door. "What, um, what do you want to talk about?" The god standing opposite you swallowed hard. You could see how nervous he was - a rare thing to happen. "About us." "U-Us?" He nodded, "Yes. Us." and stepped closer; slowly taking your hands in his. Loki waited for a moment to see if you weren't comfortable with him, touching you - but you let it happen, so he continued. "First of all, I'd like to apologise. For everything. For letting you fight so hard and long without me realising. For not opening up to you like I should have, because you are right. If I don't learn to talk to the person I trust and love most in all the nine realms, then my past and all my insecurities are going to eat me up inside. I see that now." He was gazing directly into your eyes - and you could swear you were already drowning again inside those oceanic blue orbs. "I came to the realisation those past weeks, that I am not able to live without you. Without your love. I feel like I can't breathe when you're not near me. Your absence suffocates me. I love you with all my heart and soul. You are everything I ever wanted and needed. So please... Please give us another chance. I beg of you." You just looked at him, stunned; words failing you. "

"This is what my heart tells me," he continued, squeezing your hands gently. "If yours doesn't speak the same language anymore, then please, tell me - and I'll walk out of that room." Your gaze softened. You freed one hand from his gentle grasp and lifted it up to caress his defined cheek. "Loki..." You started, shaking your head. "My heart never stopped speaking your language. Never." The god gasped at your touch and words. "Does that mean you'll give us another chance?" You smiled; nodding and stepped closer to him. So close, that you were just a few inches apart. His hand left yours; coming to rest on your waist, while your palm wandered to land on his chest. "Yes, Loki..." "Really?" He breathed; overwhelmed by your sudden closeness, and, again your words. Once more you nodded; signalling him that you meant it. "Oh, darling," Loki sighed; a few tears rolling down his cheek. He leaned down, wanted to capture your lips with his - but you stopped him; placing a finger upon his lips. "I'll give us another chance - if you promise to trust me completely and finally open up to me." His eyes met yours again; blue eyes filled with love and vulnerability. "Let me help you, my love. Let me sooth all those scars your past has left on you," you whispered and pressed a soft, slow kiss on his lips. "I promise, darling, I promise - and I'll start tonight," Loki said, placing another kiss on your lips, before he took a step back and took your hands in his bigger ones again.

"Close your eyes, please." You were confused, but did what he asked you to do; closing your eyes. Suddenly, you felt how his hands got cooler; temperature dropping. "This time, I want to go into this relationship with showing you all of me. I want you to see me." You frowned, but kept your eyes closed. "And I don't mean me, being naked. You saw that quite often already." You couldn't help but giggle at his words; blushing. Loki smiled. Something you weren't able to see at the moment. "Well... If you put it that way, I am naked in front of you now nevertheless. Showing you my true self. The way I was born." You gasped; breath hitching in your throat. Now you knew what he was talking about. "Your Jotun form? You... You want to show me your Jotun form?" He never did before. It was a huge part of his insecurities. "Yes, my love. Open your eyes." "L-Lokes, you don't have to show me your Jotun form right away! I know how difficult this is for you! I know how uncomfortable it makes you sometimes!"

He took a deep breath; was on the verge of crying again. "I know, love, I know. And I appreciate this so, so much - but I really want to show you. If we begin again, we begin with honesty. No secrets; no hiding. Now open your eyes." "O-Okay." You were quite a bit nervous as well. You knew that this took him a lot of effort. Opening your eyes, you gasped; heart skipping a beat. His deep blue eyes were replaced by shimmering ruby ones. His alabaster coloured skin had turned into a soft blue. Unique ridges and patterns adorned every inch of his tall, strong body. "Are you afraid?" Loki's shaky voice cut through the silence then. You shook your head immediately. "No, gods, no! You're beautiful, Loki. Stunning, breathtakingly beautiful." His eyes widened; pure relief flooding his veins. "R-Really? You... You think so?" You nodded; cupping his cheeks. "Yes. And it's finally time for you to accept this side of you," you said, pulling Loki gently over to your bed.

#loki x reader #loki laufeyson #loki x female reader #loki x you #tom hiddleston x reader #loki fanfiction #loki x y/n #loki #loki laufeyson x reader

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cloveroctobers · 11 months

Text

Carmy Berzatto — summer prompts 🍋

A/N: heavily influenced by this TikTok [user: addamsfilms] that put out the idea of bringing Rory culkin onto the show as Carmy’s blood cousin so here it is. Always liked rory so I thought why not? Also watched the show with Rory’s character they mashed up with Carmy’s “the expecting” and it was definitely weird af but I’m not really taking it in that direction lol. Definitely ended up completely different than I originally started! Some light hearted moments from a light hearted OC/Reader with a touch of heaviness because it’s still the bear after all.

*GIFS BELONG TO: @quinzelgifs + @pranink & @thepunkpanther

PROMPT from this list here: Making popsicles.

WARNINGS: kinda lengthy if you have the time, platonic carmy relationship? You tell me. Language ofc + things get physical somewhere towards the bottom, let us pray for Carmy 👀

✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ *

there’s this dull feeling that sits in the center of her chest but after a couple of breaths and the longer she stares at the boarded building, it goes away for now. The air is misty, the sky grey with a faint of yellow behind it; in the shape of the sun begging to be released. She’s not sure how long she’s been rotating her view of staring at the becoming of the bear and the sky but after awhile her body moves her inside.

Inside provides better warmth from Chicago’s spring that she’s peeling off her trench coat. She smells plaster, paint, and dust first before she studies the new layout that’s in mind for the restaurant. It feels much more open than the last time she set foot in here and although it’s only been a few weeks, she still feels like she might have missed out on a lot.

It’s loud inside the bear, drilling, the talking—yelling—it’s the same thing around here and knocking filling her ears as her brown eyes drift back to the only greenery inside. Her eyes go wide as she slowly steps forward to the potted Strelitzia, birds of paradise—if you prefer simpler terms, leaves beginning to droop and tan, later also finding no other than a used cigarette in its dry soil.

She lets out a scream, gaining the attention of Manny and Angel first who are quickly alerted with her presence, wearing their protective head gear before footsteps follow.

“Hey, there she is!” Richie yells as she stands up straight from her leaned over position, “welcome back to the hell hole, starstar!”

She blinks and places a small genuine smile on her face, “It looks great so far but tell me why there’s a cigarette just chilling in my plant?”

Richie glances at the said item and raises his hands in surrender, “wasn’t me this time! Take it up with thing 1 and 2.”

She dips her head, tongue pressing to the roof of her mouth until Richie brings her into a embrace, lightly shaking her from side to side. She swallows the smidge of annoyance for now, a simple hand going around to place on the 6’1 man’s back for a moment.

“Good to see ya!” Richie clicks his tongue just as more faces appear from the kitchen.

First it’s sweeps followed by Tina and Tyler who halts at the door.

“Starla! Sup girl! How’s that stomach treating you?” Sweeps holds out a fist for the girl to bump who snorts as her knuckles touches his.

She knows the man is lightly teasing her, as he analyzes the wall before taking a comfortable lean against it. Starla picks up on this and makes a mental note to ask about it later but she’s still a little annoyed that her baby is slowly failing.

“Yes, mama. How are you?” Tina wraps her arms around Starla, tenderly rubbing her back before moving to stand beside her, arm still wrapped around her waist.

“Eh…a lot better.”

Sweeps comments with a chuckle as he munches on some chips, “We told you not to eat that shit.”

“You did. I just didn’t want to be rude you know?” Was Starla’s reply as Sweeps shook his head.

“And where that get you huh?”

Richie sneezed and sniffed, “Yeah, starstar! You’ve got to kick that people pleasing habit out the way!”

This the young woman already knew, even when Tina nodded her head and continued squeezing her to her side. It was two weeks ago when she decided to try out this new “gourmet” food truck probably six blocks over and ordered some curry goat. She sent pics to the group chat and you already know that shit was fired up—except for the lack of response she received from Carmy.

Not that it mattered anyways, Starla still ate the meal in front of the owners because she was simply starving and on lunch break. Food poisoning was not fun or a good feeling but for the sake of not embarrassing the cooks on the truck…Starla ate the meal. It originally wasn’t horrible at the start, it also wasn’t the best flavor wise but it was ultimately the after that utterly destroyed Starla’s insides.

Which ended up with a nice trip to the hospital and a ugly bill in the mail a week later. Yes she was a woman down for a little while, which sucked for the bear since they needed all the help they can get. It was crazy to not only Starla but to be aware that the goal was to be open in May was mind-boggling. There was so much to do on the list and with Starla being around part-time, she helped out when she could.

Now she was back and she still didn’t know what she was stepping into.

“Hey Star,” Tyler takes his opening as he smiles at her from across the room.

Star smiles back, “Hey, Ty.”

“Glad you’re feeling okay.”

“Thanks, me too.”

Tina hums up at Starla who shushes the older curly haired woman as Tyler moves where the main counter used to be.

“I thought I heard a familiar voice in here,” Sugar greets as she leads the way with Carmy and Sydney not far behind, “how are you? Doing okay? Missed you.”

Starla lightly laughs as the blonde ambushes her with questions and hugs, “I’ve missed you too, Nat.”

“Jesus, let the girl breathe, will you?” Richie calls out while Sugar turns a icy glare to the man with the sledgehammer.

“How’s billy?” Sydney asks afterwards, “…you know the goat?”

“Wow, that joke was awful. Hi, Syd.” Starla says with her usual smile full of laughter lines as the girls share a high-five in greeting.

Starla adds, “I’m definitely vegan now and I’m also wondering why no one’s been looking after my plant.”

Of course Starla knew this was a big request to ask of anybody here and she asked numerous of times if it was okay to leave here. She was met with lots of reassurance from the Berzatto siblings and Sydney that it was fine, just to be met with her dear Cecil fighting for his life here.

“Oh fuck.” Sugar hisses as she peers over at her brother who holds a hand up from his crossed arm position, “I knew we were forgetting to do something.”

Starla pouted as she shifts her jacket from one arm to the other, “It was my mistake for thinking that this currently boarded up place had enough light for my baby.”

“It does—

Carmy starts…

“It will!” Sugar and Sydney say at the same time as Carmy starts speaking a word to Starla.

Tyler raises a finger, “I wish I would have known that was your plant, I would have taken it back to mine and my mom, who’s in town, could have looked after it. She’s good with things like that.”

“Oh no, you’ve done more than enough,” Starla fans her hand at the bandana wearing man, “Thank you though.”

Tyler dips his head with a smile again and Carmy picks up on this. It was no secret that Tyler’s been the most hands on when it came to Starla falling ill. Starla was not expecting this and appreciated the rest who did reach out to her considering they were all under intense pressure. A simple text was fine every now and then just to check in but Tyler felt the need to show up with remedies of self-care packages with the time he did make for her.

It was also no secret that Tyler had his eyes on Starla. How he would get caught just staring at her adoringly from across the room, completely checked out from any conversation he may be having with anyone else. He reached out to Carmy after hearing from Uncle Jimmy about the “shit ton” of help he was going to need in rebuilding the family business.

Carmy was reluctant on bringing Tyler in but he knew he needed more cooks and sure Tyler was only used to preparing diner meals (since that’s all he worked in back in Massachusetts and what he was familiar and comfortable with) but breakfast was Tyler’s specialty, he was eager to learn the ropes, and he had his own special craft.

Who was Carmy to deny that?

Carmy and Tyler weren’t the closest growing up, with Tyler only being a year older but it’s not like they saw each other a lot back then either. If Carmy told you that his mother, Donna Berzatto was a lot…then you can only imagine her younger sister, Lydia, who happened to be Tyler’s mother.

Donna was three years older than Aunt Lydia and once upon a time they were proven to be very close growing up from the bits and pieces Carmy remembers. Apparently Lydia was a, “Prissy man stealing whore and if she had the chance she would have stolen your father if he wasn’t in love with me instead!”

Whatever transpired between his mother and Tyler’s had nothing to do with Carmy’s relationship with his cousin. They just never saw each other, Tyler was heavily into science as a kid, with aliens being at the top of the list, and easily socializing with others whereas Carmy had a stutter that made him shy, studying denim along with ways to style jeans snd preferred world travel books. They emailed a couple of times as kids until Tyler started going to camp and Carmy rather stick to seeing what Michael was up to.

“Look uh, Star. I’m sorry about the plant—

“Cecil.”

Carmy blinked, “what?”

“His name, it’s Cecil.”

Carmy looked around at all the other faces in the room with him right now, resulting in wide eyes from Sugar, a shrug of shoulders from Syd, a stern look from Tina, amusement on Tyler’s face and Sweeps just continued eating unfazed.

“Show some fucken respect, Carmy. StarStar said the things name is Cecil. Cecil the plant! so address it as such!” Richie yelled out to the stressed man.

Starla thought she saw Carmy’s eye twitch and she was expecting that to become an argument between the two men—like usual—but Carmy simply just ran his hands over his face in distress. Exhaling he stepped forward to rest his hands on Starla’s shoulders.

“Want to catch up in the kitchen for a sec, Star?” Carmy asked, peering at the woman.

Starla answers, “sure.”

And with that they exit the deconstructed room to head into the kitchen together but not without a set of wondering eyes. Starla follows Carmy into the office where he awaits for her to take a seat while she’s stops, staring at the hole in the wall.

She pointed while Carmy exhales, “just another thing to add to the list.”

“Okay…so fill me in.”

“Have a seat first.”

“Oh god.”

“No, it’s not anything like that.”

Starla takes a seat, eyes going over some paint swatches for the new office and tilted her head at the sight, trying to fully picture it.

“First and foremost, how are you holding up?”

Starla wiggled in her seat, fixing her imaginary bow around her neck, “Oh! Just dandy, Mr. Berzatto. I sure do appreciate your sentiments.”

Carmy snorts, reaching forward to lightly shove her knees away playfully, “okay, wise ass. No but seriously, you’re doing okay?”

“Always! Of course,” Starla beams with a fan of her hand, “When am I not?”

Carmy presses his elbows into his knees, “uh two weeks ago when you were puking and shitting your brains out?”

“I don’t need the throwback visuals. I lived it already, thanks.” Starla crossed one leg over the other.

Carmy clears his throat, “uh right, yeah. Sorry.”

“Uh huh…are you okay, Chef?”

Carmy shifts his eyes back from the tunnel that wants to set in, a flash of white almost appearing above Starla’s head as he focuses in on the question that’s asked of him.

“Hm?”

“Is something bothering you? Want to talk about it?”

“Oh no,” Carmy frowns with a brief close of his eyes, “I didn’t bring you back here to talk about me. I wanted to check in with you because I know I haven’t been as attentive as I could have been when you were down and I want to apologize for that.”

Starla shrugs, “all I care about is Cecil. His growth should be much bigger and that was a bit of a let down.”

Carmy begins bouncing his leg, “And I don’t ever want you to feel that way because of me, especially when it was my responsibility to at least look out for the damn plant.”

“Talk to it, water it, give it sunlight, and breathe it in.” Starla listed.

“…that salt you’re throwing…stings you know?”

Starla let’s out a small laugh, “well there was a cigarette just lingering in his soil. How is he supposed to grow if there’s nothing but toxins being placed on his roots?”

Carmy couldn’t say much to that since he couldn’t recall if he was the culprit who may or may not have thrown the stick in there on his way out. He also felt like Starla was giving him some philosophy lesson since she tended to do that without notice sometimes. And whenever he pointed it out, she’d just whisper her grandfather’s name who was a retired philosophy professor down at Columbia College Chicago.

“Heard,” carmy remembers to breathe, “I fucked up.”

“Kinda but that’s okay. I won’t hold it against you,” Starla placed her hand on top of Carmy’s, who briefly stares down at their hands together, “We all do sometimes and I’ll get Cecil back together.”

“I have no doubts about that,” Carmy answers, “you’re the one with the green thumb.”

“And apparently Tyler’s mom is too.”

Carmy sits back at that, suddenly quiet which makes a frown attempt to make it’s way on Starla’s round face.

“What was that?”

“What was what?”

“That thing you just did with your face.”

“I just look like this, what do you want me to do?” Carmy was confused and Starla can’t help but to snort out a laugh.

Starla gets to her feet, brown coat held in her hands, “okay car…”

“Are we good?” Carmy stares up at her.

Starla pauses, pretending to think about it, “Duh! I don’t know if you know this Carmy but i consider you family and you’re stuck with me.”

Carmy felt a crooked smile itching to break onto the corner of his lips but he just shakes his head at the brunette. He’s not sure how to feel about that or if he should feel a way about that but at least it’s something.

At least she’s not pissed at him.

The thing about Starla is you’re never sure when she’s upset. She’s usually the happy go lucky one in the restaurant, the soft spoken one. Carmy quickly learned why Michael liked having her around. She brought a sense of peace during the chaos. Starla was as interesting as it comes since she had the culinary experience but didn’t feel the obsession with it.

Cooking became a hobby and once it became a profession she learned it wasn’t something she was in love with like other chefs. She wasn’t ready to devote her entire life into the craft and respectfully she stepped away from it. Until she came across Chicagoland, ready to order until she heard Michael Berzatto yelling about the lack of ingredients. She stepped in with a suggestion and from there, Michael wanted her in the shop for her quick thinking but gentle nature.

It wasn’t a done deal by any means, she proved herself in the kitchen with her out of the box thinking. Yes she went to school for a year, almost two, which she learned a lot spending time in the Netherlands but that didn’t feel like her purpose. It just felt like a experience that she was grateful for and could share with others from time to time but she enjoyed the roots of culinary arts in different spaces.

Which means most of her time was spent working at farmer’s markets and tending to farms (yes in Chicago!) and community gardens. That’s where her heart lay but she had to be honest and say a piece of it would always be here too.

“Good, Good.” Carmy states as he’s now on his feet, resting his arm across Starla’s shoulder, beginning to lead her out of the office while his phone buzzes.

Starla sighs, “you know what would make this tense energy better?”

“What’s that?” Carmy searches his pocket for his phone, peeking at it but continued holding it in his hand.

She rests her head against his shoulder in deep thought, “Making popsicles.”

“Marcus is still in Copenhagen.”

“Please. I’m well aware, that’s my other bestie. Location on at all times.” Starla stares at Carmy as if he’s just offended her.

Carmy scratches at his brow, thankful that his phone stopped buzzing, “that’s a thing?”

“Heck yeah it is! You can’t just send my bestie away to another country and not expect me to not keep consensual tabs on him! And I would do the same thing for each and everyone of you if they decide to leave for awhile.”

Carmy stops walking as he looks at Starla, “and what if you decide to leave?”

“Then…I guess that means I’d truly wouldn’t want to be found. Which would take a lot for me to do, I’m sure.” Starla faces the wild-haired man who pinched at his bottom lip in thought.

Carmy recently had this dream—or nightmare of Starla calling it quits. He summed it up as Starla breaking free—and that’s on high school musical! There were haunting cellos, the setting was iridescent but gritty and Carmy couldn’t see Starla’s face. He just knew they were sitting face to face on a white solid floor that turned into milk and he kept wanting to reach out to her but couldn’t. He felt his mouth moving but couldn’t hear anything but the cellos.

carmy didn’t know what that would mean if that became reality.

“Popsicles in the middle of April? I don’t know about that, we’re still trying to get the repairs done because we really can’t fail another inspection.” Carmy informs Starla who grips his shoulders.

“Listen, we can all use a beach day.”

“I’m not going to beach.” Carmy’s nose scrunched in distaste.

Starla pokes at his chest, “Okay fine! We don’t have to physically go there but I’ll bring the beach to you.”

“How is that going to work?”

“You have all this extra space now.” She taps her temple.

“There’s mold in the back room, holes in the walls, Syd and I are still working on the menu, walls that still need to be painted, inspections that need to be approved, new furniture that’s been placed in storage—

“And we will get to all of that. I’m sure all of the progress that you’ve made still counts for something and I can’t wait for you to realize that.” Starla told Carmy as she squeezed his shoulders, “and I’m gonna make you a appointment with my mom so she can get those boulders out of your shoulders but first…popsicles!”

Just like a flash of a camera, Starla whirls by him, pushing the kitchen doors open as she claps her hands getting the attention of everyone, “friends! May I have your attention, please?!”

“Guys! Star’s talking!” Tyler calls out to the rest, eyes solely set on her.

Starla winks at the round blue-gray eyed man across the room in thanks before clearing her throat, “Carmy and I are proposing the idea of a summer’s day.”

“Which means what? I don’t follow.” Tina asks, figuring that maybe a new culinary term she may have missed out on.

“I’m gonna go striking?!” Richie raises his fist in the air with a wide grin full of teeth.

Sydney immediately shields her face, “Oh please no.”

“Hearing that is making me nauseous again.” Sugar covers her mouth.

“You better not, don’t nobody want to see that.” Tina points at the taller man who just kisses his lips at the Latina.

“What?! I’ve got a great body,” Richie defends, “Just ask Freya!”

Fak pokes his head out from around the corner, “I believe you buddy! I’ve accidentally walked in on them once—

“Whoa! Hey! Shut the fuck up, please.” Carmy scowls, not wanting his old time friend to finish that sentence.

“Love you man, thanks for having my back! Unlike some people.” Richie slaps Fak on his back while glaring at Carmy who sneers at him in response.

Starla puts her hand on Carmy’s shoulder while sending a look to Richie who stands back on the balls of his feet, slowly putting his F U motion down from his chin once he realized Starla’s brown eyes were on his.

“As I was saying…we’re bringing summer to the bear a little early! Which means—

She lightly bumps Carmy’s shoulder to finish, “which means uh, making popsicles.”

“Making popsicles?” Sweeps asks, “I’m down.”

“And what else?” Carmy whispers to Starla.

Starla tells, “and we’re gonna have a beach day basically.”

“How are we gonna do that? Are we actually going to beach?” Tina questions.

Carmy quickly tossed in, “No. we don’t really have the time.”

“But we have time to make popsicles?” Sydney holds her arms out in bafflement.

It’s Carmy’s turn to stare at his partner considering her very valid concerns, “Look I know this is unexpected coming from me. However I’m taking my conversation with Star into consideration and will allow this break as a uh—as a learning experience for us all. I’m not the best at desserts and treats so this’ll give us the chance to bond and get inspired by your inputs by contributing this to the menu.”

“Wow, Carmy. That was beautiful.” Fak cradles his wrench to his chest while Carmy just shrugs, briefly glancing at Starla who smiles at him.

Sugar lifts her shoulder, “whatever, I can use a beach day.”

“You just pulled that out of your ass but I’m fucken tired of looking at these walls so why not?” Richie tossed the sledgehammer over his shoulder, making Angel quickly side-step out of the way.

Carmy ignores Richie again, “Angel, Manny. You guys can head on home and we’ll save you some of the popsicles for you to try tomorrow. Thanks for your work today.”

“You got it boss.”

“Good luck!” Angel chucks up the deuces as he leads the way through the kitchen.

Tina raises her hand, making Carmy point at her, “Jeffery, you said you’re not much of dessert guy so who’s gonna lead us on this?”

“Is it gonna be you, Star?” Sydney asks.

It’s Tyler’s turn to raise his hand, “Um, I can show everyone.”

Carmy blows out a breath, “I was hoping you say that.”

Everyone found themselves gathered in the kitchen, the heart of the bear as Tyler awkwardly held everyone’s attention. Breakfast maybe his specialty but slushies counted as breakfast just as much as smoothies. And popsicles were in the same category right? Tyler knows what he was doing, he swears! Starla stood right beside him, resting a hand full of comfort on his arm which made him stand up a little taller.

“Walk us through the steps, Chef.” Carmy tells his cousin, swaying from one foot to the other as Tyler swallows his nerves but nods his head.

Tyler clasps his hands together, “Okay so popsicles. It’s a lot easier than some might think and I believe we have all the tools we need…depending on what type of popsicles we’re interested in making.”

“I’m sure whatever you choose will be tasty.” Sugar encourages as she leans against one of the tables.

Tyler smiles a bit at his family member, “okay so what you would do is select the fruits you want as your main flavors. I know we have some fruits we can spare, perhaps the raspberries and pineapples?”

“Whatever you need, Chef.” Carmy replies.

Tyler continues, “Thank you Chef. We’re going to chop those fruits up and set half of them to the side but depending on the consistency you want, keep to the side or you can blend the other half or the entire fruit if that makes sense. From there you want to pick your liquid, I personally think rice milk is fire and also your safe bet if you’re serving to a party of people for the first time.”

“Rice milk? That’s a choice.” Sydney hums as she takes this in.

“Yes, Chef. I think it has the best consistency out of all the milks but I’m sure you and Carmy will figure out the best options if this becomes a keeper.”

Sydney glimpses at Carmy who holds her stare before they both turn back to Tyler. Starla also takes notice of this but figured that their thing and has nothing to do with her so she gives Tyler her time.

He goes on about selecting a sweetener of choice, he likes agave nectar, and possibly a hint of something cool, which is optional, like mint whether fresh or with syrup along with a splash of lime. Tina, Sydney, and Richie are on chopping duty while Tyler, Starla, and sweeps tend to the liquids.

Carmy is supervising it all, watching syrup come together as one in a pot before they have to get combined with the fruit. Tyler asks carmy for a few important tools, curious if that was something the restaurant owned for this snack since it’s not what he used back home at the diner. They don’t have the right machine to freeze the popsicles in minutes, which is okay Starla notifies, saying that they can actually venture off to the beach day as she disappears for a good twenty minutes while the rest carry on.

Starla spins around Carmy, seeming brighter as Tyler is using a stainless steel confectionary funnel to pour the soup like popsicle into the molds that sat on the counter. He then encourages everyone to do the same with the set of molds before bringing them to the freezer.

“That shit looks good as fuck, how long do they have to sit for?” Tina asks with a lick of her lips.

Tyler is wiping his hands on a rag, “I’d say at least six hours.”

“Six hours?! It’s already three o’clock.”

Tyler pursed his lips but appears apologetic, “If we had those huge instant freezers then we wouldn’t have to wait as long but time flies fast.”

“I’m leaving at six by the latest, make sure you guys save me one.” Sugar orders with a smile.

“What’s next?”

Fak exhales, “Man, That was shortest break ever.”

“It’s not over yet,” Starla places her hands on the counter, “please head to the beach oasis where the lockers once were.”

Murmurs fill the kitchen area as everyone heads in the direction mentioned. There sat a few beach chairs, towels, decorative sand, a umbrella, a projector that showed the ocean, along with the nagging sound of seagulls, and finally LED studio lights that mimics the hot sun during a summer’s day.

“Whaaaat!” Fills the room as everyone stared around the space in awe.

Starla calls out, “Welcome to a beach day at the bear, friends!”

“There’s actually a cooler here full of beer, hard lemonade and sandwiches. I’m sold and I love you, kid!” Richie yells, ready to yank his arms out of his shirt but not without yanking Starla’s cheeks to place a kiss on her forehead before stalking back to the sand.

Starla watches in peace as everyone makes themselves comfortable from sitting down or lounging in the faux sand.

“You really went all out,” Carmy says from beside Starla, “how long have you had this planned?”

“It’s been on my mind for awhile actually but it really came into effect after I learned about all these inspections,” Starla confesses, “Go on, look at the water, listen to the waves and the seagulls. Really enjoy it and be one with nature.”

Enjoyment? What’s that?

Carmy scratches at his hair, “…I’ll try as long as you officially promise you’re gonna be with us on opening night?”

“Do you really want another chopped on your hands?” Starla inquires.

Carmy looks up at the ceiling thinking about it. He’s heard about Starla’s unaired episode on chopped and how that was the third straw on her not wanting to seriously cook anymore. He figured it was traumatic enough especially since there’s footage that’s not been seen. He felt for Starla truly but he wasn’t afraid to push because he felt she needed to be on his team. If Michael saw it in her then, Carmy definitely saw it too.

“You’re better than that.”

“Oh, I’m not so sure.”

“Practice makes perfect.”

“Nothings perfect and I accept that.”

“Well I don’t.”

“Carmy, Starla’s said before that she doesn’t know if she’ll be with us in the kitchen on opening night and we should just respect that. Im sure she’ll still be here to support regardless if she has on a apron or not.” Tyler cuts in, making them both realize that he had been right beside them this entire time.

Carmy turns his stare to Tyler then, “I didn’t really ask for your input on this, Tyler. I’m the one that gets the say on building this team.”

Tyler sighs, “I’m just saying if you’re trying to keep your team then maybe you shouldn’t just only see your point of view. That’s all.”

Carmy’s tone is clipped now, “I’m sorry, what the fuck are you talking about?”

“Starla’s been saying that she doesn’t feel enjoyment in cooking anymore. It just a hobby but Michael wanted her here and you’re kinda forcing her to still be here, although it’s part time. Don’t you get that it sounds like guilt tripping?”

“Are you serious?” Carmy glared at Tyler now, “do you honestly think I have to force anyone to be here? Like I’m not building this to actually be worth something? Worth something that people want to work here, put their soul into? Anybody can fuck off, including you.”

“Hey, Car.” Starla steps forward pushing his finger down as she looks back at Tyler who’s brows are raised, “Ty. Let’s calm down.”

“Honestly…screw that.” Is Tyler’s retort, “Just because he owns this place doesn’t mean he gets to shit on everybody else that may see and think differently from him. He doesn’t really appreciate you, Star. Not enough to let you go.”

“What’re you saying, you asshole?”

“I think you know what I’m saying, you’re just choosing not to hear it or deal with it.” Tyler is calm but his voice holds weight to it.

The sound goes right out of Carmy’s ears as Starla and Tyler share words. He didn’t know why Tyler thought he can come in here, after Carmy allowed him to be here and try to talk shit to him? Tyler didn’t know anything. He was just as new to this place as Carmy once was and he didn’t understand why Tyler felt the need to come at him right now? He’s been as patient as he can with Tyler, picking up on his weaknesses easily in the kitchen but kept them to himself.

He was family after all.

They didn’t get the chance to talk much when it came to Tyler’s personal connection to the kitchen or anything really but here he was speaking on Starla. Like Carmy was a crap person for wanting to see Starla reach her potential. He couldn’t fathom that Tyler was trying to tell him about her. Carmy’s been around Starla much longer than Tyler was and he didn’t miss how he was all puppy dog eyes whenever she was around.

He couldn’t blame him but he also couldn’t stand it.

Carmy usually wasn’t the impulsive one and tended to disassociate from all situations that ended up being too much. He was used to people belittling him and talking at him instead of with him. So he may have been triggered and didn’t realize that he pulled Starla out of the way to get to Tyler.

Until the sound entered his ears again.

“Carmy!”

It was sugar’s voice that brought him back into the scene. He was held up against the wall by Richie, with Sugar trying to get his attention but his eyes continued to search around. Tyler was getting up from the ground, holding his throat while Tina and Sweeps checked on his well-being.

On the floor sat Starla, holding her side, steel table slightly pushed to the side as her eyes swam with tears and Sydney stayed crouched in front of her. Both women turned their gaze to Carmy who was fighting to remember to breathe.

What did he do?

“You tried to rough him up, cousin.” Richie declared as Carmy’s glaciers fought to settle on Richie.

Sugar grips her brother’s face, feeling a bit of déjà vu, “ I love you, Carmen. Please…just calm down for me.”

And as he looked at his sister, he somewhat was.

“You good?” Richie asked, arm still pressed against Carmy’s chest but it was almost like he felt nothing.

Not until he noticed the swinging of the doors, signaling that Tyler was now out of the kitchen and Starla shakily beginning to collect her things.

“Star,” Carmy croaked out, “I’m—

“No!” Starla hissed before slamming her hand on the counter as Carmy almost moved to step towards her, “NO! You don’t get to act like that and expect me to be fine, it’s not right Carmy. This isn’t. I’m tired too and I don’t know how much more you think I can give.”

Carmy feels his stomach turning, like a washing machine off track—much like his own mind, “Don’t leave.”

A watery smile appears on her facial features then and she struggles to suck in some air, making a dull ache appear in Carmy’s chest at the sound.

He was the reason, he didn’t do enough.

“That’s the problem friend,” she gets out before she walks off with her things, taking the light right with her.

Carmy wants to be left alone, hours after that. He silences Claire, Sydney is at a lost for words and that’s another feeling he can’t describe as she leaves with his sister, Tina gives him a squeeze and a look to Richie who just nods his head, before she also leaves with Sweeps accompanying her as the night falls.

Richie knows that this moment was a huge one because he’s had plenty. Carmy needed help and if what he had with Starla is truly broken, he was going to need all the support he can get. Everyone in the bear has never had that on the outside and that’s one of the reasons why everyone’s connection is so strong on the inside. Perhaps that’s what brought them all together.

He doesn’t want to stare at the younger man for long, knowing that carmy would turn his anger on him so he leaves him in the kitchen and takes a seat on a bucket at the front of the restaurant, his desired spot.

That doesn’t stop richie from yelling that he’s here for carmy if he needs him.

He hopes one day he will as he lights up a cigarette and browses Facebook, seeing a picture of Tiffany with Frank on that jackoff’s page.

Richie should block him but can’t bring himself to.

Carmy is back in the freezer, door pinned back with a box full of beef stock as the light inside flickers above his head while he checks on the popsicles. He doesn’t have the energy to find a wooden stick, so he brings the mold back into the kitchen and pushes the frozen treat from the mold.

The popsicle slides against the steel table, leaving a light trail of its liquid behind. With shaky hands, Carmy scoops up the biting cold popsicle and let’s it sit against his skin for a minute before shoving it into his mouth.

It’s the right amount of sweetness and barley tart, as it melts against his tongue while he buries his head into his forearms that rests on the counter.

Blocking out the view of the kitchen and everything in between.

“Let’s go out.”

Starla doesn’t feel like it’s appropriate given the situation but the look in Tyler’s eyes at the front door of her apartment, she doesn’t argue much on it, tossing the ice pack into the nearby sink.

Sure she has words for Tyler too, like sticking his pointed nose in her own battles when it came to her friendship with Carmy but for tonight, she needs something else.

It’s raining hard as Starla sits on the passenger side of Tyler’s beat up pick up truck and he lets up off the gas as they locate a bar. He keeps close, attempting to shield Starla from the rain with his Jean jacket but it’s like she’s on autopilot, walking at ease; almost ahead of him as bits of rain falls over her, trying to knock her down.

Starla and Tyler both share that they aren’t much drinkers (Carmy too) so they limit themselves to two to three shots before Starla’s on the dance floor. Tyler doesn’t want to be a creep but he can’t help but to keep his eyes on the woman who gets lost on the dance floor, dancing the night away and keeping her distance away from anyone that tries to share this personal time with her.

How unlike her.

“She your girlfriend?” A brown skinned woman suddenly to his left asks with bangs.

Tyler stumbles, “ah, no. Just a friend.”

“Her lost.”

“No, it’s mine.” He sternly says to the woman who nods as she rests her hand on his chest in understanding.

Starla moved to the pulsating beat, tequila running fire through her blood with each twist of her body until she feels nothing. And when she opens her eyes to the shimmer diamond lighting along with the numerous of dancing bodies surrounding her…

She should feel alone like she commonly does in a room full of people but the gleam that outlines the frame of her being, tells her otherwise and the standstill in her movements gets her going to the beat again, head held back and arms raised high up to the ceiling with a smile splitting onto her lips.

Fear will no longer be welcomed here.

✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ * ✧ ˚✩‧₊˚ ⋆·˚ ༘ *

Continue along with my summer anthology series here.

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vvictuss · 6 months

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Silence's Song

Intro for a work-in-progress fanfic inspired by a single line (included at end of post) in The Buried Dagger by my favorite WH40k author @jmswallow.

Setting is on Barbarus before Mortarion is found by the Emperor. Took some liberties with Silence's description and Barbaras’s worldbuilding, as in adding a single tree, I guess. I'm still new when it comes to lore too so apologies for any conflicting points. (also I know my writing isn't perfect, pls forgive the odd mistake and lmk so I can fix it lol)

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A glint of pale light bounced from her cold metal as Silence sang.

She was beautiful as ever, polished in blood. Well cared for, the instrument cut through Barbarus’s pestilent sky with harmonious joy, like a spring bird delighting in the sun. Ichor pooled at the edges of her steeled blade at the conclusion of fading translucent streaks, then dripped from the toe’s end with a quiet pattering, like a distant drum beat to accompany her tune.

So much more than a tool, Silence brought a crescent omen of end, whose handle was grasped firmly by her hooded maestro. The young man wielded his instrument with the reverent steadfast and command of a conductor readied at the podium. Delicate, yet sharp, precise, dictatorial. Silence’s snath curved out like a crane’s neck captured in elegant Barbarusian willow wood. Shoestring strips of paled leather wrapped her grip and stem, darkened and indented where his hands had laid day after day -- worn, sculpted by time and strength. Silence fed on the crops gleaned by the Reaper of Men with grace and obedience -- in return, he respected her service through harvesting what evil had been sown before them.

Together, they danced. There were times Mortarion entertained the thought of humming along as his deadly companion serenaded their damned enemy. Ever since he heard that beautiful noise from the villagers on Barbarus the first night spent free from Necare’s prison, no sound met his ears without being composed into song. Everything was music, when he finally learned of its existence. Wind blasting through the valley as a deep horn’s bellow, noxious fog plucking its wheat strings, percussive cracks and pops of the village’s nightly fires.

Most of all, though, he heard it with the swing of his scythe.

She was an orchestra. She was an ensemble. She was a choir to rival that of mighty cathedrals. Named Silence, yet she trilled when her chine’s blade split skin and bone as effortlessly as a knife through paper, like the smoothness of breath pushed under a woodwind’s reed.

(Quote from The Buried Dagger and more below)

The inspiration:

"'Silence' was still moving, coming around, and the Death Guard heard the air sing as the blade cut again before the guardian could register that it had already been killed."

I loved the imagery of this whole scene, so vivid and fantastical yet grounded. Easy to follow, exciting, and James Swallow's technical writing skills push me to improve. I've tried to pay attention to the way he keeps the flow going while still taking the time to set the scene and immerse the reader.

It's been less than a year since I let myself pick up writing again and I'm proud of the direction I'm headed. Obviously I have a long way to go, if anyone has critiques, please comment or shoot me a DM/ask! I'd appreciate feedback very much.

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ginger-goblin · 2 years

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Spellbound | Eddie Munson

also on wattpad [@TheHotWeasley]

Track Six: The Killing Moon

Description: Melanie, our favorite new pagan goth girl at Hawkins High, agrees to play with The Hellfire Club, and gets a ride home from Eddie the dungeon master…

Warnings: Strong Language, Mutual Pining, Just some nice fluff lol

“𝕱𝖆𝖙𝖊

𝖀𝖕 𝖆𝖌𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖘𝖙 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑

𝕿𝖍𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖌𝖍 𝖙𝖍𝖊 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖈𝖐 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖙𝖍𝖎𝖓

𝕳𝖊 𝖜𝖎𝖑𝖑 𝖜𝖆𝖎𝖙 𝖚𝖓𝖙𝖎𝖑

𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝖌𝖎𝖛𝖊 𝖞𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖘𝖊𝖑𝖋 𝖙𝖔 𝖍𝖎𝖒" - 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕶𝖎𝖑𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕸𝖔𝖔𝖓, 𝕰𝖈𝖍𝖔 & 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕭𝖚𝖓𝖓𝖞𝖒𝖊𝖓

"That... is... a... MISS, MELS!" Eddie bellowed over the table of geeks.

The gaggle of teens screamed in agony. I was their last hope for this monster, who I couldn't even remember the name of. I dramatically fell back in my chair, groaning loudly.

"See, she's not even good!" Mike yelled, clearly annoyed.

"Mike. I am going to ask you once again, to shut your stupid mouth." Dustin said, slapping the back of Mike's head.

"Hey!" Mike yelped in pain. I rolled my eyes.

"Does this kid ever stop whining? It's getting ridiculous-"

We all began arguing over one another, shouting obscenities in each other's faces and flipping many birds. Suddenly, Eddie began to slam his hands on the table.

"CHILDREN! Now that I have your attention, this dastardly dragon is roaring in its success of tearing Miss Galadriel's arm off. However, he is only one good hit away from death. Miss Galadriel, as we know, is the last living member of the party. What do you do, Miss Galadriel?" Eddie sat perched on his chair, wiggling his eyebrows in my direction.

"JUST FUCKING FLEE, SERIOUSLY!" Mike yelled with his hands gripping his hair.

"Language, small one!" I teased, sticking my tongue out.

"Miss Galadriel, this is serious. One more hit and you're done for as well. You can make this last shot with your bow, you still have that right?" Dustin asked. I nodded in response.

"Ah, I don't know if I can do it. I should just flee so we can all get out of here." I reasoned.

"I'll cheer you on. I bet you can get at least one good roll this game."

"Thanks, Dustin." I said, sarcastically.

"Come on! Do it!" Dustin cheered, tossing me the D20. I took a deep breath, and looked to Eddie, raising an eyebrow.

"Hast thou decided to FIGHT?" Eddie said, dramatically.

"I, Miss Galadriel, draw my bow back with my teeth, since I am without an arm. I release the bow and aim directly into the beasts glistening mouth." I described, cautiously shaking the die in my hand. All eyes were on me, as I quickly released it onto the table. We watched it bounce several times, before it landed right in front of Mike.

"Twenty." Mike gulped.

I screamed in delight, and so did my party members. Dustin was cheering, patting me on the back, while Jeff roared and pounded his chest. I laughed at their goofy antics. I finally looked up to Eddie, who was astounded at my roll. He sighs dramatically.

"The beast has been slain by our mighty hero, Miss Galadriel." He bowed in front of me, and I felt my heart swell.

The party wrapped things up quickly, it seemed like everyone had parents who were actually worried about their whereabouts. I gave them all awkward high fives as we exchanged numbers. Dustin was the only one to ask for a hug, which I reluctantly obliged to. He was such a sweet kid. He didn't see me as a freak, he just saw me as someone cool. That was a feeling unlike anything I had known. Someone thought I was actually cool. Eddie saw me as a freak and helped me embrace it, but Dustin was showing me that I could be someone people could look up to.

Eddie and I were left to clean up the game, and we had been either recalling funny things Dustin said or making some sort of weird flirty comment towards one another.

"You actually did really, really well for a first timer." Eddie mumbled, packing up his DM items.

"Well, I've never played a game like this before, but you sure are good at what you do." I smiled back at him.

"Oh, don't flatter me. I was trying to be the nice one for once."

"I don't think either of us are particularly 'nice ones'." I said, using air quotes. Eddie chuckled in response.

"I'm serious, though. You're a great story teller. It's nice to see you so passionate about something that isn't, like, being mean to popular people or using your wicked charm on your sheep." I explained.

"Always great of you to throw a little insult at the end there, Mels." Eddie joked. I stuck my tongue out at him and sat on the table, remembering all that had happened. I found myself smiling again.

"Would you ever consider coming back to the Hellfire club?" Eddie asked, reluctantly.

"Maybe. Do I get to have one of those cool T-shirts?" I smirked. Eddie locked eyes with me.

"I don't know. We'd have to find you an all black one, I'm sure." He teased, eyeing my outfit.

"Hey, maybe I'll sport the color white for a day or two if it means I can watch you weirdos scream over a table top game."

"That makes you one of the weirdos too." Eddie grinned.

"I guess it does." I smiled back at him. My heart began to flutter. I was feeling exactly what all the poets talked about. The yearning, the pining, the wanting. Oh, fuck. I think I might be falling in love with Eddie Munson. We stared into one another for a second too long, the both of us looking away and chuckling softly.

"I happen to know for a fact that, you, miss Melanie, take the bus to school everyday, so therefore... you need a ride home, don't you?" Eddie questioned, leaping up on the table to join me.

"You are a total stalker, Munson." I teased, crossing my arms over my chest.

"That's a lot coming from the girl who stared at me for a week up on that hill..." Eddie accused, his eyes widening with mischief.

"What? I was not staring at you." I bluffed, incredibly fucking embarrassed that he noticed me analyzing him from afar.

"Yes you totally fucking were! Those eyes of yours pierce into my soul, man. They're like daggers. You can feel them from a mile away. It's pretty intense." Eddie smiled at me, scooting closer.

"You're full of shit. I... j-just have a scary face." I stuttered.

"Holy fuck, am I making Miss Melanie all flustered?" Eddie teased, tapping me on the nose.

"No! Jesus, you're relentless." I groaned, wiping at my nose to get the electric feeling away.

"Sure am. Let me drive you home, Mels." Eddie said softly, placing a hand on my shoulder. I felt his touch spread through my entire body, and I took a deep breath.

"Who am I to pass up a free ride from a dangerous satanist metalhead?" I joked. I slid off the table and began to walk towards the door.

Eddie sprinted to the door at a remarkable pace, knocking over a small trash can in the process. I laughed to myself, stopping right before I could open the door. Eddie heaved, then grinned wildly as he opened it for me. I felt myself blush.

"I would've never pegged you as a gentleman." I mused.

"There's a lot more where that came from." Eddie winked.

The car ride seemed a lot more quiet than usual. I mean, the car was shaking from Eddie's radio, but that was normal. It wasn't normal that Eddie was being so quiet. I looked over at him, his jaw was clenched, his left hand gripping the steering wheel, his right hand drumming the beat onto the dash. He seemed entranced. He looked ahead and licked his lips, then looked to me for just a second. I smirked at him.

"Earth to Eddie Munson? You haven't spoken for over two minutes and we're not driving anywhere near my house. What's up with you?" I teased, slightly worried.

"Well... I was hoping you'd be willing to stop by my place real quick...so I can show you my awesome guitar skills, and maybe share a blunt or two. I'm assuming you're not busy tonight because you are, unfortunately, a total loner hermit." Eddie smiled at me. I laughed in shock.

"I'll have you know I had big plans tonight." I bluffed.

"Big plans? Melanie?" Eddie laughed, and I ruffled my eyebrows.

"Huge."

"HUGE plans?"

"Yes!" I yelled.

"I'm not buying that! You're a total liar-" Eddie accused, pointing at me.

"Oh, I am not lying, Munson. I'll have you know I was very excited to head to my own home and hang out with my cat tonight." I protested.

"Well, who am I to get between a girl and her cat?" Eddie sighed, rolling his eyes. He began to pull into a random driveway to turn around, and I instantly hated my stupid attempts to hide from Eddie.

"Wait... I'm sorry, I'm just joking, really. I want to come over." I said, placing my hand on his arm rest. Eddie slowly looked at how close my hand was to him. He smiled softly.

"You want to come over to my place?"

"Yes. That's what I said, dummy." I teased, poking him in the side. Eddie laughed, and sighed happily, quickly turning the car back around towards his trailer.

"Perfect." He mused. The song on the radio changed to some Bon Jovi song, which made both Eddie and I roll our eyes. We chuckled, and I slowly reached over to change it. I smiled, and Eddie groaned, trying to change it again. It was playing "The Killing Moon", by Echo & The Bunnymen. It was cheesy, but I really liked the song.

"Holy shit, turn this garbage off." I grabbed Eddie's hand, stopping him from changing it. I smiled at him brightly. His hand felt absolutely perfect laced in mine. I could feel his pulse getting faster. I batted my eyelashes at him as the song continued to play. Eddie's eyes were incredibly wide, but he was still pissed about the song.

"I'm serious! Mels, there is no way you like this song." Eddie was absolutely furious, but I wanted to annoy him. My instinct was to sing along obnoxiously.

"Under blue moon I saw you, so soon you'll take me..." I sang, squeezing his hand. He squeezed back.

"LA LA LAA! FUCK OFF, I HATE THIS SONG-" Eddie attempted to yell over me, but I just started singing the song louder.

"FATE! UP AGAINST YOUR WI-LL! THROUGH THE THICK AND THIN... HE WILL WAIT UN-TIL YOU GIVE YOURSELF TO HIM..."

Eddie continued to protest, but in his eyes he seemed to recognize what I was saying. I liked this song for a reason. It made me think of him. I sang quieter.

"In starlit nights I saw you, so cruelly you kissed me. Your lips, a magic world-" I felt Eddie squeeze my hand again, and I giggled. I have never giggled this much in my life. So I continued to sing. As I sang, Eddie bit his lip and smiled. He slowly rubbed his thumb along my hand in such a delicate way I felt a shiver down my spine. This guy was going to be the end of me.

tag list: @hellv1ra @unprobriotghoul @eddiemunsonswifu @ick90

#eddie munson #eddie munson angst #eddie munson enemies to lovers #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson x female reader #stranger things #stranger things imagines #stranger things season 4 #eddie munson imagine #enemies to lovers #joseph quinn #spellbound #spellbound eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #Eddie Munson fanfiction

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liquidstar · 1 year

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Not sure if we can send more than one but #3 and #16 for your ocverse?

YESS OFC ITS OK THANK YOU SM <3

BUT. IM PUTTING THIS UNDER A CUT BC I TYPED SO MUCH LOL SORRY ANON <3

3.) any recurring images/elements?

Since I just answered a looong drabble abt the anthea converse I’ll answer this one for the polaris one lol

The obvious one is a lot of space and star themes, even the characters designs generally have some sort of little cosmic accessories. Different characters will have their own little sub-motifs, not just in the way they dress but just things that will come up in their story a lot. Like, Polaris herself is a navigator so really anything related to directions (In a more abstract way too, like, she’s lost in life and such), for Saiph, his whole thing can veer on being pretty upsetting but you can always look out for this one Spesific Fucking Knife that’s going to pop up constantly, for Al it’s anything related to halves and opposites, I mean, just look at his hair. For Bella it’s partly her sweet tooth, though it’s also not really about that at all. And for Mira you can aaaalways look out for birds and wings and really anything that flies, oh I hope that doesn’t have any possible negative side effects!!

Anyway I could go on with all the characters (Felis and “lives,” Juno and cracks/breaking, Ain and, well, eyes, etc.) but I think I’ll leave it at these for rn!

Overall though… A huge huge huge huge huge overarching theme, and I think really the entire point of the story I want to tell with them is… Connection! We’re made of stardust, we’re all connected, people need people to survive. People need connection, no man is an island (Polaris), needing help isn’t a weakness (Saiph), it’s okay to be a burden (Al), vulnerability is a necessity for connection (Bella), people continue to live because of the kindness of others (Mira)

There’s totally a flipside of this too! And other character’s different struggles with it! But again I’d be here all day just listing them all (Not that I’d mind. This is fully for your sake LOL). There are a bunch of smaller themes I’d love to get into, like a lot of the characters arcs are sort of about different types of ego death, sometimes taken in strangely literal ways. And of course the theme of “flaws” being power is important here because of the way that all the characters interconnect into something stronger. And the idea that it’s not somekind of moral failing to be imperfect. But it’s also possible to grow, especially with the help of others.

AND LOVE! The idea that all love that has ever been and ever will be has always been there. Because, again, we are made of stardust, we are part of the universe. Every moment that you have spent loving something, you have been the universe giving love back to itself. So don’t deny yourself that.

16.) imagine the entire story takes place but in the meantime the characters all also have tumblr. what kind of (terrible) tumblr posts would happen?

OK silly time. I actually think this concept is so funny so I wanna save it for in case I ever wanna ACTUALLY make fake tumblr posts for them...

So in the meantime here's just what I think their tumblrs would look like

Polaris has not changed her blog theme, icon, or even blog title at all. And she only browses and doesn’t post. She doesn’t understand why she keeps getting blocked.

Saiph comments on EVERY SINGLE FUCKING POST that he reblogs. All of them. No matter what. He needs everyone to know his thoughts.

Al doesn’t use Tumblr and if you saw him reblog old emo music at 3am no you didn’t that was someone else. That was a different Al. Stop asking questions.

Bella has the most decked out “pastel goth” Tumblr theme ever. She’s so meticulous about it as if it matters. She reblogs edgy moodboards and Kuromi edits. Her Caard is a maze filled with so many blinkies you’ll go blind. She also posts cake.

Mira runs a bird themed gimmick blog. She, like, roleplays as a bird who’s a menace to society. She rbs Bella’s cakes with stuff like “Oh fuck yes. A little cake for me. *pecks at it*” She’s having fun.

Felis has one of those catgirlbodypart urls. Love her for it of course.

#finn's ocs

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the-sun-and-the-sea · 2 years

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TBOSAS Thoughts (Chapters 25-27)

I don’t really have a ton of thoughts about specific events in chapter 25, but one thing that’s made very clear this chapter is Coriolanus’ growing suspicion that Sejanus is working with the rebels.

What’s really interesting about this story line is that Sejanus would be the typical protagonist in this situation. He’s the only one daring to fight against a corrupt regime, he’s bold and outspoken, he feels different than his peers. But instead, Coriolanus is our protagonist, and Sejanus is nothing but a “decade-long irritant” with loyalty problems. It’s a really interesting lens to view the story through, and I think that’s really apparent in this chapter.

I also think it really serves to highlight the difference between a protagonist and a hero. Coriolanus is the main character and we’re viewing the story from his eyes, but that doesn’t make him a noble hero. That just means we’re privy to his internal monologue and whatever it entails.

During this chapter, Coriolanus and the rest of the Peacekeepers also begin the hunt for the mockingjays to capture them and remove them from the forest. He also gets super paranoid that one of the doctors from Dr. Gaul’s lab is going to recognize him. To be honest, when I read this the first time, I felt that this plot line was a little boring, but maybe I’ll like it better this time.

Another small detail I wanted to point out was that Coriolanus took the officer candidacy test. He said that he enjoyed taking tests, because due to his “obsessive nature,” they came very easily to him. I just thought that was some nice insight into his personality.

The big cliffhanger for chapter 25 was that Coriolanus discovers that Sejanus has been hiding several thousand dollars among his belongings. This money obviously means something, but I genuinely cannot remember why Sejanus even brought it, lol. Anyway, later that day, when Sejanus comments that they have no money, Coriolanus knows he’s lying. This pretty much seals the deal that Sejanus is keeping secrets and can’t be trusted.

Coriolanus seems to be developing trust issues at this point, because at the beginning of chapter 26, he mentions how it would almost be better for Lucy Gray to be locked up in the Capitol so he always knew what she was doing. I’ve made a post about this line, but I just wanted to mention the complete lack of trust he has in Lucy Gray right here. Maybe his trust issues with Sejanus are bleeding into his relationships with other people, because this is not healthy.

Another significant plot point this chapter is Coriolanus and the jabberjays. We get a more detailed explanation on how the jabberjays work, as well as Coriolanus’ thoughts on mockingjays (he thinks they’re unnatural and wants them all dead, I bet you didn’t see that one coming). In fact, continuing on with the theme mentioned above, Coriolanus says that he thinks the jabberjays would be happier in the lab rather than in the woods in D12, because they would be in a controlled environment. This further emphasizes his belief that control = safety and should be prioritized over freedom and autonomy.

This is, of course, a direct parallel to his feelings about Lucy Gray. In addition to using almost the exact same quote, Lucy Gray and the Covey have been compared to birds (and Lucy Gray is the songbird of the title) throughout the book. Coriolanus even directly states this comparison. What’s funny about this is that Coriolanus hates the songbirds (the mockingjays more so than the jabberjays, but he wants them both gone). His fear and apprehension to the birds is some foreshadowing about how he will soon feel about Lucy Gray.

The final thing I wanted to mention for this chapter was just a small detail I found funny. Lucy Gray and the Covey sing the song from which Lucy Gray gets her name. It’s a song about a girl who dies and goes missing and nobody knows what happened. Coriolanus trying to make sense of this song is just so amusing. He’s not very satisfied when he realizes it’s a ghost story. His exact words are, “Oh, a ghost story. Ugh. Boo. So ridiculous.” Just wanted to point it out because I laughed at this part.

Chapter 27 is a big one. Trust is a big deal this chapter. Coriolanus is becoming increasingly distrustful of both Sejanus and Lucy Gray. He thinks about Sejanus’ decision to join the rebels constantly (even though Sejanus hasn’t confirmed it yet) and interrogates Lucy Gray about her relationship with Billy Taupe. He tells Lucy Gray that “trust is important” but he doesn’t seem to have a lot of it himself.

A couple of smaller things before we get into the bigger stuff. We learn how the Covey are named in this chapter. They get the first part of their name from a ballad and the second part from a color, which I think is really interesting. Lucy Gray is lucky and gets both her names from the same place. This is why I’m always a little annoyed when I see people call her Lucy; it’s explicitly stated that that’s not her full name. But I get where the confusion comes from because the naming methods are unconventional.

We also get a mention of katniss (the swamp potato, not the character), and Lucy Gray says it’s too early right now. Just thought that was funny.

Now onto the deeper stuff. Coriolanus and Lucy Gray have an interesting conversation this chapter about human nature and whether or not the Capitol is in the right for the control they exert over Panem. Coriolanus, predictably, believes that the Capitol is necessary to maintain order and stability and without it, people would be attacking each other like animals. With Dr. Gaul’s influence, it’s not hard to see where he gets this viewpoint from. Lucy Gray, on the other hand, believes that people aren’t naturally evil and the Capitol isn’t necessary for maintaining stability. She brings up the good point that people have been around for a long time before the Capitol was even created, and will probably be around for a long time after.

I love this conversation. I think it perfectly illustrates how incompatible Lucy Gray and Coriolanus really are. The obvious reason is that they have completely different viewpoints and ideas about the world. But we also know that Coriolanus opposes freedom without restriction in any capacity, not just in his theoretical discussion with Lucy Gray. He feels disturbed when he learns that the mockingjays have free roam of the woods, for example. However, Lucy Gray thrives on this freedom. She feels suffocated by the Capitol’s restrictions of the Covey. The fact that Lucy Gray’s dreams and ambitions to find freedom disturb Coriolanus so much really should’ve been a sign to end the relationship here, but I don’t blame Lucy Gray for Coriolanus’ lack of communication.

This really begins to plant the seeds of distrust for Lucy Gray in Coriolanus. We start to see hints of doubt from him about their relationship. I love this slow and subtle build up to what we know will be a brutal conflict later.

As I mentioned before, Coriolanus is also having trust issues with Sejanus (but you could argue that it’s justified this time because Sejanus is actually lying to him). He keeps a close eye on Sejanus, even going as far as to call them family in hopes that Sejanus will open up. Finally, at the end of this chapter, Sejanus beings to tell Coriolanus what he’s been hiding him. Unfortunately, they’re in the area with all the jabberjays, so Coriolanus presses ‘record’ so the jabberjays that are being sent to the Capitol will have the recorded confession of Sejanus committing treason.

This is really the beginning of the end for me. Coriolanus has reached the point of no return. Sejanus’ story is incredibly tragic and Coriolanus is incredibly frustrating as he continues to lie his way through every interaction so people believe he’s a good person. But more on Sejanus’ story next week, which will be the last three chapters and the epilogue, and also my last week posting these thoughts!

During these chapters, I listened to Lucy Gray and Deep in the Meadow.

Thanks so much for reading my thoughts this week!

#tbosas reread #tbosas #the ballad of songbirds and snakes #ballad of songbirds and snakes #thg #the hunger games

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laurelwinchester · 2 years

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I remember you being a Jensen fan who saw John as a bad father and agreeing with a lot of your posts. I was wondering what you think about Jensen's comments on the podcast that John was not a bad or abusive father during the show and the idea that he takes offense to opinions along those lines. I get that he has a show to sell but I don't know how I feel about him defending John's parenting and taking aim at fans for reacting to what was portrayed onscreen since the beginning of the show. 1/2

I think focusing on the idea that John was once a good man, before he turned into the revenge obssessed person he was shown to be during the show, would have been the better direction to go in to promote the show and sell the character. 2/2

okay so i'm going to start this answer off with an apology.

first of all, i'm sorry it took me a few days to get to this. i am forever behind on asks. second of all, i'm preemptively sorry because you took the time to thoughtfully write this out and send it to me and i'm afraid you might not be terribly impressed with my rambling answer. which is...

i just don't care anymore. about any of it. i have zero thoughts about what was said on the podcast. i don't care about what actors say and i barely care about what writers and/or showrunners care. i don't care about validation for my opinions, i don't care about the discourse. i just...don't. weird for me, i know, but it's a new thing i'm trying out lol.

the thing is, i'm just coming off like a month of watching and investing in The Boys and it was...fun. it was so much fun. it was genuinely the best time i have had in fandom in at least a decade. i forgot what it was like to have fun in this space. i forgot that's what fandom is supposed to be. i haven't had an experience like that in so long. i want to hang onto that.

and i've decided this is the energy i want to keep. life is short and long and chaotic and often rather terrible and fandom is supposed to be the place where you go to let go and have fun. not the place where there is constant discourse and dissection and projection and talking things to death and disagreeing with that and sneering over this and taking offense to what this actor said or what that article said or whatever. don't get me wrong, other people can do these things and they're not wrong for choosing their own fandom experience, but i'm tired and i just want to sit here on the bench and feed my birds.

i will 100% slip up. i will. absolutely. i will see something and i will bitch and moan and complain before i can stop myself. there will come a time where i see a particularly rancid take and have an ''actually you're wrong and i'm right and here's why'' moment. but for the most part, i just want to care a little less these days. i want to stop tip toeing around waiting for the next drama. i want to be less bitter. i want to be less unhappy in fandom. i want to write my fic and live in that world i've created. i want to watch these little shows and reblog these gifsets and overall just have fun. i'm here for a good time not a long time. that's my new vibe.

to speak directly to your point, which i have wandered away from and i apologize for that, yes, i think john was abusive. i think he was a shitty father. hate him. i fully believe that. others may not. jdm definitely doesn't. jensen may or may not (honestly kind of hard to tell given how he flip flops, i think it's possible he might just have a bit of a crush on jdm). but they're both entitled to their opinion. it's none of my business. has zero impact on me or how i see things. will this view of john impact the prequel? maybe, but the prequel is either going to work or it isn't. nothing any of us can do about that now. we'll just have to wait and see. watch it if it's good, change the channel if it's not, and go from there.

#with that said you are obviously also entitled to your opinion and while i may not be able to share your worry #i get it and i want you to know that your feelings are valid #hopefully the prequel addresses the John Issue and alleviates people's concerns #again i'm really sorry for this disappointing answer #i don't want to sound dismissive #i just can't really bring myself to care about spn discourse anymore #it's not the fun i'm looking for #asks #anon #hm how to tag this #fandom nonsense #spn discourse #john winchester for ts

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rafecameroninterlude · 2 months

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₊˚⊹˚ 𐙚 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮

pairing: dark!rafe x fem!kook!reader

summary: ❝i lost myself and i lost you too.❞ — you leave rafe at the height of his addiction after a heated exchange. fast forward two years later, and you have everything rafe couldn’t give you.

warnings: addiction, mentions of drugs, domestic violence, recovery, so much angsttt

word count: 1.4k

a/n: i let my best friend read this and she told me i needed to make a second part where rafe and y/n run into each other and now it has me thinking lol. would y’all want that? let me know in the comments or ask box <3 series masterlist

“what the fuck did you do with my shit!” you followed rafe into his bedroom, tears streaming down your face as you watched him flip the mattress over. your heart ached at the sight of the man in front of you. “rafe..” you shook your head. the man you once knew was so far gone, you couldn’t wrap your head around it. “y/n, i’m not gonna ask you again.” he looked up at you, his eyes bloodshot as he grinded his jaw. terror flooded through you at being in this position once again. “i-” you sucked in a breath when he stalked towards you, his eyes narrowing, “i-” he took your arm, pushing you against the wall. “i flushed everything. every last bit of it. it’s gone, rafe.” he blinked at you, his expression blank.

“what the fuck are you talking about?” his grip tightened, the pain shooting up to your shoulder. “you’re hurting me,” your voice was small as the tears started falling again, rafe unfazed by your obvious discomfort. “what do you mean you flushed everything?” he let go with a push, running his hands through his hair as he jogged to the bathroom, looking down at the toilet bowl as if his coke would be there waiting for him. he stared down wildy, your blood running cold when he slowly turned his head in your direction. “you said you were going to stop!” you sobbed, falling to the floor as you recounted walking in on him doing a line before he tried to gaslight you into thinking you didn’t know what you saw.

he walked over, squatting down as he took your chin inbetween his fingers. “look at me,” your eyes softened at his gentle tone, the feeling of pure horror returning when he smiled. “i could kill you right now.” in a flash, his fingers went from your chin to wrapping around your throat, yanking you up with him. you thrashed against him, your hands flying over his own in hopes he’d let go. “you wanna throw out my stuff? fine. i’ll throw you out then.” he dragged you to the front door, pushing you outside before slamming it shut. you lost your footing, your knees and the ball of your hands scraping against the pavement. you hissed, your white dress adorning new dirt stains. physical pain couldn’t compare to the emotional pain you felt right now.

you stared at nothing, having moved yourself from the concrete to the grass. you couldn’t even think of any words to describe what you were feeling at the moment. empty, defeat, sorrow, grief. how is it that you were grieving someone who was still alive? you sat for a long time, just listening to the birds chirp as the sun began setting over the horizon. while the outside was beautiful and lush with green from spring, there was a storm raging inside rafe’s home that you couldn’t even begin to fathom. you thought about things, and reflected over your relationship with rafe for the past four years of your life, but you couldn’t ignore the fact that the bad outweighed the good anymore.

on sore legs, you tried opening the front door, and much to your dismay it was locked. making your way around the house, the back door opened with ease as you slipped in silently. you took a look around, your heart twisting in your chest. all the furniture was flipped over, shards of glass from shattered decor and picture frames covered the floor, even the tv was knocked on its side. you managed to walk around the mess, keeping an ear out for rafe just in case he tried to come at you again. it was eerily quiet but you made your way upstairs nonetheless. you walked past the bathroom, freezing as you noticed rafe lying on the floor.

you peeked in, examining the unconscious man. his knuckles were bloodied, along with a few cuts on his arm that you assumed came from punching stuff like a maniac. soft snores echoed through the air as you felt an overwhelming sense of flight. it was now or never. you needed to leave from here, from him, and never look back. you didn’t care about anything that couldn’t fit in a backpack, quickly packing enough clothes to last you for a few days. you were going to explain everything to your parents as soon as you got the chance, but right now your main focus was getting to the mainland before rafe could wake up. you threw your hair up in a clip as you speed walked down the hallway, not even bothering to look at rafe one last time.

as soon as you made it out the door, you ran like your life depended on it, and in a way you assumed it did. you ran until your lungs burned with each intake of breath. you glanced down at the time on your phone. 8:45 PM, the exact time of the last ferry for the day. you took a deep breath, stepping on as you handed the guy at the front ten dollars. you spent the ten minutes it took to get to the mainland silently crying, fighting the urge to go back to rafe.

two years later…

“damn! that was really close!” topper watched the golf ball fly in the air, landing by the hole. “move over, watch how it’s done.” rafe laughed, ultimately not making the goal. they had been at the golf course for about an hour now. “hey man guess who’s coming back to figure eight.” rafe shrugged, taking a sip from his water bottle. normally no one ever left figure eight, except for..

“y/n. my sister told me a few days ago that her parents gave her their estate as a wedding gift. crazy right?” rafe paused not knowing what to take in first. the fact that you’re coming back, or that the words ‘wedding gift’ just left topper’s mouth. he stayed quiet, pondering over what he just heard. “y/n’s married?” apart of rafe was hurt at the revelation, but he knew he didn’t have the right to feel anything towards you. except guilt for everything he put you through.

“yeah, my sister went to her wedding like a month ago..” topper examined rafe’s reaction, “i’m sorry i shouldn’t be telling you this, i know you two used to be serious.” he took off his cap, wiping the sweat from his forehead. rafe tongued the inside of his cheek, shaking his head. “nah, it’s alright. i don’t think she knows i’m still here. i gave my dad hell so i’m pretty sure the last thing she, let alone anybody else, would expect is that tanneyhill is mine now.” he sighed, his golf club long forgotten in the dirt. “we’re bound to run into each other at some point.” flashbacks of you two ran through his mind, nothing but shame and anguish flooding his senses.

“i gotta go ‘top, i’ll catch up with you later, yeah?” rafe booked it across the golf course, ignoring the concerned shouts from his friend. for the next few days, rafe felt on edge as old urges started to pick at him, his frustration only growing as he fought with the idea to pass by your place. he wasn’t going to disturb your peace or talk to you or anything, he just wanted a glimpse of you. ‘fuck it.’ rafe grabbed his truck keys, knowing he was going to regret this later.

your parents, now your house, was only a few blocks away from tanneyhill. rafe didn’t fully pull onto the street, instead he parked at the corner, your house in clear view. there was a small moving truck outside, a man with black hair carrying a box inside. he didn’t have a work uniform on. rafe’s suspensions were confirmed when the same man walked out, you following behind him with that same pretty smile on your face. as if moving in slow motion, rafe watched as your husband picked you up, his heart twisting at the sight of you two sharing a kiss.

sure enough, your boulder of a ring caught rafe’s eye, the diamond sparkling underneath the afternoon sun. tears welled up in his eyes at how happy you were. your hair was longer, cheeks fuller, you were still the epitome of beauty. he beat himself up the entire time you were gone, and he was probably going to forever hate himself for the way he treated you. blinking away the tears, he made his way back home, the house feeling even more emptier than usual.

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sukirichi · 3 years

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not shy

megumi was not shy around his crush — and that’s a fucking lie.

request: shy megumi who is really flustered around his crush + his friends and gojo-sensei helping him confess

note: this is fluff and a semi crack fic too LOL i hope you guys enjoy this, i had a lot of fun with this one! unedited too, as usual!

word count: 4.5k

masterlist !

playlist made by the lovely @savantsoulfinder thank you so much!

“Yo, Megumi-kun, can you take—” Satoru halted in his steps, following the trail of sight that his dark-haired student seemed to be so enamoured in to not even notice his teacher walk his way. “What are you staring at?” when his gaze landed on you, head thrown back in laughter and slapping Panda’s arm over Yuuji’s joke, Satoru’s eyes beamed even under the blindfold. “Oh? You like Y/N?”

Upon hearing your name, Megumi immediately snapped back to life. He scoffed and turned away from you, scowling to himself with his arms crossed against his chest. “No, I don’t. I don’t like anyone.” So defensive.

“Is that so?” Satoru teased while biting back his laughter, “Guess you won’t mind if I call her then. Hey, Y/N!”

“Gojo-sensei, what’re you doing?!” Megumi grabbed his teacher’s sleeve, whisper-hissing and cursing under his breath when Satoru caught your attention. You waved at them both, skipping until you were getting impossibly closer and closer and closer.

“Well, I don’t want you to carry these all alone. You’re gonna need some help.”

“I’m perfectly fine – h-hi.”

Shit, you were now here. You smiled up at him, hands folded below your bottom before tipping your head to the side, looking under Megumi’s ducked head to see his face. “Hey there, Megumi! Looking cute today,” you winked, causing the poor boy to blush madly. You never noticed, though, your attention now taken by your teacher turning red as he stopped his laughter. “Gojo-sensei! You called me?”

“Oh yeah, you’re just right on time. I was going to ask Megumi here to bring these books all back to my office but it’s probably too heavy for him so I asked—”

“It’s not heavy,” Megumi took the books that Satoru placed in your welcoming arms, the slightest touch sending jolts of electricity down his spine. He pulled away and clutched the books closer to himself at the sudden buzz, narrowing his eyes at his teacher who obviously couldn’t mind his own business. “I can carry it by myself.”

“I still wanna help, and I really don’t mind. Plus, I haven’t talked to you in a long time. I actually kind of feel like you’re avoiding me,” you pouted, and that simple gesture had Megumi feeling like he was sinking deeper into the ground.

He was ready for the whole world to swallow him up.

Satoru took pleasure in Megumi’s reddish ears and clenched jaw, cupping his own jaw with his hands as if to mock. “Aw, Megumi, why would you avoid precious Y/N? Did she do something wrong to you?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“Well, if there’s nothing wrong, you two better scoot before you get late to your other class!”

“Alright, see you around, Gojo-sensei!” Shit, why were you such a good girl? Now he was stuck with you, and Megumi huffed while hesitantly sharing the books with him. You walked close enough to him that he caught a slight whiff of your shampoo, the scent clouding over his usually sharp mind. Now, though, Megumi could barely recognize the hallways he walked on, relying only on you to lead the way. “So...how’ve you been?”

“Fine.”

“How about your studies? We have an exam next week – maybe you want to study together? Inumaki-senpai and I were supposed to have a study group with the others but everyone just wants to study by themselves,” you turned to him with a small smile, “I do better when I’m with someone though.”

Megumi managed to give you a split second glance before he darted his eyes back in front of him again, swallowing audibly because he couldn’t understand why you had to look so pretty smiling like that.

His palms grew sweaty with each passing second, and he grimaced at the uncomfortably feeling of his collar getting sticky. “Uh, wh-where would we study? We don’t have a library or anything.”

“The training grounds is refreshing, but I’d like it to do it better in my room.”

“Do what?” Megumi halted in his steps, his eyes blown wide at your words.

“Study, of course. What else?”

He wasn’t sure whether to laugh or be worried that you frowned in confusion, almost as if you didn’t understand the weight of your words. But then again, you’d always been so damn oblivious that it made sense. Megumi shook his head, continuing on to the teacher’s office before remembering he still lost his sense of direction, so he bit his lip, obediently following you around like a puppy.

“You shouldn’t just invite anyone to your room, you know.”

Once you both made it to the empty room, you carefully placed the books down on Satoru’s desk. He raised a brow at the extra detail you put into, tongue peeking out from the edges of your lips as you made sure all of them were placed together neatly.

Satisfied with your work, you clapped your hands and turned to him.

“I’m not. You’re not just anyone to me, Megumi,” Suddenly, you leaned over him, his mind screaming at him when your lips lowered down to his neck. Megumi’s spine stiffened so quick he might as well be a flat board, his chin pressed to his neck when he felt your teeth graze his exposed skin for a moment. “There’s a loose thread,” you showed him a small thread with a small smile, which fell as fast when you saw Megumi standing uncomfortably straight. “Oh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to invade your personal space like that!” “I’m a little weird, aren’t I? That would explain why you’ve been avoiding me. Do I make you feel uncomfortable?”

“No, it’s not that...it’s just...”

“Just what?”

His mind blanked. Ask him anything about curses or their history and pretty much anything – he’d be able to answer – but not this. They didn’t teach this in the books and out of frantic nervousness, Megumi ended up spewing the first thing he could think of, his brows drawn together that only added to his intimidating look.

“I’m just annoyed that you scored higher than me on the previous exam.”

“Oh,” you fell for it, snapping your fingers together as you laughed. Somehow, the sound of your melodious laughter had his shoulders easing from the tension, the smallest of smiles hinting at the edge of his lips. Gosh, he was so whipped for you. “Was that really it? I thought you were avoiding me for something serious! Well, how about this, let’s study together and let’s see who’s the smarter one. The loser will get tickled to death!”

“I haven’t even agreed to that condition yet.”

“Okay, what do you want if you win?”

Megumi blushed as he blurted out, “You.”

Before he could regret what he just said, you scrunched your nose and pointed to yourself. “Me what? You want me to do something? You want me to buy you ice cream or—”

“Never mind,” he mumbled behind his palm that was now covering his mouth, refusing to show you that he actually wanted to laugh at how naive you could be. Not that he was complaining; it saved him great pain that you could never know his feelings for you. “I’ll ask for it when I’m sure I’ll win.”

“Ah, not a man of uncalculated risks, I see,” you ruffled his hair, the poor boy stiffening up again under your touch. “This is why I like you so much. You’re so thoughtful.”

“Please don’t touch my hair.”

Megumi was complaining, his shoulders raised beside his ears while he scowled at you, but the way a small, almost inaudible purr left his lips said otherwise. He didn’t want you touching his hair – only because he was shy and it would be the death of him if you saw how easily flustered he was around you.

Thankfully, you showered mercy upon him, raising your hands in surrender. “Alright, alright, we should go back to class now.”

Megumi sighed in relief, content for now to walk you all the way back to class as you talked about your day. He wasn’t actually listening, but a stupid smile was there on his face, anyway. He likened the sound of your voice to those of birds chirping and sunshine waking – and he felt like he was the fresh earth you always kissed.

“You’re going to burn a hole in her if you keep staring at her like that.”

“Shut up,” Megumi averted his eyes away from you, stabbing his yogurt with his plastic fork. A part of him felt annoyed that you just had to look so pretty today, your bright voice filling in the cafeteria that put his constant sour mood to shame. The stark difference between you two made Megumi sigh in his seat, abandoning his fork as he leaned back. There was no way you’d like him back. “I wasn’t looking at anyone.”

“Ugh, why are boys so creepy? Staring at Y/N like that, ew.”

Yuuji ignored Nobara’s comment, and for once, Megumi let it slide when Nobara stealed his untouched yogurt. “Why don’t you just tell her you like her? She’s literally the sweetest person ever – the chances of her turning you down are low!”

Nobara snorted, “Yeah, but if the sweetest girl in school rejects you, that’s really humiliating. That would mean she likes everyone but you.”

Satoru popped out of nowhere – that stupid blindfolded bastard who started all this – his arms looped around Yuuji’s neck whose entire face illuminated at having his favourite teacher around. “I think the scary-looking Megumi-chan is actually just too shy to be confess,” he wiggled his eyebrows, pointing a finger fun to Megumi’s deadly narrowed gaze. “Can you believe it? My dark, brooding student is hopelessly in love with the cute, sunshine girl next door that he’s so scared around her? Isn’t that so adorable—”

“Everyone shut up!” he hissed through gritted teeth, “I’m not scared of anyone or anything.”

“Then tell her you like her.”

“Fine, I will.”

“I bet you ten dollars he won’t do it,” Satoru whispered, the two students who shared one brain cell beside him nodding eagerly.

“I said I will!”

“Good morning, Megumi! Come in, come in,” you ushered him in once he stood frozen at your door, his hands now awkwardly clutching his own notes. “You can take a seat on the bed.”

Megumi wasn’t nervous of the fact this was his first time visiting a girl’s room, but rather because it was yours, and each part of your room resembled you greatly. From the organized and clean space, but the noticeable adorable little trinkets and polaroids of you with everyone sticking on the wall, he could feel your entire soul living in that room. When his eyes landed on an old photo of you holding up the peace sign and noticed for the first time he was standing in the background, unaware he was captured in the frame, Megumi inhaled sharply.

Had you pretended to take a selfie just to see him there?

No, he shook his head, there was just no way. He really couldn’t ponder about it long enough because you’d dragged him by the sleeve until he was sitting right next to you, the fresh scent of your body wash making him feel stunningly warm inside his clothes even when the windows were open.

The whole time, Megumi couldn’t absorb a single thing you were saying.

He was just too distracted by everything about you – the way your lips moved when you spoke, how you’d tuck back a stray hair behind your ear, even to the way your mouth would form an ‘o’ shape as you learned something new. No, he couldn’t focus at all.

Megumi has lost count of the times he’d wiped his shaky, sweaty palms on the pads of his sweatpants, hitching his breath every time you leaned close to him to glance at his notes.

At this rate, he’d be the loser in your little competition. It was just impossible for him to focus on anything else.

“Megumi?” you waved your hands in front of him. When it wasn’t enough to get his attention, you resorted to flicking his forehead and he yelped, rubbing at the sore spot. He faced you, a complaint ready to be spoken when his eyes widened at the sudden lack of proximity, your nose booping against his. “Hello, Megumi? I’ve asked you the same question twice now and you haven’t answered yet.”

As nicely as he could, he pushed your face away, his heart thumping loudly when you laughed as you went back to your own space. “Sorry, could you repeat that? I wasn’t really listening.”

“Yeah, I can tell, you were just staring at me the whole time,” you held your phone up in front of your face, checking your reflection on the screen on different angles. He watched, enchanted by how gorgeous you looked no matter what side. “Is there something on my face...? I’ve been checking non-stop and I don’t see anything weird.”

Megumi swallowed nervously, “There’s nothing wrong with your face. I just can’t focus. You’re too close and I-I can smell you.”

“Do I smell bad?!”

“No, you don’t! You smell really sweet!”

“Aw, thanks! You smell sexy too,” you winked at him, wiggling your shoulders as if to share your scent with him. Megumi’s eyes widened when your shoulder rubbed against his, and he recoiled, arm placed over his nose to hide his emotions that were a train wreck right now.

“Sexy?” he spluttered, “Why would you say – me – sexy? You’re so weird, Y/N. You shouldn’t say stuff like that.”

You patted his thigh in a manner that should be comforting, but the teasing smile on your face only had him wanting to jump out the window even more. Then, you stood up and stretched the material of your shirt riding up until he caught sight of your navel. Megumi turned away and closed his eyes, cheeks trapped between his teeth. “We should take a break. Treat’s on me – where do you want to go?”

“Err,” he scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, don’t look too worried, it’s a weekend. Plus, Gojo-Sensei isn’t around to bother us or something.”

“You...you want to go out...” he drawled out slowly, tentatively, surely – just to make sure that he was hearing it right. “...with me?”

“Yeah, I did just ask where you want to go.”

“Oh,” Megumi nodded with a blank face. Then, your words sank in, and he folded his knees to his chest to hide his face and his sickly sweet smile, the butterflies in his stomach progressing into a fucking zoo. “Oh.”

“Are you sick? You’re so red,” your palm connected with his heated forehead, “Megumi, you’re burning! Should I take you to Ieri-san?”

“No, no, I’m fine,” he pushed your hand away, still repudiating to look you in the eye. He just couldn’t, not when you were too inquisitive and he could easily give a dead clue before he got the chance to properly confess. “I mean, I don’t really have a certain place in mind. I’ll go wherever you want to go.”

He should’ve noticed it then – the mischievous glint in your eye that told him you weren’t up to no good. But because his knees always weakened around you, Megumi agreed way too eagerly than he’d like. “Just make sure you don’t regret it, okay? There’s something I’ve always been wanting to try but I never got the chance to and no one wanted to go with me, so you’ll be my willing victim!” And so, half an hour later, Megumi’s jaw dropped as the chill of the arena nipped at his skin. You didn’t even tell him to bring a jacket. “Ta-da!”

“Ice skating?”

You nodded happily, dragging him all the way to the shoe fittings. “It’s going to be fun, come on!”

“But I don’t know how to.”

“Neither do I!” Megumi wasn’t lying when he said he didn’t know how to. No matter how much he tried so hard to learn, he just couldn’t balance himself. The sound of your laughter that let him know you enjoyed this way too much reached his ears as he glared at the ice, his ears red either from the cold or the humiliation of being an utter failure in front of you, of all people! “Need some help there, buddy?”

“I’m fine, thanks for asking. And no, I can do this by myself.”

You masked your chuckle with a snicker, squatting to watch as he struggled to heave himself up back to his feet. “Really? You’ve fallen like, a hundred times now.”

“Shut up. Humans aren’t naturally supposed to do this anyway. We don’t have a human instinct to be upright – whoa!” Megumi slipped again from the ice, this time knocking you down with him. Instead of it being romantic where you two ended up gazing at each other with love in your eyes, your eyes widened into saucers as his elbow landed into your belly, crushing the wind out of your body.

“Ow!”

“I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to – ugh, this is why I said it was a bad idea!”

All the way back home, Megumi was still entirely convinced it was a bad idea. You were limping beside him, having to use his bicep as a crutch with your head resting on his shoulder. You and your stupid ideas, really, now you were injured and sprained your ankle from the fall. Instead of worrying about your own safety, you only slapped your knee in laughter as the medics fixed you up, still in disbelief that Megumi had fallen a lot of times yet came out unscathed.

“Megumi~ are you still mad at me? Why won’t you talk to me?” you pouted, squeezing his bicep to get his attention.

“It’s because I told you it was dangerous. Look at you – your knees are all scraped and your legs are all wobbly. We’ve still got a long way back home.”

“Maybe you should carry me then.”

“C-carry you?”

“Yeah, so I don’t fall,” you snorted, pointing to your shoeless ankle covered in bandages. “I mean, it was your fault I’m injured. If you hadn’t fallen for me, then this wouldn’t have happened.”

Fallen for you? Did you know that he – ? Megumi’s head snapped to yours so hard he nearly had whiplash, but the only thing he could focus on was the pounding of drums within his chest. “F-fall? How did you know?”

“Megumi, you literally fell on top of me. Don’t think I’ve forgotten already.”

That had him blinking back, his face flattening into a blank expression. Then, he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he stopped in his tracks. “Sometimes I forget you’re terribly naive.”

“What was that?”

“Nothing. Now get on,” With burning cheeks and a heart that fluttered way too much than what was considered healthy, Megumi squatted down to the ground, patting his back with a groan. You less than jumped into his arms, a little too excited to get a piggyback ride and Megumi expressed his faux distress with a groan. You only pinched his ear and told him to pay you back for your injuries, which made him complain again.

In the end, he was just happy you couldn’t see how much he struggled to hide his smile then, for if you saw it, you’d surely believe he was crazy.

Or so he thought. By the time you’d gotten back to the dorms, you were long passed out on his back. There was a small patch of drool on the back of his shirt and he shuddered, then wiped it away by whispering to himself, it’s okay – as long as it’s you.

Padding back to the dorms wasn’t as difficult as he thought it would be, considering everyone was almost asleep or out to the city as well.

Megumi gently laid you down on the bed, wrapping the blanket around you and making sure your head was comfortable on the pillow. He stayed there for a solid minute, just staring and memorizing your pretty features until he felt confident he could draw it upon memory. Not wanting to be creepy though, he cleared his throat, about to leave the room when your fingers tugged at his wrist.

“Megumi,” you moaned sleepily, “Don’t go. It’s too cold.”

“I’ll get you another blanket.”

“No, stay,” you whined, patting the space next to you. “Please?”

“To sleep here with you?” he asked, baffled and at the same time elated. The last thing he wanted to be was a pervert and he’d never outright admit that his thoughts of you hadn’t always been giggles and rainbows, but he pushed those down, reminding himself that this is you – he respected you above all else. His self restraint slowly thinned though, whatnot with you pouting up at him like that.

Megumi groaned and took off his shoes anyway, planting himself beside you. “This is insane. I think I’m losing my mind,” he muttered to himself. “Move over and make space for me,” you obediently followed his command, using his bicep as a pillow while your cheek squished against his chest. He wondered how you weren’t bothered by his heart’s beating, or maybe it soothed you to sleep because you were falling deeper and deeper asleep, burying yourself in his arms. “God, this is so uncomfortable. I feel like I’m crushing you—”

“So warm,” you cut him off, his mind turning completely mental as he felt your lips pad over his chin. “Goodnight, Megumi.”

How did you expect him to sleep now?

But as soon as you’d settled and only your stabled breathing could be heard from the room, Megumi’s eyes began to droop as well, and it didn’t take long before his arms relaxed around you, lazily pulling the covers up to cover the both of you.

He’ll tell you another time.

“MEGUMI!” you pushed through everyone and showed him your paper, the bold red mark of 100 glaring back at him. Before he could respond, you stole his test paper from him, laughing at the sad 98 that showed. “Ah, I won!” In the blink of an eye, you’d tackled him to the ground, your knees keeping his legs locked underneath you, test papers flying around the field. Your hands were relentless and brutal as it ran and poked up his sides, eliciting squeaky little gasps from him.

“Stop, stop!” Megumi doubled over in laughter, keeping his feet flat on the ground to prevent himself from accidentally kneeing you. He’d hurt you enough during the ice skating dilemma – he didn’t want to cause you anymore injuries. “No, stop!”

“I won, Megumi, I won! Face the tickle monster!”

“I said stop or else!” he warned, completely aware that he wasn’t as threatening or serious as he wanted to be when tears leaked from his eyes, his laughter embarrassingly giggly and high pitched.

“Or what, loser?”

“I’ll kiss you until you shut up!”

“That’s adorable, but let’s see you try!” you kept tickling his sides, the both of you completely oblivious that the rest of your classmates – your teacher who was more than supportive of this pairing included – were hiding behind a bush, their phones whipped out to capture each second of this moment. “Loser!”

As you mocked him one more time that you wouldn’t stop tickling “losers,” Megumi had to draw the line. Using all his strength, he flipped you over until you were underneath him, the sheer force of the impact keeping you nestled between his arms.

Both of you were panting, but this time his breath was taken away from how beautiful you looked under him like that. Such innocent eyes staring back up at him, but don’t think for a moment he didn’t notice how your eyes trailed over his lips. He knew – because he was doing the same, his grip subconsciously gripping harder at your wrists. If he leaned down...

“This is taking too long!” someone whined from behind the bushes, tips of white hair peaking from the plant. “Just kiss her already!”

Both of you turned at the source of the voice, simultaneously shouting, “Gojo-sensei?!”

“Don’t be shy, Megumi-kun! Just tell her already or I’ll tell her myself.”

“Tell me what?”

Now that your face was peering up at him, he knew he was trapped. Cornered. Megumi closed his eyes, hands trembling and losing their grip around you as he was confronted by the situation. “I’m sorry I didn’t say it sooner,” he fumbled over his words, “But I...I actually—”

“Boring! What kind of confession is this? Say it louder and clearer or she won’t be impressed! Is that how a man does it, Megumi-kun? You can do better—”

“All of you, shut the fuck up!” he roared to his peers who only cackled around the bushes, Yuuji and Gojo-sensei doubling over in laughter while Toge bit his collar to stop the gleeful sounds leaving his mouth. Irritation and humiliation bubbling up in his chest, Megumi finally found the courage to confess. “I like you, okay? I’ve always had a crush—”

You sat up to wrap your arms around his neck, silencing him with a sloppy kiss. At first, your lips kissed the edges of his mouth before Megumi groaned, his large hand clasping the back of your neck to guide you to where he wanted you to be. Smiling through the kiss, you pulled away, rubbing your nose on him affectionately. “Me too, Megumi,” you giggled, “I like you too. Actually, no, I fell in love the moment you almost broke your nose on the ice—” he cut you off by kissing you again, his grip on your waist threatening, “Hey, no fair, I was still confessing!”

“I wasn’t kidding when I said I’ll kiss you to make you shut up,” his confidence had now risen up, all traces of the shy Megumi now gone. “Now tell me that again. Tell me you like me.”

“Okay, but can I get another kiss?”

“You’ll be spoiled rotten.”

“I think I deserve it, don’t you think? I’m pretty cute – you’re lucky you get to kiss—” Megumi tugged you by your collar to slam your lips on his, his teeth nibbling at your lower lip. You tugged at his hair playfully and laughed, slapping his shoulder gently to tap out. “Fine, fine. I like you too!”

“Say it again. Please.”

“Not so shy now, eh, Megumi?” Satoru teased for the final time, and Megumi was so close to bursting a vein in his neck when his teacher showed up from the bushes, sexily posing on the grass as he winked at the both of you.

“SHUT UP!”

#fushiguro megumi x reader #megumi x reader #jujutsu kaisen x reader #jujutsu kaisen #fushiguro megumi #fushiguro megumi x reader imagines #megumi x reader imagines #fushiguro megumi x reader romance #fushiguro megumi x reader fluff #megumi x reader romance #megumi x reader fluff #jujutsu kaisen megumi #jujutsu kaisen fushiguro megumi #jujutsu kaisen romance #jujutsu kaisen x you #fushiguro megumi x you #jujutsu kaisen crack #jujutsu kaisen comedy #suki: 500 milestone event

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slasherhaven · 3 years

Note

Hi! Can you Do a Bo Sinclair soulmate imagine where the reader meets him while she’s with Carly, Wade, Nick, and the rest? Maybe where you feel your soulmates pain, or something. Sorry if this is too specific lol.

Bo Sinclair X Reader

Soulmate AU: shared pain and shared scars:

You had been friends with Carly for a little while now, which was how you got invited on the group’s road trip. You weren’t a massive fan of football and didn’t care much about the game you were going to see but you thought that getting away could be a little fun.

It was the night before the game when the group decided to camp out for the night and keep driving in the morning. After setting up the tents, you all sat around with drinks, talking among yourselves.

As the group talked and laughed, you held your wrist in your hand, gently tracing the faint scarring with your thumb, an absentminded habit you had developed years ago.

“Damn, they look nasty” Nick’s voice made you look away from the others and towards him, seeing how he eyed your wrists.

“Leave her alone, Nick” Carly scolded her brother, already knowing about the scars you had received due to your unfortunate soulmate.

“Are they yours?” Nick asked, completely ignoring his sister. You weren’t sure whether he was genuinely curious or actually trying to get under your skin.

“...no” you answered honestly.

“Unlucky bastard” Nick muttered before turning his attention back to his drink, like your conversation never even happened.

With everyone’s attention going back to more light-hearted conversation, you looked down at your scarred wrist and sighed.

Carly had once asked you if you held any resentment for your soulmate, as have others in your life, and you had been perfectly honest with all of them. You held no resentment, you weren’t angry with your soulmate, you were nothing but sympathetic towards them. It wasn’t their fault that somebody hurt them like this, you just hoped that they had been able to get away from it.

Though, you doubted it. The injuries aren’t as frequent as they were in childhood, however they still occurred and they could be pretty bad. Once, you had even woken up in the middle of the night, bleeding from what looked like a knife wound.

“Here” Carly’s voice brought you out of your thoughts, making you look up to see her standing beside you with a smile. You returned her smile and accepted the can of beer she held out to you.

Opening the can, you hissed slightly as your thumb slipped and you cut yourself on the sharp metal, cursing your own clumsiness. You brought your thumb up to your mouth before lowering it again, taking a sip of your drink.

“Ah shit” Bo quietly cursed at the sudden stinging sensation in his thumb, it wasn’t particularly painful, just a shock.

He lifted his hand, noticing the slight cut on his thumb, and sighed. His soulmate must have done something stupid but he couldn’t find it within him to feel annoyed about it, not after everything he must have put them through.

He would probably be returning the favour pretty soon, since Lester had informed him of a group camping out nearby, they should be coming into town pretty soon.

After the car broke down and everyone decided that there was nothing they could do to fix it, a man named Lester had offered to take three of you into a nearby town so that you could visit the garage there. So, you, Carly, and wade ended up walking into the town that Lester had left you on the outskirts on.

Walking under the hot Louisiana sun, you had to pull your jacket off and tie the sleeves around your waist. The three of you headed straight to the garage, which was easy to find, but found that there was nobody there.

“Maybe there will be someone in the church?” Wade suggested, nodding towards the church at the end of the street.

“I’ll stay here in case someone comes back” you offered, thinking that the owner that Lester mentioned could be back any minute.

“You sure?” Carly asked, not too sure about leaving you alone in a strange place.

“What’s the worst that could happen?” you shrugged.

Carly and Wade nodded before heading to the church to find somebody who could help while you waited at the garage.

You sat down on the curb, glancing around the street. From where you were sitting, the church was just out of sight but you could see the top of the Wax Museum in the slight distance. Ambrose was a small town, extremely quiet. It almost seemed empty, only the sound of birds flying overhead breaking the silence.

After a little while of waiting, you started to wonder why your two friends hadn’t come back. Surely they would have found somebody by now and if they hadn’t you thought they would come to tell you that. You were just about to go looking for them when footsteps caught your attention. You looked in the direction of the church, seeing a man in a full black suit walking towards you.

You paused for a moment, just staring at him as he approached. It felt like the air was sucked from your lungs, like the earth stood still just for a moment. The strange feeling was all consuming, you didn’t notice the falter in his steps that suggested that he might have experienced something similar. The sensation reminded you of the description Carly had given you when she was explaining what it’s like to meet your soulmate. Though his casualness in his following question made you doubt it.

“Can I help you?” the man asked with a charming southern drawl.

“Do you work here?” you asked as you stood up, dusting off your shorts.

“Own the place” he nodded before walking over to the garage and unlocking the front door. “Are you here with two friends? I didn’t catch their names” he asked, nodding at you to follow him inside.

“Yeah, Carly and Wade. You saw them?” you nodded as you followed him into the garage, feeling some relief to be out of the harsh sun.

“Said they needed a fan belt, I sent them up to the wax museum to kill some time before I could help them. Didn’t realise they left someone else waiting here” he explained. You frowned a little, it would have been nice of them to have let you know rather than just leaving alone on the curb.

Shaking the thought away, you put another smile on your face. “I’m Y/n, by the way” you introduced yourself politely, holding your hand out for him to shake.

“Bo Sinclair” he introduced himself and took your hand, giving you a firm hand shake. His charismatic smile remained on his face, something closer to a smirk than a friendly smile. His name spoken in that alluring southern accent. You simply couldn’t help but be a little charmed by him.

His smirk faltered for a moment as he glanced down at your hands, noticing the scars that wrapped around your wrists. He paused for a moment, holding your hand a little too long as his gaze lingered on the scars.

Bo didn’t comment on it, so the small feeling you had that his man could possibly be your soulmate left your mind. There was no way he didn’t recognise them if he had the same ones. They were too unique.

In that case, you figured his staring was just because of the scarring. You had experienced people staring at them from time to time, wondering how you got them, but you never let it bother you. You weren’t ashamed of them.

Bo plastered the smirk back on his face as he released your hand. He couldn’t help but catch himself stare a little. You didn’t hide the scarring like he did. Yours were also a little fainter than his, probably because you had them tended too properly unlike him and they healed better. The intense, all consuming, feeling from earlier and now seeing the scars so similar to his own. It couldn’t be a coincidence...

“You seem a little over dressed for a mechanic” you commented to break the awkwardness, understanding the tension that had developed but the two of you seemed to move past it relatively easily.

“I was at a funeral before you’re two friends crashed it over a goddamn fanbelt” Bo told you, irritation clear in his voice. You couldn’t blame him in the slightest.

“Oh...I’m so sorry” you apologised on behalf of your friends, now feeling a little bad for dragging him away to fix up your car. “Who did you loose, if you don’t mind me asking?” you asked, hoping to be sympathetic without prying too much.

“My mother” Bo told you, making you even more apologetic.

“I’m so sorry...about my friends and that you have to fix our car” you frowned, feeling even more awful than before.

“Ain’t your fault, darlin’“ Bo assured you, truly not seeming angry with you.

You couldn’t help but blush a little at the petname, you just couldn’t deny feeling an attraction towards this man. Having felt an instant connection to him. It was strange, and you were already finding yourself a little longing, knowing you’ll have to leave once the car was sorted.

“C’mon, let’s see if I can find that fanbelt for you” Bo’s smirk quickly returned as he gestured you to follow him further into the garage. “One of your friends told me what size you needed” he informed you as he started searching through his supply of fanbelts. “And...we don’t have it” he hummed.

“You don’t? What now?” you asked with a frown, having no idea what you were supposed to do now. Where the hell were Carly and Wade?

“Don’t worry, no need to frown, sweetheart. We have the rest of the delivery up at the house, we’ll have the right size for ya” Bo assured you with a charming wink.

“You could have lead with that” you chuckled to yourself, feeling relieved and trying to ignore the way he had winked at you.

“C’mon, we’ll go up to the house and get it for ya. I’ll get my brother to tow your car and we’ll get you all sorted” he told you, quickly putting you at ease and making you feel like everything was going to work you.

“Thank you so much, Bo” you sighed, giving him a sincere smile.

“It’s not a problem” Bo nodded. “We’ll take my truck, it’s just outside” he informed you, placing a hand between your shoulder blades as he guided you outside.

The two of you got into his truck and Bo started driving towards his house. Normally this would be something that you would be suspicious about but something about him put you at ease.

“Those scars of yours...they’re pretty intense” Bo finally commented on them, he needed to know what you had to say. “They yours?” he asked, reminding you a little of your talk with Nick the night before.

“No, they’re my soulmate’s” you told him, gently rubbing your wrists.

“You must have really ripped into him when you met them, huh?” he joked half-heartedly, something in his tone that made you curious.

“Oh, I haven’t met them...but I wouldn’t rip into them” you frowned at the accusation. “I’ve had these scars since childhood, which means they likely did too...it’s not their fault somebody hurt them. I’m not angry at them at all” you shook your head, clearly meaning every word you said.

“I’d be pretty pissed” Bo scoffed before his voice softened slightly, “but you’re probably a good person.”

“They were hurt by somebody, how can I be angry at them for that? I’m angry at whoever did it to them...honestly, I just hope they’re alright now” you confessed. “Just wanna give them a hug, y’know?” you laughed lightly.

“I hope my soulmate feels the same as you, they’ve probably been through hell because of me” Bo told you.

You weren't sure what that meant, of course. You didn't know what Bo had been through to worry about his soulmate's reaction to him like that but you were sure your soulmate had some similar concerns and you didn't want to pry further.

“They won’t be mad at you” you promised him with a smile.

Bo gave you a slight smile as he pulled up outside of his house, the way he looked at you leaving you curious. You couldn't quite explain it.

As Bo and you climbed out of the truck, Bo knew that you were his soulmate and that he couldn't let you go. A part of him had been relieved to hear that you didn't harbour any resentment towards him but he knew that if you didn't hate him now, you certainly would by the end of the day.

Still, Bo was selfish. He could let his soulmate, especially such a good one like you, slip between his fingers. You were his, and you had come home. He wouldn't be letting you leave any time soon.

#bo sinclair x reader #slashers x reader #slasher x reader #slashers #slasher #my writing

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lonely-lost-soul · 3 years

Text

Let Me Worship You

(C!Technoblade X Gn!Reader)

Request 9: Could I perhaps request a c!techno x gn!reader where maybe the reader is good friends with Dadza and meets Techno one day and they fall for each other? Bonus if the reader is maybe a great builder like dadza but too shy to actually meet anyone so they just build things quietly and then move on and no one but dadza really knows them? Soft! and/or protective! Techno would be cute but not needed!! 😊😊😊

Requested By: 🍀 Anon

I hope you don't mind the shameless art I made for this lol.

At this point in his life, Technoblade had known Phil for centuries, they started their own brief empire together and he watched him raise Wilbur the best a single father could. It was about five years ago when you started following Phil around, the first time Technoblade met you was entirely by accident. He just needed to drop off some building supplies to Phil and Wilbur when he saw you trifling through Phil’s stuff, you had gorgeous white wings and when the sun hit them just right he saw flecks of gold peek through. His piglin side was immediately enamored with the gold wanted to reach out and run a delicate hand through the feathers. Technoblade set his jaw and summoned his ax to his side, you turned around (e/c) eyes widening with shock and fear. Technoblade couldn’t help but feel pure satisfaction rush through his veins seeing your fright. You held up your hands and everything you were holding tumbled to the ground, wings puffing up with shock and horror. Hearing the noise Phil wandered into the room and was quick to diffuse the situation, you hid behind the taller male and Techno gave a grunt of an apology in your direction.

From that moment forward you were as much of a staple in his life as Phil was, Phil had explained Wilbur had found you half dead a little ways away from his home. You had wings like his and Phil couldn’t let you die without answers, his crows would never let him live it down. After he got what he needed from you, Phil noticed just how handy you were around the house especially when you were building things so he kept you around. Technoblade never really interacted with you unless Phil was there to interpret, you weren’t much of a talker and Technoblade was never one for long-drawn-out conversation anyway. However, when Phil had killed Wilbur and he and Technoblade had to move north you inevitably followed the birdman. That’s when Technoblade really began to understand and get to know you and your little quirks. He noticed that when you concentrated on blueprints to a certain build you’d stick your tongue out all cute like, or the soft songs you’d hum when you thought no one was listening.

But Technoblade always listens.

He also noticed that since you and Phil had moved in there was an abundance of not only Phil’s crows flying around but a few stray morning doves pecking at the snow as well.

With the encouragement of the voices, Technoblade had gathered up enough courage to attempt to hold onto a conversation with you. As he walked up to you he noticed the soft coo of a dove was heard, catching your attention. You turned around and your eyes locked with his own, he watched your shoulders tense and face flush a little as he approached you.

Off to a rocky start already. Great.

“Ugh. Hey?” Technoblade grunted hands crossing over his chest,

‘Hey? HEY? is that the best you can do? Look at them they’re cowering. Good, they should be, which means we’re well known.’

Technoblade cleared his throat a little as you held up a hand with a shy wave, “hello.” You greeted, your voice was soft and sweet like honey in his ears. The exact opposite of Wilbur and Tommy’s, he found himself enjoying the tone. “So um...did I do something wrong?” Your wings folded back and he watched you methodically run your fingers through the feathers.

‘Look at the gold flecks! I want them! I wanna pet them they’re so cute! So small and helpless like a little worm. Worm? Really? What it’s an analogy! A bad one! Shut up she’s giving us a look!’

“No? Did you do something I should be concerned about?”

“No!” You sputtered out in panic, dropping the bricks in your hand stumbling back so they wouldn’t crush your toes.

You had fast reflexes, that’s good.

The morning dove around you cooed in distress fluttering up to your shoulder, nesting there like it was its home. “I’m alright,” You whispered eyes going soft as you scratched under the bird’s chin, Technoblade watched with interest. Technoblade gathered why Phil really liked you, you were almost an exact replica of the mild manner builder, other than the anarchist tendencies.

“Didn’t mean to make you drop your stuff,” Technoblade clicked his tongue softly bending down to gather your materials. “Where do you want them?”

“You don’t have to-”

“I asked you a question kid.” Your mouth snapped shut and your lips pressed into a thin tense line. Technoblade observed as your eyebrow twitched, oh you were annoyed. You didn’t voice your annoyance he couldn’t help but mentally comment how cute that look was on you. A huff spilled past your lips and you directed him where to place the bricks in their proper locations. The both of you fell into light conversation after that, he caused you to laugh a few times and it made him feel oddly warm inside. He didn’t even realize that the sun began to set until you pointed it out, Technoblade rubbed the stubble on his chin glancing at you out of the corner of his eye. You were staring up at the sunset, the orange and red colors shone through the gaps in your feathers, your eyes were alight with wonder. You looked like an old Greek statue, an angel carved out of the finest marble and gemstones.

He flushed when you turned to face him, embarrassed to have been caught staring at you so blatantly. You smiled the tips of your pointing ears turning pink, “You should stay the night.” Technoblade spoke without really thinking about the consequences, “there’s plenty of room.”

“Alright. I think I will. It’s not safe flying at night anyway.” Your smile only growing in size at his offer, he made the right decision then, he led you and your little dove through the snow and into his cabin.

Spring rolled around and there was a little house set up right next to Technoblade’s home. It fit his aesthetic nicely, made out of wood, and always had its lanterns lit, it was your home. However, you began to spend most of your time at Technoblade’s home talking with the retired Blood God. You and Phil also had begun molting which was Technoblade’s least favorite time of the year mostly because of all the feathers. However, this year in particular he was particularly enamored with your shiny golden feathers he would find around his home. Maybe he collected them and kept them in his ender chest, it wasn’t creepy he was cleaning. At least that’s what Technoblade told himself, not because he found your feathers beautiful or anything and was enamored by the shine.

“Hey Kid,” Technoblade asked from his seat across from you in his sitting room, you picked your head up and tilted it to the side in a questioning manner. Your wings were ruffled, messy and you looked uncomfortable to be interrupted from your grooming. “Need some help?” He watched your entire face turn bright red in the process, “look you can say no. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“I’m not uncomfortable!” You argued, “just caught off guard a little Tech. I never thought it’d be something you were interested in.” Standing up from the chair you spread your wings wide, pulled over a stool, and flopped in front of Technoblade. He was a little shocked at how quickly you agreed, they must’ve really been bothering you.

“Do I...just stick my hands in there or…”

You tossed your head back and let out a roaring laugh,

“heh? What’s so funny huh? I don’t wanna hurt you.” Technoblade snapped at you with an embarrassed huff, your laughter slowly dyed down after a few more seconds.

“Sorry I just. Is that what you say to the ladies too?” Technoblade choked and blanked never once have you said something so dirty before, he didn’t even know you were capable of making jokes like that.

“I say that to everyone actually, I don’t discriminate to just women- I’m not helping my case am I? I should stop talking.” It only served to send you into another set of loud giggles, Technoblade was red in the face and stuck his hands into the little feathers by your back. He felt you tense up for a moment before relaxing into his touch, you let out a soft sound of pleasure. Technoblade chose to ignore the sound even if it sent the voices into a frenzy, to mark and claim, and...he was absolutely not going to finish that thought. You both sat there for about an hour and thirty minutes, fixing up your feathers making you preen at the touches. You were smiling like an idiot by the time he was done and you spread your feathers wide, almost like you were showing them off. Technoblade couldn’t help but feel proud that you liked the work he did so much,

“They’re so soft! Thank you Techno!” You turned towards him, eyes practically glowing with adoration. His face turned red, you were stunning, he kissed you that night and by wintertime, the both of you were an official couple.

Phil was quick to catch onto the change in demeanor between the couple, he clapped Techno on the back as congratulations. You were out on another building project, making a little farm because you knew how much Technoblade loved potatoes, you really were attentive. Surprising Technoblade, Phil had also threatened his first cannon life if he ever hurt you in any way, shape, or form. Techno was a little surprised Phil would go as far as to threaten him, but he promised his old friend he wouldn’t let any man, woman, or creature lay their hands on you, including himself.

It was the dead of winter and temperatures had dropped drastically, Technoblade had made both you and Phil warm clothes for the occasion that matched with his own winter gear. He had given you a friendship emerald and in return, you made him a necklace with one of your golden feathers on it.

Technoblade cherished the gift with his entire being. On occasion, while he was out on a long journey he’d press gentle kisses to it when he missed you, and he swore sometimes he swore it moved on its own. He walked into the cabin to see you spread across his couch, a book on your lap, wings curled in tight against your body. He smiled softly dropping the wood he gathered by the door, he snuck over to you and pressed a kiss against your cheek.

“Hi, sunshine,” You greeted turning your head to look at him, his face burned and his chest filled with warmth. Technoblade moved to sit in your lap with a smirk, he plucked the book from your hands to look at the cover. You frowned in his direction, “You lose my spot and I’m hitting you over the head with it.”

“Violent.” He tutted softly bopping you on the head with said book, you shot him a cold look.

“Hypocrite.”

“Nerd.” He responded casually, you let out a little huff, wings ruffling in frustration.

There’s that look, he loved that look. God, you were so cute.

You slapped your hands on his cheeks, and it shocked him back to attention. He felt your fingers spread across his cheeks and your thumbs brush against the apples of his face. Technoblade’s eyes softened and he snuggled into your open palms, he saw you smile and his eyes dropped to a content close. Technoblade did something he hadn’t done in years, he felt the rumble in his throat before it happened, he purred.

His eyes snapped open with fear and embarrassment, but the way your eyes were sparkling quelled the feelings immediately.

“Did you just purr?”

“So what if I did?” He grumbled another purr mixing with a growl,

“That’s the cutest thing in the entire world Mr. Big Bad anarchist. You only purr for me?” The light teasing in your voice sent him aflame, “Aw you do!” You cooed rubbing his cheeks with your thumbs again, he buried his face in your chest as more purrs spilled from his mouth without him wanting them to. “No need to hide it, keep them purrs coming.” Technoblade’s entire face was red as you reached forward to pluck his glasses from his nose. You placed them on the end table and grabbed a blanket wrapping you both inside a cocoon of warmth.

“You tell anyone about this and we’re breaking up.”

“Deal. Your secrets safe with me.” You hummed quietly running his hands through his pink locks melting against your touch. He finally relaxed completely resting the side of his head against your chest to listen to your heartbeat. Technoblade purred and you could feel the rumbles of his chest against your own. The ferocious Blade was akin to a cat, grumpy on the outside but a big softie who wanted attention on the inside. Leaning forward you kissed his forehead, another louder purr was pulled from the man and pressed his forehead back against your lips. “Good boy.~” You teased scratching under his chin he sent you a tired look but the redness in his cheeks gave away how much he enjoyed the praise.

“Shut up. You’re being cringe.” He growled with no real bite or fire,

“Take a nap big guy. You deserve one. You’re safe with me.” Technoblade yawned loudly at your words, his jaw unhinging a little, only proving to show how tired he really was. “I’ll protect you, always.” Technoblade smiled sheepishly and allowed himself to let his guard down just this once to fall asleep in his lover’s arms.

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thebeautyoffanfics · 2 years

Note

HELLO oml rody literally owns my heart at this point i love him sm <33 i love love love your fics abt him they were so good?? if it’s cool can you write something where rody visits deku at the dorms and the readers just kinda like woah hes cute and asks bakugo or todoroki who that is and deku kinda catches on rody’s like eyeing the ready too cause of pino lol i’m not too sure if that makes any sense at all but yeah just a thought hehe tyy!! again totally cool if you don’t wanna <3

rody soul x gn!reader

a/n: I WAS WORKING AS BEST I COULD TO GET TO THIS ONE. I HAD TO TEST MY PATIENCE, NO MATTER IF I’M A FAIRLY PATIENT PERSON,,,, I JUST LOVE RODY SO MUCH. I LOVE /YOU/ THAAAANK YOU FOR REQUESTING RODDYYY <33 I hope this turns out alright!!! Thank you so much for requesting, and please enjoy <33!!

warnings: WHM spoilers ofc

word count: 1,189

Having someone outside of the school visiting the dorms was always a surprise. Todoroki had briefly explained to you who it was- a kid he had met on a mission. Well, a vague explanation from him was just what you expected. Still, asking anyone else was putting you at risk for rambling from Deku, or yelling from Bakugo. Either way, you were going to be surprised by whoever it may be- you settled with letting the person explain who they were. So long as Mr. Aizawa trusted them to stay in the dorms, they probably would be willing to explain why they were there. Maybe Aizawa could explain it better?

However, you weren’t expecting the sudden guest to be… kind of hot.

You watched the boy as he gave Deku a hug, grinning somewhat lazily at your classmate. They exchanged greetings, asking how the other was doing, how his trip was, how the person’s siblings were. You eavesdropped slightly- he was doing good, his trip was just fine (the boy hinted at enjoying plane rides, making a joke about being a pilot. Did he want to learn to fly a plane?), and his siblings were staying at a close friend’s house, but were doing just fine.

Deku led the boy further into the room, sitting him down at the couch and offering to get him something to eat or drink.

“Sure, I could use some water. Mind showing me where I can find it?” He spoke, shoving his hands in his pockets as he glanced around. His eyes met yours briefly, causing your face to instantly heat up a bit. As he looked back at Deku, following behind him, you noticed the bird perched on his shoulder looking over at you curiously- its interest mixing in with the excitement it had shown since Deku opened the door.

“Hey, Todoroki,” You whispered, “who’s that?”

“Oh, that’s Rody. He’s a friend Midoriya made in Otheon. He was forced to remain with him when Midoriya was framed for mass murder.”

“Ohhhh,” You exclaimed, as the two boys reentered the room, Rody sipping from a glass as they took a seat at the couch. The two of you made eye contact again, Rody’s eyebrows raising slightly as Pino continued to peer at you.

“Hello,” You greeted, waving slightly, attempting to rid yourself of the warmth on your face. “I’m (Y/N). You are?”

“I just told you who he was,” Todoroki spoke, looking at you in slight confusion. Your face flushed, as you shoved the confused boy slightly- “So? I want him to introduce himself,” You explained, waving off Todoroki’s comment and hoping that Rody would do the same.

“Rody Soul,” The brown-haired boy answered, laughing lightly. The colorful bird on his shoulder chirped loudly, waving its wings- “And she’s Pino,” Rody added, shoving the bird slightly.

“Awwh, nice to meet you Rody- and Pino!” You exclaimed, waving slightly at the bird. Pino seemed to get flustered, flapping her wings happily despite… blushing? Could birds even blush? Then again, you had never seen a bird with those colors, so you had no room to speak.

Deku and Rody’s conversation picked back up, and you found yourself unable to stop looking at Rody. It seemed as if, whenever you glanced away, Rody would glance in your direction. Even when Rody looked away, Pino’s interest flickered heavily between whatever Deku was saying, and you- as you simply sat there, scrolling on your phone. It was… practically obvious. The both of you were, at the very least, curious about the other.

“By the way, Rody, (Y/N)’s quirk is (insert quirk)!”

At hearing your name, you glanced back over at the two boys curiously. Rody seemed curious as well, glancing back at you and eyeing you in a particular way.

“Is it? Hm, it suits them, I think.”

“What’s… your quirk, Rody?” You asked, turning off your phone, trying to seem nonchalant.

“It’s… uh- complicated, I guess. Embarrassing, so I’d rather not say. No offense, of course, it just takes a bit more trust. Not like I’d mind growing to trust you, haha.”

Your face flushed, as you brushed your embarrassment off with a laugh. A part of you felt bad for Deku, being suddenly stuck in whatever was going on- but, the other part of you wanted to continue this conversation with Rody.

“No worries, I completely understand! I used to be embarrassed about my quirk- I learned to embrace it, clearly, but- yeah.”

“Yeah? It’s not like I don’t embrace mine, it’s just… hm, I dunno how to put it without outing myself. It’s sorta something that, when it’s pointed out, it’s gonna be painfully obvious.”

“Ah? Then, no worries. Really, you don’t need to tell me until we trust each other.”

Rody nodded, glancing back at Deku, who seemed to be attempting to think of something. “(Y/N), where were you when we were in Otheon?” Deku asked, speaking as if it was a sudden thought. Was he trying to… break the ice? For you and Rody? The poor boy had certainly picked up on the fact that the two of you wanted to talk, and you silently praised him for trying his best.

“France! Ochako, Tsu, Nejire, and I were placed there.”

“Oh? Did you get to see the tower?” Rody asked, moving his hand slightly back and forth, making the water in the glass sway a bit.

“I did! Well, for a bit- it was sooorta an emergency, so-”

“Gotcha,” He nodded, as if recalling the events. “Obviously, I was in Otheon, which doesn’t have anything like that, so I was just curious.”

“I understand! What’s Otheon like?”

“Nothing super special. It’s relatively busy- relatively sketchy at times. It has good sights, bad sights. Just a normal place, but it’s home.”

It was your turn to nod, humming in acknowledgement. “It seems neat! Just for the heck of it, I don’t think I’d mind paying it a visit one day.”

Pino chirped, tilting her head a bit- as if questioning why. The sight made you giggle a bit, and Rody glanced over at Pino, who was now sitting perched on his shoulder. “Sorry, she’s got… a big personality.”

“She’s adorable,” You responded, waving slightly at the bird.

“Ah, please- you flatter her, really.”

“Midoriya. Have you shown your guest where he’ll be staying” A sudden voice speaking, no doubt coming from one man who never failed to be intimidating. And whose job it basically was to make sure students didn’t get too comfortable with another- Aizawa.

“Oh! No sir, sorry!”

“Well, you may want to.”

“Yes sir!”

Deku stood up, glancing at me, then at Rody. Rody stood up as well, reaching over to shake my hand. Grabbing his hand, you ignored the way your face warmed up at a simple gesture.

“I suppose I’ll be seeing you later?” He asked, shoving his hands in his pocket.

“I certainly hope so!”

“I do too,” He said, turning to follow Deku- right before leaving the room, he made one last comment. “Hopefully it’ll be at dinner or something? Just a suggestion.”

#anon #bnha #mha #rody soul #whm #my hero academia #boku no hero academia #oneshot #x reader #gn!reader #x gn!reader #mha x reader #bnha x reader #my hero academia x reader #boku no hero academia x reader #rody soul x reader

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lovefrommaxie · 3 years

Text

Things I love about the I Bet You Think About Me (Feat. Chris Stapleton) (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) music video:

directed by blake lively

the people in the video premier chat on YouTube who were commenting Ryan Reynold's name in all caps, even though his only role in the video production was supportive husband to the director (aka "our families who supported us as we dream impossible things.")

the use of the word "wowza" XD

the person in the skirt at the urinal (@ 0:42) and the other examples of non-gimmicky representation, like POC wedding guests, wheelchair user guest, etc.

the groom going insane, seeing taylor everywhere (bathroom mirror @ 0:42, server @ 1:08, best man replacement @ 1:56, bride replacement @ 3:19-4:20)

the depth and symbolism that exist in him seeing taylor everywhere. like, she's willing to bet that he still thinks about her (hence the name of the track lol) AND HE DOES!!!!!! also, it shows just how much she affected him as well!!! he's at his WEDDING to ANOTHER WOMAN and yet HE STILL THINKS ABOUT TAYLOR THE WHOLE TIME

how everything goes from white (the bride's color) to red (taylor's color) as the video progresses, to show (1) just how much she is infecting his thoughts (2) how little thought he gives to the bride despite marrying her, which parallels how little he thought about taylor when they were together but now that they are never ever getting back together he can't stop thinking about her

THE FACT THAT TAYLOR ONLY KNOCKS OVER THE GROOM CAKE TOPPER AND NOT THE BRIDE TOPPER @ 1:13. LIKE, HER BEEF ISN'T AT ALL WITH THE BRIDE. TAYLOR ONLY WANTS GOOD THINGS FOR THE BRIDE. BUT TAYLOR DOES WANT TO KNOCK THE GROOM DOWN A PEG OR TWO

THE LAYERS OF THE CAKE ARE THINGS WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT: (1) the birds on the bottom layer. they symbolize freedom, but more importantly for our clowning asses, they symbolize 1989. IS THIS YET ANOTHER EASTER EGG FOR 1989 Taylor's Version??????? (2) next layer up with the crest from the RED ring!!! how it alternates between the Red ring and a variation that just says "Love" in a way that reminds me a lot of Fearless and Speak Now eras. (3) the top layer that just has 13 and 26 repeating all over the cake. because 13x2=26, bringing in taylor's lucky number but also since it's a wedding cake it adds to that "they're a pair" thing. also, maybe 26 is an easter egg indicating a potential drop date? 0_0 but I don't want to be the first clown out here claiming that...

taylor being a bad influence on the children LMAO (@ 1:24 cake stealing, and @ 3:00-ish teaching them about flipping the bird)

THE CHILD'S REACTION @ 1:34 TO TAYLOR GRABBING A FIST FULL OF CAKE 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 It's just screaming the line from later in the song "OH MY GOD SHE'S INSANE" 🤣🤣🤣🤣

@ 1:39 HOW COULD HE NOT THINK SHE'S FUCKING HILARIOUS 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

@ 2:14 NOT TAYLOR GIVING THE BRIDE THE SCARF OMGGGGGG. THE LAYERS AND DEPTH OF THIS!!!!!

taylor falling off the stage like a drunk best man @ 2:23 🤣🤣🤣

@ 2:27 TAYLOR AT THE KIDS TABLE BECAUSE HE SAW HER AS IMMATURE AND A KID. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

taylor casually corrupting the children with red (red apples on white juice boxes, red balloons and toys, etc) 🤣

@ 2:38 THE RABBIT LOOKS LIKE IT'S ALSO WEARING THE ALL TOO WELL SCARF 0_0

also, taylor pulling the rabbit from the hat feels like a "rabbit hole" joke

@ 2:37 THE HAT LOOKS LIKE THE WANEGBT TOUR RINGMASTER HAT. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

the RED ring being on her middle finger so when she flips the bird at the groom, she's also flipping the RED ring at him. which i read as the red album is a big F.U. to him 🤣🤣🤣 also, a big F.U. to 🛴

@ 3:15 THE SOLE OF HIS SHOE IS RED. IT COULD SYMBOLIZE HOW HE CONSIDERED HER/HER MUSIC BENEATH HIM. 0_0

also, @ 3:15 taylor taking the place of the bride gives me strong speak now "but i know you wish it was me / you wish it was me / don't you?" vibes

@ 3:58 right after a shot that shows the groom's wedding band on his finger, you can see what looks like a diamond ring on taylor's left hand, and it took me a few watches to realize that it's on her pinky and not her ring finger. I feel like that has to be some type of symbolism or message or something, but i have yet to determine the meaning

NOT THE WAY SHE "DROPPED YOUR HAND WHILE DANCING, LEFT YOU OUT THERE STRANDED" LIKE IN CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS

ALSO, ON THE NOTE OF CHAMPAGNE PROBLEMS, "SHE WOULD HAVE MADE SUCH A LOVELY BRIDE, WHAT A SHAME SHE'S FUCKED IN THE HEAD"

@ 4:20 THE RED CONVERSE OMGGGG

OKAY, OKAY, OKAY, THE RED CONVERSE. (1) the fact that the red era was originally ruled by Keds and yet Taylor/team chose converse to be the sneakers underneath the dress. there has to by symbolism there, right?!?!? (2) HOW SHE PICKS UP THE DRESS AND THEN WALKS OFF IN A WAY THAT IS VERY MUCH REMINDING ME OF A LITTLE KID STORMING OFF. MA'AM YOUR 'SEVEN' ENERGY IS SHOWING. (3) THE WAY IT REFERENCES "HE DIDN'T LIKE IT WHEN I WORE HIGH HEELS" AAAAAAAAAA

the shot at @ 4:29 reminds me of expensive perfume ads, Taylor's ad for Wonderstruck, and the Speak Now album art that accompanied the lyrics for Enchanted

@ 4:58 aaaayyyyeeee it's Aaron Dessner!

OMG THE BALLOON POP @ 5:00 AAAAAAAAAA!!!! IT LOOKS LIKE WHEN THE BALLOON IS POPPED, EITHER ROSE PETALS OR THE RED HEART CONFETTI FROM THE RED TOUR FALLS OUT OF THE BALLOON. I CAN'T TELL.

THE WAY THE GROOM IS FRAMED @ 5:17 LIKE HE'S A SAINT 🤣 (1) reminds me of the Better Than Revenge lyric "she's not a saint" but it's 1000000x better because he's the one being called out (2) "so you were never a saint" lyric from State of Grace

@ 5:20 how he goes to put a white pocket square in his breast pocket, but there is already a red one there AND HE DOESN'T SWAP THEM. AAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! like, no, guys, it's so meaningful. red is Taylor's color, and white is the bride's color. AND IT'S OVER HIS HEART. HE'S CHOOSING TO KEEP TAYLOR ON HIS HEART INSTEAD OF HIS BRIDE.

@ 5:22 we get a better shot of the stained glass window behind the groom, and you can see IT HAS THE SAME BIRDS AS THE CAKE. AKA MORE 1989 EASTER EGGS. BUT ALSO, THE BIRDS ARE ALL POINTED AWAY FROM HIM, LIKE THEY'RE FLYING AWAY. AND THE BIRDS IN THE WINDOW ARE RED, LIKE TAYLOR. THE WINDOW BIRDS ARE TAYLOR, FLYING AWAY FROM HIM AND BEING FREE OF HIM WHILE HE STILL HAS HER ON HIS HEART.

@ 5:32 the = symbol taylor digs into the cake being shown on the director's credit is a CHOICE. i feel like there are layers of meaning there too and I have questions. is it an easter egg related to Ed? is it a symbol for equality bc female director? what's up with this, taylor? I want more information

#taylor swift #i bet you think about me #taylor's version #taylorswift #taylors version #red taylors version #red taylor’s version #red taylor's version my beloved #i bet you think about me music video #blake lively #directed by blake lively #music video analysis #easter egg hunt #from the vault #swifties #1989 tv #red tv #red tv era #speak now tv

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xkaileo · 3 years

Note

For the one shot request:

Sasuke coming back from his first redemption journey a couple of years after the war. He meets naruto at ichiraku, then Sakura happens to walk by. Naruto insists she join and she’s so happy sasuke is back, but keeps the interaction “friendly” not “young girl talking to her crush”. Quickly after she gets a scroll from a bird and has to go. Naruto then explains that Sakura is in really high demand and basically brags about all of her accomplishments and everything she does for the village as a medic but also as a jounin. Sasuke is proud and happy for her but it’s not until later when he sees her sparring someone really good (Tsunade, Kakashi, Yamato, anyone from Anbu) that he is s t u n n e d. Like jaw to the floor. He can’t resist watching and maybe activates his sharingan by accident. It is not until like 10 minutes have gone by that he notices her ANBU tattoo for the first time.

So of course canon-divergent. I know it’s super clunky the way I laid it out (can you tell I’m no author?) lol anyways I thought it would be really nice to get a look inside Sasuke’s head the first time he’s gotten the metaphorical wind knocked out of him by Sakura haha.

Ask and you shall receive, nonny! This one was fun to write, having Sasuke sort of be stunned by her and feel just the need to do something about it; it was fun to put him in a position where he had to push a little to get something out of Sakura. Enjoy!

She's A Hot Commodity

It was amazing how much the Hidden Leaf Village could change over two years. More than Sasuke had expected, honestly; he'd thought the village was done with its constant renovations after multiple attempts for it to be destroyed. Well, they'd nearly come close one time, though he'd stepped in to assist. Meteors falling off the moon… who would have thought?

His first stop was Ichiraku, as he'd made one promise: he was going to treat Naruto to a bowl of ramen when he got back. His blonde friend was already there, waving wildly as he approached.

"Sasuke! You're back!" Naruto gave him a hug in greeting, to which Sasuke begrudgingly allowed. He wasn't one for physical affection, but one hug from his best friend wouldn't be the end of the world. Plus, he'd never hear the end of it if he didn't. Naruto would spend their entire lunch pouting and whining about it if he was turned down.

As they were seated, both boys heard a familiar voice behind them, and it was… None other than Sakura. Sasuke couldn't help but stare, just for a moment. It'd been a long time. She'd grown out her hair and seemed to be wearing it up in a ponytail. When had it got so long? Now that he thought about it… It'd been a little longer when he left, but now it had to be almost to her waist. He hadn't seen it that long since they were kids. He… liked it, if he was honest.

"Sakura." He nodded in greeting, the corner of his lips twitching into a smile. He was glad to see her. Maybe now he'd be able to take things… a little further, to put it simply. He'd left her with nothing more than a promise, and this was the start of it. He was here. He'd returned. Whether he would stay for an extended period was another question, but he did plan to offer for her to accompany him this time. He just had… a few errands to take care of before he left again.

"Sasuke! It's been so long!" Sakura came up between them and threw her arms over his and Naruto's shoulders, giggling as she was hanging out between them. "Would you look at that? My two favourite dorks are having lunch together. You know, Sasuke, if he's got you here against your will, all you have to do is ask." Well… Ramen usually would have been against his will, but this time, it wasn't. He was surprised when she leaned closer to his ear, her voice no more than a whisper.

"There's a new place that opened that serves rice balls if you need an escape." She clapped him on the back before turning to Naruto, who'd caught her attention.

"Sakura, join us!" He encouraged, and her expression went thoughtful for a moment before she agreed. Naruto shifted down one seat, allowing Sakura to sit between them. Sasuke didn't want to admit he was glad Naruto had shifted down; he wanted to sit next to Sakura, but he wasn't sure if she would have done that of her own accord. He couldn't blame her; it'd been a long time since they'd spoken, and there was… a lot they needed to talk about. She seemed… different. Not unfriendly, but there was something different about the way she was talking to him. No more blushing or bashful looks in his direction. He'd expected that much from her, but… was it possible something had happened?

Maybe… maybe she'd moved on. He didn't want to think that, but it seemed to be a possibility. Nevertheless, if that were Sakura's decision, that would have to be how things were. Friends were better than absolutely nothing.

Just as she was about to order, the sound of a messenger hawk could be heard, interrupting their conversation. Naruto and Sakura had been chatting animatedly, Naruto having made some dumb comment that Sakura was reaming him for while Sasuke chuckled at their antics. At least some things never change. He's still opening his mouth when he should be shutting it, and she's putting him in his place… as usual.

"Oh… I'm sorry, guys." Sakura's expression turned to a frown. "This is for me, and it's urgent. I have to get going. Sorry again. Let's pick another day to get ramen together as a team, though, okay? And… it's good to see you back, Sasuke." She gave him a smile that lit up her whole face, and it made his heart skip a beat. She was different, sure, but it was… nice. It made him feel a bit giddy.

"Yeah… Shoulda seen that one coming," Naruto admitted.

"Does that happen a lot?" Sasuke was genuinely curious. He knew Sakura was a hard worker, but she always knew how to make time for her friends. It seemed out of the ordinary for her to disappear so suddenly. If it was the hospital, wasn't Tsunade there to help out?

"Yeah, it kinda does. Sakura's kind of a big deal around the village now. It makes me a little jealous." Naruto, jealous? Sasuke wondered just how important she was, but as always, Naruto had the explanation. "She's done so much stuff! She opened a clinic for all the kids in the village that lost parents during the war, and she's been working with Ino and some professionals to get them the help they need. Just so they don't feel alone, ya know? You and I both know no one deserves to feel like that." After all, they were the very same kinds of kids that that clinic was helping. Sasuke was shocked and also touched. Had Sakura done all that in two years?

"Oh yeah! And she works super hard at the hospital. She's one of the only medical ninja in the village who's allowed to take missions alone, and that's a huge deal! She's been going to all kinds of places on missions, mostly deliveries or to provide medical help, but I swear she's always gone on a mission! She keeps asking me to water her plants like… every week." Naruto didn't mind her asking that, though. He liked taking care of them. Gardening was oddly calming.

"Wow," Sasuke remarked. It was not what he would have expected out of Sakura… not precisely, that is. He knew she was brilliant, but looking back to how they were as kids… no, when they'd first been put on a team, he never would have expected that much out of her. "Has she been doing anything else?"

"Oh yeah! She mentioned somethin' about taking on a team of genin, too. I think she'd make a great teacher, don'tcha think?" Naruto elbowed Sasuke gently, earning a grunt out of him and a nod in response. Sakura would make a stellar teacher. If she took on a trio of genin as their Jounin sensei, then they would undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with.

He was… proud of her, honestly. To think she’d come so far from her capabilities when they were kids… she was so incredibly talented, it even made him a little jealous. He’d been a prodigy, but to see her hard work coming to fruition was exceptional. She was amazing. More impressive than he was expecting.

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

It’d been days since he’d last seen Sakura, and after only briefly meeting her, he decided the best way to pass the time until she returned was training. He liked training; it kept him in shape, allowed him to practice living life with just one arm, and helped him clear his mind when it got too tumultuous to handle. Making his way to the training grounds, he was stopped by a flicker of familiar chakra that crossed the vision of his left eye.

Sakura? She was… Training? He shouldn’t have been surprised, but he was. That, and he found himself deeply intrigued. Like a curious cat, he made his way to the edge of the trees, remaining at a safe distance where he could watch. It looked like she was training with Kakashi, whom he would have considered a force to be reckoned with. He was a former ANBU, after all.

Wait… no. It wasn’t just Kakashi there. Yamato was there, too, and… wait, was Sakura taking them both on at the same time? His curiosity was piqued enough that he activated his Sharingan, using it to track her movements; in high-speed fights like these, it was a necessity. He would've never been able to keep up with Sakura's motions otherwise.

He watched her, amazed beyond belief. Every movement she made was fluid, each motion flowing into the next like an unbreakable chain. There was no hesitation or consideration; she moved without thinking, her body reacting with an impeccable natural flow. He’d never seen such fluid movements before, not even back during the war. What had she done since he’d been gone? He knew she was a Jounin now, but this… no, she had to be more than that. She was well above the level of a Jounin. It was almost an insult to put her that low.

He stared for longer than he’d expected, watching as she evaded both Yamato and Kakashi’s tactics, dancing around them like they were nothing. He watched as her long, pink hair flowed with every movement, even the occasional piece sticking to the sweat that formed on her brow. Even as she turned, he could see the concentration in her gaze, focusing on every motion. There was strength and power in the way she moved. There was one thing that bothered him, though, one thing he couldn't shake.

When had Sakura become so beautiful? He remembered her being cute when they were kids, though he hadn't been in the right state of mind to say anything about it. He'd also noticed she was prettier as they got older, but he'd never been able to take the time to appreciate it. Now, staring at her, he realized how attractive she was. He was taken aback by what he was seeing. It made his cheeks flush, made his heart race, and also made his heart wrench. Maybe… maybe he'd have to say something to her: something direct, this time.

It wasn’t until Sakura stopped, calling a halt to her training with Yamato and Kakashi to take a breather, that he noticed something else. He knew that symbol. Other Jounin he knew and had met bore it too. This wasn’t friendly training between three Jounin. It was so much more than that. But it made Sasuke wonder…

When did Sakura decide to join the ANBU? That was undoubtedly one of the last things he'd expected of her. As he stared at her training, he hadn't realized her gaze had turned in his direction; once he did, he ducked behind one of the trees, heart beating rapidly. Had she seen him? Had she caught him staring so openly at her? He hoped not. The last thing he wanted was to seem weird or creepy. One thing he did know was that Sakura's temper was terrifying, and he would have preferred not to be on her bad side.

"You're not doing a very good job of hiding, Sasuke." He looked up to see her above him on one of the branches, a smile teasing her lips. He startled at the sound of her voice, grumbling under his breath and turning away as the faintest shade of pink dusted his cheeks. Damn. She really was good. She'd caught even him off-guard.

"I wasn't hiding," he lied. Oh, he knew he was hiding, all right. He simply refused to admit it. "I thought this training ground was empty. I was mistaken." He heard her feet land in front of him, which urged him to keep his face hidden from her; he didn't want her to see just how much his cheeks had coloured at her appearance. It was all he could do not to look back and stare, admiring every inch of her toned figure.

"You're also not very good at lying," she teased further, taking a step toward him. "What's got you all flustered?" Damn. She hadn't missed it.

"It's hot outside." Technically not a lie; it was a scorching summer day, and he was wearing a heavy cloak. "I'm just flushed from the heat." Definitely a lie. His cloak was designed to keep heat in and keep cooler air closer to his body, like a cat's fur coat. It kept him comfortably thermoregulated.

"Liar," she accused.

"Tch." He wasn't going to dignify that with a response. She giggled in response to his gruff comment, leaving him to straighten as if he were on his way. She… was in his way, though, which meant he had to brush past her to leave. As his eye opened, he realized she was closer than before. He could smell her from where he stood. Her skin glistened with the faintest layer of sweat from her training, hair sticking to her cheeks and forehead. It didn't bother him; he was used to much worse sights.

Nevertheless, her skin was glowing from the exercise, and the way her green eyes sparkled made her look prettier. So pretty, he could feel his heart racing. He couldn't bring himself to move. If he so much as touched her, he knew what he'd end up doing.

"Sasuke, are you… okay?" Her head tilted to the side, and he felt his heart skip a beat. Stop it, he tried to scold her mentally, knowing it wouldn't work.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." Liar. With one sharp breath, he took a step forward, his hand reaching to brush her out of the way gently. She stepped in front of him, stopping him and grasping at his wrist. He remembered that grasp; it was the same way he'd done it to her years ago, a firm but gentle grip. She released it after he stopped moving. Their gazes drew together instinctively; no words needed to be spoken between them. Sasuke felt a growing sense of worry after what he'd realized. Sakura was ANBU. That meant she put her life on the line every day, every mission, everything. It meant that at any moment when she wasn't on a mission, the Hokage could call her for one, and it could be the last time anyone would see her.

He couldn't wait. The moment Sakura released his wrist from her grasp, he reached up, tangling his fingers in her hair as need took precedence over logic. His lips crashed against hers fiercely, years of restrained emotions flaring in his chest as he kissed her. She seemed surprised for a split second but was quick to reciprocate; he felt her hands lock around his neck, leading him to skim a hand down her back, pulling her body tighter against his. At some point, he turned, pressing her back against the tree as they continued their motions, eventually breaking apart to breathe, staring at one another with wordless affirmations.

#sasusaku #sasusaku oneshot #sasusaku fanfic #sasusaku fanfiction #sasukexsakura #sakuraxsasuke #sakura haruno #naruto shippuden #anbu sakura #sasuke uchiha #uchiha sakura #sakuraharuno #harunosakura #sasukeuchiha #uchihasasuke #sakura uchiha #sakurauchiha #uchihasakura #xkaileo oneshots

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