#love that they were both in the same production like 3 years apart

[virgo-dream]

Matching Tom and Ferdie roles: hollow crown season 02 episode 01 / hollow crown season 01 episode 01

[pedroshotwifey]

Without Words

This can be seen as a stand-alone but I count it as a part to two this fic

Pairing: Joel Miller x fem!reader

Word count: 2.6k

Tags/Warnings: Oral (m), cock worship, piv sex, rough sex, choking, semi-public sex, sprinkles of feelings, age gap, face fucking, degrading names (affectionate), cum eating, stuff I'm forgetting

Summary: You want to show Joel how much he means to you...but maybe in a less classy way.

A/N: Hey, babes! I hope you enjoy this part! I know a lot of people wanted to see an update, so here we are <3

*****

It’s been another long ass day. You and Joel were able to pick up the same shift, but there was enough work for four people—which is not the norm for the job you’d picked today. It took you three hours too long, but you’d gotten it done. Now that you and Joel aren’t glaring daggers at each other anymore, you’re actually able to be productive. 

You walk hand-in-hand with him now toward your shared apartment. It’s been about a year since the two of you had caved into each other, and things honestly couldn’t be better. You’d had your fair share of fights—which is only to be expected with the attitude you both possess—but things have been good. 

You moved into his apartment a couple of months ago, since he kept having to sneak out of yours too close to curfew. He practically lived at your apartment, even though his was bigger, because he didn’t want to risk you walking home late at night. It was an effortless change for you. 

There was the issue at first about your age difference, and about how people might react when they realize what the two of you had become, but neither of you wanted to let that affect you. It’s the end of the fucking world, as Joel had put it, you both deserve to spend it with whoever you want. 

You look up at him, admiring the way he walks so confidently with you on his arm. Like it’s no big deal at all. It took a little while for people to stop giving the two of you strange looks, but even from the start, he had embraced your relationship with no shame. 

You haven’t even told him you love him yet. 

It’s more of an unspoken thing, you think. Something you show with gifts and actions and physical affection, because deep down, you’re both still broken people in the apocalypse, and you don’t want to admit that you have a weakness. That’s what love is, after all. Just another thing for you to lose. 

“Joel?” 

It’s only now that you finally lose your composure. All damn day, you’ve been distracted, and you can tell he knew that much, but maybe not exactly what the problem was. Maybe it’s that thought—that you haven’t told him how you feel. But you know that you won’t even now. So you’ve been caught up in other ways to show him, to tell him. 

You’ve been thinking about it all night. Ever since the two of you got home from your shift and he shucked his pants off to change. It’s not your fault, really. Not your fault the man has a massive fucking cock that makes a sizable, mouthwatering—and extremely daydream-able—bulge in his boxers. 

You’re not usually a weak woman, but. Shit. Nobody would be blaming you for what you’re about to do if they were in the position to do it. 

“Let me suck your dick,” you whisper up at him, watching his eyes go wide as he snaps his head left and right to make sure nobody heard that. 

The two of you had gone to the last dinner offered at the hall, so it’s pretty dark out, and it’s also been raining for the last hour or so. There are only a few people out other than you since it’s so close to curfew, but Joel’s face still goes a little red at your request. You can’t help but bite your lip to contain your smile. 

It really is funny how flustered he gets about you saying something like that when he’s the one who loves to talk about railing you in public. There’s not a single person under the canopy that you stopped under, but he still lowers his voice as he speaks. 

“Yes fuckin’ please,” he says through a scoff. “But you couldn’t wait to run that filthy little mouth until we got home?” 

You shake your head, smirking at him. You swear you can feel your heart beating against your ribs as you wait for him to understand your request. Your body is going hot from the pure want coursing through your veins. 

“I want it now,” you practically whine as you pull on his arm like a petulant child. His eyes go wide again.

“Now?” he asks, obviously a bit shocked at your sudden desperation. 

You nod at him, licking your lips. 

This time, you catch a small twitch from between his legs before you give him your best doe eyes. You glance at the dark, empty alley a few feet away from you, and his eyes harden. He glances around one more time, clutches your upper arm, and drags you into the concealed space. 

“Shit, baby, just be fuckin’ quick about it,” he mutters as he shoves you down to your knees. You smile devilishly up at him as your hands immediately fly to his zipper. 

You frantically pull them down, the zip getting stuck halfway due to the massive bulge pushing against the denim. Joel hisses and you whimper as you snag it down quickly, not caring if it breaks or not. 

The first time you saw him, you’d had a hard time admitting to yourself that it was the most gorgeous cock you’ve ever laid eyes on. It took a minute for you to understand that he wasn’t a threat, and only then did you allow yourself to appreciate the appendage to the degree that you do now. Since then, you’ve been sure to let Joel know just how much you love it. 

It makes your mouth water as you pull it out from his pants. Girthy and long enough to still almost scare you even at half-mast. You know how it fits inside you though, how good it makes you feel when he’s pummeling it into your sore, stretched cunt at full force. 

You want it to feel as good as you do, to feel the way your wet, hot mouth can wrap around it and slobber on it until Joel’s thick thighs are shaking with need to spill his seed down your welcoming throat. 

The feeling of one of Joel’s hands threading your hair between his fingers and pushing you toward his crotch pulls you out of your daze. 

“You gonna suck it or fuckin’ stare at it?” 

You shoot Joel an annoyed glance and squeeze him lightly in warning. You give in anyway, however. It really doesn’t take much. 

He makes a grunting sound as you take the fat tip of him between your lips, suckling the head and tonguing at his slit as your hand pumps the rest of him. You love the taste of his salty pre-cum on your tongue as you eagerly lap him, trying to get more. 

Joel pushes harder on the back of your head and bucks his hips forward—though you’re not sure if that part is voluntary. Your hand moves back to the root of him, holding tightly and pushing him so that he can’t shove himself into your mouth. 

You pop your mouth off of him, ignoring the string of spit that keeps you connected to his soaked tip. With heavy lids, you glance up at him to find that he’s staring back at you with a look in his eyes that can only be described as fiery. 

“Be patient, old man, I’m trying to enjoy myself.” 

Joel scowls at you. “The fuck you mean enjoy yourself? You’re suckin’ my cock,” he snaps.

“Okay, well I happen to really fucking like sucking your cock, Joel, so be. patient.” 

He rolls his eyes at you and leans his head back against the brick wall behind him. Satisfied that he’s stopped arguing, you go back to his dick, grabbing it so that the underside of it is facing you. 

You lean forward to lick up the entirety of it, coming down to suck and kiss at his balls every couple of strokes. Your head is going a bit fuzzy and your core is throbbing almost painfully with need. 

You can’t stop though, you love the feel of his silky skin on your tongue, the way it moves slightly with each pass of your mouth. You moan loudly against him, enough so that it reaches Joel’s ears through the sound of the heavy raindrops pelting the ground and buildings around you. 

He pulls sharply on your hair, but is unable to pull you away with how tightly you latch on to his thighs. You squeeze your eyes shut and just about double your efforts to ensure he won’t make you stop. 

“Gotta hush, baby. Sound like a fuckin’ whore, moanin’ on my cock like that,” Joel squeezes out at you through gritted teeth. 

“Yeah, but you love it,” you pull away just enough to retort.

“Damn fuckin’ right,” Joel smirks back at you as you get back to work. “Little s-slut just for me.”

When you lean forward this time, you take him fully between your lips, swallowing as much as you can to get him as deep as possible. You know you’re drooling, but you can’t find it in you to care, you’re far too drunk on his taste, his scent, the feel of his cock inside your greedy mouth. 

Joel groans as you suck harshly, resisting the urge to gag as you hold him in your hot mouth and fondle his balls. God, you can’t fucking get enough. You pull back again once you literally can’t breathe, but not before taking his balls into your mouth once a piece. 

“Fucking love your cock, Joel,” you tell him as you stroke him lazily. 

“I know you fuckin’ do, darlin’. Why don’t you show him how much? Make him feel good, hm?” 

You nod eagerly at him and put your mouth back on him, bobbing your head and using your hand to tightly pump what you’re not able to reach. Joel makes a choked sound and grips your hair so tight that tears spring to your eyes. 

The sounds reverberating through the alley are nasty, but it only turns you on more. Between Joel’s bitten-down moans and the sound coming from his dick being slammed down your throat, it’s a fucking symphony in your ears. 

“Shit,” Joel breathes from above you. “Want to be inside you, baby.” 

You shake your head as much as you’re able. You want his cum down your throat, that’s the whole point of this. Twin tears trail down your messed cheeks with the movement, but you keep going at a quick but steady pace. 

He grunts and pulls on you again, and this time, you’re forced to let go. 

“Joooel,” you whine, hands going out to grab at him, only for him to squeeze again and hold you firmly in place. 

“You fuckin’ quit that, now,” he commands, and you do. Albeit reluctantly and with a furious pout. His cock bobs tauntingly in front of you, throbbing and glistening with your saliva. 

“C’mon, princess. Up.” 

You continue pouting but do as he says, letting him haul you up so he can pull your pants and underwear down. You yelp, not expecting that part so quickly. The cool, moist air hits your heated core and you clench your thighs, making it more difficult for Joel to spin you around and shove you against the wall. 

He’s behind you again in a heartbeat, the tip of his cock breaching your tight hole as he presses his entire front to your back. You keen as he slides into you, the stretch making your toes curl in your boots. 

“See?” Joel mutters into your ear. “Shut you up quick, didn’t it?” 

You can only nod as he starts to move inside of you, your slick making it easy for him to build up a quick pace. Your fingers spread out on the brick wall as he grips your hips and thrusts harshly up into you, a sheen of sweat starting to cover your body at the force in which he’s using you with. 

He hits your g-spot each time, making you huff out weak little moans to mingle with his grunts. His heavy balls slap against you with each thrust, making a lewd sound against your soaked seam and sending shocks atop your swollen clit. 

You mewl as your orgasm starts to build, a warmth starting to spread throughout your entire body. And when Joel brings one hand to wrap around your throat, you just about lose it. He squeezes the sides, cutting off your airflow and making your head spin. 

You close your eyes and your senses hone in only on the feeling of his cock spearing into you, the way his grip is so hard on your hip that there are sure to be bruises in the morning. Your head rolls back onto his shoulder and he uses the opportunity to nuzzle your jaw. 

“So s-soft ‘n’ wet for me, ain't ya? Like soaked fuckin’ silk.” 

You whimper as much as you’re able, your body starting to shake as you get closer to the edge. Joel lets his fingers ease up from the grip he has on your throat, allowing air to sweep back into your lungs, and you explode. 

You moan obscenely as you cream on his cock, his hand moving to your clit to thumb tight circles and prolong your pleasure. Your hands move from the wall to grip hard onto his forearms. 

“That’s a good girl,” he growls into your ear. 

“M–Please, Joel,” you whine. “Let me swallow–I–” 

Joel’s dark laugh startles you, but he moves to give you what you want. He pulls his cock out of you, and you suddenly feel empty. You whine despite yourself, but are quickly distracted again by the way he spins you around and shoves you back to your knees, your pants still pulled down around your ankles. 

You watch him dazedly as he fists his drenched cock and then guides it back to your swollen lips. You taste yourself on him as he pumps his hips and glides onto your tongue. He places a hand on the back of your head again, helping you take him. 

“There you go, you fuckin’ cum-hungry little slut.” 

You moan, and you can tell that’s his undoing as the vibrations travel through his length. He shudders and groans into the empty alley as his balls tug up and he spills into your mouth. You greedily drink him down, gripping his thighs and closing your eyes as you focus on not spilling a single drop. 

He pushes your head down until he hits the back of your throat, waiting for you to gag before he slowly pulls all the way back out. You’re both sweaty and panting but you still open your mouth and tilt your head up for approval that you swallowed every bit of his cum. Joel watches you with parted lips and nods. 

“Good job, princess,” he tells you, and you smile. 

“Alright, baby, I gotta get you home before curfew,” he says after a moment. “Let’s get you cleaned up so it doesn’t look like we just fucked in a damn alley.” 

You grin at him and lift your arms for him to help you up again. You don’t tell him that it’s pointless to clean you up since you’ll just end up in the same state once you get home. If there’s one thing that will never dwindle in your relationship, it’s the insatiable hunger that the two of you harbor for one another—and all the messes and mischief that comes with it.

[captainfern]

hiii, how are you?? :)

so, I saw that your request is open and I would like to place an order if possible and especially if you like the idea!!

price x femreader, they met because of the friendship between reader and gaz/laswell (or whatever character you prefer!!!) and you know they fall in love but eventually john ends things because he thinks he's putting reader in danger. anyway they end up meeting again at a party/bar/club or some IDK social event and then they end up coming back!!! fluffy, smut and a little bit of angst.

I ended up thinking about it while listening to love song and california by lana del rey + attention by charlie puth lol lolol

ps: I just want to say that I love your writing and your fanfics!! you are one of my favorite call of duty blogs!!!!!!! 💗

ps²: sorry if what i wrote was confusing to read, english it's not my first language

I hope your week is great and full of good things!!! bye bye 💞💗💘💓💕💖💝

Come As You Are

Captain John Price x fem!reader

[“Come As You Are” by Nirvana]

[18+]

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• summary - your captain ends your relationship after thinking he’s putting you in danger. a year later, you meet again, and he shows you how much he regrets his original decision lol. • rating - 18+ • wordcount - 2.4k • warnings - fem!reader, unprotected piv, some sub!price, praise, oral [f!receiving], cum eating??? ugh idk, implied age gap, strong language, i tried to make it a bit fluffy but my whore brain blinds me 😔🤚, a smidge of angst but not really cause i just can’t write angst 😭

✿ thank you you’re too sweet !! i love the idea <3 i’ve altered it a bit for the smut storyline but i hope it’s ok !!

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Your relationship with Captain John Price had been nothing short of tumultuous.

It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the entirety of your relationship— both platonic and romantic— was much different to others your age.

You had met Price on a whim— Gaz, your best friend since childhood, introduced you to the idea of joining the military. You did, and he eventually got you the opportunity of a life time, working in an actual task force.

You had been ecstatic. You were a good shot, a machine with a gun, and you knew your skills were unmatched. You had walked into your first day on the task force thinking you were more than just a rookie.

One meeting with Captain Price changed that.

He made sure you knew you had to work for it. You had to work as a part of the team, pull your weight, and ensure that everyone else got to the same point as you did. He put you through your paces, he pushed you to your limits, and eventually, it all came to a head.

You fired up at him. Why was he picking on you? Why was he singling you out? You were just as capable as Ghost and Soap and Gaz. Why did he insist on making your rookie year a living hell?

His answer caught you by surprise— a deep grunt, a jerk of his hand on your shirt, and the slamming of his mouth to yours.

And that’s how it started.

Much similar to how it ended.

[Flashback]:

“I can’t keep putting you in danger like this.” Price said, as you lay on a hospital stretcher, blood marring your face and a deep wound to your stomach, wrapped in gauze.

“It’s not your fault, captain.” You breathed, the lights of the hospital room giving you a headache.

He grimaced. “It’s is my fault. And… the thought of losing you… bloody hell, sarge, it’s tearing me apart.”

You blinked at him, raising a weak hand to place on his, rubbing his knuckles. “You’re not going to lose me, Price.”

He nodded slowly, eyes glistening. “Yeah… I won’t lose you, love. Because you’re being discharged.”

You were confused. “From the hospital?”

Price cleared his throat, emotion choking him. “No, love. From the task force.”

You stared at him, thousands of different emotions brewing inside you, bubbling in the cauldron of your mind. The final product was tears, unexpectedly, streaming down your face. He looked at you, flooded with guilt, shifting his hand so he could grip yours tight.

“Price…”

“I’m sorry, love,” he whispered. “I’ve lost too many people in this profession. I can’t lose you too.”

“That’s not your choice to make.” Your voice broke.

Price just nodded. “It is. Captain’s orders.”

Then, he kissed you— gentle, slow, an apology. Your face was wet with tears, shining in his facial hair. He put every bit of emotion he had into that kiss, before he stood up, squeezed your hand one last time, and walked out of the room.

•°•

A year later, you sat at the bar of the most popular night club in the area. The music pulsed around you, bright lights flashing through the darkness, painting the walls neon.

After leaving the military— a gunshot scar on your stomach as a souvenir— you pursued what you always wanted to do. Morphing back into civilian life after spending a couple of years in the military was difficult, but you made it work.

You especially made it work when you finally had the freedom to go out and get absolutely wasted.

But tonight was different.

You sat at the bar, swirling your drink in its glass, pouting into space. Today was the one year anniversary of you being discharged. Despite having knocked back several drinks, your appetite for alcohol had soured, and you suddenly just wanted to go home.

You exited the club and were met by the crisp night air. Shivering, you wrapped your arms around you and prepared to call yourself a taxi.

“All alone?” A random man approached you, around your age, and smiled.

How the literal fuck did he want you to reply to that question? Does it look like you’re standing with a bunch of people?

“Oh, uh, no. I’m just waiting for my… boyfriend.” You stammered, hugging your arms around you tighter as you tried to pull out your phone with shaking hands.

“Well, you want some company while you wait?” The man asked, and you shook your head, trying to be as polite as possible.

“No thank you, I’m fine,” you were trying to think of something to say to get him to leave. “My, uh, my boyfriend doesn’t like me talking to other guys.”

The man hummed, getting closer to you. “Sounds like a prick, your boyfriend. How about I buy you a drink then?”

Was this guy dumb?

“No, thank you.” You said, taking a large step away from him.

He went to follow, but suddenly, he was yanked backwards by the collar of his shirt, and he made a distressed sound from the back of his throat as he stumbled.

You did poorly to hide your shock as Price, in all his glory, stood on the pavement, grabbing the random man by the scruff of his neck.

“She said no, did she not?” Price growled. “So fuck off.”

The man scrambled to regain his footing, before he was hurrying away. You took a deep breath, body suddenly hot as Price approached you, a solemn look on his face.

“Love…”

“Look, thanks for that, but I should really get going—” You rambled, turning away, but he caught your wrist.

He pulled you closer to him, the warmth of his body comforting in the midnight chill. His eyes scanned your face, soft. He brought his free hand up to the side of your head, running his thumb along your cheekbone.

“What are you doing here, Price?” You forced yourself to ask, voice quiet.

He didn’t reply straight away. He just cradled your face after bringing his other hand up from your wrist, cupping your other cheek. He stared at you, like he was memorising your features, eyes suddenly glossy and a small smile quirking at the corners of his mouth.

“Just out for a drink.” Price answered, and you could smell the faint aroma of tobacco, whiskey and mint on him. “You?”

“Same.” You replied, relishing in his large hands around your face.

He thumbed your cheekbones, sighing softly to himself. “I’ve… I’ve missed you, love.”

You were trying not to cry now.

“Think about you every day,” Price breathed. “I… I made a mistake. I’m so sorry I let you go.”

You felt paralysed by his words, pinned beneath his gaze. Your body was hot and cold at the same time, your hands clammy but goosebumps still rippled along your bare arms.

“I’m such an idiot. I should never… I should never have let you go the way I did,” Price said. “I was just so scared of losing you that, in reality, I did lose you, didn’t I?”

You nodded slowly, tears stinging in your eyes. “Yeah…”

Price held your face tighter, but still gently. “Jesus, love, I’m so sorry. Will you let me make it up to you? I… I have so much to say. So much to apologise for.”

You felt yourself nod again. “Let’s go back to mine.”

•°•

“I’m sorry, love—”

When you went back to your place, you had every intention of talking it through with Price. After all, it had been a year since you had last spoken to each other.

“I’m so sorry, my love. I missed you so much—”

You had a feeling deep in your stomach that you’d forgive him, that you’d give in to his charm. So you accepted his apology. Of course you did. You loved him.

“Missed you so much— should never have made you go— I’m so sorry—”

You loved Captain John Price.

“Ah, fuck, love, missed this, missed you—”

Which is why the two of you were fucking on your couch.

“Missed this pretty cunt— ah, fuck.” He gripped your hips as you rode him, moving back and forth, up and down on his lap.

He was panting and whining beneath you, your hands on his shoulders, keeping you grounded. He watched the way you sucked him in; where his cock slipped in and out of your dripping heat. Each bounce you made on his cock, each squeeze of your gummy walls, made him spew out even more rambles, throwing his head back and huffing loudly into your living room.

“So good, s’good as I remember,” he groaned as you ground yourself against him. “Missed this wet cunt. Missed you, love.”

A broken record, he was. But it was playing the most beautiful of symphonies.

“I know, Price, I know,” you said. “Missed… ha… missed you too.”

He looked at you, and that’s when you noticed his eyes were brimming with tears. He moved his hands from your hips to your waist, gripping you comfortingly as you worked your cunt around his cock, moving in tandem with the small thrusts of his hips.

You felt your heart melt. Leaning in, you sealed his mouth in a warm kiss. He moaned into it, tongue licking against yours, chest flushed to your bare tits. The coarse hair made you squirm in his lap.

“So good, love, so good, fucking hell,” Price mumbled as you pulled out of the kiss. He ducked his head to suck at your neck, and you could feel a slightly cold wetness. Tears? “Love you so much, my love.”

You were relishing in the way he whined into your neck, holding you as if you’d fly away at any moment. His thrusts were becoming more desperate, you noticed, and your thighs began to ache in your attempts to keep up.

“I love you too.” You whispered, legs shaking.

Usually, it’d be you reaching your peak first. But, just as that burning sensation began to build in your lower tummy, Price was letting out a guttural moan from the crook of your neck.

He was thrusting into you in mismatched rhythm, teeth skimming against the soft skin of your neck.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry— fuck, I can’t—” Price moaned, shooting his load inside you.

You hummed a moan, mouth parting as his motions stilled. You stopped your movements as well, cunt aching with the need for release. You were so close—

Price held your flushed body to him, whimpering softly into the curve of your neck. His semi-hard cock plugged his seed into the depths of your cunt, which throbbed around him in tandem with your racing heart. You could feel slight droplets of his cum and your arousal begin to seep out of you.

“‘M sorry,” he whispered, sucking at your neck. “Couldn’t wait. Felt so good ‘round me. So wet and tight.”

Your stomach fluttered, body tight and tingling and your core was almost aching. You let out a shaky exhale. Price could feel the way you were twitching around his cock, and he suddenly felt even more guilty.

But an idea came to mind.

Carefully— with whatever remaining strength he had after coming the hardest he had in over a year— he lifted you off of his cock. He moved you from his lap so that you were laying on your back across the couch.

You stared at him as he massaged his hands up your bare legs. His eyes trailed along your dripping cunt, watching his cum leak out. He gripped his cock, stroking it a few times, before groaning and releasing it. He instead grabbed hold of your thighs as he positioned himself along the couch also.

He placed your thighs on either side of his head, the sensitive flesh of your inner thighs tickled by his beard. You writhed against the couch as his warm breath fanned against your dripping core.

“Price?” You voiced.

“Yeah, love?”

“What’re you doing?”

His hands tightened around the fat of your thighs. He grunted, “Apologising.”

Then, his mouth came into contact with your heat. You jerked, eyes rolling in your skull, hips pushing against his face. He probed your abused hole with his tongue; thick and warm, making you moan loudly.

The sounds were obscene. He was literally lapping his own cum out of your cunt, mixed with your arousal; a lustrous elixir that continued to pool down the slope of your arse, smearing across his face.

His tongue moved in and out of you. With each movement, he was grunting and releasing guttural sounds from the back of his throat. He massaged your thighs, kneading the soft flesh with large, calloused fingers.

Price’s nose nudged your clit repeatedly; the enflamed nerves hyper-sensitive. You moaned his name, shooting a hand down to clamp into his hair. You tugged, pulling his face further into your cunt, and he hummed, satisfied.

He traced his tongue up and down your folds, circling around your clit before applying suction and drawing it into his mouth. You wanted to scream as the pressure built, before he was dragging his mouth back around your hole, stuffing his tongue back inside with an embarrassing squelch.

“Price, oh my god, Price,” you groaned, grinding yourself onto his face. “So close, ‘m so close.”

Price spurred you on, redoubling his movements, fucking his tongue into you faster. Your stomach was growing tight with pleasure, your legs shaking against his head, breath coming in pants.

“Hngh,,, oh, fuck, Price—!” You moaned as your orgasm slammed into you.

You felt yourself gush into Price’s mouth as he continued his ministrations, tongue stroking you through your release. His happily lapped up every last milky droplet of you release, humming contentedly against you.

You whined, tugging his head away from your core, urging him to kiss you. He complied, his face wet, the taste of you on his lips.

“Missed you so much, my love,” he whispered, kissing you again. “I’m never letting you out of my sight again. I promise.”

You giggled. “Well, I am going to have to go to the bathroom.”

“Guess you’ll have an audience.” Price said jokingly, and you laughed again.

“I didn’t take you for a voyeur, Price,” you winked. “I also didn’t think you had a piss kink. Damn. The more you know.”

Price rolled his eyes. “Don’t even start, love.”

He pressed a kiss to your forehead, his lower face tacky and still rather wet. But you didn’t care.

“I love you, Captain.”

“I love you more, my darling.”

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[gentaro-kinniecom]

⦕Halloween headcanons as a couple<3⦖

Characters: Yuuki Makoto, Oogami Koga, Morisawa Chiaki, Itsuki Shu, Amagi Rinne, Kanzaki Souma, Sakasaki Natsume, Narukami Arashi, Mikejima Madara and Ran Nagisa

C/w: fluff, a bit of suggestive in Natsume’s part, Alcohol in Rinne’s part…general sweet headcanons for everyone <3

A/n: I had to at least do something halloween-themed since this month has been so stressful 😭😭 I’ll still do the two requests I got sometime during this year even if its not for flufftober but then again thank you all for the support!! I hope you guys continue to enjoy my fanfics !!! <3

Makoto Yuuki

Still loves trick or treating at his age and suggests wearing a couple’s costume this year

Even going to lengths of going to a party city and looking at his favorite video game characters costumes

It’s no wonder when the rest of Trickstar decided to join on what was supposed to be your date.

Makoto doesn’t mind but, his mood changes, thankfully at some point they decided to visit a friend’s home around the block, leaving you both alone.

He then invited you to his apartment, watching scary movies while sharing a blanket and snacks sounded like the ideal date

After some moments, you fell asleep on his shoulder as he kissed your forehead and slept with you

Koga Oogami

Since Undead was doing a small Live, a halloween special for the Ensemble Square, he invited you to join them, getting you a vip ticket to later on spend time together.

As the event reached it’s climax, they had a small reunion for the vip’s, as soon as you reached the room, Koga held your hand softly while smiling.

His eyes were on you during the rest of the night, your outfit made his heart beat, he couldn’t help but admire you even more

After a while of mingling with fans and his own bandmates, Koga craved some alone time with you, walking around the illuminated streets wasn’t uncommon for them

Koga placed your arm on his, making sure you felt safe around him

Throughout the night, before it struck 12am, it was always a tradition for him to kiss you in the course of it, in any special holiday, anniversary and even your birthday. Koga wants you to feel special and cared for in every aspect

Chiaki Morisawa

It’s certain that Ryūsetai most likely will make an act for their younger audiences in the same park as they’ve done all their previous shows

Chiaki is surprised when you arrived to help them get ready with makeup kits or helping out with their lines, he’s truly grateful to have someone like you in his life

While doing the mini show, his eyes were on you whenever he could, it gave him comfort. As soon as it ended, Chiaki couldn’t wait to hug you backstage, and he did, spinning you around while kissing you afterwards

He’s definitely exhausted after the entire thing but suggests going to a small party that Starmaker production held

His eyes contained so much tiredness that he began to sleep on your shoulder while standing up

That’s when you both decided to go home, shower and cuddle throughout the night

Shu Itsuki

He’s not into big halloween parties but, he’ll go if you attend and if you wear the matching outfits he prepared for months in advance

Every year he comes up with new themes and always wins the best costume award, it’s not shocking at all

Mademoiselle is usually in Shu’s arms during the night but will hand her at some point to you, admiring how gently you hold her, almost as if she was a fragile porcelain doll

Despite not celebrating halloween a lot, he’ll definitely give the best candy around his neighborhood, the kids are always excited to see Shu’s beautifully decorated house.

He’s intolerant towards kids, however he enjoys seeing the faces of happy, calm children complementing and saying how pretty his costume and home is

Mika regularly visits him in France, specifically when this holiday is around; hanging out with you two (mademoiselle included), gathering candy and having a wonderful time all together

Rinne Amagi

Undoubtedly he throws a halloween party in his dorm, booze included

Kanata and Hiyori invite some of their friends as well as Rinne, who had obviously invited their lovely partner to enjoy some quality time..perhaps even playing beer pong/truth or dare

He buys the costumes no one wants nor likes but always makes them look good somehow

There’s not a single moment where he parted his hands away from your body, holding your hand, waist or even carrying you at some point as a dare, while kissing you that is

Rinne is such a bold person, no matter if it’s a specific holiday or not, he’ll always be like that with you

Even after he’s drunk and everyone went home, he mumbles ‘I love you, Y/n’ so drunkly yet sweet, it’s almost sickening. The only thing he really wanted was to express how much he truly loves you, it’s no doubt what he says is the truth

Souma Kanzaki

Souma loves doing live shows and performing for an audience, no matter if it’s the day where you both had plans on going out, Souma wished the live could’ve been done some other day

He was so upset yet as soon as he saw your face in the crowd, a smile appeared, now happy yet nervous, Souma did his best for you

His eyes were watery, it looked like he had been crying before you entered backstage, sighing in relief as you hugged him, comfort filled his heart, Souma was truly content now

After talking and leaving, Kuro suggested going to Rhythm Link’s halloween party, even if Souma was tired, he agreed after hearing the whereabouts of the party, which was held in the aquarium

When you reached the aquarium, instead of joining everyone at the party you both went towards the turtle exhibition, he seemed so relaxed that Souma didn’t even notice falling asleep on your shoulder

Souma barely remembers how he got home, he smiled as he sees you preparing breakfast for him the next day with his favorite sea themed apron

Natsume Sakasaki

He goes all out on this specific holiday, like dressing as witches together with Tsumugi, Sora and you

Natsume’s goal for halloween is to actually teach you magic; even if it starts by making potions, he’s sure on making it a memorable experience

Tsumugi insists him on taking Sora trick or treating this year since every previous one they would usually give out candy, Natsume sighs, reluctantly agreeing to it and dragging you with him

His eyes are all over you, his hand on your waist as he compliments and flirts with you

Eventually, you both sneak out to kiss and spend time together while Tsumugi continues to trick or treat with Sora

Back at his apartment, Natsume had prepared a small bath for you both to enjoy after the long day; soon sleeping in each other’s arms

Arashi Narukami

Expect a full on halloween glam from this girl, she’s so excited to do your own makeup and wear stylish costumes

Since New Dimension had a small gathering with their idols, Arashi decorated the place so elegantly with some people as support, her face brightened up as she saw you

She won’t shut up about you throughout the party, anytime someone asks about you both, it’s always compliments and praises from Arashi

Arashi later on ends up making non-alcoholic margaritas or handing out drinks to people at the beverage station, casually talking about her day while preparing you a drink

At some point, she takes you to dance under the stars outside, it was such a romantic moment for you both, even kissing you softly, smiling as she held you close

Izumi sighed, looking at you with a faint smile, he was happy Arashi had found someone who complemented her life

Madara Mikejima

Unfortunately, he had to go undercover for a mission that night, after double face disbanded, he ponders if taking you with him would be a good idea, but that quickly disappears when he sees your lock-screen of him in your phone

When he gets home, all bruised up and neutral after a good mission, Madara finds you awake in bed, sighing softly as he apologized for leaving without telling you at such an early hour

Halloween isn’t his favorite holiday, so he likes celebrating it his own way: baking some sweets , watching movies and more

Madara, despite his nature of being friendly and welcoming, wants to only spend time with you, especially after what he had to do during the early hours of the day, he feels safe in your arms and home

He proposed cooking together instead of ordering takeout, wrapping his arms around your waist while you help him out, kissing your shoulder slightly while smiling

Since he’s really tired from the mission, Madara cuddles with you and falls asleep while a movie played in the background, you kissed his forehead before joining him

Nagisa Ran

He’s still getting used to how halloween works, dressing up as your favorite character/movie, getting candy from random neighborhood houses and more

All he could think of was that halloween special in his favorite crystal shop, it’s no surprise when you spend most of your day there with him

Upon entering the shop, Nagisa held your hand the entire time, looking at the many precious gems around the establishment

Even if you both didn’t wear costumes, Nagisa bought matching jade bracelets, walking out the door with a smile, hand in hand once again

Eden had a small gathering during the night and Nagisa dressed up as a mermaid with the rest of his unit. When he spotted you, he couldn’t help but smile, going to hug you after the crowd of fans left

Since Hiyori wanted to go to a Karaoke booth, Nagisa sang his favorite songs while glancing at you first comfort, holding your waist as you joined him for some duo songs

[lightwing-s]

𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄

pairing: titans!dick grayson x female!reader

summary: a family, a home, was all Yn ever wanted, and when she got it, she had to part ways. coming back shouldn't hurt, shouldn't be this hard. Dick Grayson shouldn't be an asshole, but she shouldn't love him either. word count: 3,5k warnings: cursing, mentions of death, grief, family issues , and my absolute lack of knowledge of green lantern’s lore.

a/n: definitely not proof read, and it's 3:05 in the morning, so pls be kind with any errors lol a/n 2: updated on january 4th, 2024.

reblogs and interactions are always appreciated ! ♡

⌜masterlist⌟ ⌜requests⌟

Outer space was vast.  Immense with emptiness, and yet still full of life.

The last five years of Yn’s life were spent in this vast nothingness, travelling, patrolling, protecting. The bit of galaxy that was gifted to her by the guardians was her place to keep safe, and the same place where once she had felt safe herself, before discovering the magnitude of this emptiness and the dangers it hid from humans. 

Never in her young life had she expected it to take this turn, to be granted with a ring and the responsibility to be one of Earth’s protectors. She had just turned fourteen when gifted with a ring of hope, but never did she doubt her abilities, embracing the new challenge with a bravery the guardians hadn’t seen before from someone so young, and teaming with Earth’s own green lantern on the quest to defend the planet.

If only Hal knew the young girl was the one in need of defending.

As many heroes' stories go, Yn Sn was the product of a tragic life, having lost her parents at a very early age, and since then bouncing from one foster family to another. The “family” she had found herself in at that point didn’t have anything on family and on foster. They couldn’t care if she went missing for days, only to return bruised and in pain. They just cared for the money in their bank account at the end of the month.

As far as she knew, she was always alone.

Hal Jordan was the first thing to come close to family for Yn. Although reluctantly at first, he took her in and trained the young girl to become a lantern just as good as him. With time, he turned into an older brother, constantly worrying that the life of a lantern would interfere with her personal life, worrying if she was missing school or getting in trouble with her parents for disappearing for too long, but she would constantly brush off these worries, telling him they were with all that.

However, when he found out the truth, he got furious. He took her in, made her his ward “Just as a friend had done with a young boy he’d met, Yn”. But Hal was often away, be it for lantern duties or his own work and personal life, so he was concerned she would feel too alone in their apartment. That she would feel left out.

That’s when he heard about the Titans from Batman, the group of young heroes created by his own protégé, Robin, and a few others. Considering they were all of close age, he hoped they would get along, that she would make friends and finally build her own chosen family. So, with much arguing and persuasion, he took her to San Francisco to join the young team.

At first, Y/n was careful with the other teen heroes. She didn’t know if she could trust them, or even if they trusted her. But with each training session and with every mission she eventually grew to appreciate their company and little by little they became that family Hal had so wished for her.

However, even within the best families there’s always conflict and a certain level of distrust, and her greatest source of both came in the form of a green, red, and yellow costumed boy: Dick Grayson. The famous boy wonder, self-proclaimed team leader, the one that could get on her nerves like nobody else.

Always reprimanding her, always pointing out her flaws. He was unbearable, and sometimes she wished to punch him so hard he’d end up on the other side of the galaxy.

“I told you to stay in formation, not to go rogue and almost ruin the mission, lantern.” He scolded her after their most recent encounter with Cheshire.

“But I got to her anyway, and also disarmed the bomb. You should be thanking me for doing your job, and much better than you ever would.” She confronted him, knowing very well how to trigger the boy.

“We are a team, Yn. T-E-A-M,” he spat out. “Supposedly, these work together, but you wouldn’t have known, as you’re trapped too deep into your own ego to care for anyone else.” Pointing his finger in her face, his own getting red and spit jumping out of his mouth.

Gosh he hated how she could so easily rile him up, how she held a power over him that made everything good turn bad with single a snap of her fingers.

“My ego?!” She laughed, getting even closer to Dick than he already was. “Look who’s talking, Mr. I made myself team captain because I clearly think I’m above everyone else. You think so highly of your plans that…”

“Enough, you two!” Donna interrupted, rubbing at her temples. “If you keep doing this after every mission, I don’t know what I’m capable of doing.”

During her time with the Titans, Yn had to withhold herself from arguing with Robin 80% of the time. The other 20% were times they were sent on missions separately and she finally could feel at peace. But somehow it worked. The team ran as a connected unit, never missing a beat, one complementing the other as if they were parts of the same body.

But that didn’t last long. They worked well until loss and grief broke the connection entirely. With Garth’s death much of that confidence and team spirt was lost to fear, anger, and distrust, and there seemed to be no fixing that.

“If only you had listened to me. If we had taken care of Deathstroke like I wanted to, Garth would’ve been alive today!” Yn screamed at Robin, as her voice trembled, her eyes soaked, and tears started rolling down her cheeks like a waterfall. She had told him, warned countless times, that they couldn’t deal with Deathstroke by simply doing whatever shit he and Batman did in Gotham. Slade was too dangerous to be left alive, and death was the only way to get rid of him for good.

“So, you want to blame me for something that isn’t my fault? You were the one that made him angry in the first place.” he responded.

“We all pissed him off, Grayson. Don’t try to put this on me. I could have been as much of a target as Garth and Donna were…”

“Don’t say this…”

“Or even y-you!” her voice barely made it to the end of this sentence, a lump forming in her throat impeding her from continuing to argue. Tired of everything, exhausted in fact, Yn stormed out of the room and ran to her bedroom, collected her few belongings in a rush and made her way out of the tower.

“Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” asked the Boy Wonder, his voice was shaky and covered in a feeling Yn couldn’t fully comprehend.

“Away!” she replied rashly. 

“Away from where?“

“From everything! The tower. San Francisco. Earth for all that matters. I want out of here!”

Dick was sure her screams could be heard all the way on the street, and just as loud as that was the sound of his heart breaking, shattering on the floor like broken glass. The team was over, and there was nothing he could do about it except watch it crumbling down.

Leaving Earth all those years ago wasn’t an easy decision. After all, it was her home. But with the end of the Titans and the destruction of the only thing she deeply cared for in this world, there was nothing holding her down to stay anyways. The galaxy was now her home, where she travelled and visited so many planets, she didn’t even know were real.

Hal tried to bring her back to Earth with him an uncountable amount of times, but all of them were unsuccessful, and he learned that leaving her be was the best he could do to allow her to heal. When she felt ready, she would return. 

And then, finally, after a little bit more than five long years, Yn felt confident in herself enough to consider going back. It was about time, she missed their sun, the food was always superior then anywhere else, and she had to know how he was. Go back to Earth, she would often think, You have no home here, Y/n.

Upon her return, she expected things to have changed. She expected to see that her old friends had moved on from the crime fighting world, from the hero gig, and left the Titans just a memory. But to her surprise, the present didn’t appear to be too different from what was left all those years ago.

Turning the TV inside her new and tiny apartment, the news shows were all about the apparent reopening of the Titans Towers, about Robin going rogue in Detroit and his return to the city San Francisco with intentions of bringing the once beloved team back. Y/n knew Dick was stubborn, but gosh he could go beyond expected. Why would he do that? Who would do that with him? Did Donna or Dawn or Hank come back too? Are they all stupid brainless masochists?

She knew it would sound hypocritical of her, after all she’s still in her position as a Blue Lantern, patrolling a patch of the galaxy where Earth belonged to. But she had no choice, she made an oath to protect it and if there was one thing Yn was never going to break was a promise.

If it wasn’t the oath, Y/n would have quit five years ago. Or maybe not. Being a hero filled a hole in her heart that left untouched would be filled with pain and hurt instead, so maybe she would stay and keep it filled with everything else but her true feelings.

All those questions were eating up her brain and wouldn't let her sleep at night. So, deciding to rid herself of all doubt, she searched for the one she wished she had left behind all those years ago.

Dick had just turned off the last light in the Titans Tower, the whole team probably sound asleep by that point, as he so wished to be.

Restarting the Titans was an unexpected gift, but also the reconquering of a number of responsibilities that were leaving him gradually more exhausted day by day. A good night's sleep might solve his problem just temporarily, but the temptation of a good rest was always irrefutable.

Just as he entered his bedroom, he noticed a shadow. The shadow of a human, a person he couldn’t identify in the darkness, and his fight instincts kicked out. But before he could’ve attempted anything, the shadow’s sweet voice sent a shiver down his spine:

“When I came back to Earth, I expected it to be in a better position than the one I had left it on, but it appears that humans are much clingier to the past as I thought they would be.” It told him, the owner of the voice someone he hadn’t expected to hear and see any time soon, but that he would have recognized even if hundreds of years had passed.

“Yn?”

“So, you want to bring back the team that took so much from us?” She questioned, and although she was still hiding in the dark, he could notice her trembling chin from just her voice. She questioned him incredulously, still not daring to look away from the huge floor to ceiling windows. “You want to take kids into the crime fighting world just like the man you hate the most did to you?”

Finding Yn Sn in his bedroom wasn’t in his yearly bingo card, nor his decade one. In fact, he truly thought he would never see her again, with how upset she was the last time they had talked. But, ironically, here she was and just as angry as the last time they’d talked. Too much for hanging on to the past, huh?

“This is not what you think.” He declared and Yn turned to him abruptly.

“Explain to me, then,” she demanded, a dark humor hovering her voice. “Why did you take those kids in?”

“You’re acting as if you didn’t start fighting crime yourself as a teenager…”

“That’s different, “ she interrupted, her voice only getting louder. “I got chosen by the ring to defend the universe, it’s a different situation.”

“Don’t come to me with your “I’m special” bullshit.” Dick made quotation marks with his own finger, feeling the anger climb his spine. “Even if it wasn't for the ring, you'd have been just like us, and you know it.”

“Well, now I know better. Kids are not supposed to be fighting crime, or don’t you remember what happened the last time we were in San Francisco?” Shaking her head judgingly, she adds. “You’re unbelievable, Grayson.”

“And you still fail to see the bigger picture, Yn.“ Dick counter argued. “I’m not doing this for the sake of having a team back. I’m doing it for Rachel and Gar, for Kory. They’re strays just like one day you and me were, or did you forget how it was to not have a family and desperately want one?”

The mention of a family had Yn frozen, standing still and staring right back at him without knowing what words she should muster. He knew it was her weak spot, he knew that through it he could make her understand, so poking her wound was his only option.

And he was right. Y/n didn’t forget. The Titans were not just a superhero team, they were a family just like no other, built of strays with no hopes or expectations, those who lived in someone else’s shadows and desperately tried to strike on their own. Even so, the consequences of bringing the team back were far larger than one would think, and Yn so badly wanted to avoid any more heartbreak.

“Still… Don’t you mind the stakes? Don’t you remember the pain anymore? The hole left by Garth’s loss, do you want to feel it again, Dick?” her voice got softer, pain evident in every syllable. “Because you know it will come, eventually. Much stronger than the first time.”

“It’s a risk worth taking.” He replied honestly. If it wasn’t him, then someone else would do it, otherwise they’d be allowing too much shit to hit happen that he couldn’t even contemplate what future it would lead them to.

“Really?! You wanna risk children’s lives, your life? Do you wanna risk all that pain in the name of a mission that never seems to have an end?” She spat out, anger returning to her tone. “You had quit, I saw it. And you have no idea how jealous that made me because I couldn’t do the same. Travelling through space did nothing to soothe the emptiness I felt inside, no crime fighting would fix my heart and you tell me you’re willing to go back to it all when you were finally free?” the burning sensation in her eyes told her news she hoped wouldn’t happen, but at this point, crying was inevitable.

“We can’t be sure if something is gonna happen. It’s a risk worth taking because so far, it has worked for us. We did lose Garth, but remember how much more we had conquered?”

“Having you say Garth's death was worth it, Dick…” she shook her head before being interrupted.

“You know it was not what I meant. Stop twisting my words.”

Dick was growing infuriated. It doesn’t matter how much time passes, Yn Sn is still going to try to paint him as the bad guy when he just wants to get on her good side.

“Because you are so damn capable of keeping everyone alive, right? How about your own life, who’s gonna protect it then?”

“My life is the smallest of my problems.” Dick stated nonchalantly, surprising Yn a little.

That line, that simple sentence had Y/n’s heart shattered. Did he think so little of himself to consider his life worthless? Because to her, his life was worth millions. His life was worth putting hers in danger or sacrificing an entire planet for.

"Don’t say that!" screamed the girl fiercely. "Losing Garth already had me broken. I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you too!”

Her sight was blurred due to the tears that allocated themselves in her eyes, uncontrollable, untamed. Her voice felt hoarse, weak, the lump on her throat making her words barely leave her mouth. I am weak, she thought. He knows.

And he did now.

He felt nauseous at first. If his thought process was right, if what she said was real and not a product of his imagination, she… liked him, she cared for him. Liked him enough to not want to lose him, even hypothetically.

Dick was astounded. Never would he have believed it, if anyone had told this him before tonight, that Yn Sn was in any level into him, he’d tell them they were insane. He thought she would rather see him burn over something like this. But it all made to him, all the fights they had after he put himself in dangerous positions during missions, all those arguments when he ended up hurt. She cared about him, him. 

"Yn, what do you mean?" he asked carefully, approaching her ever so slowly. He feared if she saw what he was attempting to do that she would flee like she did before.

"Nothing…" she said while drying her eyes. Stupid, stupid, stupid. "I have to go."

She felt disoriented. She had guarded herself so well all her life, and here comes this stupidly good-looking guy, with his stupidly charming smile, breaking her walls and making her feel so… small and insignificant. Trying to recompose herself, she fixed her shirt and rushed past her old “friend”, only to be stopped as she felt his strong hands holding her in place.

"I know I would’ve gone mad if I had lost you." he confided.

Coming onto his own senses, Dick realized all he wanted was her safety too. Her health, her happiness, her smiles every time the team would fight for the front seat in the plane, the remote control or about what movie they were going to watch. He wanted to see the sparkle in her eyes every time she would make the most eccentric creations with her ring. He wanted her to have the family he knew she had always wished for, he wanted her cared for and loved. And even more, he wanted to be one providing her all of it.

"I wouldn’t have made it if you were the one to have gone. If you were gone… so would I.”

Hearing his confession, Yn body stopped working, her heart stopped pounding and her mind kept repeating his words. Her body didn’t respond to her head saying go, or even to her heart telling her to kiss him, right then, right there.

All these years of hatred made her believe he truly despised her. She thought he would hate her for leaving, for being selfish, for hurting him. She hated that pain and herself for feeling it, making her a fucking coward. But all this time, he was hurting just like her. He was a coward too, she thought. A silly, stupid, and lovable coward.

"You are incredibly stupid, you know." she blurted out, and he laughed.

"And you are the hardest person to love in this whole entire world."

The four-lettered word threw a burst of energy into Yn’s body, awakening it and her thoughts. Her body erupted with an energy not even the ring had made her feel, and without another thought, without wasting anymore time, without waiting five more years, she kissed him.

Passionately, lovingly, intensely. She kissed him for all the lost years, for all the accumulated anger he made her feel. For never stopping being that boy full of hope and determination, and the hardest of heads she’s even known. 

Yn loved Dick Grayson. She always did. And from the way he kissed her back, she knew he did it too.  That his words were not lies of his to try and get her back. She felt his love, his passion. She wanted to feel it more and more and more…

"Stay with me…" he begged, voice mixed between heavy breaths. "With the Titans."

His forehead rested on hers, his eyes closed, as if praying she'd say yes. Even if her mind kept telling her it was a bad idea, that bringing back the team was dangerous, her newfound softness for him pushed her into saying yes, into staying. Into building again, the family she once had, but now in the right way, now with him by her side.

With a sigh and a desire of getting intoxicated on him once more, a desire that was making her lose all her senses and certainly her mind, Y/n answered:

"I’ll have to think about it."

Unbelievable. With a shake of his head and a soft, breathy laugh, Dick held her face in his hands and kissed her once more, giving her what her eyes were begging and knowing damn well this time she was gonna stay. She was gonna be with him, and there was no way he’d let her go.

She was here, with him. At home. He was her love, her friend, her home.

[starseungs]

➳ 11:11pm. hhj

hwang hyunjin x gn!reader

light(?) angst, bestfriend!hyunjin, unrequited love — 0.7k words

made this just to post smth while i finish my wips </3

ⓒ written by starseungs on tumblr. do not steal, repost, or edit.

"Why is everyone in love except for me?"

Hyunjin passionately complains, turning off his phone to toss it to the side after finally getting tired of seeing countless happy couples on his feed. "It's almost insulting to be left out like this."

You side-eyed him without much care to hide the somewhat disrespectful action. It was on purpose anyway—you wanted him to see it to prove your point. "Maybe if you lessened your expectations for every relationship then you wouldn't be whining pathetically on my apartment couch."

"And lower my standards? No way," he gasped in an exaggerated manner. You merely yawned, already having expected his response. "I have a very specific vision only my soulmate would be able to recreate!"

"Yeah, right. Your soulmate is probably grass, because you really need to touch some."

Hyunjin narrowed his eyes on you. The sharpened gaze barely affected you after having gotten used to it for years now. "You don't get to scold me like this, you're literally single too."

You couldn't help but scoff at the words you unfortunately managed to hear. Hyunjin wasn't entirely wrong—you were single too. But you believed there was a major difference between both your situations.

"Unlike you, though," you started, pausing for a split second at the sight of Hyunjin's attentive stare. It made you want to cry. "I'm not looking for a relationship right now."

"Come on, Y/N! Don't you want to see how other people would react?" He tried to sell it to you like some on-sale product. "You said it yourself; you're not looking for a relationship, then boom! Boyfriend!" Hyunjin looks up at you with a proud grin, to which you find yourself holding your breath too.

"Mysterious, right?"

You grit your teeth. From the day you first met him as a freshman in college up until this very moment, Hyunjin had barely changed. Of course, there were many aspects of him that had matured, as well as skill wise also improved—but the Hyunjin you knew never changed in your eyes. And you could say that neither did you. He was still the same one you befriended, the one you held oh-so-dearly, and the one you loved.

That fact only made you even more opposed to the idea that would just break what was left of your sense of rationality.

"You're actually insane, Hwang Hyunjin," you tried to keep your voice as composed as possible. He would likely never notice such a small change either way, but you're a lot more cautious about things. "That stuff is for fiction books. Nonexistent in real life."

He snorts at your comment. "Well, you'd be surprised. A lot more people do it than you thought."

"It's stupid."

Hyunjin hums, surprisingly acknowledging your stance. "I guess it's just normal for humans to crave love… and attention. Mostly for the attention," he lightly laughs at his own words—something you had to clench your fists quietly to as a silent reminder it could never be for you. "Still it's for fun, Y/N. We both don't have significant others or anyone courting us, so who'd get jealous?"

Yet despite everything you just did, you knew that it would end up in your loss. It always did.

"Damn it, fine."

Hyunjin's face lights up, making your heart flip and shatter upon landing because you knew you weren't doing it for the same reasons as him. Unfortunately, you've immediately come to regret your decision as Hyunjin slips his hand into yours without a word. You gasped at the unexpected feeling that had the butterflies in your stomach, circling in chaos. "Relax your hand," you heard him say, and for a second you forgot the situation you were in. "It looks awkward in the photo."

Oh. Right. You two were faking a soft launch.

It took you less than a second to release the tension from your hand. You knew it was merely you losing energy from the disappointment, but you would never admit it out loud. At least Hyunjin seemed satisfied, though.

"Should we put a caption?" He ponders, glancing at you for help. You bit your lip at what you were about to say.

"11:11, my wish came true."

Hyunjin raises a suspicious eyebrow. "That's… very corny—even for someone like you."

"It's not real anyway, might as well go all out," was your pitiful excuse, snatching the phone from him to quickly place the words.

And as you pressed the post button, all you could think of was how you hoped this was real. But 11:11 would never grant your wish like you wrote in the caption.

Not unless Hyunjin wished for you too.

mastertag 🔖— @tyuniiz @lhskokoro @bookishcalls @comet-falls

send in an ask if you want to be added ! 🫶

[jsprnt]

Healing Hearts PT. 17 | Virgil van Dijk

Would a fresh start bring you more than just a new job?

A/N: last post of 2023 🥺 happy new year babes! Wishing for 2024 to be your year! Thank you so much for all the love this year <3

WC: 3.136

Summary: Y/N L/N is a very skilled and praised physiotherapist. A certain event pushing her for a fresh start, as a physiotherapist for Liverpool FC. One question always being in the back of her mind: Will she be able to let go of her past and allow herself to experience new things?

"Do you want to go in the same car or?"

I shout from my room, getting ready for the day as Virgil is eating breakfast.

I myself didn't feel particularly hungry, more so because it was the first time we'd go into the training center as a 'known' couple. So, I figured I should at least look good, deciding to take my time on my make up.

"Yeah, we'll come home from the match together then." He answers, as hear I the dishwasher being pulled open. Then hearing his footsteps coming closer.

"What are you doing?" He asks, coming closer to me as I set my face with powder.

"Making sure my art stays in place." I joke, turning back to face him as he sits on the edge of my bed.

"I'm almost done I promise."

I finally grab my lip products, lining my lips meticulously and applying my gloss. Chucking both products into my bag as I stand up.

"Let's go."

I pull on my sneakers, checking myself out in the mirror for a split-second before we finally get into the elevator.

"Who's going to drive? You or me?"

I ask, watching the numbers on the elevator screen go down.

"I'll drive of course." He smiles, showing off his keys.

He holds my hand as we leave my apartment building, as we walk up to his car. Opening the door for me.

He walks around, as I put my seat belt on, getting in himself. Meanwhile, I grab my phone to check my notifications, now minimal since I deleted my social media apps.

"Here." I hear Virgil say, handing his phone to me.

I look at him confused, then looking at the phone screen. A playlist, titled 'red scrubs.'

"What's this?"

I ask, scrolling through, realizing it was full of all my favorite songs. Looking back up at him as he drives with one hand.

"A playlist I've made for you."

A smile forms on my face immediately, my mood getting brighter than earlier.

"You're so cute." I mumble, unable to stop cheesing at his cheesiness. It was very small and childish gesture, but the love it expressed was huge.

I watch him smirk, my hand coming up to squeeze his bicep playfully.

"How'd you even-"

"I wrote the song titles on my phone when you got excited about them."

I smile even harder, looking away for a moment to regain my composure. Then leaning slightly to kiss his cheek in appreciation.

"Let's see if you did a good job then hm?" I say, putting the playlist on shuffle.

"Why am I suddenly getting so nervous? Maybe separate cars was a better idea." I say, wiping my clammy hands on my thighs. My nerves getting the best of me.

I watch Virgil glance at me, his eyebrow raised as he drives up to the training center. Greeting the security nicely, as we drive into the parking lot.

Parking all the way in the back, this was either good or bad. We were about to do the walk of shame and pride at the same time.

He finally turns to me, his bigger hand grabbing mine. His thumb caressing my knuckles softly.

"You're going to be okay."

He assures, leaning to kiss the top of my head.

"It's like we're showing off or something-"

"So? I want to show you off. What is anyone going to do about that?" He asks, gazing into my eyes.

Right, what is anyone going to do?

"We'll go in just like usual okay? Want to hold my hand or no?" He asks, his eyes softening.

I nod only, trying to compose myself fully.

I grab onto Virgil's hand tightly, only squeezing it harder when we step into the building, his thumb still caressing the back of my hand in reassurance.

"Clara!" I exclaim, seeing her look up with a smile as we walk up to her.

She'd long known about us, we couldn't actually hide it from her as she and I hung out often.

"Finally showing your girl off huh?" She asks Virgil, as I give her a side hug.

She glances at me, probably seeing the nerves on my face.

"You'll be fine, I think the guys will love you two together. Be prepared though, you know how they are." She says, squeezing my shoulder.

We walk further into the building, stopping right in front of the stairs and I already hear a low whistle.

"Look! My new favorite lovebirds!" A very cheery Trent says, Dom walking along with him, towards us.

I dread every second it takes for them to walk up to us, frozen smile plastered on my face.

"Don't start." Virgil waves them off, greeting them both with a handshake. Then going in to hug me.

"Are we allowed to hug her now or?" Dom teases, glancing at Virgil before he hugs me.

"How did you guys learn about it?" I mutter, rolling my eyes humorously.

"My Instagram! We aren't going to be the only ones you know." Trent chimes in.

"Well thank you for the mental preparation. I'll leave to my office now. See you guys later?" I say, letting of Virgil's hand.

He looks at me, eyes definitely asking for a kiss. I groan internally, Trent and Dom looking at us like we're a pair of pandas in a zoo.

I plant a quick kiss on his cheekbone, stubble grazing my skin slightly as I make a run for it before I could hear the guys say anything.

Sadly, I do hear a very loud "You know Virg, you've got some pink lip stuff on your cheek."

I walk into the canteen during lunchtime, Clara glued to my hip. Only because I forced her to, for emotional support as I watch eyes linger on me as we both fill up our plates.

"Doctor! Clara here!" I hear, snapping my head to a table, a very enthusiastic Ibou, his hands motioning for us to come over. His laugh undeniably infectious as a smile creeps up to my own face.

"Good afternoon guys." I say, realizing they probably intentionally left a seat next and across from Virgil. I sit next to him as Clara sits across from me.

Virgil automatically looks at me, grabbing my plate out of my hands and putting it down. His arms coming behind me, around my back as he smiles at me.

"Hey." He says, shamelessly placing a kiss on my cheek. Followed by immediate commotion from the table.

Some "aww's" mixed with some "my eyes!" making me laugh.

"Come on guys calm down." Clara says, trying to level out the comments.

"It's not like we didn't know already." I hear Ryan say and I immediately look up at him.

"What do you mean?" I ask, glancing at Virgil for a moment. His hand coming to hold mine underneath the table, resting both our hands on his thigh.

"We've been suspecting you two for like... two weeks or something." Harvey says and I raise a brow at him.

"Someone elaborate, please." I urge, the suspense was killing me.

"We kind of knew something was going on when we heard you went to the Netherlands and Greece game." Cody explains, looking at me.

Really, It was that easy? I had been stressing and fretting for no reason? They kind of knew already? That early?

"Yeah, but we kind of knew since your first day." Trent explains.

"My first day?"

"Yeah, captain had been talking about you in the changing room, like every day from then on."

This slowly started to become my favorite conversation ever. A grin forms on my face, gently squeezing Virgil's hand.

"Really?" I ask Virgil, a caught off guard expression on his face. That was why the guys looked so- giggly and smiley that first week?

"He's going to start blushing now!" I hear, immediately laughing as he did look insanely flustered.

"Right, he said you were 'the most beautiful woman that he’d ever worked with' and 'your smile was-" Virgil puts his hand over Curtis' mouth, stopping him from speaking.

"That's enough. Isn't it?" He mumbles, embarrassed smile on his face.

I tap his thigh, motioning him to stop suffocating Curtis as I lean into his side. His arm reluctantly wrapping around my back again.

"I want to hear more." I beam, looking at Curtis as I finally dug into my food.

"We had bets and everything." Curtis says, smug grin on his face.

"About?"

"Like who said 'I love first' or when you guys got together." Trent explains.

"Ohh, must've been very entertaining for you guys." I say, covering my full mouth with my hand.

Yeah, but it gave me heart palpitations.

"Are you two going to reveal it then? I need to know if I won." Cody chimes in, as he takes a gulp of his water.

I glance at Virgil, smiling at him. The team definitely knew how to entertain themselves with gossip.

"That's for us to know and for you to wonder." He says, pulling me closer into his side.

"You know we've seen scratches on his back and hickies on his neck-"

"Okay- I don't want to hear more actually.”

"I do not like when we draw." I mutter, to no one in particular as I watch the match unfold right in front of my eyes.

So far it was 1-1 against Bournemouth, and at least we had no injuries. I adjust my position in my seat. I sat in the last seat of the first row, looking directly at the position of the ball on the pitch.

I glance at the players behind me, all packed in their black, green embroidered club puffer jackets like me. Virgil sitting in the seat right behind mine.

The rain had been pouring down ever since the start of the match, making me hope that the damn waterproof mascara did its job and stayed on properly. At least my puffer was warm enough.

I feel a hand on my shoulder, looking back to see Virgil. "You okay?" He asks, rubbing his hands on my jacket.

"Yeah, it's just the rain that's annoying and it's cold." I complain, adjusting my zipper.

He extends his hand, giving me his hot pack.

"Here it'll help a little."

"Thank you." I smile, trying to warm up my hands as his hands stay on my shoulders. It was probably the maximum PDA I would allow in front of cameras.

The match finally ends with a 2-1 win for Liverpool, after an absolute banger of a goal from Darwin. Making us the last eight competing for the Carabao Cup.

I immediately run inside, almost slipping due to my wet shoe soles. Trying to avoid any more rain. Then waiting for everyone to pile inside again, a very happy shouting Virgil rushing in.

"You're going to fall." I comment, watching the last few players walk in.

"I fell already." He says, coming closer to me.

"You did? Are you injured?" I say, looking over him concerned. His hands coming to hold my cheek, making me look at him.

"No, I fell for you."

I blank stare at him for a moment, wondering if he really just said the most cheesy, cliché line ever.

"I think I need a moment." I utter, avoiding him as I walk to stand next to Klopp.

"It was a joke, come on." He complains, coming to stand next to me again. Klopp glancing at us with a smile.

"Yeah, a really bad one. Like who says that?"

"Babe? Can you... pick us up?”

She giggles, phone pressed to her ear clumsily. Dim pub lights casting a minimal glow on her face, her earrings glistening as she moves her head.

"Are you drunk love?" He asks, standing up from her living room sofa, and grabbing his car keys.

"A little, got carried away."

She mumbles, laughing at her drunk friend's dance moves.

"Okay send me your location. Can you do that for me?" He asks, walking out of her apartment.

"I think... I can- hold on." she slurs, tapping some familiar buttons. Managing to send her location to him.

"Alright I'll be there in a few. Want to hang up or stay on the phone?" He asks, starting the engine of his car.

"Stay." She answers, drunkenly keeping an eye on Sofia and Clara.

"Okay, want to tell me something that happened?" He says, keeping his eyes on the road.

"Uhm... this girl was wearing like 15 centimeter heels, like how?" She mumbles, leaning forward onto the table tiredly.

"Hm really? How about yours? Do your ankles not hurt?" He asks, humming.

"I'm just sitting down now." She answers.

"Are your friends there? They're okay right?”

"Yeah... they're very happy." She replies, looking at them laugh and chat clumsily.

"That's good, I'm almost there. Don't come outside yeah?"

She hums, her eyes fluttering shut for a moment.

After a few short minutes the tall athlete arrives, peering around to find three girls sit next to each other. Though, his girlfriend seems totally exhausted while her friend are as cheery as ever.

"y/n." He says, running his hands on her back.

She looks up, recognizing him and standing up. Her body immediately leaning against his, molding against it.

"You're okay." He mumbles, barely audible due to music.

"Girls, let's go." He says, watching both Sofia and Clara grab their own bags. His hand going to grab his girlfriend's bag.

"Sofia, can you walk? Or should I call Noah down?" He asks, having dropped off Clara safely already.

"I'm good." She mumbles having sobered up a bit, reaching over to open the car door.

Virgil looks at his girlfriend in the passenger seat, half awake as her head is angled downwards.

He finally gets out of the car, picking up his girlfriend and walking alongside Sofia, up to their level.

He watches Noah open the door, bringing Clara in as he throws a thumbs up to Virgil.

"Thanks lad!" He says, closing the door as Virgil throws out a ‘no problem’.

Virgil finally opens the front door, bringing y/n onto the couch as he goes to wash his hands and grabs a cup of water.

"Here drink some water." He coaxes, bringing the cup to her lipstick smudged lips.

She complies, eyes open by a sliver as she gulps the entire cup down. He leans down, chucking the heels off her feet.

"Okay now let's get you cleaned up." He mumbles, picking her up again.

"I'm going to set you down on the counter. Alright?"

"Mhm."

"Okay this is your cleanser right?"

He says, showing her a white bottle.

He was right.

"No, I can do it myself." She mumbles, getting off the counter.

"Okay, I'll brush my teeth."

He does, stabilizing her when she stared clumsily moving again. Drunkenly applying all sorts of toners and serums.

"You look like glazed donut."

"That's... the point."

"I know. Let's go to bed."

He guides her by the shoulders, placing her on the edge of her bed as he grabs her pajamas.

"No, I can- do it myself." She exclaims, grabbing the change of clothes as she starts tugging on the zipper on her back.

"Let me- help you."

His hands go up to her zipper, zipping it down successfully as she pulls the dress down further.

He grabs the dress, placing it in the laundry basket and returning to her.

She grabs onto the pajama shirt, pulling it over her head easily, his minimal help needed. She grabs the pajama pants, looking up at him.

"See? I can do it all alone. Even when I’m drunk. I'm a genius-"

She tries to say, accidentally tripping, face-first into the bed when trying to step into the pants fully.

He tries to stifle his laughter, knowing she wouldn't appreciate it. Especially in her drunken state.

"Woah- let me help you."

After a struggle and battle with the pajamas they both finally lay down into the bed cozily. His hand cradling her closer.

"My ankles hurt." She complains, soft groan leaving her mouth.

"Want me to massage them?"

"Yes, please."

He shifts in the bed. Rolling the ends of her pants up as he starts to rub and massage her swollen looking ankles.

"Did you dance a lot?" He asks, a soft hum leaving her lips.

"I wish you didn't wear those high heels then."

"They looked good."

"I know, but still."

He looks closer at the back of her ankles, realizing the back of her heels were probably too rough and made her bleed.

"The back of your ankles are bleeding."

"Really?"

"Hold on."

He walks back and forth to the bathroom, grabbing the necessary disinfectant and band-aids.

She winces as the ointment makes contact with the small wound. He quickly places a band-aid on both ankles and patting her leg.

"I'm sorry love. It's over." He says, voice deep and thick with sleep.

"Let's sleep now."

I watch as Curtis and Virgil pretend to be Santa in front of the camera crew. It was the first week of November but I guess the PR team decided to film Christmas videos already.

I was having some food with Clara at the other table as they had walked in with the cameras on. I try to muffle my laughter as they kept pulling out ridiculous presents from their bags.

I finally see them nearing the end of filming, Trent, Robbo, Curtis and Virgil gathered around and flipping through the calendar full of images from different players.

"Doctor come see this, you'll love it."

I hear Robbo say, looking at me as I pop a strawberry into my mouth. I raise my brows, chewing the fruit as I stand up to see what he's talking about.

"What is it?" I ask putting my hands in my pocket, looking him with questioning look.

"Here see for yourself." He says handing me the calendar. I glance at the guys for a moment, opening the calendar to see every month having a new photo of Virgil.

"Oh-" I say, raising my brows as every photo becomes even more questionable.

"You can have it from Santa!" Curtis says, pushing the calendar further into my arms.

"Oh it's-"

"Aw you don't like it?" Trent chimes in, glancing at Virgil.

"Doesn't really fit with the interior of my apartment you know." I tease playing along, though unable to contain my laughter as Robbo bursts out in laughter.

"You're serious?" Virgil say, looking betrayed.

"You know you seem to love it more than me Andy. Besides, I've got the real deal already."

I joke, handing it to him. Winking at the camera for jokes. There's no way it would be used anyway.

[strawberryfairi]

“I loved you then…back when I knew you”

Synopsis: 💎 When your old high school best friend, and admittedly, first love randomly shows up at your door one morning after a bit over ten years apart, your memories of him that you once locked away comes flooding back. Are you open to hearing him out after all this time? (In other words…will you take your man back or nah?)

♕Pairings: Kazutora X Black Fem Reader 🤎 (ANYONE CAN READ)🛑Content: 18+ Eventual smut, Some grief, Some angst ~Crossposted On: Wattpad ONLY ~Updating WEEKLY

w.c. 3.3k💠 Released Jan 10, 2024

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CHAPTER 5; VALHALLAS NUMBER 3

Your mom had a world shattering conniption when she saw your black left eye Saturday morning, the day after all that with Osanai and his buddies went down.

You spent the entire weekend getting 'fixed up' as your mom called it, icing it and just laying down. She treated you like you were elderly and couldn't take care of yourself, bringing you food, tea, and water whenever you needed it. You didn't mind it at all, seeing as she was just expressing her immense amount of care.

Now it was Monday, time for school, and around that time where Kazutora would wait outside for you. Peeking through the curtains by your window, you checked to see if he was there.

He was in fact there.

Your heart both sank and fluttered at the same time. You wanted to see him but you didn't want him to see you, not like this. You had scrambled around through your hair products like a crazy person just minutes before, trying to style your hair in a way that would shield your black eye from view. With a deep sigh, you made your way down to the entrance of the building, mentally preparing to take on the day.

It'd be a lie to say Kazutora wasn't dying to know how your little 'date' went with the ballsy kid who asked you out last Friday. It'd also be a lie to say he wasn't hoping and praying it was terrible, wishing all the worst on the kid so you'd never choose to spend time with him over Kazutora again.

Even though he wished the worst, he wasn't expecting at all to find out what he did when you both got to the campus.

"That's why you have your hair in your face like that?! Let me see it." He demanded sharply, prying your hands away from your face. "No, no!" It's fine, let go!" You shot back, using all your strength to keep your hands in place. As other students walked by, they glanced over curiously at the two of you, trying to see what was going on. "Let.me.see it." His tone was so low and intimidating you dropped your hands immediately, looking up at him for just a second before looking towards the ground shamefully.

"You gotta be fucking kidding me." He gritted out angrily, gently lifting your head up by your chin and brushing your bangs back. His eyes practically scanned you, searching all over for any other wounds. He was beyond livid. If you were with him nothing like this would ever happen. It felt like the time you both first met all over again. If that night he was seeing red, today he was black out enraged. Kazutora was pissed at whoever you were with for not protecting you, and even more pissed that someone had the audacity to hit his girl.

Uuhhh, his girl as in girl that's a friend, his friend...that's what he meant.

"Tell me who did this to you." He commanded, his voice the tiniest bit softer than before. Your heart sank nonetheless, already knowing where this was going. "What're you gonna do?" You asked anxiously, subconsciously grabbing onto his jacket sleeve as if to keep him from going anywhere.

"Don't worry about what I'm gonna do, tell me who did this."

The look on his face was starting to scare you a little, and his tone was so demanding you felt like you had to tell him. You pursed your lips, hoping you won't regret telling him the truth. "Y-Yamagishi said it was someone named Osanai. He's a leader of some gang-I forget the name."

Kazutora's jaw was clenched so tight his teeth could probably break at any second. He knew exactly who that was. Arrogant idiot always thinks he can do shit and just get away with it. Now he's got himself a real problem. He also made a mental note to deal with whoever the hell this Yamagishi kid is, since he's the one who let this happen to you. "Wait for me after school. I'm taking you home-

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Frantically you pulled on his jacket sleeve, looking up at him with wide eyes. He didn't even respond or look at you, in his mind he was already set on finding Osanai, imagining giving him two black eyes in return for the one he gave you. "Please just stay here; it's over now!" You pleaded, hoping it would change his mind. Osanai was a really tall, really skilled fighter. You didn't want Kazutora to get hurt even though he can fight too. It's just not necessary to do all that in your opinion. Gently, he took your hand off of him, looking down at you with a much softer expression. "You don't have to do this." You murmured before he could say anything, shaking your head as tears started forming in your eyes.

"Yeah I do. Just wait for me." He replied in a firm yet gentle way, softly brushing the back of his fingers over your bruised left eye. A chill shot down your spine from the back of your neck, while your cheeks heated up rapidly. You nodded your head, watching him give you a small smile before walking away off the schools campus.

Honestly...the whole situation set off a massive case of the butterflies in your stomach. It was like the whole cage flew open, letting them all loose to flutter around wildly. Even though you worried for Kazutora's safety, it'd be a lie to say you weren't extremely flattered. He didn't say it but it's obvious he cares about you, maybe it's safe to say he cares a lot.

You practically floated your way into the school building with a goofy little grin, radiating roses, glitter, and sunshine as you headed to your locker.

"What is this five foot five beam of ethereal light over here?" Asuka chuckled, walking over to you from the right.

"Oh, hey girl!" You sang, closing your locker and giving her a bright smile.

"You slide down a rainbow or somethin'?" She raised an amused brow.

"No, I just-...it's a nice day." You sigh, finally attempting to snap yourself out of the daze you were basking in. "What, Hanemiya-san finally ask you out?" She nudged your arm, grinning devilishly.

"No, he didn't ask me out. We're just friends", You giggle, "Where's Yumi and everybody?" You furrowed your brows.

"You didn't see in the chat? Yumi got a stomach virus so she can't come today. I think the other girls are here but I haven't seen 'em." She shrugged.

"Wait what?! Yumi got a stomach virus?! Oh my god! She texted the group chat?!" You rambled, eyebrows lifted in shock as you processed this new info. "Yeah, she texted this morning. Apparently it's pretty bad." Asuka frowned, whipping out her phone and showing the conversation between her and Yumi.

"Awww, Yumi." You murmured, brows furrowed in concern. You had a thought to maybe slip away at lunch with Asuka and have her take a video of you playing Yumi a get well song in the music room.

"What's up with the hairstyle today by the way? It's not bad but...can you even see?" She scrunched her face up in confusion, reaching for your bangs. You spent a lot of time picking your afro out to make it big enough to cover your eyes in the front. Kazutora already went and stuck his hand in it, you don't want Asuka to mess it up more.

"No! Wait wait!" You blurted out frantically, jumping back.

"What?! I'm not gonna mess it up." She assured. The way you jumped back had scared her a little.

"Just...come on." You huffed, grabbing her wrist and leading her over to the bathroom.

Luckily, Asuka and you were the only people in the girls room. "Don't freak out when I show you, ok? I'm gonna explain." You warned slowly, your tone low. She nodded, trying to hide the bewildered expression on her face. You swiped your hands over your forehead, brushing your bangs back and exposing your dark purple left eye.

Asuka gasped hard, both hands hovering over her mouth as her eyes widened two times it's size. "Please...do not tell me Hanemiya-san did this." She demanded lowly, her eyes already starting to light up with an angry fire.

"No, no he didn't do it. It was some gang leader guy, Osanai or whoever. It happened last Friday while I was walking around with the boy in my math class, Yamagishi." You explained simply.

"He didn't step in and help you?! How could he let this happen to you?!" She scoffed angrily, grabbing your cheeks gently and shifting your head side to side, analyzing the damage. It reminded you of earlier this morning when Kazutora was looking at your face.

"No he tried! He-...he tried." You sighed in defeat.

"Yamagishi's that nerd kid, right? The one who's obsessed with you." She asked, hesitantly letting go of your cheeks, her eyes stayed glued to your black eye though. How did she know already about his crush on you? You must not be paying enough attention to what goes on around here.

"Yeah. He'd asked me to hang out with him on like Tuesday last week. He was trying to ask me out, but while we were walkin' around we kinda got mixed up in some chaos." You explain in a low tone.

"Ugh, ridiculous. I can't believe how bold these delinquent boys are getting! You can't even walk around anymore without one of them starting a fight! If you need anything you let me know, ok? Shoot, I'll go beat him up myself."

"Nah nah, you don't have to do that. Kazutora's already handling it." You chuckled. Asuka gasped again, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree.

"Whaaaaaat?! So he's gonna go fight on your behalf?! He's gonna defend your honor?!" She beamed, cheeks turning dusty pink from the amount of excitement she felt.

"Not defend my honor." You laughed even harder.

"That's literally what he's doing! Girl...what if he really does like you? I mean, who goes and fights on behalf of a girl they don't even like?" She raised her brows suggestively, nudging my arm. "Well I'd hope any guy would defend a girl that got beat up by another dude, wether they like her or not."

The bathroom fell silent as a few other girls came in, chatting about something. "Come on, let's go before we're late for our first class." You stated, fixing up your hair before making your way out of the bathroom.

"He likes you. You know I'm right..." Asuka mumbled, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

You spent the rest of the school day feeling a mixture between anxious and flattered when it came to Kazutora going to find Osanai. It's been hours now since this morning, and you kinda figured maybe he'd come back to school for the rest of the day afterwards. You really hoped he wasn't hurt, or in the hospital on life support..or something.

What if Osanai won? That'd be so embarrassing. Like how do you recover from that? You guessed maybe like how Yamagishi recovered...crying until he felt better. But, would Kazutora cry about something like that? He's probably gotten his ass beat plenty of times before and people respect him all the same.

The more questions your mind generated, the more worried you got about the possible state of Kazutora. Is he good?!

You barely payed attention in the last class of the day, practically glaring at the clock for it to move faster. You couldn't wait to get out of here. If only you were the type that was built for ditching school, you'd have been left!

But thankfully, it was the end of the day, and you were finally free to go. You told Asuka that you had to run, wanting to head out as soon as possible to see if Kazutora actually came back.

"Oo! I wanna see too!" She exclaimed, following after you quickly. The two of you scrambled ungracefully down the two flights of stairs, almost tripping each other as you went down. You two laughed, panting hard at the near dominos-type collision that almost happened.

"You think he won the fight?!" Asuka glanced at you curiously, adjusting her book bag on her shoulder.

"I hope so!" You replied back, slightly out of breath.

"He won...I'm sure he did." She assured, just as you two reached the first floor. You spotted Kazutora first, standing there by the front doors with his hands in his pockets leisurely. You let out a breath of relief, speeding over to him and surprising him with a hug. "Oh my gosh, I was so worried you wouldn't come back!" You cried out dramatically, nuzzling your face in his chest. His heart fluttered at your reaction, not really expecting you to act like this at all. He chuckled lightly, wrapping his arms around you.

On the outside, Asuka was silent, just simply watching you two with a goofy smile on her face. However, on the inside she was running around the entrance of the campus, smacking your arm repeatedly, and squealing like a newborn squirrel or something.

You two looked and sounded like a couple, holding each other all close like that! He was so happy too, it was obvious, he was loving the way you were all over him. She was ten thousand percent sure he'd probably go home tonight and relive this moment over and over again (she was right).

"Oh wow...you think they got back together?"

"Maybe he left early this morning to like..think their relationship over?"

"They look so cute together! Are you sure they're not dating?"

Asuka was sooo hype at the way people were whispering about you guys as they walked passed her. She tuned back into what you two were talking about.

"What?! You broke his arms?! Kazutora!" You exclaimed, shock and bewilderment all over your face. Asuka's jaw also dropped. He broke that guy's arms, and he's talking about it like that's the most normal thing to do. He simply shrugged in response, wrapping his arm around your shoulders as he led the two of you away from campus.

"Oh wait; I'll see you, Asuka! Unless you wanna walk with-

"No no no, it's ok, bye guys!" She cut you off, giving an energetic wave before making her way down her usual path home.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Earlier That Day

Kazutora had already finished dealing with Osanai, sending him straight to the hospital with two broken arms, a broken nose, and a black eye. Now it was time to handle the weak ass idiot that let his princess get hurt in the first place.

Walking nonchalantly to the school, he made his way inside discreetly, searching like a lion on the prowl for his next victim.

Kazutora is a strategist though, so instead of suffering through wandering the halls of the school until he found Yamagishi, he went and located one of his friends.

"Hey! Can I talk to you for a sec?" He asks with a pleasant smile.

A kid he vaguely knew named Akkun turned around, his expression a mix of shock and fear. "M-me?!" He stutters, pointing at himself with a thumb.

You're the only other person in the hallway genius...

"Yeah! I'm lookin' for a kid named Yamagishi. You know 'em?" He tilts his head to the side, still maintaining that sweet smile on his face. Of course Akkun knew exactly who he was asking for, he also knew he was in no type of position to lie to Kazutora. He's Valhalla's number three for a reason.

"U-uhhh, he's..probably in science right now? In-in classroom 2-A." Akkun mutters, feeling his palms begin to sweat. He felt terrible, he had no idea what he potentially just involved one of his best friends in. He'd surely find out at some point though.

"Alright, thanks!" He smiles politely.

Without giving Akkun a chance to respond, Kazutora's already on his way to the classroom.  But would you look at this pleasant surprise. Just as he made his way up the winding steps to the upper floor, Yamagishi was walking unsuspectedly a few feet in front of him, just having come from the guys bathroom.

Kazutora's eyes darken as he notices the kids scrawny figure. He catches up to him with ease, yanking harshly on the back of his shirt, Yamagishi let's out a strangled noise of shock before falling backwards onto the ground. He takes a moment to hurriedly adjust his glasses back on his face, eyes widening in shock as he realizes just who'd caused his fall.

"Ka-kazuto-

Before he could finish Kazutora lands a hard, swift kick straight into Yamagishi's side, sending him slamming into the lockers against the wall roughly. He coughs, glasses long gone. He didn't even have time to really gather himself before Kazutora is down on top of him, landing punch after punch straight to his face. He grabs a fistful of Yamagishi's shirt, lifting him to meet his fiery gaze.

"You know that pretty girl you brought to the park the other day? The one you let go home with a black eye?" He questions, obviously already knowing the answer.

Yamagishi blinks a few times before realizing exactly who he was talking about. He confusedly stutters out your name, looking up at a blurry Kazutora.

"That's the one. I better not ever see you around her again, you hear me? Ever." Kazutora threatens menacingly.

Yamagishi is bewildered at his words but nods frantically nonetheless. He didn't realize you were already with Kazutora. Had he known you were his he'd never have asked you out. It all made sense now why you rejected him after he attempted his confession. Of course you wouldn't wanna be with him. Kazutora's everything he's not.

Kazutora releases his grip abruptly, letting Yamagishi fall to the floor like he weighed nothing, gets up, then casually makes his way out of the school building.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You invite Kazutora to stay over at your house after walking you home, it just felt right seeing as he spent the day literally fighting for you.

You lead him inside and up to your room, placing your keys on the little key hanger by your door and lazily take off your shoes.

"Today was so boring! I don't wanna do anything else!" You blurt out loudly, running over and plopping down onto your bed. You outstretch your arms towards Kazutora, smiling sweetly.

His heart does another little tug in his chest at the way you look so cute like that. Without wasting another second he takes off his shoes and sits next to you on the edge of the bed. He watches you silently as you grab your laptop, turning it on and opening up Netflix.

"Couldn't we have watched Netflix from the TV in the living room?" He furrows his brows.

"Well we could but my mom will be home soon and I don't want her to kick you out." You explain plainly, eyes locked to the screen as you scroll through shows and movies to watch. Kazutora's face heats up. This is his first time in a girl's room, in your room. The craziest part is that you're completely unfazed, just chilling out on the bed like it's any other girl friend with you.

"O-oh..that makes sense." He chuckles nervously, fiddling with his uniform jacket.

"You can sit further on the bed, you know? You won't even be able to see the screen like that." You laugh lightly, patting the side of the bed.

He was sitting on the edge while you were fully on the bed, leaning against your pillows with the laptop resting on both of your legs. Kazutora swallows, hesitantly adjusting himself to sit directly next to you. His heart skips a beat as your arms and legs touch. What's he suppposed to do now?

"Ohhh, I love this movie! I didn't know they added it to Netflix, oh my gosh!" You beam. It was an old Dreamworks film, El Dorado. You knew the music in this movie like it was the national anthem. "Alright, I'm gonna change and then I'll start the movie." You explain, getting up from the bed and making your way to your clothing drawer.

"W-wait, you're gonna change right here?!" He stutters, looking at you as if you just grew two more arms as his cheeks turn bright pink. You giggle at his reaction, shaking your head.

"No fool, I'm gonna change in my bathroom right there. It's connected." You point at the medium sized bathroom directly in front of the bed. Kazutora let's out a mumbled "Oh" in response.

"You want something to change in? I have some of my older brother's clothes you could wear." You offer, holding up a large sized hoodie and sweatpants.

💎 3 Hours Later

The main lights in your room had been turned off about two hours ago, leaving only the cute warm fairy lights in your room on. Kazutora finally settled down after getting used to being in a girl's room, and was teetering between the dream world and reality while resting his head on your lap.

You had unintentionally learned an instant knock out trick on Kazutora, it was simply telling him to rest his head on your lap, then proceeding to gently massage his scalp with your fingertips. It was honestly adorable watching him struggle and fight so hard to stay awake, trying to watch these movies with you. The sleep was inevitable though, and soon he was completely out cold. This ends up being the most peaceful, deepest sleep he's ever experienced in his life.

Then soon you find yourself falling asleep too, making this the first time you've ever had a sleepover with a boy.

[skitskatdacat63]

catie let’s discuss vettonso headcanons what are ur favs

*sends you to my vettonso tag* shsjkdkf kidding kidding, but wah this is so weirdly hard to answer despite the fact that I think about them literally every day of my life, ig they're just kinda intrinsic to me 😭 but I'll try my best!

I think Fernando really resented Seb for a while, especially during the championship fight years, and originally was very unhappy when Seb then went on to take his Ferrari seat away from him too. But then while he was gone from f1, he kept track of f1 still and realized Seb was going through the same ferrari bs and pain and failure to realize your childhood dream that he himself went through, and he then softened on Seb.

I find them literally to be the same person(but their narratives are offset.) And I think that's a big reason why they never really became friends, they're *too* similar to the point where it annoys each other too much fhfkkff Especially bcs theyre always ahead of one another in the narrative(fernando won his wdc before, fernando is in ferrari before Seb, seb is in Aston before Fernando, etc.) It's just weird to kinda witness someone that's so similar to you, but at a past stage in your life.

They would be the best and most annoying teammates ever. I think they'd both just constantly try to out-compete each other, and maybe it would be toxic back in the day and make the team fall apart like 2007 mclaren or martian rbr, but if it happened at Aston, I think it would actually make the team stronger and the car better. Like fighting for "who can give the best feedback" "who can do the most sim time" etc etc, I think it'd be really sweet 🥹🥹 I just imagine them making post-race debriefs last like 5 hours, except everyone else snuck out of the room at the hour mark, and they've just been debating abt the telemetry at each other, cause they only have eyes for each other <3

^ but yeah seriously think they have the type of competition that could bring each other together, not drive each other apart. Especially at their softened old man age. I guess I think, being forced into such close quarters with each other, they'd be able to realize how similar they are. Bcs otherwise it's just too easy for them to avoid each other. I mean I think a lot about the japan 2023 pics, them talking over the car that was practically the product of their joint effort, and that makes me so emotional 🤧

They absolutely love irritating each other, irs like a sport. I like to think though that Seb kept doing it soooo much pre-Fernando first retirement, and Fernando was always like 😐 just sooooo done with it, and often unwilling to fully play along. I love how seemingly Seb is one of the only ones who can kinda make his mask break, and have him show full annoyance. Like think about the "you must leave the space" clip, Fernando is sooooo annoyed, its just so funny. But yeah I love how Seb kinda forces Fernando in a way most others don't, if that makes sense? And then he comes back, rejuvenated, different mindset, and is suddenly willing to play along??? And now Seb is the tired one :( but Fernando has realized all he was blocking out before, and is willing to engage :,) BUT YEAH! see again, think about the fact that Seb literally paid a fee to not listen to Fernando talk. Mutually they are the only ones that annoy the other so much that they crack to that point, and I love it seemingly swapped over time. They're just such equals in that way.

Here's the interesting thing, I find them to be mirrors, right? I think like if they met each other when each were at the same place in their career(i.e. ferrari Fernando with ferrari seb, renault wdc fernando with rbr wdc seb), I think they'd have a better chance of getting along. Cause they understand where the other is at deeply, but the way it is in real life makes it so they're at different points and suddenly are at odds with each other. Ig that's why I wish we got them as teammates at Aston! It was pretty cute with alpine fernando x aston seb, but ah man if only we got the actual "conclusion", I would have loved to see what they'd be like when genuinely in the same parts of their career together. I think a lot about timeswap AUs I guess. Like both of them at ferrari being able to commiserate together, their wdc selves bragging about how many races they won(until they find out who the other had to beat to become wdc, and then they choke each other out.)

Me: ill try!!!

Also me: six paragraphs

Though I think if you asked me abt one of my AUs, I could come up with more than just daydreaming about their dynamic sjfkkg. Hope this was what you were asking for???? Also lmk, what are your favs!!!

[koyangii]

2023 - The year of Japanese BLs (My 2023 BL wrapped)

After plenty of good BL releases in 2022, I was hoping 2023 would keep the pace and give us even better content. However, I turned out to be very disappointed. In my opinion, the majority of the shows were blank, superficial and had really bad script and bad acting, so there were very few of them I've managed to finish, mostly Japanese ones.

One thing that really draws me towards Japanese productions is that the stories are believable and portrayed in a natural way. Even when the acting has big "anime" reactions, they usually fit in the context. Kieta Hatsukoi, for instance, explores this type of reactions very well and they don't feel cringe at all, unlike most Thai BLs and some Korean ones as well.

Nationalities apart, there's an obvious gold rush that is happening in the BL industry. A lot of companies realized that BL does make profit and are producing a lot of shows, poorly written, poorly casted, but that's ok since people are still consuming for the skinship, right? There's a public for that, so why invest in good, but a little more expensive stories?

Anyway, this is my opinion of course, as a regular consumer of the genre, and I can't help to be disappointed. But enough of the complaining, right? Let's go to the list of my 2023 favorites!

Top 3:

The eight sense

This BL has entered my list of all-time favorites. Fresh and mature, the chemistry between the leads is amazing. Jihyun's innocent approach to life contrasts really well with Jaewon's harsh perspective and I love the way both of them bond while helping each other to evolve. The feeling of the show reminds me a bit of Skam, another all-time favorite, and I found out that it really was one of the materials they used for inspiration. If you haven't watched it yet, stop everything you're doing and go watch The eighth sense right now.

2. If it's with you

I loved this show so much! The manga adaptation was beautifully done, they really paid attention to the details. It's a very sweet, heart-warming and honest story. There's no "instant love”: the relationship between them is built little by little, through sincere conversations and empathy. The series invites you to be more honest with yourself and to not be afraid of showing your true self. 

3. My Beautiful Man 2 and My Beautiful Man: Eternal

Well, it's somehow funny that I put this BL on the list, because I hated the first season of My Beautiful Man. However, the second season and the movie explore the motives behind the characters' actions in a deeper way, so the viewer can better understand the relationship dynamic. One thing that I really like about this story is that, although there is a worship behavior from Hira towards Kiyoi, Hira's life is not all about Kiyoi. In the same way, despite the fact that Kiyoi enjoys to be worshiped, he's also unsure about Hira's feelings: does Hira love the perfect, godlike image of Kiyoi he created inside his head or does he love the true Kiyoi, the human being with flaws?

Honorable mentions:

Our Dining Table

A great slow-burn which approaches the fact that true family is the one you choose, so sweet that almost made me die of too much cuteness.

I Can't Reach You

A very sweet friends-to-lovers story, which is now on Netflix!

Love Tractor

A fresh and funny countryside love story. I just love how Yechan is so hyped when it comes to Seonyul. This man must be kept in a jar, protected from all the badness in the world.

Conclusion

Well, although I believe 2023 wasn't the best year for BLs, it did give us some true gems, more productions and more visibility. I've seen news about Kdrama actors working on BL projects that will be released in 2024, so I guess we're having some next-level good content this year.

So that was it for this BL wrapped. I hope you all had great holidays and that 2024 will be full of blessings to all of us! Bye, bye!

[stillcarmine]

AU where Thalia and Luke find Leo as well as Annabeth. 

Annabeth and Leo, traumatized besties. They get to be Annoying Children together. 

Hephaestus is still a dead beat, and doesn't claim Leo.

He ends up in the Hermes cabin, even though he's pretty sure where he's meant to go.

But this makes it easier to hide his fire. 

He still sneaks into the forge to tinker and Beckendorf takes him under his wing.

It's not unheard of for the children of other gods to be interested and good with machines, but Charles is pretty sure Leo is his brother.

But the kid isn't saying saying anything for a reason, is staying in a crowded cabin for a reason, and Beckendorf has a guess.

He leaves it alone and just looks out for the kid.

Luke and Annabeth don't know about his fire. At least, he didn't tell them.

The closest he came to was when the cyclops was after them and he asked if fire could hurt them and Grover told him that they were immune.

Leo slumped, because that was his only way to help his friends.

He either never visits Thalia's tree or is there all the time, but only when no one else is around.

He like. Doesn’t get Annabeth’s longing for a quest. He doesn’t want anything to do with the dangers of demigod life.

They’re best friends but this causes the worst arguments between them and after one, Leo runs from camp.

Annabeth thinks that she’ll have to be allowed a quest to look for Leo, but that doesn’t happen.

They originally aren’t going to look for him, figure a satyr will likely find him, but Beckendorf pushes for one.

He eventually finds Leo and Leo doesn’t want to come back. He tries to give the older demigod the slip but Beckendorf just keeps finding him and it stirs up a lot of Emotions(tm) for Leo.

Eventually Leo snaps and breaks down for the first time in years and his brother holds him asks him to come home. Leo relents.

Annabeth doesn’t know how to apologize when Leo comes home, and Leo doesn’t know how to ask for one or give his own. But from what he’s seen of actual siblings around camp, siblings usually don’t make big productions out of saying sorry, and he guesses that can work for him and Annabeth too.

He manages to keep his fire powers a secret for years and then Percy Jackson shows up with his water powers and Leo scratches the back of his neck and thinks “Damn, I can’t afford a narrative foil.”

Leo was never as close to Luke as he was with Thalia so his betrayal doesn’t hit him quite as hard, and he’s better able to see him for who he is.

Cue years of Annabeth and Leo growing apart as she gets wrapped up in all of the quests.

Things between them are tense when Thalia comes back to life. None of their relationships are what they used to be, but Leo is so happy his friend is back, and feels such a pang of grief for his mom that he can’t breathe.

He bites his tongue but wishes he could bring the Fleece to the ashes of her shop and revive her too. When Annabeth goes missing, and the Hunters of Artemis go on a quest to find her, Leo is ready to sneak after them, but runs into Percy, who says he’s planning on doing the same thing.

Then Nico di Angelo finds them both and this just isn’t going to work.

He asks them both to stay, because they don’t have any experience with quests. Percy was just trying to be logical but he accidentally hits on Leo’s feelings of inferiority, because it’s true, there’s nothing Leo can do out there to help Annabeth, except his fire, which only ever hurts people.

Suddenly Percy’s got two people he doesn’t know well asking him to bring back their loved ones.

He pulls Leo aside and asks him to keep an eye on Nico. Leo is not in favor of this idea because 1) should a twelve year old be watching a ten year old (irony oh irony), 2) Nico is annoying and reminds Leo too much of himself, though he doesn’t yet recognize that’s what’s bothering him about the other boy and 3) Leo is. Bad with people. He is bad with emotions. He should not be left with a kid he doesn’t know who is feeling Big Emotions while Leo is also feeling Big Emotions.

But he eventually agrees.

It’s bad for a while. Leo doesn’t know what he’s doing. The older campers are helpful but Leo doesn’t let them do everything because he gave his word and he’s going to keep it. Leo and Percy made a deal, and he isn’t going back on it.

It’s not fun though because Nico is chafing at being given a babysitter. He eventually blows up because he’s been under so much stress and Leo remembers how he did the same thing once and how Beckendorf stayed with him through it.

So that’s what he does.

When Nico’s calmer, they talk about how they’re both worried and tell each other about their sisters, though Nico seems a bit sour about hearing about Annabeth’s adventures with Percy.

And it’s better from there.

Until Percy and Annabeth come back to camp.

Leo isn’t there for what ever happens, knows that Nico’s run off and… Chiron seems fine with that?

Leo isn’t though, and taking another page from his older brother’s book, he goes to find Nico.

Leo’s no good at goodbyes, and after just getting Annabeth back, and learning that Thalia is taking a different path that means they’ll only see her a few times before they die and she goes on living-

Well, he can’t bring himself to say anything in person. He leaves a note for Beckendorf, knowing he’ll understand and tell the others.

Kronos forces somehow learns about his fire and use that to try to convince him to join their side. How the gods cursed him with this awful power and then just left him without any acknowledgment. That they must have something terrible planned for him, that’s the only reason they want heroes in the first place.

How his father, god of fire, stood by while his mother died in a fire and did nothing.

That one gets to Leo.

But he’s got a mission, and doesn’t have time for the problems the titans have with the gods or the gods with the titans or whatever. He can’t change big, lofty stuff like that, is no child of prophecy but he can pay forward the kindness shown to him in the past.

That's what he can do.

[paceypeternathanslawyer]

I watch The Danny Thomas Show every Saturday with my parents and every time I watch it... I can only seem to compare it to The Dick Van Dyke Show in my mind. Pretty much the same production team made both. Sheldon Leonard and Danny Thomas both produced TDVDS and TDTS. The big difference between the two was that Carl Reiner was the creator of TDVDS and I believe that Danny Thomas created TDTS and that clearly made all the difference in the world.

Today I was watching Season 11 Episode Episode 16 of The Danny Thomas Show called "Kathy, The Secretary" which aired on January 20, 1964 and I was comparing it to Season 3 Episode 22 of The Dick Van Dyke Show called "My Part Time Wife" which aired February 26, 1964. As you can see these two episodes aired within just a little over a month of each other. But the difference in these two episodes are light years away. In some ways they are very similar. Both have to do with the respective protagonist's wives going back to work for a little bit.

The Danny Thomas Show did not deal with this plotline at all well. It starts with the typical old plotline of a wife spending too much money on clothes and hats and whatever she wants and their joint account being overdrawn because the wife can't budget money and only cares about what she can get for herself. This is such an old plotline that was done in I Love Lucy and a billion times after. It's old and it's very much depicted in a sexist nature. After a fight between them she almost on a dare decides to go back into the work force as a secretary for Danny's talent agent. The rest is a typically sexist series of events where the joke is that Kathy is a ditz and bad at her job. At the end of the episode she stops working to continue to be a housewife. I have nothing against housewives, I come from a long of them. My mom was one for a long while. My sister is currently one and honestly if I had kids and my husband had a well paying job where I didn't need to work I would definitely consider being one myself. But back in the days these plotlines were depicted on TV in a very sexist nature in so many ways that I can only begin to describe. For one, women were unappreciated for the work that they did at home. And again women were always depicted as not having the ability to even do that well. Like women were always making their husbands crazy and putting them in the poor house. And raising children was shown to practically be a breeze when they were even shown raising their children.

You compare that to the Dick Van Dyke Show and the difference is huge. Firstly the reason that Laura went back to work was different. Sally was working temporarily on another show and as usual the guys in the office were lost without her. Which was actually a pretty ahead of it's time concept. Sally was a career woman and an integral part of her job. She did everything well. She was an amazing TV writer and typist. She could do everything the men could do and then some. Either way Sally was off and Laura offered to help out at least with the typing while Rob and Buddy were writing the show. Where TDVDS really sets itself apart from TDTS was unlike Kathy, Laura ended up being amazing at the job. Not just in typing but she was also coming up with hilarious jokes for the show. Laura came into her husband's job and arguably did it better. Certainly that week she was doing it better. And that was the source of the conflict was that Rob was being a bit insecure about his wife coming into his job and getting bigger laughs than him. Don't let this synopsis fool you though, as insecure as Rob could be he was never as insecure as Danny was. And Rob always appreciated Laura and appreciated what she did. Also there were episodes where Rob helped out with housework like cleaning the dishes and stuff like that. That may sound small and insignificant now but at the time that stuff was considered "women's work." Men brought home the bacon and took the garbage out but women did the housework. So to depict a man who secure enough to help his wife out and to do the housework even when he was teased by his guy friends was really ahead of it's time. Rob and Laura were depicted as a team. It was them against the world and that was so incredibly ahead of its time on TV. But getting back to the main point. Laura was always depicted as being so good at her job and also so good at being a housewife. But it also wasn't shown as being super easy. Back in the day women were shown as never really having emotional breakdowns but Laura was allowed to be messy, sometimes both emotionally and physically. Like there were times when things got difficult. Laura wasn't shown as being emotionally immature but she was also allowed to be vulnerable and messy sometimes... and that's just life.

I really respect how TDVDS strove to push the envelope. How they strove to depict women, black people, and marriages differently and better than it had been in TV. It seems like every show was just trying to be like every other show that had succeeded in the past 10 years just trying to be another I Love Lucy. But even I Love Lucy pushed the envelope in some ways. So they weren't really trying for the spirit of I Love Lucy they just made a bunch of generic watered down versions of I Love Lucy. Carl Reiner went into TDVDS wanting to make something different, wanting to depict marriage in a more realistic way. To depict everything in a more realistic way but also to push the envelope of what was acceptable in some ways. I'm not saying that TDVDS always did things perfectly but I love how they strove for it. How they depicted a married couple (Jerry and Millie) going to couples counseling/therapy. How they depicted the main couple as being sexually attracted to each and depicted them as a team. It really blows my mind that a show like TDVDS existed in the year 1964.

[definitionsfading]

I don’t know if my fatal flaw is that I want too much out of life, if I'm expecting too much artistry in the media I consume, but I cut corners in SO many areas of my life both financially and materialistically, so I guess art is a crutch I lean pretty heavily on. that being said: everything I've watched/listened to lately has been a HUGE letdown. some of the things I’ve tried to expose myself to I have borderline hated lmao. why??? WHY does it have to be this way? 

the new matchbox twenty album dropped yesterday; I have been waiting on this for months since I heard about it coming down the pipe. I listened to every single song on the record, chronologically, and felt entirely lukewarm about it. there is no magic left in their production. it’s toothless, forgettable, middle of the road pop music. the anger and the edge and the grit from the rock-riff stuff they were putting out in the 90s and very early 00s is gone. the intention and the underlying feeling is gone.

same thing with daisy jones and the six on amazon prime; disappointed. annoyed and left baffled. everything felt so cardboard and hollow, and at times, disrespectful to the MUSICIANS WHO ARE STILL ALIVE that the story line is clearly based upon (fleetwood mac). 

I could bore you and list off the books and other things that have let me down and left me hungry, but I’m not going to waste our time. it’s just like...everybody else is eating this shit up, singing its praises, and I don’t know what the fuck they’re talking about?

it’s like nothing has a spirit in it anymore. everything contemporary (in the last 2-3 years) is made to be consumed and isn’t being crafted with real, genuine, time and love. they’ve drained it all to be bloodless and made it look like it’s alive on the outside, but it isn’t. it’s a false door that leads to nowhere. 

the only things that have grabbed me over the past six months, and genuinely moved me creatively, were bullet train and ‘the bedlam stacks’ by natasha pulley. and the ONLY reason bullet train really took me where I needed to go was because of the chemistry aaron taylor johnson and brian tyree henry brought to the screen together. without them and what they made through their unique rapport the film wouldn’t have been the same or had the same cult-classic sort of lasting power. period. 

I kinda just lurk around in a constant state of starvation. the same applies to fanfiction; 85% of what is being made isn’t something I’d want to eat, I have to pick everything apart with my fork and knife until there’s nothing but shreds left and most of it wasn’t edible. I really want to enjoy stuff, and I’ve tried to open my mind some to new things, but nobody digs as deep as I want them to. nobody goes the distance, you know? it’s so rare to find somebody who sees with me at eye level on the same things. 

I really hope good omens S2 brings some inspired creatives out of the woodwork who can really claw back the surface layer and show me something raw and beautiful. I know they can do it! it’s just so rare that people seem able to evoke that kind of vulnerability anymore, at least in spaces where it’s visible to me. perhaps I haven’t figured out how to Look yet, though I desperately try. 

[struggle-but-its-all-ocean-floor]

hey, I'm writing to you because you seem to be a very trusted person, and I don't have anyone with whom I could talk about it in rl. exactly 3 years ago I discovered bts, and I still believe that those first weeks of watching their content were the best time of my life, those videos with their funny moments became my escape from the real world. Before I knew it, I became so attached to bts that at one point they were an integral part of me. However, at the beginning of 2022 I slowly started to lose interest, I thought that I would finally move on with my life and forget about them. But then their hiatus and military enlistment were announced. that's when I realized that I had been taking them for granted and that I hadn't appreciated them when they were still in the band together. I think this break is needed, both for the bts members and for ourselves, because we can analyze why we became bts fans in the first place and why we want to continue to stay with them.

Hey! Trusted by whom haha? Thank you! The only person I talk about BTS irl with is my mom, but she doesn't really get it, so I feel you.

I understand what you mean. I felt a growing distance from BTS in 2021 when most of the content we got were ads and campaigns - so many of them, and so random, like they were trying to build their own Amazon with just with their sponsors' products and services. There was minimal music, Bangtan Bombs, performances, etc. to carry us through, and let's just say PTD was not my favorite song. The "hiatus" announcement also "pulled me back in", though I'd never left, but I became a lot more focused on BTS again. I don't believe I'd been taking them for granted, but BTS being sort of "broken down" into its essential parts - each of the members - forced us all to look at each of the seven, as well as the whole group, in a new light, and thus our relationship with the members and BTS naturally shifted. Army itself is different now and the solo era revealed a lot about the fandom that used to be hidden or less obvious when we were all united under a common goal - we still have many shared goals, obviously, and we've always had our own agendas as well, but now almost every faction of the fandom has its own agenda and they mostly don't coincide.

Solo era isn't making me reconsider why I like BTS and why I want to stay a fan, apart from reinforcing why I love the seven the most and why their group dynamics are essential to me being Army. It's also making me miss them more. I guess. unconsciously, I can't abandon them now, even I wanted to, because I have to stay with them until they reunite and prove my loyalty? But I have been reflecting on my relationship with Jungkook, in particular, since I don't have the same kind of attachment with anyone else and, honestly, no one else has revealed himself so much as Jungkook. The other members are mostly still a mystery while Jungkook has been peeling back the layers to expose himself in a way that has us reeling tbh. It's very weird with Jungkook because it feels like I'm "losing" him yet also like I've never felt so close to him, because we're connecting as people, and less as fan/artist?

Anyway, I understand why you might feel this way and I hope you found a way to reconnect with BTS. As Army, we don't want to feel like we've "abandoned" BTS and walk away from years of devotion and loving them - I get that completely -, but you don't have to force yourself to hold on to them if you don't want to, and it almost seems like you might feel a bit pressured to?

Thanks for the ask! You can come vent anytime! I guess people really do feel comfortable talking to me and I'm really grateful for that.

[hiccanna-tidbits]

WHAT UP @ohlooksheswriting HAVE AN INDIRECT CONTRIBUTION TO HICCUNZEL MONTH

SO I think my main reservation about shipping romantic Hiccunzel has always been the fact that I stan Hiccanna and Jackunzel so hard, like. I simply cannot look at Rapunzel x Hiccup and NOT go “but what of Jack and Anna??? Are they now fated to not find true love??? They’re gonna be so sad D:”

So the obvious solution all along was to have Hiccup and Rapunzel date Anna, Jack, AND each other, EZ

And HiJack and Annunzel are pretty solid gay ships, so like??? It kinda WORKS???

And thus the RotBTD discord came up with Hijannunzel, which might well be the most blursed ship in existence XD Legit poly ships are too powerful. Once you start shipping them, it’s like “oh, this solves SO many problems??? And also if they all got married and got a tax break they’d be OP as hell??? And having a 3-way support system of awesome people to kiss and cuddle and hang out with would be SICK???”

ANYWAYS! I decided to style this so that I put a thing I think each pair would bond over between their pictures because I think it’d be neat!!!

Rapunzel & Hiccup: Art!!! He sketches, she paints, and they definitely draw each other and nerd out over different art styles together!!! Catch them on an art museum date any day. They’ve also definitely made art of each other, and the rest of the polycule. Rapunzel & Jack: Outdoorsy winter fun!!! Like Rapunzel is literally ALWAYS down for a gigantic, Extra snowball fight and you can’t change my mind. Punz just really likes being outside (I mean, she was locked inside for years, can you blame her???) and appreciates all the seasons, but like...overappreciates winter because she figures it could use the love XD Anna & Jack: Sweets!!! I am 1000% convinced both these kids are sugar junkies. Anna has a preference for chocolate obviously, but Jack will devour anything with a sugar content Tooth would absolutely not approve of. They also both adore hot cocoa, and you can’t change my mind. Anna & Hiccup: Dragons/animals in general!!! Anna’s such an animal whisperer in Frozen 1, like. She gets three ducklings to jump into her hands, befriends Hans’ horse, vents to her own horse, and sees a guy talking to his reindeer like a buddy and just immediately starts doing the same thing. Ain’t no one convincing me Anna wouldn’t think dragons were the coolest shit ever, and she would try to (perhaps unwisely) befriend every single one.

Couldn’t include in this one, BUT ALSO:

Jack & Hiccup: Flying and thrill-seeking!!! Like they both seem to be hardcore adrenaline junkies, if Jack letting the wind blow him around every which way and Hiccup literally inventing a funky winged device so he can fly with Toothless is anything to go by. These two would really love flying and exploring together! The adventures AND the poor decisions would be unparalleled XD Rapunzel & Anna: Flower appreciation!!! They both dun got big springtime vibes, and would probably be constantly picking wildflower bouquets for each other. I feel like they’d get into gardening, and try to befriend all the pollinator bugs--even the scary ones XD Love that they both have floral motifs, and Anna’s is a sunflower while Rapunzel’s is...a literal sun flower XD Also love the idea of them bonding over girly stuff in general, and doing things like dress-shopping and meadow-frolicking together :D

Anyways, they all share an apartment and have movie and video game nights where they all get into a cuddle pile on the couch and it’s wholesome and fantastic. They also like to crash fancy parties paired off and then stage dramatic “reveals” where they get caught cheating on each other and make a whole production out of it, solely to be chaotic. Also to snack on fancy little cheese blocks on toothpicks and crostini. Have a great rest of your night.

Pic credits available upon request!

[leaahhh]

some things i consumed in april

blondshell’s self-titled debut album

there is a shocking amount of music i truly, madly love coming out this year. i think this is one of my top 3 albums of 2023 (i know it’s only april). i’d only casually listened to blondshell until i saw her play the rolling stone showcase at SXSW in march, where her music suddenly became a safety net for me, marking the first time in 8 straight months i actually felt capable of treading water. angie, who’d interviewed blondshell late last year, sent me the advance for “salad” a couple weeks before it came out. i listened to it at least 4 times a day walking through greenpoint as spring emerged and i felt the sun on my skin in a way i hadn’t since it all started to hurt. this album, to me, feels like coming up for air.

this essay in the paris review about curtains and radiators

“For Springsteen, as for Deleuze, desire is not a lack but a productive force. Disaffection holds affection like a cigarette between the teeth.”

the gego exhibit at the guggenheim

i spent my birthday weekend microdosing celebration: a bar on friday, brunch saturday, dinner at bonnie's sunday, several cakes in between. on monday, my actual birthday, it was eerily quiet and rainy. eliza and i ate breakfast at the neighborhood diner before she had to head into the studio to rehearse for her show that night, leaving me with my solitude. i got back into bed and considered finally taking myself to the guggenheim, walking through the city with a specifically curated playlist, silently sitting under a tree, but i remained frozen there, unable to muster the energy to fill the space around me. i shuffled around the apartment, then M texted me lomelda’s “bust” and said he’d meet me anywhere. at the museum we contemplated shadows and shapes and fired off crude comments circling up the rotunda, increasingly aware of our shared fear of heights. outside he bought me a frozen-over ice cream bar from a truck and we walked the same route through central park as we did the first time together. i know him so well now it’s hard to remember that version of us. we sat on the same bench on the west side, too, laughing differently, holding entirely new conversations. a year passes and history takes shape. the trees were blooming pink all around, the reservoir glistening. the sun shone bright for the rest of the day. i closed my eyes and thanked it.

bonnie’s (east williamsburg)

best dinner in brooklyn, maybe. a near-perfect family meal. the round corner table at 7pm in the spring and summer is a great place to be if you want to sit and watch the people you love laughing and eating, backdropped by the sky changing from day to deep blue to black. the waiter put a birthday candle in the head of a whole fish.

the new daughter album

i remember standing in front of eavesdrop before heading in to finish listening to “neptune,” texting screenshots of the lyrics back and forth with ryan, remembering the time someone leaned over to me at a party while we both gazed at the same person and whispered into my ear, “you know who’s losing, right?”

radical adornment: the music of julius eastman at 92Y

went uptown saturday afternoon with M and C to listen to a retrospective of the compositions of julius eastman. dev hynes played the piano for the last piece, i was thoroughly mesmerized. afterward we walked through the park as the last of the cherry blossoms fell off the trees, and i kept thinking of this tweet i’d bookmarked that reads, “Woke up this morning gripped by what seemed to me a brilliant and original insight about how April is a particularly hard month . . . because it rekindles desire . . . and also memory . . . and there’s something cruel about that”

this newsletter on “contact” from bookbear express’ substack

particularly this excerpt:

kara jackson’s “why does the earth give us people to love?”

and hanif abdurraqib’s review for the new yorker that put me onto the album in the first place. pitchfork’s review, too:

“The cost of love comes up repeatedly on Why Does the Earth, and it’s never clear if it’s one Jackson feels is worth paying. ‘Have you thought about the price of my mouth?’ she asks her lover cheekily on “Free.” On “Rat,” Jackson sings of a man who ‘couldn’t buy compassion cause it’d cost him 40 dollars.’ “Price,” “cost,” “bargain,” “pay”; her frustration with transactional relationships is palpable, as is her desire to devote herself to someone without giving away parts of herself. The record captures the dangers of living with an open heart at a time of diminished personal connection, massive overwork, incessant productivity, and constant grief: To prioritize love one must give up something else.”