#partly for this is my person look i love them and partly for someone remind me i'm real

[bunnwich]

It's Supposed to Be Fun

(a letter to my friends in the twst fandom)

I've been wanting to make this post for a while and these thoughts may seem scattered but I’m gonna try to express them. 

Lately, I have seen many friends and moots that either are leaving the fandom or feel guilty over not having posted in a while or losing interest in twst. On the other side, I also have friends being harassed.

This a reminder to remember why you joined this community to begin with. I know that keeping up with the fast-moving pace of fandom and comparing ourselves to others, can skew our perspective on these things.

It’s supposed to be fun. 

Why do we post art or write? Sure, partly for recognition, there's no denying that. But, why do we create, I mean really? For enjoyment. Not for others, not to be “popular” FOR JOY.

So, whether you’re dealing with people critiquing you or feeling guilty about not creating. My question is this: Why waste so much of your time on something that makes you miserable?

Did it stop being fun? Why? Haters? Loss of interest?

To my friends who feel guilty for not creating and not sure if they lost interest in twst: 

Don’t feel guilty. At one time, the creation of your twst content was natural. It's what you did for fun with friends or for yourself. Revisit that mindset and think - if creating twst content now will bring that same joy it did before.

If the answer is no, then maybe it’s time to pivot. It’s okay for interests to fade. It doesn’t mean that time, memories, or the friends you made are lost. Connect with your friends, we will understand! We still love you! It's not a race there's no time limit, just pick up were you want to. Draw fanart of old events or OCs.

To my friends who have been harassed: 

I say this with sincerity…. People who harass others over fictional characters are fucking losers.

Like… There’s no other eloquent way to encapsulate it. I’m starting to not care for the reason anymore - If you harass or be shady to others over a ship or fictional character. CONGRATS! YOU ARE A LOSER.

We all join fandoms as a hobby, for fun. We’re all just kids in the sandbox playing pretend again… and if you are the type of person to go up just to “kick the doll out of someone’s hand" or make commentary on how “their way of playing is wrong." You’re a loser. I have a life outside of twst, we all do. Someone saying my ship is wrong or cringe is just so laughable to me. We have to make fun of these people more for being so goddamn lame.

Imagine being so unhappy that when you see someone having fun you HAVE to comment on it. By all means, if it gets you through the day...talk shit to close friends or even post about it on your own blog. (THAT WAS ALWAYS ALLOWED.) Don't bother creators directly. Don't be a loser. I sure see tolerance leave people’s bodies when they see a fandom opinion they don't like. (And this is coming from someone who has lots of opinions on these things! But that's why I always put the disclaimers that, hey this is just MY opinion.)

Discussion is one thing, unhelpful comments are another. We shouldn’t give these people the time of day. Curate your online space. Yes, when you post things online you are subjecting yourself to scrutiny. But, we as creators need to stop letting these people have power over us. Period. We do this for free!! FOR FUN. The best thing you can do is create shamelessly.

Delete weird replies, block whoever you need to do to rid yourself of these people who have nothing better to do. Keep your peace. It’s supposed to be for fun. You don’t owe anyone a response.

The twst fandom is like a little family to me and I guess I feel protective over the people in it?  I have made many friends and memories because I joined it. And even dispite a handful of the negative experiences (AKA: A couple of “losers" that I’ve had to deal with.) I’ll always look fondly back on this time.

The key for me has always been to just…create for myself. I originally made bunnwich for me and one friend to make fun little arts about our Yuu’s and now I get to have lots of friends to share it with! I’ve transitioned from an OC blog to probably more of an Oc x Canon blog…but I don’t care tbh. I just…draw what I feel like. I know there are people who probably dislike me for that or feel strange about my content and that’s fine. I’m still gonna keep drawing it, loser.  

And I just want you guys to do the same, twst or not.

I can’t forget that all my followers and friends are a bonus, if I had never joined tumblr I’d still be drawing the silly shit I draw in peace. And while yes, I do want to grow as an artist and sell more merch and keep growing... I can’t forget my initial excitement for this silly little game. I like to talk about it. I like to write about it. It inspires me.

It’s supposed to be fun. Please remember that. I know it can be discouraging to have others being shitty to you. Or going through a creative drought. But, try not to let this stop you from creating what you love.

[beenbaanbuun]

ateez as sharks pt.2

too many sharks to choose from, to few members to assign them to. oh well! guess it just means i get to make a part two 👀

park seonghwa - epaulette shark

epaulette sharks are STUNNING!!! they are the epitome of sleek and genderless in shark form and i know seonghwa would adore them

epaulette sharks are incredibly unique (they can walk on land!!) and use that to their survival advantage. obviously seonghwa doesn’t use his beautiful uniqueness for survival, but it makes him stand out so beautifully just like the epaulette shark

kim hongjoong - portjackson shark

another cunty little shark for our cunty little guy. these guys are so gorgeous and cool and honestly remind me of hongjoong more than i care to admit

they’re known for being rather small, most of them not even growing to be one metre, and while they’re not particularly ferocious, they do have a generous spine protruding from their secondary dorsal fin. it’s like how hongjoong doesn’t look necessarily intimidating at first glance, but get him on stage and holy moly…

jeong yunho - bonnethead shark

i cant stop assigning silly looking sharks to jeong yunho and i will NOT apologise for that!! mr silly himself deserves to be represented by an animal just as silly as he is!!

they’re known to be pretty social sharks, often swimming in groups rather than by themselves. they’re not selfish or individualistic like a lot of other shark species and i think that represents yunho perfectly. he loves his team to death and you can clearly see that

kang yeosang - leopard shark

another cute little guy that i think represents yeosang so perfectly. whilst not as silly looking or as colourful as zebra sharks, they’re still sweet little guys with not a single bad bone in their body (well… cartilage i suppose)

they’re actually seen to display little to no fear of humans and are often viewed as being docile in nature. this doesn’t apply to their prey though since they’re pretty good hunters! it just reminds me of how yeosang is also seen as being ‘docile’ but behind it all there is an amazingly talented performer who isn’t afraid to be a little aggressive on stage when he needs to be

choi san - basking shark

now personally i hate basking sharks (which does NOT reflect on my views of choi san, i love that man so much!!) but i do have to say they’re the perfect choice for san…

they’re another species of shark that are viewed as being ‘gentle giants’, growing up to 8 metres in length yet only being filter feeders. i personally am afraid of them because of how scary they look despite just being big slow guys living their life peacefully; a sentiment i see reflected with san a lot (despite the fact that i don’t know how anyone can be scared of that big ball of fluff)

song mingi - hammerhead shark

listen guys, in the same way that saw sharks are just silly little men that are absolutely adorable, hammerhead sharks are also just fucked up little guys that most people agree are very sweet

these guys are literally physically incapable of hurting people, partly because of their sweet nature but also partly because of their tiny mouths. now i’m not saying mingi has a small mouth because that would be a lie, but i am saying that i don’t think that man could every intentionally hurt someone without feeling terrible for 4-5 business days

jung wooyoung - lemon shark

THIS IS THE COMPARISON IM MOST ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT GUYS!!! lemon sharks are so sweet and also very pretty (just like wooyoung)

due to their large brains, lemon sharks are incredibly social animals and often crave the attention of divers, swimming up to them and letting the divers touch and interact with them. they’re also known to express negative emotions (similar to jealousy) when divers are giving other sharks more attention. i just think with how sociable and sweet wooyoung is, this is the perfect shark

choi jongho - blue shark

am i sorry for continuing to give jongho the sharks that look like they’ve never had a thought in their life? absolutely not! he has those big beautiful boba eyes, he has to face the consequences

these little guys are incredibly versatile. they’ll live almost anywhere in temperate or tropical water, they’ll eat pretty much anything (even krill, despite them not being filter feeders), and whilst not necessarily being dangerous to people, have been known to take a nibble every now and then. maybe it’s just me but whenever i think versatile i think of jongho, and this shark looking a little silly just makes it even better

[cosmerelists]

What Car Cosmere Characters Would Drive

As requested by @salted-watermelon :)

If Cosmere characters were instead carsmere characters and, like, drove cars, what kind of car would best suit them? (Don't worry--I got my butch wife to help with this post.)

1. Straff Venture: A cybertruck

The worst of cars for the worst of men.

2. Elend: A Prius

Elend decides to get an environmentally conscious, gas-saving vehicle partly because he cares about the planet, but mostly because it makes his dad SO mad.

3. Kaladin: A beat-up old Corolla

Kaladin's car may be a bit old and it may be a bit beat-up but storms if it isn't the most dependable thing ever. No matter what that car goes through, it just keeps chugging along.

4. Adolin: A Mustang

Get it? Because it's a car with a horse on it!

5. Shallan: A VW Bug

"What's an artsy car for Shallan?" I asked. "How about a Bug?" said my wife. "That's perfect!" I cried. "Shallan LOVES bugs because cremlings is bugs!"

And that is my story.

6. Wax: A Bentley...and also a beat-up old pickup truck

In true Wax style, he drives the Bentley in the Roughs but uses the old beat-up pickup truck in the city, especially when driving to fancy parties.

7. Steris: A Volvo

According to a google search, a Volvo is a car for someone dependable, boring, and safety-conscious. Steris is not actually a boring person, of course, but she would definitely have a boring-person car. Not to mention one that is very safe!

8. Eshonai: A Jeep

A good car for exploring!

9. Lightsong: Rolls Royce

He doesn't drive it anywhere. It mostly just sits there and looks beautiful.

10. Vasher: A mangled Dodge Charger

The car looks a lot like Vasher himself--like it's been through centuries of wear and tear. But hey, it works! Sorta.

11. Leshwi: A Motorcycle

Basically I thought about Leshwi riding a motorcycle and then I passed out.

12. Allrianne: Mini Coop

Apparently these are the girliest of cars. And in Allrianne's case, it's definitely pink!

13. Tress: Takes the bus

In no universe does Tress have a car, I feel. Taking the bus is fine!

14. Raboniel: Subaru

Leading, of course, to the classic exchange:

Raboniel: I drive a Subaru. Navani: 👀 👀 👀

15. Dalinar: A Minivan

Doesn't it just feel right? The other Highlords may scoff at his stodgy old car, and Sadeas might bitterly remind Dalinar of his Hummer days, but a minivan is just the best for Dad-inar. He can drive all his kids around, it has lots of room for storage, and it's so dependable!

A minivan is just where it's at.

[kairiscorner]

i should be reviewing for my quizzes, but i'm leaving it up to stock knowledge now ehe (・∀・)

(reblogs are greatly appreciated, it helps get my content out there! if you guys like what you see, please reblog it too <:D)

bad boy!miggy x softcore!reader (headcanons)

“he always had a soft spot for them.”

nobody expected you two to get together–nobody would've thought you'd be enough to break through miguel's tough exterior and make him melt whenever you touch him, smile at him, or speak to him with that adorable little voice of yours that makes his heart feel like fireworks are setting off inside of him.

miguel was full of tattoos, some piercings here and there–his face in a permanent scowl and constantly glaring at everyone with and without meaning to. he scares everyone he meets off, without even realizing sometimes that because of the way he looks and sounds, he was actually scaring them off.

though you were sweeter, mellower, and a lot calmer than he seemed–you were, quite literally, like a golden retriever that paired cutely with miguel's black cat personality.

miguel was a little gruff the first time you met him–he huffed an awful lot, he knitted his eyebrows together and always had narrowed eyes; he reminded you of a cat, a cat that didn't wanna be touched or approached, a cat that was always quick on their feet, a cat that always looked sweet from a distance or when unbothered.

miguel noticed that you constantly wore bright colors, always had cutesy little things decorating your belongings, always had a soft smile or a generally gentle expression on your face and a quaintness in your gestures that never felt overbearing or forced.

you were a breath of fresh air to the toughness and darker atmospheres miguel was so used to before you entered his life.

whenever someone pokes fun at your soft aesthetic, calling you 'too innocent' or 'like a baby', miguel glares them down–acting like a big, intimidating... doberman to your sweet, fluffy little... toy poodle.

miguel doesn't mind acting all scary for you to not be bothered, it makes him feel some sense of companionship to be wanted by you in some ways. he doesn't mind putting his muscles and scary expression to good use, as long as you'd stay safe and comfortable.

whenever you ask miguel about his tattoos, he speaks about it so casually in that husky, deep voice he spoke with–and he always spoke with a hint of familiarity in his tone, as if he was proud of his tattoos, that it wasn't a surprise that he had more covering his massive and muscular back, some running down the length of his neck, others in areas below his upper body, as well.

miguel notices how your eyes widen and light up every time he tells and shows you his undiscovered tattoos and piercings, he does admit that you make him feel a little bashful whenever you look at him like that and listen to him so intently.

miguel willingly wore the earrings you gave him one time, they were cute little flower earrings that you planned to wear for yourself, but figured they'd look better on him.

miguel knows these kinds of things aren't usually your style but when he found a spiky choker that was the color you always wore or loved, he just had to get it for you. he felt embarrassed when explaining to you why he bought it, trying to tell you that if you didn't like it, he'd understand.

though when you asked miguel to put the choker around your neck, his whole face heated up, his eyes went wide, his lips quivered, his hands that held the choker shook–and his whole body froze.

“a-are you serious...?” he asked you with a soft, shaky voice that was partly excited, delighted, and nervous. you smiled and hung your head a little to show him your nape, making it easier for him to place the choker on you. he cleared his throat as he gradually placed the choker on you, not believing you actually let him do this for you.

as you felt over the accessory, you giggled and grinned, thanking him for it–making miguel's heart go a million miles an hour, his face heating up even more as he nearly choked on his words. “no... problem...”

you two wore each other's accessory gifts every time you could (which was practically every day) and every time someone asked about them, you two would just... gush internally about how sweet the other was and simply say it was a gift from someone you loved, loved dearly, someone you could never imagine living without.

tags !! @miguelswifey04 @hearts4gabri @hisachuu @wreakingmarveloushavok @fictarian @yuridopted0 @simsrandomstuff @luvstarrstruck @popeheywardssecretgf @meeom @arachnoia @melovetitties @fable-library @ophanimgold @smokeywhalee @capnshtfce

[littlemissmentallyunstable]

title: the mysterious blonde (PART 3)

pairing: grayson hawthorne x (first person) reader

synopsis: you’re gigi’s best friend but the project is now over. does that mean the little moments you shared with her brother are over too?? that’s what you think until she invites you for a beach day…. but someone special comes along and it makes your day a whole lot better as well as shaping a future

parts: PART 1 PART 2 PART 3

warnings:

a/n: ‘the mysterious blonde’ has two parts prior to this one and it would make way more sense if you read those first. they linked above if you want to check them out or remind yourself of what happened…

tag list: @tornqdowarnings @whatsamongus @wish-i-were-heather @inmyheaddd @never-enough-novels @peterlcsingwendy @lxvebelle @xoxo-vee @emelia07 @f4iry-bell @zoyaaaabear @thoughtdaughter3 @benny1989fredd @elysianwayy77

After the project was over, there wasn’t much of an excuse for me to see Grayson. But luckily, Gigi was shipping us together so hard that she created lots of helpful excuses in order to create interactions. Except I wasn’t so good at the ‘creating interactions’ part. I couldn’t bring myself to look at the guy, let alone start a full conversation. That’s why at school, when me and Gigi were on lunch break, she sat me down and told me we had to discuss something.

“You need to talk to him more,” she says, staring me dead in the eye.

“I am trying,” I reply, sounding too unsure for it to be true.

“Liar,” she pokes her tongue out.

“Okay but isn’t it going to be super obvious if I just start having conversations with him,” I try to reason with her.

“No,” she shrugs as I’ve just asked her if the sun is green.

“Gigi have you ever talked to a guy before,” I ask her.

“That is offensive,” she gasps, fighting a smile.

I roll my eyes, “I didn’t mean it like that.”

“Besides the point,” she announces, “you need to talk to him.”

She brings is back to the topic I was trying to change the subject from. Annoyingly there seems to be no way out.

“What about? I don’t even know what he likes,” I groan, “maybe we’re just not meant to be-“

“No I refuse,” Gigi interrupt, putting her palm on my face, “I want to be a bridesmaid at this wedding so I’m going to make it happen.”

I sigh as a comfortable silence falls upon us. I wish I had the courage to talk to him like a normal human but I’m so conscious of what he might think of me that I always seem to back out. There’d been times when I’d been close, for instance last night. We walked past one another and we smiled at each other and I almost turned around and mentioned something he’d said at dinner, but my heart was racing too much and the nerves took over.

“Swimming,” Gigi suddenly decrees.

“Huh?” I say, still partly in my thoughts, trying to process what she said and why.

“He likes swimming,” she clarifies, with a hand gesture.

Now that explained his body.

“Swimming?” I raise my eyebrows, attempting to figure out how I could possibly bring up swimming in a one on one conversation with him without sounding like an absolute stalker psycho.

“Don’t judge your husband,” she replies, slapping my arm lightly.

“Gigi,” I laugh, shaking my head.

“Look he’s coming for dinner tonight and I am going to make sure you guys are left in a room alone together so you have to talk,” she explains.

“That sounds really creepy out of context but thanks,” I grin.

This girl was a life saver. I mean she was literally making my, albeit questionable, love life actually happen. I couldn’t ask for anyone better. I make a mental note to buy her the worlds’ supply of chocolate covered pretzels when I get enough money.

“You’re so welcome,” she smiles, booping the tip of my nose as the bell rings.

***

Gigi stays true to her word, later that day I’m at her house. We’re just been hanging out as usual when she suggests we go downstairs into the living room. Coincidentally Grayson is there, looking gorgeously concentrated as he takes notes on something or other. We sit down on the sofa together, books in hand, when Gigi abruptly gets up. This is it. This is the moment.

“Sorry,” Gigi says to me quickly, “I’ll be back in a mo.”

“Okay,” I nod.

She gives me a wink before she leaves completely. I open my book. I need a distraction. I look down at the pages, the words all mushing into one giant mess. I can’t concentrate when Grayson is around. My hands are sweating and my leg is bouncing up and down uncontrollably. The silence is deafening. I need to start conversation but he looked so concentrated when I walked in. Would he be annoyed? Weirded out? Or would he not care at all? I stare harder at the mess of letters on my page praying for a drop of courage to emerge to the surface.

“What book are you reading?”

My heart almost stops there and then. His voice startles me so much that I my body jerks forwards and a small gasp escapes my lips. I look up to see Grayson looking at me, at me.

“Sorry, did I make you jump?” he asks gently, his tone laced with concern as his eyebrows pinch together

“Just a little,” I laugh nervously, before flipping to the cover on the book, “it’s Pride and Prejudice,”

A smile tugs at his lips, I’ve never seen a man so beautiful when he smiles, “it’s a very good book.”

“You’ve read it?” I say, surprised as my eyebrows fly to forehead.

“Multiple times,” he nods smoothly.

I smile, “woah.”

There’s a few beats of silence before he offers, “you know if you ever wanted to maybe talk about your opinion on it, I’d be happy to-“

“Really?” I cut him off before he can even get his sentence out, being too shocked he’d even ask to keep myself from blurting out a reply.

“Of course,” he says, a small smile playing on his lips.

“That would be really nice,” I reply, hoping my blush wasn’t as prominent as if felt, “thank you.”

“Of course,” he says again, as if it should be natural thing for him to want to talk to me, as of it was no problem

Theres a few beats of silence. I count as the second stick by, trying to work up the courage to use my voice, to say at least something.

“Gigi tells me you swim,” I manage.

I want the ground to swallow me whole. Murder me, murder me, murder me. Why did I say that and why did I say it so awkwardly? There was nothing, I repeat, nothing, that could have worsened my situation.

Grayson looks back up from his avid note taking and replies with a sweet, “I do.”

I couldn’t sense if he was trying to end the conversation there or didn’t know how to continue it but he didn’t seem to be carrying on with his work and he didn’t break my eye contact, so of course my stupid mouth has to carry on blabbing.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes, I find it quite calming,” he explains, “it gives me space to think.”

“Oh it’s one of those hobbies for you,” I say, feeling less apprehensive about naturally talking.

He nods.

“I like hobbies like that,” I continue, “things that just take you away from reality because it’s too much.”

“Do you swim?” he asks me.

“I mean I know how to but not competitively or anything like that,” I shrug.

I stare at his facial expression which is unwavering. Why can’t I read him like I can read Gigi? Is he disappointed? Pleased? Does he even care? I’m running around in circles like a headless chicken.

“What do you like to do?” he says, his voice so soft.

He asked about me. I’m taken aback. He cares enough about me to ask what I like. Maybe I’m being slightly delusional but I don’t care, sometimes delusional thoughts are just better than reality. Then again, why would he have asked if he didn’t acre? Could it just be small talk or is he genuinely concerned? I ponder my answer for far too long.

I almost reply but Savannah walks in asking a question, “hey where’s Gigi, I’ve been looking for her everywhere?”

Typical timing, I mentally sigh. I abandon my conversation with Grayson turn to her instead.

“I don’t know,” I shrug, “she said she needed to go for a couple of minutes.”

“Where?” she says, gesturing with her hands.

“I don’t know,” I repeat, “she didn’t really specify.”

“That isn’t helpful,” Savannah groans.

I raise my eyebrows slightly, silently asking her if she was okay. She moves her head forwards slightly, letting me know she is actually okay. She has dark circles under her eyes and a restless look on her face. I can only assume she’s exhausted, annoyed and probably has some sort of headache.

“Have you really checked everywhere?” Grayson pipes up.

“Why? Think you can a better job?” she challenges, arms folded and eyes narrowed at him.

“I was only asking,” Grayson shrugs, “you know what Gigi is like, she-“

“Did someone say my name?” Gigi calls from what sounds like the hallway.

Footsteps approach slowly and Gigi appears behind her twin.

Savannah turns around, “Where have you been?”

“Bathroom,” she answers but I can tell she’s lying by the way she fidgets with her thumb and finger in circular motions.

“I checked there and you weren’t,” her sister replies, her tone rather short.

“Well I went to my bedroom first and then the bathroom, you must’ve just missed me,” Gigi shrugs. Lie number two.

“Okay,” Savannah says sceptically, narrowing her eyes.

***

After my encounter with Grayson on that day I haven’t seen him since. I’ve been over to Gigi’s but she’s explained how he’s been away with his brothers for a bit. I start to lose hope and feelings feel like they might be fading. But it’s the day Gigi invites me out to the beach for the day that things sort of began to change. She texts me the night before and tells me to pack for a beach day. At first I’m a little uneasy but I get over it as she hypes me up to come, via facetime. Now I’m locking up my house and getting into her car, beach day ready. Oh the power of Gigi Grayson’s persuasion.

“We’re going to have the best day in the world,” she assures me as we walk from my door to her car.

“You say that almost every day,” I chuckle lightly

“Can you just not be a Debbie Downer for one day?” she whines at me, her eyes almost glossy.

“I am not a Debbie Downer, I am a Rachel Realist,” I reply, scrunching up my nose playfully,

“That’s not a thing,” she insists, folding her arms across her chest.

“It is now,” I laugh.

“You look more like a Ruth,” Gigi snickers, proud of herself.

My face falls flat, “hey! That’s just mean!”

She sticks her tongue out, throwing her head back as she laughs even harder at my disapproval. When she eventually calms down she looks me in the eye and tells me, “oh and by the way there’s a little surprise for you in the car.”

“Why am I scared?” I ask her, my tone failing to stay steady.

“Have fun,” she sing-sings with a little wink.

“Gigi what did you do?” I say accusingly, worry creeping up into my thumping heart.

“Nothing, nothing, nothing,” she replies, flapping her arms about for me to get into the car, but I’m still too scared.

“Three nothings equal a something,” I exclaim, panicking slightly. A million and one possibilities race through my head.

“How?” she furrows her brows.

“It’s basic math,” I say.

“Just get in,” she groans, pushing me towards the door.

I have no choice. And even after a million and one possibilities, none had prepared me for the one infront of me. Grayson Hawthorne was in the drivers’ seat. My jaw physically drops and I stare at Gigi. She would be getting an earful later. I can’t believe he’s actually here and coming with us. He turns around in his seat to look at me. Grey eyes are pinned to mine and a small smile lands on his lips.

“Hello y/n,” he says gently.

I almost melt right there and then. What is this guy doing to me? How is he doing it to me? Why is he doing it to me? The butterflies in my stomach seem to have multiplied since our last encounter.

“Hi Grayson,” I smile back

“It’s good to see you again,” he replies.

I am internally screaming. I can’t believe he just said that. I can practically feel Gigi’s excitement radiating off of her. I try and keep my cool.

“You too,” I say, then look to the passenger seat, “hey Sav.”

“Hey,” she grins at me, “you okay?”

I nod.

“Let’s drive!” Gigi yells, as Grayson starts up the engine, “oooo can I do the playlist!”

“You packed the snacks,” Savannah complains, “I want to at least get a choice in something.”

“Yeah but your music taste is horrible,” she counters, with a sweet shrug.

“Is not!” she protests, throwing her hands in the air.

I can feel Gigi’s eyes burning holes into the side of my face, I look back at her. She stares at me expectantly.

“Why are you looking at me?” I ask slowly.

“Back up,” she explains.

I am about to be in the middle of a sister argument and I really don’t want to be.

“Hey I’ve never said anything about Savannah’s music taste,” I say, forcing part of a laugh.

“Yeah but I can hear you thinking it,” Gigi tells me

“No you can’t!” I reply, then turn to Savannah, “some of it is good.”

“Ha!” she grins at Gigi, jabbing a finger towards her face.

“I don’t know why you’re ha-ing Savannah, I should be the one ha-ing, she half agreed with me,” she replies, arms folded.

“And half agreed with me, stupid,” Savannah rolls her eyes.

“Do you have to be a peace maker between the two of us?” Gigi turns back to me.

“I am not getting in the middle of this,” I tell her, my hands up in the air as if I’ve been accused of a crime.

“Good choice.”

My heart flutters. Every time he talks my heart flutters. I bite back a smile as I catch his eye in the rear-view mirror. A kind eye, a sympathetic eye, a beautiful eye.

“Oh you can stay out of it Mr I only listen to depressing old man music,” Savannah scoffs, lowering her voice an octave or so.

“It’s called being classy,” he says, “you might be unfamiliar with the concept.”

“I would punch you if you weren’t driving,” she grumbles.

“And I would easily dodge,” Grayson replies.

“Guys were making y/n uncomfortable,” Gigi pipes up suddenly.

“I’m fine,” I say quickly and insanely awkwardly.

“She’s seen us fight before Gigi,” Savannah scowls, probably still bitter about the playlist comment.

“Not like this,” she replies, “let’s all just stop, I want a nice day.”

Silence hits us like a bus. A massive double decker bus. No one speaks for a full twenty minutes. The silence is awkward and uncomfortable and I don’t think anyone knows how to break it. All I know is I’m definitely not going to be the one to break it. Suddenly it becomes apparent that Grayson flicks the radio on, as music starts to play.

The drive is mostly smooth sailing from there and conversations pick up here and there. None of which have remotely argumentative undertones, thank the lords. Though at various points Gigi would stick her head out of the window, scream or sing, and then Grayson would tell her off for being so dangerous and explain how worrying it was. I think it is adorable, personally but I think I’m a little bias. Savannah talks a bit about her upcoming basketball tournament, it’s an important season apparently and me and Gigi agree to make every game. But unfortunately for me, the person who spoke the least was Grayson.

***

When we finally arrive at the beach and park the car, we all get out stretching our stiff limbs. That’s when I take Gigi’s arm and drag her off to the side, talking in a low enough tone so no one else can hear us. I want answers and I want them fast.

“You didn’t think to tell me!” I hiss.

“It needed to be a surprise,” she replies, knowing exactly what I’m talking about.

“I don’t like surprises,” I tell her.

“How can you not like surprises!” she exclaims, looking slightly offended.

“Gigi why would you do this?” I sigh, getting back on track.

“I’m trying to help you out,” she says.

“This isn’t helping me out, it’s going to be awkward,” I groan.

“Just talk to him,” Gigi shrugs, as if it’s the easiest thing in the world.

“I can’t, I actually can’t,” I explain.

“You’re going to,” she orders, “today.”

“Gigi, no.” I reply, a warning undertone laced into my voice.

“y/n yes, “she says firmly, “you know nothings ever going to change if you don’t make it happen.”

“Why isn’t he trying to make it happen?” I retort, arms folded.

“Because you’re not and he might think you’re uninvested,” she suggests.

“And what if he’s uninvested,” I press on.

“I don’t think he is,” Gigi tells me, “but it’s the best way to find out.”

“Gigi!” I exclaim, almost slapping her arm.

“Look if anything just have fun okay, we’re at a beach,” she shrugs.

She had done all of this for me, to help me and my sorry excuse for a love life out. And I didn’t mean to seem ungrateful but this is probably the worst thing for my love life right now. I couldn’t pull myself together around him. He makes me so nervous, so self conscious… but I suppose now I have no choice.

“You two coming?” Savannah shouts over her shoulder.

“Yeah!” I reply, beginning to walk over.

Gigi follows and we make it to the boot of the car. I look for my bag but can’t seem to find it. I do a double take but still can’t seem to spot it.

I begin to ask, “where did my-“

“I’ve got it.”

Tingles run down my spine. I don’t understand how just his voice can do this to me. It’s not normal. I turn around to see Grayson carrying several bags in his hands including mine. Our eye meet suddenly and I want to say so many thing yet each set of words just die in my throat.

“You don’t have to-“ I say.

“It’s okay,” Grayson replies.

“Seriously I don’t mind,” I reassure him, extending my hand out.

“I’ll carry it down for you,” he tells me.

“Are you sure?”

“Very,” he responds, a kindness in his eyes.

“It’s kind of heavy though,” I say, recalling how much I’d shoved into one tiny bag.

“All the more reason for you not to break your shoulder carrying it,” he grins at me.

“What if you break yours?” I say tilting my head to the side.

“It wouldn’t be the first time,” he shrugs simply.

I gape, wide-eyed, very tempted to ask for more details on the story but before I can he continues.

“Besides it would be worth it.”

I think I almost faint, I feel my knees go slightly weak. I really hope he meant it how I thought he meant it. It would be worth it, worth breaking his shoulder… for me? It is stupid, it’s utterly stupid that I’m overanalysing five stupid words. I shake my head and collect myself.

“Can we get coffee?” Gigi skips along the pathway.

“No,” Grayson says almost immediately.

“I fancy some too though,” Savannah says, “y/n?”

“I could do with some coffee,” I agree.

“Three over one,” Gigi says in a sing-song tone, booping the tip of her brother’s nose.

“You’re getting decaf,” Grayson tells her, sternly.

They continue a little argument, backs and forth like a ping pong game. Me and Savannah share a look stifling our giggles behind our hands. As we walk behind, I admire Grayson. I can’t help it. He radiates this beauty, that’s so addictive that is struggle to look away. I’m still so embarrassed he felt the need to carry my things… was it just a nice gesture or did he think I was weak or maybe I was just reading too much into the whole affair. My mind races with so many different thoughts, so fast and so hard I’m beginning to get a headache.

We arrive outside a drinks place and find a place to sit down. After the long drive there’s nothing more I wanted than a cold coffee. Not to mention I’d forgotten to make my morning cup this morning. My mind finally decides to slow down to a dull humming. A waitress comes over and takes our orders and I notice Grayson telling her quietly to make sure Gigi’s was decaf as her and Savannah get into deep conversation.

Then Grayson turns to me, “you know they’re starting to show old movies at the movie theatre on Saturday nights.”

“Oh that’s so cool,” I reply.

“This weekend the 1940s version of Pride and Prejudice is being screened,” he tells me.

“No way!” I exclaim my eyes wide with excitement.

He nods, with a small smile. The waitress comes around with the coffees and as soon as she’s gone I return the conversation.

“I just finished it yesterday,” I explain to him.

“And…” he asks, prompting me.

I pause for a moment and then say, “I’m conflicted.”

“And why is that?” he wonders aloud.

“Because I loved every second of it and now it’s just over,” I groan, “gone. I can never relive the first time again.”

“You can’t relive the first time but you can relive the moment again,” he says, “and it’s not over forever.”

“How so?” I reply.

“Stories shall forever continue in our minds and as long as we have the power to tell them they never really go anywhere,” Grayson says, almost wistfully.

“Huh…” I murmur, trailing off slightly, “I’d never thought of it like that before.”

“You guys should go together,” comes Gigi’s voice, surprising me quite suddenly.

“What?” I ask, more quickly and loudly than I’d intended.

“The Pride and Prejudice movie one Saturday,” she clarifies, “you both seem really into it.”

Grayson looks slightly alarmed and replies, “I’m sure y/n is very busy and I don’t want to pressure her into-“

“No I’m free, completely free,” I cut him off. I mentally face palm as I realise how horribly obvious that sounded. Gigi shoots me a knowing grin which I choose to kindly ignore.

“Oh… then would you like to go with me this Saturday?” Grayson asks, looking me dead in the eye.

His eyes are so distracting if the question hadn’t been so important I most likely would’ve forgotten how to answer.

“I would love to,” I smile, trying not to sound too eager.

We lock into this trance of staring at one another. Magnetised by our eyes, unable to be the first to look away. The smile on my lips was beginning to make my jaw ache but I didn’t cadre stop. Only an idiot would give up a moment like this.

“Hey y/n, I need the bathroom, come with me real quick?” Gigi asks, prodding my shoulder.

“Of course,” I nod, grabbing my bag, finally tearing my gaze away.

“We’ll get set up down at the beach,” Savannah says, nodding to Grayson.

“What about the coffees?” Gigi pouts.

“We’ll take them, don’t worry,” Savannah rolls her eyes with a smile.

As soon as we’re out of earshot and view, Gigi holds my hands a squeals and so do I. After little jumping up and down, hugging and screaming and a lot of weird looks we take a second to absorb what just happened.

“I’m going to a movie with Grayson this Saturday,” I finally say it out loud, the reality actually hitting me for the first time. I didn’t realise how in shock I’d been until now.

“It’s basically a date,” Gigi says.

“Literally,” I shrug, ignoring we’re completely delusional.

“I think he likes you,” she sings, giggling a little.

“That’s because you want it to happen,” I sigh.

“No I saw him looking at you,” she tells me.

“Well yeah, I was speaking to him,” I deadpan.

“No, when you weren’t looking at him dummy!” she exclaims, rolling her eyes melodramatically.

“You sure?” I ask her, my voice small and uncertain.

She nods enthusiastically.

“Gigi I can’t thank you enough,” I gush, a sudden surge of gratitude coming over me.

“Why?” she replies, looking very confused.

“You literally made it happen, you’re the reason I’m going out with him on Saturday,” I explain, suddenly regretting being so mad at her earlier for inviting Grayson as a surprise.

“All in a days work,” she winks at me.

“I will name my firstborn child after you, to show my gratitude,” I say.

“Awwwwhhh a little Gigi Hawthorne,” she says, putting her hand over her chest.

“A little Gigi Hawthorne.” I confirm, “hopefully anyway.”

We decide that we probably should get back to the others now and make our way down onto the beach together, laughing so hard we struggle to keep ourselves up right or walk in remotely straight lines. People give us strange looks but our bellies are aching and our lungs are dying far too much for us to care.

“Can you see them?” I ask, short of breath from wheezing.

“No…” Gigi says, giggling.

“Oh there’s Grayson,” I say, spotting our beach towels and umbrellas set up, with Grayson lying under them.

“Of course you spotted him,” she teases me.

“Shut up!” I exclaim, slapping her arm.

She laughs again as we make our way towards a very shirtless Grayson. I mean I’d seen him without a shirt before but today it was just different. The sun bounces off of his skin at a perfect angle, and the crown of blonde hair on his head glows.

“Quit gawking,” Gigi snaps me out of my trance, “that’s still my brother you know.”

“I am not gawking,” I hiss at her.

“Oh please, there’s drool running down the side of your mouth,” she tells me, pointing.

“Really?” I ask, self consciously wipe the side of my mouth.

Gigi winks at me laughing. I roll my eyes, unamused and slap the side of her arm.

“You’re not funny,” I say.

“I think that was hilarious,” she grins.

Grayson now spots us and waves us over. We both walk a little faster towards him. Savannah and Grayson had clearly already set up the umbrellas and beach towels perfectly, though I couldn’t see Savannah with him.

“What’s got you so smiley Gigi?” he asks, as we approach.

“Oh nothing,” she sing songs, smiling at me, “where’s Savannah?”

“I think she went to go and hire a surf board,” he explains.

“Ooooo I want to do that!” Gigi says, jumping up and down with excitement.

“It’s over there,” he points her into the right direction.

“Coming?” she turns to me.

“Yeah I’ll pass,” I scoff, imagining what an idiot I’d make of myself on a surf board.

“You’d be missing out,” Gigi tells me, poking my stomach.

“I’ll settle for missing out this time,” I reply.

“Okay then,” she shrugs.

Gigi rushes to take off her shirt and shorts, ready in her bathing suit and promptly runs off, far too excitedly as I sit myself down on a beach towel beside Grayson. I offer him a small smile which he returns with a wider one. I quickly look away as I shed my shirt and shorts, leaving me feeling very exposed in my bathing suit. When I look back towards him, I’m aware that he too has looked away. My cheeks heat up at the thought of him being so gentlemanly as to give me some privacy. I begin to rustle around in my bag in search for my sunscreen when a familiar voice freezes me in my tracks.

“Hey,” Grayson says.

I look up, happy I can now use sunburn as an excuse for my flushed cheeks, “hi.”

“How have you been?” he asks me shyly.

“Okay actually, yeah,” I nod, “how have you been, I haven’t seen you in a while?”

“Yeah I’ve been with my brothers a bit,” he explains.

“All okay?” I make sure.

He nods, “more than okay. My older brother is getting married.”

“Oh my gosh that’s amazing,” I beam.

He smiles, “they’re planning it for three months time.”

I put a hand over my heart, “that’s going to be lovely.”

“Yeah, he has a wonderful fiancée and I think he’ll be really happy,” he tells me, a real brightness in his eyes when he talks about them. It warms my heart.

“I’m glad,” I reply.

We fall into a silence and I grab the sunscreen out of my bag and begin to apply.

“Do you need some help?”

It takes everything in me to not let my jaw drop. I freeze mid movement and don’t know what to do with myself. There are fireworks going off in my brain and my heart is close to exploding.

“If you wouldn’t mind,” I mumble shyly, looking down.

“Of course not,” he smiles, holding out his hand for the bottle.

I pass it to him and turn around, delicately moving my hair out of the way. I feel his hands soothingly rub the liquid in, you’d think he was a professional masseuse. He’s so gentle and careful with my skin. I’m so glad he can’t see my face right now because I don’t think I’ve ever been more red.

“Sorry,” I say quietly.

“Why are you apologising?” he asks, as his hand slips under my strap.

I bite back a gasp to answer his question, “because you have to rub sunscreen into my back.”

“I didn’t realise it was an offensive affair,” he replies, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“You know what I mean,” I smile.

“I’m not sure I do,” he says, pressing for me to carry on.

“Is it not awkward for you?” I ask.

“No, I’m helping a friend out, nothing awkward about that,” he replies and I can hear the shrug in his tone.

Friend. The word echoed through my brain bouncing off every surface. It would torture me at every waking hour, replaying like a broken record. He said ‘friend’. But how else was he meant to word it, how else would I have worded it. But if he felt the same way to me as I did to him would he have still said ‘friend’. Why am I like this? Analysing every second word the guy says. I need to stop driving myself insane.

“I suppose,” I say, trying to not let my disappointment shine through as I turn back around to face him.

He hands me back the bottle, “about earlier, if you felt pressured into Saturday I’m not going to be offended if you don’t want to go.”

“No I do, really,” I say, “why? Did you not want to?”

And suddenly I was on edge, that ‘friend’ comment had really thrown me off and now I was second guessing everything he mentioned.

“No, I absolutely did,” he tells me, an honest look in his eyes, “but I was just making sure.”

“Thanks,” I smile sweetly.

I’m about to continue when Gigi appears in front of me, out of breath and slightly wet.

“What happened to surf boards?” I ask her, shielding my eyes from the sun.

“I fell off too many times and gave up,” she shrugs, “so you’re coming in the water with me now.”

“No I’m okay here,” I say, forcing a small laugh.

Gigi doesn’t even bother replying and instead grabs my arms and pulls me forwards, breaking out into a full on sprint towards the water. I try to drag her back but I’m too weak from laughing so hard, it’s like all of my limbs have gone to jelly.

“And now we go in,” she says, gripping onto my hands tighter.

“It’s gonna be cold!” I whine, taking a few steps back.

“Oh shush, you don’t know until you try,” she scolds me, bringing me back forwards.

I dip a my foot in and immediately retract, “I’ve tried, it’s cold.”

“Come in a little,” she pouts, “for me.”

I groan and oblige. After a few steps in I decide it isn’t as bad as I’d thought until we’re about thigh deep, then I want to turn around.

“No you can’t, we’re barely even in yet!” Gigi exclaims.

“I’m in enou-“

I don’t get to finish my sentence as I’m cut off by my own scream on surprise promptly followed by a face full of water. Trust Gigi to push me in. Before I come back up to breathe, I swim underneath her and tackle her legs so she too topples over. When I get to the surface I’m soaking and salty and highly unamused in contrast with Gigi’s bright eyes and giggles.

“See, wasn’t that fun?” she grins at me.

“No, I’m wet,” I grit through my teeth, trying to hide a smile.

“Well duh… it’s the sea,” she tells me.

I roll my eyes and the put a hand up to block out the sun’s glare. But two people catch my eye.

“Is that Savannah and… Grayson?” I question.

Two heads of golden hair, contrasting with the blue of the ocean, ride on surf boards, tackling waves with smiles on their faces. They look more like siblings than usual.

“Is he surfing? Did you know he could surf? He looks like a professional,” I babble suddenly.

“I didn’t know he could surf,” she says, “then again Gray can probably do any sport ever.”

“He definitely knows how to surf,” I reply, not being able to tear my eyes away from his precision and focus.

“Is that a green flag for you,” she teases, “are you into the surfer boys?”

“Oh put a sock in it,” I laugh, pushing her into the water.

She comes back up gasping for air and laughing, “hey!”

“Payback,” I shrug, “and I’ll do it again if you don’t shut it about my love life.”

“You were thanking me earlier,” Gigi grumbles at me.

“Not anymore,” I sing.

“So bipolar,” she rolls her eyes playfully.

“Shhhh I’m trying to watch!” I say, my eyes still fixated on Grayson.

“You mean stare at his abs,” she raises her eyebrow.

“Well they’re really nice too,” I reply, giving up on being in denial.

She wrinkles her nose, “my brother right there.”

“Hey you brought up the abs thing,” I defend.

“Because you’re staring at them!” she exclaims, looking very disgusted.

Before I can reply to her Grayson catches my eye and for a moment it’s just him there and no one else. He beckons me over with a hand.

“Was that at me?” I whisper to Gigi.

“Who else is he signilling at?” she asks.

We turn around simultaneously and see an old man behind us with a snorkel on. He shoots us a dirty look and we turn around, barely keeping it together. As soon as our eyes meet we start absolutely dying with laughter.

“I think it’s safe to say it’s you,” Gigi wheezes, holding her belly.

“I’m going to swim over,” I say once I’ve pulled myself back together.

“I thought you didn’t like the sea,” she challenges me.

“I do now,” I grin at her.

She shakes her head smiling, “I would be mad at you but I really want a Gigi junior.”

“Exactly,” I say, still trying to work out how I’m going to get out of calling my firstborn child Gigi.

“Don’t do anything naughty,” she winks at me, with a cheeky kind of smile.

“Gigi! We’re on a public beach and we’re not even a couple!” I exclaim, reminding her.

“You never know,” she shrugs

“What have you been reading?” I ask her, eyebrows arched and arms folded.

“Never you mind that,” she says, avoiding eye contact.

“Dirty romance again?” I giggle, poking her shoulder.

“Go get yourself a boyfriend,” she says, detracting from the conversation, “he’s waiting.”

I look over to Grayson who still has his gaze fixated on me.

“We’re coming back to this conversation later,” I tell her.

I don’t give her a chance to object as I dive into the water, out of my depth and swim over to Grayson. When I reach him a rest my arms on his surf board, keeping me afloat.

“Since when could you surf?” I look up.

“Since I was about ten,” he tells me, “my grandfather took me and my brothers.”

Beat.

“Come up, here.”

“On the board?” I ask.

He nods and I ungracefully attempt to clamber onto the surf board. I struggle up and the fall right back down, feeling like a world class idiot in front of Grayson.

He smiles softly at me, “need a hand?”

“Nope,” I grunt, slipping once again, “I’m fine.”

“Are you sure about that,” he chuckles, his head titled slightly sideways.

“Yes,” I say determinedly and then, “… actually no, can I have some help please?”

“Here,” he laughs, extending his hand, “grab onto my wrist, the grip will be stronger.”

I do as his says, holding on tightly to his wrists, I push upwards as he pulls me towards him. His hand slides around my waist, which was now exposed out of the water and he lifts me up onto the surfboard. Once he’s sure I’m on there, he slowly removes his hands. My waist tingles where his fingers have been and so does my face as it rises in temperature.

“Ever been on a surf board before?” he asks me.

“Is it that obvious?” I grin.

“No,” he laughs kindly.

I give him a look, my eyebrows raised, letting him know he doesn’t have to lie to me to make me feel better.

“Well maybe,” he says, a little sheepishly.

“How come you didn’t surf earlier then?” I ask him. He could’ve gone with Savannah and Gigi to hire a board but he chose not to, which made me curious to say the least.

“I didn’t want to leave you on your own,” Grayson shrugs.

My pulse quickens and my face lights up. But I play it cool, or at least I’d like to think I do.

“I’m a big girl, I can handle myself,” I tell him.

“I know but I didn’t want you to feel alone,” he says. He says it like he actually cares, like I actually mean something to him. And it feels magical.

“Thanks,” I say, “so what are we doing?”

“Paddling out, then we’ll stand up,” he explains.

“You’re joking,” I scoff. There is no way that I could possibly do that.

“The waves are babies on this beach,” he says, gesturing to the seemingly unthreatening waves.

“They’re still waves and may I remind you I’ve never done this before,” I reply, eyeing the water intently.

“There’s a first time for everything,” he murmurs.

“You surprise me with your spontaneity,” I hum in response.

“And you surprise me with your reluctance,” he replies.

“I’m not reluctant!” I defend.

He shoots me a pointed look as I sit there with my arms folded.

“I’m not reluctant,” I sigh before hesitating slightly, “…I’m just scared.”

“You don’t need to be scared,” he tells me, “I’ve got you. I’m not going to let anything happen.”

“Okay….” I say hesitantly, “what do we do first?”

“First we need to paddle out, so we have to lay down on the surface board,” he explains, showing me what to do.

I mirror his actions and slowly lay down on my belly beside him, as he lifts an arm and puts it over my shoulders, so he has one hand on each side of the board.

“Feeling good?” he checks.

“Good isn’t quite the word I’d use to describe whatever I’m feeling,” I reply, trying to steady the shake in my voice.

“Okay, now we’re going to paddle out,” he instructs, “you think you want to?”

“Yeah,” I breathe

Slowly and cautiously, feeling a little more comfortable with Grayson by my side, I help paddle out until it feels like we’re in the middle of the ocean. The middle of a vast expanse of salty blue water.

“You see the wave coming up now,” he says, his voice soothing and calm.

I hum in reply.

“We’re going to catch that one,” he explains.

“Okay.”

“I’ll stand first and then I’ll help you.”

I agree. He stands up with ease and good balance, like he’s done it a thousand times before. I presume he has.

“Do you trust me?” Grayson asks.

“Yes,” I say with no hesitation.

“Hold my hands,” he instructs me.

I take his hands in mine and hold them tightly, until my knuckles have gone white and my hand bright red.

“Stand up,” he tells me.

I shake my head, convincing myslef that there are at least eighty different ways to die right this second.

“Stand up, I’ve got you,” he reassures me.

“What if I fall?” I ask worriedly, my voice unfamiliar.

“Then I’ll catch you,” Grayson says, his eyes twinkling.

I stand up, wobbling a little. He catches me by the waist, his palm fitting perfectly in the dip, stabling me. Goosebumps raise on the surface of my skin and I can’t tell if it’s because I’m cold and shocked. Though my face feels a little too heated for it to be blamed on the cold.

“Spread your arms out,” he tells me.

I slowly spread my arms out and his hands don’t leave my waist. It’s my very own titanic moment, though I hope if this is going anywhere it doesn’t have the same end result. And suddenly it’s just him and me in the middle of the ocean alone on a surf board and nothing and no one else matters.

“Ready?” he say into my ear.

“Ready.”

The wave is not a big as I’d thought it would be and we easily ride it. I even find myself laughing and slightly enjoying myself. That lasted for the grand total of five whole second. Then I slip off into the water. I’m quick to kick my way to the surface and grab ahold of the surfboard. Grayson is on his knees looking a little pale, worry lines creasing his forehead.

“Are you okay?” he rushes, lifting me up onto the surfboard.

“Yeah,” I cough, sea water residue in my mouth.

“Are you sure?” he asks worriedly, checking my pulse, vision, hearing and mobility. He placed a gentle finger under my chin and tips my head back.

“I’m sure,” I chuckle, tilting my head back forwards, “but I think that’s enough surfing for me.”

“Understandable,” he nods, dropping his hand, “come on, let’s get back onto shore.”

Together we paddle back to shore, our bodies so close to each others it’s making me nervous. We spot Gigi waiting on the beach for us, looking excited. Before we get there Grayson turns his head towards me.

“You know I’m proud of you,” he says.

“Proud?” I ask trying to focus on the conversation and not how close our faces were.

“You gave surfing a go,” he says, “even though you were scared.”

“Well I had a good teacher,” I murmur, our noses almost touching.

“Thanks,” he smiles and… did he just blush?! I shake the idea out of my head, it’s probably just the lighting or sunburn.

We drift back onto the sand and Gigi runs up to us, beaming, “I found a crab and made friends.”

I shiver, “a crab?”

“He’s cute!” she exclaims

“He?” I ask.

“I’ve names him Bubblez with a ‘z’ at the end and I’m emotionally attached,” she tells me.

She looks at Grayson, her eyes wide and hopeful. A pleading look on her face.

“You’re not keeping the crab as a pet,” Grayson deadpans.

“How did you know I was going to ask?” she groans.

“Because you tried to adopt eight stray kittens and two stray dogs in the last month,” he sighs, running a hand through his hair.

Gigi replies but I don’t hear the rest of the conversation as someone grabs my attention.

“Hey y/n! Help me drag my board in!” Savannah hollers at me.

My brow furrow, Savannah doesn’t ask for help. Ever. Let alone to pull in a surf board, something I knew she’d done a thousand times and was plenty strong enough to do herself. I know something is up, I just can’t figure out what.

“Meet you back at the umbrellas,” I smile at Grayson.

“See you there,” he replies.

I walk over and grab one side of Savannah’s board, waiting for her to say something.

“I thought you didn’t like him,” she hisses, her voice low, almost dangerous.

“Me too,” I shrug, not even bother to hide it from her anymore.

“y/n!” she exclaims.

“Savannah!” I mock her back.

She rolls her eyes and tugs the board sighing, “please think it through.”

“That’s what I told you about Duncan and you didn’t,” I snap back

She flinches, like I’ve hit her across the face. She drops her side of the board so I drop mine. Guilt floods through me, but I push it back. This needs to be addressed. She readjusts herself and holds her head high.

“It’s different,” she says, trying to mask the tremor in her voice and failing.

“No it’s not,” I counter.

“Yes it is,” she insists, her eyes fiery.

“Grayson is a good person, he cares about you and Gigi-“

“How would you know?” she snaps, cutting me off.

“Because he’s told me,” I yell, “when he talks about you two his whole face lights up.”

She looks taken aback and loses her words for a minute so I take the opportunity to continue.

“He’s kind and gentle, why is it so bad that I want someone like that?” I ask her.

“Because…” she falters, “because if you break up whose side do I take.”

“Hold your horses there, we’re not even together,” I try to smile.

“Hypothetically then,” she says.

“His,” I shrug, “and I’d understand, he’s family.”

“So are you.”

My heart swells and a lump forms in my throat. I’d always been close to Gigi, we’d been like sisters from the start but Savannah and I took a lot of warming up before we became closer. We butt heads often, both being strong characters. Never once did I think she viewed me like a sister. I never thought I was of that importance to her, that significance in her life. But the fact that she does really hit me hard. And now I’m the one who’s lost her words.

“And I don’t want him to steal you from me,” she murmurs, her eyes a little glossy.

“Oh Sav,” I say, wrapping my arms around her, “you think I’d let him?”

“Love makes you do stupid things,” she chokes, “I should know.”

“Then if I do I give you full permission to slap me until i come to my senses,” I joke.

“Okay,” she laughs, wiping a few stray tears away.

“Come on,” I say, picking up my side of the board, “the others will be wondering about us.”

She nods and lifts the board as we begin walking again in a comfortable silence.

“y/n?” she says quietly, gently, almost carefully.

“Yeah?”

“I am really happy you like Grayson and if you guys do ever get together, I would be very happy for you,” she says, “I want you to know that.”

“Thank you,” I smile, “I still think you can do better than Duncan, but if you love him I’m behind you. Except if he treats you like dirt, then I’ll take him bungee jumping without the rope.”

She giggles a little and then grows serious, “he’s good enough to me.”

I don’t want to argue anymore so leave it at that. But my mind is screaming ‘is good enough, really enough?’ I’d have the conversation another day, I decide. We trek back up the beach to Gigi and Grayson who are sunbathing on the beach towels. As we approach Gigi sits up and flicks her sunglasses onto her head.

“What took you so long?” she calls.

“I’m like a donkey with mitten and couldn’t keep hold of the board,” I lie.

“Classic y/n,” she winks playfully.

“Hey!” I complain.

“I practically dragged the whole thing up here single handedly,” Savannah adds.

“Did not,” I mutter.

“I was thinking we should all go for ice cream,” Gigi says, “they have this ice cream bar where you can add as many toppings as you like for free.”

“I didn’t see that when we walked to the beach,” Grayson replied a, joining the conversation.

“Well you obviously have no priorities then,” his sister responds, offended and shocked.

“Priorities?” he questions.

“Beach priority number one, always look for the best ice cream spot,” she exclaims, “you should know this! Have I taught you nothing?”

“The only thing you’ve taught me is to not give you coffee or any drink that is remotely caffeinated,” he says and I try not to laugh.

“Talk to the hand,” Gigi grumbles at him, thrusting her palm into his face, then turning to me and Savannah, “now who’s coming for ice cream?”

“I’m in,” she shrugs.

“Same here,” I nod.

“I’ll come too,” Grayson sighs, but part of me think he actually wants to come.

Her face lights up and she jumps up excitedly, “yay, let’s go!”

We all walk back up the beach, following Gigi who is practically sprinting to show us the way. We eventually reach a little establishment she takes us into. It’s cool inside and all of the walls are brightly coloured, so much so it hurts my eyes a little. There’s every ice cream flavour one could imagine and even more toppings to choose from. Gigi looks like she’s in heaven. I grab a scoop of my favourite flavour and moderately top it with a few bits and pieces I liked the look of before I went and paid. I notice Grayson already standing there with his cone.

“Wow I didn’t pin you as a vanilla kind of guy,” I comment, my eyebrow raised in surprise as I analyse and severely judge his ice cream choices.

“What did you pin me as then?” he says, the corner of his mouth turned upwards slightly.

“I don’t know something like coffee or rum and raisin,” I shrug.

“Do you think I’m a sixty year old man?” he asks.

I laugh, almost choking on my own ice cream, “no, I just thought you had…“ I struggle for the right words, “…refined taste.”

“Saved yourself there,” he teases, “that was a close one.”

I poke my tongue out at him and then realise that maybe that was a little too comfortable of me. But he’s laughing so I take it as a good sign. As Gigi finishes paying for her extremely colourful icecream cone, she links arms with me and begins to tell me all about the extravagant flavours and extras she’s topped the ice cream with.

***

The four of us walk down the beach, eating our ice creams. Most of the way it is silent, with odd pockets of random conversation dotted about the place. Then we lay on the beach for hours, sunbathing, sleeping, just being. I haven’t felt this relaxed in a while. Occasionally one or two of us would leave to take another dip into the sea. Gigi and I are lying on a towel playing with the sand on either side of us, letting it tickle our fingertips as we gossip about school drama and hot celebrities. Though I don’t think there’s any celebrity I could’ve found to rival Grayson Hawthorne right now. I mean he’s just sat there looking gorgeous. How could someone be doing so little and still looking so gorgeous? I can’t wait to tell Gigi about all the things that had happened between us today, I’m practically ready to burst.

“Can we stay until sunset?” I ask, leaning my cheek on Gigi’s shoulder, “we have to see this beach at sunset.”

“We can stay until sunset,” she replies.

“What do we do now then?” Savannah asks.

“What we’re doing is fine,” I shrug.

“We’re not doing anything,” she says, bored.

The thing about Savannah is, she needs to move, like all of the time. The art of doing nothing and just relaxing, Savannah did not enjoy. I made a small bet with myself that she was going to suggest we okay a sport soon.

“Precisely,” I smile, lying back down, closing my eyes,

“What about a game of volleyball?” she suggests.

Won the bet then.

“That sounds good,” Gigi agrees.

“I’ll play,” I say, sitting back up and trying not to sound as halfhearted as I was.

“Gray?” Savannah asks.

“Alright,” he nods.

“Good you’re on my team,” she says.

“Hey! No fair!” Gigi exclaims immediately.

“Ouch Gigi,” I mumble.

“Sorry but we have to face the facts here,” she says with a hand up, “when’s the last time you played volleyball?”

“I don’t know,” I respond.

“Exactly our problem,” she says, “Grayson probably has a secret volleyball career and-“

“I do not,” Grayson interrupts her, sharply.

“And Savannah is good at all sports, our odds aren’t really looking good,” Gigi continues, completely ignoring Grayson���s comment.

“Then let’s just have fun,” I reply.

“Okay,” she grins at me, then looks to the other two and narrows her eyes, “prepare to go down!”

“Pssstt, Gigi,” I whisper-yell so the other can still hear, “I thought you just said we’re going to lose.”

“But we can lose with confidence,” she replies, optimistically.

I shake my head laughing, “you serve first then.”

***

After several volleyball matches of the other two beating us in every game bar one, which Gigi and I would not shut up about, we sit and watch the sunset, per my request. I sit on my beach towel in between Grayson and Gigi staring at the sky covered in shades of pink, orange and yellow.

“Isn’t it gorgeous?” I sigh.

“It is,” Grayson murmurs.

I glance towards him and he quickly looks away. Gigi nudges me and I turn to her, there’s a smile plastered on her face. I jerk my eyebrows together asking her to explain. She mouths ‘he was looking at you’. My eyes mirror the size of saucers as I silently ask her if she’s sure. She nods and my heart thumps loudly against my rib cage.

***

It’s only when the sun starts setting down and the sky is a little dark that someone suggests we pack up and head back to the car. By the time we finally reach the car the sky is fully dark and only lit with little twinkling stars.

“I’ll drive,” Grayson offers, once we’ve stuffed the boot full of our things.

“No you drove on the way here, so it’s my turn now,” Savannah says, nicking the keys.

“I call shotgun!” Gigi yells quickly.

I did the math. Me and Grayson were in the back together. Matchmaker Gigi strikes again. I open the door to sit down but before I can get in the seat Gigi dumps the sandy beach bag on the left seat.

“You wouldn’t mind sitting in the middle right?” she asks, loud enough for the others to hear.

In the middle. Right next to Grayson. Of course. I don’t know whether to smile or dread the experience, so I do both.

“Not at all,” I reply, situating myself in the middle seat.

I fumble around with my seatbelt to avoid eye contact with Grayson. Our bare legs are touching, sending the butterflies in my stomach fluttering and tumbling all over the place. Savannah start to drive and the bumps in the road just mean the two of us keep accidentally knocking each other. I try and hide the blush that keeps blossoming darker each time we touch but eventually give up. Another jolt, another spark of electricity shoots across my body. But by about twenty minutes into the drive exhaustion catches up on me, binding my mind together like some sort of kidnapper. I can feel my eyes drooping down and my head lolling to one side.

“Are you tired?” Grayson murmurs.

My heart throbs my chest, so much so I could hear the beating in my ears. I look up into his pools of grey and I nod, yawning a little.

“Lean on me,” he whispers.

“What?” I blurt out, as soon as I’ve processed the three words. I practically jump out of my seat, suddenly awake and alert, my eyes wide in shock.

“Lean on me,” he repeats, just as softly as before.

“Are you sure?” I ask him, still trying to mask my pure shock.

“Would I have asked if I wasn’t?” he replies smoothly.

“Thanks,” I say with a small smile.

Hesitantly I rest my head on his shoulder and attempt to relax. I breathe in. He smells divine. The cotton shirt he wears is so soft against my skin. He places his head on top of mine and I feel reality begin to slip away as darkened swallows me whole.

***

A jolt awakes me, but not fully as I’m still groggy. Even thought I’m half asleep I’m very aware I’m leaning on Grayson Hawthorne. I can smell him.

“Where are we?” I murmur sleepily.

“Go back to sleep,” he whispers, “we’re quite far from home.”

Comfortably situated, resting on Grayson, I listen I his soothing voice as my eyes slowly lull themselves shut again and sleep becomes my captor for the next couple of hours.

***

I wake up disoriented and confused. I’m no longer in the car. I can feel that my face is pressed up against someone’s chest. I open my eyes and realise that I’m in Grayson’s arms, bridal style.

“Oh my god,” I gasp, suddenly sitting up.

This puts Grayson off balance and I begin to fall to the ground very ungracefully. Luckily he catches my waist just before I hit the ground. His hands are strong and steady on the small of my back.

“Sorry,” I murmur embarrassed, as he helps me back up, his hands only dropping from my waist when I’m upright and completely stable. They linger for a little longer than necessary but I’m not complaining.

“No, my apologies I didn’t mean to drop you,” he says.

“If you didn’t I think you’d have a broken wrist,” I reply, “so it’s a good job you did.”

“Gigi suggested I carry you in as you were asleep,” he explains suddenly.

“Did she now?” I say, almost smiling. What would I do without my Gigi?

He nods and then passes me my key, “she found them in your bag.”

“Good to know my best friend respects my privacy and dignity,” I grin, a little sarcasm playing on my tongue.

“Of course,” Grayson plays along.

“Well thanks for letting me use your shoulder as a pillow and for carrying me to the door,” I say, a little awkwardly.

“No problem,” he smiles, “should I pick you up from here on Saturday?”

“Are you sure?” I ask him, “I don’t want it to be any trouble, I can just take the bus.”

“Of course I’m sure,” he nods, “maybe we could go to dinner together before?”

“I’d like that very much,” I beam, my cheeks heating up.

“I’ll get Gigi to pass me on your number incase I need to contact you,” Grayson suggests.

“Yes, I’ll get her to do the same for me,” I agree.

“Got any books on the go since Pride and Prejudice?” he asks me, continuing the conversation, making me very happy.

“Haven’t had a chance,” I sigh.

“Think you can wait another day to start one?” he asks me.

“Why?”

“I don’t know,” he grins, “but can you?”

“I think so,” I say sceptically, “what do you have planned?”

“You’ll see,” he replies, a little mischievously.

“When Gigi says that I get scared,” I laugh.

“Well I’m not Gigi,” he replies, “I’ll see you Saturday then.”

“See you on Saturday.”

a/n: I AM SOOOO SORRY. I don’t even know why this took me 12 billion years to write but it is finally here and for anyone reading this I really appreciate your patience with me. I hope you enjoyed PART 3 and you guessed it… PART 4 is in the works!! Hopefully that one will take a bit less time

I didn’t realise how long this part was until I’d written it. I actually had to cut PART 3 in half because it was so long but hope you enjoyed this!! Thanks for reading my loves 🤍🤍 this fic is the only thing keeping me sane waiting for TGG

btw I know nothing about surfing or surf boards so don’t come at me.

and a quick thank you to anyone who participated in my little Grayson icecream poll, you’ll notice the results have been put to good use… though I don’t personally agree that it would be vanilla.

TIG masterlist

[666writingcafe]

Flustered

MC

As soon as Solomon and I step out of Diavolo's office, we nearly bump into Barbatos and Lucifer. Literally. I quickly apologize as I take a couple steps back. Barbatos smiles kindly, while Lucifer glares at me. The latter's reaction towards me is to be expected, I suppose, but there's a part of me that still feels hurt by it. I have to remind myself that we're more or less strangers in this timeline. Otherwise, I might start crying.

"Before I forget, I have something of yours," I tell Lucifer, partly to distract myself from my emotions. He opens his mouth, looking fully prepared to yell at me. "Don't worry; I didn't steal it. Your brother did." Lucifer's mouth snaps shut, and I hand Lucifer his credit card back. He moves awkwardly as he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. Once the card's inside, he walks past me in order to get to the office door, and I catch a whiff of...nutmeg?

There's only been one other time I've caught that particular scent from Lucifer, but there's no possible way he could be feeling that way now. Right?

"You might want to find a better hiding spot for that," I suggest as Lucifer's hand touches the door handle. "Like a safe, or maybe even a freezer." Solomon snorts in amusement, most likely remembering the antidote I once told him about Lucifer and Goldie.

Lucifer shoots a dirty look at Solomon before glancing down briefly and muttering the word thanks as he darts into Diavolo's office and slams the door behind him.

"He's rather twitchy, isn't he?" Solomon asks.

"He's still rather wary towards demons," Barbatos explains. "It'll take him some time for him to adjust." His answer seems to satisfy Solomon.

But not me.

However, something in Barbatos' eyes tells me to keep my mouth shut about it, so I reluctantly follow through with his silent request.

"I'm actually glad I ran into you," he tells me as we begin walking away. "There's something I'd like to ask you."

"Oh?"

"I was wondering if you'd like to be my apprentice."

"But they're my apprentice," Solomon argues before I have a chance to respond to Barbatos' proposal.

"Perhaps in your timeline, but while you're in this one, MC's not human. Someone has to teach them how to behave like a demon, and unless you did something to magically transform into one overnight, that person's not going to be you." Ouch. The tense staredown between the two men lasts for only a moment, but it feels like an eternity. I don't remember Barbatos ever being this harsh towards Solomon.

Taglist: @lost-in-time-wanderer, @fuzztacular, @dianedancer18, @sweetbrier2908, @flare-love, @completelyshatteredbrokenmschf, @thunderlightning351, @l3v1chan, @anxious-chick, @5mary5, @expressionless-fr

[greensagephase]

Nonviolent Communication Head Canons (Platonic Roommate Edition)

Pairings: Spider-Man!Miguel O'Hara x Spider-Woman!Reader Word Count: 1.6k A/N: Based on my fic Nonviolent Communication, here are some platonic roommate head canons of Miguel and reader, whose apartment building caught on fire and led her to move in with Miguel (temporarily, unfortunately for both of them). You don't need to read the fic to read this! Masterlist

Thank you for reading!! ❤️

Routines and things Miguel loves about living with you (mans wishes you’d stay longer)

★ You learn each other’s routines quickly, and by quickly, I really mean it. You know what time the other wakes up, when you start your night routine, when or how you do your laundry, etc. It doesn't take very long for you to get used to each other and your routines, it just clicks and makes sense.

★ I head canon that Miguel is not a morning person, and you quickly find that out, which is fine to you regardless of whether you’re a morning person or not. You enjoy the silence while you both drink coffee before heading out to do your things.

★ Talking about coffee in the morning, you’ve both made who makes the coffee first a silent competition. Whoever makes it that morning, wins. Miguel takes it seriously but only because he likes to make the gesture of making you coffee (one of his love languages is acts of service).

★ Another one on coffee (For my readers, are we surprised here? Coffee makes an appearance in like every chapter lol), Miguel makes cafe de olla more often because you live with him. Sometimes (let’s be real, all the time), your love for it is what makes Miguel head to the kitchen and start making it. Sometimes he tells you he's going to make it if you're there with him (he tends to make it more on the evenings) and when you're not, it's a surprise for you. At those times, when you're somewhere else within the penthouse, the scent reaches and lures you to the kitchen. This always amuses Miguel! On rare occasions when you don’t show up to the kitchen because you don't catch scent of it, Miguel goes and finds you to give you a mug. Sometimes he brings pan dulce along!

★ On pan dulce, Miguel finds himself buying it more often. He always buys your favorite and makes sure it’s the most fresh.

★ He buys pan dulce so much more often that the people at the store already know what kind he usually buys. They wonder if he has a special someone because he always buys for two and he always looks so concentrated on picking the best bread. Of course, they don’t ask him but they have a guess he does.

★ Coming home, Miguel really appreciates (loves) arriving to the penthouse and finding you there. The penthouse used to be a place Miguel didn’t like much. He found it cold, foreign, and empty. Nothing like a home. However, that has changed little by little because of the new memories he’s made with you and also because of your temporary stay with him. He really enjoys seeing the lights on, music sometimes playing, mundane sounds coming from the kitchen, etc. The penthouse feels like a home, and it brings great peace and comfort to Miguel.

★ You try not to leave your belongings around, partly to avoid making it look cluttered and because you like an organized place but also because you’re respectful of Miguel’s home. However, Miguel likes seeing your things laying around like your jewelry or hair accessories. If you use hair ties/scrunchies, he likes to look at them and sometimes plays a bit with them (kitty behavior), just admiring them in a way. Again, it’s comforting to Miguel to know you’re there at the penthouse with him and seeing these little reminders of your existence and stay at the penthouse, warms him up!

Cooking and Baking Head Canons

★ Miguel loves cooking for you! He always thinks about what meals to cook ahead of time and now that you’re living with him temporarily, he takes the chance and cooks for you as much as he can before you start trying to cook as well because you don’t want Miguel to feel like cooking has fallen entirely on him. Miguel wouldn't mind though, I think we know that already (iykyk). And not because your cooking is bad, but again because Miguel is big on acts of service and this is a way for him to express that he cares about you. Plus, the man knows his way around the kitchen!

★ If you're reading the fic, then you know about burritos de tinga. Miguel makes them more often now that you're living with him because he knows you love them! If you don’t know how to make them and you’ve asked how, Miguel has shown you!

★ On some evenings, you cook together! It’s a really great time for bonding and you talk about the day or sometimes talk about memories from your past. You both work very well in the kitchen, as if you’ve done it your whole lives! 👀

★ Sometimes (or maybe a lot, depending on you) peppers are used for the cooking and often times you find yourselves in coughing fits (iykyk about the peppers) because of it! After your coughing fits, you usually glance at each other and try not to laugh about it. It’s like, your little inside joke!

★ Miguel doesn’t bake but you do! You bake treats at least once a week and Miguel always looks forward to it! He loves your baking (he has a sweet tooth)!! And you equally love baking for Miguel and seeing his happy expressions while he munches on cookies, a slice of cake or pie, etc. It brings you happiness to bake for someone else other than yourself, just like how you used to bake for your Peter (deceased boyfriend) and you.

Cleaning

★ After cooking, you usually split up the task of cleaning. You finish quicker if you work together! There are times when either of you make the call to clean the mess yourselves, especially when the dinner is a bit more intricate and it’s cooked by one of you alone. It's your way of showing care for each other!

★ Miguel didn’t want you to do this, still doesn’t, but you both clean the penthouse together. You split up tasks! Miguel always tries to give you the least hard ones whether because of the labor or because he finds them to be “dirtier” tasks, even when you say you don't mind. Random Miguel head canon: He definitely uses Fabuloso, the lavender one.

★ You've both created a shared playlist of your “cleaning” songs and you better bet, Miguel definitely has the señora songs. Lyla plays it for you guys!

Evenings

★ Some evenings, you hang out in the living room together, and other nights, you give each other space in different parts of the penthouse, respecting that you both may need some alone time.

★ Since you moved in, Miguel has begun to read more. It's always being one of his hobbies but over the last few years since he discovered the multiverse he hasn't read much, on top of the fact that it reminded him of Gabriella since he used to read with and to her. However, seeing you reading on some evenings has inspired him to start reading again!

★ On the topic of books, since you read more often, you tend to finish more books than he does. Miguel has begun to ask your review on the book once you’re done. If it’s a positive review and something that sounds like he’d enjoy reading, he has Lyla add it to a digital TBR.

★ When you hang out together in the evenings, sometimes you both fall asleep on your respective couches, across from each other. Lyla pops up sometimes to see what’s going on, or to report something to Miguel only to find you both sleeping with the TV on with a telenovela playing. If you read part 15, then you know what Lyla thinks about that! She's read research on a theory that suggests people sleep better when their loved ones are around. 🤭

★ You have movie nights! It turns out you really enjoy the movies from Miguel’s universe, so every few nights you guys pull up whatever the version of Netflix, Hulu, etc is in Miguel's universe. There's snacks included, of course!

★ Some nights, you stay up late either watching something on TV or just talking. Time just seems to fly by when you’re with each other! It's like, you're in your own little world!🥺

★ Music! On some nights you both simply sit in the living room and listen to music from Miguel’s record player, the one you gifted him for Christmas. You continue to share music with each other like you have in the past!

Random Ones

★ You sneak snacks to each other, even when you’re both in different areas of the penthouse. You’re both respectful of each other’s alone time so you always just slide it over, or place it on the nearest surface as a little “here’s something for you.”

★ Miguel learns about all your hobbies! He already knows of a few but living with you means he also gets to see you unwind and take time to actually engage in those hobbies, and any new ones you may be trying out. He really enjoys seeing you have fun and take that time to nurture your interests! It's led him to think of his own, at least the old ones he used to enjoy, and considering starting them again!

★ Sometimes you leave little sticky notes around the kitchen and Miguel always loves finding them.

★ Your friendship has deepened since you moved in! It feels like neither of you hold back much from sharing what’s on your mind with each other anymore, any walls between you have fallen down. Miguel is especially more open and playful!

★ If you know how to drive, Miguel has told you about his vehicle and where the keys are just in case you need to go somewhere! He tells you about the flying feature and even demonstrates!

Thank you for reading!! ❤️🫶🏼

[eustasskiddsprosthetic]

Lads, it's been such a long time since I've returned to my roots—Lu/Law/Lu and I'm happy to say I have an idea! I've read a thread discussing dilf Luffy and it reminded me of my own Dilf!Lulaw fic I wrote some time ago. I'm OBSESSED with Dilf Luffy so follow me.

Law and Luffy are childhood friends. Law babysits Luffy when they were 13 and 6 respectively and they get along. Law would teach Luffy about the anatomy of various small animals, showing him how to dissect (or pretty much butcher) any type of animal they could find and Luffy would watch, quietly and thoroughly intrigued.

When Luffy was 10 years old, he thought the 17 year old Law was just the coolest guy ever, apart from Ace and Sabo. Law's tall, super smart and his deep voice (whenever it doesn't crack) is super nice.

Sure, he's stuffy and a nerd but if Luffy throws enough rocks at Law's window, Law's the best guy to prank people with! He has backup plans after backup plans to get them both out of trouble. He one-ups Luffy's ideas in a non-condescending way. He's also super pretty when he laughs...

When Law's 20, he tells Luffy that he's moving overseas on some sort of scholarship to Japan. Luffy had no idea what Japan was but Ace and Sabo tell him it's a pretty country with plenty of food. Luffy made Law promise to take him there some day, and Law agreed to, figuring why not.

Sabo also tells Luffy to get his contact information and Law agreed, giving Luffy his phone number and social media handles in case he wanted to text.

And text, Luffy did!

"HEY TRAFFY!! I MISS YOU!!!!! HOW'S ANIME JAPAN!!"

[insert image] "This is my new dorm."

"looks boring lul :P"

"Not allowed to decorate too much, unfortunately. However, I have a roommate soon."

"ROOMIE!! WHO WHO WHO"

"My partner. I'm seeing someone atm."

"atm? wots that Traffy 0_0"

"It means 'at the moment'."

"Oh."

For some reason Luffy felt kind of sad. Maybe it's one of those emo spurts as he's growing up but Traffy never dated when they hung out. Did Traffy not tell him anything? That's upsetting.

"Who is it!!! They btr be nice to u >:("

"Don't worry about that. They're very kind to me. I'm looking for a nice picture to show you."

And Traffy sent Luffy a picture of the guy. It's a tall, buff guy with reddish-brown hair and a scruffy chin. Luffy felt his chin and realised he had a little stubble.

Luffy said that the guy looked plain when Ace walked past and asked what's up. Deep down though, Luffy was annoyed that he's actually quite good looking and that he's way older.

"Is there something wrong, Luffy?"

"wot"

"I don't know. You're the first person I told this to... Sorry, I didn't know you're not supportive."

"Support what"

"I like men, Luffy. I'm gay."

"0-0" Luffy thought of how to respond. A couple friends told him something similar before but he seriously didn't care. "is fine lol"

"Really?"

"YUP !! NO WORRIES HAHAHAHAHA I DIDNGT KNOW YOU HAD A BOYFIE WHY DIDNT YOU TELL ME!!"

"I didn't know how you'd react." And then Traffy was seen typing for a few minutes. "Thank you for not dismissing me."

"!!!!"

They text on and off more from there. Indeed, it felt like when they were kids where Luffy would share whatever's on his mind with Traffy and Traffy would reply politely. They talked about whatever, sometimes deep things, sometimes lighter things but it's usually always fun.

Sometimes, Traffy would talk about his relationship with Drake, as Luffy learned his name later and for some reason, that's Luffy's least favourite subject.

Traffy was neither happy nor unhappy. He talked about him the same way Traffy talked about the weather in anime, Japan. Heck, Law probably liked Ace and Sabo more and they don't even talk!

Luffy didn't have the words or courage to ask whether Traffy really loved Drake and so he never talked about it. As he got older, he couldn't accept that Law—the coolest, nicest, raddest guy ever—would marry some guy.

Law invited Luffy to the wedding ceremony but Luffy couldn't go, partly because he had exams and mostly because he just refused to. Ace and Sabo were surprised to hear that but they eventually understood why.

Whenever Luffy pulled up Law's wedding pictures on their social medias, he would only pinch his fingers on the screen to zoom in on Law's barely smiling, kind of sad face. He'd pout and ask what made Drake so special...

They talk on and off but life got in the way for them.

Law's busy with his hectic job as a surgeon. Law's trying to take more time off social media to be more offline. Law's going to therapy and journalling more. Of course there's his marriage.

Luffy's life's developing nicely too. Luffy's busy with all his friends and being present for them. He's his brother's biggest cheerleaders in their respective sports teams. He's also trying to study a little bit more to do well enough to make it in college.

And so they stop texting for a day. And then a month. And then a year. And then a decade rolls by easily. It's as if they never met.

...

And now, Luffy's 40 and he settled into a nice suburban area as a single-pringle. His house became less of a home and more of a gathering space.

Ace and Sabo drive over to have wild cookouts with their respective partners and kids. Zoro and Sanji come over to drink alcohol. Nami and Usopp for movie dates. Franky gave Luffy a sexy ice cream machine. Robin and Chopper would come over to bird watch in Luffy's backyard. Brook would host charity concerns in his front yard for the children and Luffy let Jimbe tutor kids in his living room.

Life hadn't felt so full in a while. Luffy smiled at his framed pictures and thought, "Wah... I've made it."

One day, he heard some people move into the vacant house next door. After all, how could he not hear them? They were arguing so fucking loudly.

"Shut up, nerd! I do what I want to do!"

"If you're as smart as you say you are you'd be more careful! Those drums are expensive! Be nice to them!"

"They ain't your drums, shit head!"

"But I'm responsible!"

And then Luffy heard something fall down and it made this horrible noise. Enough! He said. He put on a shirt and walked outside. There, he saw the culprit of all that noise.

It's some big man, a guy as big as Luffy with flaming red hair and a permanent scowl. He turned to Luffy and said, "What's your fucking problem? Can't a guy move into his fucking house?"

Luffy hated his attitude—what's his problem!

"I asked ya a fucking question, dipshit."

"I don't like you, you're a jerk!"

"Oh, is that-"

"Shut up, Eustass!" Both Luffy and the guy turned their heads to face the balcony.

And Luffy gasped.

On the balcony, stood a tall man who moved gracefully like an ice prince. He wore a loose Sora the Warrior tee shirt, tucked into light jeans. He had piercings on his ears. His jawline was sharp.

"You're annoying me, Eustass. Hurry up."

"Shut up!"

The not-Eustass-guy turned to face Luffy when he realised Luffy was staring. It started with an apologetic look and then he looked cold, annoyed. Why was Luffy staring so much and so intensely? The man squinted as if that would help him. He frowned and put his glasses on. The man blinked rapidly, in complete disbelief.

"I-" Luffy broke into a large grin when the other man's coldness morphed to surprise. Slowly, he warmed up and there's this warm look in his eye that took Luffy back to when he asked Traffy a question about the frog he was dissecting in the woods for Luffy's entertainment.

No way. Luffy shook his head. NO FUCKING WAY.

He made a little sign and Luffy knew what it meant even years later. It meant that he promised that he'd be back. He kept his promise. About twenty minutes later, Luffy heard a knock on the door. He never sprinted this fast in his life.

"Hi-" And Luffy enveloped the guy in the biggest bear hug he had ever given. He's just so fucking happy! And then Luffy pulled away to actually see him for himself. He was always handsome but since when was he smoking hot? Tall, thin-hipped and slightly muscular.

He looked up at Luffy and his sharp, annoyed eyes softened with tender affection. OH YES WAY!

"Hello, as I was saying. It's been a while."

"Hell yeah! How've you been, Traffy!" It's nice to even say his name again! He felt like a little kid again! Traffy smiled indulgently when Luffy slapped his back.

"I'm alright, thank you."

Luffy saw that Traffy was fiddling with his ring finger and said so. Traffy noticed it too and apologised for the habit.

"I'm going through a divorce now. Eustass, being nice for once, offered to let me stay with him and his partner while I figure out what I want to do with myself. It'll take time for my dad to get that carpet installed in his new house nearby so here I am now to kill time."

"D-divorce?"

"We fell out of love, let's put it bluntly," Law said, now distant. "I found out he's been cheating on me."

"Oh." Luffy suddenly felt like that dumb thirteen year old who didn't know how to handle Law coming out to him. "That sucks."

"Yes, it indeed 'sucks'. I was so shocked I didn't even cry about it for a week when I found out last year."

There was the awkwardness of feeling like one of them did something terribly wrong. Law smiled tersely.

"Enough about that, I'm keeping my hands full with idiots who claim that they want to 'help me out'." Law laughed gently. "Some classmates from Anime, Japan are coming to visit for a few days next week. I wonder how they're doing."

Luffy smiled. His heart ached.

"What do you want to do, Traffy?"`

"Me?" Law gave it thought. He glanced to the side. "Well, first things first, I have to help Eustass over there move in."

"After that?"

"After?" Law blinked. "I'm not sure. Probably brush up on my Japanese. Why?"

Bright-eyed and a little bit scared, Luffy said, "Let's go out!"

"Huh?"

"It'll be fun!" Luffy was totally winging it. "We can get beef bowl at Sanji's place! Do you like camping, Traffy? Ace and Sabo set up a really cool fire place out back—why don't we fire that up later! How about ice cream? Robin made cheese cake too! It's super yummy!"

Law started laughing so much tears came out. Luffy thought with some sadness that Law wasn't done crying about his divorce.

"You haven't changed at all!" Law said, smiling widely. Luffy felt proud of himself for that much. He didn't realise how much of a hole Traffy left behind in his heart when they stopped contacting each other.

Life doesn't give second chances but maybe, just maybe...

"It's really nice seeing you again, Luffy. I... I've missed you. It's been a bit lonely these few months, so let's catch up, i-if you want."

Maybe Luffy could finally show Traffy just how much he loved him...

[throwawayasoiafaccount]

i am reminded once again that people are so weird about rhaegar.

it’s interesting but nauseating to see the shift about him on the anti-rhaegar side of the fandom as it’s clear that people are still wildly and crazily deep in their fanon versions of him, but have decided he’s somewhat useful to them as the fandom becomes less accepting of the ‘targaryens are bad and all mad’ narrative that was floating around for years, so some of the antis have slightly changed their tunes.

i should clarify that the shift does seem subtle right now, so maybe it’s not going to affect the way the antis discuss rhaegar that much, but i find it interesting and a bit annoying so im gonna discuss it.

the shift is basically starting from ‘rhaegar was a moron and killed his family by fucking his whore so he deserved death’ and seems to be heading to ‘rhaegar was secretly really cunning and cruel and actually loved elia but she was iffy/neutral of him and he only got with lyanna to have a baby and left her to die cause he was always gonna go back to elia.’

both of these are crazy interpretations imo, but the second one is even worse than the first. the first interpretation is at least a tad bit understandable, but the second is completely based on fanon land nonsense.

because… how is rhaegar seen as cunningly cruel when he’s only been paralleled with dany and jon, two incredibly kind characters? one of the first times dany is directly paralleled to rhaegar is when dany was protecting others! while we do learn a lot about rhaegar through these parallels, there’s also an on page interaction that completely contradicts the ‘rhaegar is cruel and callous’ interpretation. it starts when jamie is recalling rhaegar’s departure to the trident, he remembers when jon darry snapped at him, telling him to obey and stay with aerys; then rhaegar takes the time to console a teenage jamie and ease his worries before he leaves. we have all this and yet people interpret this character as cunningly cruel and willing to use others for his own ends?

like bsffr… this is a character who prefers writing songs and singing them instead of violence and the song of swords. that says a lot about rhaegar, and it’s all good things.

speaking of good things said about rhaegar: barristan as whitebeard, when he was still sussing out dany, calls rhaegar able, determined, deliberate, dutiful, and single-minded. these are all positive descriptions. barristan also later says that there’s a lot of good to be said about rhaegar, more than any of dany’s other relatives. this is not the description of someone hiding a nasty personality behind a perfect facade, it’s a deliberate set up preparing us readers for the big rhaelya reveal and to contradict roberts anti rhaegar propaganda.

i also want to mention the other side of rhaegar. he was described as melancholy and was said to have sad eyes, and according to cersei he looked wounded. it seems like he suffered from depression. and based on the parallels between aerys and viserys, i think it’s safe to assume that aerys was likely abusive to rhaegar like viserys was to dany. what’s written in a world of ice and fire supports my case and shows that things were always very very tense between rhaegar and aerys. things were so tense in fact that aerys even brought varys in as spymaster partly because he mistrusted rhaegar. that is a very terrible environment for someone to grow up in, and yet rhaegar still pulled through so much so that characters still sing his praises years after his death. that’s impressive and shows how good of an impression he left on so many characters.

now, i also want to discuss the rhaegar x elia ship as it’s getting more popular as the tides keep shifting. one quote that these shippers use to support their ship is the “rhaegar was fond of elia” remark made by barristan, but the context of that conversation is specifically left out by these shippers. basically the conversation began when dany is telling barristan that she’ll do her duty and marry hizdahr, so she asks barristan if rhaegar wed for duty or love. barristan hesitates and tells her that rhaegar was fond of elia but says nothing about love. context is key here. and while it’s not surprising that these shippers need to strip away the context as they have to go up against rhaelya, which has a lot of textual support, it is deceitful and proves that their case is weak in compassion to the build up of rhaelya.

anyways… yeah… this shifting tide is weird af and seems like a huge backwards dive into fanon land, and while i can’t control anyone i think i’ve done my best to stay true to canon by mentioning what we know about rhaegar and trying to keep my interpretations grounded.

tbh… i don’t even like this character that much, but i think his impact on the fandom is so cool. cause it’s like… here is rhaegar, a sad boy, and yet so many people treat him like he’s satan incarnate responsible for everything bad. it’s like so wild and so far from what little we know of him. so, basically, because of this fandom discourse, i became interested in this character and am now one of his defenders. yeahhhhh….

also, because so many people liked to basically shit on rhaegar for ‘doing nothing’ and ‘just letting war break out’ i found it kinda fun to theorize about what he may have actually been doing at the time of the rebellion. as of now, i’m pretty set in my belief that he specifically went to dorne to conspire with house martell and potential allies in order to overthrow aerys. my theory is based on what we know of his personality, and i think his last words to jamie clearly hint that he had some sort of plan in place; and since he was last in dorne, it’s only logical to conclude that there was something going on.

that’s all

[geekywritings]

I thought you were dead

Another Cal Kestis x Reader story as requested by one of my lovely readers! Thank you very much for the idea: “Your writing is GORGEOUS! Would you mind wrighting a Cal x Reader where they get separated for a while (I mean like everyone is almost sure that Reader is dead) and the reaction to when the Reader shows up or when they run into Reader on a mission? Perhaps with a new scar? Like on their leg or something.“

_________

The chance of something bad happening to either of you, or any of the crew, had always been high. Such was the risk of working for someone like Saw Guerrera, after all. But Cal had not been prepared for the crippling sensation when the day did come.

The mission had appeared so easy. Go in, demolition the newly built Imperial supply base on Alderaan, steal as much intel as possible and leave. You had done it a dozen times already.

But this time, the clue you had received had been a trap. They had been waiting for you, ready to apprehend the terrorists that had been messing with their logistics for far too long. The crew had barely made it out alive. Well, most of the crew. You had been captured.

“We need to go.”, Bode, the newest member of your merry band had insisted and Cal had to agree through gritted teeth. Even if every part of his soul screamed to go back and look for you. If there was even a sliver of a chance of you being alive, he wanted to take it.

But the rest of the crew had given him the grief reminder that the Imperials weren’t known to show mercy. Especially not to rebel scum. All he could do now was come to terms with his loss and seek revenge.

For months, Cal fell into a hole, trying to fill the inner emptiness with work. His missions got more and more reckless, the fight more aggressive. He was beginning to walk dangerously close to the Dark Side, and he didn’t give a shit.

Attachments were forbidden for Jedi and now he partly understood why. Because losing the person in his heart broke him in ways he never could have imagined. If the loss of the Order and his Master had been bad, this was nothing short of a never-ending nightmare.

He would wake up in the middle of the night, trying to reach for your body next to his, just to find the space empty. Your clothes were still in the little cabin you shared on the Mantis, as Cal didn’t have the heart to remove them. Everything was as if you could return any moment and although the crew tried to convince the Jedi to let go, he refused. Something deep inside rejected the concept that you were truly gone.

Perhaps it was the Force whispering to him, because he was right. You were alive. Barely at first, but you were breathing. They had not shot you on the spot, which was a miracle in itself. What awaited you instead had been torture. Days and days of it in the hopes to extract some information about the rebellion. You didn’t say a word and tried to meditate instead, as Cal had taught you how to do.

Weeks passed between pain, unconsciousness, and despair until they finally grew bored. Instead of granting you a merciful death, they sent you to the Imperial prison on Wobani for hard labor. A mistake on their part, really. Didn’t they know who you were?

Getting out of the shithole was difficult, but not impossible. You just needed to bide your time to learn about the place, the people who worked there, the schedules of the transportation going in and out. After that, it was just a matter of moving quickly.

With the ship you stole, you made your way to the last rebel base you had called headquarters, switching ships in-between to cover your traces. All you wanted was to sleep for a few days. And maybe get a good meal.

But what awaited you at the landing platform was worth more than any comfortable bed or delicious food. The Mantis was there! You hadn’t expected it! Even though Cal had been on your mind constantly, the one thing that kept you going, you hadn’t thought to find him here.

“Cal…”, your voice didn’t carry, too parched from a lack of water.

Leaving your ship, you forced your body to walk across the platform and toward the familiar ship. As if on cue, the Jedi you were hoping to see emerged, looking left then right, his eyes stopping on you.

Impossible! He had thought he had felt you, but to see you there… Alive.

His pulse sped up a hundredfold, as he rushed toward you, wrapping you in his arms and holding you close for what felt like eternity. You could feel his body shake lightly, his tears wetting your hair. You had never seen him like this. Then again, you were crying yourself, so you weren’t judging.

“How?”, he whispered, not managing to say much else.

“Long story…” You weren’t exactly capable of much more.

Finally releasing you, Cal took a good look at you, noticing the changes. You had lost weight, your hair a mess of knots and tangles and scars across your arms and even across your cheek and eyebrow. He could only imagine that there were more hiding beneath your clothes. Yet despite it all, he was just glad to see you alive.

“Are you in pain?”, he asked.

“I forgot what it’s like not to be in pain.”, you couldn’t hold back the bitter reply. “But I am even more tired and hungry. Imperial prisons aren’t exactly known for their excellent cuisine.” The humor was lost on Cal, as worry still reflected in his eyes.

“Let’s get you checked up. And then you can sleep and eat as much as you want.” And with that, he picked you up with ease, heading back toward the small base the rebels had built for themselves on this desolate moon.

“I never expected to see you again… But I thought of you every day.”, you whispered on the way.

“I thought of you too… I couldn’t accept that you were gone.”, he admitted, eyes on the road.

“Did you do stupid things while I was gone?”, you asked, noticing the change in him as well. Harder, more serious, broken in a new way.

“When am I not doing stupid things without your supervision?” Ah, he could still smile. The Cal you loved with all your heart was also still there. Relieved, you cuddled into him and fell asleep long before you even reached the medical unit. You were back. You were together again. And you would never be separated again, you both silently vowed.

[she-posts-nerdy-stuff]

I’ve taken a night to get my emotions and my brain in order so now let’s talk: Percy Jackson and The Olympians Season One Finale. And oh my goodness you guys, I loved it so much. I cried, I screamed, and I drank blue cocktails. (we tried to make blue cookies as well but they just came out beige with the tiniest hint of kinda green, but they still tasted good)

BOOK AND SHOW SPOILERS AHEAD!

I have been a fan of Charlie Bushnell's Luke all season but I was really waiting for this episode to truly see his interpretation of the character and OH MY GOD HE DID NOT DISAPPOINT. I cried. He can freaking ACT and he was absolutely incredible (tbc I'm not saying no-one else has been acting to the same incredible standards because they absolutely have but I'm particularly praising him because this is really the first opportunity he's had to truly show us what he can do). The fact that the show managed to surprise me (as someone who was first read the books when I was six and has loved and reread them over and over again since) with the interpretation of Luke it presented completely blew me away, and I LOVE this interpretation of him so let's talk about it. I firmly believe that Percy and Luke are literary foils and each represent everything the other had the potential to become, so to see the set up of a potentially far more emotional arc for Luke was really beautiful to me and I think it was really well done; the fight scene in the forest so perfectly exemplified everything between them that is so similar and so distinctly different. The pain we saw in Luke in this scene was so genuinely moving and it I think it sets up a really interesting implication for his arc towards being willing to kill other demigods as either being slower or as being partly influenced by the pain he feels from losing Annabeth - when he looked at her I could hear I'm on her side, always. She's my little sister. and it was heart-breaking. At first I wasn't sure about the absence of the pit scorpion but I think it makes a lot of sense for this adaptation since if he was emotional and didn't want to kill Percy but had taken the scorpion out there with him it just wouldn't add up - however, I do think that Percy should have been injured in the fight. It didn't have to be anything that stopped the series from being PG because that would be unnecessary and as teens and adults who enjoyed the books a long time ago we know that this show isn't made for our age group so we shouldn't be expecting any gore or anything, but I do think that the show hasn't consistently represented the stakes as being as high as they were in the books. That being said, I adored this scene and the fight, I think it was absolutely the correct choice for this interpretation of Luke and maybe this is an unpopular opinion I don't know, but I am really glad that Annabeth was there because I think it's so important for her to be able to see this first hand instead of having the news passed on to her and it potentially gives us a really interesting set up to explore her emotional response to his betrayal in a slightly different way. It's also incredible to me to note that Luke's demeanour changed when Annabeth revealed herself; he is a different person in her absence because of the façade he puts up for her and this for me was really reflective of the way when Annabeth describes them first travelling to camp she idolises the way he fought off so many monsters to protect them but Thalia describes it as him picking unnecessary fights and endangering them.

This is maybe an inconsequential detail, but for me it was massive: the change in lighting at the betrayal reveal emphasised Luke's scar far more noticeably than before and in this moment, reminding book readers of the pain he went through and of Hermes' failures, Percy is literally seeing Luke in a new light. Incredible. Now maybe I'm just misremembering but I was convinced that it was in the first book that Luke told Percy how he got his scar, but I remember it being quite a brief retelling and Luke skating over the details quite quickly. I think that's because we only get it from Percy's perspective in the books and Luke is unable to fully articulate his experiences because of the pain it causes him, so I'm wondering whether not telling us about his quest thus far is because not having a limited POV is going to give us the opportunity to truly understand Luke's pain, and maybe even show us flashbacks, later on, which I think has brilliant potential and could be utterly heart-breaking and amazing if it's done well. I'm really glad that there's already been reference to May Castellan (the way I want to cry just thinking about herrrrrrr. I am not emotionally prepared to see May Castellan on screen anyway, but the prospect of seeing her during a far more emotional character arc for Luke is terrifying and so exciting and I can't wait it's gonna destroy me) and I although at first it struck me as strange that they'd included Hermes in season 1, I think I now understand that it was quite important for us to have a better understanding of Hermes attitude towards Luke and the fact that Annabeth had met him before very obviously explaining that there's more to understand about their relationship, but ALSO because it added so so much to the Percy/Luke parallels by showing us Hermes' failures and Poseidon's successes. I think that the presentation of Poseidon was so brilliantly done, I cannot explain to you the scream that I screamed when the camera panned round to reveal that Poseidon was standing in between Zeus and Percy; they so perfectly showed the awkwardness and discomfort of their relationship in synchronicity with Poseidon genuinely wanting to care for and protect Percy, and I think that it did such a good job of highlighting the difference between Hermes and Poseidon and the subsequent impact on Luke and Percy respectively. The first I heard that my sister had started watching the episode (tbc she knew I'd already finished it) was an all caps text message saying" HE SURRENDERED". Because that means SO MUCH to us as the viewer! It was massive!!!!!!!! It was incredible!!!! It also made so much sense as to why they had let the solstice pass, because we needed to see this and so much more importantly PERCY needed to see this. I hope I'm getting my point across this feels kind of like rambling nonsense, but when we have this more sympathetic image of Luke it is therefore so important to understand why we so confidently believe he's in the wrong and for me that came most prominently from the way Poseidon did enough for Percy to show him that he cared the only way he knew how to, and in Luke using Percy's own fatal flaw against him in their final sword fight. Percy's fatal flaw is his loyalty and in that fight the moment he thought he'd hurt Luke he stopped and apologised, only for Luke to exploit his feelings of friendship and use them against him to keep fighting. Again, I think this could have been more effective if Percy was actually injured but I understand why they didn't and I wouldn't have suggested they cut anything else to have enough time to include that.

And whilst we're on parallels as well, I don't think there are any words to explain what I felt when we heard "You didn't ask to be a half-blood". Like... yeah, literally nothing, I can't explain it, it was incredible.

I was going to talk about Annabeth being allowed to be a kid but I actually saw a post about that yesterday by @mydairpercabeth so I'll link it here.

Okay if you bothered to read this far thank you very much, let me know what you thought of the show and the finale too!! And also I've been avoiding talking about this too much up until now, I made a post when the first two episodes came out but I've been quiet since because I wanted to watch the whole season first, so if anyone wants more of this/wants thoughts on any of the other episodes let me know! Thanks for reading I hope it made some semblance of sense :)

[lxdymoon0357]

The three main male characters of Novel Miss Not Sidekick and yandere who are love enemies? *I forgot their names- hehe* If it's too much, you can change the request however you want!

(god fucking job!!! My first request for my favorite manhwa!!! I love this!)

Yandere! Male leads X Reader HCs

Rondemio De Helone

♕You were probably Ibelin’s friend and you both were students in the empire, you both were invited to the crown prince’s ball, but Ibelin being herself didn’t wanted to participate, but instead read a fucking book….Like who reads a book at a banquet or ball?!

♕But, due to this she caught the crown prince’s eye as he walked towards you; you immediately recognized him and bowed, because you decided to educate yourself about this place, and knew about the nobles and royals here, as your dear friend didn’t even glance his way….She was always like this towards everyone, including you, she never really showed any affection or anything a friend would, but you were used to this…….

♕But, there was a certain someone whom you both got a bit attached to, your dear friend latte, who was certainly the funniest person you ever met. You learnt that when you three were at Ibelin’s place, when the prince was there and she referred to a rabbit as a beast trying to attack you, this was the first time the prince actually acknowledged you both, which was noted considering Ibelin always caught the attention of everyone she met, making the person often forget other people standing with her.

♕He stared at you for some time and after you waving your hand in front of his face, making him come out of a trance, he immediately smiled warmly at you before apologizing to you three with a blush on his face before you three took your leave.

♕When Ibelin catches on the fact that he’s fallen out of love for her and developed an obsession of you, she’s gonna confront you about it and that’s when she starts to insult you and slapped you, before the crown prince (who was visiting you) got to the situation, he escorted her out and put her in a dungeon before torturing her over a matter of time before killing her.

♕Okay, let’s do a time skip to when he kidnaps you, because otherwise it’s just how he met you scenario……. He kidnapped you due to the friendship you formed with his sister, Lady Rosealia, she invited you to have tea with her and her brother, she left for a minute when you finished your tea for a few minutes, giving the drug in your tea the perfect amount of time to work and make your faint, then he asks his most loyal guards to take you to a room prepared just for you, where no one else is allowed.

♕After his kidnapping, he would show you so much affection, it feels like you both are married, not to worry he made the rumor that you ended up going back to your continent because you had fallen in love with someone and decided to marry them. Nobody is gonna find you….

♕ He keeps you in a soundproof room, so nobody can hear you scream or shout nor the banging on the door because your shackled to you the bed, it lets you roam around the room but not to the door and balcony which is sealed tight

♕ Rondemio bring  many gifts and writes many love letters to remind you of him, when’s not there, he’s left you so many books, mostly Latte’s many bimors and sometimes Rosealia comes to visits you because well her brother allows you, she is also partly a yandere and thinks it’s for the better of you to stay at the palace..

♕ You and Rosealia often paint pictures while looking out the balcony and talk about random things, Rosealia tells you all about things around outside and gossips with you all the time. And most of the time, Rosealia makes you listen to her ideas for bimors, she tells you all the troupe of a cheesy Dom and tsundere sub and intimidating sub and sunshine Dom and whatever stirs up in her mind

♕ You and Rosealia have matching friendship necklaces, hairbands, rings, bracelets, anklets and so much more, because well Rosealia is a clingy friend and her brother is quite happy you get along with her, you have many matching jewellery.

♕ Dating Rondemio is also partly dating Rosealia, because ain’t no way does she leaves her brother’s S/Os alone, she becomes very close friends with them, and if she doesn’t approve of them, Rondemio drops them, well, in this case if she doesn’t approve of you, you both won’t see each-other again, let me tell you, she’s an entertaining person..

♕ She tells you cheesy stories, brings you games, books, fruits, sweets, teas, cakes, snacks, and so much more, she had matching outfits with you as well, one outfit matching her aesthetic and one matching your aesthetic, it looks adorable, but sometimes it’s too much and it feels like you were kidnapped by her instead of Rondemio.

♕ Rondemio doesn’t punish you badly, maybe starving you, or leaving you in a dark locked room for days or maybe killing one of your friends, mostly that, he isn’t too much of a yandere, very devoted and care-free, nothing too extreme.

♕ Rondemio honestly kills every man who you look at or who look at you, or anyone in fact, he will kill them, he praises you so much, basically worshipping you and that stuff, but nothing too extreme, he brings you gifts, whether they be large diamonds or tiny flowers!

Kenneth Esbande

✠ Kenneth’s love story starts because you were a friend of Latte and you both annoyed the shit out of him and until he starts falling out of love with Ibelin.

✠ He became a close friend even though you were social distancing with each-other. You were annoying to him, but still very close to him, you would often help him train his sword-fighting when he realized his feelings for you one day, when you fell and he caught and you both fell over with him laying over you, when he didn’t feel chill upon touching you.

✠ He would be able to touch Ibelin, but that reduced slowly-slowly, when he started gaining feelings for you, he wouldn’t be able to touch her without feeling disgusted and violated and feeling as though spiders were crawling over him.

✠ Slowly he didn’t realize how strong his feelings got, until he saw you walking around with Ibelin, when she caught his eye and she excitedly waved at him only for her to be ignored because you walked over and greeted him sweetly with a pretty smile.

✠ Ibelin tried to insult you and she died….:P sad for her, but anyways she was mad because he was meant to be hers and she liked his attention and you were taking away the attention from her even though she wasn’t gonna choose him, it was very annoying….Kenneth stabbed her multiple times and she died…

✠ Kenneth visited Latte the next day for advice, because well though he was bearing her, he couldn’t deny that she didn’t give good advice, she helped him understand his feelings better but he didn’t tell her about the things he stole from your bedroom and how he stalks you or has someone do that nearly every day…

✠ Kenneth also saw you with Latte and he honestly did hunt a huuuuuge animal for you, probably the largest one and confessed then and there and you became the lady/lord/grace of the hunt.

✠ Kenneth really often puts gifts in your room as he stalks you and puts his name as “Secret Admirer” you know the usual and his gifts though they may seem nice at first glance take a dark turn in a matter of seconds, like a knife but with a handle which is filled with the blood of you latest suitor who went missing or maybe a beating box which is beating because of a literal heart…..

✠ Once Latte puts in the law of stopping all those advances to Kenneth, he will finally confess, does not matter if you’d reject him or accept him as either way you’ll be kidnapped by him the next day and kept in a room for a few weeks which is supplied with food and water every few hours or whenever you ask for it.

✠ Kenneth for somebody who pretends to hate being teased I mean, he’d never find it endearing, unless it’s you whose teasing him and annoying him, you can poke his cheeks, pinch him, pull his hair and bite his shoulders as a form of love language, he will always find it loving and endearing and what not

✠ Kenneth would love to do your hair and he WILL do it, because you’re gonna be restrained and what are you gonna do, fight back, when you don’t have hands? I mean they’re tied but you can’t feel your hands so you’re basically decapitated and can’t use your hands.

✠ Definitely makes the maid clean around and talk around with you, you enjoy it and so you end up helping them most of the times and he feel like he’s married to you as he helps you and the maids clean around the place and then he gives  higher pay to the maids for continuing this thing you help them and he gets to not only keep an eye on you but also feel like a husband to you.

✠ Kenneth despite being the youngest duke of the entire empire, is very lonely because no person actually becomes friends with him for the sake of friendship, people earn many social benefits from being close to him and so when you and Latte come into his life, you weren’t afraid to tell what you both thought and that is what drew him closer to you. He is afraid you will leave him and he will be lonely again…

✠ Kenneth very much makes sure that everything is to your liking, dresses, tea, biscuits, flowers, rain, lights, temperature of the atmosphere, the book ending, bed, blanket, the amount of rice in your plate, the crystals of salt put into the food, and what not, he’s there to fix everything in case anything wrong happens.

✠ He brings you so many gifts, it’s tiring keep a tack of them and he also goes to Latte for advice on you, does not matter what she says, he will not let you go and he will surely do not reveal how he keeps you chained up, but he will ask how he should get gifts to his lover who is upset with him

Arwin Hebrim

☠ Arwin Hebrim, he is such a sweet asshole, kills everyone he can but yeah, anyways he saw you with Latte, and yeah he found you interesting when you tried beating him up for annoying you cause you didn’t give a shit about being alive and you decided Arwin should be taught that the world doesn’t revolve around him (it does, it probably does….)

☠ Yeah, he ended up falling for you and became possessive and obsessive because he knew how hard the world is and so he slowly gives you gifts of appreciation but they all are for stalking and watching you throughout the day, he is just worried for his spouse that’s all, it is bad for him to not be worried for the one he loves the most?? :<

☠ Arwin actually gifted you a doll similar to Latte, but yours had cameras in it and it showed him what you were doing every day, anywhere, all the time, does not matter! He is watching you as your stalker, and when he knows you’re deep asleep, he will come, maybe put you under a spell of deep sleep for some time while he cuddles, kisses, squeezes you or strokes your hair, he does not care, I mean what are people gonna do? Arrest him? Kill him? Banish him?? He can kill, end and remake the whole universe, because of how strong he is….

☠ Arwin when he kidnapped you, to say is kind of a sweetheart, the only person he allows himself to be vulnerable to is you, he would do anything, praises you and buys you treats and this scares the shit out of you more than when he is being angry…..Because who the fuck has taken over his BODY?! THE FUCK?! It’s fine though, he gets you your favourite desserts and snacks and fried foods!!!!

☠ He also loves to leaves hickeys on your thighs while you sleep your ass off, don’t ask why….He will blame it on the bedbugs, but red-purple hickeys some in the shape of a cat’s paw are littered on your back, neck, thighs MOST IMPORTANTLY, and chest….he does it because he finds your skin to be plushy and pudgy…

☠ Oh and the moment someone takes your attention, they don’t exist anymore, depends on how much you talk about them, you talk amazingly about them, they die a horrible death, you talk how they hurt you, they die a horrible death, you talk shit about them cause they’re annoying, they die normally, you like them as a friend, they die normally, you don’t know them, they die normally, people are gonna die anyways, so don’t mention them….JUST DON’T!

☠ Oh, Arwin would buy you literally whatever you desire, the moon, another galaxy, someone’s black coloured heart, seven eyes balls, or anything you want, he is ready to get it for you!! Arwin is a very gift giving type of yandere, I mean all my yandere are, ngl…

☠ He will make you watch him practice spells and you’re the mistress/master of the Arcane tower as well, so you’re under the eye of everybody, everybody knows about you and they’ve been told not to help you….not like anybody could…

☠ Anyways, Arwin is fucking obsessed, he spent a whole week AWAKE enchanting gifts for you and is always there to make sure he’s immune to all the spells he put into your gifts, so you can’t and won’t attack him, that will hurt his heart!!  Also he makes sure you like his gifts, if you don’t, he can always replace it, give him a whole day to enchant it like crazy…

☠ If you try to fight back using magic or being physical, he finds you to be so cute like a kitten trying to fight a plushies, all you’re gonna achieve from doing that is being stuck in Arwin’s grip and lap for a few hours as he cuddles you, pulls you into make out sessions or plays around with you….It’s pretty nice, ngl…

☠ Oh, also for some reason, I think maybe he will make sure all your lipsticks or tinted lip-glosses are not gonna be transfer proof, cause so when he kisses you, it leaves marks on him, he wears them sometimes as well, only to leave multiple marks on you at every fragment of skin present on you!

☠ Arwin is also a pretty amazing husband and a sweetheart, only to you though, he would give you enchanted gifts to know you’re whereabouts every second of day, how you’re feeling through like a ring which has a matching pair he’s wearing or something or maybe something which shows how you’re health is, etc…I can’t elaborate and won’t elaborate.

☠ You're mainly under the eyes of Memoria and Arobrock, cause he's probably the only one Arwin trusts enough to not give you a migraine and also open up a bit!! He doesn't trusts Berrylreed and Straighbov.....nor anyone else, cause everyone is crazy!!!

[lucystark12]

mike wheeler and jaime lannister are the same character and that also means byler is real 🥳

my last post about game of thrones versus stranger things where i talked about writing and what went wrong with dan and david did pretty well so i figured id elaborate just a bit on my quick side note i had in there about mike reminding me of jaime because it’s something i literally cannot shake. they are so similar it causes me extreme amounts of stress. and im on a two hour flight so i have time to explain it all to you 🥳🤗

to begin, my favorite stranger things characters are mike and nancy and my favorite game of thrones characters are sansa and jaime. if you already see a pattern, then you’re on the right track, because yes, i am a believer in the misunderstood character who is widely hated amongst fans but is arguably the best written one in the given source material. sansa and nancy are both fundamentally similar characters- they both start out as naive girls who are very singularly focused on their reputation and how they’re perceived by the people around them. this is evident in nancy’s relationship with steve and with basically every single action sansa takes in season one of game of thrones. through being forced into a dangerous environment however, both characters learn to shed the ideas they had about what it means in their given world to be “successful” and “important.” i tend to love characters like that because their so realistic. even if we aren’t all being abused by kings or shooting demegorgans, most of us can relate to wishing we were something we weren’t and having to learn the hard way that it’s just better to be yourself

i just wanted to get the nancy sansa pipeline out of the way first before i talk about mike and jaime, because where nancy and sansa are similar, jaime and mike are practically twins.

let’s look at both characters at the beginning of their respective story-

- mike is 12 years old and knows close to nothing except for the fact that he wants to be able to protect the people he cares about. throughout the first season, we see mike’s guilt for not being able to find will metaphorically eat him alive, coming to a head at the cliff scene where when his other best friend is in threat of being harmed, he decides that he would rather die than not be able to save someone he cares about again.

- jaime is mike on a twenty year delay, but his story begins about where mike is at in ~season 3. however, when jaime was about 15, he was appointed to the kings guard, a position he partly sought out to be close to cersei (his affair partner (and sister but that’s a conversation for another day)) (also, mike acts the way he does when will goes missing partly because he’s lost somebody he subconsciously loves too and if you don’t think mike has been subconsciously in love with him this whole time ily but womp womp ur wrong) but also partly sought out because of his notions of what it meant to be a knight- it means that you’re fighting for the people and essentially saving as many as you possibly can. jaime is a character who cares very much about the people around him, similarly to mike. jaime’s situation comes to a similar head when he kills the king to prevent him from essentially bombing the capital city and killing half a million innocent people, which in doing so he puts his own life and reputation at risk

these characters are both so similar because they both value life. they are willing to sacrifice themselves and their reputation in the interest of other people. this is who they both are at the core of their person. however, at some point throughout their arc they both go back on their previous behaviors. they don’t so much regret the way they behaved, but the pressures about their roles that have been put on them by society lead them both to believe that their behavior is wrong in some way.

with mike, i’m talking about how affectionate (?) he was with will in season two. i’m naming what happened after the whole hospital “best thing i’ve ever done” sequence and before season three as mike going through the same thing jaime does in the period between when he kills the king and when the show starts. i think in both of these time frames, the two of them start to have this realization based on the people around them that what they did was wrong and won’t be widely accepted. jaime’s king slaying was treasonous and mike realizes that his love confession coded monologue to will in the hospital wasn’t necessarily normal behavior. this is also the exact time period in which the raegan bush election is happening. they literally probably voted during season 2. id also like to point out that both of them come from very rigid and strict families. and if you’re denying me this for mike, they have a raegan bush sign in their yard.

now we pick up in season 1 for jaime and season 3 for mike. this is where im going to bring up the singular most important part of both of their respective arcs- the love triangle. season 1/3 are the most important times for both melvin and jercei (?). melvin is at peak affection, and basically mike’s entire story for a good portion of this season revolves around her. this is basically the peak of jercei because it’s right before they get separated and their whole dynamic changes. but uh oh! there’s trouble in paradise for both! suddenly mike and el are broken up and jaime and cersei are separated by the war of the five kings. this next part bleeds into season 2/3 for jaime and season 4 for mike, when mike and el are quite literally separated.

so, both of them are separated from side one of their love triangle, who both are using as a gateway to solve what they think is their biggest flaw- jaime his narcissism and mike his sexuality. then, and this is one of my favorite little parallels, they are both literally escorted home by the other side of the triangle, where “home” (hawkins for mike, kings landing for jaime) serves to say the truth about who they are as people that they weren’t quite ready to face before they set off on their respective physical journeys. (mikes trip to california, jaimes push north)

obviously in stranger things mike and will literally go back to hawkins together. in game of thrones, jaime gets captured by the opposing army and is escorted back to the capital by a knight for the opposing army, brienne, under the condition that he will safely return the king’s sisters to him. throughout both of their returns home, they both are forced to come to terms with their feelings just a little bit. jaime admits the truth of his kingslay to brienne, and mike is given the painting. i don’t think mike has put ANY of the dots together on the painting yet, but once he does, this will serve as a HUGE influence on his character development and relationship with will (another thing i could talk about for hours). then they both get home, and jaime’s view starts to shift just a little bit… he starts thinking “hey wait… maybe brienne is onto something. maybe i don’t have to be so terrible all the time and conform to what society wants me to be.” now obviously we don’t know if mike is thinking this way yet, but my guess is that he probably will start having a similar thing next season.

the reason both brienne and will are so important to their character arcs are because in the context of the love triangle or decision their romantic interest is making, they serve to symbolize non conformity and embracing the truth about who you are and what you stand for. brienne isn’t conventionally attractive like cersei and actively goes against what was expected of women at the time. being with will would make him a part of a gay relationship, which was very nonconformist at the time. where cersei and eleven serve in the relationship to show pretending, insecurity, and lies since they are literally the exact opposite of brienne and will. and guess who doesn’t lie? FRIENDS.

so, what i’m saying is that will is essential to ending mike’s character arc just like brienne was to jaime, and that if stranger things fumbles the bag and doesn’t make it happen like game of thrones did, then mike will live in infamy as an unfinished character who had a stupid ending just like jaime did.

also, i am a “jaime should have killed cersei and then died in the fire with her” truther and similarly believe that mike should sacrifice himself in the last summer to come full circle to the sacrificial person he used to be. i also don’t believe in happy endings because they’re boring ❤️

this is why im SO FUCKING NERVOUS about mike. i’m literally having ptsd god help me! 🤗🤗 pls matt and ross learn from the mistakes of your elders and break the game of thrones curse!! as daenerys targaryen would say- BREAK THE WHEEL!!

[silverwhittlingknife]

did nobody ask you for red letter day? absurd! *I* wanna know about red letter day!

hello captain and friend anon!!! I KNOW I HAVEN'T UPDATED THIS IN SIX MILLION YEARS SO THANK YOU FOR THESE ASKS <333

okay SO the first thing is, you have to understand, my list of documents for this fic looks like this:

anyway i do love this fic even though it FIGHTS ME; it's supposed to have both Fights and Mysteries and both are hard to write 😅

anyway hmmm i'm going to cheat by including a Dick POV section that I am probably gonna end up cutting, because i like it but i also worry that it slows down the dialogue?

excerpt below the cut! the only context that you need is that Dick and Tim have been having the "should Tim call if there's danger in Gotham" argument again (Tim's position is "no"), partly because they both have genuine positions on this argument, but also because it enables them to sublimate an emotional conflict into a work conflict and thus avoid talking or thinking about their feelings, which is a shared pathology goal:

Dick would bet Tim never mouthed off to Bruce like this.  One of the many things that suck about being the knock-off Batman is that none of Dick’s orders really stick.  All of the responsibility without the authority to back it up.  At least when Dick was leading the Titans, they did what he freaking told them. …Mostly. …Okay, sometimes. The awful truth is—and he tries not to dwell on it because it’s pointless and doesn’t achieve anything, but—everything with Tim, sometimes it reminds him of the worst times with the Titans.  The same uneasy feeling of dread, like he’s grabbing for someone who’s slipping through his fingers.  Roy’s crossed arms.  The clock creeping toward midnight, staring at the champagne, knowing in his heart that Kory wasn’t coming.  After Tartarus: watching Roy walk out of the room, watching Donna follow him, staring at Vic’s back, Kory’s back, all of them walking out, and no one left but the newcomers.  When the personal is so fucked up that all you can do is double-down on the professional, and even that doesn’t help, and then— (Get a grip, Grayson.) And anyway, this isn’t like the Titans, is it?  Dick was out-of-line, there, in retrospect. He’s never been good at losing people gracefully.  Pushing Kory for marriage when she was already pulling away, trying to cling to her instead of letting her go.  Giving ultimatums after Tartarus, when he knew the team already resented his orders.  Making decisions behind Vic’s back, trying to force him to stay.  It’s an ugly bad habit, picked up from Bruce: things are slipping, and your people are mad at you, so you get scared, and then you get authoritative and controlling so you can hang onto them, except you can’t control them, so then they get even angrier and you lose them anyway.   It’s easy to see in Bruce, hard to see in himself, but he knows it’s there.  He barely managed to catch himself in time, with the Titans.   Is he doing the same thing to Tim?  Does he need to back off? But Gotham is risky.  Tim’s always been capable, obviously, but…it’s okay to be a bit authoritative, isn’t it?  Tim should call if there’s someone who looks unusually dangerous.  That’s just common sense.  Dick’s not asking for miracles, here.

[misc-obeyme]

THE THREADS THAT BIND

CHAPTER TEN

MASTERPOST for summary/info/chapter list

a/n: This is the last chapter in which Arsenios makes a significant appearance. I truly enjoyed writing about him. In the meantime, MC is dealing with some heavy feels. Things get angsty for a bit, so just a heads up.

GN!MC x Barbatos | word count 1,159

Warnings: demon OC

Weeks went by. You were free of the curse and there was no reason for you to stay at the castle any longer. You had packed all your things and lugged them back to the House of Lamentation with help from Barbatos. He had smiled at you as he always did before he left.

You continued to see about as much of Barbatos as you used to. Often it was at RAD, though there were various group activities where he was present and the more rare tea party that you would go to the castle for. But usually you were with other people. It wasn't the same as when you had been tethered together.

At first, you felt kind of numb. It was just a matter of readjusting to the way things used to be, how they were supposed to be.

So you went through your days as you had always done before. But as time passed, you began to find yourself thinking often about the moments you had seen in Barbatos's mind. Even more than the feeling you'd had when he left your side - that was only a product of the curse, not a reflection of anything real. But his memories had been real.

It seems my love has found us.

For some reason, that particular moment continually replayed itself in your mind. Barbatos himself had said that this was a moment from the future, that you had seen the memory he had of seeing it himself.

Will I know that person when I meet them in the present? I don't know. I can't know.

This, too, echoed in your mind. What he had said when you asked. Of course he couldn't know for certain. Not when he hadn't been able to make out what that person even looked like. They had been much too far away. If Barbatos had any deeper insight into their identity, he hadn't shared it with you.

The more time passed, the more you thought of these things, caught up in the meaning of it all. It was diverting. Because if you thought about your own feelings for too long, you started to see that emptiness returning. A hole in your chest where something had been removed.

You wanted to believe that it was only your imagination. That you were only experiencing flashbacks of the curse itself.

But sometimes, when you were alone at night, staring at the ceiling of your room in the House of Lamentation, you were honest with yourself about it. The truth was that you missed Barbatos.

You would always turn your mind back to that vision of his future to remind yourself that it didn't matter. Maybe he couldn't know when he encountered that person that he would love, but you would have known if you had been seeing yourself. You would have known if it was you calling out to him across that field of flowers. Wouldn't you?

These were the thoughts that plagued you as the weeks passed. You often liked to find a spot at RAD to be by yourself, so you could wallow in these feelings while also rejecting them.

You had gone off alone again, sitting on a bench out on the grounds, your eyes on the dark sky and your mind stewing.

You had to pull yourself out of the depths of your thoughts when someone sat beside you. You blinked and were surprised to find Arsenios on the bench with you.

"You're looking pretty down," he said without so much as a hello. "Everything all right? I heard the counter curse worked."

You gathered yourself for a moment before smiling weakly. "Yeah, thanks for your help."

Arsenios leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. His RAD jacket was nowhere to be seen, his green shirt partly unbuttoned. "So what's with the sad face?"

You frowned. "I'm not sad."

"Uh huh," Arsenios said. "It's easy to tell yourself lies, but it's hard to tell yourself the truth. Sometimes it's easier to tell someone else."

You squinted at him. He wasn't looking at you, his eyes elsewhere across campus. "Are you trying to make me feel better?"

Arsenios shook his head and leaned back to look at you. "I'm giving you a chance to talk about whatever's bothering you. Get it off your chest."

You studied his face for a moment, trying to decide if he was making fun of you. But you saw no malice in his eyes. He seemed to be genuinely trying to help.

You sighed and leaned your head back on the bench. "It's complicated. I don't even know where to start."

Arsenios ran a hand through his hair. "I mean, it's about Barb, right? It has to be after what you went through."

"I know that curse was bad," you said, your eyes on the sky above you. "But now that it's gone, I feel… like I'm missing something. I'm missing him."

"So why not tell him how you feel?" Arsenios asked.

You snorted and rolled your head to look at him. "Why? So I can get rejected and feel even worse?"

"Nah," Arsenios said. "Is that what you really think will happen?"

You didn't really want to tell him all about the future you had seen in Barbatos's mind. You didn't respond.

"Listen, MC," Arsenios said. "I've known Barbatos for a long time. I maybe don't know him as well as some others can claim, but I think I know enough to know how he feels about you. In all these years, I have never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you."

Something about this statement hit you hard. You sat up, fighting the tears that suddenly stung at your eyes. "But-"

Arsenios raised a hand to stop you. "I mean it. You don't believe me? Ask Solomon. Ask Lucifer. Ask Diavolo. I bet any one of them would say the same. But even if that wasn't the case, don't you think he deserves to make the choice himself?"

You let out a heavy sigh. The truth of that question was almost too painful to think about. But this music demon was right. And you knew it.

Arsenios stood up from the bench, his hands in his pockets. "Something to consider. And I gotta say… Listen, Barbatos is my friend. But if he passes up on being with someone like you, then he doesn't deserve you to begin with."

You met his eyes in surprise, but you couldn't read what you saw there.

Arsenios waved nonchalantly at you as he walked away, leaving you sitting stunned on the bench.

The worst part of that conversation was realizing that you would have to say something to Barbatos. That you couldn't keep the truth inside you forever. Partly because it would eat away at you if you did, but also because Arsenios was right. Barbatos deserved to make the choice himself.

masterpost | chapter one

chapter nine | chapter eleven

masterlist | Thank you for reading!

[chvoswxtch]

congratulations on 3k! i’m so happy for you. can i get tickets for speak now (since it’s my fave) with jess or elektra please? any kind of headcanons are appreciated

thank you so much nonnie!!

my brain immediately went to jess and I started thinking about what a lazy day would look like with her so let's talk about it

headcannon below the cut

when jess falls in love (jessica's version)

jess rarely takes a full day off. sure she sleeps in late sometimes, or cuts out early to head to the nearest bar, but since her office is in her living room, it makes it difficult to have a work life balance when your phone is always ringing and people are constantly knocking on your door for help

which I think is partly why she's usually in a bad mood. our girl is exhausted

now jess can't say no to her partner, and they know this, so they devise a little plan

they invite jess over saturday night for a romantic little dinner, and it doesn't take much to talk her into staying the night (it doesn't take any convincing at all actually, jess would rather sleep next to her partner than alone)

the following morning, jess awakes to the alluring aroma of coffee and breakfast, and finds her partner in the kitchen with an excited smile on their face as they set their plan into motion

"get comfy, jones. you and I are having a lazy sunday."

at first jess is confused, but again, she can't say no to her partner. but her partner can see that she's thinking about all the things she has to take care of and determines that jess needs a little push

"jess, you need a day off. a whole day of doing nothing but relaxing. you deserve it, okay? you are not responsible for every person in this city. even though you can do incredible things, you're still human, and you need a break. now sit."

after breakfast, the two snuggle up on the couch for a movie marathon, and jess's partner lets her pick the first movie. although when jess puts on scream, her partner gives her a strange look to which jess comes to her own defense

"it's my comfort movie." "your comfort movie is a slasher?" "shut up, it's a classic. you said I could pick, I picked."

the two spend the day on the couch in their pjs, alternating picks for movies, indulging in various snacks and guilty pleasures, and order a large pizza to split for dinner

jess can't remember the last time she felt so at peace. she was used to everything always being a shitshow, everyone always needing something from her, but all her partner wanted from her was her presence

it made jess feel disgustingly mushy inside, but she found herself looking at her partner instead of the tv and smiling, feeling incredibly lucky to have found someone that genuinely loves her, and cares enough about her to make sure she's taking care of herself

someone to remind her that she's worthy, that she deserves a day off to relax and recharge, that's she's a good person that tries so hard to help people, and overpowers that tiny negative voice in the back of her head with constant words of affirmation

jess feels like she can breathe easier, and even though she isn't a super touchy feely person, she finds herself seeking more of her partner's touch because it makes her feel more at ease

and now that jess has experienced a lazy day with her partner for the first time, she makes it a point to have one together at least once a week if possible, and finds herself looking forward to them like a child looking forward to their birthday