#see him dance to blender!!!!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

xoxoladyaz · 10 months

Text

AU-gust, Day 5: Pet Sitting

“Nope, no way. Absolutely not.”

Six sets of puppy-dog eyes stared back at her. Lucas, the ham, even pretended to start whimpering.

“Stevie, please,” Dustin whined, “Eddie needs a safe place to stay.”

She stared at Dustin for a few seconds before glancing down at the shoebox in Dustin’s hands. Inside the shoebox surrounded by a few of Claudia’s oldest and fuzziest kitchen towels stood a bat, a small black bat with big black eyes that looked almost just as pathetic as the rest of the kids.

(Almost.)

“I’ve done this song and dance with you before, Henderson, and I told you when you got rid of the alien lizard - ”

“D’artagnan was a cryptid, Stevie!”

“ – alien lizard that I wasn’t going to help you keep playing monster vet. I still haven’t recovered from seeing Mews’ corpse!”

“Mews was my cat and I’m fine! Besides, Eddie’s just a normal bat!”

“Dustin, he has a full head of hair!”

Stevie and Dustin stared at each other before looking back down at the bat (Eddie). Who was running his little claws through his hair and preening. (Stevie could have sworn that he winked at her, but she wasn’t crazy; it was definitely just a trick of the light.)

Dustin’s face started to flush like he was going to argue with her but El (sweet, precious El) cut him off before he could really get going. “Stevie’s right. He is not normal,” El said, stepping forward to run her fingers against Eddie’s head. Eddie rubbed up against her fingers and chirped.

“See, I knew it - ”

“But he is a friend,” El said and fuck, the full force of El-most-likely-a-changeling-Hopper’s big brown eyes was something Stevie would probably never learn to resist. “And he needs someone to care for him while he gets better.”

“Better? What do you mean, better?”

“Bad man,” El replied matter-of-factly and, well, shit. She didn’t need to say much more than that.

Stevie sighed and turned her attention back towards the “bat” in question. “How long?”

/////

Just a few weeks, maybe a month or two, Dustin had said. “I would have kept him myself but Mom was worried that he’d eat Tews – ”

(“Oh, and you don’t care if I get eaten?” Stevie had replied. Dustin had just rolled his eyes and ignored her.)

So yeah, two months tops, just until Eddie was “healed” or what not. (He didn’t have any visible injuries that Stevie could see but then again, she was just a cosmetologist, what the fuck did she know about bat anatomy?) Until then, Stevie was going to have a tiny flying roommate who apparently “only likes to listen to metal music, so I’ve brought a few tapes and oh! He loves fantasy so you’ll have to read him this as a bedtime story,” at which point Dustin handed her The Lord of the Rings, “and he gets lonely at night so don’t lock him out, he likes to cuddle, and he should be able to fit in your jacket pocket when you go to work during the day - ”

“No, nope, no way, none of that is happening,” Stevie argued and she really had been planning on sticking to that – no metal music, no bedtime stories, no cuddles, and definitely no work trips, no way, no how.

(She’d folded by hour two of Eddie’s stay at Casa de Harrington.)

/////

“You get this is weird, right?”

“Hmm?” Stevie was cutting apart some strawberries to blend with whatever “protein drink” Dustin kept dropping off at her house. “What’s weird?” She turned to look at Robin, who was watching Eddie shimmy up and down the dining room table to “Rock Me Like a Hurricane.”

“Stevie. This is not normal bat behavior.”

“So? It’s normal Eddie behavior,” Stevie shrugged. She tossed the berries into the blender and, once it was a fine red concoction, put it in a little cup with a little straw and walked over the table. Eddie slid his way across the polished wood and wiggled when he saw her, chittering happily before going to town on his fruit smoothie.

“Yeah, well, this isn’t also normal Stevie behavior!” Robin threw her hands up in the air. “You’re letting a wild animal sleep with you in your bed!”

(She’d tried to encourage Eddie to stay in the guest room that first night all those weeks ago but she’d barely laid in bed for all of two minutes before a dark shape flew through the dark and landed on her chest. She’d screamed and leapt out of the bed but Eddie had somehow managed to grip his claws into her shirt and no amount of arguing with him was able to get him to let go.

“Fine,” she’d finally growled, “but if I roll over and squish you, it’s not my fault.”

When she’d finally woken up the next morning, she was still lying on her back and Eddie was still nestled onto her chest. They’d been going to sleep every night that way ever since.)

“Hey,” Stevie replied defensively, “he’s not a wild animal, he’s totally tame.”

“Uh huh,” Robin replied queasily, watching as Eddie happily slurped up his smoothie. “Just because you play dress-up with him doesn’t mean he’s tame, Stevie.”

The tiny vest was from El and Will, something about how Eddie looked “wrong” without it (whatever that meant. Stevie had to admit it did look really cute on him.)

“He looks adorable, Robin!”

“He’s totally taken over your life,” Robin shot back dramatically. “He goes shopping with you, you take him to work – Stevie, he sits with you when you take bubble baths, for Pete’s sake!”

(Hey, Eddie was a gentleman, he always waited until she was covered by bubbles until coming in and sitting on the little nest of towels she’d made for him on the set of drawers by the bathtub and okay, maybe Robin had a point here.)

“And that’s not to mention that I’ve been trying to get you to read a book for literal years now and this bat shows up and suddenly you’re reading Tolkien to him every night?”

“It’s actually a good book, Robin,” Stevie said defensively.

“I know that, Stevie, I just can’t believe that you’re not seeing this! Like, there are so many red flags! He’s literally drinking blood right now!”

Stevie huffed and leaned over the table, like she was physically covering Eddie from Robin’s criticism. “It’s rude to judge somebody else’s eating habits, Robin. Or did you forget our conversation last month when you tried to go vegetarian?”

“That’s different and you know it!” Robin exclaimed.

Eddie, because he was a little drama king, took the last sip of his smoothie while making eye contact with Robin before letting out an exaggeratedly content sigh.

“See?!”

Stevie rolled her eyes and set her hand down. Eddie scurried onto her palm, letting out a series of happy chirps. She lifted him up and set him on her shoulder where he waddled to her cheek and pressed his little face against it, like he was giving her a little kiss. “You’re being overdramatic, Robin.”

“Fine, whatever, just don’t come crying to me when he makes you his eternal vampire bride or whatever,” Robin huffed before getting up and stalking out of the kitchen.

“He’s just a bat!” Stevie called after her. Robin responded by slamming the front door after he on the way out.

Sighing, Stevie turned to look at Eddie, who was currently making a home for himself in her curls. “You are just a bat, right?”

Eddie turned and shot her a wink before wrapping his little body in one of her ringlets.

“Yeah, that’s probably fine.”

/////

One of the best parts of having Eddie around actually was nighttime. She hadn’t gotten so many nights of uninterrupted sleep in years. He was like some sort of nightmare repellent or something; in fact, the only dreams she’d had recently were of a shrouded figure with long dark hair and a sexy laugh and teasing cool hands and other things –

And when she woke up a month and a half into Eddie’s residency in her home, she probably should have been more shocked at the fact that her bat had turned into a very pale, very sexy and very naked man with long dark hair and cool skin and –

“God, Robin’s never going to let me live this down,” Stevie murmured as the man stirred above her. He opened his eyes and yep, yeah, those were her bat’s eyes.

Eddie’s grin grew sharp as he pressed her further into her bed. “I’m sure I can find some way to make up for it,” he said as he drew close enough to kiss her.

“How do you feel about a Halloween wedding?”

#eddie does make her his eternal vampire bride and robin never lets her live it down #until chrissy does the same to robin that is #steve harrington #eddie munson #steddie #steddie fanfic #female steve harrington #bat eddie munson #absolute nonsense #august fanfic challenge

390 notes · View notes

steddieunderdogfics · 15 days

Text

This week’s writer spotlight feature is: @wynnyfryd! Wynnyfryd has 34 fics in the Stranger Things fandom and all of them are in the Steddie tag!

i don’t know, you figure it out

Plot Holes

biting you biting you biting you- oh! kissing you!

Satanic Ritual: DO NOT WATCH!!

She's got some of the FUNNIEST writing in this fandom, and it's very snappy too like. She's an editing demon for sure, she can take a concept that I'd think would take paragraphs to explain and find the right words to make it hit just as hard with like, two sentences. I also really really love how descriptive her metaphors are, really visceral sometimes, and she's really good at writing realistic life events but still making them fun to read about even when it's about like, devastating shit. The sex she writes is also intense as hell! -- @griefabyss69

Below the cut, @wynnyfryd answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I am but a humble bisexual — I see two beautiful brown-eyed men makin’ beautiful brown eyes at each other, I go a little insane for two years. It is what it is.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

late-night moments of quiet hopeful hesitant intimacy over a shared joint or cigarette. Thin wisp of smoke between them, stars dancing in their eyes. Yeah. YEAHHHHHHH

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

This isn’t really a trope so much as a dynamic, but I love a good dipshit 4 dingus dialogue-heavy scene. Don’t get me wrong, I think Eddie and Steve can both be very smart and knowledgeable in their areas of interest/expertise, but these are two young dudes with no access to the internet. I love letting them be confidently incorrect dumbasses. Just ‘yes and’-ing each other’s stupidity while an exasperated third character begs for mercy.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

Well, this question is impossible and furthermore rude. This question came into my home and didn’t take its muddy boots off. This question never mailed me a thank you letter for my lovely wedding gift. That blender was expensive; the absolute nerve. No but seriously, I think The Lathe by palmviolet is going to stay with me forever.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I’m a big fan of doing canon divergence from different jumping off points — the beauty of having characters live in the same small town their whole lives is that you get so many great opportunities for these “what if our paths crossed sooner” moments. I have some very loose notes for a S3 fic where Eddie is the movie theater employee who finds Steve and Robin in the bathroom after they escape the Russians, and I also have an old WIP set between S1 and S2 where lifeguard Steve rescues Eddie and then spends the summer teaching him how to swim. Would love to revisit those after I finish the trailer park AU (which I will be referring to as TPAU because my fingers are tired and because ‘toilet paper au’ makes me laugh.)

What is your writing process like?

Uhhhhh. 😂 I mean, for TPAU, basically just insert the scene from Dune 2 of Paul’s first sandworm ride: I’m shaking I’m sweating there is sand in my nostrils and I am surely about to die— oh wait, maybe I’ve actually got this? Am I actually doing it? Oh shit, look at me go! For one-shots I like to use a more structured outline and bracket method. I start by dividing my doc into numbered scenes, with each scene getting a notes section and a prose section, like this:

This format gives me a lot of freedom to switch up the order of scenes and to move between scenes so I avoid writer’s block. I can also jump ahead to scenes I really want to write without making a mess of my outline. Once I have something written in the prose section of each scene, I go back and work on replacing each bracket with prose until there are no brackets left. Lastly, I create a new blank doc and copy the prose over in order so I can read the full fic and work on edits from there.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I have been known to abuse a semicolon. And an em dash. And a conjunction at the start of a sentence. Yes, I do have ADHD. I’m also a lyricist, so I feel like my prose tends to stray into poetry territory pretty often.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

When I’m finished! Which is probably why I tend to stick to one-shots; I get impatient and want to post stuff the second it’s ready.

Which fic are you most proud of?

‘i don’t know, you figure it out’ for SURE. I’ve never written a fic this long or stuck to a writing project this consistently in my life. Like ever. The last time I even came close was my first NaNoWriMo when I was 16, which was, uh… years ago, plural, and I’ll leave it at that. 😂

How did you get the idea for i don’t know, you figure it out?

“There’s a dead rat on his doorstep.” That’s it. That first sentence/scene popped into my head while I was bored at work, and then I started thinking, “hey, you know what? I don’t know that anyone’s ever done a fic where Max and Steve trade places for S4; that might be fun.” And then NaNoWriMo was coming up, so I thought it would be cool to try live posting a fully improvised fic every day for a month to see how many words I could write. And then this tragic wet cat version of Steve Harrington grabbed me by the throat and took over my whole life.

When writing Satanic Ritual: DO NOT WATCH!!, what was something you didn’t expect?

How SAPPY these two got!! My god, boys, I’m trying to write smut over here, stop having a beautiful existential crisis! (I blame Briston Maroney for that though lol, I think I listened to ‘Body’ like 1400 times that month.)

What inspired Satanic Ritual: DO NOT WATCH!!?

@inklessletter posted this totally gorgeous art of Steve and Eddie recording themselves kissing, and I promptly lost my mind.

What was your favorite part to write from biting you biting you biting you- oh! kissing you!?

This exchange: Steve: “What? I’m just asking!” Robin: “You’re being embarrassing!” Steve: “No, you’re just embarrassed. There’s a difference.” Like it’s just so them lmao

How do/did you feel writing i don’t know, you figure it out?

You know when you set out on a long hike in the summer and three hours later your calves are screaming and you’re covered in sweat and your sunburn’s starting to itch and this one horse fly won’t fuck off and your cell phone doesn’t even get service out here so literally WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO YOURSELF, and then you climb that last hill and look out on the most beautiful landscape you’ve ever seen in your silly little life? Basically that.

What was the most difficult part of writing Plot Holes?

Ooh, that one was fun! The only real difficulty was trying to keep it to a microfic because the concept could definitely be fleshed out to a full story — @griefabyss69 and I were joking around about “what if someone did ‘plot hole’ for the @steddiemicrofic prompt fill?” and then that fic just fell out of my head in about 15 minutes.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

For sure! I’m currently super proud of the graveyard scene in the most recent update of TPAU — I don’t write true horror often, but I love horror so it was really fun to give it a try! Favorite line from any fic is probably this reference to ‘You’re Divine’ in my fic Monsoon Season because I love uncomfortably-aroused prude Eddie, and his internal monologue cracks me up every time I think about it: Freddie Monsoon’s debut novel is called The Fourth Chime, and it is, as far as Eddie can tell, the first installment in a series of unapologetically filthy fuck fests about a man whose lover gets flung into an alternate dimension during an apocalyptic event and miraculously returns as some sort of… sexy bat-boy with a fucking horse dong and a bite kink. Critics are calling it “the most romantic novel of the last decade.” It’s me; I’m Critics.

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

My main project right now is finishing TPAU if it kills me, but beyond that, I have a few one-shots for @subeddieweek in the works, including a collab with @griefabyss69 that I’m so so SO excited to share. It’s hot, it’s funny, I can’t wait for y’all to read it.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

First of all, as @wormdebut would say: I think you’re pretty. Thank you so much for all your hard work! I love this blog, and I love answering questions <3 Secondly: - Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. - Toss cubed sweet potatoes and parsnips, sliced sweet onion, and fresh garlic in a mix of olive oil, salt, pepper, and rosemary, and then spread in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet. - Bake for ~40-45 minutes. (Potatoes and parsnips should be soft without being mushy when you poke them with a fork.) - Prep your sauce: I made a dijon drizzle situation by mixing olive oil mayo, a dash of dijon mustard, lemon juice, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and a splash of water, but you could also add a little dab of hot sauce, bbq sauce, or different mustards. Basically just grab like four condiments out of your fridge and play around with the flavors you like until you make a mix that’s thin enough to pour. - Drizzle roasted veggies with sauce. - Enjoy a very tasty side dish (or do what I did and eat the whole sheet as a meal like some sort of parsnip goblin because you were too lazy to make the main dish after chopping all those veggies) okay thank you love you byeeeee

Thank you to our author, @wynnyfryd, and our nominator, @griefabyss69! See more of Wynnyfryd's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

#writer's spotlight #steddie #steddie fic recs #steve harrington #eddie munson #steve x eddie #stranger things #ao3 writer #steddie writers #writer's wednesday

132 notes · View notes

elcpsstuff · 8 months

Text

Pomegranate Margaritas // Conrad Fisher

Synopsis: It’s the Fourth Of July and yn gets a little too drunk on pomegranate margaritas

Warnings: drinking, Nicole being slightly jealous, yn is down bad for conrad ;), slight belly/jeremiah. slowly gets into the story but hang in there!

a/n: hey alll!! It still feels weird that my conrad story is over what??? anyways enjoy this little thing that has been swirling in the drafts :)

—

The fourth of July in Cousins was like no other. Susannah would always deck the house out with decorations and you and Belly would gush about the boys. It was always the same. This summer was different though.

You and your younger sister Belly, had friends. Being in the deb ball had its perks, as the debs would be coming over later in the day and now you finally could shove it in Steven’s face.

Things may be changing, but one thing didn’t. Your love for Conrad Fisher.

Conrad was always an enigma to you. All these years you two had been close but this summer he was different, more closed off. You wondered if you did something but found a little comfort in knowing he was being like this to everyone.

Everybody knew about your little crush on Conrad, (which wasn’t so little anymore) from the time you were kids and you were pretty sure Conrad knew it too. The only person you confided in was Belly like she confided in you about her crush on the youngest Fisher, Jeremiah.

Steven would always make jokes growing up about how Conrad was your Prince Charming and how you were into older guys, even though Conrad was only a year older. It would always bother you but you didn’t say anything.

After all, he didn’t feel the same way, right?

After changing and saying hello to your dad who brought his new young girlfriend, the debs arrived.

Everyone seemed to be doing something except for you. Gigi was warming up to Susannah, Steven was talking to Shayla and your mom and dad, and of course, Conrad was in the pool literally smelling Nicole.

There were moments this summer you thought he could like you back, but it was always swept away when Nicole would come back.

You groaned and grabbed the nearest drink, which was punch that you now wished had alcohol in it. Downing it quick you noticed a figure looming over you. It was Belly.

“Mind if I sit?” You nodded and she quickly took her seat next to you. She looked just as drained and board as you did. “What’s going on with you?”

You shrug, “Don’t know, just.. bored.” Your eyes linger to Conrad again and this time Belly takes note with a small grin appearing on her face.

“You’re staring.”

“Am not.”

“I wouldn’t blame you.” You smack Belly’s shoulder and she winces lightly while laughing.

“Well, Gigi is being productive.” You point to her and Susannah who are mingling about who knows what and you don’t even have to look to see the red on Belly’s face.

“Do you think.. I don’t know Jere would date her?”

You snort, “Gigi? No way. Come on Belly you know this.”

Belly shrugs, leaving you now with a laugh on your lips, “Belly, stop dancing around the premise of you and Jeremiah and go for him, he likes you you know.” A smile takes over Belly’s face.

15 minutes later you and the rest of the group decided to head down to the beach. Victoria had just taught you, Belly and Jere about Pomegranate Margaritas and you were immediately hooked. Conrad had even helped out giving you occasional glances but it stopped when Mr. Fisher walked in.

You and Belly carried two blenders full of the drink, getting a little bit carried away and handing everyone some. When you gave Conrad a cup, his hand brushed yours, making you blush. Nicole took note.

“Here you go.” You said to him, sending him a small smile.

Everybody except for you (and kind of Jeremiah?) had a date because eventually Cam showed up for Belly. You didn’t miss how Belly eyed Jeremiah and Gigi.

“You know what we should do? We should- we should play a drinking game!” The youngest girl Belly said flustered. Jeremiah then leaned over and tucked a hair out of her face, “sounds good to me.”

At least it’s going good for her.

You didn’t miss how Nicole would touch Conrad and your heart ached because you wished it was you. Your whole life you wanted to touch Conrad like that but now that you were older your touching feelings had.. developed to say the least.

You were 7 margaritas and a straight vodka shot in, and you were pretty drunk now. Steven always joked that you were a lightweight but that predicament didn’t matter anymore because you were very drunk. And when you were drunk nobody could stop you from speaking.

“Okay okay! We..” You begin to trail off, but then remember what you were about to say, “We should play truth or dare!”

Everyone agrees and you all begin going around the circle until it’s Nicole’s turn to ask. She turns to face you and you gulp down your last bit of the 8th margarita you were on.

“yn, truth or dare?”

You think for a moment, “Uh.. truth!”

Nicole looks around the group, clearly thinking of a good truth to ask and you hope it’s not something too harsh. You were always way to truthful when drunk.

Nicole then turns to face you, “Who’s hotter, Conrad or Jeremiah?”

Your face goes red. This was the worst question she could’ve asked but you can’t help and feel Conrad’s eyes burn into yours. The answer was obvious, to you at least.

“Uhm, well!” You stand up, remnants of your drink spilling into the sand. “I’ll give you an essay on that.”

“Please don’t.” Steven groans.

“no, no no. I want to!” You look at Jeremiah and smirk, “Listen Jere I um- You’re hot. Like blue eyes hot, holy I could get lost in those.. but,” You turn to look at Conrad who looks like he could break any minute.

“Conrad, I could go on and on about. The way his hair flops in his face, his dark blue eyes.. the way his smile could just.. I don’t know, you know? His.. his ability to be good at literally everything still amazes me, how can you not be in love with that?”

Your met with a angry Nicole who is burning holes through your eyes and that’s when realization seeps in. You just confessed your love for Conrad in front of everyone. You had imagined this many times in your head but never like this.

When you look at Conrad, his face is red. Just red. Guilt fills your lungs and takes you over like a tidal wave.

Shayla stands up and walks over to you, her hand on the small of your back. “Hey, let’s um.. let’s get you some water okay?” She looks at Steven and he nods, signaling to take you to the house. Everybody stands with amused faces and in this moment invisibility is your top choice.

Conrad won’t even look at you.

What the fuck had you just done?

—

It was late now, and according to your dad Belly had tripped on accident and Susannah’s cake stand went flying everywhere.

Laurel had just gotten back from wherever she came from you and were almost positive she got railed but you were silent since you had pushed your luck with the margaritas.

Now, you walked outside and felt the breeze hit your face. Your thoughts swarmed up as you saw the eldest fisher down by the docks.

You decided to walk up to him against all of your better and sound judgment.

“Hey..” You said, leaning against the wooden railing.

A smile pierces Conrads face, “Feeling better?”

“Not really..” You respond brutally. Conrad inches closer to you and then uses his finger to trace shapes on the dock railing. He was nervous.

You decided to break the silence, “Conrad, I’m—”

“It’s okay, yn.”

“No, no it’s not. I said— some stupid things okay? I get it, you, you probably hate me because I embarrassed you back at the beach but.. I can’t take it back now so..” You trail off as words begin to fail you.

Conrad then reaches forward and intertwines your fingers together with his own, making your heart skip a beat. “You never told me that.”

You raise your eyebrows, “What?”

“That you love me.”

“I— Um.. It wasn’t something easy to say..” Conrad rubs your thumb and your breath hitches a little. You need to get it out now.

“I’ve loved you since we were kids, Conrad.”

Conrad stays there, afloat and for a second you thought he was going to pass out.

“Well.. um.. yeah.” You stammer, regretting another decision for the 100th time tonight.

Conrad then leans in, bringing his lips to yours. The kiss is sweet, everything you had envisioned with Conrad. You kiss for a couple more seconds before a firework goes off, surprising you both. Your hands are still intertwined.

Conrad chuckles nervously, “Sorry.. my hands sweating.”

You faintly whisper, “No no.. this is uh.. it’s perfect.”

A grin then encompasses Conrad’s face, “You should drink pomegranate margaritas more often, then.”

—

Hey allll! that was it. I know it’s kinda shitty but there are literally no more new conrad fics coming out and I don’t know if i’ll be able to survive now until s3. Hope u liked it :))

#the summer i turned pretty #conrad fisher #jeremiah fisher #team conrad #belly conklin #conrad x reader #team jeremiah #tsitp #love #summer love #conrad fisher fanfic

290 notes · View notes

spicerackofblorbos · 3 months

Text

Chapter 1: November

☾ Pairings ➼ Levi Ackerman x fem!mute!Reader (she/her pronouns), set in a modern semi-fictional world

☾ Summary ➼ Due to childhood trauma, you find yourself an adult without the ability to speak. After years of working on it, you have found ways to live without a voice. Now here in your late 20s, you are 5 months in getting used to a new town. On a fateful day in late November, you and your adopted sister visit a local bookstore-café, unaware of the friendships about to blossom. Throughout the months, one friendship in particular develops into something more.

☾ Content/Warnings ➼ fluff, slowburn, oblivious feelings, angst, mention of minor character deaths, trauma, illness, adoption, mentions of fire, disabilities, alcohol use, very light nsfw mentions, eventual smut (these update with every chapter)

☾ Author's note ➼ Hey guys! This is my first time writing fanfiction in a loooooong time, like the last time I wrote was probably in 2011. So with that said please be kind with any feedback or comments. I hope you enjoy! (also I made Hange's pronouns she/her/them/they)

Edit (11/27/2023): Hey guys, welcome to my little world of Unspoken Words. I have quite literally used this story as a way to better myself as a writer. As you read on, you may find that I've progressed (ofc I have a long way to go) but because of that, my first few chapters might be rough. With your patience, you may find a liking to this story as I know I've loved writing every word of it.

☾ word count ➼ ~7.1k

20-something years ago

You’re not sure how, but you find yourself sitting in the back of a big, white van. Red and blue lights danced in your eyes, and it felt like a thousand people surrounded you. Something plastic is placed on your face then you are instructed to breathe in deeply. You thought it was funny to be told to breathe, like you don’t just do it naturally, but you follow instructions regardless. It’s hard though, every part of your body hurts, chest included. Every breath you take feels like your insides are on fire.

‘Fire’, you think.

Everything is on fire.

Present Day

Levi stood blank faced as he meticulously cleaned the blender station for what felt like the 100th time today. The late afternoon rush had just tapered down so he took advantage of the next to empty café to clean as much as he could before closing for the evening.

“It’s 20 degrees outside, how are people still wanting frozen drinks.” he murmurs to himself, placing the blender back in its spot. Levi turns to the front counter and slings the towel he was using to dry things onto his shoulder.

His best friend, roommate, and business partner could be seen restocking some books on tall shelves, a gentle smile lighting up his boyish features. It’s been about a year and a half since they started this business venture together and they had no idea at the time how successful their bookstore-café combo would be in this small town.

Erwin’s thirst for knowledge kept their shelves as variable as ever while Levi’s love for perfecting the art of tea kept the drinks flowing. The problem, however, was Levi’s lack of people skills. He was seldom seen at the register, nor would you ever see him smile or talk to the customers. He often would leave you with a grunt and a swift turn after handing off the drinks.

No, for that, they had hired a couple of local highschoolers to do the facing work.

“Mr. Smith, Levi?” a soft voice rang out to the left of him. Levi shifted his attention to a taller girl with shoulder length raven hair standing next to him. Being as Mikasa is his cousin, they found early on how weird it was to be called ‘Mr. Ackerman’ as they shared the same surname. It was this connection too that got them to where they are today.

“Would it be okay if Eren and I take off a little early tonight? We have some big tests coming up and we’d like to take some extra time to study.” Mikasa shifted her dark eyes to the darkening windows as the sun set just over the horizon. Pinks and oranges flooded the partially clouded skies.

”Tch.” Levi could not help but roll his eyes. He raised a brow at her and leaned back against the counter behind him for support. “Sure, I guess,” he continues. “But do you really need it or is it for that blockhead?”

As if summoned by his words, Eren comes up from behind Mikasa and wraps a red scarf around his girlfriend’s neck, both of their jackets hanging off one of his arms. Eren is a good kid, always on time and followed directions, but the amount of sass he held in his body was something else. Levi and Erwin did not mind though, as he added a certain energy in the café that the customers seemed to enjoy. The two men wouldn’t say it out loud, but they really appreciated having them both on the team.

“Hey, I heard that. And yes, I need to study desperately. Econ is so hard and for what?!” Eren’s teal eyes widened for emphasis. To add to it he even put on a fake pout.

“I-”

“Just take the trash with you on the way out and you’re good to go.” Erwin piped up from behind a bookshelf.

Mikasa nodded in acknowledgement towards the voice, a silent thank you. Like Levi, she was not one for many words. He once thought it was an Ackerman thing but then he thought back to his annoying uncle and changed his mind quickly.

With that, she and Eren both untangled the aprons from their bodies, grabbed their belongings, and picked up the trash bags that were already taken out of the cans. They opted to leave through the back since the dumpsters were located that way. Again, Levi wouldn’t say it to anyone out loud, but he really did like those kids.

Erwin could be heard stacking more books into the shelves which left Levi to polish the counters again. It was the last hour before they closed so it stayed quiet for the most part, only interrupted by the sounds of scuffling shoes and books being placed on hard surfaces. Light jazz filled the rest of the silence. Then the bell signifying new customers rang from the front.

“Levi, can you grab that?”

The raven-haired man just huffed in response then stepped over to the register. His eyes fell on two figures right in front of him. A frazzled brunette and... you.

Due to the season, you are bundled up in a thick parka and knitted beanie. A big scarf wraps around your neck and face so that all Levi could see is your flushed cheeks and thick lashed eyes. Truthfully, you reminded him of a marshmallow.

“What’ll it be?” he asks, deadpan. The brunette is the one to respond, the voice loud enough to make him wince.

“Hmmm... well one English breakfast tea latte with lots of room for sugar aaaaand I’ll take a peppermint hot chocolate. Oh, and extra whip! We’ll drink it here.” She fished out a card with a dramatic thwip and handed it to Levi’s outstretched hand. Their café is one of those where if you were to stay, they offered washable cup ware as to keep the prices down on disposable cups. Not to mention the lessened ‘environmental impact’ as Erwin would say.

Levi glances at you before turning to make both orders. You give a small wave and smile a little, but he was already working quickly on the drinks.

He went into autopilot as he steeped the tea and steamed the milk. He really appreciated customers that ordered anything outside of coffee, especially when it came to tea. It’s not that he hated coffee, though it’s not like he liked it either, but it just wasn’t his thing. Coffee offered a different kind of bitterness that he wasn’t very fond of. With extra whipped cream in one and extra space in the other, he whirled around to place the drinks on the counter.

The one with glasses is the one that picks them up and they promptly walk in the direction of where you currently sit, one of the tables in the back corner by the window. You were stripped of your big parka and scarf, though the beanie stayed. Your eyes were wandering around the café in wonder, and Levi was pretty sure this had to be your first time here. But truthfully, he wouldn’t know, he didn’t make it his business to know his customers. That was Erwin’s and the kids’ job.

“The shelves are full and I’m exhausted.” Erwin came around the counter with a couple of empty boxes in his arms, heading straight for the back to the dumpster. Levi stepped back and leaned against the counter once again, his own black tea that had steeped while making yours cradled in his fingertips. He kept looking at his only customers while he sipped the black liquid. The teacup almost slipped out of his grip as he saw you dumping a large amount of sugar into your cup.

There you sit, extremely focused on the cup in front of you and lips pressed together tightly, almost as if you were afraid you’d put in too much. The sight would have been funny if you hadn’t just ruined your entire tea, he thinks to himself. You smile to yourself in satisfaction and put the sugar jar back where it came from. While you stir the sweetener in gently, the brunette in front of you talks animatedly. Hands were flying everywhere, and Levi could practically feel the energy radiating from the corner of the room. You were doing the same, silently laughing.

Suddenly the front door flew open, the bell ringing loudly with it. Levi grits his teeth, steeling himself for yet another customer interaction. But his shoulders dropped in relief at the sight of only Carly, Erwin’s girlfriend. She saunters up to the counter with a big smile aimed towards Levi and without even asking she slid behind the bar. Erwin had already made it from the back and was in the process of putting away the leftover ingredients from the day. Carly wraps her arms around her boyfriend and plants a big kiss on his face, to which Levi quickly looks away. It wasn’t weird for her to come in right as they were about to close.

What was weird, he thought, was the shock that flooded your face as you eyed the very public display of affection. Levi knit his brows in confusion as the brunette pivoted in her seat to see what you were staring at. Their face fell, any evidence of a good time completely erased.

“Carly?”

The person in question whipped around so fast at the voice and the panic that exuded from her was palpable. She quickly unwrapped herself from Erwin’s embrace.

“Hange.”

If it wasn’t for the jazz in the background, the lengthy silence that followed would have been deathly.

Carly clears her throat and laughs awkwardly.

“Uh, why are you here?”

The person named Hange just lifts their hot chocolate cup awkwardly, not really saying anything. Their eyes shift between Carly and Erwin, clearly understanding what had happened.

“I-I’m sorry, you guys know each other?” Erwin sounds cautious, like he already knew the answer. Of course, he would, he isn’t dumb. His piercing blue eyes survey the situation, going back and forth between the two.

“Well, uh. I-” Carly stutters, clearly at a loss of what to say in the predicament she found herself in.

“She’s my girlfriend.” Hange claims calmly.

This admission makes Erwin sigh heavily, confirming what he had pieced together. Levi stared at him in bewilderment as the man just chuckled quietly.

“Well. I suppose that’s it then.” And with that he turns on his heel and stalks off to the back room.

“Wait, Erwin I can explain!” She follows right on his heels and disappears into the back room as well. A minute later you can hear hysterical crying and calm retorts reverberating from the back. If Levi could shrink into the cabinets to get out of this situation, he would. Instead, he focuses on the other party who were having a very quiet and rushed discussion. Well, a one-sided discussion, as he only heard one voice.

Levi, realizing it was almost time to close anyways, rushes to close the distance between him and the front door. He really did not want to have to deal with other customers while the drama unfurled. So, he flips the door sign to ‘Closed’ and unplugs the ‘Open’ neon sign hanging in the window. A couple walks by about to open the door, probably out for a café date from the looks of it. But they were only met with a dead stare from the sharpest eyes they’d ever seen. With that, they briskly turned around and left down the sidewalk.

Levi spins around and from here he gets a better look at the two trapped customers. You were moving your hands all over the place like you were earlier. But with an even closer look he realizes you weren’t just talking animatedly with your hands; you were talking with them. You were signing.

You reacted to your partner’s conversation just fine, so it was clear you had some sort of hearing. Your scarf now hung loose around your shoulders, and it looked like you had tears brimming in your eyes. Levi swiftly walks back to the counter; this is obviously not a conversation he needed to be a part of.

“Hey, don’t worry about me. It’s only been a couple of months. Really, it’s better to find out now than 3 years from now.” They laughed without humor. You know when Hange was saving face for your sake, she was never as sly as she thought she was.

‘You don’t need to be strong right now.’ You sign then reach your hand out to touch her cheek softly. Physical touch had become your second language early on, if only to emphasize. Fortunately, Hange was okay with that and often embraced it with open arms.

“I know, my little strawberry. I just need some time to process everything.” They pat you on the head lightly with a small grin. You swat their hands, blushing at the nickname you were so graciously given so many years ago. But you nod back, knowing they would not change their mind.

The tall blonde glides through the back door, alone. His face was grim as he tugged loose the tie around his neck.

“Hange, was it?” He started walking towards you and your very startled sister.

“U-uh yeah. That’s my name! Listen I had no idea, I’m so sorry. I would have said something obviously but-”, they take a deep breath. “I’m sorry. What’s your name again?”

“Erwin Smith. There is nothing to apologize for as I can only assume there’s only one blame to be given. I hate that we must meet under such a circumstance, but it is truly nice to meet you.” He raises a hand waiting for a handshake.

Hange takes it after a second of processing, shaking the hand vigorously with both hands.

“Well, unfortunately it is what it is. I’m sure Carly and I will be speaking soon. I’m assuming she’s not just hiding back there.” They flick their gaze to the back door he had just come through.

“Ah well, yes. Long gone... how long were you two...?”

“Only like, 3 months or so. You?”

He flinched at that and murmured, “3 Years.”

Thinking back to her comment not 10 minutes ago, Hange bit their cheek.

“Oh man I’m so sorry.”

“No, please. It’s alright. None of this is yours or my fault. We couldn’t have known, but now we do.” Erwin chuckled to himself. You wonder if he’s trying to save face the way your sister did. His gaze now shifts to you. He is a very handsome man. To your extreme surprise, he starts signing to you.

‘I'm sorry, who might you be? I noticed you signing earlier. I know a little from the books I have read.’ His crystal blue eyes sparkle at you as he signs. You can’t help but break out into a huge grin. You sign your name back and compliment him on his raw signing form.

‘I am of hearing, though. So please feel free to talk, and I will sign back.’ You clarify to Erwin, the smile not falling from your face.

“That sounds like a plan. Levi, stop hiding behind the counter and come say hi.” Erwin calls out, not bothering to look over his shoulder. You hear a grunt in response and not 10 seconds later, the barista stands cross armed next Erwin. He nods a hello to each of you.

You knew he was shorter than you, at least a couple inches, based off the interaction at the counter earlier. But seeing him side by side with his friend was almost comical. But as short stature as he was, it did not keep him from holding himself with such authority. It made you nervous.

‘Thank you for the tea, it was very good.’ You sign, your sister translating in real time for you.

“Tch, are you sure? I saw you dump enough sugar in it to make it syrup.” Levi retorts dryly.

That makes you smile sheepishly. His fixated stare unnerved you a little, but you stare back regardless. Now that he was closer, a glass case no longer between the both of you, your eyes traveled along his face in close inspection.

He’s beautiful, you think to yourself. His features are sharp and angled. Steely gray eyes pronounced a permanent exhausted look. It was a shade of gray you’ve never seen before, and they were mesmerizing. As if he could feel you staring holes in his face, he flicks his eyes to the side, clearly uncomfortable. But you can’t help it, because really the most intriguing thing about him was not his metallic eyes. It was the scars that marred his porcelain skin.

A couple of scars ran down the right side of his face. The prominent of the two trailed from the top right of his forehead all the way down to his chin, cutting into his right eye and both lips. You’re pretty sure his eye was quite damaged due to the slight muted discoloration of the eye color.

He’s beautiful, you repeat to yourself. You glance over to Hange, and they just look over at you with a knowing look. You know she was just begging to ask Levi too, but she just shakes her head. So, you fold your hands together and pinch your lips together.

“Well!” Hange yells out, breaking the silence. “This human really needs a drink. Let’s all go! Erwin, I demand you let me treat you to a couple drinks!” She wraps an arm around your shoulders and laughs.

“A drink sounds fantastic; I will gladly take you up on that offer. Let me just close up rea-” He’s cut off by Levi raising both of his hands up in protest. You notice the two missing fingers on his right hand. The pointer and middle were gone. Whatever this man went through, you just had to know. But you toss those questions onto an ever-growing pile and bite your cheek.

“Erwin, I can close up. You go ahead.” Your sister just smiles widely and practically jumped up and down. The blonde man just clapped his hand Levi’s shoulder and smiled at him.

“Thank you. You’ll join us after? The usual place?” Levi just shrugs his shoulders in response.

Part of you hoped he would. You couldn’t place a singular reason why though.

Fifteen minutes later, the three of you found yourselves in a well-lit and very crowded bar. Somehow Erwin had snagged a table near the back wall. Heavy rock blares loudly from a live band maybe 20 feet away. Overwhelming was an understatement, but you grit your teeth and sit down on one of the stools.

“Whatcha want, my darlings?!” Hange yells over the music, slapping both hands down on the table and staring at the both of you.

“Whiskey neat, whatever they offer is fine.”

You sign the words ‘apple’ and ‘juice’ followed by a ‘thank you’. You’ve never been one for a drink. While it was tolerable to be around, you’d rather not have to taste it if you could help it.

Looking around, you see all manners of people surrounding you. Something about it makes your stomach turn but you shift in your seat to quell it down. You’re sure it’s only so crowded because of the prospect of a Friday night and the promise of no plans the following day. The town of Jinae was not anything special, but it was quaint. You and your sister found out quickly it was a place where everyone knew mostly everyone. After only settling down here from your hometown 5 months ago, you were still learning of all the local spots.

From the looks of it, this bar was one of those. “The Scouts” was an inviting place, decorated with dark greens and wood tones. The walls were littered with many frames of a lot of different people. You imagine it might have been local residents in various locations of the town. All of the wood was worn down, so it was clear this place has been in business for a while. A neon sign hangs above the stage where the live band played, something that resembled blue and white wings. It makes you wonder what the significance is.

Your thoughts are disturbed as a glass is placed in front of you. Realizing the dryness in your throat, you pick up the glass and take a big swig of the amber liquid. You’re met with a burning sensation, and you gag. This alerts Hange of the unfortunate mistake.

“Ah I’m sorry my little strawberry!! They do look quite similar though, don’t they?” They switch the glasses quickly and laugh. You notice the very noticeable cup size differences between the two and you stare at her quizzically. “I may have taken a shot while at the bar, sorry.” she adds on. It makes you shake your head, but you grab her hand reassuringly and chuckle.

‘I’m sorry.’ You sign at Erwin, and he just smiles back.

“Not a problem. But I have to ask, how was it?” A bushy eyebrow raises at you in amusement.

You just stick your tongue out and make a gagging gesture at him. You laugh though, not really upset.

Two apple juices in, the live band ends. Hange and Erwin are very deep in conversation, which you suspect might be about Carly. You can’t really hear what’s being said though. With the absence of music, chatter quickly fills the air. Honestly it was really starting to get to you. So, after tapping on the pair’s shoulders and signing where you were going, you find yourself leaning over the guard rail just outside the bar’s door.

The sun was already far gone. A crescent moon sits high in the sky and a smatter of stars surrounds it. The cold air felt very welcome on your very flushed face. You exhale a big sigh, which garners a puff of steam. It makes you laugh so you do it again. Then you start to wonder how long you might be able to last out here before getting frostbite when suddenly a body starts leaning against the rail next to you.

With a start, you whip your head to face the newcomer. Instantly you relax at the sight of Erwin’s friend. He was adorned in a big peacoat and his casual slacks. A tan turtleneck sweater peaks out from the jacket’s collar. His face was flushed as well, no doubt from the cold.

Levi.

He wasn’t paying you any mind though, instead his gaze laid upon the sky above, at the stars. You wave at him anyways and offer a small smile. He glances at you with a side eye and returns a curt nod.

Not one for words.

So, you both stand there in silence, staring up at the twinkling lights above. It wasn’t uncomfortable in the slightest. Something about his presence radiated a sort of calm, and you were happy to bask in it.

After a few minutes, he shifts his weight in your direction, so you face him. He’s staring up at you and it makes you swallow hard. His eyes glowed silver from the moonlight. Truly you have never been this fascinated with a person until now.

“You like the stars.” It wasn’t a question, more like a statement.

You nod in agreement, smiling to emphasize your love for them. He purses his lips at that. It seemed as if he wanted to say something else to that, but nothing came out. It just makes you frown a bit. You just have more questions that keep piling up. Everything about him just emanated mystery and it made you want to know all about him.

‘Are you okay?’ You sign to him, exaggerating your frown to show your concern. You’re only met with a look of confusion. You forget that he does not know much if any sign. And you kick yourself for leaving your communication tools at home. To be fair though, this is not where you expected to be tonight.

You then get an idea to use your phone to type to him but before you even reach into your pocket, you’re interrupted by a sudden blast of warm air as a couple stumbles out of the bar, both in a giggling fit as they cling to each other. They take off down the road, laughing even harder. The brief warm air makes you shiver, reminding you of the cold outside.

As if thinking the same thing, Levi catches the door before it closes and holds it open for the both of you. You’re suddenly well aware of the very loud singing happening from within and your eyes widen at the familiarity of one of the voices. You and Levi make your way to the voices and are greeted with the sight of Erwin and Hange duetting a Backstreet Boys song.

What a sight it was. The tall brunette, face flushed and glasses askew, had their arm around Erwin. He his blonde hair was quite tousled, and he looked like he was having the time of his life. They both swayed together as they belted out the lyrics. As if their smiles were contagious, you felt yourself grin. It was kind of cute. So, you pull out your phone and snap a quick picture, sure to show Hange in the morning. It was a good thing too, because the song ends right as you put your phone away in your bag. Levi clicks his tongue and huffs. You glance over at the noise and notice a small upturn to the corner of his scarred mouth. Noticing your gaze, his face vacates itself from any emotion as he stares back ahead.

“Oi! Eyebrows!” He calls out to his friend. Levi starts making his way to the stage, walking with a slight limp. Yet another question to add onto the pile. “I’m gone for 45 minutes and you’re already singing.”

“I’m fine! Just a couple drinks in.”

You all make your way to the table you had laid claim to earlier. You survey the table and count at least 6 more glasses, not counting your two. It was hard to see who drank what.

‘Are you okay?’ You sign to your sister, concern etched on your face. They just nod lazily and give a thumbs up with both hands. Levi is regarding you with a look of understanding, and it seems he realized that you had asked him outside. Music starts playing over the speakers again, and people start making their way to the dance floor. Hange squeals and downs the rest of her drink quickly.

“Erwin let’s go!” She grabs his arm, not waiting for a response. He gives a mock salute to the two of you and follows without question. Levi just clicks his tongue again and heads to the bar to get himself something. So, you plop yourself down on the stool and stare out into the room. Out of nervous habit you start fidgeting with the napkins in front of you. A moment later, Levi’s hobbling over with a tray of drinks.

“I got the idiots some water, they look like they need it.” He places the glasses down with a thud, including one of his own housing some sort of caramel liquid. Then he’s sliding something over to you and you’re about to protest that you don’t drink but you realize it’s not a glass. It’s a notepad and pen.

“If you need something, this might come in handy.” is all he says.

You’re quick to show your appreciation with a bright smile. You also note to yourself that you could have very well have used your phone to communicate but you were not one to disregard someone’s thoughtfulness. It makes something bloom in your chest, warm and comforting.

Your many years of not having a phone of course meant writing – a lot. Your handwriting evolved plenty with time so that meant it was extremely neat. It had to have been so that the reader would be able to read it without an issue.

First you write your name, as you realize no one had really said it out loud while at the teashop. Following that you add ‘I think your shop is wonderful, and I really did enjoy the tea you made.’ You also want to jot down the questions from earlier that were still swimming in your mind, but you hold yourself back. You tell yourself maybe later, granted if there would even be a later.

When angling the paper so he could see it, his eyes flit across the words quickly and you’re given a grunt in acknowledgement. Pulling back the notepad, you bite the inside of your cheek. While it wasn’t awkward being next to him, he sure made it hard to talk to. His cold demeanor gave you the feeling he wasn’t the type to talk about himself, especially with someone he just met. So, asking questions about him or his life was out the window. Likewise, he did not really seem interested in hearing your life story, not like you were planning to spill it anyways for fear of being met with disdain. You had plenty of experiences with that growing up.

Tapping the pen against your chin, your eyes drift around the bar room. There a multitude of people lingering about, shouting over each other to be heard. A couple sits in a corner, whispering who knows what to each other. Both of their cheeks are flushed and eyes heavy with lust. A handful of people are on the dance floor grinding away, your sister and new friend sticking out like a sore thumb as they dance with reckless abandon. All of this gave you an idea, remembering something you’ve read before many moons ago. You start scrawling on the paper again.

‘Are you a gambling man, Levi?’

You shift the pad back over to him and he glances down again after taking another sip of his spirit. He was holding his glass in a way you’d never seen before and honestly it was a little weird.

“Tch, hardly. Why do you ask?” He looks hard at you as you scratch something else down.

‘I propose a game to pass the time. Let’s make some bets about the random people in this room.’

He looks at you incredulously. You stand your ground, not averting your gaze even a little. When you don’t back down, he just scoffs and shakes his head at you.

“I literally could not care less about these people,” he clicks his tongue. “But I suppose there’s not much else to do so I’ll bite.” Knocking back the rest of his drink, he moves around you to lean back against the wall so that he is facing the rest of the crowd. You shift so that you are doing the same. You don’t overlook the proximity to the shorter man, nor the fact that your arms are almost touching. You start to scribble once more.

‘Winner gets to ask the loser one question.’ As his eyes fall on your words, he seems a little taken aback. Levi seems to think for a moment, like he’s weighing his pros and cons.

“One non-personal question.” He amends. You both nod in agreement. So, your eyes travel around the room, looking for your first target. It falls on a group not so far away.

‘I bet that gaggle of young girls over there are here for a bridal party.’

You point in the direction of the said group. Currently they were taking tequila shots, lime and all. All of them sparkled and were dressed up to the nines, save for the silly little hats adorning their heads. And they were having so much fun.

“No way,” Levi scoffs, “That has to be a 21st birthday. They all look like babies.”

Suddenly someone comes through a parting in the crowd with a tray of assorted colorful drinks garnished with cute little accessories. They all yell in excitement at the sight. One of the girls raises her glass and starts shouting.

“To Estelle! May your married life be full of infinite love, happiness, and orgasms!” They all cheer and take big gulps of their drinks, followed by more giggling.

Levi glances art you, his gray eyes dull in the dim bar light. An eyebrow lifts at you as well.

“How did you know?”

You do a sweeping gesture starting from one shoulder down to the opposite hip. He looks back over to the women and conveniently the soon-to-be-bride had faced your direction. She was indeed wearing a white sash sporting the word ‘BRIDE’ in bright pink letters. He huffs as he rolls his eyes, and you smirk at him in return. You press the pad over to him, already equipped with your question.

Levi scoffs at your question. As promised, it wasn’t very personal. You figured ice breaker like questions were a good start. But his pause made you question if this was a good idea, you didn’t want to run him off or make him uncomfortable. Then he clicks his tongue, and his face softens ever so slightly.

“My favorite hobby, huh? It would have to be cleaning.” He simply states.

Cleaning?

‘Like mopping, dusting, all that jazz?’

“Yeah, it brings me peace. I like the control. Plus, I can't stand filthy things, people, or places. It’s repugnant.” He scrunches his nose at the last statement. A laugh bubbles up and you can’t help but let it loose. You’re shot with a glare and a sharp tone.

“Funny?”

You shake your head no and smile lightly while your hands move adeptly on the pad.

‘Not funny, just amusing because it’s not something I would have expected. It’s different. If it makes you happy then it is an admirable hobby.’

Levi’s looking away from you now. If it wasn’t so dim, you would have seen there was a light dusting of pink color his cheeks and ears. He clears his throat and scans the room for his victim. His eyes land on the couple in the back corner whispering to each other. He notices their not-so-subtle hand movements as they felt each other up. Nodding in their direction, he looks back over to you, leaning close so you can hear.

“I bet that couple will get up in the next 3 minutes and excuse themselves to somewhere private.” Your eyes travel in that direction, only to look away hastily at such an intimate scene. You’re not able to think of a counter-bet because honestly, you’re thinking the same thing. Your eyes settle back to his face, but he’s already looking back at the couple. If he noticed you staring, he didn’t say. Suddenly his face is filled with a satisfied look, only to be replaced quickly with a look of horror. You follow his gaze again, afraid of what you might see.

Fortunately, it’s nothing risqué, as you catch the tail end of the couple slipping into one of the public, unmarked restrooms. But the thought of their future actions was enough to gross you out. Looking back at Levi, you scrunch your face up in disgust. He nods in understanding.

“This is why we don’t use public restrooms, especially in a bar.” He pinches the bridge of his nose with his good hand. “When I said somewhere private, I meant like a residence or something. Filthy animals, unbelievable. They better scrub that bathroom down. Maybe I should tell the bartender when they’re done. Maybe I should help clean.”

His retorts crack you up, your shoulders bouncing from silent laughter. He just stares at you impassively as he runs his fingers through his hair to get it out of his face.

“Well, it’s not like we should ruin their fun. Anyways I suppose I won. Let’s see... what’s your favorite color?”

You part your lips, dumbfounded. This was never an easy question, as you found joy in a lot of different colors. You bite your lip and start writing, but after a couple minutes Levi rips the pad from your hands out of impatience.

salmon

turquoise?

canary yellow!

orange

dark forest gre-

He just looks at you in alarm.

“Just pick one.” he scolds.

You snatch the pad back and scribble down, ‘It’s not that simple!’

“It is to me. White, easy.” You just stare right back at him, not believing what you just heard. Out of all the many shades and hues out there, this man decides the color white.

‘Why?’

“It’s clean.” is the only response you get.

It makes sense, you think. But seriously, this man was so weird. But like you said earlier, it was different and that made it refreshing to you. You start searching for your next bet.

As if in a scene from a movie you’ve seen a dozen times came to life, your eyes snap to a lone woman sitting at the bar, nursing a drink and playing on her phone. A couple seats down, you spot a few men chatting. One of the men is staring hard at the very oblivious woman. You nudge Levi with your elbow, not unnoticing the slight flinch from your touch. You point to the scene, and he is quick to understand.

“I bet when he walks over to her, she’ll get up and leave.” He says confidently.

Trusting your instincts, you scrawl back quickly as you notice the man started making his way towards the woman. Sticking your tongue out at him, you angle the pad to him so he could see.

‘Absolutely not. She’ll tell him off right away.’

To both yours and his surprise, not one moment later she throws the rest of her drink contents onto the man’s head. She gathers her belongings, throws a wad of bills on to the bar, then stomps out of the establishment. The rejected man staggers back to his friends, and they applaud him for his supposed gall. This event left you both stunned. There’s a moment of pause where you and Levi just stare at each other before all hell breaks loose as he starts talking and you start scribbling furiously.

“She walked away, I win.”

‘She threw that drink on him, that’s practically telling him off. And that happened before any walking off.’

“That hardly counts, no words were used.” He scoffs and folds his arms across his chest as he stares hard at you. You weren’t sure if the indignation was real or not, but it was evident in his face.

‘Words are not always needed to convey intent.’ You shoot back at him, shifting your weight to tap your foot defiantly. You would know this of course.

This makes Levi pause. He opens his mouth to say something but then Erwin and Hange came crashing into the little bubble you two had made. Suddenly the sounds of clinking glasses and mindless chatter came rushing in and you took a step back.

“Um, I think Hange might have had a little too much tonight.” Erwin says, to which your attention is drawn to a very drunk Hange. They were a blubbering, sobbing mess. Whining about things that ranged from Carly to her work stress and everything in between. Your sister rarely got this drunk, but you imagine the events from earlier might have been her breaking point. This was a sign to get her home.

You hastily round the table to wrap her arm around you and prop her up. Then after whipping a $20 out of your purse and throwing it on the table in front of the boys, you give them a grateful smile and sign to Erwin.

‘Thank you both for tonight. She and I had a lot of fun. But I need to get her home before she gets worse.’ As if on cue, they let out a loud wail and start sobbing into your shoulder. You shift your body to hold them closer so that you don’t drop them. Erwin grabs your $20 and shoves it back in your purse before zipping it up. He had left you no time to protest as he places a large hand on your shoulder and stares intensely at you.

“Please, let me take care of this. Tell them this was an exceptional time. And to please stop by the caf�� again, we owe each a good, sober talk.” His bright blue eyes crinkled in the corners as he smiled at you warmly. “It was a pleasure meeting you too. I hope you join Hange on the café visits as well. I think Levi has warmed up to you just nicely.” He wiggles an eyebrow at his friend. Levi just shoves him back and rolls his eyes.

“Tch, fuck off. She’s alright, I guess.” He’s staring at you now, not as cold as before. “You owe me an answer next time we meet.”

You purse your lips at him and shake your head in disagreement.

‘I totally won that, don’t even think otherwise.’ You jot down lazily on the notepad still on the table. It wasn’t as neat, but you were propping up a whole human, you couldn’t help it.

“Are you sure you’re safe to get home okay? We can he-” You cut Erwin off with a wave of the hand. Their spot of choice was actually very lucky, as you only live a few minutes away. And to be honest, you needed the cold air. So, you sign a quick goodbye to your new friends and make your way out.

Walking down the snowy sidewalk, you pat Hange’s head as she grumbles about random things. She opted to walk herself, but you kept your hand in theirs to lead them in the right direction. She only stumbled a few times but overall, you were able to keep a steady pace. You note that before you left, her glass of water had been untouched, so you make a mental reminder to hydrate her before throwing her in bed.

‘Alcohol was not kind to those in their 30s’ you heard their voice say in the back of your mind.

As your steps left crunching noises in their wake, you peer up at the moon and glittering stars. A certain raven-haired and silver-eyed man etched in your brain. You wonder how soon it will be before seeing him again.

‘Levi’ you sign to yourself with a free hand. A smile cemented to your face the whole way home.

☾ Next Chapter: December

83 notes · View notes

kiankiwi · 4 months

Text

"Dance Party"

A cg!jacob elordi x little!reader fic

Summary: You spend the morning with your daddy and he makes you laugh, a lot.

Jacob LOVED getting you up in the morning. Especially when you're little. He loved how sleepy and warm and cuddly you are in the morning. He woke up that morning and jumped out of bed when he heard you calling for him over the baby monitor. He ran to the nursery, eager to get an early morning cuddle.

He found you standing in your crib, holding onto the rails with a pacifier bobbing quickly between your lips. "Hi sweetheart! Hello, little one!" You bounced a bit, elated to see your favorite person in the world and giggled. You also loved when he talked to you in the morning. Mainly because his perfectly delicious Australian accent came out pretty thick when he was still tired. "Here, can daddy have that, you know it's only for night night time!" Jacob smiled as he grabbed onto the handle of the pacifier and pulled it from your mouth, making a popping sound with his lips to make you laugh. "That's better munchkin!" He swiftly picked you up and hugged you close, rubbing your back as you snuffled into his neck, still a bit sleepy. "Oh good morning sweetheart!" He pulled back to look at your face, "Did you sleep good, have nice dreams?" You nodded, hugging tightly onto his neck. "Yeah? Should we go get you some brekkie?" You nodded like a bobblehead. "Nanas!" You yelled, sticking your tongue out. Jacob couldn't help but laugh. "You want 'nana's? Should we do a big fruit bowl?" You nodded.

"One fruit bowl for one little munchkin!" Jacob said theatrically as he gave you your bowl of cut up strawberries, blueberries, grapes, oranges and of course bananas. "Thank you!" You said before you dug in, eating with your fingers.

Jacob smiled and let you eat, grabbing the left over fruit to make himself a fruit smoothie. He grabbed all the leftovers and poured them all into the blender, popping the cap on. He prepared to push the buttons but looked over to you who was still eating. "Heads up baby, loud noise." He said, warning you so you wouldn't get scared. He waited till you plugged your ears before he pressed the start button to make his smoothie.

When you and Jacob were done with your breakfast, he laughed at how messy you are. "You are a mess, bub! Should we go get ready for the day?" You nodded, shoving your fingers in your mouth. Jacob brought you upstairs and at the end of the hallway, he turned to you and asked, "Should we run? Should daddy run?" Jacob jogged down the hallway to the nursery, bouncing you all the way, making you erupt into a fit of giggles. "Was that fun?" He asked, bringing you over to the closet and looking through it.

Picking your pale pink onesie with the strawberries on it, he laid you down on the changing table, pulling faces at you as he undressed you, peppering kisses all over your face and belly. You erupted into giggles, pushing your hands at him as the laughter stole your breath. "Daddy! Daddy stop it! Stop it!" You pushed him off and he zipped up your onesie. "Okay okay, I'll stop. What shall we do today baby? Should we play, watch movies or just laze around a bit?"

"Go outside?" You asked, watching his hands as they snapped the buttons on your onesie. "Um, I think it's a bit too cold to go outside today bubby," You pouted up at him, not because you wanted to make him feel guilty but because you were genuinely sad you couldn't play on your playset that was currently covered in snow. "Wanna go on my swiiiiiide!" You whined a bit. "I know baby but it's all wet from the snow, right now! Daddy's so sorry. But we can definitely have some fun today inside where it's warm!"

You whined a little, pouting a little longer as Jacob picked you up and you snuggled into his shoulder once again as he brought you back downstairs. "I know baby, daddy hates the snow too."

Now downstairs, Jacob could sense you didn't want to be put down just yet so he soaked up your snuggles. You pointed outside to your playset. "Where my Side go??" You asked, pointing outside. "It's covered in snow baby, you can't even see it!" You pouted looking longingly out the glass door at your covered play set.

Jacob hated seeing you sad, he had to think quickly to put a smile back on your face. He spun around and pointed to the Alexa device. "Hey baby, should we dance? You wanna dance with daddy?" You didn't say anything, still pouting about the snow outside.

Jacob marched you over to the device and bounced you as he loudly declared "Alexa Play Baby Shark!" His accent made the word shark sound like "shock". Hearing his accent pop out, you giggled, wiggling. Your wiggling was your little way of dancing. "Yeah, get it, bub! Go go go! Baby Shark do do do do!" You laugh as Jacob dangled you from his arms and spun you around making you laugh and scream. "Mommy shark do do do do!" Jacob yelled, as you clung to him, laughing your head off.

You loved today because it was just a day with your guy.

*****

MY FIRST JACOB ELORDI FIC!!!

I hope you like it!

@elvisthesillygoose @mooodyblue

#jacob elordi x reader #kiwiswriting #cg!jacobelordi #cg!jacob x little!reader

83 notes · View notes

canonically47 · 16 days

Text

i just watched disney’s wish. after months of seeing only negative feedback, i decided, as a major disney fan, to dive into it myself - sadly influenced by some of that negative feedback, i couldn’t form an opinion completely of my own, but...

it’s bad anyways. there are some good parts, but not many.

the characters feel flat and one-dimensional (this one is dumb, this one sneezes, this one is quiet, this one is best friend, this one is sleepy, this one is sarcastic...) or ridiculous. magnifico is a good guy turned bad for plot purposes - like, i UNDERSTAND HIM. he has built rosas from the ground and he is the only one who knows magic, of course he should get to decide which wishes are granted and which not!

the songs are... really really REALLY bad. the lyrics make no sense in the english language. for example you could definitely get away with “felt this, no, i haven’t”, “system solar” or any other of the sort in my own language, but in english they are very bad and rather avoidable mistakes. adjectives and adverbs are thrown around with no care, allegories and metaphors fall flat, and also, THE VILLAIN SONG FUCKING SUCKS. IT IS ABYSMAL. there should be A CHILL to it. it should make you fucking hate the guy. it should make you want to yell at the abusive and overwhelming mother gaslighting her child, it should make you want to give the lion another scar as he boasts about his plans to kill the king, it should make you want to jump in to defend the poor victims of a deceitful and unassuming villain - not jump around and dance with joy and whismy!!!! this is the thanks i get is a good song if you were looking for a pop parody of a top tier musical, not an actual song for a disney movie, much less the one made for its 100th anniversary!!!!

THE ANIMATION??? it looks so unfinished. i genuinely felt as if i was watching somebody’s unfinished WIP in blender. the characters and backgrounds never get along, either one or the other looking out of place at all times.

the message is not there. so many moments are cringey with barely any moments that got a genuine smile out of me. the heroine feels like a stereotype rather than an actual character i should be rooting for. the character design for most suck. the story makes no sense. so much is left unexplained.

i am so disappointed with this movie

#wish disney #disney #disney’s wish #disney wish #wish 2023 #wish asha #asha wish #star wish #wish star

40 notes · View notes

bittencheek · 12 hours

Text

Cheesy Gestures; Sirius Black

summary: your favorite customer graces the diner once again

(wc: 971) a/n: we all say thank you to my lovely best friend for the very cheesy title

The day’s been seriously slow.

Couple customers trickled in, and a few more trickled out. No spills to clean up, no wrong orders to fix—just a lot of waiting around.

The sun is starting to dip lower in the sky, and its light filters through the blinds, turning the counter into a checkerboard of light and shadow. You can still smell the faint scent of coffee and frying bacon from breakfast.

You wipe down the table for the umpteenth time. It’s clean enough to perform surgery on, you reckon, but hey—it’s their favorite one, after all.

You glance around the empty diner, the quiet only broken by the faint hum of the fridge and the occasional clatter from the kitchen.

A small smile tugs at your lips as you imagine them sauntering through the door. Almost showtime.

They usually show up around now, boisterous and full of energy, filling the diner with a life it rarely sees. It’s like clockwork, really, a routine as dependable as the sunrise.

And then there’s this one boy who particularly caught your eye.

God, how could you not, when he flirts with you like a madman, throwing you smiles that are nothing short of lethal.

You overheard his name once—Sirius—while attempting to eavesdrop discreetly. Of course, you’re not meant to know this, so you tucked the secret away with all the other little details you’ve noticed about him.

But sometimes you wonder if he’ll ever get easier to look at, with his doll’s lashes and shiny, pitch-black hair that contrast his pale skin. A handsome and somewhat menacing combination.

Right on cue, the bell above the door jingles.

You straighten up your uniform, trying to look busy but casual, and turn just in time to see them stroll in. They’re laughing about something, probably a joke you’ll never hear but will see the remnants of in their grins.

“…I would, but I’m paralyzed with not caring very much,” you catch a voice of one of Sirius’ friends, James. “Oh—would you look at that,” he spots you and calls out. “Our favorite girl.”

You roll your eyes playfully, fighting the blush that threatens to creep up your neck. “Same old table, boys?” you ask, already knowing the answer.

You grab a few menus, even though they never use them, and head over. The pretty boy looks up, his mouth playing coy with a smile that’s got a one-two punch. Quite a lovely thing, that is.

He always looks like he has that little smirk tucked in the corner, kept secret for now but ready to use. It twitches, and your heart does a little dance.

“What can I get you today?” you offer, pulling out your tiny yellow notepad.

“The usual, love,” says Sirius, features softening at your sight.

“She doesn’t know that shit by heart, you nit,” scolds one of the boys whose name you haven’t yet caught, which earns him a hearty punch to the arm.

Oh, you know their order. Memorized it the first time, but of course you can’t just say that out loud. Not without betraying your cool exterior, thank you very much.

“Four cheeseburgers with fries, one with extra pickles and three vanilla milkshakes.”

“Coming right up,” you smile politely and get back to the counter.

You focus on making the milkshakes, while the kitchen handles the rest of the order.

You begin mixing ingredients, turning up the soft tune playing on the radio. The melody lingers in your mind, hips swaying gently to the rhythm as you move between the counter and the blender.

With two tall glasses filled to the brim with frothy milkshakes, you carefully lift them, one in each hand.

You turn around and there he is. Leaning casually against the solid surface, the object of your daydreams.

The sight sends a jolt through your chest. Locking eyes with the boy responsible, you breathe, “Bell. Neck. Look into it.”

Dark eyebrows arch and his lips curl up, “Comes with a nice leather collar, does it?”

Your mouth pops open and closes in disbelief. A boyish chuckle bubbles out of him, shoulder shaking gently.

“Thought I’d introduce myself properly. Sirius,” he offers, looking at you expectantly.

“Yeah I—yeah,” you stammer, heartbeat a riot. Your name spills from your lips with a steadying exhale.

“How lovely,” he hums.

You realize there’s no way you’re getting anything done with him around, the best kind of distraction.

“Yes, well, now shoo and let me work,” you try to keep your expression stern, a smile threatening to break through.

He pulls back, head ducking in a dashing sort of way, and retreat to his seat. There are coos coming from the rest, but you don’t dare to look back.

You carefully arrange everything on trays, balancing them expertly on your forearms like the seasoned waitress you are. With measured steps, you make your way across the room, heading toward the four boys.

Their faces light up as soon as they spot you approaching, a wave of gratitude and anticipation already evident in their eyes.

Reaching Sirius, you gently set down his milkshake, ensuring it’s perfectly placed on his left side, just the way he likes it.

“Added some extra caramel syrup to yours,” you whisper with a teasing smile, daring a wink.

His eyes go wide, hand flying to his chest like he’s steadying a runaway heart. He looks at you with the biggest heart-eyes this side of the silver screen.

“Marry me,” he whispers theatrically.

You pay him no mind, adjusting the tray before him and slipping a small piece of paper underneath. Bravest you’ve ever been, you’d scribbled your phone number on it earlier.

Biting the tip of your thumb in anticipation, you turn around before you can see his reaction.

You hope to God he’s going to use it.

#sirius black #sirius black x reader #sirius black x fem!reader #sirius black x you #sirius black fluff #marauders #hp

38 notes · View notes

kuroashims · 7 months

Text

☠ CHRONICLES OF A BRAINROT ☠

•━━━━━━━━━━━━━•◦˚❦˚◦•━━━━━━━━━━━━━•

After many years simming in my corner, I finally decided to step out of my comfort zone and share my pixel babies with the simblr/tumblr sphere!

I started playing sims with the first opus when I was pretty tiny, and couldn't stop ever since. This game allows my creativity and inner world to express like no other game would, and that's what I love so much about it.

I created many different worlds, kingdoms and stories, but the one I enjoy the most is my One Piece save I started a year ago. It is the first time I am really eager to leave CAS to actually play the game!

Back in 2015 I've been introduced to the manga/anime universe and I never went back! It truly was a revelation, and a revolution in my own stories. But when I discovered One Piece, all of a sudden I was hooked. This universe is so colorful and deep at the same time, it is the safe place I go whenever I feel down, and it never fails me. It may sound silly but I can't explain how warm it makes me feel. Especially Luffy's vibe and laugh, he's so precious.

So last year when I had to stop working because of bad health issues, my last two brain cells met and said to each other "hey, why not One Piece sims?", and that was it, I began this crazy journey of looking for the perfect OP custom content for the perfect OP babies, being disappointed of not finding many or really old ones...and that is when, after weeks and weeks of research, I decided to create my own One Piece custom content, because, why not?!

I never touched Blender (and a year later I still feel such a newbie with it) nor Photoshop before, but it didn't stop me to throw myself into it and man, despite all the crying seeing my creations in game unexpectedly float in the air or be filled with "???" in CAS and such, I can say that I don't regret anything!

I can sing on stage, write songs or dance, but can I properly draw? No, I cannot. And I've been frustrated for so long since I wanted to do fanarts for my fandoms but I tried, aaand it was bad. Like, really really bad. Fortunately simming is now one of my places of expression, and I'm SO EXCITED about my lil creations & stories.

My wish is to grow a small community of One Piece fans and/or fellow simmers with whom I could share my passions and enjoy theirs. I know you guys are out there, and I love you already!!

•━━━━━━━━━━━━━•◦˚❦˚◦•━━━━━━━━━━━━━•

➨ useful informations for navigation:

• Some of my posts may contain dark topics, blood and mature rp ships (18+)

• I'll do my best to limit spoilers but take note that there might me some here

• I am WCIF friendly but it might take a while for me to answer since I literally use thousands of cc. So please ask for 1 or 2 items at a time. I will happily share their names and creators

• I will not share any download links of my own OP custom content, because I often use other artist's meshes parts, then I mix them with my own etc ; so claiming these items as my own and share them to dl would break those artist's TOUs. Thank you for your comprehension

• That said, if I ever grow a significant sim community, I would eventually contact these artists one by one to ask their permissions to share my content with you! (with credits ofc)

• On this page I'll only reblog sims from other people that are One Piece characters, as well as One Piece fanarts or anything related

• Aside from my sims I also really enjoy editing my own gifs and manga/anime panels so you can expect to see a lot of them ♡

• Don't be surprised if some of my sims seem really different from one screenshot to another, that is because I have different saves with different timelines (children, pre timeskip, post timeskip, Wano), and various AUs like high school, dark fantasy world etc. For example, by now I already have 8 different Sanji sims in several styles and stages of his life (my biggest number for a single character, but I can't help it...I just love him so much!)

• If there are any suggestions, requests, ships (personally into Zosan/Zolu/Lusan/Lawlu/Acesan/Shuggy/Mishanks/Frobin) and more that you would like to see, feel free to ask and I will enjoy making it happen for you!

•━━━━━━━━━━━━━•◦˚❦˚◦•━━━━━━━━━━━━━•

SO HERE WE ARE ☻

THANKS FOR READING...

HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY ✿❁❀

#intro post #new simblr #sims community #one piece #cc creator #maxis mix #text post

55 notes · View notes

icallhimjoey · 1 year

Note

She’s everything I aspire to be, confident in her own skin, a ray of sunshine a bit awkward who isn’t intimidated by people’s opinions. I was just like her, but most of my peers didn’t like me. I was a messy bundle of cheerfulness, my laugh loud and ungraceful. I wasn’t cool because I loved too much, with an intensity that people struggled to understand. I really appreciate the fact that you managed to go from an almost introspective story, full of the uncertainties and perplexities of our main characters to a very cute and flirty banter that is absolutely amazing. This is what I needed, I’m so happy that is making me feel all warm and fuzzy, it’s adorable ♡‧₊˚

i love her, need her in my life, make ME blush and shit. Wordcount: 2.6K

---

Sunshine Blend Dark Roast

part one - part two - part three - part four - part five

The first day Joe didn't show up after having done so for eight consecutive days, you didn't even notice until your coworker asked what name he used that day.

"Oh, he hasn't been in today," you said as your coworker rinsed out blenders and you wiped down counters.

"Then he's just Joe today," he said, and you grinned. Yea, Joe could be just Joe today. A comforting thought, although, you were bad at lying to yourself and acknowledged the small tinge of sadness. You really would've liked to make him scratch his face all nervously. Oh well, there's always tomorrow, you thought.

Except Joe didn't come in the next day. Or the next one. You weren't stupid. Joe had work things. Film things. Press things. You had no idea what being an actor entailed, but you could imagine Joe didn't have a set schedule that left wiggle room to get a coffee every day. And there were other customers to annoy, to get smiles and chuckles from. To sing at, to joke with, to ridicule just slightly, never enough to offend, never enough to not be able to fix things with a giggle, but always just enough to surprise them. Find that weird border to dance on. It was always so much fun to play.

But none of them were quite as fun to play with as Joe was.

Yes, other people would blush.

Yes, other people would awkwardly chuckle.

Yes, other people would stumble over their words. Would raise surprised brows when you asked them if they were sure they made the right choice. Would try to look away and pretend they weren't tickled at your attempt at a tap dance as you made iced drinks, rinsed out blenders, and scooped ice into large plastic cups.

They would all do all of those things.

But none of them made your stomach flutter like Joe did. And none of them made your chest swell like Joe did. And none of them got your throat to strain with back-held giggles like Joe did.

You didn't know if Joe was aware of the effect he had on you, so you made a mental note to tell him the next time you saw him. See if that would turn his ears red, too.

You just hadn't expected that the next time you'd see Joe, it wouldn't be in the coffee shop.

The next time you saw Joe, a couple more days had passed and you were on your way home after your shift, late afternoon on a Wednesday. You were on your phone, reading texts you'd missed throughout the day when you spotted him in your peripheral vision. You hadn't even been able to focus on much else but your phone and your blurred feet taking steps below it, but you somehow saw him and unconsciously glanced his way. Then did a double take. Yep, it was him. Joe. Staring right back at you. Frozen. In shock, a little, maybe?

Joe was sat in the window of a Starbucks.

A fucking Starbucks.

White paper cup in hand that you eyes immediately checked and it read Patrick.

Patrick.

Starbucks didn't know how to play. Idiots.

You halted, stopped right in the middle of the pavement, and had people bump into you from the abrupt standstill. They apologised grumpily, you apologised with a giggle, it was all fine. Then, you pointed an accusing finger at Joe and you tried to hide your smile. You saw Joe was still sat frozen, big eyes aimed at you. No way around those. He'd definitely seen you. But you pointed at him and then you got no reaction.

You let your eyes find the door, looked back at Joe, then back at the door, then back at Joe again to see he was also looking at the door, and you thought, fuck it, let's go. You saw how Joe followed you with his eyes and how panic rapidly built. Oh, fun. This was going to be fun.

"I can't believe it, Patrick," Loud. Right in the middle of the doorway, not even fully inside, you were immediately attention demanding. You didn't care. You'd be out of there in a second and would likely never see any of the other people in there.

"H-hi," was all Joe managed to stammer, and behind him, sat next to him in the window, someone stopped talking and leant back to see what was going on.

"Mingling with the enemy, are we?" you gestured into the store wildly. Windmill arms, almost.

Joe said nothing.

"If that's anything other than a large, oh wait, sorry, a venti americano, you've got some serious explaining to do," you smirked, let your eyes crinkle and waited for a reaction.

You got one. Finally. Non-verbal, though. You got stutters, and fingers fidgeting with rings, and nervous eye-contact with his friend and, oh my God!

That was Jamie Campbell Bower. Jamie Campbell fucking Bower, drinking a Matcha Crème Frappuccino. You let your shock from seeing Jamie Campbell Bower's face travel to his drink, your big eyes aimed at what he was holding now, instead of his face.

"That's a Matcha Crème Frappuccino."

It was bright green, not hard to guess. You knew your shit.

He laughed. "Yes, it is."

And like you'd known Joe your whole life, you reached out, grabbed Joe's forearm, wrapped strong fingers around and squeezed as tightly as you could. Used your hand that was still holding your phone to twist his cup until you could read its contents, said, "I fucking knew it." way too close to his face as you stood on your tippy toes.

A grande - not venti, Joe wasn't insane - caffè americano.

You felt Joe's tensed arm, but saw his shoulders relax as he let out a breath he'd been holding in a laugh. Joe saw your phone. You were holding your phone. Had it ready. Out. You weren't working now, and had walked up to him with your phone ready and out.

You were a girl.

You'd walked up to him.

With your phone ready.

And out.

Of course.

"Do you want a picture?" Joe's arm moved, and it made you lessen your grip on him. You blinked in confusion for a second, but Joe's arm was quick to find your back and a large palm placed itself on one of your shoulder blades.

Joe was lining himself up for a selfie with you.

A misstep. A grand one that was going to make him stumble when he'd realise. Like he hadn’t seen the last step when walking down a long winding staircase, and it'd make him run, big steps, in a bid to save himself from letting his knees scrape the floor.

"Ew, gross," you muttered, grimaced as you stepped aside, back towards the glass door, bumping into yet another person as you recklessly weren't paying any attention to your surroundings.

"Boring, and gross," you said softly before you nodded at the two men staring at you.

Everything about this interaction had been confusing to you, let alone to Joe, let alone to Jamie. It held so much potential to have been a quick little fun chat, but it left you with a bad taste in your mouth.

"You better take him with you next time," you pointed at Jamie, made big eyes at Joe who looked at you like you were speaking a different language, arm still hovering in place where it had been on your back second ago. "Patrick."

And out you went.

You knew then that, if you hadn't scared him off entirely before all of that, you certainly had scared him off now. There wasn't going to be a next time. You just knew it.

These weren't new feelings. These feelings didn't fester, didn't take you in a chokehold. They were familiar pains that no longer felt sharp, were more of a dull ache instead, easy to shove aside, because you'd been shoving them aside since childhood. You were an expert now, and you knew to let yourself feel it for a minute, and then you'd carry on. Never dwelled too long, because, who did that help?

What a way to make you dislike him. Did Joe honestly think that you were just after a picture with him? You shuddered. Gross. So gross.

But Joe didn't understand.

Had he ever understood anything about his interactions with you? He thought he was starting to get it. Starting to be able to predict you a little bit. Recognise what type of songs you would dance a little too. He could be waiting for his coffee, hear a beat, and know if he'd look up, he'd see you bounce. And he'd be right, too. He could see a girl walk in with large earrings, and he'd just know that you were going to mention them. Compliment. And then you would, "Look at them hoops, girlie! What can I get you?"

And then, you'd walked up to him with your phone out and confirmed everything that had been whispered to him from the dark corner of his mind. A photo. Of course you wanted to get a photo with him. Because, why wouldn't you? Didn't they all want a photo? He thought he was starting to get it.

But then you said, ew gross, to his face after he offered - he offered - and Joe wished the floor would've opened up beneath him. He wished to fall into black nothingness. He could just exist in that void for eternity, no problem.

Joe cringed.

Outwardly.

Where everyone could see.

"What the fuck was that?" Jamie asked, but couldn't help his face-splitting grin.

"I... I don't..." Joe saw Jamie's face. "Oh, fuck off," Joe winced, able to awkwardly chuckle at himself outwardly, but inwardly, died a little.

Joe didn't come in the next day. You knew he wouldn't, and you'd only given yourself a second to think about him, be a little disappointed, aw, woe is me, before you forced yourself to get over it. Let it go. There were other people that needed serving, and they were fun to play with too. You could make it fun, like you had made it fun for so many days before Joe had stepped foot into the coffee shop.

But then the next day, you'd seen him outside, on the other side of the street. You saw him, and he was with Jamie, and they were walking towards the shop. You saw them, grey and black coats billowing behind them as they walked, looking down at their feet, Jamie talking, Joe listening. You used both hands to hastily push your hair back from your forehead, slapping yourself in the face as you did, then clasped onto your coworker and said, "Suck in your stomach, Joe's coming," and made him laugh.

They walked in, and Joe looked up at the menu whilst Jamie made direct eye contact immediately, raised eyebrows, friendly face, ready to politely greet.

"Please, get a stupid latte," No good mornings. No hellos. You pleaded, hands clasped in front of your chest, eyebrows knitted, eyes as questioningly cute as you could manage them.

Jamie laughed, shrugged, said, "Sure," and communicated with his whole body that this was bizarre, but he was absolutely going to go with it.

You clapped your hands together excitedly, bent at the knees as if you were going to jump, but then didn't, because you weren't six years old. If you had been? That's what you would've done.

"We've got a bunch to choose from," you gestured at the menu behind you, let Jamie's eyes roam and then looked at Joe.

"Hi," he smiled.

You'd called him gross and boring to his face, made him uncomfortable in a public place, and he had come back. Brought Jamie with him. Said hi. Smiled.

What an idiot.

"Oh, can I get the Maple Matcha Green Tea Latte?"

"Yes, perfect. So fun. Not at all boring."

You asked for his name, wrote down Johanna because you were an annoying bitch and had had a weird Sweeney Todd phase years ago, and then turned to Joe.

"A large Am-"

"Americano. God." you interrupted and finished for him, like you despised it. Squeezed your eyes shut like it was the worst news Joe could've possibly given you. It wasn't, but it was a bit you were committed to, and it was fun to play with Joe. "Yes. Of course," you rolled your eyes, asked for Joe's name - Tim, today - wrote down Joe and then didn't let him pay.

"This one's on the house."

Joe frowned. Was about to sputter some polite rejections to a free drink, but you held a hand up. Joe was going to get this coffee free of charge.

You switched places with your coworker. Standard practice now. You always made Joe's drinks. But today, you got to make Jamie's too. Maple Matcha Green Tea Latte. A latte. This meant you got to do latte art. Latte art for Jamie.

"Look," you said, letting Jamie see inside before you were going to place the lid on.

"That's..." Jamie let his jaw drop a little.

"It's a penis!" you said it so proudly, it left no room for anything but acceptance of what he was staring at.

"That's a penis." he confirmed, and you saw Joe close his eyes as he shook with silent laughter next to him.

You placed the lid on, smiled at Jamie and before handing it over, you shouted, "A penis maple matcha green tea latte for Johanna," as if Jamie wasn't stood right by the counter, making direct eye contact with you.

At the mention of Johanna, he raised a curious eyebrow.

"I feel you, Johanna," you sang, and it was enough to make Joe burst out into giggles. Jamie soon followed, side eyed his friend for laughing at him, and then took his drink from you.

"Thanks, I love it."

Joe came in the next day by himself. Jude. You wrote down Joe. Didn't let him pay.

The next morning he walked in too. Jacob. You wrote down Joe. Didn't let him pay.

This kept going for a while.

You kept making Joe large americano's and kept not letting him pay for a single one. It was a new way to make Joe blush. Make him smile bashfully. Make him say thank you through squinty eyes. And if Joe thought that you weren't going to get straight back into trying your best to see his ears turn bright red, he was wrong.

You would compliment his outfits, said they were horribly mismatched, which offended him a little, but then said that he'd look good in fucking anything.

You would try to make him sing again, several times, and you upped volume each time. Upped the ridiculousness of the songs each time. Played fucking Johanna once, just to see his grin.

And Joe kept coming in.

And you kept not letting him pay.

Your colleague had made a comment about it. You told him to not interfere. Mind his business. This was a game you and Joe played, and you were winning. You played games to win, and you were winning.

You were giving Joe free drinks and in return you got so much more. Soft giggles, blushing cheeks, red ears, clumsy fumbly fingers, slow scruff scratches, bashful smiles, shy eye fluttering, stuttered words and wild butterflies in your stomach.

Until one morning, Joe stepped inside and was greeted by two people behind the counter, neither of whom were you.

You weren't there.

The music was set to a sensible volume. The shop was busy, but quiet. Calm. Odd. Joe'd never seen the place like this. Total different vibes in there now.

"Hi," Joe said to your coworker, the one he recognised, when it was his turn.

"Large americano?" he asked Joe, blank faced. Looked a little... bored.

"Yes, please. Is um... is she not in, today?" Joe asked carefully, and fished for his wallet in his coat pocket.

"No, shift switch. Helped him out," your colleague nodded at the other guy behind him.

"Great," Joe said, "Because I've got about 47 coffees I still need to pay for. Ring me up."

Joe didn't mind you playing weird games with him, even if he didn't understand, but Joe could play too, and Joe played games not to lose.

---

The Taglisted:

@ghostinthebackofyourhead @dirtyeddietini @kiwisa @jasminearondottir @josephquinned @cancankiki @sidthedollface2 @dylanmunson @munsonsgirl71 @alana4610 @emmamooney @xomunson @sadbitchfangirl @thatonefan-girl @paola-carter @eddiemunsonfuxks @figmentofquinn @haylaansmi @thewondernanazombie @munsonmunster @kellysimagines @mybffjoe @harrys-tittie @chaoticgood-munson @jenisnotlost @sherrylyn628 @bdpst-massacre @xeddiesbattattsx @05secondsofsexgods @lovelyblueness @adoreyouusugar @nadixq @prozacandnicotine @munsonswhore86 @alwayslindie @thefemininemystiquee @hauntingbastille @eddie-joe-munson @ali-in-w0nderland @pepperstories @phyllosilicate-s @thebellenouvelle @luvrsbian @joesquinns @choke-me-joey @alizztor @thelostmoonofpooosh @did-it-work @capricornrisingsstuff - (tag list currently full)

#joe quinn #joseph quinn #joe quinn x reader #joseph quinn x reader #joe quinn x you #joseph quinn x you #joseph quinn x y/n #joe quinn x y/n #joe quinn fanfic #joseph quinn fanfic #sunshine blend dark roast #fanfiction #fluff #requested #rpf #part 3

231 notes · View notes

swap-and-possessions · 1 year

Text

Brotherly Support

Can you believe my little brother used to be such a fucking dork? He’s already twenty, and his cherry hasn’t popped– what a fucking disgrace. I was fucking the moment I reached legal age, and I haven’t stopped since. I mean, it’s easy to see the reason why. He’s a shut-in nerd who barely socialized in his classes. His only friends are those behind a screen, and I sure won’t in hell call that friendship. As for me, I am everything opposite of him. Instead of slaving away with video games, I am lifting weights and building muscles. While he was in the comforts of solitude, I bar-hopped and attended parties. We do share the love of machines and literature, however.

That would soon change when I dragged him out of his bedroom and forced him to go to the gym with me. He was stubborn, and I did everything to convince him to stay and do sets with me. I even bought him his blender and ingredients for a delicious protein shake! But he just wouldn’t budge. He thought I’d give up. But no! We’re cut from the same cloth, so I am as stubborn as he is!

Although, such desperate times call for desperate measures. I had to call a friend of a friend to do supernatural bidding so I could help my little brother. Perks of being famous, boy!

Eric was in for a surprise the following morning. Instead of waking up to immediately play video games, he found himself craving a morning protein shake. In a few more seconds, he’d realize that he’s now in my body while I am in his! His body is so fucking weak that the urge of returning to sleep was great! But as I’ve said, I am stubborn. I made my way to the gym despite Eric’s protests of returning us to normal. I ignored his pleas and did a sit-up in front of him.

God! I feel my body giving up a minute after I started! But I pushed through the grit and pain. Something about seeing me struggle sparked something inside Eric. Soon. he was trying out the weights and was in glee when he realized how strong he was in my body. See? It wasn’t so hard to find the joy of becoming strong.

We found each other back to normal the following day. Eric was sore all over, so I gave him enough time to rest. The morning after? We swapped again, and I returned to building his muscles. We did this dance for the next few months. By the middle of it, I found Eric doing his own routine. And now? We’re training together while in each other’s skin and as ourselves the next day.

Then Eric came to me one morning in glee. Someone asked him out on a date! I was overjoyed as a big brother to see the massive changes to his lifestyle. He still plays video games but not as much anymore. He’s gotten confident with socializing outside, probably because of the ego that came with his improving body.

I’m proud of the changes we’ve made together. All it took was brotherly support and a touch of supernatural magic.

Look at all those gains! There are days when I find myself enjoying becoming him. Since he's a virgin yet, his sensitivity is out of this world. I wish I'd be the one to spend his virginity with his date, but I wouldn't rob him of the pleasure.

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

Based on the poll, most like body-swapping stories. So, here's a hopeful body swap story between brothers.

Read and listen to the AI-voice-covered version on my 🧡Patreon🧡.

#Body Swap #Male Body Swap #Male Body Switch #Body Switch

276 notes · View notes

chaotic-on-main · 1 year

Text

Chapter 1: November

☾ Pairings ➼ Levi Ackerman x fem!mute!Reader (she/her pronouns), set in a modern semi-fictional world

☾ word count ➼ ~7.1k

20-something years ago

‘Fire’, you think.

Everything is on fire.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───