#selfishness can prompt us to work and care for others just as much as The Social Instinct

[grandline-fics]

Hi can i request a Luffy x fem!reader where the pair are just two dumb idiots together like the reader has a personality like his (overly enthusiastic and optimistic) and they do everything together but they both dont realize that the like eachither (bc again dumb idiots) and the crew works tgt to make them both realize and get them to confess to eachother?

DESCRIPTION: You’re just as clueless as Luffy and the crew have to intervene to make you both realise your feelings

WARNINGS: none

CHARACTERS: Luffy

WORDS: 1,734

A/N:  Thank you for this request. I honestly didn't know how to make this work in the beginning but I'm happy with how this fell into place. Hopefully you like what I came up with

*REQUESTS ARE OPEN*

MASTERLIST | PROMPT LIST

———————

Once upon a time the Strawhat crew believed that their Captain was one of a kind. They took his energetic nature, clear motivation to only do what he wanted as his current mood directed without any thought beyond that, stubbornness, and still unwavering joy in the face of most things as the concoction that could only be Luffy. However they were all collectively shocked when you crash landed into their lives and promptly made them realise that everything that made Luffy his loveable yet exhausting self was also very clearly what made you you too and when you and Luffy first interacted it was like two points finally connecting, never to separate. 

All their adventures before you came along seemed like such a breeze, how naive they had been in those days to consider it difficult to keep up with Luffy’s optimism and spontaneity. After you joined the crew if felt like double the work. It didn’t matter if they had eyes on one of the chaotic pair you two created because without the vigilant supervision over both of you, it only assured a disaster that could have been avoided. It never mattered to you or Luffy because at the end of the day you two would be laughing and telling the drained crew that it had worked out in the end and that there had been nothing to worry about. After a while it wasn’t the lack of thought to the crew and their wants of an easy time on an island to explore that frustrated them, it was the fact that you and Luffy still hadn’t realised you had feelings for each other and continued to act like oblivious morons every single day while also so clearly showing them and anyone else you interacted that you were two idiots in love. 

“They’re doing it on purpose.” Nami muttered one day, arms folded tightly across her chest as she glared at you and Luffy running about the deck of the Sunny, laughing and chasing Chopper without a care in the world. Suddenly Luffy grabbed one of the masts and propelled himself through the air. Chopped managed to dodge but you ended up being the one Luffy tackled loudly onto the ground. There was a beat of silence before the two of you burst out into loud laughter once more, doing nothing to move out of the position you were currently in. “They have to be doing it on purpose. They’re evil geniuses.”

“Don’t give them so much credit. They’re both just blind to how they really feel.” Zoro disagreed from his spot in the shade, opening his good eye to look you and Luffy’s way. “Don’t know how many times the stupid cook and I have brought it up. Luffy just believes he loves them the same way he loves us as his crew.”

“Oh no, that’s a very different kind of love compared to what he feels for us.” Usopp said with a small shake of his head. He supposed that the only reason this whole matter hadn’t been resolved yet was because of your personality. Anyone else would have been more aware of the difference and clear feelings and actually talked things out with their Captain. Everyone seemed to let out a collective sigh of exhaustion and resignation. All of them wishing-more for their own selfish peace of mind more than anything- there was something to be done and help you both realise your feelings.

It wasn’t until a week later that the crew stopped at a new island to relax and enjoy while they waited for the Log Pose to set. While some took to resupplying the ships, others took to exploring. You weren’t exactly annoyed that you hadn’t gone with Luffy, you were just confused at why Usopp and Nami insisted on you joining them on their shopping trip and no one else coming with them. Had they had a fight with some of the others on the crew that you weren’t aware of? You certainly hoped not, you didn’t like the crew fighting amongst themselves. 

“Are you sure this is going to work?” Nami whispered to Usopp as they remained a couple paces away from you. Operation: Divide and Conquer might have had a good name but the strategy didn’t seem all that good except try and get you to confess to Luffy by either making you jealous or straight up lying. If they couldn’t get through to you, they would try the same tactic with Luffy.

“It has to!” Usopp hissed back, quickly throwing you a nervous smile when you looked over your shoulder with a curious tilt of your shoulder. “Hey let’s go in here!” He called out in a panic, pointing to the closest store. You stopped and shrugged, going along with whatever the sniper wanted. You had nothing to buy on this trip so you were just here for company and fun. Still this wasn’t what you’d thought would be on his or Name’s shopping list.

“Is someone getting married?” You asked, looking around the store filled with elegant gowns, robes and suits. Suddenly your eyes lit up as you hurried to hug Nami and Usopp tightly, so this was why they had insisted on you coming with them. You couldn’t fully understand why they were being so secretive but it didn’t matter given how overcome with happiness for them. “You guys! I’m so happy for you both! Have you told the others?! Are you getting married on the island?” 

“WHAT?! NO! ” Nami blurted out in shock while Usopp could only shriek at the implication. “We’re not getting married!”

“Oh…that’s a shame.” Your smile fell slightly. “I always thought you two made a nice couple. Guess I was wrong. So who is getting married?” You asked, staring intently on your friends who stammered and struggled to think of something. Operation: Divide and Conquer was crashing and burning around them and their brains all but blanked as together they rambled together while you patiently listened. Neither of them really knew what they’d told you or knew if it made any sort of sense but you seemed to accept it and continued with your day with the frazzled pair.

When you returned to the Sunny later that day you went to your usual perch of the railing near Sunny’s head. Silently you thought over what Usopp and Nami told you and were beginning to work it out in your head when Luffy appeared beside you with a bright grin. “Hey, what’s got you so frustrated looking?” He asked, oblivious to the rest of the crew on the deck; all of them pretending to go about their business when they were only making sure they were close enough to hear. 

“I’m thinking about Usopp.” You explained in a dazed tone, absently running your fingers along your bottom lip, deep in thought. Luffy frowned slightly while different sets of eyes glanced Usopp’s way, all confused about what he and Nami did while they were alone with you. “I’m trying to work out this wedding.”

“Usopp’s getting married?” Luffy asked. On the one hand he was happy but on the other hand he thought Usopp would have told him personally. “To who?”

“That’s what I’m trying to work out.” You mumbled before taking a deep breath, deciding to start from the beginning. “Usopp’s enemy wants him to marry their princess to avoid a great battle but he doesn’t want a fight or to get married so he needs to make them think he’s already married so they don’t get angry right? He needs Sanji to cater the wedding, Brook to preform the music, and Zoro to be his bodyguard so they’re out. Nami said because she’s giving Usopp the money for the wedding that’s the only favour she’s doing and won’t marry him as well because that’s not fair. Usopp said he can’t marry Franky or Robin because they’re like his parents and Chopper’s a reindeer and that’s weird. Which leaves us.” 

The more you explained the situation the more Usopp and Nami shrank towards the floor out of despair and embarrassment. Why had you believed that nonsense enough to now relay it to the entire crew who were now looking at them in bafflement. Through it all Luffy hadn’t taken his eyes off of you. He didn’t want Usopp to be forced to be married to someone he didn’t like but it didn’t stop him from quickly turning on his heel and looking to his friend. “Usopp I’ll marry you!”

“You can’t marry me dumbass!” Usopp shouted back making Luffy glare, all but standing in front of you to block you from Usopp’s stare.

“Well you’re not allowed to marry them. So it’s me or the princess.” Luffy told him with defiance in his eyes.

“Why can’t he marry me?” You asked curiously while getting to your feet, watching Luffy blink as he only now considered his fierce sense of protectiveness and possessiveness towards you. 

“Because I don’t want him to?” He suggested with a shrug. “I don’t want you to marry him, I don’t like it.”

“Well I don’t like you being married to Usopp.” You added, voicing your own reluctance and unhappiness at the thought of Luffy marrying…well anyone. There was a silent exchange between you and Luffy as though you were communicating in your own way through a look alone. Together you both grinned with a faint blush creeping across your cheeks as you both whipped your head towards Usopp and declared in unison.  “Usopp you’re marrying the princess.”

While it hadn’t been the grand romantic epiphany the crew had been expecting to witness, they could tell that a shift between you both had occurred. There was something a little more intimate between you both while you both remained your happy, energetic selves. No one on the crew had the heart to tell either of you that Usopp had been completely lying about the arranged marriage so they never mentioned it again. They were however all in agreement that if it ever was brought up it was to be brushed aside and explained as a story Usopp had been thinking of writing and nothing more. But from the looks of things slowly developing between you and Luffy they could all see that it was shaping up to having a happily ever after.  

[adrift-in-thyme]

I’ve never requested anything before so I hope this is right!

I’m going with some Malink angst, I absolutely LOVEEE reading your whump fics for them so I guess… more pain please? 🥲 if that’s okay?

Tysm for the prompt @endlessartpumpkin <333 I had a lot of fun with this one. It’s very angsty hehe

I hope you enjoy it!

CW for blood and injury

——————————

Malon has always been aware of the possibility that Link would die before her. He is a hero, after all, her knight in shining armor through and through. If someone needs help — whether to reunite with a loved one or save an entire kingdom — he will never refuse them.

Sometimes, she has the selfish yearning that just once…he would.

And now, as she gazes at the heroes standing on her doorstep, as she gazes at her husband lying limp in Twilight’s arms, she wants it more than ever. Because Link, who is full of life and laughter and love, Link who has faced the moon itself and lived to tell the tale, her Link who proposed with the biggest, gaudiest ring in Hyrule because he wanted to show her how much he cared…Link the love of her life should never look like he does right now.

She steps forward, one hand held to her lips, the other reaching out to touch him.

He is so pale. His chest hardly rises, breathing so shallow it is hardly there at all. If she allowed it, she could be convinced that he is already gone.

Malon forces herself to take a deep breath. She won’t do that. She won’t imagine that her fairy boy is dead.

“What happened?” She asks, tone sharp with panic.

It is Twilight who answers, in a broken voice she has never heard him use before.

“He…he took a hit that was meant for me.”

His breath hitches. It is only slight, but Malon hears it anyway. She lays a gentle hand on his shoulder. When he looks at her, there is such pain in those gray eyes, such sorrow, that it breaks her heart.

There is hardly time to comfort him, however. They both know it.

“Bring him inside,” she orders, shoving aside the emotions churning about inside her. “Set him on the bed. I’ll get some supplies.”

Twilight moves without a word. The others follow him into the house, expressions tight and pained.

A hand comes to rest on her shoulder. “I’ll get the supplies,” Warriors says. His face is a mask rapidly shattering. But he smiles, strong for her, strong for the man he calls his little brother.

“You go to him.”

Malon nods, sighing. “Thank you, dear. The medical stuff is in the bathroom. You remember where that is, don’t you?”

“Of course.” In a swirl of royal blue fabric, Warriors is gone.

Taking a moment to steel herself, Malon heads into the bedroom.

They have already laid him on the bed when she steps through the doorway. From this angle, if she didn’t know better, she would think he was merely asleep. But unfortunately, she does know better. And the ashen color of his face, the sheen of sweat upon his brow, the feverish trembling of his body tells her a different story.

Then, of course, there is the blood.

The heroes are in the process of bandaging him. (They work quickly, she thinks with a spark of pride.) But even the thick swaths of fabric that they wind around his abdomen can only do so much to halt the onslaught of crimson liquid.

It soaks them through within minutes.

Malon makes her limbs move, bringing her forward. There is no time to sit here and gaze in horror at what has become of her husband. With firm hands, she grabs a new roll of gauze and sets to work.

Between the ten of them, Link’s wound is cleaned and wrapped in little time. And through it all, Hyrule stands beside her, magic glowing at his palms, trying in vain to heal the injury. But it fights back of its own accord.

“What on earth hurt him like this?” Malon asks, voice tight. The other heroes have backed up now, giving her room to stand by her husband’s bedside. She leans over him, fingers brushing aside his limp bangs. He gives a shuddering breath and turns slightly into her touch.

“We don’t know what manner of monster it is yet,” Warriors says. “But it’s stronger than its companions, and smarter too. And…when someone gets struck by it the wound struggles to heal.”

Malon swallows. “But it does heal eventually, right?” She looks up at all of them, at their sorrowful expressions, at the way they struggle to meet her eyes. “Right?”

“It can.” It’s Twilight now, his voice gravelly from the tears he struggles to restrain. “He’s just gotta keep fighting.”

She turns back to her fairy boy. A ray of sun illuminates the side of his face, making his markings stand out starkly against his pale skin. The crimson stripes look especially fierce in the early morning light.

“He will,” she says, and it is both a demand and a plea, a promise and a prayer. “Don’t y’all worry. He will.”

….

It isn’t until that night that he awakens. The other heroes have drifted away by then, reluctant to leave, but all too aware of the suffocating nature of everyone packed into one room. Only Hyrule and Twilight remain. But both have finally caved to her urgings for them to get some much-needed rest and are slumped over the arm chairs in the corners.

So, when Link drags open his eye, she is the only one who sees it.

His gaze is bright with fever and pain, its usual sharpness dulled. But it only takes him a moment to find her.

“Malon.”

It is breathed more than spoken, hardly a hoarse whisper. He lifts a trembling hand, clumsily cupping her cheek. Gently, she threads her fingers between his.

“I’m here, hon.”

“Mal I…” His breath hitches into a wet cough. It wracks his body, violently, and sends tears sliding down his cheeks. The sound of it tears her heart in two.

“Take it easy, fairy boy.” She fetches a cloth from the side table and wipes away the blood that dribbles from his lips. “That monster did a number on you.”

Link hums. “Would’ve hurt Twilight if-if I hadn’t…”

“I know.” A small, sad smile lifts her lips. “I know.”

He sags against the pillows, breathing shallow, eye half-lidded. He is already fading again, Malon can tell. So soon, too soon.

“The boys,” he whispers, “they’re…”

“Fine. Worried sick about you though. You scared ‘em half to death.”

She shakes her head. The pain within her feels like it will cleave her chest in half.

“Why’d you use your own body to block the blow, Link? You’ve got shields and items – so many of them I can’t even keep track of ‘em all. Aren’t those there to try and make sure this-this…doesn’t happen?”

Link’s expression dulls further. He looks all of his true years now, weighed down by the duties he has long born, exhausted from a lifetime of pain.

“Knocked my shield out of my hand.” He looks up at her and something in his gaze pleads that she understand. “There wasn’t time for-for anything else.”

Malon gazes at him for a long moment.

“You’re insufferable, fairy boy,” she says, at last, a choked chuckle erupting out of her. “Why’d I have to fall in love with such a hero?”

He smiles back, though it is a weak effort.

“Because…of my unbelievably good looks.”

She laughs again and it sounds more like a sob.

“Well, I can’t pretend that that wasn’t a part of it.”

He chuckles, but it quickly dissolves into another coughing fit. She holds his hand through it, battling against the tears that beg to pour forth. And when it is over, she wipes away the blood again, and the tears. He closes his eye and leans into her touch.

“You gotta promise me somethin, fairy boy,” she murmurs, as she sets the cloth aside and rubs her thumb against his cheek instead.

Link looks up at her, something terribly vulnerable in his expression. She has only ever seen him gaze at her with such a look. It is an overwhelmingly precious thing.

“Anything,” he says and she believes him.

“You keep fighting, no matter what.” She encases his hand in two of her own, grip as desperate and firm as her words. “Don’t you give up, you hear me? Don’t you dare even think of giving up.”

Her voice cracks, but she plows on anyway. “I can’t lose you, Link.”

His lips quirk up in the slightest of smiles. When he squeezes her hand, it is a feeble movement, but it is there nonetheless, a confirmation that he has heard her.

“I won’t,” he breathes. “Promise.”

The tears come now, cascading down her cheeks in traitorous rivulets. She brushes them away. Then, leaning down, she plants a gentle kiss on Link’s brow.

“Good.”

His eye flutters closed. “Love you, Mal,” he murmurs, voice so soft and quiet she has to strain to catch the words.

But she does. She catches them like the flitting butterflies she used to capture between two careful hands when she was a girl. And she holds them close to her heart.

“I love you too, fairy boy.”

[the-badger-mole]

There's A Difference

I think I've said this before- in fact, I'm almost certain I've said this within the last few months- but the reason I can't let Aang's actions be dismissed by his age is because his worst traits are never addressed in canon. The reason why I personally find him very incel-ish is because the grown men who created him and project onto him strike me as incel-ish (and yes, I'm aware that at least one of them is/has been married. Incel is more of a frame of mind than an actual state of being). Aang could have had a growth arc, but instead Bryke chose to either ignore his flaws or make them out to be virtues. I'm judging Aang as a character, not a child. Because Aang is not an actual child. An actual child might have been confronted on the things Aang did. Aang is a character whose creators want fans to think is perfect, even when they themselves introduce the idea he might not be (Aang's being a terrible father is not that surprising to me, but even then Bryke had to scramble to tell us he wasn't actually that bad 🙄)

I am a lot less harsh with Zuko because he actually faced the consequences of his poor decisions. He worked to make amends not only for himself, but for his family. I empathize with his losses and his personal tragedies because the narrative actually cared about how those things affected him in just about every episode, unlike Aang, whose devastating losses are only touched on when they're convenient to that episode's plot. Otherwise, he is the picture of unbothered to the point that I question if he even knew most of the time that he was in a war (the answer, it would turn out in the penultimate episode, was no, apparently not). There's not much I can criticize Zuko on that wasn't already touched on within the show. Why would I judge Book 3 Zuko based on Book 1 Zuko (who btw, I still think was a much better rounded character than Aang in any of the series)?

When it comes to Katara and the misogyny inherent in how she was treated in her canon ship? Well, I can only point to canon and aks to be proven wrong. Katara had very little to do with the development of Kataang during the series, and that little was usually prompted by someone or something outside of her own thoughts and feelings bringing the idea up. Meanwhile, we know from the beginning that Aang likes Katara (well, he likes how she looks anyway). His feelings matter to the narrative: Katara's not so much. Then the disastrous comics where Katara's character from the show is completely stripped from her and she ends up being the cheerleader girlfriend of the Avatar. I know some of that is walked back in the more recent comics, but we already know how it ends for Katara and her kids. Also, the post LoK scramble to give Katara more agency honestly just makes me think that my original assessment of her relationship with Aang was spot on.

Zutara, in my opinion, would have been a great relationship for them both. They would've been just about perfect together, because as hot tempered as they can both be, they also both get really good at communicating with each other, which is something that Katara never really has with Aang. That's why it doesn't surprise me to find out how dysfunctional their family is. Katara and Zuko know how to work together as a team. In a relatively short time, they got comfortable opening up to each other. They are both passionate to the point that they can be really hot-headed, but they are both also extremely empathetic and compassionate. They are a couple that would've helped each other grow, and would have been so much more interesting than anything that happened with their actual canon relationships.

I get that there are people who would rather believe that Aang could outgrow his selfishness. That's totally valid, and has made for some great stories. However, I don't think saying the way he was written in canon has shades of incel is wrong. Especially by Book 3. I could see that guy growing up to be a viciously obnoxious narcissist. I bet those of us who know an "Aang" IRL can picture that, too.

[yanderes-galore]

OOO can I request tfa blizwing with promt 15, 56 and 17

Sure! I had @okchijt help me with this plot like they have for many of the others :) Again, I owe it to them to come up with plots when I can't!

Yandere! TFA! Blitzwing Prompts 15, 56, 17

"Please smile for me... don't make me force you...."

"Come dance with me, it'll stretch your cramped legs."

"You look so cute in those clothes! I think I picked well...."

Pairing: Romantic/Platonic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Cybertronian/Human pairing, Post kidnapping plot, Stalking mention, Forced relationship, Degrading behavior, Manipulation, Threats.

"Wear it, it isn't going to kill you." The ice cold persona of the Decepticon orders. You stare blankly at the new clothes to robot dropped into your arms. How... did he even get your size? Let alone human clothes!?

"Where did you get these?" You ask, reluctant to hear the answer.

"It isn't that important. I have... connections. Just wear it, I won't look."

You don't dare fight your captor on the idea, the large Con hulking over you is clearly capable of forcing you if you don't. You give a nervous look and clear your throat.

"Could you... leave my room for a moment?" You ask softly, Blitzwing giving you a curt nod in response.

"Of course."

With that the Decepticon leaves your "room". What you mean by room is prison. This room the Decepticon set up for you is a cage meant for his little human to reside. You shudder as you observe the outfit. It's something casual... but in your favorite colors. In fact it looks closer to pajama wear more than anything. You sigh and put on the outfit before Decepticon comes back in. You didn't dwell on the fact he knew your taste.

It's already quite obvious enough he's stalked you for awhile now.

The Decepticon, calling himself Blitzwing, strolls in again. His persona has changed to the more fierce hothead persona. You've been here for long enough that you've gotten used to... them somewhat. You glare at the cocky grin on his face, feeling embarrassed at the vulnerable clothing clearly meant to just doll you up.

"You look so cute in those clothes! I think I picked well...." Blitzwing coos, stepping closer to get a better look. You say nothing and turn away, the Decepticon towering over you in your room. It was just large enough to allow his height while also accommodating you.

Your neglect of his existence appears to irritate the Decepticon as Blitzwing kneels to your level. You can hear his anger but still refuse to say anything.

"Really? I give you a gift and you just ignore me? Isn't that ungrateful you selfish-"

There's a spin of Blitzwing's faceplate before the icy persona greets you again. You heave a sigh, happy you managed to avoid the outburst that nearly came your way. Blitzwing gives an apologetic look for a moment even if you don't buy it.

"I'm sorry about that... but you should know that I... we go through a lot to care for you. The least we ask for is your attention in return." Blitzwing tries to reason, reach out to hold you.

Quickly you back away and isolate yourself. Blitzwing stops in his tracks, frowning at the fact his calm demeanor isn't working. He doesn't leave you alone, much to your chagrin.

"You should know we care for you. We know this isn't optimal human condition but it's something. You mean a lot to us, which is saying a lot." Blitzwing continues to reason, still kneeling by you but not touching you. He then motions for you to look up at him with his large metal hand. You still keep your glare.

"Please smile for me... don't make me force you...."

His tone, albeit masquerading as sweet, hides a hidden threat. You feel you shouldn't push your luck any longer by this point. In this mode, Blitzwing tends to follow through with his threats.

Deciding to sacrifice your pride, you give in. You look up at Blitzwing and give as sweet smile. You see his optics widen at the cute little show you put on for him in the outfit with that smile. You can tell by his expression he's pleased you listened.

You feel humiliated.

"Good... that's good..." Blitzwing praises, picking you up before you can react to hold you up. You struggle in his hold as he pets your head. It felt like he was trying to soothe a small frightened animal. "You're so much better when you behave."

Despite the praise your mood isn't the best. You just look upset and embarrassed. Blitzwing notices this and his faceplate spins once again. This time... it's the one you can never predict.

"Come dance with me, it'll stretch your cramped legs!" As if on cue, the random persona of Blitzwing spins you around in his hands humming a tune and rhythm. You stop your struggles immediately to keep the Con pleased. Even if you were being dragged like a ragdoll it was better than sparking something dangerous in this unpredictable personality.

Even as the Con dances with you in your prison, you feel your fate is uncertain. You wonder if anyone will ever stop the Decepticons terrorizing your planet, therefore finding you. You wonder if you'll even be found or if they'll ever leave.

You tune out the song Blitzwing creates as he swings you around. You ignore the nausea that settles in your gut due to the movement and your stress. You try to focus on what can happen after all of this.

You wonder if there is hope for you...

You wonder if you'll ever see your freedom again.

[outerspacebisexual]

Heartbeat was a masterpiece loved it really ! Could you do a Robin x femreader with prompt 41 and 50 where maybe they are close friends but naturally act as a couple but reader is very pretty and Robin thinks she likes steve ? thanks love !

Lost in Translation - Robin Buckley

Summary: Robin Buckley had been your co-worker and friend for over a year. Too bad you wanted her as so much more.

Pairing: Robin Buckley x Reader

Word count: 2.8k

Warnings: swearing, angst, fluff, mentions of blood and injury

a/n: i am god and thus i’m changing the timeline to suit my own selfish needs. this takes place while working at scoops ahoy and steve knows robin is gay and events happen in this order because i said so

check out my prompt celebration!

Masterlist

If someone had told you a year ago that you would be hopelessly in love with your beautiful, strawberry blonde co-worker who you spent most of your time with?

Yeah, you’d probably believe them.

There was just something about Robin that made your heart do somersaults whenever she looked at you for a split second too long. It was the way that you felt when she held your hand when she was excited or scared, and no matter how much you pretended that it didn’t matter, you heart broke every time she let go. The way she threw her head back when she laughed at something you said, making you wish you could be the one to make her laugh for the rest of your life.

You supposed you could, but not in the way you wanted. Not in the way your heart ached for.

“I don’t get it,” Steve said, restocking the candy on the counter. “You both so clearly like each other.”

“Steve,” you said, placing the last of the cones on the shelf. “You know that I appreciate your well-meaning, but often wrong insights. This just so happens to be one of these times.”

Steve scoffed. “I’m never wrong.”

You raised a brow.

“OK, fine. But I’m not wrong about this.”

You sighed and walked back to the counter, dipping your hand into one of the candy jars. “It doesn’t matter, Steve. I’ve been trying to ask her out for months and every single time, something goes wrong. Plus, she very clearly likes Vickie.”

“Oh, come on. She’s only trying to be into Vickie because she doesn’t think you’ll give her the time of day.”

“Whatever you think, Steve.” You grabbed another piece of candy, but Steve grabbed your hand before you could.

“Stop eating the candy.”

“I can do what I want,” you said, reaching into the jar with your other hand.

Steve grabbed it as well and said, “I’m serious.”

“I actually don’t care.”

“You will when you get fired. And who’s losing out then, huh? You won’t be able to sit around and ogle Robin all day. ‘Oh, Robin, can you help me with this? Oh, Robin, you’re so amazing,’” he teased, his voice rising to imitate yours.

Your face scrunched up in disgust. “I don’t sound like that. And I—”

You were cut off when Robin breezed into the store. “Hey guys, what are you—” She stopped short when she spotted you, staring at the two of you. You quickly realized that Steve still had your hands and you pulled them away fast, heat rising to your cheeks.

Robin looked just as great as she normally did, her oversized jacket practically swallowing her. Your heart did one of those somersaults when you noticed that she had tacked the pin you had gotten her for her birthday to the pocket on the front.

You had brought it for her when the two of you had gone to the market one Sunday morning. She had admired it from afar as you two walked, but you made sure to note the stall, and after a well-timed bathroom break excuse, you circled back and bought it.

It was simple, not much, but she had squealed when you gifted it to her a few weeks ago. You’d had no idea what she would use it for, but now you did, and something in your chest warmed at the sight of it.

“Hey, Robin,” you said.

She glanced between the two of you for another second before shaking her head and saying, “Hey, I was going to ask what you were doing tonight?”

You tried to keep your smile casual. “Uh, I’m not busy. Steve?” You shot him a look that said, You’re busy tonight, but he didn’t catch it.

“Yeah, I’m free.”

You wanted to slam your head through the wall.

+

“How can you speak all these languages again?” you asked from where you were leaning on the wall, watching her try and decode the Russian transmission that Dustin had brought to Steve.

“I’m just so incredibly amazing,” she replied, writing another letter on the whiteboard.

She wasn’t wrong. You were in awe as she translated an entire message from a language that she didn’t even speak. She was amazing.

“You’re not wrong,” you said, the corners of your mouth turning up when you noticed the slight flush to her cheeks.

It was hot outside, you tried to rationalize. It was the middle of summer, of course she’d be flushed. It didn’t stop the joy that sparked at the thought that you might have caused it.

A sudden bout of confidence rushed through you, and your leg bounced. “What are you doing this weekend?” You tried to stay casual. You were casual. So casual.

She paused, just for a split second. “I don’t think I’m doing anything,” she said, not turning to you.

You nodded, even though she couldn’t see you. “Cool.”

Now, you thought. Now was the perfect time to ask her. And if she said no, then there were no one there to witness the murder of your heart at point blank range.

You couldn’t take your eyes off her back as you chewed your lip. You were really about to do this.

You could do this.

“Did you want to—”

The doors swung open. “How are we going with the super-secret Russian code?” Steve said as he and Dustin strutted into the room like you hadn’t been just about to ask out the girl of your dreams.

“It’s a transmission, Steve,” Dustin corrected with his usual distain for Steve’s idiocy.

“Oh well, sorry.”

“I can’t believe that you’re still getting it wrong after we were just talking about it. It’s like the lights are on, but there’s nobody home. Seriously, I’m—”

You stopped listening and envisioned a bulldozer crashing straight through the store.

+

Everything hurt.

Your face, your ribs, your stomach. Everything.

You could feel the warm blood rushing down the side of your face from the split in your eyebrow; courtesy of one of the guard’s rings.

You hadn’t seen Robin or Steve since you and him were carted away from Robin into separate rooms for interrogation.

They had tied you down and tried to beat the answers out of you, but you could only tell them the truth, which apparently wasn’t true.

It wasn’t until a few hard punches to your stomach and ribs and a few choicely places ones to your face that they decided they’d had enough. They practically dragged you out of the room and back to where you’d come from.

You tried to hold your head up and searched for Robin and Steve, finally seeing them as the final door was pushed open.

She was leaning over Steve and shouting at the guards. If you weren’t half out of your mind, you would have been grateful that she looked relatively unharmed.

But when she saw you as you were thrown on the ground beside Steve, she practically jumped onto you.

“Oh my god, Y/N. Are you OK?”

The room was spinning, and you couldn’t seem to work out how to move your mouth.

Her hands ran over your head and the side of your body as she dropped to her knees. She turned you over more to see your face, her breath hitching when she saw the blood.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” she screamed at the guards, who didn’t seem to care as they spoke amongst themselves in Russian. She turned back to you. “Hey, can you hear me? I need you to say something, Y/N, please.”

Your brain was pounding in your skull, and your eyelids began to droop closed to try and block out the light.

“No, please. You’re going to be OK,” she told you. “I’m not doing this without you. Please, stay awake for me, baby. Please.”

She was crying, you realized through your haze. You hated when she cried.

You used every bit of strength in your body to open your eyes wider.

“That’s it, stay with me,” she said. But before you could even try and say anything, she was torn away from you. “Hey, let me go.”

You could only watch as she was tied to a chair, kicking at the guards. Then, Steve was dragged over to the other chair that was placed back-to-back with Robin’s. It wasn’t until guards hoisted you up onto another chair at the side of the room that you even realized you were moving. You didn’t even feel the straps that were wound around you until it pulled tight over your ribs and you groaned in pain.

You were trying your best to stay conscious, and that was the only reason you could think of as to why you weren’t in the middle of the room with your two friends. From where you were, you had a clear view of Robin and half of Steve.

That was when the Russians decided to inject the three of you with something that looked like it belonged in a sci-fi movie.

Nothing happened at first, but as the minutes dragged by—and an unfortunate escape attempt from Robin and Steve—you started to feel giddy. The pain was dulled to a pulsing, and you lifted your head enough to rest it against the wall behind you.

When the Russians came back into the room, you couldn’t help but notice the doctor in his sinister looking apron and white coat.

“Would now be a good time to tell you that I don’t like doctors?” Robin said, eyes not leaving the doctor as he pulled out a bunch of tools that looked like torture devices.

“Let’s try this again, yes?” the commander said. “Who do you work for?”

Steve huffed. “Scoops. Scoops Ahoy.” He and Robin started laughing, and you found yourself starting to giggle. It was little more than air, but it felt like you were laughing just as loud as them.

“How did you find us?”

“Totally by accident,” Steve laughed.

The commander spoke in Russian, and your eyes widened as the doctor picked up a pair of plyers. He moved towards Steve, but the commander cut him off.

“Her,” he said, pointing at you. His eyes went between you and Robin, and a sinking feeling opened up in your gut as he approached you.

The commander’s eyes didn’t leave Robin as the doctor grabbed your hand and began to tug at your fingernail despite you trying your best to wriggle out of the way.

“Wait! Wait!” Robin shouted. “There was a code! We heard a code!”

She visibly relaxed just a fraction as the doctor stepped away from you. You let your head drop forward as you listened to her repeat the code and then her and Steve berate the commander.

You would have been impressed by their composure and confidence if it weren’t for the fact that the three of you were drugged out of your mind.

Then, alarms went off and the pulsing in your head got louder.

And then, Dustin Henderson and Erica Sinclair were bursting through the doors and telling you to run. He undid Robin and Steve first, Erica coming over and untying you. “Hey little Sinclair,” you said. “You know, I think I like you more than your brother right now.”

“Normally, that kind of flattery would be much appreciated, but right now, we have to go,” she said to you, and called for Robin, who immediately started to help you up and through the tunnels to the weird cart-truck thing. The further you got, the steadier you were on your feet.

Whatever this drug was, it was giving you a seriously wicked high.

The time between getting in the elevator and getting to the cinema bathroom was a blur. You vaguely remembered Marty McFly and then drinking a shitload of water until you needed to vomit.

And now, you were curled against the tiled wall after throwing your guts up.

“OK,” Steve said. “We need to know if it’s still in our system. I’ll ask you guys a question.”

You could feel the full effects of your injuries coming back to you, and you tried to stay as still as possible, ignoring Steve and Robin as they started asking dumb questions to each other.

“Hey, Y/N. Are you good?” Robin called from across the bathroom.

“Yeah,” you managed, starting to rub your ribs to try and ease the pain. “I’m good.”

“Do you still feel loopy?”

“I’m not sure.” You weren’t sure of anything other than you would be so fucking sore in the morning.

“Answer the question I just asked.”

“What question?”

She sighed like it was the biggest deal that you hadn’t heard. “Have you ever been in love?”

You froze, stopping your motions as you just stared at the side of the stall, as if you could see all the way through it straight to her.

“Y/N?” Steve called.

You cleared your throat. “Uh, yeah, I have.” You wanted to stop. You wanted to stop your mouth moving, but it was like you had no control over the words spilling from your mouth. “I’ve been in love with the same person for over a year now. I don’t think I realized it was love at first, because we always spend so much time together. We work together and hang out outside of work, too. So, we’re always glued to each other. I’ve tried to get the courage to ask for a date, but something happens every time and I don’t get to.”

There was silence from the other stalls.

“He sounds really special,” Robin said, her voice softer, more dejected.

You swallowed. “Yeah, she is.”

It was like the room became electric as soon as the words left your mouth. There was no way to take them back, not even if you wanted to.

The silence was deafening. Your ears rang as you sat in your confession, trying desperately to keep it together.

But then there was shuffling, and Robin appeared in the doorway of your stall. She was on her knees, holding each side of the door frame to keep herself upright. And she was looking at you like you were a new person.

You didn’t say anything. She just stared at you, until a small smile broke out across her face.

Her eyes softened in a way that you hadn’t seen before as she shuffled closer to you and said, “You love me?”

“Yes,” you breathed as she got even closer.

And then she was kissing you. You froze for a second, but when her hand came up to rest on your face, you shook out of your stupor. Your own hands flew to the sides of her neck, pulling her closer until she was practically in your lap.

She accidentally leaned into your chest and you pulled away, groaning.

“I’m sorry!” she squeaked, leaning back and assessing you.

“It’s fine,” you said, letting out a sigh of relief as the pain subsided again. “I’m fine. Are you fine?”

She nodded. “I’m better than fine.” She trailed her fingers along the side of your head where you knew that the blood had left a stain on your skin. It would most likely need stitches.

“I thought you liked Steve,” she admitted shyly after a long moment of searching your face.

“Steve?” you said incredulously. “Why would I like Steve?” You heard him cough and you cringed. “No offence, Steve.”

“I don’t know! I just thought you did,” she replied, swinging her arms around.

“Robin, I spend every second I can with you because I love you. I’ve been trying to ask you out for months.”

“I’m sorry,” she said. “For not realizing. I just never thought that you would ever feel the way I did. What kind of best friend am I?”

“One that I am hopelessly in love with.” You brushed her nose with yours as you whispered, “Baby, you’re the one for me.”

“I love you, too,” she said.

You breathed in. “Say it again.”

She grinned. “I love you.”

“Again?”

She kissed you, brushing her thumb over your chin. “I’ll be saying it for the rest of my life.”

[me-loving-woso]

Prompt List

Hi everyone, I hope you are having a great day! This is my prompt list for some imagines/ficlets that I want to write, if you like you can decide to chose up to 3 prompts per fic. If you like any other prompt other than this, feel free to write me, and I’ll try my best to write it.

Angst/Emotional:

“Just please, don’t leave me.”

“It hurts so much. Why does it hurt so much? I just want it to stop.”

“Forget it. Just like you forget everything else.”

“I never ask for help because I’m not sure I know how.”

“It’s alright to feel broken every once and a while. And it’s alright to take time to heal.”

“I feel like I’m falling apart.”

“What is it about me that isn’t good enough?”

“I wish I was brave.”

“Whats the point in trying if only one of us is willing to?”

“You almost died and you’re making jokes?”

“I would give up everything for the chance to hear your laugh again. To see you smile. To see you happy.“

“You don’t have to hide your tears from me.”

“For once in your life, do what you want! Be selfish!”

“Being strong doesn’t mean never asking for help or admitting you’re in pain.”

“No matter what they made you think, you are worth saving. You are worth loving.”

“You said you wouldn’t leave, and then you did.”

“I’m a fool for believing you meant what you said.”

“You are not your past.”

“Don’t look at me like that.”

Fluff/Romantic:

“I just cant see myself ever living without you.”

“If there was ever anybody meant for me, it’s you.”

“I didn’t believe in soulmates until I met you.”

“You owe me a kiss.”

“Go with me?” “Only if you hold my hand.”

“I’d feel much better if you’d let me walk you home.”

“If I asked you to stay, would you?”

“You make me feel alive. For the first time ever, I feel like I can breathe.”

“I’ve never felt this way before, and truthfully it scares me. But, the idea of never trying scares me even more.”

“I promised to love you forever, and that is a promise I intend to keep.”

“Is that my shirt?” “You mean our shirt?”

“You give me a reason to be better, to do better.”

"All I’ve ever wanted was a place to belong. Somewhere I could call home. And you gave me that. Because you are my home.”

“They don’t compare to you. No one does.”

“No matter how much time we’ve spent apart, I never stopped loving you.”

“I think I’m in love with you.”

“You brought me breakfast?” “Well you said you always forget to eat before you go to work, so I thought I’d make sure you ate something.”

“Everything feels right when you are with me.”

“I don’t care what others say, I want to be with you and that’s all that matters to me.”

“You bought me flowers?” “Yeah, well I noticed you’d seemed kinda down, so I wanted to cheer you up.”

“I’ll be damned if anyone makes you feel like you aren’t worthy of being loved.”

“I wasn’t sure what love really felt like until I met you.”

“I can braid your hair for you- I mean, only if you want.”

“Maybe if you stopped staring at them and actually talked to them, you might have a chance.”

“I want you. All of you, and not just halfheartedly, but wholly. And maybe that’s selfish, but I don’t care.”

“Can you stay? Just for tonight, please. I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts.” “'l’ll stay for as long as you need.”

“You are my family.”

“We’ve been by each other’s sides for years, you think I’m gonna leave now?”

“Take my jacket, I don’t want you catching a cold.”

“I’d wait a thousand lifetimes for you, because you are worth waiting for. So when you are ready. I’ll be right here.”

“I can’t stop thinking about you. No matter how hard I try, you’re always on my mind”

“Don’t go on that date.” “Why?” “You know why.” “Say it.”

“Can I kiss you?”

“I can’t remember the last time I laughed like this.”

“How long have you had this planned?” “Since the moment I fell in love with you.”

“You came all the way here for me?”

“Why are you staring at me?” “Because I think you’re beautiful.”

“I think I’m falling in love with you.” “I think I’m okay with that.”

“What are you doing here?” “I wanted to see if you were okay.”

“The world gets a little brighter when your around.”

“They say we wont last.” “Then lets prove them wrong.”

“You kissed me.”“You kissed me back.”“And I’m not here to apologize.”

”you deserve so much more than what you’ve gotten,”

“maybe we could go get coffee…tomorrow?” “yeah, i’d like that.” “you would?!? uh- i mean great, i’ll text you the details.” 

 “i missed you.” “you just saw me,” “yes, but i missed holding you.” 

"Perfect,""What?""You're perfect,"

Miscellaneous:

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone screw something up that fast before.”

“I’ve never told you that before.”

“You come here often?” “Well, I work here. So I think I’d have to say ‘yes’.”

“At least it couldn’t get any worse.” “I really wish you hadn’t said that.”

“I’m too sober for this.” “You don’t even drink.” “Maybe I should start.”

“You couldn’t handle me even if i came with instructions.”

“Wake me up when it’s over.”

“I think… everyone deserves a chance to prove themselves.”

"Abort mission, I repeat abort mission.” “What? Abort what mission? All you were doing was introducing yourself to your neighbor?” “Yeah, and they’re too attractive. I can never speak to them again.”

“At least I kept my promise.”

“I saw you looking at it last time we were in the store together, so I got it for you.”

“…Did you just sniff me?”

“Of course I noticed, I notice everything about you.”

“Are you alright?” “Yeah, why?” “You look mad.” “That’s just my face…”

“You can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Since when did you open a bakery in your house?” “Since I got bored.”

“Can someone explain to me, in not so many words, why they are here?”

“For the most part, I am, in fact, an idiot. But I fully admit to it, which should count for something.”

“I hate that I let you convince me to do this”

“What are you doing here?” “I got locked out of my house.” “Again?”

“Where are we going?” “It’s a surprise.” “I hope the surprise involves food.”

“I am nothing if not consistent.” “Yeah, a consistent pain in my ass.”

“What happened?” “Do you want the long version or the short version?” “Uh, short?” “I made a mistake.” “Okay, long version.” “I made a very very big mistake.”

“Do you take constructive criticism?” “Not without crying.”

“Are we all on the same page?” “Yes. Just of different books.”

“Why did you break up with them?” My dog didn’t like them, and that is never a good sign.“

Scenario Prompts: *For prompts with Characters A and B; you can choose who is who in your request (who is reader and/or character)

Fall asleep in same bed, on opposite sides, wake up in each others arms.

Separated forcefully or for reasons you can’t control, run into each other again years later on accident.

Get locked in somewhere together.

Continuously running into one another for days after having a meet cute.

Hands brush as you stand next to each other, you think it’s on accident until their hands gentle wrap around yours.

Caught staring too many times for it to be a coincidence.

Size difference hug; they engulf you.

You refuse to leave so they pick you up and throw you over their shoulder.

Character A can tell Character B is getting nervous in a big crowd, so A slips their hand into theirs to help them calm down.

B taking care of A when they are sick.

Holding hands underneath the table.

Bandaging the other and then kissing the injury gently.

B sitting/standing behind A and leaning into them as they show/teach them how to do something.

As you begin to fall asleep, you feel a gentle kiss pressed to your temple and a blanket draped over you.

B comforting A as they wake up from a nightmare.

A realizing that they have feelings for B when they see them with someone else.

A game of 20 questions that ends with “Can I kiss you?”

There’s a big storm going on outside while A is at B’s house, so B insists they sleep over.

A hears that B got hurt and rushes over in a panic to see if they are okay.

A falling asleep while sitting next to B, as there head falls onto B’s shoulder, B stays as still as they can, afraid to wake A.

Cloudgazing or Stargazing together, as you lie next to each other, their hand slips into yours.

Looking around for the shirt you left at your s/o’s house; only to find it in a drawer with other clothes and items you’ve left.

B get’s so nervous about their dinner date with A that they accidentally make enough food to feed ten people.

A hand written love lover left at your doorstep.

B dancing to music as their cooking or cleaning, and as they spin around A suddenly appears, grabbing onto B and continuing to dance with them.

A buying B groceries because they knew they forgot to buy themselves food again.

A finding a hand-sketched photo of them on B’s desk.

B helping A step down from a high place by taking their hand, and then not letting go as they continue to walk.

Comparing hand sizes, then linking fingers together.

Dancing around the living room of the first home you’ve bought together.

Long distance relationship; receiving a good morning text every morning, until one day you don’t. You are worried, but then there is a knock at your door.

B is sunshine, rainbows and kindness. A is night, rain-clouds and anger. But when A meets B, they bask in the sunshine and never want to leave.

B asking A to attend a wedding with them, to get out of going with someone their parents tried to set them up with.

[infinite-orangepeel]

recently turned this gym partner steddie ficlet into a fully fledged 6.5k ao3 fic. feel free to check out the added filth here <333 mwah and thank you again to anon for the prompt that inspired it !

Pt. 3 of my Steddie Gym Partner Ficlet

(read the other parts here: pt.1, pt. 2)

rating: def nsft

warnings: feminization, degradation/humiliation, voyeurism, under-negotiated kink (but they are both into it)

and just as eddie starts to work a third finger into steve and gets ready to prep him for more, the flimsy shower curtain is moved open and a third party enters the small stall.....

“oh this is rich. god, knew it had to be you in here stevie. no one else could sound so stupidly desperate for cock. needy slut,” tommy hagan sneers as he wanders closer and runs a finger down steve’s chest, “and with the freak no less? you’ll just take anything up the ass these days, won’t you?”

his dick is in his right hand already and he’s stroking it with reckless abandon. rough and fast like he wants to cum as fast and dirty as possible. eddie scoffs at him, imagines his partners don’t get much of a chance to seek out their own pleasure with such a selfish prick as hagan and his stubby excuse for a dick.

steve’s trembling with fear. he’s digging blunt nails into the side of eddie’s arm as a silent cry for help. whimpering in the vain of a trapped garden bunny who might not make it out alive with the big bad wolf lurking so close by.

eddie’s pissed—more than pissed. he’s irate, he’s catastrophic, he’s ready to drive a dagger straight through the soft spot of hagan’s skull. because no one gets to make his steve feel like he’s anything less than perfect. steve—angel that he is, too good for this world—harrington deserves to cum and moan and babble and whine and get kissed senseless without some gross pervert watching his every move.

“don’t you dare fucking touch him,” eddie growls, arresting tommy’s entitled wrist in his hand, “unless you want me to smash your skull in on the tile. which can definitely be arranged but if i were you, i wouldn’t try my luck.”

tommy keeps his chin held high but his lower lip starts to quiver with something obviously akin to fear. eddie has a reputation around town. he’s not someone to be fucked with and he always follows through on his promises.

“no, let him watch,” steve surprises eddie when he speaks causing him to lean forward so he can make sure he hears him properly, “want him to see how good you’re making me feel, want him to see you make me yours when you cum inside me. so he knows exactly who i belong to from here on out.”

as if this day at the gym wasn’t blowing eddie’s mind enough.

“baby you don’t have to prove anything to him or me,” he kisses steve’s neck as steve fucks himself back on eddie’s trio of fingers—mewling pleasurably, “but if you really want to keep going, i won’t deny you.”

“y-yeah,” tommy groans, hand quickening from his spot in the corner, “i won’t touch. just watch. just wanna see what a pathetic slut you are, stevie.”

steve nods against eddie’s chest, “please fuck me, eds. need your cock so bad it hurts. don’t care about tommy, just want you inside.” 

it’s the last straw, the last shredded bit of eddie’s restraint. edging and building towards this exact moment all afternoon.

“hands to yourself, hagan,” he locks eyes with tommy as he wraps one hand around steve’s torso to hold him in place and uses the other to line himself up with his entrance.

eddie sinks into the clutch of steve’s plump ass. drawing soothing circles on his skin as he pushes past the tight clench of muscle. it’s impossibly warm and tight; more so than anyone else eddie’s ever been with. steve’s rim is tinted pink like the weepy head of his straining cock.

“ah. so full eds,” steve whines with his cheek pressed against the wall of the shower, grinding onto the tile with his hips, “so fucking full.”

if it’s a performance tommy’s looking for, it’s a performance he’s going to get. one so blasphemous and debased that he’ll never be able to so much as glance at steve again without envisioning eddie pressed deep inside him.

eddie gives steve time to adjust to his length as he proceeds to fuck into him. tauntingly slow, he pauses every inch or so to let steve wiggle around, cry out for more, and beg in that gorgeous slutty tone of his. eddie preens at his boy’s beauty, at the way he screams his name, and the desperation leaking from his pretty tongue.

“be good baby. be patient. gonna give you exactly what you need,” eddie reassures, starting to move for real—thrusting his pelvis rhythmically and growling in steve’s ear, “that’s right. show tommy who owns this tight cunt. gotta sloppy little pussy, hm? so fucking wet for me,” and then glaring at tommy—who is drooling all over himself—eddie says, “you seeing this, hagan?” tommy nods hastily which makes eddie laugh like a movie villain, “harrington needs a man with a real cock to fuck him. instead of that poor excuse of a clit you have over there. rubbing yourself like a fucking animal. its disgusting.”

tommy drops to his knees, head hitting the wall behind him, dick begging for release, “munson, I’m sorry. i’m sorry, okay? i can be g-good too. i can be good for you if you’ll fuck me after you’re done with steve. please? just once, c’mon man. i’ll do anything.”

steve stiffens at the suggestion, looking over his shoulder to find eddie’s eyes, jealousy overflowing.

“shhh, babygirl,” eddie finds steve’s cock and takes it in his fist to give him proper friction, pounding into his ass as he does so, “i wouldn’t fuck hagan with a ten foot pole,” tommy protests in the background but eddie pays him no attention, “i’ve only got eyes for you. he couldn’t pay me enough to touch him. besides, he’s just being a bitch. he knows his place is over there on the floor. now let’s give him something to remember so he doesn’t ever bother us again.”

“yes please,” steve murmurs, licking into eddie’s mouth from where he cranes his neck, “wanna cum on your cock. make me your slut. don’t want anyone else to play with me.”

eddie tugs at steve’s hair, yanks him backwards so his back is arching obscenely and slaps that pretty round curve of his ass. relishing in the blooming red handprint he’s left behind. steve cries out for more, so eddie delivers. five spankings in devoted repetition. left cheek, right cheek, left cheek, right cheek, left. until his ass is crimson and he goes slack in eddie’s arms.

“marking you up, sweetheart. look so fucking hot with my handprints on your ass,” he praises, sloppily rutting into steve. he’s getting incredibly close to an orgasm and he knows steve is too.

he angles their bodies so steve can stare directly at tommy, who apparently already came all over his own lap while they were busying themselves with pleasuring each other. tommy looks to be in a daze, blissed out and moaning breathily as he teases the tip of his cock and spurts out a bit more cum.

“tell him how good it feels, princess. tell him how much you like getting fucked by my cock,” eddie orders, spitting on steve’s ass to provide extra lubrication and watching it disappear into his stretched out hole.

“he fucks me so good—ah,” steve sobs, “love it so much. love his cock. love how big it is, stretches my pussy so wide. feel it in my throat, he’s hitting so deep. mmm.” his words grow incoherent.

“so well behaved. bet you’d never let tommy order you around like that, would you?” eddie slams into him, letting loose the most absurd, defiled moans he’s ever heard come out of his own mouth.

“n-never,” steve whimpers, “only you, daddy. only you. i’m all yours.”

without warning, eddie shoved himself all the way into steve—making him scream—and fills his ass with a full load of cum. thick white ropes coating his walls and dripping onto the floor as eddie pumps steve through his own orgasm. gorgeous boy soaking the front of his thighs and eddie’s fist. cumming hard and collapsing into his chest.

tommy stands up and starts moving towards them, looking like he has another stupid request on the tip of his ugly tongue. probably wants to clean eddie up or lick the cum off of steve’s belly.

“get the fuck out. you’ve had your fun,” eddie cradles steve against him and shields him from hagan, “and don’t come back here looking for more or i really will knock your teeth out.”

tail between his legs, tommy ducks out of the stall, pushes past the curtain, and disappears for good.

“holy shit,” steve moans when eddie eventually pulls out and admires the way his cum leaks out of steve’s ass, “you should definitely come work out with me more.”

eddie cackles, picks steve up letting him wrap his legs around his waist, and kisses him with genuine care.

“it’s a deal. as long as you keep wearing those tiny little shorts.”

the end !!

thanks so much for reading, feel free to leave me a comment to let me know how you enjoyed this and/or send me a steddie related prompt/request in my inbox (i’ll take any but sm*tty ones are my favorite, also censoring bc tumblr doesn’t like that word lol) <3

taglist: @estrellami-1, @disastardly, @ilovecupcakesandtea, @the-redthread, @asbealthgn, @bestofbucky, @vampireinthesun, @carlyv, @shrimply-a-menace, @lordrrascal, @anxiouseds, @jjoesjonas, @jehneeg, @malachitedevil

[captainmera]

Mera, i honestly dont know you put up and manage so many people asking you for stuff-

like today, ive only ever gotten one request (that i realised was a full on commission once i accepted) which i then spent atleast 3 HOURS on. not even to get paid T-T

so i just gotta say on behalf of the Mera crew, thank you so much for putting up with us and our shit.

Thanks I appreciate inte that. 🙇💗

I hope they weren't rude, that you still had fun, and that you learned something from it on how you want to proceed going forward with people requesting things from you.

I dont think people who approach me are shit or anything, it can be a little rude or disrespectful at times, but I boil that down to a few people. It's not the majority. Most people are nice and behave like they would if this had been in person.

I like drawing things, and it helps me fill my day with something.

Sure, It can be a little hurtful when people take advantage of that by just throwing a request/ptompt at me like they're putting paper into a copy machine, without consideration or empathy for me and my time.

Some people come in with the energy of "since you have the time you should do things for me, you're nobody without my attention, and if you don't appease me I'll be upset and think you're a selfish bum." Which is, yknow, unpleasant to put it mildly.

Like, sure, I've put myself here. I post things online, and I like when people are interested in my work - who wouldn't be? I do think it's fun to take prompts. It gives me cause to be social and creative at the same time. But just because I'm willing and open for something doesn't mean it gives people an allowance to be entitled to demand things. They speak as though they have paid me enough with their approach alone.

Yes, I spend between 10min-5hours on pieces depending on if they're doodles, fully rendered pieces, or comics.

I think it is especially a bit entitled to go "I NEED PART TWO GIMME!!!!!!" Right after something like a comic, as though I didn't just finish something that took a while to make. It's not very empathetic.

But I don't take it to heart. People show who they are in their actions. I'm within my right to ignore, block, or politely decline. It doesn't serve me to sulk or get sad over people getting mad, calling me names, or get too pushy about what I should or shouldn't draw.

I understand its excitement, but please behave, yknow? You're not a toddler at the toy isle who hasn't developed a temperament resistance yet. Some people, I think, have an issue with instant gratification.

Have some respect in how you treat and speak with people online. The way you treat others reflects who you are.

If you wouldn't yell at someone irl to make you something, don't do it here either. I promise it doesn't reflect well on you, and I don't care that this is online and we are time zones apart; I will judge you. As will others.

You don't treat people like that.

And I won't let anyone treat me like that either. I've had enough of that in my life, and I'm tired of people calling me gullible and dumb for being polite and kind or giving people a benefit of doubt.

What I have is self-respect. It has taken me a lifetime to build it up, and I still wobble a little on whatever or not I can defend myself sometimes when people are mean. But nowadays, I can more confidently say, "You don't get to treat me like that. It hurts, and it is mean."

If you are the sort to take advantage of someone who is willing to do things for the fun of it, and who don't mind the effort it takes sometimes: then you are most unwelcome here and I host no guilt in removing you however I see fit.

But, like I said, the majority of people who approach me are friendly and level-headed, even when they're awkward or excited.

There is a difference between; "I need X so give me X!! Raarghargh Im going to die!!!" And "aaaa! I really enjoyed Z, if you have the time, I'd love to see more of Z!"

You know? <:T

Just food for thought I suppose.

I hope, though, that you keep doing right by yourself and don't let others discourage you.

[princeofsinweek]

Prince of Sin Week Prompts

So excited for Prince of Sin Week on 07/07- 07/13! This is my first attempt at hosting a character appreciation week, but I feel really hopeful for this week! Many have asked for more on the Princes from Kingdom of the Wicked and Throne of the Fallen so I’m so glad this is going to happen.

All forms of work are welcome, including art, fics, mood boards, playlists, etc. I’m so excited to see everything!

Please use the tag #princeofsinweek and tag @princeofsinweek that way I can share it on this page. If I miss anything, please send me a message with the link, and I will repost it for you. I don’t want to miss anything! 

Also, if you have any work for the princes you would like to share in the meantime or any featured creators you would like me to highlight please send me a message. I want to send love and support to everyone on here!

Now for the moment, we have been waiting for… 🥁

The Prompts:

Day 1: Prince Wrath/All Is Fair In Love and War

Featuring Prince Wrath’s sin, Wrath is the demon general of war and is a fierce warrior and strategist. "Acta non verba," meaning "actions, not words," is Wrath’s motto, and he lives by it. And don’t forget that “anger is his own personal aphrodisiac.” 😏

Day 2: Prince Pride/ Reflections and Ego

“I don’t simply look pretty. I am dashing.” Day two will feature Prince Pride. He loves to feed his ego and leads many to believe he is debauched, a drunkard, and a rake, but it is all an act. Though he does play the role so well that sometimes it doesn’t look like an act, leading to some of his struggles with those he cares for.In Emelia’s description of his throne room, it is described to have ornate mirrors everywhere to allow him to gaze upon himself whenever he likes. And as we learned from one of the other princes (Envy) the mirrors may not always be used just for his own reflection.😉

Day 3: Prince Envy/Games and RIddles

Prince Envy, oh Prince Envy, our prince loves a good game just as much as he loves to invoke his namesake sin in others. He often plays games with others, some dangerous enough to threaten his court. He is very cunning and ruthless, and he is not above trickery.  He is quite envious (hence his sin) and is a tad possessive as we saw in Throne of the Fallen with Camilla. 

Day 4: Prince Greed/All Bets Are Off

Prince Greed, like his brothers, enjoys games and tricks. He rules over his own gaming hell and enjoys placing wagers. He is also very calculating and ruthless, and Emelia describes him during an encounter as having a possessive hunger in his gaze. With his namesake sin, he is very greedy and can never get enough of things, power being one of them.  

Day 5: Prince Gluttony/Champagne Fountains

“He was a rake through and through. And he seemed adored for it.” Prince Gluttony overindulges in the things he enjoys: food, alcohol, debauchery, and hosting jaw-dropping parties to shock others, including the Reporter (Can’t wait for Throne of Secrets).  Gluttony is very suggestive and is often occupied in the selfish matters of his sin. Someone mentioned in the suggestions for prompts that he spends a lot of time with his partner. Our prince most likely does overindulge when it comes to his partner, time, gifts, food, attention, etc. 

Day 6: Prince Sloth/For Research

Like Gluttony, Sloth is often preoccupied in selfish matters of his sin. But unlike his brothers, he prefers to lounge around and read rather than engage in debauchery. He wears a mask of being a bashful, lazy book lover but he is also a very lethal warrior wielding a powerful weapon of his mind. He is very calculating and does not miss a detail. He takes his time studying until he has formulated a conclusion and course of action.  Sloth is very guarded and wary of others and often investigates others wanting to know everything about them from birth to the present day, including all potential lovers.  As for relationships Sloth has only had a few serious relationships and none have ended with tragedy or heartbreak. Sloth tries to avoid drama. 

Day 7: Prince Lust/Lover

The final day will feature Prince Lust’s sin. The Prince of Lust is known for toying with a person’s happiness and their carnal urges. He is quite the gossip and is very cunning. The prince is also a secret romantic despite his love for debauchery. Him being needy and romantic were a common suggestion for the prompts for Prince Lust.

[thatstonedwriter]

Loona's Long Nose Post

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

A/N: This is a crack piece based on a prompt I've been talking with an anon about. If you want the context, check out the Loona's Long Nose Post tag. Hope y'all can tolerate my attempts at humor. I also decided to expand the prompt a bit and add some fluff. I know the anon originally asked for a fem reader but I ended up keeping it gender neutral.

Content; platonic crack, fluff, gender neutral, no pronouns

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

At first, you thought nothing of it. Some new structure in the distance; it looked almost like a telephone pole. At least.. You could've sworn it was. But why did it keep getting taller?

It wasn't long until you decided to investigate. Trying to find the source was like looking for the end of a rainbow. Whatever it was, it was getting tall enough to rival the buildings of Imp City.

After a while of navigating the city, you start getting closer, zeroing in on the source of this strange phenomena. You race through the sketchy alleyways and dank tunnels. Then you turn a corner to see..

"Loona?!"

"Agh- Fuck!!"

Loona's looking up- she has to, because she needs to balance her nose- wait, that's what you've been chasing after all day?!

"How and why-"

"It's been like this all fucking day! Some dumbass kids thought it would be funny to cast a spell or some shit- ugh," She stumbles, managing to catch herself. "I'm gonna fucking kill them!" Loona screams, attempting to kick a nearby trashcan.

Unfortunately, due to the sheer fucking length of her nose, Loona lost her balance. She'd expected to hit the ground. She would've preferred to hit the ground. Instead, she has to deal with the humiliation of doing that Michael Jackson lean because her nose is propped up on a nearby building. And that only made things worse..

"What do I do," Loona groans. She stumbles back, regaining her balance with your assistance, and decides to sit with her back against the wall. She leans her head back, wincing. "Fuck, its killing my neck too. Would you uh.. mind helping me out..?"

She's hesitant, not wanting to seem selfish. Loona hasn't been used to asking for favors or being vulnerable, but you've changed that. Not to say Loona doesn't appreciate her other friends, but it's not exactly the same. Millie's usually preoccupied with Moxxie or spending more time with Blitzø. Blitzø is.. A whole other thing entirely. You're the first friend who has put in this much time, effort, and care.

She understands if you're not comfortable with initiating physical contact. Your company was already enough to start making her feel more relaxed.

"Hey.. Seems like your nose is uh.. going back to normal," you say. And it's true! Slowly but surely, at least.

"Yeah, not fast enough," Loona rolls her eyes- and sees her nose start to grow again. "Oh come on!!" 

"Wait wait wait! I think.. Maybe the spell is activated when you're upset, and deactivated when you relax.. "

"Seriously, you're just guessing that?"

"Yeah, so? We're working with limited information, here."

Loona rolls her eyes, huffing and combing her hands through her hair. "Well how do you suppose I relax with.. This," she gestures to her nose, giving you a (dare I say) bombastic side eye.

"I dunno. Let's just distract you.. Do you have music or anything? Or want to talk?"

Whatever it was, your methods worked. While Loona still had some.. Flare ups.. She's been managing to keep her nose from getting too long.

It's definitely not easy, but that's why she's glad she has you.

[domxmarvel]

Selfish 

Masterlist

Pairing: Charlie x Female!Reader

Prompt: N-night

The second you walk through the door you were immediately met with.

“Hey,Cas I want my cuddles.” He was wrapped in a blanket that draped behind him as he walked up to you,giving you his puppy eyes “Please?”

"Come here" you laid down on the couch and opened your arms,he climbed on top of you,his face buried in your chest.

“I missed you so much.”

"I missed you too,I know I've been working a lot. I'll try to make some more time for you,I just want you to know I love you"

“I love you too Cas” He kissed your cheek. You laughed and pulled him into a proper kiss. He kissed you back passionately and tried to pull you as close to him as possible. His legs soon wrap around you and he runs his hands through your hair. Just then your phone rang,you signed 

"hang on" you kissed his forehead and stood up taking a few steps away from him. You picked up "what now?” From the other end you heard 

"Sorry to bother you,boss but we caught the snitch. How do you want us to take care of him?" He said,you moved a bit further from Charlie. You weren't too eager to share this part of your life with him. He was too pure to be exposed to your darkness. 

"You know how to take care of him yourself,don't call me tonight unless it's an emergency" you hung up and walked back to Charlie. Laying back down,"Sorry,darling" you kissed him again.

“You should really tell me what you do” He says with a pout as he continues to play with your hair.  “Are you like… in the mafia or something?” He said it like he was joking,but you had a feeling that it wasn’t a joke. You laughed it off 

“Yes definitely,in fact I just killed someone before I came back" you said sarcastically as you laughed. He suddenly turned a bit more serious.  

“You know you can tell me anything right?” He says genuinely,you could feel a hint of anxiety in his voice. “I just want you to know I’ll support you no matter what you do” he said as if he was trying to reassure himself,rather than you.

"Of course" You kissed him "We should get to bed,I'm really tired"

“Yeah,I’m tired too” He yawned as he snuggled closer to you. “But I just want to stay with you” You forced him to stand up and follow you upstairs and soon you were completely intertwined with each other as he wrapped himself around you. He gives you a soft kiss on the forehead and watches you for a few moments, his hand coming down to caress your face. “Goodnight Casper” He moved closer to you,closing his eyes. 

"Good night" as you looked at him,you knew lying was the only thing you could do. You didn't want him to get hurt or worse because of you,but your selfishness kept you locked to him. You watched him for a few minutes before you closed your eyes.

The next morning you wake up to find Charlie no longer in your bed, however there was the distinct scent of coffee wafting in the air from downstairs.

[writebackatya]

Let’s go with Let’s All Go to the Movies! for fic bingo.

*gasps* Aren’t you the same @tokuvivor aka ducksandspandex on AO3 who did the Spanish translation for the story!?

Well you got it! This is for you and the anonymous person who also requested this story, which is one I’m still very happy how it turned out (after I went back and added and edited a few things)!

Honestly, kinda glad this was a June prompt giving me a deadline and all, really pushed me to not obsess over things and just quickly drop ideas that would have just dragged the thing out. Legit started while I was working on It Was a Dark and Stormy Night! and knew I’d only have enough time to do only two of the prompts

I wanna start things off by saying. I love this group. I wouldn’t add or subject anyone from this group. If you didn’t like this story I hope you at least like this group and plan on using them for a story or drawing or whatever of your own

First you got the three kids: Dewey, Gosalyn, and Webby. It was really easy picking these guys to be the ones who are excited to see your typical superhero blockbuster. They just have this youthful energy that I find very contagious and they’re honestly my most wanted trio to happen. I legit loved making Gosalyn the “cool kid” out of the three. Yeah she can be a handful for Fenton and is intentionally trying to be difficult for Gandra, but she does care about both Dewey and Webby

Also I just love both Webby and Fenton in this story for the fact they’re the only two not causing any drama. I loved writing the scene where they’re both at the crane machine working together to win prizes. They’re a pair I see a lot of similarities between one another so that inspired that dynamic

I think it’s safe to say that both Dewey and Gandra are the main characters of this story and it’s just another pair I’d love to see together because they’re so different yet so much alike that I think it’d make for great comedic moments. (I still love their interaction in the Split Sword of Swanstantine! where Dewey attempts to trash talk her only for Gandra to reply with a snarky “Thanks!” for helping her out)

Dewey I can just see be immediately drawn to Gandra out of all the members of Team Science cause A. She’s the least dorky member, B. She makes cool stuff, C. She has robots in her body, and D. He has history of pairing up with badass female characters (such as Webby, Della, & Gosalyn)

One thing I love writing about with Gandra is thinking about how difficult it will be for her to get know this family because our of all the characters, she’s the biggest outsider. She has no personal connection to any of the McDucks or Ducks, her connection is that she’s dating a guy who’s more than willing to put in the extra work for this family

And you know what? Fandom is way too harsh on Gandra and often expect her to just know certain things that she wasn’t there for. I don’t think she’s a hypocrite for working for Beaks (Fenton did too), it was a one time job to get what she wanted and plus, Beaks is an idiot. I just think it’s funny when people are like “Doesn’t she know that Beaks is way worse than Scrooge! Doesn’t Gandra know that?!” No. She doesn’t watch DuckTales like you, nerd. To her theyre both selfish billionaires but one is more idiotic and easier to take full advantage of while the other recruits his employees for adventures and probably still pays them minimum wage. We’re comparing Musk to Beezos here

For all their differences, I think the one thing this group has in common is that when danger calls they’ll be the first ones to respond no questions asked

I intentionally crammed a bunch of references into the story both to make the story fun and to poke fun at all the meta self-referencing media out there these days. I didn’t want to go overboard so I did my best to keep all that exclusively at the movie theater and to end it as soon as the group’s movie ended. Besides the superhero stuff, I love how all the references are either Disney or Disney adjacent (some 20th Century Fox stuff in there) Honestly every now and then I want to make a full list of all the references

I did try to be mostly subtle with all the nods and references. The only ones I wanted to be not subtle at all were the cameos. I was low-key inspired by the parody fake biopic movie Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story where all the historical cameos are just intentionally on the nose where the characters just flat-out say their full names in an unnatural way, “What do you think George Harrison of The Beatles?”

Also yeah, the cameos are also intentionally miscasted. But I did do my best in my story to make all the cameos be completely in character

Roxanne is a beloved character from the classic movie A Goofy Movie so having her work at the movies was a no brainer for me. Horace Horsecollar was the first one I knew I wanted to do because of his role in House of Mouse (and yes that woman speaking to him over the walkie-talkie was Minnie Mouse)

As for Dickie. Look, I’ll be honest. I don’t know if I did a good job with her or not. For the scene where Webby was the only one whose conscience was bothering her about sneaking candy into the movies, I was originally gonna just have your typical bored teen walk by and say no one cares, but that’s no fun! And honestly kinda mean-spirited. We needed someone nice and Dickie is a character I somewhat know from being in the fandom and I know is a character Goldie fans would want in DT17 cause she’s her granddaughter and all. So I looked up a few comic panels and went “Okay, I think I know how to write her!” and wrote her scene

And this was the Bobbie who was playing with the nacho cheese btw

Originally I wanted to do more trailers, but I quickly decided to go with just the trailer for Disney’s live action remake of their box-office bomb, The Black Cauldron. For that I rewatched the original movie as well as every 1st trailer for every Disney live-action remake from Cinderella to The Little Mermaid. I’d say the trailer was mainly poking fun at the Peter & Wendy and Pinocchio trailers (I didn’t watch either) as well as The Black Cauldron. I neither love nor hate The Black Cauldron but looking joking about it and low-key proud of the casting choices

As for the movie itself it’s mainly a riff on the MCU but there’s some DC stuff in there. I’d say I was inspired by the Spider-Verse movies, the Guardians of the Galaxy movies, Avengers: Infinity War, and The Flash (the only movie I didn’t watch out of these!)

All the characters (except the Nick Fury/Maria Hill stand-in) all come from either the comics, the OG DuckTales, and Darkwing Duck. I didn’t want to make them all one-to-one but turn them into how I think they show would change them slightly

Awesome Comics is from a Darkwing Duck episode where the hero is pitching his comic book to the company. Comet Guy is a Superman send-up that had a couple of episodes in Darkwing Duck and the main villain of the movie, Ordinary Guy, comes from Comet Guy’s second appearance where we go to his home planet Mertz where everyone but Ordinary Guy is a superhero. The brain teasers also came from Darkwing Duck and have a couple episodes themselves. I picked them because they’re hats and Comet Guy uses his spaceship as a hat

The Masked Mallard and the Scarlet Brigand both come from the OG DuckTales. The Masked Mallard is actually Scrooge McDuck and was inspired by swashbuckling Zorro type hero the boys were watching in the same episode. I basically made the Masked Mallard a combination of both Tony Stark and Steve Rogers since he can’t be Scrooge. And I decided to make the Scarlet Brigand female and she was inspired by Scarlet Witch and Black Widow (a lot of Scarlet here!) with more of a rogue sword fighter vibe and more scarlet in her costume. The Titanic Trio was actually just Huey Dewey and Louie at the end of the episode with their own Masked Mallard costumes so I stole the team name from them since this group was a trio

Also MEL was the villain in Gizmoduck’s tv movie five part episode tho bf

Super Snooper is the first superhero sendup from the comics so he had to be here. Him basically being a major role in someone else’s movie was poking fun at Michael Keaton being heavily advertised for The Flash movie. After all Super Snooper is a sendup of both Superman and Batman but mostly Superman. His death was inspired by the infamous reverse time scene from the OG Superman movie which I do love

I just think it’s funny this character came back from the dead only to be killed again

And I love the post credit scene for this. I had to do it. (There’s no post credit scene for the movie because I couldn’t think of anything.) But yeah, I love it because it’s just this family chilling and hanging out with one another

And the whole story ends with Della encouraging Gandra to go bang her boyfriend with a Spider-Man 2 reference. 10/10 storytelling

[jay-jp-art]

hey hey, do you mind sharing your akiyama headcanons? just saw ur tags talking abt how theyre dark and im very interested!!!! your fem ryuaki fuels me in ways i cannot describe and i havent even played dead souls FHKGJG and your tanimuras have my whole entire heart!!!

Oh wow first of all THANK YOU for the ask!! It's been only couple days since I've discovered I've had them disabled all this time so I'm very happy I noticed it before you found my blog (,:

I've already complained a bit on twt that when I've started to write down ryuaki headcanons, it prompted me to make a 35+ pages google doc with meta on both of them 😅 It pushed me to write more fun drafts tho, so all is well, but it won't fit in this post for sure ahbfght

But ofc, I will share a little about Shun specifically. (TW for implied SA)

Akiyama... I have complicated feelings about him, because on the one hand, he got betrayed by his closest people, lost all the standing in society and lived as a homeless person for a long time, and that's a big trauma to have. But on the other... He's got back up by a miracle, and now he's trying to recreate the miracle for others. He assumes the role of a judge for other people while himself being too young, too flawed, having black and white morals.

(In Y4 I downright despised Akiyama when he refused a loan to an abused woman on the basis that she didn't want to apply for sex work, but in the same substory gave some cringefail guy 4 chances to complete the test just because it was amusing.)

But I've just completed Y5, and it gave me lots of food for thought.

First of all, from what I see, Shun here was written (rewritten?) as a more sympathetic character. For example, now when it's implied that he's gonna make some woman "use her body" for the loan, it means he's sending her to work on the construction site. Well, alright. I'll take the bad taste joke over previous cases.

There's also an important quest when Akiyama meets his former boss, who not only initially fired him on false accusations, which started his downfall, but also married his ex-fiancée. And Akiyama finally admits that at first, he wanted to use his position as a loan shark to be selfish and to get revenge, but got disgusted with himself after seeing some humanity and principles in the former boss.

So, here finally comes self-awareness about his actions. Interesting tidbit.

Another big part of the character building we see now: when he is alone in Osaka, without Hana around, he's a complete mess. His new office is dirty, he barely eats some instant ramen and clearly just uses the place to escape Tokyo and the responsibilities he created himself. If in Y4 we saw him within his element, managing Elise and doing loan business (with a messy table because he's just soooo quirky and lazyyy \s), then in Y5 we get to see a bit of what's inside his head. And it's not pretty.

He's clearly distancing himself - from Hana and his new yakuza friends, because they have their own lives to care about. (Tanimura too mayhaps, but this is a separate friendship that I also like to talk about a lot)

Aaand he escapes to his ugly nook to have his ugly depressive thoughts. Can't let them witness it, can he? They'd lose all the respect for him.

At the same time, he throws himself into helping Haruka with passion, because that's the thing he actually cares about, for the first time in a couple years. (He also provides her with some much-needed parenting about the importance of being selfish, because, being raised by Kiryu, she's entirely too self-sacrificing.)

And suddenly - he's lively and energetic again, he's bouncing off other characters, he risks his life for what he deems right, he's helpful, organizing, charming. He's everywhere.

(But he's also afraid to acknowledge that he's got too close to people again. So he's ready to literally die for them and Haruka's dream, but avoids calling them friends, settling for "acquaintances")

Not much needed to imagine that, after everything settles down, he falls apart again. Because in his head he's never really needed or too important for the people around. They carry on with their life and plans. Such as Eri, Arai, Yasuko. Even Hana got fed up and left at some point, and has been keeping him at an arm's length since. (Good for her, that was unhealthy)

He's not only not that interesting, his trauma is "ugly" (by his self-admission). It's not heroic and it's very mundane. There's no clear villains to blame, like with Majima's torture in Y0.

It's just - waking up is hard. Akiyama can't see the point in much of what he's doing anymore. Money is just paper for him now, they might have bought him the freedom of choice, but somehow it didn't help. Even with all the financial help to struggling people he can't buy healing for himself. Most alive he felt actually was when he lost the money briefly in Y4 - it made him work to get them back again.

Now it gets a bit tricky, hence the TW.

I think that a lot of things about him actually make sense, if while living on the streets, he had it bad enough to the point of selling himself for food. Like, I don't want to make it into torture porn or downplay the traumatic experience of homelessness overall, but something for sure ruined him and his self-perception. That's why he's bouncing between playing a self-righteous entity and hating himself.

Aside from his crippling depression from all this being shunned deep inside and not addressed, there's the attitude about sex work I've mentioned he has in Y4. He is distancing himself from the situation yet again. A little bit of a trick to calm his mind: "If I treat it like every other job, it won't feel as dehumanizing applied to myself". And also: "Well, I was not above doing that! I was not too proud to do it! Why should anyone else be?"

Now, of course he doesn't want to subject his former boss (and, by extension, Eri) to the same hardships. Even though he is, actually, a bit of a cruel person.

So here's Akiyama in Y4-5. Not super pretty and kind of greasy, but nevertheless charming, gallant and crazy smart. Fighting and dancing and singing and networking equally well. VERY annoying, because he considers himself an expert in all things he read about even once (I also hc him eidetic memory, which makes it worse). And with every year getting more secluded and miserable.

That being said, fem ryuaki has slightly different tone even in all-fem AU because of gender expectations. Akiyama's upbringing for example.

I hc his parents seeing him as this very "proper" son, encouraging his risk-taking neurodivergent activity ONLY when it helped to build onto that image. They happily bragged about their son - with prestigious business degree, good banking job and pretty fiancée. But ofc, when it's all came crashing down, they didn't want to hear about him anymore. Nowadays they acknowledge his existance with some disdain, because they care about reputation more then about him or his wealth. And he has some "disgusting jobs, no respectable friends and no wife".

(It's all kinda complicated from both sides, mb I'll get deeper into it in fanfic that I'm writing)

(And forgive me for saying this, but fem Akiyama is more interesting for me to write in this narrative, because she needed to balance fitting "proper little quiet Japanese woman" with her loud banking career, and while she was always openly feminine, she was never proper or quiet "enough". And now she's "not enough" among actual living legends.)

Well, that's all I have to say for now!

I'm always open for further questions and discussions 😊

[smartycvnt]

Three Steps Back

Title: Three Steps Back Pairing: Claire Redfield x Jill Valentine Prompt: 1. "There's too much at stake for me to let you be this reckless." + 2. "You're selfish. I am too, but at least I can admit it." NR WC: 767

Jill was going to kill whoever told Claire what happened. The mission was supposed to be completely confidential, but somehow, her girlfriend found out exactly what had happened and gone wrong. TerraSave wasn't clued in on anything that went down, all thanks to Jill. She had pretty much singlehandedly saved the day with little more than bullet would and a couple of scrapes to remember the mission by. She had sustained worse injuries during her training to become a BSAA agent, but nobody seemed to care about that. They were all insistent, including Claire, that Jill had just strolled into open fire wanting to get shot down like a rabid dog.

"Are you even listening to me!" Claire's anger was briefly masked by her concern as she stared down at Jill. It made Jill sick to know that Claire didn't believe that she was okay. Jill had done the programs and talked to someone. She was cleared to do her job, but nobody ever believed that she was suited to. Jill just wanted everybody to stop underestimating her abilities for once. She never wanted to just be the things that had happened to her, she was meant for more than that. Claire had even told her so, but it seemed like that just wasn't true anymore.

"I'm fine. I just need everybody, including you, to get off my dick," Jill grumbled out her answer. Claire pinched the bridge of her nose as she turned away from Jill. It was so frustrating trying to get through to someone who just refused to listen or get help when they needed it. Claire had tried to be patient with Jill, but the woman was very obviously drowning without even knowing it.

"Did you ever think that maybe it's just because we care about you?" Claire had not meant to raise her voice at Jill, but it was too late. Jill was ready for it, and pounced on the opportunity for a fight. All she had been wanting since she got back and out of her meeting with the chief was to rip someone apart. Usually, Jill wouldn't have targeted Claire, but Claire seemed content with pushing and pushing until Jill pushed her back.

"That's rich coming from you. How many stories have you chased down that have almost gotten you killed? You and Leon used to care about each other, didn't you? That is what really happened, isn't it? Ada had nothing to do with the way you ran away from him when he stopped fitting into the box you wanted him to. The danger was okay whenever it was the two of you chasing your rebellious truths, wasn't it? You're selfish, Claire. You don't want anything that doesn't fit the image you've created of yourself. You're selfish. I am too, but at least I can admit it." Each of Jill's words felt like a knife in Claire's heart. She knew that she had never been perfect, but Claire had been working on herself for such a long time. The things she had lived through created layers of trauma that were being pulled back and revealed as the driving force behind some of Claire's more reckless personal missions. Claire could only imagine the things that Jill's past experiences were doing to her.

"It's not like that anymore, Jill," Claire said, defeated. Jill's face fell as she looked down at Claire. She looked so small and scared, just like the teenage girl that Jill remembered from the ride along. "I've made mistakes, but you told me that you didn't care about that. Yes, I am selfish and I don't want you to die because I love you so fucking much. There's too much at stake for me to let you be this reckless. If I lost you, I'd lose myself too, but if that's the way you feel about me, then I think I should leave."

"You're leaving me?" Jill's throat felt dry, but when she tried to swallow, it felt like she was trying to swallow pins and needles. "Claire, don't go."

"It won't be permanent, but I think we need some time apart. You need to talk to someone who can really help you, and maybe I do too. Neither one of us was ready for this, and that's why we can never move forward."

"Don't do this to me," Jill pleaded. Claire had heard her, but Jill knew better than to think her words would make a different. Claire had made up her mind, and she'd stick to her decision until it proved to be the wrong one.

[mixes-archive]

Junker Queen x Chubby Fem Reader Headcanons (SFW & NSFW)

Requested by: the head archivist, because there isn't anything out there with this prompt that I could find (a crime if you ask me) There is an indication where the NSFW starts :)

⁍ First of all, you cannot convince me that this woman wouldn't prefer to date a bigger girl

⁍ Chubbyness was literally seen as a sign of royalty and this woman still sticks to that belief (as she should)

⁍ Saw you walking down the street and went "Awooga das mine now" (of course, Odessa wouldn't actually just pluck you off the street (unless you wanted her to))

⁍ She'd try her best to somehow find a natural way to talk to you she knows, after all, how intimidating it could be for LITERAL ROYALTY to just show up and talk to you

⁍ Prays for you to show up in the arena some day. Not because she wants to beat you up, but just to find some common ground to talk

⁍ Yeah no way that's gonna happen

⁍ You'd probably meet in a pub you work at, being nothing short of honored to serve the Junker Queen herself

⁍ Finds your politeness incredibly entertaining and intentionally teases you to make you feel more comfortable (also pisses you off, but it worked ig?)

⁍ Calls you stupid nicknames all night and tries to make small talk

⁍ The night ends with her just blatantly saying she finds you hot and exchanging numbers

⁍ She invites you out on a date a few days later, and that's when you both really kick it off

⁍ Odessa is gonna be really touchy from the beginning, but also constantly asking if you're okay with it

"Hey can I hold your hand?"

"We literally violently made out twenty minutes ago"

"Yeah, but can I?"

⁍ So sweet with it too, like dhdhdjksjs

⁍ It's wild how this seven foot, muscular and intimidating woman walks next to you like a pathetic puppy /pos

⁍ Also carries you around a lot, simply because she can. Oh no, you wore heels that make your ass look great but feet hurt like a mf? "Piggyback ride or bridal style?"

⁍ Looks for any excuse to (gently) slap your ass. Bent over? Slap. Lying on your stomach? Slap. Literally just standing there? Guess what, slap. Just loves watching it jiggle ngl

⁍ Absolutely LOVES it when you wear clothes that show off your body in any way, whether that be stuff that shows your curves off a bit more or full on sky's out thighs out

⁍ Would actually melt if you wore something that matches her clothes

⁍ Stares at you so much that others start to think she's going to murder you (Dess is just admiring you)

⁍ Probably shows you off to the public a lot

⁍ Makes you a throne next to hers, but you'll rarely, if ever, use it since she just makes you sit on her lap (she calls that position the 'reverse pillow')

⁍ Would purposely bounce her leg just to watch your boobs bounce ( her favorite activity)

⁍ LOVES it when you sit in her lap and do her makeup. You could have literally done the worst job anyone could ever do, and she'd be "gosh babe that looks so good!" and walk around with it all day

⁍ Wears your clothes for funsies

⁍ Don't be surprised if she returns them with holes or burn marks

⁍ If that upset you for whatever reason, she be at your doorstep the next day with designer clothes she got from god knows where

⁍ When you're both in a different country that's cold asf, she will warm herself using your body. Hope you like ice cold hands :)

⁍ She lives your tibbies <3

⁍ Dess is constantly using you as a pillow and has fallen asleep in very uncomfortable positions on top of you

NSFW

⁍ Mommy dommy cannot convince me otherwise

⁍ Almost always cares about your pleasure more than she does hers, but she'll absolutely be more selfish if she's had a rough day

⁍ She is PACKING those tounge piercings if you know what I mean

⁍ Definitely has a thing for knifes ngl. If you're not comfortable with that, she'd use blunt or fake ones

⁍ Probably like half the fandom has agreed on this but THRONE SEX. Her favorite activity probably

⁍ Will occasionally sit you down on her throne, put her crown on your head and gobble up that kitty cat

⁍ This woman eats you out like it's her last meal on death row. Odessa could go on for hours if you let her

⁍ Million dollar pussay

⁍ Do you smell that? Yeah, that's a praise and mommy kink 2-in-1 deal.

⁍ Call her mommy and she'll go from fast and rough to cooing at you while significantly slowing down her speed, calling you baby and praising you even more than before

⁍ Absolutely loves suckling on your tits, will also use teeth if you let her

⁍ She isn't into public sex, but will finger you under a table full of important diplomats if you ask nicely

⁍ Loves to try new things and will gladly stop holding herself back if you ask her to. (don't blame her if you can't feel your legs after though)

⁍ If she's in one of her "I will eat you like a starved woman until you beg me to stop" phases, she doesn't even need any kind of stimulation to get off, literally cums in her pants multiple times just from getting you off

⁍ Please use her face as a throne, please, please, please

⁍ If you're hovering above her even just slightly, she will force you in onto her mouth, claiming that even if she did die, it must've meant she wasn't worthy enough

⁍ This woman doesn't even need a strap with how long her fingers are dear god

��� She'll make you sit on her thigh and tell you to grind yourself against her (just loves watching how your body moves tbh)

⁍ Wear lingerie and this woman will absolutely lose it. Will buy you sets that she thinks would look cute on you after that.

⁍ Aftercare is so sweet too <3

⁍ Prepares a bath for you and massages your sore muscles while praising you for how well you did

[perfectpaperbluebirds]

would you be willing to write for ryan from the office again? :)

Ryan Howard is super sick. A new coworker takes care of him and helps him with his congestion. CW: Induced sneezing (non-kink).

So I know canonically Ryan is a selfish, egotistical ass who never learns from his mistakes, but I can just imagine him being a little more subdued and boyish and eager to please when he first starts his fancy corporate job, and even more so if he finds himself miserably sick. For that reason, this story is set within the first few weeks of him leaving the Scranton branch and starting his new role. Mess warning, definitely more than I usually write. It was egg week when I wrote most of this, so no apologies. This also refers to sn*t and other less “pretty” snz words often, because that’s how I imagine Ryan would think about them. 

To the anon who requested, sorry as always for the long wait. Winter sucks the writing juice out of me without fail. At least it’s extra long anyway. Hope this is somewhat what you were looking for. 

Based on this post by @nobodybetterlookatme

Prompts used (from this old prompt list): 

🦠  sniffles

🤧 sick for the holidays

What A Lovely Way to Burn

Ryan Howard scrubbed his hands over his face for the third or fourth time that hour, noting yet again how cold his hands felt against his cheeks. He sniffled, coughed, hating the grating sound it made and how much it hurt his head and throat. He had hardly put his hands down when a demanding itch flared up in his sinuses and he scrambled to grab a tissue. 

"KZZT'choo! KHGGZT'choo!!" The thick, stifled sneezes had unpleasantly shifted all the congestion in his head, and he blew what felt like a gallon of slime out of his nose. 

"You've been in New York for two weeks in the middle of summer, and you're already sick?" came a laughing voice from nearby. Ryan jumped, shoving the nasty tissue out of sight hurriedly. A hot girl, in fact that hottest girl here, the one that had caught his attention from the first day, was standing in front of his desk. Actually, leaning on it would be more accurate. She smirked at him flirtatiously, taking in his barely-unpacked desk and sickly, disheveled appearance. "Happy fourth of July, by the way."

"Yep. Happy fourth of July. Sick for the most random holiday. Call me lucky, I guess," he said, wishing he could pronounce the consonants properly. 

"New York has that effect on people. Sorry about your luck, Lucky. My name's Tiffani. With an I. 

"Nice to meet you, Tiffani with an I. And my name isn't actually Lucky. It's Ryan."

"I noticed." She nodded to the shiny nameplate on the front of his desk that had just arrived that morning. "Well Ryan Howard, VP of Northeast Sales, you are clearly a walking health hazard. What the hell are you doing here if you're sick?"

"I mean you said it yourself," he croaked. "I haven't even been here two weeks yet. It would look so bad if I called in already."

"Hmm." Before he realized what she was doing, her cool hand was pressed against his forehead. She made a soft sound in her throat, then suddenly both her hands were gently cupping his cheeks. 

"You have a fever. Poor thing," she cooed, gently running her thumbs over his cheek bones.

He sniffled wetly, then coughed. "That's no big deal. I just hate that I can't stop coughing and sneezing."

"Aww, honey. You should be in bed," she said sternly. 

"Trust me, I wish I was. But I just… I can't. Now's not the right time."

"Hmm," she said again, scrutinizing him. "If you say so. Have you eaten?"

He shrugged. "Not really. I'm not hungry. I can't taste anything, so–"

"Well that doesn't matter. You still need to eat. Wait here." 

He watched her go, feeling a little breathless from everything that had transpired in the past five minutes, snotty cold notwithstanding.

Tiffani was gone longer than he expected (though he really had no idea what to expect), so he was attempting to work once more when a box of tissues hit him in the arm, nearly making him leap out of his seat. He glanced up to find Tiffani smirking at him yet again, holding a styrofoam takeout container. 

"I said your name twice and you didn't even look up. Are you always this easy to scare?"

"No," he said sullenly. "My ears are all plugged up with everything else. And I was trying to concentrate."

"My apologies. I didn't realize you were so busy and important. Guess I'll take back the stuff I got you if you don't want it…."

He quickly pulled the desperately-needed box of tissues out of her reach. These weren't the crappy industrial office ones he'd been using either–they were the premium lotion ones. 

"No, I want it," he said quickly. "Thank you. For bringing them."

"That's only half of it." She set down the styrofoam container and pushed it toward him. "You need to eat. You'll feel better if you do."

He reached for this offering almost in spite of himself, feeling a sudden, low rumble of hunger. The container was very warm; whatever it was would feel so good on his sore throat. "Where did you get all this?"

"I had it delivered of course."

"But… why?"

"Sucking up to the new VP, why else?" 

Suddenly her hand was pressed to his forehead again, so fast he hardly saw her move. He found himself leaning into the touch almost reflexively, heavy and aching as his head was. 

She clucked her tongue. "If you're going to stay, you need to take some medicine for that fever." She produced a bottle of Tylenol and pushed it toward him with the rest. 

"You really don't need to do all this. It's just a cold." Yet he reached for the pills too, knowing her logic was sound. The next four hours would go much smoother if he was medicated. A thick, rumbling cough escaped before he could swallow the pills, making his chest and throat sear. 

"Since you've apparently caught a cold from hell, I really think I do need to do all this."

"Why, though?" he croaked again, helplessly. "We hardly know each other."

She leaned in, giving him a clear view of the cleavage he'd been trying to avoid staring at until now. When she spoke, her voice was soft and silky. "Because someone needs to take care of the new boss, and that someone might as well be me." She straightened up again, brushing her hair over her shoulder with an air of someone who knew exactly what she was doing. "I'll be keeping an eye on you today. We'll make sure you start feeling better, for all our sakes. No one is getting any work done with you coughing and sneezing in here like you have been." 

Ryan felt himself flush. "Thanks," he muttered, sniffling uncomfortably. 

She was true to her word and checked on him regularly throughout the day. He wasn't entirely sure yet what her role was in the company, but apparently it had a lot of flexibility, judging by how much she was away from her desk. And every time she came, she brought him something else–cough drops, tea, more medicine. He had to admit, she was incredibly good at predicting his needs. He survived the intervening hours in far more comfort than he would have without her help. 

Still, when the end of the day rolled around, he was the sort of utterly exhausted that only working while miserably sick can cause. Half dead on his feet, he slowly packed up to leave, and in the process he nearly crashed into Tiffani, who had snuck up on him once again and was standing beside his desk. In his foggy state he staggered and almost fell, but she caught him by the arm to steady him. 

"You really are a mess, aren't you?" she asked, worry coloring her tone. 

" 'm just sick," he mumbled, coughing wetly to prove his point. "And I didn't expect you to be standing there. What are you doing anyway?" he asked, noting that she was also dressed to leave and carrying her purse. 

"Coming to take you home."

"I'm an adult. I don't need help getting back to my apartment."

"We're not going to your apartment. We're going to mine."

She laughed at the expression on his face at this development.

"You just moved here, and you're a guy, so I'm sure at best you're sleeping on a mattress on the floor. You also probably have no food or medicine at your place yet, which is why you're as sick as you are to begin with. It makes way more sense for you to come home with me. You'll be much more comfortable."

He frowned half-heartedly, but had no argument. She had him pegged perfectly. Nothing sounded better than a real bed and a furnished apartment right now. 

Seeing she had won, she smirked. She proved her powers of observation once more when she prodded the toe of her shoe into the corner of the duffle bag peeking out from under his desk. "What's this? Gym bag?"

"Yeah. Was planning to use the gym here but…" he gestured vaguely at his red, dripping nose.

"Bring that with you, then, and let's go." She grabbed his elbow possessively. "You'll love my place. It's very cozy."

A subway ride and a short walk later, they were arriving at a section of lower-income but still decent housing hidden in the heart of the city. Ryan hardly knew the city yet, and he was too sick and tired to pay attention to where they were going, but let her lead him with gentle pushes and pulls on his arm, trying to look less contagious than he felt. He could tell his fever was creeping up by how hot his ears felt, and all he wanted to do was fall into something resembling a bed and not get up for a long time. He let her lead him into an apartment building, up a few flights of stairs, and through one of the doors off a hallway landing. 

It was a quaint little studio apartment, painted in soft, muted tones with cheerful feminine accents here and there, bright and open. The bed was immediately to the right of the door, separated from the rest of the room by cleverly placed shelving units, giving the feel of it being more than one room while a cozy sitting area dominated the rest of the space. One wall was made up almost entirely of windows, and the sunset leant a lovely, natural glow to the atmosphere. 

"You have a beautiful apartment," he rasped, getting less intelligible by the hour.

"Thank you. I've lived here for three years now. I love it."

Ryan would never be bold enough to take a stranger's bed without being asked, so he made for the large couch, kicking off his shoes and shedding his jacket as he went with another husky cough. His original plan was to sit on the couch and just breathe for a bit, and make an attempt to be good company, but the plush cushions were so comfortable that he sank sideways, almost against his will, until his face met the soft throw pillow on his right. His eyes fell closed of their own accord and he tucked his legs up as well, but he did his best to stay awake for the time being. In his current state, the wide couch felt more comfortable than any bed he'd ever slept in. Yet Tiffani didn't let him get too comfortable, and plied him with medications for the fever immediately. 

"It's been hours since your last dose and you're looking really sick again," she explained, watching as he drank a glass of water with the pills. 

"I can't say I don't feel it," he sniffled, lying back down. 

"Poor thing," she cooed. "I'm glad you can finally rest for a while.

 He listened as Tiffani puttered around putting her things away. Soft music began to play, and then he heard a sharp clicking sound. His eyes fluttered open to see her lighting a candle. At ease immediately, his lids slipped shut again. 

It seemed only a moment passed before he felt her shaking his arm, but when he opened his eyes again, she had changed clothes and showered, and her hair was in a towel. 

"You should get a shower and get out of your work clothes," she said. "You'll feel better when you're more comfortable."

He grunted his assent, his throat too sore to want to talk. He sluggishly levered himself into a sitting position, sniffling as he tried to avoid dripping on himself, then stood, grabbing his gym bag. The urge to sneeze overwhelmed him suddenly:

“Heh’KIHHPT’shoo! Hddd'TSHHHooo! Dihh'IHSHHooo!!

 He almost doubled over with the force of the messy trio. He hardly had time to cover, let alone find a tissue, so his hands were covered in slime by the end. He made a disgusted sound in his throat as he surveyed the mess.

"Bless you. Now you definitely need a shower," Tiffani laughed, unperturbed. "Go get cleaned up. Maybe it'll clear your head a bit too."

He tried to do as he was told, but just as he reached his destination another pair of sneezes snuck up on him, further soiling his hands:

“KIIHHPT-ttsscch! KHHGGT'nxxt!"

“Bless you again,” Tiffani said dutifully.

"Why is this cold getting worse instead of better?" he griped, swiping a tissue from the bathroom counter to scrub at his hands and nose as he continued to sniffle fruitlessly.  

"That's how colds work, silly," she said, rolling her eyes fondly. 

"Will this one seems to suck more than most," he mumbled, shutting the bathroom door behind him at last. 

The hot water did indeed help in many ways, from the aches to the congestion to the tiredness, and he emerged feeling marginally better, especially now that he was wearing soft workout clothes instead of a starchy shirt and pants. He managed to smile at Tiffani from the door of the bathroom, but the first breath he took of non-steamy air brought the sinus irritation roaring back, and he was forced to bury his face into the bundle of clothes in his arms as he exploded into the messiest sneezing fit yet:

Huhh’REHHSHHHoo! ESSHHHyoo! Kuh-hh-HUSSHHHoo! Huh’ISSHHoo! Hh-h… huh’KIISHHoo! Heh-hh… Hiihg’KSSHHoo!”

“BLESS you,” Tiffany said, looking startled now. “That was… intense. Do you feel better at least?”

Ryan could only shake his head as his breath started to hitch once more, eyes red and streaming already: “Hehh'dzz-IHHH'shoo! Heh'KIHHT'shoo! Kihhh'IHHTchoo! Hihh'GEHH-CHOOF!”

Tiffani frowned. “Something is setting you off. You shouldn’t be sneezing so much.”

“Mbaybe idt’s the ca’dle,” Ryan croaked, nodding to the counter where the scented flame was still flickering. “Budt those dond’t usually bother mbe….” 

Tiffani didn’t wait for him to finish and quickly snuffed out the offending flame. Meanwhile Ryan crushed a handful of tissues to his weeping nose, trying to quell the persistent tickle as he staggered his way back to the couch, feeling much worse now than he had before the shower. His head throbbed, his eyes ached, his throat seared. The brief sense of relief the shower had provided was already a faint memory. He felt distinctly foggy as Tiffani plied him with food and fussed around, trying to make him comfortable. He managed a few bites, trying to make her happy. The itching in his nose never fully subsided, though, nor did the dripping, and now his head was also stopped tight with suffocating congestion from the forceful stifling, making him feel even more puffy and achy. He found himself unable to breathe any way but through his mouth, which made him cough more, and of course he had to keep a tissue perpetually pressed to his upper lip. In short, he felt all around disgusting. Wrapped up in his own misery, he didn’t realize Tiffani was talking to him until she nudged his shoulder a while later. 

“Why are you breathing like a dying fish? You really don’t sound good.”

"Kinda feel like I'mb drowni’g," he slurred. “Cand’t breathe. Too congested.”

“I can see that,” she agreed. “Hm…” she glanced over her shoulder. “Do you want to try to get unplugged? I think sneezing might be better than whatever is happening to you right now.”

He was in no state to make decisions, but she was right, anything had to be better than this, so he nodded sluggishly, wondering what she had in mind. He didn’t have to wonder long, for in a moment she was holding a familiar candle under his nose, the same one that had just been burning. The wax still hadn’t hardened completely. 

“Take a deep breath and don’t stifle anymore. Just let it happen.”

He gave her a skeptical look, but took the warm glass jar from her. “You bedder step bagck, then. I dond’t wandt to sndeeze on you.”

She obediently crossed to the other side of the room. When she was out of range, he took a hesitant whiff, nose only inches from the wax. 

The results were instantaneous. His nostrils flared, his chest expanded and his breath gasped as he launched into the messiest, wettest sneezing fit he’d ever experienced. The congestion he’d created from stifling was apparently eager to be released, and everything came flying out at an alarming rate at the slightest provocation. He soaked through tissue after tissue as he sneezed and sneezed and sneezed, needing only a few breaths of the candle to keep himself going. 

Several minutes later he felt significantly emptier, and at last he allowed the sneezing to taper to a stop with a final, tremendous nose blow. Completely exhausted, he let his throbbing head fall back. His nose was much better, but everything else was worse. He couldn't keep from groaning, both from relief and self-pity. 

He felt the couch shift as Tiffani sat down beside him. Her cool hand on his burning face made him moan again as she brushed the damp hair from his forehead.

"Feeling better now?" she murmured. 

He made a non-committal noise. 

"Poor thing. You are so, so sick honey," she cooed. "You're absolutely burning up. You just rest now. I've got you."

Too tired to resist, when she gently pulled him to lay against her chest, he allowed it. Sitting mostly upright kept him from coughing too much, anyway. He found he was very comfortable this way, especially when he realized she was playing with his hair. In no time, lulled by her soothing touch and soothing breathing and soothing heartbeat, he was fast asleep.