#the friend's been really into it lately. and I think I might've convinced him to try reading vanitas

[grassbreads]

my friend recommended me a manga, and I was getting a little annoyed because the only scanlation I could find was kinda low quality and hard to read (and really hard to appreciate the good art), but I looked it up and it was only 11 usd to buy physical copies of the official tl of the first two volumes✌️

[yikesmary]

THREE: HE FALLS FIRST — choi seungcheol x reader

summary: seungcheol finds himself falling in love with you, slowly but surely, and it hits him all at once.

notes: i’ve been loving the reception this series has been getting lately! i appreciate everyone who has been reading and interacting with the series.

also, i'm going to start a taglist for this? someone asked to be on it if this series had one, and i didn't realize i could've been doing that the entire time LMAO. anyways, to get on the taglist, just comment on this or send an ask. i'll try to tag everyone i see.

JUNE 13 2023 EDIT: i've created a taglist, so instead of commenting to be on the taglist, click the link!

warnings: mentions of puking (doesn't actually happen), drunk shenanigans, it's very cliché and i don't regret it

join my taglist!

previous / next

“Cheol, can you come help me?”

When Seungcheol enters your room, he could feel himself getting slack jaw. Both of you were getting ready to go out to the club with your friends, and with the 14 of you, he could only expect chaos.

What he didn’t expect, though, was you in a beautiful dress that almost made his heart stop when he saw you. Call him cliché, but he'd never felt that way before about anyone.

Oblivious to reaction and how he was feeling at the moment, you were trying to make sure your dress wasn't in a disarray when you asked, "Can you help me zip up the dress? I can't reach it,"

Seungcheol didn't realize he was staring and unresponsive until you turned around in confusion and waved your hand in his face. "Hello, Earth to Cheol? You okay?" you said.

He, thankfully, had snapped out of his trance before it could be considered really weird. "Uh, sure. Turn around," he instructed.

Looking at him weird, you obliged and felt your dress being zipped up. You turned around and said, "How do I look? I wanted to dress somewhat nice since this is the first time we're all hanging out. It's like my little friend group combining with the frat friend group of yours,"

"You look good. Like, really good," Seungcheol replied, clearing his throat when he realized he might've overdone it.

You gave him a smile and then a thought occurred to you. "Oh, when are we ordering the Uber?" you questioned.

"Uber? Why are we ubering when we have a car?" He asked.

"Well, we're both going to a club, so I'm assuming we're both going to drink," you replied.

"I'll drive," Seungcheol immediately said, not liking the thought of the both of you drunk out of your minds and he wasn't able to take care of you.

"Are you sure, Cheol? We can split—"

"No worries, I'll be the sober one so we can get home safely,"

"Alright, but don't get mad at me when I'm stood over a toilet puking my body weight out and you're not drunk,"

"As long as you're not like Soonyoung pretending to be a tiger, I think I can handle whatever you do,"

You and Seungcheol had barely entered the club when Seungkwan and Seokmin had somehow already located the both of you then proceeded to drag you to take a shot. And it wasn't long after the shot until they had dragged you to the dance floor.

After he had made sure you were surrounded by his and your friends who had decided to dance, he made a beeline to the bar, where the rest of his friends were. Wonwoo, who had made a wise decision to stay sober, had tried to offer him a drink.

"Not drinking tonight," Seungcheol declined the drink.

The boys had given him a look at his decline. "Why aren't you drinking? Usually, you'd take a beer at least by now," Jeonghan asked.

"I just don't feel like it," he replied, looking at you from afar, who was currently dancing to I Am the Best by 2NE1. He had wondered why 2NE1 was playing until he looked at the DJ Booth and saw that Soonyoung and Seokmin had somehow convinced the DJ to takeover for a bit.

Once he said that, the boys had made a look once more, this time exchanging it to each other. Seungcheol had noticed and asked, "What's those looks for?"

"It's because you don't realize it," this time it was Jihoon who said it.

"Realize what?"

"Cheol, how long have we known you? We've known you long enough to know how you drink. And you don't deny a drink when it's offered to you. But this time, you're not drinking. Do you know why that is?" Jeonghan asked.

"You guys are overanalyzing this. What if I just don't want to drink?"

"Because you would be looking at us and not your girlfriend this entire conversation," Wonwoo told him.

Part of Seungcheol knew this was true, but the other part of him didn't want to believe it. To his friends, his behavior might make sense since he was in a relationship. But to him, it didn't since he knew better than to develop feelings for someone he was fake dating.

He had figured in the beginning that it would be easy to not develop any feelings during the relationship since the basis of the relationship was built on a poorly made rumor and a deal. But what he didn't know at the time was how easy it was being with you.

While Seungcheol was trying to reevaluate how he was acting lately, a loud "CHEOL!" was heard and a body had practically slammed into him. The force was so unexpected, you and him had nearly fell to the ground.

"Oh, sorry bro," you drunkenly said, oblivious to the fact that Seungcheol was shocked you called him bro and your friends were laughing at his reaction.

"Bro?" He incredulously said.

"Bro, Cheol, same difference," you shrugged.

"How drunk are you?" He asked.

"Well, Soonyoung gave me something he called 'Tiger's Blood' and I have no idea what that contained but it tasted good and it made me feel warm inside," you giggled.

When Seungcheol looked to where the aforementioned Tiger was, he saw that Soonyoung and Seokmin was trying to jump on a table with Jun encouraging them to, Minghao filming it, and Vernon trying to convince Soonyoung and Seokmin to get down.

Meanwhile, Jihoon had left during Seungcheol's conversation with you and joined Seungkwan and Chan (who had replaced Soonyoung) on the DJ Booth. Wonwoo had left as well, but he was helping out Mingyu who could barely get on his feet because of how clumsy he was (Mingyu's not even that drunk, he's just that clumsy).

Joshua and Jeonghan were the only ones who remained with you and Seungcheol, but they were observing the both of you.

Suddenly feeling sleepy, you laid your head on Seungcheol's chest and said, "Cheol, I wanna go home,"

Seungcheol knew that if he didn't do something to wake you up, he was going to have to carry your sleeping body out of the club. "Can I have a bottle of water?" He asked the bartender, who was quick to give the bottle.

He had managed to pay the bartender however much it costs for the water bottle while you were still in your arms. He opened the cold bottle before giving it to you saying, "Here. Drink this before we go home,"

You took the bottle of water and drank a couple of gulps, feeling more thirsty than you realized. Once you drank half of the bottle, you showed Seungcheol, who had nodded in approval. "We're gonna go," he told Jeonghan and Joshua, who said their goodbyes.

You and Seungcheol had to maneuver through the crowd of people, but he made sure that you were near him the entire time. And once you both were out, he realized that you were shivering a little, so he took off his jacket to cover you.

He was about to guide you back to the car, and then he realized you wore the heels that looked obscenely painful but said it made your legs look good. "Give me your heels," he told you, and you shook your head no.

"I'll be barefoot!" you exclaimed.

"Fine, just wear my shoes," he replied, taking off his shoes and handing them to you.

"But then you'll be barefoot!"

"I have socks on, I'll be okay," Seungcheol said, nudging the shoes to you.

You grumbled but put the shoes on, feeling slightly more sober than you were when you were inside the club.

Once you guys got in the car, it was barely two minutes before you fell asleep, using Seungcheol's jacket like a blanket. When he took a quick look at you while driving, he smiled when he saw the sight.

Maybe he was falling for you, after all.

taglist: @geniejunn

[misstycloud]

Omg plz more Yandere Slasher

Slasher yandere

The static noise of a television travelled through the large room, on the couch placed in front of a TV sat you and watched the news.

Concerning incidents had begun taking place and you were worried. Much more worried than your housemates or anyone else on campus seemed to be. It was weird, it was like they didn't care at all or as if they believed it was some sort of joke.

The woman in a green blazer was interviewing the parents of the recent victim. She held the microphone to the somber pair and let them speak to the camera.

"W-we just can't believe our little g-girl is really. the Mrs cried and clutched her husbands arm.

"It's so hard to think that anyone would do such a thing."

They were obviously devastated at their daughter's murder and you felt so bad for them.

It's awful how this happens and you couldn't imagine how the victims loved ones must handle it. Their children, sibling or friend has been brutally murdered by an unknown killer.

Thinking about the gruesome details of the murder you just heard minutes earlier by the reporters, you shuddered. You couldn't envision being stabbed more than ten times and then tied up in the living room.

These crimes took place around town, always young people; exactly like you. But lately they've come closer to your collage and you've began getting worried about it. What if something happens to your friend or if you're next in line to be slashed? While you thought about these things a lot recently your loved ones hasn't appeared to share your thoughts.

Mia and Sole had laughed when you expressed your concerns regarding them continuing attending parties and getting black-out drunk, there was just no convincing them to stop. Your sweet boyfriend of five years didn't directly laugh at you but he didn't support you either, he simply told you to stop watching the news if they scared you. Also that you needed to put down the horror movies too.

Pulling the blanket over you, you rubbed your arms to rid yourself of the cold. It didn't work very well. Sitting all alone in your dorm house when all the others are out partying at someone else's house, you were feeling a bit queasy.

Now well aware of the stiffening silence save the television that had actually had its volume turned down, maybe you should have gone to the party as well. At least you wouldn't be alone. This was one of those moments were the more you thought, the more you'd scare yourself. It was stupid but that's how it was. A sudden slam of the door made you shriek in alarm.

"Woah!" a familiar voice sounded behind you.

"What is it? Did something happen?"

You sighed out in relief, "Gosh, Matthew! You scared the shit out of me!" you scolded your boyfriend who rushed inside as soon as he heard your scream, thinking something might've gone wrong.

"Sorry, love." he said and approached where you were laying on the sofa and plopped down beside you. Grabbing you by the jaw he leaned in to give you a passionate kiss, which you reciprocated with heat of your own.

"Why hello there, handsome." you teased him as you two separated and he smiled before one last kiss on your forehead.

"Hey.

Matthew and you had talked earlier that day and agreed that he would show up later that evening when everyone else was away, you hadn't wanted to be alone and it was the perfect opportunity for you two to get some alone time together. Though being immersed in your own world you forgot about your plans and got scared when he arrived. Silly you, you thought.

Although when you glanced at the clock, you realised he was somewhat late compared to the time you two had settled on.

"You're late you know."

"What, really?" Matthew looked at the clock on the wall above the TV. "Sorry, I didn't notice." He sheepishly scratched his head apologetically.

You pretended to think for a moment, crossing your arms in thoughtfulness. Then a smile sparked up and you said, "I forgive you.”

"You goddamn-"

You shrieked as Matthew slapped you with a pillow he grabbed to 'brutally' beat you with it.

Laughter travelled through the large room and didn't stop anytime soon. His playful nature was one of the things you really loved about him, he always made you laugh no matter what mood you were in before. You wrestled him and wanted to pin him down in a winning manner but he won quickly over you.

Of course he came out victorious, your boyfriend was a bigger guy after all; towering over the other students and having it easy with physical activity. A couple years ago you had asked why he didn't join any sports team when he could clearly bring accomplishments to the group. Matthew had snorted and chuckled at your suggestion.

"What, you wanna date a jock?" He teasingly asked.

You slapped his arm and flushed. “No, I’m just saying. You could really contribute, our team now isn't exactly...that good."

"True. But I still won't join."

"Huh, why?"

Matthew stilled and a frown played on his lips. “Because I wouldn’t have time or energy to play it seriously.”

"But it's not like you have any after-school activities." You stated.

Chuckling, he ruffled your hair, "Not that you know of. Besides I never cared for those things."

"I guess-wait. 'That I know of?"

Before you could inquire any further, he interrupted you by pulling your body closer to his and kissed your forehead. Startled by his sudden display of affection, you pawed at his chest to let you go. As per usual, he didn't take it seriously and continued to wrap around you.

In his mind he sighed in relief, he had managed to divert your attention to something else. It was a close call. He really needed to be more careful and not let things slip, or it would turn sour quickly.

Trying to catch your breath, you glance up at Matthew and get lost in his familiar eyes. They drew you in with their expressive passion and wouldn't let you out of their grasp for even a second. With great love in his heart he leaned in and gently pressed his lips against yours. Your hands went around his neck and brought him closer.

You kiss deeply and both of you let out small gasps at the feeling. While the two of you were befining to intensely make-out on the couch.

the loud slam of a door stopped you in your tracks. Breaking off your kiss you hastily push Matthew away and turn your attention to the entrance. There stood one of your housemates looking absolutely horrified. At first you though it was because she'd accidentally walked in on you, but after her expression didn't break you started suspecting something else was at play.

"What is it?" You urgently ask and run up to her.

"W-we were just going to have some fun, that's all. It wasn't s-supposed to go like this." She shook.

Wanting to know what was wrong and help your friend, you try to press an answer from. Her.

She was actually starting to make you worried nOW.

"Things were fine at first-but then everything went wrong.."

Again you urged her to reply.

"Sarah is..-she.."

"What? Sarah is What?"

"Dead."

"The night of (date) an emergency call was made by one of the young adults attending a party hosted by an associate. The body of 20 year-old Sarah Summers was found in the bathroom on the second floor of the house.

The victim had multiple wounds covering her body and is showing great signs of struggle.The police now suspects it is the work of the same murderer that has been at large for the past five weeks."

[viperwhispered]

Warning: heavy angst ahead with some fluff at the very end.

Ngl I think that no matter what route he takes, Jamil will have to reconcile with the fact that his parents will never prioritize his happiness or mental health and they'll never see eye to eye.

Hell even if Jamil is freed in a manner that doesn't bring shame upon the Vipers, even if he becomes one of the greatest of his era, or even just being much happier doing what he wants I bet his parents will still be disappointed/upset he didn't uphold the "noble Viper tradition" and shame him for "betraying his master/family".

If we're going with the timeline where this happens then I'm sure by the time Jamil has to come home then their relationship will be pretty much dead. Only speaking to each other when absolutely necessary. Any attempt to bring up what happened just leads to arguments because his parents just don't see things from Jamil's perspective. Unsurprisingly, they refuse to meet Jamil's s/o.

I bet Najma is the only he stays in contact with during his travels cause his parents just refuse to accept Jamil doesn't want to be a servant. They'll probably put away any and all newspapers that talk about all the accomplishments Jamil made and smile awkwardly when even the whole town is congratulating them for having such a talented son. It gets worse with Kalim constantly bragging about all his bestie is doing with his freedom and shutting down anyone who argues.

When Jamil comes back as the grand vizier, some hope comes back that he might've accepted his "place" buts its squashed when they see all of his reforms and his rather casual attitude with Kalim. What's worse is that Jamil is very popular with the servants as he's actually granting them workers rights instead of treating them like slaves. They still refuse to talk to him and instead refer to him very formally as their superior.

Jamil accepts it. But does silently cry in his beloved’s arms that night.

The parents still hear a lot about Jamil's lover, mostly from Najma, and do see them occasionally visiting. But they never really acknowledge them.

The Vipers are still invited to their wedding though. Najma spent months hyping it up and convinced them to at least show their faces.

It's a very joyous occasion. Most of the cheer coming from s/o's side with their friends and family who have fully accepted Jamil. Kalim had to be held back from bringing a parade.

Jamil has accepted that he'll never be forgiven by his parents despite committing no sin. It's been years, so he barely feels any regret when he officially becomes Jamil L/N. His parents leave during the reception. Jamil can't really bring himself to care anymore.

If they ever break, it'll be because of grandchildren. Jamil's, Kalim's, and Kalim's wife’s efforts have paid off and their world has become infinitely times safer. Finally Jamil and his Dearest belive its time for a child.

Be it boy or girl, I feel like they'll be the sassiest child on the block with the classic annoyed viper face. Either way, there is clearly so much of Jamil in them and it breaks the Vipers.

They can't stand to look at the grandchild they threw away because of their stubbornness. It's been years and everyone around them (servants and nobles) agree that Jamil was right and that Jamil helped make things better. Only their pride is stopping the Vipers.

It hurts especially when they see Najma babysitting and fully embracing her role as an aunt. It hurts even more to see Jamil and his s/o be much better parents than they were and to see such a happy child.

It shocks them to see how close their grandchild is with the Asim kids. It's a genuine friendship untainted by rules and class systems.

It all comes to a head when they see the child playing mancala with an Asim. The Asim child lost and their grandchild is playfully teasing them and rubbing the loss in their face. All in good fun, as children do, and the Asim is quick to request another match.

But it's too late. The child looks so much like their son and suddenly they're back in time. They barely register when one of them slaps the child and angrily scolds them for daring to win. The child, young and not understanding why they're being treated this way, starts crying. The Asim is quick to defend their friend and take them away to the infirmary.

The Vipers are called into the Vizier's office in less than an hour and left to face an enraged deadly venomous true viper. The couple is banned to from stepping anywhere near the child again and if they dared think to raise a hand again "so help me Allah I will bury you!"

Najma gives them stern disappointed looks as they walk out. From a distant they spot their in-law lovingly comforting their grandchild and distracting them with a new game.

From there on they only watch from afar, wondering how things could ever escalate like this.

Nikki bonus: they do the paperwork/legal ceremony in Jamil's world and have the official wedding in Nikki’s. The wedding itself is relatively small (only about 20 people on Nikki’s side compared to the standard hindu wedding with 150+ people) and does a good job of blending Bangla and Scalding Sand traditions. Though the ceremony itself is strictly Hindu. Another bit of culture shock the Vipers are struck with. So far in my brainstorming Jamil and Nikki have a daughter named Rohini. Though I admit this is probably due to my bias of being a daddy's girl and also being a fan of the "scary edgelord/villain being absolutely terrifying but still a complete softie for his daughter".

Can you imagine Jamil at his desk meeting with a bunch of officials being the untamable ruthlessly efficient serpent Vizier, intimidating others with just a glace. Then the door suddenly opens. He's about to glare at whoever came in without knocking when he's faced with the classic viper annoyed face on his 8 year old daughter. Jamil, to the shock of the officials, just somehow stops being intimidating and goes completely soft.

Jamil: Rohi, dear, what's wrong? You know better than to interrupt while daddy's working.

Rohini: I'm hungry and we ran out of snacks. Ma and Grandma are at work so there's nobody to make me more!

J: *playfully going along with it* Now that is complete unacceptable. I'm assuming that the snacks the world class chefs made are not up to par.

R: *shakes her head no* Doesn't taste like Ma's. Watcha working on anyway?

J: Well Rohi *gently picks her up onto his lap*, one of the bosses for the clothing business has been stealing funds from us and thought we wouldn't notice.

R: He sounds stupid if he thinks he's smarter than daddy.

J: *chuckles* Yes, he is very stupid. Now what should we do about him?

R: Chuck him in jail and take all his stuff.

J: Excellent idea, Rohini. *turns to the officials" You heard her, have him arrested and sieze all his property.

Officials hurry to scramble away. Just because he's a good boss doesn't mean he doesn't scare the hell out of them.

J: *checks clock and sees its almost the end of his working hours* Well how about you and I head home early for snack time and the we can get started on dinner, hm?

R: Can we get baked rasgulla?

J: Of course princess! You got top marks on your grammar test, you deserve it.

R: Yay!

Also, you know how people often hcs OB!Jamil's snakes also kissing his lover? Imagine OB!Jamil's snakes just giving little snake kisses to his daughter as he tickles her. A manifestation of Jamil at his absolute worst still being so gentle when making his daughter laugh.

It really is unfortunate we’ve seen so little of Jamil’s parents, as it makes it difficult to guess just how they would react. Like, yes, especially in the English version of the game, they very much are enforcing Jamil’s position. But we can only begin to guess on their exact motives, and in the nature of their family life outside this. Like, even the snippets we got with the Firelit Sky event were focused on the relationship between Jamil and Najma, rather than Jamil and his parents.

Then again, twst kinda seems to have a tendency to keep the more strenuous family relationships away from the hometown events, so…

But yeah, it’s hard to tell how difficult it would be for them to accept their child doing their own thing, rather than going for the path prepared for them.

Also oof the tension and sadness of Jamil & his parents existing and working in the same place but just brushing past each other as if they barely know each other. 😢 And this bit… “Jamil accepts it. But does silently cry in his beloved’s arms that night.“ You just had to go for my heart, huh?

The gall to be disciplining a child that’s not even theirs, for goodness’ sake. That would be some gall indeed.

Hasdhf I love the idea of that scene with Jamil in the negotiations with his kid tho.

And oh boy the thought of like a baby / toddler just giggling and grabbing at the snakes (I can imagine it being cute but also with my snake phobia kinda stress inducing ngl).

[annaraebananawriter]

"Someone who’s eaten that much ice cream is clearly not okay. come on, talk to me." With Dream, Ink and Blue for the quote thingy please I love them

I think this drabble is actually 100% fluff. Which...is a first for me, I think. I am unsure how to feel about it. (Lie: I am really happy with this drabble and I hope you are too. I had lots of fun.)

Now, will all my talk of Star Sans Poly lately, I have gotten myself in the mood for it, so some of that might've bled into this drabble. But I think it's more so in a 'before they realized they loved each other' sort of way than anything else.

Small warning for cursing and mentioned animal death and I think that's it. Let me know!

Happy reading! Prompt is italicized.

~oOo~

Ink checked his phone as Blue pulled into the driveway. "Still haven't heard from him."

"Well, he can't ghost us anymore."

See, last week, they had agreed--all three of them, that is; Ink, Blue, and Dream--to go out on a fun little night this weekend. Ink needed some more yarn, as he was on a knitting kick lately and had run out of the bulk of the yarn he bought at the beginning. They planned to go shopping first, first art stuff, then maybe clothes and a few other places, then it was dinner time, where they would be eating at a dinner they all liked and frequented, and then it was off to the movies, where they would watch the one that was finally here that they'd been looking forward to all year.

Blue had been looking forward to this night all week. It'd been a couple of months since the three of them had hung out together. No fault of any of theirs, things have just been busy. But he was missing his friends, a lingering ache in his chest the longer his messages on his phone remained bare and the more nights he had with uninterrupted peaceful sleep.

That's how he knew it was getting bad--he was even missing Ink's late-night phone calls that kept him up for an hour before he finally convinced the artist to either sleep or reminded him to do something else.

And, finally, the night came. He met up with Ink and they wandered around the shop they agreed to meet at, waiting for Dream...who never showed.

They tried reaching out, texting and calling multiple times, but nothing came of it. Dream seemed to ignore the attempts. Which was frustrating. Concerned, they weighed the decision of continuing on with the night with just the two of them. If Dream knew they gave up a night of fun just because of him, he'd be immensely guilty. He'd try making it up to them by buying them expensive gifts, which they would accept, though the gesture indirectly made them guilty as well. They didn't want Dream to get upset, but it seemed like, no matter what decision they made, it would end in that.

What other reason would Dream have for ghosting them if he wasn't upset in the first place? And if he was upset, then he needed his friends more than ever. That took priority over any kind of fun they had planned.

With a shared nod, Ink and Blue hopped in the car and drove to their friend's house. It was their first guess as to where he might be; Dream loved to isolate himself inside when he was sad. And sure enough, the lights were on, though Dream's car wasn't in the driveway. Nor was Nightmare's.

They didn't bother knocking. Blue already had a spare key, entrusted to him for emergencies. And he considered this an emergency.

As soon as the door was open, Ink strode in and followed the sound of the television, stopping briefly in the doorway before disappearing. "Scooch over," Blue heard Ink say, and the sound of someone sniffing and shuffling over.

Shutting the door behind him, setting down his things, and taking off his shoes, he entered the living room as well, being faced with a sorry sight he hadn't seen since high school.

Small ice cream bins littered the coffee table, along with tissues and a cracked phone. The source of the mess lay on the couch, cocooned in the quilt from his bed, now having moved over to make room for Ink, who leaned against Dream, focus already on the TV. Smiling, Blue locked eyes with Dream, who sniffed again. His friend handed Ink the halfway-eaten ice cream and held up his hands, silently asking for a hug.

Which Blue was happy to give. Squeezing himself into the corner on Dream's other side, he wrapped his arms around his friend and he started crying all over again. "Hey, it's okay," he said, rubbing his back. "What's wrong?"

Dream sniffed. "Nothing." His voice was muffled by Blue's shirt.

Ink snorted, eating a spoonful of the ice cream. "Bullshit. Someone who’s eaten that much ice cream is clearly not okay."

Shaking his head, Blue nudged Dream, asking him to look at him. "Come on, talk to me." Giving him a smile, he tried to do the puppy dog eyes his friends always did. He couldn't tell if they worked, but Dream did sigh, sitting up to rest his head on Blue's shoulder.

"It's nothing, really," Dream said, "Just a whole bunch of bad days. Which made this a shitty week." Pausing, he sighed again, more heavily this time. "Which sorta made me forget about our plans. I'm sorry."

"Not important right now." Ink said. "Plans can always be remade."

"Ink's right. Please, continue. Tell us about this shitty week."

Chuckling, Dream stifled a cough with his hand. "Okay. So, you know my boyfriend, right? Well, my ex-boyfriend now, I guess. Broke up with me. Through text, of course. This was back at the start of the week, which pretty much makes it the start of it all.

"Because that day, I got stuck in the middle of the rain without an umbrella. And this was after being trapped in traffic, which made me late for work. And speaking of work, all week long it seems like it's just been putting pets down or animals brought in from the road that we can't save. All week! And then, just a couple of days ago, my car wouldn't start, which meant Nightmare had to come and pick me up from work. My car's in the shop now, but it won't be fixed until Monday."

Taking a breath, he rubbed his face, continuing. "And then yesterday, my phone fell and broke. So, if you called me or texted me, I never got them. Sorry. Nightmare left this morning for a small work trip. He wanted to hold off on it, but I convinced him to go. He'll be back on Monday anyway. So, I've been stuck here in the house, which was fine at the start. I thought it could work as a reset, make next week better. But things have just been breaking, all over the place! First the sink, then the freezer, then a couple of plates and glasses."

Dream sniffed. Again. "And I decided to just take a break, lay down and watch a movie, eat some ice cream. Turned the TV on, and what seemed like a normal rom-com was playing. So I watched that. But then it turned sad, and no matter what I went to, all of it was sad movies! So, then I just started crying, and just couldn't stop." Sighing, he leaned further into Blue. "And now I think I'm getting sick."

"Aw, you poor thing." Ink cooed, grinning. He pulled Dream over to him, wrapping him in a big hug. "I did think you were being dramatic at first, but no, that is a shitty week." Tightening his grip, Ink's grin widened. "This calls for an exorcism."

Dream struggled to free himself from the hug. "Ink, I can't breathe!"

Ink hugged him even tighter. "I won't let you go until all the shittyness is expelled from you."

"Ink!"

Blue laughed before finally taking pity. "Okay, okay. Ink, stop." Huffing, Dream sat up, glaring at Ink. Blue grabbed him by cupping his cheeks and turned his head side to side, looking him over closely. "Hm...have you eaten yet today?"

Dream blinked, thrown by the change in subject. "Nightmare made breakfast." Pausing, he closed his eyes with a sigh. "But I forgot to have any. I even put the leftovers in the fridge when he left."

"So, you've just had ice cream?"

"Yeah."

"I see." Blue gave him another inspection. "Just as I figured, then. You need a proper meal. Maybe some medicine, then, if you're getting sick. And then, a cheerful movie, which Ink will pick, along with some cuddles." Before Dream could think of protesting, Blue held up a finger. "And that's doctor's orders."

"You're only in med school." Dream rolled his eyes. But he was smiling. "Not a doctor yet."

"Still."

"But, yes, that does sound wonderful." Dream smiled up at him. "Thank you, Blue." He then turned to Ink. "And thank you, too, Ink, even if you tried to suffocate me."

Finishing off the ice cream, Ink wagged a finger. "I exorcised you."

"It felt like suffocation."

"Good! Then it was working. We should get back to it then..."

"Ink!"

Dream tried to get away, but Ink was faster. He knew all of Dream's ticklish spots, too, which was an advantage. Dream shrieked with laughter, making Ink laugh, and the sound of both their laughs made Blue laugh, a hint of a blush on his cheeks as he beamed.

Yes, he thought to himself. That's more like it. These two deserved to be laughing, not mopping around. They delivered to be happy and passionate, a bright future ahead of them. And Blue loved them so much, more than anyone else he was friends with, he would make sure they got what they deserved.

That's what friends were for, after all.

[moody4world]

Ur Best Friend

A/N?:Was listening to this song and this idea came to mind. something short and angsty. seems like y’all only fuck with me when i write something 💀 but i hope someone likes this as much as i do. Listen to the song while you read or before idk

I MISS URBAN FICS CAN WE GET BACK ON THAT WAVE PLEASE?!? somebody send me urb fic recommendations or something PLEAAASE

jack x reader/ reader x urban (just read it you’ll understand)

Another house party to celebrate your amazing boyfriend. All his friends and acquaintances were cheering with their glass of champagne raised to the ceiling as he gave his speech. Everyone’s attention was on him. Everyone’s except the two people he found most important at this celebration. Mine and his best friend’s. Urban’s eyes were on me while I couldn’t take mine off of him either.

It’s been like this for months already and guilt has been eating me alive every single day.

I know i’m in the wrong, we both do but for some reason it’s hard to stop. I hate that he’s not the one i’m with but Jack treats me like royalty and treats Urban like family, which is exactly why it feels so wrong to do what we’re doing.

He ends his speech and everyone cheers, snapping Urban and I out of our daze.

Jack’s hand was on my lower back as he leaned down to my ear “You good baby?” All I could do was nod and smile at him as convincing as I could.

The whole vibe of our relationship has been different than when we started. I know Jack felt it too but I also know he’s been putting in effort to fix things again. Did I want things to go back to how they were?

We ain't felt like us in a minute

Whole damn time I knew I shouldn't have did it

Might've got too excited, I'll admit it

Almost called your name when he was in it

Heavy breathing filled our room as Jack fell next to me after we both reached our climax. He knocked out almost right away but all I could think of is how I almost slipped up just a few minutes ago. His name was at the tip of my tongue. No, not Jack’s, Urban’s name. Thankfully I caught myself but I don’t know how much longer I could keep up this façade.

He ain't have the courage to step up and pull up (Skrrt)

Six speed, like (Skrrt, skrrt)

Puttin' so much work (Work)

Just to make it worth (Worth)

And he's almost perfect (Hmm)

And that's why it hurts (Ooh, ooh, ooh)

And he calls me family, that's what make it worse (Worse)

It's wrong but I make you feel right (I make you feel right)

You textin' my phone while right beside him

Wish it was anyone besides him

-Urb’s pov-

Weekly dates. That’s what Jack has been doing and movie nights whenever he had the chance to reignite the fire they once had. I knew because she would text me and tell me about it instead of watching the movie he picked out for them. When they were going to sleep she would text me goodnight and so on. Whenever he left for the studio I would drive by to come check on y/n. We wouldn’t do anything physical besides some light touching and hand holding but emotionally we were definitely crossing all the lines. I just couldn’t help myself knowing she felt so much more connected and happy in my company. I know we’re in the wrong. That’s my brother from another mother.

You was with your man last night

And you just realized what you felt that night wasn't wrong

Thought about me on your whole car ride, like

I hate that you ain't your best friend

I hate that you ain't your best friend

-How it all started-

“Alright alright we’re gonna be late if we don’t hurry up come on” Urban rushed.

“Hold on y/n is almost done.” Just as Jack was saying that I walked down the stairs. We were headed to some type of private Louisville award show. Jack was busy networking and left Urban and I to keep each other company while we were there and our conversations went really well. Maybe too well because after the award show Urban went club hopping with the rest of the guys but Jack and I went home yet all I could think about was Urban and how confused I felt with my emotions. I couldn’t possibly be crushing on my boyfriend’s best friend.

He made me feel like this in one night when it took me a month and more to feel this way with Jack.

Ever since that night I hated parting ways with Urban when the time to leave came. Seems like things are better when forbidden but I hate that he’s not his best friend.

The end

please lmk your thoughts on this, id appreciate it!

[rayofsunshinc]

for @defectivexfragmented continued from here

With all the chaos of the fights, everything that Bucky owned had been lost. Returning to the US was a bold move, but Bucky was trying to keep a low profile. All that he had wanted was to gather something else to remember Matt by and then he would be gone again.

But returning to Hell's Kitchen wasn't exactly the way Bucky had planned it. His first surprise was finding that Matt's apartment was still in tact. He was sure that he was going to have to find Foggy or Karen and hope that one of them were kind enough to share something of Matt's with him, and he had convinced himself that neither of them would be very nice to him considering ... well, everything, but mostly that he had just disappeared the moment that Matt hadn't come out of that collapse. Instead of having to deal with that possibility, he was able to find whatever he wanted.

It felt strange to be inside the apartment. He hoped that it would bring him some kind of chance to grieve and move forward, but instead, it just felt off. He tried to accept that Matt was gone, and even as he processed it, it just didn't feel right. Despite the fact that he felt so strange, he slept (or at least tried to sleep) in Matt's bed. He woke at an odd hour of the night, and it made him miss Matt and their late nights together. He started going through Matt's things, which felt strangely invasive. It was something he never would've done while Matt was alive, and it just felt wrong to do now.

It was when he was leaving that afternoon that he ran into Karen outside the apartment. He had assumed wrong, she was as polite to him as usual, though her tone wasn't a little pointed. She explained to him that she was paying Matt's rent. Bucky asked her why, and she said that she still had hope that Matt was alive. They hadn't had many conversations, but this was one of Matt's closest friends. Bucky couldn't consider the fact that Matt might've been alive and he had just run away, so he abruptly parted ways with Karen to consider what she had said.

It was late that night when Bucky was considering how stupid he was being to think that Matt could be alive. In the dark streets, Bucky wandered through places that he and Matt had gone together, places that Matt had showed him. Places that Matt might be.

While he was walking, he heard commotion down an alleyway. Someone was in trouble. It was in Matt's honor that Bucky decided that he was going to interfere.

As the scene unfolded, Bucky realized Matt was very much alive. His instincts hadn't failed him, nor had Karen's. The adrenaline coursed through his veins as he took in Matt's condition, and it seemed like Matt was giving up the fight. He was tossing a weapon to the attackers. Bucky's heart pounded in his chest, knowing that every second counted. It was in total shock that Bucky rushed forward, ripping the metal pipe from the man's grip with his new arm, made with vibranium, and not yet tarnished with battles of any kind. But that quickly changed, as Bucky didn't hesitate to fight the men until they were subdued. His movements were swift and precise, each strike landing with calculated force. He still had it.

He ought to kill them, he thought, feeling the familiar dark urge rise within him. It would be easy to end them right there and then, to prevent them from causing any more harm.

Bucky didn't do that anymore.

He forced himself to take a step back, his breath ragged from the exertion. He wasn't that person anymore. He couldn't afford to be. Not for Matt, not for himself. His eyes, once cold and calculating, softened as he turned away from the downed attackers and he knelt by Matt.

❝Jesus, is it really you?❞ Bucky's voice was quiet and surprisingly steady. He reached out to touch Matt, steady him, his vibranium arm cradling him with surprising gentleness. ❝I thought that I was never going to see you again. What the hell are you doing?❞ He asked, desperately. ❝What the hell are you doing?❞ He repeated.

[cattyanon]

Sonic and Knuckles role swap AU (sorry it took awhile, i had difficulties and am currently trying not to fall asleep and fuck up this post if I haven't)

Okay so I thought real hard about it and the most changes are in relation to Sonic. To be fair I don't exactly have an official backstory to work with. Anyways I'll give a quick rundown on personality changes of Knuckles and then we'll dive into Sonic stuff.

Knuckles personality changes:

-Much more outgoing

-Doesnt jump to conclusions as much.

-Just generally not as hotheaded and gruff tbh??

Sonic personality changes:

-More closed off.

-Not as cheery.

-Not as confident.

-Suspicious of everyone and everything. Mostly at the start.

-Isn't very hopeful due to backstory reasons.

-Will quickly jump to conclusions if it seems like his friends and/or family are in danger. Also due to backstory reasons.

-Isnt as expressive. (Does this count??)

NOW FOR (eventually angsty) BACKSTORY TIME.

Sonic lives with his tribe on Angel Island, where any contact with the outside/below world is forbidden.

His Uncle Chuck (who will play an important role in Sonic's life) had never liked the rule. He didnt broadcast it but he definitely wasnt subtle. One day he tells Sonic, not wanting him to think he might've died, that he's going to be leaving. He explains that he'd been secretly and slowly working on a project (a plane but he doesn't know that's the name for it yet) for a while. Testing with smaller models first, he eventually built up to making a big version. A flying machine, he called it. A way to go and explore the below world.

Naturally Sonic had begged to be taken with. He wanted to see the below world too!

Uncle Chuck told him he couldn't come with. Sonic was much too young and he still had family and friends that would miss him dearly. Sonic wouldn't relent though, eventually forcing Uncle Chuck to come up with a compromise.

They could send each other letters by Flicky. Since Sonic had a bunch of Flicky friends it wasn't hard to convince them. With his affinity for the wind he could totally guide them back to the island. Plus they'd get to see some of the below world, isn't that just cool?!

So after going over some more details he eventually leaves. Sonic is really sad about it and realizes too late that he should've asked what to tell the tribe. Luckily for Sonic, Uncle Chuck having already thought about it, he left some letters explaining his decision.

Not long after word gets around about Uncle Chuck's departure, Sonic becomes an outcast in multiple ways.

What Chuck did was considered taboo and, due to being a small and tightknit community, everyone knew how close Sonic was to him. And Sonic still seemed to care about Chuck even though he'd committed a sin. If it weren't for the fact he was child, the adults probably wouldn't have been very understanding and let it slide.

Kids on the other hand weren't as understanding. They relentlessly bullied him. Unfortunately the adults didn't really care. While they might not have punished him they certainly weren't very fond of him anymore. Where he had once been considered the most promising warrior they had and was the pride of his tribe, he was now shunned by everyone but his family. An outcast.

Sonic became reclusive and depressed, which then increased tenfold when "the incident" took place.

He had been reading and then writing a reply letter to Uncle Chuck near the place they said their goodbyes. A secret place that was farthest away from the community. A place far away from what would happen to his tribe that day...

Sonic came back to a massacre.

Everyone was dead. He had scoured the entire island in hopes of finding anyone alive to no avail.

He was alone now. The last of his tribe.

And the only one could fulfill his tribe's sacred duty to guard the Emeralds.

One by one and day by day, he managed to make an entire graveyard for his tribe. It was a horrid and daunting task that took him months but he couldn't stand to see the corpses every day while guarding the altar.

Sonic became a shell of his former self. He felt so hollow now, all he really did was guard the altar. Thankfully his animal companions were there. If it weren't for them he might've truly lost himself. But no matter how hard they tried nothing would be able to fill the hole in his heart.

Years go by and eventually Sonic has fully dedicated himself to guarding. He doesn't read or write to Uncle Chuck anymore. Doesn't go on long runs or take his time during them. Being traumatized and having nobody to talk to causes him to go mute.

Then Robotnik, Knuckles, and Miles came to his island...

I tried so hard to type what happens next with parlt, which Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails but.I can't decide on anything right now. Although i will share what I do know with a small sentence cause I'm literally starting fall asleep. Keep pressing random letters. Anyways here's the angst tidbit:

Sonic sees the plane they came in and he recognizes it as his Uncle Chuck's. He jumps to the conclusion they stole it and probably hurt his Uncle Chuck to do so.

[bruhstation]

Hi i love your casa tidmouth!!! I saw the ask about james pairing and wondered if there any pairing for diesel, oliver or lady? Also happy holidays!!!

thank you very much!!! ALSO HAPPY HOLIDAYS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR AHHHHHH I'M SO SO SORRY FOR ANSWERING THIS LATE.... I WANTED TO ANSWER THIS ASK AS DETAILED AS POSSIBLE SO 🙏🙏🙏

I also apologize if some parts don't really sound very shippy because I thought it'd be a good chance to showcase some bits of lore character relationships in general... ANYWAYS!!!! HAVE FUN READING

diesel:

you could say that diesel's currently not interested in anyone, at least in a romantic sense. diesel used to have a small crush on mavis but no longer did after she told him she's a lesbian. now they're just... besties? frenemies? diesel and mavis gets into trouble together, except diesel's the one who incites it (arry and bert just follows) and mavis just happens to be there. diesel gets himself into trouble because of his schemes while mavis (begrudgingly) gets him out of it, though she usually also gets the short end of the stick alongside diesel. mavis also thought that diesel is constantly up to no good, though this is mostly because mavis just wants to live a simple life with as little problems as possible (literally impossible because she lives in so-freaking-dor)

however in act 2, mavis started to feel suspicious about diesel with how he always disappears somewhere at nights. even though they're both affiliated with the dieselworks (since they both drive diesel engines), she suspected that diesel might've been getting himself involved with d10 lately and is now genuinely siding with someone threatening instead of just being mildly inconveniencing. she's now conflicted between wanting to confront diesel in order to protect the person she cares about, or avert her eyes and live in blissful ignorance.

not shippy, but worth mentioning: diesel and duck started off as great enemies at the start of the story. before the events of casa tidmouth, after thinking duck wanted to leave him for dead (he was still new to sodor and has no idea people rarely die in sodor's railways), diesel spread horrific rumours about duck's family, which triggered the start of his axe-crazy tendencies (he's incredibly desperate to make his family proud. you know the drill). neither of them expressed guilt -- they do feel it -- for their actions towards one another because of how stubborn they are. they also have really different worldviews; diesel wanted progress, while duck wanted to stick with the old ways.

their backgrounds were really similar, too. both of their families were incredibly traditional, but while duck followed them like a dog, diesel rejected them. they could've respected each other or even become friends, if only their stubborness didn't blind them. perhaps things could change in act 2...?

speaking of act 2, diesel teamed up with d10 and got pretty close to him, partly because he realized d10's power is now heavily relying on the competence of his minions (and they're really not) and partly because they both share the same worldviews about progress. he's basically his right hand man, doing all the convincing and talking while d10 is having this big internal crisis going on. you could say it's also his curiosity taking place, since he wonders what the "most menacing man in all of sodor" will do once he hits rock bottom. diesel also convinced percy to join the workers of dieselworks when he was at his lowest, saying "I know a man who would respect your ambitions."

in addition, diesel is still coming into terms with his identity because of his huge catholic guilt. this fucking guy

‎

oliver:

even though he's usually no-nonsense and avoids conflict and island mysteries at any cost, oliver has a huge soft spot for douglas. they first met around 5 years ago when oliver was lost in a forest in bumfuck nowhere, being the victim of time and space displacement alongside a young man called toad -- who barely said a word -- and having lost a lot of his memories. he lived inside his rusty engine with toad for years in solitude. after a few years had passed, he met douglas, who ended up there as well (he assumed that he's the same as him) and bonded with him over the days he was stuck there.

with douglas' presence, oliver felt much less alone. and vice versa. toad also got along with douglas, which made oliver felt relieved. oliver initially didn't have much motivation to get himself out of the situation (toad didn't express much either and only wanted to stick with oliver) and nearly gave up, but after meeting douglas and listening to his stories about missing his brother and wanting to go back home, oliver regained his motivation to keep on trying. he also set his thoughts of finding whoever's responsible aside for the sake of douglas and toad.

after the three of them were rescued by duck and donald and nursed back to health, oliver intended to take his leave, still a bit bent on finding whoever's responsible for his lost memories and broken engine. but then sir topham hatt suggested that he could work for the northwestern railways ("who knows? it could help you find what you're looking for, mr. swindon.")

the next day, douglas expressed gratitude to oliver for saving his life and accompanying him throughout the days he was lost in a forest. oliver instead shot back with a smile, "actually, douglas, you're the one who saved me. even though I still remember nothing about my past, I now remember what I was fighting for. myself, and my engine."

fun fact: you know oliver jr., oliver's tamagotchi? douglas was the one who gifted it to him. since the first generation of tamagotchis die easily if not given care 24/7, douglas went all the way to the steamworks and convinced victor (doctor, engineer, guy with at least 3 phds) to modify it and make it practically immortal. oliver received this gift extremely happily, though he sometimes wonders if something is different with his tamagotchi (douglas just said that he probably got the most special ultra rare yadda yadda version).

oliver and douglas are also one of the more "normal" pair in all of casa tidmouth (2x3x4 have communication issues thus can only pine over each other, 8x9 are... uh... murderhusbands, mavis is oblivious to lady's true identity, lady and d10 have similar twisted views on humanity, etc).

‎

lady:

even though nobody (aside from thomas and percy) knows about lady being the island's goddess, almost every single woman in casa tidmouth likes her. mavis, emily, rosie, belle, daisy, etc... they all collectively thought "haha wow weird silly woman is pretty". she's way too oblivious and thought that it's just some quirk humans have, though. HOWEVER, she's really close with mavis, who showed lady around the quarry when she first arrived in sodor. mavis also wanted to "shield" lady from all the general weirdness around sodor, assuming that she's originally from outside the island. on the other hand, lady's optimism started to make mavis relax more from her coworker diesel's antics. also mavis thinks she's kinda hahah hey girl

in act 2, after news of missing railway workers came out, mavis tried to convince lady to leave the island. she felt like lady knows a lot more than she looks, but she's not taking any risks to have the person she holds dear get involved. lady just felt really guilty, but (after going through character progression and developing more "human" emotions like happiness, guilt, melancholy, "selfish" motivations, yadda yadda) she has a feeling that if she revealed her true identity, it's not going to end smoothly.

I've also mentioned something about lady and d10 being really close in a qpp type of way had their circumstances been different. they're both people who find it really hard to connect to others; the former being a goddess with different perceptions on morality and the latter being a guy who has low empathy and a whole lot of personality disorders. here's the post explaining their relationship

[jerzwriter]

Bringing you some more headcanons! Honestly these are so fun! Kudos to whoever came up with this game!

I'd like to think Ethan would be a helicopter parent; but not in this overly bossy way, rather like super duper overprotective to the point where Kaycee would have to yank Emma away from him when they send her off to college.

Kaycee played some sport (?) in school, idk she gives me soccer girl vibes or maybe the FC does? Idk lmfao.

Tobias would've taken up odd jobs in high school and college. Like the oddest of jobs. I'd like to think he might have had a short-lived career as a magician, although that might be too crackheady.

Casey is a massive coffee mug collector.

Tobias is the "Don't tell Mom, but I've got a huge tub of icecream" parent towards his kids.

Ethan in Emma's parent-teacher conference would be at least, a little intimidating. I feel like he's the type of parent to get super defensive over his kid and would question why certain things are the way they are.

I might actually go to jail for this but.. mayybe Casey might've had a little crush on Jackie/Aurora? It is probably a one-time thing but has she ever had one?

Ethan collects different blends of coffee as a hobby and has a huge stack of it in his shelf and nearly scares Kaycee to the Moon when she sees like, fifty boxes of varying flavours just stacked up against and Ethan's like "Oh that's my coffee cabinet" and Kaycee s like "Your coffee WHAT?!"

OMG Mads these are amazing! Let's look at them:

Helicopter parent Ethan. OMFG YES! This fic (Candyland) is one of my faves - because it's a contrast of E/K and T/C parenting styles. As you can see, Ethan thinks his little girl is perfect, and when she's less than, Kaycee has to talk him off the ledge because he's convinced this means she's destined for a life of crime. 😂😂😂 I believe Kaycee could have been a helicopter parent, but when she saw how Ethan was, she was like, "Nah. Emma needs one sane parent." You hit the nail on the head with this one.

Kaycee & Sports: Kaycee enjoys sports, but she was more of a spectator. However, she was an excellent figure skater. She was scouted to go pro, but it was a far too expensive undertaking for her parents to commit to.

Tobias's Odd Jobs: If my Tobias wasn't a trust-fund baby, I could see this. But my Tobias was a trust-fund baby, so I don't see him working at all in high school and not much in college. In college, it would probably be jobs/internships related to his career only. (But if not, yep. I see it. Like a clown at kid parties lmao)

Casey Mug Collector: I can see this... in general, she doesn't like a lot of clutter, but I can see this. It probably drives Tobias a little nuts, because he doesn't like clutter either. Of course, he ends up buying her most of them, so he can't complain. lol

Tobias "Don't tell Mom": LMAO OMG I see it. Now, on major issues, they agreed to always, always present a united front, and they do. But on things like this, 100%. Casey: "Honey, I'm working late tonight. Can you handle dinner?" T: "Of course, baby." C: "And don't let our little demons convince you to order pizza!" Hours later T: "Come on, we have to get the pizza boxes out of here or your mom will kick my ass." (PS Sammy outs him the second Casey walks in the door. lol) I love this!

Ethan's Parent-Child Conference: YES! YES! A thousand times, YES!

Casey's Crushes: I can totally see this (you have a get-out-of-jail-free card lmao), but this is how I'd see it. Casey and Jackie hit it off really well when they meet, and Jackie has that spunky/sarcasm Casey loves. She has a crush on her, and she is considering telling her (a little leery because they're roommates/friends and doesn't want it to be awkward), but then Jackie goes into that brief asshole stage in Book 1, and that puts the whole crush on ice for Casey. As far as Aurora, I can see Kaycee being the one with the crush on Aurora. Kaycee and Aurora would actually be a great match. So I can see Kaycee nursing a little crush, but not one she'd act on, as she's already with Ethan in my HC.

Ethan's Coffee Collection: FOR SURE! And I think he has a Scotch collection too! lol

These were great! Thanks, Mads!

[disdaidal]

how about ‘  i  really  think  this  could  work  out.  ’ for the sentence started prompts? :)

"You sure about this?" Billy asked as he placed one of their suitcases on a large bed, ready to unpack. Steve halted, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"About what?"

"About moving here. Together," Billy sighed and ran his fingers through his sweaty curls. It was barely midday and it was already hot. "It's still not too late to change your mind, pretty boy. Things are gonna be different this time."

They had been dating for almost a year now, working hard and saving money to get a place of their own. They had been looking for suitable, somewhat affordable apartments in different states and somehow managed to find just the one in Cape Coral, Florida.

Billy missed the ocean and surfing and long walks on the beach, but there were too many painful memories in back California and he wasn't too keen on moving back there after all this time. Needless to say, Hawkins, Indiana was too small, too cold and too woodsy for a sun god like him. He felt depressed there and not least because of his shitty father.

Besides, Steve was a Midwestern boy, born and raised. Had lived there all his life - had friends, family... a lot of memories, too. He hadn't lived anywhere else before this, and Billy had guessed that Steve would eventually get homesick if they moved too far away from Indiana. California was across the country, after all. Far away from everything and yet, scratching too close to Billy's old scars.

So Florida seemed fitting for both of them. Warm and and close enough to sea for Billy, and not too far away from Steve's home state either.

Now all they would have to do is settle down here properly, find new jobs and become acquainted. Make new friends. Fit in.

That's all that Billy wanted. Start a new, better life. Become happy again.

Steve finally moved from his spot and walked up to Billy, placing his suitcase next to his. He ran his fingers carefully along the other man's spine, then cupped Billy's cheek and turned his head so their eyes could meet. "Hey."

"What?" Billy grunted. He sounded annoyed and defensive, but one look into his eyes and Steve knew it was just an act. Of insecurity. Maybe even exhaustion after a long trip because Billy hated flying. It made him anxious and irritable. He needed a nap, Steve could tell.

"But I want things to be different this time. I want us to live together and start a new life. You really think I saved all that money just so I could change my mind at the last minute and go back to Hawkins?"

"I don't know, man, I just—"

"Babe. You know me better than that. I wouldn't leave you in trouble. I'm your man. I came here, with you, because I wanted to. Because I want you."

It took him a little more convincing, but then Billy heaved a deep sigh and pulled Steve into a firm hug. It almost knocked the air out of Steve's lungs but he was more than happy to return his boyfriend's warm embrace. Billy might've acted like a real jerk at times, but he gave the best hugs in the world and Steve swore he would never get tired of them.

"Promise me?" Billy muttered into his neck. He sounded tired and Steve wanted to put him in bed. Have a nap with him, then unpack the rest of their stuff and go out and have some fun together.

On their first night. In their new home. In their new city.

"I really think this could work out," Steve replied softly and squeezed Billy closer to his body. Pecking his cheek, then his ear. "Just have a little faith in me, darling. We'll make this work out. Together."

Billy kissed him back. It was a good, nice kiss that lasted for five minutes. Until they had to finally break apart for air and pushed their suitcases off the bed, then collapsed on it together to continue where they left off.

"I swear to God if you don't keep your promise, Harrington-"

"Steve. And I know, you'll never forgive me." Steve laughed breathily and pulled Billy on top of him, squeezing the both globes of his ass. Then wrapped his legs around his hips. "Just don't stop kissing me."

They made out until Billy finally tired out and rested his head against Steve's shoulder. He slid off of his body and placed his head on the soft pillow beside Steve's instead, but kept his arm and leg possessively around his boyfriend's body.

Steve reached out to touch Billy's hair and gently petted him until he could hear the other man's soft snores. He smiled and felt a gush of happiness spreading in his chest that lasted for a long time until he finally dozed off too.

It would take some time and a lot of effort but they'd make it work.

Together.

—

misc sentence starters

[nickyroethemarinebiologist]

Aight here we are lets go

So this is just an idea that was partly inspired by someone else on tumblr a couple days ago, and basically it's an AU where, instead of just disappearing into the walls, Bruno somehow ends up dying and (✨tadaa✨) he becomes a ghost

Everything is more or less the same, but instead of Mirabel finding Bruno, she finds Bruno's ghost

Gonna have a bit of an info dump HERE WE GO

So everything is the same up until just after the vision. Bruno basically panics and packs up any stuff he can carry before running off into the walls before anyone even notices he's gone

As to how he actually dies, I was thinking it might've had something to do with that hole inside the walls. After his vision he leaves just like in the film, but in his haste doesn't notice the MASSIVE GAP until it's too late to stop- it's not a long drop, but through some horribly bad luck he ends up breaking something, obviously ending up with a fatal injury

Dolores would probably hear him scream or something before he hit the floor, and that would probably be very concerning for her, but with the whole worrying-about-the-failed-ceremony bit going on there isn't time to tell anyone, so she keeps it to herself. No one even realises he's missing until someone (probably Pepa or Julieta) sees that the light from his door has dimmed/gone out completely

This would obviously cause some panic and confusion and Dolores FINALLY pipes up about what she had heard, which leads to the family (correctly) assuming the worst

The immediate aftermath of this assumption would probably just be a blur of chaos, with Abuela probably trying to calm everything down

And as for Bruno, he would wake up shortly after the fall, a little dazed and confused. He doesn't realise that he had even died, and instead believes that the fall only knocked him out and he was otherwise fine.

This whole situation would have taken place right after Mirabel's gift ceremony so everyone was be in pretty low spirits already, so they probably took this a little worse than they would have

I think some of the family wouldn't fully believe he was even dead at first, and/or be in a state of denial for a while. Like Pepa, for example, she would probably try to convince herself that Bruno had just wandered off and was completely fine, but after a while even she would have to admit that wasn't possible

Mirabel (and Camilo) would have been pretty young when this happened, so neither really remembers anything about it or about Bruno himself, they only know what everyone else told them - that he had just wandered off somewhere and was fine (they would definitely end up finding out the truth eventually, it's hard to keep secrets from these kids)

Bruno, on the other hand, wouldn't even realise he was dead until a while later, through some unfortunate event. He is, understandably, very freaked out by this and eventually makes the connection between the fatal fall and some kind of bad luck

This leads to those little superstitious things he does in the film (knocking on things, throwing salt over his shoulder, etc etc), to protect both himself and his family from any future "bad luck" - only now he is reduced to miming everything since he can't actually touch anything

He no longer has his "gift", per say, but occasionally visions will come in small flashes, without any need for a ritual, and they are both disturbing and very inconvenient

Since Bruno died inside the walls, though some kind of "ghost law" I have in my head he is now physically incapable of leaving the walls - not that he would really want to. Sort of like the ghosts from that BBC show, if anyone's watched that. This would probably be because someones soul (ghost) is "tied to" the place they died

Bruno can be seen but only by his family (yet another ghost law of mine, ghosts can be seen by those closest to them at their time of death - family, friends, etc)

Maybe his rats are ghost-rats too. Idk, I just think that would be a fun idea lmao

And now for some plot changes:

Mirabel still does the whole finding Bruno's vision thing, and still follows the rats into the passageway, but instead of the normal Bruno she sees a weird ghostly-looking version of him which obviously freaks her out

She chases Bruno through the passageway, and falls just as she would in the film, but instead of Bruno catching her his hand just phases right through hers, which obviously shocks Mirabel and causes her to fall

Bruno panics for a moment, thinking he killed his niece because that is exactly how he died, but because Mirabel has ✨plot armour✨ she's completely fine

She climbs out of the hole herself, but before she can even begin to question Bruno as to what's going on he does the "bye" and walks right through her. Again, Mirabel gets very freaked out but it soon dawns on her that Bruno is a ghost

Since there is no longer a need for the whole ritual, when Mirabel asks Bruno to give her a vision he, albeit reluctantly, does so

When casita collapses, the "restraints" that kept Bruno's ghost in the walls are no longer there, since, well, there are no walls to be kept in. He can now roam freely around the town and possibly even further, but tends to stay in and around the casita even after it is rebuilt, probably because wandering too far away from his place of death causes discomfort and possibly even pain. And besides, it's not like he would want to leave his family again. If anything, he's grateful that he can now interact with everyone...even if the whole ghost thing is a little awkward at first

Thats all I have for now - if anyone has any questions or ideas lemme know! Might write/draw something for this if anyone likes the sound of that :D

~ Ket 🐁

[nintendousimp]

Train of Thought...

Part:1 Getting Caught

Master 👉Next

Pairing: Akaashi Keiji x Reader, Miya Atsumux Reader.

Character: Gender Neutral! or I want to everyone to feel comfortable so any pronouns welcomed for this story.

Warnings: 18+ NSFW, Some angst and colorful language, mentions of cheating and getting caught in the action, mentions of also thinking to forgive unfaithful partner, some grammar errors 😅 ( I need to emphasize this by saying that English is not my first language and although my English is great I still have a lot of trouble so constructive criticism is welcomed 🥰)

Word Count: 2k

Released date: January 19th 2021

I feel like I need to emphasize that all of the characters in this story are aged up! I’m not comfortable with talking about sexual topics if the characters are still in high school and are underage so,this is a timeskip!😅

Before we go any further into the story, I plan to post part 2 of this! Part 2 will take me a bit longer to post due to personal matters but it will be posted!

Enjoy my first ever Haikyuu x Reader Fic!!!

——————————————————————-

You’ve been working late into the night for the past few months so he must’ve thought that this would be your same routine from your previous nights. He's always been a careful person. He knows you have your location on. He always knows where you are but not just for your safety but to also bring her over.

He knows this is wrong. He loves you and knows he could've talked to you about maybe spending less time at work and maybe make a bit more time for him. Atsumu knows that your work is important and he's not gonna take advantage of you like that, especially when you come home from work tired, and with his volleyball schedule and his career you guys barely got to spend time with each other.

He wants to stop this but his need never stops. He knows what he has with her is just something done out of lust and that’s it. Atsumu only wants her around just to make his cock feel good and that’s it. He's already made it very clear he does not plan to leave you and to not get any crazy ideas.

He thought that tonight would be just like any other. He couldn’t have known that you were on your way home. He couldn’t have possibly remembered that today of all days was the release day of your book that you've put months of work into. Who knew that by mistake you left your phone at the office. All he knew at that moment was that your best friend's pussy takes him so well.

As you were driving your way home all you could think about is to hug your husband and yell to the world that you've finally finished your first written work! You felt such accomplishment that this book that you've put all your heart, sweat, and tears into was finally released! So many people believed in your dream but you felt you really couldn’t have done it without the love and support from your husband.

There have been many times where you felt like you haven't been given Atsumu much attention. You've been working long hours and at times late into the night to get this book out before the deadline you've been given. All those hours of hard work you felt paid off, now all that’s left to do is celebrate and who to celebrate better than your husband. After all, he's the inspiration behind your book.

You get out of your car making your way towards the entrance of your house. You notice a car that you've seen before but you can't remember where, so you just brush it off and make your way to the door. As you're unlocking the main entrance door, you don’t notice anything out of the ordinary. The house is dark and there's no one in the living area, I mean what did you expect its one in the morning. You were going about your routine trying to not wake Atsumu up when you hear some strange noises coming from your shared master.

As you're approaching the hallway that leads to your room, you've noticed the noises are starting to sound a lot more like sexual moans. Your first thought would've been that Atsumu might've fallen asleep while watching porn, and you'd believe that. But these moans sounded too real to be coming from the tv in your shared bedroom. You can see from the small gap underneath the door that the lights are still on.

You're getting ready to enter your room when you notice that the door is slightly open. If only someone were to prepare you for what you were about to see. As you enter the room you see what no woman ever wants to go through. Your husband Atsumu on top of another woman.

"I can never see myself with anyone that wasn’t my husband," you said.

Who would’ve thought that my marriage was falling apart… not me right?

Have I been so oblivious this whole time?

How long has this been going on? The question I proceeded to ask myself...

How did I not see this coming?

But now that you saw everything with your own eyes, you realized you’ve put all the pieces to a puzzle you didn’t even know you were solving.

Today was publishing day and you were gonna surprise Tsumu by coming home after the book release, you would have called but your phone may have been misplaced somewhere in your office. You didn’t have time to go back to the office, you’ve been missing Tsumu a lot. But the surprise you got when you entered your shared bedroom and watched as your husband was on top of another woman was not something you ever expected to happen.

As you stood there watching your husband fuck another woman and not just any woman but your best friend all you could think about was, Atsumu the man that promised to be with you for the rest of your life was in your bed fucking your best friend. You want to be angry, you want to run and scream at them, you want to ask why they did it. Not that any explanation would fix anything, you just couldn’t say anything. As you stood there for what felt like a lifetime. Did you lose your train of thought? Did you forget how to talk?

He finally notices that you’ve been standing there. He panics and gets off your best friend as he tries making his way towards you.  All you could think to do at that moment was to just close the door and run out of the house towards your car and make your way out of there. You started driving with no destination in mind, you just wanted to be anywhere away from this bomb. As you're driving, you end up taking the route that leads you to Akaashi’s place. You get out of the car and make your way towards his door.

It’s like you came here out of instinct.

How can you not when you guys have been working on this project for the past several months. He’s a great editor and a great friend too! He appreciates your hard work! You remember when you told him that you wanted to give writing another try and had an idea for a book he immediately offered his services as an editor. He’s always offered his help to you. Even goes out of his way to help you research some titles or genres that you could find interest in writing. He’s a great guy and you’ve grown very close to him.

Now you’re at Keijis place late in the hours of the night. You decided that you couldn’t do this by yourself so you knock on his door.

“Y/N are you alright, What are you doing out so late?” He asks.

You shake your head no. How were you gonna tell Akaashi your world was falling apart. He’s your editor, he shouldn’t need to know that your husband just cheated on you with your best friend.

“Would you like to come in? We can talk about whatever is troubling you?”

He doesn’t give you a second to answer before he grabs your hand and guides you to the living room. He has you sit on his sofa while he makes you both some tea. Some time has passed since you arrived at Akaashi’s, you’re telling him everything that happened an hour prior to being there. Akaashi is tracing small circles on your back. He tells you that this wasn’t your fault and you're not one to blame here and that

“Hey Y/N?”

“Did you say something Keiji?” Y/N says looking up from his shoulder. He can tell they’ve been crying. Akaashi hated seeing them like this. These past several months, he got to know Y/N as a very kind and goal-minded person. He saw someone who only strived to make her and other’s visions come to reality. The months Akaashi spent with Y/N were by far the best few months of his life. He would never tell Y/N that.t He hates that the book is done because now they won’t get to spend as much time together as they used to.

The months he’s been with her he got to spend a lot of time getting to know her world. He observed the way she would get when she had writer’s block. The number of times he’s watched her get frustrated at how she didn’t like the ending of a chapter for the book. He saw how countless nights she felt helpless and wanted to quit. She would fall into a negative state where she convinced herself she wasn’t a good writer. He also saw the nights where she would vent to him about Atsumu becoming distant once again. NIghts where they would drown themselves with work just so they didn’t think about crying.

He saw all of that. Nights where y/n needed Atsumu. Late nights where he was fucking his wife’s best friend.

“What’s your next move?” Akaashi asked.

“I think the best thing right now is for me to go home and get an explanation”

Your expression is giving regret all over it. How were you gonna go back home and look Atsumu in the face? What more could he explain that you don’t already know? You keep going back and forth between blaming yourself more than blaming him. You want to put this in your head as if it was your fault. But you know deep down that if Atsumu really loves you like he says he does he wouldn’t have cheated. At the end of the day, he cheated on you, not the other way around.

“I think I'm gonna call Yachi and see if she’s okay with me spending a few nights at her place just until I figure out what I’m gonna do. In the meantime, I gotta get back home.”

You sigh, you're getting ready to get up when Akaashi takes a hold of your hand

“Wait Before you go, I have a suggestion for tonight if you’d like to hear”

Akaashi doesn’t want you going alone but he also feels as if he’s overstepping his boundaries. He knows this is none of his business but why does he feel like it is?

“How about we go get some of your things and you spend the night here?”

It was a nice offer from Keiji, but you already feel like a burden. He’s been so kind as to listen to you, you just don’t wanna cause him any more trouble.  

“ I appreciate the offer Keiji but I don’t wanna wrap you up in my troubles.”

“ Y/N you’re no trouble, I just want you to know that you’re more than welcomed to stay here.” Akaashi knew you’d reject his invitation. He knows you’re not the type of person to rely on others' help, you’re a giver not a taker after all.

“Can you promise me if you don’t wanna be there with Atsumu you’ll call me and come here?” Akaashi the overthinker, always worrying about others.

“ I promise I’ll call you Keiji, if anything happens I promise to come back here.” The answer appeases him, he lets your hand go.

“Thank you Y/N Can I walk you out?” You nod and make your way towards the entrance door.

“Thank you for having me over at this time of night..” before you could finish your sentence, you were pulled into Akaashi’s arms.

“You don’t have to thank me Y/N, I’m glad you trust me enough to open up about what happened.”

You don’t know why but his words are making you feel safe. You trust Keiji, he’s not the type of guy to hurt anybody.

You thank Akaashi again as he walks you to your car “ Can I check on you tomorrow?”

You reply with a nod “ See you tomorrow Keiji.”

Both of you say your goodbyes. As you’re leaving Akaashi’s house, you can’t help but feel nervous about the conversation you were about to have with your husband. What was gonna happen with your marriage? Can this be forgiven? Questions that kept plaguing your head. Only one question stuck out more than the others…

Do I wanna divorce Atsumu?

Summary:

L/N F/N a young adult working on their first ever book with the help of editor and friend (Akaashi). Discovers that their husband has been cheating on them for the past few months that they’ve  been working nonstop. Heartbroken y/n decides to drown herself in their work. Will they be able to Forgive their cheating husband from his infidelity or will they approach the man who fell in love with them while working on their book?

© All fiction rights of the story belong to @nintendousimp​

Characters belong to the Haruichi Furudate.

[inviberu]

slowly, into your heart

Taku had never experienced heartbreak before. But when she does, it turns a little bit more than just a simple problem.

Note: I think I forget to mention but I'm a hopeless yumejo! If you're uncomfortable with that, please scroll past this or unfollow me. Chloe isn't really the one I yume with but my friends wanted to see what it would be like if it was with Chloe instead of Shylock, thus this was the result. I never really introduced my yumesona but for archive purposes I'm posting this here anyways.

Taku wondered how many days it has been since she shut herself out from the world inside her room. Sadness, anger, grief, and pain—for once, she wanted to rip her own heart out. Was this her divine punishment from the heavens? What a cruel joke. To have her know the heavy burden of a heart was something that made her want to live without one.

Countless times, she felt as if it was finally the time the fire was consuming the last bit of her. With tears falling from her eyes, she hoped that she was taken away—to let herself walk into fire and yet a single shred of her convinced her to stay. To endure everything as there shall come a rainbow after the heavy rain. She wanted nothing to do with this world anymore, but perhaps she could find something or rather, someone worth living for.

But, alas, her heart still needs time to mend itself. She thought about that one time someone mentioned to her that first loves never work out—she could only let out a tired sigh as she silently agreed. Had it not been for her eavesdropping on a certain conversation, she might've continued to hope that he felt the same way about her.

'Die,' she silently wished. Quickly taking it back the moment she realized she didn't really want anything ill to fall upon him, perhaps the softness of her behaviour towards him was the reason why she's still unable to face the others head on. Showing weakness in front of others felt like she was showing herself bare, and she hated it with a burning passion.

Perhaps it was time to let go? If the curse was to take her soon anyways, why not do it a favour and have it take her faster? Her eyes dulled. She finally convinced herself this is exactly what that witch had wanted from the very start since she cursed her—to have her feel what a broken heart is.

"Taku... Are you there?" Her thoughts stopped immediately. The gentle knocks on the door could barely be heard had it not been for the fact that she was dead silent. It was Chloe. She hugged her knees tighter to her chest, not wanting to give him a reply.

'He must be worried, I haven't gone out of the room once since I stormed inside here. Poor Chloe, being shut out here by miserable me.' She thought. Among the Western Wizards, he was the one she was closest to—her dearest friend, Chloe Collins.

For a mere second, she thought about opening the door to let him in.

She quickly shut down the idea. Hoping that he would go away soon if she doesn't respond to his calls. Surely, his heart will be broken by this, right?

"It's me, Chloe." He started, voice careful. "I don't know if you don't want anyone to bother you but—"

He hesitated.

"I really wanted to try and cheer you up! So I got a gift for you... You don't have to open the door though! I'll just leave them here in case... You decide to receive them."

She held her breath. A gift? Curious, she waited to hear footsteps fade away to the distance and the outline of shadow disappear from the small gaps on the door. She urged herself to not open the door—but perhaps she was so desperate for something that made her feel herself again to the point where she couldn't listen to her rationality any longer.

Hesitant, she slowly opened the door and looked at the item placed down.

Flowers.

A few flowers laid in front of her door. Pink ones—the one that reminded her of her old hair color. She picked them up and inspected them closer, its sweet scent immediately intoxicating her as she wondered just how long has she stayed inside her room for her to feel like crying after smelling a bunch of flowers.

"How sweet of him..." She murmured, bringing the flowers with her as she closed the door to her room. She placed them in a vase where she could admire them, the once gloomy room suddenly brightening up by a little. Giving her a little bit more meaning.

"My dearest Chloe," it rolled off her tongue. "I wonder if you can help me from this heartache."

The next day, Chloe was beyond happy to see that the flowers he left in front of her door wasn't there anymore—that could only mean she took it, right? Day after day after day after day... He kept on leaving flowers in front of her door. Hoping that one day she would open up the door for him, even if it's just a little.

To let him into her heart.

Who would've thought such a simple act would work on her? She could only let out a sigh. She must be more of a simpleton than she thought—to let a bunch of flowers make her waver. Or maybe Chloe knew her a little bit too well and knows what gets to her and what doesn't.

One day, she finally opened her door for him when he was leaving her flowers. His eyes widening as he stopped in his tracks, jaw almost falling to the floor.

"I-Is that really you...?" She could almost hear him start to cry.

"...? Do you want me to close the door again, stranger?"

"W-W-Wait! No! Hold it!" He leapt forward into her arms, wrapping his arms around her figure as he let the flowers he brought fall to the floor. Tears welling up in the corner of his eyes.

"Ah—! Hey, I was only joking! Why are you crying?" She asks as if she didn't know she was the reason why Chloe was crying in her arms. With much reluctance, she wrapped one arm around him and ruffled his hair with the other as a measly attempt to comfort him.

"You were gone for so long! Did you know how worried I was!? I almost started to doubt you were taking the flowers and someone else was stealing them."

"There, there. There's no more need to cry, I'm no longer hiding now, am I? Don't let me become a reason for staining your lovely face, it doesn't suit you."

"It's all your fault! Stupid, stupid! You idiot...!"

"Yes, yes. I'm the idiot." She took all the punches Chloe gave her without complaining. "Feel free to curse me all you like, I deserve it."

"Hmph! At least look a little remorseful to make me feel better."

"... I'm sorry." The sudden shift in her tone surprised Chloe, he felt her grip around him tighten only by a small bit. "I guess you could say I was self-destructing? I'm... I'm just really drained lately."

"..." He fell silent.

"At first I wanted to ignore you, but I couldn't. I guess that's what they were talking about when they said 'let the heart want what it wants', huh? I really liked the flowers, Chloe. I really, really do."

Her voice almost faded into a small whisper as she slumped her head against his shoulder, almost as if she was drifting off to sleep under the comfort of his warm embrace.

"... If you want me to, I'll promise to get them for you everyday." He declared.

"Everyday's a bit too much," she let out a weak chuckle.

"It's just as long as you promise not to shut me out again like this, okay?" Sternness laced his voice.

"Haha, I can't promise you that but....Thank you, Chloe... My dearest, Chloe."

[blueeyedheizer]

sound of metal - matt

WARNING: might contain some triggering topics (talks of surgery, hearing loss)

A/N: this movie was so beautiful and heartbreaking at the same time I had to write something based on it. (excuse the crappy ending) If you haven't seen sound of metal...go watch it nowww

•••

Matt had been acting strange lately. Wether it was during sound check or while you were performing in front of a crowd, he seemed off and completely out of it everytime you shot a glance his way.

Today wasn't any different and you were starting to grow seriously worried. You and your band were performing in front of your biggest crowd yet; the band was getting more and more recognition and people were quick to spread the word about your small tour. It even got to the point where people would take pictures with you and buy your merch after the show. Quite frankly, everything was going well and it was a dream come true.

But when you looked at Matt, it seemed like he wasn't handling things as well as you did. At first, you thought that it might only be stage fright. You weren't really used to such big venues, and it would've made sense that he feels some kind of discomfort in front of an important audience. Yet he never spoke to any of you about it, and you knew he would've at least told you if that was the case.

So when you looked over your shoulder in the middle of the fourth song and caught sight of him you immediately sensed that once again, something wasn't right. He looked almost terrified, you could tell his breathing was heavy and that it wasn't just because of the drums. You tried to contain your worry and focus on your singing, but you kept a mental note to talk to him after the show. You couldn't just sit there and keep pretending everything was alright when he was clearly hiding something from you.

But before you even had the time to move on from your thoughts Matt suddenly stormed out of the stage, his drumsticks falling to the floor while he pushed a few people on his way out. Your heart pounded hard against your chest as you were hit with a wave of anxiety, then with a small apology to the crowd and a worried glance at your bandmates you followed him.

Within seconds you were bursting through the back doors, running after him.

"Matt! Matthew, what the hell?" you called, running to his side. He was bent down, hands resting on his knees as he panted hard. You placed your hands on his shoulders and he eventually stood up straight before leaning against the fence. "Baby, what's wrong?" you placed your hands on his cheeks, your thumbs stroking his skin as your eyes searched for his.

"I can't hear anything." he admitted, voice cracking.

"What?"

"I can't hear anything."

-

You just picked at your food, not hungry due to how anxious you felt. You could barely register anything else than the sound of your heartbeat, the sounds of muffled talking, plates and glasses clinking from the restaurant being completely drowned out by your nagging thoughts.

"What are we gonna do?" James eventually spoke up.

"I don't know James. I really don't know." you put your fork down and buried your face in your hands, finally letting a few tears slip. You leg was bouncing repeatedly, heart beating a million miles a minute. After taking a deep breath, you grabbed the pen and paper that were in front of you and wrote something down.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" you slid the paper across the table so that Matt could read it. He sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"I didn't want you to worry about it. It's nothing. It'll come back eventually." he said, but you were far from satisfied with his answer. You squeezed your eyes shut.

"What did the doctor say?" once again, you slid the paper across the table.

"There's a surgery. An implant. It's— it's expensive but I'll get it."

"Y/N, there's no way he'll be able to afford it." James whispered. You glanced at him and nodded, knowing damn well you'd never be able to earn so much money in such a short amount of time. You were just a small band, earning a salary worth of such surgery would take an excessive amount of work and time. Noticing the worried look on everyone's face, Matt broke the silence and grabbed your hand.

"Look— we'll play tomorrow and see how it's like. It'll come back. It's fine baby, my hearing's not completely gone. okay? I can do it." Matt said, and you shook your head.

"No."

"We have a tour booked."

"Matt, it's not safe." you tried to reason with him as more tears welled in your eyes.

"We have a tour booked, Y/N, I'll just deal with it, I can do it!"

"No, Matt. We can't." you removed your hand from his hold.

"It'll come back!"

"For God's sakes Matt, it's not safe!" you finally raised your voice, fist colliding with the table as you flopped back against your seat. Your bandmates flinched and some waitresses and customers turned to you, thinking a fight had broke out. You apologized quietly, not even loud enough for any of them to hear before grabbing the pen.

"We're not finishing the tour. You can barely hear a word we're saying. We're not finishing it." you put the pen down and got up, gathering your things before turning to James and Alex. "I'll call the manager and see what we can do."

And with that, you left the dinner without a word.

-

Fortunately, your manager was very understanding of the situation and helped you with everything you needed. He got you in contact with a friend of his who ran a small community in which Matt would be able to attend meetings and learn sign language.

You called the man immediately after finishing the call with your manager, wanting to get this done as soon as possible. You were hit with a wave of relief when he told you he would be more than willing to welcome Matt, as long as he complied with the rules that were imposed there. But getting Matt to understand that this wasn't just a small hearing loss and that he needed help was another story.

"I'm not going, Y/N. God, it— it doesn't even bother me that much! I can still play!" he said and you shook your head, lowering it afterwards. You had never seen him so agitated, and no matter how hard he tried to convince you that he was okay, you could see right through him. His hearing loss was in fact bothering him, he just wouldn't admit it. "Baby I know our songs by heart, we could just—"

"Matt, stop. Just stop." you interrupted him. Tears were beginning to form in your eyes and it was getting harder to hold them back. He scoffed, burying his hands in his hair.

"Matt. Please. Just look at me." you placed your index finger under his chin, forcing him to look at you. "The most important thing right now is to preserve the hearing you have left. Okay?" your hand slid to his cheek, wiping a tear before pecking his lips. "I love you so much, baby. And that's why I'm not leaving you the choice. We're cancelling the tour, and you're going to let these people take care of you." you told him, making sure to speak clearly.

-

-time skip-

Those 6 months spent away from him were hard. The members of the community he was in all lived in one house together with no contact to the outside world - which meant no phones allowed. It was a rule that you had agreed on committing to, but you hadn't anticipated how awfully long these months would actually be. Performing without him was something you couldn't get used to. You had found a new drummer for the time he was gone, but it was different. You were so used to Matt's energy, his way of playing, and the boy was nothing like him. He was really nice and Alex and James seemed to get along well with him, but this band wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for Matt, therefore performing his songs without him felt wrong.

You had no idea what the future was going to look like, wether it was regarding the band or your relationship. You had no idea how Matt was doing. For all you knew he could be at his lowest point and you weren't there for him. Or maybe he was having an amazing time, and you couldn't shut off this nagging voice in the back of your head that kept telling you he might've met someone new.

-

You were walking home from work, looking forward to leave this long day behind you and get some well deserved rest. You greeted your dad and was about to make your way to your room, but his voice stopped you in your tracks before you could leave.

"Y'a Matt qui t'attends dans ta chambre." (Matt's waiting for you in your room.)

"Quoi?" (What?)

"Il est arrivé y'a une heure ou deux. Je lui ait dit de rester là en attendant que t'arrives." (He arrived about an hour or two ago. I told him to stay there and wait for you.)

You tried to contain your excitement in front of him, but your heart felt like it was about to burst inside your chest.

"Okay, cool. Merci."

With that, you left the kitchen and made your way upstairs hurriedly, heart beating faster with every step you took.

Finally, you opened the door to your room and your eyes immediately caught Matt's figure. He was sitting on your bed, a book in hands as he waited for you. You stayed at the door for a small instant, grinning warmly as he looked up, allowing you to finally make eye contact.

"Hi. Can you hear me?"

Matt set the book down and nodded, then you walked over to him, standing between his legs. You cupped his face and caressed his cheeks with your thumbs, taking in all of him. His hair was a bit longer than the last time you had seen him.

"I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too."

You leaned in and pressed your lips together for the first time in five months, your hands sliding to the back of his head as the kiss deepened. You pulled away after a little less than a minute, catching your breath.

"What are you doing here? How— how did you afford it?" you asked a bit awkwardly, referring to his surgery as you noticed the implants on his ear.

"I had to sell my stuff." he shugged. "Guitars, synth, my car. Anything I could find, really." he chuckled sadly, lowering his head. Your face dropped at his words and a small silence settled in the room before he broke it with the smallest voice. "I'm sorry."

"Hey...there's nothing to apologise for." you said, lifting his chin up to peck his lips once again. He shook his head, refusing to make eye contact with you as tears welled up in his eyes. Then he climbed further up the bed silently, his back now resting against the headboard. You followed, situating yourself next to him.

"I ruined everything. The tour, the band, us." Everything."

"You didn't ruin anything. You couldn't control what happened, Matt. You know that." you tried to comfort him, scratching the back of his head with your fingertips. He scoffed a bit at your answer, still avoiding eye-contact.

"I can't get back to drumming, Y/N. I can never go back to how my life was before."

There was a pause before he finally dared to look at you. His eyes were red from holding back tears, cheeks streaked and flushed, the sight causing your face to visibly soften. You opened your mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Instead you looked down, fidgeting with the ring on your index finger and the room went silent. You knew things would never be the same, but you still took the news like a bullet. A couple more seconds passed and you took a small breath before climbing onto his lap gently.

A bitter, sad smile curved on your lips as you looked at him, hands cupping both sides of his head, gently rubbing your thumbs and occasionally wiping a few tears from his cheeks while you fought with great difficulty to hold yours in. First you kissed his forehead then you rested yours against it, noses brushing.

"I love you." you whispered, closing your eyes as you felt a tear escape and roll down your cheek. "I love you so much."

You pulled away just a bit and signed "I love you" to him in sign language to emphasise your words. He signed it back to you and you wrapped your arms around him, cradling his head against your chest as you mumbled comforting words, your hands rubbing his back and hair soothingly as you cried silently.

[writearctic]

"This isn't the first time." ft/ chan

wc: 1.1k

Prompt 23

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⚠︎ Before you read: this imagine includes bullying which some may find upsetting. Please keep this in mind before continuing.

Whoever said college was easier than high school? It wasn't, and you were living proof. As you walked up the universities stairs, Aecha, the girl who had been consistently bothering you, pulled you into the empty hall and started yelling at you.

"You think he loves you?" Aecha spat at you as she pulled your curled hair in her fist. "I'd wager he just pities you. His best friend who suddenly has feelings for him; what choice would he have besides 'loving' you back or leaving you? But you're his best friend, so he'll never leave you."

A sly smirk crossed her lips as she circled you like a hawk ready to snatch up a meal with its talons. Her eyes stared you down and made you feel more vulnerable than before.

Aecha's meetings with you were always isolated- almost no one wants to be seen as a bully. Her antics all sprouted from her undying love for your boyfriend, Chan. You started dating 2 months ago; that's when these incidents began.

Sometimes she'd just yell and scream at you. Other times were more violent. Once, you met up with Chan directly after she cornered you and slammed your fingers in a door. He was a worried mess, but you convinced him it was your clumsy self who caused the bruising on your fingers.

"You're not even pretty, y/n. Come on. Think! Why on Earth would a guy like that ever be with a girl like you?" She shoved you against the coarse brick wall and leaned in closer to you.

"When are you going to realize," you started. You pushed her off and stepped further from Aecha. "That Chan chose me because he loves me, huh? Have you ever thought of that!?"

Your eyes were filling with tears. I've had enough, you noted before turning to walk home. Before you could take another step, Aecha gripped your shoulder and spun you around. Her fist flew right into your lips causing them to bleed.

You fumbled into the ground in shock. Out of all the times she's hurt you, this time was different. Maybe because I actually fought back?

Your shaky fingers brushed your split lip; your eyes met hers- which were clouded in rage. She leaned down and placed her hand on your shoulder.

"You are a nobody." Aecha pressed you back to the cement floor and paraded away.

You calmed yourself, collected your things, stood up, and headed to your apartment.

Chan and you were friends before your relationship; thus, you already lived together. You were more than lucky that Chan didn't question any of your sudden injuries or abrupt crying fits.

But, he knew something was wrong. And as you arrived inside the apartment with a cut, swollen lip and tear stained cheeks, you knew he already knew.

Your eyes met Chan's briefly before you placed your bag on the front bench. You shoved your shoes off- still denying Chan's gaze- and turned to the bathroom. You shut and locked the door.

Now, you could finally look at yourself. Pathetic, you concluded. Fresh tears threatened to fall from your gorgeous eyes; you rushed for the first aid kit beneath the sink before any more tears could spill. You cleaned the cut on your lip. It stung, but the process itself aided in easing your nerves.

You had just cleaned up the packaging and shuffled the items away when the awaited knock at the door met your ears. You turned to the mirror: "I am strong," you whispered. Then you opened the door.

Chan knew something was going on, but he wasn't sure what. At first, he thought you were sleep deprived since you came home with small bruises or cuts and told him it was just you running into things. But you were getting enough sleep. He knew because you clung to him every hour of the night like a koala. He thought perhaps you weren't eating enough. But you were; you ate all three meals with him. Today, he finally figured it out. Only- he was too late.

When you opened the door, Chan felt his heart sink into his chest. Your lips were clean but still swollen. How can I kiss you now? He quickly thought.

You were shaking slightly; he noticed this when your gentle hands went to twirl the twists of your hair effortlessly. You bit your lip out of habit only to wince from the stinging pain.

Chan reached to you in sorrow. "Y/n." His voice was soft as he anxiously took your hands in his. "Baby, I'm sorry it took me so long to realize what was wrong."

His thumb gently caressed the smooth skin of your hand; Chan's eyes would flicker to yours every few seconds only to look away again. It made you dizzy with worry. What if Aecha was right? What if he doesn't really love me?

"Chan?" Your quiet voice interrupted the comfortable silence that rested between you. He looked at you- he finally looked at you for longer than 2 seconds. You felt even more pathetic as your eyes met his, but you continued anyways.

"Chan, do you still love me?"

"This isn't the first time, y/n. You asked me this last week." He sighed. He dropped your hands. You longingly reached for him as he walked away. "Are you scared I don't love you?"

He eased onto the couch and set you a peeved smirk.

"N-no! I just- well thought you might've changed your mind." Your voice faded into a whisper as you stepped closer to Chan. He placed his head between his hands as his elbows rested on his knees.

"Y/n, I'm always looking forward to eating with you. I long for the weekends when it's just you and I. I can't see myself ever falling out of love with you. Baby, I love you; I'm so desperately in love with you. And I'm so sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. Y/n, you are perfect for me in every way."

He snapped his head to you when he heard you sob. He jumped on his feet and instantly pulled you in to a hug.

"Baby, I'm sorry I didn't realized you were getting bullied." He knew something was wrong all along, you mentally scolded yourself. Chan's hands brushed through your hair as you sobbed into his chest. You were shaking more so than before. "Shh, y/n. Just focus on my heartbeat, yeah?"

You nodded; you knew he would put his everything into helping you take care of Aecha. Chan led you to the couch; he sat down on the plush cushion then guided you into his lap. Your head stayed buried in his chest minding nothing more than his heart which solely beat for you.